Former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin continues to insert himself into the debate over NASA’s future. In a widely circulated email, Griffin says he would rather have the space agency burned to the ground by inaction than to accept the Senate’s authorization bill: As happened after the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia, it is time once again to ask ourselves whether we want to have a real space program, or not. […]
A report from the London-based Economic Policy Centre recommends that the United Kingdom deepen cooperation with other space powers, emulate the Isle of Man’s approach to space commerce, and learn from the United States’ experience in licensing commercial spaceports.
Presentation by Roscosmos Head Anatoly Perminov
at the Heads of the Agency Plenary
International Astronautic Conference 2010
Sept. 27 — Prague
“Roscosmos actively uses space technologies for innovative economical evolution. With the budget much lower than the NASA’s one, we have to work day and night to achieve the objectives we have.
“We keep high launch intensiveness of Russian rocket carriers. Since last October, we have made 29 launches, i.e. 41% of the number of launches in the world.
Soyuz rocket
Russia’s Chemical Automatics Design Bureau (KBKhA) “have almost completed validation and verification of the RD-0124 engine to be used on Soyuz-2-1b carrier,” according to a story on the Roscosmos website. “Governmental acceptance of the engine is the next step.”
The new RD-0124 upper-stage engine increases the Soyuz rocket’s capacity by 1 metric ton. It will be used on Soyuz commercial launches out of French Guiana that are set to begin next year.
A variant of the engine, the RD-0124Ð, will be used on the new family of Angara rocket that is being designed by the Khrunichev Space Center. “The validation of this engines is also coming close to a significant stage – the first stage firing tests are to be carried out soon,” the report states.
The Angara, which is set to be a mainstay for Russian military launches, has been repeatedly postponed due to funding issues. The first test launch is now scheduled for 2013.
Roscosmos Head Anatoly Perminov
ROSCOMOS PRESS RELEASES
Roscosmos initiates an international asteroid protection project, Head of the Russian Federal Space Agency told news media during International Astronautical Congress in Prague, right after the meeting of the International Public Committee on IGMAS project (international global natural and industrial emergency aerospace monitoring system).
“This project — development of anti-asteroid protection — is rather expensive. Asteroids threat to the mankind, so the project shall get international status,” Perminov said. “We have already negotiated it with ESA and European Union, however these were just talks.”
Florida Today has a good summary of what the House will vote on tomorrow:
Under a suspension of ordinary House rules for debate and amendments, the bill would require a two-thirds majority for approval.
It could still be months later, during a “lame duck” session of Congress after mid-term elections, before appropriators supply the agency with a promised funding increase. The bills offer a total of $58.4 billion over three years, including $19 billion next year.
Ben and Cariann review the latest developments in NewSpace, including Boeing’s effort to send space tourists into orbit.
The agenda for the Space Manufacturing 14: Critical Technologies for Space Settlement Conference has been posted. The Space Studies Institute event will be held from Oct. 29-31 at the NASA Ames Conference Center and Sheraton Sunnvale Hotel in California. The full agenda has been posted.
Space Access Society Bulletin – Alert Followup
Monday 9/27/10
Today saw one extremely promising development: Representative Bart Gordon, Chairman of the House Science Committee and leading spokesman for the HR.5781 House version NASA Authorization, has conceded that the only practical way of “..providing certainty, stability, and clarity to the NASA workforce and larger space community…” is to allow the Senate NASA Authorization, S.3729, to come up for a vote in the House this week. In this morning’s House Science committee press release at https://science.house.gov/press/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=2926, he says he “anticipate(s) that the House will consider the Senate version of the NASA reauthorization on Wednesday.”
But the Senate version still needs to win a 2/3rds House vote, on the near-certain assumption it will only be considered under “suspension of the rules†fast-track procedures. That 2/3rds vote is no sure thing. We need one last big push on this.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden made some interesting comments today about opening up the International Space Station to additional partners during a heads of agencies round table held at the International Aeronautical Conference in Prague.
STATEMENT BY REP. BART GORDON
Sept. 27, 2010
“I anticipate that the House will consider the Senate version of the NASA reauthorization on Wednesday. I still believe that the bipartisan Compromise language we released is a better approach. I have a number of concerns with the Senate bill, including:
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The Space Frontier Foundation released this video of people promoting the Obama Administration’s space plan. It’s pretty good overall, except it’s dominated mostly by talking heads so it reminds me of a PBS documentary. Spending the first quarter of the video (two minutes plus) on a Nostradamus/Mayan style humanity is doomed if we don’t do this narrative may not have been the best choice. It’s depressing, for one. And it’s […]