By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor
Powered flights of SpaceShipTwo took a step forward today as the FAA issued a draft environmental assessment that recommends granting experimental permits and launch licenses to Scaled Composites to begin suborbital test missions from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.
HOUSTON, March 13, 2012 (Boeing PR) — Boeing successfully completed a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) of the company’s integrated Commercial Crew Space Transportation system, which includes the Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft, on March 12. The integrated system will provide the United States with the capability to transport people and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), the Bigelow Space Complex and other destinations in low Earth orbit.
The system PDR, which included the CST-100 spacecraft, launch vehicle and ground system, evaluated technical adequacy, progress and risk resolution of the design and test approach.
By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor
Elon Musk has made his first appearance on the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires. The 40-year-old entrepreneur has landed at 634 on the list with an estimated net worth of $2 billion.
Musk has developed the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon vehicle to send cargo and crew to the International Space Station. His company, SpaceX, has received money under NASA’s COTS (for cargo) and CCDev (crew) programs. He is also reported to have invested up to $100 million of his own funds into SpaceX.
In addition to his involvement with SpaceX, Musk is a trustee of the X PRIZE Foundation, whose space competitions include the Ansari X Prize, the Google Lunar X Prize and the Northrup Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge.
The South African-born entrepreneur also runs two other companies, the electric car producer Tesla Motors and SolarCity, which provides solar energy systems.
Hawthorne, CA (SpaceX PR) – Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has signed contracts with Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) and Satélites Mexicanos (Satmex) for two launches aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
“This announcement marks SpaceX’s first launch contract in Mexico. It is also the second launch contract in Asia that we have signed in the last month,” said Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and Chief Technology Officer. “Asia and Latin America represent two of the world’s hottest markets for commercial satellite operators. SpaceX is ready to provide them with the solutions they need to add capacity and meet growing demand.”
WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA, governments around the world and civil society organizations will co-host the International Space Apps Challenge on April 21-22 with events across seven continents and in space.
The apps competition will bring people together to exploit openly available data collected by space agencies around the world to create innovative solutions to longstanding global challenges. An initiative of the U.S. Open Government National Action Plan, the challenge will showcase the impact scientists and citizens can have by working together to solve challenging problems that affect every person on Earth. Events will take place in San Francisco; Exeter, U.K.; Melbourne, Australia; Sao Paulo; Nairobi, Kenya; Jakarta, Indonesia; Tokyo; McMurdo Station, Antarctica; and the International Space Station.
Boeing's CST-100 crew transport. (Credit: Boeing)
CANOGA PARK, Calif., March 12, 2012 (PR&W PR) — Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company, successfully completed a full-mission duration hot-fire test on a Launch Abort Engine (LAE) for Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft. The CST-100 spacecraft, designed to transport people to the International Space Station and other low-Earth orbit destinations, is in development under NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program.
The Service Module and Integrated Launch Abort propulsion system is a critical system for safe, reliable and affordable commercial crew transportation. It is designed to push the crew capsule to safety if an abort is necessary. If unused for an abort, the same propellant load can be used for other parts of the mission, including re-boosting the space station orbit. The LAE test was conducted in the California desert.
WASHINGTON, DC (SilverStrategy PR) — Capture10 announced today that it will be opening its headquarters this April in the District of Columbia. The firm will be led by Lawrence Williams, who most recently served as Vice President for Strategic Relations at Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and as an advisor for Tesla Motors, companies founded and run by entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Capture10 will provide business development strategies to create and pursue new billion dollar markets, which often have muti-year acquisition cycles. Williams has a proven track record of securing government and international market access through direct sales, distribution agreements, partnerships, shaping procurements and regulatory approvals.
Bern, Switzerland, March 12, 2012 (Sea Launch PR) – Sea Launch has been selected to launch the EUTELSAT 70B (ex. W5A) communications satellite in the fourth quarter of 2012 and the Intelsat 27 communications satellite in early 2013.
The satellites will be placed into optimized geosynchronous transfer orbits (GTO) utilizing the highly-proven Sea Launch Zenit 3SL launch system. The launches will occur from Sea Launch’s launch platform Odyssey at its equatorial launch site, located at 154 degrees West longitude, in the international waters of the Pacific Ocean.
This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston… 1. Monday, March 12, 2011 2-3:30 PM PDT (5-6:30 PM EDT, 4-5:30 PM CDT): We welcome DR. RYAN L. KOBRICK to discuss Yuri’s Night 2012. 2. Tuesday, March 13, 2012, 7-8:30 PM PDT (10-11:30 PM EDT, 9-10:30 PM CDT): OPEN LINES DISCUSSION. New callers welcome. All space related subjects welcome. Please limit your call to one comment and be succinct […]
From left to right – David Fitzgerald, FAITH Construction Manager (TSC); Jason Langan, Facilities Supervisor (TSC); Enrico Palermo, Vice President Operations (TSC); Mike Anthony, Senior Account Manager (Southern California Edison); and Andrew Lee, Technical Specialist (Southern California Edison). (Credit: The Spaceship Company)
MOJAVE, Calif. (TSC PR) ― The Spaceship Company (TSC), the joint venture of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites, today received a $290,206 incentive check for completing the Savings By Design energy efficiency program with the design of its Final Assembly, Integration and Test Hangar, or FAITH, at the Mojave Air and Space Port.
