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AUTHOR
Doug Messier
Dear Congress: Above is an image of a Russian Proton rocket crashing right after launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Tuesday. This is simply the latest launch failure to bedevil the increasingly decrepit Russian space program over the last couple of years. The Russians also happen to provide the only access for our astronauts to the International Space Station. This is a situation you have extended by underfunding NASA’s commercial […]
Bellevue, Washington, July 1, 2013 (Planetary Resources PR) – Planetary Resources, Inc., the asteroid mining company, successfully completed its crowdfunding campaign yesterday to launch ARKYD – the world’s first public space telescope. Over the course of the 33-day campaign, the company generated support from more than 17,600 backers who pledged US$1,505,366 for the cause. This marks the most successful crowdfunding effort for a space project and ranks the ARKYD campaign among the top 25 projects in Kickstarter history.
Aviation Week has updates [here and here] on the three competitors in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Brief summaries follow. Boeing The company is a third of the way through 13 key milestones for 2013. It has 19 milestones to complete by next spring. Boeing is planning to launch the CST-100 spacecraft on a three-day test flight in 2016. The first two CST-100 spacecraft will be launched on Atlas V. However, […]
There’s a brand new space-related Kickstarter campaign that began last week. The description on the page reads: Have you ever dreamt of exploring the solar system with your own spacecraft? Well finally you can! We’ve developed a very low cost, open source, open access, mass space exploration system that anyone can use, and we need your help to send your very own Pocket Spacecraft, and thousands of others, on a […]
This bit of news came in an email from Chris Lewicki during the closing hours of Planetary Resources’ Kickstarter campaign: We are pleased to announce that Sir Richard Branson has joined Planetary Resources’ core group of investors. “I’m excited to be part of the Planetary Resources’ team working on extracting precious minerals from near Earth asteroids. The only way to truly explore our Solar System is to develop the technology and means to sustain […]
Atlanta, GA, 1 July 2013 (GO PR) — Generation Orbit Launch Services, Inc. (GO) is pleased to welcome Mr. Max Vozoff to the GO team as Senior Business Strategist. In this capacity, Mr. Vozoff will aid in the organization of business development, technical innovation, and risk management strategies. As GO moves forward with development of its GOLauncher 1 and GOLauncher 2 launch vehicles for small payloads, expansion of strategic relationships across the industry value chain will be key in guiding the organization’s success.
This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston: 1. Monday, July 1, 2013, 2-3:30 PM PDT (5-6:30 PM EDT, 4-5:30 PM CDT): We welcome back DR. MARCELO VAZQUEZ to discuss space radiation, especially issues relevant to HSF travel to Mars. 2. Tuesday, July 2, 2013, 7-8:30 PM PDT (10-11:30 PM EDT, 9-10:30 PM CDT): We welcome DR. PAUL ABEL of the BBC program, The Sky At Night. Visit […]
Skylon precooler test. (Credit: Reaction Engines)
Plymouth, England (Fine Tubes PR) — Fine Tubes a leading metal tubes manufacturer specialising in the aerospace, medical, chemical process, nuclear, power and oil and gas sectors has cause to celebrate as a 10 year project sees results.
After a decade of work with Reaction Engines – developers of Skylon, one of the world’s first reusable space planes – Fine Tubes can announce that testing of its contribution has been a success.
An adapter is lowered onto a ULA Delta IV test article for a fit check June 26 at the Marshall Center. (Credit: NASA/MSFC/Fred Deaton)
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (NASA PR) — It was a good fit for a spacecraft adapter and a Delta IV test article, as two critical elements of Exploration Flight Test-1 were successfully connected during a fit check June 26 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
The adapter will join the Orion spacecraft to a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV rocket which is being constructed at ULA’s facility in Decatur, Ala., and will launch Orion on the 2014 flight test.