International Space Station
NASA is looking for some good ideas on how to make use of the International Space Station as a national laboratory. The space agency put out a pre-solicitation notice last week seeking proposals from private sector organizations and other government agencies to increase utilization of the orbiting research facility.
‘Space Dive’ Was His Idea, Man Says
Courthouse News Service
A promoter claims Red Bull energy drink swiped confidential plans for a stunt in which a skydiver will leap from 24.6 miles above the Earth to try to break a 50-year-old record. Daniel Hogan claims he pitched the “SpaceDive” to Red Bull in 2004, and that Red Bull feigned disinterest, only to rename it the Red Bull Stratos dive.
NASA PRESS RELEASE
NASA Ames Research Center Director S. Pete Worden was recognized Tuesday by The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation for his leadership in space exploration.
“I am truly honored to receive the 2010 Arthur C. Clarke Foundation’s Innovator’s Award,” said Worden. “This prestigious award recognizes technology trailblazers whom I personally admire, and I am proud to be considered among them.”
Launch complexes on Wallops Island, Virginia
Guest blogger Jack Kennedy, who edits the Spaceports blog, makes the case for Virginia’s Wallops Island to play a major role in NASA’s new commercial space policy in this op-ed piece, which ran in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on April 21. Kennedy is a former State Assemblyman who serves on the executive committee of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, which governs the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island. This essay is reprinted with the author’s permission.
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By Jack Kennedy
Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell has been consistent in his vision to make Virginia’s commercial spaceport the best in the nation, most notably with his recent budget amendment to increase the operations budget for the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority; he is to be commended.
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport is now being readied for commercial space launches to haul supplies and cargo to the International Space Station beginning next year, following the aging space shuttle’s retirement. The first launch of the yet-to-be-tested Taurus-2 booster with the Cygnus spacecraft will mark not only the beginning of a new era in Virginia but the dawn of the commercial space age in America.
In another sign of Virginia’s commitment to building up its aerospace base, the state has lured Northrop Grumman to relocate its headquarters from LA. The Associated Press reports:
Virginia used an incentive package worth $12 million to $14 million to help it beat Maryland and the District of Columbia to land the corporate headquarters of defense giant Northrop Grumman Corp., Gov. Bob McDonnell said Tuesday.
Hey. Has anyone else notice how much this… …looks a lot like that? I would note that both vehicles were declared lost. That should keep more than a few people up at night, needlessly worrying about our future. Bahahahahahahahaha…[Diabolical laughter]…
Falcon hypersonic technology vehicle (HTV)
DARPA says that it lost contact with an experimental hypersonic test vehicle launched from California last week only nine minutes into a 30-minute flight:
Preliminary review of technical data indicates the Minotaur Lite launch system successfully delivered the Falcon HTV-2 glide vehicle to the desired separation conditions. The launch vehicle executed first of its kind energy management maneuvers, clamshell payload fairing release and HTV-2 deployment.
Approximately 9 minutes into the mission, telemetry assets experienced a loss of signal from the HTV-2. An engineering team is reviewing available data to understand this event.
Miles O’Brien reports on Rocket Racing League flights during an airshow in Tulsa on Saturday.
This week in The Space Review: G. Ryan Faith analyzes the potential for international cooperation and the long-term sustainability of President Obama’s plan for space. Mark Sykes argues that we need to look beyond destinations and deadlines in space understanding whether and how humans can live beyond Earth. Taylor Dinerman describes the latest effort by the U.S. military to develop reusable launch vehicles and what’s needed in order for it […]
David Livingston’s guests on The Space Show this week include Bob Zubrin, Alan Ladwig, Bill Rowe and Neville Marzwell.
Artist's conception of Orbital Sciences Corporation's Cygnus freighter approaching the International Space Station.
Space News reports that there will be a slight delay in the first flight of Orbital Sciences Corporation’s new Taurus II rocket:
Dulles, Va.-based Orbital, in a conference call with investors, said a series of minor delays in development of the company’s new Taurus 2 rocket and its Cygnus space station cargo transporter will push the inaugural Taurus 2/Cygnus launch into May or June 2011 instead of the March date earlier targeted.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 on the pad at Cape Canaveral. (Credit: Chris Thompson/SpaceX)
Saying that it is a “certainty” that ULA will receive NASA contracts to launch humans into space, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk asked why Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby is so dead-set opposed to NASA’s commercialization plan:
“I don’t really understand why Senator Shelby is so opposed to commercial crew,” Musk said, “given that Atlas and Delta are right there in Alabama, because no one’s going to be a bigger winner in commercial crew than United Launch Alliance.”
