Mars colony (Credit: Mars One)

Amersfoort, The Netherlands, 27 March 2014 (Mars One PR) – Mars One is excited to announce the launch of a simulation project to replicate the future Mars human outpost here on Earth.

Mars One will soon begin the process of construction of the first simulation outpost, which will be used for training selected astronauts and teams. The main purpose of an early version outpost is for potential crew members to gain early experience in the actual environment which will become their home on Mars.

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By Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

After a couple of months inside the hangar undergoing modifications, SpaceShipTwo is outside on the ramp today at the Mojave Air & Space Port in California.

Scaled Composites engineers are running the suborbital space plane through pressure tests on the cockpit, according to sources. The vehicle does not have an engine installed.

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo last flew under power on Jan. 10, completing a 20-second burn of its hybrid nitrous oxide-rubber engine and reached an altitude of 71,000 feet. The ship flew again in an un-powered glide flight one week later before going into the hangar for changes.

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The scheduled Sunday launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has been postponed due to problems on the U.S. Air Force’s Eastern Test Range, officials said. Reports indicate that there was a fire that has knocked out a radar system needed to track the flight. The Air Force is not able to repair the system in time. The Falcon 9 will launch a Dragon cargo vehicle to the International Space Station. […]

Andrews Space 6U CubeSat solar panel. (Credit: Andrews Space)

Seattle, WA, March 26, 2014 (Andrews PR) — Andrews Space (Andrews) today announced that they have successfully completed space qualification of their new 6U solar panel. This qualification effort extends the qualified power systems products for small satellites applications beyond batteries and satellite power management to now include solar panels. The solar panels provide a simple power generation solution for 6U CubeSat form factors and can be easily combined to create more complex strings for microsatellites. The panels are a complementary addition to the CORTEX 130 Electrical Power System card and CORTEX Battery Unit; in combination these products provide a complete electrical power solution for your small spacecraft.

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Co-investigator Darlene Cavalier sampling the Liberty Bell for microbes as part of the International Space Station Project MERCCURI investigation. (Credit: National Park Service)

By Jessica Nimon
International Space Station Program Science Office
NASA’s Johnson Space Center

Host Natalie Morales from the Today Show wiped Al Roker’s weather wall, as well as a camera and teleprompter with a cotton swab back in October. But just what did she and her co-host Willie Geist expect to find? They were citizen scientists looking for microbes—the tiny invisible, bacteria, viruses and fungi that may live on the sampled surfaces. Once captured, these televised swabs joined the Project MERCCURI collection that includes samples from museums, historical monuments and sporting venues. This massive “crowdsourced” gathering effort’s full name is Microbial Ecology Research Combining Citizen and University Researchers on the International Space Station, which references its mission to send the litany of microbes to the space station for research.

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The U.S. Air Force has awarded a $4.25 million contract to SpaceX to perform “early integration studies of SpaceX’s launch vehicle Falcon 9 v1.1 and USAF space vehicles projected to launch as early as 2017.” “The early integration studies are unique to each potential launch service provider and its own launch vehicle configuration,” according to the official notice from the Air Force. “SpaceX, as the sole owner and manufacturer of […]

Gwynne Shotwell

WASHINGTON (NSS PR) — The National Space Society has awarded its 2014 Space Pioneer Award for the Entrepreneurial Business category to SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne R. Shotwell.

NSS will present the Space Pioneer Award to Mrs. Shotwell on Saturday May 16, at NSS’s annual conference, the 2014 International Space Development Conference (ISDC).  The conference will be held at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Los Angeles, CA, and will run from May 14-18, 2014.
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NASA’s Robonaut 2 with the newly developed climbing legs, designed to give the robot mobility in zero gravity. (Credit: NASA)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — NASA’s built and is sending a set of high-tech legs up to the International Space Station for Robonaut 2 (R2), the station’s robotic crew member. The new legs will be delivered to the space station aboard the SpaceX-3 cargo resupply mission, due to launch March 30 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

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WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — Building on the success of NASA’s commercial spaceflight initiatives, agency officials announced Monday plans to solicit proposals from U.S. private enterprises for unfunded partnerships to collaboratively develop new commercial space capabilities.

“The growing U.S. commercial spaceflight industry is opening low-Earth orbit in ways that will improve lives on Earth, drive economic growth and power 21st century innovations,” said William Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations. “As NASA again pioneers a path into deep space, we look forward to sharing our 50 years of spaceflight experience and fostering partnerships in ways that benefit our nation’s ambitious spaceflight goals.”

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Dream Chaser shuttle. (Credit: NASA)

Sparks, Nev., March 25, 2014 (SNC PR) – In a press conference held today at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in Michoud, La., Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and Dream Chaser^® strategic partner Lockheed Martin announced the expansion of SNC Dream Chaser spacecraft orbital vehicle manufacturing operations.

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