Tag: ULA

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
ULA’s Debuts New “RocketBuilder” Website

ULA’s Debuts New “RocketBuilder” Website

It may not have a reusable rocket, or even the prospect of one, but that doesn’t mean United Launch Alliance isn’t without a few advantages of its own in competing for commercial launch orders. On Wednesday, ULA introduced a new website, called RocketBuilder.com, meant to highlight its newfound commitment to transparency, lowering launch prices and becoming […]

Firefly Out? Sabotage In? Two Days of Negative NewSpace News

Firefly Out? Sabotage In? Two Days of Negative NewSpace News

One of the most appealing aspects of writing about space, and NewSpace in particular, is that for the most part, the news and the stories are positive. We are fortunate enough to be living in an era when there are breakthroughs or discoveries being made on almost a weekly basis. It leads to a general […]

Posted in: SpaceX
NASA Counting Down to Asteroid Mission Launch on Thursday Evening

NASA Counting Down to Asteroid Mission Launch on Thursday Evening

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate is counting down to the launch of yet another ground breaking (in this case, literally) spacecraft, from Cape Canaveral. Flying aboard the ever-reliable ULA Atlas-V in its 411 configuration, the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security – Regolith Explorer, or Osiris-REx, will journey to the Near Earth asteroid Bennu, where it will collect and […]

Posted in: Asteroids, NASA
The Ties That Bind: Russian / Chinese Engine Cooperation

The Ties That Bind: Russian / Chinese Engine Cooperation

From Tass: “Russia and China are actively discussing the prospects of cooperation in space rocket engine-making, creating a heavy rocket, space stations and making long-distance space flights, Russia’s Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov told TASS on Tuesday. “Our country has substantial potential accumulated in the sphere of engine-making. This is a well-known fact,” the ambassador […]

Posted in: Chinese space, Congress
Atlas, Delta, Falcon and Whole Bunch of Smoke

Atlas, Delta, Falcon and Whole Bunch of Smoke

Opinionated Analysis The ping pong match between the House and the Senate over ULA’s request for more RD-180 engines for the Atlas V was in the hands of the latter yesterday, where the Senate Armed Services Committee once again insisted that the number be limited to 9 engines beyond tbose already ordered as part of […]

Read’em and Weep: New Falcon 9 Performance Numbers Are Bad News for ULA, Arianespace

Read’em and Weep: New Falcon 9 Performance Numbers Are Bad News for ULA, Arianespace

Over the weekend, SpaceX updated the maximum performance numbers for the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters, helpfully including payload to Mars capability, (and Pluto) along with standard LEO and GTO numbers supplied by most launch vehicle providers. While the Falcon Heavy showed a somewhat surprisingly small increase, from 53,000 kg to 54,400 kg to […]

Posted in: SpaceX
SpaceX Wins Contract ULA Refused to Bid; Saves Taxpayer $60 Million

SpaceX Wins Contract ULA Refused to Bid; Saves Taxpayer $60 Million

Mars was not the only thing in SpaceX’s orbit on Thursday. On the same day that the company announced it is aiming for a landing on the Red Planet as early as 2018, it also landed the first award in its long sought campaign to launch national security missions under the Air Force’s EELV program. […]

Congress Prepares to Push the AR-1 on ULA

Congress Prepares to Push the AR-1 on ULA

The long and increasingly sordid saga of America’s dependence, and indeed bizarre fascination with the Russian RD-180 engine for the Atlas V booster is set to take another turn this week. And if certain scenarios play out, observers could be forgiven for wondering is there any limit to how much damage elected representatives from the […]

Bigelow Aerospace & ULA Propose a Major Expansion of the International Space Station

Bigelow Aerospace & ULA Propose a Major Expansion of the International Space Station

On Sunday, the SpaceX CRS-8 Dragon spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station, carrying in its “trunk” the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module or BEAM. Based on a press conference held today at the 32nd Space Symposium in Colorado Springs however, BEAM may be only the beginning of Bigelow’s presence at ISS, and the future may […]

π