Blue Origin will use test results with its suborbital New Shepherd crew vehicle of the pusher-type launch-abort system it developed with NASA funding to “inform” the design of its planned orbital space vehicle. The Oct. 19 test at the company range near Van Horn, Texas, used a commercially procured solid-fuel rocket to boost a full-up New Shepherd to an altitude of 2,307 ft., with thrust vector control during powered flight, separate attitude control during coast and a parachute recovery 1,630 ft. away from the starting point.

Northrop Grumman is prime contractor on the James Webb Space Telescope, but its most notable play in the human-spaceflight arena was the Lunar Excursion Module that landed six crews on the surface of the Moon. Now, as NASA awaits the outcome of the upcoming U.S.

A hydrocarbon-fueled engine could be next for U.S. launchers.

Staffers on Capitol Hill have discussed reauthorizing NASA spending and even approving a spending bill that funds the space agency by the end of the year. But whether they succeed depends on the results of the November election.

Pentagon spending appears on the presidential campaign radar primarily as it relates to the No. 1 issue—jobs and the economy. When the candidates travel to Virginia—a military-heavy state that could make a difference in the election's outcome—they have to address defense issues. But without much emphasis by the campaigns on military matters, Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama wind up stumbling on the details.

Advocates study hyper-modular smallsat 'hive' approach