Tag: commercial-space
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Paul Allen’s Stratolaunch lifts veil on world’s biggest plane — a giant bet on a new way to space
This view of Stratolaunch Systems’ hangar at Mojave Air and Space Port in California shows the massive airplane’s left-side fuselage and scaffolding. At least six people are in the picture. To spot them, click on the image and look for the red circles in an enlarged version. (Credit: Vulcan Inc.) MOJAVE, Calif. – When you walk…
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Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin live-streams its spaceship’s risky test flight
Blue Origin’s New Shepard spaceship rises from its launch pad. (Credit: Blue Origin) Something went wrong during today’s test flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital spaceship, and the world was able to watch how it was handled online. Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ space venture intentionally disabled one of the three parachutes on the New Shepard capsule,…
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Blue Origin flies reusable suborbital rocket for fourth time
Updated at 11:15 a.m. EDT (1515 GMT) Sunday after successful flight. Blue Origin’s suborbital space transport system made another test flight Sunday, launching and landing at the company’s West Texas test facility to prove out the crew capsule’s resiliency to a parachute failure. The test flight also marked a change in public relations for the once-secretive…
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After delay, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin gets set for spaceship test flight on Father’s Day
Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos is the founder of Blue Origin. (Credit: Blue Origin) Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos says it’s all systems go for a live-streamed Father’s Day launch of Blue Origin’s reusable New Shepard suborbital spaceship, after a postponement due to a leaky O-ring seal. Blue Origin, the space venture that Bezos founded in 2000,…
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Jeff Bezos plans to live-stream Blue Origin’s next suborbital spaceflight
Blue Origin’s New Shepard spaceship lifts off for a test in January. (Credit: Blue Origin) For his next trick, Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos plans to have his Blue Origin space venture send its New Shepard rocket ship into outer space and back with one bum parachute on Friday – and live-stream the whole thing. Allowing live video…
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White House works out a process to clear commercial missions to moon and Mars
An artist’s conception shows Moon Express’ MX-1 lander extending its robotic arm to take a “selfie” of the spacecraft on the lunar surface with Earth in the background. (Credit: Moon Express) After months of discussion, federal agencies are closing in on a process to approve commercial missions to other celestial bodies – including the moon, Mars…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 booster leans in for a landing at sea after launching satellite
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster stands on a drone ship after landing. (Credit: SpaceX) For the third time in a row, a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster sent a payload into space and then came back for a landing on an oceangoing platform. But this time, the booster was a little shaken up. Today’s launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force…
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Jeff Bezos says Blue Origin’s next spaceflight will test parachute failure
Blue Origin’s New Shepard crew capsule descends on the end of its parachute system during an uncrewed test flight in April 2015. (Credit: Blue Origin) Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos predicts there’ll be a problem with a parachute the next time his Blue Origin venture flies its uncrewed New Shepard spaceship. He’ll make sure of it. Flying…
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Planetary Resources’ asteroid miners focus on Earth observation with $21 million in new funding
Planetary Resources’ Chris Lewicki and GeekWire’s Alan Boyle mug for the camera behind two Arkyd 6 satellites being tested for flight in Planetary Resources’ clean room. (GeekWire photo by Kevin Lisota) REDMOND, Wash. – Planetary Resources was founded as an asteroid mining company, but a fresh infusion of $21.1 million in investment puts the emphasis on…
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Bigelow’s station habitat to be expanded Thursday
Artist’s concept of an astronaut entering BEAM. Credit: NASA Space station flight engineer Jeff Williams will send commands Thursday to pump air into an experimental soft-sided module developed by commercial space habitat builder Bigelow Aerospace, expanding the structure to four times its current size in a stepping stone to future orbital destinations. The Bigelow Expandable…