Why NASA Still Can’t Put Humans in
Space: Congress Is Starving It of Needed Funds (Source: Slate)
On Saturday, just a few days from now, it will have been 1,500 days
that NASA has been relying on Russia to hitch a ride to the
International Space Station. It was that long ago when the Space
Shuttle Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center—the last Shuttle flight
to the ISS, and in fact the last Shuttle flight of them all. That was
the last time an American rocket carried humans into space.
As I have made clear many times, I do not begrudge President Bush for
canceling the Shuttle program, nor President Obama for canceling its
replacement, the Constellation program, which was running severely over
budget and behind schedule. What I do begrudge is a Congress that has
made this situation far worse by underfunding the Commercial Crew
Development program, which was specifically designed to allow
commercial companies to pick up the slack and get Americans back into
space on board American crewed vehicles.
Every year, NASA works with the White House to create a budget. The
amount the president has asked to fund Commercial Crew over time would
have been enough to begin the first launches this year, 2015. But over
the past five years, Congress has consistently underfunded Commercial
Crew, usually by several hundred million dollars every year, as much as
25 percent of the requested funds. The total amount that’s been shorted
is about $1 billion. (8/24)
Why NASA's Space Lettuce is a Game
Changer (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
While a lot has been said about how NASA used the VEGGIE experiment on
the International Space Station (ISS), the why of it has been discussed
to a lesser extent. The fact is, this little experiment could be a game
changer for space exploration. The most obvious way to highlight the
importance of this is by asking a question: “What takes up less weight
and volume on a spacecraft, prepared meals for crew members, or a
packet of seeds?” Click here.
(8/24)
Bezos to Visit Cape for 'Significant'
Announcement on Sep. 15 (Source: Florida Today)
Jeff Bezos, the billionaire Amazon.com CEO and founder of private space
company Blue Origin, will visit Cape Canaveral next month to make a
"significant announcement regarding the commercial launch industry,"
according to a media invitation. The announcement is expected to
confirm Blue Origin's intent to build rockets on the Space Coast and
launch them from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The company has been negotiating a package with Space Florida and other
agencies that would result in construction of a manufacturing facility
in Exploration Park just south of Kennedy Space Center's secure area on
Merritt Island, and eventual launches of orbital human spaceflight
missions from Launch Complex 36.
Space Florida's board last week gave its approval for the state
economic development agency to finalize the terms of an agreement,
referring only to the deal's code name of "Project Panther." Space
Florida CEO Frank DiBello then said he thought the deal would be made
public within a month or so. Bezos' visit is scheduled for Sept. 15.
(8/24)
Space Command Chief Wants Satellite
Control Consolidation (Source: Space News)
The head of Air Force Space Command wants to revamp ground control
systems for military spacecraft. Gen. John Hyten said the top-to-bottom
review of satellite control infrastructure is driven by a desire to
lower costs and reduce the number of personnel involved in routine
spacecraft operations. Hyten previously said it was the "dumbest thing
in the world" that five satellite systems each have their own, separate
ground stations at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado. (8/24)
Elysium Signs Customer for Lunar
Memorial Service (Source: TechCrunch)
A California company has signed up its first customer for a planned
lunar memorial service. Elysium Space will fly remains in small cubes
affixed to a lunar lander being developed by Astrobotic Technology. The
first customer will be a Tennessee woman who passed away of cancer. The
company is offering the memorial service at $9,950, a $2,000 discount
over regular prices, for its first 50 customers. (8/23)
XCOR Juggles Work at Mojave, Midland.
Flight Possible in 6-9 Months (Source: Midland
Reporter-Telegram)
XCOR Aerospace has moved half of its staff to Midland, Texas as it
attempts to juggle manufacturing demands back in Mojave, California.
“There’s a lot going on in Mojave,” said XCOR mechanical engineer Mark
Peck. “That’s one of the reasons for not moving everyone right now is
because we just don’t want to take a month out of the build schedule.”
Peck estimated that XCOR is six to nine months away from the Lynx 1’s
first flight. The main structure is complete and the wing mounts are
being made. Once the craft is put together, the team in Mojave will do
ground testing at the Mojave Air & Space Port. Peck cited the
longer runway at Mojave and the ability to do extensive testing there
without shutting down a commercial airport as reasons for doing the
test back in California. (8/23)
Despite Setback, SpaceX Still Shaking
Up Market (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
After increasingly losing customers to SpaceX for satellite launches,
Arianespace is planning to lower the cost per flight to about $96
million. This new price range could be implemented when the new Ariane
6 launcher is developed, which could deliver 11 metric tons to GTO,
making Arianespace’s offer more affordable. The first flight of the
Ariane 6 is currently slated to take place in 2020.
“Unless the other rocket makers improve their technology rapidly, they
will lose significant market share to the Falcon 9,” said Elon Musk,
SpaceX’s CEO and chief designer. SpaceX is also expanding its portfolio
by developing a heavier version of the Falcon booster. The Falcon Heavy
should allow the company to send a record-breaking payload of 53 metric
tons to LEO and slightly more than 21 metric tons to GTO for some $90
million.
SpaceX and Arianespace aren’t the only players aspiring for their share
of the launch market. International Launch Services (ILS), a
U.S.-Russian joint venture, is planning to use the Angara booster being
developed by Russia’s Khrunichev State Research and Production Space
Center to help them compete in this lucrative market. ILS already
employs the Russian-built Proton booster, and has added the Angara as
the newest addition to its commercial fleet. (8/24)
Editorial: Artificial Gravity Would
Solve Most Space Problems (Source: Aviation Week)
The partial and ever-growing list of the harmful effects of
weightlessness on the human body includes muscle atrophy, heart
shrinkage, heart rhythm irregularities, reduction in blood volume and
red cell production, bone mass loss, brain swelling, anemia,
endothelial dysfunction, sleep deprivation, kidney stones, space
sickness, weakening of the immune system and, most recently discovered,
permanently impaired vision. (8/21)
Nicaragua to Host Russian Glonass
Ground Stations (Source: Space Daily)
The Nicaraguan Institute for Telecommunications has signed an agreement
with Russia on the construction of Russian Glonass satellite navigation
network ground stations in Nicaragua. The stations are expected to
become operational by July 2016. Initially, the work of the Glonass
stations will be handled by Russian specialists and will then be
gradually passed on to Nicaraguan workers as they finish their
training. (8/24)
What's for Dinner? BioFood!
(Source: Space Daily)
While Mars and other planets await the arrival of humans, the question
of how to maintain astronauts' food supplies remains a major obstacle
for such missions. NASA is granting $200,000 per year to find a way to
turn human excrement into nourishment.
Building a closed-cycle food supply with the help of synthetic biology
could be crucial for manned travel to Mars and other long-range
missions to be conducted in the future. Grants awarded to Blenner's
team, as well as seven others, "could transform space exploration,"
according to a NASA press release. (8/24)
Orbital ATK to Produce Satellite
Propellant Tanks for Lockheed Martin (Source: SpaceRef)
Orbital ATK signed a contract with Lockheed Martin to produce
propellant and pressurant tanks for Lockheed Martin’s updated A2100
satellite platform. The five-year contract continues a 20-year
relationship between Orbital ATK and Lockheed Martin for satellite fuel
tanks produced by the company’s Space Systems Group. (8/24)
Astronauts Found Something Troubling
in Shots From Space (Source: Tech Insider)
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are snapping photos
of Earth to measure light pollution, and they've found something
surprising: Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) — which are touted for their
energy-saving properties — are actually making light pollution worse.
And the change is so intense that ISS crew members can see it from
space. Click here.
(8/21)
Mars - The Only Known Planet Inhabited
Solely by Robots (Source: Writing Chimp)
It struck me as a lonely life, if a robot could have such a feeling,
but an industrious life all the same. Curiosity isn’t completely alone
though, he has a few redundant friends such as Opportunity and Spirit,
who also reside on Martian land, but there are no people, making Mars,
as far as we know, the only planet to be inhabited solely by robots.
Click here.
(8/23)
Russia's Space Program in Crisis After
Decades of Brain Drain, Neglect (Source: NBC)
It might be the only country that can rocket humans into space, but
Russia's once-great space program is being dragged back to Earth by
decades of brain drain and financial hardship. "The Russian space
industry is in an obvious state of crisis," said Asif Siddiqi, a
professor at Fordham University in New York and an expert on Russia's
space program.
The latest sign that that the Kremlin's space program was creaking came
on May 7, when a Progress M-27M unmanned spacecraft burned on re-entry
over the Pacific. Russia has lost 15 spacecraft since 2010, with
assembly mistakes blamed in most cases. It hasn't always been this way.
Click here.
(8/23)
Our Biggest Year in Space, Ever
(Source: IEET)
We’re looking outward… toward the vast, vast majority of all there is.
And after decades of doldrums, it seems we truly are regaining some
momentum in space exploration. Have any of you been keeping track
on a scorecard? Click here.
(8/21)
Oxford Space Systems Among UK
Companies in US Trade Mission (Source: This Is Money)
Oxford Space Systems, a firm using origami as inspiration for its
satellite components, has won a deal to supply a major provider to the
International Space Station. Founder Mike Lawton was one of nine
entrepreneurs taking part this month in a trade mission by Government
agency Innovate UK to Utah, San Francisco and Los Angeles. A second is
planned to take place in Houston this autumn. (8/22)
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