Space Stories: Cygnus XL Cargo Craft Arrives at ISS, China Further Along Than US with Moon Lander, and a Martian Hopper Mission

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The International Space Station’s (ISS) robotic arm reaching out to the Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft as it arrives on April 13, 2026. (NASA)

Here are some recent space-related stories.

—NASA: “Canadarm2 Reaches Out and Captures Cygnus XL Cargo Craft“

At 1:20 p.m. EDT, NASA astronaut Chris Williams, with assistance from NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway, captured Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft using the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm…NASA’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 24 mission launched at 7:41 a.m. on April 11 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying more than 11,000 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo to the orbiting laboratory.

—Scientific American: “How China Could Still Win the New Moon Race“

China is not yet ready to perform a crewed circumlunar mission like the U.S., which began development of the Orion spacecraft in the 2000s and redesigned it to go with the SLS rocket in the early 2010s. But China is progressing on all the necessary hardware to reach the moon, with a stated goal of a crewed landing before 2030. Notably, the nation has already tested a key component that the U.S. is still working to bring online: the landing hardware. Last year China demonstrated its Lanyue crewed lunar lander, performing a propulsive lunar landing and lunar launch tests in simulated moon gravity conditions. In the U.S. SpaceX and Blue Origin are both working on NASA-funded lander concepts needed to make a 2028 Artemis landing possible.

—Universe Today: “Meet Orpheus – A Hopper Mission Built To Hunt For Life In Martian Volcanoes“

We’ve spent decades scratching the surface of Mars trying to uncover life there. But we’ve been searching a barren wasteland bombarded by radiation and bathed in toxic perchlorates. The entire time, it’s likely that it’s been too hostile to harbor extant life. So if we want a better shot at finding currently living life on Mars, we need to go underground. That is exactly the purpose of Orpheus, a proposed Mars vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) hopper mission put forth by Connor Bunn and Pascal Lee of the SETI Institute at the 57th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC).

Space Quote: Is the Commercial Sector Ready for its Own Space Station?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The ISS’s “window to the world” is pictured from the Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module. (NASA)

“We expected a launch market that was going to take off. We expected tourism to take off. We expected the ability to do research and technology development on the International Space Station, bring it back to Earth and mass produce it…We’re not seeing any of those three things.”

–Statement by Joel Montalbano, NASA’s acting associate administrator for space operations, addressing the need for NASA to build onto the current International Space Station (ISS), which is part of the newly announced NASA space initiatives. Mr. Montalbano was speaking at a March 25th hearing before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. The vice ranking member of the full committee, Rep. George Whitesides (D-CA), questioned NASA’s new approach, stating:

Based on the old plan, several companies raised probably in excess of $2 billion in private capital and did so on the expectation that NASA would follow through…My concern is that if NASA is not a reliable partner for private investors, we’re not going to get that money and we’re not going to then save money by being able to cost-share with the private sector.

Russia Resupplying the International Space Station

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The Soyuz rocket carrying the Progress 94 mission just prior to launch. (Roscosmos)

The Russians successfully launched a cargo shipment of food, fuel, and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) earlier today. The Roscosmos Progress 94 spacecraft left the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz rocket.

Not everything was perfect, but there is no need to worry. An antenna issue may compromise the unmanned attaching to the ISS on Tuesday morning, but manual controls are available. The Russians are more than able to perform this tasks.

The Progress 94 spacecraft was originally slated for a December 2025 launch, but it had to be delayed due to earlier rocket damage at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. With repairs completed, things appear to be back to normal at the site.

You can watch the entire launch via the NASA site on YouTube.

Senator Cruz Has Big Ambitions for NASA

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): A artist’s rendering of Nanoracks, Voyager Space, and Lockheed Martin’s Starlab commercial space station. (Nanoracks/Lockheed Martin/Voyager Space)

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, earlier today highlighted some of the sections in the NASA Authorization Act of 2026 designed to counter Chinese ambitions on the Moon while also keeping the US in the forefront of space stations.

In a Committee press release, he stated:

Let me touch on a few highlights of the NASA Authorization Act.  The bill— 

  • Directs NASA to create a permanent “moon base” so we can get there before the Chinese; 
  • Keeps American astronauts in space, extending the ISS through 2032 and requiring the launch of two independent commercial space stations before the ISS can be retired; 
  • Protects against disclosure of NASA tech secrets to Chinese spies; and 
  • Restores fiscal discipline while modernizing NASA’s workforce through public-private partnerships. 

This all sounds good, but first we need to successfully get to the Moon before worrying about permanent versus temporary Moon bases. I would rather we focus just getting a manned spacecraft back on the Moon after more than 50 years. The more burdens we place on these initial missions, the less likely we will have the chance to land on the Moon.

Mr. Musk’s complex dance with multiple Starships was designed to handle a spacecraft with four astronauts and a complex lunar habitat. A simpler mission just to replant the flag may have made more sense if the latest Space Race is about being the first to get back on the lunar surface. And if a Moon base is really a national priority, we should be able to find the funds do to both – a quick, basic mission to put boots on the lunar surface and a more complex mission supporting a Moon base. However, last year’s proposed budget cuts indicated the White House doesn’t know what it wants.

In terms of a space station, the idea of getting more years out of the enormous investment in the International Space Station makes perfect sense. That said, requiring long-term investment from the commercial sector for space stations seems presumptuous. While NASA can support the design of future stations, it cannot ensure their construction and viability. Besides, it is not clear we have enough research, both government and commercial, to support one space station. Do we really need two? And should that be NASA’s decision?

I believe the private sector can decide on the need for space stations all by itself, and so far it has not shown enough interest in this area. The government is good at big things, while the private sector has very specific profit-driven interests when it comes to space missions, like anything else. So far, the commercial funding seems to be drifting towards orbiting data centers and even space tourism. Is this what Senator Cruz envisions?

We may need to simplify our milestones if we are trying to beat the Chinese and maintain our presence in space. Big ideas need to be supported with big budgets and/or clear private sector benefits. With the current administration starting costly wars around the world while also sending mixed signals to the private sector via excessive tariffs and various crony-capitalist actions, we will be lucky to keep the lights on at NASA.

Podcast: Jerod Isaacman Speaks with Ross Douthat

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Image (Credit): NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and New York Times columnist Ross Douthat speaking on the Interesting Times program. (New York Times)

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat sat down with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman recently to discuss the future of NASA and more. You can listen to the interview, titled ‘The New Space Race,” via the New York Times‘ Interesting Times podcast or watch it on YouTube.

I was a little skeptical about what I would learn from NASA’s new administrator, a billionaire space tourist until recently, but Jared Isaacman was well spoken during the interview. He seemed both candid with his answers as well as well comfortable with everything Ross tossed his way. His only stumble in my opinion was when he was trying to cover for the proposed draconian cuts to NASA by the White House in 2025. Fortunately, Congress saved the agency and his butt, though you would not know that from his answer.

I particularly liked his openness about his own space travels as well as the return mission to the Moon. In terms of himself, he compared his own gravity-free experience in space as the equivalent of being an upside down chipmunk. He also did not appear overwhelmed by his privileged view of the Earth from low Earth orbit. He said the high-definition images from the International Space Station (ISS) over the years has given everyone a great view of the Earth.

As far as establishing an early settlement on the Moon, he did not try to oversell it. He stated:

For the first maybe, I don’t know, 10 years, it’s going to look like a pretty cool futuristic junkyard with lots of landers and rovers around.

Mr. Isaacman also restated his critique of NASA’s handing of the Boeing Starliner mission to the ISS, did not exaggerate the profits to be made in space at the moment, expressed his opinions on intelligent life elsewhere as well as the public’s interest in UFOs, and stated he expected a manned mission to land on Mars within about 10 years.

Check it out for yourself if you want to learn a little more about the man running NASA. The interview runs for about an hour.