Collaborate Disseminate
SpaceX has been making controlled landings of its Falcon 9 boosters to allow them to be reused for a number of years now. Such landings involve the rockets touching down, be it on a boat or a launch pad, using legs built into the rocket. But SpaceX CEO… Continue reading Elon Musk reveals catch and quick release plans for Super Heavy booster
SpaceX are perhaps most well known for their vertically-landing reusable rocket technology. The latest such effort is the Starship, which recently underwent a fiery test in the last month to attempt a bellyflop maneuver. [Nicholas Rehm] wanted to attempt a similar flight profile in the local park, and set to …read more
Continue reading SpaceX Starship Replica Attempts The Bellyflop
Despite the rough landing, Elon Musk is hailing the almost seven-minute test a success. Continue reading SpaceX Rocket Designed to Take Humans to Mars Explodes During Test Flight
SpaceX’s Starship has reached magnificent new heights, today climbing to high altitude before exploding in a spectacular fireball during a landing attempt. The first sub-orbital flight for the SN8 prototype was nonetheless largely a successful one, wit… Continue reading SpaceX’s Starship hits high altitude, explodes in fireball on return
3D printing is an incredible tool for prototyping and development, but the properties of the materials can be a limiting factor for functional parts. [Sam Rogers] and colleagues at [AX Technologies] have been testing and developing a small liquid-fueled rocket engine and successfully used vortex cooling to protect a resin …read more
Last year, we saw some details start to emerge around Rocket Lab’s vision to recover its spacecraft for reuse, plans that involved catching part of its Electron booster in mid-air with a helicopter. The private company is set to take an important step … Continue reading Rocket Lab gets set for its first ever booster recovery attempt
Normally when we run across a project that claims to be overengineered, we admit that we get a little excited. Such projects always hold the potential for entertainingly over-the-top designs, materials, and methods. In this case, though, we’ll respectfully disagree with [Zach Hipps] assessment of his remote-controlled soda bottle rocket …read more
Continue reading Robust Water-Rocket Launcher Gets the Engineering Just Right
Seattle-based Ultra Safe Nuclear Technologies (USNC-Tech) has developed a concept for a new Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) engine and delivered it to NASA. Claimed to be safer and more reliable than previous NTP designs and with far greater efficienc… Continue reading New nuclear engine concept could help realize 3-month trips to Mars
DARPA has awarded a US$14-million contract to the Gryphon Technologies engineering firm to develop and demonstrate a nuclear rocket engine for the agency’s Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) program. The High-Assay Low Enriched … Continue reading Gryphon Technologies to develop nuclear rocket engine for DARPA
DARPA has awarded a US$14-million contract to the Gryphon Technologies engineering firm to develop and demonstrate a nuclear rocket engine for the agency’s Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) program. The High-Assay Low Enriched … Continue reading Gryphon Technologies to develop nuclear rocket engine for DARPA