Science News Roundup: NASA to make second attempt at debut moon rocket launch on Saturday; Russia calls ageing space station "dangerous" as it plans successor and more

Yuri Borisov, head of the Roscosmos agency, said mass equipment failures and ageing parts were endangering crew safety on the 24-year-old station. NASA orders five more astronaut missions from Musk's SpaceX in $1.4 billion deal SpaceX will launch five more astronaut missions to the International Space Station for NASA at the end of the decade under a $1.4 billion contract order, the U.S. space agency said Wednesday, taking the company's total contracted missions for its Crew Dragon astronaut capsule to 14.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

NASA to make second attempt at debut moon rocket launch on Saturday

NASA aims to make a second attempt to launch its giant next-generation moon rocket on Saturday, Sept. 3, five days after a pair of technical issues foiled an initial try at getting the spacecraft off the ground for the first time, agency officials said on Tuesday. But prospects for success on Saturday appeared clouded by weather reports predicting just a 40% chance of favorable conditions that day, while the U.S. space agency acknowledged some outstanding technical issues remain to be solved.

Russia calls ageing space station "dangerous" as it plans successor

The International Space Station (ISS) is dangerous and unfit for purpose, Russia's space chief said on Thursday, as Moscow pushes ahead with plans to quit the project and launch its own station. Yuri Borisov, head of the Roscosmos agency, said mass equipment failures and ageing parts were endangering crew safety on the 24-year-old station.

Fossilized tusk from giant ancient elephant found in Israel

A fossilized tusk from a giant prehistoric elephant that once roamed around the Mediterranean has emerged from an excavation site in southern Israel, offering what archaeologists said was a rare insight into the life of early inhabitants of the area. The 2.5 metre-long tusk from the ancient straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) is estimated to be around half a million years old and was found in an area where stone and flint tools and other animal remains have been recovered.

NASA orders five more astronaut missions from Musk's SpaceX in $1.4 billion deal

SpaceX will launch five more astronaut missions to the International Space Station for NASA at the end of the decade under a $1.4 billion contract order, the U.S. space agency said Wednesday, taking the company's total contracted missions for its Crew Dragon astronaut capsule to 14. The latest boost to SpaceX's NASA contract is part of the agency's effort to ensure a steady run of astronaut flights to the space station as Boeing, the other company with a similar crew transportation contract, has struggled to complete development of its Starliner space capsule.

(With inputs from agencies.)