Astronauts aboard the International Space Station successfully deployed two NanoSatisfi CubeSats named ArduSat-1 and ArduSat-X this morning.  They also deployed a Vietnamese micro satellite, named Pico Dragon from the orbital outpost.

The ArduSat spacecraft have pre-built experiments such as measuring the Earth’s magnetic field that can be run by students across the world. Students are also free to design custom experiments and applications.

Students of four can purchase a full week to control the satellite for $1,000. “In addition, every seat comes with full access to our online curriculum and Mission Control Center where students can learn about space science, physics and computer programming (with Arduino)—not to mention, control a satellite directly from their Internet browser,” according to NanoSatisfi’s website.

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A report on commercial space from KQED-TV.

Live coverage available at: https://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-tv-wallops UPDATE 4:  Launch at 8:15 p.m. was nominal. The primary payload, a defense satellite, was deployed as planned.  The deployment of 28 Cubesats will take place out out of the range of ground tracking stations. We’re awaiting word on the success of those deployments. UPDATE 3 at 7:30 p.m. EST: Count has resumed. New launch time is 8:15 p.m. EST. UPDATE 2 at 7:11 p.m. […]

Artist conception of student-built TJ3Sat in orbit. (Credit: Orbital Sciences Corporation)

WALLOPS ISLAND, Virg. (NASA & OSC PRs) — The United States Air Force Minotaur I rocket scheduled for launch on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. from Virginia will carry a record number of satellites — 29 — into orbit. The rocket will launch a defense test spacecraft and 28 small CubeSats,  including the first satellite designed and built by high school students and PhoneSat 2.4, a second generation smartphone mission.

The Air Force’s Operationally Responsive Space Office’s ORS-3 mission will demonstrate and validate launch and range improvements for NASA and the military. These include automated trajectory targeting, range-safety planning and flight termination systems. The launch also will be part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) certification process for the Minotaur rocket. The FAA has licensing authority over American commercial rockets.

The Minotaur’s primary payload is the Space Test Program Satellite-3 (STPSat-3), an Air Force technology-demonstration mission. Thirteen small cubesats aboard are being provided through NASA’s Cubesat Launch Initiative.

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Mojave Air and Space Port General Manager and CEO Stu Witt will testify along with space tourist and Inspiration Mars Chairman Dennis Tito at a House Space Subcommittee hearing concerning commercial space on Wednesday. Patricia Cooper, president of the Satellite Industry Association, will join Witt and Tito on the hearing’s second panel. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), whose district includes the Mojave spaceport, will be on the first panel. The hearing […]

UPDATE #3 4:15 p.m. ET:  A post-launch press conference is underway now. Early reports are that MAVEN has successfully deployed its solar panels and is sending good data to the ground. So far, all the spacecraft’s systems are nominal. Controllers will be turning on and testing MAVEN’s various systems and instruments during the 10-month cruise to the Red Planet. UPDATE 2:  MAVEN has separated from the second stage and is […]

An announcement from Space Florida: This weekend, Zero-G conducted a research flight from Titusville Airport, featuring 6 local, national and international research teams partially supported through the Space Florida Suborbital Flight Incentive Research Program. The Space Florida Sub-Orbital Flight Incentive Program will provide a partial reimbursement for customers to fly research payloads from Florida, equal to one-third of the published list price of an approved flight provider, up to a […]

This week on The Space Show with David Livingston: 1. Monday, Nov. 18, 2013, 2-3:30 PM PST (5-6:30 PM EST, 4-5:30 PM CST): We welcome DR. YOUNG K. BAE regarding his award winning work with Photonic Laser Thrusters. See www.nasa.gov/spacetech/niac/2013phaseII_bae.html#.UnsFq_mVN8E. 2. CLASSROOM: Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013, 7-8:30 PM PST (10-11:30 PM EST, 9-10:30 PM CST): This is a Space Show Classroom program from 7-9 PM PST featuring Dr. Jim Logan, […]

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

In the era of bell bottoms and Richard Nixon, there was the space shuttle.

When Ronald Reagan ruled the roost, all hope rested in the National Aerospace Plane.

During the Bill Clinton era, there were the X-33 and Venture Star.

In Barack Obama’s first term, the Air Force pursued its Reusable Booster System (RBS).

Five programs. One objective: to radically reduce the cost to orbit. More than $14 billion spent on development. And the result? A super expensive shuttle program. Four vehicles that never flew. And access to space just kept getting more expensive.

Undaunted by these previous failures, the brilliant engineers and scientists at DARPA are once again giving it  the old college try. And this time around, they believe the technology has finally caught up with the ambition of making flying into orbit a daily occurrence.

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NEW YORK, Nov. 15, 2013 (Klee Irwin PR) — Klee Irwin, the Southern California-based entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder/director of Quantum Gravity Research today provided a look into his recent six-figure investment in Moon Express www.MoonExpress.com. Moon Express is a privately funded lunar resource company created to establish new avenues for private space activity beyond near-Earth-orbit. The company is a leading contender for the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize and hopes to become the first private team to land a robot on the Moon.

Irwin commented, “I invested less for financial payoff and more to fund space science and assist in the expansion of Earth-based life and technology into the vast regions beyond Earth.”

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