Canada’s National Post reports that Cape Breton could become a future gateway for space tourists, possibly with the help of NASA funding.
PlanetSpace, a Chicago company that is backing the Canadian spaceport, is one of several companies that are bidding for a $175 million in NASA’s COTS program. The program funds projects to develop commercial vehicles that can fly crews and cargo to the International Space Station.
NASA plans to make an announcement on the COTS program on February 19.
NASA MEDIA ADVISORY : M08-030
WASHINGTON - NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate managers will host a media teleconference Tuesday, Feb. 19, to announce the names of one or more companies selected to develop and demonstrate commercial orbital transportation services.
The media teleconference will begin at 4 p.m. EST, originating from NASA Headquarters, Washington. Reporters should contact Beth Dickey at 202-358-2087, or Stephanie Schierholz at 202-358-4997, by 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19, for dial-in information.
Doug Cooke, NASA deputy associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, and Alan Lindenmoyer, manager of the Commercial Crew and Cargo Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, will lead the briefing.
The company or companies selected will enter into funded Space Act agreements with NASA under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Project, known as COTS. The key objectives of the program are to facilitate U.S. private industry development of reliable, cost effective access to low Earth orbit and to create a market environment in which commercial space transportation services are available to government and private sector customers.
SpaceX Press Release
February 12, 2008
HAWTHORNE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) has completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for the second Falcon 9 / Dragon demonstration under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) project. NASA representatives attended the event, held at SpaceX’s new headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
Under COTS, SpaceX will conduct three Falcon 9 / Dragon flights, demonstrating the ability to approach, berth, and ultimately deliver cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), and return cargo to Earth. The first COTS flight will demonstrate launch, operations over several orbits, reentry and return to Earth.
Despite a $2 million investment, Texas officials have had no success in attracting private space companies to any of three potential spaceport sites in the southern part of the state, The Brownsville Herald reports.
The AP reports that NASA may rely on Russian rockets to deliver crew and cargo to the International Space Station if private companies don’t succeed in building alternate vehicles under the agency’s COTS program.
NASA has earmarked nearly $500 million to two private companies, SpaceX and Rocketplane Kistler, to build orbital spacecraft. The agency recently canceled its contract with Rocketplane Kistler after the Oklahoma company failed to raise sufficient private funding. Kistler recently lost an appeal of that decision.
Meanwhile, New Scientist reports that NASA will shortly name a new COTS partner.
The Spaceports Blog has a report of the recent Space Access 07 conference.
For the complete article, click here.
Landeene Speaks About Challenges, Opportunities of Spaceport America
KRWG-TV’s Minding Your Business host Charles Comer recently talked with Steve Landeene, Executive Director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority. Landeene talks about current and future goals for Spaceport America, a $200 million spaceport that New Mexico is building in the desert.
Best of What’s New: WhiteKnightTwo, Phoenix, Rocket Racer and GeoEye
Popular Science has named its Best of What’s New 2008 lists for the year’s top technological achievements. NASA’s Mars Phoenix Lander has been named Grand Award winner in the Aviation & Space category. The spacecraft spent more than five months analyzing soil and conditions near the martian north pole.
Other space- and rocket-related products on the list [...]
A Look at Virgin Galactic’s Millionaut Training Regime
Brooke Borel of Popular Science takes a look at centrifuge training that future millionauts are undergoing for Virgin Galactic flights. He reports:
“Safety is top concern for Virgin Galactic: da Silva and other trainees also underwent vigorous medical testing, including a heart stress test and a physical. No one with even the slightest heart condition is allowed to fly, [...]
The International Space Station - that $100 billion plus, taxpayer funded lab/millionaut vacation getaway - turned 10 years old this week as astronauts worked to install a new module to the facility. ISS won’t be finished until 2010. In about two months, we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Ronald Reagan proposing the United States build the station.
Ah, progress….
Two other [...]
Did Money Talk in Getting Enomoto Booted Off, Ansari Put on ISS Space Tourism Flight?
Would-Be Space Tourist Sues for Refund
Associated Press
“A federal judge heard arguments Friday in [Daisuke] Enomoto’s lawsuit against Virginia-based Space Adventures, a firm that made its name brokering deals with the Russian space agency to put half a dozen “space tourists” in orbit for fees of $20 million or more….
“Space Adventures wants the lawsuit thrown out, [...]
Energia Gets Loan, Kazakh Cosmonaut to Fly Commercial
RIA Novesti reports that Sberbank has loaned Energia 2.9 billion rubles ($106 million) to allow the company to continue production of the Soyuz and Progress vehicles required for the International Space Station (ISS).
Meanwhile, the news agency says that Kazakhstan will be paying a commercial rate to send a cosmonaut to ISS. “‘The only way a [...]
