Space and astronomy news
Virgin Galactic lit up SpaceShipTwo’s rocket motor for the first time in the skies over New Mexico today, but only for an instant before the engine shut down and the plane glided back to a safe landing at Spaceport America. The flight test team had hoped that the SpaceShipTwo craft known as VSS Unity might …
Continue reading “SpaceShipTwo’s First Powered Test Flight Since Move to New Mexico Fizzles Out”
Using the Greenbank Radio Telescope, Breakthrough Listen plans to “listen” to ‘Oumuamua to see if there are any signs of alien transmissions.
Think of the ease. With a simple command of “Make it so” humans travelled from one star to the next in less time than for drinking a cup of coffee. At least that’s what happens in the time-restricted domain of television. In reality it’s not so easy. Nor does Rachel Armstrong misrepresent this point in …
Continue reading “Star Ark: A Living, Self-Sustaining Spaceship”
First view of the Boeing CST-100 ‘Starliner’ crewed space taxi at the Sept. 4, 2015 Grand Opening ceremony held in the totally refurbished C3PF manufacturing facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. These are the upper and lower segments of the first Starliner crew module known as the Structural Test Article (STA) being built at Boeing’s …
Continue reading “Boeing ‘Starliner’ Crew Spaceship; America’s Next Ride to Space Takes Shape”
Check out that landing mark! A Soyuz spacecraft carrying three people touched down safely in remote Kazakhstan late Sunday (EDT) and went for a brief sleigh ride in the snow, as you can see from the drag marks on the landscape. The flawless landing included the Expedition 40/41 crew members of Reid Wiseman (NASA), Alexander …
Continue reading “Incredible Snow-Dragging Spaceship Landing From The Space Station”
Yes, there was a thumbs up. Through an interview with the father of the SpaceShipTwo pilot, the Daily Mail has reported more details of the near fatal plunge of Peter Siebold from the explosive event that destroyed Scaled Composites’ space vehicle. The ill-fated test flight resulted in the death of the co-pilot, Mike Alsbury. Siebold …
Continue reading “More Revealed about Siebold’s Escape from SpaceShipTwo”
In this reporter’s initial article for Universe Today on the SpaceShipTwo accident, it was already clear that the survival of one of the two pilots was remarkable. How did the SpaceShipTwo pilot Peter Siebold survive while co-pilot Michael Alsbury did not? The SpaceShipTwo test pilots do not wear pressure suits. There are no ejection seats like …
Continue reading “SpaceShipTwo Pilot’s Survival is Miraculous”
In a Monday afternoon press conference, acting NTSB chairman Christopher Hart confirmed that the safety lock on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo feathering mechanism was prematurely unlocked moments before breakup. Hart also quickly stated that this would be the last on-site press conference. The NTSB is nearing the completion of data gathering and the team will be returning …
Continue reading “Update: NTSB Confirms SpaceShipTwo feathering was Prematurely Unlocked”
In a press conference at the Mojave Air and Sport Port Sunday evening, acting NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart revealed preliminary findings in the investigation of the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo test flight accident. According to Hart, review of cockpit video during the flight showed that the co-pilot Michael Alsbury turned the tail feathering lock-unlock lever to the …
Continue reading “NTSB Discovers Possible Pilot Error in SpaceShipTwo Investigation”
Officials from Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites have confirmed one of the pilots was killed and another was injured in a major anomaly during a test flight of SpaceShipTwo today (Friday, October 31). The names of the pilots have not yet been released. During a hastily-called press conference, officials said launch of the WhiteKnightTwo plane …