Tag: spaceflight
Rocket Lab catches an Electron stage in mid-air, demonstrating a key part of its rocket recovery plan
[embedded content] Rocket Lab is in the process of developing a way to recover the rockets it launches, despite their originally being designed as fully expendable launch vehicles. The company had a surprise announcement on Wednesday: It has already managed to successfully catch an Electron in mid-air, during a test…
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SpaceX and NASA test the system Crew Dragon staff would use to exit the launch area in an emergency
On Friday, April 3, 2020, NASA and SpaceX completed an end-to-end demonstration of the teams’ ability to safely evacuate crew members from the Fixed Service Structure during an emergency situation at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX and NASA are in the process of final…
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Boeing to re-fly uncrewed demo mission of their human spacecraft after first try met with errors
Boeing has confirmed what many suspected following the partial failure of their original Starliner capsule Orbital Flight Test (OFT) – the company will re-fly the mission, once again seeking to test and demonstrate the Starliner’s launch, flight, Space Station docking and landing capabilities prior to flying a version of the mission…
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Swarm gets all the approvals it needs to begin operating its satellite connectivity service in the U.S.
Space startup Swarm emerged from stealth mode in an unusual way two years ago when it turned out that it had launched some of its satellites in contravention of an FCC order not to do so. The regulator had argued that their satellites, which are tiny spacecraft smaller even than…
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NASA details how it plans to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon
NASA’s Artemis program aims to bring humans back to the Moon, with the goal of staying there for good in the interest of pursuing additional science and exploration missions, including to Mars. But how will the agency actually make it possible for people to remain on the Moon for longer-term…
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SpaceX’s latest Starship prototype fails under pressure testing
The process of designing, testing and building an entirely new spacecraft is definitely a difficult one, and bound to encounter some issues. SpaceX’s efforts to build Starship, its massive new fully reusable spaceship, is no exception. The most recent Starship prototype, designated “SN3,” failed catastrophically during cryogenic proof testing, which…
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