Tag: rocket

Science Fiction Fact : SpaceX Falcon 9 Flys Into History

Science Fiction Fact : SpaceX Falcon 9 Flys Into History

  Somewhere, Robert A. Heinlein is smiling. Check that, he is more likely roaring with delight that at long last, a privately developed rocket has been successfully re-flown in an orbital flight. That the most recent mission took place from a government owned launchpad that is practically a shrine to taxpayer funded frustration in the […]

Posted in: SpaceX
China Enters the Big Leagues With Maiden Flight of Massive New Rocket

China Enters the Big Leagues With Maiden Flight of Massive New Rocket

China has taken a major step forward in advancing its space ambitions with the maiden flight of its Long March 5 heavy lift booster. Liftoff of the all liquid fueled rocket took place from China’s Wenchang Satellite Launch Center located on Hainan Island. As with most Chinese launches, and any that carry the potential of […]

Posted in: Chinese space
Risk and Advancement: SpaceX Anomaly Investigation Makes Progress

Risk and Advancement: SpaceX Anomaly Investigation Makes Progress

Late last week, SpaceX released a new update regarding the ‘anomaly’ which destroyed a Falcon 9 rocket and its satellite payload during pre-flight testing on September 1st. It is included in its entirety below. As suggested by previous updates, as well as comments both on and off the record from company officials, the overall cause […]

Posted in: 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 […]

Jeff Bezos Introduces New Glenn, Blue Origin’s Massive New Rocket

Jeff Bezos Introduces New Glenn, Blue Origin’s Massive New Rocket

If there were any possibility that SpaceX founder Elon Musk would step back from a highly anticipated announcement of his company’s next big booster in September in deference to the current Falcon 9 investigation, it has likely been erased by the bombshell dropped by Jeff Bezos on Monday. It came in the form of a […]

India Strides Ahead With First “Operational” Launch of Its Cryogenic GSLV

India Strides Ahead With First “Operational” Launch of Its Cryogenic GSLV

While much of the space interested world is looking towards Cape Canaveral and the launch of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission this evening, doubtlessly casting a concerned eye over the charred remains of SpaceX’s mobile launch erector just a few miles away, it was a very different rocket launching from a pad much further away which has […]

Posted in: GSLV, India Space
A New (ish) North American Rocket: The Cyclone 4

A New (ish) North American Rocket: The Cyclone 4

Buried by the coverage of yesterday’s explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 at Cape Canaveral was the somewhat unexpected announcement that Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye Design Office is moving rapidly towards establishing a commercial launch operation for its Cyclone 4 rocket in North America. According to the press release, which is included below, the Cyclone 4 would […]

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
EELV Phase 2 and Blue Origin: Where’s the Congressional Curiosity?

EELV Phase 2 and Blue Origin: Where’s the Congressional Curiosity?

Responding to a letter from Congressman Mike Rogers, (R) Al, the GAO has released a report summarizing a presentation made before the House Armed Services Committee on June 6. The report, which is focused on the space launch capabilities of other nations, was requested as the Air Force prepares to structure the next phase of […]

China Debuts Its New Rocket, Launch Center, and Prototype Crew Capsule

China Debuts Its New Rocket, Launch Center, and Prototype Crew Capsule

China has taken a great leap forward in advancing its space ambitions with the successful Saturday night debut of its all new, kerosene/liquid oxygen fueled Long March 7 rocket. The 13.5 ton to LEO EELV class rocket, roughly comparable to the Atlas V and Falcon 9, is intended to be the workhorse booster for supporting […]

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