SpaceX to Try Daring Rocket Landing Again Monday

SpaceX aims to bring the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket back to Earth for a soft touchdown on an unmanned “spaceport drone ship” in the Atlantic Ocean after the booster sends Dragon on its way toward the orbiting lab Monday (April 13).

Full Industry Control of Ariane 6 Non-negotiable, Exec Says

The head of France’s aerospace industries association said Europe’s rocket industry will resist investing in a next-generation Ariane 6 rocket if European governments do not give industry control of the rocket’s entire product life cycle, including design, production, commercialization and operations.

Airbus Charges Ahead with Electric Propulsion

After booking its third all-electric spacecraft earlier this year, the head of Airbus Defense & Space’s satellite division says the firm’s all-electric portfolio is well-positioned to capture a big share of demand for the new propulsion technology.

France, UAE Sign Cooperative Space Accord

The United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) concluded a cooperation accord with the French space agency, CNES, which includes joint work on the UAE’s planned 2020 launch of a probe to Mars, the two agencies announced. 

Fishing for Space Junk: New Nets Capture Old Satellites (Video)

European Space Agency scientists recently performed tests on a projectile net that will be used to capture loose space junk.

Mock Satellite Snagged By Net On Zero-G Flight | Video 

During a February 2015 parabolic flight, a nylon net was blasted from a compressed air gun towards a scale-model satellite.

NASA Considering Options To Save Opportunity Rover

NASA, which proposed ending the Mars Opportunity rover’s mission for the second year in a row in its 2016 budget request, is still trying to figure out some way of keeping the 11-year-old vehicle operating on the surface of the red planet.

NASA Gives Green Light for Johns Hopkins APL to Begin Building Solar Probe Plus Spacecraft

NASA’s Solar Probe Plus mission — which will fly closer to the sun than any spacecraft has before — reached a major milestone last month when it successfully completed its CDR. An independent NASA review board met at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, , March 16-20, 2015, to review all aspects of the mission plan. APL has designed and will build and operate the spacecraft for NASA

Dawn In Excellent Shape One Month After Ceres Arrival

Since its capture by the gravity of dwarf planet Ceres on March 6, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has performed flawlessly, continuing to thrust with its ion engine as planned. The thrust, combined with Ceres’ gravity, is gradually guiding the spacecraft into a circular orbit around the dwarf planet. All of the spacecraft’s systems and instruments are in excellent health

China Launches Next-gen Beidou Navigation Satellite

China launched a new navigation satellite and payload dispenser March 31 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the Sichuan province aboard a Long March 3C rocket, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

Why today’s SpaceX’s rocket landing attempt could change space travel

After nearby thunderstorms delayed a planned Monday launch, the company will launch an uncrewed Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, in Florida, at 4:10 pm ET on Tuesday in order to carry supplies up to the International Space Station. After the launch, engineers will try to land stage one of the rocket vertically on a barge floating in the Atlantic Ocean.

About the author

Stéphane Heinrich

Is Senior Quality & Safety Manager at the Aviation & Aerospace branch of Altran – France. He has more than 20 years experience in space projects. Stephane specialized in space propulsion engineering after graduating from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Métiers. Stephane has been also working on innovative developments and studies in the fields of satellite robustness to micro- meteoroid & orbital debris, debris atmospheric reentry, trade-off between controlled reentry and design for demise.

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