Model of NASA's Orion spacecraft
Former Congressmen Nick Lampson and Dave Weldon have authored an op-ed piece in The Washington Times urging the American government to move full steam ahead on NASA’s plan to return humans to the moon by 2020:
UP Aerospace Spaceloft XL rocket lifts off from Spaceport America in New Mexico on May 2, 2009.
Officials are investigating why a suborbital UP Aerospace rocket launched on Saturday from New Mexico failed to reach space.
The SpaceLoft XL rocket – packed with experiments and the ashes of 16 people – failed to reach its 70-mile target altitude. It’s not clear what altitude the vehicle reached. The payload did separate from the booster and landed by parachute.
Mockup of India's human spacecraft (Credit: ISRO)
The Hindu reports that India is moving ahead on its manned space program, fabricating an ergonomic model of the crew module that will take two astronauts into space around 2015:
This model has already arrived at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, from Bangalore. It has panels for the astronauts to operate and train. A metal model was earlier fabricated. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) calls its manned mission ‘Indian Human Space Flight Programme.’
WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo (credit: Virgin Galactic)
Virgin Galactic is in “advanced discussions” with investors in Dubai about creating a spaceport there for launches of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle.
The Earth rises over the moon as seen from JAXA’s Kaguya orbiter.
Anousheh Ansari
PRESS RELEASE
The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) today announced the winner of its first annual NCWIT Symons Innovator Award, Anousheh Ansari.
Ms. Ansari is Chair, CEO and Co-founder of Prodea Systems, a company addressing the challenges of complex digital home and small-business environments. Prior to founding Prodea Systems, Ms. Ansari served as Co-founder, Chair, and CEO of Telecom Technologies, Inc., which in 2001 successfully merged with Sonus Networks, Inc., in a deal worth approximately $750M.
Ms. Ansari also is the first woman private explorer in space and the first astronaut of Iranian descent. The Ansari family provided title sponsorship for the Ansari X Prize, a $10 million award to inspire the first non-governmental manned spacecraft, driving the commercialization of the space industry.
Odyssey Moon CEO Bob Richards talks about his dreams of landing a rover on the moon and winning the Google Lunar X Prize.
Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia
NASA’s rich history on Virginia’s Eastern Shore includes bright future
WDBJ7.com
NASA has launched more than 16,000 rockets from Wallops Island over the last 60 years, but could space tourism also be part of its future?
The National Space Society’s blog has a few updates on the International Space Development Conference, which is set for May 28-31 in Orlando.
Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic, has been added to the program. NSS is also selling tickets for lunches and dinners which will feature some prominent space figures.
ISRO to send bacteria cells into space
The Hindu
In its first set of biological experiments, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will send bacteria cells into space — and bring them back — in the second Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-2) scheduled for launch this year-end.
Artists conception of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft in orbit
NASA Puts $150 Million into Commercial Crew Transport
Space News
NASA officials stressed that the $150 million it is putting toward the commercial crew initiative should not be mistaken for a decision to exercise the $308 million COTS D option it negotiated with SpaceX in 2006. Orbital Sciences, which won its COTS award in 2008 after NASA rescinded Rocketplane Kistler’s 2006 award for nonperformance, did not propose a COTS D option.
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