Stories about rockets, and the companies that build them.
The space world will have to wait a little bit longer to see Vulcan fly. The ULA rocket’s maiden launch has been delayed to Q4 while engineers fix a structural issue with its Centaur V second-stage rocket that caused May’s monstrous explosion on the test stand, ULA chief Tory Bruno announced yesterday. Right of boom: […]
Since Starship’s first orbital flight test nearly three months ago, SpaceX has been working around the clock modifying the rocket, rebuilding the launch pad, and defending itself against an environmental lawsuit as the launch giant prepares for its second orbital attempt. Upgrades to Starship SpaceX will be using Booster 9 and Starship 25 for its […]
Launch startup Firefly Aerospace announced yesterday that it has acquired Spaceflight Inc., a space services and transportation company, to build its on-orbit service offerings. Firefly did not disclose the terms of the deal. Firefly: The Texas-based rocket startup, which focuses on the small to medium-lift market, achieved orbit for the first time in October with […]
Sierra Space turned on its Dream Chaser spaceplane for the first time Wednesday, checking off a major milestone before its first flight to the ISS, which is expected at the end of the year. Dream Chaser 101 The autonomous spaceplane is designed to launch vertically atop a heavy-lift rocket, but land horizontally on a runway. […]
NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a scathing report yesterday on the cost overruns in the engine and booster contracts under the Artemis SLS program. The report revealed $23.8B of total SLS expenses since 2012, resulting in a dizzying $4.2B cost per launch. Over the Moon: SLS is an expendable heavy-lift rocket designed to […]
Blue Origin will provide the second lunar lander for the Artemis program, NASA announced on Friday, giving Jeff Bezos’ company a major victory after losing out to SpaceX on the first lander award in 2021. “An additional, different lander will help ensure that we have the hardware necessary for a series of landings,” said NASA […]
ULA rolled its Vulcan rocket to the pad Friday and completed tank testing ahead of its expected first flight readiness firing test for the rocket’s BE-4 engine later this week. “With success here, and a resolution of the Centaur V ground test anomaly, we are projecting for a Vulcan Cert-1 Launch this summer,” said ULA […]
Two NASA storm-tracking satellites lifted off aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle last night in New Zealand, putting the first half of the planned four-satellite constellation into orbit. The “Rocket Like A Hurricane” mission was the first of two launches that will build the Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation […]
The University of Texas Rocket Engineering Lab is set to hot fire test its engine today as it ramps up to a Kármán Line launch attempt in 2024. UT is one of 20+ schools racing to be the first collegiate group to launch a liquid-fueled rocket to space. Although the Kármán Line has been achieved […]
China unveiled plans for a fully-reusable Long March 9 rocket configuration Sunday at its 2023 Space Day ceremony in Hefei, China. The CNSA aims to begin testing the vehicle, which looks a lot like Starship, by the late 2030s. The fully reusable configuration is noteworthy given China has still yet to nail a partially reusable […]
An uncrewed spaceplane prototype developed by ISRO successfully landed on a runway at Chitradurga, India, on April 2. The winged vehicle, officially called the Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD), was heli-dropped from 4.5 kilometers to simulate an approach from space. The RLV-TD plane then maneuvered itself to the runway and deployed a parachute to […]
An Indian Launch Vehicle Mark-3 rocket launched and deployed 36 OneWeb satellites on Sunday, marking the Indian Space Research Organisation’s second commercial launch for the UK firm. ISRO’s fleet of rockets is first and foremost to give India independence from foreign launchers. But it will also offer new commercial opportunities, as shown by the OneWeb […]
