October 14, 2018

Russia’s Big Space Fail Exposes Putin Era’s Soviet Reflexes (Source: Daily Beast)
Over nearly two decades, Kremlin officials have learned one lesson well: the boss hates embarrassing failures in front of important foreign eyes. But the hundredth anniversary of the aerospace company Energia will be remembered as a nightmare in the history of Russian space. And also as a symbol of the Kremlin’s failing management, over-blown self-confidence, and constant efforts to hide the truth from its citizens.

To mark the jubilee, important guests including NASA's administrator Jim Bridenstine and the head of the Russian space agency, Dmitry Rogozin, arrived at Baikonur Cosmodrome. Back in Moscow space authorities felt embarrassed and puzzled, discussing various versions of the accident’s cause, including sabotage. The mission was supposed to include an investigation into a mysterious hole drilled in the Russian module of the International Space Station. In case if Ovchinin found evidence proving that the hole had been drilled on the ground, the shadow of guilt would have fallen on Energia. Alas, there will be no investigation any time soon.

It is unclear how long it will take the Kremlin to investigate the accident, how soon Soyuz will bring three people remaining on board of the International Space Station back home. In Moscow observers and space experts referred to the accident, as “shocking” and “shameful.” Olga Bychkova, deputy chief editor at Echo of Moscow was not surprised. “For years both Russian and international space experts and scientists warned about some disaster coming, since Russian industry demonstrated a mess at all levels, from production to testing to launching spacecraft,“ Bychkova said. (10/12)

Station Crew Has Enough Supplies for At Least Six Months (Source: Reuters)
The crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has enough fuel, oxygen, water, and food to last at least six months, said Vladimir Solovyov, flight director of the Russian segment of the ISS. Russia has temporarily suspended all manned space launches. The three astronauts currently aboard the space station - a German, a Russian and an American - were due to return to Earth in December, but may now be stuck there longer. The Russian Space Agency said it still planned to go ahead with the next manned flight in December although the plans could change depending on the results of a commission set up to probe the incident. (10/14)

CEO: Stratolaunch Meets All Test Objectives (Source: Antelope Valley Press)
Stratolaunch announced it reached milestones this week in the ground tests of its massive carrier aircraft, the largest ever built. The twin-hull airplane is under development by Scaled Composites at the Mojave Air and Space Port, where the behemoth was seen performing taxi tests on the runway this week.

Formed by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen in 2011, Stratolaunch intends to use the aircraft as an airborne launch platform to provide convenient, reliable access to low Earth orbit for payloads such as satellites. President and CEO Jean Floyd on Thursday tweeted the aircraft met “all test objectives” at speeds of 25, 40, 55 and 70 knots, or about 29, 46, 63 and 80 mph. (10/12)

Merger Planned for Harris Corp., L3 (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Harris Corp. and L3 Technologies Inc. are nearing an agreement to merge, a deal that would unite two big providers of defense communications and electronics with a combined market value of about $33.5 billion. The companies were in advanced discussions as of Friday to combine in a stock deal they were aiming to ink as soon as this weekend, according to people familiar with the matter. Exact terms being discussed couldn’t be learned but the companies were expected to market the transaction as a merger of equals. (10/13)

Virgin Galactic Preparing for Next Phase of SpaceShipTwo Test Flight Program (Source: Space News)
Virgin Galactic’s chief executive says the company is approaching the “next phase” of the flight test program for the company’s SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle as the company’s founder predicts the company reaching space in “weeks.”

Speaking at the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight here Oct. 10, George Whitesides, chief executive of Virgin Galactic, said he expected at least one more powered flight test of the vehicle before the end of this year. “We’re entering into the next phase of our test flight program,” he said. “The next phase of flight will entail longer burns and higher duration, and that’s exciting for the team.” (10/13)

Embraer to Expand Business Jet Assembly on Space Coast (Source: Florida Today)
Embraer, yet again, is enlarging its footprint on the Space Coast. The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer on Sunday said it will begin assembling two new lines of business jets at the Orlando Melbourne International Airport. The midsize jets are called the Praetor 500 and Praetor 600, which the company says will "introduce unprecedented range into their categories."

The name Praetor — pronounced pree ter — was the title of a high official in ancient Rome. Embraer says the Praetor 500 will be the fastest midsize aircraft capable of reaching Europe from the west coast of the U.S. with a single stop. The Praetor 600, the company says, will be the farthest-flying super-midsize business jet, allowing nonstop flights between London and New York. (10/14)

NASA to Continue Russian Crew Launches, With Spring Flight Flying Aborted Crew (Source: AFP)
NASA chief Jim Bridenstine on Friday praised the Russian space program and said he expected a new crew to go to the International Space Station in December despite a rocket failure. "I fully anticipate that we will fly again on a Soyuz rocket and I have no reason to believe at this point that it will not be on schedule," he told reporters. Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin and US astronaut Nick Hague are likely to go into space in the spring after their flight was suddenly aborted last week. (10/12)