SpaceX Just Launched a Tesla Into Space on the Most Powerful Rocket in the World
What the Falcon Heavy means for the future of spaceflight. Continue reading SpaceX Just Launched a Tesla Into Space on the Most Powerful Rocket in the World
Tag Archives: SpaceX
Are There Better Things To Hurl Into Orbit Than A Sports Car?
We’ve been having a lively discussion behind the scenes here at Hackaday, about SpaceX’s forthcoming launch of their first Falcon Heavy rocket. It will be carrying [Elon Musk]’s red Tesla Roadster, and should it be a successful launch, it will place the car in an elliptical orbit round the Sun that will take it to the Martian orbit at its furthest point.
On one hand, it seems possible that [Musk]’s sports car will one day be cited by historians as the exemplar of the excesses of the tech industry in the early 21st century. After all, to spend the millions …read more
Continue reading Are There Better Things To Hurl Into Orbit Than A Sports Car?
Smaller and Smarter: The Electron Rocket Takes Flight
On January 21st, 2018 at 1:43 GMT, Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket lifted off from New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. Roughly eight minutes later ground control received confirmation that the vehicle entered into a good orbit, followed shortly by the successful deployment of the payload. On only their second attempt, Rocket Lab had become the latest private company to put a payload into orbit. An impressive accomplishment, but even more so when you realize that the Electron is like no other rocket that’s ever flown before.
Not that you could tell from the outside. If anything, the external appearance of the Electron …read more
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The Making of the Largest Satellite Constellation in History
How Iridium rose from its ashes to launch the era of satellite megaprojects. Continue reading The Making of the Largest Satellite Constellation in History
Holy Shit: SpaceX Finally Test Fired its Falcon Heavy Rocket
SpaceX just test fired the Falcon Heavy and the wait was so worth it. Continue reading Holy Shit: SpaceX Finally Test Fired its Falcon Heavy Rocket
The Rocket That Will Take Elon’s Car to Mars Is About to Test Its Engines
The static fire is one of the last major tests before the maiden flight of the Falcon Heavy, the most powerful rocket since the Apollo era. Continue reading The Rocket That Will Take Elon’s Car to Mars Is About to Test Its Engines
Aireon Hitchhikes on Iridium to Track Airplanes
SpaceX just concluded 2017 by launching 10 Iridium NEXT satellites. A footnote on the launch was the “hosted payload” on board each of the satellites: a small box of equipment from Aireon. They will track every aircraft around the world in real-time, something that has been technically possible but nobody claimed they could do it economically until now.
Challenge one: avoid adding cost to aircraft. Instead of using expensive satcom or adding dedicated gear, Aireon listen to ADS-B equipment already installed as part of international air traffic control modernization. But since ADS-B was designed for aircraft-to-aircraft and aircraft-to-ground, Aireon had …read more
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Inside the Most Exclusive High-Powered Rocketry Event in America
Each year in the Nevada desert, BALLS takes amateur rocketry back to its homebrewed, experimental roots. Continue reading Inside the Most Exclusive High-Powered Rocketry Event in America
Elon Musk Is Still Insisting Mars Will Be Settled in 2024 and Then Terraformed
The basis of Musk’s project rests upon ethical problems that haven’t been figured out yet. Continue reading Elon Musk Is Still Insisting Mars Will Be Settled in 2024 and Then Terraformed
Hackaday Links: September 24, 2017
This is it. After twelve years we finally have a new Star Trek. Star Trek: Discovery (we’re using ST:DSC as the abbreviation) is airing right about when this post goes up. Next week, you’ll have to pay CBS $6USD a month to get your Star Trek fix, and today might be the last time a new episode of Star Trek is aired on broadcast TV ever. Enjoy it now, and hope the theme song doesn’t have lyrics. Also, hope The Orville is a tenth as good as a Galaxy Quest series could be.
What’s the best way to describe …read more
