Tag: Raptor

Musk Reddit AMA on Mars Plans Echo NASA’s Approach to Apollo Decades Ago

Musk Reddit AMA on Mars Plans Echo NASA’s Approach to Apollo Decades Ago

A Sunday “Ask Me Anything” segment on Reddit by SpaceX CEO Founder and CEO Elon Musk filled in some of the details regarding the company’s recently announced Mars plans. It also demonstrated once again the unique nature of SpaceX’s path to its overriding goal and a big picture approach which is strongly reminiscent of the […]

Posted in: Mars, NASA, SpaceX
The Rapidly Receding Rationale for NASA’s Space Launch System

The Rapidly Receding Rationale for NASA’s Space Launch System

Opinion As he neared the end of the Tuesday presentation in which he introduced the world to SpaceX’s Interplanetary Transport System, Elon Musk was asked the inevitable question regarding what his plans meant for NASA. The answer was both polite and encouraging, as Musk rightly pointed out that there is no one sure path to […]

Posted in: Blue Origin, NASA, SpaceX
Big Rockets and Bigger Dreams: Elon Musk Introduces SpaceX’s Interplanetary Transport System

Big Rockets and Bigger Dreams: Elon Musk Introduces SpaceX’s Interplanetary Transport System

SpaceX founder Elon Musk took to the stage at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico on Tuesday to finally unveil to the public his company’s vision of a Mars transportation architecture capable of ultimately transporting hundreds of thousands of colonists to the Red Planet. Through the course of the presentation which began with a […]

SpaceX Lights Up Its Raptor Engine For The First Time

SpaceX Lights Up Its Raptor Engine For The First Time

SpaceX has announced the first test firing of its next generation Raptor engine. Word came, as it so often does, via Elon Musk’s Twitter account:   SpaceX propulsion just achieved first firing of the Raptor interplanetary transport engine pic.twitter.com/vRleyJvBkx — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 26, 2016 A series of follow up tweets provided a bit […]

Russian Rocket Engine Replacement : Air Force Makes Two More Awards

Russian Rocket Engine Replacement : Air Force Makes Two More Awards

The Air Force has made two more awards in an effort to extricate itself from a controversial, and at times baffling American dependence on Russian rocket engines used to boost some of the nation’s most valuable and sensitive payloads into space. Yesterday’s awards, announced by the Space and Missile Systems PAO, went to Aerojet Rocketdyne […]

Blue Origin Completes Acceptance Testing of BE-3 Engine

Blue Origin Completes Acceptance Testing of BE-3 Engine

BE-3 Undergoing Testing / Image Credit Blue Origin Long silent Blue Origin announced today that it has completed acceptance testing of its BE-3 cryogenic rocket engine. The complete press release is included below. Comments follow the release. KENT, Wash. – Blue Origin recently completed acceptance testing of its BE‑3 rocket engine, the first new hydrogen […]

SpaceX Plans McGregor Expansion

SpaceX Plans McGregor Expansion

Image Credit SpaceX The Waco-Tribune reports that SpaceX is planning a significant expansion of its McGregor, Tx. rocket development facility near Waco. From the story: “SpaceX is proposing to invest $46.3 million in the site during the next five years. That will consist of about $32.4 million in real property improvements and $13.9 million in […]

Posted in: SpaceX
Elon Musk MIT Interview and the Evolution of SpaceX

Elon Musk MIT Interview and the Evolution of SpaceX

On Friday, October 24th, SpaceX founder and CTO Elon Musk sat down for a one on one interview as part of MIT’s AeroAstro Centenial Symposium celebrating 100 years of that institution’s contribution to aero and astronautics. The entire wide ranging interview (here) covers SpaceX, Tesla, Hyperloop and even electric supersonic aircraft, as well as Elon’s […]

Posted in: Mars, SpaceX
SpaceX Reaches Merlin Milestone

SpaceX Reaches Merlin Milestone

100: Image Credit SpaceX SpaceX has announced via website update a milestone in the production of its Merlin 1D engine. “Less than two years after SpaceX began producing the Merlin 1D engines that power the Falcon 9 rocket, the 100th Merlin 1D engine is complete. SpaceX is currently the largest private producer of rocket engines […]

Posted in: SpaceX
Air Force New Engine RFI Ignores Reusability

Air Force New Engine RFI Ignores Reusability

Image Credit: SpaceX Innerspace Commentary: On Wednesday, United Launch Alliance took delivery of two more Russian built RD-180 rocket engines destined for the Atlas V. They were delivered to Huntsville, Al. aboard an Antonov cargo plane in a depressingly routine procedure. Curiously, even though Congress is in recess, none of the Alabama delegation; Mo Brooks, […]

Posted in: Editorials, EELV
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