South Korea is looking to make major progress in aerospace next year. In addition to the second launch of its KSLV-1 rocket and several satellites, the nation is looking to forge partnerships with NASA, ESA and other major space agencies. South Korea is also increasing its national R&D budget in an effort to make aerospace into a lucrative export engine.
Space Florida President Frank DiBello wants to triple the state’s space industry by 2020.
Monday, Dec. 28, 2009, 2-3:30 PM PST: We welcome Dr. John Logsdon to the show to discuss space policy and more. Dr. Logsdon is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. Tuesday, Dec. 29 2009, 7-8:30 PM PST: We welcome back Tom Olson for his traditional space wrap up end of the year program. Tom has promised to tackle some […]
HiFire scramjet vehicle
New materials designed to deal with hypersonic and supersonic hot stuff
Physorg.com
Previous Australian experimental flight tests of scramjets, a type of very fast jet engine, have not lasted longer than five seconds….
However, further experimental tests are planned in 2011 through to 2013 in the HiFIRE series at Woomera using free-flying engines and eventually, a whole free-flying vehicle which will generate enough thrust to fly for a minute.
Space tourism may not evolve as fast as people hope due to shortages of infrastructure and disposable income.
Richard Branson after his first flight aboard WhiteKnightTwo at the Oshkosh airshow.
Questions on Security Mar Foreign Investments
The New York Times
Executives at Virgin Galactic, by comparison, say they remain confident they can clear up government concerns about the proposed sale of 32 percent of their venture to Aabar Investments of Abu Dhabi, which is controlled by the government there.
NATIONAL SPACE SOCIETY PRESS RELEASE
December 21, 2009
The National Space Society (“NSS”) congratulates one of its own, Tim Pickens, on the sale of his successful pioneering NewSpace company, Orion Propulsion, Inc. (“OPI”), to another Huntsville, Alabama-based aerospace company, Dynetics. OPI specializes in spacecraft and rocket propulsion design and fabrication, testing services, ground support equipment, and launch operations support. Mr. Pickens, who was chief technology officer for OPI, will serve as chief propulsion engineer for Dynetics.
COMMERCIAL SPACEFLIGHT FEDERATION
PRESS RELEASE
December 22, 2009
NASA’s Centennial Challenges prize program, FAA’s Spaceports Infrastructure Grants initiative, and the new NASA Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research program (CRuSR) gained momentum after receiving funding in the NASA and FAA appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2010, passed by Congress and signed by the President last week. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation conducted advocacy efforts for these NASA and FAA programs as part of the CSF’s legislative agenda for this year:
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Company tests rocket engine that may launch affordable access to orbit for small satellites
The Huntsville Times
Monday afternoon, in a trailer surrounded by cotton fields just west of Huntsville International Airport, a group gathered to watch the 5-second burn of a ground-breaking if not ground-shaking rocket engine.
Artist Impression of Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo/SpaceShipOne over Spaceport America in New Mexico.
Spaceport Authority awards $5.75M contract for apron construction
Las Cruces Sun-News
The New Mexico Spaceport Authority board on Tuesday awarded a $5.75 million contract to build the facility’s apron, the concrete slab that surrounds the terminal-hangar facility.
NASA PRESS RELEASE
NASA has selected 28 undergraduate student teams to test their science experiments in simulated weightlessness. The teams were selected to fly in the summer of 2010 with NASA’s Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities and Systems Engineering Educational Discovery (SEED) programs.
