At 2:43:55 PM EST today, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will begin orbiting asteroid Bennu. This will make Bennu, which is only about 1,600 feet across, the smallest object ever orbited by a spacecraft. Launched on September 8, 2016, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived in the vicinity of Bennu on December 3, 2018.
Read MoreAfter Mouse Food Delay, Falcon 9 Launches CRS-16 Towards ISS
CAPE CANAVERAL: After a one-day delay to allow for more mouse food to arrive from California, the Falcon 9 lifted a Dragon capsule bearing the CRS-16 mission towards the ISS at 1:16 PM EST on December 5, 2018 from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. This is NASA's sixth cargo mission to the ISS in 2018 and SpaceX's 20th launch in 2018.
Read MoreNASA's InSight Lander Successfully Touches Down on Mars
November 26, 2018 at 2:54 PM Eastern Standard Time JPL reported InSight was on the ground at Elysium Planitia.
For approximately one hour Monday, a number of members of the EDL Team (Entry, Descent, Landing) provided insights and commentary about the landing of InSight Mars Landing.
Rocket Recap: Cygnus NG-10 Reaches the ISS
One week ago (November 19, 2018) Northrop Grumman's Cygnus pressurized cargo freighter arrived at and berthed with the International Space Station. The rocket had launched two days prior, on November 17, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia. This was the ninth launch of Antares from Virginia, and the first overseen by the new Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, a division formed by NG's acquisition of Orbital ATK earlier this year.
Read MoreThe Security Aspect of the OSIRIS-REx Mission
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft acronym stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer. "Security" means that scientists are trying to assess if asteroid Bennu is a threat to crash into the Earth during a series of close passes in the 2180-2250 time frame.
Read MoreStunning, full color photo book covering every east coast launch spanning 2014-2015, including the first-ever powered landing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
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