June 28 News Items

Texas, a Titan in Space Travel (Source: Star-Telegram)
America's path to outer space has always gone through Texas, and an interactive exhibit on view for the next six weeks at the state's official history museum in Austin explains that link in sometimes spectacular detail. "Made to Walk the Skies: Texas & Space Travel" offers visitors to the Texas State History Museum a glimpse of everything from meals that astronauts eat to an Apollo spacesuit to the giant Titan rocket that was used to launch all the manned Gemini spaceflights during the 1960s.

Dnepr Launches with Genesis II - Bigelow to Report Status Soon (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
After over six months of delays, a Russian Dnepr launch vehicle - a converted RS-20V Voevode (SS-18 Satan) ballistic missile - has finally launched from the ISC Kosmotras Space and Missile Complex near Yasny, Russia, carrying Bigelow Aerospace's Genesis II space station prototype test article. The launch was identified as a success. The status of the spacecraft's health will follow later via a statement from Bigelow Aerospace founder, Robert Bigelow.

Genesis II Calls Home, Says It’s Doing Fine (Source: Bigelow Aerospace)
Bigelow Aerospace has established contact with its second pathfinder spacecraft, Genesis II. Launched Thursday from, Mission Control in Las Vegas made first contact at 2:20 p.m. PDT. Initial data suggests sufficient voltage powering up Genesis II’s batteries as well as expected air pressure. While the actual confirmation of solar panel deployment and spacecraft expansion are expected later, the data suggests that deployment and expansion have been successful. In the coming weeks, BA also hopes to activate the first-ever Space Bingo game aboard Genesis II as a fun activity for the public.

Genesis II is identical in size and appearance to Genesis I – approximately 15 feet (4.4 meters) in length and 6.2 feet (1.9 meters) in diameter at launch, expanding to 2.54 meters (eight feet) in diameter after expansion in orbit. Inside is where the differences can be seen, as Genesis II includes include a suite of additional sensors and avionics that didn’t fly on Genesis I. Moreover, while Genesis I contained 13 video cameras, Genesis II will nearly double that figure to 22 cameras located on both the inside and outside of the spacecraft. The skin is made of several layers that include proprietary impact-resistant materials. Testing on the ground has shown that the expandable shells of a Bigelow module are much more resistant to space debris than the modules on the International Space Station.

Alabama Senator Ensures Funding for Projects (Source: Sen. Shelby)
U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) has announced the inclusion of hundreds of millions of dollars for Alabama-based space programs in an appropriation bill that is now heading for Senate approval. Included are the MSFC-based Lunar Precursor and Robotic Program (LPRP) at $278.2 million; funding for the Space Shuttle Program (and its Propulsion Office at MSFC); $1.225 billion for the MSFC-based Crew Launch Vehicle program; $500K for an Alabama A&M University Geospatial Data Analysis Center; $1.2 million for a University of Alabama Remote Sensing Center; $750K for an Advanced Space Propulsion Material Research and Technology Center at Alabama A&M; $2 million for an Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking System; $2.15 million for the Space Nuclear Power Systems project at MSFC; $1.5 million for Sensor Applications for Non-Destructive Evaluation; $1.25 million for an MSFC Level 4 Data Center Prototype; $2 million for Composite Material Research for Space Exploration to assist MSFC; $1.5 million for an Advanced High Temperature Materials Research partnership between Southern Research Institute and MSFC; $2 million for University of Alabama research on methane/LOX ignition and rocket engine R&D; $500K for U.S. Space and Rocket Center Museum Improvements; and $500K for a Radially Segmented Launch Vehicle (RSLV) LOX/Methane Technology Maturation project at MSFC.

Space Travel Insurance Comes at a Price (Source: Asahi Shimbun)
For anyone considering a shot in space but who worries about insurance problems, put your mind at rest. Japan's first space traveler life insurance will be offered from April next year. The insurance is a joint initiative between JI Accident and Fire Insurance Co. and Lloyd's Japan Co. The two companies agreed to underwrite the insurance because policies for conventional overseas travel do not cover trips into space. The premiums will cost between 5 million and 7 million yen for coverage of 100 million yen, or 10 million to 20 million yen for 200 million yen in coverage, they said. The new insurance will be targeted at people taking trips organized by Space Adventures Ltd. of the United States. They will board spacecraft in either the United States or Russia, before making the 90-minute trip into space and back.

ZERO-G Weightless Experience Adopts ASAP Aviation Platform (Source: BusinessWire)
Florida-based Coastal Technologies Group Inc. (CTGi), a leader in accrual and route optimization for the telecommunications industry, announced that ZERO-G has joined a growing list of aviation companies to use their leading-edgee ASP- based Aviation Management and and Optimization platform. The technology will dynamically optimize flight assignments, minimize non revenue flight miles, and manage margins against a backdrop of ever increasing fuel and regulatory costs," said Richard Kane, CEO for Coastal Technologies Group and a world record holding commercial pilot. ZERO-G will be using CTGi’s software to help manage sales channels, seat reservations, operations, work flow management, and document management.

Wyoming Rocketeer Eyes Sky (Source: Casper Star-Tribune)
Partners of Frontier Astronautics, owners of an old Atlas E missile silo in Wyoming, organized an open house Wednesday to showcase a vehicle being built on behalf of space start-up company SpeedUp. SpeedUp's goal is to deploy a reusable, vertical takeoff and landing, suborbital rocket that can propel the paying public 30,000 feet into the sky in a matter of minutes and return them safety to Earth. "You can think of it as reverse bungy jumping," he said. The launches would occur at the silo site. But first the company needs to raise about $3 million in capital to further develop and perfect his vehicle, and part of Wednesday's rocket test was intended to attract potential investors.

Senate Subcommittees Approve 2008 Funds, Including NASA Mars Activity (Source: Federal Times)
Senate subcommittees approved a $32.3 billion spending bill for the Army Corps of Engineers, the Interior Department's Bureau of Reclamation and the Energy Department, and a $54.6 billion spending bill for agencies including the Justice and Commerce departments and NASA. ... Unlike the House bill, the Senate version does not include language blocking NASA from pursuing exploration of Mars.