Tag: Space
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NASA is working on a plan to replace its space station, but time is running out
The next year is crucial for the future of NASA and its plans to extend human activity in low-Earth orbit. For the first time in decades, the US space agency faces the not-too-distant prospect of failing to have at least one crew member spinning around the planet. Over the next several months, NASA will finalize…
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The politically incorrect guide to saving NASA’s floundering Artemis Program
Regardless of the outcome of this year’s election, the United States will have a new president in a few months. Although there are myriad issues of greater importance than spaceflight to most Americans, a new leader of the country will inevitably take a fresh look at the nation’s space policy. Among the highest priorities for…
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NASA confirms space station cracking a “highest” risk and consequence problem
US space officials do not like to talk about the perils of flying astronauts on the aging International Space Station, elements of which are now more than a quarter of a century old. However, a new report confirms that NASA managers responsible for operating the space station are seriously concerned about a small Russian part…
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In the room where it happened: When NASA nearly gave Boeing all the crew funding
This is an excerpt from Chapter 11 of the book REENTRY: SpaceX, Elon Musk and the Reusable Rockets that Launched a Second Space Age by our own Eric Berger. The book will be published on September 24, 2024. This excerpt describes a fateful meeting 10 years ago at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, where the…
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For the first time, Blue Origin has ignited an orbital rocket stage
Twenty days after it rolled out to Blue Origin’s launch site in Florida, the second stage of the massive New Glenn rocket underwent a successful hot-fire test on Monday. The second stage—known as GS2 for Glenn stage 2—ignited for 15 seconds as part of the “risk reduction” hot-fire test, the company said. The two BE-3U…
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A Chinese rocket narrowly missed a landing on Sunday—the video is amazing
A Chinese space startup conducted what it called a “high-altitude” test flight of its Nebula-1 rocket on Sunday, launching the vehicle to an altitude of about 5 km or so before attempting to land it back at the Ejin Banner Spaceport in Inner Mongolia. The test flight went well for about two and a half…
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One company appears to be thriving as part of NASA’s return to the Moon
One of the miracles of the Apollo Moon landings is that they were televised, live, for all the world to see. This transparency diffused doubts about whether the lunar landings really happened and were watched by billions of people. However, as remarkable a technical achievement as it was to broadcast from the Moon in 1969,…
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Rocket Report: Eutelsat’s surprising decision; Europe complains about SpaceX again
Welcome to Edition 7.12 of the Rocket Report! For once, a week with not all that much launch news. Among the highlights were Eutelsat’s surprise announcement of a deal with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, SpaceX’s ongoing war with the FAA, and Europe identifying a straightforward solution to the upper stage problem on Ariane 6’s debut launch…
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A key NASA commercial partner faces severe financial challenges
Axiom Space is facing significant financial headwinds as the company attempts to deliver on two key commercial programs for NASA—the development of a private space station in low-Earth orbit and spacesuits that could one day be worn by astronauts on the Moon. Forbes reports that Axiom Space, which was founded by billionaire Kam Ghaffarian and…
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So what are we to make of the highly ambitious, private Polaris spaceflight?
A white spacecraft, lightly toasted like a marshmallow and smelling of singed metal, fell out of the night sky early on Sunday morning and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico not all that far from Key West. The darkened waters there were carefully chosen from among dozens of potential landing spots near Florida. This…