NASA has selected nine research teams from seven states for a new institute that will bring researchers together in a collaborative virtual setting to focus on questions concerning space science and human space exploration.

The teams participating in the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) will address scientific questions about the moon, near-Earth asteroids, the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos, and their near space environments, in cooperation with international partners.

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Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides addressed a gathering of the Association of Science Writers on Sunday in Gainesville, Fla.

Congratulations to India, which launched its first spacecraft to the Red Planet on Tuesday. The Mars Orbiter Mission will arrive at its destination next September. It will explore the planet with five instruments.

Via NASA SpaceX is deep into the production of the Dragon spacecraft that will be used to demonstrate the craft’s launch abort abilities during a test launch next year. The ability of a spacecraft to escape from an emergency situation at the launch pad or during ascent into space is a major priority for the next generation of American spacecraft now under development in partnership with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. […]

Mars Orbiter Mission Spacecraft attached to the 4th stage of PSLV-C25 and ready for heat shield closure. (Credit: ISRO)

On Tuesday, India will launch its first mission to the Red Planet, the Mars Orbiter Mission. The spacecraft will study the planet from a highly elliptical orbit of 377 x 80,000 km using five instruments.

This is only the second time that ISRO’s has sent a spacecraft beyond Earth orbit, the first being the Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter.Only the United States, Soviet Union and Europe have successfully sent spacecraft to Mars.

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I’ve been taking a look at the FAA’s “Draft Established Practices for Human Space Flight Occupant Safety” document since it was released, and I have to confess it has left me a bit puzzled.

It’s not the content that’s confusing; it’s actually very easy to understand. The problem has been figuring out how to make the material interesting. The document is drier than the Mojave in July.

I finally realized that the most interesting aspects are probably the things the FAA has decided are not established practices to safeguard space travelers. Like pressure suits. And launch escape systems. And defined standards to make sure occupants are healthy enough to fly.

In other words, the very things that have been baked into national space programs for more than 50 years.

Welcome to the NewSpace Age. It sure ain’t your father’s space program.

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November 4th, 2013, Seattle, WA  (Spaceflight/NanoRacks PR) — Spaceflight Inc. (Spaceflight), a leading provider of launch services for small and secondary payloads, and NanoRacks LLC (NanoRacks), a leader in commercializing space operations on and deployment from the International Space Station, formally announce a partnership to provide commercial launch services from the International Space Station (ISS).

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This week on The Space Show with David Livingston: 1. Monday, Nov. 4, 2013, 2-3:30 PM PDT (5-6:30 PM EDT, 4-5:30 PM CDT): No show due to final moving and relocation matters. I don’t foresee the need for additional downtime after today. 2. Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, 7-8:30 PM PDT (10-11:30 PM EDT, 9-10:30 PM CDT): We welcome DR. TAYLOR DARK for regarding his work on space advocacy. For more […]

Dr. Mehran Anvari, chief executive officer and scientific director at the Centre for Surgical Invention and Innovation, with the Image-Guided Autonomous Robot (IGAR) manipulator.
(Credit: The Hamilton Spectator)

By Jessica Eagan
International Space Station Program Science Office
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center

We may not be driving flying cars to work yet, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a lot to be excited about from technology advances related to the space age. Instead of zipping past traffic jams, International Space Station-derived robotic capabilities are giving us a fast pass to life-saving surgical techniques with cancer-fighting finesse.

According to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 232,340 women and 2,240 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer by the end of 2013 alone. From that, about 39,620 women and 410 men will not survive.

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After an extensive series of renovations, the Mojave Air and Space Port’s Pool Building on Poole Street (no relation) has begun hosting events. Last week, it played host to a team of wranglers taking a group of 100 mules through Antelope Valley to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. (The mules stayed outside.) The Pool Building was used for training aviators when the spaceport was a military […]