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India successfully launched a scale model of a reusable spacecraft on Monday, a project that in time could pit the nation against billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk in the race to make access to space cheaper and easier. The winged vessel -- one-fifth of full size -- blasted off on a rocket from Sriharikota base on the southeastern coast, the Indian Space Research Organisation said. The spacecraft reached an altitude of 65 kilometers (40 miles) and glided back at supersonic speeds for a splashdown in the Bay of Bengal. The test took about 13 minutes.

Remember when Blue Origin made history by vertically landing a rocket after launching it into space? Remember when they reused that same rocket and then landed it again? Well, today Jeff Bezos’ rocket company, once again, launched that very same New Shepard rocket and successfully landed it for a third time. At 11:28 AM EST, Bezos announced the successful landing of the New Shepard suborbital rocket as well as the crew capsule that it was carrying into space. While the rocket will eventually be used for crewed missions, there were no humans on this flight. Unlike previous launches where the...

Russia's recent maiden launch of its new Angara rocket is a harbinger of bigger boosters to come. The successful test flight also marked the country's first new launch vehicle to be built from scratch since the fall of the Soviet Union. The July 9 suborbital flight of the light-lift Angara 1.2ML rocket lifted off from Russia's Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the country's northern Arkhangelsk region. (The "ML" stands for "maiden launch.") The test flight, which lasted roughly 21 minutes and was not intended to reach orbit, launched the Angara rocket over Russian territory on a ballistic trajectory. A "mass/dimensional payload simulator"...

The mission: Attack anywhere in the world in less than an hour. But is the Pentagon's bold program a critical new weapon for hitting elusive targets, or a good way to set off a nuclear war? A tip sets the plan in motion — a whispered warning of a North Korean nuclear launch, or of a shipment of biotoxins bound for a Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon. Word races through the American intelligence network until it reaches U.S. Strategic Command headquarters, the Pentagon and, eventually, the White House. In the Pacific, a nuclear-powered Ohio class submarine surfaces, ready for the president's...

EADS Astrium has disclosed that Singapore will be a partner in its suborbital spaceplane program. At the Global Space & Technology Convention in Singapore, EADS Astrium executives announced that Singapore will be building a small-scale demonstrator of the spaceplane and may be involved in developing parts for the commercial product. EADS Astrium is also hoping Singapore will ultimately have a fleet of its commercial spaceplanes stationed at Singapore’s Changi Airport. Christophe Chavagnac, EADS Astrium’s suborbital spaceplane chief engineer and program manager, says Singapore companies will be designing and building a small-scale demonstrator spaceplane used to test aerodynamics and glide capability....

The Ultimate Glide: PlanetSpace's Suborbital Travel Plan Tariq Malik Staff Writer SPACE.com Wed Feb 14, 11:30 AM ET Even as the private spaceflight firm PlanetSpace, Inc. aims for orbital space shots, the Chicago-based company is also drawing up plans for a suborbital Earth transit system. The firm's planned Silver Dart space plane, currently targeted at providing NASA crew and cargo services to the International Space Station (ISS), could be equipped with a suborbital rocket engine for point-to-point flights around Earth, PlanetSpace CEO Geoff Sheerin told SPACE.com [image]. "This is the killer application for space industry," Sheerin said. "You've got a...

The public space travel business is picking up suborbital speed thanks to a variety of private rocket groups and their dream machines. Joining the mix is Blue Origin's New Shepard Reusable Launch System. It is financially fueled by an outflow of dollars from the deep pockets of billionaire Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com. The Bezos-backed Blue Origin, LLC commercial space outfit has recently turned in a draft environmental assessment (EA) for their West Texas launch site to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation (AST) in Washington, D.C. The document is the best glimpse yet of...

Radiation exposure The human radiation exposure during suborbital flight is considered for a typical winged (horizontal takeoff and landing) suborbital concept. These hazards are evaluated both in the context of the public at large (potential passengers) and occupational exposures (aircrew). The hazards are also considered in the context of typical background radiation exposures and medical exposures. Finally, recommendations are made regarding adherence to the ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) principle used by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). For the purposes of this analysis, the following flight profile is assumed: After motor ignition, the flight passes 7,500 meters (25,000 feet)...

Reda Anderson, after having conquered Machu Pichu, The Gobi Desert, and the Titanic, wants to be the first suborbital tourist. Sam Dinkin from The Space Review met her for a sushi dinner in Oklahoma City, George French’s treat.

The successful flight of Space Shuttle Discovery has rekindled the dream of commercial ventures into outer space. That's good news for local companies that could benefit as the industry shifts from a government program to private ventures. The International Space Business Council last week released the "2005 State of the Space Industry" report, which calculates that spending from commercial services and government programs soared to $103 billion in 2004 and could reach the astronomical level of $158 billion by 2010. "With the diversity of the sector ranging from Wal-Mart's IT network to NASA Mars missions to the military's hunt for...

British entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson, has teamed up with aerospace designer, Burt Rutan of Scaled Composites to form a new aerospace production company. The new firm will build a fleet of commercial suborbital spaceships and launch aircraft.

Because human tissues are viscoelastic (material properties that vary with strain rate), the response of the body to acceleration varies with duration of exposure. In general, acceleration pulses of 0.2 seconds or less are considered to be “impacts,” while acceleration durations of more than perhaps two seconds are considered to be “prolonged.” During impact accelerations, acceleration tolerance increases as the exposure duration decreases. Consequently, the best indicator of injury potential for impact accelerations is “delta-V”, or impact-related speed change. For prolonged acceleration exposures, body fluid shifts become relatively important, and tend to dominate the deleterious effects of acceleration.

An Oklahoma space-travel company says it is aiming to win the race to put paying passengers on suborbital trips, with commercial flights scheduled to begin by early 2007. "We intend to make it a five-star experience," said David Urie, vice president of Rocketplane Ltd.

The future looks bright for civilian suborbital spaceflight, with a host of private firms developing spacecraft to carry anyone with a willing heart and a robust bank account on the ultimate trip. One year after the history-making suborbital space shot of SpaceShipOne, commercial spaceflight efforts continue to make headway through government regulation and technological hurdles, each with its eye on the space tourism market. On June 21, 2004, the privately-built SpaceShipOne dropped from its White Knight mothership above the Mojave Desert and rocketed into history as the first civilian-funded spacecraft to reach suborbital space with a human pilot at the...

US 'to launch bombs from unmanned spacecraft' By Tom Leonard, New York The Pentagon is looking to space as the next frontier in its quest for absolute military supremacy. It is planning a new generation of sub-orbital bombers able to strike anywhere in the world "within minutes". The Falcon programme will this year test a launcher for its Common Aero Vehicle (CAV), an unmanned spacecraft that would travel five times the speed of sound and carry 1,000 pounds of bombs and intelligence sensors, the House armed services committee has been told. Defence chiefs expect the CAV to be ready by...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) - The government announced Wednesday that it has issued the first license for a manned suborbital rocket, a step toward opening space flight to private individuals for the first time. The Federal Aviation Administration gave a one-year license to Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif., headed by Burt Rutan. He is best known for designing the Voyager airplane that made the first nonstop, unrefueled flight around the world in 1986.</p>

Why We Must SUSTAIN Human Spaceflight by Jeff Wright Los Angeles - Oct 13, 2003 Very quietly, a bold new vision for space is taking place within the halls of the Pentagon. And the Branch of the service behind this wonderful new development is none other that the United States Marine Corps. Hoo-RAH! To quote a a recent Universal Need Statement (UNS): "The Marine Corps needs a capability to transport small mission-tailored units thru space from any point on the globe to a contingency at any other point on the globe within minutes...This includes a need for flexibility, such as...

In the not-so-distant past, Mojave Airport often made the national news for the long lines of airliners parked in desert storage as the airline industry slumped. Now, however, it is making news for being home to cutting-edge innovations in aerospace. Two of the airports' tenants are featured in the Oct. 6 issue of Newsweek magazine, in an article highlighting the emerging space tourism industry. "We're always grateful when the national media takes notice of our progress and the progress of others in our industry," said Jeff Greason, CEO of XCOR Aerospace, one of the Mojave companies featured. XCOR, already successful...

Hybrid Rocket Motor for X Prize Entry SpaceShipOne TestedBy Leonard DavidSenior Space Writerposted: 11:20 am ET12 September 2003   A private space program has roared forward to another milestone. At a Mojave, California test site, a hybrid rocket motor design that could boost Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne to the edge of space was given a full-duration shakeout on September 4.The propulsion unit was built by the Florida-based Environmental Aeroscience Corporation (eAc), one of two companies vying to be the engine of choice for SpaceShipOne. Competitor, SpaceDev of Poway, California, has also had its hybrid motor design undergo a full-duration run.Reportedly,...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 June 27 SpaceShipOne Credit: Scaled Composites Explanation: Slung below its equally innovative mothership dubbed White Knight, SpaceShipOne rides above planet Earth, photographed during a recent flight test. SpaceShipOne was designed and built by cutting-edge aeronautical engineer Burt Rutan and his company Scaled Composites to compete for the X Prize. The 10 million dollar X prize is open to private companies and requires the successful launch of a...