NASA Selects Proposals for
Ultra-Lightweight Materials for Mars and Beyond (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected three proposals to develop and manufacture
ultra-lightweight (ULW) materials for future aerospace vehicles and
structures. The proposals will mature advanced technologies that will
enable NASA to reduce the mass of spacecraft by 40 percent for deep
space exploration. Click here.
(4/7)
Blue Origin Plans To Start Suborbital
Flight Test This Year (Source: Aviation Week)
Blue Origin has completed acceptance flight tests of its cryogenic BE-3
deep-throttle engine, and plans to begin autonomous flight tests with
the reusable New Shepard suborbital human spacecraft it will power
later this year. Rob Meyerson, president of the secretive company
bankrolled by Amazon.com found Jeff Bezos, said “we’re probably a few
years away from selling tickets” on New Shepard, but the completion of
acceptance testing was a big hurdle to clear.
The 110,000-lb.-thrust engine can be throttled down to 20,000 lb.
thrust for a vertical landing, Meyerson said. New Shepard testing at
the company’s facility in West Texas will begin in autonomous mode,
with Blue Origin crew eventually occupying the vehicle’s three seats
for the initial push to 100 km – the traditional altitude where space
is said to begin. Ultimately paying passengers will fly from the Blue
Origin site in Van Horn, Texas, either for tourism or research. (4/7)
Ball Protests JPSS Award to Orbital ATK
(Source: Space News)
Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. is challenging NASA’s surprise
award of a contract to build the next three U.S. civilian weather
satellites to rival Orbital ATK, a Ball official said. Colorado-based
Ball is building the first Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)
satellite, scheduled for launch in 2017, and built a similar satellite
now in operation. As such it was considered the odds-on favorite to win
the follow-on contract. (4/7)
Space Launch System to Boost Science
with Secondary Payloads (Source: Space Daily)
When NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS) launches on its first flight,
it will be doing some serious multi-tasking. Not only will Exploration
Mission-1 test the performance of SLS and its integration with the
Orion spacecraft - the agency plans to use its massive lift capability
to carry nearly a dozen nano-satellites to conduct science experiments
beyond low Earth orbit.
NASA's newest rocket will launch Orion on an uncrewed test flight to a
distant retrograde orbit around the moon. Tucked inside the stage
adapter - the ring connecting Orion to the top propulsion stage of the
SLS - will be 11 self-contained small satellites, each about the size
of a large shoebox. (4/8)
Seven Surprising Things We Spend More
on Than Space Exploration (Source: Vox)
Read enough about space exploration and you detect a common theme: the
universe contains all sorts of wonders, but we don't have enough money
to properly explore them. We've discovered liquid oceans on several
different moons in our solar system, but cuts to NASA's planetary
science budge mean we won't be sending probes to them for at least a
decade.
Congress has directed NASA to develop the biggest rocket ever, but it's
unclear whether there will be money to actually use it once it's
finished. It doesn't have to be this way. The price tags for NASA and
its various programs might sound big, but put into context they're
fairly modest. Here, inspired by the excellent blog Things That Cost
More Than Space, are some of the things we routinely spend much more
public money on. Click here.
(3/24)
The Race to Commercial Space Travel (Source:
AFM)
The prospects of commercial space travel were greatly publicised by
Virgin Galactic as it prepared to take members of the public (albeit
only the very wealthy) on its first commercial sub-orbital flight. We
saw images of the spacecraft, heard what the journey might entail, but
also bore witness to the fatal crash of SpaceShipTwo. Click here.
(4/7)
What to Do With the Final Delta 2
Rocket? (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
With the payload matching game showing no prospects, the final Delta 2
rocket could be headed to the Smithsonian or another museum instead of
space. The United Launch Alliance vehicle has flown 153 times since
1989, accumulating 151 successes and currently rides a string of 98
consecutive flawless missions.
Only three vehicles remain in inventory, with NASA the customer for two
of them to launch the JPSS 1 weather satellite in 2016 and the ICESat 2
environmental spacecraft in 2017, both from Vandenberg Air Force Base
in California. That leaves one rocket up for grabs, but no one appears
to have a payload in the class range of the Delta 2 from the sole
remaining launch site to polar orbit interested in purchasing the ride.
Editor's Note:
I'm sure the KSC Visitor Complex would be thrilled to add this rocket
to their "rocket garden." They could build a promotional campaign
around it, using money appropriated by the state to boost space-related
tourism. (4/8)
Mars Has Belts of Glaciers of Frozen
Water (Source: Phys.org)
Mars has distinct polar ice caps, but Mars also has belts of glaciers
at its central latitudes in both the southern and northern hemispheres.
A thick layer of dust covers the glaciers, so they appear as surface of
the ground, but radar measurements show that underneath the dust there
are glaciers composed of frozen water.
New studies have now calculated the size of the glaciers and thus the
amount of water in the glaciers. It is the equivalent of all of Mars
being covered by more than one meter of ice. The results are published
in the scientific journal, Geophysical Research Letters. Several
satellites orbit Mars and on satellite images, researchers have been
able to observe the shape of glaciers just below the surface.
For a long time scientists did not know if the ice was made of frozen
water (H2O) or of carbon dioxide (CO2) or whether it was mud. Using
radar measurements from the NASA satellite, Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter, researchers have been able to determine that is water ice. But
how thick was the ice and do they resemble glaciers on Earth? (4/7)
Orbital ATK Signs $90 Million Contract
for Orion Launch Abort Motor (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Orbital ATK has signed a $90 million contract with Lockheed Martin to
provide the Attitude Control Motor (ACM) for Orion’s Launch Abort
System (LAS). The LAS enables the astronaut crew to safely escape in
the event of an emergency during launch, as the capsule is jettisoned
away from the launch vehicle. The ACM provides the steering controls to
the LAS, using a solid propellant gas generator with eight proportional
valves equally spaced around its 3-foot diameter. (4/7)
Volusia, Brevard Compete for
Space-Related Manufacturer (Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal)
A proposal to develop an aerospace manufacturing plant on the south
side of this tiny fishing community has put many of the town’s 1,800
residents on edge, with debate and mystery swirling around the proposal
that economic development officials are trying to convince them to
support. The project faces challenges from the state and environmental
groups, and late last week, Volusia County officials heard the
developer looking at an Oak Hill site might be favoring a site on
federal property at Cape Canaveral instead.
“I’ve heard it’s dead,” said County Chair Jason Davis on Saturday. “I
heard they’re going to Brevard, but I haven’t got any facts.” A source
familiar with the project said Saturday, however, that both Oak Hill
and a site in Brevard County are now being considered. County
Councilwoman Deb Denys also said Saturday that economic development
officials are still working with a consultant and still moving forward
with getting the Oak Hill site approved.
Davis said county officials are all “on board.” “I want something to go
on down there in Oak Hill,” he said. “It’s a nice community, but it
needs a shot in the arm.” Supporters would agree. Local officials who
have met with Sharples or the consultant say the facility would make
parts for rocket boosters to support commercial spaceflight operations
at or near Kennedy Space Center. The company is reportedly looking for
several potential development sites in several Southeastern states.
(4/6)
Signs of Alien Life Will Be Found by
2025, NASA's Chief Scientist Predicts (Source: Space.com)
Humanity is on the verge of discovering alien life, high-ranking NASA
scientists say. "I think we're going to have strong indications of life
beyond Earth within a decade, and I think we're going to have
definitive evidence within 20 to 30 years," NASA chief scientist Ellen
Stofan said Tuesday (April 7) during a panel discussion that focused on
the space agency's efforts to search for habitable worlds and alien
life. (4/7)
Internships Available at Florida's
Space Life Sciences Lab (Source: FSGC)
The NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium (FSGC) and Space Florida (SF)
are partnering in a STEM Internship Program at the Space Life Sciences
Laboratory (SLSL), Exploration Park at KSC, during summer 2015.
FSGC will act as the Lead in this program and will have final decision
on the selection of potential STEM mentors and interns. The 2015
program will comprise 2 SLSL internships of 10 weeks duration.
The 2015 internship program will commence on June 1, and conclude on
August 7, 2015. This will be a paid internship of $5,000 for the
10-week program. The goal of the Internship program will be to train
and recruit Florida science/engineering students (US citizens only)
into the aerospace & aviation workforce as future employees, while
encouraging further study and academic achievement. Click here.
(4/7)
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