A test version of NASA’s Orion spacecraft descends under its three main parachutes above the U.S. Army Proving Ground in Arizona in the agency’s most difficult test of the parachutes system’s performance. (Credit: NASA/Rad Sinyak)

YUMA PROVING GROUND, Ariz. (NASA PR) — NASA completed the most complex and flight-like test of the parachute system for the agency’s Orion spacecraft on Wednesday.

A test version of Orion touched down safely in the Arizona desert after being pulled out of a C-17 aircraft, 35,000 feet above the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground. It was the first time some parachutes in the system had been tested at such a high altitude. Engineers also put additional stresses on the parachutes by allowing the test version of Orion to free fall for 10 seconds, which increased the vehicle’s speed and aerodynamic pressure.

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Video Caption: Astrobotic Technology’s newly developed autonomous landing system was put to the test recently when it controlled Masten Space Systems’ XA-0.1B Xombie suborbital technology demonstration rocket during a flight test at the Mojave Air and Space Port. Astrobotic’s system designed to avoid terrain hazards while safely landing a spacecraft at a specific location on a asteroid, moon or planet. The June 20 test funded by the Flight Opportunities Program […]

Video Caption: The International Space Station crew shows off their own World Cup moves in an “Out Of This World Cup” match. Zero-gravity offers a unique environment to explore new ways to enjoy and celebrate the world’s most popular sport. International Space Station Expedition 40 crew members Steve Swanson, Reid Wiseman, and Alexander Gerst highlight international cooperation while traveling high and fast above the Earth.

NASA has signed amendments to their commercial crew agreements with SpaceX and Sierra Nevada Corporation that give each company an additional seven months to complete flight test milestones on their space vehicles. The deadline is now March 31, 2015, instead of Aug. 31. The SpaceX amendment will allow additional time for the company to complete an in-flight abort test with its Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 booster. The test, which […]

AMSTERDAM, June 27, 2014 (SXC PR) – Should the Dutch soccer team win the World Cup, the Dutch space travel company SXC would give them an actual spaceflight, allowing each player to claim the official title ‘Astronaut’ for the rest of his life.

SXC Co-Founder Michiel Mol: “Being a Dutch firm, we feel extremely proud of our team’s current achievements in Brazil. The breathtaking goal of Robin van Persie, and all newspaper headlines about ‘The Flying Dutchman’ have inspired us to also do something extra. We will literally try to take them to the next level; 103 km. The whole selection of 23 players and of course Louis van Gaal.

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The first launch of the Angara 1.2 rocket was scrubbed at the last minute: The would-be historic launch was automatically terminated just few minutes before the countdown, the Defense Ministry declared. “Technical issues” are blamed for the incident, said sources in the Russian space agency Roscosmos. According to the commander of Russia’s aerospace defense troops, Aleksandr Golovko, the launch has been rescheduled for Saturday, 3:15pm Moscow time (11:15 GMT). “During […]

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell was on The John Batchelor Show last night to explain recent Falcon 9 launch delays and the unexpected decision not to webcast a launch attempt on Saturday, which upset some of its rabid fans. Shotwell said that the most recent delay on Sunday was caused by a problem with the first stage thrust vector control actuator. Although they could have probably launched safely with the problem, […]

There seems to be a trend of prominent space experts challenging each other to debates.

First, New Horizons Supremo Alan Stern challenged Neil deGrasse Tyson to debate whether Pluto should be restored to planetary status. Stern, whose mission will explore Pluto next year, believes it should be elevated from dwarf planet status. Tyson, the driving force behind Pluto’s demotion, refused to debate the subject.

Now, it’s Robert Zubrin’s turn. The Mars Society president has challenged Ad Astra Rocket Company Founder Franklin Chang-Diaz to a debate over how to best explore Mars. Near as I can tell from the press release, it would give Zubrin a chance to demonstrate that Ad Astra’s plasma-based VASIMR engine, which Chang Diaz is promoting for rapid trips to Mars, is pretty much a fraud.

Wow, who could turn down an invitation like that?

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Abstract: One of Ames’ long standing science interests has been to robotically drill deeply into Mars’ subsurface environment (2 meters, or more) to investigate the habitability of that zone for past or extant life. Large, capable Mars landers would ease the problem of landing and operating deep robotic drills. In 2010, an Ames scientist realized that the crew-carrying version of the SpaceX Dragon capsule would possess all the subsystems necessary […]

The combined AAS/XA-0.1-B system landing in the hazard field at Mojave. (Credit: Masten Space Systems)

Groundbreaking effort integrates two privately developed technology platforms to validate performance of autonomous precision landing capability

Mojave, CA (Astrobotic/Masten PR) —  Astrobotic Technology and Masten Space Systems announced today that the Astrobotic Autolanding System (AAS) successfully directed the Xombie vertical-takeoff vertical-landing suborbital rocket in a closed-loop test on June 20, 2014. In this technology demonstration, a computer vision system scanned the landscape, selected a landing spot, and directed a rocket-powered lander to a safe touchdown point, all without a human operator. The flight test was funded by the Flight Opportunities Program of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and conducted at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, CA.

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