14 posts tagged ‘spaceflight’
Space Force Purchases $25 Million ‘Fuel Truck’ for Satellites
Zipping far above Earth, it’s not exactly easy for satellites to find a corner gas station when the fuel gauge gets low. To tackle this cosmic conundrum, a Space Force-funded initiative is working on an innovative solution to refuel distant satellites on-the-fly. Read more...
China's Gravity-1 Rocket Dazzles in Landmark Sea Launch
Shandong-based Orienspace pulled off its first-ever launch, breaking the record for the largest payload capacity on a commercial rocket for China’s growing space industry. Read more...
A SpaceX Booster Falls and Breaks, and More Science News of the Week
Our top science stories this week include a physics experiment to turn light into matter, an update from NASA’s Juno mission (it’s about to make a close encounter with Jupiter’s moon Io), and a roundup of the best archaeological discoveries of 2023. Read more...
Three Satellites From SpaceX's Latest Rideshare Mission Are Missing in Action
Among the over 100 satellites that launched on board SpaceX’s Transporter-9 mission, three failed to deploy and their current whereabouts are unknown. Read more...
How to Watch SpaceX Launch Space Force’s Spaceplane for the First Time
For the first time, a SpaceX Falcon Heavy will attempt to deliver the Pentagon’s spaceplane to low Earth orbit. The mission marks the seventh for the mysterious spacecraft, aiming to expand the Space Force’s knowledge of the space environment and test new technologies. Read more...
Could This—Finally—Be Humanity's First Permanent Lunar Base?
Thales Alenia Space and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) are embarking on a pioneering venture to construct the first permanent human outpost on the Moon, a critical component of NASA’s Artemis program. Read more...
California Legislators Slam ‘Rash’ NASA Cuts to Marquee Mars Mission
Six California lawmakers wrote to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson last week to oppose the agency’s recent cuts to the Mars Sample Return mission, which aims to bring samples collected by the Perseverance rover on Mars to Earth. Read more...
What to Expect from Virgin Galactic's Upgraded Spaceplane
After a few short trips to the edge of space, Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity spaceplane is set for retirement, making room for a worthy successor. The company’s Delta class vehicle is gearing up for its debut in 2025, promising to bring in some profit with weekly suborbital flights. Read more...