ARES INSTITUTE PRESS RELEASE
Nov. 12, 2010
In support of its mission to broaden public awareness of the benefits of space exploration, the Aerospace Research & Engineering Systems Institute, Inc. is giving the public the opportunity to take the ride of a lifetime to the edge of space! We have established an innovative contest giving any U.S. citizen age 18 or older the chance to purchase tickets at $10 a piece to be placed into a raffle.
International Space Station
Made in Space, a company formed out of the most recent Singularity University summer session, is getting a bit of publicity on its efforts to send a 3-D printer to the International Space Station. Space.com reports:
Three-dimensional printers make objects by sequentially depositing thin layers of “feedstock,” which can be metal, plastic or a variety of other materials.
Printing out parts in space would save a great deal of time and money, according to Made in Space. And the technology could eventually be transplanted to other worlds such as the moon, where it could help human colonies gain a foothold by printing out robot parts or buildings, piece by piece.
Canadian space flight dreams live on
CBC News
A new, Canadian commercial spacecraft prototype could launch as soon as next year, a former contender for the Ansari X Prize hopes.
Launch complexes on Wallops Island, Virginia
Sen. Warner says he’ll step up for NASA Langley
Daily Press
U.S. Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., acknowledged that Virginia’s Congressional delegation hasn’t been as vocal supporting NASA as their counterparts in Florida, Texas, and other states. On Thursday at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Warner said he would change that.
“That’s where I’m hoping to pick up the baton,” he said after mentioning U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Florida, who fought hard for an additional Space Shuttle flight, thus staving off thousands of layoffs at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.
JAXA PRESS RELEASES
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. would like to announce that the launch of the H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 2 with the H-II Transfer Vehicle 2 named “KOUNOTORI” (“white stork”) on board.
| Scheduled date of launch | : January 20 (Thursday), 2011 (Japan Standard Time, JST) |
| Launch time | : Around 3:29 p.m. (JST) |
| Launch windows | : January 21 (Fri.) through February 28 (Mon.), 2011 (JST) |
| Launch Site | : Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the Tanegashima Space Center |
Roscosmos Head Anatoly Perminov
ROSCOSMOS PRESS RELEASES
Construction of new Russian space port Vostochny won’t impact Baikonur’s operations, Head of Russian Federal Space Agency Anatoly Perminov said during the press conference after the 13th meeting of the Baikonur Subcommittee of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan Intergovernmental Cooperative Board hosted by Astana on Nov. 9-10.
“Design and research efforts are ongoing currently at Vostochny. In other words, we are preparing the territory for further construction. It will continue at least for the first half of 2011,” Roscosmos Head stated.
A photo of a lunar crater from China's Chang'e II orbiter. (Credit: China National Space Administration)
The China National Space Administration published an interesting Q&A last month with lunar exploration chief designer Wu Weiren. He discusses the Chang’e II spacecraft now orbiting the moon, the nation’s future plans, and the reason it is exploring Earth’s closest neighbor. Below is an English-language version.
Aviation Week reporter Bradley Perrett has a fascinating account of a tour that he and an AIAA delegation took of Chinese space facilities a week after NASA Administrator Charles Bolden visited the country:
China is studying a rocket engine with thrusts of 300-500 tons (660,000-1.1 million lb.), up to four times as powerful as its current equipment, while also working on reusable space launchers, senior leaders have told a U.S. industry delegation.
The pace of Chinese launches is accelerating, says Yang Baohua, president of spacecraft-builder Cast. China has launched 11 satellites this year, has two at their launch sites preparing to go and will follow them with one more, making it 14 for the year. Next year it will launch 20, he says.
Space Florida President Frank DiBelloOfficial expects big gain in space
Florida Today
Space Florida President and Chief Executive Officer Frank DiBello told an audience of about 75 local businesspeople that diversification of the state’s space industry is the key to reaching that goal. That includes commercial launches to supply the International Space Station and other types of launches within Florida, perhaps including horizontal launches from Florida sites outside Brevard County…
DiBello said the tripling of the industry in Florida during this decade is attainable, considering the industry’s $8 billion to $10 billion annual value in Florida is only about 3 percent to 4 percent of the global space market of $257 billion.
Artists conception of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft in orbit
NewSpace supporters are crying foul over the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform’s proposal that NASA eliminate its commercial crew program as part of a broad effort to get federal spending under control. The panel, chartered by President Barack Obama, released a list of illustrative list of $200 billion in savings from the federal budget.
Eliminate funding for commercial spaceflight. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to spend $6 billion over the next five years to spur the development of American commercial spaceflight. This subsidy to the private sector is costly, and while commercial spaceflight is a worthy goal, it is unclear why the federal government should be subsidizing the training of the potential crews of such flights. Eliminating this program would save $1.2 billion in 2015.
The idea was immediately attached as being penny wise and pound foolish by commercial space supporters. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation led the charge:
VG/TSC CEO George Whitesides, CA Sen. Elect Jean Fuller, Mojave Air and Space Port General Manager Stuart Witt, TSC Director of Operations Enrico Palermo, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher at the ground breaking for The Spaceship Company's production facility in Mojave. Photo by Mike Mills
TSC PRESS RELEASE
November 9, 2010
The Spaceship Company (TSC) broke ground today for its new Final Assembly, Integration and Test Hangar today at Mojave Air & Space Port, with the presence of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (CA-22) , Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (CA-46) and Rep. Jean Fuller.
TSC is a new aerospace production company, founded by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Scaled Composites, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Corporation. TSC’s mission is to build the fleet of SpaceShipTwos and WhiteKnightTwos for its customer Virgin Galactic.
Aerojet's AJ26 engine successfully tested for Taurus II space launch vehicle. (PRNewsFoto/Aerojet)
AEROJET PRESS RELEASE
Aerojet, a GenCorp company, announced that its AJ26 engine was hot-fire tested today at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. In support of the Taurus® II launch vehicle program, Orbital Sciences Corporation (Orbital), Aerojet and NASA conducted this first of three hot-fire engine tests to be performed throughout the next several weeks.
