Shortly before a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy booster lifted off from Vandenberg AFB yesterday, spacepolicyonline relayed a report from the Russian newspaper Izvestia suggesting that Vladimir Putin’s government is considering terminating the agreement which allows the United States to import the RD-180 main engine which powers the ULA Atlas V booster. Although critics […]
It is a busy week for two of the world’s most powerful launch vehicles A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy booster stands ready to blast into orbit today from Vandenberg, A.F.B. in California, carrying a National Reconnaissance Office payload designated NROL-65, on a liftoff scheduled for 10:52 a.m. local, 1:52 p.m. EDT. This will […]
An early morning (12:45 am EDT. 1:45 pm Japan Standard Time) launch of Japan’s new Epsilon rocket was scrubbed at T-19 seconds, due to what was described as an “attitude abnormality” which triggered an automatic stop. It was not immediately clear from JAXA’s press release whether the rocket was determined to simply be in […]
From SNC Press release yesterday: Sparks, NV – August 22, 2013 – Today Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) Dream Chaser® spacecraft successfully completed a full-scale captive-carry test. The test in which the Dream Chaser was carried under an Erickson Air-Crane helicopter was conducted at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif. The captive-carry test was […]
From the European Southern Observatory: “Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have obtained a vivid close-up view of material streaming away from a newborn star. By looking at the glow coming from carbon monoxide molecules in an object called Herbig-Haro 46/47 they have discovered that its jets are even more energetic than previously […]
The Indian Space Research Organization ISRO) announced yesterday that it scrubbed the launch of its GSLV booster, which had been scheduled for liftoff at 7:20 AM EDT. The scrub came during the countdown an hour and 14 minutes prior to launch, due to the detection of a hydrazine leak in the hypergolic fueled second […]
Sunday, August 18th 2013 marked the twentieth anniversary of the first flight of one of the most unique, and influential rockets of the space age, one which never reached orbit and was never intended to. Developed under the auspices of the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO), the DC-X marked an incremental approach to solving the […]
NASA Press Release RELEASE 13-255 NASA Commercial Crew Partner SpaceX Completes Orbit and Entry Review NASA Commercial Crew Program (CCP) partner Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) recently reviewed the systems critical to sustaining crews in orbit and returning them safely to Earth aboard the company’s Dragon spacecraft. SpaceX is one of three commercial space companies working […]
NASA’s Office of Inspector General released a report on the Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle (Orion) today, and almost irrespective of your point of view, it should be a more than a little troubling. The report’s principle conclusion is that due to what is described as a “constrained budget environment” the Lockheed Martin built capsule is […]
The following press release from NASA would seem to suggest that the decision period for the final round of the Commercial Crew program may be slipping a bit as the current round CCiCap, is extended to August 2014 with the decision to fund several optional milestones. Also noteworthy, SpaceX still appears to be well in […]
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