ESA NOTICE

A number of commercial suborbital vehicles are being considered in Europe, and ESA is looking at the possibilities they might offer for microgravity research. If you think you could help, then we would be pleased to hear from you.

ESA is issuing this ‘Request for Information on Commercial Suborbital Human Flight Vehicles’ to gather information about craft in development in order to analyse the characteristics and possibilities of these emerging projects.

“It is the first time that Europe embarks in this kind of inquiry”, explains Simonetta Di Pippo, ESA Director of Human Spaceflight. “We see this as yet another valuable opportunity to expand the scientific endeavours in space and to promote future exploration missions”.

(more…)

NASA MISSION UPDATE The first demonstration flight of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule for NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program has been scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 8, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The launch window extends from 9 a.m. to 12:22 p.m. EST. During a routine inspection this week, SpaceX engineers observed two small cracks in the rocket’s second stage engine nozzle. SpaceX completed repairs […]

B.C. Spaceport Campaign Launched
CBC News

The head of the Muhammad Institute for Space Science, dedicated to putting the Islamic world back at the forefront of scientific discovery, wants to build a space-launch facility in Canada.

Redouane Al Fakir’s goal has been to return Muslims to the place of pride they held, centuries ago, as world leaders in astronomy.

(more…)

This week in The Space Review…. Breaking the shackles of Apollo For decades after the Apollo program, many have argued for similar approaches for returning humans to the Moon. Travis Senor makes the case for a very different, long-term approach to human exploration of the solar system. Apollo: secrets and whispers Just how would a spy satellite been incorporated into an Apollo mission to take high-resolution images of the lunar […]

Florida Today reports on optimism about an economic rebound in the Sunshine State: While the space industry will shed up to 6,000 jobs in the next several years, Space Florida President Frank DiBello believes that within three years, up to half of those lost jobs can be replaced by the completion of deals that are under way. “We’re looking at somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 (jobs) that I can see,” […]

The Taurus II first stage core at Wallops Island. (Credit: Orbital Sciences Corporation)

OSC PROGRAM UPDATE

The core structure of the Taurus II first stage arrived at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Eastern Virginia on Dec 3, 2010. The core structure was manufactured in Ukraine by Orbital’s subcontractor Yuzhmash. After arrival by a transoceanic cargo ship at the Port of Wilmington, DE, it was transported by overland to the NASA Wallops launch site and was off-loaded into Building H-100 where it will undergo checkout and integration testing.

(more…)

Artists conception of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft in orbit

This just in from SpaceX….

SpaceX engineers are analyzing two small cracks in the aft end of the 2nd stage engine nozzle extension.  These cracks are in a region near the end of the nozzle extension where there is very little stress and so they would not cause a flight failure by themselves.  However, further investigation is warranted to ensure that these cracks are not symptomatic of a more serious problem.

A decision on whether or not to attempt launch on Wednesday will be provided tomorrow evening.

(more…)

Richard Branson poses with Virgin Galactic ticketholders and staff members in front of WhiteKnightTwo.

With commercial space tourism a mere 15 months away — at least according to Richard Branson’s latest prediction to end all predictions, and he’s never wrong about such things — we’ll soon be confronted with a brand new species of humans: the celebritynaut. Yes, the folks who already have everything will soon have even more to set them apart from the rest of us. And boy will they flaunt it something sickly. Your eyes will bleed pumpkins reading about it!

In an effort to prepare the recession-racked world for this new era of conspicuous in-your-face consumption, Parabolic Arc will be profiling some of those who will soon take the ultimate roller coaster ride in the sky. We’ll start with one Brit rumo(u)red to hold a ticket who actually outranks even Sir Richard — not due to any actual life achievements, mind you. But, simply by being born into a filthy rich family that my country hasn’t had much use for in over two centuries, and having a “special relationship,” should we say, with one of Virgin Galactic’s key American employees.

Parabolic Arc is please to present….

(more…)

RIA Novosti reports that Russia’s delay plagued Angara rocket is facing some additional funding issues, this time involving the $446 million launch complex being built for it at Baikonur: Kazakhstan’s national space agency, Kazcosmos, has requested more funding for the joint Russian-Kazakh project to build a new launch pad at the Baikonur space center. In late December 2004, Russia and Kazakhstan signed the deal to build a new launch pad, […]

The Russian government has announced the formation of an investigative committee to review the weekend failure of a Proton rocket that destroyed three advanced navigational satellites: Interagency Board has been established to investigate the failure which occurred on Dec. 5 during launch of Proton-M with three Glonass-M spacecraft. As a result of the failure, Glonass-M cluster was injected into non-targeted orbit. The Board comprises representatives of the Ministry of Defense, […]

Both Soyuz launchers currently at the Spaceport are shown inside the MIK Launcher Integration Building. The #2 Soyuz now has its four first-stage strap-on boosters installed on the central core. Next to it is the other Soyuz, which was built up earlier this year with the integration of its first, second and third stages – and is installed on the transporter/erector rail car. (Credit: Arianespace)

ARIANESPACE PROGRAM UPDATE

The second of two Soyuz launchers in French Guiana is undergoing assembly as part of regular maintenance checks that are standard for the Russian-built vehicles in storage awaiting liftoff.

In activity at the Spaceport’s new Soyuz Launcher Integration Building – known by its Russian “MIK” designation – this vehicle’s four first-stage strap-on boosters have been integrated with the Block A core second stage, allowing propulsion system pneumatic testing to be conducted while the vehicle is installed in horizontal jigs.

(more…)

The first Falcon 9/Dragon flight has been delayed from Tuesday until later this week because of a potential problem in a nozzle weld on the second stage, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said during a press conference today. The earliest launch date is Thursday, but the flight could slip to Saturday if engineers must replace the nozzle.