[ad_1] About a month ago, SpaceX pulled off a first hop test for one of its Starship prototypes, and now it has repeated the feat. SN6 looks a lot like its predecessor SN5, with both missing a nose cone and fins, which makes them resemble a rocket-powered silo rising about 500 feet above the ground. […]
Category: test flight
SpaceX’s Starship prototype flies hundreds of feet for the first time
[ad_1] Almost a year after we saw SpaceX’s ‘Starhopper’ test vehicle make a short trip into the air, the company has successfully flown and landed a full-size Starship prototype. The SN5 vehicle is missing its nose cone, so it’s a bit like a taller “flying water tower” just like the earlier test rig, but it […]
After Starship test fire Elon Musk expects 150m hop ‘soon’
[ad_1] Elon Musk’s hopes for Starship to reach orbit before this spring didn’t quite pan out, but a recent test firing has the SpaceX CEO expecting to see the company’s new vehicle take flight shortly. On Thursday he tweeted that its new SN5 build completed a full duration static fire, and said a 150m test […]
Watch NASA and SpaceX launch astronauts (updated)
[ad_1] This afternoon NASA astronauts will take off from US soil for the first time since NASA’s space shuttle program ended in 2011. The launch is historic for another reason too. It will be the first time NASA launches astronauts in a SpaceX spacecraft, and it marks the beginning of what could be many crewed […]
Virgin Orbit’s first launch demo takes place this weekend
[ad_1] Virgin Orbit is finally ready to try a proper launch demo. The spaceflight outfit now expects the launch demo mission to take place on either May 24th or May 25th between 1PM and 5PM Eastern each day. If there’s enough of a launch window, the Cosmic Girl carrier aircraft will release LauncherOne over the […]
Boeing completes test flight for the world’s largest twin-engine jet
[ad_1] The aircraft’s proportions are made possible in no small part due to the massive GE9X engines that each put out about 100,000 pounds of thrust. Boeing is also touting 10 percent better fuel efficiency than “the competition,” which includes aircraft like the Airbus A350-1000. The 777X series won’t have trouble carrying passengers, with the […]
Volocopter proves its air taxi can work with air traffic control
[ad_1] Volocopter is one of the first flying taxi companies to integrate into air traffic control systems, but others aren’t too far behind. As Engadget’s Andrew Tarantola wrote, more than 70 companies are currently developing their own personal flying vehicles. Uber, in particular, has invested heavily. And the demonstration at Helsinki Airport isn’t just good […]
Boeing delays its first Starliner test flight until August
[ad_1] While NASA and Boeing once said they’d launch the uncrewed Starliner in August 2018, skeptics always had doubts that the two would meet that goal. Initial delays were no surprise. Now, NASA says the new August 2019 date is due to limited launch opportunities this spring and early summer. In a press release, NASA […]