Skydiver Felix Baumgartner has successfully completed an 18 mile dive in preparation for a record 23 mile dive next month.
Skydiver Felix Baumgartner has successfully completed an 18 mile dive in preparation for a record 23 mile dive next month.
Tag: spaceflight
Mars Odyssey has successfully adjusted its orbit so as to provide up-to-the-minute communications when Curiosity lands on August 5.
Good news: Mars Odyssey has successfully adjusted its orbit so as to provide up-to-the-minute communications when Curiosity lands on August 5.
A test redocking of a new automatic docking system on a Russian Progress freighter was aborted last night when the system did not work as planned.
A test redocking of a new automatic docking system on a Russian Progress freighter was aborted last night when the system did not work as planned.
They will probably try again on the weekend, after a Japanese cargo craft is berthed with the station.
Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut, has died.
NASA successfully tested a new inflatable heat shield today.
NASA successfully tested a new inflatable heat shield today in a suborbital flight at Wallops Island..
Mitchell and Webb – Moon Landing sketch
An evening pause: A comedy sketch by David Mitchell and Robert Webb, in honor of today’s anniversary of that moment in 1969.
“Wouldn’t it be great to make everyone think we’d landed on the moon?”
“Why don’t we just release the footage of the Mars landings?”
The next Russian manned capsule and rocket?
Russia has announced it has begun construction on a lunar lander, set for its first unmanned test flight in 2015.
The competition heats up: Russia has announced it has begun construction on a manned lunar lander, set for its first unmanned test flight in 2015.
There have been many such announcements from Russia over the past decade with few ever coming true, since such announcements are generally nothing more than a public relations lobbying effort to get funding.
The most intriguing part of this article however was this quote:
Last week, head of the Lavochkin Scientific and Production Corp. Victor Khartov said Russia must “return to the Moon in 2015 in a Soviet style, to prove everyone and ourselves that we remember all the Soviet Union could do” at the Farnborough air show in Britain.
I would interpret this statement as a desire for Russia to compete more aggressively with the U.S. and others, as they did back in the days of the Soviet Union. It was also in that time period that the Lavochkin center was in its heyday, with lots of money and research work.
Russia is considering shortening the time it takes for its Progress and Soyuz capsules to reach ISS after launch, from 50 hours to 6.
Russia is considering shortening the time it takes for its Progress and Soyuz capsules to reach ISS after launch, from 50 hours to 6.
The long travel time was designed to save fuel at launch — thus increasing payload — by allowing orbital mechanics to bring the capsule and station together. I wonder then why the Russians are considering this change. Have the figured out a way to save the fuel in other ways?
Orbital Sciences has announced an updated schedule for testing and flying its Antares rocket and Cygnus capsule to ISS.
The competition heats up: Orbital Sciences has announced an updated schedule for testing and flying its Antares rocket and Cygnus capsule to ISS.
This article gives a bit more background.
NASA successfully completed today a parachute drop test of its Orion capsule.
NASA successfully completed today a parachute drop test of its Orion capsule.
The cost of launch
Two news items from NASA today:
- NASA has picked SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to launch NOAA’s Jason-3 ocean survey satellite.
- NASA has picked United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Delta 2 rocket to launch the SMAP, OCO-2, and JPSS-1 climate satellites.
What I find most interesting about these stories is the fees charged by the two companies. SpaceX will be paid $82 million for its one launch, while ULA will be paid $412 million for its three launches, or about $137 million per launch.
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Has Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser been picked as one of two finalists in NASA’s competition to ferry crew and cargo to ISS?
Tantalizing hints: Has Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser been picked as one of two finalists in NASA’s competition to ferry crew and cargo to ISS?
Three astronauts successfully lifted off on a Soyuz rocket earlier today, headed to ISS.
Three astronauts successfully lifted off on a Soyuz rocket earlier today, headed to ISS.
Mars Odyssey went into safe mode on Wednesday for about 21 hours.
ESA is revamping how it builds rockets in order to compete with SpaceX.
The competition heats up: ESA is revamping how it builds rockets in order to compete with SpaceX.
ESA officials have been spooked by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, Calif., which has demonstrated its technical prowess with the launch of its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo vehicle to the international space station. SpaceX officials say one of the keys to its success is that Falcon 9 is built in one factory owned by SpaceX.
Read the whole thing. The way ESA builds the Ariane rocket requires too many participants (what we in the U.S. call pork), raising its cost. ESA is now abandoning that approach to cut costs and thus compete with SpaceX.
Bad training of the astronauts led to the failure of the student experiments recently on ISS.
Bad training of the ISS astronauts by the company supplying the experiments was the reason the student experiments were never turned on.
“Previous crews were given on the ground review and personal interaction prior to launch,” Manber said. “For this mission, the astronaut received hardware training solely via video while on the space station. Clearly, there was a miscommunication resulting from the video instruction.”
Poland has been accepted as a member of the European Space Agency.
The new colonial movement: Poland today was accepted as a member of the European Space Agency.
Researchers have concluded that the dust on the Moon’s surface there pose serious health risks for lunar colonists.
Researchers have concluded that the dust on the Moon’s surface might pose serious health risks for lunar colonists.
The Virginia spaceport at Wallops Island is on schedule to hand control of its launchpad sometime this month so that Orbital Sciences can begin ground tests of its Antares rocket.
The Virginia spaceport at Wallops Island is on schedule later this month to hand control of its launchpad over to Orbital Sciences so it can begin ground tests of its Antares rocket.
The irony of this press release story is that Orbital has actually been running things, as it took over prepping the launchpad last year when the spaceport was unable to handle it.