Technology
This Rocket Engine’s Thrust Chamber was 3D-printed and Only has Three Parts
This week, European engineers hot-fire tested a fully 3D-printed thrust chamber that could one day power the upper stages for…
Tiny Cardboard Aircraft Could Fly in the Skies of Mars
What would be the best method for exploring planetary atmospheres, such as at Mars, Venus or even Earth? One group…
Another Reminder that Spaceflight is Difficult. Starship Prototype Explodes and Falls Over
SpaceX suffered another setback when its Starship prototype SN1 exploded during a loading test - similar to what happened to…
A Commercial Satellite Just Docked with Another for the First Time, Opening Up a New Era in Orbital Maintenance
SpaceLogistics LLC has achieved a first: it's docked it's maintenance satellite, called MEV-1, with another satellite in order to extend…
Future Astronauts Could Enjoy Fresh Vegetables From an Autonomous Orbital Greenhouse
A team from a Russian polytechnic university is working on an autonomous space module where fresh vegetables could be grown…
A New Kind of Rocket that’s Lightweight and Easier to Construct: a Rotating Detonating Engine. Unfortunately, it’s Also Completely Unpredictable
A new type of engine - known as the rotating detonation engine - could revolutionize rocketry and make space exploration…
Anti-Solar Cells Could Generate Electricity at Night
A new study proposes how thermoradiative technology could be used to make "anti-solar" cells that would work at night. Credit:…
A Cubesat Deployed a De-Orbiting Tether and Now it’s Losing Altitude 24 Times Faster than Before
A company called Tethers Unlimited has deployed its de-orbiting tether in a successful test on the Prox-1 satellite. The satellite…
LightSail 2 is Still Solar Sailing, But it’s Getting Lower and Lower with Each Orbit
LightSail 2 deployed it solar sail five months ago, and it's still orbiting Earth. It's a successful demonstration of the…
NASA Will Be Building a Quiet, Supersonic Aircraft: the X-59
NASA's X-Plane Program has been around for 70 years. Over the course of those decades, the agency has developed a…