Tag: Electric Propulsion
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Aerojet Rocketdyne, Firefly to collaborate on propulsion
At its Central Texas test site, Firefly is conducting “quad” testing of four Reaver first stage engines for the company’s Alpha launch vehicle. Credit: Firefly Aerospace/Edwards Media Firefly Aerospace and Aerojet Rocketdyne have announced a strategic partnership to collaborate on rocket propulsion, an agreement that could lead to Firefly’s use of Aerojet’s AR1 engine in…
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Japanese satellite re-enters atmosphere after experiments in ultra-low orbit
Artist’s concept of the Tsubame satellite, also known as the Super Low Altitude Test Satellite (SLATS). Credit: JAXA An experimental Japanese satellite has ended its mission after proving it could operate at super-low altitudes, testing an Earth-imaging camera and using ion propulsion to fight against aerodynamic drag at an altitude of 112 miles (181 kilometers).…
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NASA chooses Maxar to build keystone module for lunar Gateway station
Artist’s illustration of the Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element. Credit: Maxar NASA has selected Maxar Technologies for a $375 million contract to design, build and launch the core element of a mini-space station in orbit around the moon that will double as a deep space research outpost and a staging point for future human expeditions…
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Falcon 9 rocket rolled out for first dedicated Starlink launch
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated after static fire. File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad in September 2018. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX ground teams at Cape Canaveral transferred a Falcon 9 rocket to launch pad 40 and rotated the booster vertical Monday for a preflight hold-down firing, ahead of a liftoff…
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SpaceX plans to launch “dozens” of Starlink test satellites this month
A Falcon 9 rocket climbs into the night sky over Cape Canaveral early May 4 with a Dragon supply ship heading for the International Space Station. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX’s next launch, scheduled for no earlier than May 15, will loft dozens of small test satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral for the company’s planned Starlink…
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Photos: Falcon 9 flight marks Cape Canaveral’s first launch of 2019
The first launch from Cape Canaveral this year placed into orbit an Indonesian communications satellite, a privately-funded Israeli moon lander, and an experimental space surveillance microsatellite for the U.S. Air Force. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket fired into a starry sky over Florida’s Space Coast at 8:45 p.m. EST on Feb. 21 (0145 GMT Feb. 22)…
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Israeli moon lander hitches ride on SpaceX launch with Indonesian comsat
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket streaks into a starry sky Thursday night. Credit: SpaceX An Israeli-built moon lander aiming to become the first privately-funded mission reach another planetary body rocketed away from Cape Canaveral on Thursday night aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, riding piggyback with an Indonesian communications spacecraft and an experimental U.S. Air Force…
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Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket blasts off with Israeli moon lander, Indonesian comsat
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida with the Indonesian Nusantara Satu communications satellite, the Beresheet lunar lander for SpaceIL, and the S5 space surveillance satellite for the Air Force Research Laboratory. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. SpaceX’s…
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Falcon 9 launch set for Thursday at Cape Canaveral
The Nusantara Satu spacecraft, topped with the Beresheet lunar lander and the U.S. Air Force’s S5 space situational awareness satellite, is pictured before encapsulation inside the Falcon 9 rocket’s payload fairing at Cape Canaveral. Credit: SSL SpaceX is set to end a two-month launch drought at Cape Canaveral with a blastoff Thursday night carrying a…
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NASA’s Dawn spacecraft runs out of fuel in the asteroid belt
NASA’s Dawn spacecraft ran out of fuel Wednesday and stopped transmitting to Earth, ending an 11-year mission that explored the two largest objects in the asteroid belt and set several records in the annals of space history. Dawn failed to contact controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California during an overnight communications opportunity late…