goddard space flight center
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‘An Exciting Challenge’: NASA Plans Rare Repair Spacewalk to Fix Busted Telescope
NASA is preparing to send astronauts on a spacewalk to repair a telescope mounted on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS). The repair involves installing patches to eliminate unwanted sunlight leaking into the instrument. NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), an X-ray telescope the size of a washing machine, launched to orbit in…
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NASA Ends $US2 Billion Satellite Refuelling Project After Contractor Accused of ‘Poor Performance’
An ambitious NASA project designed to test satellite refueling in space, known as OSAM-1, has been discontinued after significant technical, cost, and scheduling difficulties. The cancellation comes in the wake of an October 2023 report from NASA’s Office of Inspector General that cited “poor performance” by Maxar, the primary contractor for the project. NASA announced…
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Seeing Double: Lucy’s First Target Asteroid Has a Tiny Moon
As NASA’s Lucy spacecraft zoomed past its first asteroid on Wednesday, its mission scientists made a surprising discovery of a bonus space rock. The first images sent over by the Lucy mission of its brief rendezvous with the main asteroid belt revealed a binary pair, with a tiny satellite closely orbiting Dinkinesh, NASA announced on…
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After Delivery to Earth, What’s Next for NASA’s Asteroid Sample?
Earth just got a special delivery: Pieces of an ancient asteroid that were snagged straight from the source and dropped off in the western Utah desert. After travelling through space for nearly three years, the journey is just beginning for the precious rock samples, which could help scientists figure out the story of life. On…