Spaceflight

Faulty design and manufacturing of engine components were among likely causes of the Orbital Sciences rocket explosion a year ago, according to a report (PDF) this week from a NASA-appointed review team. The unmanned Antares rocket, carrying cargo to the International Space Station, exploded at a commercial launch site in Virginia on Oct. 28, 2014. […]

When Andy Weir’s novel, The Martian, appeared in 2011, the concept was already going against the flow. In an age when smartphones and tablets have reduced the average attention span to 10 seconds or less, here was a story in which science—real, serious and plausible, if not entirely always accurate science—was the star vehicle to […]

I have argued many times in the past that in order for commercial space operations to succeed, they need to be given the opportunity to fail. The truth is, aviation did not grow up in a bloodless environment. Many died learning the lessons that we take for granted today. Commercial spaceflight may indeed have to […]

The SpaceX rocket that exploded after launch on June 28 likely broke a strut, releasing a helium bottle in an oxygen tank that shot out the top, the company said this week. SpaceX founder Elon Musk said the Dragon rocket didn’t have the software to deploy a parachute that could have saved it and the […]

A small boomerang-shaped aircraft that will go for a test launch later this year could be the first unmanned aerial system to glide over the surface of Mars, if NASA’s project comes to fruition. The Prandtl-m prototype’s test, one of three in the planning stages, will include a launch from a high-altitude balloon at about […]

I was listening to NPR on Saturday morning when a brief news item mentioning SpaceX’s planned Sunday launch said two previous launches to resupply the ISS had failed. I couldn’t help but wonder: what are the chances? Actually not that high—or low, depending on how you want to look at it. The SpaceX Falcon blew […]

The brief test flight of an unmanned SpaceX capsule on Wednesday was the first trial for a system that will allow astronauts to abort their launches should something go awry. It also marked progress for NASA’s plans to once again transport astronauts, replacing the retired space shuttle program with commercially made spacecraft. “I think this […]

Blue Origin launched its experimental spacecraft this week from Texas, marking the start of the company’s unmanned test flights with plans to develop a space tourism vehicle.The New Shepard craft launched Wednesday from Blue Origin’s test site, reached an altitude of 58 miles, then separated from its rocket and deployed a parachute for landing, Reuters […]

The ever-intriguing X-37B space plane is slated for its fourth mission in May, this time to experiment with a propulsion system for military satellites, the Air Force announced this week. The target launch date is May 20, according to multiple news sources. The military has revealed little about past missions, prompting broad speculation about what […]

SpaceX will try again to land its Falcon 9 rocket on a floating barge in June, when its next mission to the International Space Station is scheduled. Tuesday’s launch of the rocket to take the Dragon supply spacecraft to the station was a success, but the landing was not. The rocket made it to the […]