Californian aerospace company Aerojet believe they are in a good position to continue their advancements in the development of rocket engines, ranging from the Next Generation Engine (NGE) for the US Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, through to environmentally “green” propellants for propulsion hardware.

The Delta Mariner – carrying hardware elements targeting two future launches – collided with the Eggner’s Ferry Bridge over Kentucky Lake on Thursday night. However, despite extensive damage to the bridge, no serious injuries were reported. ULA have noted that there will be no mission impact to the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-2) and Radiation [...]

Eight years ago today (January 25, 2004), the Mars Exploration Rover -B (MER -B) slammed into the Martian atmosphere and executed a successful Entry, Descent, and Landing on the Red Planet – beginning what was supposed to be 90 days of science operations on the surface of Mars. Eight years and 2,922 Earth-days later, Opportunity [...]

United Launch Alliance have conducted the United States’ first orbital launch of the year on Thursday, when their Delta IV launched with the fourth Wideband Global Satcom spacecraft. Liftoff from SLC-37B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was on schedule for the beginning of a 93-minute launch window which opened at 19:38 local time [...]

NASA’s Space Technology Program announced on Monday they are looking for what they describe as “far-out” concepts and ideas, as part of the Agency’s NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. Otherwise tagged as “game-changing”, such concepts range from advanced space suits to new propulsion methods for exploration spacecraft.

As the Space Launch System (SLS) teams head into their first full year since the vehicle was finally announced, fascinating – albeit well into the future – Exploration Systems Development (ESD) Design Reference Mission (DRM) options for deep space have been outlined in the SLS Concept Of Operations (Con Ops), options which include ambitious missions [...]

NASA’s two Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft have successfully completed their planned main engine burn and have arrived in lunar orbit. GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B will study the moon to yield a better understanding of the internal structure and thermal evolution. This will allow scientists to formulate a model of the Moon’s formation which [...]

Following on the planetary accomplishments of NASA’s fleet of unmanned solar system explorers in 2011, the U.S. space agency was also extremely busy in the field of extra-solar studies via observations of other solar systems with the impressive Kepler Space Telescope.

It was an interesting year for NASA as the 2011 calendar brought about the retirement of the iconic Space Shuttle fleet, the completion of the USOS segment of the International Space Station, the launch of three new planetary missions, and the ongoing scientific endeavors of NASA’s fleet of planetary probes. In all, 2011 proved a [...]

Japan has launched a new Information Gathering Satellite (IGS) known as Radar-3, via their H-2A (H-IIA) launch vehicle. Amateur footage of the launch provided confirmation of a successful lift off from the Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC) at 01:21 UTC in the early hours of Monday. Spacecraft Separation was confirmed via [...]

Based on a request from the US Air Force, a new Upper Stage engine – to ultimately replace the RL-10 used by the Atlas V and Delta IV – has made another advance, as Aerojet – one of the competitors to win the contract to debut the engine in 2017 – noted they that have [...]

NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory has begun its mission to the Red Planet Saturday, with a launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was on schedule, at the begining of the one-hour and 43 minute window, which opening at 15:02 UTC (10:02 local [...]

International Launch Services (ILS) have launched their Proton-M rocket on Friday. Launch was on scheduled at 19:10 GMT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, with the Proton’s Briz-M Upper Stage successfully deploying the AsiaSat 7 telecommunications satellite on its orbit after nine hours of flight.

Set to return NASA on course to Mars, the Mars Science Laboratory, known colloquially as the Curiosity rover, stands ready with its Atlas V rocket for a Thanksgiving holiday weekend launch from from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Following a one day slip, the Atlas V is set to launch within a 103 minute window which opens on Saturday at 10:02 [...]

After making a successful trip to Earth orbit aboard the stalwart Delta II rocket, the NPP satellite has enjoyed tremendous early success with the startup of its numerous instruments and initial test of its data gathering capability – the initial results of which have already been released. The spacecraft officially reached its final orbit station on Thursday.

The Delta II rocket has made what could be its final flight Friday, deploying a new weather and environmental research satellite for NASA and the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, along with six CubeSats. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 2W at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California was on schedule at 09:48 UTC [...]

Going out in style, the German X-ray satellite ROSAT has bid farewell to space via a fiery death plunge into the atmosphere in the early hours of Sunday. Interest was high in ROSAT due to its primary mirror, which held the potential of surviving the break up of the spacecraft in the atmosphere during entry. [...]

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II launch with the NPP (NPOESS Preparatory Project) satellite has passed through its Flight Readiness Review (FRR) on Friday. The launch from SLC-2W at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California has been set for a launch window which opens at 9:48am GMT on October 28.

Often cited as a highly contentious issue by SpaceX head Elon Musk, the stranglehold on the US Air Force market appears to be loosening, following a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the USAF, the NRO (National Reconnaissance Office) and NASA, which opens up the potential for commercial launch vehicles – such as Falcon 9 – [...]