September 29 News Items

European Firm Plans Space Tourism Flights Beginning in 2012 (Source: Asian Age)
Europe's EADS Astrium has unveiled a revolutionary new vehicle for space tourism. It can carry four passengers to space every week. The spacecraft is a size of a business jet and is designed to carry passengers up to 100 km above the earth into space and give passengers more than three minutes of weightlessness. The altitude of 100 km is officially recognized as space. Astrium plans to open commercial service in 2012. As many as 40 similar projects are going on worldwide to take tourists to space including the most well-known competitor, Virgin Galactic. The market is expected to have 15,000 passengers in a year by 2020.

The space journey begins with a regular aeroplane-like 45-minute cruise to an altitude of 12 km (about 40,000 feet). Then a rocket takes over, firing for 80 seconds and taking the spacecraft to an altitude of 60 km. The rocket is shut down and the momentum takes the vehicle to over 100 km, or space. As the spacecraft falls back to earth, jet engines take over again at 12 km. From there, it is a 30-minute descent to earth.

Spacehab Announces NASDAQ Deficiency Notice and Going Concern Qualification (Source: Spacehab)
Texas-based Spacehab announced its receipt of a notice from NASDAQ on Sep. 25 stating that the company does not comply with Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(3). Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(3) requires the Company to have $500,000 of net income from continuing operations for the most recently completed fiscal year or two of the three most recently completed fiscal years; or $35,000,000 market value of listed securities; or $2,500,000 in stockholders’ equity. Spacehab had previously announced a Tender Offer to exchange its outstanding convertible notes into common and preferred Spacehab stock. The Tender Offer is slated to close on Oct. 1, 2007. If the Tender Offer is successful, the Company anticipates it will regain compliance with Rule 4310(c)(3).

Bigelow Space Modules: Sky High Plans Face Transportation Concerns (Source: Space News)
Two Bigelow Aerospace privately-built prototype modules are circuiting the Earth – a prelude to far larger modules that will support human occupants. But the company faces significant challenges in attaining their sky-high goals. While Bigelow's Sundancer module is already taking shape – with 2010 eyed as the time period for launch – it also brings about some bad news. According to the company's attorney: "Our schedule is so aggressive and our progress has been so good, it is creating some significant concerns in terms of transportation."

He urged launch companies to recognize the fact that the International Space Station is not the only destination target out there. While there are rockets, both domestic and foreign, to loft the large and heavier Sundancer module, affordable, reliable, and safe transportation of crews to the private outpost is missing right now, he said. Why not utilize the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to send crews to Sundancer? From a simple financial perspective, he responded, "we don't know if it can support the business case" of Bigelow Aerospace. "It's probably not a financially viable choice for us."