Dream Chaser cockpit simulator. (Credit: Sierra Nevada Corporation)
By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor
Sierra Nevada Corporation has ramped up the hiring process for its Dream Chaser program in advance of a scheduled NASA announcement of the next round of commercial crew funding. Dream Chaser is in the running for additional development funds.
Fire: 14 Date: 12 Jul 12 Objectives: Fourteenth 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 55 second hot fire as planned. Duration of burn chosen to allow examination of internal geometry.
WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA has selected six proposals to improve the affordability, reliability and performance of an advanced booster for the Space Launch System (SLS). The awardees will develop engineering demonstrations and risk reduction concepts for SLS, a heavy-lift rocket that will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.
“The initial SLS heavy-lift rocket begins with the proven hardware, technology and capabilities we have today and will evolve over time to a more capable launch vehicle through competitive opportunities,” said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for the Human Exploration Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “While the SLS team is making swift progress on the initial configuration and building a solid baseline, we also are looking ahead to enhance and upgrade future configurations of the heavy lift vehicle. We want to build a system that will be upgradable and used for decades.”
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ORLANDO, FLA., July 10, 2012 (Omega Envoy PR) — Omega Envoy, the Florida team competing in the Google Lunar X PRIZE (GLXP), and its parent company, Earthrise Space Inc. (ESI) are proud to welcome the Florida Space Institute (FSI) as a new partner. FSI will provide critical test and spacecraft integration equipment for the team’s use. This will include the use of a clean room, as well as vacuum and thermal chambers.
“We at the Florida Space Institute support the goals of the Google Lunar X-Prize and are proud to be helping Earthrise Space accomplish its ambitions,” said Florida Space Institute Director Dr. Alan Stern.
PARIS (ESA PR — On 13 July, ESA Member States unanimously approved the accession of Poland to the ESA Convention. ESA’s Director General is now mandated to sign the Accession Agreement together with the Minister of Economy of Poland, Mr Waldemar Pawlak. Poland will now start its internal ratification process. Once this procedure is completed, Poland will deposit its instruments of accession with the Government of the French Republic and […]
Robotic Refueling Mission (center, on platform) uses Canadarm2 and the Canadian Dextre robot (left and bottom, foreground) to demonstrate satellite-servicing tasks. (Credit: NASA/CSA)
GREENBELT, MD (NASA PR) — NASA completed another successful round of Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) operations on the International Space Station with the Canadian Dextre robot and RRM tools, leaving the RRM module poised for the highly-anticipated refueling demonstration scheduled for late summer 2012.
A joint effort between NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), RRM is an external station experiment designed to demonstrate the technologies, tools, and techniques needed to robotically repair and refuel satellites in orbit, especially those not built with servicing in mind. RRM results and lessons learned are reducing the risks associated with satellite servicing and bolstering the foundation for future robotic servicing missions.
Cella Energy is expected to become an early tenant at Kennedy Space Center’s Exploration Park now under construction. The company already operates offices in the Space Life Sciences Laboratory at Kennedy. (Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann)
By Steven Siceloff
NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center
A new approach to an established fuel will be the focus of research, development and maybe production with the help of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Cella Energy’s American subsidiary has signed on with Kennedy to make its micro-bead technology practical enough to be used as a fuel in most kinds of machinery, cars and perhaps even spacesuits and portable electronics.
The company, based in Britain, has formulated a way to store hydrogen safely in tiny pellets that still allow the fuel to be burned in an engine. Kennedy, which handles huge amounts of the explosive gas regularly as part of its rocket work, is being enlisted to help the company overcome a couple technological hurdles.
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Spaceflight winner Mercedes Becerra and XCOR Chief Test Pilot Rick Searfoss. (Credit: Warner Brothers)
SAN DIEGO and BURBANK, Calif., July 13, 2012 (WB PR) — In what will certainly go down as the ultimate Comic-Con giveaway, Warner Bros. Television awarded one lucky fan of The Big Bang Theory a truly out-of-this-world trip … INTO SPACE aboard XCOR Aerospace’s Lynx RLV (Reusable Launch Vehicle) at the show’s panel session in Hall H at Comic-Con: International San Diego today, Friday, July 13, 2012.
Mercedes Becerra of Paso Robles, Calif. was the lucky winner. The winning golden ticket was contained in a silver envelope that Becerra was given when she entered the conference room for a panel discussion about The Big Bang Theory.
Dr. James (Jimi) Crawford (Credit: Moon Express)
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif., July 12, 2012 (ME PR) — Moon Express, Inc., a provider of commercial and scientific missions to the Moon, announced today that Dr. James (Jimi) Crawford has joined the company as Chief Technology Officer and Software Architect. An expert in artificial intelligence and space systems, Dr. Crawford has held distinguished positions at NASA, led entrepreneurial start-ups, and in 2009 became Engineering Director for Google Books in charge of scanning the world’s books and making them searchable online.
As Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Dr. Crawford will guide and pioneer the development of advanced technologies across the Moon Express enterprise supporting the company’s long term vision. As Software Architect, he will lead the company’s spacecraft and mission software development for the company’s space missions including the pursuit of the $30M Google Lunar X PRIZE.
Cape Canaveral, FL (L2 PR) – L2 Aerospace, an innovative company providing integrated ground, air and space-based products and services, is pleased to announce their partnership with Cella Energy, a company with patented technology in safe, low-cost hydrogen storage materials to produce longer duration unmanned systems.
