Archive for May, 2015

NASA Adds New Class of Small Launch Vehicles

NASA Adds New Class of Small Launch Vehicles

NASA’s Launch Services Program, which operates out of Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, held a press teleconference on Monday to discuss its decision to add a new class of launch vehicles to its existing portfolio. Called VCLS, or Venture Class Launch Services, the new category is intended to help define and promote the burgeoning cubesat and […]

XCOR Lynx Space Plane Continues to Take Shape

XCOR Lynx Space Plane Continues to Take Shape

Image Credit XCOR Aerospace Press Release XCOR: One Step Closer to Full Assembly Mojave, CA, May 08, 2015 – XCOR Aerospace, Inc. announced today that it has bonded the XCOR Lynx Mark I strakes to the Lynx spacecraft fuselage. Lynx Mark I is currently being assembled at XCOR’s Hangar 61 in Mojave, California. Integrating the […]

Posted in: Space Planes, XCOR
Russian Progress “Ceases to Exist” Over the Central Pacific

Russian Progress “Ceases to Exist” Over the Central Pacific

Roscosmos has reported that the stricken M-27M Progress resupply vessel reentered the Earth’s atmosphere overnight. The statement, which is on the agency’s website (in Russian), says that the craft “ceased to exist over the central Pacific Ocean, and that the results of an investigation will be presented no later than May 13th.  Further reports in […]

Posted in: ISS, Russian Space
“Hope” for the Middle East: UAE Introduces its Mars Orbiter Mission

“Hope” for the Middle East: UAE Introduces its Mars Orbiter Mission

The United Arab Emirates has provided quite a bit more information on the Mars orbiter mission it announced last year. Named Hope, it would launch in 2020, and arrive at Mars in 2021, in time to highlight the 50th anniversary of the founding of UAE. Its scientific objective is to provide the first complete holistic […]

Posted in: Mars
With Brilliant Pad Abort Test, SpaceX Sets the Stage for American Space Launch Renaissance

With Brilliant Pad Abort Test, SpaceX Sets the Stage for American Space Launch Renaissance

4 Frames of Pad Abort Test : Image Credit NASA SpaceX took a major step towards regaining U.S. domestic crew launch capability today with a successful Pad Abort Test of its Commercial Crew Dragon capsule. The test widow was originally scheduled to open at 7:00 AM EDT, but was subsequently moved back two hours to […]

Elon Musk’s Tesla Unveils Powerwall: Coming to a Mars Hab Near You

Elon Musk’s Tesla Unveils Powerwall: Coming to a Mars Hab Near You

Image Credit: Tesla Motors Last week, Tesla Motors unveiled its new “non automotive” product line, and as anyone who has been following the company already knew, it was a home battery pack, named Powerwall. If you have not yet seen the 18 minute event, there are far less productive ways to start your week. Innerspace […]

Posted in: Mars, SpaceX, Tesla
SpaceX Pad Abort Test Preview

SpaceX Pad Abort Test Preview

Image Credit: SpaceX NASA and SpaceX held a press conference at the Kennedy Space Center this morning to preview next week’s Pad Abort Test for the Commercial Crew Dragon capsule. SpaceX was represented by V.P. of Mission Assurance Hans Koenigsmann, and NASA by SpaceX Commercial Crew parter manager John Cowart. The test, which had been […]

Posted in: NASA, SpaceX
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