NASA 'flying saucer' launch set for Friday

Bad weather led the US space agency to postpone until Friday the first test of the largest parachute ever deployed, with the view of one day using it to land on Mars.

The Bloodhound SSC: Faster than a speeding bullet

Twenty-nine years ago today, Richard Noble in Thrust2 broke the land speed record for Britain at 633.468 mph in October 1983. That day saw the start of my love affair with the land speed record. Again in September 1997 Richard ...

NASA completes milestone toward quieter supersonic X-plane

NASA has achieved a significant milestone in its effort to make supersonic passenger jet travel over land a real possibility by completing the preliminary design review (PDR) of its Quiet Supersonic Transport or QueSST aircraft ...

SLS model 'flies' through Langley wind tunnel testing

(Phys.org)—At NASA facilities around the country, engineers are developing America's first exploration-class rocket since the Saturn V launched astronauts to the moon. The Space Launch System (SLS) will provide an entirely ...

Low-boom supersonic aircraft model points to fast future

(Phys.org)—If human beings are ever to fly faster than the speed of sound from one side of the country to another, we first have to figure out how to reduce the level of sonic boom generated by supersonic flight.

Image: Hubble views an infant star's outburst

An energetic outburst from an infant star streaks across this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This stellar tantrum—produced by an extremely young star in the earliest phase of formation—consists of an ...

First high-altitude drop test success for ExoMars parachute

After several weeks of bad weather and strong winds, the latest pair of high-altitude drop tests of the ExoMars parachutes took place in Kiruna, Sweden. The 15 m-wide first stage main parachute performed flawlessly at supersonic ...

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