Abbotsford, British Columbia (AIAC PR) – David Schellenberg, Chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) and President and CEO of Cascade Aerospace and the Conair Group stated today that the outcome of the current Aerospace Review led by the Honourable David Emerson will be critical to the future of the Canadian aerospace industry.

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Video Caption: Building on the success of the 500 meter downrange flight on July 25, we’re excited to announce the completion of a flight that reached 476.5 meters in altitude and translated 650 meters downrange on August 9, 2012. Like the July 25 test, this test was completed for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)** to test its powered descent and landing trajectory optimization algorithms for future Mars Entry Descent & […]

WhiteKnightTwo flies overhead as SpaceShipTwo touches down at the Mojave Air and Space Port just before 8 a.m. on Saturday. (Credit: Bill Deaver)

SpaceShipTwo made another successful glide flight at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California on Saturday morning. The space plane took off under its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft at 6:57 a.m. PDT. It glided to a landing about an hour later after a brief glide flight. WhiteKnightTwo conducted touch-and-gos on the runway for about a half hour before touching down at around 8:27 a.m. PDT.

A young woman photographs SpaceShipTwo resting on the Mojave Air & Space Port runway after a successful landing Saturday morning. Employees of Scaled Composites and The Spaceship Company as well as local residents were on hand to watch the spaceship’s launch from WhiteKnightTwo. (Credit: Bill Deaver)

This test marked the 93rd flight for WhiteKnightTwo and the 22nd glide flight for SpaceShipTwo.

Conditions at the spaceport were smoky due to a wildfire in the nearby mountains that began burning on Friday afternoon. This partly accounts for the different colors of the sky in photos of the drop test.

More images below. Thanks to all my friends for contributing the photos.
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WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA’s Space Technology Program has selected Deployable Space Systems (DSS) of Goleta, Calif. and ATK Space Systems Inc., of Commerce, Calif., for contract negotiation to develop advanced solar array systems. High-power solar electric propulsion, where the power is generated with advanced solar array systems, is a key capability required for extending human presence throughout the solar system.

The selected proposals offer innovative approaches to the development of next-generation, large-scale solar arrays and associated deployment mechanisms. These advanced solar arrays will drastically reduce weight and stowed volume when compared to current systems. They also will significantly improve efficiency and functionality of future systems that will produce hundreds of kilowatts of power. These advanced solar arrays could be used in future NASA human exploration and science missions, communications satellites and a majority of other future spacecraft applications.

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Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (Credit: www.kremlin.ru)

RIA Novosti has the latest on the Russian Proton failure:

Medvedev to Name & Shame Failed Satellite Launch Officials

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday he will name officials responsible for Monday’s failed satellite launch next week.

“I would like to hold a meeting on this next week. It will be prepared by the appropriate deputy prime minister and structures. They are tasked with reporting who should be punished and what to do next,” Medvedev told a government meeting in Moscow.

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Flight: WK2 – 92 / SS2 – GF21 Date: 7 Aug 12 WK2 Flight Time: 1.5 hr SS2 Flight Time: 9 min, 52 sec WK2 Pilot: Stucky WK2 CoPilot: Binnie WK2 FTE: Reeder SS2 Pilot: Siebold SS2 CoPilot: Colmer GS Crew: Tighe, Bourgeois, Knupp, Bassett, Inks, Verderame, Kalogiannis, M. Fuchs, Glaser WK2 Objectives: SS2 release mission WK2 Results: All objectives achieved. SS2 Objectives: Aft CG angle-of-attack expansion Aft CG feather […]

NASA ANNOUNCEMENT OF FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES (AFO) For Payloads Maturing Crosscutting Technologies that Advance Multiple Future Space Missions to Flight Readiness Status Announcement NOCT110 (February 2011 – December 2014) Call #5 for Proposals Call for proposals: August 10, 2012 Proposals due: September 21, 2012 at 5:30 PM ET Selection notifications: November 2012 (target) Background The NASA Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT) Flight Opportunities Program intends to mature towards flight readiness […]

The Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida. (Credit: NASA)

NASA has issued a request for information (RFI) for industry input on how it can transform the space shuttle landing facility at the Kennedy Space Center into a multi-use facility to support aircraft and spacecraft launches and landings.The goal is to establish a public-private partnership to operate the facility.

An excerpt from the RFI is below; you can find the full document here.

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce the addition of three new Associate Members: Arizona State University, Near Space Corporation, and Qwaltec.

“The private spaceflight sector continues to expand, and it is evidence with the addition of these three members, each unique in their commitment to the industry,” said Michael Lopez-Alegria, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “We are excited to welcome these companies into the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and are looking forward to working with each of them to promote the commercial spaceflight sector.”
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REDONDO BEACH, Calif., Aug. 9, 2012 (Northrop Grumman PR) — Northrop Grumman Corporation has become a member of the Hosted Payloads Alliance (HPA), joining the wide variety of companies that support an increasing role for defense and commercial contractors in helping government agencies find timely and cost-effective ways of acquiring space assets and services.

The alliance was formed in 2011 to increase awareness about the benefits of hosted payloads on commercial satellites. Members consist of spacecraft operators, satellite manufacturers, system integrators and launch vehicle providers.

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