The space agency on Thursday announced it awarded SpaceX a contract, worth up to $843 million, to build a vehicle that will deorbit the space station when it is retired in 2030. At the end of the laboratory’s lifespan, NASA will use the SpaceX-built vehicle to bring it crashing down into a remote section of the Pacific Ocean.

The Biden administration in 2021 committed to extend ISS operations through the end of the decade. After that, it is planned to be replaced by an array of NASA-funded commercial space stations.

“Selecting a U.S. Deorbit Vehicle for the International Space Station will help NASA and its international partners ensure a safe and responsible transition in low Earth orbit at the end of station operations,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate. “This decision also supports NASA’s plans for future commercial destinations and allows for the continued use of space near Earth.”

Once the vehicle is developed, NASA will take over and oversee its operation. Like the ISS, it is expected to break up as it throttles toward the Earth. A launch service will be procured in the future—the agency currently uses SpaceX’s Falcon rocket to launch Commercial Crew rotation missions to the orbital laboratory.

Deorbiting the ISS will be the responsibility of the U.S., Canada, Japan, Russia, and member countries of the European Space Agency (ESA). Since 1998, the ESA, NASA, Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and Russia’s Roscosmos have operated the space station, occupying it continuously for almost a quarter of a century.

In that time, it has been used to conduct microgravity experiments, test technologies that could be used to explore the moon and Mars, and, more recently, host commercial activities such as private astronaut missions.

According to an FAQ on NASA’s website, the agency expects itself to eventually become one of several customers, rather than a provider, of those services in a commercial space marketplace. As private companies take over low-Earth orbit operations, it will focus on flying humans to the moon, Mars, and beyond.

The first crewed lunar landing in the Artemis moon program, for example, is scheduled for September 2026. SpaceX is involved in that effort, too, developing the landing system that will put astronauts on the moon’s south pole.

NASA weighed several options for decommissioning the ISS, including a disassembly in space or boost to higher orbit, before settling on a controlled reentry. It will lower the station’s altitude using onboard propulsion before deploying SpaceX’s specially designed deorbit vehicle to bring it back into the atmosphere.

After lining up the debris footprint over an uninhabited area of the ocean, the space agency will give the all clear for one final burn. Most of the laboratory is expected to melt, burn up, or vaporize.

NASA in 2021 selected three private companies—Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, and Starlab Space, a joint venture between Voyager Space and Airbus—to develop free-flying commercial alternatives to the space station. The firms were awarded space act agreements totaling $415 million.

Another private partner, Axiom Space, is designing four modules that will attach to the ISS and later jettison to form another commercial space lab. The company is in the design review phase and is on schedule to launch its first module in 2026 under a contract worth up to $140 million.

All four spacecraft are expected to be operational before the end of the decade to ensure a smooth transition away from ISS operations, but NASA will first need to certify them.

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The lawsuit against the Florida-based company accuses Redwire of delaying release of its third quarter earnings in November 2021, which resulted in a 16 percent drop in its stock price “on unusually heavy trading volume,” court documents said. 

The stock price fell an additional 8.3 percent after Redwire announced it was not “able to finalize its financial statements or its assessment of the effectiveness of its disclosure controls and procedures,” according to the documents.

Redwire CEO Peter Cannito and CFO William Read are named as defendants in the case. 

“As a result of Defendants’ wrongful acts and omissions, and the precipitous decline in the market value of the Company’s securities, Plaintiff and other Class members have suffered significant losses and damages,” according to the court documents. The lawsuit was filed December 17 in U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida.

Redwire has not yet responded to FLYING’s requests for comment. 

Redwire’s Role in Space Station

Redwire has joined billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to perform several roles in the Orbital Reef commercial space station project, including microgravity research, payload development, operations, large deployable structures, and creation of Orbital Reef’s digital twin. 

In December, NASA announced it had chosen Blue Origin to develop the project as a successor to the International Space Station, which is nearing the end of its life cycle. Boeing, Genesis Engineering Solutions, and Arizona State University are also partners in Orbital Reef. 

It’s unclear whether the suit threatens Redwire’s participation in the orbiting outpost. 

Redwire also partnered with NASA for its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), an experimental rocket launch to change the path of a nearby asteroid. 

The suit was filed by Jed Lemen on behalf of “persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Redwire securities between August 11, 2021, and November 14, 2021.”

SPAC Merger 

In September, Redwire became the latest space-focused company to begin publicly trading after it completed a SPAC merger with special purpose acquisition company Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. 

The deal valued Redwire at $675 million, with the company expected to receive an estimated $170 million in cash.

The post Redwire Space Hit with Federal Lawsuit appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

During a press briefing Monday, spokesman Ned Price condemned Russia’s operations.

“This test will significantly increase the risk to astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station, as well as to other human spaceflight activities,” Price said.

U.S. Space Command warned of a “debris-generating event” in space and said it was coordinating with other countries to help ensure the safety of their equipment in orbit, according to a report by Politico.

Some news outlets reported that the ISS crew was forced to seek shelter temporarily; a tweet from Russia’s state-run space corporation, Roscomos, said: “The orbit of the object, due to which the crew was forced today according to standard procedures to transfer to spaceships, moved away from the ISS orbit. The station is in the ‘green zone.’”

This comes as the satellite and debris population of Earth’s orbit rapidly approaches a dangerous threshold—one that could have substantial negative effects in the near future.

The State Department reports as many as 1,500 pieces of debris measuring at least 10 centimeters in length, but “hundreds of thousands” of smaller debris are now unleashed into orbit.

“Russia’s dangerous and irresponsible behavior jeopardizes the long-term sustainability of outer space, and clearly demonstrates that Russia’s claims of opposing the weaponization of space are disingenuous and hypocritical,” he said.

On November 11, the ISS was nearly struck by orbital debris that originated from a Chinese Fengyun-1C satellite that was destroyed in 2007. The station was forced to take evasive maneuvers to avoid the collision.

• READ MORE: Loads of New Satellites Joining Earth’s Orbit Amis Space Junk Crisis

“This puts the collective interest of the international community, in some cases, great danger,” Price said.

The ISS currently has seven astronauts on board, including NASA’s Crew-3 astronauts who arrived at the station last week.

The State Department has previously spoken with Russian officials about the dangers of destroying orbital bodies and continues to condemn their operations.

The post U.S. Says Russian Test Has Created Debris Field in Space appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Here are four things you should know about Crew-3′s mission.

1. The Crew

Serving as mission commander will be NASA astronaut Raja Chari, a Milwaukee native who graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1999. Chari attained his master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT and graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.

NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn will serve as the crew’s pilot. Marshburn holds multiple degrees, including a Doctorate of Medicine from Wake Forest University. Marshburn, a North Carolina native, previously flew on two spaceflights—STS-127 and Expedition 34/35. He also served as a flight surgeon for Space Shuttle Medical Operations.

Crew-3′s mission specialist will be NASA astronaut Kayla Barron, a graduate of 2017′s Astronaut Candidate Class. Barron attained a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy and a master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Cambridge. Barron also was a member of the first class of women to be commissioned into the submarine community.

Joining the crew from the European Space Agency (ESA) will be Matthias Maurer, serving as a mission specialist. Maurer graduated as an ESA astronaut in September 2018 at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. This will be Maurer’s first spaceflight, and the ESA’s second astronaut to fly onboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft.

2. The Mission

Crew-3 is the third rotation of astronauts as part of the Commercial Crew Program. So far, each crew has flown to the ISS on a SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule, powered by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

During their six-month stay, the crew will be conducting hundreds of experiments, just like the rotations before them. Unfortunately, this will be the first rotation without a direct handover.

Typically, the outgoing crew will welcome the incoming astronauts aboard the ISS. After multiple delays for both crews, NASA decided to send Crew-2 back to Earth before Crew-3′s arrival.

Read more: Astronauts Return After Six-Month Mission in Space

3. The Trip Up

Crew-3′s launch is currently scheduled for 9:03 p.m. EST Wednesday from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew originally planned for an October 31 launch, but it was delayed because of unfavorable weather, then delayed once more for a minor medical issue.

Shortly after separation, the Falcon 9 rocket will safely land itself on SpaceX’s fully autonomous barge in the Atlantic Ocean.

Even though the crew is taking off Wednesday evening, they won’t reach the ISS until Thursday evening. Crew-3 is expected to dock at the ISS at 7:10 p.m. EST. At 8:45 p.m., the Crew Dragon will open its hatch onto the ISS and 35 minutes later, Crew-3 will hold their welcoming ceremony.

4. Where to Watch

NASA will be live streaming everything from Wednesday’s launch to the welcoming ceremony Thursday Yes, Julieon YouTube and at nasa.gov. SpaceX will also be streaming Crew-3′s launch, as well as Falcon 9′s return to Earth.

The post Four Things To Know About the Crew-3 Launch appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

NASA has announced another delay for the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station, this time due to a minor medical issue for one of the crew members.

In a statement Monday, NASA said it is not a medical emergency and is not COVID-19 related, adding it “takes every effort to protect the crew prior to its launch through a health stabilization plan.”

Liftoff for the Crew-3 launch was originally scheduled for Sunday, but a large storm system that generated high winds and waves in the Atlantic Ocean was deemed unsafe for the Crew Dragon flight path. It was then rescheduled to Wednesday.

Now, liftoff could happen as early as Saturday at 11:36 p.m.

The Crew-3 astronauts will remain in quarantine at Kennedy Space Center while prepping for their launch. The mission will mark SpaceX’s fourth crewed trip to the ISS and fifth crewed spaceflight since May 2020.

NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron will be flying alongside European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Matthias Maurer on board the SpaceX Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

Returning to Earth will be Crew-2 NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet early this month.

Crew-3′s six-month stay on the ISS will round out the seven-member crew for the science mission, working in the orbiting laboratory.

Elon Musk’s space company made history in September by completing the first orbital mission featuring an all-civilian crew. The mission also raised more than $210 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The Dragon capsule then set the record for the largest contiguous space window, installed in place of the usual autonomous docking mechanism.

SpaceX and NASA will work together on another launch later this month, as part of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) on November 24.

SpaceX’s live coverage of the launch will begin four hours before liftoff.

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