The normally staid Daily Mail has gone all ga ga over a recent proposal to build a spaceport in the United Kingdom.  For some odd reason, the sober-minded newspaper seems particularly excited by visions of Britain becoming a mecca for glamorous celebrities flying into space aboard Sir Richard Branson’s SpaceShipTwo.

It’s an alluring vision for the future — one that has already captivated people in numerous places in the United States and elsewhere, who all want spaceports of their own. As with many alluring visions, however, reality is not nearly as attractive.

(more…)

BRASILIA, Brazil (AEB PR)  — The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) recently proposed in Bogotá, Colombia, the creation of a Latin American Alliance of Space Agencies (ALAS).

The proposal was presented by the head of the Office of International Cooperation, José Monserrat Filho, who was in the country to attend the preparatory meeting of space agencies and commissions in Latin America, the Sergio Arboleda University, and the International Workshop on Space Law and Sovereignty, promoted the Colombian Space Commission, linked to the vice-presidency of the Republic and the Colombian Air Force.

(more…)

Atlas V with MAVEN aboard on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral. (Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)

LATEST UPDATES:

Monday Morning

The launch teams are starting the steps to load about 50,000 gallons of liquid oxygen into the first stage of the Atlas V. The lines and tanks have been chilled to accept the minus-297 degree propellant. About 26,000 gallons of refined kerosene, or RP-1, flowed into the first stage fuel tanks during the wet dress rehearsal a couple of weeks ago. Since kerosene doesn’t have to be kept cold the way the cryogenic liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fuel for the Centaur do, the fuel stayed inside the Atlas tank.

Weather Forecast Remains 60 Percent “Go”
November 17, 2013 – 9:45 AM EST

Forecasters from the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron continue to predict a 60 percent chance of favorable weather for the launch of NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft at 1:28 p.m. EST Monday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 41. MAVEN is scheduled to liftoff atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V at the beginning of a two hour launch window. Teams are working no technical issues and the countdown is targeted to pick up from the T-6 hour, 20 minute mark at 6:28 a.m. Monday.

NASA Public Viewing Events

Five NASA centers in Washington, Maryland, Mississippi, Alabama and West Virginia will host events and activities Monday, Nov. 18, for the public to view the launch of the agency’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft and learn about its mission.

(more…)

Engineer concept for Chinese space station. (Credit: CNSA)

China has provided the most detailed plans yet for its planned multi-module space station, which is scheduled to begin full operations in the early 2020’s. Irene Klotz of Space News reports:

China is positioning itself to provide orbital laboratory space, experiment racks and facilities to scientists worldwide following the completion of the U.S.-led international space station program.

(more…)

LONDON (UK Space Leadership Council PR)  — The UK space sector has set out a plan to deliver new jobs and growth for the sector, with a goal of growing the UK share of the global space market to capture 8% by 2020.

The Action Plan published today comes three years after the Space Innovation & Growth Strategy (IGS), published in February 2010. The Action Plan proposes measures designed to enable the UK to develop an even more supportive business environment, in which space companies can deliver growth and benefit to the national economy.

(more…)

Launch of Atlas V NRO satellite on June 20, 2012. (Credit: ULA)

The numbers are impressive.

• 6 launches
• 6 launch vehicles
• ~ 40 satellites
• 5 spaceports
• 4 nations
• 7 days.

That is the week in rocketry that will begin on Monday. The highlights include:

• NASA’s MAVEN orbiter will study Mars’ atmosphere and climate (Monday, Nov. 18 at 1:28 p.m. EST — Cape Canaveral, Florida );
• Minotaur I will set a new record for the number of satellites launched into space with by sending the military’s STPSat 3 and 29 CubeSats into orbit (Tuesday, Nov. 19 from 7:30 to 9:15 pm EST — Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Virginia);
• SpaceX will attempt to put its first communications satellite into geosynchronous orbit using its upgraded Falcon 9 rocket (Monday, Nov. 25 at 5:37 pm EST — Cape Canaveral, Florida).

Three additional launches will take place from Russia and Kazakhstan over that 7-day period. A table with all scheduled launches is below along with a map showing East Coast residents how they can view Minotaur I’s night launch on Tuesday.

(more…)

Artist’s impression of Ariane 6. (Credit: ESA)

PARIS, 11 November 2013 (ESA PR) — The preliminary requirements for Europe’s next-generation Ariane 6 launcher have been agreed and the project is set to move on to the next stage.

In November 2012, the ESA Council at Ministerial level, meeting in Naples, Italy, approved the start of preparatory activities for Europe’s next-generation Ariane 6 launch vehicle.

(more…)

From left, Expedition 38 Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA, smile and wave as they hold an Olympic torch that will be flown with them to the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA/Bill Ingals)

ISS Science Highlights: Week of Nov. 4, 2013
By John Love, Lead Increment Scientist
Expedition 37/38

Three Expedition 38 crew members — NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio, Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin and JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata — launched to the International Space Station on Nov. 6 for a five-and-a-half-month mission. The crew took with them the Olympic torch that will be used to light the Olympic flame at Fisht Stadium in Sochi, Russia, to mark the start of the 2014 Winter Games.

(more…)

View from the International Space Station of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as the robotic arm moves Dragon into place for attachment to the station May 25, 2012. (Credit: NASA)

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — Engineers and safety specialists from NASA and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) met in late October to review the safety of the Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket being developed to launch humans into low-Earth orbit later this decade.

The detailed overview of safety practices the company is implementing was a major milestone for SpaceX under a funded Space Act Agreement with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP).

(more…)