An Ariane 5 rocket soars into orbit on Dec. 29, 2010. Credits: ESA / CNES / Arianespace / Photo Optique vidéo du CSG

ESA Putting Arianespace Finances Under the Microscope
Space News

European governments have ordered a detailed audit of the sources and uses of money at the Arianespace commercial launch consortium and its industrial suppliers as a condition of granting the company’s request for what may be a permanent financial aid package to assure its ongoing financial viability, European government and industry officials said.

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A CubeSat

Spaceflight Services (Spaceflight) and Innovative Space Logistics BV (ISILaunch) announced today that they have teamed to create a global spaceflight services provider for small and secondary payloads.

Spaceflight and ISILaunch currently offer spaceflight services on a variety of orbital and suborbital vehicles for small and secondary payloads, with operations centered in the United States (US) and Europe respectively. Under this joint marketing agreement Spaceflight and ISILaunch will provide a global spaceflight service for the launch of small and secondary payloads by jointly marketing a combined set of products and services to prospective customers.
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The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel that offers guidance to NASA has released its annual report for 2010. A key finding, unsurprisingly, is that the long uncertainty over the space agency’s future is causing a great deal of confusion and lowering morale at NASA centers, possibly jeopardizing safety operations.

The ASAP report also includes a lengthy section concerning NASA’s plans to procure human spaceflight on a commercial basis, with considerable emphasis on the need for the space agency to develop a clear acquisition strategy.

Urgent Need to Promulgate Acquisition Strategy

An acquisition strategy is fundamental to the development of standards and requirements for commercial crew transportation. The Panel has emphasized the necessity of developing and promulgating a good acquisition strategy as quickly as possible.

Key excerpts of the report that deal with clarity of purpose and commercial space are reproduced after the break.

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Commercial Satellite Sector Sees Upside to New Space Policy Hopeful of ITAR Reform, Greater Stake in U.S. Roadmap for Space
Satellite Today

The Obama Administration’s new space policy brings an increased emphasis to the commercial satellite industry as a key player in the future space roadmap. Specifically, the policy calls on government space-based agencies to look first to commercial assets – a strategy that it hopes will lead to faster innovation and more economical access to space while fostering international collaboration and shared risk-taking.

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This week on The Space Show…. Monday, January 107 2011 , 2-3:30 PM PST: We welcome back Mark G Millis for advanced propulsion updates and his recent paper addressing interstellar flight. Mark is the founder of the Tao Zero Foundation. Read his paper at www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/26234/?ref=rss. Tuesday, January 18, 2011, 7-8:30 PM PST: There is no Space Show today as I am traveling to Grand Forks for teaching at UND. Friday, […]

International Space Station

Although construction of the International Space Station has been deemed essentially complete, officials at NASA and Roscosmos are planning further expansion of the orbital facility. NASA managers are considering attaching a Bigelow Aerospace module to ISS, while Roscosmos will add additional modules next year.

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Roscosmos Head Anatoly Perminov has a new deputy. Alexander P. Lopatin was appointed to the post on Jan. 13. He replaces Victor Remishevsky, whom President Dmitry Medvedev fired last month in the wake of a Proton launch failure that send three GLONASS navigation satellites to the bottom of the Pacific. Roscomos PAO posted his bio: Lopatin was born on April 14, 1956. Formerly, he served in Space Forces as Deputy […]

Aerojet Guns for Lead Roles On New Heavy-Lift Rocket
Space News

As NASA settled last year on a congressionally mandated heavy-lift launch vehicle design based on propulsion technologies already in development, rocket-engine manufacturer Aerojet was making a case for opening up key elements of the launcher to competition….
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Terminal Hangar Facility at Spaceport America.

Gov. Susana Martinez sacked the entire New Mexico Spaceport Authority Board of Directors on Friday. Two days later, the Albuquerque Journal published an investigative report exposing construction delays, poor planning, and weak managerial oversight on the $209-million desert spaceport outside of Truth or Consequences.

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China Developing New Rocket Engines Aviation Week China is advancing its space capabilities by developing staged combustion, an engine technology that is likely to offer greater performance for the Long March 6 and 7, two of a family of launchers that the country will field around the middle of the decade. The smaller of the two, the Long March 6, may be the first to go into service, beating the […]

NASA Spaceflight.com has a report about a NASA study looking at how to clean up LEO: A study into Active Debris Removal (ADR) has begun laying the foundations of a long term project to remove large pieces of orbital debris from space. The effort, which may grow into an international project, aims to eventually remove around five large pieces of debris – such as the numerous spent Upper Stages from […]

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

NASA PROGRAM UPDATE

NASA will unveil its new rocket integration facility at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. EST on Friday, Jan. 21.

The Horizontal Integration Facility will support medium class mission capabilities. The first customer to use the facility will be Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Va., with its Taurus II launch vehicle.
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