Lifeboat Foundation

SpaceX will sacrifice a Falcon 9 rocket Sunday in a fiery test a minute-and-a-half after liftoff from Florida’s Space Coast to prove the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft can safely push astronauts away from a failing launch vehicle, simulating a daring maneuver that would only be attempted on a piloted mission during an in-flight emergency.

The launch escape demonstration could be a spectacle for local residents, rocket fans and enthusiasts along the Space Coast, assuming clear skies and good visibility, according to SpaceX.

Continue reading “SpaceX will trigger an intentional rocket failure to prove crew capsule’s safety” »

An AI assistant with empathy could be exactly what’s needed to provide emotional support for astronauts on deep-space missions to Mars.

NASA’s working with startups like Akin to develop human-like AI systems that could one day play a critical role in supporting astronauts in space.

Musk: “There will be a lot of jobs on Mars!”

According to Musk, you’ll need a crazy amount of cargo capacity to build a human colony on a faraway planet.

“Megatons per year to orbit are needed for life to become multiplanetary,” he tweeted.

Continue reading “Elon Musk Says He’ll Put A Million People on Mars By 2050” »

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (WTHR) — SpaceX plans to intentionally blow up a rocket on Saturday morning.

The test is being conducted in advance of a piloted flight.

The test, which is scheduled for Saturday morning, will demonstrate the spacecraft’s capabilities to safely separate from the rocket in the event of an in-flight emergency.

Sierra Nevada Corp. is on track for a 2021 launch debut of its robotic Dream Chaser space plane, even as the firm shoots for the moon under NASA’s Artemis program, company representatives said during a media call last week.

In this excerpt from FLORIDA TODAY’s Eye on Brevard, space reporter Emre Kelly talks about Blue Origins’ progress on the Space Coast.

Rob Landers, FLORIDA TODAY

Short videographic on the SpaceX project. An in-flight abort test of SpaceX Crew Dragon takes place on Saturday.

While NASA and Boeing engineers investigate the cause of a software error that cut short the first orbital test flight of the Starliner crew capsule last month, ground teams have returned the spaceship from its landing site in New Mexico back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Preliminary inspections indicate the reusable spacecraft weathered its first trip into orbit better than expected, and Boeing teams are confident the ship will need only “minimal refurbishment” before its next launch with astronauts.

While teams sort out the Starliner software problem, Boeing says the hardware performed as designed.

You might call it a giant leap for 3D bioprinting: Human heart cells have been 3D printed on the International Space Station (ISS) and are making their way back to Earth this week inside a SpaceX capsule. The 3D BioFabrication Facility (BFF) was developed by Techshot Inc., a commercial operator of microgravity research and manufacturing equipment, in partnership with nScrypt, a manufacturer of industrial 3D bioprinters and electronics printers.

“Our BFF has the potential to transform human healthcare in ways not previously possible,” said Techshot President and CEO John Vellinger.” We’re laying the foundation for an entire industry in space.”

If you’re wondering why they don’t just print the cells here on Earth, the answer is gravity. When attempting to print with soft, easily flowing biomaterials on Earth, the tissues collapse under their own weight, resulting in little more than a puddle, explained Techshot in a press release. “But when these same materials are used in the microgravity environment of space, the 3D-printed structures maintain their shapes.” The bio-ink used in the space station, consequently, did not contain the scaffolding materials or thickening agents normally required to resist the Earth’s gravitational pull.