Author: starpathwp-production
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ULA’s Vulcan Rocket to Debut in Q4 With a Fix for Anomaly Uncovered in March
United Launch Alliance (ULA) expects to debut the Vulcan Centaur rocket in the fourth quarter of this year, after solving an anomaly discovered during qualification testing in March, CEO Tory Bruno told reporters on Thursday. He does not expect the further launch delay to impact National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions for the U.S. Space…
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A new, thin-lensed telescope design could far surpass James Webb
Astronomers have discovered more than 5,000 planets outside of the solar system to date. The grand question is whether any of these planets are home to life. To find the answer, astronomers will likely need more powerful telescopes than exist today. I am an astronomer who studies astrobiology and planets around distant stars. For the…
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Inaugural Vulcan Launch Targeting Late 2023 After Anomalies
United Launch Alliance (ULA) says despite recent anomalies involving their Centaur V upper stage and the BE-4 engines built by Blue Origin, Vulcan should still fly this year, although behind schedule. Vulcan is ULA’s successor to the Atlas V and Delta IV heavy-lift rocket families, both of which are scheduled to be retired. The new…
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Phase Four Selected by AFWERX to Develop Critical Technology for Electric Propulsion
Phase Four announced that it has been selected by AFWERX for a Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) contract in the amount of $4.26M focused on developing a Propellant Decomposition Chamber for propellant-agnostic electric propulsion to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF). The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX have…
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Chinese company wins race for first methane-fueled rocket to orbit
A commercial Chinese firm named LandSpace launched its Zhuque-2 rocket late Tuesday and made history as the first company to send a methane-fueled launcher into orbit, beating a bevy of US vehicles to the milestone. LandSpace launched the Zhuque-2 rocket at 9 pm ET Tuesday (01:00 UTC Wednesday) from the Jiuquan spaceport, a military-run facility…
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NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne Begin Testing on Cutting-Edge Solar Electric Propulsion Thrusters
Engineers from NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne are beginning qualification testing on the cutting-edge solar electric propulsion (SEP) thrusters that will change the in-space propulsion game. The culmination of this work will see these innovative thrusters fly on Gateway beginning in 2025, making it the most powerful SEP spacecraft ever flown. Gateway is a lunar space…
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SSC Signs Latvian Ground Segment Deal
Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) has signed a new deal with a university and a company in Latvia. The company announced July 13 that it will partner with Ventspils University of Applied Sciences (VUAS) and VIRATEC, adding the VUAS large antennas to the SSC Connect network. This will increase SSC’s capability to support a wide range…
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SSC Signs Latvian Ground Segment Deal
Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) has signed a new deal with a university and a company in Latvia. The company announced July 13 that it will partner with Ventspils University of Applied Sciences (VUAS) and VIRATEC, adding the VUAS large antennas to the SSC Connect network. This will increase SSC’s capability to support a wide range…
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NASA celebrates Webb science anniversary with mesmerising new image
A stellar nursery in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex as imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope. Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (STScI) Celebrating the James Webb Space Telescope’s first year of science operations, NASA released a mesmerising new image of a nearby stellar nursery where 50 or so sun-size stars are blazing…
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