SpaceX's Falcon 9 on the pad at Cape Canaveral. (Credit: Chris Thompson/SpaceX)

SpaceX Undercut Competition To Clinch Head-turning Iridium Deal
Space News

Startup launch services provider Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), which has made a habit of turning heads in the industry since it was created in 2002, did so again on June 16, announcing a firm $492 million contract with mobile satellite services operator Iridium Communications to launch Iridium’s second-generation constellation of 72 satellites.

The implied price — $6.8 million for each 800-kilogram Iridium satellite launched into a 780-kilometer orbit — is at a level not seen in the launch industry since Russian and Ukrainian rockets were first introduced into the commercial market in the mid-1990s. These vehicles’ prices have since risen sharply.

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Ares I-X lifts off from the Cape.

NASA contractors across the country are bracing for layoffs as a result of the Obama Administration’s efforts to kill the Constellation program. Alabama, Texas and Utah — where workers are building key elements of NASA’s next human spaceflight program — would be especially hard hit.

The Huntsville Times reports:

Huntsville is bracing for “serious and significant job loss” after NASA’s decision to cut nearly $1 billion from the Constellation rocket program, Mayor Tommy Battle says…

Battle declined to speculate on how many of an estimated 1,500 Constellation support jobs here are at risk. The process will play out over the next 90 days, Battle said….

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The Rocket Racing League may not have had any actual races yet, but you will be happy to hear that they have released a computer game. Billed as the place “where rocket racer reality meets virtual racing,” the game is available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The press release says:

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First successful stable flight of BonNova’s jet-powered VTVL testbed  on March 23, 2010.

The Government Executive website has a bit more on the lawsuit filed by the American Small Business League against NASA over the release of contracting data:

The federal government sets out to award 23 percent of the total value of all prime contracts to small businesses annually. The Small Business Administration negotiates individual objectives for each agency, ensuring that when combined they meet the overall statutory goals.

But advocates say instances of large corporations being listed as small businesses in federal contracting awards keep cropping up. ASBL spokesman Christopher Gunn said large companies that showed up in data on small business awards in 2008 included Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp.

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SPACE DEVELOPMENT STEERING COMMITTEE
PRESS RELEASE

On Tuesday June 15th President Barack Obama pointed to an energy future in which alternative sources, “ingenious” sources will replace the oil that is now spilling into the Gulf of Mexico.

China and Germany already dominate the traditional green energies. But there is one energy technology in which America leads the world–solar power from space.

Buzz Aldrin and 20 other experts in the space community have urged the president to put space solar power on his energy agenda.

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Falcon 9 takes off on its first flight. (Credit: Chris Thompson SpaceX)

IRIDIUM & SPACEX PRESS RELEASE

Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:IRDM) and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) are pleased to announce that the Falcon 9 will be a major provider of launch services for Iridium NEXT, Iridium’s next-generation satellite constellation. The $492 million contract, while being the largest single commercial launch deal ever signed, nonetheless represents a new benchmark in cost-effective satellite delivery to space.

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CSF PRESS RELEASE

The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Bigelow Aerospace, LLC (“Bigelow Aerospace or “BA”) has joined the Federation as an Executive Member, having received unanimous approval by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Board of Directors.

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The Associated Press is reporting that SpaceX is set to announce a $492 million deal with Iridium to launch a fleet of communications satellites aboard the Falcon 9 rocket. The company recently announced a $2.9 billion effort to launch 72 spacecraft into orbit.

Jaxa’s IKAROS solar sail spacecraft fully deployed taken from the separation camera.

ESA MISSION UPDATE

ESA’s comet-chaser Rosetta is heading for a blind date with asteroid Lutetia. Rosetta does not yet know what Lutetia looks like but beautiful or otherwise the two will meet on 10 July.

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Artist Impression of Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo/SpaceShipOne over Spaceport America in New Mexico.

GOVERNOR’S OFFICE PRESS RELEASE

Governor Bill Richardson today announced that Rick Homans will become the permanent Executive Director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority as of July 1. Homans will step down from his position as Secretary of the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department.

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