An announcement from the Virgin Group: Virgin Unite are excited to announce a Google Hangout with some of the greatest innovators of our time, Elon Musk and Richard Branson, in a conversation moderated by Googler Yonca Brunini. They’ll discuss entrepreneurship, space travel, and advice for entrepreneurs around the world. They’ll take questions from entrepreneurs at tech hubs like the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship South Africa, Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship – Caribbean, and […]
AUTHOR
Doug Messier
Artist concept of the SLS in flight. (Credit: NASA)
By Megan Davidson
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) Program recently completed its preliminary design review, commonly referred to as PDR. A quick inquiry of “What is PDR?” on a search engine pulls up everything from dent repairs to a physicians’ reference guide on prescription medications. So, what exactly is PDR when you’re talking about building the world’s most powerful rocket? And why is it important to the future of space missions? It’s a lot more complex than its abbreviated moniker suggests.
Centennial, Colo., Aug. 5, 2013 (ULA PR) – NASA’s Launch Services Program announced today that it selected United Launch Alliance’s (ULA’s) proven Atlas V vehicle to launch the Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS Rex) mission, which will be the first U.S. mission to carry samples from an asteroid back to Earth.
Abingdon, England (Reaction Engines PR) — Reaction Engines Ltd have signed a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) for a €1 million ($1.33 million) study into the next European Launch System.
The “Skylon-based European Launch Service Operator” contract has been finalised by the Launcher Directorate of the European Space Agency in Paris, France and work has started to study how the SKYLON spaceplane can meet Europe’s Space access demands in terms of cost, flexibility and responsiveness, from the early 2020’s.
NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver talks during a press conference with Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser spacecraft in the background on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2011, at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser spacecraft is under development with support from NASA’s Commercial Crew Development Program to provide crew transportation to and from low Earth orbit. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Aviation Week takes a closer look at Deputy Administrator Lori Garver’s impending Sept. 6 departure from NASA. Frank Morring, Jr. notes that Garver has been the major driver behind the agency’s controversial push for commercial space activities as well as the plan to capture an asteroid and have astronauts visit it. He also notes the following:
Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot, the agency’s No. 3 manager and top-ranking civil servant, is a likely possibility to fill Garver’s post on an acting basis until the White House can nominate another political appointee….
Garver’s departure will come on the heels of Elizabeth Robinson, the agency’s chief financial officer, who has been named under secretary of energy. Robinson and Garver were staunch allies in the often-heated management policy debates that pitted them against more traditional NASA managers, including Administrator Charles Bolden.
The announcement of Garver’s departure has already caused consternation among her supporters in the NewSpace community, who are losing their highest ranked advocate at the space agency at a critical time when Congress and the White House are at loggerheads over the space agency’s funding and direction.
Seattle, WA, 6 AUGUST 2013 (Andrews PR) — Andrews Space (Andrews) today announced that it has signed a contract with an undisclosed customer to deliver two Earth imaging microsatellites in 2014.
SCOUT is a low cost, high performance imaging spacecraft based on the SENTRY 4000 microsatellite bus. Each SCOUT spacecraft relies heavily on products and components designed and built by Andrews Space integrated with a payload provided by an external partner. The satellite design is robust to allow for launch as a secondary payload on a variety of launch vehicles in either a vertical or cantilevered configuration.
Join Rob Rishop of the Raspberry Pi Foundation on Aug. 19 in Mojave and learn about the Raspberry Pi – a credit-card sized, $25 GNU/Linux computer that can be used for teaching, embedded applications, or even as a tiny alternative to a desktop PC for light workloads. Bring your Raspberry Pi projects and share them with other Rob, the Mojave Makers, and other attendees. Mojave Junior/Senior High School 15732 O […]
Armadillo Aerospace and Space Adventures had grand plans for a suborbital tourism vehicle that seem quite distant now with John Carmack’s announcement that his rocket building company has run out of money. Here’s a bit of pre-hibernation nostalgia for those who remember those optimistic days. For others who are just joining us, here’s what the present was supposed to look like. More evidence, if anyone needed it, that the future […]
BOCA RATON, Fla. & SAN DIEGO (ZGSI PR)– Zero Gravity Solutions, Inc., trading symbol PK: ZGSI.PK, announced today that Dr. Michael Wiskerchen has joined the Company’s senior management team as Vice President, Spaceflight Operations.
Dr. Wiskerchen, an internationally recognized senior member of the NASA space flight team, will be responsible for the organization and management of ZGSI’s upcoming International Space Station (ISS) space flight program. He will build upon the Company’s IP and research from six previous NASA-enabled flights to the ISS. Dr. Wiskerchen has spent the last several years developing public/private partnerships involving space-related research and commercial programs on the ISS.
Lori Garver with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson at Spaceport America.
WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — The following are statements from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren about NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver’s announced departure from the agency, effective Sept. 6.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden: “I have had the pleasure and honor of working side by side with Lori for the past four years, as we sought to position the agency for 21st century spaceflight, scientific discovery and deep space exploration. She has been an indispensable partner in our efforts to keep NASA on a trajectory of progress and innovation. In a time of great change and challenge, she has been a remarkable leader who has consistently shown great vision and commitment to NASA and the aerospace industry.