Latest Atmospheric reentry Stories

PARIS, June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- PARIS AIR SHOW -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has completed production and testing of the heatshield for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). The heatshield is half of the large and sophisticated two-part aeroshell that will encapsulate and protect the Curiosity rover during its deep space cruise to Mars, and from the intense heat and friction that will be generated as the system descends through the Martian atmosphere. In October 2008, Lockheed Martin...

Today at the Paris Air Show being held at Le Bourget, ESA and Thales Alenia Space have established the agreement for the authorisation to proceed with the development of the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) atmospheric reentry demonstrator. The IXV project is part of the ESA Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP). The objective of IXV is to develop a European autonomous atmospheric reentry demonstrator system, characterised by high aerodynamic performance due to its lifting...

Australian and US officials reported that scientists have successfully tested hypersonic aircraft technology that could revolutionize international flight, AFP reported.Defense Science Minister Warren Snowdon said the trial was the first of up to 10 tests to be conducted at the Woomera desert range as part of a joint US-Australian military research operation. The Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation (HIFiRE) project is a program investigating hypersonics technology and its...

DENVER, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin recently delivered the backshell for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The backshell is half of the large and sophisticated two-part aeroshell that will encapsulate and protect the MSL rover during its deep space cruise to Mars, and from the intense heat and friction that will be generated as the system descends through the Martian atmosphere. Lockheed Martin has designed and built...

By Jessica Heffner Staff Writer MIDDLETOWN -- Thanks to a $12 million NASA contract, a local facility will be manufacturing spacecraft heat shields for the U.S. government's newest intergalactic project. Aeronca Inc., located at 2320 Wedekind Drive in Middletown, will use its honeycomb technology to make the titanium shields for NASA's Orion shuttle -- an Apollo-style rocket meant to replace the current shuttle design used today, said Keith Wyman, the company's director of sales and...

This story was updated at 3:34 p.m. EST. The planned Friday launch of a new U.S. spy satellite has been delayed by space debris from last week's destruction of its disabled predecessor, the mission's launch provider said Wednesday. Initially slated for a Feb. 29 liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the National Reconnaissance Office's classified NROL-28 reconnaissance spacecraft will stand down for at least two weeks to avoid the orbiting remains of the...

About 12 million pounds of manmade space junk, such as the dead satellite the U.S. government shot down last night, re-entered the Earth's atmosphere over the past 40 years, according to the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies.  However, no one has ever been reported hurt by it. The reason is simple, and mainly a matter of probability; 70 percent of the Earth's surface is water.  And greater than 99.9 percent of the land is not occupied by a person at a given time,...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. military has issued aircraft advisories for a large area of the Pacific Ocean for the evenings of Feb. 20 and Feb. 21, setting off speculation that it will attempt to shoot down a wayward U.S. spy satellite on one or both of those nights.During a press conference Feb. 14 announcing plans to try to down the satellite as a safety measure, senior U.S. government officials said the attempt would occur somewhere over the Pacific during a several-day window that opens when...

According to U.S. officials, a 5,000-pound disabled U.S. spy satellite will be shot down as ordered by The Pentagon, in hopes of stopping the craft from making a potentially dangerous re-entry into the atmosphere.President George W. Bush decided to have the Navy shoot the craft down due to security reports that the vehicle's fuel tank could be leaking toxic gas.According to four senior U.S. officials the satellite is a classified National Reconnaissance Office spacecraft launched from...

A large U.S. spy satellite has lost power and could hit the Earth in late February or March, government officials said Saturday.The satellite, which no longer can be controlled, could contain hazardous materials, and it is unknown where on the planet it might come down, they said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is classified as secret."Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the...