LeBlanc Joins Buzz Aldrin's ShareSpace Foundation (Source: SPACErePORT)
Linn LeBlanc has joined Buzz Aldrin’s ShareSpace Foundation as its
Executive Director. The foundation is committed to promoting the
sciences and arts to young children and will include activities such
as: putting science kits in the hands of thousands of children for
free, which they can explore and build themselves; empowering teachers
in the STEAM arena; and engaging students personally by visiting
schools and communities.
While very much a “start-up," ShareSpace is gaining momentum quickly.
The foundation's main focus will be in the US, but its goal is to be a
global presence, reaching as many communities and children as possible.
Science literacy is a huge key to so many exciting doors for children
to open. Visit the ShareSpace Foundation here. (10/30)
Correspondent Blames Virgin for
Picking Engine That Would Never Reach Space (Source: CNN)
CNN interviewed former Washington Post reporter Joel Glen Brenner about
the loss of SpaceShipTwo and one of its pilots, apparently a good
friend of hers. Brenner scolded Virgin Galactic for taking her friend's
life through their choice of a rocket engine that would never have
gotten the company's customers to space. This flight tested a new
hybrid rocket motor that replaced a different model using a different
blend of fuels. (10/31)
Virgin Galactic Was Flight-Testing New
Engine (Sources: SPACErePORT, Aviation Week, Parabolic Arc)
Virgin Galactic was conducting a flight test of its new hybrid-fuel
engine for SpaceShipTwo. The company had decided earlier this year to
switch from an HTPB rubber-based fuel grain propellant to one based on
polyamide (nylon). The HTPB engine, according to Parabolic Arc,
"produced vibrations and oscillations so severe that the ship would
have been shaken apart if it had been burned anywhere near full
duration of about a minute."
The polyamide fuel mix produced a smoother burn for a longer duration,
prompting the switch. But the mid-stream engine change caused a further
delay in putting SpaceShipTwo into commercial service. Today's flight
failure, though not yet linked to the engine, will certainly delay
commercial flights further into 2015, if not longer. (10/31)
Spaceport America Can Expect a Longer
Delay from Virgin Galactic (Source: SPACErePORT)
Spaceport America has already been feeling heat from New Mexico
taxpayers and lawmakers for a multi-year delay in offering tourist
flights to the edge of space. The latest plan was for Virgin Galactic
to begin passenger service as early as the Spring of 2015, with Richard
Branson on the first flight. The loss of SpaceShipTwo will almost
surely push Virgin Galactic's commercial debut further into 2015.
(10/31)
Virgin Galactic Suffers Loss of
Vehicle, Pilot in SpaceShipTwo Test (Sources: NBC, Florida Today)
Virgin Galactic said its SpaceShipTwo rocket plane suffered an
"in-flight anomaly" during a powered test flight on Friday — and other
sources said the anomaly involved a catastrophic explosion and crash.
Two pilots fly in SpaceShipTwo's cockpit during a test. Those pilots
are equipped with parachutes, and after the anomaly, at least one chute
was reportedly sighted over the Mojave Air and Space Port in
California, the base from which SpaceShipTwo and its WhiteKnightTwo
carrier plane took off.
The California Highway Patrol reported 1 fatality and 1 major injury
after the accident. Virgin Galactic has been the front-runner in the
fledgling space-tourism industry. SpaceShipTwo, typically flown by a
crew of two pilots, has been under development at the Mojave Air & Space Port. Sir Richard Branson had said he hoped the company based
out of Spaceport America in New Mexico would begin flying space
tourists on suborbital trips by February or March of next year. (10/31)
Range Safety's Role in Antares
Accident (Source: National Geographic)
Every time NASA launches a rocket, two safety officers have one weighty
decision: They have to decide whether to push a self-destruct button if
it appears the launch is going awry. If they make the wrong call either
way, bad things can happen. Destroy a rocket prematurely, and millions
of dollars in equipment and research go up in flames unnecessarily.
Allow a malfunctioning rocket to continue, and the lives of people near
the launch site could be at risk.
The flight safety officer and the range safety officer are tasked with
deciding whether a rocket is operating properly and either disabling it
for safety reasons or letting it proceed. There can be just seconds to
decide. The explosion happened after safety officers, watching for any
of ten specified problems, such as a gross deviation from the flight
path, sent a signal from the flight termination system to disable the
rocket, although damage from the malfunction may have already doomed it
to collapse back to Earth.
Most of the launch crew were in a hardened blockhouse near the
launchpad, but two had a very special role that required them to stand
out in the open. In the early seconds of a launch, when the rocket is
near the ground, there is too much interference from trees and nearby
structures for radar and other monitoring systems to be accurate. So
spotters watch the launch through wooden viewing frames fitted with
guide wires. If the rocket crosses behind a wire, they know it's
veering off track and they send up an alarm telling the safety officers
to abort. Then they seek shelter. (10/31)
Environmental Impact from Antares
Contained (Source: DelMarVa Now)
It appears the environmental effects of the rocket explosion were
mostly contained to the southern third of Wallops Island, a NASA
environmental team said after a preliminary assessment. A NASA
industrial hygienist collected air samples in the vicinity immediately
after the explosion and found no hazardous substances in the air at
multiple nearby locations.
Eyewitnesses on Chincoteague and at the NASA Wallops Visitor Center
reported an acrid smell in the air a while after the explosion, and
Atlantic resident Robert E. Johnson said he smelled fumes there soon
after it happened. An Orbital official shortly after the incident said
solid fuel from the rocket's second stage and hypergolic fuel —
hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide — that powers the Cygnus spacecraft
are of more concern environmentally than is the first-stage liquid
fuel, composed of oxygen and kerosene.
Editor's Note:
The apparently limited environmental damage from the Antares failure
could give a boost to Space Florida's efforts to establish a new launch
site at Shiloh on NASA land at the north end of KSC. An Environmental
Impact Statement is now being developed for Shiloh. (10/31)
Apollo, Ansari and the Hobbling
Effects of Giant Leaps (Source: Parabolic Arc)
So, why did Sputnik quickly help spark a revolution that would
transform life on Earth, while the Ansari X Prize led to 10 years of
extravagant promises and desultory results? And what does this tell us
about the role of prizes in moving technology forward? Click here.
(10/31)
Thales
Alenia Officials Flabbergasted as Range Safety Concerns Sideline
Spaceplane Test Flight (Source: Space News)
Thales Alenia Space Italy officials reacted with stupefaction and
incredulity that their miniature spaceplane experiment’s launch had
been postponed indefinitely because of last-minute concerns over range
safety. These officials said their 40-strong engineering team preparing
the Intermediate Experimental Vehicle (IXV) for a mid-November launch
aboard a European Vega rocket — also Italian-led — had worked nights
and weekends to make the November date.
The November launch, they said, would have shone a light on Italy’s
space technology prowess on the eve of a conference of European space
ministers that will decide Europe’s space station and launch vehicle
future. With Italy’s government still apparently undecided about how
much to invest in Vega upgrades, a new Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket and
the European share of the international space station, they said, a
successful IXV flight and Pacific Ocean splashdown might have provided
an important preconference impetus for further investment.
ESA and CNES officials said the launch would be delayed for an
undetermined amount of time while they examine safety concerns about
Vega’s equatorial flight path as it leaves Europe’s Guiana Space Center
spaceport in French Guiana, which is French territory. It remains
unclear why a program whose mission profile has not changed in several
years is now suddenly stalled for safety issues that in principle
should have been aired and resolved long ago. (10/30)
Orbital Sciences Likely to Choose New
Russian Engine for Antares (Source: Itar-Tass)
A Russian engine RD-193 produced by Energomash will be probably be
mounted on modified models of Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares. The
decision to choose the engine for a next generation of Antares rockets
was made several weeks ago, an Orbital Sciences official said.
Orbital Sciences does not confirm this decision in concrete, but also
does not deny information that the company had chosen the RD-193 for
Antares. Barron Beneski explained this by noting that Orbital Sciences
was involved in several commercial deals and a news report about a new
engine might hamper continued talks with partners. Details of the
decision on choosing the engine are not announced yet, he noted.
Editor's Note:
Choosing another Russian engine, even a newly produced one, would seem
inconsistent with recent U.S. and Russian policy moves. How would this
impact the competitiveness of Antares as it pursues new business from
NASA and the Department of Defense? (10/31)
Ukraine Denies Role in Explosion of
U.S. Rocket (Source:
Moscow Times)
Ukrainian space industry firms had no involvement in the refurbishment
of the Russian rocket engine used by the U.S. Antares rocket that
exploded this week. A number of state-owned Russian media outlets began
to characterize the Antares rocket as a Ukrainian-American rocket,
after having characterized it as a Russian-American rocket after
previous successful launches.
The rocket's engine has been the focus of early speculation on the
cause of the accident. "Ukrainian space industry companies did not
participate in the production or modernization of the NK-33 rocket
engines," the Ukrainian space agency was quoted as saying. Components
made at the Yuzhmash plant in Ukraine, were used inside the rocket's
body but these had nothing to do with the 40-year-old refurbished
Russian rocket engine, the space agency said. (10/30)
Initial Damage Assessment Shows
Antares Pad Intact (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
Initial inspections of the Antares rocket’s launch pad in Virginia
revealed the facility escaped major damage after sustaining nearly a
direct hit from the booster as it fell to the ground in flames. Two of
the launch facility’s four lightning protection towers were toppled in
the fiery crash, but the pad’s 307-foot-tall water tower remains
standing.
Even the rocket’s transporter, which routes electrical and fueling
umbilicals to the launcher, survived the fireball as the booster
impacted the ground feet from the pad’s launch mount. “A sounding
rocket launcher adjacent to the pad, and buildings nearest the pad,
suffered the most severe damage,” NASA said. (10/31)
Antares Failure Casts Doubt On U.S.
Commercial Launch Strategy (Source: Forbes)
Three independent industry insiders said that blame for the Antares
loss squarely rests on one of the rocket’s two Soviet-era engines. A
launch engineer and industry expert said that before the rocket lost
thrust it was evident that “there was a lot of unburned kerosene going
into the exhaust stream” which he says suggests that it also lost
engine pressurization.
“It wasn’t a failure in the fuel tanks, avionics, or navigation, but
definitely with an engine,” said the launcher engineer. “Seven
seconds into the flight everything is fine and then suddenly the
exhaust stream brightens noticeably.” How does Tuesday’s Antares
failure affect long-term cargo resupply for the space station?
“It takes the U.S. companies doing [ISS cargo resupply] from two down
to one for at least a while,” said the launcher engineer. “I’d be
surprised if Orbital Sciences flies Antares again in a year. This
definitely calls into question their long-term strategy of using these
old Soviet engines.” (10/30)
Alliant Techsystems Tops 2Q Profit
Forecasts (Source: AP)
Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) on Thursday reported earnings of $95.1
million in its fiscal second quarter. The results surpassed Wall Street
expectations. The aerospace and defense contractor posted revenue of
$1.27 billion in the period, which missed Street forecasts. Analysts
expected $1.28 billion. Alliant Techsystems expects full-year revenue
in the range of $5.15 billion to $5.2 billion. (10/30)
Boeing Exec: NASA Crash Underscores
Need for New U.S. Engine (Source: Reuters)
The crash of an unmanned Orbital Sciences Antares rocket is a "wake-up
call" to the U.S. space community about the need to develop a new U.S.
rocket engine, the head of Boeing Co's defense division said on
Thursday. Chris Chadwick said the incident underscored growing concerns
about U.S. reliance on Soviet-era and Russian engines that power
rockets used for U.S. civilian space, military and intelligence
purposes. (10/30)
Ebola Outbreak May Hold Lessons for
Handling Samples from Mars (Source: Space.com)
Measures taken in the current Ebola outbreak may hold some clues for
how to handle samples brought back to Earth from Mars, a place that
could potentially host extraterrestrial microbes. "While the Ebola
situation bears no resemblance to a sample-return mission to Mars,
there is a concern that the public could link the two if not properly
informed," said John Rummel, a professor of biology at East Carolina
University in Greenville, North Carolina. (10/30)
Canada's MDA Suggests Lack of Govt.
Interest May Prompt Another Move (Source: Space News)
Satellite and space hardware builder MDA Corp. on Oct. 30 warned the
Canadian government that lukewarm government support for MDA activities
was accelerating the company’s disengagement from Canada. MDA said
Canada’s nonrenewal of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) services
contract already pushed the company to relocate this business to
Australia, whose government wants to continue, post-Afghanistan, its
use of MDA’s UAV services business at least through 2017.
Canada’s seeming vacillation as to how to advance the nation’s
specialty in space-based robotics was in part responsible for the
company’s purchase of a small U.S. company that has since been folded
into MDA’s satellite manufacturing business, Space Systems/Loral (SSL)
of Palo Alto, California. (10/31)
Pending NASA Budget Bill Would Likely
Survive Senate Flip, Lobbyist Says (Source: Space News)
U.S. midterm elections Nov. 4 will determine exactly how Congress
handles 2015 appropriations, but even if Republicans keep the House and
takeover the Senate, NASA’s budget will likely resemble the one that
cleared the Democrat-held Senate Appropriations Committee this summer,
a veteran space lobbyist said here Oct. 29.
Under the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) spending bill approved by
the Senate Appropriations Committee in June but derailed by
election-year politics that had nothing to do with space, NASA would
get $17.9 billion for 2015, some $250 million more than in 2014. The
bill included record-high appropriations for the Space Launch System
heavy-lift rocket and commercial crew programs, de facto competitors
for NASA human spaceflight funding. (10/31)
NASA Prepares To Host Hush-Hush
Military Program at KSC (Source: Space News)
NASA intends to be a host for the Air Force’s classified X-37B program,
which will lease two of the space shuttle’s mothballed processing
hangars. The X-37B program, which currently consists of two nearly
9-meter-long robotic spaceplanes, is taking over Orbiter Processing
Facility (OPF) bays 1 and 2. Unlike the military’s shuttle missions,
KSC personnel will not need extra security clearances to support the
X-37B program.
“Our role now is something I like to call a ‘ground traffic
controller.’ The facilities [at KSC] are separated, and with that
advantage ... we’re able to keep different operations separate from
each other … We have dozens of partnerships and our job is to make sure
they don’t conflict with one another so we don’t site one partner in
one facility that would interfere with operations with another partner
in another facility,” he said.
Editor's Note:
KSC's emerging role, as described, is essentially serving as a
spaceport authority. This has recently put the center at odds with
Space Florida, a state agency empowered as a spaceport authority. Since
the 1990s, the state's spaceport authority has been developing and
financing infrastructure projects on KSC and Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station (collectively named the "Cape Canaveral Spaceport" in Florida
law). (10/31)
Russia Puts Meridian Communications
Satellite Into Orbit (Source: RIA Novosti)
A Meridian communications satellite has been put into orbit by a
Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket, launched from Russia's Plesetsk space
center. "The Soyuz-2.1a carrier-rocket, launched Thursday, has
successfully put the Meridian satellite into orbit," Col. Alexei
Zolotukhin said. (10/31)
Single Irishman Aiming for Mars
(Source: Independent)
Astrophysicist Dr. Joseph Roche is still hopeful that he will become
the first Irishman on Mars… despite the very real possibility that his
potential ticket to space is one-way. Roche, who works at Trinity
College’s School of Education, has been whittled down to the final 705
out of 200,000 hopeful candidates on Mars One. Needless to say,
interest is at fever pitch in Roche’s Dublin office as the Big
Brother-style elimination process continues apace.
“People tell me about stories they read about Mars One, and someone
came into my office and said, ‘I read that if you go to Mars, you’ll
die really quickly. The idea of dying quicker on Mars isn’t appealing,
but it’s exciting that people are talking about it." His next duty will
be to undergo gruelling training and testing before the highly
publicized mission to Mars, which plans to leave within the next ten
years. (10/31)
Russian Spaceport Construction Boss
Arrested Embezzling $43 Million (Source: Moscow Times)
The former head of a company involved in building the vast new
Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East has been arrested and charged
with embezzling 1.8 billion rubles ($43 million) from the project.
Despite being labeled a vital national project by President Vladimir
Putin, the Vostochny Cosmodrome has been beset with delays, prompting
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin to take greater control over
construction efforts this year.
The Investigative Committee's spokesman, Vladimir Markin, told Interfax
that Yury Khrizman, a retired lieutenant general and former chief of
construction firm Dalspetsstroi, had been nabbed after a probe into
problems at the cosmodrome by Russia's security service, the FSB, in
coordination with the Investigative Committee and the state's financial
watchdog, the Audit Chamber. (10/30)
SpaceX Lawsuit Alleges California
State Labor Law Violations (Source: LFN)
SpaceX is now facing two lawsuits over alleged labor law violations.
One suit alleges that the company denied workers breaks and demanded
that they work off the clock and through meal and rest breaks because
of overloaded work schedules. Allegedly, none of the workers were paid
for missed breaks or other off-the-clock work, told to round their
hours worked to the nearest 15-minute increment (losing wages in the
process), provided with tools needed to perform their jobs or
reimbursed when they bought tools they needed.
In California, workers on shifts for over five hours must have
30-minute meal breaks. If they work more than 10 hours, they must
receive a second 30-minute break. It is also mandated that for every
four hours worked, there must be a 10-minute rest break. “If those
breaks are not provided, employers must pay workers an extra hour for
each day they did not get a meal break and pay another hour for each
day they went without a rest break,” said Sacramento business attorney
Deborah Barron. Barron is not involved in either case.
SpaceX has had its share of labor issues lately. The latest blow was
delivered by a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court,
alleging that SpaceX laid off hundreds of workers in July without
proper notice and without compensation. The newest lawsuit also
suggests the company made break and shift schedules that shortened or
interrupted workers’ mandatory breaks before the layoffs. It asks the
courts for back pay, damages and penalties. SpaceX could face a very
large penalty for its violations of California’s labor laws. (10/31)
Is Space Tourism Safe or do Civilians
Risk Health Effects? (Source: Liebert)
Several companies are developing spacecraft designed to take ordinary
citizens, not astronauts, on short trips into space. "Space tourism"
and short periods of weightlessness appear to be safe for most
individuals according to a series of articles on space biomedicine
published in New Space. Click here.
(10/30)
Cecil Spaceport Prepares for 2016
Launch (Source: WJXT)
Many people in Jacksonville and north Florida may not be aware, but
Cecil Field is also a spaceport. There are plans set to launch rockets
from the old Navy base, but not like what most are used to seeing.
There will not be vertical rockets, but horizontal launches. Small
Rockets strapped to jets will fly out over the ocean and launch from
there.
The first launch is set for December 2016, but there have already been
tests run by Atlanta-based Generation Orbit Launch, or GO Launch for
short. In July, it tested out a space flight that started at Cecil
Spaceport and ended with a rocket launch over the ocean. It used a
Learjet with a mock rocket attached. The test was to get a feeling of
what workers need to do for the real thing. The rocket was never
launched.
The Aviation Authority has spent several million dollars getting the
permits and preparing to build a hanger for a much larger plane. "We
have the infrastructure in place right now to do those operations,"
said Rusty Chandler, of Cecil Spaceport. GO Launch has teamed up with
NASA to put small satellites into orbit that could be used in
communications research and other areas. GO Launch CEO John Olds said
the company is still getting ready and working on funding for the
launch in December 2016. (10/29)
Spaceport America Hangar Architects
Win Award (Source: Albuquerque Business First)
The Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space Terminal Hangar Facility at
Spaceport America has been given a merit award by the American
Institute of Architects Western Mountain Region. The hangar was
selected from 145 projects submitted by architectural firms across six
states including Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and
Wyoming.
SMPC Architects, the Albuquerque-based archtect of record for the
project, accepted the award on behalf of the design team, which is a
collaboration with URS Corp. and London-based Foster + Partners. (10/29)
Ukraine's Yuzhnoye Launches
Investigation of Antares Explosion (Source: Itar-Tass)
Experts of the Ukrainian design bureau Yuzhnoye, which took part in
designing and manufacturing the Antares carrier rocket, have launched
their own investigation of an explosion of the Antares rocket Tuesday.
"We've begun the 'hotwash' already and are scrutinizing the possible
causes of the explosion," the press service of the design bureau said.
"The results will be reported later." (10/29)
Space Florida Gets State Funding for
UAS Project (Source: EOG)
Space Florida was awarded a $38,500 grant to design, plan, and execute
an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) component to the annual emergency
response exercise at Camp Blanding, the state's largest National Guard
installation. This grant will enhance the installation’s capability,
and provide research and development for emergency response; thereby
providing a springboard for more UAS-related activity in the state.
Senate President-Designate Andy Gardiner said, “This grant will help
provide Space Florida the opportunity to play an important role in Camp
Blanding’s annual emergency response exercise. We need to make sure
Florida is prepared to respond to critical threats to our security and
it is great to see Space Florida play a role in that important mission.
Senator Thad Altman said, “The Legislature and Governor Scott recognize
the economic importance that our military installations have on state’s
economy. We are pleased to be able to make a positive impact and
continue to enhance the value Florida’s military bases.” (10/29)
Antares Rocket Crash in Virginia
Investigation to Take up to Year (Source: Space Daily)
The investigation into the reasons of the Cygnus spaceship explosion
during the launch at the US Wallops Flight Facility can take about a
year, a NASA spokesperson said. "Investigation will take up to 6 month
to a year," he said. (10/30)
Orbital Asked Judge on Day of Accident
To Force Turnover of Launch Hardware (Source: Space News)
Shortly before its Antares rocket exploded Oct. 28, Orbital Sciences
Corp. asked a federal judge to force a contractor to turn over hardware
the Virginia company needs before it can launch a new version of its
Cygnus cargo capsule that was supposed to debut in April. The timing of
that mission is now in doubt following the failure of the company’s
Antares rocket.
The motion for a preliminary injunction Orbital filed Oct. 28 is the
latest turn in a lawsuit centered around the Transporter Erector
Launcher, the slow-moving mobile launch tower used to haul Antares out
of its hangar and raise the rocket vertical at the pad. NASA’s
day-after assessment of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A
found that the Transporter Erector Launcher was among the ground
hardware damaged when Antares erupted into a ball of flame and debris.
(10/30)
Moon Express Plans Tests Soon at KSC
(Source: Parabolic Arc)
Moon Express Inc., headquartered at the NASA Research Park at Moffett
Field, California, will perform vehicle testing at KSC's Shuttle
Landing Facility as part of NASA’s Lunar Cargo Transportation and
Landing by Soft Touchdown or CATALYST initiative. The purpose of the
Lunar CATALYST is to encourage the development of U.S. private sector
robotic lunar landers, and this initiative is being executed by means
of no-funds-exchanged Space Act Agreements with U.S. private sector
partners.
Editor's Note:
NASA has entered into agreements with three companies to support their
lunar landing concepts, including Moon Express, Masten, and Astrobotic.
(10/30)
Range-Initiated Flight Termination May
Have Saved Launch Pad (Source: SPACErePORT)
It looks like the Antares rocket was OK up to the L+15 seconds mark.
"Evidence suggests the failure initiated in the first stage after which
the vehicle lost its propulsive capability and fell back to the
ground," says Orbital. Space Policy Online reports that a
range-initiated "flight termination" signal was sent before the rocket
fell back to the ground.
From photos I've seen, it appears that the flight termination system
ripped open the vehicle's fuel tanks to ensure that no errant forward
propulsion would be possible. The vehicle blew apart as it fell,
avoiding a direct impact on the launch pad. Photos show that the launch
complex suffered much less damage that I would have expected, given the
size of the explosion. Perhaps the range's command-destruct action
saved the launch pad from what could have been a much more damaging
outcome. (10/30)
Virginia Braces for Aftershocks From
Wallops Explosion (Source: Watchdog)
The failed launch and fiery explosion at the Wallops Island spaceport
this week could blow up Virginia’s projected financial windfall at the
commercial site. The state invested $26 million in 2009 to bring
privately operated space flights to the Eastern Shore. The Mid-Atlantic
Regional Spaceport was estimated to generate $4.25 billion for
Virginia’s economy through 2020. Now the short-term outlook isn’t so
rosy.
“The complex is pretty much toasted. It was like a tactical nuclear
warhead going off,” said Keith Cowing, who edits NASAWatch.com. The
question is: Who will pay for the massive repairs, the environmental
cleanup and for the $200 million in lost cargo and equipment bound for
the International Space Station? The rocket company, Virginia-based
Orbital Sciences Corp., isn’t saying.
With questions still up in the air, neither the company nor NASA nor
the state would speculate about the cost of restoring the Wallops site,
or who would foot the bill. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s
office was looking into the legal ramifications, but had no answers
Wednesday night. (10/30)
The 8 Incredible Details You Never
Knew About Virgin Galactic (Source: Jaunted)
How about Paris for the weekend, or a two-week trip around Southeast
Asia? Forget it—that's so 2014, so terrestrial. Should Virgin Galactic
have their way, 2015 will be the year you book a vacation of suborbital
space travel, or perhaps a supersonic 45-minute flight from California
to London.
This month SpaceShipTwo completed her 54th test flight, improving the
odds that next year will indeed be the one to finally kick off space
tourism. In fact, Virgin Galactic has already begun the big move from
Mojave, CA to Las Cruces, NM, the latter being home to Spaceport
America and, hopefully soon, flights to space full of paying passengers
(6, to be specific, plus 2 pilots). Click here.
(10/30)
NASA's High Altitude Glider Can Fire
Rockets Into Space from the Air (Source: Gizmodo)
It still costs an arm and a leg (and sometimes an entire Antares
rocket) to lift crews and cargo into space. So until we get around to
building that space elevator we've always wanted, NASA will just have
to use this drone-towed, pilot-less, rocket-launching glider.
It's called the Towed Glider Air-Launch System (TGALS) and it's
designed to launch orbital rockets from high altitude at a fraction of
the cost of current methods. So instead of trying to dead lift loads
straight up through the atmosphere (and directly against the pull of
gravity) atop an SLS rocket, this method gives the launch a running—or
rather, flying—start.
NASA successfully tested its 1/3-scale prototype (which still measured
27 feet wingtip to wingtip) earlier this week at Edwards AFB in
California as part of the Game Changing Development program. This test
did not include a rocket launch, but rather was a dry run to ensure
that the glider's mix of OTS and custom built components could hold
together during its powered flight and landing. Turns out, it totally
did; bring on the rockets. (10/30)
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