Tag: Space Exploration

NASA awards $11.5 million to help design the aircraft of tomorrow

NeRD

NASA is looking to develop a new generation of low-emission commercial aircraft that will offer a more efficient and sustainable mode of travel. The space agency has commissioned five new design studies as part of its Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) 2050 initiative. The organizations contributing to new airliner design concepts include Boeing’s Aurora Flight Sciences, the aerospace company Electra, the Georgia Institute of Technology, the aviation startup JetZero and Pratt & Whitney, according to a statement from NASA. “Through initiatives like AACES, NASA is positioned to harness…

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Watch Rocket Lab launch 5 French ‘Internet of Things’ satellites tonight

NeRD

Rocket Lab plans to launch five “Internet of Things” (IoT) satellites to orbit tonight (Nov. 23), and you can watch the action live. An Electron launcher carrying five spacecraft for the French company Kinéis is scheduled to lift off from Rocket Lab‘s New Zealand site tonight at 10:55 p.m. EST (0355 GMT and 4:55 p.m. local New Zealand time on Nov. 24). The launch window is instantaneous, so if the weather or any other issues force a delay, Rocket Lab will have to try again another day. Rocket Lab will…

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SpaceX’s Starship will fly Lunar Outpost’s rover to the moon

NeRD

SpaceX’s Starship megarocket just added another moon mission to its docket. Colorado company Lunar Outpost announced today (Nov. 21) that it has chosen Starship to launch its new moon rover, known as Eagle, and land the wheeled vehicle on the lunar surface. The news comes two days after the 400-foot-tall (122 meters) Starship flew for the sixth time ever, on a suborbital test flight from Texas that achieved all of its main objectives. “Having experienced the recent groundbreaking Starship test flight firsthand, we’re confident that SpaceX is advancing the most…

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Will astronauts need to be rescued from the moon? NASA wants to be prepared just in case

NeRD

NASA wants ideas on how to create emergency response plans for future missions to the moon. The space agency’s South Pole Safety challenge focuses on the development of innovative solutions for a compact, efficient system that astronauts can use in the event of an emergency during extravehicular activities (EVAs) on the lunar surface. Participants are asked to submit technical design concepts that could be adapted for NASA’s Artemis program. “If an astronaut crew member becomes incapacitated during a mission, the ability to return them safely and promptly to the human…

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What’s next for SpaceX’s Starship after its successful 6th test flight?

NeRD

The biggest and most powerful rocket ever built now has six test flights under its belt — and it’s just getting started. SpaceX launched its 400-foot-tall (122-meter-tall) Starship megarocket for the sixth time ever on Tuesday (Nov. 19), sending the giant stainless-steel vehicle skyward from its Starbase site in South Texas. Starship performed well throughout the lengthy trial. Its Super Heavy first stage splashed down softly in the Gulf of Mexico after an issue with the launch tower precluded a planned “chopsticks” catch-landing back at the pad, and the “Ship”…

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How to watch SpaceX launch Flight 6 of its Starship megarocket today

NeRD

Just before sunset this evening (Nov. 19) on the outskirts of the southernmost town in Texas, SpaceX’s Starship rocket is scheduled to launch on its sixth test flight to space, and you can watch it live on Space.com. The two-stage reusable vehicle is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, consisting of the Starship upper stage and its Super Heavy booster. Today’s launch, designated Integrated Flight Test-6 (IFT-6), is scheduled to lift off during a 30-minute window that opens at 5:00 p.m. EST (2100 GMT; 4 p.m. local Texas…

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Blue Origin targeting Nov. 22 for next space tourism launch

NeRD

Blue Origin’s ninth crewed spaceflight will lift off this week, if all goes according to plan. Jeff Bezos‘ aerospace company announced today (Nov. 18) that it’s targeting Friday (Nov. 22) for the launch of NS-28, which will send “Space Gal” Emily Calandrelli and five other people to suborbital space. Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket-capsule combo will lift off from the company’s West Texas spaceport on Friday during a window that opens at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT; 9:30 a.m. local Texas time). You can watch the action live here at…

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SpaceX launching 1st mission for Indian Space Research Organisation today

NeRD

SpaceX is set to launch its first-ever mission for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) today (Nov. 18). A Falcon 9 rocket carrying ISRO’s GSAT-N2 communications satellite is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today during a two-hour window that opens at 1:31 p.m. EST (1831 GMT). If it goes at the beginning of that window, it will be the third launch in 27 hours for Elon Musk‘s company. SpaceX will livestream the action via its X account, beginning about 15 minutes before liftoff. If all…

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What to expect during SpaceX’s 6th Starship test flight on Nov. 19

NeRD

SpaceX is targeting Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 19) for the launch of its sixth Starship flight test. The upcoming test flight is expected to lift off on Nov. 19 during a 30-minute window that opens at 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT). The Starship megarocket, which consists of two fully reusable elements — a huge first stage called Super Heavy and an upper-stage spacecraft known as Starship, or simply “Ship” — will launch from the company’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas. You’ll be able to watch the launch…

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‘Lunik Heist:’ A real-life CIA rocket kidnapping goes to Hollywood

NeRD

Now in the works is a retro look back in time at a bizarre Cold War caper by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) thanks to a forthcoming, star-studded comedy/drama movie called “Lunik Heist.” Earlier this month, Searchlight Pictures, a Disney-owned division, announced that actors Jared Leto, Lupita Nyong’o, and John Mulaney have signed on to star in “Lunik Heist,” described as a “a wild, roller-coaster ride, filled with subterfuge and unlikely heroes.” The film is based on a real-life incident that saw CIA operatives plot to disassemble and inspect one…

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