Latest Spacecraft propulsion Stories

PARIS, Le Bourget and SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Aerojet, a GenCorp (NYSE: GY) company, QinetiQ, (LSE: QQ.L) and EADS Astrium Crisa, an EADS (PAR:EAD) company, announced today that the companies have entered into a joint agreement to supply the XENITH(TM) (Xenon Ion Thruster) ion propulsion system to the worldwide commercial spacecraft market. The agreement will enable customers to benefit from the combined expertise of independent market leaders in design,...

CLEVELAND, June 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) seeking proposals for mission concept studies of a solar electric propulsion system demonstration to test and validate key capabilities and technologies for future exploration missions.(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) Multiple studies have shown the advantages of using solar electric propulsion to efficiently transport heavy payloads from low Earth orbit to higher...

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss., June 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's new J-2X rocket engine, which could power the upper stage of the nation's future heavy-lift launch vehicle, is ready for its first round of testing. The fully assembled engine was installed Saturday in the A-2 Test Stand at the agency's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) Beginning in mid-June, the engine will undergo a series of 10 test firings that will...

WASHINGTON, May 26, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA is seeking proposals for services from commercial suborbital flight providers and payload integrators to support the agency's Flight Opportunities Program, which is part of NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) NASA will award contracts to multiple vendors capable of providing payload integration and flight services on commercial suborbital reusable launch vehicles. The...

The European Space Agency (ESA) has concluded its review of the U.K. spaceplane concept and found nothing keeping it from continuing on, reports BBC News. The Skylon vehicle would be a rocket that operates like an airliner, taking off and landing at a conventional runway. ESA plans the next stage of development to be a ground demonstration of its Sabre engine. The engine is designed to breathe oxygen from the air in the early phases of flight before switching to full rocket mode as the Skylon...

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA has selected 16 payloads for flights on the commercial Zero-G parabolic aircraft and two suborbital reusable launch vehicles as part of the agency's Flight Opportunities Program. The flights provide opportunities for space technologies to be demonstrated and validated in relevant environments. In addition, these flights foster the development of the nation's commercial reusable suborbital transportation industry.(Logo:...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., May 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne today demonstrated its ongoing commitment to national defense by boosting into orbit the U.S. military's first Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous satellite (SBIRS GEO 1) for early-warning missile detection. The mission was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida by a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The Atlas V is powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 booster engine, and the...

MINNEAPOLIS, April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ATK (NYSE: ATK) has received an $80 million order from General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products for production of the MK90 propellant grain. "We are pleased to have this opportunity to continue our longstanding tradition of production excellence on the MK90 propellant grain," said Kent Holiday, ATK Energetic Systems Vice President and General Manager. "We have made this propellant grain, or its predecessor design, for many years, and look...

CANOGA PARK, Calif., April 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne today demonstrated its continued support of national security by helping to boost into orbit a spacecraft for the U.S. government. The mission was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California by a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The Atlas V is powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 booster engine and the Centaur upper stage is powered by the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL10 engine. Pratt &...

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Aerojet, a GenCorp (NYSE: GY) company, and NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) announced today that they have successfully operated a Japanese HAYABUSA low power microwave ion engine at Aerojet's facility in Redmond, Wash. These ion propulsion systems provide propellant efficiencies more than 10 times higher than those of conventional propulsion systems for use on low Earth orbit, geosynchronous and deep space missions. This test is an...