#electric-thrusters

#electric-thrusters

NASA has 30 days to kick off a program for a mid-power space reactor ready for launch by 2030. A lunar variant is required, as is an option for nuclear electric propulsion.

It's the largest deal of this kind to date for CFS, according to COO Rick Needham. The collaboration with Realta Fusion emphasizes the importance of high-temperature superconducting magnets in advancing fusion technology.

Fusion power seeks to use the energy released from the fusing of atoms to generate electricity. Humans have known how to fuse atoms for decades, from the hydrogen bomb to various fusion devices built in labs.

Methane is better suited for reusable engines because they leave less behind sooty residue than kerosene, which SpaceX uses on the Falcon 9 rocket.

Redwire focuses on space infrastructure and autonomous systems. The company completed its Edge Autonomy acquisition and reported 50.7% year-over-year revenue growth. Management maintained full-year guidance of $320 to $340 million, and the book-to-bill ratio of 1.25 suggests demand is holding. But the business is bleeding cash with a net loss of $41.2 million in Q3, nearly double the $21 million loss from the prior year. Gross margin sits at just 16.3%, leaving almost no room for error.

The hardware is second to none, and after many months of heavy use, being dragged around the world and left out in the rain, snow, frost, and burning sun, the dish still looks and functions like new. The only thing I needed to change was how it was powered.

Robert Goddard, a Massachusetts-born physicist, launched the world's first liquid-fueled rocket on this date 100 years ago. It was not an overly impressive flight. The rocket, fueled by gasoline and liquid oxygen, rose just 41 feet into the air, and the flight lasted 2.5 seconds before it struck ice and snow. Nevertheless, this rocket, named "Nell," represented a historic achievement that would help launch the modern age of spaceflight.

The company is planning to launch a 1,100-pound satellite on a Falcon 9 rocket in October as part of an audacious proof of concept. The goal is to test water as the fuel for both electrical and chemical propulsion, processes that involve shooting out a stream of plasma with the use of a magnetic field and burning fuel at high temperature and pressure to generate thrust, respectively.

"You absolutely have to have a plan to compete with SpaceX on price." Welcome to Edition 8.29 of the Rocket Report! We have a stuffed report this week with news from across the launch spectrum. Long-term, probably the most significant development this week was a subscale version of the Long March 10 rocket successfully launching and then executing a picture-perfect ocean landing. China is catching up rapidly to the United States when it comes to reusable launch.

David versus Goliath stories captivate us, especially when David brings a slingshot that looks like alien technology. Enter Stavatti Aerospace, a 25-person firm from Niagara Falls taking on Boeing and Northrop Grumman for one of the most lucrative defense contracts in naval aviation. Their weapon of choice? The SM-39 Razor, a fighter design so visually striking it demands a double-take. The triple-fuselage "Batwing" configuration breaks from a century of conventional aircraft architecture, presenting a form that's more science fiction than traditional aerospace engineering.