Tag Archives: rocket engine

NASA will perform a second hotfire test of the core stage of the Space Launch System at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi no earlier than the last week of February. The second static fire test of four RS-25 engines of the SLS core stage is the final step in the Green Run test campaign that kicked off a year ago. 

NASA and Boeing have assembled 80 percent of the core stage of the Space Launch System rocket to bring the Orion spacecraft to the moon as part of the Artemis 1 mission. The agency said Monday that the milestone comes after crews connected the hydrogen fuel tank to the SLS core stage’s upper part, which consists of the intertank, liquid oxygen propellant tank and the forward skirt housing the rocket’s flight computers.

The Senate voted 98-2 Thursday to pass a bill that would enact new sanctions against Russia and require the White House to secure congressional approval before lifting any current sanctions, Reuters reported Thursday. The proposed legislation seeks to penalize Russia for its interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, involvement in …

Heather Wilson, the White House’s nominee for the U.S. Air Force secretary post, has said she plans to prioritize efforts to raise awareness of threats to space assets once confirmed, Space News reported Friday. Phillip Swarts writes Wilson, a former U.S. representative from New Mexico, told members of the Senate Armed Services …

The Senate voted 85-13 to pass a bill that would authorize $602 billion in defense budget for fiscal year 2017, Defense News reported Tuesday. Joe Gould writes the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act contains acquisition reform provisions, including a measure that would limit cost-plus contracts and a proposal to remove …

SpaceX will help NASA study and test the supersonic retropropulsion landing technology on Mars through the company’s Red Dragon unmanned spacecraft concept under the modified Space Act Agreement, Space News magazine reported Monday. Jeff Foust writes supersonic retropropulsion works to decelerate a rocket engine in the direction of travel. Rob …

The House Armed Services Committee approved an amendment to a defense policy bill that would allow the Defense Department to buy up to 18 Russian-built RD-180 engines for use on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket, Space News reported Thursday. Mike Gruss writes Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colorado) introduced the amendment to the …

Frank Kendall, defense undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, has proposed an acquisition strategy for satellite launch services that he believes could help the Defense Department reduce costs and dependence on Russian-built RD-180 rocket engines, DoD News reported Wednesday. “The basic business deal we have in mind is that the …

A team of researchers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama has produced and tested 3-D printed parts of a rocket engine. The rocket engine components such as valves, injectors and turbopumps produced a maximum thrust of 20,000 pounds during seven separate live-fire tests that used liquid oxygen and …

Defense Department acquisition chief Frank Kendall has said DoD is open to the possibility of sharing development costs for a U.S.-made rocket engine with industry, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday. “The approach we would prefer, rather than just paying for new engine development, is to help someone close their business case …