State Sen. Steve Knight

An effort by State Sen. Steve Knight to extend liability protections to spaceflight providers and spacecraft manufacturers, equipment suppliers, and service providers is failing in the California Legislature.

The Senate has removed language from the measure that would have required that a spaceflight provider to enter into “a reciprocal waiver of claims with its contractors, subcontractors, customers, participants, and contractors and subcontractors of the customers or participants, as specified.”

The reciprocal waiver language was a substitute for an original provision in the bill that would have expanded the definition of a spaceflight entity to include “a manufacturer or supplier of components, services, or vehicles.” The Senate had earlier removed that language from the measure.

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., February 11, 2014 (Space Florida PR) – Space Florida has signed a contract with Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) to continue the refurbishment and modernization of Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Spaceport.

SLC-46 is a key launch complex for supporting future NASA, Department of Defense, and commercial missions. This marks the third phase of the Communications System refurbishment project since its beginning in 2010. Refurbishment of the communications infrastructure at SLC-46 is anticipated to take approximately one year.

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Houston, TX, February 11, 2014 (NanoRacks PR) – NanoRacks announced successful deployment of the first two cubesats from the International Space Station (ISS) that will be the largest cubesat deployment in history. The first two cubesats are part of a constellation of 28 satellites for its customer, Planet Labs.

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At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Orion ground test vehicle has been lifted high in the air by crane in the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building. (Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis)

Washington, D.C. (Aerojet Rocketdyne/ATK/Boeing/Lockheed Martin PR) – The biggest accomplishments on the next-generation deep space programs will take place this year, including Orion’s first mission, Space Launch System (SLS) booster and engine firing, and the opening of the SLS Vertical Assembly Center (VAC) – all important steps in preparing for deep space human exploration missions.

NASA’s SLS and Orion four prime contractors met recently at an industry-team meeting to discuss progress to date and ensure the teams are on track for the 2014 and 2017 launches.

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MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. (NASA/GSA PR) — The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and NASA have selected Planetary Ventures LLC as the preferred lessee on a lease to rehabilitate historic Hangar One and to manage Moffett Federal Airfield, currently managed by NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. The lease will put Hangar One to new use and eliminate NASA’s management costs of the airfield.

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Following the release of the Canadian government’s framework for space, the  opposition party New Democratic Party (NDP) has issued a press release attacking the ruling Conservative Party’s approach to the industry.

After nearly running the Canadian Space Agency into the ground with short-sighted budget cuts and sheer incompetence, the Conservatives are now trying to convince Canadians that they’re its biggest champions.

“Conservatives are compromising middle-class jobs in this innovative sector,” said NDP Industry critic Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain). “Thanks to Conservative ineptitude, important projects like the Radarsat Constellation Mission are late, over budget and jobs have been lost.”

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The group was aiming to raise $400,000 to fund work on a Mars lander.

This week on The Space Show with David Livingston: 1. Monday, Feb. 10, 2014, 2-3:30 PM PST (5-6:30 PM EST, 4-5:30 PM CST): We welcome back Dr. Armen Papazian to further discuss his innovative space financing and banking ideas. 2. Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014:, 7-8:30 PM PST (10-11:30 PM EST, 9-10:30 PM CST): We welcome back Mark Bray for Huntsville area space updates, SLS updates, and more. . 3. Friday, […]

The 28 Flock 1 satellites before being sent to the launch site. (Credit: Planet Labs)

LAGOS, Nigeria, January 28, 2014 (Heirs Holding PR) — Heirs Holdings (https://www.heirsholdings.com), the pan-African proprietary investment company founded by Tony O. Elumelu, CON, has announced its investment in US start-up Planet Labs’ innovative satellite manufacturing technology. Heirs Holdings is the only African investor in the project, which is based in San Francisco.

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SpaceShipTwo ignites its engine above Koehn Lake on its third powered flight. (Credit: Virgin Galactic)

It was a great story while it lasted, one full of spies, technological espionage, Cold War-style fears, and super power rivalry. And then the story turned into something far stranger.

The news broke two weeks ago that Virgin Galactic is turning away would-be space tourists from China. The reason: strict U.S. export restrictions known as ITAR that are designed to prevent the transfer of sensitive technologies to hostile foreign nations. Visions of Chinese spies signing up for flights and stealing the secrets to this new technology filled numerous news stories in the week that followed.

There was only one problem: the story appears to be only half true.

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