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
Starlab Space’s forthcoming space station is so big and heavy that only the formidable SpaceX Starship megarocket can launch it into orbit, but the one-time delivery option comes with distinct benefits. Astronomers Could Soon Get Warnings When SpaceX Satellites Threaten Their View Starlab Space, like several other commercial ventures, is racing to deliver a commercial … 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
It’s time to look back at spaceflight in 2023, a real “two steps forward, one step back” kind of year, filled with highs, lows, and everything in between. China’s Plan to Land Astronauts on the Moon The New Space Race is in full swing, and with both public and private entities pushing the limits of … Read more
Moving swiftly and learning through failure, SpaceX says it’s already looking ahead to version 2 of the Starship upper stage. Like It or Not, Your Doctor Will Use AI | AI Unlocked In a tweet posted on November 24, company CEO Elon Musk shared a photo showing four Starship upper stages standing vertically at SpaceX’s … Read more
SpaceX’s latest test flight of the Starship rocket lasted for around eight minutes—twice the length of the previous test. Both the booster and the Starship upper stage were lost, but SpaceX achieved many key milestones during the flight test. Astronomers Could Soon Get Warnings When SpaceX Satellites Threaten Their View Starship has taken to the … Read more