Page 2 - Rocket Launch

Starship 8 test failure: SpaceX's boldest rocket faces uncertain future

Repeated failures have cast doubt on Starship's reliability, a key part of SpaceX's goals for Mars colonisation, prompting the company to investigate failures and enhance the spacecraft's performance

Watch: SpaceX Starship explodes in space, minutes after its launch

Minutes after it was launched from Texas, SpaceX lost control of the spacecraft, with engines cut off, causing it to veer off course before disintegrating in the upper atmosphere

Private lander Athena may have fallen over near moon's south pole

A privately owned lunar lander touched down on the moon with a drill, drone and rovers for NASA and other customers Thursday, but quickly ran into trouble and may have fallen over. Intuitive Machines said it was uncertain whether its Athena lander was upright near the moon's south pole standing 15 feet (4.7 meters) tall or lying sideways like its first spacecraft from a year ago. Controllers rushed to turn off some of the lander's equipment to conserve power while trying to determine what went wrong. It was the second moon landing this week by a Texas company under NASA's commercial lunar delivery programme. Sunday's touchdown was a complete success. The company's newest Athena lander dropped out of lunar orbit as planned. The hourlong descent appeared to go well until the final approach when the laser navigation system began acting up. It took a while for Mission Control to confirm touchdown. We're on the surface, reported mission director and co-founder Tim Crain. A few minutes

Musk's SpaceX delays Starship launch to address issues with rocket

Starship was slated to launch from SpaceX's Starbase facility in south Texas on a roughly one-hour mission

Adani-backed firm among 3 finalists for India's small satellite rocket bid

That move has been the highest-profile piece of India's privatisation efforts, which the government hopes will help the country claim a greater share of the booming global satellite launch market

Earth to Mars in 30 days? Russia's plasma engine breakthrough sparks buzz

The development of the engine is expected to make interplanetary trips much faster and expand humanity's access to worlds beyond the Solar System

France in advanced talks to buy India's 'Pinaka' rocket launcher system

India is the world's biggest arms importer, but has been trying to boost local production to meet its defence requirements and has been steadily raising its defence exports

Boeing to lay off about 400 workers on its SLS moon rocket programme

The US aerospace company cited revisions to NASA's Artemis program and cost expectations

Isro carries out 100th launch; GSLV-F15 carries NVS-02 into planned orbit

The GSLV-F15 with indigenous Cryogenic stage will place NVS-02 satellite into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit

SpaceX Starship explodes: What went wrong with Elon Musk's rocket?

The explosion, which took place over the Gulf of Mexico, caused nearby airline flights to change course to avoid falling debris

Blue Origin reaches orbit in first New Glenn launch, misses booster landing

Thirty stories tall with a reusable first stage filled with liquid oxygen and methane, New Glenn launched around 2 am ET (0700 GMT) from Blue Origin's launchpad under cloudy skies

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to try again to launch New Glenn rocket Tuesday

Blue Origin will try again to launch its massive new rocket as early as Tuesday after calling off the debut launch because of ice buildup in critical plumbing. The 320-foot New Glenn rocket was supposed to blast off before dawn on Monday with a prototype satellite. But ice formed in a purge line for a unit powering some of the rocket's hydraulic systems and launch controllers ran out of time to clear it, according to the company. Founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin said Tuesday's poor weather forecast could cause more delay. Thick clouds and stiff wind were expected at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The test flight already had been delayed by rough seas that posed a risk to the company's plan to land the first-stage booster on a floating platform in the Atlantic. New Glenn is named after the first American to orbit Earth, John Glenn. It is five times taller than Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket that carries paying customers to the edge of space from Texas. Bezos found

Bezos' Blue Origin calls off New Glenn rocket launch mins before countdown

Blue Origin called off the debut launch of its massive new rocket early Monday because of technical trouble. The 320-foot (98-meter) New Glenn rocket was supposed to blast off before dawn with a prototype satellite from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. But launch controllers had to deal with an unspecified rocket issue in the final minutes of the countdown and ran out of time. Once the countdown clock was halted, they immediately began draining all the fuel from the rocket. Blue Origin did not immediately set a new launch date, saying the team needed more time to resolve the problem. The test flight already had been delayed by rough seas that posed a risk to the company's plan to land the first-stage booster on a floating platform in the Atlantic. New Glenn is named after the first American to orbit Earth, John Glenn. It is five times taller than Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket that carries paying customers to the edge of space from Texas. Amazon's Jeff Bezos founded

Bezos' Blue Origin prepares for inaugural launch of its New Glenn rocket

The mission, the culmination of a decade-long, multi-billion-dollar development journey, will include an attempt to land New Glenn's first stage booster on a sea-fairing barge in the Atlantic Ocean

Space industry has room for 'multiple winners': Bezos on competition

There is going to be new uses for space that's going to drive demand for large capacity up, Bezos said on the eve of his company's first orbital rocket launch attempt

Blue Origin flagship rocket set to debut in crucial SpaceX challenge

New Glenn, originally intended to launch as early as 2020, is set to lift off as soon as Monday out of Cape Canaveral, Florida, during a three-hour launch window that begins at 1 a.m. local time

Engine of Japan's new small rocket explodes during a test for 2nd time

The engine for a flagship new small Japanese rocket burst into flames Tuesday during a combustion test, but there was no injury or damage to the outside, officials said. The second failure in a row raises concern about the progress of the Epsilon S rocket, whose debut is expected for next year. The test was conducted inside of the restricted area at Japan's Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is investigating, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters. The fire was followed by an explosion and plumes of white smoke. Tuesday's failure comes just over a year after the explosion last year of the same Epsilon S engine during a test, according to JAXA. Last year's explosion was related to damage to the ignition systems of the engine and JAXA has since taken the necessary steps, the agency has said. Development of flagship rockets such as Epsilon S is extremely important from the perspective of ensuring autonomy of ..

Japan launches defence satellite carried by new flagship H3 rocket

Japan launched a defence satellite designed for information-gathering and military operations on a new flagship H3 rocket on Monday, as the country seeks to build up its military capability amid growing tension in the region. The H3 No. 4 rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center on a southwestern Japanese island. Everything went as planned and the satellite placed at the top of the rocket was successfully separated about half an hour after liftoff, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said in a livestream. JAXA will give further details about the launch later Monday. The rocket is carrying a Defense Ministry satellite, Kirameki No. 3, which uses X-band communication for military operations and reconnaissance, including information-gathering for signs of North Korean missile activity. X-band satellite is less affected by weather conditions and is capable of supporting stable communication. Kirameki No. 3 adds to two earlier X-band satellites already in ...

Iran successfully launches satellite in its programme criticised by West

Iran launched a satellite into space Saturday with a rocket built by the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, state-run media reported, the latest for a program the West fears helps Tehran advance its ballistic missile program. Iran described the launch as the second such launch to put a satellite into orbit with the rocket. Independent scientists later confirmed the launch and that the satellite reached orbit. Footage later released by Iranian media showed the rocket blast off from a mobile launcher. An Associated Press analysis of the video and other imagery later released suggested the launch happened at the Guard's launch pad on the outskirts of the city of Shahroud, some 350 kilometres (215 miles) east of the capital, Tehran. The launch comes amid heightened tensions gripping the wider Middle East over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, during which Tehran launched an unprecedented direct missile-and-drone attack on Israel. Meanwhile, Iran continues to enric

SpaceX to launch billionaire's pvt crew on breakthrough spacewalk mission

An attempt to launch last month was postponed hours before liftoff over a small helium leak in ground equipment on SpaceX's launchpad