For the second time this month, a Chinese rocket designed for reuse successfully soared into low-Earth orbit on its first flight Monday, defying the questionable odds that burden the debuts of new launch vehicles. The first Long March 12A rocket, roughly the same height and diameter of SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9, lifted off from the ..
Tag : space
The retirement of the Atlas V and Delta IV led to a period of downsizing for United Launch Alliance, with layoffs and facility closures in Florida, California, Alabama, Colorado, and Texas. In a further sign of ULA’s troubles, SpaceX won a majority of US military launch contracts for the first time last year. Bruno, 64, ..
Invoking the designation also ensures an independent investigation detached from the teams involved in the incident itself, according to retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Susan Helms, chair of the safety panel. “We just, I think, are advocates of safety investigation best practices, and that clearly is one of the top best practices,” Helms said. Another ..
Artemis II, meet Astrovan II. NASA’s first astronauts who will fly by the moon in more than 50 years participated in a practice launch countdown on Saturday, December 20, including taking their first trip on a transport vehicle steeped in almost the entire span of US space history—from Apollo through to the ongoing commercial crew ..
Meanwhile, the Russian core will fly onward. Some elements will have been in orbit for more than 30 years. Some in Russia are not happy In a scathing article on the decision, the Russian newspaper New Izvestia explored its consequences. The article, translated for Ars by Rob Mitchell, recalled comments from Orlov in 2022 about ..
The easiest way to keep up with Eric Berger’s and Stephen Clark’s reporting on all things space is to sign up for our newsletter. We’ll collect their stories and deliver them straight to your inbox. Sign Me Up! SpaceX warns of dangerous Chinese launch. China’s recent deployment of nine satellites occurred dangerously close to a ..
CubeSats have been a ubiquitous part of the satellite industry for nearly a quarter-century. They are based on a cube-shaped design, measuring about 10 centimeters per side, but can be scaled from a single cube “unit” to three, six, 12, or more, depending on mission requirements. The CubeSat standard has become a popular choice for ..
Strikingly, there is no mention of a concrete plan to send humans to Mars in this document. There are just two references to the red planet, both of which talk about sending humans there as a far-off goal. One source recently told Ars that as soon as Trump learned there was no way humans could ..
When the Perseverance rover arrived on Mars nearly five years ago, NASA officials thought the next American lander to take aim on the red planet would be taking shape by now. At the time, the leaders of the space agency expected this next lander could be ready for launch as soon as 2026—or more likely ..
Now, finally, he will get a chance to act, rather than react to everyone else. As the Project Athena plan clearly demonstrates, Isaacman has a good handle on the problems besetting NASA, an aging and increasingly bureaucratic agency. NASA can still do great things, but it has become almost infinitely harder since the heady days ..