Above is a comparison table showing American rockets that are in operation, in development, and proposed. Most of this information is taken from FAA documents. I have added information for Taurus II, which is set to debut in September, and the proposed Falcon 9 Heavy based on company documentation. Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Taurus II is a medium-launcher that is set to fill the market void is being left by the […]
Big news from SpaceX on April 5. My guess this will be news about the Falcon 9 Heavy. There is an “FH” logo at the end of the video.
The California Space Authority, an industry trade group, lobbied this week on behalf of President Barack Obama’s effort to reform restrictive export laws that industry officials are costing Americans jobs and destroying U.S. competitiveness in the lucrative high-tech markets, including satellites.
A P3 Navy aircraft with Hangar One at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. (Copyright 2008: Douglas Messier)
NASA contributes $3.6 billion in direct contracts and an additional $14.1 billion in in-direct jobs to the Golden State through its three field centers, according to the California Space Authority. The agency directly employs more than 7,100 with an annual payroll in excess of $900 million.
The highlight of the Mars500 was landing to Mars. Diego and Romain are showing in this long video all what happened during exiting February at the Mars500 modules. The Mars500 crew arrived virtually at Mars on 1 February and – as the mission description goes – docked there with a lander, found it full of cargo and transferred it to their spacecraft. After careful preparations three crewmembers (Diego Urbina, Alexandr […]
A BBC reporter became the first journalist to have a look inside Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo. With the vehicle still in glide tests, there’s not that much to see but it’s interesting nonetheless. I note that he puts the first commercial flights as being hopefully in 2013. If he’s right, it means Virgin Galactic is within its rolling 18-24 month window. Still.
The California Space Authority, a non-profit industry group, has been on Capitol Hill this week lobbying officials on behalf of the Golden State’s space industry, which makes up 22 percent of the global space market. CSA is pursuing a broad agenda that includes requested Congressional actions regarding NASA, DoD, export reform, hosted payloads, satellite procurement, and education.
A summary of CSA’s main lobbying goals, excerpted from the authority’s point papers, is shown after the break.
Two prominent Republican Congressmen slammed NASA for delays and violating the law in its approach to the 2012 budget by reducing funding for a heavy-lift vehicle and the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (Orion) at the expense of spending more money on commercial space options.
“The debate is over,” said Rep. Ralph M. Hall (R-TX), chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. “This act is the law. NASA has its direction. The administration needs to acknowledge this, and act accordingly….
“But as we have seen from the FY2012 budget request, the administration is trying to ignore the thrust of this act. We expect NASA to proceed with the uninterrupted development of the Space Launch System (SLS) and Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) that builds upon – and takes maximum advantage of – the significant work and capabilities that already exist,” Hall added.
CSA PR — SANTA MARIA, CALIF. — The Board of Directors for the California Space Authority (CSA), a statewide non-profit organization, has voted to terminate the organization’s pursuit of a long-term lease at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB). CSA began its pursuit of an Air Force lease for development of the California Space Center on VAFB in February 2004.
The CSA Board of Directors also voted to explore the possibility of moving the California Space Center to a site within the City of Lompoc.
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This week in The Space Review…. “We’ve got to move on†As the 2011 fiscal year reaches the halfway mark this week, NASA still lacks a final budget for the fiscal year as well as a firm plan for its future human spaceflight plans. Jeff Foust reports on how the continued debate and lack of action has some in industry increasingly concerned. Picking sides in cislunar space Many space exploration […]
Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center
The Office of Personnel Management has directed federal chief human capital officers to broaden their recruitment efforts to include aerospace workers being put out of work by the end of the space shuttle. In essence, other federal agencies will make a greater effort to recruit workers with relevant skills.