Category: Spacecraft
SpaceX Joins the Heavy Club
SpaceX joined a very elite club of heavy lifters today (Feb 6, 2018), when it successfully launched its Falcon Heavy rocket. The company now boasts the most powerful launch vehicle in existence, and the second […]
A New Heavy is on the Horizon
It’s no secret that there is a healthy rivalry between Jeff Bezos and his Blue Origins company, and Elon Musk and SpaceX. Each has an operating launch vehicle, but SpaceX clearly leads the race with […]
Deep Space Travel: NASA Picks Six Companies to Build Habitation Modules
Traveling to distant planets can be tough on space travelers. Spacecraft are constantly bombarded with radiation, debris impact is an ever-present threat, and cramped confines can cause even the most steely-eyed astronaut to question his […]
The Next Big Thing in Space: Cubesats
It used to be that sending a satellite into space took years of planning and cost millions of dollars. Now, enterprising scientists can send their experiments into orbit at a fraction of the cost – […]
What Do a Fly, Juno, Jupiter, and a Basketball Have in Common?
With all the hype around Juno’s rendezvous with Jupiter, many lose sight of exactly how great a feat it was. I’m a fan of putting things into perspective, and if any story deserves perspective, it’s […]
A New Visitor for Jupiter – If it Can Slow Down Enough
UPDATE: Juno successfully entered orbit around Jupiter at 11:53 PM EDT on July 4th. Jupiter is about to have a new friend. After a five year journey, the Juno spacecraft will enter Jupiter’s orbit late […]
Let’s Hear it for Space Tourism!
On Sunday this week, space start up Blue Origin continued its string of successes by launching its fourth New Shepard rocket, and landing the main section safely back on Earth. This time the rocket carried […]
The First Operational Inflatable Spacecraft is Working!
Last week, NASA inflated the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) that was flown to the International Space Station on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on April 8th. After an aborted attempt to inflate it […]
The New Space Race: Elon Musk Will Beat Everyone to Mars
A few weeks ago, Elon Musk announced his ambitious plan to have SpaceX send an unmanned Red Dragon capsule to Mars in 2018. Yesterday, he upped the ante, saying that he anticipates sending the first […]
India Launches its Own Space Shuttle
Earlier today India took a major step forward with its space program by launching its own version of a space shuttle. The unmanned, scaled down version of what will be the final shuttle, called the swadeshi, […]
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