Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former House Science and Technology Committee Chairman Robert S. Walker have strongly endorsed President Obama’s proposed NASA budget in op-ed for The Washington Times:

Despite the shrieks you might have heard from a few special interests, the Obama administration’s budget for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration deserves strong approval from Republicans. The 2011 spending plan for the space agency does what is obvious to anyone who cares about man’s future in space and what presidential commissions have been recommending for nearly a decade.

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This Week in Space looks at reaction to Obama’s NASA budget, expansion of the International Space Station, and planning for SpaceX’s first launch.

Prepared Remarks by
NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver
FAA AST Space Transportation Conference

Days after release of the President’s 2011 budget, I am excited to continue to share information about our Nation’s bold new direction for human space flight. We plan to transform our relationship with the private sector as part of our Nation’s new strategy with the ultimate goal of expanding human presence across the Solar System.

Space tourism is a catalyst that has sparked a whole new industry of passenger-carrying spacecraft. New private firms that did not exist when this conference was first held 13 years ago now promise to revolutionize the space transportation industry. Thanks to President Obama, (and many of you), the United States and NASA are poised to take full advantage of this historic shift. The President’s budget commits substantial funding for NASA to increase the number and scope of its commercial partnerships. We plan to make use of commercial space providers to transport astronauts to the space station and other low-Earth orbit destinations.

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Artist's conception of WhiteKnight2/SpaceShipTwo in flight (credit: Virgin Galactic)

Push on for Moray RAF space base lift-off site
The Press and Journal

Science Minister Lord Drayson has been urged to include the possibility of Lossiemouth becoming a spaceport in pursuing his policy of increasing the UK’s share of the space technology market.

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Richard Mains and Rand Simberg both believe that we’re not ready to go to the moon yet.

A video update on the construction of Spaceport America in New Mexico.

An artist's conception of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Florida.

Taylor Dinerman has an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal in which he says the private sector is not up to Barack Obama’s challenge that it take over human spaceflight:

The private sector simply is not up for the job. For one, NASA will have to establish a system to certify commercial orbital vehicles as safe for human transport, and with government bureaucracy, that will take years. Never mind the challenges of obtaining insurance.

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PRESS RELEASE

President Obama’s plan to put space exploration in the hands of commercial organizations is a threatening prospect for NASA, but has potential to create booming progress in an area that has been stilted by funding issues and political conflicts.

Space entrepreneurs and private sector firms have already made significant innovations in space travel. They have plans for future tourism in space and safer shuttles. In the book, The Privatization of Space Exploration, Lewis D. Solomon details current US and international laws dealing with space use, settlement, and exploration. He then offers policy recommendations to facilitate privatization.

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Ares I-X lifts off from the Cape.

Huntsville Mayor Unveils Task Force To Fight For NASA’s Constellation Program
WHNT-TV

On Friday morning, Mayor Tommy Battle unveiled the “Second To None Initiative,” his task force for space exploration. It brings together a group of community leaders and national experts with the goal of protecting NASA’s future in Huntsville. Mayor Battle spoke at a news conference, along with former U.S. Representative Robert E. “Bud” Cramer. The task force’s goal is to restore full funding to NASA’s Constellation program.

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Some conflicting news on the Starwalker reality series, an Australian effort to produce a television series that would send winners into space. Robert Brand, who had been working on the production, provided this update via Facebook on Friday:

All, I am now unemployed as Starwalker has cancelled! I am now looking for work so please advise. In fact I would be pleased to develop other space based shows and would like to hear from any Australian film maker interested in doing something.

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PRESS RELEASE
Feb. 12, 2010

The newly created WeWantOurFuture.org has unveiled the most ambitious student-run grassroots space exploration educational initiative to date. The project, entitled the “We Want Our Future” initiative, aims to collect more than 100,000 postcards from young students around the country, depicting what each student imagines as the future of space exploration. The project will merge technical dreams with artistic expression.

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UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND NEWS

University of Queensland researchers are testing new materials to withstand the extreme heat experienced by hypersonic vehicles in flight so they can fly for substantially longer. Previous Australian experimental flight tests of scramjets, a type of very fast jet engine, have not lasted longer than five seconds. The tests, conducted at Woomera in South Australia over the past eight years, have used scramjet engines made of conventional materials which have problems with extreme heat including melting, and are not designed for re-use.

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