Space Tourism … and Much More
Federal Aviation Administration
Commercial Space Transportation
Advisory Committee Public Meeting
National Housing Center
1201 15th Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
Thursday, October 7, 2010
8:00 am – 4:00 pm
The proposed agenda for this meeting will feature discussions on:
Continue reading ‘FAA COMSTAC Meeting Agenda Released’
The Korea Times has a story about the stalemate between KARI and Russia’s Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center over a possible third launch of the KSLV-1 (Naro-1) rocket, which has failed in its only two launch attempts.
Continue reading ‘Stalemate in South Korean Rocket Failure’
A group of 14 Nobel Laureates, 14 former high-level NASA officials and astronauts, and two educators have sent a letter to Rep. Bart Gordon urging major changes in the House’s NASA funding bill to put it in line with the Obama Administration’s proposed budget.
Continue reading ‘14 Nobel Laureates Go to Bat Against House NASA Funding Bill’
Artist Impression of Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo/SpaceShipOne over Spaceport America in New Mexico.
NMSA PRESS RELEASE
The New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) is accepting applications for a Deputy Director to oversee the daily operations of Spaceport America, the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport. This position announcement marks another significant milestone as the historic project transitions from a construction site to an operating spaceport.
Continue reading ‘New Mexico Spaceport Authority Seeks Deputy Director’
A P3 Navy aircraft with Hangar One at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. (Copyright 2008: Douglas Messier)
The summer edition of the NPR Post, which is a publication of the NASA Research Park out here at Ames, has an article written by Carol Hanner about its future expansion plans:
Currently host to more than 70 on-site industry, university and non-profit partners, NRP will ultimately comprise 5.7 million square feet of new construction for research and development offices, university classrooms and laboratories, rental housing, museums, and a conference and education center.
New construction at NRP is expected to total approximately $2.8 billion, generating an average of 1,700 construction jobs annually over the next 15 years in the Bay Area, 1,900 in California, and more than 2,800 nationally.
Continue reading ‘NASA Research Park to Include Nearly 6 Million Square Feet of Space’
An overview of the Singularity University student space projects from the school’s closing ceremony last Friday.
WYLE PRESS RELEASE
Wyle is part of an academic-industry team that has been selected to support a new Federal Aviation Administration Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation.
The center is a partnership of academia, industry, and government, developed for the purpose of creating a world-class consortium that will address current and future challenges for commercial space transportation.
Continue reading ‘Wyle to Play Key Role in New FAA Commercial Space Transportation Center’
ATK PRESS RELEASE
Alliant Techsystems and NASA conducted a successful ground test earlier today of the second Ares five-segment Development Motor (DM-2). The successful test is an important milestone in the development of America’s next generation of launch vehicles.
Initial test data indicated that the motor, which was chilled to a 400 F core temperature since early July, performed as designed, producing approximately 3.6 million pounds of thrust, or 22 million horsepower, and burned for just over two minutes. The test collected 764 channels of data to accomplish 53 test objectives. This is the most data ATK has ever collected in a static fire test.
Continue reading ‘Video: ATK Tests Five Segment Ares Motor’
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin tours RSC Energia in July. (Credit: Russian Federation Government)
The Roscosmos website has a fascinating transcript of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s visit to Uglegorsk, which is adjacent to the nation’s future Vostochny National Space Port. Putin gave formal remarks, engaged in a discussion with Roscosmos Head Anatoly Perminov, and spoke with villagers. The transcript, reproduced at this end of this post, brings to light a great deal of information about the new Russian facility.
Continue reading ‘Putin: New Spaceport Will Make Russia Independent, More Competitive in Space’
ISRO PRESS RELEASE
Chandrayaan-2, India’s second mission to moon, is being targeted for launch during 2013. Chandrayaan-2 will have an orbiter (satellite), a lander and a rover. Chandrayaan-2 is planned to be launched on board Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. While the lander will be provided by Russia, the orbiter and the rover are being built by ISRO.
Continue reading ‘ISRO Finalizes Instruments of Chandrayaan-2 Lunar Mission’
The lower stage of Masten Space Systems' Brutus vehicle.
MASTEN PRESS RELEASE
Masten Space Systems, a leader in vertical take off, vertical landing (VTVL) rocket vehicles, announced a contract today with NASA’s new Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research (CRuSR) program. The initial contract is for four flights of test payloads on Xaero, Masten’s next-generation vehicle currently in assembly.
Continue reading ‘Masten Plans Extensive Commercial Flight Operations in 2011′
CSF PRESS RELEASE
The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to congratulate two of its member companies, Armadillo Aerospace and Masten Space Systems, for winning an initial NASA test flight contract as part of the Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research (CRuSR) Program. The first round of the program, an open competition for small businesses, was formally kicked off by NASA earlier this year with a Request for Quotations for commercial reusable suborbital flight services.
Continue reading ‘CSF on CRuSR Awards: We Like It!’
Monday and Tuesday: No show due to the AIAA Space 2010 Conference.
Friday,Sept. 3, 2010. This program will consist of taped interviews from the Space 2010 Conference. When you see the programs on The Space Show website, they are ready for play and podcasting. Some taped interviews may be uploaded for a Saturday program. Please check the website for further details should this be necessary.
Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010, 12-1:30 PM PDT. Taylor Dinerman returns to discuss some of his latest writings and thoughts.
X PRIZE FOUNDATION
Helping to raise funds for the X PRIZE Foundation (www.xprize.org), “Avatar” Producer/Director, James Cameron, will participate as the honored guest aboard an extraordinary ZERO-G Experience taking off from Van Nuys Airport (VNY) in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, October 9, 2010. Additional X PRIZE Board Members and special guests have purchased seats to participate in this special event. Three available seats for this once-in-a-lifetime adventure will be auctioned on eBay to the general public beginning Tuesday, August 31, 2010 and ending Friday, September 3, 2010. To find out more information about the auction and to bid on seats, visit http://eBay.com/cameron.
Continue reading ‘James Cameron to Fly on Zero-G Plane in X PRIZE Benefit’
Orbital Sciences Corporation's Stargazer aircraft at the Mojave Air and Space Port. The L-1011 is used to launch Pegasus rockets to space.
The dusty desert town of Mojave might not have very much to recommend it, but the town’s spaceport is definitely worth a visit. Some photos I took during the recent Plane Crazy Rockets R Us open house.
Continue reading ‘Views From a Spaceport’
New Mexico Spaceport Authority Seeks Deputy Director
NMSA PRESS RELEASE
The New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) is accepting applications for a Deputy Director to oversee the daily operations of Spaceport America, the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport. This position announcement marks another significant milestone as the historic project transitions from a construction site to an operating spaceport.
Wyle to Play Key Role in New FAA Commercial Space Transportation Center
WYLE PRESS RELEASE
Wyle is part of an academic-industry team that has been selected to support a new Federal Aviation Administration Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation.
The center is a partnership of academia, industry, and government, developed for the purpose of creating a world-class consortium that will address current and future [...]
Space Tourism Insurance Could Be Next Big Growth Area
Space Tourism Sector A Good Opportunity For Insurance Firms
Space Travel
As space tourism matures, it holds tremendous opportunity for insurance companies to offer risk coverage to those on-board, similar to what they do for passengers of airlines, industry officials said.
