On Monday, October 7th, Grasshopper completed its highest leap to date, rising to 744m altitude, hovering and returning back to the launch pad. The test lasted 78.8 seconds and was conducted at SpaceX’s rocket development facility in McGregor, TX. The video is filmed from a single camera hexacopter drone, getting closer to the stage than […]
Spaceflight
The View From Here: Curiosity Looks Back At Home
The HiRISE instrument would make a great backyard telescope for viewing Mars, and we can also use it at Mars to view other planets, such as Jupiter. This is an image of Earth and the Moon, acquired at 5:20 a.m. MST on 3 October 2007, at a range of 142 million kilometers, which gives the […]
SpaceX Releases New Photos And Video Of Next-Gen Falcon 9 Demo
SpaceX released stunning new photos and video from the demonstration flight of the company’s next-generation Falcon 9 v1.1 on September 29. In the video, one can watch the rocket’s first stage re-light after separation as the stage begins its descent back to Earth. Photos captured by the Air Force and released by SpaceX show the […]
MAVEN Granted Reprieve, Preparations Resume For November Launch
The cloud of pessimism over NASA because of funding shortfalls in the federal budget and partial government shutdown lifted somewhat today when the agency’s MAVEN mission to Mars was granted a special exemption from the mass furloughs that have caused activities across NASA and other agencies to grind to a halt. This has allowed workers […]
Second-Generation Falcon Takes Flight To Test New Engines, Recoverability
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 […]
Curiosity Fails To Find Methane And Adds To The Mystery Of Life On Mars
Data from NASA’s Curiosity rover has revealed the Martian environment lacks methane. This is a surprise to researchers because previous data reported by U.S. and international scientists indicated positive detections. The roving laboratory performed extensive tests to search for traces of Martian methane. Whether the Martian atmosphere contains traces of the gas has been a […]
Historic Comet Hunting Mission Ends As Deep Impact Falls Silent
After almost 9 years in space that included an unprecedented July 4th impact and subsequent flyby of a comet, an additional comet flyby, and the return of approximately 500,000 images of celestial objects, NASA’s Deep Impact mission has ended. The project team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., has reluctantly pronounced the […]
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 […]