The Starliner spacecraft is finally ready for launch, targeting a liftoff date in May. It’s been a struggle to get to this point for Boeing’s crew vehicle, which suffered from a series of unfortunate delays over the years, the last of which had to do with two major safety hazards discovered on the spacecraft. Were … Read more
Screenshot: SpaceX The Starship upper stage continued on its journey through space, attaining, for the first time, an orbital velocity exceeding 16,156 miles per hour (26,000 kilometers per hour). Technically, Starship didn’t achieve Earth orbit (that wasn’t the plan), but its velocity was within the ballpark of the speed needed for it to maintain a … Read more
The time has come for Starship to embark on its third test flight, during which the megarocket will once again be pushed to its limits and demonstrate advances made since the previous flight last November. Astronomers Could Soon Get Warnings When SpaceX Satellites Threaten Their View Update: March 14, 9:10 a.m. ET: SpaceX reports no … Read more
Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos, is finally setting some ambitious timelines, saying it plans to conduct an uncrewed Moon landing in as little as a year from now, deploying a demonstration version of its Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) cargo lander. This ramps up the space rivalry big time, putting Bezos … Read more
Image: Photo: Shutterstock Graphics: Vicky Leta Renowned puzzler Peter Winkler invented the addictive word game, HIPE, with some friends when they were juniors in high school. While it may not have become the overnight success of Wordle, the game did earn Winkler admission to Harvard. According to his book, Mathematical Mind-Benders, he wrote a college … Read more
Details about SpaceX’s proposed land swap deal with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission (TPWC) keep getting uglier. After an overwhelming majority voted against the land exchange, the decision was delayed to March. Recent reports, however, suggest that the acres in question were already set aside for preservation and that an oil billionaire in Texas … Read more
In the face of drug use allegations that could jeopardize million dollar contracts, NASA has come to Elon Musk’s defense, as the space agency waits on a SpaceX lunar lander for its Artemis missions. Tesla Investors Not Happy With Mr. Tweet’s Tweets NASA responded to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, which claimed … Read more
With just 11 days left in the year, it’s clear that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk will not reach his stated goal of achieving 100 Falcon 9 launches in 2023. Nonetheless, the company’s achievements during the calendar year are damn impressive, with 2024 poised to be even more remarkable. Tesla Investors Not Happy With Mr. Tweet’s … Read more
China’s Shenlong robotic spaceplane, on its third mission, has added a new layer of intrigue to its space activities by deploying six unidentified objects into Earth’s orbit. Astronomers Could Soon Get Warnings When SpaceX Satellites Threaten Their View Shenlong, meaning “Divine Dragon,” embarked on its third mission on December 14, successfully deploying six objects into … Read more
AFalcon 9 rocket awaiting launch for the Starlink 7-9 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base.Photo: SpaceX SpaceX is gearing up to launch the first batch of Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell capability, with plans to test the technology in Earth orbit so that it can expand its reach on Earth beyond the range of cell towers. … Read more