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Above: White Knight II is rolled out of Scaled's hangar at Mojave air and space port |
Source: FlightGlobal.com
Colorado-based engine maker Ursa Major has secured a nearly $35 million contract from an undisclosed US defence company for its developmental Draper rocket powerplant, designed for national security applications including hypersonic flight and space vehicles.
One of the Colorado manufacturer’s Hadley rocket engines propelled the Stratolaunch Talon-A test vehicle to speeds beyond Mach 5 in May, the first US-made aircraft to hit that mark since the 1960s.
The uncrewed aircraft manufacturer says it has completed two test flights of a Gray Eagle 25M controlled remotely via a low-earth-orbit satellite network – technology that could allow expanded range in polar regions.
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.
The Boeing X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle, operated by the US Space Force, will return to orbit atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy booster for its seventh long-endurance flight mission.
The US space agency is asking aerospace suppliers to design a new orbital craft that could be used to perform a controlled de-orbit of the multinational space station, which is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2030.
