Space.com
• Mike Wall
Northrop Grumman’s robotic Cygnus XL is scheduled to leave the International Space Station on Oct. 9, ending a six-month stay. The departure will be streamed live, marking the end of the spacecraft’s current cargo mission.
Human Spaceflight & Space Stations
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Northrop Grumman’s robotic Cygnus XL is scheduled to leave the International Space Station on Oct. 9, ending a six-month stay. The departure will be streamed live, marking the end of the spacecraft’s current cargo mission.
Private astronaut Kellie Gerardi is preparing for her second spaceflight and has spoken about motherhood as part of that journey. The article frames motherhood as a personal dimension of her return to space, though the available summary provides no further details about the mission, its timing or its objectives.
Companies developing commercial space stations have differing views on how astronauts will reach their platforms once SpaceX retires Crew Dragon. The debate puts crew transportation among the key unresolved questions for operators planning the transition from government-led orbital facilities to commercial stations.
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The studies are intended to address key questions about living on the lunar surface, including whether underground caves could shelter astronauts from radiation, micrometeorites and temperature extremes. Related efforts spotlight the communications and navigation network, robotics and exploration capabilities needed to support sustained lunar activity.
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Hamilton’s software work was critical to the first lunar landing and helped establish software engineering as a discipline. NASA and MIT announced her death at 90, honoring a computer science pioneer whose work supported Apollo and the first human journeys to the moon.
On Oct. 7, 2002, NASA’s space shuttle Atlantis lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on STS-112. The mission contributed to building the backbone of the International Space Station, advancing the orbital outpost’s assembly through the shuttle program.
Axiom Space expects NASA to soon determine the configuration for a simplified spacesuit the company is developing for the initial Artemis missions. The decision will shape the suit’s design as Axiom works to adapt its approach for early lunar missions.
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NBAA says NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will join former Space Shuttle Commander Charlie Precourt for a fireside chat at its Oct. 19 Newsmakers Luncheon. Separately, SpaceX Crew-12 astronauts are expected to splash down off California after undocking from the International Space Station.
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