Free Republic 2nd Qtr 2025 Fundraising Target: $81,000 Receipts & Pledges to-date: $12,454
15%  
Woo hoo!! And we're now over 15%!! Thank you all very much!! God bless.

Keyword: spaceexploration

Brevity: Headers | « Text »
  • Boeing-Lockheed's Vulcan cleared to launch US national security satellites

    03/26/2025 8:24:24 PM PDT · by Red Badger · 6 replies
    Reuters ^ | March 26, 2025 | Staff
    ASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Space Force said on Wednesday it has cleared Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab and Lockheed Martin's (LMT.N), opens new tab Vulcan rocket to launch national security satellites for the United States. SpaceX was the first company to handle such missions. "Vulcan certification adds launch capacity, resiliency, and flexibility needed by our nation’s most critical space-based systems," said Brigadier General Kristin Panzenhagen, the program executive officer for assured access to space.
  • Intuitive Machine’s lunar landing goes sideways again

    03/07/2025 6:48:21 AM PST · by Red Badger · 234 replies
    The Verge ^ | March 07, 2025 | Jess Weatherbed
    The second lunar lander made by Intuitive Machines has touched down on the Moon, but like the private aerospace company’s first spacecraft, it may not be upright. The Athena vehicle for Intuitive Machines IM-2 mission landed yesterday just 100 miles from the lunar south pole, but there’s uncertainty around its orientation which may impact the mission’s duration. “We don’t believe we’re in the correct attitude on the surface of the Moon yet again,” Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus said during the post-landing news conference.“We’re going to get a picture from the lunar reconnaissance orbital camera from above and we’ll confirm...
  • First Launch of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket

    01/12/2025 10:37:20 PM PST · by hoagy62 · 25 replies
    1/13/25 | Hoagy62
    Tonight is the first launch attempt for Blue Origin's New Glenn orbital glass rocket. This is Blue Origin's first orbital attempt. They've been to the edge of space with their New Shepherd rocket.
  • Starship Flight 7: SpaceX delays until the 13th

    01/10/2025 6:28:52 PM PST · by SunkenCiv · 15 replies
    Space Explored ^ | January 8, 2025 | Seth Kurkowski
    SpaceX has delayed the launch of its seventh Starship rocket to Monday, January 13. Little details were shared about the delay, which was first announced by Elon Musk during a Diablo stream on X.SpaceX officially delayed the flight of Starship Flight 7 on Wednesday morning in a post on X, stating it will now launch no earlier than January 13. SpaceX teams were also keeping an eye on the weather for pre-launch operations.This likely means the delays were due to poor launch weather on launch day this weekend, and the teams are hoping for better weather earlier next week...Musk shared...
  • USAF and Space Force Deploy Secretive Spaceship Boeing X-37 for Mysterious Maneuvers To Bolster National Security in Space

    10/16/2024 8:44:28 PM PDT · by bitt · 17 replies
    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/ ^ | 10/16/2024 | paul serran
    A secretive US spaceship will attempt flight maneuvers above Earth that have never before been performed. We are talking about the Boeing X-37, a reusable robotic spacecraft. The X-37 is boosted into space by a launch vehicle and re-enters Earth’s atmosphere landing as a spaceplane. The project began as a NASA project back in 1999, but it was transferred to the US Department of Defense in 2004. The X-37 is presently operated by the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, in collaboration with United States Space Force. It is used for ‘orbital spaceflight missions’ that are intended to...
  • Rocket-powered Aurora is a go for unlimited-speed high-altitude flight

    07/12/2024 12:33:05 PM PDT · by Red Badger · 14 replies
    New Atlas ^ | JULY 12, 2024 | Paul Ridden
    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 to build re-usable launch vehicle after nailing third landing of mini-spaceplane

    06/24/2024 6:27:28 AM PDT · by Salman · 14 replies
    The Register (UK) ^ | Mon 24 Jun 2024 | Simon Sharwood
    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...
  • First Look Inside SpaceX's Starfactory w/ Elon Musk [pt 1, 1:04:17]

    06/23/2024 10:47:48 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 7 replies
    YouTube ^ | June 22, 2024 | Everyday Astronaut
    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
  • Spacex Super Heavy has splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico

    06/06/2024 10:40:53 AM PDT · by Red Badger · 57 replies
    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 (and Half Its Instruments) Are Back Online

    05/31/2024 2:51:47 PM PDT · by Chad C. Mulligan · 34 replies
    Sky and Telescope ^ | May 31, 2024 | David Dickinson
    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...
  • This NASA-Funded Pulsed Plasma Propulsion System Could Carry Humans to Mars In Just Two Months

    05/21/2024 11:37:55 AM PDT · by Red Badger · 39 replies
    The Debrief ^ | May 21, 2024 | Micah Hanks
    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 [3:04]

    05/13/2024 8:40:03 PM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 12 replies
    YouTube ^ | May 10, 2024 | WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando
    Report signals concern for Artemis space missions | 3:04WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando | 436K subscribers | 7,082 views | May 10, 2024
  • Geometers Engineer New Tools to Wrangle Spacecraft Orbits

    05/06/2024 4:02:36 AM PDT · by AdmSmith · 15 replies
    Quanta ^ | 15APR2024 | Leila Sloman
    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...
  • An Engineer Says He’s Found a Way to Overcome Earth’s Gravity

    04/29/2024 9:25:53 AM PDT · by kawhill · 90 replies
    Popular Mechanics ^ | 2024 | Darren Orf
    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.
  • Why NASA's First Landing On The Moon in 50 Years Matters - It's Commercial, Cryogenic & Confused

    02/26/2024 5:54:23 PM PST · by SunkenCiv · 58 replies
    YouTube ^ | February 24, 2024 | Scott Manley (fly safe)
    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...
  • This is what outer space smells like — and it’s stinkier than you’d expect

    02/03/2024 3:41:06 AM PST · by Libloather · 31 replies
    NY Post ^ | 1/10/24 | Katherine Donlevy
    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...
  • Astrobotic: Peregrine spacecraft won't land on moon after propellant loss

    01/09/2024 6:12:51 PM PST · by Red Badger · 18 replies
    UPI ^ | JAN. 9, 2024 / 5:11 PM / UPDATED AT 5:18 PM | By Chris Benson
    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...
  • It's Official: NASA Has Pushed Back Its Return to The Moon

    01/09/2024 7:54:39 PM PST · by Red Badger · 49 replies
    Science Alert ^ | 10 January 2024 | SPACE
    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,...
  • First US moon landing mission in decades launches with NASA science, humans remains on board

    01/09/2024 8:18:43 AM PST · by Twotone · 35 replies
    CNN ^ | January 8, 2024 | Jackie Wattles
    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...
  • Trouble in Space: First US Moon Lander in 50 Years Presents ‘Anomaly’, and Mission Is Endangered

    01/08/2024 12:49:06 PM PST · by bitt · 36 replies
    GATEWAYPUNDIT ^ | 1/8/2024 | paul serran
    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...