Tag: Space
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NASA hasn’t landed on the Moon in decades—China just sent its third in six years
China is going back to the Moon for more samples. On Friday the country launched its largest rocket, the Long March 5, carrying an orbiter, lander, ascent vehicle, and a return spacecraft. The combined mass of the Chang’e-6 spacecraft is about 8 metric tons, and it will attempt to return rocks and soil from the…
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AI in space: Karpathy suggests AI chatbots as interstellar messengers to alien civilizations
On Thursday, renowned AI researcher Andrej Karpathy, formerly of OpenAI and Tesla, tweeted a lighthearted proposal that large language models (LLMs) like the one that runs ChatGPT could one day be modified to operate in or be transmitted to space, potentially to communicate with extraterrestrial life. He said the idea was “just for fun,” but…
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NASA says Artemis II report by its inspector general is unhelpful and redundant
NASA’s acting inspector general, George A. Scott, released a report Wednesday that provided an assessment of NASA’s readiness to launch the Artemis II mission next year. This is an important flight for the space agency because, while the crew of four will not land on the Moon, it will be the first time humans have flown…
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Europe’s ambitious satellite Internet project appears to be running into trouble
It has been 18 months since the European Union announced its intent to develop an independent satellite Internet constellation, and the plans appear to be heading into troubled waters. In that time, a single bid—from a consortium of multinational companies that includes Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space—has emerged to build the network…
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New space company seeks to solve orbital mobility with high delta-v spacecraft
Over the course of the last seven decades, the vast majority of satellites have launched into orbit with propulsion mostly as an afterthought. That’s not to say having thrusters is not important, but once the vehicle reached its intended orbit, the on-board propulsion was used mainly for station keeping and small maneuvers. One of the…
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Rocket Report: SLS workforce cuts; New Glenn launch to launch in the early fall
Welcome to Edition 6.41 of the Rocket Report! As I finish up this edition I’m listening to the post-Flight Readiness Review news conference for Boeing’s Crew Flight Test. It sounds like everything remains on track for a launch attempt on May 6, at 10:34 pm ET. It’s exciting to see this important milestone for Boeing…
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If Starship is real, we’re going to need big cargo movers on the Moon and Mars
As a SpaceX engineer working on the Starship program about five years ago, Jaret Matthews could see the future of spaceflight quite clearly and began to imagine the possibilities. For decades everything that went to space had to be carefully measured, optimized for mass, and serve an extremely specialized purpose. But Starship, Matthews believed, held…
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SpaceX has now landed more boosters than most other rockets ever launch
SpaceX launches have become extremely routine. On Tuesday evening, SpaceX launched its 42nd rocket of the year, carrying yet another passel of Starlink satellites into orbit. Chances are, you didn’t even notice. All the same, the cumulative numbers are mind-boggling. SpaceX is now launching at a rate of one mission every 2.7 days this year.…
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SpaceX and Northrop are working on a constellation of spy satellites
SpaceX is reportedly working with at least one major US defense contractor, Northrop Grumman, on a constellation of spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office. According to Reuters, development of the network of hundreds of spy satellites by SpaceX is being coordinated with multiple contractors to avoid putting too much control of a highly sensitive…
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The hidden story behind one of SpaceX’s wettest and wildest launches
Ten years ago today, when a Falcon 9 rocket took off from Florida, something strange happened. Dramatically, as the rocket lifted off, a fountain of dirty water splashed upward alongside the vehicle, coating the rocket in grime. Following the ultimately successful liftoff of this third cargo Dragon mission to the International Space Station, SpaceX founder…