SpaceCapsule
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SpaceX Dragon capsule proves it can hover
SpaceX is never shy to share the latest advancements of those snazzy Crew Dragon capsules, even if things don't always go as planned. Now, Elon Musk's firm is providing details from a test that took place last November at a facility in McGregor, Texas, where the Dragon V2 showed off its incredible propulsive landing features. The trial only lasted about five seconds, but this was more than enough time for the capsule to generate about 33,000 lbs of thrust as it hovered, before returning to a resting position.
Meet NASA's commercial space capsule contenders
Sure, the Dragon V2 is the latest (and greatest) spacecraft from SpaceX, but it's not the only capsule that may one day schlep astronauts to the International Space Station. In fact, Elon Musk's firm is just one of three private outfits currently competing in a NASA program for commercial launches with their own vehicles. We've surveyed the space capsule landscape and have whipped up a primer on the future crafts that may wind up taking humans to space.
SpaceX Dragon team opens the hatch, to spend Memorial Day with more cargo hauling than barbecues
SpaceX's Dragon docked with the International Space Station on Friday, but if you think the involved crew is spending the US long weekend experimenting with how well grills prepare burgers in low gravity (hint: not very), you're in for a bit of an awakening. The private space capsule's hatch flew open just before 6AM ET on Saturday, and while that's a historic first docking for a private spacecraft, it's just the start of a long process. At the same time as we'll be catching fireworks on Monday, the ISS team will bring onboard the 1,014 pounds of cargo and science experiments that Dragon hauled as proof it could fulfill a 12-mission, $1.6 billion cargo delivery contract. Don't think the spacefarers won't get any time off for Memorial Day weekend -- they'll get Saturday and Sunday for reflection -- but the 25 hours' worth of cargo shuffling on Monday will spill over into Tuesday, just as we're all stumbling back into our offices on Earth. [Image credit: NASA TV]
Animated video shows Orion spacecraft in orbit
NASA may have pushed back the Orion spacecraft's test flight to 2014, but you can get an early glimpse of the capsule in orbit thanks to this animated video from Full Werks studio. You'll see the capsule circle the planet before touching down in the Pacific -- all with a much better view than you can expect when that actual launch date rolls around. The animation features audio clips from the original Apollo and, as any NASA-related video worth its salt should, includes a vintage voiceover from space sage Carl Sagan.
Boeing CST-100 capsule could shuttle astronauts to ISS, shows off its innards in Colorado Springs
With the Space Shuttle now officially grounded, NASA has been researching alternatives for ferrying astronauts from Earth to the International Space Station, orbiting some 230 miles above the planet. One such vehicle has made its way from Boeing's HQ to the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, where a full-size model is on display for conference attendees. Externally, the spacecraft appears very similar to the reentry modules of yesteryear, measuring 14.5 feet with room for up to seven people. The craft is designed to make its way through the atmosphere mounted to an Atlas V rocket, and is rated for up to 10 roundtrip missions. As is typical with spacecraft, it looks like astronauts won't be traveling with first-class accommodations -- things will likely feel quite cozy when the CST-100 is at capacity -- but such conditions come with the territory. There's no date set for delivery, but the craft could be making its way to space as early as 2015, and has reportedly been tested in the Nevada desert as recently as this month.
Report: Orion test flight pushed back to 2014, manned flight delayed until 2021
Even something as exhaustively planned as the test-flight of the Orion spacecraft isn't immune to a slipping timeline. It's reportedly been pushed back from next year to 2014 -- when we're expecting to see the capsule launch from Cape Canaveral, loop around the planet twice at 3,700 miles (the furthest any spacecraft has journeyed since the '70s) before splashing down in the Pacific. This unmanned test was designed to see if the vehicle's heat-shield, flight-software and parachutes all work before lives are risked on board. It's also signified a pushing back of the first launch from 2016 until 2021. This means there's nine more years before someone calls us up as a crew replacement -- at least that's how our dream goes.
Lockheed Martin shows us how it's getting Orion ready to explore the cosmos
It's not every day that America designs an entirely new spacecraft. Rarer still is the creation of a vehicle that can carry man, not just machine, beyond the earth's gravitational pull. In the history of the world, there have been only eight such human transports: the Vostok, Voskhod, and Soyuz capsules from Russia, the American-made Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules, plus the Space Shuttle, and China's Shenzhou spacecraft. That list is going to get a new member soon, as NASA (with a big assist from Lockheed Martin) is building the most technologically advanced spaceship the Earth has ever seen; the aptly-named Orion. In ancient Greek mythology, Orion was a hunter born of the earth who was eventually placed among the heavens by Zeus. NASA's Orion is a multipurpose crew vehicle (MPCV) that looks similar to the Apollo capsules and is here to replace the venerable Space Shuttle. It's capable of taking us further into the cosmos to than we've ever been -- to asteroids, the moon, and even Mars. This mission flexibility and interplanetary reach is what sets Orion apart from previous manned spacecraft, but that adaptability requires some heavy duty engineering and extensive testing to guarantee its ability to handle any NASA mission with aplomb. Head on past to break to learn more about how Lockheed Martin's getting the MPCV ready for deep space.
Boeing's CST-100 to shoot non-NASA astronauts into space by 2015
Day job just too darn terrestrial? Maybe you should score a gig at Boeing, which'll apparently sling two of its very own into space come 2015. What'll be their chariot? The company's CST-100 -- you know that spiffy capsule that can hurtle a lucky seven humans 100km into the dark abyss. Strapped to ULA's Atlas V, the crew will follow two unmanned missions, eventually reaching the International Space Station. If that all goes to plan, commercial service will start in 2016. Now about those extra five seats...
Lockheed Martin shows off Orion spacecraft, new secret lair
No, that's not the Apollo command module you're looking at up there. What's old is new again in space design, and what's floating weightless above this text is a photo of humanity's next great chariot into space. It's the Orion spacecraft from Lockheed Martin, commissioned for NASA and designed to carry a crew of four not just for trips into orbit but well out into the solar system. Lockheed Martin has just taken the wraps off the thing for the first time, also showing off its new Space Operations Simulation Center (SOSC), located neither in Houston nor Cape Canaveral. It is instead dug into built atop the bedrock in Colorado, theoretically isolating it from seismic and other disturbances so that the testing crew can do their thing without any outside interference. In that bunker the ship is currently testing ahead of a planned first launch in 2013, taking a crew into orbit as soon as 2016. Mars? That might be another few years. Update: John wrote in to point out that the facility is actually built on some bedrock, not within the bedrock. So, it's not an underground lair after all -- but it's still a lair by golly. Update 2: There's a vid charting the Orion's development included after the break.
FAA gives SpaceX the first-ever commercial license for spacecraft reentry
Well, SpaceX just scored a huge milestone in space travel for the proletariat: we get to come back now. The FAA just gave SpaceX's Dragon capsule a reentry license, paving the way for it to make round trips to the International Space Station and eventually even take people up there. NASA, who already has some hefty contracts with SpaceX for launches, has congratulated SpaceX over Twitter on the good news, though we're sure the few billion dollars in future business speaks volumes already. Engadget's own Chad Mumm, resident Space Destiny Enthusiast, had this to say about the momentous occasion: "We're standing on the shoulders of our ancestors, reaching out a small, child-like hand at the stars. And then returning safely to earth thanks to FAA certification. We're on the verge of the impossible." Sorry, there's something in our eye...
Visualized: Boeing's CST-100 gets you and six friends to space... for cheap!
It's not expected to make its first jaunt to outer space before 2014, but Boeing's "low-cost" Crew Space Transportation-100 (CST-100) will allow up to seven Earthlings to travel up to 100 kilometers above the Earth's surface. The best part? Once you spend up to seven months docked at the International Space Station, you'll rely on "the aid of parachutes [as you head] to an airbag-cushioned landing on dry ground." Something tells us the crew of Jackass will be all over this in just a few years.
