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ESA Plans Changes To Contact Phobos-Grunt (Source: Aviation Week)
Russian ground controllers were unable to send telecommands to the stranded Phobos-Grunt spacecraft Nov. 28 via a European Space Agency ground station in Australia, according to ESA officials, and the agency is now planning changes to a second tracking facility to expand opportunities for reaching the wayward spacecraft. Ground teams are modifying a 15-meter dia. antenna at ESA’s Maspalomas tracking station in the Canary Islands in an effort to establish contact with the unmanned probe during daylight hours. (11/30)
NASA Space Act Agreements Face New Limits (Source: Aviation Week)
NASA is signaling more restrictive use of Space Act Agreements (SAA), development-oriented contracting vehicles the agency has employed since 2006 to hasten development of commercial cargo and crew transportation services to support post-shuttle activities aboard the International Space Station. The coming shift is just one of the challenges to emerge this month for commercial spaceflight providers and their proponents.
The SAA changes came in response to a Nov. 17 audit by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress. A flexible feature of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, SAA initially enabled the agency to reimburse or share costs with nongovernmental partners to further its mission outside traditional contracts, leases and cooperative agreements. In 2006, NASA upped the ante with a third use of SAA—funded agreements with multiple traditional aerospace entities, as well as new space companies.
In the 18-page GAO report, auditors urged NASA to put more rigor into its use of SAA. Concerns include a lack of documentation justifying the agency’s use of the less-restrictive SAA rather than traditional contracts for services, as well as the agency’s level of financial commitment; insufficient clarity on how extensively agency officials are to consult the broader acquisition and risk-management policies of the agency when considering an SAA; and the absence of training for agency personnel responsible for executing SAA. (11/30)
Lockheed Martin Wins $60 Million Contract for AEHF Satellite Production Work (Source: DOD)
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Sunnyvale, Calif., is being awarded a $60,000,000 firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-award-fee contract modification for the AEHF Satellite Vehicle (SV) 5/6 long lead in preparation for the SV 5/6 production contract. The Space and Missile Systems Center, Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate, El Segundo, Calif., is the contracting activity. (11/16)
Vanguard Space Technologies Announces New Credit Facility With Comerica Bank (Source: Vanguard)
Vanguard Space Technologies, Inc. (Vanguard), a leading supplier of Space Qualified High Performance Composite Structural Components and Systems for Space Products, today announced the establishment of a new credit facility with Comerica Bank. The credit facility provides for borrowings for working capital requirements, capital equipment purchase and other general corporate purposes.
Vanguard is a small business specializing in the engineering, fabrication and testing of high-performance composite structures for space. Main product lines include antennas, reflectors, spacecraft bus structures, solar array substrates, dimensionally-stable optical benches, and multi-functional composite structures. (11/30)
Natural Light is First Beer in Space (Source: Huffington Post)
On Nov. 18, Natural Light became the first beer launched into space thanks the efforts of Facebook fans Danny and Rich, according to the YouTube video description. The two men approached the company with the idea, and Natural Light said "go for it, just let us know when ya shoot it off!"
The entire flight took about two hours, and the spacecraft -- named The Aluminum Fullcan -- reached an altitude of more than 90,000 ft. The Aluminum Fullcan was a Styrofoam cooler containing a vacuum-sealed, full can of Natty Light. Attached to the craft was a tracking device, a video camera and an empty can of beer for decoration. (11/30)
SLS Aims to Launch a Week After Rollout (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
The recently produced Concept of Operations (Con Ops) documentation has revealed the Space Launch System (SLS) will be ready to launch within a week of rollout, around a third of the average pad flow time required for the Space Shuttle. Such claims can be found in similar early documentation, even for the Saturn V, before the pad flow was extended in reality. (11/30)
NASA Exercises $289 Million Option with Boeing for TDRS-M (Source: Space News)
NASA has agreed to pay Boeing Satellite Systems some $289 million to build an additional Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS). The U.S. space agency placed the spacecraft order as the first of two available contract options was about to expire. Boeing is currently building two satellites, TDRS-K and TDRS–L, under a $700 million fixed-price contract NASA awarded in 2007.
The contract gave NASA until Nov. 30, 2011 to order TDRS-M; the second option, for TDRS-N, expires Nov. 30. 2012. NASA wants to replenish the constellation of geosynchronous satellites the agency uses to communicate with the international space station and other spacecraft in near-Earth orbit. The contract option extends Boeing’s period of performance through April 2024 and will allow Boeing to retain at least 300 jobs, mostly in California. (11/30)
ATK Awarded $20 Million UltraFlex™ Solar Array Contract from Orbital (Source: ATK)
ATK was awarded a $20 million contract by Orbital Sciences Corp. to provide its UltraFlex solar arrays to power Orbital's enhanced Cygnus cargo logistics space vehicle, which is being utilized under NASA's Commercial Resupply System contract. The disk-shaped UltraFlex solar arrays measure more than 11 feet in diameter and are made of ultra-lightweight materials that provide high strength and stiffness as well as compact stowage volume. (11/30)
Ball Aerospace Selected by NASA to Study Solar Electric Propulsion Spacecraft (Source: Ball)
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. is one of five companies that will develop mission concepts for demonstrating solar electric propulsion in space, important for NASA's future deep space human exploration missions. The five companies were each awarded study contracts up to $600K. Ball will work with NASA to define a mission concept that will demonstrate the solar electric propulsion technologies, capabilities, and infrastructure required for sustainable, affordable human presence in space. (11/30)
U.S. Space Program Is Alive and Ambitious (Source: AFCEA)
NASA's final space shuttle mission did not mark the end of U.S. space travel. Instead, scientists and engineers now have their sights set on exploring deeper into the solar system with plans to enable trips to Mars and asteroids. A plethora of projects are testing how to supply the food, liquids and fuel necessary for such journeys.
To reach the distant destinations, astronauts must have a way to generate resources while on their missions. One of the major considerations is energy, both for people and vehicles. Experts are examining the substances available in space that could be converted into oxygen or rocket fuel. Robotic exploration, such as a very recent launch to Mars, enables scientists to ascertain available materials and formulate what they can use to send people to the Red Planet.
NASA envisions an eventual Mars colony that survives by deriving energy and food from the local environment, but Miguel Rodriguez explains that many advances in technology are necessary and the effort will take years to come to fruition. He adds that to be successful, "You are going to have to translate what you do here to another planet." (11/30)
NASA Glenn to Hold Second Technology Expo (Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Businesses that missed out on the NASA Glenn Research Center's technology expo in October will get another chance Friday. NASA plans to hold its second technology showcase Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. at the Cleveland Airport Marriott at 150th Street and I-71. The center's engineers will show off several technologies that they believe could be useful for local businesses.
NASA has worked collaboratively with aerospace companies for years, but the agency is now trying to reach automotive suppliers, manufacturing companies and other types of businesses. The October session focused on the auto industry with most of the displays focused on fuel-saving technologies, electric vehicle innovations and advanced computer tools that could be used to design cars. (11/30)
NASA's Apollo 13 Checklist Sells for $390,000 (Source: AFP)
A checklist used to guide the wounded Apollo 13 spacecraft home after the explosion that led to the famed "Houston, we've had a problem" call sold at auction in Texas Wednesday for just under $390,000. The checklist booklet contains handwritten calculations by Commander James Lovell to determine the spacecraft's angle of descent back to Earth and other notes.
NASA transcripts show how Lovell asked Houston to "check my arithmetic to make sure we got a good course align." The three-man crew was running out of oxygen, water and heat and only had one chance to make it home safely. The Apollo 13 Lunar Module Systems Activation Checklist fetched the highest price, at $388,375, for a piece of Apollo Space Program memorabilia that did not make it to the moon's surface, Heritage Auctions said. (11/30)
NASA Confiscates Web-Auctioned Rocket Engine (Source: New Scientist)
You can buy anything on the internet – even, until recently, a rocket engine. NASA has since confiscated the engine, which contains technology that could form the basis of missiles as well as spacecraft. But the incident highlights security concerns at the space agency . Called the RL-10, this type of engine powered NASA's Saturn-I rocket in the 1960s. That was a precursor to the larger Saturn-V, which took astronauts to the moon.
In a recent report, NASA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) described how in July, it confiscated an RL-10 from a man who had put the engine up for sale on an internet auction site. The person trying to sell it told investigators he bought it from someone, who in turn got it from a NASA employee. The engine is worth about $200,000. Rocket engines are supposed to be under particularly tight control at NASA: the US is keen to avoid its rocket technology winding up in the hands of countries with which it has a tense relationship, such as China. (11/30)
Raytheon is JPL's Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year (Source: Raytheon)
Raytheon has been recognized as a Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year for its contributions in support of NASA's overall small business program. As part of this year's NASA Small Business Symposium, Raytheon received the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's 2011 Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year Award. (11/30)
2012: Magnetic Pole Reversal Happens All The (Geologic) Time (Source: NASA)
Scientists understand that Earth's magnetic field has flipped its polarity many times over the millennia. In other words, if you were alive about 800,000 years ago, and facing what we call north with a magnetic compass in your hand, the needle would point to 'south.' This is because a magnetic compass is calibrated based on Earth's poles. Many doomsday theorists have tried to take this natural geological occurrence and suggest it could lead to Earth's destruction. But would there be any dramatic effects? The answer, from the geologic and fossil records we have from hundreds of past magnetic polarity reversals, seems to be 'no.' (11/30)
How to Keep Commercial Spaceflight Safe: Q&A With FAA's George Nield (Source: Space.com)
The commercial space industry in the United States is in its adolescence, growing by leaps and bounds while the federal government sometimes looks on as a watchful and worried parent. But one government agency — the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), whose job it is to make sure the industry maintains safety standards and doesn't harm anyone on the ground — has decided in some ways to be a cheerleader for its teenage charge.
George Nield, the FAA's associate administrator for commercial space transportation, talked to SPACE.com at the recent International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight in Las Cruces, N.M. Nield weighed in on misperceptions about commercial spaceflight, the difficulties of regulating such a new industry and what the future may hold in store. Click here. (11/30)
Alien Planet Is Rolling Over, Forcing 4 Others to Do Same (Source: Space.com)
A huge alien planet turns super-slow somersaults as it hurtles through space, dragging its four sibling planets along for the topsy-turvy ride, a new study suggests. The giant exoplanet, known as 55 Cancri d, gets tugged by a faraway companion star as it orbits its own parent star. As a result, the planet performs a flip over the course of millions of years, and the other four planets in the system follow suit, researchers said. (11/30)
Space Travel Of The Future: 7 Vehicles That May One Day Take You To Space (Source: Huffington Post)
Saturday's launch of the Mars Rover Curiosity got us thinking -- why do robots get to have all the fun in space? So we decided to bring you seven different vehicles that may one day take you to the final frontier. Expensive balloon? Check. Capsule atop a reusable launch vehicle? Check. NASA's next-generation launch vehicle? Check. Click here. (11/30)
U.S. Can't Help Russia With Phobos-Grunt Because Chinese Payload is Onboard? (Source: MSNBC)
ESA reported that its ground station in Maspalomas, Canary Islands, had been in process of upgrades to add a "feedhorn" antenna similar to the one, which enabled the facility in Perth to communicate with Phobos-Grunt. In the meantime, ESA teams at ESOC center received a request from the Phobos-Grunt team to repeat attempts of uploading commands to the spacecraft to boost its orbit.
In the meantime, reports surfaced that the US had not been able to assist Russia in tracking the Phobos-Grunt mission due to a policy issue associated with presence of a Chinese spacecraft onboard. Editor's Note: Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA), a fervent critic of US relations with China, included this language in the Minibus appropriation bill, which prohibits NASA from pretty much any collaboration with China. (11/30)
Think Big – Really Big – for a Cosmic Road Trip (Source: Moscow Times)
Space buffs around the world mourned the latest Russian space disaster in which a Mars-bound probe failed to make it out of Earth’s orbit. But while President Dmitry Medvedev voiced the idea of punishing those guilty for such incidents, this $163 million cloud could have a silver lining. Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin said Russia is talking to NASA and the European Space Agency about participating in future Mars expeditions and assisting in launches — reconfirming the realization that complex exploration goals can be reached only via collective effort.
This leads to nostalgia about that classic American tradition called “The Road Trip,” in which four or five students pool their resources (share the cost of gas, beer and lodging) to achieve a common goal of reaching a distant college campus, fraternity branch or spring break destination. No one in his right mind would go it alone: more cost and less fun.
Now is the time for our leaders to take the next bold step in space exploration. The goals ahead are lofty but admirable: colonize the moon, put a human on Mars, and even go beyond our solar system. It is time to admit that no one nation can go it alone. Governments have a moral and fiscal obligation to join forces. The International Space Station has shown that cooperation brings results. It’s time to think big. Really big. We are presented with an opportunity for nations to work together on equal terms to accomplish constructive goals. (11/30)
Other Space Plans That Didn't Quite Work Out (Source: Daily Mail)
NASA launched the Curiosity, the most sophisticated Martian vehicle ever built, into space this weekend to work out if there could be life on Mars. As it begins its eight-month journey to the Red Planet, there are a huge number of books, magazines and comics from just a few decades ago that made predictions about Mankind making exactly this journey. But most of them got just a few of the details wrong. Click here. (11/30)
Despite Earmark Ban, Lawmakers Try to Give Money to Hundreds of Pet Projects (Source: Washington Post)
Members of the House and the Senate attempted to pack hundreds of special spending provisions into at least 10 bills in the summer and fall, less than a year after congressional leaders declared a moratorium on earmarks, congressional records show.
The moratorium, announced last November in the House and in February in the Senate, is a verbal commitment by the Republican leadership to prohibit lawmakers from directing federal funds to handpicked projects and groups in their districts. Lawmakers have tried to get around the moratorium by promising to allow other groups to compete for the funds. But the legislative language is so narrowly tailored that critics consider the practice to be earmarking by another name. (11/30)
FAA Searching for Space-Based ADS-B Provider (Source: Flight Global)
The FAA has issued a market survey to identify vendors who could provide a space-based automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) service for remote mountainous areas in the US and in oceanic regions starting in 2018. One possible option would be through a new Iridium NEXT constellation which should be in place by 2018. Iridium plans to begin building the constellation in 2015 using SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicles. The constellation is to have 66 operational spacecraft and six on-orbit spares.
Satellites, built by Thales Alenia, would include ADS-B receivers that pick up ADS-B data transmitted from aircraft and relay the surveillance data to ground stations which then would route the data to the FAA. Alaskan company ADS-B Technologies also has a network the company says could provide the service based on a constellation of Globalstar satellites that will be operational in 2013. (11/30)
Air Force Extending Mission of Mysterious X-37B (Source: LA Times)
The Air Force is extending the mission of an experimental robotic space plane that’s been circling the Earth for the last nine months. The pilotless X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, which looks like a miniature version of the space shuttle, was launched in March from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. At the time, Air Force officials offered few details about the mission, saying that the space plane simply provided a way to test new technologies in space, such as satellite sensors and other components.
The military did confirm that the 29-foot space plane was slated to land 270 days later, which would be Wednesday, on a 15,000-foot airstrip at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Now the Air Force has announced that the mission has been extended, but the exact landing date has not yet been set. Some analysts have theorized that -- because of its clandestine nature -- the X-37B could be a precursor to an orbiting weapon, capable of dropping bombs or disabling foreign satellites. The Pentagon has repeatedly said it is simply a “test bed” for other technologies. (11/30)
KSC Visitor Complex Prepares for Atlantis' Arrival (Source: Florida Today)
Make way for Atlantis! The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Tuesday began clearing room for the retired shuttle orbiter when cranes uprooted the first of two white solid rocket boosters displayed prominently near its entrance for more than a decade.
The Visitor Complex hopes to receive Atlantis from NASA by this time next year, rolling it into a partially completed, $100 million exhibit building under a timeline accelerated several months from earlier plans. “There’s quite a bit of work to do even after the orbiter is there, so fitting it in in that (late 2012) time frame really works out well for us,” said Bill Moore, chief operating officer of the complex managed by Delaware North Cos. Parks and Resorts.
After this week’s removal of the two display boosters and a rust-colored external tank from Shuttle Plaza to temporary storage at the space center, the full-size orbiter mockup Explorer should be sent to Houston within a month or so. (11/30)
Russia Mars Probe Failure Underlined by Successful U.S. Launch (Source: LA Times)
As the NASA rover Curiosity, launched from Cape Canaveral, streaks toward Mars, Russia's Phobos-Ground probe is marooned in near-Earth orbit and largely unresponsive to ground controllers' commands. Russia's space program has a bad case of the Red Planet blues.
Russian officials acknowledge that the narrow ballistic window for the spacecraft to reach Mars has closed, making it another in a series of failures for the country's space research. Since the retirement of the last space shuttle in July, U.S. astronauts heading to the International Space Station need to hitch a ride with the Russians, but officials say Russia's space program is suffering from worn-out equipment, a graying workforce and inability to attract a new generation of young specialists. (11/30)
Tyson Criticizes Common Views on Space Exploration (Source: Daily Princetonian)
Astrophysicist, former University lecturer and TV personality Neil deGrasse Tyson launched into a passionate criticism of public attitudes toward space exploration and the dominant myth that America was a pioneer in the field in a lecture on American space exploration to a packed audience in McCosh Hall on Tuesday night.
Citing Wilbur Wright’s 1901 assertion that “man will not fly for 50 years,” Tyson noted that scientists had joined the public in its skepticism about the pace of technological progress for much of the 20th century. The nation remained unwilling to predict rapid scientific advances until the launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union in 1957, when Americans realized that “all the sudden, space is accessible to us,” he explained.
He says the Soviet Union was the true space pioneer. Ticking off a list of all of the space feats first accomplished by so-called Evil Empire, Tyson compared the relatively few, though significant, U.S. space-related accomplishments in the same period. The United States was not motivated to further space science by a sense of wonderment or human curiosity about the unknown, but rather by its desire to technologically outdo the Soviet Union during the Cold War. (11/30)
How Tiny Worms Could Help Humans Colonize Mars (Source: Space.com)
Humanity's quest to colonize Mars could receive a big boost from some tiny worms, a new study suggests. Scientists tracked the development and reproduction of the microscopic roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans through 12 generations on the International Space Station. Studying these space-hardened worms could help humans deal with the rigors and risks of the long trip to Mars, researchers said.
"We have been able to show that worms can grow and reproduce in space for long enough to reach another planet, and that we can remotely monitor their health," said Nathaniel Szewczyk. "As a result, C. elegans is a cost-effective option for discovering and studying the biological effects of deep space missions," Szewczyk added. "Ultimately, we are now in a position to be able to remotely grow and study an animal on another planet." (11/29)
Orbit-Raising Commands Fail to Budge Phobos-Grunt Probe (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
Plagued by an undiagnosed problem that stranded it in Earth orbit, Russia's Phobos-Grunt Mars mission remained quiet Tuesday after renewed attempts to coax the craft back into contact with ground controllers. European Space Agency officials transmitted signals to raise Phobos-Grunt's orbit Tuesday in hopes it would allow greater communications opportunities at a higher altitude. The ploy didn't work, and the probe remains in a low-altitude orbit less than 200 miles above Earth.
Details on communications attempts have come exclusively from ESA. Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, has not released an update on Phobos-Grunt since Nov. 24. Officials hoped raising the craft's orbit would lengthen communications passes and give engineers a better chance of recovering the mission, but the commands didn't work Tuesday. ESA said Russia requested more orbit-raising commands to be transmitted Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. The outcome of those attempts will be known later Wednesday. (11/30)
China Launches Reconnaissance Satellite (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
A Long March rocket blasted off with a Chinese reconnaissance satellite Tuesday on an unannounced mission to collect imagery of strategic sites around the world. The Yaogan 13 remote sensing satellite took off at 1850 GMT (1:50 p.m. EST) Tuesday from the Taiyuan launching base in Shanxi province of northern China. The two-stage Long March 2C rocket placed the payload in a sun-synchronous orbit with an average altitude of about 300 miles, according to satellite tracking data. (11/30)
Europe Launches Suborbital Rocket to Test Propellant Technologies (Source: ESA)
ESA and the DLR German Space Center fired a Texus rocket 263 km into space on 27 November to test a new way of handling propellants on Europe’s future rockets. Texus 48 lifted off from the Esrange Space Center near Kiruna in northern Sweden on its 13-minute flight.
During the six minutes of weightlessness – mimicking the different stages of a full spaceflight – two new devices were tested for handling super-cold liquid hydrogen and oxygen propellants and then recovered for analysis. Building on over 30 years of Texus missions, flight 48 was the first to demonstrate a new technology for future launchers. (11/30)
Dark Matter Particles May Be Heavyweights After All (Source: New Scientist)
Dark matter is slowly running out of places to hide. Two new looks at the gamma-ray sky suggest that if the mysterious matter is a particle, it is heavier than 40 gigaelectronvolts, about 44 times the mass of a proton. That contradicts hints from three experiments on Earth that pointed to a lightweight dark matter particle weighing just a quarter as much, although some researchers say such featherweights are still in the running. Dark matter makes up about 80 per cent of the matter in the universe, but no one is sure what it's made of. (11/30)
Outcry Over EU Budget Plan (Source: Nature)
As Europe’s financial crisis deepens, a storm is also brewing over proposals that would change how two giant science and technology projects are funded. Both ITER — the international effort to build a fusion-energy test reactor — and an ambitious Earth-observation project called the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) program are too costly to remain under the general budget of the European Union (EU), according to proposals from the European Commission.
The solution, it says, is to corral funding for both projects separately from the next general budget, which will span 2014–20. The commission suggests that the projects — along with future large-scale science programmes — be supported through new intergovernmental organizations. EU member states would fund these bodies, perhaps along with an additional, capped contribution from the EU budget. (11/30)
Passage of NASA Budget Proof Congress Capable of Tough Decisions (Source: Federal News Radio)
Future investments in science and technology projects may be at stake if Congress doesn't reduce the federal deficit, Maryland lawmakers said at a townhall at NASA's Goddard Space Center. Nonetheless, the center emerged a winner in 2012 budget negotiations, with full funding for its James Webb Space Telescope.
Lawmakers have a lot of work to do to cut trillions of dollars from the deficit in the wake of the supercommittee's failure to do just that, said Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD). "Without disciplined, courageous, dedicated work to get a handle on our deficit, we will not have the incredibly important resources necessary to invest in the future," he said. "That's what we do when we fund NASA: We invest in the future." (11/30)
NASA Flying High with Budget Approval, Top Priorities in Place (Source: Federal News Radio)
When a congressional conference committee passed a 2012 budget resolution for some government agencies last week, NASA ended up with a budget not far from its original request. This came in the wake of the agency receiving its first clean financial audit opinion in nine years, something that helped its credibility with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
After much talking, NASA, Congress and the White House have set the agency's top three priorities for the next five years: A) Developing a heavy-lift space launch system; B) Extending the use of the International Space Station to at least 2020; and developing the James Webb Space Telescope.
NASA was also named one of the best places to work in government in a recent survey conducted by the Partnership for Public Service. "Number five is OK, but it's not number one," Charles Bolden said, with a laugh. "Let it be known by all others ahead of us that we're coming after them. We want to be the number one best place to work in government." (11/30)
Eight Florida Companies Win Phase-1 NASA SBIR and STTR Grants (Source: SPACErePORT)
NASA has selected 260 small companies nationwide for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program Phase-1 grants, and another 40 companies (teamed with universities) for Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase-1 grants. The grant programs are intended to seed the development of innovative technologies by small businesses.
The Florida SBIR companies include: Hidden Solutions (Yulee) for Multi-Path Guided Wave Imaging for Inspection and Monitoring of Large, Complex Structures; CommLargo Inc. (St. Petersburg) for Scintillation-Hardened GPS; Mainstream Engineering (Rockledge) for Thermally-Controlled Shipping Container for NanoRack and CubeSat Payloads; Leaping Catch (Titusville) for Image Analysis of the Lift-Off Acoustic Field; Florida Turbine Technologies (Jupiter) for Rotating on Suppression; and GameSim Technologies (Orlando) for Virtual Team Training Engine and Evaluation Framework.
The Florida STTR companies include: Gordon Nelson & Associates (Melbourne) for Flexible FR Polyurethane Foams for Energy Absorption; and Keystone Synergistic Enterprises (Port St. Lucie) for Closed-Loop Control of the Thermal Stir Welding Process. The Gordon Nelson project involves collaboration with the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne. (11/30)
Huntsville Companies Make NASA List for Technology Contracts (Source: Huntsville Times)
NASA has placed six Huntsville-area corporations and the University of Alabama in Huntsville on its list for 10 research feasibility studies and contracts to develop technology projects. Two types of contracts are involved. The first SBIR projects are feasibility study contracts. The STTR projects actually begin developing their technology ideas. Click here. (11/30)
Virgin Galactic Leases Las Cruces Headquarters (Source: New Mexico Business Weekly)
Virgin Galactic will oversee its space flight business from a 2,500-square-foot office on the east side of Las Cruces. The company, which plans to send paying tourists to space from the New Mexico Spaceport in southern New Mexico, has rented the top floor of the new Green Offices at 166 South Roadrunner Parkway, about two blocks south of the MountainView Regional Medical Center. The office suite will serve as Virgin Galactic’s New Mexico headquarters, housing about a dozen employees to start. (11/30)
Hedgeye Chief Queues Up for Space Travel (Source: Pensions & Investments)
The Singapore-based president and chief operating officer of Hedgeye signed up to be a passenger on Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, which is scheduled to begin offering suborbital spaceflights in 2013. Mr. Blum also will be joining the crew of Space Expedition Curacao, a commercial spacecraft scheduled to begin services in 2014. Passengers on Virgin Galactic will pay an average of $200,000 per trip while tickets on Expedition Curacao are estimated around $95,000 per person. (11/30)
Space.Travel Introduces Destination Website for Outer Space (Source: Space.Travel)
Space.Travel launched space tourism to a new level this week with the introduction of the Space.Travel website. The website offers member-only benefits including discounts on space-related travel. The Space trip reviews section invites members to describe and post travel reviews of their experiences. These experiences or trips include among others, visiting a space center or museum, attending a space camp or launch event, experiencing weightlessness in an aircraft, or even visiting outer space itself. Click here.
Editor's Note: Still wondering if spaceflight is for you? Click here for WIRED's "universal guide for going into space." (11/30)
A Horrible Thing Happened to Enos the Chimp When He Orbited Earth (Source: The Atlantic)
Few remember the second chimp launched into space by the U.S. Even fewer remember the terrible equipment malfunction that subjected the animal to 76 electric shocks in orbit. The chimps of space -- Ham, the first primate in space, and Enos, the second primate to orbit Earth -- have a special place in our memories of NASA. They paved the way for the U.S. space program by convincing biologists that animals' bodies *and* minds could function in orbit.
But there was a dark side to the missions. The chimps were the first to be trained by "avoidance conditioning" during which electric shocks were administered to the soles of their feet when the animals responded incorrectly in carrying out simple tasks. So, for example, the animals would be presented with three shapes and were trained to pick out the one that was not like the two others. They made their selections by pressing one of three levers that corresponded to the three symbols.
After Enos was in orbit, his first battery of oddity problems went as well as could be expected. After 18 problems, Enos had received 10 shocks. But on his next battery of tests, the center lever malfunctioned as did the switch controlling which question was presented. Enos, strapped into a space module orbiting the earth, was subjected to 33 shocks in a row, no matter what he did. Click here. (11/30)
Authorities Gauge Impact of Europe’s Galileo Navigation Satellite System (Source: NewsWise)
Experts have taken a look at the status of Europe’s Galileo global navigation satellite system, emphasizing the prospect for international cooperation, tapping into the satellite navigation business sector, and identifying key benefits for European citizens.
Secure World Foundation (SWF) brought together on November 22 leading authorities to participate in a debate on Galileo - its current status and future opportunities. The event was part of SWF’s Brussels Space Policy Round Table – a series of panel discussions that focus on significant global space events with a particular emphasis on Europe. Click here. (11/30) http://www.newswise.com/articles/authorities-gauge-impact-of-europe-s-galileo-navigation-satellite-system
Forget Asteroids—Send a Manned Flyby Mission to Venus (Source: Scientific American)
Our closest planetary neighbor is notable by its absence in many exploration scenarios. I’ve always had a nagging suspicion that when it came to choosing targets for planetary exploration, Venus has gotten the short shrift over the last two decades—-especially from NASA.
So, why not make up for this exclusion by adding our closest planetary neighbor into NASA’s destinations for astronauts to visit when their new booster and spacecraft technology comes on line in the coming decades? It seems that in the 1960s, during the height of the space race, NASA engineers had made serious inquiries about what it would take to send astronauts to Venus—not to land, but to do a manned flyby. Click here. (11/30)
Cape Canaveral Spaceport Would Lose Representation in Redistricting Plan (Source: Florida Today)
Although Florida's total representation in Congress will grow from 25 to 27, the Cape Canaveral Spaceport will have one less representative under a redistricting plan released by the Florida Senate. Currently, Brevard County is represented by two members: the southern two-thirds (including Cape Canaveral Air Force Station) by Rep. Bill Posey, and the northern part (including Kennedy Space Center) by Rep. Sandy Adams. Both Adams and Posey are Republicans.
Under the Senate proposal, a newly redrawn District 15 would include all of Brevard and Indian River counties as well as the eastern portion of Orange County. The Senate's proposal is just the first step in a long once-a-decade process of redrawing political lines to account for population shifts documented by the U.S. Census. The Senate version is subject to amendment as the legislative session begins in January and will have to be compromised with House proposals. Ultimately, the Legislature’s districts will be subjected to court review as well. (11/29)
Lawmakers Advocate for $7 Billion Satellite Program (Source: Bloomberg)
Members of the U.S. Senate intelligence committee are asking the Obama administration to spare a commercial satellite program developed by GeoEye and DigitalGlobe from budget cuts. The $7 billion program provides satellite imagery to defense and intelligence agencies. Seven Democrats and five Republicans wrote a letter supporting the program to National Intelligence Director James Clapper and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. (11/29)
Mars Science Lab Focus For Planners (Source: Aviation Week)
NASA’s Human Spaceflight Architecture Team members will be among those watching closely as the agency’s ambitious $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory mission unfolds, hopeful the long mission delivers a bounty of scientific and engineering findings that improve their understanding of the environmental challenges confronting the first human explorers of the Red Planet.
While the primary thrust of the mission is to characterize the habitability of the Gale crater landing site, NASA’s 55-member architecture team will focus on hazards posed by the structure and chemical composition of the pervasive dust as well as the surface radiation levels from solar and galactic sources. The planning group will also focus on the chemical composition of the soil and the atmosphere as potential sources of oxygen, hydrogen and methane for the production of air and water for life support as well as propellant.
NASA’s most recent lander, the 2008 Phoenix mission, discovered ice just below the martian surface at its near north pole landing site. The extent of the subsurface ice sheet is unclear, but a similar finding at Gale crater could up the ante for life support and propellant production as well. The architecture team took over a nearly three-decade Mars planning effort a year ago in response to President Obama’s directive that the agency pursue a flexible path of future human exploration leading to a Mars landing in the mid-2030s. (11/29)
UK Space Radar Project Initiated (Source: BBC)
The UK government is to kick-start an innovative project to fly radar satellites around the Earth, with an initial investment of £21m. Radar spacecraft can see the planet's surface in all weathers, day and night. It is hoped that a series of satellites could eventually be launched, enabling any place on Earth to be imaged inside 24 hours - a powerful capability.
The radar money is part of a £200m boost for science announced by the Chancellor in his Autumn Statement. George Osborne's investment will be matched by industry. The project being backed by government has been developed by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), which specializes in building small, low-cost spacecraft, and its parent company, Astrium, which makes some of the biggest satellites in orbit today. (11/29)
Duo: Intelligent Life Existed on Mars (Source: Asbury Park Press)
A group of researchers, including a planetary researcher and an image analyst, claim that there are constructs on Mars that cannot be explained as the result of natural forces. Referring in particular to one parrot-shaped geoglyph that is the focus of their studies, James Miller said, “Yes, it could be partially natural, but it had to be worked. There would have to be six different geological events happening within a mile by a half-mile area for this thing to have happened naturally.”
Not so fast, said a professor with a specialty in planetary science. “Everything I see in those images can be explained by natural processes, primarily wind erosion of layered materials. Indeed, it is very easy for the eye to see what look like familiar forms in unfamiliar settings, and I'm sure that's what's happening here,” said Steven Squyres, an astronomy professor at Cornell University, who has been an investigator on many Martian science robotic probe programs. Click here to see the image. (11/29)
Aerojet Completes PDR on Next-Gen Upper Stage Engine Turbopump (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Based on a request from the US Air Force, a new Upper Stage engine – to ultimately replace the RL-10 used by the Atlas V and Delta IV – has made another advance, as Aerojet – one of the competitors to win the contract to debut the engine in 2017 – noted they that have completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) of their proposal’s turbopump assembly. (11/29)
Space Officials From Several States Meet in Orlando Today (Source: Florida Today)
Representatives from states with space interests will convene in Orlando today and Wednesday for closed meetings to discuss opportunities to collaborate to influence national policy and grow the industry. Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll and Space Florida are hosts of the first “space states” conference at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport.
Carroll expects the conference to “move an agenda forward for our national leaders,” she said last month at an industry roundtable at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The governor’s press office on Monday did not immediately respond to a request for more information. Space Florida officials also couldn’t be reached to confirm the conference’s attendees or agenda. (11/29)
Report: Virginia Should Curtail Orbital Sciences to Grow Wallops (Source: Daily Press)
Buried in a 71-page report released by Gov. Bob McDonnell's office is a recommendation that could make or break Virginia's goal to build the nation's premier spaceport on Wallops Island. The report suggests that Orbital Sciences Corp. — the state's biggest partner in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport — should no longer have a voting position on the spaceport's board of directors.
By removing Orbital's representation, the board can "avoid perceived conflict on interest concerns by potential customers" and "provide a level playing field for all customers." The suggestion has merits — competing aerospace companies, such as SpaceX or Boeing, may be reluctant to invest in a facility where Orbital has such an influence. And, as the report suggests, Virginia officials should be directing their energy toward attracting new customers.
But state officials, chiefly the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority, do not want to alienate Orbital. The company, after all, chose Wallops instead of Florida's space coast to base its $1.9 billion NASA contract to ferry supplies to the International Space Station. In a phrase: the spaceport's expansion is due largely to Orbital securing that contract. (11/29)
10 Unsolved Martian Mysteries (Source: i09)
For decades, humanity has been launching missions to Mars, in hopes of making sense of the enigma that is our solar system's most Earth-like planet. And as with all good mysteries, many of our investigations have simply led to more questions. Among the most pressing of these questions is whether Mars is, or ever has been, an environment hospitable to life — and on Saturday, NASA's Curiosity rover embarked for the Red Planet to determine precisely that. But the question of whether life ever thrived on Mars is just one of the Red Planet's many mysteries. Here are ten more that we look forward to finding answers to in the years ahead. Click here. (11/28)
One Promising Puzzle Piece for Confirming Dark Matter Now Seems Unlikely (Source: Kavli Foundation)
Like musicians who make up a melody as they go along, scientists often improvise even after an experiment is underway. One recent example of this comes from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Launched by NASA in June 2008, the $690 million telescope has since been working as advertised, providing scientists with the most complete look yet at gamma rays, the highest energy forms of light.
But just two months after the launch, a tantalizing finding from a European experiment hinting at evidence of dark matter had Stefan Funk and Justin Vandenbroucke wondering if the telescope could be used to look at something for which it wasn’t intended -- specifically, electrons and their antimatter twins, positrons, that are streaming across the universe in cosmic rays. Click here. (11/29)
Researcher Says Curiosity Can Confirm Viking Detected Life (Source: Gilbert Levin)
NASA has repeatedly stated that its new mission to Mars, Curiosity, carries no life detector. Yet, Gilbert V. Levin, Experimenter on NASA's 1976 Viking Mission, disagrees. He says instruments aboard Curiosity can confirm his published claim that his Labeled Release (LR) experiment detected living microorganisms on Mars.
Dr. Levin was Experimenter and Dr. Patricia Ann Straat Co-Experimenter on the experiment that produced evidence of life on Mars. Because another Viking instrument failed to find organic matter, the stuff of life, NASA discounted the LR results. Since Viking, Mars missions have sought only evidence of habitability, not life itself. Levin now claims the organic analyzers and the high-resolution camera on Curiosity as his "stealth life detectors." (11/28)
Pluto's Moons Could Spell Danger for New Horizons Spacecraft (Source: Space.com)
When NASA's New Horizons spacecraft reaches Pluto in 2015, it may find the region more hazardous than anticipated. The discovery of several moons around Pluto — and the potential for more — increase the risks during the probe's flyby. The small moons are under constant bombardment from nearby space rocks called Kuiper Belt objects, but the moons' low gravity prevents them from holding on to chunks of dirt and rock that fly free when hit. The debris instead finds itself caught in orbit around Pluto, where it could pose a serious threat to New Horizons. (11/28)
Senator Seeks To Stall LightSquared (Source: Aviation Week)
As LightSquared wraps up another round of testing on its new approach to deploy a broadband-wireless network, lawmakers are pushing measures to prevent the plan from moving forward until they are satisfied that the network would not interfere with GPS use. U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) attached an amendment to the financial services and government affairs appropriations bill prohibiting the FCC from using any funds to permit LightSquared to build the network until concerns regarding GPS interference are addressed. (11/28)
Come Home to Virginia, Dream Chaser (Source: Spaceports Blog)
A spacecraft of the future could have its roots in a "space taxi" concept called the HL-20, developed at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Sierra Nevada, the company designing the Dream Chaser as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Development program, this past summer thanked the engineers who came up with the HL-20 and studied it 20 years ago - before the project was canceled.
The Virginia-based vision vehicle, the Dream Chaser should be mated to an Atlas-V and launched from Wallops Island, Va. in this decade. That is the best way to salute the Virginians at NASA Langley who worked the vehicle from concept to model for today's engineers to complete and fly. (11/28)
Russia’s Glonass-M satellite Launched From Plesetsk Spaceport (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia sent another Glonass-M navigation satellite into orbit on Monday. The Soyuz carrier rocket with the satellite on board was launched from the Plesetsk space center earlier in the day. Mission control specialists have been holding a steady connection with the satellite and its onboard systems are operating normally.
The Glonass-M will augment a group of 30 Glonass satellites already in orbit. This was the last launch of a Glonass satellite this year. Glonass is Russia's answer to the U.S. Global Positioning System, or GPS, and is designed for both military and civilian uses. Both systems allow users to determine their positions to within a few meters. (11/28)
Indra to Build Ground Control System for Spain's Radar Satellite (Source: Space News)
Spanish information-technology company Indra will provide the ground control segment for Spain’s Paz radar Earth observation satellite under a contract with the Spanish Defense Ministry valued at 9 million euros ($12.1 million). Under the contract, with the National Aerospace Technologies Institute (INTA), which is affiliated with the Defense Ministry, Indra will provide several components of the Paz ground network including a data-processing center.
The 1,400-kilogram Paz satellite will be equipped with an X-band radar capable of delivering images with a ground resolution as sharp as 1 meter in diameter. The satellite features various operating modes offering different image sharpness and swath widths. (11/28)
Red Planet Blues (Source: Space Review)
With Russia's Phobos-Grunt spacecraft all but dead, Russian scientists are making plans for future missions even as the president of Russia threatens prosecution for those involved with the failure. Dwayne Day examines what Russia should, and should not, do to reinvigorate its planetary exploration program. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1980/1 to view the article. (11/28)
The SLS: Too Expensive for Exploration? (Source: Space Review)
The Space Launch System, NASA's new heavy-lift vehicle, has not met with universal acceptance since the design was formally announced in September. John Strickland argues that the SLS, as currently conceived, will be too expensive to support the exploration missions and other applications envisioned for it. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1979/1 to view the article. (11/28)
Making the Case, Again, for Space-Based Solar Power (Source: Space Review)
Space-based solar power is a concept that has strong support from a small number of space advocates, but little attention or funding from broader audiences. Jeff Foust reports on a new study that offers optimism for the future of space solar power even as the political landscape for supporting it becomes even more challenging. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1978/1 to view the article. (11/28)
EU Code of Conduct: commentary on Indian Concerns and Their Effects (Source: Space Review)
A European Union proposal for a "Code of Conduct" for space activities has run into opposition from some countries, including India. Michael Listner discusses what Indian officials find objectionable in the code and the options for handing those concerns. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1977/1 to view the article. (11/28)
Will NASA Ever Recover Apollo 13′s Plutonium From the Sea? (Source: Txchnologist)
Will NASA ever recover the 3.9 kg of plutonium from Apollo 13’s SNAP-27 nuclear reactor from the depths of the South Pacific Ocean. The plutonium, like the astronauts, apparently survived reentry and came to rest with what remained of the lunar module the Tonga Trench south of Fiji, approximately 6-9 kilometers underwater (it’s exact location is unkown). Extensive monitoring of the atmosphere in the area showed that no radiation escaped.
But with a new breed of submarines from the U.S. and China pushing deeper into the ocean’s deepest depths, is NASA interested in recovering this toxic material? Will NASA Ever Recover Apollo 13′s Plutonium From the Sea? “I don’t think that anyone has seriously considered that,” said Leonard Dudzinski, a NASA executive who deals with radioisotope power systems. The plutonium was in an oxide form about one-tenth of a millimeter in diameter contained in fuel capsule, which itself was inside a graphite and ceramic fuel cask. The current expectation is that the cladding will survive for 10 half lives of the Plutonium, close to 870 years. (11/28)
Embry-Riddle Prepares for Bigger Role in UAV Systems (Source: sUAS News)
CATI Training Systems has been awarded a contract to deliver eight X-TUAS™ ground control station (GCS) unmanned aerial systems training devices to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Daytona Beach, Fla., campus. The training devices will be part of the new CATI UAS Laboratory supporting the university’s new Bachelor of Science degree program in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Science.
Editor's Note: With this and other UAS resources (like the newly opened NextGen Testbed), Embry-Riddle will be working with Space Florida and other Florida stakeholders to pursue the creation of a UAS Test Range in the state. Embry-Riddle is also supporting a similar effort in Arizona. Five UAS Test Ranges are expected to be established nationwide by the FAA, in coordination with the Air Force and NASA. (11/28)
Pentagon Faces Dire Scenario of $600 Billion Budget Cuts (Source: Defense News)
The Pentagon is facing additional budget cuts of $600 billion over the next decade because the congressional supercommittee failed to reach its goal of cutting $1.2 trillion from the federal deficit. "We're going to be cutting fighting muscle, increasing risk, changing strategy before we start talking about the totally irresponsible sequester-type cuts," said Arnold Punaro, a former staff director for the Senate Armed Services Committee. "I think we need to let the body politic absorb what the Pentagon is already doing." (11/28)
Defense Department Could "Front-Load" Cuts, Committee Says (Source: Aviation Week)
The defense industry is bracing for another round of drastic budget cuts after the congressional supercommittee's failure to reach consensus on reducing the deficit. "The [Defense Department] will have to front-load many of the cuts because of high short-term costs such as separation payments and penalties for canceling contracts," said the House Armed Services Committee. "Even if the Congress were to amend the sequestration triggers in the next year, some decisions would be irrevocable." (11/28)
NASA Looks for Commercial Option for Cryogenic Rocket Engine (Source: Space News)
NASA plans to outsource the upper-stage cryogenic rocket engine for the first two flights of the Space Launch System because of limited funds. "Acquisition planning is in progress to evaluate the various commercial options available to NASA," said Jennifer Stanfield, a NASA spokeswoman. The first flight of the Space Launch System in slated for 2017. (11/28)
Brazil, Ukraine to Boost Cooperation in Space, Technology and Defense (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Brazil and Ukraine have decided to deepen the strategic partnership and strengthen cooperation in the spheres of space and military science. This was discussed at the meeting of the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation in Brazil, Mercadante, with Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov.
Mercadante said the strategic cooperation in the space between the countries and expressed interest in signing the relevant contracts for 20-30 years with the possibility of private sector involvement. In particular, he noted the prospects for bilateral cooperation in the Cyclone-4 project. (11/28)
ILS Proton Lofts AsiaSat 7 Into Orbit (Source: Space News)
An International Launch Services (ILS) Proton rocket successfully placed the AsiaSat 7 commercial telecommunications satellite into geostationary transfer orbit Nov. 26 for fleet operator AsiaSat of Hong Kong. The launch, from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, was the fifth commercial liftoff of the year for Virginia-based ILS and the eighth overall Proton mission in 2011. (11/28)
Suborbital Research Opportunities Discussed at European Gathering (Source: Cosmica Spacelines)
VEGA Space hosted the SubSpace 2011 conference in Darmstadt, Germany with leaders of the European space industry addressing current trends and plans for the future of microgravity research on reusable suborbital vehicles. The purpose of the conference was to break the paradigm of current microgravity research with limited flight rates and high costs. Reusable suborbital launch vehicles overcome both of these concerns, thereby facilitating innovation. Click here. (11/28)
Playing While at Work (Source: Washington Post)
Toys at offices around the Beltway certainly are not as common as pencil holders, but neither are they merely decorative or the purview of parents with young children. They encourage creativity, brainstorming and imagination. They can be found in some creative departments and advertising agencies, on some association executive director’s desks and even at NASA.
“The toys are a good way to introduce kids [to] what space is all about. Let’s face it — we all like to play with toys,” said Alan Ladwig, NASA’s deputy associate administrator of communications, who’s in charge of public outreach, including exhibits and astronaut visits. Plus, he said, they are a great conversation starter for meetings. Click here. (11/28)
Jefferson Space Museum Opens Online (Source: JSM)
Astronauts, ground support crews, and even a few cosmonauts, have sometimes carried or sent U.S. $2 bills into the deep, black void of space during many historic missions that span manned spaceflight history. They took or sent these symbols of home as mementos, good luck charms, or simply favors for family or friends. Whatever the reason, they have made Thomas Jefferson a sort of honorary, accidental astronaut of manned spaceflight history. What you are about to experience in our Gallery is the world’s largest collection of space flown U.S. $2 bills, spanning the entire history of U.S. manned space flight. Click here. (11/28)
Virginia Space Grant Scholarships Available (Source: Rappahannock.edu)
The Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC) has just opened the application process for its 2012-2013 Community College STEM Scholarship Program. VSGC is a coalition of five Virginia colleges and universities (the College of William and Mary, Hampton University, Old Dominion University, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Tech), NASA, several state educational agencies, Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology, and other institutions representing diverse aerospace education and research.
Annually, VSGC awards over $325,000 to students pursuing higher education at one of its five member institutions, or at one of the 23 Virginia community colleges. Rappahannock Community College students are eligible for a number of scholarships awarded each year to those pursuing a STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) degree, the specific number being contingent on available funding from NASA and the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Community College STEM Scholarship provides a one-year non-renewable award of $2,000 for students enrolled full time (12 credit hours or more per semester) at a VCCS college. Click here. (11/28)
India Must Explore Possible Resources in Space (Source: Daily Bhaskar)
Space tourism doesn't make sense for India, said Wing Commander (retd) Rakesh Sharma. Sharma, the first Indian to go to space, said that India should instead concentrate on exploring space, particularly to exploit the resources available there. "Space tourism is inevitable. The West can go for it but it doesn't make sense for India which needs to concentrate its energy and efforts on other important things as far as space exploration is concerned," said Sharma.
He said India's thrust should be towards sending more manned missions to space to explore possible resources, given the fact that those on earth are depleting fast. "We should be looking at having a manned presence in space. We can also look at the possibility of deep space exploration that can be launched from the moon," said Sharma. He talked about the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and how nothing of importance had come out of it. He also commented on the time it takes for the organization to come up with a product. (11/28)
Russian President Threatens to Punish Officials for Space Failures (Source: FOX News)
The Russian president threatened to punish those responsible for the country's recent space failures, which included the botched launch of a Mars probe earlier this month. Dmitry Medvedev warned that the space officials responsible could face heavy fines or even criminal penalties. "The latest failures [in the space industry] seriously harm Russia's competitiveness," he said. "This means that we need to conduct a serious analysis and punish those responsible." Russian space agency Roscosmos faced several mishaps over the past 11 months. (11/28)
Freighter to Take Russian Space Equipment to Kourou (Source: Itar-Tass)
Russia’s An-124-100 Ruslan freighter will take the third stage of Russia’s Soyuz-ST carrier rocket to the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. “The air carrier’s freighters have repeatedly delivered foreign spaceships to the Kourou spaceport for the European Space Agency (ESA),” an official said. “But the Ruslan freighter will take the Russian space equipment to French Guiana for the first time.” (11/28)
Out of This World - Except For the Service (Source: SMH)
Space flights, space "hotels" and the ability to zoom from one side of the planet to the other in a matter of hours are all being promised as entrepreneurs fight to be the first to bring "space tourism" to the people. Unsurprisingly, there is plenty of hype each time an announcement is made but how real is all this? Will space ever become a genuine travel option for the ordinary person, or will it remain the domain of astronauts along with the ridiculously rich?
The executive chairman of the CAPA Center for Aviation, Peter Harbison, says it's "definitely going to be the latter for quite some time". "It is not something that is going to be commercially viable in the short term," he says. "Quite probably by 2030 or 2040 we will be starting to see some [wider] consumer benefits from it but it's highly unlikely it will be before then." (11/28)
Shuttle Launch Director To Depart NASA (Source: Florida Today)
The steady hand who led NASA's shuttle launch team through the assembly of the International Space Station, the recovery from the 2003 Columbia accident and the retirement of the shuttle fleet is departing the nation's space agency this week after almost three decades of service. Veteran Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach will be joining "a major aerospace company," taking a job that will keep he and his wife, Charlotte, on Florida's Space Coast. (11/27)
NASA Sets High Bar for Wannabe Astronauts (Source: Washington Post)
NASA, which today sent its new rover Curiosity to Mars to explore whether the planet could have ever sustained life, is now accepting applications for a new corps of astronauts — and the qualifications are tough. Not all undergraduate college degrees are accepted, program quality matters, masters and doctorates are beneficial, and post-college experience is required. Those who have trouble with math and science need not apply.
The last time NASA chose a new group of astronaut candidates was in 2009, when nine applicants from 3,564 were selected. NASA is accepting applications through Jan. 27. Interviews and evaluations of the initial group chosen will then begin, and NASA expects to announce its final selections in 2013. Several years of training will begin in August of that year for the astronauts, who may be involved in work on the International Space Station and future deep space exploration. Click here. (11/26)
The History of Mars Exploration: A Timeline (Source: Florida Today)
The U.S. has led international efforts to explore the Red Planet. Click here for an interactive timeline of U.S. missions to Mars. (11/27)
Mars Rover Designed, Built in California (Source: NBC)
As the latest Mars rover, Curiosity, wings its way to the red planet, scientists at Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be watching closely. The Caltech-affiliated program, which is part of NASA, is responsible for managing the rover, and scientists there designed, developed and assembled it. The rover is part of the Mars Science Laboratory, which will pioneer new landing technology when it touches down inside the planet's Gale Crater. The rover’s mission is expected to last two years. (11/27)
Stolen Space Treasures Rescued From Auction (Source: Florida Today)
The identification badges of three astronaut heroes who were killed in the line of duty. Heat-shielding tiles plucked from the space shuttle orbiters. A humongous rocket engine. Those are some of the items stolen by space workers who apparently tried to sell them, through a friend or via auction houses or websites like eBay. The crimes were foiled by agents working for NASA’s Inspector General, the taxpayer-watchdog arm of the nation’s space agency.
Over the course of the last half year, they’ve also identified and tried to suggest fixes to problems that led to the waste of millions of dollars of taxpayer money, put astronauts or other space workers in danger or threatened the security of critical computer systems at NASA sites across the country. But it’s the theft of space artifacts and hardware that jump out of the public records documenting the inspector general agents’ work.
Times are tough and perhaps no tougher than for space agency workers trying to find a way to transition to new lives, either as part of the downsized program or in new jobs. But it’s troubling to read some of the stories outlined by the inspector general about swiped space stuff. Click here to read a few. (11/27)
Plutonium Disaster Plan Back on Shelf (Source: Florida Today)
At the Brevard County Emergency Operations Center, more than 30 emergency and safety responders, along with representatives from the Department of Energy, breathed a sigh of relief 50 seconds into Saturday's launch. “We're clear of any risk at this point,” said EOC Director Bob Lay, 55 seconds after the Atlas V rocket carrying the Mars rover Curiosity launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Starting at 6 a.m., representatives from multiple agencies, including Port Canaveral Police, Patrick Air Force Base, Kennedy Space Center, Brevard County Fire-Rescue, the state Department of Transportation and Florida Department of Law Enforcement, were poised to respond to any launch disaster that might have occurred. (11/27)
Japan Calls it Quits on Infrared Space Telescope (Source: SpaceflightNow.com)
Japan announced this week its Akari infrared space telescope was switched off after five years of scanning the sky in search of star-forming dust clouds, ancient galaxies in the distant universe, and asteroids within the solar system. The Akari mission succumbed to trouble in its power generation system, which first appeared in May and ended the satellite's scientific observations in June.
The observatory stopped receiving electricity on the night side of its orbit around Earth, an indication its batteries were not charging sufficiently. The craft remained powered in sunlight. The anomaly appeared May 24 when Akari shifted to a low-power mode and haulted science observations. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, concluded the problem was probably within the satellite's electrical system. (11/26)
Space Tourism: From Space Ships to Space Hotels (Source: Economic Times)
What is in store for space tourism in the coming few years? Oct. 4, 2004, marked the beginning of a new era where private enterprise began to compete with government programs in providing safe affordable access to space. On this day, SpaceShipOne (SS1), built by an American company called Scaled Composites, rocketed into history.
It became the first private-manned spacecraft to exceed an altitude of 328,000 feet (approximately 100 km or 60 miles) twice within the span of a 14-day period, thus claiming the $10-million Ansari X-Prize. The SS1 endeavour was led by aerospace engineer and maverick Burt Rutan and funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. British businessman Richard Branson cashed in on this remarkable achievement and created Virgin Galactic. Virgin Galactic will use the new spaceport being built in New Mexico.
After Branson launched his venture, there have been other companies that have announced plans to build private space planes for space tourists. These include EADS Astrium, Tails, Blue Origin, to name a few. In addition to space planes that will take tourists to suborbital space, there are companies that are pursuing the idea of space hotels in Earth orbit. The company leading the pack is a Las Vegas-based company called Bigelow Aerospace. (11/27)
US Seeks Answers on Chinese Access to Australian Satellite Station (Source: The Australian)
US defense and diplomatic officials have queried the Australian government about revelations that China's military-run space program was using a satellite station in Western Australia. They asked the Australian embassy in Washington to provide information about China's use of the ground station before President Barack Obama's visit to Australia this month. US officials were anxious to ensure that the sensitive issue did not undermine the President's visit. (11/27)
NASA Launches Biggest-Ever Rover to Mars (Source: Space Daily)
NASA's Curiosity rover, the biggest, most sophisticated robotic explorer ever built, blasted off Saturday on a journey to Mars, where it will hunt for signs life once existed there. Curiosity, which is the size of a large car and weighs in at one ton, has a laser beam for zapping interesting rocks and a tool kit for analyzing their contents. It carries a robotic arm, a drill, and a set of 10 science instruments including two color video cameras.
Sensors will enable it to report back on the Martian weather and the levels of radiation in the atmosphere -- important data for NASA as it devises future human exploration missions. Known formally as the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), the spacecraft launched at 10:02 am (1502 GMT) atop an Atlas V rocket to begin its nearly nine month trip to the Red Planet. Editor's Note: Here's a picture of the rover. It is huge! (11/26)
Opportunity Rover Continutes To Scout For Site To Winter In (Source: Space Daily)
In preparing for positioning Opportunity for the coming winter, the project has been scouting sites with favorable northerly tilt on the north end of Cape York on the rim of Endeavour Crater. There are two candidate sites for winter havens that indicate sufficient northerly tilt. Opportunity is investigating one of those two sites with the plan to spend the Thanksgiving holiday there. (11/26)
Newly Discovered Planet Just Like Earth, Could Contain Liquid Water (Source: Daily Mail)
Scientists have discovered a planet which could have the most Earth-like environment ever found - raising a 'very compelling case' for life there. Gliese 581g, located around 123trillion miles away, orbits a star at a distance that places it squarely in the habitable - or Goldilocks - zone, NASA said. The research, the product of more than a decade of observations at the WM Keck Observatory in Hawaii, suggests the planet could contain liquid water on its surface. (11/25)
Space Lab Student Competition on YouTube Attracts 5500 Teams (Source: ESA)
ESA astronauts will join Google and YouTube managers on 30 November to present highlights of the 'Space Lab' competition. Space Lab is challenging students around the world to design a science experiment for the International Space Station. Launched just seven weeks ago, Space Lab has already attracted 5500 experiment proposals by registered team and individual competitors – and the dedicated YouTube site has recorded 14 million views. Click here. (11/25)
Space Agency Postpones Phobos Contact Until Monday (Source: RIA Novosti)
The European Space Agency (ESA) put off attempting to contact the stranded Russian Phobos-Grunt spacecraft until Monday, the head of the ESA office in Moscow said on Friday. Rene Pichel said the ESA’s station in Perth, Australia, which had contacted Phobos on Thursday, had been focusing on Phobos-Grunt since and now had a backlog that they will have to catch up with over the weekend. (11/25)
NASA Administrator Tours Space Coast Company Assisting With Mars Rover Launch (Source: NASA)
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden toured Kegman Inc. of Melbourne, Florida, one company that supplied technology and engineering support to the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover. Bolden's tour of Kegman coincided with the Second Annual Small Business Saturday, a day to support the local small businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country.
"Even in a project as expansive and with dramatic long-range impact, small businesses like Kegman and nearly two dozen other small businesses around the nation are playing a large role," Bolden said. Kegman Inc. is an economically disadvantaged, woman-owned, veteran-owned small business. It monitors and analyzes the wind impact during launch preparations. (11/25)
Russia's Medvedev Evokes Stalin Ahead of Elections (Source: Space Daily)
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday evoked the executions of the Stalin era in a pre-election vow to punish those responsible for a recent string of costly space mishaps. "The recent failures are a big blow to our competitiveness. This does not mean that anything fatal happened. It just means that we have to find those responsible and punish them," Medvedev said in nationally televised remarks.
"I am not suggesting that we line people up against the wall like we did when Joseph Vissarionovich was in power," he added in reference to the firing squads that Stalin used to execute his political foes in 1930s purges. "Nevertheless, we have to punish them seriously." Russia's once-proud space program was hit by a shocking series of setbacks this year that included the loss of an International Space Station cargo craft and a Mars moon probe that became stuck in an low Earth orbit upon launch. (11/26)
Come Home X-37B (Source: Space Daily)
At the end of November, the mysterious X-37B robot spaceplane will reach a critical point in its mission. This time will mark the end of the official 270-day endurance limit of the semi-secret military shuttle. The X-37B could be getting ready to come home. But will it? Let's rewind and review what this is all about. The X-37B is a small, experimental winged spacecraft operated by the US Air Force. It's roughly the size of a car, and has wings and a small cargo bay with clamshell doors that open up in orbit. Click here. (11/26)
AsiaSat 7 Launched Aboard Russian Proton Rocket (Source: Space Daily)
AsiaSat 7, a new communications satellite of Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat), was launched on Nov. 26 aboard an ILS Proton Breeze M launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 9 hours and 13 minutes after liftoff, AsiaSat 7 successfully separated from the launch vehicle. Over the next few days, the satellite will arrive at the geostationary orbit, some 36,000 km above the Equator. (11/26)
SpaceX Expanding Florida Facilities To Meet Launch Demand (Source: Space News)
To accommodate an expected flight rate of 10 to 12 launches per year, SpaceX is building a 16,000-square-meter addition to Space Launch Complex 40 and taking over an old Delta 2 processing building called Hangar AO. Space Florida, a state-funded agency focused on expanding space-related business in Florida, is providing $7.3 million toward the upgrades.
The upgrade includes a clean room, a hazardous hypergolic fueling facility and enough volume to encapsulate a payload in a fairing in a vertical position. “We’ll be able to integrate three rockets at a time instead of one,” Scott Henderson, SpaceX’s director of mission assurance, said. The company also plans to either upgrade Pad 40 or add another launch pad to support its planned Falcon Heavy rockets. That would be in addition to the West Coast Falcon Heavy launch complex under construction at Vandenberg Air Force (11/26)
Amendments Call for Tighter Scrutiny of EELV Program (Source: Space News)
The DOD’s primary satellite launching program would be subjected to tighter internal and congressional scrutiny under an amendment to the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act. A related amendment, to be considered as early as Nov. 28, directs the U.S. Air Force to document plans to implement the recommendations of a GAO report that urged the service to rethink its current launch vehicle procurement strategy, which calls for block buys of Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets.
Both amendments pertaining to the Air Force’s EELV program were authored by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The measure updates legislation that previously was introduced in June, but would reduce overall Pentagon spending by an additional $21 billion above the $27 billion target set in the Budget Control Act of 2011. (11/25)
Soyuz Rocket with Glonass-M Satellite Positioned for Launch in Plesetsk (Source: Itar-Tass)
A Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle was positioned for launch at the Plesetsk spaceport on Friday. A full series of tests is being run, Russian Space Forces spokesman Col. Alexei Zolotukhin told Itar-Tass on Friday. “A state commission authorized the rocket’s pre-launch positioning yesterday,” he said. “The Soyuz-2.1b with a Glonass-M navigation satellite will take off on November 28, 2011,” he said. (11/25)
The New Cosmodome: An Exclusive Virtual Concept in Canada (Source: CNW)
Members of the media are cordially invited to a news conference and to view a demonstration of the new virtual space adventure concept at the Cosmodome on Nov. 28. After 17 years of existence, the Cosmodome has undergone an extensive makeover so that it can more effectively stimulate interest in astronautics and space exploration among visitors of all ages.
The Cosmodome has been renovated to accommodate a genuine boarding platform leading to 17 futuristic galleries where visitors can experience three virtual space missions of 60 minutes each. Sylvain Bélair will introduce the new Cosmodome, which promises to become a world-class destination for recreotourism and scientific culture. He will be accompanied by Michelle Courchesne, Minister responsible for Government Administration and for the Laval region, and Gilles Vaillancourt, Mayor of Laval. (11/25)
Time and Outer Space (Source: Gulf News)
You might be forgiven if the term "outer space" conjures up images of spaceships, wobbly astronauts attired in bulging space suits and helmets looking like fish bowls, and also, inevitably, the eerie creatures we tend to call "aliens". This, you might surmise, could be the world of an incumbent responsible for our planet's "outer space affairs". But wait until you meet Mazlan Othman, a Malaysian astrophysicist who works as the director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA).
She has the additional title of deputy director-general of the United Nations Office in Vienna, Austria. "Of course I have not been appointed an ambassador or a UN envoy for extraterrestrial contact. I am not looking after our planet's relations with outer space and the aliens, as we know from sci-fi films," she says in an interview with Weekend Review. "This is not true. It was a rumour started by a journalist in one of the newspapers, and I denied that." (11/25)
Costa Rica: Chang Arranges Opportunities for Students (Source: Tico Times)
Two Costa Rican high school students with the right stuff will be awarded scholarships to attend space school for two weeks at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, in the United States, in August 2012. There, students will work in multicultural teams to plan a mission to Mars while attending physics, biology and chemistry classes and meeting with mentors and advisers. Zero gravity, propulsion systems and space law are just some of the subjects they will study.
This is the second consecutive year that Strategy XXI Century, BAC San José, United Airlines and the Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center have sponsored the scholarships. Currently, Costa Rica is the only Central American country that offers this program. Chang believes the scholarship program will benefit Costa Rica by producing more prepared professionals by the year 2050. (11/25)
Aerojet Completes Design Testing for Orion Thruster Engine (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Aerojet, with Lockheed Martin and NASA, has successfully completed vibration, shock and hot fire design verification testing on its first MR-104G monopropellant rocket engine planned for use on NASA’s Orion spacecraft. Twelve 160-lbf thrust MR-104G engines, arranged in four single-engine pods and four dual-engine pods, provide the full complement of primary and redundant control required for critical maneuvers upon a high-speed re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. (11/25)
ESA Station Unable to Establish New Link with Phobos-Grunt (Source: ESA)
After establishing contact with Russia's Phobos-Grunt Mars mission earlier this week, ESA's tracking station in Australia received no signal from the spacecraft last night. ESA engineers are investigating the cause in close collaboration with Russian mission controllers. Despite listening intently during four scheduled communication passes during the night of 24–25 November, ESA's 15 m-diameter dish antenna in Australia, did not receive any signals. (11/25)
Thales Alenia To Build, China To Launch Turkmenistan’s First Satellite (Source: Space News)
Turkmenistan’s first telecommunications satellite will be launched aboard a Chinese Long March rocket and built by Thales Alenia Space of France and Germany under separate agreements concluded by Turkmen authorities on Nov. 23 and Nov. 20, respectively. The satellite will be placed into an orbital slot controlled by the government of Monaco. (11/25)
O’Keefe Named Chairman of National Defense Industry Association (Source: Parabolic Arc)
EADS North America Chief Executive Officer and former NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe is the new Chairman of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA). Prior to becoming CEO of EADS North America in November 2009, O’Keefe served as a company officer and Vice President of the General Electric Company in the Technology Infrastructure sector, leading the Washington operations of the GE Aviation business. From 2005 to 2008, he served as Chancellor of the Louisiana State University. (11/25)
Toy Stores Missing NASA Mars Rover (Source: Collect Space)
In the days leading to the launch of NASA's new Mars rover, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), space agency officials have used a scale model of the car-size rover to show how the six-wheeled spacecraft works. And near the launch site at the visitor center where the public will gather on Saturday (Nov. 26) to watch the liftoff, a toy model of the rover is on display.
But those hoping to go home with their own miniature MSL rover as a memento or as a means to engage their kids in the mission are out of luck. If there ever was a NASA rover that has lent itself more to being a toy — but is not one — it is NASA's MSL, named "Curiosity." (11/25)
Space Industry Unites in Criticism of ITAR Restrictions (Source: Flight Global)
Spaceport Sweden's chief executive Karin Nilsdotter set out the challenges of running the spaceport. Sweden would gladly welcome more space business. "However," says Nilsdotter "we have one major, big challenge in doing so. And it spells..." On the projection screen, a slide came up displaying the word ITAR, drawing laughs. "It's also a limiting factor for the US," she continued. "You are limiting [your own] market. There's a hungry world out there, guys." The crowd applauded.
ITAR stands for International Trafficking in Arms Regulations, and nominally refers to provisions in the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (AECA), which imposed restrictions on certain weapons, technical and duel-use systems. AECA authorises the administration to enforce two lists: first, the commerce controlled list (CCL), which denotes that a product is commercially sensitive; second, the United States munition list (USML), which regulates items that could be used as weapons.
USML is the most restrictive list, requiring strict licenses not just to sell a controlled item, but to even talk about it. Even relatively simple clearances can take months to wind their way through the US Departments of State, Commerce and Defense. Click here. (11/25)
Indy Winner Rathmann, Friend of Astronauts, Dies (Source: Florida Today)
Jim Rathmann made his mark in the world of sports cars, manned spaceflight and business. Rathmann, who won the 1960 Indianapolis 500, died Wednesday at a Brevard County hospice. After moving to the Space Coast, Rathmann quickly became friends with many of the early astronauts who were training at Cape Canaveral. Through Cole, he arranged a deal where where the astronauts could lease Chevys for very little money.
And so was born the legend of the astronauts holding midnight races of Corvettes at the Cape, something famously documented in Tom Wolfe’s book, “The Right Stuff.” Often, Rathmann was among those doing the racing. Rumor has it that a Rathmann dealership decal was affixed to one of the Lunar Rovers. (11/25)
Boynton Beach Man To Help Lead NASA Tweetup (Source: WPBF)
A Boynton Beach man is about to make history and become part of a tweetup team chosen to send messages from Cape Canaveral this week. Anthony Bosio is a Web developer at Lynn University in Boca Raton. Bosio is one of 150 people selected to send Twitter messages when NASA launches the next Mars Rover spacecraft this weekend. Tweeters from as far away as Russia and Australia will participate in the event. (11/25)
Did US 'Climate Weapon' Knock-Out Russian Probe? (Source: Russia Times)
Rumors are circulating that America’s ionosphere research site in Alaska caused the spacecraft’s failure. a retired Russian general believes that the glitch which prevented Phobos-Grunt from carrying out its space mission was caused by American radar sites in Alaska.
General-Lieutenant Nikolay Rodionov, who used to command the country’s ballistic missile early warning system, told Interfax that “the powerful electromagnetic radiation of those sites may have affected the control system of the interplanetary probe.” The general was apparently referring to the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) site located in Gakona, Alaska.
The facility’s stated purpose is the study of the ionosphere and its use for communication. But several popular conspiracy theories say it is developing a superweapon with potential to cause natural disasters on a global scale, including earthquakes, climate change and reversal of the magnetic poles. (11/24)
Actual Race to Mars Could Begin Saturday (Source: FOX News)
NASA will launch its newest Mars lander on Saturday; Russia hopes to salvage its mission to Mars moon Phobos as well. Is a race to Mars about to begin? It’s a grueling marathon, only this time the finish line is the Red Planet -- and the race takes place at 70,000 miles per hour.
NASA’s newest Mars rover is scheduled for launch Saturday; Curiosity should arrive at the Red Planet's mineral-rich Gale Crater next August, after a 354-million-mile, 8.5-month voyage aboard an Atlas V rocket. Meanwhile, ESA spokesman Bernhard von Weyhe said contact with Russia's Phobos-Grunt probe could be the first step in restabilizing the mission. If successful, Phobos-Grunt could leave Earth's orbit at more or less the same time as its American counterpart.
It's a head-to-head race begun not with a pistol but a rocket launch. So who will reach Mars first? It's difficult to say, according to theoretical physicist Michio Kaku, who noted that both probes will be traveling at roughly the same speed over the course. But it's a treacherous journey to Mars: Anything could happen, and the road is littered with failure. (11/24)
Earth’s Core Deprived of Oxygen (Source: Carnegie Institution)
The composition of the Earth’s core remains a mystery. Scientists know that the liquid outer core consists mainly of iron, but it is believed that small amounts of some other elements are present as well. Oxygen is the most abundant element in the planet, so it is not unreasonable to expect oxygen might be one of the dominant “light elements” in the core.
However, new research from a team including Carnegie’s Yingwei Fei shows that oxygen does not have a major presence in the outer core. This has major implications for our understanding of the period when the Earth formed through the accretion of dust and clumps of matter. (11/24)
Company Sets Sights on Space with Dream Chaser Project (Source: RGJ.com)
Space Systems is one of seven business areas that make up Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC), a Sparks-based private company that has 2,200 employees working in 36 locations in 20 states. Other SNC business areas include intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, communications navigation surveillance and air traffic management.
The baby in the SNC family, the Colorado-based Space Systems division was formed after SNC bought three smaller companies and merged them into one business area. One of those companies was SpaceDev, which SNC acquired in late 2008. Part of SpaceDev's portfolio was the Dream Chaser, which is based on NASA's HL-20 design. The HL-20 originally was designed as an escape craft for the International Space Station. But the project ultimately was scrapped due to budget cuts. (11/24)
NewSpace Global Launches to Serve the Financial Sector on Commercial Space (Source: SpacecRef)
NewSpace Global, LLC announced its official launch. NSG is an information service provider that offers customers specific analysis on the NewSpace or commercial space sector through monthly reports, customized analysis (e.g. "Deep Dive" reports on sub-sectors or individual target companies), consulting and advisory work, special events, and real-time tracking. NSG relies upon experts in technology, finance, investing, business, science, real estate, law and media. Click here. (11/23)
Data Beamed from Russian Probe ‘Indecipherable’ (Source: RIA Novosti)
Telemetry data received from a wayward Russian Mars probe is impossible to decipher, a space industry source said on Thursday. The European Space Agency (ESA) tracking station in Perth, Australia, received signals from the Phobos-Grunt. “It was impossible to get anything out of the telemetry received this morning - there are encoding/decoding problems,” the source said.
Telemetric data beamed from the spacecraft is encoded by default, he added. “Tonight a command will be sent up for unencoded data,” he said. The mere data transmission shows that the unit is “alive” and powered but it is impossible to say anything about the status of the onboard control system, the source said. (11/24)
Leisure...In Space (Source: Alibi)
The future is crouching toad-like in the southern New Mexico desert in the form of an 18,000-acre spaceport. The initial round of construction on the world’s first purpose-built commercial rocket ship launching center is scheduled to be completed in January. The rest of it should be built by late 2013.
Spaceport America is financed by $209 million in taxpayer money. Funding runs out in two years. After December 2013, all operations must be entirely revenue driven, says Christine Anderson, executive director of New Mexico Spaceport Authority.
That’s where the operator comes in: Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic. “They (Virgin Galactic) are certainly a big part of raising revenue because we have a 20-year lease with them,” Anderson says. “Also they are anchor tenants, so they’ll be flying all their flights out of Spaceport America.” (11/24)
NASA Planning to Send Astronauts to Mars (Source: KTRK)
NASA on Wednesday laid out its long term plan to get astronauts to Mars. Scientists hope a launch this weekend will help them start to address the dozens of health hazards humans would face on a flight to the red planet. But we're still decades and many issues away from putting an astronaut on the surface of the red planet. The space agency wants to know if it can use the Martian environment to generate oxygen, fuel or water there during a human mission, allowing us to bring less.
But with current technology, it would take six months just to get astronauts there. That alone is a concern because of exposure to space radiation that can cause cancer. So NASA is trying to figure out how to both shield humans from that radiation and make the trip there and back faster. (11/24)
