Tag: Space
-
As NASA faces cuts, China reveals ambitious plans for planetary exploration
China created a new entity called the “Deep Space Exploration Laboratory” three years ago to strengthen the country’s approach to exploring the Solar System. Located in eastern China, not far from Shanghai, the new laboratory represented a partnership between China’s national space agency and a local public college, the University of Science and Technology of…
-
After a spacecraft was damaged en route to launch, NASA says it won’t launch
Three weeks ago, NASA revealed that a shipping container protecting a Cygnus spacecraft sustained “damage” while traveling to the launch site in Florida. Built by Northrop Grumman, Cygnus is one of two Western spacecraft currently capable of delivering food, water, experiments, and other supplies to the International Space Station. This particular Cygnus mission, NG-22, had…
-
Firm wins Space Force funding to provide an “aircraft carrier” in orbit
In recent years, the US military has made much of a concept known as tactically responsive launch. This essentially means that if there is some rapidly developing threat in space—say an adversary takes out a key national defense satellite—the military would like the capability to rapidly fuel a satellite on Earth, mate it to a…
-
Momentum seems to be building for Jared Isaacman to become NASA administrator
With the vast majority of President Donald Trump’s cabinet members now approved by the US Senate, focus is turning to senior positions within the administration that are just below the cabinet level. The administrator of NASA is among the most high-profile of these positions. Nearly four months ago Trump nominated private astronaut Jared Isaacman to…
-
Trump White House drops diversity plan for Moon landing it created back in 2019
About five years ago, the Trump-appointed administrator of NASA, Jim Bridenstine, revealed the name of the program that would return humans to the Moon. It was to be Artemis, from a Greek goddess who was the twin sister of Apollo. The symbolism was clear. NASA’s second human program to the Moon would be different: We…
-
Rocket Report: Falcon 9 may smash reuse record; Relativity roving to Texas?
Welcome to Edition 7.36 of the Rocket Report! Well, after nine months, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally back on Earth, safe and sound. This brings to conclusion one of the stranger and more dramatic human spaceflight stories in years. We’re glad they’re finally home, soon to be reunited with their families.…
-
Can NASA remain nonpartisan when basic spaceflight truths are shredded?
It looked like the final scene of a movie, the denouement of a long adventure in which the good guys finally prevail. Azure skies and brilliant blue seas provided a perfect backdrop on Tuesday evening as a spacecraft carrying four people neared the planet’s surface. “Just breathtaking views of a calm, glass-like ocean off the…
-
To avoid the Panama Canal, Relativity Space may move some operations to Texas
As he consolidates control over Relativity Space, new owner and chief executive Eric Schmidt is planning significant changes at the launch company, including a likely move to the Lone Star State. Schmidt’s recent acquisition of the California-based company, which has largely evolved away from its 3D-printing origins to becoming a more conventional rocket developer, has…
-
Athena landed in a dark crater where the temperature was minus 280° F
The Athena spacecraft was not exactly flying blind as it approached the lunar surface one week ago. The software on board did a credible job of recognizing nearby craters, even with elongated shadows over the terrain. However, the lander’s altimeter had failed. So while Athena knew where it was relative to the surface of the…
-
If Starlink is turned off in Ukraine, are there any good alternatives?
Lately, SpaceX founder Elon Musk has taken an aggressive posture toward Europe. He has called for the United States to exit NATO, a strategic alliance that has been the bedrock of trans-Atlantic cooperation since the end of World War II. Musk has also championed right-wing populism that seeks to topple existing governments on the continent.…