International Space Station

When NASA planned to send four astronauts to the moon for the first time since 1972, the rocket was built here in Alabama. Artemis-2 took the first people to Earth's nearest neighbor since 1972. It trip was a highlight for the U.S. Space Agency. Alabama played a role in one of its low points, the loss of space shuttle Challenger in 1986. The Artemis crew photographed a spot on the moon called the "Ocean of Storms." An astronaut from Mobile, Alabama was supposed to land there during Apollo 12 in 1969. It didn't happen.

The astronauts of Artemis-2 are getting used to normal gravity after spending nine days in weightlessness. The yet-to-be name crew of Artemis-3 may spend part of their time in orbit facing the same risks as Apollo astronauts Jim McDivitt and Rusty Schweikart in 1969. Those astronauts tested the bug-like lunar lander that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would use during the first ever landing on the Moon.

When four NASA astronauts blasted off on Artemis-2, something was trending on the social media platform Bluesky. It was called "Challenger trauma." People posted about witnessing the 1986 space shuttle Challenger accident and how they felt a visceral sense of unease as Artemis lifted off from the launch pad. The four astronauts blasted off on a rocket built here in Alabama. The investigation into the loss of Challenger focused, in part, on a statement witnesses say was made by a manager at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

NASA’s Artemis-2 astronauts fired their engines and blazed toward the moon Thursday night, breaking free of the chains that have trapped humanity in shallow laps around Earth in the decades since Apollo. The Marshall Space Flight Center is gearing up for the next launch of NASA's new "Space Launch System" rocket on Artemis-3.

The Four astronauts aboard Artemis-2 are settling into the mission to the moon after a ride to Earth orbit aboard NASA’s new “Space Launch System” rocket that was designed, built, tested, and managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. Wednesday’s blastoff was based on “leftovers” from the retired space shuttle. Specifically, the cluster of liquid fueled engines at the base of the rocket. That includes NASA's last Hubble servicing mission.

This week marks forty years since seven astronauts were killed in the space shuttle Challenger accident in 1986. Families of the astronauts lost aboard Challenger gathered back at the launch site last week to mark that tragic day 40 years ago. All seven on board were killed when Challenger broke apart following liftoff on January 28, 1986. The Rogers Commission investigation into Challenger disaster assigned part of the blame on a manager at the Marshall Space Flight Center.

The United Launch Alliance company is gearing up for the next use of one of its remaining Alabama built Atlas-V rockets to launch the next mission of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station. That flight could come as soon as April of 2026. The contractor, and its Atlas boosters which are built at the ULA factory in Decatur, are currently under contract to launch for Starliners.

Billionaire Elon Musk said, in response to Trump threatening to cancel his company’s government contracts, he will immediately begin decommissioning the SpaceX Dragon. The rocket that brought two stranded NASA astronauts back to earth is also the only U.S. rocket that can carry crews to and from the International Space Station. Huntsville’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages science on the outpost.

Boeing's beleaguered space capsule left the International Space Station at about 5 pm central time, without its astronaut crew. NASA's two test pilots stayed behind at the space station as the Starliner capsule undocked Friday and aimed for a touchdown in New Mexico. Its exit follows months of turmoil over its safety. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams travelled to orbit aboard an Alabama built Atlas-V rocket. APR News Director Pat Duggins joined CBS News anchor Lana Zak for national coverage of the first phase of Starliner’s return to Earth—the undocking of the capsule from the International Space Station.

The astronauts who flew aboard an Alabama built Atlas-V rocket, will now spend extra time at the International Space Station. Both are Navy test pilots who have ridden out long missions before.