Millionaut Richard Garriott explains how astronauts go the bathroom in space.
XCOR's Mark Street makes an adjustment to a fitting on the pump apparatus prior to an LH2 test.
XCOR PRESS RELEASE
XCOR Aerospace, the developer of the Lynx, a manned suborbital spacecraft and related technologies, and United Launch Alliance (ULA), the primary launch services provider to the US Government, announced the first successful demonstration of XCOR’s long life, high performance piston pump technology with liquid hydrogen.
The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Oil’s Well That Never Ends www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News This is off topic, but this sums up how I feel about this whole BP mess. These guys have destroyed the Gulf Coast for a generation.
The Houston Chronicle reports that folks there are mighty upset over the Obama Administration’s decision to shower resources on Florida:
The Obama administration dealt another symbolic blow to Houston’s space community Wednesday by delivering $15 million in assistance to help Florida aerospace workers get new jobs after the shuttle fleet retires this year. No such money so far has been promised to the Johnson Space Center.
The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Failure to Launch – Atlantis Crew www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News Stephen Colbert gets advice from six orbiting astronauts about his upcoming training session in Houston.
Space Frontier Foundation co-founder Rick Tumlinson talks after a screening of “Orphans of Apollo” in Los Angeles.
Artist's conception of Obital Sciences Corporation's Taurus II rocket set for launch at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia.
WALLOPS: Huge rocket to make its way on Delmarva highways this week
Delmarvanow
People traveling on Delmarva’s highways Wednesday night and Thursday morning may encounter an unusual sight that is evidence of the area’s growing space investment.
A 95-foot-long tractor-trailer specially constructed by an Ohio company will be transporting a full-size mockup of the first stage of Orbital Sciences’ Taurus II rocket roughly 150 miles across portions of three states — from the Wilmington, Del., port to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island.
John McCarthy of Florida Today has a detailed look at proposed upgrades for the Eastern Range, one of the key elements in NASA’s new commercial approach to spaceflight. The Cape has been steadily losing the launch business for decades due to high costs, bureaucracy and antiquated equipment.
President Barack Obama’s plan to spend nearly $2 billion — including $429 million in 2011 — transforming Kennedy Space Center and the adjacent Air Force station into a “21st Century Launch Complex” could lure more of those commercial payloads back to Florida’s spaceport. That might mean fewer jobs at remote tracking locations such as Ascension Island as older equipment is retired, but it would create new jobs locally to support the increased launches. Ideally, the region would also capture some of the pre-launch work, such as assembling the satellites, that is now done elsewhere.
Astronauts4Hire Press Release
Astronauts4Hire announced today that it has selected six new members, bringing the total number of commercial astronaut candidates in the organization to seventeen. The new Astronauts4Hire recruits bring a great depth of experience to the initiative to develop a pool of qualified commercial astronauts. Many of them are private pilots with a long resume of experience working in the aerospace industry and have extensive experience working in microgravity aboard parabolic flights. One new member is a professional triathlete and author of several books on the topic of astronaut training.
PLANETARY SOCIETY PRESS RELEASE
Bill Nye the Science Guy® will take the helm as the new Executive Director of the Planetary Society. Louis Friedman, co-founder and Executive Director since the organization began 30 years ago, is stepping down in September, 2010, but will remain closely involved with the non-profit space group, continuing to direct its solar sail project — Lightsail-1 — and other Planetary Society initiatives.
Falcon 9 takes off on its first flight. (Credit: Chris Thompson SpaceX)
SPACEX PRESS RELEASE
SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) announced that the inaugural flight of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle successfully launched and achieved Earth orbit right on target, marking a key milestone for SpaceX and the commercial space flight industry.
Korea’s Space Rocket ‘Naro’ Gets Transported to Launch Pad
Arirang
With just two days left until the second launch attempt of Korea’s satellite-carrying rocket, the KSLV-1, scientists at the Naro Space Center successfully raised the rocket on the launch pad in preparation for its lift-off on Wednesday.