The first Space Shuttle launch took place 35 years ago today. Ending the first great “gap” in American crewed spaceflight which began with the conclusion of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. The Space Transportation System, with all of its incredible highs and wrenching lows, inaugurated a new era in American spaceflight which is still […]
The “Rocket City” may be taking a big step in seeing some of its storied history coming home, literally, in the form of a descending Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser space plane. Yesterday, officials in Huntsville, Al held an industry session to promote Dream Chaser landings in the city that helped launch America into the space […]
There were three newsworthy developments regarding reusable engines this week. First, SpaceX announced something close to firm pricing regarding what flights aboard a Falcon 9-R might cost in the near future. For the record, the reduction, enabled by 9 reusable Merlin 1-d engines that power the vehicle’s first stage, is 30% off the already low […]
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett This morning, NASA held a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center’s space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit to unveil a project which has been in the works since 2012. It is a memorial to both the crew and the ships which the agency lost in two accidents which shook the nation, the loss […]
Today is the 10th anniversary of the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and its brave crew. It is also NASA’s designated Day of Remembrance for the two other tragedies which shook the American space program, the Apollo 1 fire, and the loss of Challenger. The following message, posted on NASA.Gov is from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden […]
Past, present and future combine in one brief frame as the Space Shuttle Endeavour passes over SpaceX headquarters in the iconic spacecraft’s final moments with air under its wings. Whether it is a ship permanently moored to its quay as a floating museum, or a spacecraft or airplane forever captured in static display, there is something profoundly moving, and perhaps a […]
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