Tag: Electric Propulsion
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MSNW’s plasma thruster just might fire up Congress at hearing on space propulsion
Pulsed power units are arrayed around the business end of MSNW’s thruster. (MSNW Photo) How will we send humans to the moon, Mars and other destinations in space? The chances are good that electric propulsion will play a role, and a company called MSNW is at the cutting edge of that technology. The director of…
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Soyuz meets multipurpose SES-owned telecom satellite for Thursday launch
Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – J. Durrenberger A commercial communications satellite will blast off Thursday from French Guiana on top of a Soyuz rocket, on the way to a station over the Americas to supply bandwidth to airline travelers and broadcasters in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The SES 15…
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China’s highest-capacity communications satellite launched into orbit
A Long March 3B rocket blasted off Wednesday with China’s Shijian 13/Chinasat 16 communications satellite. Credit: Xinhua A Chinese Long March 3B rocket fired into space Wednesday with Shijian 13, also known as Chinasat 16, to deliver Internet connectivity to remote parts of China, airline travelers and high-speed trains. The Shijian 13 satellite also has…
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Future of asteroid deflection mission to be decided soon
Artist’s concept of the European-built AIM spacecraft, along with two proposed deployable CubeSats, observing the collision of NASA’s DART impactor with the moon of asteroid Didymos. Credit: ESA – ScienceOffice.org Decisions on the future of a joint robotic mission between NASA and the European Space Agency to demonstrate the ability to deflect an asteroid on…
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Aerojet Rocketdyne tapped to build high-power ion drive
Above is a prototype 13-kilowatt Hall thruster during testing at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. This prototype demonstrated the technology readiness needed for industry to continue the development of high-power solar electric propulsion into a flight-qualified system. Credit: NASA Aerojet Rocketdyne has won a $67 million NASA contract to build an advanced electric propulsion…
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Job One for Aerojet’s future ion drive: Go out and get a piece of an asteroid
An artist’s concept shows a space probe powered by ion thrusters. (Credit: Aerojet Rocketdyne) Aerojet Rocketdyne’s next-generation ion thrusters could well make their debut in space during NASA’s robotic mission to grab a piece of an asteroid and bring it back to lunar orbit in the 2020s. Earlier this week, NASA announced that Aerojet’s operation in Redmond, Wash., would be…
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An engine for Mars: Aerojet wins $67M NASA contract for solar electric propulsion
A prototype 13-kilowatt Hall thruster fires during testing at NASA’s Glenn Research Center. The prototype demonstrated the technology readiness needed for industry to continue the development of high-power solar electric propulsion into a flight-ready system. (Credit: NASA) Aerojet Rocketdyne’s operation in Redmond, Wash., has won a $67 million contract from NASA to design and develop…
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Falcon 9 rocket to give SES 9 telecom satellite an extra boost
The Falcon 9 rocket stands at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad with the SES 9 satellite. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX and SES, owner of a 5.8-ton commercial telecom satellite poised for launch from Cape Canaveral on Wednesday, struck a deal to tweak the Falcon 9 rocket’s standard launch profile to give the SES 9 spacecraft…
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NASA gives more information on its experiment aboard the X-37B
CAPE CANAVERAL — In addition to carrying an Air Force electric propulsion thruster test, a materials research investigation sponsored by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center will be flying aboard the X-37B miniature spaceplane later this month. Liftoff is targeted for May 20 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force…
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Innovative satellites begin maneuvers with all-electric thrusters
Artist’s concept of the Eutelsat 115 West B satellite. Credit: Boeing Two ion-driven communications satellites launched from Cape Canaveral on March 1 have begun novel maneuvers using electric propulsion to reach operating posts 22,300 miles over the equator. The Boeing-built satellites will need at least six months slowly climb in altitude and adjust their orbital…