Masten Space Systems’ Xombie technology demonstration test bed ascends into the Mojave Desert sky from the Mojave Air and Space Port during a March 2013 flight to validate Draper Labs’ GENIE flight control system. (Credit: NASA/Tom Tschida)

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA is seeking proposals from U.S. commercial suborbital reusable launch vehicle providers to integrate and fly technology payloads for the space agency.

NASA uses companies for suborbital flights to encourage and facilitate the growth of this important aerospace market while also providing a means to advance a wide range of new launch vehicle and space technologies.

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Relations between the United States and Russia are at a crisis point over the Crimean annexation, the nations are flinging insults at and imposing sanctions on each other, and America’s dangerous dependence on Russia for crew transportation to the International Space Station and engines for the Atlas V launch vehicle have been exposed as never before.

But, what is the House Subcommittee on Space most worried about in this time of international crisis? There’s apparently not enough money in the budget for the Space Launch System and Orion deep space exploration vehicle.

A bi-partisan coalition of 32 House members sent a letter to President Barack Obama supporting SLS and Orion “as part of prioritizing human space exploration within NASA’s budgets.”

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By Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Plans for a visitor’s center at Spaceport America have continued to shrink due to a lack of funding and revenues. And that could pose significant risks to New Mexico’s plans to boost the local economy by attracting more than 200,000 visitors to the remote facility where Virgin Galactic plans to launch tourists into space.

In fact, the New Mexico Spaceport Authority appears to be going down the very path that its own Strategic Business Plan warns will result in a poor visitor experience and fewer tourists paying money to see the high-tech spaceport.

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TOKYO (JAXA PR) — The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) made an announcement to the private sector on February 27, 2014, to compare their proposals and select a prime contractor who can be responsible for launch and space transportation services for a newly developed flagship launch vehicle.

As a result, after carefully evaluated proposals including confirmation of application prerequisites and conformity with requirements, we have selected Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) as the prime contractor.

JAXA will begin developing the new national flagship launch vehicle in early Japan Fiscal Year 2014 in cooperation with a group of private companies led by MHI.

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DARPA has awarded Boeing a contract worth up to $104.7 million for the Airborne Launch Assist Space Access (ALASA) program, which aims at placing a 100-lb. (45-kg) satellite into low Earth orbit for $1 million. The base value of the contract is $30,673,934, with a first option valued at $72,044,948 and a second option valued at $2,032,857, according to a notice on the General Services Administration website. The contract was […]

Draft Environmental Assessment – Public Review and Comment Period The FAA has initiated a public review and comment period for the Draft EA. Interested parties are invited to submit comments on the Draft EA, preferably in writing, on or before April 21, 2014. An electronic version of the Draft EA is available by clicking the following link: Midland International Air and Space Port: – Draft Environmental Assessment (PDF) In addition, […]

This week on The Space Show with David Livingston: 1. Monday, March 24, 2014, 2-3:30 PM PDT(5-6:30 PM EDT, 4-5:30 PM CDT): We welcome DR. JEFF BELL who is returning to The Space Show to discuss NewSpace and much more. 2. Tuesday, March 25, 2014:, 7-8:30 PM PDT (10-11:30 PM EDT, 9-10:30 PM CDT): We welcome DAN FREYER to tell us about the important upcoming Space Tech Expo in Long […]

Artist’s conception of a nominal X-S1 vehicle. (Credit: DARPA)

By Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

DARPA’s proposed budget for FY 2015 calls for a significant increase in its Experimental Spaceplane One (XS-1) program and smaller boosts in the Airborne Launch Assist Space Access (ALASA) program and Project Phoenix, budget documents show.

The defense agency has requested $27 million for re-useable XS-1 space plane this year, a significant boost over the $10 million being spent for FY 2014. With the increase in funding, DARPA plans to conduct a preliminary design review (PDR) and select a single vendor for final design, fabrication and flight test in the coming fiscal year, which will start on Oct. 1.

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NASA astronaut Steve Swanson (left) and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov (center) and Oleg Artemyev of Expedition 39. (Credit: NASA/Victor Zelentsov)

Russia will send a new new three-man crew to the International Space Station on Tuesday in one of five launches scheduled worldwide this week. SpaceX will follow up the crew launch on Sunday, March 30 by sending a Dragon freighter to the orbital outpost.

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WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — In support of NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission – a key part of the agency’s stepping stone path to send humans to Mars – agency officials are seeking proposals for studies on advanced technology development.

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