Lifeboat Foundation

Four private astronauts have been strapped into a centrifuge, climbing mountains and learning how to fly a spacecraft ahead of their flight to space — the first-ever crewed space mission without any “professional astronauts” on board.

The crew is preparing to launch this upcoming September as part of the Inspiration4 mission aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. The mission, privately chartered by billionaire Jared Isaacman to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, recruited three crew members in addition to Isaacman for the trip which will fly around the Earth for several days. The crew includes Isaacman, St. Jude physician’s assistant and childhood bone cancer survivor Hayley Arcenaux, data engineer Chris Sembroski and geoscientist, science communicator and artist Sian Proctor.

Even if the interstellar object known as Oumuamua were an interstellar lightsail, it could never travel fast enough to be practical, says a new paper.

Sir Richard Branson’s spaceplane completes the first of three key test flights above New Mexico.

Could black holes power our spaceships? 😮.

Click on photo to start video.

The four astronauts launching on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission will spend six months on the International Space Station: a state-of-the-art microgravity laboratory.

🔬 🧪 They’ll work on science and research to benefit life on Earth & test technologies to enable us to return to the Moon and explore beyond: youtu.be/TiUvXmRDwEQ

#spacex #starship

#spacex

See how we developed Hybrid rockets and launched them from high altitude balloon initially with the Huntsville Alabama L5 Society (HAL5)‘s High Altitude Lift-Off (HALO) Program and later with our High Altitude Research Corporation (HARC). See our Balloon Launch Return Vehicle (BLRV) and our HARC Cheap Access to Space (CATS) Prize rocket. Hear some of our war stories from these adventures. A balloon launched rocket is known as a rockoon.

Watch next week for a related interview, The Inside Scoop on Virgin Galactic with Tim Pickens.

Continue reading “HALO & HARC Balloon Launched Hybrid Rockets with Bill Brown” »

3D-printed parts can make rocket engines lighter, less expensive and more efficient.

At Marshall, we’re working with our industry partners to test the latest advances in additive manufacturing technologies:

NASA is partnering with Aerojet Rocketdyne to advance 3D printing technologies, known as metal additive manufacturing, and its capabilities for liquid rocket engines in landers and on-orbit stages/spacecraft.

Continue reading “NASA 3D-Printed Engine Hardware Passes Cold Spray, Hot Fire Tests” »