Articles about Propulsion

Illustration: Portal Space System's Supernova space vehicle in orbit

Washington state will provide $350K to support Portal Space System’s satellite factory in Bothell

Gov. Ferguson approves award to Portal from strategic reserve fund for economic development. Read More

Jeff Thornburg at Portal Space Systems with vacuum chamber

Uncommon Thinkers: How Portal’s Jeff Thornburg plans to harness the heat of the sun in the cold of space

Before he became the CEO of Portal Space Systems, Jeff Thornburg worked for two of the world’s most innovative space-minded billionaires. Now he’s working on an idea those billionaires never pursued: building a spacecraft powered by the heat of focused sunlight. Read More

Thruster glows during test in a vacuum chamber

Portal Space Systems brings its solar thermal propulsion system up to full power during test

Bothell, Wash.-based Portal Space Systems says it has successfully tested its solar thermal propulsion system at operational temperatures inside a… Read More

Ribbon-cutting ceremony at Portal Space Systems

Portal Space Systems opens its doors for a sneak preview of solar propulsion system

BOTHELL, Wash. — From the outside, Portal Space Systems’ headquarters looks like a standard-issue office space in a Bothell business… Read More

Illustration: DRACO nuclear-powered spacecraft

DARPA and NASA pick Lockheed Martin to demonstrate DRACO nuclear rocket

NASA and the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency have selected Lockheed Martin and BWX Technologies to move forward with… Read More

Illustration: Orion engine firing during lunar flyby

Aerojet Rocketdyne wins $67M contract for Orion thrusters built in Seattle area

Aerojet Rocketdyne says it’s received a $67 million contract award from Lockheed Martin to provide propulsion systems for the Orion… Read More

Illustration: Nuclear thermal rocket in space

NASA joins forces with DARPA on effort to demonstrate nuclear rocket for Mars trips

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has taken on NASA as a partner for a project aimed at demonstrating a… Read More

Pentagon boosts two Seattle ventures working on nuclear-powered prototypes for space applications

Two Seattle companies have won Pentagon contracts to develop nuclear-powered prototypes for space applications, with orbital demonstrations set for 2027.… Read More

Nuclear thermal propulsion system in space

USNC-Tech and Blue Origin win a contract for nuclear thermal propulsion design

Seattle-based Ultra Safe Nuclear Technologies and its partners are among three teams winning $5 million contracts from NASA and the… Read More

Accion Systems raises $11M for tiny ion engines, with Boeing HorizonX Ventures playing a lead role

Boeing HorizonX Ventures has teamed up with Shasta Ventures to lead an $11 million Series B investment round for Accion… Read More

Bradford Space Group buys Deep Space Industries, shifting focus from asteroid mining to propulsion

Bradford Space Group says it’s acquired California-based Deep Space Industries, which means that both of the ventures that were created… Read More

On the fast track: Stratolaunch says its rocket engine preburner has hit full power

Chalk up another milestone for Stratolaunch Systems’ rocket engine development effort: The Seattle-based space company founded by late Microsoft co-founder… Read More

Stratolaunch completes milestone preburner test firing for PGA rocket engine

Stratolaunch Systems, the space venture founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, says it has successfully completed the first hot-fire test… Read More

Boeing leads $3M round to boost Accion Systems’ electric space propulsion system

Boeing’s venture capital fund is leading a $3 million investment round for Accion Systems, a Boston-based startup whose electric propulsion… Read More

Paul G. Allen’s Stratolaunch space venture is lifting the veil on its PGA rocket engine

The name of Stratolaunch Systems’ home-grown rocket engine leaves no doubt about who’s footing the bill: It’s called the PGA,… Read More

Paul Allen’s Stratolaunch unveils plans for new family of rockets (and a space plane)

Stratolaunch, the space venture created by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2011, today provided the first details about a new… Read More

Engine test for NASA’s heavy-lift SLS rocket cuts off early, but achieves goals

News Brief: NASA put a developmental model of the RS-25 engine for its heavy-lift Space Launch System rocket through a… Read More

SpinLaunch raises $40M from Airbus, Google and others for space catapult

A stealthy Silicon Valley startup called SpinLaunch says it’s raised a total of $40 million from a high-profile array of… Read More

SpaceX propulsion guru Tom Mueller looks ahead to Raptor rocket engines for Mars

LOS ANGELES — SpaceX’s success owes a lot to the tenacity of the company’s billionaire founder, Elon Musk, but some of… Read More

United Launch Alliance picks Aerojet’s RL10 rocket engine for Vulcan upper stage

United Launch Alliance has chosen Aerojet Rocketdyne over Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture to provide the upper-stage… Read More

Orbital ATK christens its next-generation rocket: Say hello to OmegA with an ‘A’

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Orbital ATK’s entrant in the competition for national security launches has a new name: OmegA. The… Read More

Going hypersonic: Boeing joins in $37.3M investment round for Reaction Engines

Boeing’s HorizonX venture investment arm is placing a big bet on hypersonic flight. Today it announced that it’s going in… Read More

MSNW’s plasma thruster just might fire up Congress at hearing on space propulsion

How will we send humans to the moon, Mars and other destinations in space? The chances are good that electric… Read More

‘Impossible’ EmDrive thruster attracts rising attention, even from skeptics

For years, space geeks have been intrigued by the idea of propulsion systems that don’t need propellant – and now one of… Read More