Tag: spaceplane

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
Dream Chaser Set to Begin Test Flights Soon

Dream Chaser Set to Begin Test Flights Soon

Sierra Nevada Corporation has announced that it is preparing to ship its Dream Chaser test article to California for a renewed round of flight tests as it works towards a 2019 debut under NASA’s CRS-2 resupply contract. SNC’s press release, included below, highlights the fact that the flight test article will include components and systems of […]

Virgin Galactic Unveils VSS Unity

Virgin Galactic Unveils VSS Unity

The nascent suborbital space tourism industry suffered a major blow on October 31st, 2014,  when Virgin Galactic’s VSS Enterprise was lost in a mid-air breakup over the Mojave desert during a powered test flight. Co-pilot Michael Alsbury was killed, and pilot Michael Siebold was badly injured. With the company already years behind schedule in the […]

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
For Sierra Nevada and Dream Chaser, the Chase Goes On

For Sierra Nevada and Dream Chaser, the Chase Goes On

Image Credit: Sierra Nevada Corporation Sierra Nevada Corporation is keeping the “chase” in its Dream Chaser space plane. On March 17th, the company revealed its proposal for an unmanned version of Dream Chaser intended to compete for NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services 2, or CRS-2 contract. Unlike the version put forward under NASA’s Commercial Crew program, […]

Europe’s IXV Demonstrator Launches, Lands, What Next?

Europe’s IXV Demonstrator Launches, Lands, What Next?

Europe’s IXV, or Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, a small re-entry test vehicle, launched this morning aboard a Vega booster from the European spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana. Liftoff, in what was the fourth flight of the three stage solid fueled Vega small launch vehicle, occurred at 13:30 GMT.   After reaching a maximum altitude of 412 […]

Posted in: Space Planes
Swiss Space Systems Conducts First Tests, Looks at Russian Engine

Swiss Space Systems Conducts First Tests, Looks at Russian Engine

SOAR Space Plane / Credit Swiss Space Systems One of Europe’s leading NewSpace companies, Swiss Space Systems recently completed a first milestone, conducting an initial round of “flight testing” key components at its Canadian test facility. From its press release: “These first test flights were done with the purpose of testing and validating avionics systems, […]

Range Rover, Virgin Galactic To Award “Tickets to Space”

Range Rover, Virgin Galactic To Award “Tickets to Space”

Land Rover, in participation with Virgin Galactic, announced yesterday the latest in a series of promotions which has seen KLM and Unilever hold contests to give away a  “ticket to space.” The current contest, designed to promote the new Land Rover Discovery Sport, is divided along regional lines, with video submission promoting the spirit of […]

Posted in: Space Tourism
Swiss Space Sytems Hopes to “SOAR” with Investor Campaign

Swiss Space Sytems Hopes to “SOAR” with Investor Campaign

Image Credit: Swiss Space Systems Since the day it was announced, Swiss Space Systems has been among the more intriguing NewSpace companies enering the launch arena.  With its vision of a two/thirds reusable space launch platform consisting of a modified Airbus A-300 carrying aloft a fully reusable, unmanned winged second stage based on both European and […]

Posted in: Uncategorized
Northrop Grumman Announces its DARPA XS-1 SpacePlane Team

Northrop Grumman Announces its DARPA XS-1 SpacePlane Team

Image Credit : Northrop Grumman 2014-08-19T12:00:00-0700 REDONDO BEACH, Calif. – Aug. 19, 2014 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) with Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic is developing a preliminary design and flight demonstration plan for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Experimental Spaceplane XS-1 program. A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://media.globenewswire.com/noc/mediagallery.html?pkgid=27176. XS-1 […]

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