Tag: space agency

NASA to test nuclear-powered spacecraft by 2027

25Jan

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Technology

NASA to test nuclear-powered spacecraft by 2027

[ad_1] NASA is eyeing more efficient methods of propelling astronauts to Mars in the future. The United States plans to test a spacecraft engine powered by nuclear fission by 2027 as part of a long-term NASA effort to demonstrate more efficient methods of propelling astronauts to Mars in the future, the space agency's chief said Tuesday.NASA will partner with the U.S. military's research and development agency, DARPA, to develop a nuclear thermal propulsion engine and launch it to space "as soon as 2027," NASA administrator Bill Nelson said during a conference in National Harbor, Maryland. [ad_2] Source link

Space diversity: Europe’s space agency gets 1st parastronaut

24Nov

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Technology

Space diversity: Europe’s space agency gets 1st parastronaut

[ad_1] The European Space Agency made history Wednesday by selecting an amputee who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident to be among its newest batch of astronauts — a leap toward its pioneering ambition to send someone with a physical disability into space.John McFall, a 41-year-old Briton who lost his right leg when he was 19 and went on to compete in the Paralympics, called his selection at Europe's answer to NASA “a real turning point and mark in history.” “ESA has a commitment to send an astronaut with a physical disability into space ... This is the first time that a space agency has endeavored to embark on a project like this. And it sends a really, really strong message to humanity,” he said. The newly-minted parastronaut joins five career astronauts in the final selection unv...