Stratolaunch, the Seattle-based aerospace company and hypersonic flight-test pioneer, cut short a test-flight of its mammoth carrier aircraft, Roc. The twin-fuselage, six-engined, high-wing, mono-plane—which takes its name from the Roc, an enormous mythological bird of prey—has been undergoing flight-testing at Mojave Air and Space Port in preparation for upcoming missions during which it will serve as a launch-vehicle for rocket-powered, hypersonic, test-aircraft.
NASA and SpaceX are standing down from a planned, Falcon-9 launch of the CRS-25 cargo mission to the International Space Station. The Space agency announced the delay last week, citing a possible fuel leak with the Dragon spacecraft. The launch was to have been SpaceX’s 25th cargo mission to the ISS in 2022. NASA states elevated levels of mono-methyl hydrazine (MMH) were detected during the on-loading of propellant to the Dragon spacecraft. Engineers subsequently off-loaded the propellant and oxidizer from the vehicle for purpose of investigating the source of what is presumed to be a leak in the Draco thruster propulsion system. The Dragon spacecraft has 16 Draco thrusters, each of which generates ap
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