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Archive for the ‘space travel’ category: Page 214

Jul 30, 2021

Elon Musk Shows Off Pic of Monstrous Super Heavy Booster Engine System

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

It’s no secret that SpaceX’s Starship Super Heavy Booster will be an absolute beast. The rocket stage, meant to launch the also-huge Starship spacecraft into orbit, will be sporting an outrageous number of individual rocket engines — 29 to be exact — making it one of the biggest rocket boosters in history.

A photo shared by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk today on Twitter shows the sheer scale of the operation — and how far the space company has come in building the first flight-and orbit-worthy prototype.

Jul 30, 2021

NASA has delayed Boeing’s spaceship flight after a Russian module pushed the space station out of position

Posted by in category: space travel

Boeing needs to show that its spaceship is safe for astronauts after failing its last test flight. But Russia’s spacecraft glitch delayed the launch.

Jul 29, 2021

Jeff Bezos Offers NASA $2bn In Exchange For Moon Contract For Blue Origin To Land Astronauts In Space

Posted by in category: space travel

First of all the title is highly misleading and directly contradicted by the article itself and the actual letter. (He’s not ‘offering’ NASA money he’s voluntarily forgoing payment equal to the SpaceX award for the contract. Now considering the initial pricing was closer to 10 billion that would essentially mean that NASA would be on the hook for about 8 billion but considering the total SpaceX contract is also about 10 billion that still fits into the new Congressional budget, if barely) Secondly considering that Blue Origin is only one of the companies that are cooperating to this bid if the other companies do no agree they he actually WILL be paying those companies to participate. Thirdly while the overall concept was rejected it pays to keep in mind it was ONLY rejected for the price and some questions on the proposed engine development budget so this goes a long way to show they are putting more ‘skin’ in the game than SpaceX. So interesting but highly disappointing ‘take’ on the offer by VT.


Jeff Bezos has offered NASA $2 billion in exchange for a moon contract that will allow Blue Origin to land astronauts in space. The Amazon founder, 57, made history when he went to space last week, and now in an open letter to administrator Bill Nelson on July 26, he…

Jul 29, 2021

Electric boat startup Arc wants to make a big splash

Posted by in categories: space travel, sustainability

But does it want to be the “Tesla of boats?”


A new startup called Arc wants to revolutionize the boating world with a battery-powered craft made for watersports. The small startup, which employs a handful of former SpaceX employees, has designed a sharp but pricey boat with a big battery and an aluminum hull.

Jul 28, 2021

SpaceX: NASA Europa deal reveals the tricky politics of space rockets

Posted by in category: space travel

The future of NASA’s Space Launch System is in question after another contract win for SpaceX.


NASA has selected the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to launch the Europa Clipper in 2024, putting the future of NASA’s own flagship rocket into question.

Jul 28, 2021

Blue Origin has a secret project named “Jarvis” to compete with SpaceX

Posted by in category: space travel

How true?


However, after subsequent reporting, I discovered a kernel of truth to the rumors of stainless steel and Blue Origin rockets. Three sources have confirmed to Ars that Blue Origin has started working on a project to develop a fully reusable upper stage for New Glenn, which may potentially use stainless steel propellant tanks.

The primary goal of this change is to bring down the overall launch cost of the New Glenn rocket. The vehicle’s large upper stage, with a 7-meter diameter and two BE-3U engines, is costly, and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos is looking for ways to make the overall rocket more economical.

Continue reading “Blue Origin has a secret project named ‘Jarvis’ to compete with SpaceX” »

Jul 27, 2021

Robots are making progress on space exploration, along with billionaires

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, solar power, space travel, sustainability

What i would suggest is landing Atlas robots in waves on the Moon, the first wave builds a solar panel farm for power, the second repairs the first wave, the third joins the first two to begin building large scale runways, the fourth joins the first three to begin building permanent structures.

The Moon is close enough for teleoperations, and in the 2030s, when we actually do Mars, the AI could repeat the whole thing there.

Continue reading “Robots are making progress on space exploration, along with billionaires” »

Jul 27, 2021

Jeff Bezos offers NASA $2billion in exchange for moon contract

Posted by in category: space travel

JEFF Bezos has offered NASA $2 billion in exchange for a contract to allow astronauts to land on the moon.

The Amazon founder made his offer to administrator Bill Nelson in an open letter on Monday, a week after his own historic rocket launch.

Billionaire Bezos wrote: Blue Origin is committed to building a future where millions of people live and work in space to benefit the Earth.

Jul 27, 2021

Bezos’ $2bn offer to get back in race to the Moon

Posted by in category: space travel

The billionaire offers to cover $2bn in NASA costs to be reconsidered for a Moon lander contract.

Jul 25, 2021

NASA Awards SpaceX With Launch Services Contract for Europa Clipper Mission

Posted by in category: space travel

NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for Earth’s first mission to conduct detailed investigations of Jupiter’s moon Europa.

The Europa Clipper mission will launch in October 2024 on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The total contract award amount for launch services is approximately $178 million.

Europa Clipper will conduct a detailed survey of Europa and use a sophisticated suite of science instruments to investigate whether the icy moon has conditions suitable for life. Key mission objectives are to produce high-resolution images of Europa’s surface, determine its composition, look for signs of recent or ongoing geological activity, measure the thickness of the moon’s icy shell, search for subsurface lakes, and determine the depth and salinity of Europa’s ocean.