This artist concept is what The Boeing Company’s CST-100 spacecraft processing is expected to look like in Space Florida’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with work stations on a clean floor. (Credit: Boeing)

By Rebecca Regan
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

A facility full of platforms that once fit NASA’s space shuttles like a glove is transitioning to make room for a new fleet of low-Earth orbit bound spacecraft.

Now called the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF), the former Orbiter Processing Facilty-3 (OPF-3) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is not only going through major renovations to support the manufacturing of The Boeing Company’s CST-100 spacecraft. It’s also receiving international recognition as an innovative approach for converting excess government buildings into next-generation commercial facilities.

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Neil Armstrong with the X-15 on the dry lake bed at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

November 29, 2012 – Washington D.C. (Press Release) – Congressman Howard “Buck” McKeon and Congressman Kevin McCarthy today announced legislation to redesignate the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Dryden Flight Research Center as the Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center and the Western Aeronautical Test Range as the Hugh L. Dryden Aeronautical Test Range. Joining Congressman McCarthy in introducing this legislation are Congressman Buck McKeon, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, Congressman Ken Calvert, Congressman Lamar Smith, Congressman Steven Palazzo, and Congressman Adam Schiff.

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KSLV-1 first stage booster. (Credit: Khrunichev)

South Korea once again aborted the planned launch of the KSLV-1 rocket due to a problem with the domestically-built upper stage, according to media reports. This will likely delay the launch into next year.

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said that it will determine the next launch date after a thorough inspection of the KSLV-1, but it is unlikely that the liftoff will take place this year as the current launch deadline is scheduled to end on Dec. 5. Engineers say it will take at least four to five days to figure out what went wrong and fix it.

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

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL., NOVEMBER 29, 2012 (Space Florida PR) – Space Florida, the state’s aerospace development organization and spaceport authority, and NanoRacks, LLC, today announced the winners of the International Space Station (ISS) Research Competition at The American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.

A team of 15 independent judges evaluated the proposals based on defined value in the commercial marketplace, potential for future benefits in space travel, and professional qualifications of the applicants. Four (4) winning proposals originated from the commercial field and four (4) in the area of education and research.

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Statement by Marion C. Blakey, President and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, in support of the on-going negotiations to avoid the fiscal cliff. Arlington, Va. – “On behalf of the aerospace and defense industry, which employs more than one million workers across all 50 states, we are encouraged that there are serious negotiations occurring between the White House and Congressional leadership to avoid our nation’s imminent fiscal cliff.  It is […]

Florida Gov. Rick Scott

The Florida Space Coast, hard hit by the economic meltdown and the end of the space shuttle program, got a couple of big shots in the arm on Wednesday as officials broke ground on two technology centers.

Gov. Rick Scott was on hand for groundbreaking ceremonies for the new $24 million Embraer Engineering and Technology Center USA at Melbourne International Airport. The governor also attended the groundbreaking on $100 million Harris Technology Center in nearby Palm Bay. Both projects represent expansions of existing operations in those locations backed by the financial support of state and local governments.

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In addition to being able to power a reusable, single-stage-to-orbit space plane, Reaction Engines’ SABRE propulsion technology could help to power a Mach 5 transport that would be able to fly from Brussels to Sydney in less than two to four hours.

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The Biggest Breakthrough in Propulsion Since the Jet Engine
Reaction Engines Press Release
November 28, 2012

Reaction Engines Ltd. can announce today the biggest breakthrough in aerospace propulsion technology since the invention of the jet engine. Critical tests have been successfully completed on the key technology for SABRE, an engine which will enable aircraft to reach the opposite side of the world in under 4 hours, or to fly directly into orbit and return in a single stage, taking off and landing on a runway.

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Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, will take over as chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology when the new Congress convenes in January. He will replace Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Texas, who was term limited under House rules. Smith, who had seniority on the committee, beat out Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, and Dana Rohrabacher, R-California. Smith has been a vocal critic of the Obama Administration’s space policy, which has […]

Reaction Engines announced today that tests have verified that the technology is in place to build its Sabre engine, which lies at the heart of its reusable, single-stage-to-orbit Skylon spacecraft.

The news brings the promise of not only routine, affordable access to space but also point-to-point travel at Mach 5 and major improvements in fuel efficiency for existing airliners. The announcement featured a major endorsement of the technology by ESA, has has worked with the British company to evaluate the results of the tests, Reuters reports.

“ESA are satisfied that the tests demonstrate the technology required for the Sabre engine development,” the agency’s head of propulsion engineering Mark Ford told a news conference.

“One of the major obstacles to a re-usable vehicle has been removed,” he said. “The gateway is now open to move beyond the jet age.”

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