Popuar Mechanics has an interesting interview with Christian Frei, the director of the Space Tourists documentary who was honored at the Sundance Film Festival last week.
Sir Richard Branson with Virgin Galactic pilots, staffers and investors. To his right is Mohamed Badawy Al-Husseiny, CEO of Aabar, which made a $280 million in Virgin Galactic.
Profits in fast lane
7 Days
Abu Dhabi-based Aabar Investments announced that it more than doubled its full year profits last year.
The company, which is the biggest share holder in US car maker Daimler maker of Mercedes Benz cars, said that its 2009 profit rose to $457 million from $196 million the year before.
International Space Station
Space News has some interesting ISS news from Europe:
The head of the 18-nation European Space Agency (ESA) on Feb. 2 roundly endorsed the new direction U.S. President Barack Obama proposed for NASA, saying a firmer U.S. commitment to the international space station and space-based Earth science would further tighten trans-Atlantic cooperation.
In an interview, ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain also said his agency was ready to propose to NASA and the other space station partners — Russia, Japan and Canada — that China, India and South Korea be invited to join the station partnership.
This week in The Space Review: Jeff Foust explores some of the issues related to proposed policy changes at NASA. Former NASA astronaut and associate administrator Scott Horowitz explains why the Ares I is the right vehicle for NASA’s future. Taylor Dinerman discusses why Congress will try to save the Ares program. Edward Ellegood proposes a way for interested states to lobby for the development of a heavy-lift vehicle. Ryan […]
SPACE FOUNDATION PRESS RELEASE
It’s not going to be business as usual. That is perhaps the only definitive thing we can say about President Obama’s FY 2011 NASA proposal, released on Feb. 1. The proposal calls for completing the current Space Shuttle mission schedule even if it slips into 2011, canceling the Constellation program and scuttling plans to return to the Moon by 2020, shifting human space transport to commercial entities, extending the life of the International Space Station to carry out additional scientific research, investing in research and development with a significant emphasis on new technologies, cost reduction, and commercial partnerships, and focusing on education to prepare our workforce for further space endeavors.
Artist conception of a commercial crew vehicle approaching the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)
CSF PRESS RELEASE
At a National Press Club event to “introduce new commercial space pioneers,†the President’s Science Advisor John Holdren and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden yesterday praised the seven winning companies of NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) and Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) competitions. This event followed the announcement on February 1 by the White House that NASA would use commercial spaceflight providers to transport NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.
Loading a large M03 standard cargo module into the Dragon spacecraft via the overhead hatch (top of capsule). Credit: SpaceX
SPACEX PRESS RELEASE
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) recently conducted a three-day long demonstration of cargo loading and unloading procedures for its Dragon spacecraft, which NASA has contracted to provide delivery services to the International Space Station (ISS) starting in 2010.
A Russian organization wants to develop a suborbital space plane for tourists.
I understand how many people on Constellation are feeling right now. It hurts like hell to put your sweat and blood into a project for years and have the rug pulled out from under you. One feels betrayed. Angry. You wonder why you will be made to suffer for bad programmatic decisions made by others far above your pay grade.
Been there, felt that. I don’t blame anyone for feeling this way. Or for fighting for their program and their jobs.
BOEING PRESS RELEASE
The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] was selected by NASA on Feb. 1 to develop critical technologies and capabilities for the space agency’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) initiative, which offers an opportunity for the aerospace industry to develop concepts for future crewed space missions.