Equipped with upgraded engines, computer systems and greatly improved payload capacity, SpaceX’s first second-generation Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from the company’s new West Coast launch pad at Vendenberg AFB, CA on a successful demonstration of the new rocket’s capabilities while deploying four small satellites for commercial customers. The 224 foot tall Falcon 9 v1.1 […]
Commercial Space
Commercial Space
Orbital’s Antares Blasts Off On First Cygnus Mission To ISS
Marking a giant stride forward in NASA’s plans to rely on the private sector for cargo, and eventually human, deliveries to ISS, Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares rocket blasted into space today carrying the company’s Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft. The successful launch marked the beginning of a four-day in-orbit capabilities demonstration mission that will culminate in […]
On Its 40th Mission, Atlas Deploys Third Advanced Extremely High Frequency Satellite
Dodging rain and high winds, an Atlas V rocket thundered into the early morning skies over Florida and successfully delivered the Air Force’s third Advanced Extremely High Frequency military communication satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit. The mission marked launch provider United Launch Alliance’s 75th launch, the 40th for the Atlas V EELV and a commendable […]
Moon Express’ Guidance Software Flies NASA’s Mighty Eagle On A Successful Test
The Mighty Eagle, a NASA robotic prototype lander managed out of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. successfully completed a test flight today as part of a series to help validate software from Moon Express, Inc. The flight also evaluated a new hazard avoidance system designed and developed at the Marshall Center. Like […]
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo Conducts Second Powered Test Flight
Suborbital passenger spaceflight pioneer Virgin Galactic passed another major milestone today as the company’s first commercial reusable space vehicle, SpaceShipTwo (SS2) successfully completed its second powered flight test. During the test, carried out from the Virgin Galactic’s facility in the Mojave desert, SS2 reached a velocity over 1,000 miles per hour and a maximumum altitude […]
Sierra Nevada Makes Second Successful Dream Chaser Captive-Carry Test Flight
NASA partner Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) of Louisville, Colo., successfully completed a captive-carry test of the Dream Chaser spacecraft Thursday, Aug. 22, at the agency’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif. During the two-hour test, an Erickson Air-Crane helicopter picked up a test version of the Dream Chaser flight vehicle and flew it a […]
ULA Completes Five Major Milestones In Just Eight Days, Including One Launch
During the last eight days, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) team has completed five major processing activities, including one launch, on three different launch pads at both Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California.
Stephen Hawking – “Why Go To Space?” – NASA 50th Anniversary Lecture
MODERATOR: Good afternoon. Welcome to the campus of George Washington University in downtown Washington, D.C., for what promises to be a very remarkable afternoon. My name is John Logsdon. I am the director of the Space Policy Institute here at GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs. We are a very happy co-host, along with Lockheed […]
Watch Out NASA, The Next Mission To The Moon Might Not Be Yours
In 1959, the author Martin Caidin (“Marooned”) wrote, “The mysterious Moon may well be Man’s next outpost in the conquest of space. How will he reach it? What will he find there? Will we be the first to land on the Moon or is Russia likely to beat us in the race for space?” Ten […]
Educational CubeSat Demonstrations Take To The Skies Aboard Prospector Rocket
Four tiny spacecraft soared over the California desert June 15, 2013 in a high-altitude demonstration flight that tested the sensor and equipment designs created by NASA engineers and student launch teams. The satellites, known as CubeSats, lifted off from the Friends of Amateur Rocketry launch site in the Mojave Desert aboard a Prospector 18 rocket, […]