John Glenn

The Vulcan Certification One Booster, May 10, 2022. Photo: ULAAnother heavy-lift launch vehicle we’re excited about is the two-stage Vulcan Centaur being developed by United Launch Alliance. The fully expendable 202-foot-tall (62-meter) rocket, in development since 2014, is set to replace ULA’s Atlas V and Delta IV rockets, both of which have been in use for the past two decades. “The Vulcan Centaur Program was established by ULA to reduce cost, increase launch capability and provide the opportunity to partner with…

An illustration of Stoke Space’s fully reusable rocket.Illustration: Stoke SpaceIn 1962, John Glenn became the first U.S. citizen to orbit the Earth, riding into space on board the Friendship 7 capsule, which took off from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 14. More than 60 years later, that same old launchpad will be put to new use after being assigned to a private space venture to launch its reusable rocket.Stoke Space was granted the use of Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida bySpace Launch…

Beast Wars: Transformers - The End of Optimus Primal | Transformers OfficialAny Transformers fan worth their Energon cubes knows that Beast Wars takes place on Earth in between the crash-landing of the original Transformers, such as Optimus Prime and Megatron, and their eventual awakening in the modern-day. But when they first arrived on the prehistoric planet, they had no idea because there were two moons overhead. Eventually, it was revealed the second “moon” was secretly an alien superweapon, which Optimus Primal gave…

Artist’s depiction of SLS during launch, with four RS-25 engines, along with a pair of solid rocket boosters, providing 8.8 million pounds of thrust. Image: NASA/MSFCEach of the four RS-25 engines currently positioned at the base of NASA’s Space Launch System has gone to space many times before, and each has an interesting story to tell. One first flew in 1998, boosting astronaut John Glenn to orbit. Soon, if all goes well, these veteran boosters will propel NASA into the Artemis era.NASA’s Space Launch System is the most…