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The Mk-II Aurora rocket-powered suborbital spaceplane has been cleared for unlimited-speed test flights at an altitude of up to 80,000 ft - Dawn Aerospace The Mk-II Aurora suborbital spaceplane took to the skies last year for its maiden flight with a rocket engine. Now Dawn Aerospace has been give the official nod from New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority to undertake test flights at unlimited speeds. "This unlocks the next major performance milestone for the Mk-II vehicle, namely supersonic flight," said Stefan Powell, CEO of New Zealand's Dawn Aerospace. "To the best of our knowledge, this would be the first privately...

India's Space Research Organization has signalled its intention to build a reusable launch vehicle after a third test of an unpowered experimental precursor again nailed its landing. The precursor is called the RLV-LEX – the Reusable Launch Vehicle Landing EXperiment – and resembles NASA's retired space shuttle, Russia's Buran reusable vehicle, and the US Air Force's X-37B autonomous spaceplane. The vehicle first flew in April 2023, then again in March 2024. For its third flight, the craft was again dropped from a helicopter. This time, however, winds were stronger than on previous flights. The lander also made a 500-meter course...

Join Elon Musk for a tour inside SpaceX's Starbase and the brand new Starfactory. This video was shot the day before Flight 4, on June 5th, 2024.00:00 - Intro00:28 - Interview Starts10:12 - Starships in Highbay21:24 - Manufacturing talk23:50 - Reusability27:00 - Ice / Thruster talk31:30 - Megabay41:15 - Raptors49:07 - Inside Starfactory1:03:03 - OutroFirst Look Inside SpaceX's Starfactory w/ Elon Musk | 1:04:17 | Everyday Astronaut | 1.59M subscribers | 621,461 views | June 22, 2024

Jared Isaacman @rookisaacman · 4h Unreal SpaceX team.. great job. You just brought the most powerful booster in the world one step closer to reusability.

Voyager 1 is once again returning data from two of four science instruments onboard. Things are looking better for one of NASA’s longest running deep space missions. After a several-month period of problems, engineers have announced that the Voyager 1 spacecraft is not only back online but also transmitting useful data from two of four science instruments. Work is now underway to bring the remaining two instruments up to operational status. Problems began last November, when Voyager 1 suddenly began sending a repeating gibberish signal instead of the science and engineering data it typically sends. Troubleshooting on the 46-year-old spacecraft...

A groundbreaking new pulsed plasma propulsion system could soon enable faster and safer crewed missions to planets like Mars, according to a leading developer of novel technologies aimed at advancing the next stages of human space exploration. Scottsdale, Arizona-based space technology developer Howe Industries recently announced that its Pulsed Plasma Rocket (PPR) could represent a game-changer in advanced propulsion for space travel, allowing crewed missions to significantly reduce the travel time required to reach Mars. According to current timelines, NASA aims to send the first crewed missions to Mars within the next two decades using habitat-like spacecraft paired with hybrid...

Report signals concern for Artemis space missions | 3:04WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando | 436K subscribers | 7,082 views | May 10, 2024

Mathematicians think abstract tools from a field called symplectic geometry might help with planning missions to far-off moons and planets. In October, a Falcon Heavy rocket is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida, carrying NASA’s Europa Clipper mission. The $5 billion mission is designed to find out if Europa, Jupiter’s fourth-largest moon, can support life. But because Europa is constantly bombarded by intense radiation created by Jupiter’s magnetic field, the Clipper spacecraft can’t orbit the moon itself. Instead, it will slide into an eccentric orbit around Jupiter and gather data by repeatedly swinging by Europa—53 times in total—before...

Discovering a machine that could somehow produce thrust without releasing propellant would be a game-changer for human space travel. There’s just one problem—such a device would defy the laws of physics.

Intuitive Machines have successfully soft landed on the Moon, carrying a number of payloads for NASA, this represents a return to the moon for the USA. However far more significantly, it's the first purely commercial lander to land on the surface of the moon, and the first lunar lander to use purely cryogenic propellents for all its deep space maneuvering. Both of these factors are core to NASA's Artemis program, and so seeing success here is important to NASA's plans.However.It's far from a perfect success, because it appears to have fallen over during the landing, and this is limiting the...

It turns out space helmets serve a dual purpose - to keep air in and stink out. Just like Earth, the universe emits various smells from every corner of the never-ending universe, often of which are generally unpleasant, Space.com reported, citing numerous space expeditions over the decades. Although it is impossible to take a whiff of the cosmos without facing certain death, astronauts have long described strong odors clinging to their space suits after they return to their air-locked chambers. Metallic, burnt meat Those aboard the Apollo moon landings described the scent as gunpowder-like, while others who traversed the International...

Jan. 9 (UPI) -- The company that had hoped to be the first private one to put a lunar lander on the moon now is looking ahead to its next space mission after confirming the failure of its Peregrine spacecraft on Tuesday. Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic's Peregrine -- the first American spacecraft bound for the surface of the moon in more than 50 years -- launched flawlessly early Monday morning but experienced an "anomaly" shortly after it deployed from its launch rocket. The craft then quickly experienced a "critical loss of propellant." On Tuesday, the company said the craft had been operational...

The United States is pushing back its planned return of astronauts to the surface of the Moon from 2025 to 2026, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Tuesday amid technical challenges and delays. Artemis, named after the sister of Apollo in Greek mythology, was officially announced in 2017 as part of the US space agency's plans to establish a sustained presence on Earth's nearest space neighbor, and apply lessons learned there for a future mission to Mars. Its first mission, an uncrewed test flight to the Moon and back called Artemis 1, took place in 2022, after several postponements. Artemis 2,...

A towering new rocket has taken flight, carrying what could be the first commercial lander to touch down on the moon — and the first lunar landing mission to launch from the United States since 1972. The Vulcan Centaur rocket, a never-before-flown model developed by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, roared to life at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 2:18 a.m. ET Monday. The launch vehicle soared through space for nearly an hour, expending its fuel as it ripped away from Earth’s gravity and sent the lunar lander, called Peregrine, on...

The first U.S. lunar lander in more than 50 years rocketed to space Monday, but trouble seems to be already afoot. The private lunar lander launched from the US this morning appears to have suffered an ‘anomaly’ – with experts trying to tackle the problem. Peregrine Mission-1 – which took off on a new massive Vulcan rocket – aims to become the first US spacecraft to land on the moon’s surface since Apollo 17 in 1972; everything appeared to go well as it lifted off into space as planned. Associated Press reported: “But about seven hours after liftoff, Astrobotic Technology...

The company behind America's latest mission to soft-land on the Moon is battling to save the project. Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic says its Peregrine spacecraft has a faulty propulsion system, which, unless fixed, will prevent a lunar touch-down. The problem has already made it difficult for the craft to point its solar panels at the Sun to generate electricity. Astrobotic is already talking about changing its mission goals. The 1.2-tonne lander was launched early on Monday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a Vulcan rocket. It is aiming to become the first American mission in half a century to make a controlled landing...

MADISON, Wis. -- Monday morning, the first American spacecraft to land on the moon since the last Apollo mission in 1972 will launch from Cape Canaveral, and one longtime Madison resident will be on it. Paul Wertsch and his wife Kay Heggestad always loved space. "Kay especially was a Star Trek person," Paul said. "We went down to Cape Canaveral, watched a lot of rockets." In fact, Paul remembers watching the first ever moon landing with Kay by his side. "She and I were both medical students, and we were doing a rotation up in Rhinelander, Wisconsin," Paul said. "I...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—The first U.S. lunar lander in more than 50 years rocketed toward the moon Monday, launching private companies on a space race to make deliveries for NASA and other customers. Astrobotic Technology’s lander caught a ride on a brand new rocket, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan. The Vulcan streaked through the Florida predawn sky, putting the spacecraft on a roundabout route to the moon that should culminate with an attempted landing on Feb. 23. “So, so, so excited. We are on our way to the moon!” Astrobotic chief executive John Thornton said. The Pittsburgh company aims to be the...

[snip] ...In the suit, however, shareholders claim that Amazon "acted in bad faith" and made no effort to properly discharge their fiduciary duties when picking the launch providers. They primarily claim that SpaceX, the leader within the industry was glossed over and not even considered when making the decision. If that were the case, they would have a valid point considering the cost per launch and timeline these satellites are meant to launch by... [/snip]Amazon Shareholders Think SpaceX Should Have Been Picked For Kuiper Launches | 8:06TheSpaceBucket | 23.3K subscribers | 17,895 views | September 1, 2023

...The cost of the Chandrayaan-3 mission was about US$75 million, which, as John pointed out, is less than the cost of the Barbie movie. If you want to be nitpicky, you might quibble that that doesn't include the cost of the first two less successful Chandrayaan space missions. Okay, total expenditures on the Indian space programme since 2003 are approx $140 million - which is still less than the Barbie movie. Okay, I don't want to beat up on Barbie, because, as you know, our friend Andrew Lawton is a huge fan. So let's use instead the cinematic example the...