AD ASTRA PRESS RELEASE
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Ad Astra Rocket Company of Webster, Texas have entered into a Space Act Agreement that could lead to conducting a space flight test of the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR™) engine on the International Space Station (ISS).
AD ASTRA PRESS RELEASE
The helicon first stage of the VX-200 VASIMR™ plasma rocket prototype has achieved its full power rating of 30 kW with Argon propellant in tests conducted last Wednesday at Ad Astra’s Houston laboratory. The helicon first stage is an essential component of the VASIMR™ rocket and is responsible for generating the core plasma needed by the engine to operate.
Short for Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket, VASIMR™ is a new high-power plasma-based space propulsion technology, initially studied by NASA and now being developed privately by Ad Astra. A VASIMR™ engine could maneuver payloads in space far more efficiently and with much less propellant than today’s chemical rockets. Ultimately, VASIMR™ engines could also greatly shorten robotic and human transit times for missions to Mars and beyond.
Continue reading ‘Ad Astra Reports Progress on VX-200 VASIMR Plasma Rocket’
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo mothership faces rudder problem
Flight International
Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo may need to have its rudder and yaw stability improved to counter issues such as the greater fishtail effect that would be expected with a twin fuselage aircraft.
Witnesses to the 21 December maiden flight told Flight International that they noticed some yawing during take-off, indicating [...]
Report: Virgin Galactic Commercial Flights Set for 2011
Virgin Galactic on course to begin commercial space flights in 2011
Zaywa.com
The world’s first and only private space-liner Virgin Galactic will begin its commercial flights into space in 2011 with 300 passengers already booked for the gravity-defying journeys.
Virgin Galactic CEO Stephen Attenborough, who is also Commercial Director of Virgin Group of Sir Richard Branson, during a [...]
More on the Richardson Investigation
Richardson Withdraws Name for Cabinet (with Video)
MSNBC
NBC’s Lisa Myers reported last month: “The allegations now being investigated by a federal grand jury involve whether Richardson as governor steered state bond business to a firm whose founder made substantial contributions to Richardson’s political action committee. Two former state officials involved in the bond deals told NBC [...]
Spacehab to Support MRM1 for International Space Station
SPACEHAB PRESS RELEASE
SPACEHAB Incorporated, a leading provider of commercial space services, reached an agreement in principal with RSC Energia, Russia’s largest manufacturer of aerospace and space equipment, to provide facilities and support services for [...]
Spend $25 Grand to See a Man Boldly Go Where He’s Already Gone Before
Space Adventures Books Junket
Aviation Week
“Space Adventures, the Virginia firm that arranges for well-heeled tourists to fly to the International Space Station on Russian Soyuz vehicles, is booking a “VIP Launch Tour” for slightly less well-heeled tourists who want to see Charles Simonyi off on its second orbital trip. For $16,000-$24,000 a person, the company will [...]
Forgot Someone on the Old Christmas List? Buy Them a Walk in Space for $45 Million
The headline says it all. We now know how much it will cost to become the first private citizen to walk in space. Virginia-based Space Adventures is now advertising spacewalks at ISS for $45-$55 million. Meanwhile, if you just want to go up there for a little vacation, the price tag has soared to $35-$45 [...]
