Wannabe Space Tourist Wants $21 Million Back Over Scuttled Mission
Wired
“The Japanese internet tycoon who paid $21 million to become the first space tourist to walk outside the International Space Station wants his money back.
In a lawsuit, Daisuke Enomoto, 37, claims that Space Adventures, the private firm with connections to the Russian Federal Space Agency, ‘deceptively and fraudulently’ induced him to pay $21 million for a 10-day orbital sojourn that never materialized.”
NASA clears hurdle on Soyuz
Orlando Sentinel
“NASA Administrator Michael Griffin on Tuesday won the approval of a key Senate committee in his battle to buy Russian spacecraft as a four-year replacement for the space shuttle.
“But the fight is far from over. And Griffin has less than two weeks to persuade the rest of Congress to allow the use of Soyuz spacecraft to take U.S. astronauts to the international space station after the space shuttle’s planned retirement in 2010.”
Obama Calls on Senate and House Leadership to Renew America’s Commitment to NASA
Text of Letter to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi
Dear Majority Leader Reid and Madam Speaker Pelosi:
This Administration’s lack of leadership for our nation’s space program has left Americans without access to space or the ability to support its astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) without paying Russia for transportation. The ISS is a world-class research facility, built with approximately $100 billion of U.S. taxpayers’ money. With the planned retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2010, the U.S. will be paying Russia for rides to and from the ISS, and for emergency lifeboat services, using their Soyuz spacecraft. Furthermore, at the end of 2011, NASA will no longer even have the legal authority to continue paying Russia for Soyuz flights, so unless we act immediately, the U.S. will abandon its role in supporting, and benefiting from, missions to this amazing facility, leaving it to our international partners.
Continue reading ‘NASA Moves Toward Buying More Soyuz Vehicles’
Astronaut lends expertise to Mexico
The Record
“Jose Hernandez, the local astronaut scheduled to fly into space next summer, is now involved in building a space agency in Mexico.
“The proposed legislation entailing Hernandez’s recommendations was introduced a year ago for establishing a technology research and development facility and a commercial launch platform for space tourism in Yucatan, Mexico.”
SPACEPORT AMERICA PRESS RELEASE
Following a successful bid process, the New Mexico Spaceport Authority
(NMSA) and the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) broke ground on road improvements for Spaceport America on Thursday, September 18.
After a successful bid award on August 1, 2008, construction will begin by the Reiman Corporation, a construction company with over 15 years of experience in New Mexico. Once completed, the improved road will provide better access and allow the construction process at Spaceport America to continue on schedule.
Continue reading ‘Spaceport America Begins Infrastructure Work’
Stephen Colbert interviewed game developer and future millionaut Richard Garriott on Thursday night for his satirical “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central. The host had a telephone chat with Garriott, who was in Russia undergoing training for his upcoming flight to the International Space Station.
Continue reading ‘Richard Garriott Appears on The Colbert Report’
If you had this view, would you invest your money to preserve the planet or to try to get rich selling the trip to the wealthy and privileged?
Astronauts Get Down to Earth
Alan Boyle
Cosmic Log
Space travelers from around the world are gathering this week to focus on the most precious planet they’ve ever discovered: Earth.
The planetary introspection is taking place in Seattle during this year’s congress of the Association of Space Explorers, which brings together astronauts and cosmonauts from the United States, Russia and other nations….
Perhaps the most enduring way of passing along the “Overview Effect” is by getting young people excited about space exploration, and the Association of Space Explorers was doing its part on that front this week. The spacefliers spent more time in public outreach - at Seattle-area schools, universities and other venues - than they did being cooped up in lecture halls.
NASA PRESS RELEASE
NASA for the first time last week used microgravity research flights aboard commercially-owned aircraft to test hardware and technologies. These flights, on an airplane operated by the Zero Gravity Corporation, simulated the weightless conditions of space.
In addition to numerous NASA experiments, five companies sponsored by the agency’s Innovative Partnerships Program flew experiments aboard the reduced-gravity aircraft flights from Ellington Field in Houston. The flights were the first in NASA’s Facilitated Access to the Space Environment for Technology Development and Training program, called FAST.
Continue reading ‘NASA Uses Zero-G Plane for Experiments for First Time’
Vancouverites purchase tickets for space flight
Vancouver Courier
“Ever dreamed of going into space? If your travel budget can stretch to include the $200,000 US price of a ticket, a two and a half hour cruise up to sub-orbital space, including four to five minutes of weightlessness, will soon be possible.
“And at least two Vancouverites have bought tickets.”
Space is new place to play
The Province
A Vancouver agency that prides itself on offering luxury travel with a cutting edge has decided that space is the place to play.
Mason Horvath has been chosen as one of three accredited agencies in Canada to sell tickets for the Virgin Galactic sub-orbital space flights scheduled to launch in 2010.
Rocket Town U.S.A.
Forget NASA. The real future of America’s space program may well lie in a thriving desert town of entrepreneurs who aim at the stars.
Fortune Small Business
“Inside the hangar the view is equally dramatic. A rocket, 30 feet long, lies on its side. Nearby sits a large capsule, looking like something out of the Apollo program. But this is the Neptune program - run not by NASA but by Roderick and Randa Milliron, a husband-and-wife rocketry company.
“The Neptune sure looks convincing. But will it fly?”
Welcome to Mojave, Calif., where “Will it fly?” is a constant question.
SPACE ANGELS NETWORK PRESS RELEASE
Space Angels Network, LLC, a national network of seed- and early-stage investors focused on aerospace-related ventures, today announced the 14 presenting companies it has selected for its first Aerospace Venture Forum being held in Long Beach, California, on September 25, 2008.
Continue reading ‘Space Angels Network to Host Aerospace Venture Forum in Long Beach’