Category: Commercial
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Was the SpaceX accident due to Sabotage?
As we continue to wait for information from SpaceX on the cause of the Jun 28th accident that resulted in the loss of the CRS-7 mission a number of people have asked this question. Today we want to look at this scenario and see just how unlikely it is. It is no secret that SpaceX…
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Buzz Aldrin
Today I had the opportunity to meet with Astronaut Buzz Aldrin as part of my role with The Mars Foundation. Buzz is truly a unique character during out time together he had to do a phone interview with a South Dakota radio station which was interesting to listen to. He discussed many of his ideas…
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Leading theories for SpaceX CRS-7 mishap
It has been two days since the Falcon 9 carrying the CRS-7 Dragon exploded and there are currently two leading THEORIES on what happened. As we have yet to hear an official reason from SpaceX these are just PURE SPECULATION at this point. 1) The International Docking Adapter or a part of it came lose…
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Now comes SpaceX’s true test
This morning SpaceX suffered the first failure of their Falcon 9 rocket as it explode two minutes into the CRS-7 mission. Initial data from Elon Musk indicates that an over-pressure event happened on the second stage. There was an overpressure event in the upper stage liquid oxygen tank. Data suggests counterintuitive cause. — Elon Musk…
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SpaceX loses CRS-7 mission to ISS
This morning SpaceX launched their latest mission to the International Space Station, unfortunately during the first stage flight the rocket exploded causing lost of Falcon, Dragon and the cargo it was carrying Among the cargo that Dragon was carrying was the first of two International Docking Adapters for the station which will be used…
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NASA’s Commercial Crew Program Gutted by Congress
The President’s 2016 request for $1.2b towards the continued development of the Commercial Crew program by Boeing and SpaceX has been reduced to $900 million by Congress. At present there is only one way to get crew to the International Space Station aboard Russia’s Soyuz rocket. To allow its astronauts to fly to the station…
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The Re-usable Rocket Era approaches
While SpaceX have yet to successfully land a Falcon 9 first stage it appears their vision has spurred the industry to react with both United Launch Alliance (ULA) and now Airbus Aerospace announcing plans to include re-usable components in future rocket designs. The three companies have quite different plans to achieve the re-use. SpaceX – Plan…
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NASA awards first Commercial Crew Flight Contract
This week NASA announced that it had awarded Boeing the first Commercial Crew flight contract under the CCtCap program. However it is important to realize that while the contract has been awarded, as NASA started in the press release. Determination of which company will fly its mission to the station first will be made at…
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Is ULA’s new rocket doomed?
With great fanfare United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced their new Vulcan Rocket last month. However since then the news has not been quite so rosy for the company. Almost immediately after the announcement Paul Allen’s Vulcan Aerospace informed ULA that the name was trademarked, at present we have not heard anything further on this but…
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Atlas V launches military’s X-37B space plane
Following a smooth countdown today United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V launched the military’s X-37B space plane. The rocket lifted off from SLC-41 and carried the space plane to orbit before deploying it, the rocket also carried a secondary payload of Cubesat’s including The Planetary Societies LightSail test. The Planetary Society is currently raising money…