Seattle, WA, 31 January 2013 (Andrews Space PR) — Andrews Space (Andrews) announced today that they have been funded by the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command to design and deliver a Kestrel Eye Block 2 Earth imaging spacecraft as part of the Army’s Kestrel Eye program.

Under the current effort, known as Kestrel Eye Block 2, Andrews will develop, build and deliver an Earth imaging nanosatellite.  The spacecraft embodies a paradigm shift to lower-cost, higher persistence overhead reconnaissance capabilities. While not meant to replace traditional imaging assets, Kestrel Eye Block 2 seeks to augment the current approach to remote sensing by demonstrating the application of low-cost, commercial technologies to enable a new tier of reconnaissance capability.

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January 30, 2013

Statement by Marion C. Blakey, President and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association on reports of the contraction of the U.S. economy in the 4th quarter of 2012.

Arlington, Va. – The contraction of the U.S. economy in the fourth quarter underscores AIA’s warning for the past 18 months that severe across the board budget cuts—both to defense and non-defense discretionary spending—threaten to throw the economy into a tailspin.  It is clear from the Commerce Department report that reduced government spending, primarily in the defense sector, is a major cause for the GDP decline.  In July 2011, Congress enacted a cut of $487 billion to the defense budget, resulting in ongoing, significant job losses in the defense sector.

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Excerpted from the FAA report, “Commercial Space Transportation: 2012 Year in Review”.

FAA Suborbital Flight Summary

On October 6, at New Mexico’s Spaceport America, Armadillo Aerospace’s STIG-B suborbital reusable vehicle (SRV) made the only FAA-licensed suborbital launch of 2012. However, six other suborbital vehicles flew under experimental permits or Class 3 waivers.

The STIG-B flight was the first FAA-licensed launch from Spaceport America. The launch experienced an in-flight abort. It did not reach its planned altitude, but the vehicle was successfully recovered intact and later used to conduct launch tests in November and December. Armadillo successfully launched its STIG-A vehicle under a Class 3 Waiver in January, but the vehicle was lost during recovery.

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RocketMotorTwo Hot-Fire Test Summary (Via Scaled Composites) Fire: 24 Date: 24 Jan 13 Objectives: Twenty-fourth full scale flight design RM2 hot-fire. Continued evaluation of all systems and components: – Pressurization – Valve/Injector – Fuel formulation and geometry – Nozzle – Structure – Performance Results: All objectives completed. Editor’s Note:  Once again, Scaled is not providing the length of the burn. Without knowing that, it’s difficult to determine precisely what was […]

Tokyo, Japan, January, 30 2013 (White Label Space PR) – White Label Space, an international team competing in the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE, announced that it will now be run out of Japan. Previously, the team was operating out of both Japan and the Netherlands.  The team’s pivot to Japan is designed to maximize its chance of being on the winner’s podium. White Label Space is the only Google Lunar X PRIZE team currently active in Japan and has a unique network in that country’s media and space industry. The team will now focus its efforts on furthering the development of its Japanese moon rover, benefiting from the advice of its academic partner, the Space Robotics Laboratory at Tohoku University.

Takeshi Hakamada replaces Steve Allen as team leader. Mr Hakamada was a co-founder of the team’s Japan branch and has been manager for all White Label Space operations in Japan.

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Tampa, Florida (A4H PR) – Astronauts4Hire and the National AeroSpace Training and Research (NASTAR®) Center are proud to announce that they have signed a services agreement for NASTAR Center Space Training and to collaborate on developing new A4H-branded training programs for A4H’s commercial astronaut candidates.

A4H and the NASTAR Center will work together to develop A4H-specific training courses for astronaut candidates interested in aiding researchers, payload developers, and spaceflight providers with mission planning and operations support during spaceflight missions.

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Astronaut Shannon Walker activates an experiment aboard the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA wants to know how you can improve the International Space Station as a technology test bed.

NASA’s International Space Station National Laboratory and Technology Demonstration offices are asking for proposals on how the space station may be used to develop advanced or improved exploration technologies. NASA also is seeking proposals about how new approaches, technologies and capabilities could improve the unique laboratory environment of the orbiting outpost.

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Hey everyone. I had a great conversation last night with David Livingston of The Space Show. We talked a lot about developments with Spaceport America and Virgin Galactic as well as several other topics. If you missed the show, it’s easy to get caught up. Listen at www.thespaceshow.com. Scroll down to the archives in the lower half of the page. My show is currently at the top of that list. […]

Hawthorne, CA / Ramat-Gan, Israel, January 29, 2013 (SpaceX PR) – Today, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Space Communication Ltd. (Spacecom) announced an agreement to launch Spacecom’s AMOS-6 satellite on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Falcon 9 will insert the communications satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO), further enhancing Spacecom’s existing satellite fleet.

The AMOS-6 agreement is the latest in a series of wins for SpaceX.  The company closed out 2012 having signed 14 launch contracts—maintaining the company’s position as the world’s fastest growing launch services provider.

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SPARKS, Nev., January 30, 2013 (SNC PR) – Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) Space Systems is pleased to announce Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company of Littleton, Colo., is joining the SNC Dream Chaser® team. Lockheed Martin will be an exclusive partner to SNC on NASA’s Certification Products Contract (CPC) and has been competitively selected to build the composite structure for the Dream Chaser at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, La. SNC was awarded $10 million for CPC Phase 1 to work with NASA towards government certification of the SNC Dream Chaser orbital crew transportation system.

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