Steve Landeene

ABU DHABI (Virgin Galactic PR) — Virgin Galactic LLC (“Virgin Galactic”), part of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, and Aabar Investments PJS (“Aabar”) today announced that they had appointed Steve Landeene to the role of Chief Advisor, Spaceport Abu Dhabi. Between 2007 and 2010, Landeene was Executive Director of Spaceport America in New Mexico and oversaw the development of Virgin Galactic’s operational hub and the world’s first purpose built commercial spaceport.

Under a deal announced in 2009 between Virgin Galactic and Aabar, the two companies agreed that Abu Dhabi would gain exclusive regional rights, subject to the receipt of regulatory clearances, to host Virgin Galactic tourism and scientific research space flights. Landeene’s appointment is an important step in bringing those plans to fruition, underscoring Abu Dhabi’s commitment to being an international destination of choice and a regional leader in tourism, advanced science, technology and higher education.

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Richard Branson speaks about space tourism, sending Stephen Colbert on a one-way trip to space, and the status of SpaceShipTwo’s test flight program.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (NASA PR) – NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center’s Launch Systems Directorate in Los Angeles, Calif., are collaborating on the Space Launch System (SLS) Advanced Development NASA Research Announcement (NRA) to study an affordable, next-generation rocket engine.

Partnering on this effort will strengthen mutual organizational goals, including reduced development and total life cycle costs, cross agency collaboration for rocket propulsion system development and strengthen competitive growth in the nation’s rocket propulsion industrial base.

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Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center

Rockledge, Fla. (EDC PR) — On April 1, 2012, CBS’s 60 Minutes broadcast a story about the Space Coast and aftermath of the Space Shuttle retirement.  While our economic challenges are real, the story failed to offer a balanced view and this community’s tremendous efforts to mitigate the effects of the Shuttle retirement.  Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast President & CEO Lynda Weatherman’s response to the broadcast is below, in a letter sent to the 60 Minutes mailbag.

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HOUSTON (NASA PR) — NASA and SpaceX officials met Monday at Johnson Space Center in Houston for a detailed Flight Readiness Review meeting ahead of the second demonstration mission of the SpaceX Dragon spaceraft targeted to lift off on one of the company’s Falcon 9 rockets. The meeting, a standard part of NASA’s pre-launch preparations, confirmed the cargo test flight to the International Space Station is on-track for an April […]

NASA T-38 jets at Ellington Field. (Credit: NASA)

It looks like Houston is looking to get a spaceport of its own:

As Houston’s elected leaders consider whether to allow flights from Hobby Airport to Cancún, local aviation officials are studying the possibility of a much more exotic destination for flights out of Ellington Airport: space.

Technically, it is feasible, Airport System Director Mario Diaz has concluded. A consultant’s study maps out an air route that would have vehicles launch from Ellington out over the Gulf of Mexico, climb to 100 kilometers above the Earth, then return to Ellington.

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AIAA hosts NanoRacks Jeffrey Manber “Capitalism in Outer Space” Michael’s at Shoreline, Mountain View April 17, 2012, 6:30pm-9:00pm Registration:https://www.aiaa-sf.org/dmtg12/04.html SVSBR Members will receive AIAA member price The American space program stands at a crossroads on how to most efficiently move forward while maintaining US leadership in space. Today, while space programs in Russia, China, India and other nations have embraced open markets and commercial practices, the U.S. is still unsure […]

I’ll be appearing on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston on Tuesday, April 17 from 7-8:30 PM PDT (10-11:30 PM EDT, 9-10:30 PM CDT). Please listen in live and ask questions. If you can’t make it, listen to the achived show later this week. I will be giving a rundown on the just completed Space Access 12 conference in Phoenix and talking about the latest developments here in Mojave. […]

The LCROSS satellite and the Centaur upper stage on a crash course for the moon. In the future, the Centaur could deliver tons of cargo to the lunar surface. (Credit: NASA)

By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor

The Centaur upper stage, which has been propelling American satellites through space since 1965, is getting a major upgrade that would allow the venerable one-shot booster to perform in a series of new roles.

In the coming decades, upgraded Centaurs will make launching  of spacecraft on Atlas V and Delta IV rockets much less expensive. They could also function as reusable space tugs, orbital fuel depots, and landing vehicles that would transport tons of cargo to and from the Moon, Mars and asteroids.

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By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor

Support in Congress for NASA’s commercial crew effort is becoming stronger despite continuing opposition from some quarters, according to Jim Muncy of PoliSpace.

Speaking on Saturday at the Space Access 12 conference in Phoenix, Muncy said that more Congressional leaders have realized that the commercial crew program is the best and fastest way to restoring the nation’s ability to launch astronauts into space.

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