Five Cubesats and 104
Sprites Launched on Falcon-9 (Source: SEN)
2014 is turning out to be the year of the CubeSat. Almost 100 of the
pint-sized satellites were added to launch manifests last year, and we
are already seeing close to half of that figure being launched just
four months into 2014. February saw the largest deployment of CubeSats
ever, with 33 units being deployed directly from the International
Space Station. Click here.
(4/19)
Officials Can See End of
the Long Road to Export Reform (Source: National Defense)
For the past two years, federal officials have been methodically
revising the lists of U.S. defense technologies that require special
export licenses. The goal has been to remove goods or services that no
longer pose a threat to U.S. forces if they should fall into the wrong
hands, and to maintain safeguards for sensitive items that do.
Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates proposed overhauling the
system at the outset of the Obama administration. He eschewed the
overly broad, catch-all system that was both failing to keep sensitive
technologies from making their way to overseas rivals and putting
restrictions on those that were no longer cutting edge, which in turn
made U.S. industries less competitive. (4/19)
India to Overhaul
Satellite Communications Policy (Source: Economic Times)
The Department of Space in consultations with the telecom department
(DoT)_will shortly overhaul India's 17-year old satellite
communications policy to pave the way for auctioning satellite
bandwidth. It will also frame new rules for allocating and pricing
satellite transponders and explore ways to deal with applications
seeking use of foreign orbital slots, according to a finance ministry
note. (4/19)
Low-Cost Launches May
Boost Chances For Space Solar Power (Source: Aviation Week)
SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch drew close attention from solar power
satellite (SPS) advocates, who know that low-cost reusable launch is
one key to realizing their dream of providing abundant electric energy
from space. While they are taking different approaches to developing
SPS, the small but international group of participants at the SPS 2014
conference agreed that their goal continues to be an end to the
increasingly dangerous struggle to meet the energy needs of a growing
world population.
They see space solar power as an alternative to burning fossil fuel,
and the military cost of securing supplies in unstable regions. Like
SpaceX, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) researching
reusable launch as a way to cut the cost of space launch drastically.
Japan is the only nation that has made beaming solar power collected in
space back to Earth a goal of its space policy, and JAXA engineers
calculate reusable launch is one way to reduce the up-front investment
needed to put gigawatt-class power stations in geostationary orbit.
Using a 2003 JAXA reference model with a 1-gigawatt station weighing
10,000 tons, Sasaki says power would cost a prohibitive $1.12/kwh at a
launch cost to low Earth orbit (LEO) of $10,000 per kilogram. That is
in the ballpark of what space launch costs today. Cut that to $1,000 a
kilogram—in the ballpark for a reusable launch vehicle (RLV)—and
electricity from space drops to 18 cents/kwh. (4/19)
Buzz Aldrin: Man on a
Mission (Source: Arabian Business)
“Every five years I get invited to the White House,” Buzz Aldrin says.
“Sometimes I get a hotdog, sometimes I get to say something.” The
legendary US astronaut is in an expansive mood as he reflects on the
upcoming 45th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing that
made him and the man who walked one small step ahead of him on 20 July
1969 household names.
At the age of 84, the man who spent 12 days, one hour and 52 minutes in
space over his nine-year career with NASA is by no means ambivalent
about the significance of the title afforded him almost five decades
ago following the most famous of his two missions for the US space
agency.
Accepting it is another matter. “No,” he says when asked if he is okay
with his place in history behind Apollo crew mate Neil Armstrong. “But
I can’t do anything about it. I was told by a very wise person: you
can’t change history, you can’t change the way people label things, the
way newspapers want big winners or big losers. (4/19)
SpaceX Launches, Wallops
Launch Likely Delayed (Source: Daily Press)
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched at last from Cape Canaveral Friday
afternoon to get badly needed cargo to the International Space Station,
which means the May 6 Antares launch from Wallops Island will be
delayed until June. Probably.
"Well, we don't know yet," Barron "Barry" Beneski, spokesman for
Antares rocket-maker Orbital Sciences Corp., said in an interview from
Dulles minutes after the Falcon blasted off at 3:25 p.m. Friday. "Once
the SpaceX capsule berths with the station successfully, that's the
point we know it will be in June," Beneski said. "It's looking more and
more likely we'll be in June, but the mission's not complete until they
arrive at the station." (4/19)
Kazakhstan’s Space Future
(Source: Trend)
Kazakhstan has a great past in space development, and its future in
this field is expected to be just as glorious. he Baikonur Cosmodrome
is being leased by the Kazakh government to Russia until 2050 and is
managed jointly by the Russian Federal Space Agency and the Russian
Space Forces. Moreover Russia will likely work at Baikonur even after
2050, according to official statements from both countries.
In particular in early 2014 Kazakh Space Agency head Talgat Musabayev
said that Kazakhstan wanted Russia to remain at Baikonur forever and
expressed interest in implementation of joint strategic projects in
space industry in the future. In fact, nowadays Kazakhstan has not
enough specialists to develop the cosmodrome on its own. Moreover its
maintenance requires huge investment and Kazakhstan needs partners to
share this financial burden.
Earlier Russia's full control over the cosmodrome partially hindered
its development. Russia was not sure about its future at Baikonur and
did not want to invest a lot in new long-term projects outside its
borders. Much was invested in the construction of Vostochniy Cosmodrome
in Siberia instead. Kazakhstan in turn was not interested in spending
money on projects run by Russia. Click here. (4/18)
Shotwell Leads SpaceX
Into New Frontiers (Source: Easy Reader)
Last year, Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating
officer of aerospace giant SpaceX, spoke to a room of Chapman
University students in Orange County as part of a TEDx program. Her
address was titled “Engineering America” and discussed the rise and
fall of the United States as the global leader in science and
technology. “Let’s talk about an engineer who is actually known as an
inventor, Thomas Edison,” said Shotwell. “The only reason he is known
as an inventor and not an engineer is because engineers suck at
marketing themselves.”
The comment was an aside and got laughs from the college crowd, as
intended. But there was a kernel of absolute truth within it. Engineers
are not known for gregariousness, and developing new technology does
very little for a company if it doesn’t have a successful way to sell
it. Selling high-tech space equipment, for example, requires a
salesperson that not only understands the product intricately, but can
relate to clients on a personal level and close the deal.
That’s where Shotwell comes in. She joined SpaceX in 2002 when it was a
tiny startup with big money and even bigger dreams. The space transport
company was founded by billionaire business magnate Elon Musk of Tesla
and PayPal fame. Shotwell became his seventh employee and the vice
president of business development. Eight years later, she closed the
single biggest commercial rocket launch deal in history: a $492 million
contract with Iridium. Click here.
(4/18)
Company Wants to Offer
Rides from Arizona to Space (Source: Yuma Sun)
A Tucson firm is hoping to launch Arizonans toward the edge
of space – or maybe somewhere close to that – from Southern Arizona.
Now they need state lawmakers to clear the path. The plan by Paragon
Space Development Corp. is to use a balloon to float passengers up 20
miles in a capsule, leave them there to ooh and aah at the view for
about two hours and then parachute the whole mechanism back to earth.
They could wind up 300 miles downrange but would be flown back to the
launch site. (4/18)
Florida Space Budget
Items Advance as Session Nears End (Source: SPACErePORT)
Florida legislators in the state's House and Senate have finalized
their respective budget proposals and now plan to come together in
conference committee to hash out a compromise budget before the annual
Legislative Session ends on May 2. Tens of millions of dollars are
included in both budget proposals for space-related projects. The
Florida Space Development Council has tracked the progress of these
items on this
chart. (4/18)
Astronauts to Reveal
Sobering Data on Asteroid Impacts (Source: Phys.org)
This Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22, three former NASA astronauts will
present new evidence that our planet has experienced many more
large-scale asteroid impacts over the past decade than previously
thought… three to ten times more, in fact. A new visualization of data
from a nuclear weapons warning network, to be unveiled by B612
Foundation CEO Ed Lu during the evening event at Seattle's Museum of
Flight, shows that "the only thing preventing a catastrophe from a
'city-killer' sized asteroid is blind luck." (4/17)
SpaceX Optimistic on
First-Stage Landing (Source: NBC News)
After the launch, Musk reported via Twitter that the first stage
executed a good re-entry burn and was able to stabilize itself on the
way down. However, the rough seas were a problem. "I wouldn't give high
odds that the rocket was able to splash down successfully," he said.
Later updates were more positive: "Data upload from tracking plane
shows landing in Atlantic was good! Several boats enroute through heavy
seas," Musk tweeted. "Flight computers continued transmitting for 8
seconds after reaching the water. Stopped when booster went
horizontal." Recovering and reusing rockets are key parts of Musk's
strategy for reducing the cost of spaceflight and eventually sending
colonists to Mars. (4/18)
Kourou a Lot Like Cape
Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Florida Today)
Cape Canaveral is suitable as a location for a spaceport because of two
major geographical advantages over other sites in the continental
United States: It is about as close to the equator as practical, and it
has uninhabited territory (in this case, open sea) to the east, which
allows the lower stages of rockets to safely splashdown and ensures
that debris from launch failures won't land on anyone.
The Space Coast's counterpart for the French and European space
programs is the spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana. Operational
since 1968, it has similar geographical advantages. It is even closer
to the equator and also has open sea to the east. Click here.
(4/18)
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