Video Caption: Gov. Hickenlooper signed into law House Bill 1178—Sales & Use Tax Exemption for Qualified Property Used in Space Flight—at the Colorado Space Coalition’s exhibit on Tuesday, May 20 at the 30th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, the premier gathering of the global space community. This crucial legislation will help expand aerospace industry growth in Colorado.
AUTHOR
Doug Messier
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio sure knows how to sell tickets — both on Earth and in space. But, has Virgin Galactic overbooked his flight? A trip on a Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle with the superstar actor was auctioned off for 700,000 euros ($954,000) recently at the annual amfAR auction near Cannes, France. The charity benefits AIDS research. Space.com reports three other seats on the flight have already been auctioned off […]
Artist rendering of 3-D printed structures on the moon. (Credit: Behnaz Farahi and Connor Wingfield)
HILO, Hawaii (PISCES PR) — Hawaii lawmakers passed a Resolution April 15th supporting PISCES and NASA-partnered projects that involve using lava rock, or basalt, as construction material for use on Earth and in outer space.
One of these projects calls for developing ‘lunar concrete’ using basalt. This technology – also known as “basaltic concrete” – could potentially make Hawaii ‘greener’ by reducing the amount of concrete the Aloha State imports from the mainland, as well as creating jobs in manufacturing and technology at home.
Video Caption: Meet SpaceX’s Dragon V2 spacecraft, the next generation spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to Earth orbit and beyond.
German astronaut Alexander Gerst training for experimental work. (Credit: DLR)
DLR PR — On 28 May 2014, the German ESA astronaut flew to the ISS for a six-month stay, during which he is expected to work on some 100 experiments
How can turbine blades be made lighter and at the same time stronger? Can an electrical conductor create a magnetic field capable of protecting a spacecraft from the solar wind? What can we learn from the physiological changes that occur in astronauts’ bodies when they are in space that could be useful for people on Earth?
Development is Major Step toward Returning Human Space Launches to U.S. Soil
WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and industry have completed the first step in the certification process that will enable American-made commercial spacecraft safely to ferry astronauts from U.S. soil to and from the International Space Station by 2017. The completion of the Certification Products Contracts (CPC) marks critical progress in the development of next-generation American space transportation systems that are safe, reliable and cost-effective.
Dragon Version 2. (Credit: SpaceX)
I had a chance to attend the unveiling of SpaceX’s crewed Dragon spacecraft last night, and it was damned impressive. Imagine a spacecraft capable of:
- Carrying seven people in a roomy cabin instead of the three astronauts who now fly in a cramped Soyuz capsule
- Touching down softly on land anywhere in the world with the precision of a helicopter (“That’s the way a 21st century spacecraft should land,” said SpaceX Founder Elon Musk)
- Powered by SuperDrago engines with 3D printed combustion chambers that are 160 times more powerful than the Draco engines on the current Dragon spacecraft
- Capable of being reused up to 10 times without having to replace the heat shield
- Ready to carry crews to the International Space Station on a commercial basis by the end of 2016, a full year ahead of NASA’s current schedule
- Costing only $140 million per launch or $20 million per person, well below the current $70 million per seat the Russians are charging for Soyuz.
Sounds pretty good, huh?
Space News has details on what appears to be Google’s bid to provide global Internet services: A company in Britain’s tax-friendly Channel Islands and backed by Google and the founder of satellite broadband trunking provider O3b Networks has secured radio-spectrum rights to build a low-orbit satellite constellation to provide global broadband to individual consumers, industry officials said. The company, which uses the name L5 in its regulatory filings and is […]
AUSTIN, Texas, May 29, 2014 (ASTC PR) — Astrotech Corporation (ASTC) today announced a major step in its strategic evolution with the signing of a definitive agreement to sell the assets constituting its Astrotech Space Operations business (ASO) to Lockheed Martin Corporation, including the assets of its wholly owned subsidiary, Astrotech Space Operations, for $61 million.