Image Credit: ULA Doing what it undeniably does best, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lofted a National Reconnaissance Office satellite into orbit this morning from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The classified NROL-33 launch lifted off at 9:09 AM EDT this morning aboard the most basic version of the Atlas-V, the 401, which includes a […]
Media reports indicate that the SpaceX CRS-3 Dragon capsule which splashed down into the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, took on water as it waited through a recovery effort which apparently lasted longer than usual. According to a report in Aviation Week: “The quantity of seawater intrusion and the source is unclear, said Dan Hartman, NASA’s […]
Map of proposed Dragonfly test area. Credit : FAA One week ahead of a scheduled unveiling of the Commercial Crew Dragon 2.0 spacecraft which is to take place on May 29, a draft environmental assessment published by the FAA sheds a wealth of information regarding the new testing program which will support it. In short […]
Space News is reporting that the May 9th scrub of the SpaceX/Orbcomm launch scheduled for the following day was caused by a helium leak detected during the fueling procedure for a static test fire. The leak is apparently unrelated to a different problem which cropped up shortly before liftoff on April 14th, as the Falcon […]
Image Credit NASA/JPL What a magnificent view, and taken by one remarkably hardy little Rover. How long one wonders, before a similar view becomes the background for the first Martian “selfie” shot with what, the Iphone “M?” JPL Press Release: This vista of the Endeavour Crater rim was acquired by NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity […]
Several interesting developments suggest the Stratolaunch project is beginning to gain serious traction, marking a new entry into the intermediate class of a launch vehicles left vacant since ULA discontinued production of the Delta II, and SpaceX walked away from the Falcon 5, and its own preliminary involvement in the Paul Allen project. GenCorp, the […]
According to an update posted on Orbcomm’s website, a new launch attempt has now been scheduled for June 11, with a backup slot available the next day. The new date comes approximately one month after the previous effort scheduled for May 10 was scrubbed due to an undisclosed problem which occurred during fueling for a […]
On Friday, NASA announced the winners in its 2014 Space Apps Challenge: NASA Press Release: RELEASE 14-132 NASA Announces Global Award Winners of the 2014 International Space Apps Challenge NASA mission priorities were explored by five winners of the 2014 International Space Apps Challenge, a worldwide “hackathon” to spark innovation with direct application to future […]
Image Credit SpaceX The SpaceX CRS-3 Dragon made a safe, on time splash down today in the Pacific ocean, drawing its 28 day mission to ISS to a highly successful conclusion. For all the news lately regarding U.S./Russian relations and the future U.S. access to space, it should not go unnoticed that the SpaceX Dragon […]
Russia may soon need its own trampoline. Overnight, a Russian Proton-M booster lifted off from Baikonur carrying the Express AM4R communications satellite built by EADS Astrium. Like all too many Proton payloads in recent years, it did not reach the correct orbit, or in this case, any orbit at all. Instead it suffered a complete […]
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