NewSpace
Briefs: LLC updates; Island Zero; Richard Garriott update
Space Prizes blog points to updates on two Lunar Lander Challengers: Speed Up and Unreasonable Rocket.
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Duncan Law-Green follows considers an unmanned small-scale precursor mission to his 'Island Zero' proposal for "a British space station based on a Bigelow module, and employing spin gravity to enable bioscience research on the effects of partial gravity on humans" : Thinking aloud: Cycler-A - Rocketeers.co.uk.
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The latest update on Richard Garriott:
/-- Space Adventures' Orbital Spaceflight Client, Richard Garriott, Begins Cosmonaut Training for October Spaceflight Launch - Space Adventures
/-- Garriott begins training, but what about his backup? - Personal Spaceflight
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Duncan Law-Green follows considers an unmanned small-scale precursor mission to his 'Island Zero' proposal for "a British space station based on a Bigelow module, and employing spin gravity to enable bioscience research on the effects of partial gravity on humans" : Thinking aloud: Cycler-A - Rocketeers.co.uk.
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The latest update on Richard Garriott:
/-- Space Adventures' Orbital Spaceflight Client, Richard Garriott, Begins Cosmonaut Training for October Spaceflight Launch - Space Adventures
/-- Garriott begins training, but what about his backup? - Personal Spaceflight
Categories: NewSpace
PlanetSpace team open house
PlanetSpace posts a press release about the ATK/LM vehicle design debut: PlanetSpace Team Hosts Open House to Display Future Space Transportation Systems -PlanetSpace - Jan.21.08.
Categories: NewSpace
The Space Review and The Space Show this week
A new issue of The Space Review is now available. Not much in the way of space transport articles this time. Dwayne Day examines accusations of espionage against Tsien Hsue-shen and he also has an article about the issue of space co-operation between the US and China. Jim Oberg refutes some wacky space disaster theories.
David Livingston posts the full text of his contribution to Is Space Exploration Worth the Cost? A Freakonomics Quorum - Freakonomics - New York Times Blog - Jan.11.08. David also discussed this on his program on January 20th. He says, Through a series of stupid decisions on my part, blind faith and trust, getting caught up in my own personal agenda, and some misleading emails from the Freakonomics corresponding editor , my essay was, in my opinion, very poorly edited and taken out of context. The final published piece was highly embarrassing to me. I decided to learn from this experience and tell the story in order to caution others from making the same mistake (s) I made. Listen to this short program for an explanation of what happened, how it happened, and why I am telling the story.
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Speaking of The Space Show, see the schedule for this week. Today, Jay Buckey will talk about space physiology and on Tuesday Jim Muncy will discuss various space policy issues. Andrews Space will be featured on Friday and on Sunday Dallas Bienhoff of Boeing will discuss orbiting fuel depots.
David Livingston posts the full text of his contribution to Is Space Exploration Worth the Cost? A Freakonomics Quorum - Freakonomics - New York Times Blog - Jan.11.08. David also discussed this on his program on January 20th. He says, Through a series of stupid decisions on my part, blind faith and trust, getting caught up in my own personal agenda, and some misleading emails from the Freakonomics corresponding editor , my essay was, in my opinion, very poorly edited and taken out of context. The final published piece was highly embarrassing to me. I decided to learn from this experience and tell the story in order to caution others from making the same mistake (s) I made. Listen to this short program for an explanation of what happened, how it happened, and why I am telling the story.
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Speaking of The Space Show, see the schedule for this week. Today, Jay Buckey will talk about space physiology and on Tuesday Jim Muncy will discuss various space policy issues. Andrews Space will be featured on Friday and on Sunday Dallas Bienhoff of Boeing will discuss orbiting fuel depots.
Categories: NewSpace
More about the ATK/LM launcher; Taurus II competitor; No failures or successes
Apparently, ATK planned for today to be the big debut in the press of the design of their COTS/Delta II vehicle, which doesn't have an official name yet. Here are several more articles about the vehicle (links mostly via spacetoday.net):
/-- Rocket could bring hundreds of jobs to Fla. : Seed money would help fund freighter service - Florida Today - Jan.21.08
/- PICTURE: ATK releases first image of PlanetSpace COTS bid launch vehicle hardware - Flightglobal.com
/-- ATK's new vehicle to provide multi-access options - NASA SpaceFlight.com
/-- NASA Funding Competition Sparks Rival Plans for Two New Rockets - Wall Street Journal
In the WSJ article, the second rocket referred to in the title is the Taurus II from Orbital Sciences, which is also a finalist in the COTS competition. The Taurus II would also use a solid rocket propulsion system and has been aimed at the Delta II market. The project is still in an early stage of development and the company has not yet decided whether to build it or not.
I'll note that WSJ reporter Andy Pasztor once again portrays the Rocketplane-Kistler COTS agreement termination as a general failure of the whole COTS program and just briefly mentions SpaceX as a company that "previously received NASA funding for its proposed cargo rocket." Of course, SpaceX is in fact getting on-going funding as it continues to pass the milestones required under the agreement.
He talks about the purported four year gap in US access to the ISS "during which the U.S. would have to depend on Russian or European space systems to reach the Space Station". He doesn't justify the implicit assumption that the SpaceX effort will fail.
He also mentions Griffin's comments about Russia, China and India getting manned missions to the Moon before the US. In the face of such worries, NASA continues to push commercial space projects. But the agency appears to be moving away from its initial concept of identifying and subsidizing entrepreneurs or startups as primary engines of technology change. Instead, industry officials said, the focus has shifted to helping finance established aerospace suppliers with the hope of eventually developing breakthrough systems and technologies. Both Orbital and Alliant have to convince NASA they can raise private capital, and that their business plans for the new rockets aren't entirely dependent on federal dollars.
Referring to NASA's unsuccessful bid last year to kick-start a rocket project proposed by startup Rocketplane Kistler Inc., Al Simpson, a veteran Lockheed Martin space official, last week said agency officials "can't afford another failure."I think the LM official's attitude extends to much of NASA management as well. However, I don't know how an R&D agency, if that's what NASA still claims to be, can ever succeed at developing (or, in this case, supporting the development of) anything new and improved if it cannot afford any failures.
I'll also note that while a particular solid rocket systems might offer a minor reduction in cost over current ELVs and the Shuttle, they offer no route to RLVs and substantial decreases in space access costs on the long term. Not making the lowering of launch costs its top priority has been the real NASA failure.
/-- Rocket could bring hundreds of jobs to Fla. : Seed money would help fund freighter service - Florida Today - Jan.21.08
/- PICTURE: ATK releases first image of PlanetSpace COTS bid launch vehicle hardware - Flightglobal.com
/-- ATK's new vehicle to provide multi-access options - NASA SpaceFlight.com
/-- NASA Funding Competition Sparks Rival Plans for Two New Rockets - Wall Street Journal
In the WSJ article, the second rocket referred to in the title is the Taurus II from Orbital Sciences, which is also a finalist in the COTS competition. The Taurus II would also use a solid rocket propulsion system and has been aimed at the Delta II market. The project is still in an early stage of development and the company has not yet decided whether to build it or not.
I'll note that WSJ reporter Andy Pasztor once again portrays the Rocketplane-Kistler COTS agreement termination as a general failure of the whole COTS program and just briefly mentions SpaceX as a company that "previously received NASA funding for its proposed cargo rocket." Of course, SpaceX is in fact getting on-going funding as it continues to pass the milestones required under the agreement.
He talks about the purported four year gap in US access to the ISS "during which the U.S. would have to depend on Russian or European space systems to reach the Space Station". He doesn't justify the implicit assumption that the SpaceX effort will fail.
He also mentions Griffin's comments about Russia, China and India getting manned missions to the Moon before the US. In the face of such worries, NASA continues to push commercial space projects. But the agency appears to be moving away from its initial concept of identifying and subsidizing entrepreneurs or startups as primary engines of technology change. Instead, industry officials said, the focus has shifted to helping finance established aerospace suppliers with the hope of eventually developing breakthrough systems and technologies. Both Orbital and Alliant have to convince NASA they can raise private capital, and that their business plans for the new rockets aren't entirely dependent on federal dollars.
Referring to NASA's unsuccessful bid last year to kick-start a rocket project proposed by startup Rocketplane Kistler Inc., Al Simpson, a veteran Lockheed Martin space official, last week said agency officials "can't afford another failure."I think the LM official's attitude extends to much of NASA management as well. However, I don't know how an R&D agency, if that's what NASA still claims to be, can ever succeed at developing (or, in this case, supporting the development of) anything new and improved if it cannot afford any failures.
I'll also note that while a particular solid rocket systems might offer a minor reduction in cost over current ELVs and the Shuttle, they offer no route to RLVs and substantial decreases in space access costs on the long term. Not making the lowering of launch costs its top priority has been the real NASA failure.
Categories: NewSpace
ATK launcher aimed at COTS and Delta-2 market
The ATK/Lockheed Martin launch system that is part of the PlanetSpace led COTS proposal is described in an article in the latest issue of Aviation Week: ATK Adapting Booster for COTS Launcher: ATK is adapting shuttle solid rocket for Delta II-class COTS launcher - Aviation Week - Jan.21.08 (subscription required).
The stages of the vehicle would consist of:
1. Shortened Shuttle solid rocket booster - 2.5 segments rather than the 4 used for the SRBs
2. Castor 120 - previously flown on LM Athena and Orbital's Taurus
3. Castor 30 - in development
4. Lockheed Martins Orbital Adjust Module (OAM) - previously flown on Athena; uses hydrazine propellant
It could deliver 13,233 lb (6015 kg) to the ISS initially and various ungrades, e.g. composite cases, would result in an additional 1,562 lb (710 kg).
The company also wants to pursue the market that will open up with the retirement of the Delta 2 rocket. The company says its design should provide about 25% better performance than the heavy Delta II variants for geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) missions, and almost 40% better for a translunar injection (TLI).
That works out to 6,160 lb. [2800 kg] for the GTO mission, 4,147 [1885 kg] for TLI and 2,992 [1360 kg] for a Mars science mission, according to ATK.
Our focus right now is obviously NASA COTS and the associated ISS servicing mission, but as NASA rightly recognizes, the business case is difficult to close without launch services for several different markets, Crook says.
The stages of the vehicle would consist of:
1. Shortened Shuttle solid rocket booster - 2.5 segments rather than the 4 used for the SRBs
2. Castor 120 - previously flown on LM Athena and Orbital's Taurus
3. Castor 30 - in development
4. Lockheed Martins Orbital Adjust Module (OAM) - previously flown on Athena; uses hydrazine propellant
It could deliver 13,233 lb (6015 kg) to the ISS initially and various ungrades, e.g. composite cases, would result in an additional 1,562 lb (710 kg).
The company also wants to pursue the market that will open up with the retirement of the Delta 2 rocket. The company says its design should provide about 25% better performance than the heavy Delta II variants for geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) missions, and almost 40% better for a translunar injection (TLI).
That works out to 6,160 lb. [2800 kg] for the GTO mission, 4,147 [1885 kg] for TLI and 2,992 [1360 kg] for a Mars science mission, according to ATK.
Our focus right now is obviously NASA COTS and the associated ISS servicing mission, but as NASA rightly recognizes, the business case is difficult to close without launch services for several different markets, Crook says.
Categories: NewSpace
Briefs: Returning Stage 1 to base; Altering Constellation
Jon Goff provides the second installment in his tutorial on the different approaches to designing orbital rocket vehicles: Orbital Access Methodologies Part II: The Key Challenge of TSTO RLVs - Selenian Boondocks - Jan.20.08
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Jon Goff also comments on the reports of a group organizing to push for big changes in NASA's implementation of the Bush Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) : The Journey That Matters, Not The Destination - Selenian Boondocks - Jan.19.08. T. L. James also weighs in: Consider the Possibilities - MarsBlog - Jan.20.08
From the description in the Aviation Week article, it seems that the group consists primarily of space scientists and advocates of human missions to Mars. I'll note that it's not as if lunar science experts and advocates of lunar settlements and spacefaring in general are all wildly thrilled with NASA's architecture for the VSE. Seems like it would be quite possible to arrange a similar meeting of such people to organize a push for major alterations in the Constellation program to make it far more cost effective and faster moving. The two groups could perhaps agree to work together to promote Lagrange point operations, asteroid missions, and dropping the Ares launchers in favor of commercial vehicles.
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Jon Goff also comments on the reports of a group organizing to push for big changes in NASA's implementation of the Bush Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) : The Journey That Matters, Not The Destination - Selenian Boondocks - Jan.19.08. T. L. James also weighs in: Consider the Possibilities - MarsBlog - Jan.20.08
From the description in the Aviation Week article, it seems that the group consists primarily of space scientists and advocates of human missions to Mars. I'll note that it's not as if lunar science experts and advocates of lunar settlements and spacefaring in general are all wildly thrilled with NASA's architecture for the VSE. Seems like it would be quite possible to arrange a similar meeting of such people to organize a push for major alterations in the Constellation program to make it far more cost effective and faster moving. The two groups could perhaps agree to work together to promote Lagrange point operations, asteroid missions, and dropping the Ares launchers in favor of commercial vehicles.
Categories: NewSpace
Briefs: Interview with SpaceX Chief Council; Space politics
Via the Political Action for Space blog comes a link to this interesting interview with the top lawyer at SpaceX : INTERVIEW: Timothy Hughes, SpaceX Chief Counsel - Res Communis - Jan.14.08.
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Some space related political items:
/-- Time to put the Heat onto Romney - Political Action for Space - Jan.19.08
/-- Giuliani Pushes Space Program During Florida Visit - SPACE.com - Jan.19.08
/-- Giuliani vows to keep U.S. lead in space: Florida will stay center of nation's space industry, GOP presidential hopeful tells Brevard forum - OrlandoSentinel - Jan.19.08
/-- Giuliani: NASA human spaceflight gap is "not acceptable" - Space Politics - Jan.18.08
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Some space related political items:
/-- Time to put the Heat onto Romney - Political Action for Space - Jan.19.08
/-- Giuliani Pushes Space Program During Florida Visit - SPACE.com - Jan.19.08
/-- Giuliani vows to keep U.S. lead in space: Florida will stay center of nation's space industry, GOP presidential hopeful tells Brevard forum - OrlandoSentinel - Jan.19.08
/-- Giuliani: NASA human spaceflight gap is "not acceptable" - Space Politics - Jan.18.08
Categories: NewSpace
A Friendship 7 memorial flight in 2012
The Americans In Orbit - 50 Years project hopes to commemorate John Glenn's famous flight to orbit by launching a Falcon 9 on February 20, 2012 with an astronaut in an "an improved Mercury capsule" : Americans in Orbit-50 Years Inc., A Non-Profit Organization, Announces Its Plan to Re-Create The Flight of the First American to Orbit - Americans in Orbit-50 Years Inc./Prnewswire - Jan.18.08.
Seems terribly ambitious to build and test a new capsule in four years with only donated money and volunteers. I would rather they simply campaign for a launch on that date of the Falcon 9/Dragon combo to the ISS or a Bigelow habitat and to send along a plaque or some other item related to the Mercury flight.
Seems terribly ambitious to build and test a new capsule in four years with only donated money and volunteers. I would rather they simply campaign for a launch on that date of the Falcon 9/Dragon combo to the ISS or a Bigelow habitat and to send along a plaque or some other item related to the Mercury flight.
Categories: NewSpace
Dover habitat inflated in Antarctica
NASA Watch reports that NASA and NSF have successfully deployed the inflatable habitat built by ILC Dover at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. A participant in the project has a blog with lots of pictures: NASA/NSF/ILC Dover Antarctica 2008.
Categories: NewSpace
Funding shortfalls, delays, vibrations - Ares 1/Orion
More Ares 1/Orion articles:
/-- Talk Of Ares Launch Delays - NASA Watch
/-- $700m gap threatens major delays to Ares test flights/development - NASA SpaceFlight.com
/-- NASA moon rocket may shake too much - AP
/-- Severe vibration problem plagues moon rocket design - Houston Chronicle
/-- Talk Of Ares Launch Delays - NASA Watch
/-- $700m gap threatens major delays to Ares test flights/development - NASA SpaceFlight.com
/-- NASA moon rocket may shake too much - AP
/-- Severe vibration problem plagues moon rocket design - Houston Chronicle
Categories: NewSpace
Group promotes asteroid as alternative to the Moon
So maybe the pro-Moon and pro-Mars people can find common ground on an asteroid: Space Leaders Work To Replace Lunar Base With Manned Asteroid Missions - Aviation Week. I certainly like this part: The "alternate vision" the group plans to offer would urge far greater private-sector incentives to make ambitious human spaceflight plans a reality. If the private sector can lower space transport cost, then we won't have to deal with an either-or-or situation.
I like this part as well: The alternative vision would also include far greater private-sector incentives for participation at all levels, an area public surveys cite as very important. Missions to asteroids and Lagrangian points, for example, are likely to carry along Bigelow-type commercial inflatable modules. A recent informal space program survey by The New York Times found substantial public frustration about NASA's doing what entrepreneurs could do better. I say I'm a bit surprised the NY Times, much less the general public, was even aware of an entrepreneurial space industry.
I like this part as well: The alternative vision would also include far greater private-sector incentives for participation at all levels, an area public surveys cite as very important. Missions to asteroids and Lagrangian points, for example, are likely to carry along Bigelow-type commercial inflatable modules. A recent informal space program survey by The New York Times found substantial public frustration about NASA's doing what entrepreneurs could do better. I say I'm a bit surprised the NY Times, much less the general public, was even aware of an entrepreneurial space industry.
Categories: NewSpace
Scaled faulted in accident study and must pay fines
The California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) is nearing completion of its investigation of the explosion last summer at the Scaled Composites motor testing site that killed three workers and badly injured three more. Though the official report has not been released, the company was cited on Thursday for not providing "effective information and training of the health and physical hazards associated with nitrous oxide". The company must pay $25,870 in fines. These were the first work related deaths in the history of Scaled Composites, which as been flying experimental craft since the 1970s. "Scaled Composites regrets that this accident occurred, and we have expressed our condolences to the victims and their families and provided support during this difficult time," said Doug Shane, Scaled Composites executive vice president, adding that the firm cooperated fully with California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) during the investigation.
"And we continue to work with the agency so that the enhanced procedures already implemented promote the safest workplace conditions possible," Shane told SPACE.com./-- Report Cites Rocketship Builder in Explosion Inquiry - SPACE.com
/-- Spaceship builder faces fines for fatal blast: State officials fault training at Scaled Composites; $25,870 in fines sought - msnbc.com
/-- Mojave company faulted for rocket fuel explosion that killed three workers - Eyeoutforyou.com - [Bakersfield, CA]
Jeff Foust and Rand Simberg comment on the news of the accident report :
/-- Scaled fined for July accident - Personal Spaceflight
/-- Unanswered Questions - Transterrestrial Musings
"And we continue to work with the agency so that the enhanced procedures already implemented promote the safest workplace conditions possible," Shane told SPACE.com./-- Report Cites Rocketship Builder in Explosion Inquiry - SPACE.com
/-- Spaceship builder faces fines for fatal blast: State officials fault training at Scaled Composites; $25,870 in fines sought - msnbc.com
/-- Mojave company faulted for rocket fuel explosion that killed three workers - Eyeoutforyou.com - [Bakersfield, CA]
Jeff Foust and Rand Simberg comment on the news of the accident report :
/-- Scaled fined for July accident - Personal Spaceflight
/-- Unanswered Questions - Transterrestrial Musings
Categories: NewSpace
Finalists selected for new COTS round
Brian Berger reports that NASA Picks Finalists for Space Station Resupply Demonstrations - Space.com . They are:
- Spacehab
- Andrews Space
- Orbital Sciences
- PlanetSpace
Congratulations to all of them. It's possible that more than one could win funding in the final selection. Hope they release more information before then about their individual proposals.
- Spacehab
- Andrews Space
- Orbital Sciences
- PlanetSpace
Congratulations to all of them. It's possible that more than one could win funding in the final selection. Hope they release more information before then about their individual proposals.
Categories: NewSpace
Briefs: Power beaming goals; Better nanotube fibers; Google, Lunar X PRIZE and Bob Richards
The Spaceward Foundation raises the requirements significantly on the next Power Beaming competition but the size of the purse grows as well: 2008 Space Elevator Beam Power Challenge - Goals and Status - Nanotechnology Now - Jan.17.08 - the goals for 2008 have been set at 1 km height, 5 m/s minimum speed, for a prize level of $2M.===
Relevant to the Tether Strength Challenge comes news via Rocketeers.co.uk of a significant improvement in carbon nanotube fibers: High-Performance Carbon Nanotube Fiber -- Koziol et al. - Science - Dec.21.07
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Speaking of prizes, Will Pomerantz discusses Google and its sponsorship of the Lunar X PRIZE: A Very Googley Day - X PRIZE Foundation - Jan.17.08. He also points to this entertaining Canadian TV interview with the articulate and enthusiastic Bob Richards, the founder and CEO of the Odyssey Moon project: Dr. Bob Richards on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos on CBC - CBC - Jan.17.08
Relevant to the Tether Strength Challenge comes news via Rocketeers.co.uk of a significant improvement in carbon nanotube fibers: High-Performance Carbon Nanotube Fiber -- Koziol et al. - Science - Dec.21.07
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Speaking of prizes, Will Pomerantz discusses Google and its sponsorship of the Lunar X PRIZE: A Very Googley Day - X PRIZE Foundation - Jan.17.08. He also points to this entertaining Canadian TV interview with the articulate and enthusiastic Bob Richards, the founder and CEO of the Odyssey Moon project: Dr. Bob Richards on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos on CBC - CBC - Jan.17.08
Categories: NewSpace
NASA answers queries about Ares 1 and Orion development
Keith Cowing gets a response back from his set of questions sent to NASA about the Ares I/Orion program: NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate Responds to Ares 1 and Orion Questions - SpaceRef.
And Rand Simberg discusses their response: Boy, Does This Need A Follow Up - Transterrestrial Musings.
And Rand Simberg discusses their response: Boy, Does This Need A Follow Up - Transterrestrial Musings.
Categories: NewSpace
Briefs: Carnival of Space #37; NASA seeks massive online game
Darnell Clayton at Colony Worlds is hosting the Carnival of Space #37.
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Rob Coppinger points to plans by NASA to follow the example of the US Army and procure Development of a NASA-Based Massively Multiplayer Online Learning Game.
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Rob Coppinger points to plans by NASA to follow the example of the US Army and procure Development of a NASA-Based Massively Multiplayer Online Learning Game.
Categories: NewSpace
Briefs: Beyond-Earth video; SS2 design debut; UK ISS modules
Joe Latrell of Beyond Earth Enterprises points me to this video compilation of a sample of their rocket launches over the past few years: Busy - YouTube
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Michael Belfiore reminds us that Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic will unveil the design for the SpaceShipTwo system next Wednesday in New York City : SpaceShipTwo coming out of the closet - Dispatches from the Final Frontier
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Some more discussion of the proposal for a UK module for the ISS: Space Station Modules Proposed by UK Scientists - SPACE.com
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Michael Belfiore reminds us that Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic will unveil the design for the SpaceShipTwo system next Wednesday in New York City : SpaceShipTwo coming out of the closet - Dispatches from the Final Frontier
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Some more discussion of the proposal for a UK module for the ISS: Space Station Modules Proposed by UK Scientists - SPACE.com
Categories: NewSpace
NASTAR "Air and Space Adventures"
The NASTAR Center is expanding its training program for people that plan to fly on space tourist vehicles to a set of its own "Air & Space Adventure Programs" based on flight simulations in their centrifuge : ETC's NASTAR Center Announces the Launch of New Air and Space Adventure Programs - NASTAR (via spacetoday.net).
Categories: NewSpace
Briefs: China and the ISS; South Korean space program; First GPS, now LPS
I certainly don't see why China should not be allowed to join the ISS if it wants to do so. I strongly doubt this would allow them to obtain some great secret rocket technology that they could not obtain more directly: There's room for China in space: The U.S. shouldn't turn a cold shoulder to Beijing's emerging efforts - LA Times by Jeffrey Manber. (Item via Rand Simberg.)
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Meanwhile, South Korea keeps its space program at a modest level: Budget for Space Projects Remains Flat - Korea Times. I continue to wonder if there is any chance Korea could be convinced to rent part of a Bigelow habitat. Would be a low cost way for them to get a step in space ahead of their big neighbor.
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NASA plans a GPS type of system for the Moon: NASA designs lunar positioning system for exploration - Flight Global.
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Meanwhile, South Korea keeps its space program at a modest level: Budget for Space Projects Remains Flat - Korea Times. I continue to wonder if there is any chance Korea could be convinced to rent part of a Bigelow habitat. Would be a low cost way for them to get a step in space ahead of their big neighbor.
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NASA plans a GPS type of system for the Moon: NASA designs lunar positioning system for exploration - Flight Global.
Categories: NewSpace
Briefs: Odyssey Moon blog; Importance of blogging; Reports from the field
The Odyssey Moon team competing for the Google Lunar X PRIZE has a blog page on the event website. In a posting yesterday, Ramin Khadem, Odyssey Moon Chairman, answers the question "Why do it?"
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According to Will Pomerantz, "all Google Lunar X PRIZE teams blog at least once a week, and submit videos totaling at least one hour per month": Xue and the Importance of Blogging. A great way to allow the public to follow developments in the contest.
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And speaking of near real-time reports from NewSpace projects:
/-- Engine test related work - Earth Space Continuum - A short item from David Riseborough on work with the C&Space LOX/Methane engine. (A couple of pictures of the torch test are available via the home page.)
/-- A Quick test flight - Unreasonable Rocket - Another update from Paul Breed on tests with the RC helicopter.
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According to Will Pomerantz, "all Google Lunar X PRIZE teams blog at least once a week, and submit videos totaling at least one hour per month": Xue and the Importance of Blogging. A great way to allow the public to follow developments in the contest.
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And speaking of near real-time reports from NewSpace projects:
/-- Engine test related work - Earth Space Continuum - A short item from David Riseborough on work with the C&Space LOX/Methane engine. (A couple of pictures of the torch test are available via the home page.)
/-- A Quick test flight - Unreasonable Rocket - Another update from Paul Breed on tests with the RC helicopter.
Categories: NewSpace
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