Archive for August, 2016

India Successfully Tests a Scramjet Engine

India Successfully Tests a Scramjet Engine

As anyone who has traveled from the U.S. to India can attest, it is one damn long flight. And while it may not be getting shorter anytime soon, perhaps there is hope on the horizon. On Sunday, India took another significant step in its drive to develop cutting edge domestic aerospace technology with a successful […]

Posted in: India Space
SpaceX, SES Aim For a Three-peat With Historic Relaunch Agreement

SpaceX, SES Aim For a Three-peat With Historic Relaunch Agreement

The NewSpace Age is set to take another giant leap forward later this year with today’s announcement that SpaceX and SES have reached an agreement to use a “flight proven” Falcon 9 first stage for the launch of the SES-10 satellite. Luxembourg based SES has been one of SpaceX’s most progressive supporters, having been the […]

Posted in: NewSpace, SpaceX
With Proxima b Confirmed as Earth’s Nearest Neighbor, Humanity Has a New Destination

With Proxima b Confirmed as Earth’s Nearest Neighbor, Humanity Has a New Destination

Of all the stunning real-life images of deep space captured by the telescopes of the European Southern Observatory, this artist’s impression may be the most profound. As expected, the ESO held a press conference at its headquarters in Munich, Germany yesterday to announce that its researchers have indeed discovered a near Earth sized planet orbiting […]

A Red Hot Tesla and Driving on the Red Planet

A Red Hot Tesla and Driving on the Red Planet

It’s been a while since InnerSpace has revisited the topic of Tesla, which though not directly space related is still very significant for multiple reasons. Yesterday, Tesla released a new 100 KWH battery pack for the Model S and Model X, which among other things takes the range of the Model S over 300 miles, […]

Posted in: Mars, SpaceX, Tesla
ESO’s Wednesday Presser: Earth 2.0 at Proxima Centauri?

ESO’s Wednesday Presser: Earth 2.0 at Proxima Centauri?

German rocket pioneer Krafft Ehricke supposedly once said “if God had meant mankind to become a spacefaring species he would have given us a Moon.” Based on that sentiment, tomorrow could be a bad day for atheists. Last month, word began to come out that an Earth sized planet has been discovered in the habitable […]

Russia Still Wants to Send Tourists Around the Moon

Russia Still Wants to Send Tourists Around the Moon

A long touted lunar circumnavigation for space tourists is back in the news with reports from Russia that RSC Energia now has 8 possible candidates for the mission, which would take place aboard a specially modified Soyuz. The story from Sputniknews, actually quotes an interview from another paper Izvestia, which somewhat paradoxically (or not) made […]

A Potential Russian Reduction in ISS Could Imperil U.S. Commercial Progress

A Potential Russian Reduction in ISS Could Imperil U.S. Commercial Progress

Today, two NASA astronauts on the International Space Station installed the International Docking Adapter which was carried to orbit in the trunk of the SpaceX CRS-9 Dragon capsule. With the first of two IDA’s now in place, the Station will be ready to receive U.S. Commercial Crew missions, which could begin with a test flight […]

SpaceX Wants to Buy a Whole Lot of Carbon Fiber

SpaceX Wants to Buy a Whole Lot of Carbon Fiber

An interesting piece of information regarding SpaceX’s future plans and the purchase of large quantities of carbon fiber out of the Nikkei Asian Review, courtesy of Jeff Foust’s morning newsletter. “Japanese materials maker Toray Industries has agreed to supply carbon fiber to U.S. startup SpaceX for use in the bodies of rockets and space vehicles. […]

Posted in: SpaceX
SpaceX Brings Home the Gold, (and a Falcon 9) in Repeat Performance

SpaceX Brings Home the Gold, (and a Falcon 9) in Repeat Performance

It was something like watching Michael Phelps or Katie Ledecky, you know the result is almost a foregone conclusion, but it still sure is fun to tune in, particularly if you are a fan of Team USA. During the overnight hours, SpaceX once again successfully launched a communications satellite on a commercial mission to Geostationary […]

Posted in: SpaceX
SpaceX Aims for Launch/Landing Repeat With JCSAT-16 Tonight

SpaceX Aims for Launch/Landing Repeat With JCSAT-16 Tonight

SpaceX is preparing for another overnight launch out of Cape Canaveral. Scheduled to liftoff at 1:26 AM ET (5:26 AM UDT) early Sunday morning is JCSAT-16, a commercial communications satellite for SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation.  The launch, which will take place from Space Launch Complex 40 aboard a Falcon 9 and has a 2-hour window, […]

Posted in: SpaceX
π