Category Archives: Space

On December 19, 2013 at 09:12 UTC (1:12 AM PST), a Soyuz ST-B launched from the European Space Agency’s Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana carrying a spacecraft called Gaia. Its five year voyage will not seek out and find … Continue reading →

The Soviet Union lost the space race, but not because they didn’t try. They developed a monster of a rocket, the N-1. Unfortunately, it was so complicated they could never get it to quite work. The engine made for their … Continue reading →

The first module of the International Space Station, the Russian module known as Zarya, reached orbit on November 20, 1998. Since the arrival of Expedition 1 on 2 November 2000, the station has been continuously occupied, the longest continuous human … Continue reading →

On November 5, 2013, at 4:08 a.m. EST (0908 GMT) the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota launched an ISRO Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle carrying India’s Mars Orbiter Mission. The Mars Orbiter Mission, also known as … Continue reading →

From SpaceX, regarding the September 29 launch of an upgraded Falcon 9 from Vandenberg AFB in California: Though not a primary mission objective, SpaceX was also able to initiate two engine relights on the first stage. For the first restart … Continue reading →

From SpaceX: On Monday, October 7th, Grasshopper completed its highest leap to date, rising to 744m altitude. The view above is taken from a single camera hexacopter, getting closer to the stage than in any previous flight. Grasshopper is a … Continue reading →

The first demonstration launch of the new version of the Falcon 9, referred to as either the Falcon 9 v.1.1 or the Falcon 9-R launched successfully from Vandenberg AFB on Sunday, September 29, 2013 at 9:00 AM PDT. A report … Continue reading →