Japanese Rocket Engine Explodes: Continuously and On Purpose

Image of detonation engine firing

Liquid-fuelled rocket engine design has largely followed a simple template since the development of the German V-2 rocket in the middle of World War 2. Propellant and oxidizer are mixed …read more Continue reading Japanese Rocket Engine Explodes: Continuously and On Purpose

Virgin Galactic’s Long Road to Commercial Spaceflight

To hear founder Richard Branson tell it, the first operational flight of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo has been 18 months out since at least 2008. But a series of delays, technical …read more Continue reading Virgin Galactic’s Long Road to Commercial Spaceflight

Space Propulsion: Separating Fact From Science Fiction

An unfortunate property of science-fiction is that it is, tragically, fiction. Instead of soaring between the stars and countless galaxies out there, we find ourselves hitherto confined to this planet …read more Continue reading Space Propulsion: Separating Fact From Science Fiction

It isn’t Rocket Science — Wait, Maybe it is

We don’t know why, but for some reason, the more dangerous something is, the more hacker appeal it seems to have. We like to deal with high temperatures, high voltages, dangerous chemicals, and powerful lasers. So [Tech Ingredient’s] recent video about homemade rocket motors certainly caught our attention. You may …read more

Continue reading It isn’t Rocket Science — Wait, Maybe it is