SpaceX Launches AsiaSat 6 From Florida
Spaceport (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 has launched the AsiaSat 6
telecommunications spacecraft from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The
launch came after multiple delays, most recently after the loss of a
Falcon-9 Reusable test article in Texas. AsiaSat reportedly paid $52
million for the launch, as part of a two-launch package worth $104
million. (9/7)
3 Meteorites from 2013 Space Rock
Explosion Over Russia for Sale (Source: Space.com)
When a meteor exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia on Feb. 15, 2013, many
of world's most avid meteorite collectors were gathered on the other
side of the world, in Arizona, at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. "A
lot of the meteorite guys were scrambling to leave the show early to go
to Russia," said Craig Kissick of Heritage Auctions.
Chunks of the meteorite that lay scattered in the snow in central
Russia made it to the commercial market just months after the blast. A
few fragments were even incorporated into some gold medals given out at
the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. This month, Heritage Auctions
is selling three pieces of the Chelyabinsk space rock as part of its
latest natural history sale. (9/6)
A 'Space Corvette' in Every
Garage (Source: Daily Beast)
There’s no such thing as a small rocket ship. The first rocket to reach
space, the Nazi V-2 (which transported people only in the sense of
transporting them to the next life) was 45 feet high and weighed 27,600
pounds. The 363-foot Saturn V used for the Apollo moon landing was 52
feet taller than the Statue of Liberty and almost 15 times her weight.
And Lady L, tipping the scales at 225 tons, is no Mary-Kate Olsen. Now
NASA is building a new Space Launch System (SLS) that’s even bigger.
All my rocket ship disappointments are the result of there not being
enough private companies like XCOR Aerospace. I learned this at the
Space Foundation’s annual Colorado Springs Space Symposium exhibit
hall, where there was a full-scale mock-up of XCOR’s Lynx that I sat
in. The Lynx’s 30-foot fuselage and 24-foot wingspan would fit in a
McMansion garage. And it’s as prettier than anything a rich car
collector has in there now. Click here.
(9/5)
Virgin Galactic's Changing Timeline
for Spaceflight (Source: Private Eye)
September is upon us, so presumably Richard Branson is now aboard his
rocket, preparing to slip the surly bonds of earth with a cry of “To
infinity and beyond!” Or, on past form, perhaps not. Click here.
(9/5)
Private Space Taking Shape, Virgin
Galactic Delays Not Fatal (Source: Las Cruces Bulletin)
Although Virgin Galactic isn’t the only company to use Spaceport
America, once regular flights get started, area businesses and workers
will have a wide variety of opportunities for providing services, said
New Mexico Space Grant Consortium Director Pat Hynes. In a talk to the
Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA) Tuesday, Sept. 2,
Hynes acknowledged a concern about how the community can ramp up its
capacity to take advantage of those opportunities.
Part of the concern stems from Sir Richard Branson’s adamant goal of
taking the first passenger flight to suborbital space by the end of the
year. But that will require the FAA signing off on Virgin Galactic’s
spaceliner carrying six passengers and two pilots, Hynes said. Getting
FAA approval, she said, will require more than just a few successful
flights, as envisioned by Branson, but could be done without a
multitude of test flights, as originally envisioned by Virgin Galactic
CEO George Whitesides. (9/5)
South Korea, U.S. Sign Space
Information Sharing Agreement (Source: Yonhap)
South Korea and the United States have signed an agreement to share
information on satellites and other orbital objects around Earth so as
to prevent accidental collisions. Under the memorandum of understanding
on sharing "space situational awareness" (SSA) data, South Korea's Air
Force will receive higher quality and more timely space information
tailored for its specific purposes in exchange for satellite-positional
and radio-frequency information it will provide to the U.S. Strategic
Command, the Pentagon said. (9/5)
Miami Beach Billionaire Invests in
Tethered Drone Firm (Source: South Florida Business Journal)
Phillip Frost, a Miami Beach billionaire who is chairman and CEO of
biotech and pharmaceutical company Opko Health, is investing in a
company that uses tethered drones to perform surveillance for
government and private companies. The Jacksonville, Fla.-based Drone
Aviation Holding Corp.'s drones don't require FAA approval because they
are connected to the ground. (9/2)
NASA is Researching a Way to Manage
Drone Traffic (Source: Tech Times)
NASA is developing a system that would serve as a traffic cop for
drones, helping ensure safety and governing the zone at 400 to 500 feet
up, where most drones fly. "One at a time, you can make them work and
keep them safe," said NASA principal investigator Parimal Kopardekar,
who leads the program's development and management. "But when you have
a number of them in operation in the same airspace, there is no
infrastructure to support it." (9/2)
Cost, Sequester Delay FAA Adoption of
NextGen (Source: The Hill)
The Federal Aviation Administration plans to move to a satellite-based
system air traffic control system meant to ease congestion and increase
safety, but the switch from radar to the satellite-based NextGen has
been plagued with delays. The culprits: both the new system's $40
billion cost and the way appropriations have been doled out. (9/2)
California Bill Nearly Torpedoed
Northrop Grumman Bomber Bid (Source: Aviation Week)
Each single program is increasingly viewed as a must-win for top
Pentagon contractors, driving them to be more creative in their push
for a competitive advantage. So much so that bids don’t only center on
a design’s technical prowess, system engineering and program management
attributes. More and more, in a quest to get any edge possible,
contractors are beefing up their lobbying efforts. And, some are
proving better at this than others.
A case in point is how Northrop Grumman was politically outfoxed by
rivals Boeing and Lockheed Martin, who temporarily scored a
tax-incentive leg up in the duel to build stealthy, new bombers for the
Air Force. Lockheed Martin nearly scored a half-billion in economic
incentives from the California legislature, which could have translated
to a commensurate discount in its team’s bid for the program. Such an
advantage could have tipped the scales in favor of the Boeing/Lockheed
Martin design on price alone, sending Northrop Grumman into panic mode
this summer.
At issue was California law AB 2389, which Lockheed Martin’s lobbyists
quietly campaigned for for a year. The law offered $420 million of
incentives specifically to a “subcontractor” providing jobs for work on
a special access program, clearly referring to the secretive bomber
project. Lockheed is the subcontractor to Boeing on the bomber bid.
Northrop is proposing a design as a prime contractor, excluding it from
the potential tax advantages. This put Northrop in an embarrassing
pickle, as the company was blindsided by legislators from its own back
yard. (9/1)
ESA's Spaceplane Undergoes Final Tests
Before Launch (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
If everything goes according to schedule a European VEGA rocket will
lift off from Europe’s Spaceport located in Kourou, French Guiana at 9
a.m. local time (8 a.m. EDT) on Nov. 18. Its payload will be the
Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle or “IXV.” The IXV vehicle
is developed by the European Space Agency (ESA )for flight testing the
technologies and critical systems required for future autonomous
controlled reentry for return missions from low-Earth-orbit as well as
planetary sample return missions. Click here.
(9/5)
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