A seven-month investigation into the failure of DARPA’s Hypersonic Technology Vehicle (HTV-2) has concluded that a series of shockwaves caused  unexpectedly large sections of the aeroshell to peel away after the experimental craft spent nearly three minutes traveling at Mach 20.

The flight successfully demonstrated stable aerodynamically-controlled flight at speeds up to Mach 20 (twenty times the speed of sound) for nearly three minutes. Approximately nine minutes into the test flight, the vehicle experienced a series of shocks culminating in an anomaly, which prompted the autonomous flight safety system to use the vehicle’s aerodynamic systems to make a controlled descent and splashdown into the ocean.

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Nick Litwin, an engineering student at Carnegie Mellon University, checks a fastener on a newly assembled lunar lander designed to deliver a robot to the moon in 2014 and win the Google Lunar X Prize, a $30 million competition. The lander was built by Astrobotic Technology Inc. and Carnegie Mellon and is being shipped this week to the Boeing Co. in El Segundo, Calif., for testing. (PRNewsFoto/Carnegie Mellon University, Tim Kaulen)

PITTSBURGH, PA (Astrobotic PR) –Astrobotic Technology Inc. announces a NASA contract to determine whether its polar rover can deploy an ice-prospecting payload to the Moon. The ice could yield water, oxygen, methane and rocket propellant to dramatically reduce the cost of space exploration.

“Astrobotic seeks the immense resources available on the Moon to both accelerate space exploration and improve life on Earth,” said David Gump, president. “The lunar path is near term. We intend a prospecting mission in 2015.”

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By Douglas Messier Parabolic Arc Managing Editor Arianespace reports that it made a profit of 1.6 million euros ($2.1 million) on revenues of 1,012.6 million euros ($1.34 billion) in 2011. The consortium would have been in the red if not for a subsidy of 145 million euros ($191.4 million) from the European Space Agency. In a statement, the company said it expected business to grow next year with concurrent operation […]

NASA PR — With the upcoming SpaceX commercial cargo launch currently scheduled for April 30, it is important to understand the roles and responsibilities of the government and commercial partners with respect to mishaps that may occur during the test flights of these complex new capabilities under the commercial cargo Space Act Agreements (SAA).

For most missions undertaken by NASA, such as the Space Shuttle missions or NASA expendable launches, any launch or mission mishaps are investigated by NASA. However, SpaceX’s demonstration flight is a commercial launch from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the launch and entry will be licensed and regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). As such, SpaceX is ultimately responsible for public safety, with the FAA and Air Force Eastern Range responsible for ensuring SpaceX compliance with public safety requirements.

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A couple of statements from SpaceX and NASA on the upcoming Falcon 9/Dragon launch: SpaceX:  NASA and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station have approved SpaceX’s request to set May 7th as the target launch date for the upcoming COTS 2 mission. We will send out updated information on launch activities in the coming days. NASA:   In response to SpaceX’s announcement that it has delayed launch of its Falcon 9 […]

Planetary Resources President Chris Lewicki shows off the Arkyd asteroid hunting spacecraft.

The Planetary Resources press conference on April 24, 2012.

Video Caption: Planetary Resources’ mission is mine near-Earth asteroids for raw materials, ranging from water to precious metals. Through the development of cost-effective exploration technologies, the company is poised to initiate prospecting missions targeting resource-rich asteroids that are easily accessible. Resource extraction from asteroids will deliver multiple benefits to humanity and could be valued at billions of dollars annually. The effort will tap into the high concentration of precious metals […]

Also Tweeting this at www.twitter.com/spacecom 10:27: Just a few minutes away here….they’re playing some funky space music on the vidcast…. Not sure what there is to announce that’s new this morning. The Planetary Resources guys have been all over the media since they announced the press conference last week. 10:35: Big pitch for the Museum of Flight. They’re getting the shuttle trainer. Take that, Houston! Seattle — the Silicon Valley […]

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player An ABC News video about Planetary Resources’ plan to mine asteroids.