Congratulations to Team Phoenicia, one of the 29 entrants in the Google Lunar X Prize competition, on racking up its first sale. According to the team’s blog: Team Phoenicia is proud to announce that it has sold its first engine to Soneplar Space Systems. We had already sold SSS RP-1 and LOX tanks. This completes their basic test set up. SSS has gone as far as to set up their […]
This week in The Space Review…. Commercial space, what’s good for Florida, and 2012 The end of the shuttle program has caused plenty of angst in Florida, where people fear the loss of jobs that will result after the shuttle is retired. Alan Stern notes that commercial space efforts can help the local economy rebound, provided there’s sufficient political support for them. The national space policy, one year later One […]
Russia plans to launch the inaugural flight of the new Soyuz-1 booster from Plesetsk next April, ITAR-TASS reports. The vehicle will launch a pair of university satellites into low Earth orbit. The Soyuz-1 is a stripped down version of the Soyuz-2.1b rocket with its booster rockets removed and its first stage refitted with NK-33 engines originally built for the Soviet lunar program. The second stage remains the same as the […]
Michael Clark conducted a very interesting interview with XCOR CEO Jeff Greason recently.
This week on The Space Show…. Tuesday, June 28, 2011, 7-8:30 PM PDT: We welcome back Dr. Robert Zubrin to discuss his Mars manned mission plans. Thursday, June 30, 2011, 9:30-11AM PDT: We welcome Jim Maser of Pratt Whitney to discuss aerospace workforce issues for the United States. Mr. Maser has received significant press regarding his thoughts and comments on this topic over the past few months. Friday, July 1, […]
Video Caption: Time lapse showing the week of work following the initial lander assembly, featuring preparation for shipping, mounting to the shipping fixture, and loading into the truck.
SpaceShipTwo glides downward on its first test flight. (Photo: Mark Greenberg)
Leonard David has a report on SpaceShipTwo testing in Mojave, which is going swimmingly:
“Another good flight test for the program, on a beautiful Mojave morning,” said George Whitesides, Virgin Galactic’s CEO.
“This is what Scaled is so good at: flying, testing, and learning in a rapid cycle of innovation. The high flight rate is a positive indication of the vehicles’ ability to fly frequently and safely,” he told SPACE.com.
SpaceShipTwo testing is headed for a quiet period starting in July, as the Scaled team analyzes the data from the test flight program to date.
ESI PR — Omega Envoy, a non-profit research laboratory that is competing in the Google Lunar X PRIZE (GLXP), is proud to announce sponsorships by National Instruments and Solar Made.
National Instruments will provide Omega Envoy with data-acquisition technology that will be used to monitor the Florida-based team’s lander and rover.
Solar Made has provided Omega Envoy with solar cells that will go onto the Florida-based team’s lander and rover. In short, Solar Made is ensuring that Omega Envoy will have all the power it needs for the mission. Earthrise Space Inc. (Omega Envoy’s parent organization) will space qualify some of these systems and test them at the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) located in Devon Island in Canada.
AIA — The Aerospace Industries Association is concerned about substantial cuts to national security space programs in the fiscal year 2012 House Defense Appropriations bill.
“We understand the need for belt-tightening in today’s economic climate,” said AIA President and CEO Marion C. Blakey. “However, we are deeply concerned that the cuts to national security space go too far.”
National security space systems provide essential capabilities such as global satellite communications; access to space; positioning, navigation and timing; environmental monitoring; Operationally Responsive Space support to the warfighter; situational awareness and missile warning.
The Pacific Coast Business Times has a post mortem on the California Space Authority, the recently dissolved non-profit group whose role was to promote the Golden State’s space industry. Among the findings: Although the group collected hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from private companies, its main source of income was from federal and state governments CSA collapsed after it lost a $5 million federal grant and could not secure […]
Subpoena Threatened Over Heavy-Lift Rocket
Aviation Week
Sen. John D. Rockefeller, 4th, plans to subpoena documents related to NASA’s plans for a heavy-lift space launch system (SLS) and other activities if the agency does not produce them by the close of business on June 27.
The Canadian Press reports: “William Shatner has said that he’s scared to go into space and it’s quite ironic really when you think of his career,” company founder Sir Richard Branson told The Canadian Press. “And, like most celebrities, he would like a freebie.” “I’m in the airline business and a lot of people ask for upgrades and we’re not going to get the same thing happening with our space […]