Tag: Space
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Chinese space firm unintentionally launches its new rocket
One of the most promising Chinese space startups, Space Pioneer, experienced a serious anomaly this weekend while testing the first stage of its Tianlong-3 rocket near the city of Gongyi. The rocket was undergoing a static fire test of the stage, in which a vehicle is clamped to a test stand while its engines are…
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Mere days before its debut, the Ariane 6 rocket loses a key customer to SpaceX
In a shocking announcement this week, the European intergovernmental organization responsible for launching and operating the continent’s weather satellites has pulled its next mission off a future launch of Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket. Instead, the valuable MTG-S1 satellite will now reach geostationary orbit on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in 2025. “This decision was driven…
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NASA will pay SpaceX nearly $1 billion to deorbit the International Space Station
NASA has awarded an $843 million contract to SpaceX to develop a “US Deorbit Vehicle.” This spacecraft will dock to the International Space Station in 2029 and then ensure the large facility makes a controlled reentry through Earth’s atmosphere before splashing into the ocean in 2030. “Selecting a US Deorbit Vehicle for the International Space…
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Some European launch officials still have their heads stuck in the sand
There was a panel discussion at a space conference in Singapore 11 years ago that has since become legendary in certain corners of the space industry for what it reveals about European attitudes toward upstart SpaceX. The panel included representatives from a handful of launch enterprises, including Europe-based Arianespace, and the US launch company SpaceX.…
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VIPs cut the ribbon at the grand opening of Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite factory
Sen. Maria Cantwell speaks at a ribbon-cutting event for Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite factory in Kirkland, Wash. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) KIRKLAND, Wash. — Amazon gave U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and other VIPs a sneak peek at the company’s Project Kuiper satellite factory, where thousands of spacecraft are to be manufactured for a global…
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NASA’s commercial spacesuit program just hit a major snag
Almost exactly two years ago, as it prepared for the next generation of human spaceflight, NASA chose a pair of private companies to design and develop new spacesuits. These were to be new spacesuits that would allow astronauts to both perform spacewalks outside the International Space Station as well as walk on the Moon as…
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Rocks from the far side of the Moon landed on Earth Tuesday
A small spacecraft landed in Inner Mongolia on Tuesday, bringing samples from the far side of the Moon back to Earth. This was not China’s first robotic mission to return a few pounds of dust and pebbles from the lunar surface—that came with the Chang’e 5 mission in December 2020. However, this was the first…
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Sir Peter Beck unplugged: “Transporter can do it for free for all we care”
Peter Beck has been having a pretty great June. Earlier this month, he was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Then, Sir Peter Beck presided as Rocket Lab launched its 50th Electron rocket, becoming the fastest company to launch its 50th privately developed booster. Finally, last week, Rocket Lab revealed…
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NASA indefinitely delays return of Starliner to review propulsion data
In an update released late Friday evening, NASA said it was “adjusting” the date of the Starliner spacecraft’s return to Earth from June 26 to an unspecified time in July. The announcement followed two days of long meetings to review the readiness of the spacecraft, developed by Boeing, to fly NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and…
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NASA indefinitely delays return of Starliner to review propulsion data
In an update released late Friday evening, NASA said it was “adjusting” the date of the Starliner spacecraft’s return to Earth from June 26 to an unspecified time in July. The announcement followed two days of long meetings to review the readiness of the spacecraft, developed by Boeing, to fly NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and…