Any group that attempts to colonize Mars will need to be very, very good with numbers. They will need good mathematical skills to figure out trajectories, entry paths, landing velocity, consumables per person, and a whole host of things that will determine success or failure.

So, if you see a group dedicated to Mars colonization that is playing fast and loose with the numbers, be wary. Be very, very wary.

Which brings us to Mars One and its ebullient founder, Bas Lansdorp.

“In the 5 month application period, Mars One received interest from 202,586 people from around the world, wanting to be amongst the first human settlers on Mars,” the group boasted in a press release published on Monday.

Two hundred thousand people. Wow, that sounds incredible, doesn’t it? Actually, it does, with an emphasis on the “in”.

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Launch Pad 39A with the space shuttle Endeavour. (Credit: NASA)

Florida Today reports Blue Origin has filed a formal protest over what it says is a plan by NASA to award an exclusive commercial lease to SpaceX for use of mothballed space shuttle launch pad 39A.

Blue Origin of Kent, Wash., had proposed to take over and modify pad 39A to support launches by multiple rocket companies, though its own orbital launch vehicle won’t be ready until 2018.

The protest could impact who ultimately uses the pad, but at a minimum will delay any lease award until the GAO reaches a decision, expected by mid-December.

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TOKYO (JAXA PR) — The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) decided to postpone the launch of the first Epsilon Launch Vehicle (Epsilon-1) with the Spectroscopic Planet Observatory for Recognition of Interaction of Atmosphere (SPRINT-A) onboard on August 27 from the Uchinoura Space Center. As a result of our cause investigation of the postponement and re-examination of the Epsilon-1, the new launch date will be September 14, 2013 (Japan Standard Time) […]

This week on The Space Show with David Livingston: 1. Monday, Sept. 9, 2013, 2-3:30 PM PDT (5-6:30 PM EDT, 4-5:30 PM CDT): No show today as I am at the AIAA Space 2013 Conference in San Diego.. 2. Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013, 7-8:30 PM PDT (10-11:30 PM EDT, 9-10:30 PM CDT): No show today as I am at the AIAA Space 2013 Conference in San Diego. 3. Friday, Sept. […]

Student NewSpace Business Plan Competition
SpaceVision 2013 Conference
November 8, 2013
Tempe, AZ

The Student NewSpace Business Plan Competition seeks out proposals for space industry or space-scalable businesses from students who would like to pitch their idea to NewSpace investors and business leaders. This competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students from any university or college and more than one team is allowed from each university.

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SkyLiberty, a new electronic flight bag for pilots of light aircraft, is being developed by the Belgian ESA Business Incubation Centre start-up company ESNAH. Nicolas Hanse is the company’s concept manager. (Credit: ESNAH sprl)

PARIS (ESA PR) — When it comes to innovation, the sky is not the limit – this month sees the 200th new start-up company launched through ESA’s Business Incubation Centres.

Whether it’s for quick mapping of disaster-stricken areas by crowdsourcing, offering smarter transportation solutions, alternative energy handling or improving production technologies, these start-ups benefit local economies while promoting the use of space technology in terrestrial applications.

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L. Brad King’s prototype of a ferrofluid ion thruster. When subjected to voltage, the points of the crown arise from a ring-shaped trench circling a one-inch block of aluminum. (Credit: Sarah Bird)

By Marcia Goodrich
Michigan Technological University

August 27, 2013 — Nanosatellites are smartphone-sized spacecraft that can perform simple, yet valuable, space missions. Dozens of these little vehicles are now tirelessly orbiting the earth performing valuable functions for NASA, the Department of Defense and even private companies.

Nanosatellites borrow many of their components from terrestrial gadgets: miniaturized cameras, wireless radios and GPS receivers that have been perfected for hand-held devices are also perfect for spacecraft. However, according to Michigan Technological University’s L. Brad King, there is at least one technology need that is unique to space: “Even the best smartphones don’t have miniaturized rocket engines, so we need to develop them from scratch.”

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A Scaled employee stands atop his car with a camera at the end of Runway 12/30 prior to WhiteKnightTwo’s takeoff. (Credit: Douglas Messier)

As we did for the previous powered flight in April, photographer Ken Brown and I staked out a position outside the airport fence at the end of Runway 12/30. Test flights usually take off at around 7 a.m., but a technical problem delayed departure by about an hour. As we waited, the desert began to quickly heat up. Temperatures would rise to nearly 100 F later in the day. (more…)

NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) successfully launched on a Minataur V rocket Friday night from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The mission will orbit the moon to gather detailed information about the lunar atmosphere, conditions near the surface and environmental influences on lunar dust. The flight appeared to have gone nominally, with all five solid stages of the booster performing as designed. Spacecraft separation appeared to […]