nozzle

Following a series of setbacks that has hindered the next-generation Vega launcher, the European Space Agency (ESA) is looking into what caused the rocket’s motor to fail during a recent static fire test.What Drew John Boyega Back Into Sci-Fi? | io9 InterviewESA established an Independent Enquiry Commission to investigate an anomaly that occurred during Vega-C’s static fire test on June 28, further delaying the thirdlaunch of the medium-lift rocket, European Spaceflight reported. Vega-C made its debut in July 2022,…

Earlier this week, Relativity Space’s 3D-printed Terran 1 rocket failed to reach orbit on its first flight. That’s now the sixth failed launch in the past four months across the global space industry, in what’s an upsetting yet not altogether surprising trend. Read more... Earlier this week, Relativity Space’s 3D-printed Terran 1 rocket failed to reach orbit on its first flight. That’s now the sixth failed launch in the past four months across the global space industry, in what’s an upsetting yet not altogether…

Blue Origin now has an explanation for the booster failure that cut a New Shepard flight short last September. Jeff Bezos' company has determined that a "thermo-structural failure" in the NS-23 rocket's engine nozzle was to blame. Operational temperatures for the nozzle climbed higher than expected following cooling system design changes, creating fatigue that misaligned the thrust and activated the crew capsule's escape system. Engineers are already taking "corrective actions" that include redesigning the combustion…

The moment of the anomaly during the New Shepard cargo mission NS-23, in which the booster's engine failed.Blue OriginJeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin released findings from an investigation into the failed flight of a cargo mission last year, which it says was due to an issue in the rocket's engine nozzle.The company's New Shepard rocket, flying the NS-23 mission carrying science and research payloads, suffered a failure in September 2022. No people were onboard, and Blue Origin says its capsule's emergency escape…

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…

Vega-C rocket launching from the Kourou space base, French Guiana on December 20, 2022. Photo: JM Guillon (AP)The European Space Agency (ESA) announced the results of a months long investigation into the failed launch of its Vega-C rocket back in December, pinpointing a malfunction with a motor component as the reason behind the catastrophic anomaly. TheIndependent Enquiry Commission shared the results of its investigation on Friday, revealing that the reason behind the mission failure was a gradual deterioration of the…

In the wee morning hours of Thursday (May 5), a camera in Waycross, Georgia, witnessed a mysterious object streaking through the sky.Bright, fast, and trailed by a glowing oblong aura, the object looked a bit like a space jellyfish, as Chris Combs, a professor of aerodynamics and mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at San Antonio put it on Twitter.  Of course, as Combs pointed out, this space jelly was no UFO – it was a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, roughly 250 miles…