NASA Approves 'Load-and-Go' Fueling for SpaceX Commercial Crew Launches By Jeff Foust NASA announced Aug. 17 that it will allow SpaceX to use a fueling approach for its commercial crew missions that attracted prior scrutiny, pending a final series of tests.
US Air Force Zooms Ahead on 2 New Hypersonic Weapons Plans By Mike Wall Over the last four months, the U.S. Air Force has awarded two contracts for hypersonic weapons worth a maximum of $1.4 billion to aerospace giant Lockheed Martin.
Pseudo-Satellite Drone Flies for 25 Days Straight, Sets Endurance Record By Tom Metcalfe The Zephyr drone could be used for military reconnaissance and wildfire monitoring, among other activities.
'Space Heroes' Trading Card Game Sets Up Space Race Between Players By Robert Z. Pearlman Do you hold the cards to win a space race? That is the challenge laid out by "Space Heroes: Journey to Space."
NASA Says RS-25 Engine Test for New Megarocket a Success Despite Ending Early By Jeff Foust NASA says an Aug. 14 test of an engine for the Space Launch System was a success despite an unspecified "facility issue" that caused the test to end early.
Plasma Scientists Created Invisible, Whooping 'Whistlers' in a Lab By Rafi Letzter The strange radio bursts usually circle the Earth like electromagnetic ghosts, but scientists have now created and studied their shapes in a plasma chamber on Earth.
'No Encryption, No Fly' Rule Proposed for Small Satellites By Jeff Foust Small satellites that have propulsion systems, but don't have encrypted commanding systems, pose a small but real threat of being hacked and endangering other satellites, according to a new study.
NASA Has a Wild Idea to Weigh Asteroids with a Swarm of Mini Probes By Meghan Bartels Asteroids are all around us in space — but they're awfully difficult to weigh
Laser 'License Plate' Could Improve Identification of Cubesats By Jeff Foust A technology using a tiny laser tracker could help resolve one of the major challenges involved with the launching of cubesats: identifying individual satellites after their deployment.
Mysterious X-37B Military Space Plane Nears 1 Year in Orbit By Leonard David The U.S. Air Force's X-37B miniature space plane has winged past 340 days of flight performing secretive duties during the program's fifth flight.
New Thruster Aims to Help Microsats Bust Out of the Kiddy Pool By Debra Werner Stellar Exploration, a space technology company based in San Luis Obispo, California, is in the midst of qualification testing of a miniature propulsion system for planetary microsatellite missions.
Now You Can 3D-Print a NASA SOFIA Flying Telescope of Your Very Own! By Hanneke Weitering You can now 3D print your own miniature version of NASA's flying telescope, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).
NASA Is About to Launch the Fastest Spacecraft in History. Target: The Sun! By Meghan Bartels On Aug. 11, NASA will launch its newest spacecraft, called the Parker Solar Probe, aboard a huge rocket. And by December 2024, that probe will become the fastest spacecraft ever.
Wake Up, Opportunity! Engineers Have an Awesome Playlist for NASA's Sleeping Mars Rover By Meghan Bartels Engineers with NASA's Mars Exploration Rover program have been left hanging on like a yo-yo for 60 days now, after Opportunity lost power during a global dust storm.
Interstellar Travel Requires a Long-Term Approach (and Humans Are Too Impatient) By Mike Wall The biggest hurdle to mounting an interstellar mission may be humanity's short attention span.
NASA Data Is Making Video Games Stunningly Realistic By Chelsea Gohd NASA data is helping video game companies create hyper-realistic snow-capped mountains for you to shred on.
These High-Tech Tools Help Judge How Well Spacesuits Fit (Video) By Jasmin Malik Chua How well does an astronaut's spacesuit fit? Richard Fineman wants to know.
Google Doodle Honors Mary Ross, Aerospace's 1st Native American Female Engineer By Meghan Bartels Google is celebrating the accomplishments of the first known female Native American engineer, Mary G. Ross, today (Aug. 9) on the 110th anniversary of her birth.
