NASA Mission Update — The countdown for the final space shuttle launch began today at 1 p.m. EDT, starting at the T-43 hour mark. However, the launch-day weather forecast looks less than favorable for Friday’s 11:26 a.m. liftoff. At the 10 a.m. precountdown status briefing this morning, NASA Test Director Jeremy Graeber reported space shuttle Atlantis is ready for flight, and STS-135 payload manager Joe Delai said the payloads are […]
Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center
Florida Today‘s James Dean takes a look at Kennedy Space Center’s future as it prepares to launch the final space shuttle mission on Friday and to weather at least a four-year gap in human spaceflight. The human cost is turning out to be quite high:
Kennedy Space Center, meanwhile, will be in transition as its work force during the next 18 months dips to its lowest level since the end of the Apollo program, with approximately 8,000 to 8,500 employees.
This week on The Space Show…. Tuesday, July 5, 2011, 7-8:30 PM PDT. Open Lines. Suggested discussion topics include new Economist Issue re the cover story, “The End Of The Space Age.” This is the current issue July 2-8, 2011 available everywhere. Also, Facebook, news articles about the crisis in our space industry and the mired condition of NASA funding per Aviation Week, plus more. Friday, July 8, 2011 , […]
A full length documentary narrated by the Canadian actor who played the most famous fictional American space captain in history who in real life is afraid to fly. How does he pull that off? ACTING! Excellent job, Bill. Live long and prosper.
Here’s an intriguing bit of news about the possible resurrection of the South Texas Spaceport project:
Negotiations to bring an aerospace company to Willacy County for commercial satellite launchings are intensifying, according to County Judge John F. Gonzales Jr.
He said he cannot yet release the name of the company. But he said, “They’ll be investing up to $50 million and hiring 100 to 200 full-time people, from low-end labor up to electrical engineers. Wages will be at least 30 percent above the local norm.”
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden’s talk at the National Press Club in Washington on Friday.
Happy 235th birthday, America! You don’t look a day over 139. PA will be taking the day off to honor the nation’s birthday. No updates unless something extraordinary happens. See you all on Tuesday.
Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center
Amid the gloom over the space shuttle’s retirement, there is some potentially good news for Florida’s Space Coast, which will bear the brunt of the economic pain. In his speech to the National Press Club on Friday, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said:
And speaking of those facilities at KSC and across the agency, we have had tremendous interest from our commercial space partners in re-using or leasing these assets – and are close to making some major announcements about them soon. The re-use of our unique NASA assets, like the Orbiter Processing Facilities, will help these companies keep their costs down and create jobs for the space industry of tomorrow.
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL—On December 8, 2010, SpaceX became the first commercial company in history to launch, fly, land and recover a spacecraft from low Earth orbit. Now through July 10, 2011, that spacecraft, the SpaceX Dragon, will make its first public appearance in Florida since its historic inaugural flight.
SpaceX, in coordination with the Air Force Space and Missile History Center, will host a public viewing of the Dragon capsule through July 10 on the grounds of the History Center, located just outside the South Gate of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS).
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AIA Calls for Continued Aerospace Investment
“Second to None” Federal Budget Education Campaign Launched
AIA PR — June 30, 2011
Former FAA Administrator and current President and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, Marion C. Blakey, called for accelerated implementation of FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System and increased U.S. investment in research and development to avoid losing our leadership in aerospace and defense.
CSA PR — The Bank of Canada has announced that Canadarm2 and Dextre will adorn the $5 bills of its new series of polymer bank notes. The series underlines the innovative spirit of the Canadian people by showcasing several great achievements in fields such as medicine, environmental sciences and space conquest. The Canadian robots on the International Space Station bank notes will enter circulation before the end of 2013.
In remarks at the National Press Club today, astronaut Mark Kelly said he does not see a political career on the horizon after he retires from NASA in October. A possible run for the U.S. Senate had been rumored after Kelly announced he would be retiring from the space agency. Kelly said his priorities for the foreseeable future are to help his wife, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), recover from gunshot […]