It is the Labor Day weekend here in the United States, which is an occasion for all of us laborers to not do any work and enjoy one last gasp of summer. I have escaped the Mojave Desert for a few days up in the higher and cooler environs of Lake Arrowhead. (No, that’s not Arrowhead in the picture, it’s Emerald Bay on Lake Tahoe in winter — hence the […]
AUTHOR
Doug Messier
Description: Europe’s newest spacecraft, the IXV, or Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, has moved a step closer to its planned launch in 2014.
The craft completed a pre-launch test off the coast of Sardinia, which involved it being dropped into the Mediterranean from a height of 3,000 metres.
The Russian government plans to consolidate its space sector in an open joint stock company called the United Rocket and Space Corporation in a way that would preserve and enhance the Roscosmos space agency, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said. In a recent Q&A with Kommersant, Russia’s space czar said President Vladimir Putin had approved the plan, which had been put forward by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, at a meeting […]
Virgin Galactic Career Fair Career Fair will showcase open positions with in-person and virtual participation opportunities. WHAT: Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceline and flagship of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, along with its sister space vehicle manufacturing organization, The Spaceship Company, are hosting a career fair in Mojave, Calif., and online to expand their best-in-class teams. More than 100 positions are available for innovative engineers, procurement gurus, superstar […]
ISRO Mission Update
The launch of GSLV-D5 (with Indian Cryogenic Stage), scheduled for 16:50 hrs on August 19, 2013, had to be called off due to a leak observed in the UH25 Fuel system of the Liquid Second Stage, during the last lap of the countdown.
At the time of calling off the Countdown, the GSLV Vehicle was loaded with 210 tons of liquid and cryogenic propellants. About 750 kg of UH25 Fuel had leaked out, leading to contamination of the area around the launch pad.
Washington D.C. (CSF PR) — Commercial Spaceflight Federation President Michael Lopez-Alegria will be moderating an all-astronaut panel on Wednesday, September 4th at 5PM CDT as part of a three-day long meeting of commercial space industry leaders in the Houston area. The Director of Aviation for the City of Houston, Mario Diaz, will be opening the panel with remarks on the progress of establishing Ellington Airport as a spaceport. The panel will take place at Space Center Houston and will be webcast live from https://www.commercialspaceflight.org. The event is open to public in Houston and tweeted questions will be taken from space enthusiasts around the world.
The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket is seen on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) Pad-0A at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Tuesday, April 16, 2013 in Virginia. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
RICHMOND, VA (Office of Bob McDonnell PR) — Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and Alaska Governor Sean Parnell jointly announced today the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a formal operating relationship between the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority (VCSFA) and the Alaska Aerospace Corporation (AAC).
BOULDER, Colo. (SAS PR) — Special Aerospace Services (SAS), a leader in aerospace systems engineering solutions, announced on August 28, 2013 that it has signed a teaming agreement with the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research at the University of Colorado Boulder. The agreement will leverage talent and technical expertise between the two organizations.
The NIAC SpiderFab project is developing technologies to enable robotic spacecraft to fabricate giant
antennas, solar arrays, and telescopes in space. (Credit: TUI)
Bothell, WA, 29 August 2013 (TUI PR) – NASA announced today that the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program has selected Tethers Unlimited, Inc. (TUI) for award of a $500,000 Phase II contract to continue
development of its “SpiderFab™” technologies for in space fabrication of spacecraft components.
WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA has selected six technology proposals for continued study under the agency’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program.
The proposals selected for Phase 2 of the 2013 NIAC Program address a range of visionary concepts including photonic laser thrusters, extreme sample return, and innovative spherical robots designed for planetary exploration. NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate based the selections on their potential to transform future aerospace missions, introduce new capabilities, or significantly improve current approaches to building and operating aerospace systems.