There are signs that officials in Florida are beginning to come around to President Barack Obama’s new plan for NASA. In an opinion piece published last Thursday in the Miami Herald and Tallahassee Democrat, Space Florida President Frank DiBello embraces the development of a commercial space sector:

It is clear, and has been for many years, that the future of space, along with the investment, innovation, and jobs that go along with it, lies in the innovations of the commercial sector.  There indeed could have been a less painful path to this evident redirection. But at least for Florida, while we’ve been engaged in our number one priority ­­– advocating to save our highly-valuable collective workforce – we’ve also had the foresight to gauge the general trajectory.  We are more than ready to leverage our assets and embrace our role to support America’s leadership in space.

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Orbital Sciences Corporation has put out a press release about tomorrow’s scheduled launch of the Minotaur IV rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The converted Peacekeeper ballistic missile will carry DARPA’s HTV-2 hypersonic vehicle on a flight that Orbital says shows the company’s leading position in rocket development:

“The debut of Minotaur IV begins a series of launch vehicle system introductions that will highlight Orbital’s position as the most active current developer of new rocket systems in the world. Beginning with Minotaur IV, Orbital is scheduled to complete the development and carry out the first flights of five new space and strategic launch systems in the next two and a half years.

The four other launch vehicles are the Launch Abort System for NASA’s Orion program, the two-stage interceptor booster for the Missile Defense Agency’s Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, the Taurus II medium-class space launch vehicle for NASA and other customers, and the Air Force’s Minotaur V rocket that is scheduled to launch NASA’s LADEE lunar mission in 2012.”

The full press release after the break.

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CSA UPDATE

This April, the California Space Authority (CSA), facilitator of the collaborative statewide California Space Enterprise Strategic Plan 2010-2012, will be hosting several webinars around critical issues identified by the CSA Board’s appointees to the Space Enterprise Advisory Council (SEAC). A webinar will also be held to revisit the collaborative statewide vision that the California space enterprise community has adopted for its past two strategic plans.

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Elon Musk talks to Bloomberg News about SpaceX. He makes an excellent point that NASA is looking for multiple providers, with Boeing and Lockheed likely to be involved. Musk says that opponents of Obama’s plan have constructed a straw man by saying the President wants to turn over the entire program to SpaceX. Oh, Musk seems to be perfecting an American accent. His South African one seems to be almost […]

Norm Augustine, chair, Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee, hosts “Jumpstarting the New Technologies to Take Us Beyond,” one of four sessions held last week at the Kennedy Space Center.

Monday, April 19, 2010: 2-3:30 PM PDT: We welcome back Marc Millis. Marc Millis is a leading international authority on the search for breakthrough spaceflight propulsion – the kind of propulsion breakthroughs that would make interstellar voyages practical. Tuesday, April 20, 2010, 7-8:30 PM PDT: OPEN LINES. Call in and let us hear what is on your mind. Thursday, March April 22, 2010, 9:30-10:30 AM PDT: We welcome back Gwynne […]

The Space Review examines President Barack Obama’s speech at KSC last week, where NASA’s human spaceflight program is heading, and what Mr. Spock thinks of the space agency’s plans. Meanwhile, Dwayne Day continues his look at an old Air Force space plane project. Jeff Foust summarizes Obama’s speech and the reaction to it, and the the prospects for change at the space agency. G. Ryan Faith analyzes crew and transportation […]

GSLV Mark III engine test (Photo: ISRO)

An update on the failure of India’s GSLV-D3 rocket, which crashed into the Bay of Bengal on Thursday after its cryogenic third stage failed:

A preliminary study of flight data by the scientists has determined that the cryogenic stage did indeed ignite but failed to function thereafter as a fuel turbo pump that supplied fuel to the cryogenic engine stopped working just a second after ignition.

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Robonaut2 – or R2 for short – is the next generation dexterous robot, developed through a Space Act Agreement by NASA and General Motors. It is faster, more dexterous and more technologically advanced than its predecessors and able to use its hands to do work beyond the scope of previously introduced humanoid robots.

NASA PROGRAM UPDATE

NASA will launch the first human-like robot to space later this year to become a permanent resident of the International Space Station. Robonaut 2, or R2, was developed jointly by NASA and General Motors under a cooperative agreement to develop a robotic assistant that can work alongside humans, whether they are astronauts in space or workers at GM manufacturing plants on Earth.

The 300-pound R2 consists of a head and a torso with two arms and two hands. R2 will launch on space shuttle Discovery as part of the STS-133 mission planned for September. Once aboard the station, engineers will monitor how the robot operates in weightlessness.

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Texas Gov. Rick Perry is very angry about President Barack Obama’s space policy. During an appearance at the Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, Perry blasted the President for his speech in Florida last week:

“For a president who talks about hope, who talks about innovation, this is going the opposite direction,” Perry said. “This is basically telling the people of Houston, Texas, and the Johnson Space Center: ‘We don’t need you. We don’t care and you’re discardable. You’re disposable.’

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NSS STATEMENT

The National Space Society applauds President Obama for his expression of firm commitment for human spaceflight, and for moving forward in refining the administration’s plan for space exploration.

Following the announcement of the President’s FY2011 budget proposal for NASA, the Society advocated for the inclusion of more detailed goals.  NSS is gratified to see President Obama take another step in that direction to secure America’s position as a global leader in space. This will foster a new space economy servicing the needs of America and humankind.

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