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Almost everyone recognizes that if humans are truly to go deeper into the Solar System, we need faster and more efficient propulsion systems than conventional chemical rockets. Rocket engines powered by chemical propellants are great for breaking the chains of Earth's gravity, but they consume way too much fuel when used in space and don't offer optimal control of a spacecraft's thrust. NASA recognizes this, too. So in 2015, the space agency awarded three different contracts for development of advanced propulsion systems. Of these, perhaps the most intriguing is a plasma-based rocket—which runs on Argon fuel, generates a plasma, excites...

NASA this week recorded its fourth test on one of the engines that will power the Space Launch System Station rocket into deep space, perhaps even a trip to Mars one day. The engine test was performed Wednesday (Aug. 9) at Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, the agency said in a news release. Stennis said engineers conducted a 500-second test of the RS-25 engine controller on one of the test stands at the sprawling facility. The test involved firing the engine in the same manner and for the same amount of time as an SLS rocket launch. The...

Splav, a Tula, Russia-based company specializing in multiple rocket launcher systems for land and naval applications, has unveiled a new guided projectile for the RPK-8 Zapad ('West') anti-submarine rocket launcher system. Independent Russian military analyst Vladimir Tuchkov explains the ins and outs of the upgraded rocket. The new rocket, designated the 90R1, is being featured at the St. Petersburg International Maritime Defense Show, which wraps up Sunday. Earlier this week, Splav's press office confirmed that the projectile had already been put into production, and is starting to enter service aboard Russian Navy ships. Splav also showed off another system, the...

NASA will try to launch its artificial cloud-spawning rocket Saturday, June 24, between 9:07 p.m. EDT and 9:22 p.m. EDT (0107-0122 GMT), after a series of delays due to weather. You can watch it here beginning at 8:30 p.m. EDT (0030 GMT). NASA will provide an update on the next launch attempt here. The rocket will launch to test a canister deployment system designed to eject ampoules containing gas that can create glowing artificial clouds in the night sky. Clear weather is vital for mission scientists in order to record the cloud deployment using ground-based cameras at the launch site...

IMI Systems is currently exhibiting at the Maritime Defense Exhibition & Conference in Singapore the Stingray—a rocket launcher for the naval arena that will be able to operate from battleships and drilling rigs, and is intended for offensive activities of the naval force alongside multi-arm operations. The launcher was sold to two foreign customers but has yet to be purchased by the IDF. The rocket launcher will allow hitting coastal targets as well as land-based targets at distances of dozens of kilometers without exposing the forces on land to the enemy and without bringing the ship into the range of...

<p>Donald Trump's pre-presidential air fleet -- consisting of a Boeing 757, a small aircraft and a handful of choppers -- has been easily recognizable for years, thanks to "TRUMP" being slapped on the exterior of these souped-up aeronautical machines.</p>

Kwangmyongsong foreign sourced items [page 27 of the report] 57. Debris from the 7 February 2016 rocket contained several foreign-sourced commercial items, including components similar to those from the 2012 Unha-3 rocket debris.64 These include a camera electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter, ball bearings and pressure transmitters. 58. The ball bearings and engraved Cyrillic characters were identical to those from the 2012 Unha-3. Based upon the serial number and manufacturer of the camera EMI filter, the Panel contacted the Chinese manufacturer, Beijing East Exhibition High-Tech Technology Co. Ltd., for the procurement route. The Panel has not received a reply. 59. The...

It’s known as the Haas 2CA, the latest in a series of rockets being developed by the New Mexico-based aerospace company. If all goes as planned, this rocket will be the first SSTO rocket in history, meaning it will be able to place payloads and crew into Earth’s orbit relying on only one stage with one engine. The rocket was unveiled on Tuesday, March 28th, at their company headquarters in Las Cruces. The rocket is currently seeking FAA approval, and ARCA is working diligently to get it ready for its test launch in 2018 – which will take place at...

The newly developed engine controller is a modern version from the RS-25 controller that helped propel all 135 space shuttle missions to space. ... “The controller manages the engine by regulating the thrust and fuel mixture ratio and monitors the engine’s health and status – much like the computer in your car,” say NASA officials. “The controller then communicates the performance specifications programmed into the controller and monitors engine conditions to ensure they are being met, controlling such factors as propellant mixture ratio and thrust level.” A quartet of RS-25 engines, leftover from the space shuttle era and repeatedly reused,...

Left: Mar. 18, 2017; Right: Sept. 20, 2016

New details about a plot to fire a rocket at Marina Bay from Batam island have raised more questions over the capabilities of the terrorist cell behind the foiled attack. Indonesia's National Counter-terrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Suhardi Alius said the suspects planned to launch the strike from a hilltop in Taman Habibie. The little-known nature park is located about 17km from Singapore's shoreline and just over 18km from Marina Bay Sands.

Now conspiracy theorists are claiming the space rocket was “attacked”. The “reusable” rocket was destroyed after suffering a catastrophic explosion on launch at Cape Canaveral in Florida, US on Thursday. The huge blast, which caused no injuries, ripped through the rocket during a pre-launch check – sending plumes of thick black smoke into the air. Billionaire SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the cause of the explosion, which was caught on camera, is still unknown.

For the second time this year, SpaceX is preparing to launch a commercial communications satellite for Tokyo-based SKY Perfect JSAT Corp. early Sunday. A Falcon 9 rocket is set to blast off at 1:26 a.m. EDT (0526 GMT) from Cape Canaveral with the JCSAT 16 satellite to relay data and video across Japan and the Asia-Pacific. A first stage landing attempt will follow in the Atlantic Ocean a few minutes later. The launch window extends for two hours. On Saturday, ground crews at Cape Canaveral's Complex 40 launch pad plan to roll the Falcon 9 rocket out of its hangar...

Orbital ATK announced late Tuesday that the company’s Antares medium-class commercial rocket outfitted with new first stage RD-181 engines has successfully completed a test firing of the powerplants. The 30-second long static test firing took place at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday evening, May 31, at Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) Pad 0A. The now revamped launch vehicle – dubbed Antares 230 – has been ‘re-engined’ and upgraded with a pair of modern and more powerful first stage engines – the Russian-built RD-181 fueled by LOX/kerosene. The engine test was conducted using only the first stage of Antares at the MARS...

Authorities say two Southern California high school students attached a homemade model rocket to a skateboard before it exploded and killed one of the teens. The blast Monday evening in the courtyard of a Ventura County elementary school killed 18-year-old Bernard Moon, the AP reports. His 17-year-old friend was injured and is in stable condition. Sheriff's Detective Timothy Loman says the teens built the rocket and attached it to the skateboard as a propulsion device. Authorities say the experiment wasn't sanctioned by the elementary school. The teens attended Thousand Oaks High School, which said in a Twitter post: "Our hearts...

IAI SkySniper is an air-launched, precision attack ballistic missile developed by IAI MLM. Image: IAI IAI is reviving the concept of using ground based ballistic missiles as air-launched weapons enabling precision strike from standoff range. Dubbed ‘SkySniper’, the weapon is configured as an autonomous, air to ground precision strike missile. Powered by a rocket motor the SkySniper strikes its target at supersonic speed. The high velocity impact with multi-purpose blast-fragmentation warhead and three-mode fuse enables effective penetration of hard targets. Tailored to destroy a wide range of targets, the missile can also detonate in airburst or impact action modes to...

North Korea on Saturday boasted of a newly developed anti-tank weapon that its leader said was so powerful it could turn the most heavily armoured enemy tanks into "boiled pumpkin". Pyongyang's state media said leader Kim Jong-Un had watched tests of the portable, laser-guided rocket and declared it had the "longest firing range in the world", and was "as accurate as a sniper's rifle". "He noted with great satisfaction that even the special armoured tanks and cars of the enemies which boast their high manoeuvrability and striking power are no more than a boiled pumpkin before the anti-tank guided weapon",...

N. Korean Long-range Missile Launch [Video from State TV] Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVogypIs2Lk

North Korea blew up rocket stage to confound analysts: South Korea The U.S., Japanese and South Korean militaries are scouring the seas for debris and analysts are studying photos, trajectories. Minutes after North Korea launched its rocket, South Korea's navy detected a rain of fragments falling into the sea and then a sooner-than-expected disappearance of the rocket from their radar, suggesting a possible failure. News outlets working in real time jumped on the idea. But it quickly proved wrong. South Korean officials and foreign analysts say they now believe the first stage of the rocket had a cagey new feature:...

SEOUL/TOKYO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - North Korea launched a long-range rocket on Sunday carrying what it has called a satellite, but its neighbours and Washington denounced the launch as a missile test, conducted in defiance of U.N. sanctions and just weeks after a nuclear bomb test. The U.S. Strategic Command said it had detected a missile entering space, and South Korea's military said the rocket had put an object into orbit. North Korea said the launch of its satellite Kwangmyongsong-4, named after late leader Kim Jong Il, was a "complete success" and that it was making a polar orbit of...