Dawn team members check out spacecraft

(PhysOrg.com) -- Mission managers for NASA's Dawn spacecraft are studying the spacecraft's ion propulsion system after Dawn experienced a loss of thrust on June 27. Dawn team members were able to trace the episode to an electronic ...

Gas giant spacecraft all gassed up

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Juno spacecraft completed hydrazine fuel loading, oxidizer loading and final tank pressurizations this week, and now the complete propulsion system is ready for the trip to Jupiter. The spacecraft is ...

Dawn nears start of year-long stay at giant asteroid

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Dawn spacecraft is on track to begin the first extended visit to a large asteroid. The mission expects to go into orbit around Vesta on July 16 and begin gathering science data in early August. Vesta ...

NASA's new ion engine ready for missions in space

(PhysOrg.com) -- A small robotic surveyor arrives to explore a near-Earth asteroid. Another robotic spacecraft is returning to Earth with a pristine comet surface sample. Meanwhile, a robotic explorer is approaching Uranus, ...

Dawn Spacecraft Fires Past Record for Speed Change (w/ Video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- Deep in the heart of the asteroid belt, on its way to the first of the belt's two most massive inhabitants, NASA's ion-propelled Dawn spacecraft has eclipsed the record for velocity change produced by a spacecraft's ...

Air Force eyes mini-thrusters for use in satellite propulsion

Mini-thrusters or miniature, electric propulsion systems are being developed, which could make it easier for the Air Force's small satellites, including the latest CubeSats, to perform space maneuvers and undertake formidable ...

GOES-P Set for Launch

(PhysOrg.com) -- The GOES spacecraft continues its processing at the Astrotech Facility in Titusville, Fla. and fuel was loaded into the GOES-P spacecraft on Saturday, January 30. The fuel will keep GOES-P in orbit for about ...

Large Hadron Collider could test hyperdrive propulsion

(PhysOrg.com) -- The world's most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), could be used to test the principles behind hyperdrive, a possible future form of spacecraft propulsion that could drive spacecraft ...

Rotating Space Elevator Propels its Own Load

(PhysOrg.com) -- The idea of the space elevator just got a little crazier. While the “traditional” concept involved using rocket propulsion or laser light pressure to propel loads up a cable anchored to Earth, a new study ...

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