Marcia Dunn - Chattanooga Times Free Press

SpaceX launches station supplies, nails 50th rocket landing

by Marcia Dunn ·March 7, 2020

SpaceX successfully launched another load of station supplies for NASA late Friday night and nailed its 50th rocket landing.

In a time exposure, a SpaceX Falcon is launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., as seen from Viera, Fla., Friday night, March 6, 2020. The Falcon rocket blasted off with 4,300 pounds (1,950 kilograms) of equipment and experiments for the International Space Station. Just minutes later, the spent first-stage booster made a dramatic midnight landing back at Cape Canaveral, its return accompanied by sonic booms. (Tim Shortt/Florida Today via AP)

SpaceX launches, destroys rocket in astronaut escape test

by Marcia Dunn ·January 19, 2020

SpaceX completed the last big test of its crew capsule before launching astronauts in the next few months, mimicking an emergency escape shortly after liftoff Sunday.

Elon Musk founder, CEO, and chief engineer/designer of SpaceX speaks during a news conference after a Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket test flight to demonstrate the capsule's emergency escape system at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Helmet trouble strikes 2nd all-female spacewalk

by Marcia Dunn ·January 15, 2020

Two NASA astronauts ventured out Wednesday on a second all-female spacewalk to finish upgrades to the International Space Station's power grid, but quickly ran into a helmet problem.

In this image taken from NASA video NASA astronaut Jessica Meir works to finish upgrading the International Space Station's power grid, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020. NASA is in the midst of replacing decades-old nickel-hydrogen batteries outside the sprawling space station with more powerful, longer-lasting lithium-ion batteries. The batteries are part of the station's solar power network, keeping everything running when the outpost is on the night side of Earth. It was the second pairing of Meir and Christina Koch outside the orbiting lab. (NASA via AP)

Boeing capsule returns to Earth after aborted space mission

by Marcia Dunn ·December 22, 2019

Boeing safely landed its crew capsule in the New Mexico desert Sunday after an aborted flight to the International Space Station that threatened to derail the company's effort to launch astronauts for NASA next year.