NASA Adds Lunar Lander LEO Docking Demo To Artemis Campaign | Aviation Week Network aviationweek.com/space/operatio…
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Irene Klotz
3K posts
Irene Klotz
@Free_Space
Senior Space Editor Aviation Week & Space Technology
Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Katılım Temmuz 2008
3.4K Takip Edilen12.4K Takipçiler
Interview with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman
Q&A aviationweek.com/space/budget-p…
Video aviationweek.com/podcasts/check…
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Irene Klotz retweetledi
Pretty stressful to be taking hundreds of pictures of this from #ISS. I was nervous!
Black Hole@konstructivizm
The Space Shuttle’s R-bar Pitch Maneuver (RPM), dramatically nicknamed the "backflip", was one of the most visually striking and critically important procedures in the post-Columbia era of shuttle missions.Introduced as a direct response to the tragic STS-107 Columbia disaster in 2003—where launch debris fatally damaged the orbiter's heat shield—this 360° pitch rotation became a mandatory safety step before every docking with the International Space Station (ISS).As the shuttle approached along the R-bar (the radial vector from Earth's center through the ISS, essentially flying "below" the station), it paused at roughly 600 feet (about 180–183 meters) separation. Then, with the commander at the controls, the orbiter executed a slow, controlled end-over-end roll at approximately 0.75 degrees per second. The full 360° maneuver typically lasted 8–9 minutes, exposing the shuttle's vulnerable underside—its thermal protection system (TPS) of thousands of heat-resistant tiles—to the ISS crew's high-resolution cameras (often equipped with 400mm and 800mm telephoto lenses).ISS astronauts, positioned at windows in modules like Zvezda or Destiny, snapped hundreds of detailed photos during the ~90-second optimal belly-up window. These images were immediately downlinked to Mission Control for rapid analysis by engineers on the ground, hunting for any signs of tile damage, missing pieces, or debris impacts that could jeopardize re-entry. Combined with inspections from the shuttle's own Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), the RPM provided unprecedented assurance that the vehicle could safely return home.This choreographed ballet—requiring pinpoint piloting, precise attitude control via Reaction Control System thrusters, and flawless coordination between shuttle and station crews—turned a routine rendezvous into a high-stakes safety ritual. Performed flawlessly on missions from STS-114 (Discovery, 2005, first RPM under Eileen Collins) through the program's end in 2011, it exemplified NASA's commitment to "return to flight" lessons learned.Credit: NASA (Iconic views from the ISS during RPM: the shuttle's heat shield tiles fully exposed against Earth's backdrop, revealing the intricate mosaic of the TPS in stunning detail.)
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Command of the ISS will be handed over to Russia's Sergey Kud-Sverchkov ahead of the departure of current station commander @AstroIronMike and the rest of SpaceX Crew-11.
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@NASAAdmin I appreciate the response and understand the sentiment. However, transparency and setting proper expectations are different things. The former should be a prerequisite for the latter, not the other way around.
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That's good to hear, but why wait until Artemis 2 rollout in a couple weeks to be "very transparent about technical readiness and timelines"?
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman@NASAAdmin
I couldn’t agree more. This is what we do at NASA. Artemis II is the first step in America’s grand return to the Moon, and we will be very transparent about technical readiness and timelines after rollout. Preparations for Artemis II will rightly command the majority of our attention, but the missions that follow across human exploration, science, and aeronautics will be ambitious and inspiring. We are just getting started.
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Modifications to Boeing's contract to trim number of Starliner flights and fly next mission with cargo only drops current value to $3.7 billion, from $4.5 billion in January 2024.
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Congratulations Space Laureates!
Amazon @ProjectKuiper Rajeev Badyal @Axiom_Space @blueorigin @fireflyspace
@USSpaceForce Rapid Capabilities Office X-37B. Special recognition to @RocketLab 's Peter Beck; CubeSat pioneers Bob Twiggs,
Jordi Puig-Suari
aviationweek.com/en/winners/202…
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Twenty-five years ago today, the first crew reached the nascent International Space Station, kicking off an as-yet unbroken series of joint US-Russian expeditions in low Earth orbit.
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@elonmusk I'd be interested if @SecDuffyNASA is keeping as close a watch on the program for Artemis III spacesuits. NASA down to solo contractor.
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A permanently crewed lunar science base would be far more impressive than a repeat of what was already done incredibly well by Apollo in 1969
Truthful🛰️@Truthful_ast
Blue Origin could likely land on the Moon before SpaceX but this is Blue Moon Mk1, a small lander testbed for Blue Moon Mk2 that would provide no value if man rated. So why bother man rating it to beat China? China doesn’t plan on flags and footprints, they plan on permanent settlement. Artemis should be about permanent settlement on the Moon and early missions to Mars, not another flags and footprints like Apollo.
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@StephenClark1 FWIW, at IAC CNSA deputy admin Zhigang Bian was asked by IAF Pres Clay Mowry if China had requirement to maintain enough fuel aboard satellites to remove from orbit at end of operations. Response was yes .
esa.int/ESA_Multimedia…
Interview with Bian starts 1:04:22
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Everyone but China has pretty much stopped littering low-Earth orbit with dead rockets. arstechnica.com/space/2025/10/…
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For the record, the upcoming @SpaceX CRS-33 resupply/reboost mission will attempt the 50th Dragon docking at the @Space_Station but it's not the 50th launch of a Dragon to the ISS. One Dragon mission failed to reach the station due to a launch accident (CRS-7 in June 2015)
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A special guest columnist shares a story of night-flying with Jim Lovell. Thank you @tomhanks
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It's been a long time since someone asked me for my media credentials, but in sending along the appropriate links, I realized @AviationWeek is going to be 110 yrs old next year. That's pretty amazing.
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during a 7/16 House hearing on the DOT, that "I am going to follow the will of Congress.”
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In an email to @AviationWeek NASA clarifies that while preparations are in work to enact the president 's fiscal 26 spending plan, the agency will follow the law. It cites a comment from Acting Admin Sean Duffy, testifying in his role as Secretary of Transportation
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NASA's Nicky Fox , AA Science, affirms that agency is preparing to enact OMB's proposed fiscal '26 budget. Speaking at opening session of #SmallSat2025
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