Day: October 30, 2018

The biggest airplane ever built, which will tote a variety of satellite-launching rockets into the sky, just got a step closer to flight.

Stratolaunch Systems, which was established in 2011 by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, got the giant plane up to 90 mph (145 km/h) during “medium-speed taxi testing” at California’s Mojave Air and Space Port earlier this month.

“Paul Allen’s vision for #Stratolaunch continues to take form,” company representatives said last week via Twitter, in a post that also shared video of the taxi test. [Stratolaunch Test Photos: The World’s Largest Plane in Action]

Stratolaunch’s dual-fuselage plane features a wingspan of 385 feet (117 meters) — greater than the length of a football field, including the two end zones. The vehicle is designed to haul satellite-carrying rockets up to an altitude of about 35,000 feet (10,700 m), at which point the launchers will drop away and power their payloads up to orbit.

This air-launch strategy will enable satellites to be lofted relatively cheaply and frequently, and with a great deal of flexibility, company representatives have said.

A variety of different rockets will eventually fly between the two fuselages, if all goes according to plan. For example, Stratolaunch plans to begin using the Pegasus rocket, which debuted in 1990 and has more than 40 flights under its belt, for the company’s first operational missions in 2020.

Pegasus can haul about 815 lbs. (370 kilograms) to low-Earth orbit. Stratolaunch is also developing two more powerful rockets, known as the Medium Launch Vehicle (MLV) and the MLV-Heavy, which will be able to loft about 7,500 lbs. (3,400 kg) and 13,200 lbs. (6,000 kg), respectively. The MLV’s first flight is targeted for 2022, whereas the MLV-Heavy is still in early development, company representatives said.

Stratolaunch is also working on a fully reusable space plane that could carry satellites or people. This vehicle is in the design-study phase.

Stratolaunch isn’t the only company working to launch space missions from the air. Virgin Orbit recently mated its LauncherOne rocket and Cosmic Girl mothership for the first time (on the ground), and Virgin Galactic is performing rocket-fired test flights of its six-passenger SpaceShipTwo suborbital space liner.

SpaceShipTwo launches from the belly of a plane called WhiteKnightTwo.

Mike Wall’s book about the search for alien life, “Out There,” will be published on Nov. 13 by Grand Central Publishing. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us @Spacedotcom or Facebook. Originally published on Space.com.

NASA’s historic mission to “touch the Sun” just reached two important milestones: It now holds the record for the closest approach to the Sun by a human-built object—and also the record for the fastest spacecraft ever sent into space.

Launched on August 12, 2018, the Parker Solar Probe is now entering into the first stages of its mission.

At 1:04 pm ET on October 29, the spacecraft got closer than 42.7 million kilometers (26.55 million miles) from the Sun’s surface—a new record for a human-built object. The old record was held by the German-American Helios 2 spacecraft, which achieved the feat in April 1976. From here on in, every inch closer that the probe gets to the Sun will be a new distance record, with a closest approach of 6.16 million kilometers (3.83 million miles) expected in 2024.

“It’s been just 78 days since Parker Solar Probe launched, and we’ve now come closer to our star than any other spacecraft in history,” Parker Solar Probe Project Manager Andy Driesman said in a NASA statement. “It’s a proud moment for the team, though we remain focused on our first solar encounter.”

Less than 10 hours later, the probe set yet another record. Attaining and then surpassing a speed of 246,960 kilometers per hour (153,454 miles per hour), the Parker probe became the fastest-ever human-built object relative to the Sun. The previous record was also held by the Helios 2 mission. By 2024, the spacecraft is expected reach speeds in excess of 692,000 kilometers per hour (430,000 miles per hour, or 0.0006 percent the speed of light).

To calculate the speed and distance of the Parker Solar Probe, the space agency utilizes its Deep Space Network, or DSN. NASA explains:

The DSN sends a signal to the spacecraft, which then retransmits it back to the DSN, allowing the team to determine the spacecraft’s speed and position based on the timing and characteristics of the signal. Parker Solar Probe’s speed and position were calculated using DSN measurements made on Oct. 24, and the team used that information along with known orbital forces to calculate the spacecraft’s speed and position from that point on.

At its current distance to the Sun, the probe requires 150 days to make a complete orbit. It will achieve the first of 26 perihelion events (the point closest to the Sun) on November 6, 2018. Over the next six years, the probe’s orbital length will gradually shrink, allowing it to get closer to the Sun. As it gets nearer to the star’s surface, the probe will face formidable heat and radiation, which it will fend off with a maneuverable shield always pointed toward the flaming ball of fire at the center of our Solar System.

The Parker Solar Probe’s onboard sensors will take measurements, providing unprecedented new data for scientists. By learning more about the Sun, we will have a better understanding of how it affects Earth and other planets, and possibly improve our space weather forecasting. Knowing how and when the Sun produces massive solar storms, for example, could go a long way in reducing damage on Earth.

[NASA, NASA]

DJI has revealed that one of its drone products is having issues that are causing some to plummet from the sky.

The company released a warning on Friday:

DJI is aware of a small number of reports involving drones in the Matrice 200 series that have lost power mid-flight. Flight safety and product reliability are top priorities. Our engineers are thoroughly reviewing each customer case and working to address this matter urgently.

The release came on the same day that the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority posted a safety notice, stating that a few incidents were reported in which DJI Matrice 200 lost power even though the drones still had sufficient battery charge, resulting “in the aircraft falling directly to the ground due to the immediate loss of lift with the remote pilot unable to control its subsequent flight path.”

We’ve reached out to DJI for comment and to clarify what it means by a “small number of reports” of drones dropping out of the sky. We’ll update when we hear back.

DJI released the Matrice 200 in 2017. The company promotes it as an ideal drone for search and rescue purposes and industrial inspections. In June, Taser maker Axon announced it was teaming up with DJI to modify Matrice 200 series drones, among other UAVs, into surveillance drones for law enforcement

The DJI release about the falling drones states that their drones “are tested for thousands of hours” and the majority of users have “minimal disruption.” The company says it is “looking to implement additional safeguards” and recommends that customers update their firmware for their drones and batteries through the DJI app or DJI Assistant 2 software.

[DJI, CCA via BBC]