By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor

At the European Space Agency (ESA) ministerial meeting on Nov. 20-21 in Naples, there was a new flag flying outside. The red-and-white flag of Poland, which had joined space agency the day before, was raised among those of ESA’s other 19 member states.

Poland became the third — and wealthiest — former Eastern Bloc nation to join ESA behind the Czech Republic and Romania.  The nation’s ascendance brought the number of full ESA member states to 20 from the original 10 countries that created the space agency in 1975. Canada is an associate member.

Ten other European nations, nine of which have cooperative agreements with ESA, attended the quadrennial ministerial meeting as observers with hopes of eventually joining the space agency as full members. Behind them, there is another group of 10 countries — most of which are still emerging from the fall of communism two decades ago — that could one day join ESA.

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Ottawa, Ontario (AIAC PR) – The Aerospace Industries of Canada (AIAC) welcomes a report submitted today by Tom Jenkins, Special Advisor to the Minister of PWGSC on leveraging Defence Procurement through Key Industrial Capabilities.

“This report represents an important step in the Government’s efforts to ensure that Canada fully leverages defence procurement,” said Jim Quick, President & CEO of AIAC.

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Sunjammer solar sail. (Credit: L’Garde)

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — The concept of a huge, ultra-thin sail unfurling in space, using the pressure of sunlight to provide propellant-free transport, hovering and exploration capabilities, may seem like the stuff of science fiction, but a NASA research team developing the Technology Demonstration Mission known as Sunjammer (a.k.a., In-Space Demonstration of a Mission-Capable Solar Sail) intend to prove the viability and value of the technology in 2014.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 25, 2013 (Aerojet PR) — Aerojet, a GenCorp company, announced today that it successfully completed fabrication of the jettison motor and recently shipped the first two Crew Module Reaction Control System (CM RCS) pod assemblies for NASA’s Orion spacecraft’s Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1).

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SpaceX conducted a static test on the engines of its Falcon 9 rocket, which is set to launch a Dragon freighter to the International Space Station on Friday. The test occurs at around 2:20 in the above video. It’s difficult to tell from the video, but the test seems somewhat shorter than previous ones. Another curious thing: the test was conducted at 1:30 p.m. EST, which was more than two […]

Credit: Golden Spike Company

By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor

With human flights beyond Earth orbit not expected to occur for at least eight years, the private sector is increasingly eying deep space for a series of ambitious robotic and human missions for both adventure and profit.

Nine programs are currently underway that include robotic and human landings of the moon, human flybys of the moon and Mars, the mining of the moon and asteroids, and even a settlement on Mars. Backers of these initiatives include the X Prize Foundation, Google and its executives, and the world’s first space tourist, Dennis Tito.

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This week on The Space Show…. 1. Monday, Feb. 25, 2013, 2-3:30 PM PST (5-6:30 PM EST, 4-5:30 PM CST): We welcome back DUANE HYLAND of AIAA & JOHN ROSE of Boeing to discuss the AIAA 2013 California Space Day program coming up in March. 2. Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, 7-8:30 PM PST (10-11:30 PM EST, 9-10:30 PM CST): We welcome DR. GEORGE ROBINSON, noted space attorney, back to the […]

Technicians at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, prepare the heat shield for NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), critical hardware to place the Curiosity rover on the red planet last August. This view shows the inner surface of the (MSL) heat shield, where technicians are installing electronics of an instrument for collecting data about temperature and pressure during descent through the (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lockheed Martin)

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — As the New Year unfolds, NASA is looking forward as well as reflecting upon recent payoffs in its portfolio of space technology investments.

“Last year was an amazing year for space technology,” said Michael Gazarik, Director of NASA’s Space Technology Program (STP). “We are developing, testing, and flying technologies in over 800 projects. The technologies we need for tomorrow, we’re building them today.”

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Earlier this month, NASA released its Strategic Space Technology Investment Plan that prioritizes the space technologies the agency considers to be essential to achieve its goals over the next 20 years.  The 92-page plan calls for a balanced series of investments across 14 key technology areas. The document also specifically outlines spending priorities over the next four years, which cover the remainder of the Obama Administration’s term.

The investments are divided into three main categories: core technology (70%), adjacent technology (30%), and complementary technology (10%).  The investments are placed within a larger framework composed of four pillars that describe NASA’s overall goals in space.

The investment categories and pillars are described below in excerpts from the report. You can view the entire report online on NASA’s website.

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Dulles, VA, February 22, 2013 (OSC PR) — Orbital Sciences Corporation, one of the world’s leading space technology companies, today announced it successfully conducted an extended-duration “hot fire” test of the first stage propulsion system of its new Antares™ medium-class rocket. Developed over a four-plus-year period, Antares will be used to launch cargo supply missions to the International Space Station as part of a $1.9 billion contract with NASA.

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