By Steve Spaleta | December 4, 2016 10:33am ET The Virgin Galactic suborbital vehicle entered its second phase of testing on Dec. 3, 2016. It was released from its WhiteKnightTwo mothership and glided back down to the Mojave Air and Space Port in California after 10 minutes of flight. [Full Story] credit : Space.com / […]
Tag Archives | space
Gears Made of Metallic Glass Could Be Ideal for Space Missions
Bulk metallic glass, formed by melting and then rapidly cooling metal, doesn’t get brittle in extreme cold. Two new research papers examine the effectiveness and cost of making gears for spacecraft from bulk metallic glass. A material known as metallic glass, created by liquefying and then rapidly cooling metal, might be an ideal material for […]
Pentagon Ready to Launch First Upgraded WGS Satellite
The final three satellites in the Air Force’s 10-satellite WGS constellation include a digital channelizer that will boost capacity by enabling the satellite to use bandwidth more efficiently. WASHINGTON – The U.S. Air Force’s first upgraded Wideband Global Satcom satellite is ready for a planned Dec. 7 launch , Air Force officials told reporters during a […]
Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity Spaceship Makes 1st Solo Glide Flight
WASHINGTON — Virgin Galactic’s second SpaceShipTwo performed its first free flight Dec. 3, a glide test that begins the next phase in testing of the commercial suborbital spaceplane. SpaceShipTwo, named VSS Unity, and its carrier aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo, took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California at about 9:50 a.m. EST (1450 GMT). […]
In Pictures: Virgin Galactic's 1st Glide Flight of VSS Unity Spaceship
<div data-cycle-pager-template=”” readability=”35″> VSS Unity Is Going Solo Credit: Virgin Galactic The space tourism company Virgin Galactic performed its first glide flight test of the VSS Unity on Dec. 3, 2016. Here are the photos from the spaceship’s run-up to its first solo flight. THIS PHOTO: Virgin Galactic’s second SpaceShipTwo spacecraft, the VSS Unity, and […]
Indian X Prize Team Secures Launch Contract with ISRO
An Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) lifts off in June. TeamIndus has purchased a PSLV launch in late 2017 for its Google Lunar X Prize Lander. WASHINGTON — TeamIndus, an Indian team competing in the Google Lunar X Prize, announced Dec. 1 it has a launch contract for its lunar lander mission with the […]
Dimming Mars and Crescent Moon Cross Paths in Sunday's Evening Sky
On the evenings of Sunday and Monday, Dec. 4 and 5, the waxing crescent moon hops eastward over Mars in the southwestern sky. On Sunday, the moon sits 6 degrees to the right of Mars. The following evening, it jumps to sit 6 degrees to the upper left of the Red Planet. Mars sets about […]
Admiring the Beauty of Venus with Mobile Astronomy Apps
Venus, our beautiful but inhospitable neighboring planet, outshines everything in the sky but the sun and the moon. It is in the midst of a lengthy evening appearance (shown here on Dec. 2, 2016, at 6 p.m. local time) that will last until March 2017. Over the next few weeks, it will swing further from […]
Hidden Figures Premiere and Award Ceremony
Actress Octavia Spencer, left, who plays Dorothy Vaughan in the film “Hidden Figures” and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, right, greets NASA “human computer” Katherine Johnson, at a reception to honor NASA’s “human computers” on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, at the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton, VA. To source
European ministers ready ESA for a United Space in Europe in the era of Space 4.0
ESA today concluded a two-day Council meeting at ministerial level in Lucerne, Switzerland. Ministers in charge for space matters from ESA’s 22 member states plus Slovenia and Canada allocated €10.3 billion for space activities and programmes based on the vision of a United Space in Europe in the era of Space 4.0. To source
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin in 'Good Spirits' After Evacuation From South Pole
Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin gives a “thumbs up” after being medically evacuated from the South Pole to New Zealand on Dec. 1, 2016. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin was medically evacuated from the South Pole on Thursday (Dec. 1). Aldrin, 86, was taking part as a member of a tourist group visiting the Pole when his […]
'Passengers' Deal With Spacecraft Malfunction and Romance In New Movie Trailer
By Steve Spaleta | December 2, 2016 09:21am ET Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt star in the new movie about 2 passengers who awake from hibernation 90 years too early on a spacecraft that is on a 120-year journey. credit : Sony Pictures Watch more ► Shows Skylon SABRE – A True Space Plane | […]
Media briefing replay
Replay of the media briefing at the close of ESA’s Council meeting at Ministerial level, Lucerne, 2 December 2016 To source