Bill Nelson: Latest News

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A spacecraft that plowed into a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away succeeded in shifting its orbit, NASA said Tuesday in announcing the results of its save-the-world test.The space agency attempted the first test of its kind two weeks ago to see if in the future a killer rock could be nudged out of Earth’s way."This mission shows that NASA is trying to be ready for whatever the universe throws at us," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during a briefing at NASA headquarters in Washington.The Dart spacecraft carved a crater into the asteroid Dimorphos on Sept. 26, hurling debris out into space and creating a cometlike trail of dust and rubble stretching several thousand miles (kilometers).

FILE - Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, Blue Origin and owner of The Washington Post via Getty Images, introduces their newly developed lunar lander "Blue Moon" and gives an update on Blue Origin and the progress and vision of going to space to benefit CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Jeff Bezos' rocket company has won a NASA contract to land astronauts on the moon, two years after it lost out to SpaceX.Blue Origin received a $3.4 billion contract Friday to lead a team to develop a lunar lander named Blue Moon. It will be used to transport astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2029, following a pair of crew landings by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.NASA will get astronauts to lunar orbit using its own rockets and capsules, but wants private companies to take over from there.NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the agency wants different landing options as it seeks a return to the moon more than a half-century after the end of the Apollo moonshots.Blue Origin is kicking in billions of dollars, on top of the NASA contract, to help establish a permanent presence on the moon."We have a lot to do before we successfully land and return astronauts," said John Couluris, a Blue Origin vice president.Two years ago, Blue Origin sued after NASA awarded SpaceX the contract for the first lunar landing.

ORLANDO, Fla. - NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) have announced the four astronauts who will blast off aboard an Orion spacecraft on an out-of-this-world mission that will take them on a 10-day journey around the moon in 2024.The big announcement was made Monday morning at NASA Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field in Houston."The Artemis II crew represents thousands of people working tirelessly to bring us to the stars. This is their crew, this is our crew, this is humanity's crew," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

The Artemis I rocket is seen from the Kennedy Space Center Press Site flagpole, near the countdown clock. (FOX photo) WASHINGTON - It's not just rocket fuel propelling America's first moonshot after a half-century lull. Strategic rivalry with China's ambitious space program is helping drive NASA’s effort to get back into space in a bigger way, as both nations push to put people back on the moon and establish the first lunar bases.American intelligence, military and political leaders make clear they see a host of strategic challenges to the U.S.

James Webb telescope is peering farther into the universe than ever before, and now, the celestial objects it’s finding along the way need names.The International Astronomical Union, the organization tasked with naming celestial objects, is launching a contest to name 20 exoplanetary systems — or planets orbiting other stars — that the long-awaited telescope has discovered. Organizers say the contest, NameExoWorlds 2022, "invites communities across the globe to connect their own cultures to these distant worlds."The James Webb — the world’s largest and most powerful telescope — launched in December 2021 and traveled a million miles to its final destination.NASA released its first images from Webb in July.

It’s a day that’s been highly anticipated in astronomy circles and beyond. On Monday, humans received the deepest view of the cosmos ever captured, thanks to the extraordinary capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

The crew of Space Shuttle Challenger. Left to right are Sharon Christa McAuliffe; Gregory Jarvis; Judith A. Resnik; Francis R.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The world’s biggest, most powerful space telescope arrived at its observation post 1 million miles from Earth on Monday, a month after it lifted off on a quest to behold the dawn of the universe.On command, the James Webb Space Telescope fired its rocket thrusters for nearly five minutes to go into orbit around the sun at its designated location, and NASA confirmed the operation went as planned.The mirrors on the $10 billion observatory still must be meticulously aligned, the infrared detectors sufficiently chilled and the scientific instruments calibrated before observations can begin in June.But flight controllers in Baltimore were euphoric after chalking up another success."We’re one step closer to uncovering the mysteries of the universe. And I can’t wait to see Webb’s first new views of the universe this summer!" NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.The telescope will enable astronomers to peer back further in time than ever before, all the way back to when the first stars and galaxies were forming 13.7 billion years ago.

MOSCOW (AP) - Russian officials on Tuesday rejected accusations that they endangered astronauts aboard the International Space Station by conducting a weapons test that created more than 1,500 pieces of space junk.U.S. officials on Monday accused Russia of destroying an old satellite with a missile in what they called a reckless and irresponsible strike.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – After leading Kennedy Space Center for more than a decade, Robert “Bob” Cabana is taking on a new role at NASA headquarters as associate administrator, the space agency announced this week.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA’s new administrator is big on tackling climate and diversifying the agency’s workforce, but hedging on whether the U.S. can put astronauts on the moon by 2024.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ first act as Chair of the National Space Council was swearing in Bill Nelson as the NASA Administrator Monday morning, reports News 6 partner Florida Today.

Former Sen. Bill Nelson was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate Thursday to lead NASA during a critical time as the U.S. Space Agency’s new administrator.

Former Sen. Bill Nelson will go before the U.S. Senate later this month during a confirmation hearing where he is expected to be confirmed as NASA’s next administrator.

Sen. Bill Nelson tries out the Hubble Space Telescope repair tools ahead of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission in 2009.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – President Joe Biden has chosen a former senator from Florida who flew on the space shuttle just days before the Challenger launch accident to lead NASA.

Florida’s former Sen. Bill Nelson is set to become NASA’s next administrator if confirmed by the Senate, according to multiple reports saying President Joe Biden plans to tap the Brevard County native to lead the space agency.

ORLANDO, Fla. – President Joe Biden is considering former U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat from Florida, to lead NASA during a critical time as the agency attempts to return astronauts to the moon in less than four years, according to a report from Breaking Defense magazine.