Artists conception of WhiteKnightTwo and the SpaceShipTwo space tourism vehicle. (Credit: Virgin Galactic)
At a space tourism conference last week in London, Virgin Galactic CEO Will Whitehorn said the UK needed to make regulatory changes before his company would consider basing space tourism flights out of RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland.
The Times reports that the government was warned about this problem years ago but has taken no action: (more…)
Burt Rutan says that SpaceShipTwo “is designed to be at least as safe as the early airliners in the 1920s…”
USA PRESS RELEASE
United Space Alliance has assembled a team of experienced, innovative experts in space operations to support the Kennedy Space Center’s mission to maintain the leading edge in space vehicle and payload processing,
integration, launch and recovery operations.
SFF PRESS RELEASE
Honor the courage and prowess that lead to “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” by attending the Apollo 11 Anniversary Gala on Monday, July 20th at the Domain Hotel in Sunnyvale, California.
This black tie event will conclude the NewSpace 2009 Conference with keynote speakers Peter Diamandis, Rick Tumlinson, and David Webb. The event will feature the decorated film, Moon Beat, the Space Frontier Foundation’s NewSpace Industry Awards, and announcement of the Heinlein NewSpace Business Plan Competition winner.
A taikonaut emerges from China's Shenzhou 7 spacecraft after a successful orbital flight
China’s first female astronaut expected to complete space journey by 2012
Xinhua
China’s first female astronaut, who is yet to be selected to join the country’s second fleet of taikonauts, is expected to complete her journey into space by 2012.
HASSELBLAD PRESS RELEASE
Swedish camera manufacturer Hasselblad is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first man – and first Hasselblad – on the moon by inviting a limited number of H3DII photographers to join astronaut Buzz Aldrin and the Hasselblad design team at the Kennedy Space Center for a weekend of seminars, professional photography training, and photography. Aldrin, who shot with a Hasselblad while on the moon, will present a selection of his favorite lunar photography, while the Hasselblad design team will provide photographers with “behind the scenes” info on Hasselblad design, past, present, and future. A special Space Center Photo contest, featuring valuable Hasselblad gear as prizes, will round off the event.
Charlie Bolden, nominee to head NASA, gets a warning at Senate confirmation hearing
Cleveland.com
Committee members largely praised Bolden, a 62-year-old retired Marine Corps general who would be the space agency’s first black leader. Still, Bolden came under intense questioning from Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Democrat of West Virginia, who chairs the committee. He twice questioned Bolden on what he would do to reinvigorate an agency that he said has suffered from “some really bad mess-ups,” including two shuttle disasters.
SpaceX officials say that the company probably could double the size of its McGregor facility, from 80 to 160, if it receives a significant percentage of the $150 million in federal stimulus money.
California-based Interorbital Systems plans to launch its Neptune 1000 rocket from the island of ‘Eua at the southeast end of the Tonga island chain in the South Pacific.
NASA's Ares I rocket lifts off in this artist's conception. (Credit: NASA)
NRC PRESS RELEASE
The U.S. civil space program should be aligned with widely acknowledged national challenges, says a new report from the National Research Council. Aligning the program with pressing issues – environmental, economic, and strategic – is a national imperative, and will continue to grow in importance. Coordination across federal agencies, combined with a competent technical work force, effective infrastructure, and investment in technology and innovation, would lay the foundation for a purposeful, strategic U.S. space program that would serve national interests.
A biography of Charles Bolden, who is set to become NASA’s next administrator.
JAXA PRESS RELEASE The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. would like to announce that the launch of the H-IIB Launch Vehicle Test Flight with the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV, a cargo transporter to the International Space Station) onboard was approved by the Space Activities Commission (SAC) as follows. Scheduled Date of Launch: September 11 (Friday,) 2009 (Japan Standard Time, JST) Launch Time: Around 2:04 a.m. […]
