In-Space Refueling – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX test-fires Starship prototype with three engines

October 20, 2020

SpaceX fired three Raptor engines on a prototype of the company’s Starship vehicle Tuesday, accomplishing another milestone on the road toward testing of the methane-fueled rocket at higher altitudes.

NASA selects proposals to demonstrate in-space refueling and propellant depot tech

October 16, 2020

NASA has selected 14 companies for contracts of more than $370 million to advance technology for human missions to the moon and Mars. Most of the money will support flight demonstrations by SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and other companies that could lead to in-space refueling and propellant depots for reusable lunar landers and deep space transportation vehicles.

NASA identifies risks in SpaceX’s Starship lunar lander proposal

May 1, 2020

SpaceX’s proposal to land astronauts on the moon using the company’s reusable Starship vehicle could be “game-changing” for space exploration, but comes with risks and complexity that “threaten the schedule viability” to achieve NASA’s goal of returning crews moon by the end of 2024, agency officials said.

Tianzhou 1 freighter achieves China’s first in-space refueling demo

April 27, 2017

The robotic Tianzhou 1 refueling freighter launched last week has successfully completed the first in-orbit propellant transfer with China’s Tiangong 2 space lab, a major accomplishment as the country’s engineers hope to finish assembly of a large space station by 2022, officials said Thursday.