UPDATE 1: Video of a SpaceShipTwo engine test conducted at the Mojave Air and Space Port on Thursday, Jan. 16. Scaled Composites conducted this test of a nitrous oxide/nylon engine to power Sir Richard Branson’s suborbital space plane, which is scheduled to begin operations later this year. The nitrous oxide/nylon engine is being tested as an alternative to the nitrous oxide/rubber engine that SpaceShipTwo has used for three powered flights […]
AUTHOR
Doug Messier
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., January 15, 2014 (Space Florida PR) – This month, Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford (R-Wesley Chapel) announced the appointment of Brian Lamb to the Space Florida Board of Directors. Space Florida shares a Board of Directors with Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI), a public-private partnership dedicated to statewide economic development.
Brian Lamb replaces former Board Member Bill Dymond, president, CEO and partner at Orlando-based law firm Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed. Mr. Dymond fulfilled his three-year statutory term. Space Florida thanks him for his service as vice chair during 2013.
Dream Chaser (Credit: Sierra Nevada Corporation)
Sparks, Nev., Jan. 16, 2014 –Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) today announced the company recently completed its Certification Plan Review for the entire Dream Chaser® Space System (DCSS). This major accomplishment represents Milestone 7 under its Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) agreement, the third phase of development under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP) to develop privately owned and operated crew vehicles to access low-Earth orbit. In passing Milestone 7, the DCSS has successfully completed one of the most critical milestones on the road to Dream Chaser full design certification and outlined how SNC would operate its first crewed flight to the International Space Station (ISS).
Washington D.C. (CSF PR)– The Commercial Spaceflight Federation thanks the Members of the House of Representatives for the passage of H.R. 3547 today. The bill provides critical funding for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and extends government risk-sharing for U.S. commercial launch companies until December 31, 2016. The previous law that provided this risk-sharing expired on December 31, 2013.
The bill funds NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at $696 million, a significant increase from FY13.
HAWTHORNE, Calif. – The Dragon test article is displayed at SpaceX Headquarters. It will be used for upcoming testing. (Credit: SpaceX)
NASA Press Release
Several companies, working closely with NASA, ended 2013 with an impressive string of achievements to build on in 2014 as the American aerospace industry continues to develop and demonstrate commercial human spaceflight capabilities with the potential to support both commercial and government customers.
The year will be pivotal for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP) as the agency looks to announce one or more awards by August for Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contracts that would lead to operational crewed flights to the International Space Station. NASA intends to use new commercial systems to fly U.S. astronauts to and from the station within the next three years.
A note from NASA: The draft solicitation for sRLV Flight and Payload Integration Services (aka IDIQ 2) has been posted. Commercial entities are encouraged to provide feedback comments within the requested date. A virtual industry day will be held via WebEx on Wednesday, January 22. Registration deadline is Wednesday, January 15. Organizations desiring to participate in this industry day must provide the following information via email to [email protected] by 2359 (Pacific […]
Statement by Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO Marion C. Blakey commending the omnibus appropriations agreement reached by the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee. Arlington, Va. – We congratulate the Appropriations Committees, particularly Chairwoman Mikulski, Chairman Rogers, Ranking Member Shelby, and Ranking Member Lowey, on reaching agreement on an omnibus appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2014. This major achievement provides federal agencies, American taxpayers, and private industry the predictability that is […]
ORB-1 Mission Update Via Orbital Sciences Corporation January 15, 2014 Over the past several days, following the successful berthing of the Cygnus spacecraft with the ISS, the Expedition 38 crew has been busy with cargo and payload transfer operations. The crew opened the hatch on Sunday, January 12 after the berthing and began cargo transfer. On January 13th, the payloads contained in Cygnus were transferred to the ISS, to include […]
Video Caption: NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and its aerospace partners are putting in the time and energy to make the innovations needed to power America’s next generation of human spacecraft destined to launch from American soil to low-Earth orbit. Through Space Act Agreements with the program, Blue Origin, Boeing, Sierra Nevada Corporation and SpaceX are achieving milestones, moving the country closer to domestic crewed access to space.
HOUSTON (NSBRI PR) — Administering health care in space demands innovative biomedical solutions. Small companies developing products that can be modified for use in space may be eligible for a unique funding opportunity offered through the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI).
NSBRI’s Industry Forum is soliciting applications for its Space Medical and Related Technologies Commercialization Assistance Program (SMARTCAP). SMARTCAP grants are used to accelerate the development of products meeting a need on Earth as well as in space. Current priorities include non-invasive approaches to assess brain and ocular health, diagnostic and therapeutic devices using ultrasound and other non-invasive modalities, and miniaturized mass spectrometry solutions.