A decade-old mystery has been resolved after a NASA investigation found that the loss of two science satellite missions in 2009 and 2011 was due to falsified test results on the part of a private subcontractor.
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A piece of Space Age history is getting a new lease with news that Blue Origin plans to refurbish and operate the famous test stand used to develop the Saturn V moon rockets.
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Hydrazine rocket fuel is highly toxic, carcinogenic and unstable, making it incredibly dangerous to work with. Scientists at McGill believe their new alternative, based on metal-organic frameworks, will lead to cleaner, safer, more controllable rockets.
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Historically, space launches are anything but cheap, but reusable rocket programs like those from SpaceX and Blue Origin promise to significantly reduce costs (if they’re not already). In a similar vein, the EU is looking to develop a "rocket catcher" that snaffles boosters in mid-air for reuse.
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Combustion experts from the University of Sydney are working on a revolutionary new rocket engine that can not only breath air while in the atmosphere, but can burn incoming air at supersonic speeds, promising to make space launches cheaper and more efficient.
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Orbex has unveiled the world's largest 3D-printed rocket engine. The single-piece, cryogenic liquid-fueled engine was installed in the second stage of an engineering prototype of the company's Orbex Prime launcher and is claimed to be more powerful by volume than many heavy launchers.
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Rocketsondes, which are a type of sounding rocket, are used to make high-altitude weather observations. Given that they require launch sites, they're not used much over the ocean. That could change, though, as Chinese scientists have now launched one from an autonomous semi-submersible vehicle.
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The number of Blue Origin rocket flights went into double digits today as the company's New Shepard booster completed its 10th suborbital mission (NS-10). At 9:05 am CST, the rocket lifted off and reached an altitude of 350,775 ft (66 mi, 107 km) during the 11-minute flight.
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December 19 marks the 60th anniversary of the first-ever voice transmission relayed from space. The Christmas address was given by then-president Dwight D. Eisenhower, via a top-secret satellite launched atop a converted Atlas intercontinental missile.
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When SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks about reusable rockets, he imagines them functioning like airplanes. The company has taken an important step towards this future, for the first time ever flying a Falcon 9 booster that had already flown twice before.
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