You can read the full story by Alan Boyle and Matt Rivera here. Meanwhile, a team from the University of Michigan’s Aerospace Engineering Department has launched a Kickstarter campaign to develop a plasma thruster capable of sending CubeSats beyond Earth orbit. The team’s partners include Planetary Resources and three NASA centers. We are currently developing the CubeSat Ambipolar Thruster (CAT), a new plasma propulsion system which will push small spacecraft […]
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Doug Messier
Ad Astra Launches VASMIR Kickstarter Ad Astra has launched a Kickstarter fund-raising campaign to raise $46,000 for the creation of a short documentary called “Animating VASIMR®: The Future of Spaceflight.” Falcon Heavy Launches from KSC? Space News reports that SpaceX appears to be the only bidder to take over operations of PAD 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, which NASA used to launch space shuttles: NASA declined to comment on […]
This week on The Space Show with David Livingston: 1. Monday, July 15, 2013, 2-3:30 PM PDT (5-6:30 PM EDT, 4-5:30 PM CDT): We welcome back TOM OLSON & JEFF KRUKIN to tell us about the upcoming NewSpace Business Plan Competition. 2. Tuesday, July 10, 2013, 7-8:30 PM PDT (10-11:30 PM EDT, 9-10:30 PM CDT): We welcome back RAND SIMBERG & BILL SIMON for the Evoloterra Ceremony honoring our first […]
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (July 15, 2013) – A Federal Aviation Administration-led environmental study to address the potential impacts of constructing and operating a commercial launch complex in the general vicinity of the former citrus community known as Shiloh, Fla., will be performed by an independent consultant in accordance with FAA conditions and procedures, the State’s aerospace development organization announced today.
Credit: Houston Airport System
After a two-year study, the Houston Airport Authority (HAS) thinks that Ellington Airport would be an excellent location for a licensed spaceport to support horizontally launched reusable vehicles.
“Our findings revealed that Houston can be a major contender in commercial spaceflight,” according to a PowerPoint presentation given to the Houston City Council’s Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee last week.
If the House’s version of NASA’s budget passes, Administrator Charles Bolden would have 60 days to report back to Congress with five distinct strategies for the final stages of Commercial Crew Program.
Four strategies would be pegged to annual funding levels of $500 million to $800 million over three fiscal years. The fifth option would be one not previously considered that NASA believes is viable and will reduce overall costs.
A note about Plane Crazy Saturday from Cathy Hansen of the Mojave Transportation Museum:
Notice!!! This could be our last Plane Crazy Saturday.
MTM’s Plane Crazy Saturday has been given a one month reprieve, and will be allowed to hold Plane Crazy Saturday on July 20, 2013 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Mojave Air and Space Port.
We have no idea what our fate will be after July, it is all up to the Mojave Air and Space Port Board of Directors and airport management. The airport board meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 16 at 2 p.m. and is open to the public. You are welcome to attend, or write a letter and show your support of this monthly event.
MTM’s only position is that we continue to hold PCS monthly without charge, and if that is not approved by the airport board, then Plane Crazy Saturday ends.
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ORLANDO, FLA., July 11, 2013 (Earthrise Space PR) – Earthrise Space Inc. (ESI), the parent organization of the Omega Envoy team in the $30 million Google Lunar XPRIZE competition, broke the news today that it has officially launched a contest to offer one of its valued fans the truly unprecedented opportunity to claim their own logo space on the outside of ESI’s lunar lander. Carried out exclusively via ESI’s Google+ page, the contest will award the winner with their own 4” x 1.5” section of the side of their lunar lander, to be branded with a graphic of the winner’s choice at no cost.
Video Caption: This time-lapse video shows Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) team attaching the wings and tail of the company’s Dream Chaser flight vehicle May 18. The crew prepared the vehicle for ground and free-flight tests, which are scheduled throughout 2013. SNC is one of only three companies working with NASA to develop space transportation systems capable of flying astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station later […]
Via Midlands Aerospace Alliance
Speaking at the 2013 Paris Air Show, UK Business Minister Michael Fallon officially launched the National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme (NATEP).
Based on the MAA’s 2006-2012 ATEP and an integral part of the UK Aerospace Growth Partnership’s industrial strategy, the £40m [$59.8 million] NATEP will fund 100 new technology projects in the supply chain between 2013 and 2017.