commercial spaceflight

Space tourism has unlocked a new brand of luxury travel, one which promises expensive meals and designer flight suits with views of Earth’s curvature as a backdrop. A Florida-based startup is offering six passengers the chance to ride on board its balloon-propelled capsule while chowing down on what it claims to be the first Michelin-starred meal in space. And, honestly, we hate to be that guy, but Space Perspective’s capsule will not reach space. Do We Have to Send Humans to Mars for Exploration?This week, Space…

A budding startup called Interlune is trying to become the first private company to mine the moon’s natural resources and sell them back on Earth. Interlune will initially focus on helium-3 — a helium isotope created by the sun through the process of fusion — which is abundant on the moon. In an interview with Ars Technica, Rob Meyerson, one of Interlune’s founders and former Blue Origin president, said the company hopes to fly its harvester with one of the upcoming commercial moon missions backed by NASA. The plan is to…

Incredible footage released by Varda Space Industries gives us a first-person view of a space capsule’s return trip to Earth, from the moment it separates from its carrier satellite in orbit all the way through its fiery reentry and bumpy arrival at the surface. Varda’s W-1 capsule landed at the Utah Test and Training Range, a military site, on February 21 in a first for a commercial company. It spent roughly eight months leading up to that in low Earth orbit, stuck in regulatory limbo while the company waited for the…

Houston-based space company Intuitive Machines is gearing up for an actual moonshot at the end of this month, when it’ll try to land a spacecraft named Odysseus on the lunar surface — ideally without it breaking in the process. The mission follows Astrobotic’s unsuccessful attempt in January; that company’s lander, Peregrine, never made it to the moon due to a propellant leak that cut its journey short. Peregrine’s failure means Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission could be the first ever commercial moon landing if it makes…

Following Richard Branson’s announcement of halting further financial contributions, the stock price of Virgin Galactic experienced a significant drop of over 17% by Monday’s close. This latest complication adds to a series of challenges the company has faced, including recent layoffs and a suspension of commercial flights.“Even AI Rappers are Harassed by Police” | AI UnlockedSpeaking to the Financial Times, Virgin Galactic’s founder revealed his decision to stop funding Virgin Galactic. He cited post-pandemic financial…

As the International Space Station (ISS) nears the end of its service in low Earth orbit, NASA is grappling with the idea of a short-term gap until a commercial alternative takes its place.Inspiration Behind the Reality-TV Style for The Hunger GamesThis week, NASA officials discussed the possibility of not being able to maintain human presence in low Earth orbit as the space agency’s private partners race to build space stations to replace the ISS. “We might have to accept a gap and, personally, I don’t think that would…

These test flights demonstrate how SpaceX’s development style differs from NASA’s, Forczyk says: While NASA tested every component to perfection before its Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft could launch—with federal agencies, Congress, and the White House looking over the agency’s shoulder—SpaceX improves by launching over and over again, seeking to do better with each effort.Phil Metzger, a planetary scientist at the University of Central Florida who studies space economics, agrees. “SpaceX follows a development…

By the 2030s, if NASA’s and other space agencies’ plans come to fruition, astronauts and the occasional tourist group will frequently visit the moon. Not long after that, they’ll be able to live for extended periods on lunar outposts, much like astronauts do in space stations today. By the 2040s or 2050s, travelers to Mars could become common too.But what will life actually look like for these intrepid space explorers? (Or foolish guinea pigs, depending on your perspective.) Kelly and Zach Weinersmith envision the future…

It’s a sad story that just keeps getting sadder. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner program, in development for NASA since 2014, has now crossed a grim threshold, with total losses now in excess of $1 billion.Taking out the Trash (in Space)On Wednesday, the company announced further losses to the beleaguered program, as revealed in its second quarter 2023 financial earnings statement. The company has taken an additional $257 million hit, adding to the existing $883 million in charges against earnings attributed to previous…

Virgin Galactic, the space tourism firm founded by Richard Branson, said on Thursday its long-awaited commercial spaceflight service would launch later this month, sending its shares up over 55 percent in trading after the bell.The first spaceflight, called "Galactic 01", is planned between June 27 and June 30, the company said."Galactic 02" will follow in early August, with monthly spaceflights expected thereafter, the company said.Shares of Virgin Galactic had lost over two-thirds of their value last year due to delays…