PURPOSE OF THIS REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Issue Date: January 20, 2012 The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to request proposals for Southern Road Environmental Services related to the New Mexico Spaceport Authority. More specifically, activities include, but are not limited to, providing labor and materials required for: Environmental compliance, services, and analyses Prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) Conduct a public […]

Cambridge, MA (Draper PR) — January 23, 2012 — NASA could test its payloads on Earth under realistic flight conditions before sending them into space by using a technology flown by Draper Laboratory last month.

Using the GENIE (Guidance Embedded Navigator Integration Environment) System, Draper recently fully controlled the Xombie suborbital rocket built by Masten Space Systems during a closed loop tethered flight at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. This successful first step brings the NASA Dryden Flight Opportunities Program closer to a new testbed capability that could be used to validate future planetary technology payloads.

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HOUSTON (NASA PR) — Individuals interested in becoming America’s future space explorers have until Friday to submit their applications. The deadline to apply for NASA’s next astronaut class is Jan. 27.

The agency typically receives as many as 3,500 applicants for each astronaut class. Thus far, NASA has received more than 3,000 applications since November for this class.
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This week on The Space Show with David Livingston… 1. Monday, Jan. 23, 2011 2-3:30 PM PST, 5-6:30 PM EST, 4-5:30 PM CST: We welcome DR. PETER SHAVER to the program to discuss his new book, “Cosmic Heritage: Evolution from the Big Bang to Conscious Life.” 2. Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, 7-8:30 PM PST, 10-11:30 PM EST, 9-10:30 PM CST: We welcome DR. STEVEN HOWE, Director of The Center for […]

Newt Gingrich. (Credit: Gage Skidmore)

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich intends to give a major address on space policy while campaigning in the Sunshine State this week.

“I’ll be at the Space Coast in Florida this week giving a speech, a visionary speech, on the United States going back into space in the John F. Kennedy tradition rather than the current bureaucracy,” he said during an appearance on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” program Sunday morning.

The former Speaker of the House has been critical of NASA’s bureaucracy and favored commercial activities in space. His 1984 book, Window of Opportunity, included a chapter about space.

Gingrich is coming off a surprise win on Saturday over Mitt Romney in the South Carolina primary. Romney had earlier criticized Gingrich’s support for human settlements on the moon.

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Engine maker Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne has taken what Florida Today correctly calls a “thinly veiled swipe” at rival SpaceX. The company has put out the ad above that includes a microphone on the left side under the words “Other’s idea of making noise” and one of the company’s success launches on the other with the word “Ours.” The text below the image reads:

While the other guys launch powerful press conferences, we power launches of people and critical payloads. In fact, we’ve powered 14 launches in 12 months with 100% success. While the other guys deliver press conferences, we deliver astronauts and important communication, science and national defense payloads. So, before you listen to their next promise, scan the tag and watch all 14 zero-fail launches. At FutureSpaceUSA.com.

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A bill has been introduced in the Colorado Legislature that would provide commercial spaceflight operators with liability protection in the event they injure or kill customers.

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STRATOLAUNCH PR — HUNTSVILLE, AL, January 20, 2012 — Stratolaunch Systems announced today the ground breaking on a production facility and hangar at the Mojave Air and Space Port. Stratolaunch Systems, founded by Paul G. Allen, is a private aerospace development company that will construct a one-of-a-kind composite aircraft for launching medium class payloads to space. The construction of these facilities will be performed by the Bakersfield-based Wallace and Smith […]

NASA PR — One of NASA’s industry partners, Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) of Utah, successfully held a Launch System Initial Systems Design (ISD) Review of its Liberty Transportation System. This is the third milestone to be completed under ATK’s unfunded Space Act Agreement (SAA) with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

ATK has five milestones to meet under the Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) agreement, which enables NASA and ATK teams to exchange technical information related to Liberty during the Preliminary Design Review phase of the program.
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SpaceX’s Falcon 9/Dragon launch to the space station has been delayed from Feb. 7 to no earlier than late March, the company has said. The flight will attempt to berth the first Dragon freighter to the International Space Station. If successful, it will pave the way for the company to begin delivering cargo on a commercial basis. Meanwhile, Michael Belfiore has posted a report at Popular Mechanics on a visit […]