The low-cost ($1 million) Fastrac liquid-oxygen/ kerosene-burning, 265kN (60,000lb)-thrust engine which will power the Orbital Sciences X-34 re-usable launch vehicle technology demonstrator air-launched spaceplane has undergone critical-component tests at the Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama, says NASA. The X-34 is to begin a series of 25 flights, reaching Mach 8 in late 1998.
Source: Flight International
Orbital launch pioneer SpaceX is being contracted by the American space agency NASA to develop a so-called “US Deorbit Vehicle” that can safely return the International Space Station to Earth via controlled re-entry.
BAE Systems has completed its acquisition of Ball Aerospace, with the move further strengthening its US business presence.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has retired its Mars helicopter Ingenuity after the craft suffered damage upon landing.
