Posted: Sun, Mar 1 12:09 PM ET (1709 GMT)
NASA announced Friday significant changes to its Artemis lunar exploration plans, adding a mission before a crewed landing and ending plans to upgrade the Space Launch System. NASA said that it is adding a mission in 2027 that will send a crewed SLS/Orion launch to low Earth orbit, where Orion will rendezvous or dock with lunar landers from Blue Origin and/or SpaceX. That mission, called Artemis 3, will take place before lunar landing attempts in early 2028, on Artemis 4, and perhaps late 2028 on Artemis 5. NASA also said it will end plans to upgrade SLS after Artemis 3 to a more powerful Block 1B version, settling instead on a "near Block 1" version.

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Posted: Sun, Mar 1 12:03 PM ET (1703 GMT)
Rocket Lab is pushing back the first launch of its Neutron rocket to late this year. The company said in an earnings call Thursday that the rupture of a propellant tank during testing last month will delay the first flight of the rocket to at least the fourth quarter of the year. Rocket Lab said a manufacturing defect in the composite tank caused it to rupture during a hydrostatic pressure test, noting that the company had expected the tank to pass the tests. The company is producing a replacement tank using a new automated system rather than the hand-laid process used for the first tank, and is also making minor design changes to the tank. Before the test failure Rocket Lab expected to have the first vehicle on the pad this quarter but had not set a launch date. Rocket Lab added in the call that it continues to see strong demand for its Electron small launch vehicle, including a contract with BlackSky for four launches

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Chinese astronaut to spend year in space
Posted: Sun, Mar 1 12:01 PM ET (1701 GMT)
A Chinese astronaut will spend a year in space on the Tiangong space station to allow a flight by a Pakistani astronaut. Chinese officials said...

NASA replaces two top human spaceflight officials
Posted: Sun, Mar 1 11:59 AM ET (1659 GMT)
NASA replaced two top officials involved in human spaceflight a week after a report critical of their handling of the Starliner test flight. NASA said...

Space Force pausing ULA Vulcan launches
Posted: Sun, Mar 1 11:49 AM ET (1649 GMT)
The Space Force is pausing use of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket after an anomaly on a launch earlier this month. The service said...