Lifeboat Foundation

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory says it does not expect to receive any more transmissions from the MarCO CubeSats that accompanied the Insight lander to Mars last year. The two tiny spacecraft, which relayed Insight’s descent signal back to Earth in real time, have not been heard from in more than a month.

NASA’s Europa Clipper mission is on track to launch as soon as 2023, but the team has a lot to do before then.

Vanessa Wyche, deputy director of the Johnson Space Center, leads a panel discussion with key players of the Apollo program to learn critical lessons that can be applied to NASA’s future human spaceflight missions to the Moon and Mars. https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/apollo-8-part-2

It could lift off as soon as Feb. 18.

Spaceflight Industries is the latest company featured in Morgan Stanley’s “Space Disruptor Series,” which covers 90 companies.

WASHINGTON — Boeing is on track to launch its new astronaut taxi to the International Space Station (ISS) next month.

Along with SpaceX, the private spaceflight company was contracted by NASA to begin launching astronauts from U.S. soil again for the first time since the space shuttle program ended in 2011. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner won’t be taking any astronauts along for its first flight to the ISS, however. After docking robotically with the orbiting lab, it will return to Earth for a parachute landing in Texas.

If this test flight goes according to plan, Boeing will be ready to launch its first crew of astronauts to the space station in August, Boeing spokesperson Maribeth Davis told Space.com during a presentation of Boeing’s future vision for space travel here. [How Boeing’s Commercial CST-100 Starliner Spacecraft Works].

Continue reading “Boeing’s Starliner Spacecraft Will Be Ready for 1st Test Flight in March” »

The Raptor engine is designed to power Starship to our lunar neighbor and beyond.

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• Amanda Kooser

For example, Musk said, “Initially making one 200 metric ton thrust engine common across ship & booster to reach the Moon as fast as possible. Next versions will split to vacuum-optimized (380+ sec Isp) & sea-level thrust optimized (~250 ton).”

This comment is notable for a couple of reasons. First of all, the company appears to have decided to streamline the Raptor engine to a single design that will power both the rocket at liftoff, and the spaceship in the upper atmosphere and outer space. It will take less time to develop, test, and qualify a single engine. It will also cost less money.

Additionally, Musk notes that the goal is “to reach the Moon as fast as possible.” The company still appears to be focused on lunar orbital flights, such as the #dearMoon project for Japanese businessman Yusaku Maezawa, as the first missions for Starship.

Continue reading “In new Starship details, Musk reveals a more practical approach” »

Interstellar propulsion breakthroughs will require research that is motivated by more than mere hype, says former NASA breakthrough propulsion physicist.