Showcase your climate data visualisation talent with ESA
Tuesday, 19 September 2023 09:34
Spire Global selected by Estuaire to monitor and reduce aviation emissions
Tuesday, 19 September 2023 09:34
SynMax announces acquisition of Gas Vista in energy and maritime intelligence push
Tuesday, 19 September 2023 09:34
Moon crew visits European powerhouse
Tuesday, 19 September 2023 09:00
ESA looks to transform Europe’s space transportation capability
Tuesday, 19 September 2023 06:30
On Earth, raw materials and finished goods move from source to destination with the help of a highly developed logistics network. ESA believes the same will be true in space in the future – made possible by a new generation of reusable launchers, in-space delivery vehicles and orbiting fuel depots.
Purdue scientist among first to examine asteroid pieces from OSIRIS-REx mission
Tuesday, 19 September 2023 06:27
Germany signs the Artemis Accords
Tuesday, 19 September 2023 06:27
New clues to the nature of elusive dark matter
Tuesday, 19 September 2023 06:27
Terran Orbital announces Proposed Public Offering
Tuesday, 19 September 2023 06:27
Sidus Space secures position on upcoming Bandwagon Mission
Tuesday, 19 September 2023 06:27
Every Gram Counts: SCHOTT Launches Lightweight Microelectronic Packages for Aerospace
Tuesday, 19 September 2023 06:27
AWS ties up with ISRO and IN-SPACe to advance India's space capabilities with cloud technologies
Tuesday, 19 September 2023 06:27
ABL gets contract for U.S. Space Force ‘responsive launch’ mission
Monday, 18 September 2023 19:25

SpaceX test fires a Raptor engine, simulating a lunar landing
Monday, 18 September 2023 18:28
When NASA astronauts return to the surface of the moon in the Artemis III mission, the plan is to use a modified SpaceX Starship as their lunar lander. NASA announced last week that SpaceX has now demonstrated an important capability of the vacuum-optimized Raptor engine that will be used for the lander: an extreme cold start.
A test last month successfully confirmed the engine can be started in the frigid conditions of space, even when the vehicle has spent an extended time in space, where temperatures will drop lower than a shorter low-Earth orbit mission. The Raptor vacuum engine was chilled to mimic conditions after a long coast period in space, and then was successfully fired.
SpaceX has a video on X (formerly Twitter) showing the test firing.
NASA said that one challenge that differentiates Artemis missions from those in low Earth orbit is that the landers may sit in space without firing for an extended period of time, "causing the temperature of the hardware to drop to a level below what they would experience on a much shorter low Earth orbit mission.