spaceflight

DOE, NASA testing fission reactor for spaceflight

Why don't we have warp drive yet? Well, because, according to "Star Trek" lore, inventor Zefram Cochrane hasn't been born yet.

Baby Zefram is due in about 20 years, but in the meantime NASA and the Department of Energy are working on something somewhat tantalizing if you're planning a deep-space probe.

Researchers including engineers from Los Alamos National Laboratory have demonstrated a nuclear reactor that could power spaceflight. It's nowhere near as powerful as NASA's conceptual antimatter engine--the Demonstration Using Flattop Fissions (DUFF) experiment produces just 24 watts of electricity. … Read more

U.K.'s space agency ready for lift-off

The U.K. has launched a national space agency dedicated to coordinating its involvement in civilian spaceflight, with responsibility for overseeing policy and budgets.

The agency, which officially begins work April 1, will negotiate on the U.K.'s behalf with international bodies. In addition, it will take over responsibility for some key U.K. and European space projects, including Galileo, the U.K. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said in a statement Tuesday.

The U.K. Space Agency has been set up to help spur growth in the British space and satellite industry, which employs 68,000 workers … Read more

No winner for NASA lunar challenge

HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M.--The $2 million NASA-sponsored Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge ended Sunday with no winner and a call to the fire department.

Armadillo Aerospace, the space company founded by "Doom" creator John Carmack, was the lone competitor in NASA's contest, which calls on teams to build a lunar vehicle and then simulate a 90-to-180-second lunar flight. On Sunday morning, Armadillo flew one 91-second flight successfully, but as it was preparing to launch a second time to complete the challenge, the team discovered a crack in its engine.

The team tried to fix … Read more

Lunar rover flies, then falls

HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M.--Armadillo Aerospace, the space company of Doom creator John Carmack, impressed the crowd here Saturday by flying and landing a privately built lunar spacecraft over 90 seconds. By doing so, Armadillo completed the first of two parts of a NASA challenge worth $350,000 to simulate a flight on the moon.

On its second try, however, Armadillo didn't fare as well. The spacecraft, called the MOD, flew 50 meters vertically from the launch pad, then traversed 50 meters horizontally--required tasks of the first level of competition. But five seconds before landing on the … Read more

Spaceflight to cost $40 million in 2009

Inflation has officially hit commercial spaceflight.

When technology industry veteran Greg Olsen traveled to the International Space Station aboard the Russian Soyuz rocket in October 2005, his trip cost about $20 million. But the price of the same spaceflight, which is arranged by Virginia-based Space Adventures, will cost between $30 million and $40 million in the coming two years, according to an AP article.

The rising price is "mostly because of the fallen dollar," Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson told the AP.

The dollar is worth about 25.5 Russian rubles, down from 32 rubles in 2002.

Space … Read more