Tag: Space
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Rocket Report: Alpha Block 2 coming this summer; Falcon sets booster landing mark
Welcome to Edition 8.40 of the Rocket Report! One of the remarkable things about SpaceX is that, after a quarter of a century and becoming the most important launch company of this era, it remains a disruptive force. Even though the Falcon 9 is the most used rocket of the world, and groundbreaking in its…
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The animated version of the iconic “Hello, world” image reveals striking new details
The astronauts flying aboard the Artemis II mission to the Moon last month took a lot of pictures, and a few dozen of the best ones were released during and shortly afterward the flight. But it wasn’t until last weekend that NASA released the whole trove of more than 12,000 images, dumping them onto the…
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Virgin Galactic reveals new ship, but it’s running out of time and cash
On Thursday, the publicly traded spaceflight company Virgin Galactic shared on social media a new photo of its next-generation spaceship being towed outside of its factory in Mesa, Arizona. You remember Virgin Galactic, right? The space tourism company was founded 22 years ago by Sir Richard Branson to bring spaceflight to the masses. Hundreds of…
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Gateway manufacturer finally acknowledges issue, fails to mention “corrosion”
One of the more intriguing space stories in a while broke last week when NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said during a congressional hearing that the two habitation modules built for the Lunar Gateway had been corroded. The immediate response to these comments on Wednesday before a House committee from some space industry observers was doubt—Isaacman,…
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Well, this is embarrassing: The Lunar Gateway’s primary modules are corroded
For a decade, NASA promoted the idea of building a space station around the Moon known as the Lunar Gateway. It touted the facility as both a platform for exploring the lunar environment and testing the technology needed for deep-space habitation. Like many major space projects, it faced delays. Originally, the first component of the…
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Rocket Report: Artemis III rocket getting ready; SpaceX is now an AI company
Welcome to Edition 8.38 of the Rocket Report! The big news this week concerned the third launch of the New Glenn rocket. The first 15 minutes of the flight were exhilarating for Blue Origin, seeing a previously flown rocket take flight and then triumphantly land on a barge at sea. But then the highest of…
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You want your Moon landings in HD? So does NASA—here’s how it’s happening.
During most of the Artemis II mission, the crew of four astronauts beamed back low-definition video, both from inside the spacecraft and from exterior views of the Moon. It was exhilarating stuff, but in a world in which we’re all watching HDTVs, it also felt a little flat. This is because Orion largely communicated with…
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Artemis II pilot talks about what it was really like to fly and land in Orion
The crew of Artemis II spoke with the media on Thursday, six days after returning to Earth following their mission around the Moon. After a news conference, the astronauts gave a handful of interviews, and Ars was able to speak with Orion’s pilot, Victor Glover. Glover and Ars first connected nearly a decade ago as…
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Blue Origin has a new employee stock plan, but not everyone is happy
Blue Origin released details about a new stock option plan in an internal communication on Tuesday. Ars was able to review the materials and connect with some employees to gather their thoughts. Some of the early reviews are not positive, with one employee going so far as to describe the plan as “pure f—king trash.”…
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Amazon and Apple vs. Starlink: Globalstar satellite acquisition comes with a big iPhone bonus
Amazon announced an agreement Tuesday to acquire Globalstar, adding the satellite operator’s fleet, spectrum, and Apple partnership to its growing Amazon Leo network. (Amazon Image) Amazon isn’t just buying Globalstar — it’s inheriting Apple’s satellite roadmap. The Seattle-based company’s agreement to acquire the satellite operator behind Apple’s iPhone Emergency SOS feature promises to give it…