A test version of NASA’s Orion spacecraft touches down in the Arizona desert after its most complicated parachute test to date. (Credit: NASA)
YUMA, Ariz. (NASA PR) — Engineers testing the parachute system for NASA’s Orion spacecraft increased the complexity of their tests Thursday, Jan. 16, adding the jettison of hardware designed to keep the capsule safe during flight.
Artist’s impression of Ariane 6. (Credit: ESA)
The preliminary cost estimates are in the planned upgrade of the Ariane 5 launch vehicle and its Ariane 6 successor, and the one general conclusion can already be drawn:
Europe is in deep trouble.
Arizona is looking to emulate its neighbor, New Mexico, by passing a bill protecting space companies from being sued for injuring or killing passengers: A bill at the Arizona Legislature would give space flight companies — yes space flight companies — protections against being sued. The measure is aimed at helping possible space tourism and commercial space flights being planned in southern parts of the state. House Bill 2163 creates […]
A Dragon spacecraft splashes down in Morro Bay during a parachute test in Dec. 2013. (Credit: NASA)
MORROW BAY, Calif. (NASA PR) — Engineers and safety specialists from NASA and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) gathered in Morro Bay, Calif., in late December to demonstrate how the company’s Dragon spacecraft’s parachute system would function in the event of an emergency on the launch pad or during ascent.
State Sen. Steve Knight
By Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
California State Sen. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale), a key supporter of commercial space, could be heading to Congress next year with the pending retirement of Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita).
McKeon, 75, announced on Thursday that he would not seek an 11th term representing California’s 25th District, which includes parts of the aerospace-rich Antelope Valley that Knight represents in the State Legislature. Knight earlier stated that he would run for Congress if McKeon decided not to seek re-election.
Knight is one of several Republican and Democratic candidates who have already declared their intentions to run for the position. The 25th District includes the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster and the southern Antelope Valley. The region has a proud aviation and space heritage, hosting Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works as well as the facilities where the space shuttles were built. The district is home to many employees who work at nearby Edwards Air Force Base and the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center.
Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, left, and Neil A. Armstrong, right. (Credit; NASA)
WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — President Barack Obama has signed HR 667, the congressional resolution that redesignates NASA’s Hugh L. Dryden Flight Research Center as the Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center, into law. The resolution also names Dryden’s Western Aeronautical Test Range as the Hugh L. Dryden Aeronautical Test Range. Both Hugh Dryden and Neil Armstrong are aerospace pioneers whose contributions are historic to NASA and the nation as a whole. NASA is developing a timeline to implement the name change.
A week after its third powered flight, SpaceShipTwo made its 51st flight with a glide test over the Mojave Desert this morning. It was the first SpaceShipTwo flight for Virgin Galactic’s CJ Sturckow, who flew on the space shuttle four times. Scaled Composite’s Pete Siebold was also in the cockpit. SpaceShipTwo did not have an engine. WhiteKnightTwo took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port with SpaceShipTwo attached underneath […]
UPDATE 2: SpaceShipTwo landed safely in Mojave at 9:09 a.m. PST. Photos and details to follow. UPDATE 1: WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo took off at 8:08 a.m. from the Mojave Air and Space Port. Took a right turn and headed off to the north toward the drop zone at Koehn Lake. It often takes 40 minutes or longer before the ship drops, if that is the mission today. Virgin Galactic says […]
Artist’s conception of a Bigelow lunar habitat. (Credit: Bigelow Aerospace)
WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — Building on the progress of NASA’s partnerships with the U.S. commercial space industry to develop new spacecraft and rockets capable of delivering cargo, and soon, astronauts to low Earth orbit, the agency is now looking for opportunities to spur commercial cargo transportation capabilities to the surface of the moon.
NASA has released an announcement seeking proposals to partner in the development of reliable and cost-effective commercial robotic lunar lander capabilities that will enable the delivery of payloads to the lunar surface. Such capabilities could support commercial activities on the moon while enabling new science and exploration missions of interest to NASA and the larger scientific and academic communities.
Ken Brown captured these spectacular photos of a hybrid engine test at the Mojave Air and Space Port on Thursday afternoon. Scaled Composites conducted the hot fire of the nylon-nitrous oxide engine, which is being tested as an alternative to the rubber-nitrous oxide that Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo has used for three test flights, sources say. Scaled is developing SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo for Sir Richard Branson’s spaceline, which is supposed to […]
