Category: rocket

Elon Musk hopes SpaceX’s Starship will reach orbit in six months

[ad_1] Production for the Super Heavy booster won’t start until Mk4 is complete, Musk added. Despite that, crewed flight might come sooner than you think. SpaceX wants to pursue heavy reusability, to the extent that one Starship could fly “three or four times a day” while the booster could fly “20 times.” That could help […]

Get a glimpse of SpaceX’s orbital Starship prototype under construction

[ad_1] The first test flights of this orbital vessel could start as soon as October, with the initial experiment reaching about 63,000 feet. Subsequent tests will up the velocity and, eventually, reach orbit. Commercial flights aren’t expected to start until 2021, but Starship is poised to be the backbone of SpaceX’s business soon after, handling […]

Russian rocket test explosion leads to radiation leak

[ad_1] Officials also ordered shipping in the nearby Dvina Bay region of the White Sea, near both the military facility where the explosion occurred and a nuclear submarine production facility. Rosatom’s statement didn’t say exactly what hardware was involved, but the New York Times pointed to clues that it might have been an experimental weapon. […]

SpaceX ‘rideshare’ program launches satellites for just $2.5 million

[ad_1] SpaceX is expanding its launch services to directly address the needs of small satellite operators through regularly scheduled, dedicated Falcon 9 rideshare missions https://t.co/jqQxEdt4xp pic.twitter.com/3gzOPxdVkW — SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 5, 2019 Rides scheduled more than a year before launch will start at $2.5 million for payloads of up to 150 kg (330 lbs) and […]

Virgin Orbit’s first rocket drop test was a success

[ad_1] Company chief Dan Hart told CNBC in an interview that he hoped the first full-fledged launch would take place “before the end of the summer.” A first commercial launch, meanwhile, could come roughly eight to 10 weeks after that. Virgin already has six rockets in progress in its factory, and thinks it can produce […]

NASA spacecraft will use fuel that’s safer for humans

[ad_1] Here’s the kicker: it’s also more powerful. NASA says the safer fuel offers about 50 percent better performance, so you can either go farther on the same fuel or reduce the amount of fuel you need to carry on a given mission. That could be particularly useful for missions to the Moon and Mars, […]

China launches a rocket from a ship for the first time

[ad_1] While the US and Russia worked with other countries on the Sea Launch platform (which wound down in 2014), China is the only nation to have launched a rocket from sea using a platform and tech it fully owns, according to TechCrunch. The launch, however, took place from a private cargo ship. SpaceX, meanwhile, […]

Jeff Bezos reveals his ‘Blue Moon’ lunar lander

[ad_1] Blue Origin says the cargo variant it has just revealed can carry 3.6 metric tons to its destination. It’s also working on another variant that’s capable of carrying a “6.5-metric-ton, human-rated ascent stage.” While Bezos didn’t mention particular dates, the company believes it can meet the government’s goal of putting Americans back on the […]