PRESS RELEASE
Gen. Victor E. Renuart, USAF, commander, United States Northern Command, and Thomas B. Pickens, III, president and chief executive officer, Astrotech Corporation, will headline the Space Foundation’s second annual Space Business Forum: New York on June 4, 2009, at the Hilton New York Hotel in New York City.
Virgin Galactic's VMS Eve during its third test flight in March. (Credit: Mark Greenberg)
Over at Hyperbola, Rob Coppinger raises a key question about Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo, whose tail struck the ground during a test flight in Mojave on Monday:
It’s further evidence that Scaled Composites, for all its expertise, did not realise the degree that a two fuselage aircraft with a Boeing 757 scale wing would require larger vertical fins…
The big question is, can this WK2 prototype carry SpaceShipTwo (SS2)? A provocative question but while landing in a 15kt crosswind presents such a challenge the carriage of SS2 is not going to occur any time soon.
An excellent question, indeed.
Model of NASA's Orion spacecraftWeight Forcing NASA To Shrink Orion Crew
NASA engineers are “on the verge” of pulling two crew seats from their design for the Orion crew exploration vehicle, at least at first, to save weight.
WYLE PRESS RELEASE
NASA’s newest piece of astronaut fitness gear headed for the International Space Station, the COLBERT, is perfect for a facility that wants to avoid too many house calls for repairs.
The COLBERT is designed to go up to 150,000 miles without a belt change.
Boeing, Northrop earnings disparity show shifting fortunes
Los Angeles Times
Two of the nation’s largest aerospace companies reported sharply contrasting first-quarter financial results Wednesday as Boeing Co. said its earnings fell by half while Northrop Grumman Corp. posted a 48% jump in profit.
Boeing profit drops on production cuts
Associated Press
Boeing Co., the world’s second-largest plane maker, said Wednesday its first-quarter profit dropped by half, hurt by production cuts as airlines postpone deliveries of new planes. It also forecast lower earnings for the year and reduced aircraft prices.
A Global Aerospace ballute performs aerocapture at Mars (credit: Kees Veenenbos).
PRESS RELEASE
Global Aerospace Corporation announced today that it has begun development of a Hypersonic Control Modeling and Simulation Tool (HyperCMST). HyperCMST will be used for control studies for planetary atmospheric entry and descent, aerodynamic orbital capture, and aerodynamic gravity assist.
Aust-made plasma thruster facing space test
ABC News
A revolutionary Australian National University-developed propulsion system will be the first of its kind to be tested in space.
Northrop Grumman 1st-qtr profit up nearly 50 pct
Associated Press
Northrop Grumman Corp. reported Wednesday its first quarter profit rose by almost 50 percent, boosted by higher sales of its electronic systems and progress made in its shipbuilding sector.
Exterior view of Bigelow aerospace's Genesis module
Freedom to Fly
The Economist
In December 2007 one of those mammals, a company called Bigelow Aerospace, filed the first legal challenge to America’s rules for exporting space technology. It disputed the government’s claim that foreign passengers travelling on a spaceship or space station were involved in a transfer of technology. The outcome suggests that there may be a chink in the armour of the export-controls regime.
Lunar Odyssey Shoots for the Moon
Space.com
When the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize premiered, the first official team to sign up was Odyssey Moon — but the company has plans far beyond winning or losing the private race to the moon.
“Odyssey Moon is about an ongoing commitment to lunar enterprise,” said Robert Richards, Odyssey Moon Founder and CEO. “We believe there is a long-term business opportunity with the government and commercial partners.”
Greenie accused of being a space cadet
Sydney Morning Herald
Australia’s most famous environmentalist, Tim Flannery, has lent his name to a scheme by the world’s most infamous self-publicist, Richard Branson, to burn untold tonnes of greenhouse gases so rich people can become space tourists….
