Ares I-X lifts off from the Cape.

CSF PRESS RELEASE

The Commercial Spaceflight Federation released the following statement on the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel’s 2009 annual report:

While the Commercial Spaceflight Federation agrees with the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) on its recognition of the importance of commercial spaceflight both for cargo and crew missions, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation disagrees with certain other conclusions and finds some of the assertions in the ASAP’s Annual Report to be incorrect.

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DiBello makes Space Florida’s pitch in Tallahassee
Orlando Sentinel

Space Florida President Frank DiBello brought his wish-list to the state Capitol Wednesday, and the highlights include getting legislative authority to place a controversial launch complex on the back-burner until a company steps up that’s willing to use it.

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Hey everyone. I will be on Spacevidcast on Thursday talking to Benjamin and Cariann Higginbotham about space tourism, NASA and the Starwalker Show. Watch the show: Spacevidcast Thursday, Jan. 21 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT (Friday 02:00 UTC)

PRESS RELEASE

InnoCentive, Inc., the open innovation provider, and NASA Johnson Space Center’s (JSC) Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD) today announced a new NASA Open Innovation Pavilion providing the public with the opportunity to solve difficult problems in human health and performance facing the U.S. space program. Always pushing the boundaries of innovation, the NASA Space Life Sciences’ work with InnoCentive is a key part in the implementation phase of the organization’s new broader strategic planning initiative.

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CSA PRESS RELEASE

As the California Space Authority (CSA) enters the New Year, it is pleased to welcome new members to its Board of Directors, including a voice from labor and additional voices from business. Also being seated will be a new Liaison from the US Navy.

“Our board members are excellent representatives of the space enterprise community,” stated Andrea Seastrand, Executive Director of CSA. “We have a well balanced complement of all space enterprise perspectives from throughout the state.”

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ZERO-G PRESS RELEASE

On February 13, Zero Gravity Corporation’s (ZERO-G), G-FORCE ONE will blast off from VNY [Van Nuys] airport offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to defy the law of gravity. Guests will have the unique opportunity to float freely and lighten up in complete weightlessness onboard ZERO-G’s weightless flight. ZERO-G is the first and only FAA-approved provider of commercial weightless flights.

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MDA PRESS RELEASE

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd., a provider of essential information solutions, announced today that it has received a $2.4M (USD) contract from Orbital Sciences Corporation to provide a critical interface that will enable capture and mating of the Cygnus cargo delivery spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). The contract also contains an option to purchase additional units for follow-on operational missions worth at least $4.0M (USD).

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SpacX Founder Elon Musk

SpaceX founder Elon Musk is slamming the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel’s recommendation that NASA not abandon the Ares I launcher because commercial alternatives do not meet the space agency’s human spaceflight safety standards, Spaceflight Now reports.

“I have to say I’ve lost a lot of respect for the ASAP panel,” Musk said. “If they are to say such things, then they ought to say it on the basis of data, not on random speculation.”

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Gov. Bob McDonnell has pledged to make the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island into the country’s top space base.

Students performe an experiment in microgravity aboard the Airbus A300 Zero-G plane.

ESA PROGRAM UPDATE

Following the debut of ESA’s ‘Fly Your Thesis!’ programme in 2009, four teams of university students have been selected to conduct their microgravity experiments during a second series of parabolic flights aboard an aircraft.

The teams, made up of students from five ESA Member States, were chosen from 12 teams whose proposals were short-listed in September 2009.

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NewScientist reports of a growing arms race in Asia:

India and China are forging ahead with technology that could be used to kill satellites.

An official from India’s Ministry of Defence announced on 3 January that the country is developing a “kill vehicle” with laser vision that could home in on and destroy satellites in orbit.

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Artist conception of ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (Image Credit: ESA)

ESA MISSION UPDATE

ESA and NASA are inviting scientists from across the world to propose instruments for their joint Mars mission, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. Scheduled for launch in 2016, the spacecraft will focus on understanding the rarest constituents of the martian atmosphere, including the mysterious methane that could signal life on Mars.

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