Tag: Astrobotic
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NASA starts building ice-hunting Moon rover
The search for ice at the Moon’s poles has loomed large in the field of lunar science since an instrument on an Indian satellite discovered water molecules inside shadowed crater floors more than a decade ago. NASA is now assembling a golf cart-size rover to drive into the dark polar craters to search for ice…
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ULA test-fires first Vulcan rocket at Cape Canaveral
Watch replay of our live coverage of the Flight Readiness Firing for United Launch Alliance’s first Vulcan Centaur rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”SFN Live”] [tabbyending] EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated June 12 to change reference to igniters, which are not single use. United Launch Alliance’s first Vulcan Centaur rocket completed…
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ULA delays Vulcan test-firing to troubleshoot engine ignition system
ULA stacked the first stage for the first Vulcan rocket test flight onto a mobile launch platform Jan. 25 inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Credit: United Launch Alliance United Launch Alliance called off a test-firing of the company’s first flight-rated Vulcan Centaur rocket at Cape Canaveral Thursday to troubleshoot…
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This Week In Spaceflight: SpaceX’s Raptor breaks records, NASA announces second Artemis Lander
Reviewing the week in spaceflight and upcoming events, it’s been another busy period, including NASA announcing a second lunar lander for Artemis, SpaceX’s Raptor breaking records, and Stratolaunch drop testing Talon-A. Stratolaunch Drops Talon Stratolaunch has finally conducted a drop test of their Talon-A vehicle. Stratolaunch has been working on developing its reusable hypersonic testbed,…
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This Week In Spaceflight: SpaceX’s Raptor breaks records, NASA announces second Artemis Lander
Reviewing the week in spaceflight and upcoming events, it’s been another busy period, including NASA announcing a second lunar lander for Artemis, SpaceX’s Raptor breaking records, and Stratolaunch drop testing Talon-A. Stratolaunch Drops Talon Stratolaunch has finally conducted a drop test of their Talon-A vehicle. Stratolaunch has been working on developing its reusable hypersonic testbed,…
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NASA awards Blue Origin $3.4 billion Artemis moon lander contract
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION Artist’s concept of Blue Origin’s 52-foot-tall (16-meter) Blue Moon lander. Credit: Blue Origin Blue Origin, the rocket company owned by Amazon-founder Jeff Bezos, has won a $3.4 billion NASA contract to build an Artemis lunar lander that will provide a downstream alternative to the Starship variant already being…
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First Vulcan rocket rolls back to hangar for ‘adjustments’ prior to test-firing
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated May 17 with additional Tory Bruno comments. United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket rolls out to Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral on May 11. Credit: United Launch Alliance United Launch Alliance’s first Vulcan rocket was filled with methane and liquid oxygen propellants at Cape Canaveral last week for a tanking test, but…
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NASA’s commercial lunar program ready to start flying in 2023
The NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program is on the verge of flying its first missions to the lunar surface this year after delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors. CLPS will deliver science to the lunar surface in support of the Artemis human lunar program and was announced in April 2018…
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Space Shorts: German rocket company will launch orbital tugs for Spaceflight Inc.
An artist’s concept shows Rocket Factory Augsburg’s launch vehicle in flight. (RFA Illustration) Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. and Rocket Factory Augsburg, a German launch startup, say they’ve signed a memorandum of understanding that calls for Spaceflight’s Sherpa orbital transfer vehicles to ride on the RFA One rocket. In an announcement made today at the International Astronautical…
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Astrobotic into testing of Griffin lunar lander for NASA’s Artemis program
Astrobotic, a Pittsburg-based lunar lander company, has fully assembled the test model for its largest lunar lander in development, the Griffin. A medium-class lander, Griffin is designed to deliver up to 625 kilograms to the lunar surface and survive for 14 days while providing communications and power to the payload if required. The fully loaded…