DARPA cancels ALASA small launch vehicle
Posted: Sun, Dec 6, 2015, 9:59 AM ET (1459 GMT)
DARPA has scrapped plans to launch small satellites from a fighter jet. The Airborne Launch Assist Space Access (ALASA) program, under a contract with Boeing, planned to develop a rocket deployed from an F-15 for launching small satellites. The rocket used a unique propellant, a mixture of nitrous oxide and acetylene, but that propellant exploded in ground tests earlier this year, raising questions about its safety. DARPA has now dropped plans to perform up to a dozen launches of the ALASA vehicle, and will instead continue tests of the propellant and other technologies.
DARPA has scrapped plans to launch small satellites from a fighter jet. The Airborne Launch Assist Space Access (ALASA) program, under a contract with Boeing, planned to develop a rocket deployed from an F-15 for launching small satellites. The rocket used a unique propellant, a mixture of nitrous oxide and acetylene, but that propellant exploded in ground tests earlier this year, raising questions about its safety. DARPA has now dropped plans to perform up to a dozen launches of the ALASA vehicle, and will instead continue tests of the propellant and other technologies.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Monday, February 9
Globe Telecom Seals Agreement with Starlink to Launch First Southeast Asia Direct?to?Cell Satellite Service
PR Newswire — 7:17 am ET (1217 GMT) Is Starlink still the un-jammable panacea many had thought?
Resilience Media — 7:16 am ET (1216 GMT) Sky is not the limit, India must guard the final frontier
The New Indian Express — 7:14 am ET (1214 GMT) Elon Musk said we'd reach Mars in 2026. Now, he says SpaceX is building a city on the moon.
Business Insider — 7:11 am ET (1211 GMT) Feel the boom: More and bigger SpaceX launches are coming to Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara News-Press — 7:10 am ET (1210 GMT) |
