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Interplanetary Life 2026
Interplanetary Life 2026 - March of the Robots explored some of NASA's most important robotic exploration missions. These robots are delivering groundbreaking science and demonstrating technological innovation, but ultimately, they are lighting the way for human exploration, for interplanetary life... human life. Dr Jason Rhodes, Chief Scientist, JPL and Roman JPL Lead Scientist iLife 2026 experts and leaders covered some of NASA's most important robotic exploration missions,

Kyle Averill
Sep 302 min read


Lucky 13 Strikes Again
CRS-35 Resupply Mission Launches Today In spaceflight, the stars seem to have aligned for Crew-13. Today, October 13, a SpaceX resupply mission lifted off for the International Space Station, where the crew has been orbiting Earth, launching less than two weeks earlier. At 6:33 am EDT this morning, from SLC-40 on Cape Canaveral SFS in Florida, the SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off and put on a brilliant display in the pre-dawn sky. During stage separation, the sky erupted into the

Victoria Buckman
Oct 132 min read


Successful Crew-13 Launch
Crew-13 launches from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Credit Spacepoint/Victoria Jean Buckman. After a nearly three-week delay caused by the discovery of a leak in the Crew Dragon spacecraft’s propulsion system, followed by an unfavorable weather forecast on launch day, it seemed that luck might finally be on Crew-13’s side. Could it have something to do with SpaceX launching NASA’s first mission to carry the “13” designation in more

Victoria Buckman
Oct 12 min read


Roman: A New Era of Discovery Begins
Yesterday marks a promising step forward with the successful launch of the Nancy Grace Roman telescope on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:26 am EDT.

Victoria Buckman
Aug 317 min read


Swift Boost Fails But Mission Does Not End
NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies now work to re-orient the mission to attempt a rendezvous and perform proximity operations. What Happened The mission to boost Swift began on July 3 and was intended to prevent the 22 year-old observatory from entering a decaying orbit that would eventually cause it to burn up in our atmosphere later this fall. By mid July, NASA was already reporting attitude control issues with LINK, the servicing spacecraft developed by Katalyst Space.

Victoria Buckman
Aug 192 min read


Roman Space Telescope: Two Weeks from Impossible to Possible
Roman Space Telescope's Focal Plane. 18 saltine sized detectors. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn Countdown to Possible In just a few short weeks, on August 30th, NASA will launch its newest Flagship Mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket from Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39A. The Roman Space Telescope is an exponential step into the future, building upon the legacy of the Hubble Telescope and its namesake, Dr. Edwin Hubble. In 1924, Dr. Hubble proved Andromeda, the nearest major

Kyle Averill
Aug 173 min read


The Hidden Science of an Eclipse
The impact of sudden darkness is a thing to behold, but what effect can this dramatic change have on our atmosphere? Could the Moon’s cold, dark shadow passing across the daytime sky become a natural laboratory for scientific study? The Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP) offers spectacular high-altitude views while collecting valuable atmospheric data. These observations improve atmospheric models, helping scientists better understand weather systems

Victoria Buckman
Aug 125 min read


Crew-13 Prepares for Journey to the International Space Station
Launch Date Set: No Earlier Than September 12, 2026 The SpaceX Crew-13 members are pictured in their pressure suits seated inside a mockup Dragon spacecraft during a preflight training session at the company's headquarters in Hawthorne, California. From left are, Roscosmos Sergey Teteryatnikov, NASA astronauts Luke Delaney and Jessica Watkins, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk. Credit: SpaceX From Johnson Space Center in Houston earlier this week, Crew-1

Victoria Buckman
Aug 44 min read


The Observatory Poised to Transform Modern Astronomy
Technicians and engineers inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida rotate the agency’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to vertical Thursday, June 25, 2026, using precision handling hardware. Credit: NASA/Sydney Rohde (Rocz) What if we could map the universe with unprecedented precision and speed? What if an observatory could accomplish in a single month what would take the Hubble Space Telescope nearly a century to survey? Th

Victoria Buckman
Jul 303 min read


Lucky 13
Starship 13 launches on a Buck Moon. Credit: Fabian Ramirez Lucky, good fortune, yes, after years of preparation. Starship 13 represents a significant step forward from Starship Integrated Flight Test 1 (IFT-1). Those who witnessed IFT-1 remember holding their breath as she hesitated, three engines failing to ignite, then ever slowly climbing above a 400 foot cloud of dust and debris. When IFT-1 emerged, a noticeable sigh of relief followed immediately by awe rippled thr

Kyle Averill
Jul 261 min read


Robotics Future In Space
SpaceX Launches Northrop Grumman's Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV-1) SpaceX launched MRV-1 on Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on July 20, 2026. Photo Credit: Spacepoint/John Winkopp The Launch On July 20, 2026 SpaceX successfully launched the MRV-1 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Falcon 9 rocket with booster B1069 flying its final 32nd mission lifted off at 5:15 pm EDT from SLC-40 carrying Northrop Grumman's Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV-1)

Victoria Buckman
Jul 232 min read


Living With The Legends of Atlantis
STS-135: A Conversation With History In July, 2011, the space shuttle Atlantis marked the end of an era with its final flight, the STS-135 mission, the end of NASA's 30-year Space Shuttle Program. This July NASA commemorates that occasion by bringing together the last crew to pilot Atlantis here at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Pictured above, former crew of STS-135 right to left: Mike Leinbach- Launch Director, Christopher Ferguson- Commander, Doug Hurley- Pilot, Sandra

Victoria Buckman
Jul 122 min read


Swift Rescue Mission Is Underway
Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL rocket launched Katalyst Space’s LINK spacecraft, supporting a mission to boost NASA’S Swift Observatory. (Photo Credit: Northrop Grumman)

Victoria Buckman
Jul 41 min read


Saving Swift: How Robotics May Rescue NASA's First Responder
Saving The Swift Observatory During a media event at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on June 17th, 2026 the teams from across NASA, Katalyst Space and Northrop Grumman came together to discuss the challenges and accomplishments surrounding the critical and time sensitive mission to save the $500 million dollar Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from a decaying orbit. What makes this observatory unique? Swift was built to hunt some of the universe’s most powerful explosions: gamma-

Victoria Buckman
Jun 225 min read


Dragonfly: A New Frontier on Titan
The next step in a lifetime of work exploring the unknown. A Legacy to Build Upon On October 15th, 1997 a NASA Flagship mission launched aboard a Titan IV-B rocket from Cape Canaveral on a 7 year cruise to Saturn. That mission was Cassini-Huygens. When Cassini reached Saturn it was only the 4th spacecraft to travel as far as Saturn and the first to orbit the planet. The mission, was by all accounts a significant success in robotic planetary exploration. In fact, given the

Kyle Averill
Jun 94 min read


MAVEN's Enduring Legacy
Although MAVEN's mission has ended, its scientific contributions will continue to unlock the mysteries of Mars and shape future exploration for years to come.

Victoria Buckman
Jun 32 min read


Two Missions, One Future: Extending Swift's Reach While Preparing Roman for Discovery
A first-of-its-kind robotic servicing mission aimed at preserving NASA's Swift Observatory is advancing toward launch as the highly anticipated Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope makes its way to Kennedy Space Center to prepare for its own mission.

Victoria Buckman
May 302 min read


Ahead of Schedule and Under Budget: NASA's Roman Space Telescope Sets a New Standard
In the private sector, completing a major project ahead of schedule and under budget is cause for celebration. For most organizations, simply delivering on time and on budget is considered the baseline expectation. However, for a select few high-performing teams, exceeding those targets has become the new standard. NASA has just demonstrated exactly that level of excellence. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman recently announced that the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will l

Kyle Averill
May 303 min read


Psyche: Mission To A Rare Target
Psyche, a NASA Discovery Mission, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A on October 13th, 2023. Psyche's mission will investigate a rare and also the largest M-type asteroid within our solar system for the first time and execute multiple technology demonstrations as it travels to its destination. NASA's Discovery Mission Psyche launches aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy: Credit: John WInkopp Psyche 16 a metallic asteroid resides in the as

Kyle Averill
May 163 min read


NASA SpaceX CRS-34
At 6:50PM EDT, May 15th, 2026, NASA's Commercial Resupply Mission, SpaceX CRS-34 lifted off from LC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. SpaceX Commercial Resupply Mission (CRS-34) from the NASA Causeway. Credit: Spacepoint/John Winkopp This launch marks the 57th successful NASA CRS Mission to the International Space Station (ISS) and the 34th successful SpaceX CRS Mission. This mission was the sixth flight of the Falcon 9 Booster as well as the sixth flight for the Drag

Kyle Averill
May 151 min read
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