National Aeronautics and Space Administration News

Planet Moves Closer to Dangerous Levels of Warming with 2015 Temperatures: UN

The planet is halfway to dangerous levels of global warming, with the average temperature for 2015 set to eclipse last year’s record, the United Nations said. This year’s average temperature will be “approximately” 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above …

Hurricane Strikes Cape Verde in East Atlantic — First Time Since 1892

Something rare happened out in the Atlantic — a hurricane hit Cape Verde. The islands off the coast of Africa lend their name to some of the most powerful storms the Atlantic produces, yet they themselves rarely get hit. According …

New U.S. Satellite Aims to Unlock Mysteries of Hurricanes

Hurricanes hold lots of secrets. Unlocking them can help forecasters predict the next steps the deadly storms will take. That, in turn, will help improve computer forecast models and give meteorologists a better understanding of each system. As the forecasting …

Commercial Rocket Explosion Draws Attention to Space Industry Risk, Oversight

A NASA advisory panel said earlier this year that inadequate funding jeopardized the safety of commercial space cargo shipments, such as the unmanned Orbital Sciences Corp. mission that exploded this week over Virginia. In its annual report released in January, …

Space Station Supply Rocket That Exploded Insured for $50 Million

Authorities on Wednesday started investigating what made an unmanned U.S. supply rocket explode in a fireball moments after lifting off from a launch pad in Virginia, destroying supplies and equipment bound for the International Space Station. The 14-story Antares rocket, …

SpaceX Insured For ‘Maximum Probable Loss’

SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon spacecraft to orbit on Tuesday as part of a mission that would make it the first commercial company to attempt to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station. The …