Marcia Dunn

AP Aerospace Writer

Industrial Media Unboxing Video

Industrial Media Unboxing Video

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On Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021, NASA announced that the spacecraft has plunged through the unexplored solar atmosphere known as the corona in April, and will keep drawing ever closer to the sun and diving deeper into the corona.

NASA Craft 'Touches' the Sun

Exploring the region can help scientists understand solar outbursts that can interfere with life on Earth.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday, Dec. 10, 2021, they are no longer present commercial astronaut wings starting next year, too many people are launching into space.

FAA: No More Commercial Astronaut Wings, Too Many Launching

The agency said it's getting out of the astronaut designation business entirely.

This image from video provided by NASA shows the SpaceX Dragon docking with the International Space Station, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. A SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts pulled up Thursday at the International Space Station, their new home until spring. It took 21 hours for the flight from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to the glittering outpost.

SpaceX Delivers New Crew

The Dragon's entire flight was automated.

This photo provided by NASA, Astronauts, from left, Mark Vande Hei, Shane Kimbrough, Akihiko Hoshide and Megan McArthur, pose with chile peppers grown aboard the International Space Station on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021.

No Toilet for Returning SpaceX Crew

They're stuck using diapers.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the LUCY spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Lucy, will observe Trojan asteroids, a unique family of asteroids that orbit the sun in front of and behind Jupiter.

NASA's Asteroid-Hunter Lucy Soars into Sky with Diamonds

Lucy’s $981 million mission is the first to aim for Jupiter’s so-called Trojan entourage.

In this May 6, 2018 file photo, actor William Shatner takes questions from reporters after delivering the commencement address at New England Institute of Technology graduation ceremonies, in Providence, R.I. Star Trek’s Captain Kirk is rocketing into space this month — boldly going where no other sci-fi actors have gone.

William Shatner Will Fly to Space Aboard Blue Origin Rocket

Shatner will become the oldest person to go to space.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with four private citizens onboard, lifts off in this time-exposure photo from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

SpaceX Launches 4 Amateurs on Private Earth-Circling Trip

A spacecraft orbited Earth with an all-amateur crew for the first time.

In this Sunday, July 11, 2021 file photo, the craft carrying Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson and other crew members takes off from Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, N.M. Virgin Galactic plans to launch three Italian researchers to the edge of space in a few weeks, even as its previous flight with founder Richard Branson is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.

FAA Bans Virgin Galactic Launches While Probing Branson Trip

During the July flight, the space plane dropped below the protected airspace for one minute and 41 seconds.

Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket launches carrying passengers Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and space tourism company Blue Origin, brother Mark Bezos, Oliver Daemen and Wally Funk, from its spaceport near Van Horn, Texas, Tuesday, July 20, 2021.

Blue Origin's Bezos Reaches Space on 1st Passenger Flight

Bezos called it the "best day ever."

Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson, left, receives a Virgin Galactic made astronaut wings pin from Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield after his flight to space from Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, N.M., Sunday, July 11, 2021.

Branson Reaches Space in His Own Ship

Branson and five crewmates reached an altitude of 53.5 miles.

In this Monday, Oct. 28, 2019 file photo, Richard Branson, right, founder of Virgin Galactic, and company executives gather for photos outside the New York Stock Exchange before his company's IPO. Branson announced Thursday, July 1, 2021 he plans to fly into space this month on the next test flight of his Virgin Galactic rocket ship. The launch window will open July 11.

Branson Plans to Beat Bezos to Space