Other
DARPA pushing new effort with Experimental Spaceplane, XS-1
Citing increasing U.S. launch costs and the “fleeing” of commercial customers to foreign launch service providers, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is continuing to push a…
India successfully launches Reusable Launch Vehicle demonstrator mission
The Indian Space Research Organisation has successfully launched a Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator mission. The flight began at 07:00 Indian Standard Time on 23 May (01:30 UTC),…
55 years after Gagarin, ULA & Bigelow present commercial space stations
April 12, 1961: the USSR ushered in the era of human spaceflight with the launch of Yuri Gagarin on a single orbit flight of the Earth. Now 55…
SNC handover 11 OG2 satellites following in-orbit checkouts
Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) Space Systems has successfully completed all in-orbit checkout procedures for the final 11 satellites in the ORBCOMM Generation 2 (OG2) constellation. The fleet of…
Moses looking to guide VSS Unity to her North Star
Virgin Galactic’s Senior Vice President of Operations, Mike Moses, spoke of the goal of installing a “North Star” safety culture into the VSS Unity, following her rollout ceremony on…
U.S. debates Atlas V RD-180 engine ban, ULA’s non-bid for military launch
The U.S. Congress is debating the reinstatement of a purchasing ban on Russian RD-180 engines – the heart of the Atlas V core stage. Congress lifted that ban in…
Eyes in the sky capture historic US snowstorm
The NPOESS Preparatory Project (Suomi) and the Landsat-8 satellites have been keeping a close eye on the major snowstorm that impacted millions of Americans over the weekend. NPP…
U.S. Presidential candidates weigh in on space program
The 2016 United States Presidential primary races will see their first round of voting on February 1st when the Iowa Caucuses allow voters to make their first official…
Year In Review, Part 3: The Waters of Mars herald future exploration goals
With the abundance of discoveries in planetary science this year, none was truly more important to the future of human exploration of other planets than the long-awaited confirmation…
Year In Review, Part 2: Planetary science sees ends and new beginnings
Year 2015 was yet another banner stretch for planetary exploration. The year saw the farewell of NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft at Mercury, the delayed arrival of JAXA’s Akatsuki at…
Year In Review, Part 1: To the edge of the solar system and beyond
Space exploration in 2015 was an unprecedented series of firsts and major achievements. But for NASA and the world’s space communities, nothing quite captured the spirit and excitement…
Arianespace Soyuz ST-B successfully launches Galileo duo
An Arianespace Soyuz ST-B launched with another pair of Galileo satellites from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana on Thursday. The launch of the FM08 and FM09 satellites…
Indian PSLV lofts six Singaporean satellites
Making the country’s fifth launch of the year, India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) has orbited six Singaporean satellites – led by the TeLEOS-1 spacecraft – on Wednesday…
Virgin Galactic unveils Cosmic Girl, dedicated LauncherOne aircraft
Virgin Galactic – part of the Virgin corporation headed by Sir Richard Branson – has unveiled their new LauncherOne system’s dedicated aircraft at the company’s facility in San…
NASA to begin testing Orion’s European Service Module
NASA is nearly ready to begin testing of a core component of the Orion spacecraft. A structural test version of the European Service Module has arrived in the…
NASA awards contracts for deep-space advanced propulsion systems
NASA has awarded contracts to three American propulsion companies to aid the U.S. federal space agency with the development of advanced deep-space Electric Propulsion systems – including VASIMR…
VAB receiving fire suppression system upgrades
Kennedy Space Center’s iconic Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) is continuing its preparations to host the Space Launch System (SLS) and commercial rockets, with modifications from the ground up….
Scientists explore preliminary data from New Horizons’ Pluto-Charon flyby
Over two months after its historic flyby of Pluto, New Horizons is sending back a stream of data, helping its science teams answer outstanding questions about the dwarf planetary system and explore…
Virgin Galactic’s LauncherOne to utilize a dedicated aircraft
Due to customer demand, Virgin Galactic claims it has nearly doubled the amount of payload that customers can deliver to orbit on its LauncherOne system – ranging from…
CST-100 named Starliner; Boeing reveals processing facility at Kennedy
Boeing has officially revealed the name for its CST-100 capsule that will ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The capsule, Starliner, will…
