Tag: Private Spaceflight

Sierra Space won’t stop blowing up inflatable space station modules (video)

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Sierra Space has announced the completion of another full-scale burst test in which the company exploded one of its inflatable modules being developed as part of efforts to build a commercial space station. Sierra Space’s “Ultimate Burst Pressure test” was conducted on June 18, 2024 and involved an inflatable space station module built to full scale at more than 20 feet tall (6 meters). The test unit, which compares to the size of a typical family home, is about one-third the volume of the International Space Station (ISS) at 10,600…

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‘Wonderlab’ host Emily Calandrelli will fly to suborbital space with Blue Origin

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The Space Gal is headed to the final frontier, as part of Space for Humanity’s Citizen Astronaut Program.  Emily Calandrelli, known for her Emmy-nominated Netflix science series “Emily’s Wonder Lab,” was selected to launch to suborbital space as a citizen astronaut ambassador with Blue Origin, though the launch date has not yet been set.  “I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to fly with Blue Origin,” Calandrelli, a West Virginia native, said in a statement from Space for Humanity. “I look forward to representing my home state in this way and…

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SpaceX wins $113 million contract to launch advanced NOAA climate satellite

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SpaceX just added another mission to its already crowded launch manifest. Elon Musk‘s company won the launch contract for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) JPSS-4 satellite. If all goes according to plan, JPSS-4 will lift off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base in 2027. The firm, fixed-price contract is worth $112.7 million, “which includes launch services and other mission-related costs,” NASA officials wrote in an update on Monday (July 22).  The JPSS (“Joint Polar Satellite System”) program is a cooperative effort of…

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Polaris Dawn crew shows off new SpaceX spacesuits for 1st private spacewalk (photos)

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This first ever private spacewalk will be bringing some serious style to outer space. SpaceX‘s privately-funded crewed mission, Polaris Dawn, is moving toward a launch sometime this summer. The four-person crew, which includes the mission’s funder, billionaire philanthropist Jared Isaacman, recently completed acceptance testing for SpaceX’s new extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuits, which they will wear as they become the first private citizens to perform a spacewalk on orbit. In addition to Isaacman, the crew includes two lead operations engineers at SpaceX, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, serving as mission specialists,…

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SpaceX’s Starship to fly again ‘in 4 weeks,’ Elon Musk says

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We won’t have to wait much longer to see the most powerful rocket ever built take to the skies again, if all goes according to plan. That rocket, SpaceX’s 400-foot-tall (122 meters) Starship, has flown four test flights to date. And number five should be just around the corner, according to SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk. “Flight 5 in 4 weeks,” Musk said Friday (July 5) via X, the social media platform he owns.  Starship consists of two elements: a first-stage booster known as Super Heavy and a 165-foot-tall…

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SpaceX wants to build 1 Starship megarocket a day with new Starfactory

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Sure, the test flight of the world’s most powerful rocket this week was nail-biting. But it was also a massive win for SpaceX with a successful fourth test for Starship. The company’s goals for this test flight were accomplished as Starship’s first-stage booster, Super Heavy, made a soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico and the 165-foot tall (50 m) upper stage, referred to simply as Ship, made a controlled landing burn during reentry before landing in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX now aims to build on the progress with its…

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‘Sudden, brief, and unexpected:’ dearMoon crew laments cancellation of private SpaceX Starship moon mission

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The dearMoon crew has shared their disappointment on social media following the mission’s abrupt cancellation.  Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa canceled his planned flight around the moon on June 1 due to delays with SpaceX’s Starship megarocket, which has yet to fly a single crewed test flight. Maezawa initially booked the private trip in 2018 and invited eight artists to join him with the expectation that the project, called dearMoon, would launch by the end of 2023.  “I can’t plan my future in this situation, and I feel terrible making the…

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SpaceX Starship’s next launch ‘probably 3 to 5 weeks’ away, Elon Musk says

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We’re likely still a month or so away from the next launch of SpaceX’s Starship megarocket. That was the timeline Elon Musk offered in a post on X over the weekend, saying Starship’s next test flight is “probably 3 to 5 weeks” away. “Objective is for the ship to get past max heating, or at least further than last time,” the billionaire entrepreneur added.  The 400-foot-tall (122 meters) Starship is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built. It consists of two elements, both of which are designed to be…

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Sierra Space’s 1st Dream Chaser space plane aces key tests. Next stop: Florida launch site.

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The private Dream Chaser space plane is closer to reaching the final frontier than ever before, with a completed checklist from its environmental testing phase and preparations underway to send it to Florida for final testing ahead of launch.   Three months ago, Space.Com gave you up-close looks at Sierra Space’s inaugural Dream Chaser space plane at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio. Since then, the robotic space plane, named “Tenacity,” and its Shooting Star cargo module have successfully completed a series of assessments to prepare them for space’s…

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SpaceX moves Super Heavy booster to pad ahead of 4th Starship flight (photos)

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SpaceX is continuing to gear up for the next test flight of its Starship megarocket. On Thursday (April 4), SpaceX announced via X that it has moved a Starship first stage, a 33-engine booster called Super Heavy, to the launch pad at its Starbase site in South Texas.  That post also shared two photos of the giant, stainless-steel booster clutched by the “chopstick” arms of the tower at Starbase’s orbital launch mount. Related: Relive SpaceX Starship’s 3rd flight test in breathtaking photos The booster is being prepped for the fourth…

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