Aerospace

This tag is used to mark content that is related to aerospace engineering. A substantive collection of articles can be found here, that discuss the design, development, testing, and operation of aircraft, spacecraft, and other aerospace vehicles.

Super Heavy Booster 12 during its catch attempt during flight five. ©SpaceX SpaceX nails first Super Heavy booster catch!

At 12:25 pm Universal Coordinated Time, SpaceX launched its Starship-Super Heavy vehicle on its fifth flight test. This test flight once again occurred from Starbase's launch site, near Boca Chica in south Texas. Liftoff of Starship! pic.twitter.com/WyNRN1fLbd — SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 13, 2024 Super Heavy

Oct 13, 2024 8 mins

The Shijian-19 capsule back on Earth. ©China National Space Administration China's first reusable satellite successfully returns

China's first reusable satellite, Shijian-19, returned to Earth on October 11th. According to the China National Space Administration, the Shijian-19 spacecraft's capsule touched down in the Dongfeng Landing Site, located inside the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, at 10:39 am China Standard Time, or 02:39

Oct 11, 2024 2 mins

Ship 30 atop of Booster 12 at Starbase, Texas. ©SpaceX Starship could launch as soon as October 13th for flight five

A little over four months ago, SpaceX flew the fourth flight test of its Starship-Super Heavy vehicle. Since then, the company has been working towards the fifth flight test and today announced that this test could come as soon as October 13th. For this test flight, Ship 30 and Booster

Oct 8, 2024 5 mins

The BE-4: Blue Origin's Beast The BE-4: Blue Origin's Beast

Blue Origin's BE-4 recently demonstrated a great feat of resilience by compensating for a solid rocket booster anomaly on United Launch Alliance's second Vulcan certification flight, allowing the mission to successfully reach its targeted orbit. In this article I will go over the past, present, and

Oct 5, 2024 4 mins

Vulcan soars for second certification flight! Vulcan soars for second certification flight!

Today's launch marks the final National Security Space Launch certification flight for United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket! This launch was also the second successful flight of Blue Origins BE-4 engines. At 11:25 am Universal Coordinated Time, ULA’s Vulcan Centaur lifted off from Launch Complex 41

Oct 4, 2024 4 mins

The Kinetica-1 Y4 vehicle lifting off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Kinetica-1 wraps up busy week of launches from China

In the past week, five rockets have blasted off from China's various launch sites carrying two dozen satellites into orbit. These launches also bring China's total number of launches this year up to 45! September 19th - Long March 3B/E Beginning the busy week of

Sep 25, 2024 6 mins

GS2 is HOT TO GO! GS2 is HOT TO GO!

Blue Origin’s Glenn Stage 2 (GS2) has successfully lit up its dual BE-3U engines for the first time at Launch Complex 36!

Sep 24, 2024 2 mins

Falcon 9 lifting off from Space Launch Complex 40 for the Galileo L13 mission. ©SpaceX Falcon 9 lands fastest booster during Galileo launch!

Falcon 9 has launched its second set of Galileo satellites on behalf of the European Galileo navigation system. This launch occurred from Space Launch Complex 40, in Flordia. Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/yG7YajyF2k — SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 17, 2024 The previous Galileo launch on Falcon 9 had the launch vehicle flying

Sep 18, 2024 4 mins

Falcon 9 booster B1062 during it's landing failure. ©SpaceX Falcon 9 grounded for the second time in 2024

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket has suffered its second anomaly of 2024. In response to this, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has grounded the vehicle and is requiring a mishap investigation. This anomaly occurred during the booster landing of the Starlink Group 8-6 mission, with the satellites successfully

Aug 28, 2024 2 mins

A render of New Glenn during first-stage flight. ©Blue Origin New Glenn set to debut in October!

Blue Origin announced on August 23rd that the first launch of New Glenn would occur no earlier than October 13th, 2024. This first launch will be carrying the two ESCAPADE spacecraft, as well as sending them toward Mars! This maiden launch date comes a few years after the company'

Aug 23, 2024 3 mins

The first-stage of RFA ONE during the anomaly at the SaxaVord Spaceport. RFA suffers loss of vehicle during a static fire

On the evening of August 19th, Rocket Factory Augsburg was performing a nine-engine static fire on the first-stage of its RFA ONE launch vehicle. However a few seconds into the firing an anomoly occured, leading to the loss of the first-stage. Rocket Factory Augsburg has not yet stated the cause

Aug 20, 2024 2 mins

Re-entry: Hot Enough to Boil Steel Re-entry: Hot Enough to Boil Steel

One thing is going to space; another is coming back. The art of entering the Earth's atmosphere is something scientists and engineers are still working on perfecting, as temperatures from the hot plasma hitting the vehicle can reach up to 3800°C (7000°F), although in most cases

Aug 17, 2024 13 mins

SSLV lifting off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on August 16th. ©ISRO India completes final development flight for SSLV

At 03:47 am Universal Coordinated Time on August 16th, India launched its third development flight for its SSLV launch vehicle. This third, and final, development flight flew from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. Atop of SSLV for this launch was the EOS-08 satellite, a small 175.5 kilogram Earth

Aug 16, 2024 2 mins