ORBITEC's Vortex engine. (Credit: ORBITEC)
An interesting item from the Wisconsin State Journal on a new rocket engine design:
Orbital Technologies Corp. received the first of two rockets that could someday send the Madison company’s fortunes sky high — or at least fulfill the dreams of its rocket scientists. The rockets — built by Garvey Spacecraft Corp., of Long Beach, Calif., and California State University at Long Beach — will incorporate a vortex rocket engine designed by Orbitec.
A taikonaut emerges from China's Shenzhou 7 spacecraft after a successful orbital flight
The Global Times has a couple of stories looking at possible U.S.-China cooperation from a Chinese perspective. One is a Q&A with a senior consultant with China’s lunar exploration program. The second is a story about NASA Administrator Charles Bolden’s upcoming trip to China. This website is very pro-Chinese government, so it likely that the views closely track with official policy. So the perspective is valuable.
ROSCOSMOS PRESS RELEASE
Commercial space station to be built jointly by RSC-Energia and Orbital Technologies will be used to conduct scientific experiments, Head of Roscosmos Human Spaceflight Directorate Alexey Krasnov told news media.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden is headed to China and Indonesia this week for talks that will include preliminary discussions on cooperation on human spaceflight between NASA and the Middle Kingdom.
The Chinese trip, which has raised some hackles in Congress, is “intended to be introductory in nature and will not include consideration of any specific proposals for human space flight cooperation or new cooperation in any other areas of NASA’s activities,” Bolden wrote in a letter to Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA).
Wolf had written to Bolden recently objecting to the trip, saying that Congress has placed limits on U.S. cooperation with China in space. The conservative Congressman, who is line for the chairmanship of NASA appropriations subcommittee if Republicans take control of Congress next year, has been very critical of China on human rights and military issues.
A few brief updates on the Indian space program: RIA Novosti reports that ISRO has nixed a proposal for a solo Soyuz flight that would include two Indian astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut. The mission would be an intermediate step toward India’s effort to launch astronauts aboard its own vehicle. India still wants to cooperate with Russia on human spaceflight. (Via Roscosmos website) Spaceflight Now has a somewhat speculative story […]
Jupiter Direct Launcher Variants
Mars Society Founder Robert Zubrin has proposed something he calls the “transorbital railroad” to jump start space exploration and settlement. Although he invokes the railroads that opened up the West, it’s really a proposal known to anyone who has ever shopped at Costco: buy in bulk.
Some news from via the Roscosmos website concerning a leadership change that liquid fuel engine builder Energomash: Meeting of the stock holders of Oct. 4 in Glushko Energomash research and development company decided to withdraw authorities of its director, and to choose a managing company – RSC-Energia. Energia appointed new CEO in Energomash. The position is occupied by Vladimir Solntsev, former vice-president of VTB-Bank, Energomash PAO informs. Energomash builds the […]
ROSCOSMOS PRESS RELEASE
On Oct. 12, Interagency Board chaired by Roscosmos Head Anatoly Perminov qualified Oleg Artemiev as test cosmonaut of RSC-Energia. The Board also recommended to appoint Alexey Khomenchuk (GCTC), Denis Matveev (GCTC), Sergey Prokopiev (Aviation Corps) as cosmonaut candidates, and ordered GCTC to arrange their spaceflight training as test cosmonauts. RSC-Energia’s Sviatoslav Morozov and Ivan Vagner are also planned to go through the training as cosmonaut candidates.
Richard Branson and Burt Rutan watch from the ground. (Credit: Bill Deaver)
STATEMENT FROM BURT RUTAN
“I offer my congratulations to all those on our commercial manned sub-orbital spaceship program for yesterday’s milestone first flight of SpaceShipTwo.
In the video, Richard Branson speaks of commercial flights in 18-24 months, an estimate he has given previously (including 14 months ago at the Oshkosh airshow).
Aviation Week has an outline of Scaled Composites’ test program for SpaceShipTwo, which includes powered flights early next year:
The flight marks the start of the third phase in a seven-phase test program that is expected to culminate with the start of space tourism and science flights in 2012…Unpowered glide testing, which follows four captive-carriage flights to simulate SS2 approaches, will be used to refine the vehicle’s aerodynamics and low-speed handling qualities. For the Oct. 10 flight, Scaled Composites had a cover over the nozzle of the Sierra Nevada RM2 hybrid rocket, and tufts below the duct to visualize the local flow field around the composite-skin nozzle section.
VSS Enterprise on its first test flight. (Photo: Mark Greenberg)
This isn’t really space related, but the Blue Angels were out here on Sunday for Fleet Week zooming and booming over the Bay. And it was fraking awesome!
