Constellations, Launch, New Space and more…
AUTHOR
Doug Messier
Brazil Chases ISU Back to France

The International Space University has decided to shift its summer session from Brazil to its main campus in Strasbourg, France, due to a sudden and unexpected increase in hotel costs. The university was to have held the event at the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) campus in São José dos Campos, Brazil, beginning on June 17.  (More like a winter session, actually, if I understand the Earth’s rotation around […]

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  • February 11, 2013
X Prizers Storm Into Mojave in Style — With Seth Green!
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Seth Green climbs the Rotary Rocket vehicle King Kong style. (Credit: Steve Jurvetson)

The X Prize Adventure + Innovation group, which has been running around touring adventurous and innovative places and talking to the people who make those places so very…well…awesome, stormed into Mojave this morning. The group’s six private business jets were parked on the tarmac in front of the Voyager restaurant for most of the day.

The group included, among others, venture capitalist and total space geek Steve Jurvetson and “Austin Powers” star Seth Green, who preceded to climb up the side of the Rotary Rocket vehicle located outside the administration building.  Jurvetson posted the above photo and others on his Flickr feed.

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  • February 11, 2013
NASA Unveils Strategic Space Technology Investment Plan

NASA LOGOWASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA’s Strategic Space Technology Investment Plan has been posted to the agency’s website. The comprehensive strategic plan prioritizes space technologies essential to the pursuit of NASA’s mission and achievement of national goals.

The NASA Strategic Space Technology Investment Plan was created following development of a series of agency draft Space Technology Roadmaps. After careful review of the roadmaps by the National Research Council, with input from the public and key stakeholders, NASA finalized this new investment plan. It provides guidance for NASA’s space technology investments during the next four years, within the context of a 20-year horizon. The plan will be updated approximately every two years, as appropriate, to meet agency and national needs.

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  • February 11, 2013
Astrobotic Leads NASA Study to Keep Planetary Rovers Driving

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PITTSBURGH, PA – FEB 11, 2013 (Astrobotic PR) — 
William “Red” Whittaker, CEO, and Kevin Peterson, Director of Guidance, Navigation, and Control will lead a NASA-funded study to figure out how robots, such as the Mars rover Curiosity, can avoid becoming stuck by sinking in loose sand or similarly hard to distinguish terrain hazards.

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  • February 11, 2013
The Space Show Schedule

This week on The Space Show with David Livingston…. 1. Monday, Feb. 11, 2013, 2-3:30 PM PST (5-6:30 PM EST, 4-5:30 PM CST): We welcome back DR. JIM WERTZ of Microcosm, Inc. Our discussion will focus on Reinventing Space — Methods for Dramatically Reducing Space Mission Cost and Schedule, including a USC graduate course, the AIAA course in May, and a new joint Microcosm/USC Reinventing Space Project. 2. Tuesday, Feb. […]

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  • February 11, 2013
A Closer Look at Chinese Launch Activities in 2012

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China was in second place in 2012 in terms of both launches (19) and payloads orbited (30). That record put it just behind Russia and ahead of the United States. One of those launches involved a three-person crew sent to the Tiangong-1 space station.

The following look at Chinese launch activities is excerpted from the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation’s new report, “The Annual Compendium of Commercial Space Transportation: 2012.” The excerpt includes a summary of 2012 launch activities, closer looks at the Long March 2 and 3 rockets, and a summary of the Long March 5, 6 and 7 launch vehicles now under development.

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  • February 11, 2013
Brazil Scales Back Launch Vehicle Plans

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By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor

Brazil has come out with a new strategic plan to guide its space efforts through 2021 that involves a significant change in its effort to develop a domestic satellite launch industry.

Brazil has scaled back an ambitious Southern Cross development program to focus on a series of smaller launch vehicles that appear to rely more on home-grown technology. The country also has forged a cooperative arrangement with Germany to develop a dedicated micro-satellite launch vehicle. Meanwhile, Brazil is continuing work on launching Ukraine’s Cyclone-4 rocket from the Alcantara Launch Center in 2014.
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  • February 10, 2013
New Citizen Astronaut Candidates Announced
Michael Johnson and Ed Wright. (Credit: Citizens in Space)

Michael Johnson and Ed Wright. (Credit: Citizens in Space)

Houston, Feb. 8, 2010 (Citizens in Space PR) – Citizens in Space, a project of the United States Rocket Academy, announced two astronaut candidates at the Space Exploration Educators Conference, which took place here today.

Citizen-astronaut candidate Maureen Adams, who has been in training for three years, announced the new additions.

“As a citizen of Texas, I take special pride in making this announcement,” Adams said. “Today we are expanding our astronaut corps to four, as Michael Johnson and Edward Wright, both from Texas, join our training program.”

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  • February 9, 2013
Antares Hot Fire Test Set for Tuesday Evening

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WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. (NASA PR) – NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility will provide launch range support for an Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares rocket engine test scheduled for Feb. 12 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A.

The window for the engine test, or hot fire, is 6- 9 p.m. EST.
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  • February 9, 2013