ISRO PR — Preparations for the April 20 launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C16) carrying RESOURCESAT-2 satellite are progressing well at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. In this mission, PSLV-C16 will launch RESOURCESAT-2, YOUTHSAT and X-SAT satellites. RESOURCESAT-2 built by ISRO – the primary satellite is an advanced remote sensing satellite weighing 1206 kg for facilitating the study and management of natural resources. YOUTHSAT weighing 92 kg is a […]
The static test of a Falcon 9 rocket on Dec. 4, 2010. (Credit: SpaceX)
NSS PR — In recognition of SpaceX’s groundbreaking year in 2010, with the successful launch of two Falcon 9 rockets, and the safe return of its Dragon capsule, the National Space Society (NSS) is today announcing that Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) will be the recipient of the NSS’s 2011 Pioneer Award for Business Entrepreneur. This award will be presented at the NSS’s annual International Space Development Conference (ISDC), which will be held from May 18-May 22, 2011 in Huntsville, Alabama. Adam Harris, SpaceX’s Vice President for Government Affairs, will accept the award on behalf of SpaceX.
Boeing had a teleconference earlier today updating everyone on its CST-100 crew module. Jeff Foust reports on comments by John Elbon via Twitter: proposed under CCDev-2 to take CST-100 work through PDR and a “good ways” towards CDR. “very preliminary” discussions about making CST-100 compatible with Ariane 5 or H-2. have traffic models for CST-100 that range from 1-2 flights/year to “tens” a year. if don’t get CCDev-2 money, assess […]
SFF PR — Teachers in Space, a project of the Space Frontier Foundation (SFF), has named Rachael Manzer to the new position of Education/Media Liaison. At the same time, the SFF announced that Colleen Howard, Education Coordinator for Teachers in Space, has been promoted to the position of Director of Operations.
“These additions to the management team reflect the rapid growth of Teachers in Space,” said SFF Executive Director Will Watson. “They will allow the project to respond more rapidly to media inquiries, workshop planning, and operational requirements.”
CSF PR — The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Rear Admiral Craig E. Steidle (U.S. Navy, Ret.) has been named as President, effective May 15. Admiral Steidle was approved for the position by a unanimous vote of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s board of directors and will serve full-time in this capacity working from the organization’s headquarters in downtown Washington, D.C.
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Superdiva Gisele Bündchen. (Credit: Gabriel Marchi) The New York Post has an interesting profile of Ted Southern, a Brooklyn fashion designer who has gone from making wings for angels to spacesuit gloves for astronauts. He talks about the challenges of both and dishes on Victoria’s Secret supermodels Heidi Klum and Gisele Bundchen. The Post reports: Not surprisingly, one of his favorite jobs involved outfitting Heidi Klum in giant wings to […]
Russia’s much-delayed Angara rocket suffered another setback this week as officials announced a two-year slip in the construction of its Baiterek launch complex at Baikonur: The Kazakh and Russian space agencies first agreed in January to put off the Baiterek commissioning date until 2015 due to insufficient funding. “Over the period from 2004 to 2010, the project costs have increased significantly. The commission date has also been moved further to […]
Space shuttle Atlantis lands on runway 33 at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility concluding the STS-129 mission. Photo credit: NASA Jack Pfaller
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden has announced where the space shuttles will retire to once all the flights are completed:
- Discovery: National Air and Space Museum, Virginia
- Atlantis: Kennedy Space Center, Florida
- Endeavour: California Science Center, Los Angeles, Calif.
- Enterprise: Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, New York.
The decision has pleased some while angering others so much they want to make a federal case out of it. Before we get to that, a few thoughts of my own.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev with Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space. (Credit: Russian government)
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev awarded state decorations to cosmonauts, employees and veterans at a ceremony in Moscow to mark the 50th anniversary of the first human spaceflight by Yuri Gagarin.
The ceremony was attended by Yury Gagarin’s widow Valentina Gagarina and his two daughters, as well as several members of the first group of cosmonauts, including the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova. U.S. space station commander Scott Kelly and former astronaut Tom Stafford, who commanded the U.S. side of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975, received the Medal for Merits in Space Exploration from the Russian president.
A transcript of Medvedev’s remarks and additional photos follow.
For Yuri Gagarin: Your courage and skill opened up a new frontier for all the world. You exemplified the best of humanity. You left us far too soon. You never were able to fly into space again. You missed seeing humans walk on the moon. You were not here to help the U.S.-Soviet rivalry grow from competition to cooperation. You may be gone, Yuri, but you remain with us in […]
One of the most interesting objects on display at Space Access ’11 was a full-scale rocket engine from a little-known company called DARMA Technology. A transplant from South Korea, the Denver-based company is marketing the engine as having performance close to that of the HL-10 upper stage, but at a fraction at the cost.
The reusable Chase-10 engine is powered by liquid-oxygen (LOX) and methane and has a thrust of 22,000 lbs., somewhat lower than the RL-10’s 24,750 lbs of thrust. In its promotional material, the company says the rocket has a simple, robust design built with advanced manufacturing techniques that make it an affordable alternative to other engines in its class. The engine is reusable with a lifespan estimated at 10,000 seconds.
DARMA is marketing it for $3 million apiece, which company officials say is almost 13 times lower than the $38 million cost for an RL-10 rocket used in the second stages of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V and Delta IV boosters. The RL-10 is built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and originally flew in 1959.