SpaceX is feeling the pressure, or more accurately, the lack of sufficient pressure. In what is turning out to its most frustrating launch campaign since the days on Kwajalein, SpaceX was forced to scrub today’s planned flight of the Orbcomm OG2 mission after receiving indications that pressures were falling off in the Falcon 9 second […]
What a fascinating time. SpaceX RLV testing is proceeding on two fronts, one at Cape Canaveral with orbital launches, and the other at its McGregor Rocket Development Facility. Yesterday, SpaceX released this video showing the next step in its sequential program. Here is the official description: “Video of Falcon 9 Reusable (F9R) during a 1000m […]
On June 3rd, the Moscow Times reported on a new development in Space Adventure’s plan to launch two tourists on a voyage around the Moon. Having scored notable success as the first and only company to arrange tourist, or “space flight participant” trips to the International Space Station, Space Adventures has been promoting the lunar […]
The much anticipated, but oft delayed launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying 6 Orbcomm OG2 satellites has been reset for this Friday, with a backup slot open on Saturday. The latest delay was triggered when Orbcomm elected to perform further investigations regarding an undisclosed problem on one of the six satellites. The issue apparently […]
The SpaceX/Orbcomm OG2 launch has been delayed yet again, this time due to an undisclosed issue with one of the six satellites comprising the payload. Orbcomm posted the following update on its website: “All six satellites have completed additional testing and are functioning as expected. In an effort to be as cautious as possible, it […]
The quickly expanding list of privately funded space ventures added a new name this week, The Boldly Go Institute, and its goals are worthy of the name. Headlined by Dr. Jon Morse, Dr. Laurie Leshin and Dr. Scott Parazynski, all NASA veterans, the institute seeks to step in where NASA is falling short with big […]
Innerspace.net routinely tracks developments in the solar power industry due to its extreme significance for life off-Earth. Every increase in solar cell efficiency means a reduction either increased power in space, or on other worlds, or a reduction in the amount of mass required to supply a given amount of power. Physics.org has an interesting […]
The story itself is not new, with the popular press reporting on the Alcubierre/warp drive theory NASA’s Dr. Sonny White has been working on for several years now, but the images ….. oh my. Gizmodo has an article out providing some graphic renderings of a warp drive starship which would roughly fit within dimensions suggested […]
Last week, a U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee passed an FY 2015 bill for NASA, one with ominous portents for the Commercial Crew program. As pointed out in several media sources, the bill contains a “poison pill” provision which appears to be deliberately calculated to increase the administrative costs of the program to contractors, with SpaceX […]
The SpaceX / Orbcommlaunch which had been scheduled for Thursday evening has now been moved back until Sunday evening. Orbcomm posted the following on its website today: “The OG2 Mission 1 Launch is scheduled for Sunday, June 15 at 8:00 pm ET with Monday, June 16 as the back-up launch date. During final integration on […]
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