Tag: rocket

Jan182021 by adminNo Comments

Virgin Orbit rocket reaches orbit, satellites deployed

Jan. 17 (UPI) -- California-based Virgin Orbit made its first successful flight to orbit Sunday using a rocket launched from a plane over the Pacific Ocean, announcing later that the satellites aboard were released successfully. The rocket soared into space at 2:40 p.m. EST after the company's Cosmic Girl aircraft, a modified Boeing 747-400, released it from beneath a wing. Advertisement "Payloads successfully deployed into our target orbit!," Virgin Orbit tweeted at 5:29 p.m. "We are so, so proud to say that LauncherOne has now completed its first mission to space, carrying 9 CubeSat missions into Low Earth Orbit for our friends @NASA." Forty minutes earlier, the company tweeted, "We can confirm our NewtonFour upper stage engine successfully relit at the right time and for the right dur...

Jan172021 by adminNo Comments

Virgin Orbit rocket reaches orbit, but satellite deployment unclear

Science

Jan. 17 (UPI) -- California-based Virgin Orbit made its first successful flight to orbit Sunday using a rocket launched from a plane over the Pacific Ocean, but the company hadn't disclosed whether the satellites aboard were released successfully. The rocket soared into space at 2:40 p.m. EST after the company's Cosmic Girl aircraft, a modified Boeing 747-400, released it from beneath a wing. Advertisement What remains is a question about what happened to the satellites that were headed to orbit. "We can confirm our NewtonFour upper stage engine successfully relit at the right time and for the right duration. The payload separation command was issued as planned. The team is going through the data now to confirm everything -- but it's very encouraging," the company tweeted at 4:49 p.m. Ri...

Jan172021 by adminNo Comments

NASA’s moon rocket roars to life during shortened test-firing

Business

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 16 (UPI) -- NASA's plan to test its new moon rocket fell short of a scheduled eight-minute test-firing Saturday in Mississippi, as the engines were shut down at just over a minute into the test. The 212-foot-high core stage of the rocket roared to life at 5:27 p.m. at the John C. Stennis Space Center. The test created huge clouds of steam as 300 gallons of water per minute cooled the test stand to prevent overheating. Advertisement But NASA was unsure if the shortened test would require major alterations to the rocket, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a post-test news conference. "I don't think at this point that we have enough information to know" if the rocket could be moved to a launch pad, Bridenstine said. Even if NASA wanted to redo a test-firing immed...

Jan162021 by adminNo Comments

Watch live: NASA to conduct test firing of massive moon rocket

Science

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 16 (UPI) -- NASA's plan to return astronauts to the moon must pass a crucial test Saturday, with the agency planning an eight-minute test-firing of the SLS moon rocket in Mississippi. The test of the rocket's 212-foot-high core stage was planned for as early as 4 p.m. EST -- with a two-hour window -- at the John C. Stennis Space Center. There was a delay, however, and NASA's commentators on a live broadcast said a new time hadn't been announced. Advertisement The test will be one of the loudest, most dramatic events at the facility since Apollo-era Saturn V rockets were tested there in the 1960s. The test-firing may encounter delays or glitches, but NASA intends to learn from it, John Honeycutt, SLS program manager, said during a press conference Wednesday. "It is a v...

Jan142021 by adminNo Comments

Blue Origin to launch rocket with more space tourism amenities

Business

Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin, plans to test launch a new capsule from Texas on Thursday that includes new amenities for space tourists. The uncrewed flight is scheduled for liftoff at 10:45 a.m. EST at the company's Corn Ranch spaceport about 150 miles east of El Paso. Advertisement The NS-14 mission is the 14th flight of a suborbital New Shepard rocket. The capsule is outfitted with improved acoustics to dampen the roar, better interior temperature regulation, crew display panels, and speakers with a microphone and push-to-talk button at each seat, the company said.[embedded content] "The mission will also test a number of astronaut communication and safety alert systems," according to Blue Origin's launch announcement. The goal is to sell tic...