An interesting item in today’s Florida SPACErePORT:

A delegation of executives from Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye (builder of the Zenit and Cyclone launch vehicles) is exploring opportunities for basing a new launch vehicle program at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The Mayak family of rockets is  based on the Zenit and Cyclone vehicles and could be considered Ukraine’s answer to Russia’s Angara modular family of vehicles (built by rival rocket maker Khrunichev).

The Mayak would feature light, medium and heavy lift versions (8 tons, 20 tons, and 42 tons to LEO, respectively) and would be capable of launching humans. Yuzhnoye appears to be partnered with Excalibur Almaz to carry its commercial space station hardware and astronaut personnel to orbit. In addition to launching Mayak rockets from Florida, the discussion is focusing on opportunities for manufacturing or assembly of the vehicles on the Space Coast.

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SIA and AIA PR — SIA and AIA welcome a proposed amendment to H.R. 1540, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, that would authorize the president to remove satellites and related components from the U.S. Munitions List, subject to certain restrictions and congressional oversight.

More than a decade ago, Congress passed legislation that required all commercial satellites, satellite components, associated technical data and related ground equipment to be treated as “munitions” for export licensing purposes. SIA and AIA have long encouraged Congress to adopt legislation that would allow the executive branch to determine the appropriate export licensing policy for commercial satellites and related items, just as it does for all other technologies that are subject to U.S. export licensing.
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COSMICA PR – Toulouse, France (May 26, 2011) – Garrett Smith, founder and president of Cosmica Spacelines and Khaki McKee from XCOR Aerospace today revealed experiment development and integration opportunities for commercial, educational and government suborbital research missions at the 3AF Toulouse Midi-Pyrenees conference. The conference, held at Airbus’ plant in Toulouse, France, is a joint event organized by the Royal Aeronautical Society Toulouse Branch and the Aeronautics & Astronautics Association of France (3AF) Toulouse Midi-Pyrenees Chapter.

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With ATV Johannes Kepler in space and ATV Edoardo Amaldi almost built, the next Space Station supply craft coming off the production line has been named after the most famous scientist of all time: Albert Einstein. Launch is expected in early 2013.

With relativity and E=mc², Albert Einstein is a major icon of 20th century science.

His theories have been stringently tested in space and his work is used to guide spacecraft to other planets – and now he will fly into orbit. ESA has decided to name the fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) after Albert Einstein.

ATVs are an essential contribution by Europe for supplying and maintaining the International Space Station. (more…)

Nearly four years after it was announced, the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize remains stuck on the ground, tied down by the same type of wrangling and delays that often characterize government space projects it is designed to replace.

Rules for the private moon race are still being revised. Teams have had trouble moving ahead due to the uncertainty. Deadlines have been pushed back. And there is deep frustration among competitors over the X Prize Foundation’s efforts to monopolize nearly all of the media and intellectual property (IP) rights from the contest.

The competition’s original goal – to launch a new industry by demonstrating that lunar exploration can be done quickly and cheaply by the private sector – has become lost in a complex process that has left everyone frustrated. The focus at times seems to be less on flying the missions than on who will profit from them.

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NASA PR — WASHINGTON — NASA is seeking proposals for services from commercial suborbital flight providers and payload integrators to support the agency’s Flight Opportunities Program, which is part of NASA’s Office of the Chief Technologist.

NASA will award contracts to multiple vendors capable of providing payload integration and flight services on commercial suborbital reusable launch vehicles. The flights will carry a variety of payloads to help meet the agency’s technology and innovation goals enabling future missions and benefiting America’s commercial aerospace industries.

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The New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) has issued a Request For Proposal (RFP) for the Visitor Experience for Spaceport America, announced Christine Anderson, Executive Director of the NMSA.

“Spaceport America is all about creating new jobs and making New Mexico an even bigger tourism destination,” said Anderson. “This contract will help develop an exciting attraction for our domestic and international visitors while also building a strong brand for Spaceport America throughout the world.”

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ROSCOSMOS PR — Program of space tourist flights may face a year delay, Roscosmos Human Spaceflight Directorate Head Alexey Krasnov stated. According to him, an additional Soyuz vehicle to be built by RSC-Energia for space tourists might be produced in 2014 instead of 2013. The delay is dependent on Roscosmos partner Space Adventures which is to collect required number of is not able to provide necessary number of solvent candidates […]

Pad OA at Wallops Island. (Credit: Orbital Sciences Corporation)

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has signed legislation that will direct revenues generated by commercial spaceflight activities within the state toward expanding the Wallops Island spaceport. The measure currently impacts only one firm, Space Adventures.

“It is my goal to make Wallops Island the best spaceport in America and this legislation will direct revenue generated by commercial spaceflight to the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority encouraging significant growth of the aerospace industry in the Commonwealth,” McDonnell said in a statement.

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The Big Island of Hawaii

NASA PR — WASHINGTON — NASA and Hawaii have agreed to collaborate on a wide range of activities to promote America’s human and robotic exploration of space. The partnership also will contribute to the development of education programs and foster economic opportunities including new, high-tech jobs.

Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie and NASA Associate Deputy Administrator Rebecca Keiser signed a two-year non-reimbursable Space Act Agreement Annex during a ceremony today in Honolulu. The ceremony was held on the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s historic announcement committing the country to land an American on the moon and return him safely before the end of the decade.

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