OrbitalHub

SpaceX dixit:

“Video of Falcon 9 Reusable (F9R) during a 1000m test flight at our rocket development facility in McGregor, TX. This flight was our first test of a set of steerable fins that provide control of the rocket during the fly back portion of return. The fins deploy approximately a minute and 15 seconds into the flight, and return to their original position just prior to landing. The F9R testing program is the next step towards reusability following completion of the Grasshopper program last year. Early flights of F9R will take off with legs fixed in the down position, however we will soon transition to liftoff with legs stowed against the side of the rocket with leg extension just before landing. Future test flights of F9R at our New Mexico facility will include higher altitudes, allow us to prove unpowered guidance and to prove out landing cases that are more flight-like.”

Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX dixit:

“SpaceX has completed qualification testing for the SuperDraco thruster, an engine that will power the Dragon spacecraft’s launch escape system and enable the vehicle to land propulsively on Earth or another planet with pinpoint accuracy.

The SuperDraco is an advanced version of the Draco engines currently used by SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to maneuver in orbit and during re-entry. SuperDracos will be used on the crew version of the Dragon spacecraft as part of the vehicle’s launch escape system; they will also enable propulsive landing on land. Each SuperDraco produces 16,000 pounds of thrust and can be restarted multiple times if necessary. In addition, the engines have the ability to deep throttle, providing astronauts with precise control and enormous power.

The qualification testing program took place over the last month at SpaceX’s Rocket Development Facility in McGregor, Texas. The program included testing across a variety of conditions including multiple starts, extended firing durations and extreme off-nominal propellant flow and temperatures.”

Credit: SpaceX

NASA dixit:

“A month after delivering more than 2.5 tons of supplies and experiments to the International Space Station, the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft departed the orbital outpost May 18 and headed for a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near Baja, California. Dragon’s departure marked the end of the third commercial resupply flight for SpaceX to the station.”

Credit: NASA

NASA dixit:

“After launching earlier in the day in their Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 40/41 Soyuz Commander Max Suraev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), NASA Flight Engineer Reid Wiseman and Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency docked at the International Space Station on May 29 following a six-hour rendezvous.”

Credit: NASA/Roscosmos

NASA dixit:

“Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin wrapped up their stay on the International Space Station when their Soyuz spacecraft undocked from the orbiting laboratory to begin their journey back to Earth. The undocking was covered by NASA Television.”

“Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin are back on solid ground after bidding farewell to the Expedition 40 crew and safely returning to Earth in a Soyuz spacecraft. The trio spent 188 days in space.”

Credit: NASA/Roscosmos

NASA dixit:

“A mid-level flare, an M6.5, erupted from the sun on April 2, 2014, peaking at 10:05 a.m. EDT. This video from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the flare in a blend of two wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light: 171 Angstroms and 304 Angstroms, colorized in yellow and red, respectively.”

Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center