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☆ How the A-12 went from the first US supersonic spy plane to inspiring the name of Elon Musk's child
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Lauren Frias | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Testing in Area 51Entrance to Area 51 TIFOIts development was highly classified, taking place at Area 51 in Nevada and hidden away from Soviet spy satellites. Area 51 workers were provided with rosters of Soviet satellites, detailing when certain ones would fly over the Nevada test site so they could conceal the prototypes. "It was like a bus schedule, and it even told us whether it was an infrared satellite or what type it was," TD Barnes, a former hypersonic flight specialist at Area 51, told National Geographic in 2011. In addition to the sheds, workers also crafted decoy prototypes out of cardboard and other materials to cast shadows and deceive the satellites. At least one of the A-12's numerous test flights didn't go according to plan, crashing in the desert outside Area 51.

Persons: TD Barnes, Jim Freedman Organizations: Soviet, Geographic Locations: Nevada, Soviet

☆ Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship rocket and spacecraft lost in second test flight
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Leighton Rowell | Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The Super Heavy booster and Starship spacecraft successfully separated after liftoff, as the Starship lit up its engines and pushed away. SpaceX's Starship launches on its second test flight from the Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, on Saturday morning. The method was used to separate the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket after liftoff. Then, the spacecraft’s flight termination system was triggered to prevent it from veering off course, bringing an early end to the test flight. After April’s explosive first test flight, SpaceX noted “success comes from what we learn, and we learned a tremendous amount.”

Persons: Eric Gay, ”, John Insprucker, Artemis, “ Congrats, Bill Nelson, —, @SpaceX, Jim Free, Elon Musk, Kate Tice Organizations: CNN, Super, Starship, SpaceX, SpaceX's, Federal Aviation Administration, Boca, FAA, NASA, SpaceX Quality Systems Engineering Locations: of Mexico, Boca Chica , Texas, Hawaii

SpaceX on Saturday aims to perform its second uncrewed test flight of its massive Starship rocket after the last attempt in April successfully launched but exploded minutes later. Now, months after the first flight test, SpaceX has rebuilt its megarocket and is targeting a 20-minute launch window Saturday at 8 a.m. The test was initially scheduled for Friday, but SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that a part of the rocket needed to be replaced. SpaceX had to gain clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration to perform the test, which it received earlier this week. “The FAA has given license authorization for the second launch of the @SpaceX Starship Super Heavy vehicle,” the FAA posted on social media on Wednesday.

Persons: “, SpaceX, Elon Musk, ”, Jim Free Organizations: SpaceX, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, NASA Locations: Texas, Indian, Hawaii, Mars

☆ SpaceX Starship: World’s most powerful rocket ready for takeoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —After months of rebuilding and clearing red tape following the April explosion of the Starship system’s first test flight, SpaceX is set for its next attempt. The Starship spacecraft stacked atop the Super Heavy booster is intended to play a key role in the NASA Artemis III moon mission, currently slated for 2025. After its fuel is spent, the Super Heavy will detach from the Starship spacecraft and fall back toward the ocean. “These delays may seem small in the big scheme of things but … delays in each and every test flight adds up. One group of activists sued the FAA in May, alleging regulators had failed to comply with federal environmental law when they greenlit Starship’s April test flight.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, they’re, NASA Artemis, ”, Musk’s, SpaceX’s, NASA’s —, Jim Free, “, ” Musk, William Gerstenmaier —, we’re, ” Gerstenmaier, Jared Margolis Organizations: CNN, SpaceX, Super, NASA, International Astronautical, “, NASA’s, Systems, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, Center for Biological Locations: Riding, Boca Chica , Texas, South Texas, Texas, Padre, of Mexico, Hawaii, Baku, Azerbaijian, China

☆ FAA closes investigation into SpaceX Starship rocket that exploded, outlines ‘corrective actions’
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Kristin Fisher | Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday it has closed its “mishap” investigation into the April SpaceX Starship test flight that ended after the rocket exploded over the Gulf of Mexico. The FAA says the investigation “cites multiple root causes” and “63 corrective actions SpaceX must take to prevent mishap reoccurrence,” the agency said in a statement. SpaceX has said it is ready to try to launch Starship again. But the FAA must issue a launch license, and one of the holdups has been the mishap investigation. “You can think about that launch date slipping probably into ’26.”In August, Free told CNN “my level of concern is the same” after a trip to visit SpaceX’s launch site a month earlier.

Persons: Elon Musk, WjENkdudo9 — Elon, Artemis III, Jim Free, he’s, ”, Free Organizations: CNN, Federal Aviation Administration, SpaceX, FAA, Boca Chica, U.S . Export Control, Boca, Fish and Wildlife Service, NASA, NASA’s, Systems, ”, Aeronautics, Space Engineering Board, Space Studies, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine Locations: of Mexico, Boca Chica , Texas, Boca Chica

☆ Investing in Space: Here are the rockets chasing to compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

SpaceXCNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Overview: Chasing the FalconNo rocket has been better-described as a "workhorse" than SpaceX's Falcon 9. Aside from Blue Origin's New Glenn, the early theme is rockets that are close to the capability of Falcon 9 and less expensive. – CNBC, which the lawsuit says were used for NASA projects including the International Space Station and the Space Launch Systems rocket. – Firefly Aerospace: The rocket builder says the deal will bolster its launch, spacecraft, and lunar lander businesses.

Persons: CNBC's Michael Sheetz, Phil Smith, SpaceX's, Glenn, Smith, –, Smith doesn't, CNBC ULA, Tory Bruno, Jeff Bezos, ULA, – Read, Shepard, Bob Smith, Jim Free, Artemis, HawkEye, – Hydrosat, Leonardo DiCaprio, – Momentus, Westinghouse EchoStar's Hughes, – EchoStar, Iris Lan, Sumara Thompson, King, Lan, – NASA Celeste Ford, Ford, – SpiderOak Melissa Quinn, Quinn Organizations: SpaceX CNBC's, SpaceX, Falcon, Boeing, NASA, CNBC, CNBC Department of Defense, Ukraine, Starlink, Pentagon, –, Space Station, Systems, CNBC SpaceX, Cargo, International Space, FAA, Intelsat, Japan Airlines, Embraer, – Intelsat, Rocket, ONE, Washington, Spaceflight, Aerospace, Aerospace Spacecraft, York, MaC Venture Capital, Broom Ventures, Veto, TechCrunch Viasat, Air Force, Viasat, Westinghouse, U.S . Department of Justice, – NASA, Ford, Stellar Solutions Locations: Florida, China, Russia, Colorado, Ukrainian, Bellevue , Washington, Cortado, Cornwall

☆ Analysis: Boeing, Northrop face obstacles in commercializing flagship US rocket
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/3] NASA's next-generation moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with its Orion crew capsule perched on top, is shown on its launch pad as it is prepared for launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. November 12, 2022. NASA's SLS vision has its skeptics. NASA currently manages SLS production, with Boeing and Northrop its top contractors, each having contracts under which the space agency bears any delay costs. Boeing and Northrop executives have declined to discuss plans for cutting SLS costs under the proposed commercial contract. Boeing has said the SLS program has created 28,000 jobs.

Persons: Joe Skipper, Colonel Douglas Pentecost, Glenn, Jeff Bezos's, Cristina, Jim Free, Artemis, Amit Kshatriya, Kshatriya, Joey Roulette, Will Dunham, Ben Klayman Organizations: Orion, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Pentagon, Northrup, U.S . Department of Defense, DoD, U.S, military's Space Force, NASA, SLS, Elon Musk's SpaceX, Office, U.S . Congress, Northrop, Artemis, Space, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Cape Canaveral , Florida, U.S, Florida

☆ Bezos' Blue Origin wins NASA contract to build astronaut lunar lander
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Blue Origin contract is valued roughly $3.4 billion, NASA's exploration chief Jim Free said, with Blue Origin privately contributing "well north" of that amount, Blue Origin's lunar lander head John Couluris said. Blue Origin plans to build its 52-foot (16-meter) tall Blue Moon lander in a partnership with Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), Boeing(BA.N), spacecraft software firm Draper, and robotics firm Astrobotic. Friday's announcement in Washington was a long-awaited outcome for Blue Origin, which had unsuccessfully had competed for past contracts. After losing in 2021, Blue Origin unsuccessfully fought to overturn NASA's decision to ignore its Blue Moon lander, first with a watchdog agency and then in court. Blue Origin and lawmakers had pressured NASA to award a second lunar lander contract to promote commercial competition and ensure the agency has a backup ride to the moon.

☆ NASA taps Blue Origin to join SpaceX in building lunar landers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Blue Origin will develop its lunar lander alongside partners Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic and Honeybee Robotics. Altogether, the price tag for Blue Origin’s lunar lander development program is likely worth more than $7 billion. Blue Origin has been fighting for a role in the Artemis lunar lander contracts — called Human Landing System — for years. A judge ultimately ruled against Blue Origin, though NASA later pledged to expand the number of companies with lunar lander contracts to two. NASA said from the beginning that it hoped to have more than one company working to develop lunar landers capable of carrying humans.

☆ Historic NASA moon mission troubleshoots fuel leak ahead of launch
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

ET, intermittent leaks began to spring up that were occasionally above the threshold NASA officials hoped to see. Given all the issues that surfaced Tuesday evening, NASA could not move ahead with launch right at 1:04 a.m. The NASA Space Launch System rocket is seen at Kennedy Space Center on November 15, ahead of the Artemis I launch. After the most recent try in September, NASA did some troubleshooting and put the rocket through a fueling test. This a test mission, but NASA — and the corporate contractors that helped build the $4.1 billion SLS — have a lot riding on it.

☆ NASA left its $50 billion moon rocket exposed to Hurricane Nicole's powerful winds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NASA left its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on the launchpad during Hurricane Nicole. The rocket sustained minor damage, and NASA still plans to launch it for the first time Wednesday. But it's unusual for NASA to leave such a valuable rocket out on the launchpad in the middle of a hurricane. NASA rolled the rocket out with a storm on the horizonSatellite imagery shows Tropical Storm Nicole on November 10, 2022. People walk by a closed down damaged boardwalk following the passage of Hurricane Nicole in Vero Beach, Florida, November 10, 2022.

☆ Artemis moon mission likely delayed until November as NASA moves rocket out of hurricane's path
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

With Hurricane Ian bearing down on Florida, the space agency rolled back the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket — set to launch the Artemis I mission — into the mammoth Vehicle Assembly Building for protection at Kennedy Space Center. NASA now sees November as the most likely opportunity for the next Artemis I launch attempt. For the rocket and capsule, "limited life" describes items which need to be refreshed or checked periodically, such as batteries or propellant tanks. Tentatively, the plan is to land the agency's astronauts on the moon by its third Artemis mission in 2025. More than $40 billion has already been spent on the Artemis program, much of that toward SLS and Orion development.

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