Tag: NASA
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Job One for Aerojet’s future ion drive: Go out and get a piece of an asteroid
An artist’s concept shows a space probe powered by ion thrusters. (Credit: Aerojet Rocketdyne) Aerojet Rocketdyne’s next-generation ion thrusters could well make their debut in space during NASA’s robotic mission to grab a piece of an asteroid and bring it back to lunar orbit in the 2020s. Earlier this week, NASA announced that Aerojet’s operation in Redmond, Wash., would be…
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An engine for Mars: Aerojet wins $67M NASA contract for solar electric propulsion
A prototype 13-kilowatt Hall thruster fires during testing at NASA’s Glenn Research Center. The prototype demonstrated the technology readiness needed for industry to continue the development of high-power solar electric propulsion into a flight-ready system. (Credit: NASA) Aerojet Rocketdyne’s operation in Redmond, Wash., has won a $67 million contract from NASA to design and develop…
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Moon Village vs. Journey to Mars: Which space vision will the next president pick?
An artist’s conception shows a permanent lunar base that’s part of the European Space Agency’s “Moon Village” vision. (Credit: ESA) COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Over the past eight years, the focus of NASA’s space vision has shifted from the moon, to a near-Earth asteroid, to the journey to Mars. The European Space Agency’s director-general, meanwhile,…
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Bigelow Aerospace and ULA plan to launch supersized space station module in 2020
An artist’s conception shows the B330 space module in Earth orbit. (Credit: Bigelow Aerospace) DENVER – Bigelow Aerospace and United Launch Alliance have announced a plan to launch Bigelow’s B330 expandable space module aboard an Atlas 5 rocket in 2020, to serve as a destination for commercial operations in orbit. Today’s announcement at the Space Symposium…
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President Obama leads celebration on Twitter for SpaceX’s rocket landing at sea
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shows President Barack Obama around the company’s Cape Canaveral rocket processing site in 2010. (Credit: Bill Ingalls / NASA) SpaceX’s first-ever at-sea rocket landing was cause for a Twitter celebration that drew in President Barack Obama as well as other space-loving luminaries. SpaceX used its two-stage Falcon 9 rocket on Friday to…
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SpaceX lands Falcon rocket at sea after launching a pop-up room to space station
The first stage of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket stands erect on a drone ship after landing. (Credit: SpaceX) SpaceX launched a Dragon cargo capsule today with an expandable module for the International Space Station, and then successfully landed the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on an oceangoing platform. The Atlantic Ocean landing, accomplished after four…
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SpaceX gets ready to launch expandable module for NASA to test on space station
An artist’s conception shows the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module attached to the International Space Station. (Credit: Bigelow Aerospace) For the first time, SpaceX is due to launch an entire room to the International Space Station – a room that can go into orbit folded up, and then be expanded like an accordion once it’s hooked up…
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‘Hubble Hugger’ and chief of NASA science division to leave agency
John Grunsfeld is seen inside the shuttle Atlantis’ airlock preparing for a spacewalk during a 2009 visit to the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: NASA Veteran astronaut John Grunsfeld, who flew five space shuttle missions before becoming the head of NASA’s science mission directorate in 2012, announced Tuesday he will leave the space agency April 30.…
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Microsoft and NASA team up to create virtual Mars tour with HoloLens
Erisa Hines, a driver for the Mars Curiosity rover, talks to participants during the “Destination: Mars” mixed-reality tour. (Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Microsoft) Microsoft and NASA are bringing HoloLens to the masses – and bringing the masses to Mars – with a mixed-reality experience that will make its debut this summer. “Destination: Mars,” an exhibit opening at…
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Cygnus cargo ship hooks up to space station; ULA investigates rocket glitch
The International Space Station’s robotic arm reaches out to grapple Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo ship in a video view with an overlay of computer data. (Credit: NASA TV) Orbital ATK’s Cygnus commercial cargo ship had a smooth link-up with the International Space Station today, delivering about 7,500 pounds of supplies, equipment, experiments and high-tech gizmos.…