Ukraine's Cyclone-4 rocket

Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) President Marco Antonio Raupp is leading a technical committee on a tour of Ukrainian companies, factories and agencies this week as part of the joint program to launch Cyclone-4 rockets from the equatorial Alcantara Launch Center in Maranhão.

“The objective is to monitor on-site development work and production of satellite launch vehicle Cyclone-4 and check the progress of the project that resulted from the Cooperation Treaty signed in 2003,” AEB said in a press release. “The schedule needs assessment and detailed monitoring to support important decisions to be taken by Brazilian authorities.”

“The committee is composed of the directors of the Brazilian Space Agency, Himilcon Nilo Carvalho and Andrade; the head of the Laboratory Integration and Testing of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE); Petronio Noronha de Souza, the director of the Institute of Aeronautics and Space (IAE), Francisco Pantoja; and servers by the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology Mario Niwa, Alvani de Adam Silva, Cristiane Silva Pagliuca and Wladimir.”

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ESA PR — Meet Justin, an android who will soon be controlled remotely by the astronauts in ESA’s Columbus laboratory on the International Space Station. With this and other intriguing experiments like the Eurobot rover, ESA is paving the way for exploring the Moon and planets with tele-operated robots.

In two to three years, the experimental robot on Earth will faithfully mimic the movements of an astronaut on the Space Station.

By wearing an exoskeleton wearable robot – a combination of arm and glove with electronic aids to reproduce the sensations a human hand would feel – a distant operator can work as though he were there. (more…)

Moon Express founder Bob Richards says company will send micro-hoppers to the moon. Hoppers will weigh about 5 kilos and be capable of traveling tens of meters to multiple kilometers. Key issues in distance is losing contact over the horizon. Micro-hoppers are based on CubeSat tech and will carry variety of experiments. The main lander itself will be able to hop. Moon Express might use hopping to win Google Lunar […]

As the space shuttle Atlantis prepares for the program’s final flight amid much wailing about America abandoning its leadership role in space, the House Committee on Appropriations has released a spending plan for NASA that shows how much our elected leaders are will to pay to maintain that position. The answer: less than they’re spending now.

The spending plan cuts NASA spending back to 2008 levels with $16.8 billion, a reduction of $1.9 billion from the President’s request and $1.6 billion from the previous year’s budget. The budget increases funds for the Space Launch System and Multipurpose Crew Vehicle while making deep cuts in the President’s requests for commercial crew, space technology, exploration research and development, and science.
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The newest member of the Dream Chaser management team is astronaut Steven Lindsey who will be joining the SNC Dream Chaser team in July as Director of Flight Operations. Steve is the former Chief of NASA’s Astronaut Office, which he ran for four years and is a veteran of four Space Shuttle missions, most recently commanding Space Shuttle mission STS-133.

Former astronaut Jim Voss, a veteran astronaut who flew on five Space Shuttle missions and the Russian Soyuz, and served as a crew member on the International Space Station during Expedition 2. Jim is the SNC Vice President of Space Exploration Systems and is the program executive for the Dream Chaser Program.

SNC has also hired other NASA vets. Read the full press release below. (more…)

China’s Tiangong 1 space station has passed its factory evaluation and was shipped to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on June 29 to be prepped for launch within the next three months, the China National Space Administration announced. China plans to launch the small space station on a Long March IIF rocket by the end of September. The unmanned Shenzhou VIII vehicle will dock with the facility weeks later to […]

NASA MISSION UPDATE
Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:15:54 AM PDT

Following a meeting of the Mission Management Team this morning, STS-135 countdown and weather updates were provided at prelaunch news conference. Panelists included Mike Moses, Mission Management Team chair and space shuttle launch integration manager, Mike Leinbach, shuttle launch director, and Kathy Winters, shuttle weather officer.

“We had a really smooth Mission Management Team meeting today,” said Moses. “The vehicle is in fantastic shape.” In regard to the launch-day weather forecast, he added, “Before we go load the propellants into the tank we’ll take a look at the weather and make sure it’s really a good day to try that, and so at that point we’ll be making a decision”

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JAXA PR — JAXA made the following report at the AKATSUKI’s third investigation meeting for the Space Activities Commission on June 30. As a result of analysis and verifications of the AKATSUKI’s anomaly cause estimated at the first and second investigation meetings, the highest possibility was found to be damage to the thruster nozzle of the orbit maneuver engine due to closure of the check valve during the orbit injection […]

A4H PR – Tampa, Florida – Astronauts4Hire proudly supports the “One Flag in Space” initiative by Blue Marble Space, a nonprofit organization devoted to enabling international unity through space exploration. Astronauts4Hire Flight Members will wear the Blue Marble emblem on their flight suits during training and flight activities beginning with our inaugural training class this July.

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In The Space Review this week…. Human spaceflight, and the reason for (almost) being there When is it appropriate to send humans to other worlds versus sending robotic probes? Dan Lester argues a key factor in future human spaceflight may be the degree of latency needed to successfully perform telerobotics. The mission of the final shuttle mission Attention is focused on the Kennedy Space Center this week for the launch […]

DMCii PR — UK-based satellite imagery provider DMC International Imaging Ltd (DMCii) signed a £110m [$177 million] deal with Beijing-based company 21AT, to provide access to high-resolution satellite imagery for its customers during the Chinese premier’s UK visit. 21AT will lease capacity from three new satellites that are to be launched into a new Earth Observation constellation “DMC3” which will be owned and operated by DMCii.
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Felix Baumgartner’s stalled plan to set a new skydiving record by free falling from 120,000 feet is back on track now that a lawsuit over the Red Bull Stratos project has been settled.

“I am struggling to find the right words to express my happiness, how relieved and motivated I am that it has finally come to an end,” the Austrian daredevil wrote on his blog on Friday. “At this point I´d really like to THANK ALL OF YOU, Fans, friends, family and project-trackers for your great and persistant [sic] support throughout the last couple of months.”

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