“Space is an area of activity where there is never a 100 percent guaranteed result, and failures hound everyone,” he said. “I literally just finished reading a very interesting volume, the history of the formation of Elon Musk’s company SpaceX. His Falcon 1 had three failures. He had practically put everything he had on launch […]
Musk ultimately received the security clearance, but since 2021, he has failed to self-report details of his life, including travel activities, persons with whom he has met, and drug use, according to the Times. The government is also concerned that SpaceX did not ensure Musk’s compliance with the reporting rules. Government agencies “want to ensure […]
December 17, 2024 | DoD, Elon Musk, security clearance, Space | No comments
While there are open questions about how China will use its satellite megaconstellations, their deployment will require a significant increase in the country’s launch capacity, driving the development of new commercial rockets, including reusable boosters, to lower costs and increase their flight rate. The Long March 5B rocket, developed by China’s incumbent state-owned launch company, is […]
December 17, 2024 | broadband, china, launch, long march, long march 5b, megaconstellation, Science, Space, space debris, US Space Force | No comments
Mastalir said China is “copying the US playbook” with the way it integrates satellites into more conventional military operations on land, in the air, and at sea. “Their specific goals are to be able to track and target US high-value assets at the time and place of their choosing,” Mastalir said. China’s strategy, known as […]
December 13, 2024 | chance saltzman, Features, military space, Science, Space, US Space Force | No comments
But it’s not clear why … Founded in early 2022 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ArianeGroup, MaiaSpace is developing a 50-meter tall, two-stage, partially reusable rocket designed to deliver small satellites to orbit. Avio builds solid rocket motors and is best known for its Vega rockets. It’s not clear why a reusable launch company would […]
December 13, 2024 | rocket report, Space | No comments
In recent days, there has been a smattering of coverage in state-run Russian media outlets about how the Belarusian army has developed its own satellite Internet service akin to SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, called “Kulisa.” According to the TASS news service, for example, the Kulisa mobile communications technology has “already entered service and is being used […]
Meanwhile, over about the same time period, NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, Orion deep space crew capsule, and ground support system upgrades cost nearly $50 billion before the unpiloted Artemis I mission in 2022, according to an analysis by the Planetary Society. That sum has now risen to just shy of $60 billion. The core […]
December 12, 2024 | artemis, human spaceflight, jared isaacman, moon, NASA, Science, Space, starship | No comments
Eleven months after the Ingenuity helicopter made its final flight on Mars, engineers and scientists at NASA and a private company that helped build the flying vehicle said they have identified what probably caused it to crash on the surface of Mars. In short, the helicopter’s on-board navigation sensors were unable to discern enough features […]
December 11, 2024 | ingenuity, Mars, Science, Space | No comments
NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley inside Crew Dragon. With their mission in 2020, NASA broke its dependence on Russia for access to space. Credit: SpaceX NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley inside Crew Dragon. With their mission in 2020, NASA broke its dependence on Russia for access to space. Credit: SpaceX 16. […]
December 11, 2024 | Features, Space, top 25 biggest space achievements | No comments
Blue Origin said Tuesday that the test payload for the first launch of its new rocket, New Glenn, is ready for liftoff. The company published an image of the “Blue Ring” pathfinder nestled up against one half of the rocket’s payload fairing. “There is a growing demand to quickly move and position equipment and infrastructure […]
December 10, 2024 | blue origin, new glenn, Science, Space | No comments