This is the archive for June 2007
Briefs: MSS tether tests lessons; Space law links; Orbital Express ends
Ian Moore summarizes what Masten has learned from its first week of tethered vehicle tests:
First week of tether tests concluded - Masten Space Systems blog - June.30.07
BTW: Jon Goff of MSS is in Utah for his thesis defense. He posts more high speed images of nozzle flow tests:
Safely in Utah - Selenian Boondocks - June.29.07
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Jesse Londin posts more links to space law and policy related items for the week:
Friday Flybys - Space Law Probe - 6.29.07
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The two
Orbital Express spacecraft have now successfully completed their primary mission objectives and could go on to do some additional interesting experiments but for some reason the Air Force insists on shutting down the $300M project :
U.S. Air Force to End Orbital Express Mission - SPACE.com - June.30.07
06/30/07 09:58 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
2 comments | Permalink |
Genesis II hi-res images
Check out the first release of
high resolution images taken from Genesis II.
06/30/07 09:40 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space habitats
2 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: MSS progress; Atlantis on the move; Starchaser exhibit
Today and the weekend are real busy but will try to post items when I have a chance. Here are three from the top of the queue:
Masten Space reports on progress with the XA-0.1 vehicle:
More testing, More data, and… - Masten Space Systems blog.
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Atlantis soon to fly upper class back to KSC:
Atlantis shuttling back to Florida this week - AV Press
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The Nova/Starchaser 4 rocket is on display in Alamogordo, NM:
Starchaser Nova Rocket Lands At Museum - New Mexico Museum of Space History
06/29/07 03:05 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: More Bigelow news; Alt Mars transports
Craig Covault reports on the Genesis II launch:
Bigelow "Blair's" Message to Commercial Space - Aviation Week On Space Blog - June.28.07.
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Yes, if you send a crew to Mars in a Mir/ISS type of equipment-packed sardine can(s), it will be downhill all the way:
Space psychology | Cosmic mood-swings : Why human psychology will make sending people to Mars hard - Economist.com - June.28.07.
However, why not use a nice big roomy lightweight Bigelow habitat instead? Maybe two of them end to end. This would allow for a variety of rooms with a diversity of environments to support the crew psyches, e.g. pipe in real sunlight to some of the rooms, have a room with a big wall sized display for showing movies and views of the stars from an outside HD camera, etc, etc.. This would make a flight much more enjoyable and morale sustaining. Spaceflight doesn't have to be done the way it has always been done.
06/28/07 09:09 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space habitats
20 comments | Permalink |
Genesis II doing fine
Congratulations to
Bigelow Aerospace. They have now contacted Genesis II and even downloaded a couple of pictures. Looks like the spacecraft has inflated properly and successfully deployed the solar panels:
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Genesis II Calls Home, Says It’s Doing Fine: Bigelow Aerospace Confirms Space Module has Successfully Expanded and Functioning Well - Bigelow Aerospace
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Two thumbnail images from Genesis II
06/28/07 07:18 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space habitats
3 comments | Permalink |
Fire near Mojave...
Many of the rocketeers working in Mojave have their houses in the Tehachapi area where a wildfire has been raging:
Fire toll climbs to 18 structures: Erratic winds, heat push blaze to 11,300 acres - AV Press - June.28.07
Rich Pournelle of
XCOR sent the above photo. He says that so far firefighters have successfully kept the fires away from the north side of Oak Creek Canyon, from where it would spread very rapidly.
06/28/07 11:11 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
2 comments | Permalink |
Bigelow Aerospace says Genesis II successfully launched
A new press release from
Bigelow Aerospace:
Genesis II Successfully Launched
Bigelow Aerospace Still Awaits Confirmation of Spacecraft Health and Expansion
Las Vegas, NV 06/28/07 – Genesis II, the second experimental pathfinder spacecraft by Bigelow Aerospace, has been successfully launched and inserted into orbit. The privately-funded space station module was launched atop a Dnepr rocket at 8:02 a.m. PDT from the ISC Kosmotras Yasny Cosmodrome located in the Orenburg region of Russia.
The flight and stage separation of the Dnepr performed nominally, with Genesis II separating from its rocket at 8:16 a.m. PDT into an orbit with an inclination of 64 degrees. Still remaining is initial first contact with Genesis II and confirmation of solar panel deployment, outer shell expansion and spacecraft health. That confirmation is expected sometime after 4:30 p.m. PDT after initial passes over the ground communication station in Fairfax, Va., operated by Bigelow Aerospace partner SpaceQuest Ltd.
Genesis II is the second pathfinder space module designed to test and confirm systems for future manned commercial space modules to be manufactured by Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace. Like other BA spacecraft, Genesis II employs a unique architecture with a flexible outer surface that is wrapped around a central core at launch and expands into orbit through air inflation.
Bigelow Aerospace founder Robert T. Bigelow was on site in Yasny to witness the launch with other BA employees, while other BA personnel were gathered at Mission Control in North Las Vegas.
Bigelow Aerospace Program Manager Eric Haakonstad says with the experience of Genesis I, they were better primed for the launch of Genesis II. “With Genesis I, it was our first rodeo. We didn’t know exactly what to expect,” Haakonstad says. “This time, we were able to perform rehearsals and were more prepared for the launch phase.”
That said, a brief communications difficulty in Russia increased nerves in Mission Control, as there was a delay in confirming Genesis II’s separation from the Dnepr rocket. “Any deviation from nominal magnifys the anxiety. When it came in four minutes later, it was a big relief,” Haakonstad says.
Bigelow Aerospace hopes to provide an update later in the day concerning the status of first contact with Genesis II.
About Bigelow Aerospace:
The mission of Bigelow Aerospace is to open the frontier of space to all of humanity by dramatically reducing the cost of conducting human spaceflight activities. To this end, Bigelow Aerospace is developing orbital complexes utilizing innovative expandable space habitat technology. The Las Vegas-based firm’s affordable and flexible space complex architecture can be adapted for virtually any crewed or autonomous mission requiring a large pressurized volume. For more information, go to
www.bigelowaerospace.com or call (702) 688-6600
06/28/07 11:03 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space habitats
4 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: 9th Carnival of Space; Nuclear tugs; Mr. Singularity
Check out the
ninth carnival of space! at the
The Planetary Society Blog, edited by Emily Lakdawalla.
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Nuclear propulsion could provide a very cost-effective mode of in-space transportation:
Nuclear rockets could cut cost of Moon base - New Scientist - June.28.2007
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Ray Kurzweil joins the X PRIZE Foundation:
The X PRIZE Foundation Elects World-Renowned Author, Inventor and Futurist to Board of Trustees - X PRIZE Foundation.
06/28/07 10:43 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
1 comment | Permalink |
Rocketeers in Wyoming [Update]
Frontier Astronautics and
SpeedUp/ hold an open house (make that, "open silo") event:
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Wyo rocketeer eyes sky - Casper StarTribune - June.28.07
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It's a go - Laramie Boomerang - June.28.07
(Articles via
spacetoday.net.)
[Update: A reader points to this video report at
Rocket Man - KGWN TV.]
06/28/07 10:33 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
No comments | Permalink |
Private lunar mission in negotiation stage
Eric Anderson says
Space Adventures is in serious negotiations with prospective customers for its
Lunar Mission in which two passengers, for $100M each, and a pilot will fly in a Soyuz around the Moon:
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Flight
Log: The First Private Expedition to the Moon - SPACE.com
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Space Adventures: first circumlunar tourists signed by end of year - Personal Spaceflight "I hope to have those contracts signed by the end of the year," said Eric Anderson, Space Adventures' president and CEO.
ASATs, orbital debris, and space policy
A report on China and US ASAT capabilities and the debris problems that come with them:
China's Space Threat: How Missiles Could Target U.S. Satellites - Popular Mechanics - July.2007 issue.
Don't know how big a threat China poses to US satellites, but the ASAT hit early this year sure gave a big boost to the Air Force's
Operationally Responsive Space program.
06/27/07 11:40 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Military Space
No comments | Permalink |
More Atlantis landing picts
Ian Kluft also took some cool photos of the recent Shuttle landing at Edwards:
Atlantis landing at Edwards, June 22, 2007
06/27/07 11:18 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Shuttle
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: ESA next gen; Genesis I photo; Call to action; LRO gifts
ESA starts some long term launch technology development projects:
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Next generation launchers - ESA
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Development contracts signed for future European launchers - ESA.
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Haven't seen anything yet about the Genesis II launch but there is a new Genesis I picture posted on the
Bigelow Aerospace website.
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Ferris Valyn attempts to build a NewSpace caucus at Daily Kos:
Daily Kos: Space Revolutions Diary - A Call to action
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A reader notes that the
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter project now has its own
Merchandise Store
06/27/07 10:48 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
SS2/WK2 developments
Leonard David reports on some rumors of news coming soon regarding the SpaceShipTwo and White Knight Two vehicles:
Virgin Galactic Spaceliner: Engine, G-load News in the Offing? - LiveScience.com - June.27.07
06/27/07 10:36 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: More Space Revolution; MSS pit stop; Unreasonable testing
Another big compilation of NewSpace related links from Ferris Valyn at
Space Revolution Weekly News for 6-25-07 - Daily Kos. There is also this discussion of space solar power:
DoD investigates "clean" space solar power - Daily Kos.
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Masten does some maintenance on the XA-0.1 before continuing with the tethered tests:
Vehicle Mods, data analysis, round three - Masten Space Systems blog.
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Paul Breed is also doing firing tests:
Out of Town this week - Unreasonable Rocket
06/26/07 10:39 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Space insurance; Mojave fires; Remote development
Good news, bad news for Japanese space tourists. They can get a suborbital space travel insurance but a $1M policy will cost around $50k:
Space travel insurance comes at a price - asahi.com - June.26.07.
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Fire threatens an area near Mojave:
White Fire untamed in 2nd day - AV Press.
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The Russians seem willing to develop areas that are difficult to reach and challenging to live in, e.g. Siberia and Arctic. Maybe space won't intimidate them:
Russia eyes vast Arctic territory - BBC.
06/26/07 04:12 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: MSS testing; Private spaceflight info; Genesis II launch
Masten makes another small step in its step-by-step test program:
More testing, slightly better results - Masten Space Systems - June.26.07
Jon Goff of MSS provides some background info about their vehicle design in
comments to a previous post here.
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Wikipedia has a lengthy entry on
Private Spaceflight.
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A reader in
comments here points to a Russian launch schedule showing the Genesis II launch still set for June 28th.
06/26/07 11:20 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
3 comments | Permalink |
Pentagon Study: Space-Based Solar Power
A press release from the
Space Frontier Foundation:
Public Discussion for Pentagon Study: Space-Based Solar Power
NYACK, NY, June 25--The National Security Space Office (NSSO) is
investigating space-based solar power (SBSP) as a clean, carbon-neutral solution to foreign control of energy sources and the possibility of global warming. The study will determine the feasibility of SBSP as a source of energy that may be able to broadcast power to deployed forces and supplement national power supplies.
The Space Frontier Foundation is gathering public input to assist the NSSO with its study on SBSP. The public can participate in this effort online at Space Solar Power, a discussion website sponsored by the Space Frontier Foundation.
http://spacesolarpower.wordpress.com
06/26/07 11:08 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Markets
5 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Atlantis pics; NASA com; Participatory Exploration
Check out these cool pictures of Atlantis taken by Mike Massee:
Space Shuttle Atlantis Landing at Edwards Air Force Base - raindrop.com.
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Speaking of NASA, the agency has a new plan for explaining itself:
NASA's new strategic communications plan - Space Politics.
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NSS will co-host a NASA meeting that deals with "new technologies to better engage the public with space exploration":
National Space Society To Co-Host Participatory Exploration Summit with NASA Ames Research Center - SpaceRef - June.26.07
06/26/07 10:58 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NASA
5 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: ISS competition; Griffin is off line; Kayaking to space
Some response from NASA about the ISS competing with Bigelow's habitats for commercial work:
Few "outsiders" sign on to use space station for research- New Scientist - June.26.2007
Actually, from what I've read, the Bigelow BA-330 will be quite sophisticated and I expect it will have sufficient power for most experiments. See
spacetoday.net for more links related to the ISS commercialization.
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Now I understand why Griffin isn't running NASA the way I suggest:
Mike Griffin Doesn't Do That Blog Stuff - NASA Watch.
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A reader informs me that managers at the JSC Astronaut Office Station Operations Branch will leave in August for a "remote wilderness" to participate in a sea kayaking adventure run by the National Outdoor Leadership School. (Like this one:
Alaska Sea Kayaking.) The reader finds this rather "dilberty" for our space explorers. I wonder if they did such things back in the good old
George Abbey days at JSC? I could see him commanding the kayakers to line up in a way only he understands, telling them to wear NASA jumpsuits, and at the last minute forcing someone to stay behind for no apparent reason.
06/26/07 10:49 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NASA
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Personal reentry; BonNova; ISS for outsiders
PopSci posts a lengthy article about space diving:
High Dive: Ride a rocket into space and then abandon ship? You'd need to be nuts or desperate. Either way, space diving could be the future of reentry - Popular Science - June.2007 issue
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The
BonNova Lunar Lander Challenge competitor offers a bit more info on their project. (Via
Space Prizes).
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NASA hopes the ISS will be "utilized by a variety of folks, both governmental and maybe commercial":
NASA Details Plan to Open ISS for Outside Use - SPACE.com - June.25.07
06/25/07 10:40 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
7 comments | Permalink |
The Space Review; NAP space policy reports
In the latest issue of
The Space Review, Jeff Foust discusses the positive and potentially negative consequences of public participation in space ventures via real time, interactive simulations:
Virtual reality and participatory exploration. Alex Howerton (
NASTAR Center) notes the increasing interest within the personal spaceflight industry in human factors issues:
Biomedical considerations addressed at recent space conferences.
Other articles include a
report by Dwayne Day on a famous helicopter involved in several missions to retrieve astronauts from the sea during the Apollo era. Taylor Dinerman talks about
TacSat-3. Jeff Foust
reviews the new book
Into That Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961-1965.
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A reader sends links to these books at the National Academies Press, which can be read for free on line or bought in book form:
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The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon: Final Report
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Decadal Science Strategy Surveys: Report of a Workshop
06/25/07 10:31 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Masten starts flight tests
Masten "test flew the vehicle four times with varying amounts of success". :
MSS officially enters flight testing - MSS - June.25.07. Unfortunately, with only a slow line I don't have time to download the videos before I go out. Will try to watch them tonight. Congrats to Masten on reaching this stage of development.
06/25/07 10:15 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
5 comments | Permalink |
Armadillo Aerospace getting customers
Leonard David profiles Armadillo Aerospace today at Space.com:
Armadillo Aerospace: Scaling Up for Modularized Spaceships - Space.com - June.25.07. The company is starting to move into serious business mode:
Somewhat to his surprise, three major aerospace companies are talking to Armadillo Aerospace about flying sensor systems on Armadillo vehicles, using them as high-altitude platforms, Neil Milburn, program manager for Armadillo Aerospace, said in a June 15 interview: Those flights are expected to begin in 2008. While not identifying the customers, Milburn said one of those companies is not a domestic U.S.company.
Orbital Outfitters also plans to use an Armadillo vehicle to do high altitude tests on their space suits.
"I think there's a darn good chance we're going to be net-profitable this year. And I think that probably within two years I would have paid off all my investment ... and we'll be bringing in steady income streams," Carmack said.
06/25/07 09:37 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
No comments | Permalink |
Arianespace comeback [Update]
A reader sends a pointer to this Wall Street Journal article today about the success
Arianespace is now seeing after several tough years:
French Firm Vaults Ahead In Civilian Rocket Market: Arianespace Cut Costs To Beat U.S. Rivals;Trying to Sign NASA - WSJ - June.25.07 (subscription required).
Today, the company is profitable and has the heftiest order book in the industry, with a global mix of blue-chip customers. It controls well over 50% of the growing $2.7 billion annual world market for launching satellites for communications, earth-imaging, scientific research and other civilian activities. That's double its share a few years ago. It now has its sights set on a burgeoning new area: manned space flight.
The latter apparently refers to the Soyuz missions that will soon begin launching from a new pad facility in Kourou.
[Update: A
comment by Sam Dinkin on this article.]
06/25/07 09:29 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
No comments | Permalink |
Spaceshow programs this week...
The SpaceShow has space transport related interviews this week (
full preview schedule on Space-for-All):
* Alan Ladwig, who has been involved in both NASA and commercial space projects, is on today at 2-3:30 PM Pacific:
* John Garvey of
Direct Launcher project, which offers an alternative to Ares 1/5, will be on next Sunday at 12-1:30PM Pacific.
06/25/07 09:16 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Activism
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: ORS review; New China launchers; Genesis II launch
Via
Rand Simberg comes a pointer to articles in the
July issue of National Defense Magazine about the Air Force's responsive space efforts:
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Pentagon Pushes for Smaller Satellites, Faster Launches
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Experimental Rockets Boost Expectations of Lower Costs
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Space Research Wing is Small But Has Big Dreams
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A reader send a link to this report on plans in China for new launchers:
China Plans New Generation of Rockets - PhysOrg - June.18.07
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Hearing nothing to the contrary, I assume that the Genesis II launch is still
scheduled for this week. Unfortunately, the
Roscosmos calendar isn't much help - it still shows April 26th as the launch date. However, Spaceflight Now gives the launch as
June 28th and this was updated on June 17th.
06/24/07 09:41 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
2 comments | Permalink |
OT: United Aggravation
WARNING: Travel Whine Approaching!
I flew to Knoxville this evening on United Express (NOT). The flight was scheduled to leave at 4:53 but Orbitz called around 1pm to say the flight was delayed till 7:10. I double checked the on line Arrivals/Departures web site and it confirmed this.
We nevertheless got to Dulles around 4:00 and the place was packed like a sport stadium 10 minutes before the big game. (I guess I'm the only person who doesn't know that Sunday afternoon is a big time for air travel during the summer.) I tried to check in at the curb since the line was shorter but the guy said it was too late. His screen said the flight was going to leave at 4:53 and the system wouldn't let him check my bag. By then it was 4:20 and the required check-in time was 45 minutes before a flight. I scrambled from one UA ticket counter person to another, explaining about the delay message, and eventually managed to talk one of them into giving me a boarding pass and letting me run for the flight along with the bag I had planned to check. The security entrance was, of course, jammed up and took took about 30 minutes to get through and only after I threw away a favorite Swiss Army knife plus miscellaneous gels and liquids from my toiletries kit.
I finally made it to the gate by 5:15 and, you guessed it, I discovered that the flight was, in fact, not leaving till 7:10. There was even an additional delay and we didn't move out from the gate till 7:50.
I think the moral of the story is that Orbitz knows more about the flights of United Airlines subsidiaries than United Airlines does. I've heard other people complaining recently about United. I think I understand why...
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Anyway, I'm away from home this week and will be dealing with a slow line along with miscellaneous distractions. So posts will be even more randomly intermittent than usual...
06/24/07 09:04 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
1 comment | Permalink |
Slow revolutions ...
In the future, people will use electronic "credits" to pay for everything and cash will be long forgotten. Or at least that's the way commerce has often been portrayed in sci-fi stories. At first glance this might seem like just another one of those futuristic clichés that never happened. If you look around, though, you might be surprised to find just how close we are to such a scenario. Economist Robert Samuelson says in a recent column,
A Quiet Revolution In Money:
The long-predicted "cashless society" has quietly arrived, or nearly so; currency, coins and checks are receding as ways of doing everyday business; we've become Plastic Nation.
This got me to thinking about how common it is that the big technological advancements in our lives develop so incrementally that they are usually taken completely for granted by the time they are fully realized.
I still have a Pulsar LCD watch given to me by my father around 1974 and I recall talk then of flat LCD TVs just around the corner. Well, the corner turned out to be several more blocks and three decades away. The LCD TV came slowly via many small incremental steps forward in better displays for watches, instrument panels, and computer screens before finally reaching the family room wall.
Eureka moments certainly still occur but usually a big new idea must be combined with several other big ideas and technologies to create something that is actually practical, useful and popular. Furthermore, all this requires time to build up a critical mass of infrastructure before the new technology becomes part of our everyday lives.
Timothy Berners-Lee, for example, deserves great credit for inventing the World Wide Web. However, he would be the first to admit that he didn't invent it from scratch. Instead, he combined inventions of others - hyperlinks, markup languages, and Internet communications - to create something brand new. In turn, Marc Andreessen and his collaborators combined the WWW with graphical displays to create the Mosaic web browser. And, of course, these tools rode atop the wave of rapidly growing networking technologies and low-cost mass market computing. All of these things together led eventually to the "overnight" web revolution of the 1990s.
The road to a new technology also involves, of course, many detours, failures, and disappointments. The Altair home computer, Osborne portable PC, the Newton PDA, etc., etc. were either minor financial successes or outright failures but each made crucial contributions towards their area of technology.
A fundamental premise of this blog and web site is that space development is now in a similar sort of long term, incremental process in which steady progress is being made towards eventual large scale human activity in space. For many this can seem a frustrating and agonizingly slow process but I find it exhilarating because for the first time there really is a clear path towards such a goal.
* From Pixel to Falcon 1 to Genesis 1 there is real hardware flying and there is real money going towards building bigger and better hardware.
* There is tremendous vigor and depth to the process with many firms and organizations involved.
* Space tourism offers a solid money making market. The arguments now are just over how big the market is.
* The bootstrapping challenge of simultaneously developing both transport and destination is finally being overcome with large scale angel investment in lower cost space transport and in large and sophisticated space habitats.
* The suborbital spaceflight projects are developing the RLV technologies and operational techniques required for really low cost space transport.
* There will be many failures, many companies will come and go, but the process has enough strength and momentum to carry on regardless.
I could easily imagine in the 2015-2020 time frame that at least several dozen people will be visiting two or three Bigelow habitats in orbit at any given time. Meanwhile, everyday there will be a flight to suborbital space with ticketed passengers. I could also imagine Samuelson writing a column around that time with the title,
A Quiet Revolution In Space, on the topic of large scale space development and how hardly anyone was noticing how far it had progressed.
06/23/07 01:28 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
6 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Masten prepares for lift-off; Spaceport funding; Bordeaux symposium
Looks to be an exciting few days for Masten as the XA-0.1 starts to learn to fly:
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T minus XX.XX and counting - Masten Space Systems
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Mach 10 Butterflies - Selenian Boondocks
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I've wondered about this myself. Why would the people in the other two NM counties that are supposed to support the spaceport raise taxes on themselves after hearing over and over that it was the Dońa Ana County vote that was crucial to the project?
Spaceport America: We must have county's support - Las Cruces Sun-News - June.23.07
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Via the
Spaceports blog comes word that the
International Academy of Astronautics is sponsoring a
Private Manned Access to Space symposium in Arcachon, near Bordeaux , France on May 28 to 30, 2008.
06/23/07 10:54 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Space news; Activist handbook; Space blogs
Jesse Londin provides a set of interesting links:
Friday Flybys - Space Law Probe - June.22.07
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Including a link to a new book that looks interesting:
The Space Activist's Handbook by Hal Fulton
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A couple of recent additions to the
space blog list:
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Living Space Online - Astronomy from Harriet Scott and Chris Lintott - includes podcasts
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A Mars Odyssey - Nancy Houser
06/23/07 10:34 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Activism
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Astrium video and tech info; Flight School update
A reader sent in this link to a video about the EADS Astrium space tourist vehicle (I wish they would give it a name) exhibit at the Paris Air Show:
Space tourism at Le Bourget - CNN.
Adn Rob Coppinger provides more details about the vehicle's design in this report:
Astrium space jet technical detail revealed - Flight Global - June.22.07.
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Leonard David reports from
Flight School in Aspen:
Sky’s No Limit: Personalizing Air and Space Travel - Space.com/LiveScience.
High-flying coffee
A
JP Aerospace news release:
“This coffee has gone where I want to go.”
On June 2, a small bag of specialty coffee beans played the part of test pilot. The “Bean Me Up” bag of roast flew to 92,000 feet onboard a high altitude research balloon.
The balloon was flown by JP Aerospace, an independent space program. In addition to the coffee, over 300 student experiments were carried aloft. Lifting off shortly after dawn, the balloon climbed 800 feet per minute. As it headed upward, the temperature dropped to 82 degrees below zero, and the sky slowly turned black. When it reached high enough where the Earth’s horizon is curved, the balloon burst. The coffee and experiments fell together at over Mach one back toward the desert floor. The parachute opened, and the package touched down ten miles from its starting point.
“This coffee has gone where I want to go,” says John Powell, President of JP Aerospace.
The high-flying coffee is now being auctioned off on eBay to raise money to support the
PongSat program. The coffee can be found on [
eBay]
JP Aerospace has flown advertisements, toy action figures, and mementos to the edge of space to help fund their PongSat space education program.
A PongSat is an experiment that fits inside of a ping pong ball. Students as young as eight are running their own space programs. Experiments range from plant seeds to computers with sophisticated sensors. PongSat are flown at no charge to the students. Thousands of students have been to the edge of space with their PongSats.
Away 33 mission was the ninety-first mission flown by JP Aerospace. JP Aerospace is staffed by volunteers dedicated to bringing space travel to everyone.
A special thanks goes out to Vista Clara Coffee,
www.vistaclaracoffee.com, for providing the “Bean Me Up” beans for the flight.
06/22/07 08:07 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Near Space
1 comment | Permalink |
Masten tether test preparations
Masten prepares for tether tests:
Two steps forward and, well… - Masten Space Systems - June.22.07
06/22/07 07:55 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Space Carnival; Space law schedule; LLC regs; Mojave bang
The latest
Carnival of Space is available at
Universe Today.
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Jesse Londin lists upcoming space law and policy related events:
Hot Summer Space Law Dates - Space Law Probe
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Paul Breed moves to the next step with FAA/AST:
FAA paperwork milestone - Unreasonable Rocket.
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Mojave recently dealt with a big boom that thankfully turned out not to be rocket related:
Practice pays off during emergency at Mojave Airport - AV Press
06/21/07 11:53 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Blue Origin test; Astrium jets; SPACEHAB statement
As pointed out in a
comment here,
Blue Origin apparently carried out a test flight on Thursday:
7/5094 NOTAM Details. I wonder if there is a way to find out how many of these NOTAMs have been issued for them. The BO enviro impact statement said they would eventually reach 25 flights per year during the development period up to 2010.
---
Not to worry, the jet engines will restart:
Space jet's turbofans can cope with vacuum says EADS - Flightglobal.com - June.21.07
---
The official SPACEHAB press release about its NASA space act agreement:
Spacehab awarded $35 million NASA contract: Financial News - SPACEHAB - June.21.07.
06/21/07 11:44 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: SPACEHAB PR; NewSpace 2007 program; Blue Origin goals
Here is SPACEHAB's press release about its Space Act agreement with NASA:
SPACEHAB Signs Space Act Agreement with NASA - EPICOS - June.20.07
---
Here's the
program agenda for the Space Frontier Foundation NewSpace 2007 meeting coming up in Washington, D.C., July 18-21.
---
As someone pointed out to me yesterday, it seems unlikely that Blue Origin needs experts in
turbopumps and
advanced propulsion systems if they are only interested in suborbital spaceflight...
06/21/07 09:02 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
8 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Regolith Challenge reports; TGV in Norman; SR-72
Via
Space Prizes comes pointers to a Planetary blog report and an audio program about the recent Lunar Regolith Challenge event:
*
Planetary Radio
*
Snapshots from the Lunar Regolith Challenge - The Planetary Society Blog
---
TGV Rockets profiled in this Norman, Oklahoma publication:
Norman company completes rocket test firing - The Norman Transcript - June.17.07
---
If this project is real, I wonder what sort of propulsion system it uses:
An SR-72 in the works? - Air Force Times (via
Slashdot).
06/21/07 07:50 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
2 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: LLC teams; Whitesides at Virgin Galactic;
The
teams page at the
X PRIZE/Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge website was mentioned previously here and elsewhere. The Foundation has now put out an official press release with the team list:
X PRIZE Foundation - X PRIZE Foundation Announces Competitors for Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge
---
George Whitesides, head of the
NSS, gets a second gig with Virgin Galactic:
NSS Executive Director Takes Second Job with Virgin Galactic -SpaceNews (subscription required). BTW: In case you forgot, it was announced last year that George and his wife Loretta will
celebrate their honeymoon on a SpaceShipTwo ride.
---
Apparently phrases like "space settlement" and "space colonization" don't compute with some site managers:
Daily Kos: Tags, and space - A Space Revolutions diary special report
06/20/07 07:16 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
2 comments | Permalink |
A new symmetry in orbit
OK, so maybe it is as expensive as a Pyramid and half as useful but I still find the ISS to be a wonderful thing to behold:
*
ISS/Alpha/Freedom - Spreading Its Wings At Last - NASA Watch
06/20/07 06:50 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NASA
10 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: CSI inteview; Masten tether tests; NM spaceport
Sam Dinkin posts an exchange with Charles Miller of
Constellation Services Int. regarding the company's
recent agreement with NASA:
Interview with Charles Miller - Transterrestrial Musings - June.19.07
---
Masten Space Systems sets up for
Tether Tests of their first VTOL rocket vehicle prototype.
---
Spaceport America in New Mexico seems to be moving along:
*
Spaceport construction set to start in spring - Las Cruces Sun-News
*
Spaceport America on schedule - Personal Spaceflight
06/20/07 06:47 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Orbital aims for Delta 2 market; RpK investment quest
The current print issue of Space News reports that
Orbital Sciences has begun the first phase in development of a
Delta 2 class vehicle. Orbital says the
Taurus 2 would be substantially cheaper than the Delta 2, which the military will stop using after 2008. NASA officials are concerned that the loss of military missions will result in significantly higher costs for their Delta 2 launches since the production rate will fall plus there will be the burden of maintaining pad facilities at KSC and Vandenberg.
If the COTS vehicles (
SpaceX Falcon 9 and
RpK K-1) are successfully developed they will be tough competition for the Taurus 2. According to the article, the Delta 2 flights currently go for about $80M. Elon Musk said the Falcon 9 has higher performance than the Delta 2 and a launch will cost around $35M.
Orbital is not yet committed to going all the way to production with the Taurus 2. An Orbital spokesman say they "will stop along the way, check our progress and make sure the market is still there for our product".
---
With respect to the
recent item about
Rocketplane Kistler missing a COTS financial milestone, Charles Lurio says in his latest newsletter that RpK is continuing its efforts to achieve its private funding requirements and is highlighting prospective heavy cargo demand from private users such as SPACEHAB. Charles says he was told that Tom Pickens of SpaceHab has asserted, "..that in pursuing commercialized space materials processing [Pickens] can use, virtually from the start, 'every [equipment] rack space in every place,' ... as a corollary, [Pickens] is said to assert the need for virtually as much to/from orbit transportation services as possible." I expect that RpK is also pointing out the possibility of taking on some of NASA's Delta 2 class launches.
06/18/07 11:29 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
8 comments | Permalink |
NASA signs agreements with CSI, SpaceDev & SPACEHAB
NASA also signed agreements with
SpaceDev and
SPACEHAB like the one with CSI :
NASA Signs Commercial Space Transportation Agreements - NASA/SpaceRef - June.18.07
RP Engineering completes engine tests
This press release came today:
3.6 second test firing of RP Engineering’s liquid oxygen/kerosene rocket engine. Thrust 4,200 lb. The engine is being developed as the upper stage engine for RP’s C-50 400 lb payload small launch vehicle. The superficial plume surrounding core propellant flow is characteristic of this film-cooled engine. (J. Smole/RP Engineering Photo)
RP Completes Test Series of its Ground Prototype Small Launch Vehicle Upper Stage Engine
Rocket Propulsion Engineering Corporation (RP) (
www.rocketprop.com) conducted the fourth and final hot-fire test of its 4500 lb-thrust fuel-film cooled developmental liquid oxygen/kerosene rocket engine. Tests were conducted at RP’s Mojave, CA, Spaceport Rocket Test Facility on June 12. The test firing validated operation of a new igniter system, and tested the effectiveness of modifications made to correct core and film-coolant fuel flows, and improve lox density and mass flow.
Electrically-triggered torch igniters replace the TEA-TEB pressure injection igniters previously used, and improve safety and eliminate about fifty steps in the countdown.
Other modifications were made to decrease the film-coolant fraction, increase Lox density, and decrease core O:F. “The film-coolant fraction was dead-on, and initial thermal analysis indicates we are still conservative and can further reduce coolant,” RP President and spokesman, Jim Grote said in a statement. “Also, modifications we made to improve lox density – mainly reductions in thermal mass, and improvements in insulation and chill-down procedures – worked too well. Lox mass flow was higher, despite operating at lower pressure, and O:F actually increased, despite increasing fuel pressure. We are satisfied with this result and know how to adjust the propellant balance. This engine will now be retired so we can put our whole effort into completing and testing the flight-weight version.”
This test series was supported in part under contracts from DARPA and the Air Force.
06/18/07 01:39 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Propulsion
No comments | Permalink |
NASA Signs Agreement with CSI
This press release came this afternoon:
NASA Signs Agreement with CSI
Laguna Woods, CA, June 18, 2007 -
Constellation Services International, Inc. (CSI) today announced that NASA has signed a Space Act agreement with CSI to facilitate the development of CSI’s low-risk LEO ExpressSM space cargo system. Under the agreement, NASA will provide information about the agency's projected demand for cargo services to the International Space Station (ISS), as well as requirements regarding rendezvous and docking with the ISS. "We are pleased to sign this agreement with NASA as part of our commitment to opening the space frontier to private citizens," said Charles Miller, CSI’s Chief Executive Officer. "CSI is moving forward with our plans to provide orbital services to commercial customers and this Space Act Agreement allows us to work with NASA on various challenges."
CSI has invested over six years and several million dollars in private investment developing a commercial space station cargo service that uses 100% proven off-the-shelf technology. CSI also won two NASA Alternate Access to Station program contracts, in 2002 and 2003, totaling $3.1 million. CSI’s patented LEO ExpressSM space cargo system completed a NASA system design review in July 2003. The LEO ExpressSM system can use over a dozen existing launch vehicles, plus most of the new launch vehicles being developed by private industry. The CSI system can even deliver space station cargo on very small and cheap launchers like the SpaceX Falcon 1 or AirLaunch QuickReach.
"Studies validate that CSI could deliver cargo to a space station in as short as 19 months, and possibly even quicker" stated Tom Moser, CSI’s Vice President for Government Programs and a former NASA space station program manager. Moser continued "The LEO ExpressSM system uses U.S. launch vehicles that already meet NASA’s most stringent 95% reliability standards, which is critical if you are delivering high value cargo. We allow launch vehicles to deliver 30- 100% more cargo per flight compared to current direct ascent approaches."
CSI was founded in 1998 as a commercial space services company. CSI’s LEO ExpressTM system uses an orbital space tug, and is modeled after Earth-based intermodal cargo systems that use standardized containers. CSI has offices in Laguna Woods, CA, and Alexandria, VA. For more information on CSI, visit
http://www.constellationservices.com.
"LEO Express" is a trademark and service mark of Constellation Services International, Inc.
Interview with Earl Renaud of TGV
Earl Renaud, Chief Operating Officer of
TGV Rockets, is
interviewed by Aero-News Network:
A New Throttleable Rocket - Aero-Casts - Aero-News Network - June.15.07. He has some interesting comments about the advantages of VTOL vehicles and about the applications that TGV is pursuing.
06/17/07 11:00 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Tourists line up; Settlement ain't impossible; Launch business upswing
More profiles of Virgin Galactic's ticket holders:
2009, a space odyssey: $200,000 round trip - The Boston Globe - June.17.07
---
I could rant and refute the various contentions in
this essay about the difficulties of settlement within the solar system (I'm a lot less interested in his discussion of galactic colonization), but it will just eat up a lot of time. As Rand Simberg points out in
Pessimism - Transterrestrial Musings - June.17.07, common sense approaches like in situ utilization can drastically alter the calculations for the costs of settlement.
Orbital mechanics "magic" like that used AsiaSat 3 could significantly reduce the fuel needed to bring bulk cargo to lunar orbit from LEO. We have barely begun to investigate the capabilities of tethers. Etc, etc.
In fact, the one thing about the essay that I agree with is that far more needs to be done about the many practical problems of space settlement like radiation shielding, lunar dust, etc. Unfortunately, we have a space agency that shies away from R&D; for new technologies. Instead it focuses almost exclusively on building yet another expendable launcher.
---
This article -
SES Global Strikes Novel Satellite Deal - WSJ - June.18.07 (subscription required) - reports on a ten satellite, $700M launch deal by SES Global with Arianespace and ILS. The article goes on to discuss the uptick in satellite launches that is happening and says, "Arianespace expects to gradually increase to eight from five the annual launches of its heavy-lift Ariane V." After 2000, Lockheed-Martin and Boeing stopped offering their EELVs for commercial launches and this permitted "Ariane to increase its prices about 50% over the period". (The article doesn't discuss Sea Launch.)
It will be interesting to see how the SpaceX Falcon 9 will affect the commercial launch business if it comes on line in the next couple of years.
06/17/07 10:56 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
1 comment | Permalink |
Briefs: Rocket race in OK; Rocketplane organization; Astrium designer
In
comments to a posting here, Chuck Lauer disputes the notion that Texans have taken a lead in utilization of the Burns Flat Spaceport.
---
Just to be clear, the suborbital part of
Rocketplane Inc. is now referred to as
Rocketplane Global and the orbital part is called
Rocketplane Kistler, or RpK.
---
This profile of the designer of the Astrium space tourism vehicle includes more pictures of the suborbital spaceship, which, as
Jeff Foust points out, sure looks and operates a lot like the
Rocketplane XP vehicle:
The technical challenge of making space travel easy - International Herald Tribune - June.17.07.
06/17/07 10:10 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
1 comment | Permalink |
V-Prize: point-to-point suborbital spaceflight demo
Jack Kennedy discusses development of the
V PRIZE for a point-to-point suborbital demonstration flight from Virginia to Europe:
V-Prize P2P Suborbital Competition Being Organized - Spaceports - June.17.07
06/17/07 09:35 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Prizes
7 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Rockets over scramjets; Software and fuel sloshing; HPR blog
Rand Simberg points out why scramjets won't provide improved space access:
More Hypersonic Overhype - Transterrestrial Musings.
---
Rand and Sam Dinkin each comment on the SpaceX Falcon 1 flight review:
*
For Want Of A Few Lines Of Code - Transterrestrial Musings
*
Software Testing Hard - Transterrestrial Musings
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Glenn Reynolds
points to this
High Power Rocketry weblog.
Briefs: Light sail possibilities; Space law, regs, and policy links
Louis Friedman reviews the long term potential of light sails:
Making Light Work - What We Do - The Planetary Society
---
Jesse Londin collects a big list of links to articles regarding space law and policy plus a few other topics:
Friday Flybys - Space Law Probe - June.15.07
06/15/07 11:36 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Astrium space tourism; Canadian space tourist; New website
Further info and commentary with respect to the Astrium
*
More on EADS' suborbital vehicle plans - Personal Spaceflight
*
Astrium Brochure (pdf) - Jeff notes that the brochure shows how the seats rotate to provide the proper orientation during the different phases of the flight.
*
How European - Transterrestrial Musings
I doubt the Astrium vehicle will ever get past the brochure stage. However, the response to the announcement of the design project shows just how big a media impact a major company can bring to an area like this. Currently, a Google News search shows
139 articles about the announcement.
---
The first Canadian to buy a ticket for a ride on SpaceShipTwo:
Tech titan gears up for space trip - Canoe - June.15.07
---
Here is a new
Space Tourism website. Not a huge amount of info yet but nicely presented.
SpaceX Falcon 1 Flight 2 review [Update]
SpaceX has posted the
Demo Flight 2 Flight Review Update (pdf) following its clearance by DARPA.
[Update: Jon Goff comments on the review:
SpaceX Falcon 1.1 Post Mortem - Selenian Boondocks]
06/15/07 10:20 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Space Carnival #7; Strobed nozzle flows; Astrium pics
This week's Space Carnaval is up:
Carnival of Space #7- by Pamela L. Gay - Star Stryder
---
Check out these cool high speed photos of nozzle flow made by Jon Goff and Mike Massee:
Thesis Photos - Selenian Boondocks. Here is an
earlier posting from Jon's blog describing the goals of this work.
---
More graphics of the Astrium space tourism vehicle design:
Pictures: Astrium aims for 2012 suborbital tourism flights - Flightglobal.com - June.14.07
06/15/07 07:38 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
1 comment | Permalink |
Mach 10 scramjet engine test success
A successful scramjet engine test has been carried out at Mach 10 in Australia:
*
High Speed Success at Woomera - DSTO
*
Safe launch for scramjet experiment - Univ. of Queensland
*
Scramjet hits Mach 10 over Australia - New Scientist - June.15.07
*
HyCAUSE Fact Sheet
Here's an earlier overview of work on scramjets and waveriders at the
Univ. of Queensland Center for Hypersonics (I think the
HySHOT program has since be folded into HyCAUSE):
Scramjet, the new generation, closer to reality - UQ.
Rockets are sufficient for space access but the scramjet technology is still interesting stuff. Impressive that the UQ team has accomplished a lot on a relatively tiny budget.
06/15/07 07:31 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Exotic Transport
3 comments | Permalink |
New amateur rocket rules proposed
The FAA is proposing changes to the rules governing amateur rocketry:
FAA - Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Requirements for Amateur Rocket Activities.
Though these rules are nominally for amateurs, many of the small rocket companies and experimental rocketry organizations do much of their flying under this regime. (One proposal, in fact, was to change the name from amateur to ""small-scale" rocketry but it looks like that is no longer under consideration.) Dropping the 15 second burn time limit for such activity appears to be one of the best things that will come out of these changes. Instead, they will use total impulse limits.
More comments:
*
FAA proposes new hobby rocketry classifications in NPRM - Rocketry Planet
*
FAA to revise rocketry classifications in FAR101 - Dick's Rocket Dungeon
06/14/07 10:24 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Law and Regs
1 comment | Permalink |
Briefs: Armadillo tops RpK in OK; Masten triple play; SSP blog
Armadillo goes a point up on Rocketplane as scored by this Oklahoma news site:
Rocketplane beat to rocket-launch punch by Texas company - OKG News.com - June.13.07
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Masten fires three engines on their tied down test vehicle:
Short, but Sweet! - Masten Space Systems blog
---
The
Space Frontier Foundation is sponsoring a blog hosted with
Colonel M.V. "Coyote" Smith to get some input for a study of
Space Solar Power.
06/14/07 10:22 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
10 comments | Permalink |
PlanetSpace.com - networking for outer space enthusiasts
Ken Schweitzer invites space bloggers to "migrate their blogs to one site at
www.PlanetSpace.com in order to make it easier for people to find them and interact with each other". The site is described as a
social networking site for outer space enthusiasts! You can upload your space-related images and videos plus set up a personal profile with your own friends list and blog! It's Free!
(I'll note that this site is not related to the PlanetSpace rocket company, which is located at
PlanetSpace.org.)
06/14/07 06:21 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Activism
4 comments | Permalink |
Heinlein Centennial update
A reminder that June 20th is the
mail-in registration deadline for the
Heinlein Centennial celebration in Kansas City, Missouri – July 6-7-8, 2007.
On line registration closes on July 1st.
Here is the
latest program agenda.
06/14/07 08:41 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
More Astrium coverage
Some additional comments on the Astrium suborbital spaceplane:
* E
ADS reinvents Rocketplane - Personal Spaceflight - I had assumed that the seats swivel forward during launch and landing but, as Jeff indicates, it seems odd that the graphics and video never show them in a forward orientation.
*
Astrium Thoughts - Transterrestrial Musings
And couple more articles:
*
Space tourism jet unveiled - Telegraph UK. This article says "Innovative seats balance themselves to minimise the effects of acceleration and deceleration, ensuring passenger comfort and safety."
*
European Astrium plans outerspace tourism with business-like space planes - iTWire - "expected to involve five rocket planes"
TGV follow up
In answer to some queries from me following the recent
TGV press release, Pat Bahn told me:
- They would license production of the engine if there was a market demand.
- They would like to achieve 100 flights between overhauls of the engines but they don't have enough test data yet to confirm if that is possible.
- They switched from on board to remote piloting in response to the prime customer's directive.
- They are working on new graphics for the vehicle design to post on their website.
Pat also said that at the moment the engines are the primary focus for the company.
06/14/07 08:07 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
No comments | Permalink |
RpK misses financial COTS milestone; Rutan comments on Astrium space tourist vehicle
Rocketplane-Kistler has missed a financial milestone in the COTS program:
Rocketplane Kistler Missed May COTS Milestone - SpaceNews/Space.com - June.13.07 (subscription required). The company was supposed to complete a second round of financing by the end of May. NASA, however, is giving RpK some extra time to get the finances arranged. The company has so far met all of its technical milestones. Will Trafton of RpK says that the company raised $40M in the first round last October "and is pushing ahead with NASA's concurrence on a plan to achieve full funding for the K-1 earlier than previously planned." He didn't address the problems with the current milestone.
SpaceX has so far met both its financial and technical milestones.
The milestone dates seem to have changed from those listed in this
COTS agreement document (pdf, 5.6MB).
---
Leonard David gets Burt Rutan's views on the Astrium design for a space tourism vehicle:
Burt Rutan: Reaction to European Spaceliner - LiveScience.com - June.13.07
06/13/07 11:29 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
9 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: VASIMR update; CEV history; SpaceX into
Franklin Chang Diazis'
Ad Astra Rocket Company is making progress with the
VASIMR plasma engine:
Scientists in Costa Rica set plasma engine record - Reuters - June.13.07 (via
Futuresheet).
---
Mark Wade provides an interesting history of the
CEV program at Astronautix. (Link via
Transterrestrial Musings.)
---
I mentioned the
SpaceShow interview with Gwynne Shotwell of
SpaceX. Daniel Schmelzer provides a
summary of her comments.
06/13/07 11:23 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Astrium suborbital space tourism vehicle design
Some details of the Astrium space tourism vehicle were released today
at the Paris Air Show in Paris. Looks a bit like the Rocketplane XP. Will cost around a billion Euros to develop by 2012 if they start by 2008. Financing not yet arranged.
*
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Firm rockets into space tourism
*
BBC Video- Tourist spaceship previewed
*
Astrium rockets into space tourism - EADS Astrium - June.13.07
*
Europe Unveils Space Plane for Tourist Market - SPACE.com
*
New 'space jet' proposed for suborbital jaunts - New Scientist
06/13/07 01:46 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
20 comments | Permalink |
Lunar Lander Challenge update
Check out the new
Lunar Lander Challenge website at the X PRIZE Foundation. The news comes via Alan Boyle, who writes about the latest developments in the LLC:
Lunar lander lineup - Cosmic Log
06/13/07 09:10 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Prizes
9 comments | Permalink |
Commercial spaceflight isn't going away
I swore I would stop writing long rebuttals to NewSpace related articles and blog postings with which I disagreed. They eat up a lot of time for a painfully slow writer like myself and I doubt anything I've ever written has changed anyone's mind. Unfortunately, though, I couldn't resist putting up a lengthy comment to this post by
David S. F. Portree. (Ugh, I see double negatives and other mistakes in what I wrote. Slow and dumb...) I came across it via
this Space Politics item from Jeff Foust who also posted a comment.
06/13/07 09:05 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
6 comments | Permalink |
NASA - Why not build on success?
Once again NASA makes a complex and massive space assembly operation look easy:
Space station deploys its new set of solar wings - Spaceflight Now | STS-117 Shuttle Report. In general, the ISS construction has gone very well. It's mostly been the Shuttle that has slowed the project down (Russia's financial problems in the 1990s also caused a delay.)
I've noted before that I find it odd that a fundamental goal of the Constellation project design is to minimize in-space assembly. This is a task in which NASA has actually become quite good. If NASA went to the next stage and combined its in-space operations capabilities with fuel depots and a space tug, it would have the tools and skill sets to do some amazing stuff, especially if it worked in close cooperation with private ventures like Bigelow.
Unfortunately, as with building Ares 1/5 instead of using existing (e.g. EELV) or nearly ready vehicles (e.g. Falcon 9, K-1), the aim seems to be to time warp back to 1972 and continue on to Apollo II, ignoring much of what was learned and developed subsequently.
Briefs: High end transport; Zero-G for education; UN space law
If someone can spend $500M on a plane, maybe we are not so far from the time when a billionaire will own a rocketship to fly to a private condo on a Bigelow space habitat:
Billion Air: How Much Would You Pay for a Flying House? - Wired Magazine - June.12.07.
---
Kudos to Northrop-Grumman for continuing its support for the
ZERO-G flights for teachers and students:
Northrop Grumman Foundation Expands Weightless Flights of Discovery During Second Year in Cooperation With Zero Gravity Corporation - SpaceRef - June.12.07
---
Jesse Londin summarizes a
UN report on various space law issues:
Vignettes from Vienna - Space Law Probe - June.12.07
06/12/07 08:54 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
2 comments | Permalink |
Exchange predictions for space
A reader pointed to this interesting new
PPX Predictions Exchange site at Popular Science. The idea is to use the cumulative bets of many stock holders to predict the outcome of various advanced technology projects. (In this case the investment is with virtual PopSci Dollars.) The list of
Securities includes quite a few NewSpace related projects. For example, you can invest in (or short) the proposition that
Virgin Galactic will have paying passengers flying by 2009 and
Bigelow will have a hotel in orbit by 2012.
06/12/07 07:46 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Business
No comments | Permalink |
Ares 1 heading for a political Max Q by 09
Gee, "greater use of private sector solutions" - what a wild idea:
Political Objections to Ares 1 Are Apparently On The Rise - NASA Watch - June.11.07.
Briefs: Spaceport cafe; Space diving; Space revolution weekly
Maybe there will one day be Voyager Cafe II on a Bigelow space station and Voyager Cafe III on the Moon:
Where to 'meet everyone who works at the airport' - AV Press - June.11.07
---
Alan Boyle reports on efforts to move space diving from a concept to a sport:
Space divers wanted - Cosmic Log - June.11.07
---
Another weekly NewSpace news roundup at
Space Revolution Weekly News for 6-11-07 - Daily Kos/Ferris Valyn
06/11/07 09:20 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
3 comments | Permalink |
TGV rocket test milestone
TGV press release:
Small Aerospace Firm Achieves Rocket Test Milestone
TGV Rockets Pursues Vision of Reusable Spacecraft To Launch -- and Soft-Land -- Under Rocket Power
TGV Rockets, Inc. announced today that it has successfully completed critical test firings of a technologically advanced throttleable rocket engine that the company believes will one day be able to facilitate the shuttling of equipment and sensor payloads on quick turn-around suborbital missions for the military and to help dramatically reduce the cost of geo-spatial imagery.
"These successful tests mean that we are one step closer to realizing the core vision of affordable access to space from a platform that is both mobile and reusable," said Pat Bahn, CEO of TGV Rockets. "When we started the firm, our interest was very broadly focused, but as we developed the ideas, we realized we could replace a multi-billion dollar imaging satellite with a $10 million-class rocketship."
"We are very proud of our engineering team for their efforts and persistence over many years in helping us reach this important milestone," Bahn said. "Our ultimate goal is a transportable spacecraft that can be launched and landed in remote locations to provide quick-look low-cost imagery for both military and commercial applications."
Bahn said that the Phase I testing, which was conducted over the past two months at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, focused on basic ignition and verification issues for a new 30,000-lb.-class throttleable long-life rocket engine using JP-8 fuel, which is the military version of commercial jet fuel. The tests demonstrated consistent ignition at power levels of less than 20 percent and stable combustion throughout the operating range. Phase II testing, currently underway, is focused on gaining more detailed information on the performance of the JP-8 fuel in the engine configuration. The work is part of a larger space vehicle development program funded through the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC.
The significance of TGV Rockets’ testing success is that it is showing the feasibility of the kind of throttleable engine technology that is critical to what the military describes as Operationally Responsive Space Launch - the ability to reach space on short notice in an affordable and reusable way to respond to real-time events and needs. TGV’s work in kerosene engines now has placed it in a league with such major aerospace organizations as Aerojet, Rocketdyne, SpaceX and TRW-Northrop Grumman.
TGV Rockets was founded by Bahn in Maryland in 1997 and has its main offices in Norman, Okla. In 2003, it received from the Naval Research Laboratory an initial design study contract for a reusable launch vehicle. The business has expanded over the past three years with increased revenues and an official 8(a) certification by the Small Business Administration as a small "disadvantaged minority business."
Images of Engine tests:
06/11/07 06:53 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
2 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: SpaceX discussion; ISS business;
Gwynne Shotwell, Vice President for Business Development at
SpaceX, talked about the company on the
Space Show last Friday.
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NASA talking about commercial use of the ISS:
NASA Open to ISS Use by Industry, U.S. - SpaceNews/Space.com - June.11.07
06/11/07 06:46 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Business
3 comments | Permalink |
Responsive space news
The military may expand participation in the responsive space program to NATO countries:
Will U.S. "Responsive Space" Concept Go Global? - DefenseNews.com - June.11.07
---
And the responsive space program is getting more money:
China Sat Test Spurs U.S. To Boost Space Spending - DefenseNews.com - June.11.07 (via
Space Pragmatism).
06/11/07 06:17 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Military Space
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Unreasonable rocket test; Houston student rocketry
Paul Breed posts a video of a long test firing of the engine under development for their Lunar Lander Challenge entry:
*
Another long burn - Unreasonable Rocket - June.10.07
*
YouTube - 113 second burn
---
The
Amateur Spaceflight Association is an educational program in Houston that teaches high school students how to build, test and launch rockets. Check out some of their projects:
*
Rocket motor development blog
*
YouTube - Liquid Rocket Motor WaterFlow Tests
06/11/07 06:04 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Rockets
No comments | Permalink |
The Space Review this week [Update]
The latest issue of
The Space Review includes an article by Jeff Foust about some of the discussions at the Space Venture Finance Symposium held in Dallas, Texas last month:
The challenges of funding space startups. (Note that David Livingston recently
talked with Tom Olson on
The Space Show about the Symposium.)
[Update: Dr. Burton Lee came on
The Space Show on Sunday to review the Symposium.]
Other articles include
*
Phony space weaponization: the case of Radarsat-2 - Jim Oberg dismantles erroneous claims that Radarsat-2 has significant military utility.
*
Missile defense, satellites, and politics - Taylor Dinerman notes that a President Biden would rely on information that doesn't exist with respect to defense against Iranian missiles.
*
The voyage of the Old Crow - Dwayne Day reports on an obscure but interesting sea-going sounding rocket project in the 1960s.
*
Review: Challenger Revealed - Jeff Foust reviews a
book with a contentious title.
06/11/07 05:52 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
EADS-Astrium space tourism vehicle
So
EADS (I like to refer to it as EgADS) will apparently announce soon a suborbital space tourism vehicle project as a follow-on to the
Phoenix prototype RLV program:
Europe joins space tourism race - TimesOnline - June.10.07 (via
spacetoday.net).
See also
PHOENIX: Future prospects in space transport through reusable launch systems - EADS Astrium - May 10, 2004.
06/10/07 07:43 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
11 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Virgin Galactic space travel agent; Space videos
"Elegant Resorts will be the only travel company in the UK, Russia and CIS appointed by Virgin Galactic to sell commercial sub-orbital spaceflights" :
Virgin Galactic Appoint the first 'Space Agent' : V-Flyer - June.8.07 (via
spacetoday.net).
---
Looking around YouTube for space vids, I came across these:
*
Esther Dyson @ Space Venture Finance Symposium
*
Alex Tai of Virgin Galactic Responds to Heidi Roizen
*
Virgin Galactic: The Vision for the Future
The clips with Alex Tai apparently come from this interview from last year:
Alex Tai, Vice President of Virgin Galactic - innovate - Dec.06
Briefs: Space glove winner; More space prize discussion
A reader send in a link to this program at NPR about the winner of the
Astronaut Glove Challenge held back in May:
School Bus Driver Wins NASA Contest - NPR - June.9.07
---
Newt Gingrich gets people talking about prizes as motivators for space progress:
*
Space Prizes Continue To Get Interest - Transterrestrial Musings
*
Gingrich’s eyes still on prizes - Space Politics
*
Gingrich and Prizes - Space Prizes
06/10/07 06:04 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Prizes
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Masten update; Radio Moon; Space imaging puzzle;
Masten testing update:
Finally back to our test site - Masten Space Systems
---
Yet another study finds the Moon a great place for science:
Far side could be ideal for radio observatory - New Scientist - June.8.07
---
A new remote sensing brain teaser from Bigelow Aerospace:
Where in the World?
06/08/07 11:49 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
2 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Atlantis off; Mars pools [Update]; Griffin in Pop Mech; Astro Pol
Congrats to NASA on getting the Shuttle program back in space:
Atlantis lifts off - spacetoday.net. (Living in Florida has
its advantages.)
---
A reader points to yet another discovery by NASA's Mars's rovers:
Mars rover finds "puddles" on the planet's surface - New Scientist - June.8.07
[Update June.12.07: The images turn out to be less than meets the eye:
Sloppy Science on Mars - NASA Watch - June.12.07]
---
Griffin at least says the right things about private space development:
10 Tough Questions for NASA Chief Michael Griffin - Popular Mechanics - June.07
---
Another reader points to news of a
former NASA astronaut exploring a political frontier:
Developments in NH's US Senate race - Boston.com - June.8.07
06/08/07 11:39 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NASA
1 comment | Permalink |
Briefs: Virgin Galactic funding; Space tourism; Mil-power sats
More NewSpace money raising:
Branson raises $225m for his space odyssey - TimesOnline - June.7.07 (via
spacetoday.net).
---
Alan Boyle posts some space tourism related items:
Space tourism snippets - Cosmic Log - June.7.07
---
A military group is doing a study of space solar power:
Military Target: Solar-Beaming Sats - Wired Blogs - June.7.07
06/07/07 09:16 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
XCOR receives investment
Just found this news release in my InBox. (See also this item from Alan Boyle:
Angels flock to spaceflight - Cosmic Log)
Boston Harbor Angels Invests in XCOR Aerospace Investment Fuels Expansion Into New Markets
Mojave, CA - June 7, 2007-
XCOR announced today it has received investment from the Boston Harbor Angels. The funds will support development of XCOR's new suborbital vehicle.
"This is our first angel group investment," said XCOR CEO Jeff Greason. "We hope other angel groups and possibly institutional investors will follow the Boston Harbor Angels example."
XCOR Aerospace builds safe, clean and reliable rocket engines for space transportation. The company is building a vehicle capable of taking one pilot and one passenger on a suborbital ride. To date the company has been primarily funded from customer contracts and angel investors. Angel investors in XCOR Aerospace include Esther Dyson, Stephen Fleming, Aneel Pandey, Joe Pistritto and Lee Valentine.
XCOR was recently awarded a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase 1 contract from the Air Force to design and analyze a rocket-powered vehicle that will reach 200,000 feet altitude and supersonic speeds. Using private investment matched with USAF resources XCOR will construct an all-rocket powered vehicle that will fly suborbital missions for the Air Force SBIR.
"XCOR Aerospace has a team that understands the value of staying focused," said Boston Harbor Angels investor Andrew Nelson. "The company has presented a strategy to align all activities toward a specific, attainable, and profitable set of commercial products and services with a strong portfolio of intellectual property."
Boston Harbor Angels is a group of 36 angel investors - successful entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and venture capitalists - looking for personal investment opportunities in high-growth early stage companies. Members make their own investment decisions but collaborate on due diligence and rely on each others' expertise when making these decisions. Since 2004 members have invested in 25 companies.
XCOR Aerospace is a California corporation located in Mojave, California. The company is in the business of developing and producing safe, reliable and reusable rocket engines, rocket propulsion systems, and rocket powered vehicles.
Rich Pournelle
XCOR Aerospace
06/07/07 06:46 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
4 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Space Carnival #6; Request for Pretense; Shuttle mission preview
Check out the
Music of the Spheres: The Carnival of Space #6 - ISDC Edition
---
So it looks like the AF will pretend to put out a launch contract for bids and the
ULA monopoly will pretend to compete for it:
Air Force Adds Payloads to EELV Contract - Launchspace.com - June.6.07
---
Wow, William Harwood out does himself with a 17,000 word report on the upcoming Shuttle mission:
Mission preview: Launching more power for the station - Spaceflight Now - June.6.07.
06/07/07 05:36 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
2 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Small-class Explorers [Update]; Solar shields; Watching shuttles
Maybe this will finally get the science community interested in low cost launch systems. With "only"
$35M $105M for a mission, I expect groups will be looking for cheap rides and piggybacking may not be an available option in every case:
Next NASA Small-class Explorer Missions - Launchspace.com - June.5.07.
[Update June.7.07: Keith says there was a mistake in the initial article. The mission funding cap will be more in the $105M range. That's still pretty low as these things go.]
---
Cheap space transport would certainly aid a scheme like this:
Solar shield could be quick fix for global warming - New Scientist - June.5.07
---
Alan Boyle provides advice on ways to observe a shuttle flight:
How to see the shuttle off - Cosmic Log - June.5.07
06/06/07 06:56 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
1 comment | Permalink |
Briefs: Prize motivations; Direct problems; NSS talks jointly
A reader points to the lengthy discussion about prizes and private lunar projects going on at
A real lunar lander challenge - Space Politics.
I was watching a broadcast of the
America's Cup races on TV yesterday. Reminded me that Peter Diamandis likes to point out that entrants spend upwards of $100M each on this competition despite the fact it has no monetary prize.
---
Mr. X comments on the Direct Launcher scheme:
DIRECT Delivery - Chair Force Engineer - June.5.07
---
The NSS is doing a cooperative
open source response to Gregg Easterbrook's recent
article in Wired.
06/06/07 06:49 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NASA
No comments | Permalink |
Japanese suborbital RLV project
A commenter on the
previous post has kindly submitted links to a page at JAXA and a CNET Japan article that describe a follow-on project to the small
RVT reusable prototype rocket vehicle, which last flew in 2003. (See this
interview with Yoshifumi Inatani who led that project.) The new vehicle looks a bit like the
DC-A or
TGV Michelle. It will reach 120km and will start flying in 2011 as best I can tell from the headache inducing translations.
*
Reusable Space Transportation System - JAXA - translated
*
Slides about the RVT and its successor - JAXA - translated
*
CNET - Japan story - translated
If I read the table correctly in the slides, the vehicle will be 10.5m tall, 3m diameter, have 8,857kg GLOW, 2619kg dry mass, use four 31kN engines with 315sec specific impulse.
There is also this 21 minute
RVT Movie (60MB), which is in Japanese but has lots of interesting video of the internals of the RVT prototypes.
JP Aerospace takes HobbySpace up to the black sky!!
HobbySpace.com got a ride to Near Space last Saturday courtesy of
JP Aerospace. Below are a couple pictures of the flight:
And here is the news release about the two flights that day. See also their
Blog entries.
Ads, Ping Pong Balls, Coffee and Cutting Edge Development.
On Saturday, June 2, the
JP Aerospace team set up shop in the Nevada desert. Two platforms, Away 32 and Away 33, were carried aloft by balloon. These platforms were loaded. Each one was performing multiple tests and accomplished multiple mission objectives.
Away 32 was the first in the air. It reached 94,000 feet with a fast climb rate of 1,300 feet per minute. The first objective of Away 32 was to test our new precision helium fill system. The ability to put an exact amount of gas into the balloon is critical to future missions. Another objective was to give some new hardware a shakedown. A new carbon adapter attached the vehicle to the balloon. This unit was developed for the Tandem airship. Away 32 carried an upgraded spread spectrum telemetry/command system. This basic system was first flown on Away 29. It was upgraded for increased range for this mission.
Thirteen customer advertisements funded this flight to the edge. Six onboard cameras took over 2000 pictures of their logos. Interest in these dramatic images has really increased since JPA first began offering them a year ago.
Away 33 was launched forty-five minutes later. Away 33 carried its cargo to 92,000 feet.
On board were 329 PongSat student experiments. These experiments ranged from sophisticated sensors and computers to plant seeds and marshmallows. They are sent by students all over the world and are flown free of charge.
High winds during the launch gave us a chance to put our balloon launch bags to the test. Both launches went off smoothly.
Both vehicles carried “Bean Me Up” coffee by Vista Clara Coffee. The high-flying coffee will be auctioned off on eBay to support the PongSat program.
Both vehicles landed within 15 miles of the launch site and were recovered the same day. Between the two vehicles, there were five independent GPS tracking systems, seven computers, eleven cameras, three command systems, and two beacons. Having two vehicles in the air at once gave us a chance to shakedown the recently overhauled mission control van. The complexity of the flights really showed what a skilled, all-volunteer team can accomplish.
Pictures and video from the flight are available at the JPA website:
www.jpaerospace.com
JP Aerospace’s next major flight will be of the Tandem high altitude airship. With the Tandem, JP Aerospace will attempt to break the altitude record for airships this fall. The Tandem has a maximum altitude capability of 110,000 feet.
JP Aerospace is an independent space program staffed by volunteers dedicated to bringing space travel to everyone.
06/05/07 08:43 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Near Space
14 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: More Pixel news; PlaneSpace in Columbus; Las Cruces Real Estate; Korean astronauts
Alan Boyle reports on the flight of Pixel last Saturday:
The great lunar lander race - Cosmic Log - June.4.07
---
PlanetSpace is getting an incentive to operate in Ohio:
$461,792 lifts bid for space tourism: State grant to PlanetSpace sweetens Rickenbacker plan - The Columbus Dispatch - June.5.07 (via
spacetoday.net). As
reported earlier by Alan, PlanetSpace would carry out suborbital flights from the Ohio facility and orbital ones at the Nova Scotia spaceport. Of course, all this depends on PlanetSpace raising the capital to develop its vehicles. No word yet on the progress in financing the $130 million mentioned in Alan's piece.
---
Spaceport development is starting to attract developers to the Las Cruces area:
Building on spec in New Mexico - Personal Spaceflight - June.5.07
---
"Two astronaut candidates selected late last year are undergoing training in Russia's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center." Hope Bigelow is talking with South Korea about renting space on the company's habitats:
Boost for South Korea's space program - Asia Times Online- June.5.07
06/05/07 05:44 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
1 comment | Permalink |
Briefs: Rad tutorial; South Korean space center; Atlantis launch
A brief primer on space radiation:
Swiss cheese is food, not an astronaut danger - Daily Kos: Space Revolution diary - June.4.07
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South Korea will soon have a new government spaceport:
Korea's first space center nears completion- The Hankyoreh - June.4.07
---
Looks like Atlantis is on track for a
Friday liftoff.
06/04/07 11:12 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
COMSTAC presentations
The files used in the presentations given at the May
COMSTAC meeting are now posted on the
AST Meeting Notes page. They include updates on COTS, Personal Spaceflight Federation, etc.
Not looked them over yet but a reader says they include the following "interesting items":
* Rocketplane Kistler's first flight might be moved from November 2008 to 2009. The charts are inconsistent with the text.
* SpaceX has completed their second round of financing.
* Gerstenmaier's presentation says no Progress flight purchases after domestic transportation is available.
06/04/07 02:31 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Law and Regs
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Space Show schedule; Space Revolution News
The
Space Show has several space transport related programs this week, starting today at 5:00 pm ET with Rick Sterling of the Direct Launch who wil discuss the
"DIRECT" Space Transportation System Derivative v2.0. See the
Space-For-All post or the
Space Show newsletter for the full list.
---
Ferris Valyn will be doing a weekly summary of mostly NewSpace related news and events starting with
Space Revolution Weekly News for 6-3-07 - Daily Kos.
06/04/07 11:30 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Activism
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Falcon 9 business; ISS lab plan; Google Earth at XP Cup
Mr. X speculates on how
SpaceX could make money with the Falcon 9:
A Business Case For Falcon 9? - Chair Force Engineer - June.3.07
---
A report has been submitted to Congress "Regarding a Plan for the International Space Station National Laboratory" :
The Significance of NASA's ISS National Laboratory Report - NASA SpaceFlight.com - June.3.07. I would like to see the ISS used effectively but I also hope that any new utilization plans allow the station to complement rather than compete at artificially low prices with
Bigelow's space habitats.
---
While looking for Lunar Landing Challenge info on the X PRIZE Cup site I revisited the
Google Earth page there. It now includes some
items I've not noticed before such as
3D Space Models and
Wirefly X PRIZE Cup in 3D. I also see that Google Earth is now up to
version 4.
06/04/07 06:28 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
The Space Review this week
The latest
Space Review includes an
article by Dwayne Day about early studies into the military utility of the Moon, Taylor Dinerman talks about the non-technical challenges to
space solar power, and Eric Hedman tells of
the bombardment of Sheboygan. Also, Jeff Foust
reviews the book
Distant Worlds: Milestones in Planetary Exploration
06/04/07 06:12 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Armadillo does Level 1 LLC rehearsal [Update]
The Armadillo team carried out a complete, untethered
Level 1 Lunar Lander Challenge flight profile on Saturday at the Oklahoma Spaceport in Burns Flat. The landings in both directions were within a meter of the pad centers according to a posting by John Carmack on the aRocket forum. I expect his monthly update will appear soon with details. In the meantime, here is a
link to a video of the event. (Boy, with experience the AA rocket pit crew sure has gotten faster. ;-) )
[Update June.4.07: As noted in the comments, John has now posted the monthly update with info on this flight and other activities and plans:
192 second hover, ful LLC1 flights, Other work - Armadillo Aerospace - June.4.07.]
Landing on a long pillar of flame is really cool. As I've mentioned before, I really think someone could make a business by buying one of these vehicles from AA and flying it at air shows and state fairs. As experience grows, for both the operator and the FAA, you could start to do night flights and adding showbiz enhancements such as laser lightshow battles and fireworks.
06/03/07 08:53 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
10 comments | Permalink |
Sub-suborbital rocket flights
The adventure space business is starting to span quite a range of experiences:
*
ZERO-G provides short periods weightlessness via parabolic air flights. Tickets are in the $3.7k range.
MiG-31 flights can get you to
around 20km. Such rides cost in the
$20k range.
* We all know about companies that will begin flight tests in 2008 of vehicles that will take people on suborbital spaceflights for ticket prices around $200k .
*
Space Adventures can get you to the ISS for $25M or so.
* Space Adventures is also developing a scheme to fly customers
around the Moon for $100M per seat.
(Virtual experiences like what
Worden proposes for lunar missions and what I
suggested for suborbital flights will broaden public participation in spaceflight even further.)
One spot where I've not heard much discussion is the 20km - 100km range. There might be interest in such rides if ticket prices were substantially below the $200k for suborbital spaceflights. You would not reach space but you would get to ride a rocket, which is something few people have done and would be a thrill of its own. You would also get a period of weightlessness and a great view of the earth and its curvature. I don't know if such flights could be done much more cheaply than suborbital ones but it might be a niche where some company finds a market. (Armadillo and Orbital Outfitters are
looking at offering space diving opportunities from ~35km.)
Briefs: Space scares; Virtually in space; Alt VSE
Alan Boyle talks to former NASA flight surgeon Jon Clark about all the havoc Murphy can cause in space:
Scares in space - Cosmic Log - May.31.07
--
And here Alan talks with Pete Worden about the potential for public participation in space exploration via virtual reality systems:
Virtual moon trip coming up - Cosmic Log - June.1.07
--
Robot Guy proposes an alternative VSE architecture:
OK, smart guy, so how SHOULD the VSE be done? - robot guy - May.30.07
06/02/07 10:17 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
1 comment | Permalink |
Invitation to the 2007 Moon-Mars Blitz
Passing along this message from NSS:
Space Needs You!
Congress getting ready to pass NASA's budget!
WASHINGTON, DC: WASHINGTON, DC: In 2004, a group of citizen from around the country gathered in Washington DC to go to over 200 congressional offices in support of the Vision for Space Exploration. This group was part of the Space Exploration Alliance that represents over 100,000 space advocates.
The Vision is now in danger and needs your help. We will be going to the Hill just a few days before the final budget is out of the appropriations committee. Our appearance and show of support for the Vision is critical to make sure that NASA does not have a budget cut.
We currently have over 100 meetings scheduled with congressional staff members and need your support to help us meet with as many more as possible. Please join us to make sure that the Vision is full funded and NASA continues its efforts to reach Moon, Mars and Beyond.
The schedule for the event will be a training session on Sunday, June 10 at the Best Western Pentagon City and meetings with congressional members and staff on June 11 and 12.
We need your help to make sure America's space future is secure for generations to come.
Please register now.
You can also click here to visit the Blitz website
06/01/07 05:38 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
1 comment | Permalink |
June 2007 - Centennial Challenges Update
The latest update from Ken Davidian:
June 2007 Message to the Centennial Challenges Listserv Community
Hello Everybody!
Below is a quick note of what's been going on in the world of Centennial Challenges this past month. Ever since I did the radio interview with Dr. David Livingston of The Space Show on Feb 11, 2007, I've been directing people to his web page (the interview URL is
www.thespaceshow.com/detail.asp?q=668) I've been encouraging people to listen to that because it gives all the background information you could want on the program. Lastly, and just in case you don't have the 90-minutes required to listen to my entire interview, you can always check out the Centennial Challenges website,
www.centennialchallenges.nasa.gov, for more information.
Ken Davidian
Program Manager, Centennial Challenges
NASA HQ
P.S. I'll try to do better at getting messages out to this list...
Thanks for your patience!
CURRENT EVENTS
May 2007 was quite a month for Centennial Challenges and there are no signs of things slowing down! Here's a quick overview of what's been going on:
1. The 2007 Astronaut Glove Challenge was held on May 2-3 at the New England Air Museum in Windsor
06/01/07 05:22 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Prizes
3 comments | Permalink |
NewSpace 2007 and Overview Effect Day update
A note from Jeff Krukin of the Space Frontier Foundation:
NewSpace 2007 & Overview Effect Day Update
June 1, 2007 In this QuickNote:
* Special room rate cutoff date is June 18th
* Hayden Planetarium joins Overview Effect Day
* Thomas Boone Pickens III - luncheon speaker
* NASA, COTS and NewSpace business
* SFF conferences create NewSpace firms
July 18th-21 at the Doubletree Hotel in Crystal City, VA
Register now - special rate cutoff date: June 18th
Special Rates good for any 3 nights from July 16-24. Ask for Space Frontier Foundation's NewSpace 2007 Conference rate.
(Single and Double Rate $149.00, Triple Rate $169.00, Quad Rate $189.00)
Conference and hotel information
06/01/07 05:15 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
Mainstreaming space settlement; Surveying space resources
A bit startling to an old space enthusiast to see in an official document from a bunch of government space agencies words and phrases like "human migration into space", "permanently extending human presence into space", "Mining the Moon", "entrepreneurs", "space-based resource extraction", "establish a sustained human presence on the Moon", and "settlement" :
*
The Global Exploration Strategy: The Framework for Coordination - JAXA - May.31.07 (pdf)
*
Tourism, mining out of this world - Canada.com - June.1.07
*
NASA Unveils Global Exploration Strategy and Lunar Architecture - NASA - Dec.4.06
While I strongly disagree with the hardware architecture that Griffin has chosen for initiating NASA's implementation of this strategy, I think he has certainly done great good in pushing such ideas into the mainstream, at least in the aerospace world. Still some work on reducing the giggle factor in society at large but progress is being made.
---
Speaking of resources, a recent
New Scientist cover article offers some interesting data on global supplies of various minerals such as platinum, gallium, and indium. Many of these have known reserves that will suffice for only a decade or two at current consumption rates. Of course, prices will rise and the market will respond in the usual way with consumers using less, producers searching for new supplies (including recycling), and substitutes arising. Warnings of impending doom from resource shortages have been issued since the 1800s yet prices for most commodities have actually fallen rather than risen. (Price bumps pump the price down over the long term.)
However, there is no fundamental reason that space resources cannot participate in the "new supplies" and "substitutes" responses to supply and demand forces in the future. There are practical problems, of course, especially the high cost of space transport, but I hope and expect these can be overcome.
I unfortunately forgot who suggested it but I really like the idea that a primary long term assignment for NASA, along with other national space agencies, should be carrying out a survey of solar system resources. Sort of the way Lewis & Clark surveyed what was contained in the lands that came with the Louisiana Purchase. For example, it could be great to know if there really are useful amounts of
platinum group metals on the Moon and in some asteroids. Such a survey is a natural task for the government since it is not economical for commercial firms to do it. Private companies, though, could certainly be hired to carry out parts of the survey (e.g. data purchase deals for
asteroid prospecting). Once particular resources are located, commercialization, of course, will be key to making them available to both earth and in-space economies.
A truly "system wide" resource survey will greatly benefit humanity. It also happens to provide a solid, fundamental long term rationale for both unmanned and manned government space programs. Lets get on with it!
06/01/07 08:48 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace Industry
1 comment | Permalink |
Briefs: More Masten tests; Armadillo Okie tests; NewSpace
Engine testing continues at Masten Space :
More engine tests - Masten Space Systems
---
I wonder if visitors to
Burns Flat Spaceport can get close enough to the Armadillo tests to see anything?
FAA - Commerical Space Data - Permitted Launches
---
Third in a series on commercial spaceflight:
Space: The Final Frontier, Part 3: Working Out the Details -
06/01/07 06:55 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
No comments | Permalink |
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