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NASA Reviews 48 Proposals for Mars Sample Return Mission
1 year ago•Source: Aviation Week
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2.1 min•2 years ago
"NASA's X-59: A Patriotic Paint Job for the Quiet Supersonic Jet"
NASA's experimental supersonic jet, the X-59, is getting a new red, white, and blue paint job ahead of its first flight. The patriotic color scheme not only adds aesthetic appeal but also helps protect the aircraft from moisture and corrosion. The design includes safety markings for ground and flight operations. The X-59 is designed to break the sound barrier with a sonic "thump" instead of a boom, and its successful flight could potentially change rules that currently prohibit supersonic jets from flying over land.
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Polaris Spaceplanes Successfully Completes MIRA-Light Prototype Flight Tests
Space.com•2 years ago
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GE Unveils Latest Hypersonic Propulsion Project
GE Aerospace is developing a new type of hypersonic vehicle or missile that combines rotating detonation engine (RDE) combustors for a turbine engine with a dual-mode ramjet/scramjet. The RDE component aims to offer a more efficient approach to a turbine-based combined cycle propulsion system than traditional turbine engines. The project is being supported by DARPA, the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Missile Defense Agency. GE recently acquired Innoveering LLC, a small company that specialized in advanced hypersonic propulsion technology.
Stratolaunch acquires Virgin Orbit's assets amidst bankruptcy sale.
Stratolaunch has received approval to acquire Virgin Orbit's modified Boeing 747, expanding its air-launch fleet and increasing its in-flight test capacity for hypersonic testing. The additional aircraft will be repurposed as a launch platform for Stratolaunch's Talon-A reusable hypersonic testbeds and is expected to be fully operational in 2024. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close by July 31, 2023.
Virgin Galactic Sets Launch Date for Unity 25 Flight in May 2023
Virgin Galactic has announced that the launch window for its upcoming spaceflight, Unity 25, will open on May 25, 2023. The mission specialists will begin astronaut training on May 22, 2023. Virgin Galactic is an aerospace and space travel company that is developing a spaceflight system to offer customers a transformative experience.
"Revolutionizing Space: Relativity's Innovative Approach"
Relativity Space, a California-based aerospace startup, is using 3D printing, robotics, and machine learning to manufacture cheaper and quicker-to-manufacture rockets for future missions to the moon and Mars. The company recently launched its first 3D-printed rocket and is continuing to test its technology. Relativity Space aims to challenge Elon Musk's SpaceX and is among a number of commercial entrants testing rockets that can carry payloads to orbit and ultimately complete missions. The company has secured $1.3 billion in funding and is valued at $4.2 billion.
NASA's X-59 Supersonic Aircraft Receives Tail for Quesst Mission
NASA's X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology aircraft, designed to fly faster than the speed of sound without producing a loud, disruptive sonic boom, has undergone final installation of its lower empennage, or tail assembly. The X-59 will fly over communities around the United States to demonstrate this technology, but first, NASA will need to validate the X-plane’s acoustic signature, using a ground recording system. The Quesst mission has two goals: design and build NASA’s X-59 research aircraft with technology that reduces the loudness of a sonic boom to a gentle thump to people on the ground, and fly the X-59 over several U.S. communities to gather data on human responses to the sound generated during supersonic flight and deliver that data set to U.S. and international regulators.
"21-year-old helicopter pilot lands happiness in backyards."
NASA announced the crew for its 2024 lunar voyage, the Artemis II expedition, which marks the first manned moon mission in over five decades. Victor J. Glover will become the first Black astronaut to visit the moon. The crew has made NASA history, with the first woman, Christina Hammock Koch, and first Black astronaut, Victor J. Glover, assigned to lunar orbit. Glover has been appointed the pilot of the mission.