Category: Space

The mission will see Hypersonix’s 3.5-metre DART AE hypersonic vehicle carried into the upper atmosphere aboard a HASTE rocket operated by Rocket Lab. The launch window opens at 4pm US Eastern Time on Wednesday, 25 February, corresponding to 7am AEDT on Thursday, 26 February.

The findings, published as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program investigation, mark one of the most serious official rebukes of a human spaceflight mission in recent years and underscore ongoing challenges with Starliner, which was intended to serve as a second crew transport system alongside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.

The flight is scheduled for no earlier than late February, launching aboard Rocket Lab’s “That’s Not A Knife” mission from Launch Complex 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, operated by the Virginia Spaceport Authority. Final launch timing will be confirmed within 24 hours of the window opening.

In a recent article, scientists from Australia's Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation said the Airbus software update in November, which was rolled out in response to solar radiation causing dangerous glitches, highlights the financial risks to aviation of space weather events.