Gradatim Ferociter—By degrees, ferociously—aptly states Amazon and Blue Horizon founder Jeff Bezos’s approach to fulfilling his visions for humans in space, and NASA’s.
Dubbed ExoMars, the two-pronged mission will send a methane-sniffing satellite, landing demonstrator and rover equipped with a drill to dig further into the mystery of trace-gas sources on Mars.
“The number is going to be in the billions; there’s no doubt about that,” Gen. John Hyten told the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee March 15. “But exactly where it comes out I don’t know."
India will launch 25 foreign satellites this year and next year using its indigenous launch vehicle as it strives to increase its presence in the global space launch market.
Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos has a long-term vision of humankind moving heavy manufacturing into space, coupled with a short-term plan to develop reusable rocketry.
Finding evidence of extraterrestrial life could be the bonus of NASA’s robotic mission to Europa to map the Jovian moon’s icy surface and might engender more government support.
The mission is designed to give scientists and engineers the human data to develop life-support hardware and operational protocols for crews making the 2-3-year round trip to Mars.
The Orion crew capsule European Service Module is a rare example of the kind of international cooperation best exemplified by the International Space Station.
NASA is funding Lockheed Martin to complete preliminary design of an X-plane demonstrator to show whether the shock-wave signature of a 100-120-seat low-boom supersonic airliner would be acceptable to the public, clearing the way for supersonic flight over land.
The Last Man on the Moon, a moving film documentary that explores the life of former U.S. astronaut Gene Cernan, opened in select theaters across the U.S. last weekend.
Able to fit on a fingertip, a microchip developed by Singapore’s NTU could revolutionize all-weather radar imaging for small unmanned aircraft and satellites.
Lawmakers draw battle lines on defense budget; FAA creates rulemaking committee for micro UAVs; Foreign Military Sales process remains slow; Culberson makes another attempt to allow the NASA administrator to serve 10 years.
Record numbers of U.S. men and women — just more than 18,300 — would like to pursue careers as NASA astronauts, according to a tally of applicants who made the Feb. 18 deadline to seek perhaps eight to 14 openings early next year.
European officials acknowledge the competitive threat a reflyable Falcon 9 may pose, they seem less interested in reusable launchers than in mimicking a more mundane aspect of the SpaceX business model—volume production of a common engine.
