Some interesting activity today in Mojave: WhiteKnightTwo was out flying around solo this morning without SpaceShipTwo. Scaled Composites has a RocketMotorTwo engine out on the test stand along with the mobile nitrous oxide tanker. No word yet on whether they tested earlier today or are still setting up for a hot fire later on. I’ll update this page if hear anything more.
AUTHOR
Doug Messier
Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana gave a spirited defense of NASA’s turn toward commercial space operations earlier this week, saying the space agency would not block a proposed commercial launch complex on land it controls at the Shiloh site:
“If it works out that that’s the right thing to do, we’ll make sure that the land is available for them to do that,” he said.
Asked if NASA was an advocate for the proposed Shiloh launch complex, Cabana said it was a state initiative.
Alan Stern
Editor’s Note: The Space Tech Expo, which runs from May 21-23 in Long Beach, Calif., has published the following Q&A with Golden Spike President and CEO Alan Stern.
Dr Alan Stern, planetary scientist, space program executive, aerospace consultant and author, was elected to be the President and CEO of The Golden Spike Company in 2010. Golden Spike, consisting of former NASA engineers, program managers, Agency executives, and others, is a commercial space corporation planning human lunar expeditions. It made news in December 2012 with its proposal to begin launching passenger flights by 2020, costing $1.5 billion each. In this interview with Space Tech Expo, Dr Stern reveals more details about Golden Spike’s ambitions, why it chose to give crowd funding a chance, and why he believes the entertainment industry is key to the development of future space exploration…
Dream Chaser cockpit simulator. (Credit: Sierra Nevada Corporation)
HAMPTON, Va. (NASA PR) — A group of NASA astronauts will be at NASA’s Langley Research Center this week to fly in a simulator that is being used to help evaluate the subsonic handling characteristics of Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) Space Systems’ Dream Chaser spacecraft.
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SNC’s Dream Chaser test flight craft is hauled across the bed of Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center on May 15. (Credit: NASA/Tom Tschida)
By Candrea Thomas
NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center
Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) Space Systems Dream Chaser flight vehicle arrived at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., Wednesday to begin tests of its flight and runway landing systems.
The tests are part of pre-negotiated, paid-for-performance milestones with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP), which is facilitating U.S.-led companies’ development of spacecraft and rockets that can launch from American soil. The overall goal of CCP is to achieve safe, reliable and cost-effective U.S. human access to and from the International Space Station and low-Earth orbit.
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Credit: Paramount Pictures
WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — The director, a writer and some actors in the film “Star Trek Into Darkness” will join NASA as it hosts a Google+ Hangout from noon to 12:45 p.m. EDT, May 16, about how work aboard the International Space Station is turning science fiction into reality.
Google+ Hangouts allow as many as 10 people or groups to chat face-to-face, while thousands more can tune in to watch the conversation live on Google+ or YouTube.
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MOJAVE, CA (XCOR PR) — For the length of the Next Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (June 3-5) in Broomfield, CO, XCOR will offer a special 2 for 1 deal on all payload purchases. This offer is exclusive to conference attendees.
Virgin Galactic’s newest pilots, Frederick “CJ” Sturckow and Michael “Sooch” Masucci, have been getting some time flying on WhiteKnightTwo. Flight: 119 Date: 14 May 13 Flight Time: 1.3 hr WK2 Pilot: Sturckow WK2 CoPilot: Stucky WK2 FTE: Bassett Objectives: VG pilot training Results: Objective achieved. Flight: 118 Date: 09 May 13 Flight Time: 1.9 hr WK2 Pilot: Stucky WK2 CoPilot: Sturckow WK2 FTE: Gillen Objectives: VG pilot training Results: Objective […]
BOULDER, CO, May 15, 2013 (Golden Spike PR) – Golden Spike, the first company planning to undertake human lunar expeditions for countries and corporations around the world, announced today that legendary astronaut and Apollo 13 Commander Jim Lovell has joined its Board of Advisors.
Capt. Lovell, a former Naval aviator and test pilot, is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Lovell is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon, was the first of only three people to fly to the Moon twice, and was the first person to fly in space four times.
Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center
May 6, 2013 (FSDC PR) – Amid increasing competition from other states and nations for space-related economic development, the Florida Legislature stepped up yet again to expand and diversify the state’s aerospace industry. In total, the Legislature approved over $43 million in space-related investments for the 2013-2014 fiscal year.
“The Florida Space Development Council appreciates the Legislature’s dedication to positioning our state for an exciting future of space exploration and enterprise,” said FSDC President Laura Seward. “We especially want to thank those legislators who led the charge on specific initiatives, like Rep. Steve Crisafulli, Sen. Andy Gardiner, Sen. Dorothy Hukill, Sen. Thad Altman, Rep. Will Weatherford, Sen. Don Gaetz, and Rep. Debbie Mayfield.”