Washington’s own Captain Kirk.

Sep 7, 2021 | Space

If everything goes as planned between now and Sept. 15, Everett resident Christopher Sembroski will become part of space history.   One of four crew members aboard SpaceX’s Inspiration4 mission, Christopher will be the first of a new generation of civilian astronauts,...

Fr: Washington. To: Mars.

Feb 19, 2021 | Space, Uncategorized

As NASA likes to say, landing on Mars is “seven minutes of terror.” But Perseverance was in good hands all along, thanks to the rocketry wizards at Aerojet Rocketdyne in Redmond. After hitting the atmosphere at 12,500 p.m., eight Aerojet Rocketdyne MR-107U...

To infinity and beyond.

Mar 2, 2020 | Aerospace, Space

Washington is well known for being a hotbed for commercial and military aviation. But did you know that every spacecraft bound for planetary or interplanetary exploration over the last 50 years carries a piece of Washington with it? From the Curiosity Mars lander to...

Blue Origin expanding space.

Dec 3, 2019 | Space

Blue Origin’s workforce stood at about 600 three and a half years ago. Today it is at 2,500 and heading toward 3,500 next year. The company has long said it’s been running out of space at its Kent headquarters. But soon, the company will have a lot more space to...

Redmond’s SpaceX does launch.

May 31, 2019 | Space

SpaceX made headlines with its launch of 60 new satellites recently. But did you know those satellites were built in the company’s Redmond, Washington production facility?When it was announced in 2015, CEO Elon Musk said the new development office would be dedicated...

Disrupting the race to space.

Feb 5, 2019 | Space

Washington-based Spaceflight Industries is hardly resting on its laurels following its launch of 64 satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon rocket in December. The company’s record-breaking launch has caused Morgan Stanley analysts to dub the Spaceflight Industries an...

Those seven minutes of terror.

Dec 3, 2018 | Space

Landing a spacecraft on Mars has been something of a hit and miss affair. The thin atmosphere inability to send commands in real time to correct problems means half of all missions have missed their mark, crashing into the surface. Small wonder engineers and support...

Rocket test facility on state’s wish list.

Oct 22, 2018 | Space

Washington’s growing space cluster is gaining the attention of Congress. With such industry stalwarts as Blue Origin, Spaceflight and Aerojet-Rocketdyne headquartered here, the future of the state’s commercial space industry could never be brighter.Well,...

Blue Origin snags big rocket order.

Sep 28, 2018 | Space

United Launch Alliance has decided that Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engine will be the propulsion of choice for its new Vulcan launch platform. The BE-4 has been under development since 2011 and has been vying for the contract for the last four years, completing with...

To the moon!

Sep 17, 2018 | Space

What do Seattle, Israel and the moon have in common? If all goes according to plan, Spaceflight’s first rideshare mission will escape the bonds of low-earth orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 and head for the moon. It will be the first non-governmental moon landing,...