During the Mojave Air and Space Port’s recent Plane Crazy Saturday, visitors got a close look at the two X-34 vehicles that have been stored next to Orbital Sciences Corporation’s L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. The L-1011 carried one of them on three captive carry flights, but neither vehicle ever flew in free flight. The rocket engine technology demonstrators were put into storage in 2001 after the X-34 program was canceled for […]
AUTHOR
Doug Messier
This artist’s concept shows a servicing spacecraft, left, approaching satellite needing assistance. NASA is developing technology needed to bring a high-technology “gas pump, robotic mechanic and tow truck” to satellites in orbit. Image credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
By Bob Granath
NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center
With satellites playing increasingly important roles in everyday life, NASA is developing the technology to build Earth-orbiting, roving “service stations” capable of extending the life of these spacecraft. Engineers at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida are assisting the space agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., in developing the concept for bringing a high-technology gas pump, robotic mechanic and tow truck to satellites in space.
This week on The Space Show with David Livingston… 1. Monday, October 29, 2012, 2-3:30 PM PDT (5-6:30 PM EDT, 4-5:30 PM CDT): We welcome DR. MADHU THANGALEVU and PERRY EDMUNDSON to discuss Perry’s commercial space cruise ship concept as developed for Dr. Thangalevu’s USC graduate class. . 2. Tuesday, October 30 , 2012, 7-8:30 PM PDT (10-11:30 PM EDT, 9-10:30 PM CDT): We welcome back PAUL BREED of Unreasonable […]
The Dragon CRS-1 capsule after landing safely in the Pacific. (Credit: SpaceX)
Hawthorne, CA (SpaceX PR) — Today at 12:22 p.m. PT, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft returned to Earth from the International Space Station, safely splashing down approximately 250 miles off the coast of southern California.
“This historic mission signifies the restoration of America’s ability to deliver and return critical space station cargo,” said SpaceX CEO and Chief Technical Officer Elon Musk. “The reliability of SpaceX’s technology and the strength of our partnership with NASA provide a strong foundation for future missions and achievements to come.”
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted the decree, “On approval of the action plan for the development of space activities and the production of space technology in 2013” (hereinafter – the Regulation) on October 17, 2012.
The purpose of the adoption of the Order – the solution of urgent problems of space activities in 2013, the continuation of the projects started in previous years and the implementation of the initial phases of the work under the draft national targeted science and technology space program for 2013-2017, which is approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
The indicative total budget funding for the implementation of the action plan is 114 million hryvnia [$13.95 million].
MOSCOW (Energomash PR) — “We’re in the black, and we have really progressed!”
The Executive Director of NPO Energomash, V.L. Solntsev, said this at a general meeting at which a summary report on the results of two years of work. He thanked the staff for the work and for their faith in the success of the company initiated change.
There was a fair amount of coverage on space blogs earlier t his month about Felix Baumgartner’s Red Bull Stratos skydiving adventure, in which he set a new world record by jumping from 128,100 feet (nearly 24 miles).
And why not? He ascended in a pressurized vessel that looked kind of like a space capsule wearing something very similar to a spacesuit to an altitude well above a good portion of the atmosphere. Space enthusiasts made the quick leap of imagination to a whole new sport of space diving, with daredevils jumping to Earth from suborbital space and, ultimately, orbit.
Well, just fahgedaboutit! Baumgartner says that’s a terrible idea. And he has some choice words for Richard Branson and Mars exploration.
Russia’s KBKhA Design Bureau reports the successful tests last month of a new 7.5 ton thrust rocket engine powered by liquid oxygen and liquefied natural gas. “The tests were a significant step in the cooperation of two companies within the research work carried out by the order the Italian Space Agency (ASI),” KBKhA said in a press release. KBKhA and Avio have been working together on the project since 2007. […]
Orbital Sciences Corporation opened up its Stargazer launch aircraft for public tours last week during Plane Crazy Saturday at the Mojave Air and Space Port. It offered a rare opportunity to see inside the airplane.
MADISON, Wisconsin (ORBITEC PR) — Orbital Technologies Corporation (ORBITEC) has successfully flight-tested its new rocket engine and technologies in Mojave, CA. ORBITEC integrated its Vortex Liquid Rocket Engine into a launch vehicle airframe designed and built by Garvey Spacecraft Corporation (GSC) of Long Beach, California and California State University at Long Beach.