Gen. William Shelton
by John Parker
72nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., April 21, 2014 — Innovation and cost-saving ideas will help ensure the Air Force keeps its warfighting readiness despite significant, ongoing budget cuts, the commander of Air Force Space Command recently told a Tinker audience.
General William L. Shelton spoke April 15 in Bldg. 4029 to about 90 members of the 38th Cyberspace Engineering Installation Group.
Space News has an update on Orbital Sciences’ search for a new engine for its Antares launch vehicle: The company also said it is evaluating three bids — two Russian, one U.S. — to produce main-stage engines for Orbital’s Antares rocket. The engines being offered include the Russian-built, U.S.-modified engine currently used for Antares. In a conference call with investors, Orbital Chief Executive David W. Thompson said his company has […]
SpaceShipTwo in powered flight. (Credit: Virgin Galactic)
By Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
Over the years, I’ve heard many speakers at various space conferences and events say all sorts of things that I felt…oh, comment on dit?…stretched the truth like Silly Putty. Yes, that’s a polite way to put it.
After a while, I’ve become quite numb to it all — the hype, promises, publicity stunts, optimistic schedules that get blown away like fallen leaves on a windy Mojave day. By this point, most of it just passes over me without meriting so much as a mention.
But, sometimes I hear something that stretches the rhetorical Silly Putty beyond the breaking point. I had just such an experience three weeks ago at the Space Tech Expo in Long Beach, Calif.
Some brief items on the Russian space program: Vostochny Construction Accelerated: Work on Russia’s new Vostochny spaceport will now be done on a 24-hour basis with the addition of more workers. “The number of workers will be increased manifold at the spaceport regardless natural and weather conditions,” Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said. The goal is to conduct the first rocket launch from Vostochny in 2015 and the first human […]
Video Caption: NASA has selected Kathy Lueders as program manager for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP). Lueders, who has served as acting program manager since October 2013, will help keep the nation’s space program on course to launch astronauts from American soil by 2017 aboard spacecraft built by American companies.
Google Science Fair Galactic Hangout Virtual Field Trip Friday, April 25, 10 AM PT/1 PM ET/1800 GMT Join a “Galactic Hangout” with four members of the Virgin Galactic team: “What’s it like to work in a spaceship factory?” What would it be like to work in the world’s first commercial spaceship factory? What kinds of jobs do people actually do there? What are their backgrounds, and how do they get […]
Kathryn Lueders
WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA has selected Kathy Lueders as program manager for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP). Lueders, who has served as acting program manager since October 2013, will help keep the nation’s space program on course to launch astronauts from American soil by 2017 aboard spacecraft built by American companies.
“This is a particularly critical time for NASA’s human spaceflight endeavors as the Commercial Crew Program enters into contract implementation,” said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Kathy’s experience and leadership skills developed during the ISS commercial resupply contract activity will be critical to safely and effectively leading commercial crew transportation activities for NASA.”
This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston: Monday, Tuesday and Friday: NO SHOWS TODAY DUE TO MEDICAL LEAVE OF ABSENCE. I suggest listening to an archived oldie of your choice and share your perspective on the subject with us during our special Open Lines program on Sunday, April 27. For details, see the Sunday, April 27 program description. Sunday, April 27, 2014, 12-1:30 PM PDT (3-4:30 PM […]
The International Space Station, backdropped by the blackness of space and the thin line of Earth’s atmosphere. (Credit: NASA)
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL., April 21, 2014 (CASIS PR) – The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) is proud to announce its research payloads berthed with the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, April 20. Space Exploration Technologies Corporation’s (SpaceX) Dragon capsule successfully berthed with the ISS, marking the completion of its launch to resupply the ISS with cargo and research. CASIS is tasked with managing and promoting research onboard the ISS U.S. National Laboratory.
Research onboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule included a range of experiments from life sciences. This is the second mission that has been responsible for launching CASIS-sponsored investigations to the ISS. In January, Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Cygnus capsule sent the first CASIS-sponsored investigations to the ISS. Below is an overview of the major payloads now onboard the ISS sponsored by CASIS:
Actor and musician John Corbett and XCOR Chief Test Pilot Richard Searfoss climb aboard the Lynx replica at Celebrity Fight Night XX on Saturday, April 12th in Phoenix, Ariz. (Credit: XCOR)
MOJAVE, Calif. and PHOENIX, Ariz. (XCOR PR) — Actor John Corbett is better known for his roles in movies and popular TV shows such as Northern Exposure, Sex in The City and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but last Saturday, he was shooting for the stars to help knock out Parkinson’s disease by auctioning off a space flight with XCOR Aerospace to benefit Mohammed Ali’s Parkinson’s Research Center.
At the 20th Anniversary of Celebrity Fight Night’s gala fundraiser, Mr. Corbett joined other entertainment industry luminaries such as Robert DeNiro, Billy Crystal, Michael Bublé, Reba McEntire and Kenny Rogers to raise $8+ Million for Mohammed Ali’s Parkinson’s Research Center at the Barrow Neurological Institute, Saint Joseph’s Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona and other deserving charities.
