In a joint press release, NASA and Blue Origin announced that the company has completed an engine test as part of its CCDev-2 requirements. The engine, designated the BE-3, generates 100,000 lb thrust and is powered by liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. The test was conducted at NASA’s Stennis facility near Bay St. Louis Mississippi. Blue Origin has consistently been very guarded […]
The imagery accompanying Felix Baumgartner’s record setting jump on Sunday was both compelling in the moment, and evocative of moments gone by. The piercing clear blue sky, and the thin, ethereal nature of the balloon itself soon gave way to the infrared imagery of a single man plummeting through the atmosphere at a speed greater than that which most […]
One day, two boards. Three days before the SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, undergoing a widely publicized failure on first stage engine number 1, a United Launch Alliance Boeing Delta IV lifted from its adjacent pad, and following a nominal first stage burn, experienced lower than expected performance by the Pratt and Whitney […]
SpaceX issued the following press release today: Update / SpaceX CRS-1 Mission: October 12 NASA and SpaceX announce that they have jointly formed a CRS-1 Post-Flight Investigation Board. This board will methodically analyze all data in an effort to understand what occurred to engine 1 during liftoff of the CRS-1 mission on Sunday, October 7. […]
If you’re going to commit a drive by, at least don’t aim at yourself. In an article published yesterday in the Washington Examiner, meant as an attack on SpaceX and Elon Musk, staff writer Richard Pollock initiated a series of stumbling, intellectually vacant statements with this whopper: “The rocket lost power from one of its nine engines shortly after […]
Space Adventures yesterday confirmed rumours that Sarah Brightman will become the next space tourist. The world’s best selling soprano will fly on the Russian booster on a 10 day trip to the International Space Station at a date which has yet to be determined. The most likely time frame appears to be 2015, when two seats are opened on the Soyuz […]
Apparently, it was just too much. Displaying the bold and decisive space action usually reserved for one James T. Kirk (in either universe), ISS crew commander Suni Williams and flight Engineer Aki Hoshide threw caution to the wind and opened Dragon’s hatch at 1:40 PM EDT Wednesday, hours after completing the berthing procedure and a full day ahead of schedule. With […]
SpaceX provided the following update today, shedding a little more light on the specific circumstances regarding NASA requirements which ultimately forced SpaceX to deploy an Orbcomm satellite in a lower than desired orbit. Update on SpaceX CRS-1 Mission: October 10 The SpaceX CRS-1 mission reached a critical milestone today, October 10, with the Dragon spacecraft successfully attaching to […]
At 9:03 AM Eastern time, the SpaceX Dragon capsule was officially attached to the International Space Station. After being maneuvered into position on the Earth facing side of the Harmony module via the uniquely versatile Canadarm 2, astronauts initially engaged 4 latches followed by 16 bolts, effectively making the Dragon a part of the station. In a cruel and patently unfair development, allegedly part of […]
Watch live coveage of CRS-1 at SpaceX.com SpaceX CRS-1 Mission Update: October 10, 2012 Update from SpaceX The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft has been successfully captured at the International Space Station. At approximately 6:56AM ET / 3:56AM PT, Expedition 33 crew member Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency used the station’s robotic arm to grapple Dragon. Expedition 33 […]
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