With SpaceX scheduled to launch their third mission to the International Space Station, which will be the second under the Commercial Resupply Services Contract on March 1st, Orbital Sciences is hoping to complete a hot firing test of the Antares booster first stage “before the end of February.” OSC’s previous hot fire attempt on February 13 was terminated […]
After a week which began with a North Korean nuclear test and ended with a meteor strike over the skies of Russia which NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory now estimates released nearly 500 kilotons of energy, followed by a near miss with a much larger asteroid why not start off a new week with something a little less ominous, perhaps another stunning image from the […]
What a coincidence. Only a few hours before a uncomfortably close call with asteroid 2012 DA14, which will pass within the orbit of geostationary satellites, a much smaller, and very unwelcome visitor from space shot across the Russian sky before detonating in a mid-air explosion which blew out windows and injured hundreds in the Chelyabink region, approximately 900 […]
Golden Spike Company, the recently announced venture which is seeking to conduct commercial trips to the lunar surface using mostly established technology, has turned to one of the newer forms of fundraising to finance a 2013 P.R. campaign. On Wednesday, the company began an Indiegogo campaign aimed at raising $240,000 for media outreach. Donation options begin at $10, which […]
Monday saw the 1,800th launch of the Russian Soyuz booster, a rocket updated, but also still very recognizable, as an immediate successor to the radio guided R-7 ballistic missile which was first planned in 1953. The record-setting launch, conducted from the space launch facility at Baikonur in Kazakhstan, was carried out on the Soyuz-U variety of the venerable rocket, which boosted a Russian Progress freighter to the International Space Station. The […]
NASA Press Release: WASHINGTON — NASA’s Strategic Space Technology Investment Plan has been posted to the agency’s website. The comprehensive strategic plan prioritizes space technologies essential to the pursuit of NASA’s mission and achievement of national goals. The NASA Strategic Space Technology Investment Plan was created following development of a series of agency draft Space […]
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg AFB California at 10:02 AM PST today, carrying the NASA / U.S. Geological Survey Landsat Data Continuity Mission. Launching into a near polar orbit, the LDCM, which will be officially named Landsat 8 pending a successful check out in orbit, will continue the long running earth […]
NASA recently completed a significant technology development exercise outside the International Space Station, its Robotic Refueling Mission, which used the Canadian built Dextre robot to transfer a fuel substitute (ethanol) into satellite testbed. Now the agency has put together a good recap of the mission, including a link to a reddit AMA from January 15. Although it is primarily discussed […]
A team of software engineers took part in a Reddit Ask Me Anything session today. For those who don’t have a clue what writing software code is actually like, (guilty) you still won’t after following the link, but the question and answer session provides an entertaining, funny and informative look into the work environment at the one company […]
Kicking off a full 2013 launch campaign, an Ariane V ECA heavy lift booster carrying two satellites lifted off from the CSG space center in French Guiana today, and in the process established a record performance of placing 10,317 kg into GTO. The larger of the two satellites, the 6,265 kg Amazonas 3, was built by Space Systems/Loral Satellite for Spanish operator Hispasat. […]
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