David Todd, Seradata’s head of space content, reviews ‘The Space Shuttle that Fell to Earth’, a new BBC documentary marking the 21st anniversary of the fatal Space Shuttle Columbia disaster In January 2003 the 113th flight of the Space Shuttle program was launched...
While staging in rocketry has been around since the 1940s, culminating in the first orbital success with Vostok rocket’s flight of Sputnik 1, stages were not truly reusable until the arrival of the Space Shuttle in 1981. Even then, one major part of its stack – the...
The former Space Shuttle launch pad LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center hosted the first crewed launch since the Space Shuttle was retired after its last flight in July 2011. The launch was the first commercially operated one involving NASA astronauts, with SpaceX...
Former NASA astronaut, Rick Searfoss who flew three Space Shuttle missions STS-58, STS-76 and STS-90 during the 1990s has died at the age of only 62. Searfoss was a test pilot and, until recently, was test pilot for the XCOR Aerospace Company, which, until its...
After being dropped from altitude of 10,000 feet by a balloon, the Dream Chaser mini-shuttle design of Sierra Nevada Corporation made a successful glide to land at Runway 22L at Edwards Air Force base in California, USA on 12 November. The design used its two rear...
Former Space Shuttle launch director, Gene Thomas, passed away as an octogenarian in June. Thomas was probably the most unfortunate of NASA launch directors as it was he who was in charge of the Challenger STS-51L launch which was destroyed 73 seconds into its...
