rocket science

Student-Built Rocket Shatters Altitude Record

Aftershock II reached further into space than any other independently built rocket.

Space & Spaceflight Passant Rabie Nov 18

Ariane 6 lifting off for its inaugural flight.

Ariane 6 Performs Spectacular First Flight, Ending Europe’s Rocket Drought

After years of delays, Ariane 6—Europe's next-generation rocket—finally reached space.

Space & Spaceflight Passant Rabie Jul 9

Watch Live: Blue Origin Launches ‘Mannequin Skywalker’ to Suborbital Space

Blue Origin is planning to launch an upgraded New Shepard spacecraft today, along with a test dummy named Mannequin Skywalker. You can watch the action live right here. New Shepard Mission NS-14 is scheduled for launch at 11:57 a.m. ET (10:57 a.m. CT, which is local time) from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in west…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jan 14

SpaceX Will Try to ‘Catch’ Its Starship Boosters Instead of Landing Them

Not content to keep things simple or easy, SpaceX plans to catch its upcoming Super Heavy booster rockets at the launch tower, allowing for subsequent relaunches a mere one hour later. Not to be confused with the Falcon Heavy, the Super Heavy will serve as the booster stage for SpaceX’s upcoming Starship system. The second…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jan 4

The Space News We’ll Be Watching in 2021

Blast off to adventure in the amazing year 2021! No doubt, we’re expecting a ton of cool and exciting space-related happenings next year, with these stories being among the most highly anticipated. Three—count ‘em—three mission to Mars Our ability to study Mars will take a gigantic leap forward in 2021 owing to the arrival of…

Reviews George Dvorsky Dec 28

NASA Completes ‘Wet Dress Rehearsal’ of Its Most Powerful Rocket

Engineers from NASA and Boeing have added cryogenic propellants to the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS), reaching a major milestone in the development of this advanced rocket. That’s seven down, one to go. NASA is in the midst of its SLS core stage Green Run testing, a series of tests to ready…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Dec 22

Watch Live: SpaceX Attempts a High-Altitude Test of Its Starship Rocket

It’s a big day for SpaceX, as the Elon Musk-led company is planning to conduct a high-altitude test of its much-anticipated Starship rocket. You can watch the test flight live right here. Update: 5:45 p.m. ET: SpaceX just put out this tweet: Update: 5:39 p.m. ET: Well, Starship is still on the launch pad, as…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Dec 8

Vega Rocket Failure Apparently Caused by Human Error

An Arianespace Vega rocket carrying two satellites failed to reach orbit yesterday after experiencing a catastrophic failure eight minutes into the launch. Officials are attributing the loss of the rocket to a “series of human errors.” Vega Flight VV17 started off well, with the 98-foot-tall (30-meter) rocket departing the Guiana Space Center at 8:52 p.m.…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Nov 17

Russian Design for a Reusable Rocket Sure Looks Familiar

Roscosmos is moving ahead with plans to build Russia’s first reusable rocket. Glancing at the design, it appears the Russian space agency doesn’t feel the need to reinvent the wheel, given the vehicle’s uncanny resemblance to the SpaceX Falcon 9. Roscosmos signed a contract with the Progress Rocket Space Centre to sketch out a preliminary…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Oct 7

SpaceX Starship Prototype Completes Its First ‘Hop’

SpaceX’s plans to build a reusable rocket capable of landing on the Moon and Mars took a major leap forward on Tuesday, following the first successful test of the Starship system. Starship made its inaugural test flight shortly before 8:00 pm ET on Tuesday August 4 at the SpaceX Boca Chica facility in Texas, reports…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Aug 5

SpaceX Starship Prototype Collapses in Third Failed Test

Space is hard. We now have another reminder of this sad fact, as a prototype of SpaceX’s next-gen rocket collapsed in on itself during tests this morning, in what is now the third incident of its kind for the Starship program. Video of the incident, captured by NASASpaceflight, shows the top portion of the SN3…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Apr 3

The Space News We’re Excited About in 2020

It’s time to look ahead to the coming year and all things that will be happening in space exploration. With new missions to Mars, a probe returning to Earth with samples taken from an asteroid, and even more batches of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites going into orbit, it’s going to be another fascinating year. We’ll…

Reviews George Dvorsky Dec 24

SpaceX’s Starship Prototype Blows Its Top During Pressure Test

The Mk1 Starship prototype is officially done following an explosive incident at SpaceX’s Boca Chica test site on Wednesday afternoon. The next-generation reusable rocket exploded on the test stand as it was being fueled with liquid oxygen for a pressure test, reports Spaceflight Now. The incident happened yesterday (November 20, 2019) at around 4:30 pm…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Nov 21

SpaceX’s Starhopper Makes Its First Free-Flying Leap

SpaceX has completed its first untethered leap of Starhopper—a prototype for its planned Starship vehicle. The brief but important test now sets the stage for more ambitious jumps. Without any tethers to guide its way or catch its fall, Starhopper rose 20 meters (65 feet) into the air, returning safely to the ground a few…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jul 26

SpaceX Says a Faulty Valve Triggered Crew Dragon Explosion

Investigators looking into the cause of the SpaceX Crew Dragon explosion back in April are now blaming a faulty valve for the anomaly, which allowed leaking fuel to come into contact with titanium. Officials with SpaceX say they’ve already got a fix, but it’s still not clear when the company will be able to resume…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jul 16

Watch SpaceX Try to Stick the Landing of Three Booster Rockets During Today’s Falcon Heavy Launch

Update on Thursday, April 11 at 8:00 p.m.: A little more than a year after its test flight and one day after a scrubbed launch, SpaceX on Thursday successfully launched its Falcon Heavy rocket. The company also saw the successful triple landing of all three of its three boosters. Both CEO Elon Musk and NASA…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Apr 10

Critical Test Flight of SpaceX Crew Capsule Scheduled for Saturday

SpaceX is set to send an uncrewed Dragon capsule to the International Space Station this weekend in one of the most anticipated launches of 2019. A successful test would pave the way for a crewed mission later in the year—and the subsequent return of America’s ability to launch astronauts into space on its own terms.…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Feb 28

SpaceX Broke Four Records During Today’s Falcon 9 Rocket Launch

Today’s successful launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California has resulted in four new records for SpaceX—a sure sign that the Elon Musk-led company, and the commercial space industry in general, is rapidly maturing. At 10:34 a.m. PT (1:34 p.m. ET) today, and under clear blue skies, a…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Dec 3

SpaceX Pumps the Brakes on Its Plan to Send Tourists Around the Moon

In a move that should come as a surprise to absolutely no one, SpaceX is postponing its plan to send a pair of private citizens on a trip around the Moon. Elon Musk’s venture into the space tourism industry is going to have to wait. As The Wall Street Journal reports, the ambitious rocket company…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jun 4

CBS Made a Show About a Real Rocket Science Pioneer Who Practiced Sex Magick

The first trailer has arrived for the Ridley Scott-produced Strange Angel, a quasi-biography about one of the founders of modern jet propulsion and rocket science technology—who totally fucked for magick. The trailer for CBS All Access’ new summer series, Strange Angel, tells the story of Jack Parsons, the founder of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the…

io9 Beth Elderkin May 24

rocket science

Student-Built Rocket Shatters Altitude Record

Ariane 6 Performs Spectacular First Flight, Ending Europe’s Rocket Drought

Watch Live: Blue Origin Launches ‘Mannequin Skywalker’ to Suborbital Space

SpaceX Will Try to ‘Catch’ Its Starship Boosters Instead of Landing Them

The Space News We’ll Be Watching in 2021

NASA Completes ‘Wet Dress Rehearsal’ of Its Most Powerful Rocket

Watch Live: SpaceX Attempts a High-Altitude Test of Its Starship Rocket

Vega Rocket Failure Apparently Caused by Human Error

Russian Design for a Reusable Rocket Sure Looks Familiar

SpaceX Starship Prototype Completes Its First ‘Hop’

SpaceX Starship Prototype Collapses in Third Failed Test

The Space News We’re Excited About in 2020

SpaceX’s Starship Prototype Blows Its Top During Pressure Test

SpaceX’s Starhopper Makes Its First Free-Flying Leap

SpaceX Says a Faulty Valve Triggered Crew Dragon Explosion

Watch SpaceX Try to Stick the Landing of Three Booster Rockets During Today’s Falcon Heavy Launch

Critical Test Flight of SpaceX Crew Capsule Scheduled for Saturday

SpaceX Broke Four Records During Today’s Falcon 9 Rocket Launch

SpaceX Pumps the Brakes on Its Plan to Send Tourists Around the Moon

CBS Made a Show About a Real Rocket Science Pioneer Who Practiced Sex Magick

Andy Weir Wrote a New ‘Project Hail Mary’ Adventure, Just Not in the Way You’d Expect

Samsung 990 EVO Plus SSD 2TB Drops to $0.17 per GB, a Rare Low While Storage Costs Trend Upward

Amazon Pushes Outdoor Security Camera Deals With Tapo MagCam 2K+ at a Record Low

This $3/mo NordVPN Deal Could Save You from a Huge Data Leak: Time-Limited Offer

Bitdefender Total Security Now Costs Less than Your Coffee Order — Covers Up to 5 Devices With One Subscription

Ozempic Shreds Bones? How a Small Study Turned Into a Big Health Myth

Anker’s Soundcore Translation Earbuds Are Now Nearly 7x Cheaper Than AirPods Pro 3 After a Sudden Price Drop on Amazon

Volkswagen Shuts Down Tennessee Plant’s EV Production at the Worst Possible Time

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

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