Tag: Artemis
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Preparation for East Coast Starship debut in 2026 continue to make progress
As SpaceX prepares for Starship’s Flight 11 in October from Texas, significant progress is being made in Florida at the Roberts Road facility, Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), and Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37). SpaceX is rapidly expanding its Starship program, with teams working in parallel to conduct test flights and set the stage for Starship’s…
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Preparation for East Coast Starship debut in 2026 continue to make progress
As SpaceX prepares for Starship’s Flight 11 in October from Texas, significant progress is being made in Florida at the Roberts Road facility, Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), and Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37). SpaceX is rapidly expanding its Starship program, with teams working in parallel to conduct test flights and set the stage for Starship’s…
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The space race is tightening up for Blue Origin and SpaceX, and for America and China
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have both celebrated space victories, but they’ve also faced setbacks. (Musk at left: GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota, 2020. Bezos at right: Blue Origin Photo, 2021) Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture has only just begun to launch a heavy-lift rocket that was a decade in the making — its orbital-class New Glenn launch vehicle, which…
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SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke, and others make major progress on Cape launch facilities
The two spaceport launch facilities in the Cape Canaveral area — NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the U.S. Space Force’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) — are on the verge of even bigger changes than have been seen in the last few years. In a recent flyover of the Cape, NSF obtained new…
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NASA names 24th astronaut class, including prior SpaceX crew member
NASA has named its new group of astronaut candidates. The space agency on Monday introduced the four men and six women who comprise its 2025 trainee class during a ceremony held at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Following two years of basic training, the new candidates will be eligible for mission assignments in low-Earth…
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Ten flights in, the Starship Program has had successes and failures
SpaceX has had a long journey through 10 flight tests of Starship. Teams have endured explosions and failures, but also achieved triumphs through amazing reentries, catches of Boosters, and even the reuse of a Booster. After 10 flights of Starship, the Program stands on the doorstep of a new generation of vehicles and possible ship…
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Former NASA Boss Bridenstine: US “Highly Unlikely” to Land on Moon Before China
In a pointed testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine expressed deep concerns about the complexity and feasibility of NASA’s Artemis program, warning that the United States is “highly unlikely” to land astronauts on the Moon before China due to challenges with orbital refueling and an…
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SpaceX McGregor looks to the future, from Raptor 3 to potential HLS testing
SpaceX’s engine development and testing site in McGregor—the world’s most active rocket engine test facility—continues to be a hive of activity. Recent updates reveal intensified Raptor engine trials and the construction of a large-scale rig, the latter having ignited speculation about its potential ties to Starship’s Human Landing System (HLS) for NASA’s Artemis program. Since…
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The Starship Program rises from the ashes of Block 2 with Ship 37
Going into Flight 10, SpaceX was having a down year with the Starship program. Following the successes of Block 1, the hope was to have immediate success with Block 2 and possibly catch a Starship in 2025. However, with four straight ship failures, including one during ground testing, SpaceX needed a win. Flight 10 gave…
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After recent tests, China appears likely to beat the United States back to the Moon
In recent weeks, the secretive Chinese space program has reported some significant milestones in developing its program to land astronauts on the lunar surface by the year 2030. On August 6, the China Manned Space Agency successfully tested a high-fidelity mockup of its 26-ton “Lanyue” lunar lander. The test, conducted outside of Beijing, used giant…