Spaceflight

Former astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn is in a Columbus, Ohio, hospital with an undisclosed illness. Glenn, 95, was the first American to orbit the Earth and the last surviving member of the original astronauts in the Mercury program. He was admitted to James Cancer Hospital more than a week ago, and a family […]

VSS Unity, Virgin Galactic’s replacement for the original SpaceShipTwo, which crashed in October of 2014, glided to a landing for the first time Saturday after three months of captive testing slung below WhiteKnightTwo. The 2014 crash killed copilot Michael Alsbury and injured pilot Peter Siebold. Unity separated from the mothership at 10:40 a.m. PST and […]

SpaceX says it will resume rocket launches in mid-December, now that the company knows what triggered a Sept. 1 launch pad explosion. Meanwhile, NASA advisors continue to raise concerns that fueling practices were a factor in the accident. As described by the New York Times on Friday, CEO Elon Musk said the cold liquid oxygen […]

Boeing said this week it’s behind schedule on development of its manned spacecraft, which could give competitor SpaceX the edge on being the first U.S. company to launch people into orbit since the retirement of NASA’s space shuttle several years ago. Boeing has now postponed a first unmanned flight of the CST-100 Starliner for the […]

Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket is slated to launch on Friday for the first time in two years. The company said Monday the launch was rescheduled from Thursday to Friday to iron out minor glitches for the Cygnus cargo spacecraft. The launch date is Orbital ATK’s first Antares mission after the unmanned rocket exploded at a […]

Chinese scientists are looking to get into the space tourism industry with their own design fora reusable, rocket-equipped space vehicle. The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology announced its ambitious concept at the recent International Astronautical Congress in Mexico, according to a New Scientist report. The China Academy team’s concept is similar to thespaceplanes under […]

An element of intrigue has been added to the investigation of the explosion of SpaceX rocket on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral last month. The Washington Post, quoting unnamed sources, says SpaceX is investigating the possibility of sabotage in the mishap, which destroyed the rocket and its payload, an internet-beaming satellite being deployed by […]

Sierra Nevada Corp., which is testing a reusable space vehicle for future NASA missions, will partner with the United Nations for a low-orbit flight in 2021. The company’s Dream Chaser folding-wing vehicle, which can land on a runway, was selected for the U.N.’s first spaceflight slated to last two weeks in low orbit. A little-known […]

Last week, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk promised that his plan to colonize Mars would be, if nothing else, entertaining. The man has a flair for understatement. As our news story reports today, Musk unveiled his Mars ambitions at the Astronautical Congress meeting in Guadalajara, Mexico. Ambitious hardly does it justice for if anyone other than […]

The ground explosion of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Sept. 1 was likely caused by a “large breach” of the helium system, the company said Friday. SpaceX, NASA and the FAA, among others, continue to investigate the cause of the fiery incident at Cape Canaveral that destroyed the rocket and its payload as it stood […]