Space Industry Analysis
Dec 06, 2010
The loss of two shuttle orbiters and 14 brave astronauts gave NASA and the nation several textbooks worth of painful lessons about launching humans into space, including how easy it is to forget those lessons. The Challenger accident scuttled forever the notion that the space shuttle was an operational vehicle that could take humans to orbit as a matter of “routine.” Columbia’s loss underscored that schooling, and killed the shuttle program.
Jul 19, 2010
As new competitors enter the commercial aircraft market, Boeing and Airbus face big decisions about how to keep their products on the leading edge. Should they make incremental upgrades now, or wait until game-changing technologies are ready? Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Jim McNerney sat down at the company’s Chicago headquarters with AW&ST Senior Business Editor Joseph C. Anselmo to discuss the options the company is mulling and why he thinks China will become the industry’s next big power.
Dec 08, 2008
Trials about to start on a small engine stand in rural Oxfordshire, England, could open the door to full-scale development of a hybrid air-breathing rocket engine for single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) reusable launch vehicles.
Nov 20, 2006
The first images from the U.S. Air Force's new spacecborne strategic missile warning system are so far making good on the military's promise that they would surpass the quality provided by the decades-old Defense Support Program constellation.
Mar 21, 2005
The third time is anything but a charm for the Air Force, which has notified Congress--again--it needs more money for its next-generation missile early-warning system. Originally expected to cost about $4 billion, the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) High is now expected to total well beyond $10 billion. But needing more cash is not the only problem: Officials don't know just how much they need. The final amount is expected to be at least $1.5 billion, although officials say it could exceed $2.5 billion.
Dec 17, 2001
Restructuring in the U.S. satellite industry is generating new opportunities for fast-growing SES Global to mesh together its far-flung network of operating companies and to mold it into an efficient worldwide system.
Dec 16, 2019
Staging the solar electric foundation of NASA’s planned Gateway at the Moon will take some patience.
Dec 13, 2019
More new space launch providers could make the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia, their home.
Dec 13, 2019
Small-sat launcher Rocket Lab will look to bring its expected first-stage booster recycling system to its new Launch Complex 2 at Wallops Island, Virginia.
Dec 13, 2019
Lockheed tests ground-launched long-range missile; Japan to keep making F-35s; Space Fence nears start of ops; NATO training center opens
Dec 12, 2019
NASA on Dec. 12 cleared Boeing for an uncrewed trial run of its CST-100 Starliner space taxi to the ISS.
Dec 12, 2019
NASA’s Osiris-Rex asteroid sample return mission team has selected the primary and backup collection sites on the surface of the asteroid Bennu.
Dec 12, 2019
Northrop Grumman, one of four companies vying for a pair of national security space launch service contracts, has signed an agreement with Delaware…
Dec 12, 2019
A NASA-led group is addressing the threat posed by space junk to a growing, more diverse space economy.