Posted on May 19, 2013, at 2:13 pm .
In prepared testimony last week before the Senate Subcommittee on Science and Space, former space shuttle program manager Wayne Hale urged lawmakers to boost spending for the commercial crew program:
Poised on the cusp of these new systems, we run the risk of being penny wise and pound foolish as we make the same mistake that doomed the space shuttle to much higher cost operations: starving a spacecraft development program in the name of saving a few pennies for today’s budget bottom line resulting in the compromised systems that, if they fly at all, will not be cheap enough to enable business in space….
Currently, the commercial space effort stands uncomfortably close to the brink of financial starvation. Deep space transportation development is being stretched out by similar restrictions. Business is looking to see if the government is serious about providing the critical support or whether this effort will be wasted as so many earlier government programs which withered away on the very cusp of success: National Launch System, Orbital Space Plane, and others.
Hale’s full testimony is reproduced after the break.
Continue reading ‘Hale: Approach to Funding Commercial Crew is Penny Wise, Pound Foolish’
Posted on May 4, 2013, at 12:48 pm .
Made in Space will fly the first 3D printer in space next year aboard a SpaceX Dragon freighter, which will deliver it for use by astronauts aboard the International Space Station, CTO Jason Dunn announced on Saturday.
Dunn told attendees at the Space Hacker Workshop in Mountain View, Calif., that this will be the first time that humans will conduct manufacturing operations off the Earth. The 3-D machine will allow astronauts to print parts and components on orbit instead of having to ship them up from Earth.
The company, which is based at the NASA Ames Research Park at Moffett Field, Calif., has been working for three years to perfect 3D printers capable of working in microgravity gravity. Dunn said the Made in Space has flown more than 400 microgravity parabolas to test out printers.
Made in Space was formed in 2010 by alumni of the Singularity University, which runs a summer program at NASA Ames in California.
Posted on April 21, 2013, at 2:27 pm .
View from the International Space Station of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as the robotic arm moves Dragon into place for attachment to the station May 25, 2012. (Credit: NASA)
CCP Spotlight on Development
Via NASA
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is planning for a detailed safety review with NASA and aerospace industry experts to ensure the company’s integrated human space transportation system is progressing to meet mission safety requirements.
Teams will look closely at SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon spacecraft and flight operations plans for crewed missions to low-Earth orbit during this ninth Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) performance milestone. Through CCiCap, NASA is accelerating the development of systems that can be used by government or commercial customers.
To learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP) and its CCiCap partners, visit www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew.
| SpaceX CCiCAP Milestone |
No.
|
Description |
Date |
Status |
Amount |
| 9. |
Safety Review. SpaceX will hold a Safety Review at the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, CA, or a nearby facility to demonstrate that the CTS design is progressing toward meeting the Commercial Crew Program’s safety goals. |
October 2013 |
Pending |
$50 Million |
Posted on April 17, 2013, at 7:59 am .
Artist’s conception of the proposed SpaceX commercial launch facility near Brownsville, Texas.
The FAA’s draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on SpaceX proposed commercial launch facility near Brownsville, Texas, has found no significant impacts on health, safety or the environment, paving the way for the project to proceed.
Continue reading ‘FAA Draft Environmental Impact Statement Supports SpaceX Texas Launch Site’
Posted on April 16, 2013, at 11:38 am .
SpaceX SuperDraco hot fire. (Credit: SpaceX)
CCP Spotlight on Development
Via NASA
The NASA Partner Integration Team, called a PIT Crew, working with Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) to help develop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft combination recently talked with SpaceX representatives about its spacecraft propulsion and parachute systems.
Later this month, the PIT Crew will travel to McGregor, Texas, for a SuperDraco abort engine test. Plans call for eight SuperDracos to be built into the sidewalls of the Dragon spacecraft, allowing a crew to escape from danger at any point of a launch.
For more information about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP) and its partners, click on www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
Posted on April 2, 2013, at 5:32 am .
View from the International Space Station of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as the robotic arm moves Dragon into place for attachment to the station May 25, 2012. (Credit: NASA)
By Jessica Eagan
International Space Station Program Science Office
He described it as “snow white.” But NASA astronaut Don Pettit was not referring to the popular children’s fairy tale.
Rather, he was talking about the white coating of the Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) Dragon spacecraft that reflected from the International Space Station’s light. As it approached the station for the first time in May 2012, the Dragon’s trunk might have been described as the “fairest of them all,” for its pristine coating, allowing Pettit to clearly see to maneuver the robotic arm to grab the Dragon for a successful nighttime berthing.
Continue reading ‘High-tech Coating Protects the Dragon Spacecraft in Orbit’
Posted on March 28, 2013, at 9:25 pm .
Dragon captured at ISS. (Credit: NASA TV)
A “very tiny change” to three check valves during manufacturing caused the malfunction that disabled three of four thruster pods on the Dragon spacecraft that launched earlier this month, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Thursday.
Speaking at a joint post-mission press conference with NASA officials, Musk said three check valves on the oxidizer tank became stuck due to the changes. Programmers were able to write software that commanded an increase of pressure upstream of the valves, forcing them open in a spacecraft version of the Heimlich maneuver, he added.
Continue reading ‘Musk: Dragon Thrusters Malfunctioned Due to Valve Design Change’
Posted on March 28, 2013, at 8:25 pm .
Dragon recovery (Credit: SpaceX)
Dragon Post-Mission Press Conference
Participants
Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator
Julie Robinson, International Space Station Program scientist
Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer and CEO, SpaceX
Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX President and COO
Opening Remarks
Bolden:
- We’re really pleased at working together that SpaceX and NASA teams were able to berth at station and return safely
- Importance of the commercial cargo program and how critical it is for the ISS program
- Orbital Sciences is other COTS partner – set for a test flight of Antares rocket in April
Continue reading ‘Dragon Post-Mission Press Conference Notes’
Posted on March 26, 2013, at 10:57 pm .
Dragon recovery (Credit: SpaceX)
WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — A Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) Dragon spacecraft successfully completed the company’s second cargo flight to the International Space Station on Tuesday, March 26, with a 12:36 p.m. EDT splashdown in the Pacific Ocean a few hundred miles west of Baja California, Mexico.
Continue reading ‘Dragon Returns From Space Station With Scientific Haul’
Posted on March 26, 2013, at 5:01 am .
NASA CCP Spotlight on Development
Thursday, 21 Mar 2013
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) continues to work with NASA on plans for a Dragon pad abort test at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40.
Continue reading ‘NASA, SpaceX Work on Pad Abort Test’
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