India designing reusable spacecraft
ISRO, India’s space agency, pushes to get funding for a reusable spacecraft.
Tag: engineering
An 8th grade project to build a Rube Goldberg device to turn on a light
An evening pause: An 8th grade project to build a Rube Goldberg device to turn on a light. I like how this video illustrates the difficulty of building such a device.
Dawn Captures First Image of Asteroid Vesta
Dawn captures its first image of the asteroid Vesta as it closes in on a rendezvous set for July 16.
Nine Androids You Can Actually Own
After 100 orbits, an overview of Messenger’s survey of Mercury
After 100 orbits, an overview of Messenger’s survey of Mercury.
Judge orders Obama administration to act on offshore drilling permits
A judge has ordered the Obama administration to act on six offshore drilling permits within 30 days.
First Soyuz launch from French Guiana set for October
The first Soyuz launch from the European spaceport in French Guiana is now scheduled for October.
Final shuttle mission unlikely to fly until mid-July
The delays in launching Endeavour has pushed back the last shuttle mission to mid-July.
NASA management moves to combine SpaceX’s next two test flights of Dragon
NASA management appears ready to approve combining SpaceX’s next two test flights of the Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket into one test flight. This despite Russian opposition.
NASA, Stanford websites hit by search engine scammers
Websites run by NASA, JPL, and Stanford University were hacked by search engine scammers today.
Endeavour’s launch now set for 8:56 am May 16
Endeavour’s last launch is now set for May 16 at 8:56 am.
Shuttle launch slips to at least May 16
The last launch of Endeavour has now slipped to at least May 16.
Fifty years ago: Alan Shepard’s suborbital flight
An evening pause: Fifty years ago today, America’s response to Gagarin and the Soviets, Alan Shepard’s suborbital flight.
Or as he said as he lifted off, “The clock has started.”
The flight actually lasted 15 minutes 22 seconds. Though only a fourth the size of Gagarin’s much bigger Vostok capsule, the Mercury capsule was steerable. During the flight Shepard adjusted the capsule’s pitch, roll, and yaw, proving that humans could pilot a spacecraft manually.
Space Adventures and tourists to the Moon
Space Adventures and tourists to the Moon.
After consultation with Rocket Space Corporation Energia, modifications to the Soyuz TMA configuration have been agreed upon. The most important of which is the addition of a second habitation module to the Soyuz TMA lunar complex. The additional module would launch with the Block DM propulsion module and rendezvous with the Soyuz spacecraft in low-Earth orbit.
“Space Adventures will once again grace the pages of aerospace history, when the first private circumlunar mission launches. We have sold one of the two seats for this flight and anticipate that the launch will occur in 2015,” said Richard Garriott, Vice-Chairman of Space Adventures. “Having flown on the Soyuz, I can attest to how comfortable the spacecraft is, but the addition of the second habitation module will only make the flight that more enjoyable.”
How shall Europe’s ATV freighter to ISS be upgraded?
How shall Europe’s ATV freighter to ISS be upgraded?
Finding anti-matter from ISS
How space technology helped kill Osama bin Laden
Elon Musk defends his vision and success
Elon Musk defends his vision and success. Key quote:
For the first time in more than three decades, America last year began taking back international market-share in commercial satellite launch. This remarkable turn-around was sparked by a small investment NASA made in SpaceX in 2006 as part of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. A unique public-private partnership, COTS has proven that under the right conditions, a properly incentivized contractor — even an all-American one — can develop extremely complex systems on rapid timelines and a fixed-price basis, significantly beating historical industry-standard costs.
China has the fastest growing economy in the world. But the American free enterprise system, which allows anyone with a better mouse-trap to compete, is what will ensure that the United States remains the world’s greatest superpower of innovation.
To put it simply, Musk is right, on all counts.
Endeavour launch could be as late as May 13
The last launch of Endeavour could be delayed to as late as May 13.
SpaceShipTwo’s First “Feathered” Flight
SpaceShipTwo’s has successfully completed its first “feathered” flight.
After a 45 minute climb to the desired altitude of 51,500 feet, SpaceShip2 (SS2) was released cleanly from VMS Eve [WhiteKnightTwo] and established a stable glide profile before deploying, for the first time, its re-entry or “feathered” configuration by rotating the tail section of the vehicle upwards to a 65 degree angle to the fuselage. It remained in this configuration with the vehicle’s body at a level pitch for approximately 1 minute and 15 seconds whilst descending, almost vertically, at around 15,500 feet per minute, slowed by the powerful shuttlecock-like drag created by the raised tail section. At around 33,500 feet the pilots reconfigured the spaceship to its normal glide mode and executed a smooth runway touch down, approximately 11 minutes and 5 seconds after its release from VMS Eve.