Nuclear engines for Russia’s space program
Is this real, or a call for funding? The Russian space company Energia says it will begin work next year on nuclear engines for Russia’s space program.
Tag: engineering
NASA solar sail reaches orbit
A prototype solar sail was launched from Alaska on Friday. If it unfurls as planned, it will be the U.S.’s first solar sail success after several failures.
FAA issues license to SpaceX to allow it to land its Dragon capsule
Better late than never: The FAA today issued a license to SpaceX, allowing it to bring its Dragon capsule back to Earth after launch.
Update on trapped New Zealand mine rescue
An update on the efforts to rescue 29 trapped New Zealand miners.
X-34s moved from storage
Via Clark Lindsey, it appears that NASA has taken from storage its two X-34 suborbital spaceships and is considering returning the ships to flight status.
Virgin and KLM – the new space race?
The new space race: Virgin Galactic and KLM Airlines.
Future tests of SpaceShipTwo will be even more challenging
Hooray for private space! Future tests of SpaceShipTwo will be even more challenging.
A gas explosion in New Zealand coal mine, trapping 27
Gas explosion today in a New Zealand coal mine has trapped 27 miners.
How the U.S. Snoops on Russian Nukes From Space
How the U.S. snoops on Russian nukes from space.
SpaceShipTwo completes its third glide flight
Hooray for private space! SpaceShipTwo successfully completed its third glide flight yesterday.
Shuttle launch no earlier than December 3
NASA managers have once again delayed the launch of Discovery, now set for no earlier than December 3.
A snowstorm in space
Almost literally, the probe Deep Impact flew through a snowstorm when it flew past Comet Hartley 2 on November 4. Below is one of the best pictures from the moment. More images can be found here. Key quote:
[The images] revealed a cometary snow storm created by carbon dioxide jets spewing out tons of golf-ball to basketball-sized fluffy ice particles from the peanut-shaped comet’s rocky ends. At the same time, a different process was causing water vapor to escape from the comet’s smooth mid-section. This information sheds new light on the nature of comets and even planets.
Note that all the close-up images taken by Deep Impact are going to be slightly out of focus, as the camera was launched with a defect.