NASA postpones rocket launch to Moon after fuel leak
Saturday, 03 September 2022 15:53NASA on Saturday scrapped a second attempt to get its new 30-story rocket off the ground and send its uncrewed test capsule toward the Moon after engineers detected a fuel leak. With millions around the globe and hundreds of thousands on nearby beaches waiting for the historic launch of the massive Space Launch System (SLS), a leak near the base of the rocket was found as ultra-cold liquid h
Second Artemis 1 launch attempt scrubbed
Saturday, 03 September 2022 14:35NASA called off a second attempt to conduct the inaugural launch of the Space Launch System Sept. 3 after failing to resolve a liquid hydrogen leak during fueling of the rocket.
NASA Moon rocket ready for second attempt at liftoff
Saturday, 03 September 2022 05:17After technical issues halted its first launch attempt, NASA will try again on Saturday to get its new 30-story rocket off the ground and send its unmanned test capsule towards the Moon. If the massive Space Launch System (SLS) lifts off successfully, it will not only be awe-inspiring but also historic for NASA, marking the first of its Artemis program plotting a return to the Moon, fifty ye
It's raining diamonds across the universe, research suggests
Saturday, 03 September 2022 00:42It could be raining diamonds on planets throughout the universe, scientists suggested Friday, after using common plastic to recreate the strange precipitation believed to form deep inside Uranus and Neptune. Scientists had previously theorised that extremely high pressure and temperatures turn hydrogen and carbon into solid diamonds thousands of kilometres below the surface of the ice giants
NASA Moon launch to attract up to 400,000 visitors
Saturday, 03 September 2022 00:42Up to 400,000 visitors are expected to flock to the Florida coast on Saturday, hoping to catch a glimpse - and hear the roar - of NASA's rocket launch to the Moon. If the uncrewed Space Launch System (SLS) lifts off successfully, it will be not only awe-inspiring but historic for NASA, marking the first of its Artemis missions plotting a return to the Moon. The Kennedy Space Center wil
NASA says weather, SLS rocket look good for Artemis I launch on Saturday
Saturday, 03 September 2022 00:42NASA says it will try again on Saturday to send its giant moon rocket and a space capsule to the moon and back - the first Artemis mission - after multiple problems that spoiled the first attempt were fixed. The space agency was ready to launch Artemis I on Monday when fuel leaks and a problem with a core-stage main engine sensor led controllers to scrub the attempt. NASA now s
Skyroot Aerospace raises $51 Million led by GIC to propel the new future of small satellite launches
Saturday, 03 September 2022 00:42Space-tech startup Skyroot Aerospace from India, successfully raised US$51 million Series-B funding round led by GIC, a leading global investment firm. This is the largest funding round ever in the Indian private Space-Tech sector, which validates Skyroot's strengths in space technology and helps meet the burgeoning demand from the international small satellite markets. As part of the inve
NASA completes agreement with Axiom Space for second private astronaut mission
Friday, 02 September 2022 23:20NASA has completed an agreement for a second private astronaut mission to the International Space Station with Axiom Space, the only company that bid on the opportunity.
The post NASA completes agreement with Axiom Space for second private astronaut mission appeared first on SpaceNews.
NASA aims for Saturday launch of new moon rocket after fixes
Friday, 02 September 2022 14:10NASA aimed for a Saturday launch of its new moon rocket, after fixing fuel leaks and working around a bad engine sensor that foiled the first try.
The inaugural flight of the 322-foot rocket—the most powerful ever built by NASA—was delayed late in the countdown Monday. The Kennedy Space Center clocks started ticking again as managers expressed confidence in their plan and forecasters gave favorable weather odds.
Atop the rocket is a crew capsule with three test dummies that will fly around the moon and back over the course of six weeks—NASA's first such attempt since the Apollo program 50 years ago.
It's not just rocket science: Hidden chemistry powers moon launches and sustains life in space
Friday, 02 September 2022 13:09Many around the world will watch eagerly this Saturday as NASA launches Artemis I, the agency's first Moon exploration mission since the 1970s.
The spectacle involves the most powerful rocket in the world: the Space Launch System (SLS). Standing at nearly 100 meters tall and weighing more than 2,600 tons, the SLS produces a massive 8.8 million pounds of thrust—(more than 31 times the thrust of a Boeing 747 jet).
But it's not just amazing engineering that's behind rocket science and space exploration. Hidden within, there's clever chemistry that powers these fantastic feats and sustains our fragile life in space.
The fuel and the spark
To launch a rocket into space, we need a chemical reaction known as combustion. This is where fuels are combined with oxygen, producing energy as a result. In turn, that energy provides the push (or thrust) needed to propel mammoth machines like the SLS into Earth's upper atmosphere and beyond.
Much like cars on the road and jets in the sky, rockets have engines where combustion takes place. SLS has two engine systems: four core stage RS-25 engines (upgraded space shuttle engines) and two solid rocket boosters.
Week in images: 29 August - 02 September 2022
Friday, 02 September 2022 12:05Week in images: 29 August - 02 September 2022
Discover our week through the lens
NASA readies for Saturday Moon rocket launch attempt
Friday, 02 September 2022 09:11The stars appear to be aligned for NASA's Moon rocket to finally blast off on Saturday, with weather forecasts favorable and technical issues that postponed the launch earlier this week resolved. Liftoff is scheduled for 2:17 pm local time (1817 GMT) from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the potential for up to a two-hour delay if necessary. The chance for favorable weather conditio
Rocket Lab completes first test fire of reused Rutherford Engine
Friday, 02 September 2022 09:11Rocket Lab USA, Inc (Nasdaq: RKLB) has successfully test fired a reused Rutherford first stage engine for the first time - a significant technical achievement in the Company's efforts to make its Electron launch vehicle the world's first reusable orbital small rocket. Rocket Lab conducted the full duration, full-thrust test fire of the refurbished Rutherford engine earlier this week at the
Crime-scene technique identifies asteroid sites
Friday, 02 September 2022 09:11Analysing the charred remains of plants can confirm the locations of asteroid strikes in the distant past, new research shows. Based on estimates of crater-producing asteroid strikes in the last 11,650 years (known as the Holocene), only about 30% of impact sites have been located. Until now, there has been no way to distinguish between normal land structures and very small asteroid
After NASA's asteroid impact, ESA's Hera comes next
Friday, 02 September 2022 09:11This month NASA's DART spacecraft will collide with the smaller of the two Didymos asteroids in deep space, attempting to shift its orbit in what will be humankind's first test of the 'kinetic impactor' planetary defence technique. Meanwhile, down on the ground, ESA's follow-on mission to Didymos has reached its own crucial milestone. The main 780-m diameter Didymos asteroid is orbited by