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Tag: Rockets

  • SpaceX Launch Aborted After Boat Gets in the Way

    SpaceX Launch Aborted After Boat Gets in the Way

    SpaceX had to abort a potentially historical rocket launch on Sunday. This was due to a ship being in the way and related setbacks.

    The company and CEO Elon Musk tweet about the issues in real time:

    This was the third time SpaceX has attempted its second launch of 2016. The rocket was to put the SES-9 satellite into orbit. From the SES website:

    Scheduled for launch in 2016, SES-9 will be positioned at the orbital slot of 108.2° E and provide incremental as well as replacement capacity to the well established slot over Asia, where it will be co-located with the existing satellites. The satellite will expand SES’s capability to provide DTH broadcasting and other communications services in Northeast Asia, South Asia & Indonesia, as well as maritime communications for vessels in the Indian Ocean.

    But there’s another part of the launch that could have historical significance.

    As Jessica Orwig explains, “The more dramatic, secondary goal will be what happens about 10 minutes after lift-off. That’s when the rocket’s first stage will turn around and use GPS tracking to guide itself onto SpaceX’s floating ocean platform called ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ The platform will be floating about 400 miles off Florida’s coast. If SpaceX succeeds, it will be the first successful rocket landing on board an ocean platform in history.”

    In a mission overview, SpaceX says that given the mission’s unique GTO profile, a successful landing is not expected.

  • Elon Musk Shares Gnarly SpaceX Rocket Crash Stills

    Elon Musk Shares Gnarly SpaceX Rocket Crash Stills

    Last week, Elon Musk’s SpaceX tried to land a rocket on a drone ship, floating in the Atlantic Ocean. They failed.

    Now, Musk has posted some images of the Falcon 9’s collision and the gnarly explosion that followed.

    According to Musk, the rocket’s fins lost power, causing the rocket to hit at a near 45 degree angle – smashing the legs and engine section. After that, leftover fuel and oxygen met up and … well, here:

    RUD! You know what they say – you gotta crack a few rockets …

    Image via Elon Musk

  • Elon Musk to Host Reddit AMA with Focus on Ocean Rocket Landing

    Elon Musk to Host Reddit AMA with Focus on Ocean Rocket Landing

    In the early morning hours of Tuesday, January 6, Elon Musk’s SpaceX will attempt to land a rocket on a platform that floating in the Atlantic Ocean. No big deal.

    And if you want to ask Mr. Musk about that, or presumably anything else about which you’re curious (and there should be a lot), then you should head over to reddit a little before 9pm EST for an AMA session.

    According to Space.com, “the California-based private spaceflight company will try to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean, shortly after the booster launches SpaceX’s robotic Dragon cargo capsule from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 6:20 a.m. EST.”

    And according to SpaceX, the chances of this happening according to plan is about 50/50.

    “Returning anything from space is a challenge, but returning a Falcon 9 first stage for a precision landing presents a number of additional hurdles. At 14 stories tall and traveling upwards of 1300 m/s (nearly 1 mi/s), stabilizing the Falcon 9 first stage for reentry is like trying to balance a rubber broomstick on your hand in the middle of a wind storm,” says the company.

    Although Musk says the AMA will be focused on the rocket launch, reddit AMAs tend to meander about. If I were you, I’d get in a question or two about Skynet. I think he’ll bite on those.

  • Iron Dome Defense System Intercepts Sinai Rocket

    Israel’s “Iron Dome” air defense system shot down a rocket headed for the southern Israeli port of Eilat. The rocket was fired from the Sinai peninsula, and a Sinai-based jihadist group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, has claimed responsibility.

    Residents reported hearing two strong blasts after air raid sirens sounded. There were no reports of injuries or property damage.

    A similar attack had happened eleven days earlier, as a pair of rockets originating from the Sinai fell harmlessly into unpopulated open areas of Eilat. While these attacks have proved harmless, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said Wednesday that “the difference between a missile hitting the sea or hitting the Meridien Hotel [in Eilat] is merely a statistical matter”—meaning that so far the city had benefited from the haphazard targeting of the rockets. In the earlier attack, Eilat’s air alarm system did not sound. The city also suffered two rocket attacks in 2013, one in April and one in August.

    The attack comes during a widespread operation by the Egyptian army against terrorist groups in the Sinai region. Some reports have claimed a serious intensification of the fighting between the army and militants in the peninsula in the past few days. Some of the militant groups are known to be identified with Al-Qaeda, though it is not clear whether this includes Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, the group that’s taken credit for this attack.

    The Iron Dome is a mobile all-weather air defense system designed to shoot down rockets and artillery shells fired from between 4 and 70 kilometers (2.5 to 43 miles). It was first deployed in 2011 and has had a strong record of effectiveness, shooting down an estimated 90% of rockets destined for populated areas in its first year of deployment. This statistic has prompted defense reporter Mark Thompson to declare that “lack of Israeli casualties suggests Iron Dome is the most-effective, most-tested missile shield the world has ever seen.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Mars-Bound NASA Orbiter MAVEN Set to Launch

    Mars-Bound NASA Orbiter MAVEN Set to Launch

    Mars has been quite the hot spot lately. First, discussions about cultivating a human population on the planet have circulated. Now, NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft is being prepared for the Monday, November 18th launch that is set for 1:28 p.m. EST.

    The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter is already on the launch pad located in Florida at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. According to NASA, the Atlas V rocket, which is attached to MAVEN, was placed on the Launch Complex 41 pad on Saturday at 10:20 a.m. EDT.

    This recent expedition is partly the result of increasing interest over the transition of the Red Planet from a wet, potentially-life-sustaining planet to the dry, vast dessert that now stretches across the region. No punches have been pulled with devoting necessary resources into this recent mission to Mars as $671 has reportedly been set for the project.

    Scientists hope that MAVEN will gather information about the upper atmosphere of Mars where suspicions regarding the loss of magnetic field inside the planet’s core may provide answers for the current geological landscape. The spacecraft is set for a 10 month journey to the Red Planet. MAVEN will not actually begin orbiting Mars until sometime close to September 22, 2014.

    Those excited about watching live stream coverage of the launch, can see the coverage as NASA continues providing updates through Twitter and MAVEN’s own blog.

    [Image Via NASA]

  • Jeremy Lin Competing for Starting Position

    Preseason NBA games have been underway for a few weeks now, giving fans a chance to see new players in action, be they rookies or a trade from another team. Preseason games are also a time for coaches and teams alike to figure out who will be starting in certain positions. The Houston Rockets are currently trying to figure out who will be their starting point guard: Jeremy Lin or Patrick Beverley.

    So far, both guys have started in two games each of the preseason, but Rockets coach Kevin McHale has yet to make a decision who will start once the regular season starts. There is also the option that both Lin and Beverley could spend time together on the court.

    Both Lin and Beverley saw some minutes in the most recent preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks. Lin started and played 33 minutes, and then Beverley came off the bench and played 26 minutes.

    Coach McHale was pleased with the performance from both players. Said McHale, “I thought (Lin) did a lot of nice things. He broke people down; he had eight assists. Between he and (Beverley), they had 13 assists and four turnovers. I liked when they were both in the game.” Added McHale about what Lin and Beverley brought to the defense, “I thought they were both really solid. Any mistakes that they do make are mistakes because they’re trying really hard and getting after it. They stay in place. They use their hands. They’re both diligent guys.”

    Both guys playing so well may make it hard to choose who will be the starter, but choosing a starter doesn’t seem to be something McHale finds as important as others might. Said McHale of starting, “As a player, I always found it irrelevant. I came off the bench in a lot of games. What is the big difference in playing 27½ minutes off the bench and playing 26 minutes as a starter? I guess it is a big deal to some people.”

    According to Lin, both he and Beverley have different strengths that can help out the team at different times. “We have different strengths.[Beverley] is such a good defender and shooter. I am better with the ball in my hands, attacking. I think that makes us tough to scout, and it gives us the opportunity to give a lot of different looks,” said Lin. And Beverley seems to agree with him, saying he isn’t as an offensive threat as Lin.

    One veteran NBA writer believes Lin would be the better choice for starting point guard, at least according to the numbers. Do you agree?

    Image via YouTube.

  • NASA Continues To Test That 3D Printed Rocket Injector

    NASA Continues To Test That 3D Printed Rocket Injector

    Earlier this month, NASA impressed the lot of us with a test firing of a 3D printed rocket injector. The test went swimmingly and compelled the agency to take it up a notch in future tests.

    NASA’s latest test saw the agency break its own record with a 3D printed rocket injector that generated more than 20,000 pounds of thrust. The breakthrough further affirms NASA’s plan to replace some of its traditionally manufactured parts with 3D printed components. It not only saves the agency money, but it also reduces the complexity. A normal rocket injector is built using a myriad of parts whereas the most recent 3D printed injector is only comprised of two parts.

    “This successful test of a 3-D printed rocket injector brings NASA significantly closer to proving this innovative technology can be used to reduce the cost of flight hardware,” said Chris Singer, the director of the Engineering Directorate at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville Ala.

    Of course, it’s not like NASA built a 3D printed plastic rocket injector. That would be silly. Instead, the agency used a sophisticated form of 3D printing called “selective laser melting.” Here’s how it works:

    The component was manufactured using selective laser melting. This method built up layers of nickel-chromium alloy powder to make the complex, subscale injector with its 28 elements for channeling and mixing propellants. The part was similar in size to injectors that power small rocket engines. It was similar in design to injectors for large engines, such as the RS-25 engine that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for deep space human missions to an asteroid and Mars.

    Just like last time, NASA was kind enough to provide a video of the test firing. It should be noted that the rocket injector is being exposed to temperatures of almost 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The fact that it was able to withstand those temperatures leaves NASA’s scientists feeling very positive about the future of 3D printing and space travel.

    [Image: NASA/MSFC/David Olive]

  • SpaceX’s Grasshopper Rocket Now Moves Sideways, and It’s Incredible [VIDEO]

    SpaceX’s Grasshopper Rocket Now Moves Sideways, and It’s Incredible [VIDEO]

    Elon Musk’s SpaceX is doing some incredible things with its Falcon 9 test rig, codenamed “Grasshopper.” Last month, we saw it launch 325m into the air, stall and seemingly float in midair, and then land back on its launch pad. It was truly an amazing sight to see.

    Now, Grasshopper is hopping – to the side.

    SpaceX just posted a video of what they call a “divert test,” which is basically a lateral movement. Grasshopper moves about 100m to the side, moves back, and once again lands perfectly.

    Here’s what SpaceX had to say about the test:

    On August 13th, the Falcon 9 test rig (code name Grasshopper) completed a divert test, flying to a 250m altitude with a 100m lateral maneuver before returning to the center of the pad. The test demonstrated the vehicle’s ability to perform more aggressive steering maneuvers than have been attempted in previous flights.

    Grasshopper is taller than a ten story building, which makes the control problem particularly challenging. Diverts like this are an important part of the trajectory in order to land the rocket precisely back at the launch site after reentering from space at hypersonic velocity.

    Whoa.

    About the aforementioned Grasshopper video that debuted last month. Let’s go ahead and watch it again.

  • NASA Made A Working 3D Printed Rocket Injector

    NASA Made A Working 3D Printed Rocket Injector

    NASA has a vested interest in 3D printing. It’s already investigating food-based 3D printers, and the idea of building satellites in space with the technology. Now it’s working on 3D printed rocket parts.

    Over the summer, NASA has been testing a 3D printed rocket injector that could withstand the extreme heat of burning rocket fuel. In a test at the end of June, they fired the rocket and found that the 3D printed rocket parts performed admirably.

    Here’s what NASA has to say about it:

    This video gives you a blazing view of the one of the first tests of a 3-D printed rocket injector on June 27, 2013, in Test Stand 115 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Propulsion engineers used the tests to compare the performance of a 3-D printed rocket injector to an injector made with multiple parts and traditional welds. During the extreme temperatures and pressures of the hot firing, the 3-D printed part performed as well as the traditionally manufactured part. This test included a 3-D printed liner.

    Of course, there’s a lot of work to be done before NASA can use 3D printed parts on actual spacecraft. Even so, this breakthrough represents a way for the space agency to cheaply make sophisticated parts. It should also cut down on the time required to reiterate rocket design.

    [h/t: Fabbaloo Blog]

  • NASA Tests Liquid Hydrogen/Oxygen Engine For Upcoming Heavy Rocket

    NASA on Thursday tested the powerpack assembly for the J-2X engine, an important component of NASA’s next-generation heavy-lift rocket.

    The J-2X powerpack assembly was test-fired at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The engine will power the upper stage of NASA’s proposed Space Launch System (SLS), a 143-ton rocket that will eventually carry human crews into deep space on the Orion spacecraft. According to NASA, it is the first human-rated liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen engine developed in the U.S. in decades.

    “The determination and focus by teams at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and Stennis on designing and perfecting the J-2X engine helps show the great strides of progress made on the overall program,” said Todd May, SLS Program Manager. “We are inspired to stay the course and pursue our goal of exploring deep space and traveling farther than ever before.”

    The powerpack of the engine has performed 13 tests and burned millions of pounds of propellants this year. It was tested separately from the engine for thoroughness, and under a wider range of conditions. NASA stated that the tests have provided “a trove” of data about the performance of the device’s turbopump and flexible ducts.

    “These tests at Stennis are similar to doctor-ordered treadmill tests for a person’s heart,” said Tom Byrd, J-2X engine lead in the SLS Liquid Engines Office at Marshall in Huntsville, Ala. “The engineers who designed and analyze the turbopumps inside the powerpack are like our doctors, using sensors installed in the assembly to monitor the run over a wide range of stressful conditions. We ran the assembly tests this year for far longer than the engine will run during a mission to space, and acquired a lot of valuable information that will help us improve the development of the J-2X engine.”

    NASA engineers will soon remove the powerpack assembly from its test stand and begin tests of the fully integrated engine. The preparations will need to be complete by 2014, when the uncrewed Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) will be launching an Orion capsule flight test.

    (Image courtesy NASA/SSC)

  • Rocket Car’s Engine Reaches 30,000 Horsepower In First Test

    Would you ride in a car that could hit speeds up to 1,000 MPH? Most probably wouldn’t, but researchers in Britain are creating that can do just that anyway. It’s called the Bloodhound SSC, and it just passed its first test with flying colors.

    The team of researchers working on the Bloodhound haven’t actually created the car just yet. They’re currently experimenting with the engine to make sure that the rocket-powered car is actually viable. The power required to hit 1,000 MPH on land would completely destroy most engines, but these guys seem to have done it.

    In the below video, you can see the results of the first engine test. According to International Science Times, the engine reached 30,000 horsepower during its 10 second run. By the end of their experiments, they expect the engine to reach 80,000 horsepower and 27,500 pounds of thrust.

    For comparison, the current record holder for world’s fastest street legal car – the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport – has a horsepower of only 1,200. In a 10-second test, the Bloodhound’s engine has already surpassed the Bugatii’s engine by almost 30 times over. The Bloodhound will be a sight to behold once it reaches the 80,000 HP threshold.

    Of course, this first test was closely controlled and monitored by a team of professionals. Once the engine is strapped to a car, anything could happen. Regardless, it’s still amazing that a car’s engine has been able to obtain this kind of power. It will be interesting to see what happens when they perform the first field test.

  • NASA Preparing For Privatized ISS Resupply Launch Next Week

    NASA Preparing For Privatized ISS Resupply Launch Next Week

    NASA this week is preparing for the first SpaceX launch under its Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract. NASA has not had the capability, on its own, to deliver and return cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS) since the space shuttle program was retired just over one year ago.

    The launch of the SpaceX CRS-1, or “Dragon”, spacecraft will take place on Sunday, October 7th at 8:35 pm EDT. If that launch window is not met, there are backup launch windows available on October 8th and October 9th.

    On Sunday, SpaceX conducted a successful static fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket that will carry Dragon into space. Meanwhile, NASA is preparing a series of tests for Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares rocket, which will carry the Cygnus cargo spacecraft into orbit during a demonstration mission “in the coming months.” Orbital Sciences is also part of NASA’s CRS contract, and will also be resupplying the ISS in the future.

    This launch is one of 12 that have been contracted by NASA to resupply the ISS. NASA states that the Dragon will be filled with around 1,000 pounds of supplies, including materials to support the investigations planned for the ISS crew. The vehicle will also return around 734 pounds of scientific materials and an estimated 504 pounds of ISS hardware.

    A Dragon spacecraft has already visited the ISS once, during a successful test mission in May of this year. The photo above is from the launch of that mission.

    (Photo courtesy SpaceX)

  • NASA Launches 5 Rockets To Test Jet Stream

    Since the 1960’s when when manned rockets were first launched, NASA noticed something odd at about 60-65 miles above the surface of the earth. Up until now there was speculation about how these 200-300 mph winds were affecting satellites and rockets. Well NASA successfully launched five suborbital sounding rockets this morning from its Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia as part of a study of the upper level jet stream. The first rocket was launched at 4:58 a.m. EDT and each subsequent rocket was launched 80 seconds apart. Each of the rockets released a chemical tracer that created milky, white clouds at the edge of space. The launches and clouds were reported to be seen from as far south as Wilmington, N.C.; west to Charlestown, W. Va.; and north to Buffalo, N.Y..

    The Anomalous Transport Rocket Experiment (ATREX) is a Heliophysics sounding rocket mission that will gather information needed to better understand the process responsible for the high-altitude jet stream located 60 to 65 miles above the surface of the Earth.

    “This area shows winds much larger than expected,” says Miguel Larsen, a space scientist at Clemson University who is the principal investigator for these five rockets, known as the Anomalous Transport Rocket Experiment (ATREX). “We don’t yet know what we’re going to see, but there is definitely something unusual going on. ATREX will help us understand the big question about what is driving these fast winds.” “People have launched single rockets before,” says Larsen. “But the key here is that we’re extending the range of measurements to many hundreds of miles. The furthest rocket will make it half way to Bermuda.”

    “In 3-D turbulence, one sees complicated movement,” says Larsen. “But there’s a tendency for 2-D turbulence to behave almost in the opposite manner – the airflow coalesces into single streams, like a jet stream.”

    In order for the launches to occur, clear skies are required at three special camera sites located along the coast in Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey.

    The rockets being used for the mission are two Terrier-Improved Malemutes, two Terrier-Improved Orions and one Terrier-Oriole.

    @NASA
    NASA    ATREX was successfully launched on March 27, 2012 at 4:58 a.m. EDT. Here’s an image of clouds created by the research. http://t.co/ocG7mizn 2 hours ago  via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • Derek Fisher Bought Out By The Houston Rockets

    Derek Fisher, the legendary L.A. Lakers point guard, has negotiated a buyout with the Houston Rockets after playing 537 consecutive NBA games.

    The buyout came on Thursday, with Houston eager to get veteran Fisher on their roster–which includes mostly green players–in the hopes of improving their chances to make the playoffs; the team is currently ranked eighth in the Western Conference. They also needed to secure another point guard while Kyle Lowry recovers from a bacterial infection.

    Fisher, who has spent 16 sessions with the Lakers, seemed undecided about how to proceed as the news hit the sports world and his teammates, including Kobe Bryant, who is reportedly upset to see his longtime friend leave. Fisher normally would have had 48 hours to report to Houston for a physical on order for the trade to be completed, but the Lakers and Rockets mutually agreed to extend that deadline to 72 hours, according to ESPN.com. If he clears waivers over the next few days, he will become a free agent.

    Twitter feeds were flooded with speculation after the news broke as fans were hoping their team would pick Fisher up; others wonder where his loyalties lie.

    (image)@teamKB24
    Kobe Bryant    Imagine if Derek Fisher signs with the Heat. Ouch.(image) 17 hours ago via Mobile Web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@EliteGirlJen
    Jen Turner    Houston Rockets buy out Derek Fisher. Any thoughts on where the 5 time champ will go next?(image) 52 seconds ago via SocialOomph ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@Charlesoczra
    Charles Downey    RT @ZachMentz: If Derek Fisher signs with the Heat Ill puke all over this keyboard(image) 55 seconds ago via Mobile Web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@hazelboy_16
    gabriel diaz    @Orlando_Magic we should definitely waive duhon and go after DEREK FISHER since he’s a veteran smart player(image) 3 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin To Launch Space Shuttle This Summer

    Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is more than just the boss of one of the world’s biggest e-businesses. He’s also a venture capitalist in the field of space exploration.

    Blue Origin, the space travel venture owned by Bezos, is preparing to test out a new system for aborting a launch, perhaps as soon as this summer. Bezos’ company received an award from NASA as part of the space program’s commercial development program in order to develop a new launch system that deviates from the traditional rockets that are used to boost a shuttle into the air. The rocket, called New Shepard, utilizes rocket motors that are attached to the bottom of the crew capsule. From Flightglobal:

    The New Shepard rocket is designed to reach apogee at approximately 100km, at which point a capsule will separate and continue on an upward trajectory. The now capsule-less rocket will tip over, deploying a flared surface to improve stability and increase drag, firing its engines just above the Earth’s surface to land gently back at its launch pad.

    This summer’s launch would mark the second attempt by Blue Origin to innovate the new capsule detachment mechanism.

    This will mark the second attempt that Blue Origin has made with launching its shuttle, New Shepard. Check out the videos below to see the previous launch tests the company’s conducted.

    Prior to this endeavor, Virgin media mogul Richard Branson is perhaps the other most notable venture capitalist to try explore the possibility of a privatized space travel program. Do you think these sorts of projects help develop space exploration as a whole, or should these guys just leave this stuff to NASA? Comment below with your thoughts.