Tag: Aerospace

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule are now officially certified for human spaceflight by NASA

SpaceX and NASA have completed the multi-year certification program for the Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft launch system, the first ever human-rated commercial space system to be developed. The final stage in the certification process was the Demo-2 mission that SpaceX launched earlier this year, carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken…

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NASA partners with SpaceX, Rocket Lab, Blue Origin and others for test flights and research

NASA has announced 20 new partnerships with commercial space outfits, among them collaborations with SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Rocket Lab. While no money will change hands, NASA will dedicate millions in personnel and other support to these test launches and developing technologies. The partnerships are NASA’s Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity…

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SpaceX successfully launches GPS III space vehicle for the US Space Force

Tesla has launched a GPS III satellite on behalf of customer the U.S. Space Force, the second GPS III generation satellite it has launched for the U.S. military this year. The first took off in June, and was the third overall GPS III put in orbit by SpaceX . This…

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Watch Rocket Lab’s 12th launch ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ take off tonight

Rocket Lab’s delayed 12th launch is scheduled to take place tonight late night Pacific time, mid-afternoon on the 11th at the company’s New Zealand launch facility. The Electron rocket will be taking payloads to orbit from NASA, the National Reconnaissance Office and the University of New South Wales. “Don’t Stop…

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Lilium adds $35M from Baillie Gifford at a $1B+ valuation for its electric aircraft taxi service

While most air travel continues to be ground to a halt, a German startup working on what it hopes will be a major breakthrough in flying has raised more funds to continue building its service. Lilium, which is designing an all-electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft that it plans to…

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Swarms of autonomous insect robots could prove key to future planetary exploration

While we’re preparing to launch a six-wheeled robotic rover roughly the size of a car to explore Mars, future planetary exploration and science missions could employ much smaller hardware – including, potentially swarms of robots the size of insects designed to act in concert with one another autonomously. Swarming insect-like…

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