Spaceflight Insider
Cullen Desforges
April 29th, 2021
Former U.S. Senator Bill Nelson appears before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation April 21, 2021, in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo and Caption Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
On Thursday, April 29, 2021, the U.S. Senate confirmed Bill Nelson by unanimous consent to be the next NASA administrator.
Nelson was formally nominated by President Joe Biden on March 19, 2021, to replace the previous administrator, Jim Bridenstine, who served under the Trump administration until Jan. 20, 2021.
“I am honored by the president’s nomination and the Senate vote,” Nelson said in a NASA news release. “I will try to merit that trust. Onward and upward!”
Spaceflight Insider
Cullen Desforges
April 22nd, 2021
An image of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its second flight on April 22, 2021. The photo was captured by the Perseverance rover, located about 70 meters away. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
After making history as the first powered aircraft on another planet, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flew for a second time, this time even farther and longer.
The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter that has taken the aerospace world by storm took to the Martian skies again Thursday, April 22, for a flight slightly higher and lengthier flight its first. NASA officials at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, confirmed the helicopter successfully took off to an altitude of 16 feet (5 meters) above the surface, tilted about 5 degrees to travel flew 7 feet (2 meters) downrange and finally traveled back to its original takeoff point before successfully touching down.
Spaceflight Insider
Cullen Desforges
April 21st, 2021
A rendering of an Atlas V rocket with Amazon’s logo on the payload fairing. Credit: Amazon
On Monday, April 19, Amazon announced that it purchased nine Atlas V rocket flights from United Launch Alliance for the orbital insertion of its Kuiper satellites.
Project Kuiper is Amazon’s answer to privatized satellite-provided internet, such as the SpaceX Starlink system. Its hope is to provide cheap and reliable high-speed, low-latency broadband internet to unserved and underserved communities around the globe.
“Project Kuiper will help bridge the digital divide across the United States and around the world, and we could not be more pleased to be working with Amazon to support the initiative,” said ULA CEO Tory Bruno. “ULA is focused on serving our customer’s missions and providing reliable, innovative launch solutions. We look forward to launching these important missions.”
Spaceflight Insider
Cullen Desforges
April 19th, 2021
Ingenuity snaps a photo of its shadow as the Mars Helicopter hovers over the surface of the red planet during the April 19, 2021, flight. Credit: NASA
At long last, history has finally been made as humankind has made the next great stride in powered flight; the first flight on another planet.
On April 19, 2021, the Ingenuity helicopter successfully took to the Martian skies in what is hopefully the first of up to five experimental flights expected to take place over the duration of the next few weeks.
“We can now say that human beings have flown a rotorcraft on another planet,” said MiMi Aung, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory before thanking the whole team for their years of dedication on the project. “We, together, flew at Mars and we, together, now have our Wright brothers moment.”
Spaceflight Insider
Cullen Desforges
April 14th, 2021
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter is seen with its rotor blades unlocked. It’s first flight has been delayed by at least a week because of a software issue that cropped up during a spin-up test of its rotors. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
History will have to wait just a little bit longer as the first flight of the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars has been delayed by at least a week while engineers update the craft’s software.
Since its deployment onto the Martian surface from underneath Perseverance on April 3, 2021, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California have been gradually testing Ingenuity’s systems. This started including unlocking the vehicles rotors and then gradually spinning them up beginning with 50 rotations per minute.