AUTHOR
Doug Messier
The Robotic Refueling Mission, or RRM, investigation (center, on platform) uses the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 and the Canadian Dextre robot (right) to demonstrate satellite-servicing tasks. (Credit: NASA/CSA)
By Adrienne Alessandro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Following six historic days of operations aboard the International Space Station, NASA’s Robotic Refueling Mission, or RRM, demonstrated remotely controlled robots using current-day technology could refuel satellites not designed to be serviced.
“To fully develop the network of organizations from academia and industry (including for-profit and non-profit organizations) with similar and complementary interests in the research conducted under the COE CST, the FAA is releasing this solicitation for organizations who wish to join the COE CST to conduct research as an Affiliate University Member or an Affiliate Industry Member.”
Just heard via Jack Kennedy at Spaceports blog that the planned hotfire of Antares dual AJ-26 engines was aborted this evening. The test had already been postponed from Monday evening. The test is crucial to getting the first Antares off the ground. That flight should follow four to six weeks after a successful hot fire.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL. (February 13, 2013) – The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), the nonprofit organization promoting and managing research on board the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory, today announced it will provide up to $100,000 in grant funding for qualified research projects as part of its partnership with the “MassChallenge Startup Accelerator.”
Plans to pave a road that would provide more direct access to Spaceport America from Las Cruces have hit a snag over design and budget issues.
Engineers in Doña Ana County did a design for the project, which involves paving 23.7 miles of dirt road between the village of Hatch and the spaceport. However, officials in Sierra County — where 16.7 miles of the paving would be done — don’t like the plan because they believe the road would be too expensive to maintain once paved.
BOULDER, CO, February 13, 2013 (Golden Spike PR) – Golden Spike – a private company led by former NASA executives offering human expeditions to the Moon for nations, corporations, and individuals – today kicked off a 10-week Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to raise $240,000 – representing each mile on the way to the Moon.The drive aims to raise awareness about Golden Spike, accelerate Golden Spike’s plans for innovative public participation in its activities, and give the global community of space enthusiasts and the general public a chance to help fuel Golden Spike’s human Lunar exploration mission.
ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter performing a cell experiment aboard the International Space Station. (Credit: ESA)
PARIS, ESA PR (4 February 2013) — Living in space weakens astronauts’ immune systems, researchers have discovered. The findings are providing clues on how to tackle diseases on Earth before symptoms appear.
Ever since the first humans ventured into space we have known that astronauts can suffer from common infections that would be quickly dealt with by healthy people on Earth. Until now, it was not clear what was blocking astronauts’ immune systems from working normally.
Proton rocket
Reston, VA, February 12, 2013 (ILS PR) — The International Launch Servies (ILS) Failure Review Oversight Board (FROB) concluded its review on February 7, concurring on the most probable root cause and the associated corrective action plan of the December 8, 2012 anomaly of the Yamal 402 Proton launch. The FROB analyzed the findings and recommendations of the Russian working group, which included participation from experts from TsNIIMash (Central Scientific Research Institute of Machine Building), M.V. Keldysh Research Center and Khrunichev State Research and Space Production Center (Khrunichev).
The members of the FROB agreed with the findings of the Russian investigation that the most probable root cause of the failure was due to a combination of adverse conditions which affected the operation of the Breeze M main engine during the startup of the 3rd burn causing damage to a bearing on the oxidizer side of the turbo pump.
Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center
By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor
For a country that had a mere 13 orbital launches last year and a handful of suborbital ones, the United States certainly has an embarrassments of riches in terms of places from which to launch.
The nation has 18 launch sites and spaceports in eight states and one foreign country (Marshall Islands). That doesn’t include Sea Launch, a company that launches from an ocean platform in international waters using a U.S. based platform. And if that wasn’t already enough, there are 10 more proposed facilities that are under consideration or being actively pursued by different entities.
So, whenever companies can actually start increasing the rates for orbital and suborbital flights, the country’s ready to accommodate it. In the meantime, we’ve got a lot of underutilized infrastructure.