Tag Archives: SpaceX

Orbital ATK Joins Heavy Rocket Race

An artist’s rendition of Orbital ATK’s Next Generation Rocket in flight. Image courtesy Orbital ATK.

Last month, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket made headlines as the first privately built heavy lift rocket to enter space.

Now, Orbital ATK’s Chandler-based Launch Vehicle Division plans to join them.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Chandler-Based Orbital ATK Division To Build New Heavy Rocket

Tracking 2013’s Tastiest Tech

Detail of Google Glass
Photo by Antonio Zugaldia

Looking back on the tech trends, triumphs and tribulation of 2013, a few patterns emerge: Private projects took off even while privacy took a beating; robots and AI servants made great strides while their drone cousins stalked us with cameras and weapons; reality was simultaneously augmented and scrutinized, while 3-D-printing and private-sector space races seemingly brought the whole world into the realm of DIY.

2013’s Biggest Tech Moments

Hypersonic: Don’t believe the hype

Falcon program’s Hypersonic Cruise Vehicle
The DARPA Falcon Project’s Hypersonic Cruise Vehicle

Imagine a Mach-20 aircraft capable of flying coast to coast in less time than it takes a passenger to clear security; now imagine the jet lag to follow. If the idea still sounds appealing, bear in mind that the most recent attempt at such a plane flew right out of its own skin before ditching into the Pacific.

Welcome to the world of hypersonic flight.

Of course, that was a military weapons platform; contrary to what some aircraft manufacturers’ flacks would have us believe, passenger planes are likely to remain subsonic or supersonic for the foreseeable future – and for good reason.

Could You Commute From New York to Los Angeles in 12 Minutes?

Who’s going the distance in the private sector space race

Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser spacecraft
Image courtesy NASA/Bill Ingalls.

While Russia struggles to make up ground following a dozen-plus 2011 launch problems and the American Space Launch System sinks in Capitol Hill quicksand, the commercial space sector is racing to fill the gap — and to open new markets in space taxis, trucks and tourism. Since you can’t tell the players without a program, here are the . . .

10 Major Players in the Private Sector Space Race
Quiz: Branson or Bezos: How well do you know the players in the new space race?