Tag: competition
China’s new spaceport and the giant rocket it is being built for.
The competition heats up: China’s new spaceport and the giant rocket it is being built for.
The combination of the planned rocket, called the Long March 5 — and its derivatives — matched with the Wenchang Launch Center, China’s new sprawling spaceport, underscores the country’s shifting space gears. It enables China’s space station ambitions, while also boosting the nation’s plans for interplanetary exploration, as well as accomplishing human treks to the moon.
Scientists have developed a bacterium that can brew high energy rocket fuel.
Scientists have developed a bacterium that can brew high energy rocket fuel.
There are issues still that need to be solved before these bugs will be creating fuel for astronauts in space, but the process is promising, especially since it could significantly lower the cost of rocket fuel if they get it to work.
NASA is looking to extend its commercial cargo contracts with SpaceX and Orbital Sciences until 2017.
NASA has extended its commercial cargo contracts with SpaceX and Orbital Sciences until 2017.
Since the notice says that “the modifications would be made ‘at no cost’ to the agency, and that they would be “executed one year at a time,” the extension is probably just designed to give the two companies sufficient time to launch all their cargo missions in the present contracts.
Nonetheless, the posting also said that other companies could compete for NASA’s business during this extension, which leaves the door open for more competition.
SpaceX has test fired its Grasshopper replacement test vehicle.
The competition heats up: SpaceX has test fired its Grasshopper replacement test vehicle.
Unlike Grasshopper, which only had one engine, the Falcon 9R (pronounced “niner”) is the equivalent of a Falcon 9 nine engine first stage. They fired it on the launchpad for 5 seconds in preparation for future vehicle take off and landing tests.
SpaceShipTwo is outside its hanger today, undergoing cockpit pressure tests.
SpaceShipTwo is outside its hanger today, undergoing cockpit pressure tests.
The article also provides some additional information about the rumored engine issues of the spacecraft, suggesting that the company is working hard to replace its nitrous oxide-rubber engine with a nitrous oxide-nylon engine.
Orbital Sciences has begun construction of the 81satellites that will make up Iridium’s second generation communications satellite constellation.
The competition heats up: Orbital Sciences has begun construction of the 81satellites that will make up Iridium’s second generation communications satellite constellation.
Not only is this big business for satellite construction — 81 satellites is a big order — someone will have to launch those satellites. Even if they are launched in groups of five, which was how it was done for the first generation, it will still take more than 16 launches to get them all in orbit. That will be a lot of business for some lucky rocket company.
An expected engine burn on board the Soyuz capsule taking three astronauts to ISS did not take place as scheduled, forcing at minimum a two day delay in the rendezvous and docking.
An expected engine burn on board the Soyuz capsule taking three astronauts to ISS did not take place as scheduled, forcing at minimum a two day delay in the rendezvous and docking.
[NASA spokesman Rob] Navias said the engine burn was aborted due to a problem with the Soyuz’s attitude control system, but further details were not immediately available. “Right now we don’t understand exactly what happened,” a mission manager at Russian Mission Control told the Soyuz crew late Thursday. Ground controllers planned to download data from the Soyuz and determine whether the glitch was due to a hardware or software problem. [emphasis mine]
Though the astronauts are not in any immediate danger, this is very worrisome. Indications from various other news stories suggest the problem was software related, which in a sense is a good thing. They would still have the option to manually fire their engines to do a manual rendezvous and docking. However, if it isn’t a software issue, and the vagueness of the reports so far makes me wonder about this, they might instead be stranded. Let us hope not.
Update: This report gives a little more information. It appears the capsule itself was not in the right orientation at burn time, and the computer software, sensing this, canceled the burn. If so, the problem might be software (incorrectly gauging the position of the spacecraft) or mechanical (something failing so that the capsule is not oriented correctly). Engineers need to find out which.
Sierra Nevada has subcontracted Lockheed Martin to help build its Dream Chaser spacecraft.
Sierra Nevada has subcontracted Lockheed Martin to help build its Dream Chaser spacecraft.
The article is about the beginnings of construction at the Michoud Assembly facility in Louisiana, but to me the significant fact revealed by this article is that Jim Crocker of Lockheed Martin is involved in the effort. Crocker was one of the key engineers who came up with the solutions that helped return focus to the Hubble Space Telescope back in 1993. He is one of the country’s best aerospace engineers, and his participation here is excellent news.
DARPA picks Boeing to build a test design of an air-launched satellite launcher.
The competition heats up: DARPA has chosen Boeing to build a test design of an air-launched satellite launcher.
This engineering research is in parallel with the airborne launcher research of Scaled Composites (on SpaceShipTwo) and Stratolauncher. When you add SpaceX’s effort to make its first stage reusable, you get a real sense where the future of rocket design is heading: rockets in which the first stage is entirely reusable, returning safely to Earth either by a horizontal or vertical landing.
On Saturday Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket has successfully launched two commercial satellites, its 59th straight successful launch.
The competition heats up: On Saturday Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket has successfully launched two commercial satellites, its 59th straight successful launch.
A reporter takes a close look at Virgin Galactic and Spaceport America in New Mexico and comes away very skeptical.
Failure to launch? A reporter takes a close look at Virgin Galactic and Spaceport America in New Mexico and comes away very skeptical.
Read it all. The view might be pessimistic, but it is important to keep an open mind. Richard Branson’s effort, as sincere as I think it is, might not succeed.