NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., has selected five companies to provide the agency with support for analytical and experimental research and technology development, primarily for aerospace vehicles.
The companies are Analytical Services & Materials, Inc. of Hampton, Va.; ATK Space Systems of Beltsville, Md.; The Boeing Company of Huntington Beach, Calif.; Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company of Palmdale, Calif.; and Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation of El Segundo, Calif.
Artists conception of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft in orbit
Aviation Week reports that Andrews Space has formed a subsidiary to handle payload services for upcoming SpaceX’s DragonLab flights:
A service company focused on providing routine low cost space access for small payloads has been formed by Andrews Space. SpaceFlight Services is kicking off its business venture by signing an agreement with Space Exploration (SpaceX) to manifest payloads using excess capability on upcoming Falcon 9/Dragon missions. SpaceFlight says under this deal customers will have access to multiple scheduled flight opportunities including dedicated scientific free-flyer missions using SpaceX’s DragonLab variant of the Dragon vehicle.
CSF PRESS RELEASE
The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Raytheon Company has joined the Federation as an Associate Member, having received unanimous approval by the Board of Directors.
OSTP FACT SHEET
On Thursday, April 15, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the President will outline a bold strategy for human spaceflight that increases the NASA budget by $6 billion over the next five years. His plan represents an ambitious effort to foster the development of path-breaking technologies; increase the number, scope, and pace of manned and unmanned space missions; make human spaceflight safer and more efficient; and help create thousands of jobs.
It seems to be that the saga of NASA’s Orion spacecraft bears more than a passing resemblance to the whole Jay Leno-Conan O’Brien situation: Orion 6-person Apollo-on-steroids moon ship —-> 4-person orbital transport —-> Canceled —-> ISS crew option of last resort Conan Late Show —-> Tonight Show —-> Canceled —-> TBS (network of last resort) Jay Tonight Show —-> Jay Leno Show —-> Canceled —-> Tonight Show (NBC option […]
CSF PRESS RELEASE
Newly released results from The Tauri Group, an independent, analytic consulting firm based in Alexandria, Virginia, reveal that the new NASA Commercial Crew and Cargo Program funding in the President’s FY2011 Budget Request will result in an average of 11,800 direct jobs per year over the next five years, nationwide. The Tauri Group study was commissioned by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation for an objective estimate of jobs resulting from NASA’s proposed spending of $5.8 billion on Commercial Crew and an additional $312 million on Commercial Cargo from FY2011 to FY2015. Details of the study can be found on the Tauri Group website at www.taurigroup.com.
Model of NASA's Orion spacecraft
Obama Revives Capsule From Canceled Moon Program
Associated Press
President Barack Obama is reviving the NASA crew capsule concept that he had canceled with the rest of the moon program earlier this year, in a move that will mean more jobs and less reliance on the Russians, officials said Tuesday.
The space capsule, called Orion, still won’t go to the moon. It will go unmanned to the International Space Station to standby as an emergency vehicle to return astronauts home, officials said.
Bill would reorganize board
Florida Today
State Rep. Steve Crisafulli wants to terminate the entire Space Florida board of directors, then reorganize the group with “new blood” from the private sector.
The Merritt Island Republican introduced House Bill 451, which would remove today’s directors and rework the leadership structure of the Sunshine State’s aerospace economic development agency.
Pete Conrad
CONRAD FOUNDATION PRESS RELEASE
The Conrad Foundation’s 2010 Innovation Summit concluded over the weekend with the announcement of this year’s Spirit of Innovation Award winners. The program encourages high-school students to solve the challenges of the 21st century by creating breakthrough technologies in one of four categories: aerospace, green schools, renewable energy and space nutrition.
All winners were chosen from the 21 finalist teams that assembled for the annual Spirit of Innovation Awards’ Innovation Summit at the NASA Ames Conference Center in Moffett Field, Calif., from April 8 to 10, 2010.
Winner of Quebec treasure hunt gets ticket to space
The Canadian Press
The mayor of Quebec City is opening the streets of his historic city to a treasure hunt that will award the winner with a ticket to ride — into space…The winner will get a chance to briefly experience the weightlessness of space during a suborbital flight, where a vessel goes into space but does not complete an orbit of the Earth.
SPACE FOUNDATION PRESS RELEASE
Over the past five years, the global space economy has grown almost 40 percent, reflecting increasing commercialization, significant globalization, and expansion of military and civil space programs. Plus, the industry showed remarkable resiliency over the tumultuous past 12 months, demonstrating continued expansion into 2010. These findings are among many facts in The Space Report 2010: The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity, which was released today at the 26th National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.
NASA's Orion capsule - it floats, but will it ever fly?
As President Barack Obama prepares for his space summit at Cape Canaveral on Thursday, much activity is taking place in various quarters. Opponents are rallying, elected officials are pleading, and the Apollo 13 guys are opining. It makes for quite a cacophony of democracy in action.
