Space

Space agency is gearing up to send Europa Clipper, the largest spacecraft it has developed for a planetary mission, on a 1.8-billion-mile journey.

Although beset by delays, the project is moving steadily toward launch.

Spaceflight will be the ninth Commercial Crew astronaut rotation mission SpaceX has performed for NASA.

Agency leader Mike Whitaker fields questions about the delayed fifth flight of SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket.

Agency alleges a failure to stick to licensing rules.

The flight on Sunday morning marks the second test of the company’s Spaceship Neptune vehicle, which will float to about 100,000 feet in altitude.

Commander Jared Isaacman and mission specialist Sarah Gillis each spent a few minutes outside the Dragon capsule, performing tests on their spacesuits.

The gargantuan rocket’s fifth test flight will attempt a complex booster ‘catch’ maneuver but not for at least a few months.

Researchers believe the space agency is prioritizing short-term wins and commercial arrangements over the personnel and technology that power it.

The mission to return the spacecraft to Earth concludes a flight test to the International Space Station that was unexpectedly extended to three months.