A video simulation of the launch of Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Taurus II and Cygnus freighter to the International Space Station.
ESA, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the German federal state of Bavaria and the German bank Kreissparkasse München Starnberg opened the fourth ESA Business Incubation Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen on 3 August. Over the next four years, some 40 company start-ups are expected to be supported there. From left to right: Frank M. Salzgeber (Head of Technology Transfer Programme Office in ESA), Thorsten Rudolph (Head of Anwendungszentrum GmbH), Martin Zeil (Bavarian Minister of State for Business, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology), Jean-Jacques Dordain (Director General of ESA), Prof. Johann-Dietrich Wörner (Chairman of DLR Executive Board) and Josef P. Bittscheidt (Chairman, Kreissparkasse München Starnberg). Credits: ESA/Simone Hörmann
ESA PRESS RELEASE
ESA, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the German federal state of Bavaria and the German bank Kreissparkasse München Starnberg opened the fourth ESA Business Incubation Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen on 3 August. Over the next four years, some 40 company start-ups are expected to be supported there.
KHRUNICHEV SPACE CENTER PRESS RELEASE
August 5, 2008
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accepted the Government’s offer to transfer 100 percent of the federally–owned shares of the Voronezh–based open joint stock company “Konstruktorskoe Buro Khimavtomatiky†(OSC KBKhA) to the state-run research and production Khrunichev Space Center (KhSC).
Exoplanet orbiting close to its sun. Image credit: NASA
NASA MISSION UPDATE
NASA’s new exoplanet-hunting Kepler space telescope has detected the atmosphere of a known giant gas planet, demonstrating the telescope’s extraordinary scientific capabilities. The discovery will be published Friday in the journal Science.
The find is based on a relatively short 10 days of test data collected before the official start of science operations. Kepler was launched March 6, 2009, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The observation demonstrates the extremely high precision of the measurements made by the telescope, even before its calibration and data analysis software were finished.
Ex-top NASA official guilty of ethics violations
Associated Press
A former top NASA official was found guilty Thursday of breaking ethics laws by helping a consulting client get nearly $10 million of the space agency’s funds.
A jury found Courtney Stadd, of Bethesda, Md., illegally benefited a private client while on the agency’s payroll and lied to ethics officials. He faces up to 15 years in prison at sentencing, scheduled for Nov. 6.
Russia's Phobos-Grunt spacecraft, which will carry a Chinese microsat to Martian orbit.
China’s 1st Mars Probe Arrives in Russia
CRI.CN
China’s first Mars probe has been transported to Moscow along with a team of Chinese scientists, Beijing News reported on August 6, 2009.
After passing the research phase, China’s first ever Mars probe Yinghuo-1 was sent to Russia for compatibility tests and it will take off atop a Russian launch vehicle from Baikonur Cosmodrome space base in Kazakhstan in October.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin (center, full head of hair) aboard a Zero G flight.
ZERO-G PRESS RELEASE
Zero Gravity Corporation (ZERO-G®), the first and only FAA-approved provider of commercial weightless flights, will host its exclusive ZERO-G Weightless Experience in Houston, Texas on Saturday, August 15. For the first time ever, ZERO-G is bringing the one-of-a-kind adventure to the public of Southern Texas.
Passengers will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fly with Rob Dyrdek, professional skateboarder and MTV reality television star. Limited seats will be available as Dyrdek will be flying with ZERO-G to photograph a new ad campaign for his DC Dyrdek Collection, which features shoes, apparel and accessories.
Ad Astra Rocket Company’s VASIMR engine could cut human Mars missions from 8 months to 39 days.
International Space Station
Commercial Spaceflight Federation
John Gedmark
Today NASA released information regarding its intention to invest $50 million of American Reinvestment and Recovery Act stimulus funding in multiple competitively awarded, funded agreements for commercial crew concepts.
This new program, known as the Commercial Crew Development or “CCDev,†represents a new milestone in the development of an orbital commercial human spaceflight sector. By maturing “the design and development of commercial crew spaceflight concepts and associated enabling technologies and capabilities,†the program will allow several companies to move a few steps forward towards the ultimate goal of full demonstration of commercial human spaceflight to orbit.
Seven-time Formula One Champion Michael Schumacher is the latest high-profile client to sign up for a Virgin Galactic suborbital space ride.
ANDREWS SPACE PRESS RELEASE
Andrews Space, Inc. (Andrews) announced today the completion of a new integration lab, mission control center, and flat floor to support spacecraft integration and hardware in the loop testing. The new facilities are part of a planned expansion at its Andrews Rapid Prototyping Lab, an 11,000 square foot facility located south of Seattle in Tukwilla, Washington.
Altair
The Orlando Sentinel reports that the Augustine Commission is narrowing its options on the future of America’s human spaceflight program:
The presidential panel looking at NASA’s human space program spent Wednesday narrowing nearly 900 exploration options into seven scenarios that will be refined for presentation to President Barack Obama later this month.