Soon, another notable addition will be unveiled around a 45-minute drive or 15-minute helicopter ride from The Strip—the Las Vegas Executive Airport and Spaceport. 

Rob Lauer, a private pilot and real estate developer, outlined plans for the project, which will have an emphasis toward both GA and commercial space operations. 

• READ MORE: FAA Greenlights New Las Vegas Area Airport

“It’s a great addition to the systems in place, which we’ve seen during recent events how busy the airports here were,” Lauer said. “There is a video from the Super Bowl of 60 large aircraft who couldn’t fly in [to existing airports]. Vegas is like nowhere else on earth when it comes to events. We are the leader in the world in entertainment, gaming, tourism, and conventions. People come here for the experience, and we are going to offer an experience with fly-in convention opportunities with our own casino-hotel on site in three to four years, maybe less.” 

The concept of Las Vegas Executive Airport and Spaceport was first envisioned several years ago. Soon after coming up with the idea, Lauer purchased a 240-acre piece of land. 

The airport recently received approvals from the FAA for its submitted 7480-1 form for notice of construction, and the county, key steps toward becoming an operational facility. 

“We own the name Las Vegas Executive Airport, which is the official name, and the plan is really simple,” Lauer said. “To start, we are building a 5,000-foot-long runway and are talking with companies about coming in to operate an FBO, a jet fuel farm, and an MRO facility. In addition to that, we plan to have 40 large 20,000-square-foot hangars with 2,000-square-foot offices for lease.”

While the airport is farther from Las Vegas than several other airports in the area, its remoteness has benefits that the other options do not. 

• READ MORE: Utah Bluff of Juniper and Sagebrush Turned Into Backcountry Destination

“One of the things that came out of our airspace analysis, which was performed by Air Force Brigadier General Robert Novotny (the former commander of the 57th Air Wing at Nellis Air Force Base) is that we are right outside the Class Bravo airspace in open VFR airspace.” Lauer said. “This will make it far more affordable and efficient for aircraft to fly in and out. What our argument was, is that another airport outside the Class Bravo airspace adds to the capacity of the Clark County Airport system.”

The big focus at present is to create the runway and get Las Vegas Executive Airport ready to accept its first visiting aircraft. The runway is currently set to be 4,000 feet long but being at an elevation of 3,700 feet msl, Lauer advised that they are working to add thresholds and extend the landing distance available to 5,000 feet. 

“We are looking at the end of the year to start construction,” he said. “The good news is that it’s a 1 percent grade, so it’s only going to take us a month to grade. It will take a month to pave the runway and taxiways, so we could realistically have our runway up and running by the end of the year. Then maybe a few months after that, pending county approval, we can start building the FBO, hangars, and other infrastructure.”

One of the key aspects planned for the airport is the fly-in hotel, casino, and convention center. One of the planned recurring events on site will be the Las Vegas Air Races. The 2024 event is planned at another airport in the area that is to be announced, but future events are expected to be on site and will take place immediately following the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition. 

Lauer’s vision extends beyond the property being a place for GA traffic, including both drone and spacecraft operations. The spaceport will be the first of its kind. 

• READ MORE: Las Vegas Spaceport to Host Air Racing Event in October 2024 

“There are technically 16 other certified spaceports in the country,” he said. “All of the others are owned by governments (county, state, or federal). Ours is the first private airport and spaceport in the United States. Space companies are a huge part of our project to build a space economy here in Las Vegas. That’s our focus and we hope to bring space planes from all different manufacturers in and operate them from our facility. So, you’ll be able to fly in and do space training activities.”

In July, spaceport leaders officially partnered with the Nevada UAS Test Site Operator UNR Research and Innovation Nevada Center for Applied Research to establish a cutting-edge drone test site on the spaceport’s grounds. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) demonstrates the commitment of the site’s leadership towards investing in the future of aviation.

• READ MORE: New Turf for Blue Cedar Landing

“Nevada must seize the opportunity to cultivate a thriving economy rooted in cutting-edge technology,” Lauer said. “The Las Vegas Spaceport is attracting forward-thinking businesses aligned with our mission to foster a new industry in southern Nevada. We eagerly anticipate collaborating with the Nevada Center for Applied Research to establish a premier drone test site that will serve as a beacon of innovation.”

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The mission, Cygnus NG-21, is the space agency’s 21st commercial ISS resupply mission using the uncrewed Cygnus capsule built by contractor Northrop Grumman, which took over the spacecraft’s development after acquiring manufacturer Orbital ATK in 2018.

Cygnus spacecraft have completed nine missions under the company’s Commercial Resupply Services Phase 2 (CRS-2) contract with NASA and are scheduled for missions through 2026 after the agreement was extended in 2022. The total value of the CRS-2 contracts, which were also awarded to SpaceX and Sierra Space, is capped at $14 billion.

Cygnus’ 21st flight is targeted to launch at 11:28 a.m. EDT on Saturday from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft is called the S.S. Richard “Dick” Scobee in honor of the astronaut who died while commanding the Space Shuttle Challenger.

Cygnus will arrive at the orbital laboratory on Monday, where NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick will use the ISS’ robotic arm to capture it with NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps serving as backup.

Carrying more than 8,200 pounds of supplies, the uncrewed spacecraft will launch atop SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rocket for the second time after Northrop Grumman’s supply of Antares rockets, which rely on parts from Russia and Ukraine, was exhausted.

After docking to the ISS for six months, the expendable capsule in January will depart the space station and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.

NASA will host a prelaunch media session on Friday followed by launch coverage on Saturday and arrival coverage on Monday, all of which will be on the agency’s website, app, and YouTube channel.

The Cygnus capsule will carry research materials that will directly support experiments under NASA’s ISS Expeditions 71 and 72.

One test, for example, will use a penny, hex nut, and balloons to demonstrate centripetal force in microgravity. Researchers will also use special machines to produce human tissue and stem cells, test the effects of spaceflight on DNA, and study the movement of gas and liquid through a filter in zero gravity.

In total, the spacecraft will carry nearly 2,800 pounds worth of materials for scientific investigations, as well as 95 pounds worth of spacewalk equipment and two CubeSat satellites to be deployed from the ISS.

Cygnus spacecraft so far have delivered more than 138,000 pounds of equipment, science experiments, and supplies to the space station, according to Northrop Grumman.

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NASA in June awarded SpaceX a contract, worth up to $843 million, to design and build the U.S. deorbit vehicle (DV) that will drag the massive laboratory to its final resting place in a remote section of the ocean. No existing spacecraft has the capabilities required to complete the mission.

Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, Dana Weigel, manager of the space agency’s ISS program, and Sarah Walker, director of mission management for SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, provided more details on the tall task at hand for SpaceX and predicted what the space station’s final days might look like.

According to Weigel, the U.S. DV contract is different from previous SpaceX contract awards. These have typically been end-to-end, where SpaceX oversees everything from launch through operation. This time, the manufacturer will simply deliver the vehicle for NASA’s use. The contract also has a dwell in storage requirement, which calls for SpaceX to deliver the DV early enough for NASA to perform checkouts prior to launch.

NASA will also need to secure a launch provider for the spacecraft. Walker on Wednesday appeared to throw SpaceX’s hat in that ring as well, saying the company would welcome the opportunity if it arose. NASA uses the firm’s Falcon 9 rocket routinely and has plans to deploy its Falcon Heavy model in the future.

Before Wednesday, little was known about the design of the deorbit vehicle. Officials revealed that it will be a heavily modified version of the company’s Cargo Dragon model, which flies routine ISS resupply missions, but with a specially designed trunk containing propellant, avionics, and more. Walker referred to it as “basically another spacecraft” that will be twice as large as a typical Dragon trunk. The capsule will be pulled from the existing Dragon fleet, and the trunk will be attached.

Walker said the DV will require six times as much useful propellant and three to four times as much power generation and storage. It will also need enough propellant to fly to orbit and operate for several months before completing its mission. By Weigel’s estimate, the vehicle will have a wet mass north of 30,000 kilograms.

NASA was lured by SpaceX’s proposal in part because Dragon is flight-proven hardware—in other words, the agency is familiar with the spacecraft and its systems. Like Dragon, the DV will feature SpaceX Draco engines—46 of them, with 16 on the capsule and 30 in the trunk. About 25 of these will fire at once during the final ISS reentry burn.

In another similarity to Dragon, the vehicle will include both manual and automated functions. Weigel said NASA expects to lose communications during the final four days or so of the mission, during which time the DV will need to manage all onboard tasks.

All of these requirements have driven up the spacecraft’s price, with Bowersox estimating it to be around $750 million. He said that NASA must secure a total of $1.5 billion to cover the DV, launch vehicle, and mission operation, and has asked for $180 million in a supplemental budget request to Congress. If it cannot secure the necessary funding, the money will need to come from NASA’s budget, which Bowersox said could affect ISS operations.

Officials said that projects as complex as the deorbit vehicle concept typically spend five to eight years in development. Per Weigel, the plan is to deorbit the ISS in 2030 for a splashdown in 2031, which would require the DV to launch about one and a half years earlier.

Most of the orbital lab is expected to melt, burn up, or vaporize during its controlled reentry. Weigel said teams have yet to determine where the wreckage will land but that it will be in a remote section of the ocean—potentially the South Pacific—within a narrow area 2,000 kilometers long. She characterized the operation as common for a vehicle as large as the ISS.

The DV will launch and dock to the ISS before the space station uses onboard propulsion to lower its orbit, allowing it to drift closer to Earth. Roscosmos Progress spacecraft may also assist in the maneuver.

Crews will vacate the lab about six months before its retirement. As the ISS approaches an altitude of 250 kilometers, the DV will place it on the proper trajectory and initiate one final burn to bring it home. It will use a massive amount of thrust—enough to drag the massive satellite while resisting drag from atmospheric forces.

Though the DV is being specially designed to deorbit the ISS, Walker did not rule out the possibility that it could find new life with NASA through future applications.

“Anything’s possible,” she said.

As for the ISS, Bowersox said crews will salvage as much as they can, including scientific instruments and mementos such as ship’s logs, despite there being no dedicated recovery mission. The station’s remnants will be divided among the U.S., Canada, Japan, Russia, and the European Union, whose space agencies have continuously occupied it for nearly a quarter of a century. The five agencies share responsibility for safely deorbiting the ISS.

According to Bowersox, all five partners agreed on the U.S. DV concept as the right spacecraft for the mission. However, the mission has not yet received formal approval and could be modified based on feedback.

The hope, Bowersox and Weigel said, is that the ISS deorbit timeline aligns with the launch of a new generation of commercial space stations. NASA has awarded contracts to four firms—Blue Origin, Axiom Space, Northrop Grumman, and Starlab Space, a joint venture between Voyager Space and Airbus—to develop ISS replacements that will be open to federal agencies and private companies alike. The officials said they envision NASA eventually becoming one of many customers in a commercial space ecosystem.

Bowersox predicted that a further extension of the space station’s lifespan is unlikely. In the event that it is retired before commercial alternatives come online, he said NASA will take “whatever steps we could to minimize the impact of that gap.”

In the meantime, the space agency is focused on getting as much as they can out of the space station’s remaining lifecycle, including research that will inform Artemis missions to the moon and beyond. If the deorbit mission goes smoothly, NASA activities shouldn’t miss a beat.

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During a media briefing on Friday, NASA and Boeing representatives said the astronauts’ return to Earth will come after ground testing at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete. Teams are working to re-create some of the issues experienced by the reusable spacecraft during its inaugural crewed flight to the orbital laboratory.

According to Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, Starliner was originally deemed safe for a stay as long as 45 days on the ISS. Crews are in the process of extending its battery life, which Stich said will keep the risk level manageable for another 45 days, at least.

However, he conceded that NASA and Boeing “understand it’s going to take a little bit longer” to certify Starliner than previously planned. The spacecraft is scheduled to fly its first service mission, Starliner-1, early next year. Officials said SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which has completed all eight commercial crew rotation missions to the ISS to date, could take that slot.

“We’re not in any rush to come home,” Stich said Friday. “The risk for the next 45 days is essentially the same as for the first 45 days.”

Added Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate: “We have the luxury of time.”

Stich, Bowersox, and Mark Nappi, the manager of Boeing’s commercial crew program,  reiterated that “engineering data suggests” Starliner is safe to return Wilmore and Williams to Earth in the event of an emergency.

Officials also reported that the spacecraft is in “good shape” despite two lingering issues—a set of helium leaks and faulty thrusters.

A total of five helium leaks have sprung up on Starliner’s service module, which makes tiny maneuvers to the spacecraft to assist in docking and keep it in orbit. After testing the helium manifolds earlier this month, NASA found that leak rates had declined. Stich on Friday said those rates have not changed.

The other issue involves the service module’s thrusters, some of which did not fire at full strength en route to the ISS. These were also assessed earlier this month, and Stich said performance on all thrusters is between 80 and 100 percent.

It appears the thrusters are the main factor necessitating a longer mission for Starliner. As soon as Tuesday, engineers will begin testing an identical component at White Sands to re-create the firing pattern of one of the in-orbit thrusters. Officials said the campaign is expected to last several weeks and could be extended.

According to Nappi, teams want to keep Starliner in space for the evaluations because they could inform additional in-orbit tests or a modification of the spacecraft’s undocking procedure. He said crews do not yet understand the issue well enough to fix them permanently and that it would be “irresponsible” not to use additional time to conduct testing. Starliner’s crew module is reusable for up to 10 missions, but the service module will be jettisoned during the CFT.

Nappi said he has been in contact with Wilmore and Williams and that they remain in good spirits, describing Starliner as “pristine and precise.” The astronauts are able to communicate with their families daily and according to officials are not “stranded.”

On Wednesday, Starliner got another real-life test when an in-orbit satellite breakup created a debris field that hurtled toward the ISS. Wilmore and Williams tested the spacecraft’s ability to act as a “safe haven” in the case of a contingency on the space station, getting inside, powering it up, and sealing the hatch. They remained inside for an hour and according to officials were prepared to initiate an undocking if necessary.

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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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Following a launch delay earlier in the week due to a technical issue, the robotic Nova-C class lunar lander lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:05 a.m. EST.

Shortly before 2 a.m., the lander deployed from the Falcon 9 rocket second stage, NASA said.

“Teams confirmed it made communications contact with the company’s mission operations center in Houston,” the agency said. “The spacecraft is stable and receiving solar power.” 

• READ MORE: SpaceX Pushes Launch of Odysseus Moon Lander to Thursday

The IM-1 mission is headed to the South Pole region of the moon as part of NASA’s commercial lunar payload services (CLPS) initiative and Artemis campaign. On board the Nova-C lunar lander, called Odysseus, are six NASA payloads that will conduct research to better understand the lunar environment. 

NASA experiments and data collection will begin before the lander touches down on the moon’s surface, according to the space agency. While en route, instruments will measure the quantity of cryogenic engine fuel as it is used, and precision landing technologies will be tested during its descent, according to the agency. When the lander reaches the moon’s surface, it will then focus on space weather, lunar surface interactions, and radio astronomy. 

“The Nova-C lander also will carry retroreflectors contributing to a network of location markers on the moon for communication and navigation for future autonomous navigation technologies,” NASA said.

Following the launch Thursday, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called the mission a “giant leap for humanity” amid preparations for Artemis, a series of missions that will attempt to return U.S. astronauts to the moon as soon as 2025. 

• READ MORE: First U.S. Moonshot in Decades Will Fall Short—What It Means

“These daring moon deliveries will not only conduct new science [on] the moon, but they are supporting a growing commercial space economy while showing the strength of American technology and innovation,” Nelson said. “We have so much to learn through CLPS flights that will help us shape the future of human exploration for the Artemis generation.” 

The IM-1 mission is the first attempted lunar landing as part of the CLPS initiative and comes little more than a month after the failed attempt of Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One to become the first American CLPS spacecraft to reach the moon’s surface.

“We are keenly aware of the immense challenges that lie ahead,” Steve Altemus, Intuitive Machines CEO, said in a statement. “However, it is precisely in facing these challenges head-on that we recognize the magnitude of the opportunity before us—to softly return the United States to the surface of the moon for the first time in 52 years.”

The Nova-C lander is expected to land on the moon February 22. 

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The IM-1 mission, which is poised to be the first U.S. lunar landing in more than 50 years, is headed to the South Pole region of the moon as part of NASA’s commercial lunar payload services (CLPS) initiative and Artemis campaign. 

Less than two hours before its scheduled launch, however, a private rocket company announced it would be pushed back. “Standing down from tonight’s attempt due to off-nominal methane temperatures prior to stepping into methane load,” SpaceX said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The new launch window of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket liftoff is now rescheduled for 1:05 a.m. EST Thursday at Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the company said. According to SpaceX, teams will begin loading the lunar lander with cryogenic methane and oxygen on the launch pad ahead of stepping into propellant load for Falcon 9 approximately two and a half hours before liftoff.

The mission is set to prepare NASA for Artemis, a series of launches that will attempt to return U.S. astronauts to the moon as soon as 2025. On board Intuitive Machine’s Nova-C robotic lander, called “Odysseus,” are six NASA payloads that will conduct research to better understand the lunar environment. 

“The payloads will collect data on how the plume of engine gases interacts with the moon’s surface and kicks up lunar dust, investigate radio astronomy and space weather interactions with the lunar surface, test precision landing technologies, and measure the quantity of liquid propellant in Nova-C propellant tanks in the zero gravity of space,” NASA said. “The Nova-C lander will also carry a retroreflector array that will contribute to a network of location markers on the moon that will be used as a position marker for decades to come.”

• READ MORE: First U.S. Moonshot in Decades Will Fall Short—What It Means

The launch of IM-1 comes little more than a month after the failed attempt of Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One to become the first U.S. CLPS spacecraft to reach the moon’s surface. Hours after its launch on January 8, a propulsion anomaly derailed the mission. Ten days after launch, the Peregrine spacecraft burned up during a controlled reentry over the South Pacific. On board Peregrine were more than 20 payloads, including NASA instruments meant to study the lunar surface. 

• READ MORE: ‘Propulsion Anomaly’ Reported After Launch of First U.S. Commercial Lunar Lander

NASA will air live coverage of the IM-1 mission launch Thursday, beginning its broadcast at 12:20 a.m. EST. It may be viewed on a variety of platforms, including NASA+, NASA TV, and the agency’s website. SpaceX will also provide a live webcast of the mission beginning about 45 minutes before liftoff on X @SpaceX.

The Nova-C lander is expected to land on the moon February 22. 

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The Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) crew initially launched aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 18. On Wednesday, the spacecraft undocked from the ISS and then splashed down off the coast of Daytona Beach, Florida, around 8:30 a.m. EST Friday.

The mission marked the space company’s third crewed mission to the ISS and the first commercial spaceflight of government and European Space Agency-sponsored national astronauts.

The Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) crewmembers— commander Michael López-Alegría of the U.S. and Spain, pilot Walter Villadei of Italy, mission specialists Alper Gezeravci of Turkey and European Space Agency  project astronaut Marcus Wandt of Sweden—float in microgravity during their mission to the International Space Station with Axiom Space. [Courtesy: Axiom Space]

• READ MORE: First All-European Commercial Astronaut Crew Begins Research at Space Station

While aboard the space outpost, the Ax-3 crew conducted more than 30 experiments, including microgravity research, along with more than 50 educational outreach engagements. The mission also marked a milestone toward Axiom Station—a commercial space station currently under construction that will operate in low-Earth orbit. The target launch for the private space station is 2026, according to the company.

“The successful return of our Ax-3 astronauts signifies more than just the completion of a human spaceflight mission,” Axiom Space CEO Michael Suffredini said. “It marks a pivotal moment in commercial space exploration and a significant milestone for Europe’s pursuits in low-Earth orbit.” 

• READ MORE: SpaceX’s Starship Selected to Launch Starlab Space Station

Axiom Space said it plans to launch its fourth mission to the ISS, dubbed Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), no earlier than October from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

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The January 26 “Galactic 06” mission was the company’s 11th spaceflight and its first with four private astronauts occupying seats aboard its spaceplane VSS Unity.

According to Virgin Galactic, it was while conducting a routine post-flight review that it found an alignment pin had detached from the launch pylon of the mothership, VMS Eve.

• READ MORE: Blue Origin’s New Shepard Makes Unmanned Cargo Flight

“The company notified the [FAA] on January 31 in accordance with regulations and is conducting a review in conjunction with the FAA,” Virgin Galactic said in a statement. “‘Galactic 06’ was a safe and successful flight that was conducted in accordance with Virgin Galactic’s rigorous flight procedures and protocols. At no time did the detached alignment pin pose a safety impact to the vehicles or the crew on board.” 

The alignment pin ensures the mothership and the spaceship are aligned when they are mated on the ground before launch, Virgin Galactic said.

“During mated flight, as the vehicles climb towards release altitude, the alignment pin helps transfer drag and other forces from the spaceship to the shear pin fitting assembly and into the pylon and center wing of the mothership,” the company said. “The shear pin fitting assembly remained both attached and intact on the mothership with no damage. While both parts play a role during mated flight, they do not support the spaceship’s weight, nor do they have an active function once the spaceship is released. The alignment pin and shear pin fitting assembly performed as designed during the mated portion of the flight, and only the alignment pin detached after the spaceship was released from the mothership.”

• READ MORE: Virgin Galactic Launches First Space Tourism Flight with Olympian, Mother-Daughter Duo

FAA confirmed in a statement that it had opened a mishap investigation and no public injuries or damage had been reported.

“Eight people were on the suborbital mission: two pilots on the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft and two pilots and four spaceflight participants on the SpaceShipTwo spacecraft,” FAA said.

The mishap investigation aims to determine the root cause of the event, as well as to identify what actions are needed to prevent it from happening again, the agency said.

“The FAA will be involved in every step of the mishap investigation process and must approve Virgin Galactic’s final report, including the corrective actions,” the agency said. “A return to flight is based on the FAA determining that any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety.”

Virgin Galactic said it “will provide a further update at the completion of the review,” prior to confirming the flight window of its upcoming “Galactic 07” mission planned for the second quarter of this year.

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United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan rocket launched Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander on January 8 from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Hours into the mission, however, a “propulsion anomaly” was reported that cut the flight short of its original target to make a lunar landing attempt on February 23.

“After analysis and recommendations from NASA and the space community, Astrobotic determined the best option for minimizing risk and ensuring responsible disposal of the spacecraft would be to maintain Peregrine’s trajectory toward Earth, where it burned up upon reentry,” NASA said Friday.

The spacecraft made a controlled reentry over the South Pacific 10 days and 13 hours after it launched.

• READ MORE: ‘Propulsion Anomaly’ Reported After Launch of First U.S. Commercial Lunar Lander

“Peregrine Mission One has concluded,” Astrobotic said Friday  in a message on X, formerly Twitter. “We look to the future and our next mission to the moon, Griffin Mission One. All of the hard-earned experience from the past 10 days in space along with the preceding years of designing, building and testing Peregrine will directly inform Griffin and our future missions.”

Despite the failure to land on the moon as planned, NASA said four out of five of its payloads on Peregrine were able to power on in flight and collect data. Those experiments included its Linear Energy Transfer Spectrometer (LETS), Near-Infrared Volatile Spectrometer System (NIRVSS), Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS), and Peregrine Ion-Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS). Its fifth experiment, a laser retroreflector array, is a passive instrument and would have only been able to operate on the lunar surface.

• READ MORE: First U.S. Moonshot in Decades Will Fall Short—What It Means 

The Peregrine mission was an opportunity to set benchmarks and test instruments in space, said Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“The data collected in flight sets the stage for understanding how some of our instruments may behave in the harsh environment of space when some of the duplicates fly on future CLPS flights,” Fox said.

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