Lisa Porter (Credit Bill Ingalls)

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (Teledyne PR)–Teledyne Technologies Incorporated announced today that Dr. Lisa Porter will be joining its subsidiary Teledyne Scientific & Imaging, LLC (TS&I) as Senior Vice President. In this capacity she will have responsibility for technology commercialization efforts, technical operations and general management.

Dr. Lisa Porter was the first Director for the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. She was responsible for standing up IARPA and setting and executing its strategic vision and direction. Prior to IARPA, Dr. Porter served as the Associate Administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). She has also served as a program manager and senior scientist in the Advanced Technology Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

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RocketMotorTwo Hot Firing Fire: 15 Date: 9 Aug 12 Objectives: Fifteenth 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. Performed targeted 45 second hot fire as planned. Duration of burn chosen to allow examination of internal geometry.

InSIGHT information from JPL’s website. To learn more, click here.

Mission Overview

InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) is a proposed NASA Discovery Program mission that will place a single geophysical lander on Mars to study its deep interior. But InSight is more than a Mars mission – it is a terrestrial planet explorer that will address one of the most fundamental issues of planetary and solar system science – understanding the processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system (including Earth) more than four billion years ago.

By using sophisticated geophysical instruments, InSight will delve deep beneath the surface of Mars, detecting the fingerprints of the processes of terrestrial planet formation, as well as measuring the planet’s “vital signs”: Its “pulse” (seismology), “temperature” (heat flow probe), and “reflexes” (precision tracking).
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Buran shuttle and Energia rocket.

Energia is looking to revive its Energia rocket in response to a Russian government tender for a heavy-lift booster, Interfax-AVN reports.

The space rocket corporation Energia, based in Korolyov near Moscow, has proposed a plan to create a super-heavy carrier rocket, Commonwealth, for long-distance space missions, jointly with Ukraine and Kazakhstan, Energia President and General Designer Vitaly Lopota told reporters on Monday.

“Energia is proposing that a carrier rocket, Commonwealth, be created in cooperation with Ukraine and Kazakhstan, with the use of the Energia-Buran know-how,” he said.

“The Energia-Buran project includes the launch system, which is still viable. At least it can be brought back to life. It also includes the ‘A’ rocket units, used in the Zenit carrier rocket, and also engines made today. We proposed using oxygen-kerosene engines instead of the hydrogen central part, and make the first and second stages of five units,” he said.

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UPDATE: The Washington Post is reporting that the InSIGHT lander (pictured above) will be sent in 2016. InSIGHT contains a drill that will sample the Martian interior. The cost will be $425 million. Learn more here. WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA will host a media teleconference at 5 p.m. EDT today to discuss the selection of a new Discovery-class mission that will further NASA’s exploration of the solar system. The […]

This week on The Space Show with David Livingston…. 1. Monday, August 20, 2012, 2-3:30 PM PDT (5-6:30 PM EDT, 4-5:30 PM CDT). CHRIS CARBERRY of Explore Mars returns with new information and programs. 2. Tuesday, August 21, 2012, 7-8:30 PM PDT (10-11:30 PM EDT, 9-10:30 PM CDT). OPEN LINES. First time callers welcome. All space related topics welcome. 3. Friday, August 24, 2012, 9:30-11 AM PDT (11:30- 1 PM […]

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL. (August 20, 2012) – 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, will soon announce two upcoming solicitations for ISS research proposals. Both solicitations will be made available for commercial, governmental, and academic researchers over the next month.

The two Requests for Proposals (RFPs) will be in the fields of Materials Science and Earth Observational Science. The RFPs will open various facilities onboard the ISS to research communities, offering an innovative, quick path for scientists to benefit from the Station’s on orbit capabilities. Both solicitations are aimed to return data as quickly as possible. In the case of the Earth Observational Science RFP, results will be in researchers’ hands as early as spring 2013.

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Asteroid mining start-up Planetary Resources has received an investment from a Russian management company that focuses on clean technologies:

The management company I2BF Global Ventures has invested in Planetary Resources through one of its funds, “Vedomosti,” said its managing partner Ilya Golubovich (son of the founder of the investment company “Arbat Capital” Alexey Golubovich). This was confirmed by Planetary Resources Adviser Michael Murray, who refused to disclose details of the deal.

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CORRECTION: The original headline and story erroneously referred to the 2013 flight as a slip. XCOR has actually been talking about flying in late 2012 or early 2013 for the past six months or so. For example, Andrew Nelson had said so in a Q&A during recent Congressional testimony. The headline and the text have been altered to reflect the correction. I regret the error. The first flight of XCOR’s […]

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA’s Space Technology Program has selected five technologies that could revolutionize America’s space capabilities.

In March, NASA issued a call for proposal focused on sudden and unexpected innovations that hold a potential for providing a “game-changing” impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of the agency’s space capabilities.

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