Space Force orders orbital service station to revive dead satellites

A spacecraft about the size of a gas pump is being developed for the US Space Force program to refuel orbiting satellites. The goal is to extend the lifespan of craft that have run out of juice instead of simply decommissioning them.Continue ReadingCat… Continue reading Space Force orders orbital service station to revive dead satellites

Is Kennedy Space Center ready to withstand the power of Starship?

SpaceX plans to regularly launch its monster Starship booster from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and to do so it will refurbish an Apollo-era launch site and also construct a new one, according to a new environmental impact statement.Continue Re… Continue reading Is Kennedy Space Center ready to withstand the power of Starship?

US Space Force wants orbital filling stations for its satellites

Northrop Grumman’s Passive Refueling Module (PRM) has been tapped by the US Space Force as the preferred model to set the standard for Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) to refuel satellites in orbit to extend their mission life.Continue Reading… Continue reading US Space Force wants orbital filling stations for its satellites

US Space Force’s not-so-secret X-37B spaceplane roars into orbit

The US Space Force’s X-37B spaceplane has launched successfully on its multi-year orbital mission. At 8:07 pm EST, the unmanned vehicle set atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy booster lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Con… Continue reading US Space Force’s not-so-secret X-37B spaceplane roars into orbit

US flexible interceptor destroys ballistic missile in major test

The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has completed a major test (FTG-12) of a stage-selectable Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) missile system that destroyed an air-launched Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) target vehicle.Continue ReadingCatego… Continue reading US flexible interceptor destroys ballistic missile in major test

Plasma pulses promise real-life ‘freeze ray’

A team of scientists led by University of Virginia professor Patrick Hopkins is developing a plasma “freeze ray” that will be less interesting to super villains than to engineers looking for ways to cool electronics in the vacuum of space.Continue Read… Continue reading Plasma pulses promise real-life ‘freeze ray’

US Space Force’s “secret” spaceplane lands after record 908 days in orbit

With a reported sonic boom, the US Space Force’s open-secret X-37B spaceplane returned to terra firma on Saturday, November 12. The robotic craft touched down at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida at 5:22 am EST after a rec… Continue reading US Space Force’s “secret” spaceplane lands after record 908 days in orbit