Jordin Kare described his fusion pellet proposal in the 1990s. Pellets (with deuterium and tritium or other fusion gases) are laid down in an outbound track for the spacecraft that will eventually use them, deployed in advance by small spacecraft seeding the runway along the route of flight. Kare thinks in terms of a runway …
Air Force 2018 budget shows United Launch Alliance launch the “unit cost” of a single rocket launch in fiscal year 2020 is $422 million, and $424 million for a year later while Spacex cost $83 to 97 million each. SpaceX sells basic commercial launches of its Falcon 9 rocket for about $65 million. But, for …
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory has two NASA grants. Princeton satellite systems and Princeton Plasma Physics Lab will work on the two projects. Phase I STTRs of $125,000 each will run for one year, at which point we have the opportunity to propose Phase II work up to $750,000. 1. High Efficiency RF Heating for Small …
The Spacex Falcon Heavy will be the most powerful rocket in the world that will be currently flying. There have been more powerful rockets but they are no longer flying. The Falcon heavy will be capable of launching 64 metric tons into Low Earth Orbit. This was relatively recent improvement from improved design and improved …
The Air Force has selected SpaceX to launch the secretive X-37B unmanned spaceplane on its fifth mission to orbit, according to Spaceflight Now. The Falcon 9 Upgrade or Full Thrust that will be used is taller and more powerful than previous versions of SpaceX’s primary launch vehicle. The Full Thrust has been launched before, carrying …
Spacex unmanned Falcon rocket blasted off carrying a Dragon capsule that made a station delivery nearly three years ago. The refurbished Dragon capsule is the first returning craft since NASA’s now-retired shuttles. The first-stage booster flown Saturday afternoon was brand new, and as is now the custom, returned to Cape Canaveral following liftoff for a …
Carnival of space 511 is up at Everyday Spacer Planetaria – New moon discovered by Hubble orbiting third largest dwarf planet in Kuiper Belt Hubble Space Telescope and two other telescopes, orbiting the third largest known dwarf planet known as 2007 OR10. 2007 OR10 orbits the Sun in the far distant outer fringes of the …
The Carnival of Space 510 is at Urban Astronomer Universe Today – We Will Launch on Reusable Rocket After Exceptional SpaceX Performance – Inmarsat CEO Tells Universe Today “I’m sure we will be using a ‘reused rocket’, Inmarsat CEO Pearce stated. “And we will be launching on a ‘reusable rocket’ in the future.” We will …
Rocket Lab broke new ground today when its Electron rocket reached space at 16:23 NZST. Rocket Lab has said they will charge $5 million for each rocket. The SpaceX Falcon 9 has a launch cost of $57 million. Rocket Lab will launch up to 225 kilograms. The Falcon 9 can launch 22800 kilograms to low …
NASA has renamed the Solar Probe Plus spacecraft — humanity’s first mission to a star, which will launch in 2018 — as the Parker Solar Probe in honor of astrophysicist Eugene Parker. Parker believed there was high speed matter and magnetism constantly escaping the sun, and that it affected the planets and space throughout our …
Boeing Company has been chosen by DARPA to build the XS-1 Spaceplane. DARPAh aims to build and fly the first of an entirely new class of hypersonic aircraft that would bolster national security by providing short-notice, low-cost access to space. The program aims to achieve a capability well out of reach today—launches to low Earth …