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Boeing Starliner orbital test flight to ISS targeted for December
As the Boeing team continues to implement hardware and software changes recommended by the joint review team, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is targeting December for the launch of a second uncrewed test flight of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station. “The Commercial Crew Program currently is targeting no earlier than December …
Trio of American companies to develop Artemis lunar landers
Marking a significant step forward in landing Americans on the Moon by 2024, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced the selection of three U.S. companies – Blue Origin, SpaceX and Dynetics – to design and develop the critical human landing systems (HLS) under the agency’s Artemis lunar landing program. Blue Origin won by far the largest …
Blue Origin goes step by step ferociously into space
The appearance of a photo of an old wooden sailing ship set the stage for a dramatic announcement by a secretive space company earlier this year. On April 26th of this year the usually quiet twitter account of Jeff Bezos’ privately funded space company, Blue Origin, tweeted a cryptic yet telling image: a black and …
The difference it made: Building a car for the Moon
Neil Armstrong set the first distance record with an impromptu amble to Little West crater. Pete Conrad and Alan Bean exceeded that several times over by circling out and down into Surveyor Crater. Edgar Mitchell still holds the title for longest one, over a mile, made when he and Alan Shepard went looking for Cone …
Crisis strikes Russian space program
A series of unfortunate events happened in end of April and beginning of May that has raised a few eyebrows about the current state of affairs in Russia’s space exploration program. A string of failures unfolded in the following sequence: On 28th of April 2015, Soyuz-2.1a Launch Vehicle with Progress M-27M cargo vehicle experienced an anomaly …
Boeing, SpaceX garner NASA contracts to launch astronauts from American soil
In 2010, with the retirement of NASA’s iconic 30-year space shuttle program, the space agency began the Commercial Crew Program to stimulate development of privately built and operated American-made spacecraft for transporting astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit (LEO) and the International Space Station (ISS). Since the final shuttle landed in 2011, America has been forced …
Spaceport America: A convergence of ideas and events
The rumble of a rocket engine and then a distant sonic boom break the breezy silence of a remote desert plain. Another unmanned commercial rocket has been launched from Spaceport America. Soon, perhaps in a few months, Virgin Galactic will begin space tourism flights with a futuristic spacecraft air launched from a mothership using Spaceport …
Bigelow’s promise: More space at less cost with inflatable space habitats
We’ve all seen or played in one of those inflatable bounce houses at a carnival or a friend’s birthday party. Now just imagine a bounce house that you can live inside of in outer space. While much more advanced than a bounce house, that’s what Bigelow Aerospace is pursuing. They are designing and building inflatable …
Boeing’s CST-100 passes two new milestones in development
The Boeing Company recently announced the completion of more developmental requirements for their Crew Space Transportation 100 (CST-100) spacecraft that includes a software safety test and hardware design review. Passing this phase of testing is considered a milestone for a company that is competing to return flights of astronauts from U.S soil in the coming …
United Launch Alliance celebrates 75th successful launch
An Atlas V rocket carrying the Advanced Extremely High Frequency-3 (AEHF-3) satellite for the United States Air Force lifted off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida early in the morning of Sept. 18. It was United Launch Alliance’s ninth launch of an ambitious 12 mission schedule for the year. …