Author: Ken Kremer

Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news. Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics. Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events.

Curiosity Captures Gorgeous 360 Panorama of ‘Rock Hall’

Curiosity’s 360 panorama of ‘Rock Hall’: This panorama from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover was taken on Dec. 19 (Sol 2265). The rover’s last drill location on Vera Rubin Ridge is visible, as well as the clay region it will spend the next year exploring. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –27 March 2019 CAPE

VP Pence Calls for Human Return to the Moon by 2024

Vice President Mike Pence speaks about NASA’s mandate to return American astronauts to the Moon and on to Mars at the fifth meeting of the National Space Council March 26, 2019, at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.  Credits: NASA Ken Kremer — SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM – 26 March 2019 CAPE CANAVERAL, FL –  Vice President Mike Pence

NASA Administrator Bridenstine Reassures SLS and Orion Workforce on EM-1 Commercial Launch Alternative ahead of 5th Space Council Meeting

Aspirational concept of Gateway crewed lunar outpost shown by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine as he announces NASA’s 2020 budget request from the Trump Administration to NASA employees, contractors and the media at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 11, 2019.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –25 March 2019 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL –  An update on

Spacewalkers Complete Battery Swap to Upgrade Space Station Power, NASA Nixes 1st All Female Spacewalk

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Anne McClain work to swap batteries in the Port-4 truss structure during March 22, 2019 spacewalk. Credit: NASA Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –25 March 2019 CAPE CANAVERAL, FL –  A pair of NASA astronauts completed a swap out of batteries during a spacewalk, Friday, March 22, that will enable a power upgrade to the International

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Discovers Erupting Particle Plumes at Asteroid Bennu

This view of asteroid Bennu ejecting particles from its surface on January 19, 2019 was created by combining two images taken on board NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Other image processing techniques were also applied, such as cropping and adjusting the brightness and contrast of each image.  Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/Lockheed Martin Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM – 23 March 2019 CAPE CANAVERAL,

Thruster Firing Puts Beresheet Lunar Lander on Course for the Moon

Beresheet moon lander mission timeline and trajectory. Credit: Space IL Ken Kremer — SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM — 19 March 2019 CAPE CANAVERAL, FL –  Isreal’s first moon mission the privately funded ‘Beresheet’ lunar lander is on course for Destination Moon and capture into lunar orbit following a successful one minute long thruster firing of the main engine this morning, Tuesday, March

Ultima Thule Unveiled in Striking 3D

View with 3D Glasses: This image of Ultima Thule can be viewed with red-blue stereo glasses to reveal the Kuiper Belt object’s three-dimensional shape.  Credits: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/National Optical Astronomy Observatory Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –17 March 2019 CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – The most distant object ever visited is now unveiled in striking 3D thanks

Delta IV Daunts with Friday Night Lights Carrying 10th Air Force WGS Tactical Comsat on Spectacular 2nd to Last Liftoff: Photos

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV rocket carrying the WGS-10 mission for the U.S. Air Force lifts off from Space Launch Complex-37 at 8:26 p.m. ET on March 15, 2019 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL – as birds flutter in this remote camera photo from the launch pad.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com  Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –16 March

Penultimate ULA Delta IV Set to Dazzle at Sunset with Mighty Air Force SatCom Cape Launch March 15: Watch Live

File photo of ULA Delta IV rocket poised for sunset blastoff with the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS-9) mission for the U.S. Air Force from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fl, on Mar. 18, 2017.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com  Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –15 March 2019 CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL  – Nearing the end of its glorious 16 year life