ASTROBOTIC PRESS RELEASE
Astrobotic Technology Inc. today announced it has signed a contract with SpaceX to launch Astrobotic’s robotic payload to the Moon on a Falcon 9.  The expedition will search for water and deliver payloads, with the robot narrating its adventure while sending 3D video. The mission could launch as soon as December 2013.
Gear down. (Photo: Mark Greenberg)
Businessworld has a Q&A with Virgin Galactic’s Stephen Attenborough, who says that he expects the company to begin commercial flights by 2012. Some key excerpts:
When will we see the first human going on a private space flight?
…The big aircraft has finished its test flights and it has performed flawlessly. The spaceship is at the glide flight path of its programme because it is a reusable vehicle. We will probably have 5-6 glide flights. Then, later this year, we expect to test the rocket launcher for the first time. As soon as the propulsion tests start, provided the first couple of tests go well, we will undertake the first space flight.
NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver is given a tour of the Bigelow Aerospace facilities by the company's President Robert Bigelow on Friday, Feb. 4, 2011, in Las Vegas. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver visited Bigelow Aerospace and Sierra Nevada Corporation this week to see commercial human spaceflight hardware that to two companies are developing. The following report is based on NASA press releases.
Inflatable Space Stations
In Las Vegas, Garver toured the facilities of Bigelow Aerospace, a company that has been developing expandable space habitats. NASA is evaluating Bigelow’s concept for an expandable module for the International Space Station. If approved, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, could be launched to the station using a commercial cargo flight and robotically attached to the orbiting laboratory.
Gary Locke
Following the removal of sanctions against ISRO and other Indian Organizations, Commerce Department Secretary Gary Locke is leading a six-day trade mission to the subcontinent that begins on Feb. 6. Executives from Boeing and Lockheed Martin are among representatives from 24-high tech companies who will accompany the secretary. Boeing has expressed interest in supplying technologies for India’s planned human spaceflight program.
COMMERCE DEPARTMENT PRESS RELEASE
Jan. 14, 2011
Twenty-four U.S. businesses will join Commerce Secretary Gary Locke for a business development mission to India on February 6-11. The businesses joining the trade mission are based in 13 states across the country and more than half of them are small- and medium-sized companies.
The delegation, which also includes senior officials from the Export-Import Bank (EX-IM) and the Trade Development Agency (TDA), will make stops in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, where Locke will highlight export opportunities for U.S. businesses in the advanced industrial sectors, of civil-nuclear trade, defense and security, civil aviation, and information and communication technologies. Locke accompanied President Obama to India in November, where they witnessed more than $10 billion in business deals between U.S. companies and Indian private sector and government entities, supporting 50,000 American jobs.
Some interesting remarks from Surrey Satellite Technology Chairman Martin Sweeting, who is set to address delegates at the Global Space and Satellite Forum (GSSF) 2011 in Abu Dhabi in May:
“The Middle East region has already demonstrated a keen interest in space-based technologies and I am therefore delighted to be given the opportunity to address the delegates at this year’s GSSF. Small satellites are at the forefront of space innovation, and I believe that there are great opportunities for the region to benefit from the high-tech commercial opportunities in this growing space sector.”
While speaking to the ‘Engineer’ last November, Sir Martin made a prediction which are precisely what you would expect from a visionary. He looks forward to manned space exploration returning within the next ten years after the discovery of significant amounts of water on the Moon and, never one to miss a business opportunity, Sweeting plans to surround the Moon with small satellites to give astronauts internet and communication capabilities.
GM PRESS RELEASE
Robonaut 2, the muscular humanoid robot created by General Motors and NASA, will make a guest appearance with Fox Sports analyst Howie Long during the Fox Network pre-game show before Super Bowl XLV on Sunday.
British rapper Dizzee Rascal has become the latest high profile figure to join the ranks of Virgin Galactic’s celebritynauts: In a recent interview with Britain’s Esquire magazine, Rascal said that he has been talking to his friend Sam Branson, son of the famed British entrepreneur, about reserving a spot on one of Virgin Galactic’s future commercial space flight. He even went as far as to say that he hopes to […]
Aerojet's AJ26 engine successfully tested for Taurus II space launch vehicle. (PRNewsFoto/Aerojet)
NASA MEDIA ADVISORY
Members of the news media are invited to visit NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center on Monday, Feb. 7, to view a flight acceptance test of Aerojet’s AJ26 rocket engine for the Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Taurus II space launch vehicle.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and executives from Orbital and Aerojet will be at Stennis to witness the test, which is targeted for 4 p.m. CST. Following the test, reporters will have an opportunity to ask questions of Bolden and the Orbital and Aerojet executives.
Space News reports that ATK is confident that its solid rocket boosters will continue to be part of NASA’s heavy-lift rocket design:
Solid-rocket-motor manufacturer ATK on Feb. 3 sought to persuade investors that its position in NASA’s future heavy-lift rocket program is getting stronger despite ongoing debate over the vehicle’s cost and schedule.
Minneapolis-based ATK, whose $500 million in annual NASA revenue during the shuttle era is now being reduced to around $300 million a year, said the lower figure seems stable for the foreseeable future given the state of the debate in Washington over what NASA’s heavy-lift rocket will look like.
Tim Pickens describes the Rocket City Space Pioneers plan to go to the moon.
