Second US Judge Lifts Temporary Injunction on Russian Rocket Engine Purchases

An RD-180 engine and Atlas 5 first stage arrive at the launch pad in Florida.

Credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

U.S. federal judge on Thursday (May 8) lifted an injunction that temporarily barred the U.S. Air Force and United Launch Alliance from buying Russian-made rocket engines for launching launch national security missions that had been issued out of concern that the purchases violated sanctions against Russian leaders.

In issuing the temporary injunction April 30, Judge Susan Braden of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims cited the possibility that money from the transactions could wind up in the hands of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who oversees Russia’s space industry.

Rogozin is one of 11 senior Russian officials sanctioned by the U.S. government following Russia’s incursions into Ukraine.

The engine in question is the RD-180, which is built by NPO Energomash of Russia and sold to ULA by RD-Amross, a joint venture between Energomash and United Technologies Corp.

The engine is used on the first stage of ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket, one of two vehicles operated by the company.

Braden specified that the injunction would stand pending a determination by the U.S. Treasury, Commerce and State departments that RD-180 purchases did not specifically violate the sanctions.

In letters filed with the court May 6, officials with those departments said no decision had been made to specifically label NPO Energomash as a Rogozin-controlled enterprise.

Additionally, "to the best of our knowledge, purchases from and payments to NPO Energomash currently do not directly or indirectly contravene" the sanctions, Bradley Smith, chief counsel for the Treasury Department, said in a letter to the court.

The State Department's letter echoed that sentiment, while Commerce deferred to the other agencies.

Based on those letters, Braden wrote May 8, she was dissolving the temporary injunction.

"If the Government receives any indication, however, that purchases from or payment of money to NPO Energomash by ULS, ULA, or the United States Air Force will directly or indirectly" violate the White House sanctions, the government must inform the court immediately, she wrote.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' Secretive Blue Origin Test-Fires Rocket Engine - Video

The secretive private spaceflight company Blue Origin founded by billionaire Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has successfully test-fired a new engine for commercial rockets that may one day help launch astronauts and cargo into orbit, NASA officials said today (Dec. 3).

A video of the recent rocket firing provides a rare peek at the company's work in progress. Little is publicly known about the space vehicles being developed by Blue Origin, which is based in Kent, Wash., and was founded by Jeff Bezos in 2000.

The Nov. 20 rocket engine test at Blue Origin's facility in Van Horn, Texas, was aimed at simulating a mission on the company's suborbital New Shepard vehicle, NASA officials said.

The spaceship — which is named in honour of Alan Shepard, the first American in space — consists of two reusable modules, one for the crew and one for the propulsion systems.

During the test, Blue Origin's so-called BE-3 engine was fired at full power for two and a half minutes to mimic a launch, producing 110,000 pounds of thrust.

After the initial burn, the hydrogen- and oxygen-fueled engine stopped for about four minutes to simulate a coast through space before a short final burn.

This last firing tested the systems intended to bring the booster back for a controlled vertical landing.

Guiding the rocket back to the ground safely would allow it to be refurbished and used again for another mission.

The BE-3 engine will also be incorporated into Blue Origin's planned Orbital Launch Vehicle, a rocket that will loft the company's cone-shaped Space Vehicle into orbit.

That spacecraft could eventually carry astronauts to the International Space Station, NASA officials said.


Blue Origin is a partner in NASA's Commercial Crew Program, along with other private companies like SpaceX and Sierra Nevada Corp.

The program aims to help the aerospace industry develop systems to ferry astronauts to the space station.

With the retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet in 2011, the United States currently relies on Russian Soyuz vehicles to bring astronauts to the orbiting outpost.

"Working with NASA accelerated our BE-3 development by over a year in preparation for flight testing on our New Shepard suborbital system and ultimately on vehicles carrying humans to low-Earth orbit," Rob Meyerson, president and program manager of Blue Origin, said in a statement.

Rob Meyerson

"The BE-3 is a versatile, low-cost hydrogen engine applicable to NASA and commercial missions."

Phil McAlister, NASA's director of commercial spaceflight development, added that Blue Origin has made steady progress since the start of its partnership with the space agency.

New Rocket Engine Burns Wax and Laughing Gas - Video

NASA's Peregrine Hybrid Sounding Rocket motor was hot-fire tested at Ames Research Center on Nov. 12, 2013. 

It uses paraffin-based fuel and nitrous oxide as the oxidizer for highly efficient combustion. (looped)

Credit: NASA / AMES

SpaceX's New Merlin 1D Rocket Engine Cleared for Private Launches

Two of SpaceX's Merlin 1D engines sit on a test stand at the company's rocket-development facility in McGregor, Texas.

Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX's next-generation rocket engine is ready to fly and will likely power a commercial space launch for the first time this summer, company officials announced Wednesday (March 20).

The Merlin 1D engine was judged flight-ready after firing for a total of nearly 33 minutes over the course of 28 different tests at SpaceX's rocket-development facility in McGregor, Texas. The new engine will soon be incorporated into the company's Falcon 9 rocket, officials said.

"The Merlin 1D successfully performed every test throughout this extremely rigorous qualification program," SpaceX CEO and chief designer Elon Musk said in a statement. "With flight qualification now complete, we look forward to flying the first Merlin 1D engines on Falcon 9’s Flight 6 this year."

The Falcon 9 has flown five times to date, most recently on March 1, when it blasted the robotic Dragon capsule toward the International Space Station on California-based SpaceX's second contracted supply run for NASA. According to the company's launch manifest, flight number six will launch a Canadian communications satellite, likely in mid-June.

Company officials say the Merlin 1D will provide a big boost for the Falcon 9, which until now has been powered by Merlin 1C engines in its first stage (nine of them, hence the name).

"The Merlin 1D has a vacuum thrust-to-weight ratio exceeding 150, the best of any liquid rocket engine in history," SpaceX officials wrote in a press release Wednesday.

"This enhanced design makes the Merlin 1D the most efficient booster engine ever built, while still maintaining the structural and thermal safety margins needed to carry astronauts."

SpaceX indeed plans to launch astronauts using the Merlin 1D. The company is working on a manned version of its Falcon 9/Dragon transportation system, in the hopes of scoring a NASA contract to ferry astronauts to and from the space station.

SABRE Engine: The Biggest Breakthrough In Propulsion Since The Jet Engine

The SABRE engine has the potential to revolutionise lives in the 21st century in the way the jet engine did in the 20th Century.

Reaction Engines can announce the biggest breakthrough in aerospace propulsion technology since the invention of the jet engine.

Critical tests have been successfully completed on the key technology for SABRE, an engine which will enable aircraft to reach the opposite side of the world in under 4 hours, or to fly directly into orbit and return in a single stage, taking off and landing on a runway.

SABRE, an air-breathing rocket engine, utilises both jet turbine and rocket technology. Its innovative pre-cooler technology is designed to cool the incoming airstream from over 1,000C to minus 150C in less than 1/100th of a second (six times faster than the blink of an eye) without blocking with frost.

The recent tests have proven the cooling technology to be frost-free at the crucial low temperature of -150C.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has evaluated the SABRE engine's pre-cooler heat exchanger on behalf of the UK Space Agency, and has given official validation to the test results: "The pre-cooler test objectives have all been successfully met and ESA are satisfied that the tests demonstrate the technology required for the SABRE engine development."

Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts said: "This is a remarkable achievement for a remarkable company.

Building on years of unique engineering know-how, Reaction Engines has shown the world that Britain remains at the forefront of technological innovation and can get ahead in the global race. This technology could revolutionise the future of air and space travel."

Well over 100 test runs, undertaken at Reaction Engines Ltd's facility in Oxfordshire, integrated the ground-breaking flight-weight cooling technology and frost control system with a jet engine and a novel helium cooling loop, demonstrating the new technologies in the SABRE engine that drive its highly innovative and efficient thermodynamic cycle.

This success adds to a series of other SABRE technology demonstrations undertaken by the company including contra-rotating turbines, combustion chambers, rocket nozzles, and air intakes and marks a major advance towards the creation of vehicles like SKYLON - a new type of reusable space vehicle that will be powered by SABRE engines, designed primarily to transport satellites and cargo into space.

Alan Bond, who founded Reaction Engines to re-build the UK's rocket propulsion industry and has led the research from the start, said: "These successful tests represent a fundamental breakthrough in propulsion technology.

Reaction Engines' lightweight heat exchangers are going to force a radical re-think of the design of the underlying thermodynamic cycles of aerospace engines.

These new cycles will open up completely different operational characteristics such as high Mach cruise and low cost, re-usable space access, as the European Space Agency's validation of Reaction Engines' SABRE engine has confirmed.

The REL team has been trying to solve this problem for over 30 years and we've finally done it. Innovation doesn't happen overnight. Independent experts have confirmed that the full engine can now be demonstrated.

The SABRE engine has the potential to revolutionise our lives in the 21st century in the way the jet engine did in the 20th Century. This is the proudest moment of my life."

Dr Mark Ford, ESA's Head of Propulsion Engineering, said: "One of the major obstacles to developing air-breathing engines for launch vehicles is the development of lightweight high-performance heat exchangers.

With this now successfully demonstrated by Reaction Engines Ltd, there are currently no technical reasons why the SABRE engine programme cannot move forward into the next stage of development."

Jet-Propelled Bloodhound faces land speed rocket test

The most powerful rocket produced in the UK for some 20 years is due to be ignited in Cornwall later.

It is being tested by the British Bloodhound team, which intends to use the booster in a car capable of running at more than 1,000mph (1,610km/h).

This feat would also smash the current world land speed record of 763mph.

Richard Noble

The rocket will be bolted to the ground in Newquay so that it cannot move, but the firing should make a spectacular noise along the north Cornwall coast.

It is being conducted at the Aerohub, Newquay Cornwall Airport, inside a shelter previously used to house Tornado fighter bombers.

As always, the UK Health and Safety Executive will be on hand to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Invited guests will watch the 10-second burn from inside another shelter via a video link.

Bloodhound is essentially the same team that claimed the existing land speed record for Britain in 1997.

Andy Green

It includes;

• the driver, RAF Pilot Andy Green, 
• project director Richard Noble and 
• chief aero engineer Ron Ayres.

But whereas their previous vehicle, known as Thrust SSC, used two jet engines to break the sound barrier, the new car, to be called Bloodhound SSC, will incorporate a jet engine and a rocket.

The jet is the well-established EJ200 power unit used in the Eurofighter-Typhoon, but the rocket is bespoke and must be put through a test programme to prove its performance and to certify it is safe for use in a manned machine.

SpaceX developing SuperDraco engine for surface landings

SpaceX's mission this week to the space station represents just the start of the company's ambitions which include putting a man on Mars by 2020.

But before SpaceX reaches for Mars, their more immediate ambition is create a space launch system that is completely reusable.

Integral to the company’s resuable ambitions (and future interplanetary aspirations) is a powerful new engine currently under development, the SuperDraco, which enable the capsule to land on solid ground rather than dropping into the ocean.

For Dragon's up and coming flight to the space station, now scheduled to launch May 22, Dragon will be powered by SpaceX’s previous-generation engine, the Draco. The Draco thrusters generate 90 lbs of thrust and Dragon will use 18 of them to provide the craft with its exceptional in-orbit manoeuverability.

But SpaceX are hoping that future missions will powered by eight SuperDraco thrusters and be capable of carrying up to seven astronauts.

The SuperDraco can generate an impressive 15,000 lbs of thrust (120,000 lbs altogether) – not enough to take off from Earth – but enough to allow the craft to navigate to Mars, land, take off again and then return to Earth and perform a powered landing. For comparison, the Apollo Lunar Module’s ascent engine created 3,500 lbs of thrust.

NASA JPL Project Morpheus: Lander undergoes engine testing

Morpheus is a vertical test bed demonstrating new green propellant propulsion systems and autonomous landing and hazard detection technology.

Designed, developed, manufactured and operated in-house by engineers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, the Morpheus Project represents not only a vehicle to advance technologies, but also an opportunity to try out “lean development” engineering practices

Engine Testing
After sticking to the ground for upgrades the past several months, the Project Morpheus prototype lander took to the skies at Johnson Space Center again on Tuesday.

Since its last round of tests in 2011, the Morpheus team has given the liquid oxygen/liquid methane-fueled lander a new engine, new avionics and a power unit redesign.

In addition, the vehicle software has been substantially updated in preparation for the integration of its Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) payload.

The lander has the same oxygen and methane tanks, and the same structure, but otherwise it’s practically an all-new vehicle.

“The first series of tests gave us a basic understanding of our ability to control the vehicle and allowed us to initially characterize the performance of the subsystems on the vehicle,” Morpheus Project Manager Jon Olansen said.

“With that information we were able to go back and design in upgrades to improve performance and reliability.”

Once the upgrades were complete, it was time to start up a new series of tests. Like last time, they started with hot fire tests to demonstrate engine operation, and this week worked up to tethered testing.

On Tuesday, the refitted lander successfully hovered 15 feet above the ground for 40 seconds, firing the engine for a total of 50 seconds with ignition, ascent and descent.

Earth Orbiting debris starting to impede Space Exploration programs

Japan’s H-2A rocket that blasted off on May 18 sent a Japanese satellite, Shizuku, and a South Korean satellite, Arirang-3, into orbit but it has also left behind space junk, the accumulation of which is starting to create big problems above Earth's atmosphere.

The amount of space debris has steadily increased since its start on Oct. 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to enter Earth orbit.

Now that India and China are testing space systems, the "garbage problem" could rise at an explosive rate.

Countries are now trying to figure out ways to take care of the problem, but progress has been slow.

"We know that it will eventually impede the development of space, but if we just leave space debris out there anyway, then some day we won't be able to go into space anymore and our development there will hit a brick wall," said Seishiro Kibe, director of the Innovative Technology Research Center of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

An estimated 22,000 pieces of debris with a diameter of 10 centimeters or more are floating around in space. Information, such as orbital path, size and origin, is known for about 16,000 of them.

There are also about 1,000 satellites in operation. The continued accumulation of space debris could interfere with the satellites' orbital paths, leaving them nowhere to operate.

Debris has always been a part of space development and will continue to be so but nations participating in space programs need to take responsibility for the disposal of there waste products, just as on Earth.

Read more of this article here: Space debris - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun

MicroThrust Ion Engine Could Place Cubesats in Lunar Orbit

The video shows an interview with Herbert Shea by the EPFL University news.

The Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) has announced it has developed a lightweight propulsion system that could propel small satellites to the Moon using only 100mL of fuel.

The entire propulsion system, which comprises an electric ion engine powered by photovoltaic solar cells, weighs only 200g including propellant, and is small enough to fit within the limited envelope of a standard CubeSat nanosatellite.

“The big limitation [of current nanosatellites] is that [they’re] stuck in whatever orbit they’re put in” says Herbert Shea, Associate Professor at the EPFL. “To free them, we need a very efficient, miniaturized propulsion system. […] [MicroThrust] is very efficient, and using only this very small volume, we could send such a satellite from Earth orbit to Moon orbit.”

Although the system only works in space and could not be used to launch from Earth, if successful, the Microthrust system could greatly increase the list of potential applications for nanosatellites, which are currently limited to use in low Earth orbit.

“You can then go to Mars, you can go to the Moon, you can go to asteroids, you can do all sorts of science exploration missions that are today impossible for Universities and for many countries because of the high cost” explained Shea.

EPFL has already announced plans for the Microthrust system to fly on two missions. The first is the Orbital Low Frequency Array, or OLFAR, which intends to create a distributed low-frequency radio astronomy array in space using nanosatellites.

Microthrust could be used to propel the array of satellites beyond the Moon where they could look deeper into the universe. EPFL is also planning to use MicroThrust on the CleanSpaceOne satellite, which intends to demonstrate active removal of space debris using a 3U Cubesat.

The propulsion system has been designed to fit within the Cubesat standard, developed by California Polytechnic State University and Stanford University in 1999 to encourage universities and amateur space enthusiasts to develop standard hardware and increase accessibility to space.

The standard designates a single unit (or “1U”) as a cubic nanosatellite weighing approximately 1kg and measuring 10cm along each outer edge. Cubesats can be either 1U in size, or any integer multiple for larger more complex missions.

First US Footage of Space - Captured german V2 Rocket

This is the first US Footage of Space taken from a German V2 Rocket launched from White Sands New Mexico in 1946. German Rocket scientists were 'extracted' from Germany at the end of the War in Europe to establish a Rocket Programme for the US.

The most famous of these scientists was Von Braun, who became a major player in US rocket technology despite being a German Nazi member and supporter of Hitler's regime.



Von Braun went on to build the Saturn-V Moon Rocket for US President JF Kennedy.

MARS Exploration: Russia is Developing a Nuclear Space Engine by 2017

According to press agency RIA Novosti, Russia is developing a Megawatt-class nuclear propulsion system for long-range manned spacecraft.

“At present we are testing several types of fuel,” said Denis Kovalevich, Skolkovo Foundation’s Nuclear Cluster head, “the engine is expected to be ready by 2017.”

The source reports a government allocation of 500 million rubles ($16.7 million) in 2010 to start a project of a nuclear powered spacecraft, with a projected total investment of about 17 billion rubles (over $580 million) by 2019.

The engine will be used for interplanetary manned missions targeted to the Moon and Mars. A recently leaked document from the Russian space agency drafted an ambitious plan for planetary exploration, both manned and unmanned.

Nuclear power is generally considered a promising technology for interplanetary exploration, especially beyond Earth’s orbit, where solar power gets weak.

NASA has been trying to promote nuclear propulsion several times, including a project in 2003, but funding was eventually cut down.

Amazon Founder Finds Apollo 11 Moon Rocket Engines On Atlantic Ocean Floor

This NASA file photo shows the first stage of the mighty Saturn V rocket used to launch the historic Apollo 11 moon landing mission in 1969 as the booster was being built. The five huge F-1 rocket engines were discarded into the Atlantic Ocean after the July 16, 1969 launch.

CREDIT: NASA

When NASA's mighty Saturn V rocket launched the historic Apollo 11 mission to land the first men on the moon in 1969, the five powerful engines that powered the booster's first stage dropped into the Atlantic Ocean and were lost forever.

Lost, that is, until now.

A private expedition financed by Amazon.com founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos has discovered the five F-1 rocket engines used to launch Apollo 11 into space on July 16, 1969 and is drawing up plans to retrieve one or more so they can be publicly displayed.

"I'm excited to report that, using state-of-the-art deep sea sonar, the team has found the Apollo 11 engines lying 14,000 feet below the surface, and we're making plans to attempt to raise one or more of them from the ocean floor," Bezos wrote in a statement posted to the Bezos Expeditions website.

"We don't know yet what condition these engines might be in - they hit the ocean at high velocity and have been in salt water for more than 40 years. On the other hand, they're made of tough stuff, so we'll see."

NASA Morpheus Tether Test #8 - YouTube video

The Morpheus team successfully performed another Tether Test. This was the longest run of the vehicle to date.

Morpheus grew out of the efforts of Project M and stands with its own list of accomplishments. The Morpheus testbed, completed in cooperation with Armadillo Aerospace, is providing an avenue through which the development of future landers, to the Moon or beyond, is improved, in less time, and with less money.

Since its beginning, the Morpheus team has focused on off-the-shelf solutions, modularity of components, rapid turn-around of testing, testing as much as possible, and making use of the talents of other NASA centers.

But more than the hardware or software innovations that are a hallmark of Morpheus, one of the project’s biggest hallmarks may very well be its affect on those working on it.

Gone are the days, as one engineer put it, “…when you have a file cabinet for every screw”, a natural outgrowth of the Shuttle era.

It has to be remembered that during the 30 years that was the Shuttle era, making any changes to the spacecraft required a great deal of analysis and paperwork.

Rather than test and test again, the workflow was one of analyze and analyze again. When one is talking about changing a crewed spacecraft that works, such mindset is perfectly understandable. After all, getting the crew back safely was, and remains the number one priority.

NASA Stennis Space Centre: J-2X Engine 10001 Returns to Test Stand

J-2X engine 10001 is returning back to the A-2 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center for its second round of tests. 

The developmental engine underwent an initial series of tests last year. 

Both the engine and test stand have been modified to begin simulated altitude testing in the coming months.

The J-2X engine is designed and built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

It is the first human-rated liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen rocket engine to be developed in 40 years. 

The J-2X will provide upper-stage power for NASA's Space Launch System, a new heavy-lift vehicle capable of missions beyond low-Earth orbit.

Credit: NASA/SSC

ESA Human Spaceflight and Exploration - Astrium's Lunar lander firing up for touchdown

A test firing of Lunar Lander’s 220 N thrusters in Astrium’s specialised test facility in Lampoldshausen, Germany. 

The engines will guide Lunar Lander to a safe touchdown on the Moon. 

The thrusters have already flown on ESA’s series of Automated Transfer Vehicles. Tested for their new lunar role, they demonstrated excellent performance.

Credits: Astrium

Rocket Launch Image: University of Alaska's Poker Flat Research Range near Fairbanks, Alaska

A rocket flies through the aurora borealis after lifting off from the University of Alaska's Poker Flat Research Range near Fairbanks, Alaska. 

The mission was launched by a NASA funded group of 60 researchers studying electrical activity in the aurora borealis and the likelihood it is interfering with GPS and other signals. 

Cornell University says the 46-foot rocket sent back data as it flew through the aurora at an altitude of 217 miles.

Picture: NASA Wallops, Lee Wingfield/AP

NASA Shuttle Atlantis and Endeavour's Rocketdyne Engines: On the move

All six Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne space shuttle main engines from Endeavour's STS-134 and Atlantis' STS-135 missions sit in test cells inside the Engine Shop at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

For the first time, all 15 shuttle main engines are in the shop at the same time, being prepped for shipment to NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, where they are being repurposed for use on NASA's next generation heavy lift rocket, the Space Launch System.

Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

Vega to fly ESA experimental reentry vehicle

Europe's ambition for a spacecraft to return autonomously from low orbit is a cornerstone for a wide range of space applications, including space transportation, exploration and robotic servicing of space infrastructure. 

Part of this goal will be achieved with IXV Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, planned for launch in 2014.

Launched into a suborbital trajectory on ESA's Vega rocket from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, IXV will return to Earth as if from a low-orbit mission, to test and qualify new European critical reentry technologies such as advanced ceramic and ablative thermal protection. 

The 2 t IXV lifting body is about 5 m long, 2.2 m wide and 1.5 m high. Its hypersonic lift-to-drag ratio of 0.7 guarantees the required aerodynamic performance. Credits: ESA/J.Huart

The launch of ESA's IXV Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle on Europe's new Vega rocket is now in detailed planning, a major step towards the craft's flight in 2014.

Launched into a suborbital trajectory from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, IXV will return to Earth as if from a low-orbit mission, to test and qualify new critical technologies for future reentry vehicles.

It will attain an altitude of around 450 km, allowing it to reach a velocity of 7.5 km/s on entering the atmosphere. It will collect a large amount of data during its hypersonic and supersonic flight, while it is being controlled by thrusters and aerodynamic flaps.

IXV will then descend by parachute and land in the Pacific Ocean to await recovery and analysis.

ESA and the Arianespace launch provider signed a contract on 14 December to study the launch on Vega, as part of the VERTA - Vega Research and Technology Accompaniment - programme.

The rocket's qualification flight planned for liftoff at the end of January will pave the way for the next five VERTA missions that will demonstrate the system's flexibility.

At a planned rate of two launches per year, the programme will allow the smooth introduction of Vega for commercial exploitation.

Following development of critical technologies and completion of the design, the vehicle's manufacturing, assembly, integration and qualification is now under way for a flight window between January and September 2014.

Procurement of the ground network has begun, including the mission control centre, ground station telemetry kits, transportable antennas and communication network.

Vega is Europe's new, small launcher. Its performance perfectly complements that of the heavy Ariane 5 and medium Soyuz rockets launched from French Guiana.

It is designed to cope with a wide range of missions and payload configurations in order to respond to different market opportunities and provide great flexibility.

In particular, it offers configurations able to handle payloads ranging from a single satellite up to one main satellite plus six microsatellites.

Vega is compatible with payload masses ranging from 300 kg to 2500 kg, depending on the type and altitude of the orbit required by the customers. The benchmark is for 1500 kg into a 700 km-altitude polar orbit.

Amateur Rocket Transport: Space Tourist in a Chevvy!

Paul Stender has come up with a novel way of making his car go faster - by strapping a cruise missile engine to its roof. 

His 1967 Chevrolet Impala can now reach speeds of up to 300mph, fires out 30ft flames and leaves massive clouds of smoke in its wake.

The monstrous motor has a 10,000bhp engine - the equivalent of 10 Bugatti Veyrons. 

The 44-year-old created the jet-powered car with his wife Therese, 29 and their team at Indy Boys Inc.

It follows hot on the heels of their jet-powered toilet and their jet-powered school bus which could reach speeds of over 367mph.

Picture: INDY BOYS / CATERS NEWS