This is the archive for October 2007
Briefs: Unreasonable plans; ZERO-G and Embry-Riddle; Bigelow's new look
Paul Breed lays out his plan for getting a vehicle ready to compete in the next Lunar Lander Challenge:
Unreasonable Plans - Unreasonable Rocket - Oct.31.07
===
Embry-Riddle will work with
ZERO-G to support development of educational programs based around the parabolic flights :
Embry-Riddle, Zero-G to collaborate on weightless flights - Orlando Business Journal - Oct.31.07
===
Bigelow Aerospace has revamped their
website.
10/31/07 09:35 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
2 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Orbital debris updates; Rocketing spy planes; Risky endeavours
Jesse Londin reports on the
latest issue (pdf) of the
Orbital Debris Quarterly News, which is published by the
NASA Orbital Debris Program Office. I thought the article titled
A Preliminary Active Debris Removal Study was particularly interesting.
===
A reader points me this article about DARPA's plans to investigate the feasibility of inserting NearSpace aircraft above trouble spots via rocket deployment:
Future Mars Craft Inspires High-Tech Spy Plane - SPACE.com
===
NASA Watch posts links to two articles about the
Risk and Exploration Symposium that took place earlier this week:
*
Extreme Explorers Discuss Martian Sand Dunes, Cat 5 Hurricanes, Exploding Shuttles - Wired Science
*
Dude, Where's My Moon Rover? - Wired Science
10/31/07 09:23 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
1 comment | Permalink |
Armadillo update on XPC
John Carmack doesn't mince words in the title of his lengthy review of their Lunar Lander Challenge efforts:
We failed.
Lots of photos and videos on this page:
X Prize Cup 2007 media
10/31/07 05:51 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
1 comment | Permalink |
November space events... [Update]
I just heard about the
Reach to Space 2007, Space Commercialization Conference, which will happen at George Washington University, Washington D. C. on Nov. 12-13, 2007. The
agenda looks satcom oriented but there is a panel or two with a slight NewSpace tilt.
===
The
World Space Expo is taking place this week, Nov. 1-4, 2007, at the Kennedy Space Center.
[Update Oct.31.07: There is also a parallel space commercialization conference on Thursday that includes the groundbreaking ceremony for the conversion of Launch complex 40 to operations with the SpaceX Falcon 9:
Cape conference aims to attract space industry - floridatoday.com - Oct.31.07. There must be a conference website somewhere but all I can find is this brief description of the
Commercial Space 2007 meeting on the Space Florida site.
]
===
And don't forget the
Transforming Space 2007 Conference occurring Nov. 5 - 8 at the Sheraton Gateway LAX, Los Angeles, Ca. Wish the
panels and presentations were being webcast.
===
And I wish I could attend the
5th Int. Symposium on Beamed Energy Propulsion during Nov. 12-15 to hear the latest on laser propulsion and to see Hawaii.
10/30/07 09:14 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Good turnout; XPC photos; Space shows at ISPS & XPC
Bret Alexander of the X PRIZE Foundation said that they had hoped for 60k attendees at the Holloman Air & Space show. They beat that by a good margin:
85,000 attend Expo - Alamogordo Daily News - Oct.30.07 (via
spacetoday.net).
===
Dick Stafford has been collecting links to photo sets of the event:
X-prize Cup photos - Dick's Rocket Dungeon.
He currently doesn't have this
CNet set.
===
David Livingston of the Space Show recorded a
set of interviews with four people attending the Personal Space Flight Symposium and
another set with 11 people attending the X PRIZE Cup.
10/30/07 08:52 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
Rocket Racer video
A video taken last Friday from just outside the Mojave Air & Spaceport of the very first
XCOR Rocket Racer test flights has been posted by a space fan named Ben Brockert :
X-Racer Tests - Revver. The video is taken from a long distance away but you can clearly see the Racer taking off in the final runs. (Brockert is now an official rocket paparazzo.)
At the
Rocket Racing League news conference last Friday there was a promise of a press day at Mojave within a month or two to see a flight up close.
10/30/07 04:21 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Rocket Racing
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Shaking up better bones; China space biz; Hyperbola blog
I had heard before about this sort of vibratory effect on bone growth and wondered if there had been more follow up study on it:
Low Buzz May Give Mice Better Bones and Less Fat - New York Times - Oct.30.07. I sure hope it is proven to work with people. Obviously it could be of particular benefit for those living in a low gravity environment.
===
Some thoughts about discussions in China on space commercialization:
Comment: China's great leap for commercial space? - Flight Global - Oct.30.07
===
I see that Rob Coppinger, who reports on space for Flight Global, has his own blog now called
Hyperbola.
10/30/07 11:03 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Aborting without breaking
Will Pomerantz has posted a lengthy report on the final day of the XPC:
2007 Cup and NGLLC Recap - X PRIZE Foundation. I thought this was interesting about Sunday's aborted flight after a few seconds in the air :
I had a long chat with Chief Judge Bill Gaubatz, who ran the DC-X program--and therefore knows a thing or two about this type of vehicle. I didn't get to copy down the exact quote, but Bill put into words something I completely agree with: for decades, people have been trying to build a rocket with airplane-like operations; and finally, finally!, we're seeing it. If a pilot takes off and notices something wrong with the plane, he or she has the option to turn around and park it back on the ground, check it out, fix it, and take off again. That's something that's never really been possible with a rocket. On Sunday, Armadillo made it look easy.
10/30/07 10:38 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
2 comments | Permalink |
Ups and downs on an upward slope
John Carmack will eventually post a summary of their unsuccessful Lunar Lander Challenge campaign. I hope it is out soon but I suspect it will happen several days from now at the earliest. I'm sure he and the rest of the team want to take a break. I heard there were some great videos taken of the flights so it should be a very interesting update in many ways.
As with other disappointments and problems that have happened in this field, the failure of Armadillo to win any of the prizes will spur the inevitable big broad generalizations about the shortcomings of NewSpace as a whole. I think it is important, however, to maintain some perspective. The NewSpace arena includes a wide range of technical, financial, and organizational approaches. The Armadillo Aerospace approach is one with a particular emphasis on extremely low cost development. Their goal isn't just to save money for its own sake but to expand the envelope of what can be accomplished in rocket vehicle performance within a relatively modest budget (single digit million dollars range so far). The lower the cost of rocket vehicles, the more practical space travel becomes. So it is of tremendous benefit to everyone to have such a capable team pushing this approach.
Armadillo's primary technique for low cost development involves rapid prototyping and relentless real world testing. They learn a lot as they experiment with their prototypes but they also lose a lot of them. John has always said that they expect either eventually to crash any vehicle they build or to set it aside as they go to the next more advanced design. This is one reason they don't just go out and buy engines from companies that build engines for a living. That would get real expensive, real fast. The crash of Texel, for example, was caused by sensor and software problems not a propulsion problem. Rather than having to replace an expensive engine, they could instead afford to quickly build two vehicles with the new modular design and begin flying them.
The hard start problem came up
after 30 successful flights with the same type of engine. I'm sure they will find out what caused the problem and fix it. As the number of flights increase, other problems are sure to arise but they should be able to fix those as well and over time the engines will become very reliable and robust.
From a spectator's point of view, this iterative approach to hardware development can be frustrating and disappointing. Lots of small steps instead of giant leaps. Lots of scrubs and crashes instead of flights across the finish line. But over the long term I think we will see them make enormous progress.
10/30/07 10:15 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
2 comments | Permalink |
October COMSTAC meeting presentations on line
The presentations given at the October 10-11 meeting of the FAA's
Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) are now
available on line.
The October 10th
RLV Working Group meeting produced several reports on issues dealing with crew and passenger safety such as
training,
medical risk factors,
biomedical data monitoring, etc.
Presentations at the main October 11th meeting included reports on
Operationally Responsive Space and
China's Space Activities.
10/30/07 07:05 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Law and Regs
No comments | Permalink |
Some XPC thoughts and links
Back in Rockville but too late to post much. I will have more comments in a day or two about the X PRIZE Cup and the Personal Spaceflight Symposium.
My condolences to the Armadillo team on not winning either of the Lunar Lander Challenge prizes. They have successfully demonstrated LLC type flights in Oklahoma and they must feel terribly disappointed that they were unable to duplicate them in Alamogordo.
My congratulations on their tremendous efforts and on demonstrating robust VTVL vehicles that (1) can fly and hover in a controlled stable fashion even with parts of an engine nozzle missing, (2) allow for replacing engines within just a few hours, (3) fly repeatedly in a short period, and (4) survive even the total self-destruction of an engine. Furthermore, they built Mod, the first of their modular style vehicles, in only a couple of months. All this with a small team and a modest budget. No cigar this year but not a bad try, not bad at all.
In the latest issue of
The Space Review, Jeff Foust has posted an nice review of Armadillo's LLC trys and tribulations:
Hard start, tough finish.
A couple of other XPC related links:
*
New Space's Big Weekend - Wired Science
*
Team Michael and Talia Wins 2007 Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation Award - X PRIZE Foundation
More links compiled by Jesse Londin:
New Mexican and Other Flybys - Space Law Probe - Oct.29.07
10/29/07 10:44 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
2 comments | Permalink |
Heading home...
It will be a long day traveling so no more posts till late tonight. A quick scan of the web before I leave for the El Paso airport comes up with this XPC article :
Oh-For-Four: Armadillo Aerospace Fails To Collect In Lunar Challenge - Aero-News Network - Oct.29.07. And several more links to XPC articles can be found at
spacetoday.net.
Here is an interesting article about a demo of solar thermal propulsion:
DARPA Readies Demonstration of Radically New In-Space Propulsion - Space News/Space.com - Oct.29.07.
Sam Dinkin thinks EADS is taking the wrong approach to development of their rocketplane:
Biggest Mistake If Hopes Realized - Transterrestrial Musings - Oct.28.07.
Here is an NPR report about the Personal Spaceflight Symposium:
Budget Space Travel Just Around the Corner? - NPR - Oct.28.07.
10/29/07 05:59 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
15 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: XP on LLC; XPC summary and video; Spacesuit intro
The X PRIZE Foundation focuses on the part of the glass that's half full :
Armadillo Aerospace Nearly Wins Northrop Grumman - X PRIZE Foundation - Oct.28.07
===
Jeff Foust summarizes the XPC:
Wrapping up the X Prize Cup - Personal Spaceflight - Oct.28.07
Jeff also posts a
video of the Mod flight on Sunday morning on the first leg of the attempt.
===
More about the
Orbital Outfitters' new spacesuit that was introduced at the XPC:
The Free-Fall Collection: First Commercial Spacesuit Debuts at X Prize Cup - Space.com - Oct.27.07
10/28/07 09:13 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
X PRIZE Cup - Day 2 : Part 6
Jeff Foust talked with Russ Blink and Phil Eaton of the Armadillo team and got some more info about the final hard start that blew the engine:
Armadillo: “Can’t believe we were lucky 30 times” - Personal Spaceflight.
Beyond the engine chamber, Eaton said that they had some wiring damaged and other minor miscellaneous items to repair, but said that, if needed, they could fly the same vehicle again in a week or so.
So this headline is certainly misleading:
Lunar lander explodes on launch pad - New Scientist Space Blog.
Leonard David reports on the final flight attempt :
Lunar Lander Challenge Ends in Fire, Disappointment - SPACE.com
10/28/07 06:17 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
X PRIZE Cup - Day 2 : Part 4
Bretton Alexander debriefing:
- Carmack told him that it was "officially a bad day".
- Carmack decided not to go for a Level 2 in the evening. They have a spare engine but they are exhausted.
- No insurance, etc for a slot tomorrow.
- No details about what caused the engine failure
- Pieces were thrown from the engine
- Fire quickly died out before the fire truck arrived.
- No further technical info available at the moment. The team debriefing (not open to the press) will happen later.
- Milburn told him that the starts on the first legs were OK on the previous attempts. A "pop" at the start is normal. The return flights both began with hard starts.
- Several teams this year were close to flying, one was very close.
- Expect next year there will be more than one team next year but no guarantee. Carmack had a extra year though so never can tell how many will actually be at the next event.
- There were still successes. Several flights took place. The return flight yesterday flew 83 seconds in controlled flight despite a badly damaged nozzle.
- Lots of innovation from the many teams involved.
- All the person-hours by all the teams would cost far more than the $2M purse if they charged standard salaries.
- Over 80,000 people here this weekend (numbers from AF).
- Two years ago, the Holloman air show got 40,000
- X PRIZE Foundation obligated to run LLC once a year through 2010. Northrop committed for 2 years but they seem happy with how things have gone.
- Wirefly is having financial problems. The pullout was due to their internal problems, unrelated to the XPC.
- Liked the space and aviation combination.
- Will be complicated to organize if 8 or 9 teams show up next year.
- Can't have an elimination round.
- A team is guaranteed at least 2 windows and max 4.
- Van with Carmack and the flight controls was several hundred feet from the vehicle. They got out and walked away when the bang occurred.
10/28/07 02:06 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
X PRIZE Cup - Day 2 : Part 3
Well, there's always next year. Armadillo switched out the old engine on Mod and installed an engine from Pixel but at startup the engine experienced a rapid disassembly event. There was some brush fire but the vehicle looks OK.
The debriefing hasn't occurred yet so don't know if they have an idea as to what happened. The earlier problems were being ascribed to the fast turnaround between the two flight legs, which they had not practiced with the same time constraints. The short intervals may not have given time for the residual fuel to dry out. Crystallization could have led to the fuel line blockages, resulting in the hard starts when they began the final leg of the event.
More links:
*
Fire ends rocket prize quest - Cosmic Log
*
Hard start finishes Armadillo - Personal Spaceflight
*
Second Sunday Attempt - Transterrestrial - includes photos
10/28/07 01:41 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
1 comment | Permalink |
X PRIZE Cup - Day 2 : Part 2
Armadillo again flew Mod halfway to the Lunar Lander Challenge Level 1 prize but couldn't complete the trip. They aborted the return flight a few seconds after takeoff. Mod returned to the pad safely and at first there was word that they might try again within this window. However, that has been scrubbed.
There is one more scheduled window this afternoon.
Rand Simberg reports, though, that they might give them an extra window if they can take advantage of it. Otherwise, Pixel would go after the Level 2 prize. (Haven't gotten word as to whether Pixel would be allowed to go for Level 1.)
I hear that Armadillo might take the engine from Pixel and use it in Mod.
More reports and pictures:
*
Another miss for Armadillo - Personal Spaceflight
*
Live from the X PRIZE Cup! - Will Pomerantz gives a summary of day 1
*
'Anomaly' ruins attempt - Cosmic Log
10/28/07 09:34 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
X PRIZE Cup - Day 2 : Part 1
About to head off for the final day of the X PRIZE Cup. Best of luck to Armadillo. They could win $1.35M, $0.35M or $0.0M today.
Here are some pictures from Day 1 posted by Jeff Foust:
2007 X Prize Cup Day 1, October 27 - a photoset on Flickr. And here is a
video of Mod's flight that he made.
This article also includes some pictures:
Lunar lander tips over on landing - New Scientist Blog
Alan Boyle comments on yesterday's problems and the upcoming excitement:
Cliffhanger at rocket fest - Cosmic Log.
The air and space festivities have been good for the local community
Alamogordo Daily News - Expo does well for community
10/28/07 06:26 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
Planetspace-LM-Canada deal falls through
Looks like the
PlanetSpace deal with Lockheed Martin and the Canadian government is going nowhere:
Space tourism plan not in line for cash - globeandmail.com - Oct.27.07
10/27/07 07:51 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
No comments | Permalink |
More on Mod's engine problems
Jeff Foust talked with Carmack and got more details about the engine failure:
Carmack: injector problems, will try again tomorrow morning - Personal Spaceflight
There is also this by Jason Silverman:
Blow-by-blow on Mod's crash - Wired Science
10/27/07 05:49 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
X PRIZE Cup - Day 1 : Part 3
Earlier today,
Orbital Outfitters unveiled their "Industrial Suborbital Space Suit-Crew" (IS
3C). It is a working prototype with no mock-up parts. It is intended as a suit for the private spaceflight companies.
Rand Simberg has posted a picture:
At The Cup - Transterrestrial.
They didn't give a price but Jeff Feige, CEO of OO, said it was a lot cheaper than the cost of ticket on a suborbital vehicle.
The outer layer can be customized for particular companies.
A passenger version will be introduced later.
10/27/07 02:28 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
1 comment | Permalink |
X PRIZE Cup - Day 1 : Part 2 [Update 2]
So close! In the second 2.5 hour window for the Lunar Lander Level 1 competition, Mod flew the first leg just fine. The return looked great as well until just a couple of seconds before the end. John had quickly flown the up over and down segments and was hovering just above the pad for about 40 seconds to reach the 90 second required flight time. Just before he came down a big dust cloud came up and Mod tilted and fell over. Perhaps the vehicle had moved off to the side of the pad.
So they will try again tomorrow. They said they will check out the vehicle overnight.
There are at least two more opportunities to win Level 1. If it was won in the morning, I assume they would go for Level 2 in the second window.
Rand's comments and posts some pictures:
*
Missed It By That Much - Transterrestrial
*
Try, Try Again - Transterrestrial
[Update 2: Turns out that the problem was with the engine, not the dust:
The Glitch that Broke the Rocket - Cosmic Blog
]
[Update: Other posts:
*
So close... - Personal Spaceflight - Jeff Foust
*
Crash! - Cosmic Log - Alan Boyle
*
Armadillo Rocketship: Fails to Snag Cash Prize - LiveScience.com Blogs - Leonard David
]
10/27/07 02:03 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
X PRIZE Cup - Day 1 : Part 1
While waiting for the LLC flight, David Livingston, who is doing the LLC play-by-play over the loudspeaker, interviewed Granger Whitelaw about the Rocket Racing League. They showed a video about the RRL on the Jumbotron and it included some very brief clips of one of the flights of the Rocket Racer in Mojave on Friday. Hope to see more about the flights soon.
===
Leonard David talks with John Carmack:
Armadillo Aerospace Sets Its Sights on the Lunar Lander Challenge Prize - Space.com
===
More links:
*
Leonard David - LiveScience.com Blogs
*
Today's X-Prize Press Conference - Transterrestrial Musings
*
2007 X Prize Cup Media Day, October 26 - a photoset on Flickr
Alan Boyle will be posting updates at
Cosmic Log.
Heading for the Orbital Outfitters press conference and demo.
10/27/07 08:52 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
First LLC flight scrubbed
An ignition problem on the Mod vehicle caused Armadillo to scrub its attempt to win the Lunar Lander Challenge Level 1 for the first window this morning. They will try again this afternoon. I believe the next window opens at 12:30. This means that they won't go after Level 2 any earlier than Sunday morning.
10/27/07 08:39 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Lunar Lander plans; Press conf. wrap-up; Wired XPC blog
I will have to get up early to drive to Alamogordo to see Armadillo go for the Level 1 prize. The window for the first attempt opens at 8:00, which is also when the gates open. The Armadillo team will load Mod onto the truck from the staging area and take it to the lift-off pad and set it up. That might take up to an hour according to Will Pomerantz. So the flight will probably happen around 9:00am.
Jeff Foust reviews the LLC schedule:
Lunar Lander Challenge plans - Personal Spaceflight
===
Jeff also gives a summary here of the press conference on Friday:
X Prize Cup press conference recap - Personal Spaceflight
===
Jason Silverman at Wired has set up a special blog just for his postings on the XPC and LLC:
X Cup Prize 2007 - Wired Science - Wired Blogs
10/26/07 10:08 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
2 comments | Permalink |
More Teachers in Space ...
Alan Boyle reports on the
Teachers-in-Space announcements at Friday's press conference:
Space teachers wanted - Cosmic Log/msnbc.com
===
Here is a press release about the program:
One Small Step for Education
Space Frontier Foundation
October 26, 2007 - Holloman Air Force Base, NM
The nonprofit Teachers In Space program announced one small step for education today, the launch of a Pathfinder Astronaut competition that will select two teachers who will be the first astronauts to fly in space and return to teach in American classrooms. What comes next could be a giant leap.
"The private sector is developing reusable suborbital spacecraft that will bring dramatic improvements in the cost and safety of human spaceflight," said Teachers In Space project manager Edward Wright. "These new spacecraft will be terrific vehicles for education.
PlanetSpace - Lockheed Martin deal in works
PlanetSpace may get Lockheed Martin backing for spaceport and vehicle development:
PlanetSpace, Lockheed Martin, and spaceport funding - Personal Spacelfight
10/26/07 12:07 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
1 comment | Permalink |
X PRIZE Cup Press Conference - Part 4
Rocket Racing League
===================
Granger Whitelaw
- Announce 3 new racing teams
- Now 6 teams total, which is the minimum we wanted to start the racing program.
[See
press release.]
Reps from the 2 Navy based teams:
-
Rocket Star Racing
- Team Extreme Rocket Racing
- Beyond Gravity Rocket Racing - (Brian Feeney not attending)
- Reps from the 3 current teams come up to the stage.
Q&A:
- XCOR has done a phenomenal job developing the new vehicle.
- Flew plane for first time yesterday.
- Past 6 months have focused on vehicle.
- Looking at 2 TV deals. Each involves different season starts, etc.
- Schedule to be announced over next 30 days.
- Would do things differently if had to do over. Should have gotten the vehicle ready first and then looked for sponsors. Expect lots of sponsors to come in now that vehicle will be flying.
- Wants to wait to show video of flight to when press can see it directly.
- Rick Searfoss said vehicle very well behaved
- Flew three times; turnaround times of a few minutes.
- Exhibition flights at air shows next Spring including multiple vehicles in air and racing each other. But official points counting season won't start till later in the year.
- Will stay with fixed vehicle formula for several years.
- Building up capability of vehicle over next 30-40 days.
- Will fly under experimental permit - R&D and then exhibition
10/26/07 11:42 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
6 comments | Permalink |
X PRIZE Cup Press Conference - Part 3 [Update]
Rocketplane Global
- John Herrington
- Dave Faulkner - program manager for XP
Herrington:
- Attention has been on RpK but meanwhile another group was focusing on the suborbital program and the XP design.
- Faulkner led revamp of design.
Faulkner:
- spent a year and half very busy on making suborbital vehicle better.
- spent 200k man-hours on new design
- Cover
Launch Magazine unveiling
- Drop Lear Jet conversion - use whole new body.
- Lighter structure, all aluminum
- New afterburning jet engines and landing gear (F-5 fighter derived)
- Matured subsystems
- Frank Nuovo - interior design
-- was chief of design at Nokia. Design director at BMW, etc.
- Sketches of interior.
- 1 pilot + 5 passengers
- Manufacturing engine parts and near to first test in next 6 months
- Climb to 40kft and then to slightly above 100km
- Triply redundant fly-by-wire system
- Don't need to protect inlets during reentry.
- Impact of layoffs had some effect but the core team able to continue with this project
- Looking for next round of investment to ramp up developing.
- Paragon is doing the life support system.
- Test flights in 2010. No funding amount given.
- Engine based on Atlas sustainer engine - LOX/Kerosene
-- Scaled down version of that.
- Expect lower price point than SS2 type of two vehicle system.
- Trade studies showed Al cheaper and even lighter than a composite approach.
- Can take out 2 seats and do free float
- Herrington : initially for safety reasons prefer to keep people in their seats. Later will consider taking out seats to allow for free float.
- Four day training plan.
[Update: Leonard David has posted a report with picts:
Rocketplane Global Overhauls Suborbital Craft
]
10/26/07 11:19 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
7 comments | Permalink |
X PRIZE Cup Press Conference - part 2
Ed Wright -
Teachers in Space
TIS started by Ronald Reagan but suspended after Challenge.
NASA converted program to Educator Astronauts in which teachers become astronauts
This TIS program will return to the original concept in which teachers will go to space and then back to the school room.
Many teachers participate in adventure activities like parachuting, mountain climbing, etc.
Flight opportunities at NASA have decreased. A kid today has a better chance of becoming a professional athlete than an astronaut.
Hardly an accident that kids have more interest in sports.
Suborbital spaceflights for $100k in a few years. A $20M program, for example, could fly 200 teachers to space.
Five space transport companies have pledge to participate
- Rocketplane Global
- Armadillo
- Masten
- XCOR
- PlanetSpace
Announcing two
pathfinder competition programs today:
1. STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) teachers submit science experiment
2. K-12 teachers in all subject areas. Applications will be asked to submit a lesson plan or curriculum module based on some aspect of human spaceflight.
10/26/07 11:18 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
X PRIZE Cup Press Conference - part 1
XPC Press Conference
====================
Words from Gen. Goldfein
Talked with Diamandis in 2006 about a combo air and space show.
Something new and unusual.
6000 kids at the event today.
Airplanes and rockets, what could possibly go wrong?
Extensive safety reviews by several organizations.
=======
NG LLC
------
Bob Davis from NG
- 2nd year of sponsorship
- Supporting innovation
- Hope to award the prize this weekend
Will Pomerantz:
- Intro teams
-- SpeedUp - Bob Steinke
-- Unreasonable Rocket - Paul Breed and son
-- Masten Space Systems - Dave Masten
-- Armadillo Aerospace - Neil Milburn
Milburn:
- Status
-- To replace Texel with modulare vehicle
-- Went from parts to flying vehicle in 2 months.
-- Qualification flight last weekend - full level 1 time
-- Three good vehicles ready.
-- Level 1 in Saturday morning with Mod
-- Level 2 in Saturday afternoon with Pixel
-- Demo flights on Sunday if Saturday goes OK.
Breed:
-- Paperwork was not a big factor. FAA was quite reasonable.
Will
-- Other teams not able to get through all the building and
testing required to compete.
Prize money not won this year goes to next year.
Google lunar prize entries will need a landing propulsion system and they could use technology and teams from LLC.
Bob Davis:
-- Want to encourage kids to go into science and engineering and
sees these types of exciting events
Paul Breed Jr. - been very fun and interesting to actually build and fly things. Not easy to get that sort of experience in school.
Steinke - Ad in Univ. Wyoming to ask for help. Expected just one or two but got over 20 students showing interest.
Paul Breed - finds univ. grads who can't do hands on work. Too many people have lost con tact with hardware and how things really work. "In theory plumbing always works, in practice it never does"
Milburn:
-- Now teaching physics.
-- Very few kids interested today in aerospace. Starting to see increase in interest.
Will
-- No international competitors made serious attempt to compete.
Milburn:
-- AF people are incredibly professional and great to work with.
Davis:
-- In aerospace for a long time, in both big and small companies. These guys think outside the box. Come up with new techniques that will make space more affordable. E.g. just heard about a new rocket pump that is very interesting.
-- X PRIZE Foundation should get a lot of kudos for both the prizes and educational efforts.
Money
- Steinke - $350k so far, another $50k - $75k
- Breed - $150k so far, another $50k or so
- Masten - $100k-$150k range for LLC vehicles but part of a larger development program of around $1.5M
- Milburn - about $3.5M total since started AA. Probably $500k on current 3 vehicles.
Will about 45k person hours, mostly volunteer on all the LLC projects.
10/26/07 11:17 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
VASIMR videos
One of the astronauts
yesterday happened to mention the
VASIMR concept in a discussion of future propulsion systems that could reduce travel times to Mars. NASA Watch today by chance has posted a couple of videos showing the setup and operation of a prototype VASIMR engine:
VASIMIR update | NASA Watch.
The VASIMR (Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket) was invented by astronaut Dr. Franklin R. Chang Díaz. After leaving NASA he founded the
Ad Astra Rocket Company to pursue development of it.
10/26/07 06:54 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Propulsion
No comments | Permalink |
X PRIZE Cup Education & Media Day
Heading out to Holloman Air Force Base this morning to attend the
X PRIZE Cup Education & Media Day events. A press conference is scheduled for 11am local time. Several organizations will give presentations.
I see that the
Rocket Racing League has already issued a press release about one of its major announcements:
Three New Race Teams Join Rocket Racing League(R) - Rocket Racing League. I expect we will also get updates on the development of the Rocket Racer vehicles at
XCOR and on the schedule for flight demonstrations and the first competitions.
Here are some other items related to the XPC:
*
Spaceflight focus shifts to X Prize Cup today - Las Cruces Sun-News
*
Rockets, Robots and a Flying Lunar Lander on Tap for X Prize 'Rocket Festival' - Wired
*
Q&A With X Prize Founder Peter Diamandis - Wired
10/26/07 06:27 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Long road to Spaceport America; Space Angels Network; Rocket Lab NZ; LLC update
Alan Boyle reports on the many hurdles
Spaceport America faces on its way to becoming a operational facility:
The spaceport race - Cosmic Log - Oct.25.07
===
The
Space Angels Network, mentioned
at the ISPS by
Burton Lee, issued this press release today:
"Space Angels 2.0" Gravitate Toward an Online Deal Source Launched by Space Angels Network - Earth Times - Oct.25.07
===
David Teek of New Zealand's
Rocket Lab, which I
mentioned back in August, attended the meeting and distributed information about their
Atea sounding rocket. They expect first launch in mid-2008 and they are "fully funded for at least 6 launches".
===
A brief report on the upcoming LLC:
Lunar Lander Teams Compete for $2 Million in Prizes This Weekend - Wired Science.
10/25/07 09:38 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
ISPS Day 2: Closing
Closing comments
Pat Hynes, Chair, ISPS
Clayton Mowry, President, Arianespace Inc.
Peter Diamandis, Chairman, X PRIZE Foundation
Michael Simpson, President, International Space University
Reda Anderson
A video compilation of scenes from the meeting combined with a nice soundtrack.
Ansari: It's like a AA meeting for space junkies.
Simpson: I'm a pusher for space!
- Talk to an audience of non-space junkies in the coming year and come back and share ideas and techniques about how to bring the public around to an interest in space.
Anderson: Find a kid to mentor about space.
Bretton Alexander invites everyone to the X PRIZE. If Armadillo wins on Saturday they will do some "victory laps" on Sunday.
10/25/07 03:28 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
ISPS Day 2: Track 6 – Session 1
Q & A with Astronauts and Explorers
Michael Lopez-Alegria, STS-73, STS-92, STS-113, Expedition-14
Anousheh Ansari, Space Explorer
Jeff Hoffman, STS 51-D, STS-35, STS-46, STS-61, STS-75
Dan Barry, STS-72, STS-96, STS-105
Janice Voss, STS-57, STS-63, STS-83, STS-94, STS-99
Roger Crouch, STS-83, STS-94
John Herrington, STS-113
Jay Buckey, STS-90
Won't even try to keep up with the many introductory statements and comments and who is who. So here are a few random samples without attributions:
* A number of astronauts now involved with entrepreneurial companies and expect lots more to go to them when the Shuttle program shuts down.
* Dealing with 3 year flight to Mars is an enormous challenge both in terms of hardware reliability and human factors.
* Some possibilities in advanced propulsion such as Chang Díaz's
VASIMR but need lots of work.
* Moon vs. Mars debate: many supporters of Mars first are robotic fans since any Mars program will require many years if not decades of robotic exploration and therefore don't need to spend any money on human spaceflight for a long time.
* Would go tomorrow if the opportunity was available.
* Herrington - his resume was about the same as the other applicants but telling the interviewers that he liked to tinker and fix things made the difference. Someone living in space, such as on the ISS, a natural proclivity towards solving hardware problems as well as improving things.
* Personal spaceflight participants has a much greater impact on public interest on space travel than astronauts do.
*
In the Shadow of the Moon is a special movie. Go see it.
* Want to fly in space again and to do it often. See commercial spaceflight as the only way to do that.
10/25/07 02:55 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
Bigelow offers $760M contract for launches
Robert Bigelow is getting serious about getting flights to the
Bigelow Aerospace habitats:
Bigelow Aerospace to offer $760 million for spaceship - New Scientist (via
Rand Simberg.)
The contract or purchase agreement would be worth $760 million in total for eight launches. To show that Bigelow Aerospace is serious, it will deposit $100 million in an escrow bank account up front if the plan goes forward.
More about his selection criteria will be coming:
Bigelow says he hopes within a month or so to be able to make an announcement officially offering the potential $760 million contract, along with detailed information about the criteria Bigelow Aerospace would use to select the partner for the contract.
10/25/07 01:58 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space habitats
2 comments | Permalink |
ISPS Day 2: Track 5 – Session 2
When All You Need is Cash
Larry Peterson (Angel Investment, El Paso, Texas)
* Investments in NM
Lon Levin (
t/Space)
- XM founder
- Challenge of introducing new technologies
Brian Birk (Sun Mountain Capital)
- Have assets of $500M
- One of the few companies looking at aerospace startups, e.g. Eclipse
Patrick ? (
Rocket Racing League)
- Experience with building entreperneurial businesses
- Be very selective in raising early money
Q&A:
What kind of money, e.g. $50M, out there?
Levin - Lots of money but less now for startups, more for less risky. Still aftermath of Internet bubble.
Birk - Aerospace investment levels are usually too high, ~$400M, for comfort level of venture capital.
Money for govt.:
Petterson: Govt money often for early technology R&D. DARPA has a venture capital fund. (NASA's fund has been canceled.)
Birk: Challenge to have examples of entrepreneurial aerospace companies that have made money.
Levin: Investors should spread out their funding to infrastructure companies.
Patrick: Try to mature the technology as far as possible, as close to market as possible, before trying to raise money.
Investor ROI requirements:
Petterson: Different investors have different timelines on their ROI. Other factors for whether they decide to invest include the size of the market, the various risks, etc.
Levin: Every investor wants ROI. The markets for space, like cargo service to ISS, are definitely there. How to commercialize them is the question.
Birk: No cadre of managers for the personal spaceflight industry to whom an investor can call on for advice and recruit from if there is a serious problem that needs to be fixed in a particular company.
Levin: NASA becomes the de facto "expert".
Where do you find good management?
Petterson: Often the inventor is not a good manager. Sometimes the investors will help you find a management team.
Levin: Quickest way to gain credibility is to tell potential investors that you are willing to move over to make way for a professional manager.
Patrick: Founder has to be willing to give up control.
Does a product oriented company have appeal compared to a service.
Petterson: All comes down to perceived risk. Too many other mitigating factors to say services are preferred over products.
Birk: Services often have earlier cash flow and that can make them easier to finance.
Biggest mistake in looking for money:
Patrick: Letting ego get in way of taking money. E.g. not willing to take more dilution that threatens one's control.
Levin: Don't lose perspective. Just because an investor wants control, doesn't mean they are going to fire you. In fact, it means they believe in you.
Petterson: Often see very bad business plans.
- Must have realistic expectations.
Birk: Need a sense of trust between you and your investors. When they look at a CEO, will he or she always give the full story, good or bad, of what's happening.
Professional services:
Levin: Get lawyers, etc. who understand space or other business that you are in.
When do you know that it's time to move on:
Birk: If you start to think about that question, you probably should have left several months before then.
Patrick: Write down what you would sell the company for right now then put that away. When an offer comes, take out that paper to get a perspective on what you really need.
Levin: A friend said he made all his money by selling too soon.
10/25/07 01:43 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
ISPS Day 2: Track 5 – Session 1
Staying Alive in a Growing Market
Chuck Lauer (
Rocketplane)
- Lots of ups and downs in this business
- Reviewed early days of Rocketplane, e.g. X PRIZE entry, LEO comsat delivery, etc.
- Kistler was quite successful in raising several hundred million dollars during the 1990s for the LEO satcom service market.
- Then LEO comsat constellations went down. And the new launch companies mostly went down with them.
- Tito's flight and X PRIZE program made tourism legitimate and presented launch companies with a market
- O Prize - Oklahoma R&D investment tax credit to bring aerospace jobs to the state.
-- 19 companies competed. Rocketplane won for the XP suborbital project
-- Went down to wire on Dec.31st 2003 when the law would expire.
-- Got necessary approvals on the final day a few minutes before tax office closed.
- Spaceport Oklahoma - $1 Billion in infrastructure. Big FAA approved airpsace. No military or federal restrictions.
- Point-to-Point is a big potential market.
- Could be virtually anywhere the world in 2 hours via a hug in Anchorage
- Still fighting for the RpK orbital project
- Will unwrap new XP design on Friday
Noah McMahon (
ZERO-G)
- Over 3000 customers so far.
- Occasionally have to turn down strange requests
- Whole flights can be chartered.
- So new it is quite difficult to describe to someone unfamiliar with the concept
- Educational market has been strong and rewarding.
- Four hundred teachers were flown this past summer. Next year hope to fly 1000.
- Space Florida has been a great partner. Flying out of KSC has been a success.
- Hope soon to get the NASA contract to do their parabolic flights.
- Sharper Image partnership has been a big promotional hit.
- Stephen Hawking flew and brought home the message that anyone can do it.
-- Planned to do just one parabola but he insisted on doing more and they flew 8 total.
Jerry Larson (
UP Aerospace)
- Company overview:
-- Rapid launch turnaround
-- Small launch crew
-- Low cost
-- SpaceLoft XL launch system
-- Flight to 73 miles altitude
-- Modular payload system - send module canisters to the customers and they do the integration. UPA only has to insert them into the vehicle.
- Payloads:
-- science
-- high school and college
-- personal items
-- sub-system testing
-- marketing promotions.
- Launch facilities at the site of the NM spaceport.
- Shows the video of launches SL-1 last Sept. and SL-2 in April.
-- For SL-2 Celestis placed cremated remains on board.
-- After a lengthy search they found the capsule and returned the payloads to their owners.
Rich Pournelle (
XCOR Aerospace)
- Factors important in success for XCOR:
-- The Time is Now:
-- NewSpace hardware is actually flying now.
-- Much easier now to make things at small companies. E.g. computer controlled machines, CAD programs run on low cost PCs, etc.
-- About 99% of parts of XCOR's systems are either made in house or bought from a catalog. Don't have to shut down to wait to replace a broken part.
- Customer marketing:
-- start with a plan: E.g. cost-plus vs fixed price, IP, 15 degrees from mean
-- Partner with primes
-- Long lead sales
-- Earned media provides biggest bang
- Partnership with ATK on methane engine has been successful for them.
- Primary funded by angel investors
-- need introductions
-- can't cold call, need a contact
-- don't assume they know much about any tech outside of what they have direct experience in
- Institutional investors
-- No venture firms so far
Q&A:
- Zero-G : down to about 1 in 100 get sick. Keep number of parabolas around 15. Experience from NASA is that sickness comes after about 25 parabolas.
- SpaceLoft : classed under amateur rocket rules. Reduces insurance cost.
10/25/07 11:56 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
1 comment | Permalink |
ISPS Day 2: Track 4 – Session 3
Impact of Spaceports on Communities
Discussion of the plans and impacts of the spaceport projects.
Bill Mattiace, Mayor, City of Las Cruces
- tax will bring in ~$6M/yr initially and could grow to $20M in next decade or so as the area grows.
- Reviewed various
Lori Montgomery, Mayor, City of TorC
- One company,
YUZOZ has already moved in.
- Sierra County special election for tax not yet set.
- Usually installation of a new stoplight is a big issue. Dealing with a big project like this is a whole new experience for this small community.
- Waiting to hear about the visitors centers, e.g. location, size, expected traffic, etc.
- Want the visitors to include also info about the area and not just space.
Judd Nordyke, Mayor, Village of Hatch
- agriculture area with very small population
- Dealt with the UP Aerospace launch
Rick Holdrige, Luna County Commissioner & Chair of NMSA Community Advisory Committee
- Retired Air Force officer who worked in space area
- Participated in community advisory committee on spaceport.
- Want communities to work closely with spaceport.
- Want 2-way flow of info and ideas.
Janet Green, ex-Secretary Tourism, NM
- Preferred Spaceport Enchantment name (NM is know as the State of Enchantment).
- Expect substantial increase in tourism. Need to get ready.
- Reviews some space tourism survey data.
- Compares with usual NM tourist, e.g. single male adventure seeker vs older couple with family
- Expect more international visitors
- Visitor center development
Q&A:
- Truth & Consequences was named after the radio game show in the 1950s in response to a show promotion.
- Impact on local airports:
-- Las Cruces was able to get additional infrastructure via the X PRIZE Cup events.
-- Hatch getting a runway
- How did the tax measure pass?
-- Mattiace - community has had a long positive relationship with White Sands and the rocket/space activities there. So many in the community were familiar with such activities.
10/25/07 10:58 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
ISPS: Day 2: Track 4 – Session 2
Building the Spaceport Network
Chair: Burton Lee (Innovarium Ventures)
-
Space Angels Network - press conference at XPC
- Sustainable spaceports is a priority goal
- business and financial revenue models
- solid political support
- economic impact
Olle Norberg (
Spaceport Sweden)
- collaboration of several companies and government organizations
- 40 years of suborbital spaceflight [at Kiruna in northern Sweden]
- restricted area dedicated to spaceflight
- experienced tourism entrepreneurs
- low population density
- supportive authorities
- Inauguration in Jan 07
- Swedish Space Corporation
-- operates the Esrange Space Center at Kiruna
-- 5000 sq km restricted area
- IceHotel - famous hotel re-created every year from ice.
- LFV Group - operates airports within Sweden
- Progressum - business development company brought in to organize the efforts of the diverse partners.
-
Maxus sounding rocket uses a US motor - experience with ITAR hurdles
- Midnight sun in summer, aurora in winter
- Training center in development.
- Ready for flights in 2011-2012 time frame.
- Open to more than one operator.
- Signed an agreement with Virgin Galactic
-- Conduct wide range of studies, e.g. regulatory issues, operations, financing, etc.
Jacques Breton (
Arianespace SA)
- Reviewed history of spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana
- Now includes Ariane, Vega and Soyuz launch areas.
- Many companies involved in the vehicle development and infrastructure and operations of the spaceport.
- 178 Ariane luanches performed,
- 10 million litres of hydrogen and oxygen produced each year
- 3000 tones of solid propellant per year
- 1200 people work at the port
- 70-80% of activity involves commercial satellites
- 10-20% civil space, e.g. scientific missions
- Few percent military
- Looking forward to space tourism business
- Soyuz and Vega launch pads under development
Steve Kohler (
SpaceFlorida)
- Space Florida established over a year ago
- Drive commercial aerospace development in the state
- Own and operated SLC-46 Mobile Access Structure
- Currently upgrading it.
- Renewing license for commercial launches
- 80k sq ft operational storage facility at Camp Blanding
- Contribyue facilities, matching funds, etc.
Billie M. Reed (
Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority)
- Successful inaugural commercial launch (Minotaur)
- Began sounding rocket launches over 60 years ago.
- Located on NASA Wallops Flight Facility
- FAA licensed in 1997
- Facilities and services provider - airport model
- Leverage NASA WFF tracking and data
- High altitude sounding rockets - ~1600 km
- Two vertical launch pads
- Small/Mid class space lift - ORS, small sat and lunar robotic missions
- Growth - NASA COTS, cargo to LEO and beyond
-- suborbital/orbital space tourism
-- point-to-point passenger and cargo
- Challenges : Market/customers
-- financing for new, larger facilities
-- real estate encroachment
- Island is small so may go with a off-shore pad
- Spaceflight Liability Immunity act enacted in Virginia
- Several state tax exemptions
- Working to exempt income tax from space cargo delivery
Q&A:
- Return landing facilities and regulations:
-- each says that landings are feasible
- Ground tourism factilities:
-- Kourou tourism not very far developed
-- Florida - recently installed the new Shuttle Experience ride
-- Sweden - high end hotel
-- Virginia - close to top tourism sites.
---- Activity during the commercial flights kept motels and restaurants busy during a season that is typically very slow.
10/25/07 09:37 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
1 comment | Permalink |
ISPS Day 2: Track 4 – Session 1
Spaceport America 1st Step
Kelly O’Donnell (
Economic Development State of New Mexico):
- Interest and studies in developing a NM spacport began back in the 1990s
- Became practical to do so with the personal spaceflight advances happening now.
- NM has limited resources;
- Historical and natural resources that must be protected
- Tax issues. $200M from stat = $140M from general state funds + $60M from the 3 local counties.
- No one county should have to carry the burden.
- Search for executive director for the Spaceport - currently interviewing candidates. Many very strong candidates. Hope to announce a selection later this year.
- Requesting a 4 fold increase in spaceport funding in the next budget to get the development rolling.
Wayne L. Savage (
Spaceport America,
DMJM Aviation)
- Spaceport America update
- 16k acres
- unrestricted airspace
- 40 miles north of Las Cruces
- Project team - DMJM is project lead under NM Spaceport Authority
- Programming Phase -
-- Site analysis /Data Collection
-- Needs assessment (what users require)
-- Analysis and recommendations
- Operational spaceport needs lots of infrastructure, e.g. fuel storage, water supplies, etc.
- Environmental Impact Statement process
- Design issues - e.g. remoteness, historical sensitivity, environmental issues, etc.
- World class iconic design for terminal/hangar facility. Competition led to selection of URS and Foster
- Procurement phase May-Aug 2008
-- EIS Approval - Sept 2008
-- Construction Oct. 2008
Alex Tai (
Virgin Galactic)
- Review Virgin Group background
- Virgin Vibe - excitement and trademark coolness
- Bridge to mass market
-- Safety "our north star"
-- Out of this world experience
-- Entire experience from hotel to the flight should be great for the customer
-- Three day experience leading up to the flight.
- Preparations
-- Cabin design - 6 passengers, 2 pilots, freedom to float around in, lots of windows.
-- re-entry position reclined to reduce the G effect
-- Vehicle blueprint (prelim)
- Training
-- The flight will involve supersonic flight, Zero G, High G, view
-- Need to prepare to avoid sensory overload
-- G training at
NASTAR - build up to the level of the re-entry.
-- Tests so far have been very encouraging. Some "Grannies" did extremely well
-- Passengers will also get ride on ZERO-G flight
-- Mission flight protocol, flight simulation, emergency training, suti training, team building.
- 4 G on launch
- $31M in deposits so far.
Patricia Grace Smith (
FAA)
- Excited to see all the developments happening in personal spaceflight
- Interest by states in spaceports is growing.
- Recent test flights in Oklahoma.
- Taking time to develop the industry and infrastructure
- Lots of activity, though, happening in many places
- Airbus 380 is 2 years behind schedule, Boeing 787 6 months behind. Things take time
- More time to get things right.
- Very close to passenger flights.
Rebecca Armstrong (
NM Spaceport Authority)
- ISPS Student Intern, physics major at Univ. of NM
- Participating in various design and organizational activities during the summer internship
- Intent on going to space someday
- Takes a lot of paperwork to get to space!
- Examined how other other states were developing their spaceports
Q&A:
- Project will be LEED rated - hope to achieve at least silver rating if no gold.
10/25/07 08:30 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
1 comment | Permalink |
Briefs: China lunar probe launched; Ariane 5 re-ignition test
The Moon gets another visitor:
China launches first lunar probe - spacetoday.net - Oct.25.07
===
In addition to launching a couple of comsats, Arianespace did a re-ignition experiment on a recent Ariane 5 launch to prepare for the ATV missions:
Ariane 5 Places Two Satellites In Orbit, Shows Promise For ATV Jules Verne - ScienceDaily/ESA - Oct.24.07
10/25/07 06:33 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
ISPS misc.
I'm about to drive over to the meeting so I'll just quickly dump a set of miscellaneous info, postings and articles related to the
ISPS and
X PRIZE Cup:
* The
Rocket Racing League will hold a press conference on Friday to give an update on the League, new teams, etc.
*
ISPS Day 1 wrap-up - Personal Spaceflight - Jeff Foust reviews highlights of the ISPS so far.
*
And Then There Was One - Transterrestrial Musings - Rand Simberg on the LLC.
*
Major spaceflight players discuss future - Las Cruces Sun-News
*
NASA Offers $2 Million Lunar Lander Competition Prize - NASA (This is the NG-LLC prize, not new money.)
10/25/07 06:18 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
ISPS: Track 3: Session 1
Marketing the “New Space” Business
One of the two panelists was stuck in San Diego.
John Cordova (Sports Transaction Management, The Coca-Cola Company)
Addresses "the challenges and opportunities of marketing new products in a developing market.
* Not use to talking to rocket scientists
* Relates, though, to the sponsorship hunt that Lori Garver attempted.
* Watching two Shuttle launches were among the coolest experiences of his life.
* Described the effort it took to institute home plate advertising in pro baseball.
* Took several years to get it accepted. People are conservative and slow going on such things.
* Can expect similar difficulties in getting sponsors to accept space.
* Trying to launch a new drink (Vault) that competed with Mountain Dew required a hybrid of old and new.
* Similar approach needed to move people from an Old Space to New Space point of view.
* Other general advice on marketing space to the general public.
10/24/07 04:04 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Acuity out; More ISPS
Leonard David says that only Armadillo will be competing in the Lunar Lander Challenge:
Lunar Lander Team Challenge: Armadillo to Fly Solo - Live Science Blog
===
Other reports on the ISPS:
* Rand Simberg report on a press conference that I missed:
At the Symposium - Transterrestrial Musings. There's also this:
Million-Dollar View
* Jeff Foust comments on the Rocketplane situation:
Rocketplane’s uncertain future - Personal Spaceflight
* Leonard David reports on the introductory session:
Personal Spaceflight: The Business Case for 'New Space' - Space.com
10/24/07 03:57 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
ISPS: Track 2: Session 2
Interviews with Space Tourists
David Livingston (
The Space Show) puts several questions to the panel of three space flyers
David begins with:
(1) Did the experience match what was expected:
Ansari - Very difficult to put into a few sentences or words at all.
Diving has some similarities but not really the same.
10/24/07 02:50 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
ISPS: Track 2: Session 1
Developing Space Tourism
*
Anousheh Ansari (Space Explorer)
* Reasons for going are many as are those for any travel
* Expect suborbital flight prices to drop to $30k-40K in next 10 years or so
* Seeing flights happen will change views as they did with the
* Reda Anderson, first customer of
Rocketplane Global
* Asked to explain how she decided to do this
10/24/07 01:35 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
ISPS: Track 1: Session 2
Synergy Between Government and Personal Spaceflight
* Maj. Ryan Pendleton (
Air Force Space Command)
- Operational Responsive Space (ORS)
- "defined as assured space power focused on timely satisfaction of Joint Force COmmander's needs"
- Involves satellites, lift, infrastructure, etc.
- "in addition to" not in place of legacy space systems
- Fast contracting
* Lt Col Paul Damphousse (
National Security Space Office)
- Worked on Osprey deployment in Iraq
- Offers new capabilities that need to be incorporated in to Marine operations.
10/24/07 11:43 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
1 comment | Permalink |
ISPS: Track 1: Session 1
Progress in Vehicle Systems
Chair: Thomas Burton, Department Head, Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering, New Mexico State University
* Hiroyuki Ogawa (
JAXA)
- Substitute for Inatani who could not come
- Looking for order of magnitude cost reduction
- Goal of RLV
- Good operability, reliability, safety
- RVT program
-- repeated flights and turnaround experience
-- LH2 engine life studies
-- landing guidance
-- Vertical takeoff and landing tests - videos
- Reusable sounding rocket program
-- 100 km altitude
-- daily flights
10/24/07 10:31 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
ARCA interview
Space Fellowship has
posted an interview with Dumitru Popescu of
ARCA Space.
10/24/07 09:32 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
No comments | Permalink |
ISPS: Plenary Session
Plenary Session Panel
* Valin Thorn (
NASA COTS) -
- Review of COTS program
- Strategy: help industry develop commercial spaceflight capabilities
- Timeline - Shuttle stopping in 2010
- Cargo requirements
- Different types of cargo
- 10400kg/yr internal cargo
- return cargo 3000kg/yr
- Space Act Agreement - different from usual aerospace contracting e.g. fixed-price performance milestones.
- First round - 21 proposals from 20 companies, down selected to 6, and then 2 chosen.
- RpK agreement terminated. Tried to work with them but the failure to meet milestones forced termination.
- New RFP issued. Option of not choosing anyone but expect to give out the award.
- Quickly reviews SpaceX and RpK and some of the other proposals in round 1: SpaceDev Dream Chaser, SpaceHab, t/Space, Constellation Services, PlanetSpace (2 proposals).
- COTS ISS Service cost effectiveness
* Elon Musk (
SpaceX):
- Asked to talk about "Why invest in space"
- Space is one of the most important issues for humanity
- While in college he decided three areas were top priority development areas: Internet, Space, and Sustainable Energy
10/24/07 09:01 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
Int. Personal Spaceflight Symposium: 1
The
Symposium has started but so far just introductory overviews.
Diamandis - ZERO-G has flown over 3000 people this year. Reviewing other progress: Genesis II, Armadillo tests and military contract, ISS flights, etc.
===
Leonard David has posted a preview of the XPC:
Liftoff for New Mexico Rocket Festival! - SPACE.com - Oct.24.07.
Other info:
*
This Week: X PRIZE Cup and Holloman Air & Space Expo Highlights - X PRIZE PR
*
Spaceflight symposium takes off today - Las Cruces Sun-Times
*
Spaceport Section at Las Cruces Sun-Times
10/24/07 07:56 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
In New Mexico...
Made it to Las Cruces and amazingly the free wireless in the motel room actually works. Hope things go as smoothly at the Symposium tomorrow where I hope to live blog if possible.
I expect some announcements of interest during the next several days. Probably nothing earth-shaking but they should demonstrate progress in the NewSpace area.
(One bit of not so good news comes from Leonard David who says on his
LiveScience.com Blog that Wirefly has significantly reduced much of its financial support for the X PRIZE Cup.)
I see that
Jeff Foust and
Rand Simberg are here and will be posting updates.
Check Alan Boyle's
Cosmic Log blog for
daily rocket reports.
There is also the official
X PRIZE Cup coverage at Space.com.
10/23/07 10:15 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
1 comment | Permalink |
Traveling to New Mexico
Heading off to attend the
International Symposium for Personal Spaceflight in Las Cruces on Tuesday and Wednesday and then the
X PRIZE Cup in Alamogordo on Saturday and Sunday. Hope to do lots of blogging from those events but no more posting today till late this evening or in the morning.
10/23/07 07:44 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
Spaceward Games 2007 end with another near miss [Update]
As happened last year, the
University of Saskatchewan team came within a few seconds of winning the power beam climber competition.
Ted Semon reports that
USST made a total of 5 runs. All were spectacular. None, unfortunately, were fast enough to claim the prize. Their fastest run was 54 seconds. We’re not sure exactly how quick that was as we need to measure the ribbon. This will be done tomorrow. But we’re sure that the ribbon was not 108 meters, and therefore there was no way they could have met the 2 m/s requirement.
But the runs were spectacular. They actually picked up speed in a few runs the higher they climbed. It looks like they have some work to do on their tracking software, but I’m sure they’re going to be taking care of that.
Sounds like their infrared laser approach works pretty well. Just needs some refinements. Better luck next year to USST and the other teams that will compete for the prize, which will grow yet again.
More at the
Space Elevator Reference and
Space Prizes Blog.
[Update: Additional articles:
*
Space elevators stop just shy of winning NASA prize - New Scientist Space Blog
*
Space elevator isn't going anywhere yet - CNET News.com
]
10/22/07 10:45 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Prizes
No comments | Permalink |
Discovery set for launch
Another Shuttle flight is up for launch on Tuesday at 11:38 a.m EDT. Discovery will deliver the Harmony Node 2, which will serve as the connector to the European and Japanese modules. Harmony sounds fairly spacious itself at 7.2 m long and 4.4 m wide. Also, the other major task for the mission is to move the big P6 solar array from where it has been temporarily placed to its permanent location.
*
Discovery mission takes construction to new heights - Spaceflight Now
*
Space Shuttle Discovery 'Go' for Tuesday Launch - space.com
Launch updates are available at the
Spaceflight Now Mission Status Center.
10/22/07 10:25 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Shuttle
No comments | Permalink |
Robert Bigelow in Wired; Norton Sales as well
Here is a long article in Wired about Robert Bigelow and Bigelow Aerospace:
Hotel Biz Zillionaire's Next Venture? Inflatable Space Pods - Wired - Oct.22.07
The same author has a short piece about
Norton Sales, the aerospace salvage company in North Hollywood:
Rockets R Us: Salvaging Out-of-This-World Space Junk Since 1962 - Wired - Oct.22.07
10/22/07 05:14 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space habitats
4 comments | Permalink |
RpK termination appeal [Update]
RpK is following the appeals procedure under the COTS agrement:
Rocketplane Kistler Appeals NASA Decision to Terminate COTS Agreement - Space News - Oct.22.07.
An attorney for RpK of Oklahoma City, sent NASA a letter Oct. 19 asking the agency to either reconsider the termination or give the company $10 million for progress it made toward its unmet milestones.
Under COTS they cannot appeal to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) as is standard with government contracts. Instead RpK must follow
a three-step appeals process that begins with NASA's COTS contracting officer and ends with the agency's associate administrator for exploration systems, Rich Gilbrech, who signed off on RpK's termination.
If they don't get the decision reversed after all that, they can then sue NASA in court.
NASA says they are nevertheless proceeding with the solicitation of proposals for use of the money made available by the termination.
[Update: The article is now in the free space.com section.]
Briefs: Space Show programs; Google space
David Livingston will be interviewing Rich Glover, CEO of
Microgravity Enterprises, today at 2-3:30 PM Pacific on
The Space Show. On Friday between 9:30-11:30 AM Pacific he will bring interviews recorded during the
Personal Spaceflight Symposium.
===
A view of Google's space projects:
Vindu's View: Google in Outer Space: Search engine stakes out new frontier - San Jose Mercury News - Oct.21.07
10/22/07 01:34 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Activism
No comments | Permalink |
More space lift today; Infrared beaming; Lessons learned; Suggesting prelims
The power beaming competition at the
Spaceward Games will continue one extra day. Check the
Space Elevator Blog and the
Space Elevator Reference for the latest updates.
---
The
University of Saskatchewan's climber last night had some problems and didn't win but its infrared laser power beaming looks really impressive in this
night vision video taken by Ted Semon.
---
Ken Davidian, manager of
NASA's Centennial Challenges program, posts a
comment on an earlier item here in which he offers some perspective regarding the problems encountered by the competitors in the two events over the weekend.
I definitely agree that the technologies involved, especially the high strength tethers, are very exciting but are difficult and require some patience as we watch them develop in the coming years. Often these sorts of technology contests go through several rounds initially in which all the entrants fall far short of winning. Eventually, however, someone zooms across the finish line making it look easy.
One thing I would suggest, though, is that some preliminary events be arranged to help the competitors get some "practice" before the one big annual contest. Just going through the process of moving the apparatus, setting it up, seeing if everything is compatible with the rules, finding unexpected problems, etc. will help a team prepare for the real thing later. Such preliminary meets might offer only some minor prizes or even just some travel support for the contestants. The tether strength competition, in particular, doesn't involve a big hardware setup. I could imagine, for example, the National Space Society sponsoring a mini-competition of the tether pull at its annual meeting in May. A materials sciences conference of some sort might also be interested in such a contest.
10/22/07 08:10 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Prizes
3 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Commercial spaceflight prospects; Looking up in China
Leonard David reports on a panel discussion of commercial spaceflight at the recent AIAA conference:
Entrepreneurs Envision a Sea Change in Commercial Space - Space News===
The Chinese government is considering "public private partnerships (PPP) for the use of the nation's spaceports and its manned spacecraft Shenzhou." :
China considers commercial Shenzhou flights - Flight Global - Oct.22.07.
Flight was also told that the interest in commercial spaceflight had been triggered by the success of Space Adventures launching private spaceflight participants to the International Space Station and that "there has been a rash of new institutions set up for space law and technology. One of the motivations is to enhance the position of China in the international space community."
The Space Review this week
The new issue of
The Space Review begins with an essay from Pat Bahn of
TGV Rockets who suggests the formation of a non-profit fund to support educational and technology development projects to bolster the infrastructure for commercial spaceflight:
A Guggenheim Fund for spaceflight.
Other articles include a discussion by Taylor Dinerman on the benefits for space solar power for China:
China, the US, and space solar power. Nader Elhefnawy recommends against exagerating the military space threat from China:
Space war and Futurehype.
Jeff Foust reviews the new book
Living Off the Land in Space: Green Roads to the Cosmos by by Gregory L. Matloff, Les Johnson, and C Bangs.
10/22/07 06:44 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
NG Lunar Lander Challenge update [Update]
There can always be last second problems with FAA licensing, insurance, etc. but it appears that
Armadillo Aerospace is set to compete in both levels of the
Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge at the
Wirefly X PRIZE Cup this weekend in New Mexico. They will bring [Pixel, which flew last year, (its twin Texel was destroyed in a flight accident in August)] and Mod, which has the new modular design. Here is a
video of Mod's FAA AST qualification flight carried out at the Oklahoma Spaceport last Saturday. (Link via
The Space Fellowship.)
[Update: Sorry, as a commenter points out, I got Pixel and Texel reversed in my first version.]
Haven't heard anything further regarding the status of
Acuity Technologies beyond what Will Pomerantz said in this
Space.com article last week. Acuity is the only other team besides Armadillo not to have withdrawn from the competition.
Speaking of Will, in his most recent blog post he discussed the Murphy's Law headwind that space and rocket prize competitors must overcome :
Take that, Murphy! - The Pomerantz Report - Oct.17.07.
10/22/07 06:18 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Prizes
2 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: J-2X update; Continuity in Kazakhstan [Update]
The J-2X requires both substantial parts and materials upgrades from the J-2:
Metal suit not same for NASA's J-2X engine- al.com - Oct.21.07 (via
spacetoday.net).
T.L. James comments on the wisdom of "using heritage technology in a new way" versus using "enhanced existing hardware" :
Thank You, Captain Obvious - MarsBlog - Oct.21.07
[Update Oct.22.07: Rand Simberg also
comments on this issue.]
===
Baikonur - a space aged town :
Russia's Space City Frozen in Time - PhysOrg - Oct.21.07
10/21/07 09:52 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Spaceward Games 2007 update
The weather was better on Sunday in Salt Lake City and they finally could run the power beaming competition outside. As of late Sunday afternoon, however, none of the four qualifying teams were able to complete a climb within the maximum time allowed to win the prize. The event has been extended till Monday but one team will have to withdraw.
Details, photos and videos are available at the
Space Elevator Blog and the
Space Elevator Reference.
The tether strength event on Saturday sounds like it was a bit of letdown. The nanotubes tether did poorly and the other entry was withdrawn from the prize test. See
2007 Space Elevator Games - (Entry 56) - The Space Elevator Blog and
Nanotube cable proves a bust - New Scientist Space Blog - Oct.22.07
10/21/07 08:59 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Prizes
1 comment | Permalink |
More wind and rain in Utah; Tether pull today
Ted Semon at the
Space Elevator Blog reports that the
power beaming event was canceled again due to wind and rain.
However, the tether strength competition will take place as planned. This "tether torture" is described
here. Note that this will be the first time that a tether made from carbon nanotubes will enter the contest.
The
Light Racers event for students will also go on indoors as scheduled.
More about the games:
Let the space elevator games begin - New Scientist Space Blog
10/20/07 11:56 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Prizes
No comments | Permalink |
COTS Phase 1 again...
NASA has now released its formal request for proposals for the $175M money now available in the COTS program:
NASA JSC Solicitation: Commerical Space Transportation Services Phase 1 Demonstration - SpaceRef - Oct.19.07. More about the solicitation can be found in
NASA Reopens COTS Bidding - Aviation Week - Oct.19.07.
It will certainly be interesting to see what bids they get and how the selection goes. Just before RpK and SpaceX were chosen in August 2006, Jeff Foust asked
COTS: what does the customer want? (The Space Review, July 31, 2006). I think this is once again a crucial question. In particular, is NASA more keen on US space launcher development or on simply getting cargo to the ISS? Other bidders may come in, but I would think that the five
unfunded COTS partners have a big advantage in this quick selection process.
I believe that SpaceX will apply for funding to accelerate the crew capabilities of the Dragon capsule. They might get part of the funding but I would be surprised if NASA gave them all of it.
Here are some miscellaneous thoughts on the other COTS companies and their chances:
Rocketplane returns to tourism
Rocketplane will refocus on the
suborbital XP space tourism vehicle project:
Rocketplane to focus on space tourism - NewsOK - Oct.20.07 (via
spacetoday.net). John Herrington expresses similar confidence in the space tourism project in this
Oklahoma Gazette article.
One more article about the RpK COTS agreement termination:
Time Runs out for RpK; New COTS Competition Starts Immediately - SPACE.com - Oct.19.07
10/20/07 08:23 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
1 comment | Permalink |
Briefs: Belfiore op-ed; Space flybys; Spaceflight symposium
Michael Belfiore, author of
The Rocketeers, has a commentary today in the Financial Times about private spaceflight:
Space for everyone - FT.com - Oct.20.07
===
Jesse Londin provides a selection of links mostly dealing with space law, regs, and policy in
Friday Flybys - Space Law Probe - Oct.19.07.
===
A brief overview of the third annual
International Symposium for Personal Spaceflight Oct. 24-25 in Las Cruces, NM, which I will attend:
Space symposium features top industry representatives - New Mexico Business Weekly - Oct.19.07
10/20/07 08:12 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
No comments | Permalink |
Space elevator games delayed by winds
The
Spaceward Games 2007 began today but winds were too high and the climber rigging has been taken down.
Hope the weather is better tomorrow.
SpaceElevator.com and
Spaceref.com are providing
live webcams.
Regular updates also available at
SpaceElevatorBlog.com. The
Space Prizes blog is following the event as well.
The previous qualification runs that I mentioned turned out to be "provisional". Yesterday, the
qualification process was re-run and only four of the eight teams to show up have qualified. The other teams may be allowed to do runs but only "if slots are available".
Nature magazine has an article about the event:
Space elevators: going up?Competition could pave the way for space technologies. - Nature News - Oct.19.07
10/19/07 01:10 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Prizes
No comments | Permalink |
The K-1 is dead, long live TSTO RLVs
I've followed the K-1 story since it started back in the mid-1990s. Rob Coppinger in fact today has
posted an ancient video showing the very first "throw out the rulebook" Kistler Aerospace design with the unusual "bedpost" style first stage. Subsequently, Kistler brought in
a team headed by the famous George
"all-up testing" Mueller and including other Apollo era heavyweights like Dale Myers and Aaron Cohen. Even Maxime Faget helped them for a while.
I've never thought the
K-1 design that they came up with was anywhere close to an ideal RLV. For example, it doesn't allow for incremental testing to find problems without losing the vehicle as Rutan could do with the SS1. However, it was a proof of principle that even a group of conservative NASA/Apollo/Saturn engineers could sit down and design a two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) fully reusable vehicle without breaking any laws of physics or requiring even an ounce of unobtainium. Other than the occasional anonymous commenter posting "the K-1 is crap" sort of criticism, I've never seen any credible person point to some particular part of the K-1 design and say this definitely is not going to work.
10/19/07 11:36 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
11 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Prospector 8 ain't; Google prize interest; Designing SS2 interior
Garvey Spacecraft and its
Cal State Long Beach partners recently test flew a new 4.5K lbf-thrust engine in Mojave back in September. The engine performed well but they need to do some design work on the fins of the Prospector vehicle as illustrated by the photos of the flight on the
GSC Latest News page.
===
The Google Lunar Prize competition has had over 250 teams show interest in participating and they have "received nine letters of intent":
Google, Amazon CEO Invest in Space Flights - All * Technology - CNBC.com - Oct.19.07
===
Famous industrial designer
Richard Seymour is working on the SpaceShipTwo interior:
Designing
a rocket ride into suborbit - CNET News - Oct.19.07
10/19/07 09:32 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
No comments | Permalink |
RpK out of COTS [Update]
I had trouble connecting to the COTS briefing and missed the first half. Hope they make it available in an archive.
However, I did pick up that
Rocketplane Kistler was formally notified today that its agreement is terminated. There will now be a process to examine proposals from other companies for similar demonstrations using the money that remains.
So far they are happy with SpaceX's performance along its milestones trail.
[Update 1: Here is the announcement from NASA:
NASA to Open New Competition for Space Transportation Seed Money - NASA
I'm not the only one surprised that the briefing was held on such short notice:
Son of COTS Announced - NASA Watch
]
[Update 2: A report by Alan Boyle:
NASA fires Rocketplane - Cosmic Log.
]
[Update 3: More reports:
*
NASA cuts funding to private spaceship developer - New Scientist.
*
RPK out of COTS race - Florida Today:
SpaceX intends to apply for the remaining COTS funding, said SpaceX media coordinator Roger G. Gilbertson.
"SpaceX intends to remain on track and to deliver COTS Falcon 9 hardware to Cape Canaveral by the end of 2008, for launch at the earliest opportunity," he added.
"We remain committed to demonstrating our ability to deliver cargo to the International Space Station, and would welcome the opportunity to use the same human-rated Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft systems to demonstrate crew transportation services under an extended COTS program."
]
NASA COTS presentation
NASA will host a news media roundtable at 2:30 p.m. EDT at NASA Headquarters today:
NASA Updates Media on Status of COTS Project Thursday - NASA - Oct.18.07 (via
Rockets Away).
There will be a webcast via
http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio.
Spaceward Games update
Bad weather forced the qualification runs at the
Spaceward Games to go indoors (a problem for the solar powered systems). However, it appears that all eight teams in the beamed power competition will qualify. See
The Space Elevator Blog and
www.SpaceElevator.com for reports and lots of videos.
10/18/07 09:14 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Prizes
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Carnival of Space #25; NewSpace News;
Carnival of Space #25 is now available at the
Sorting Out Science blog.
===
The
NewSpace News for October 2007 is now available courtesy of the
Space Frontier Foundation
10/18/07 09:11 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
No comments | Permalink |
Armadillo and Acuity go for the NG-LLC prizes
Leonard David reports on the status of the
Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge competition coming up next week:
Lunar Lander Teams Throttle Up for Cash - SPACE.com - Oct.18.07.
Looks like
Acuity Technologies will be there to compete with
Armadillo for the lunar lander prizes. The
Acuity entry in the teams has some sketches of their vehicle.
10/18/07 08:58 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Prizes
No comments | Permalink |
Falcon 9/Dragon system passes critical design review
SpaceX meets another milestone under its COTS contract:
SpaceX Successfully Completes NASA Critical Design Review for First Commercial Transportation System to the International Space Station - SpaceX/PRNewswire - Oct.17.07 (link via
spacetoday.net).
During the event, all comments and questions raised by NASA's experts were satisfactorily addressed by the SpaceX design team, which resulted in official NASA approval. With this, SpaceX continues its track record of meeting all COTS milestones on schedule.
"In terms of overall design maturity of the Falcon 9 project, we are well ahead of the curve for a program of this size," said Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX. "Few CDRs feature multiple hardware items in fabrication, assembly, integration and test phases."
Space Investment Summit 3
The
Space Investment Summit 3 will take place on
December 5-6, 2007 at the Dolce Hayes Mansion in San Jose, California. Here is the latest
agenda.
The Space Frontier Foundation released some additional info about the event:
Entrepreneurs - call for business plan summaries
SIS-3 invites entrepreneurs to submit space commerce business plans for consideration at the Summit. Initial deadline extended. A limited number of applications will be accepted on a "first come, first served" basis. Please submit applications as soon as possible.
Summary application available at
www.eventivegroup.com/businessplan.htm
Investors - early bird registration still open
Overview. SIS-3 focuses on leading seed and early stage investors, space entrepreneurs and space commerce professionals, and provides a unique opportunity to expand networks, join peer-to-peer discussions and assess pre-screened entrepreneurial business plans from companies with high growth potential. Selected entrepreneurs will present and exhibit business plans at the Summit.
10/17/07 01:24 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Rocketplane at XPC; Starchaser updates
Rocketplane will have a press conference next week
at the X Prize Cup on Friday, October 26th, at 12:00PM. Over the past year and a half the company has been working on significant changes to its suborbital vehicle which will make it more competitive in the space tourism marketplace. At the X Prize Cup press announcements we will be providing details on this new vehicle configuration as well as premiering our new Flight Movie.
===
Starchaser is the subject of a cover article for the September 2007 issue of
Engineering Magazine (pdf). They have also been posting updates
here and
here about their various projects. See, for example, these
photos of the
hybrid thruster they are building.
10/17/07 01:15 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
20 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: ARCA plans; JP Aerospace - good news, bad news
Arcaspace has posted the following announcements:
October 17, 2007 - Rm. Valcea
Mission3 scheduled for May 2008. Flight data and launch location not yet disclosed. The launch will be made from the sea with the help of a large marine platform designed at ARCA in the past year. The marine platform is under construction.
October 16, 2007 - Bucharest
ARCA wins 3 governmental contracts of 1.6 mil Euro (2.3 mil$) to develop a high altitude balloon for scientific platforms, a low cost unmanned air launched suborbital vehicle and a VTOL experimental vehicle during the National Research Program competition.
===
JP Aerospace launched
two high altitude balloon missions on October 6th and obtained lots of good data from them. However,
John Powell reports today that recovery of the hardware, which included over 100 student
Pongsats, has not been a success. He is searching for the cowboy(s) who came across the equipment in the wilderness.
10/17/07 06:10 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Near Space
1 comment | Permalink |
Briefs: Space tourism regs; Misc. space tourism news; Expo at Holloman
A report on a discussion of space tourism safety and regulation issues at a recent American Bar Association forum:
Risky space tourism gets a boost from a hands-off FAA - USATODAY.com - Oct.16.07
===
Jeff Foust reviews a collection of
miscellaneous personal spaceflight items in the news.
===
Here is the Holloman Air Force Base view of the
Air & Space Expo on October 27 and 28, which will include the
X PRIZE Cup activities.
Briefs: Rocketeers video; Garriott interview; NASTAR visit
Check out this cool video promoting Michale Belfiore's
Rocketeers book and NewSpace companies:
Rocketeers video - Dispatches from the Final Frontier - Oct.16.07.
===
Irene Klotz interviews Richard Garriott:
Q&A: Astronaut's Son Takes New Route to Space - Discovery Channel - Oct.16.07 (via
NASA Watch).
The front page of that article also includes an interesting video about the
NASTAR spaceflight training facility. The reporter takes a spin in their centrifuge.
10/16/07 10:24 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: NASA tech grants; Virgin Galactic travel agents
NASA has posted a list of companies that have won extensions to their 2006 SBIR (
Small Business Innovation Research) grants:
2006 SBIR Phase 2 Awards. The
Phase 2 grants range up to $600k.
Some of the technology areas include:
*
Lunar In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)
*
Energy Generation and Storage
*
Propulsion and Propellant Storage
===
Virgin Galactic has signed affiliate deals with travel agents around the world, including 45 in the US. This article illustrates how such agents can raise awareness of the service via their local press outlets:
Local travel agency's pitch: 2 hours in space for $200,000 - Seattle Times - Oct.16.07 (via
spacetoday.net).
10/16/07 09:13 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Technology
No comments | Permalink |
The Bingo Box on Genesis II
One of the public outreach projects added to the Genesis II by
Bigelow Aerospace is the
Bingo Box. The device involves an elaborate mechanism to juggle 75 marked ping pong balls in free fall and then use "a network of fans and solenoid activated levers" to select 40 of the balls for each play of the game.
They have now posted some
photos and
a video of the mechanism in action as they gear up to use it for an on line game.
10/16/07 08:46 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space habitats
1 comment | Permalink |
Spaceward Games 2007 updates
Check out the
Space Elevator Blog and
SpaceElevator.com for the latest updates on the
Spaceward Games.
Qualification runs by the teams have already begun. Check the blogs for photos and videos.
10/16/07 08:32 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Space carnival; Space loans; Prizes vs grants
The latest
Carnival of Space is out.
===
A discussion of "the trade-offs between the use of prizes and grants":
Tyler Cowen At Google Speaking at Google On Prizes And Charity - Futurepundit - Oct.14.07 (via
Transterrestrial).
===
After you finish off those annoying school loans, here's a way for you to get a ride to space:
Space tourists offered bank loans - Russia Today - Oct.15.07 (via a HS reader).
Mr. Volkov seems unclear on the whole business concept thing:
According to cosmonaut Aleksandr Volkov, "it's not the right time for space tourism. The only reason it happens is because of the sums tourists are ready to pay for this kind of travel."
Yes, when people will pay sums big enough to make it worthwhile to provide them with a good or service, it becomes hard to resist doing just that.
10/15/07 10:00 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
The Space Show and The Space Review this week
David Urie, formerly leader of the
Rocketplane XP project, will be on
The Space Show today at 2-3:30 PM Pacific Time.
The
schedule this week also includes a visit by Frank Sietzen plus shows about the recent space solar power study, student launch and rocket programs at Utah State, cubesats and more.
===
The
Space Review this week includes a
discussion of the Outer Space Treaty as it reaches its 40th anniversary, a Dwayne Day
review of the Japanese anime series Freedom, and
a rebuttal letter regarding a recent article by James Oberg on the reporting about military space.
Also,
Taylor Dinerman reviews the book:
The Star Wars Enigma: Behind the Scenes of the Cold War Race for Missile Defense by Nigel Hey.
Jeff Foust reviews a book that offers an alternative to the inflation model of the Big Bang:
Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang by Paul J. Steinhardt and Neil Turok.
10/15/07 07:13 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Space at eBay
A reader points to a couple of unusual space items currently available on eBay:
*
School Visit by Space Traveler Anousheh Ansari - Sponsor a visit to your favorite school by Ms. Ansari in the "Texas, Washington DC or the surrounding areas of Washington DC". Proceeds will go towards "a scholarship fund in the U.S. to support deserving students seeking to attend the
International Space University (ISU)".
*
Your Company's Sponsorship of a Real Space Mission! - A nanosat project of a collaboration of
International Space University (ISU) and the
Israeli Nano-Satellite Association (INSA) need corportate sponsors.
10/15/07 06:38 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Space elevator games update
A collection of items about the
Spaceward Games 2007 coming up in Salt Lake City this Friday through Sunday:
Mountain of Space Elevator Games News - Space Prizes - Oct.14.07
===
Here's a nice
review of the Regolith Excavation Challenge by the
Astroprof (link via
Space Prizes).
10/15/07 06:20 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Prizes
No comments | Permalink |
SpaceX testing in Texas; Heading home
SpaceX engine tests get the attention of the neighbors:
Rocket-maker SpaceX makes some noise in McGregor - Waco (TX) Tribune-Herald - Oct.13.07 (via
spacetoday.net).
===
Driving back home today. So no postings till late tonight or tomorrow.
See ya later.
10/14/07 07:16 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Space Business Network; RC Rockets; NASA lunar lander engine
I'm told that
PlanetSpace.com now offers
Space Business Network a "free service for space companies to showcase their products and services to potential investors and employees."
===
Speaking of the
X-15, check out the
X-15 Project at
Retro Flight .
===
NASA Glenn issues a RFP for "an expendable, high-performance LOX/LCH4 Main Engine" :
NASA Begins Work On Lunar Lander Main Engine - ISI Consulting - Oct.12.07.
10/13/07 02:02 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
3 comments | Permalink |
Brief: Building space infrastructure; Garriott interview; Flying with Chuck Yeager
Mike Snead was on the
Space Show on Friday and talked about developing a space infrastructure. He provides some elaboration of his answers to caller questions on his
Spacefaring America blog.
===
Richard Garriott discusses his planned trip to the ISS:
6 Questions for Space Tourist Richard Garriott - Popular Mechanics
===
A reporter can't believe his luck at flying in a small plane with
Chuck Yeager but finds the famous pilot just a tad cantankerous:
Aloft With Chuck Yeager, Testy Pilot - washingtonpost.com - Oct.12.07
10/13/07 11:00 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
CentrAl, Nonburnite, and giving materials credit
Here's more info about the
CentrAl aluminum/fiber composite
that I mentioned recently:
New Material Could Revolutionize Aircraft Maintenance - SPACE.com - Oct.12.07.
A promising composite for making lightweight LOX tanks is
XCOR's Fluoropolymer Composite Material, which they have now trademarked as
Nonburnite(tm).
Will have to wait to see if either of these particular composites becomes successful in aerospace but, in general, progress in materials has an enormous, though usually unheralded, impact on general technology development. E.g. we wouldn't have much of an aviation industry if aluminum had never gone from a rare expensive metal to a common one with the invention of the
electrolytic extraction process.
10/12/07 01:04 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Technology
3 comments | Permalink |
Here come the Lunar Lander judges
A list of the five judges for the Lunar Lander Challenge competition:
Can't Keep 'Em Away: 2006 Lunar Lander Challenge Judges Return For '07 - Aero-News Network - Oct.12.07
10/12/07 09:41 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Prizes
No comments | Permalink |
NASA restarting suborbital rocket and balloon programs
The space science and astrophysics communities seem encouraged by what NASA managers are saying this year:
DPS: NASA Night: Sweetness and light - The Planetary Society Blog - Oct.11.07.
This part sounds encouraging to me:
He [Alan Stern, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate] announced that [they] are re-initiating the planetary suborbital rocket and balloon programs, which are ways to fly experimental hardware to high altitudes, above most of Earth's atmosphere, for testing; this will allow people who want to develop new kinds of hardware to "get their TRLs up." TRL refers to Technology Readiness Level, a measure of how confident we can be that new kinds of hardware will work on a space mission. Alan also measured that these programs will allow young workers (or old workers, he remarked) to get experience that will make them stronger candidates as principal investigators on future missions.
For NASA,
suborbital rockets mean
Black Brants and similar
throw-aways. There should be an effort to convince NASA to allow reusable suborbital vehicles now in development by several companies to compete for those science missions where they can satisfy the altitude requirements. (Also, some of the suborbital RLV companies have expendable second stages at the design stage for sending small payloads to higher altitudes, e.g. some UV observation missions need to reach > 1000km.) RLVs would provide both lower cost per flight than current sounding rockets and provide the new capabilities of rapid turnaround and multiple flights in a short period. For example, a transient stellar phenomena that lasts for a few days could perhaps be examined several times with an instrument not available on an orbital system.
Such vehicles would benefit NASA and its science programs while bolstering a promising new industry with an additional market.
SSI Princeton Conference 2008
Just got word from
Lee Valentine that the
Space Studies Institute conference series will restart next year:
14th SSI Princeton Conference on Space Manufacturing and Space Settlement
Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey
Prof. Freeman Dyson, President
April 19 and 20th, 2008
Conference Chair: Prof. John S. Lewis
Space Manufacturing, Chair Prof. Niklas Jarvstrat
Space Resources, Chair Prof. John S. Lewis
Robotics, Chair Prof. William "Red" Whittaker
Space Solar Power, Chair, Chair Col. M.V. “Coyote” Smith
Space Transportation, Chair Prof. George Dyson
Closed Environment Life Support Systems, Chair Dr. Lee Valentine
Economics, Chair Dr. Klaus Heiss
Special Evening Session: Space Solar Alliance for Future Energy
Registration information will be available soon.
10/11/07 08:08 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Space solar power articles; Lunar resources book
Some coverage of the space-based solar power report released yesterday:
*
NSSO Backs Space Solar Power - Aviation Week
*
Report Urges U.S. to Pursue Space-Based Solar Power - SPACE.com
*
Pentagon backs plan to beam solar power from space - New Scientist
===
Using resources from the Moon to build space solar arrays may become an option:
The Moon: Resources, Future Development and Settlement by David Schrunk, Burton Sharpe, Bonnie L. Cooper, and Madhu Thangavelu. (Link via
Ken Murphy.)
10/11/07 07:18 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Technology
1 comment | Permalink |
Briefs: Personal spaceflight symposium; Virgin Galactic plans
Leonard David previews the
New Mexico 2007 International Symposium for Personal Spaceflight, which will take place October 24-25 in Las Cruces:
Taking the Pulse of Personal Spaceflight - SPACE.com - Oct.11.07
===
Jeff Foust points to this
article in which Richard Branson is quoted saying that Virgin Galactic is "still just about 18 months from launch" despite the accident. I take "launch" to mean the start of space tourist flights, not the start of test flights.
Perhaps Virgin Galactic will provide further info on their status at the ISPS symposium.
10/11/07 11:18 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
2 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Unreasonable display at XPC; Richard Branson interview
Paul Breed will bring his Lunar Lander vehicle to the Wirefly X PRIZE Cup for display:
We will be displaying at XPC - Unreasonable Rocket
===
Richard Branson talks a bit about Virgin Galactic at around 9 minutes or so into this 30 minute interview at the TED conference last March:
Richard Branson: Life at 30,000 feet/
10/10/07 06:06 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
2 comments | Permalink |
Wi-Fi I to be followed by the really, really fast Wi-Fi V
NASA attempts to fulfill the Vision for wireless networking :
NASA Announces Plan To Bring Wi-Fi To Its Headquarters By 2017 - The Onion.
I heard that NASA considered a COTS (Commercial Office Transmission Services) demo project but top managers decided there was just no way that private firms could possibly accomplish this for the low prices and within the short periods that they were claiming.
10/10/07 05:59 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NASA
1 comment | Permalink |
Yoshifumi Inatani coming to Las Cruces
Yoshifumi Inatani, who led the
RVT reusable rocket vehicle project in Japan, will participate in a panel discussion at the
Personal Spaceflight Symposium later this month in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
I interviewed him
back in 2004 but haven't heard much about him since then. Should be interesting to hear what he has to say. (He is mentioned in this
Japan Times article from January 2007.)
Googling around a bit, I found a set of slides that he gave at a symposium in May in which he discussed RLV development in general and a specific project involving a small, low operating cost, reusable sounding rocket:
A Concept & Readiness to the Reusable Sounding Rocket - Norway-Japan Symposium on Polar, Space and Climate Research - May 29.07 (pdf).
10/09/07 10:40 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category World RLVs
No comments | Permalink |
More space solar power info
In support of today's presentation at the National Press Club about the space based solar power study, here are a couple of posted at the Space Studies Institute (
SSI.org):
*
Space Solar Power - from a paper by Dr. Lee Valentine
*
The World's Energy Future [Still] Belongs in Space - an essay by the late Dr. Gerard K. O'Neill from 1992.
*
Space Solar Power Art Set
===
Here is an extended version of the
Space Frontier Foundation press release about the event:
Advance Comments on NSSO-led Study on Space-Based Solar Power
NYACK, NY, October 9 - A National Security Space Office (NSSO) led study group, which has been investigating space-based solar power (SBSP) as a way to reduce American dependence on foreign-oil as well as a solution to the possibility of global warming, is set to announce the study results on October 10th at 9 a.m. EDT at a National Press Club event sponsored by the National Space Society. The full report by the NSSO-led study group will also be published online at 9 a.m. EDT at
http://ssp.space-frontier.org.
10/09/07 10:16 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Technology
No comments | Permalink |
The Space Review this week; The Space Show this week
The latest issue of
The Space Review is now available. It includes the launch vehicle related article
Rebutting the regulatory myth by Joe Latrell of
Beyond Earth Enterprises who rebuts the claim that rocket companies have very little regulation with which to deal.
See also
Weaponization of space: who's to blame? in which James Oberg scolds those in the media who continually give inaccurate, misleading characterizations of US military space policies and systems. In
Our potential in space, Frank Stratford posits that space exploration and development will push humans to their limits and thereby allow us to accomplish great things. Taylor Dinerman in
Galileo: is the symbol stumbling? reports again on the serious problems with the European satellite navigation project.
Jeff Foust
reviews the book
Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries That Ignited the Space Agea.
===
Check out the Space Show
schedule this week. Today's interview is with Dr. David Schrunk and Dr. Madhu Thangavelu about their new book on lunar resources.
10/09/07 10:01 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Activism
1 comment | Permalink |
Briefs: Japan-US space apps conf.; Space law and policy news
The 17th annual symposium of the Japan-U.S. Science, Technology & Space Applications Program -
JUSTSAP 2007 - on November 11-15, 2007 in Hawaii will include sessions on the development of space-based (solar) power systems, commercial opportunities for the International Space Station (ISS), and several other areas of mutual interest.
===
Jesse Londin posts a big list of links to items mostly dealing with space policy and law:
Monday miscellany - 10.08.07 - Space Law Probe
10/08/07 10:20 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Space solar power report at National Press Club
A press release from the
Space Frontier Foundation:
Report to Pentagon on Space-Based Solar Power to be Published on Oct. 10th
NYACK, NY, October 8 - A National Security Space Office (NSSO)-led study group, which has been investigating space-based solar power (SBSP) as a way to reduce our dependence on foreign-controlled energy supplies as well as a clean, renewable and carbon-neutral solution to the possibility of global warming, is set to announce the study results on October 10th. The study also examined the feasibility of SBSP as a source of energy to be transmitted to military forces deployed overseas.
A press event will announce the SBSP study results, as well as the existence of a new alliance to support the development of this promising technology, as follows:
Date:
Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007
Time:
9:00am-10:30am
Location:
National Press Club
First Amendment Lounge
529 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20045
Speakers:
Buzz Aldrin, Apollo Astronaut and Chairman, ShareSpace Foundation
John Mankins, President, SUNSAT Energy Council
Lt. Col. Paul Damphousse (USMC), National Security Space Office
Charles Miller, Director, Space Frontier Foundation
More information on SBSP can be found at
http://ssp.space-frontier.org. This website was sponsored by the Space Frontier Foundation to gather broad public input for the NSSO-led study.
The Space Frontier Foundation is an organization of people dedicated to opening the space frontier to human settlement as rapidly as possible. Our goals include protecting the Earth's fragile biosphere and creating a freer and more prosperous life for each generation by using the unlimited energy and material resources of space.
10/08/07 03:01 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Technology
4 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: A look back at the Civilian Astronaut Corps; X PRIZE Cup
An earlier version of
Advent Launch Services in the 1990s tried to fund a space tourism vehicle via ticket deposits. Eventually the Civilian Astronaut Corps effort folded and the money was returned. See
this issue from 1999 of the SpaceViews publication and skip down to the entry titled, "Space Tourism Company Shuts Down".
Here is an article about the pilot who was going to fly their vehicle:
Down-to-earth rocket man had a blast: Airline pilot from Stone Mountain sought to make history in a '98 space race, but the plan never flew - Atlanta Journal Constitution [GA] - Oct.8.07
===
A preview of highlights of the X PRIZE Cup:
2007 Wirefly X Prize Cup To Feature CEV Mockup, Raptor - Aero-News Network - Oct.8.07
10/08/07 02:57 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
2 comments | Permalink |
WK2/SS2 project update
Scaled is concentrating mostly on the White Knight Two development while waiting for the investigation of the test stand explosion:
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo in hiatus as accident investigation continues - Flight Global - Oct.5.07.
A brief item in the September 24th issue of AvWeek noted the suspension of SS2 work and quoted Burt Rutan as saying:
“we still have no confidence in knowing what really caused it,” and adds that all engine testing remains on hold while the inquiry continues. Rutan declines to say what impact the prolonged delay will have on the development timetable for SS2, which was under threat of further slippage before the accident.
10/08/07 02:28 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Transport Companies
3 comments | Permalink |
Thomas Pickens, microgravity science, and Spacehab status
Here's a profile of Thomas Pickens III and his plans for Spacehab to pursue microgravity commercialization projects on the ISS:
Texas Investor Eyes Space Station as Orbiting Pharma Lab - Wired - Oct.8.07.
Looks like
Spacehab will be
delisted from the NASDAQ exchange due to the stock price staying below 1.0 for an extended period. However, going to
over-the-counter status is not the end of the world. More important is that Spacehab remain a going concern. Some recently announced contracts like
this and
this should help in that regard.
10/08/07 09:33 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Business
4 comments | Permalink |
More about Brinkley's resignation
Here's an article about the resignation of Randy Brinkley from Rocketplane Kistler:
Rocketplane Kistler President Resigns - Space News/Space.com - Oct.8.07
Briefs: X PRIZE blogs; ISU NewSpace video; Powered landing;
Via
Space Prizes comes pointers to two new Blogs at the X PRIZE Foundation:
*
Dr. Peter Diamandis blog
*
The Tomologue - Tom Vander Ark's blog
===
Here's a video from the
International Space University titled
ISU & The New Space Revolution (via
Spaceports blog)
===
More about powered landings:
Powered landing, practical considerations (1-dim) - Gravity Loss
10/07/07 11:51 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Eric Anderson, Space Adventures, and real data
USA Today posts a lengthy profile of Eric Anderson and Space Adventures:
Executive Suite: He's over the moon about space tourism - USATODAY.com. This sounds good:
Recently, Space Adventures has been seeking to buy one seat on a Soyuz spacecraft for two flights a year when the Russians make that many available. The company has bought all the commercially available seats into 2009. It's in negotiations for all the seats available through 2011. The company hopes to be able to sell as many as 10 seats a year in 2012.
I believe that all five of the
private space explorers to go to the ISS so far all came from modest income backgrounds and earned their riches via their own efforts. They were not royalty out on sprees with inherited money. For the hecto-millionaires among them the ticket price must have been a non-trivial 5-10% hit on their net worth. The several months of training for the flight and learning Russian required a big commitment of time, and time is money too. Going to space was clearly a serious endeavor of very high importance to each of them. I bet that most of those who travel to the ISS in the coming years via Mr. Anderson's company will be similar to the first five.
These people are not part of a market study. They are hard data that prove the appeal of space tourism (sorry, I prefer that term). Furthermore, their "regular folk" backgrounds indicate that a similar percentage of people in lower net worth strata would go if the ticket prices came within their reach. The data clearly support the proposition that an orbital system that could deliver people to the ISS or a Bigelow habitat at a ticket price in the single digit millions could make money. Eventually, I think this case will succeed with investors.
Briefs: NM spaceport; Renting space on Kibo
A brief look at the NM spaceport design:
Virgin Galactic Preps for Liftoff at World's First Commercial Spaceport - Wired - Oct.6.07
===
Japan space agency wants to rent out space on its ISS module to commercial users:
JAXA to Lease Space on ISS Kibo - Spaceports: - Oct.6.07
10/06/07 11:11 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Business
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: LEAG 2007 review; Asteroid missions; Aussie colony model
Ken Murphy gives an interesting review of the
Workshop on Enabling Exploration: The Lunar Outpost and Beyond (LEAG 2007) conference that took place recently in Houston:
Getting my Moon on in Houston - Selenian Boondocks - Oct.5.07
===
Here's a well made video program on missions to asteroids using the Constellation hardware:
Video Player: Bootprints on Asteroids - SPACE.com
===
A University of Queensland group speculates on possible similarities that might arise between space settlements and the early colonies and mining towns in Australia :
Space pioneers look to Australia's colonial past - ABC News (Australia)
10/06/07 10:57 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category The Moon
No comments | Permalink |
Traveling...
On the road for the rest of the day. Probably no more postings till late tonight or tomorrow.
See ya later.
10/05/07 10:07 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Space futures; Lots more to come; Bumping Garriott
Alan Boyle ponders the future course of space exploration and development:
The next Space Age - Cosmic Log - Oct.4.07
===
Charles Krauthammer takes the long view on space development:
The Sky Is the Limit: It was 115 years from Columbus to the Jamestown colony - National Review - Oct.5.07
===
When I heard that Richard Garriott's flight was scheduled for next year, I wondered what had happened with regard to the earlier rumors that a Russian would be the next private individual to visit the ISS. Looks like things are not really fixed in place yet:
Will Garriott get bumped? - Personal Spaceflight.
During the Soviet era, it was common for foreigners with strong currencies to go to the head of the line at museums, the Bolshoi, etc. The Russians may enjoy seeing a reversal of this sort of thing.
10/05/07 08:16 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
3 comments | Permalink |
Getting them hooked on Constellation
Michael Griffin's strategy for insuring the survival of Apollo II past this administration has clearly been to get the big hardware contracts in place for Ares 1/CEV as soon as possible in a diversity of states with a diversity of party affiliations and then let politics take its natural course. (He's now bolstering this with some
China fear-mongering.) If the space related items in Hillary Clinton's science policy speech yesterday are any guide, this looks like a successful approach if she wins the election:
Looking for winners and losers in Clinton's space policy - Space Politics. Moon-Mars missions will be publicly discounted so as to refute Bush's policies, but it looks like the big ongoing hardware programs are safe.
So going to the Moon won't be a priority during a Clinton administration just as establishing a LEO presence was not a priority during the previous Clinton presidency. Nevertheless, Bill let the ISS programs grind along, protecting the jobs they generated, and Hillary will probably do the same for Ares 1/Orion. And just as with the ISS, budget overruns and technical problems will probably cause a multi-year delay before a lunar landing, but this won't be any big deal since the process is more important that the goal.
As indicated by the
statements of some of the Democratic presidential contenders, even among liberal Democrats there is support for NASA despite the assumption that they prefer to cut space budgets to provide money for social programs. There was also broad bi-partisan support yesterday in the Senate for a boost in the NASA budget:
Senate approves "Mikulski Miracle" - Space Politics.
Nothing is guaranteed, of course. A recession and/or pressure in the next few years to find money to fund ever-expanding entitlement programs could easily lead to a cancellation of the whole Constellation program. However, I would give Griffin's strategy a good chance of succeeding.
10/05/07 08:03 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NASA
14 comments | Permalink |
Rocket Boy vs Transterrestrial : Final round; A new dawn
In the final installment of the discussion on space,
Homer Hickam and
Rand Simberg discuss whether as humans move into space they will transform into something new, or just take new pills :
Transhumans in space - Los Angeles Times
===
In this article, Rand discusses how space development took off in the wrong direction during the Sputnik panic :
Fifty Years On, Time for a New Dawn - TCS Daily - Oct.4.07. We might have followed
an entirely different branch of technological evolution, one modeled on aircraft, in which reusable, piloted vehicles would fly higher, and faster, eventually all the way to orbit. Such an approach, if successfully implemented, could potentially have given us reliable, affordable space transportation. What it wouldn't have done is to put men on the moon by 1969, which was the paramount goal at the time.
10/04/07 10:40 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
No comments | Permalink |
North Dakota Student Rocket Initiative Project
This University of North Dakota project should appeal both to student rocketeers and to those interested in rocket payloads:
*
Rocket payload contest for NDSU students - The Spectrum - Oct 5, 2007
*
ND STRIPE - North Dakota Student Rocket Initiative Project
*
Student Rocket Payload Contest
10/04/07 10:23 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Rockets
1 comment | Permalink |
Briefs: Carnival of Space; Checking out NASTAR; Brinkley's gone
Check out the
Carnival of Space Week 23 at the
Advanced Nanotechnology blog.
===
Jeff Foust stops in at the
NASTAR Center where private space explorers can train for their flights:
Checking out the NASTAR Center - Personal Spaceflight - Oct.4.07
===
Space News confirms Randy Brinkley's resignation from Rocketplane Kistler:
Rocketplane President Resigns - Space News (subscription required)
10/04/07 10:05 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Sputnik participation; Kaguya reaches the Moon; More Sputnik
StarGazerKen tells me that his
PlanetSpace.com social networking site is "asking Members to post their favorite space-related video, available from Youtube or other sources, as to which one best signifies the past 50 years of space exploration and development".
===
Japan's Kaguya lunar spacecraft has gone into orbit around the Moon:
Japan puts spacecraft into orbit around the moon - Spaceflight Now
===
Flight Global has several items about the Sputnik anniversary in the
Spaceflight section today.
10/04/07 12:08 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
1 comment | Permalink |
Briefs: Wirefly XP Cup sights; Participating in a lunar trip
Leonard David previews some of the displays and demonstrations that you will see at the
Wirefly X PRIZE Cup this month:
Air and Space Expo: A Sightseer's Paradise - SPACE.com.
===
Will Pomerantz talks about the
Google Lunar Legacy and public participation in space projects:
Moon 2.0 - Your Chance to Ride Along - X PRIZE Foundation
10/04/07 11:48 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
No comments | Permalink |
Another view on RpK protest
Sigurd De Keyser says his group also got to see the RpK documents along with NASASpaceflight.com and they have posted their version of the story:
Rocketplane Kistler protest NASA's COTS decision - The Space Fellowship
More Sputnik commentary
I listed various resources concerning the Sputnik anniversary over on the
Space-for-All blog. Some additional items today include:
*
The Space Review posts a special issue in commemoration of the anniversary. Items include
***
Looking back versus looking ahead - Jeff Foust's perspective
***
Sputnik's blastoff: the terrifying view from the launch site - Jim Oberg on the drama of the Sputnik launch.
***
SpaceWar 2057 - Dwayne Day goes out on a limb and predicts more of the same for military space
***
Sputnik in perspective: the totalitarian heritage - Taylor Dinerman examines why oppressive regimes made the first big steps to space
***
The Exploration of, and Conquest of, the Moon! - Ken Murphy reviews two classic books that tried to forecast the course of space exploration.
*
Sputnik, SpaceShipOne, and Me - Dispatches from the Final Frontier - Michael Belfiore notes that NASA was not the only research organization born in the aftermath of Sputnik
*
The End of the Sputnik Era - Chair Force Engineer - Mr. X credits Burt Rutan for finishing the Sputnik period and kicking off a new era on Oct. 4th 2004.
*
Happy Sputnik Day - Rand Simberg points to various items concerning the anniversary
*
Montage of vintage rocket video - Dick's Rocket Dungeon - Dick Stafford posts a video displaying some of the difficulties of early rocketry.
10/04/07 10:50 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
Rocket Boy vs Transterrestrial : round 4
Homer Hickam and
Rand Simberg continue their debate with a focus this time on the post-Sputnik Space Race period:
Russia resurgent.
Wish we could get Homer to some meetings like the Space Access Society conferences. He may or may not ever agree with them, but he hasn't quite got his arms around the arguments that Rand has been making about private spaceflight development and how NASA could both nurture it and greatly benefit from it.
10/03/07 11:25 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
2 comments | Permalink |
Briefs: SDSU rockets; JPA to near space; X-Wing to blast-off
The
San Diego State rocket program lays out plans for some interesting projects in the coming year:
New Semester... New Rocket Team; Update - SDSU Rocket Project- Oct.2.07
===
JP Aerospace is
Go for Flight to near space this Saturday for two high altitude balloon systems. Note they have ad space available:
We had a full size ad customer postpone to the next mission. I'm selling his spot 1/2 off ($750) if anyone wants it and can send their ad before tomorrow night when the ads are mounted on the vehicle.
===
This should make for a fascinating and force-ful launch:
Rocket-Powered 21-Foot-Long X-Wing Model Actually Flies (Updated: Built-in R2-D2) - Gizmodo.
10/03/07 06:43 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
2 comments | Permalink |
Brinkley leaving; RpK, NASA, and a missing anchor
Keith Cowing says Randy Brinkley, a former NASA manager who has been leading RpK's efforts to raise funding, is jumping ship:
More Bad News For Kistler NASA Watch
===
Daniel Schmelzer wonders
Why Would RpK Want to Continue COTS? .
He points to SpaceX and the launch companies outside of COTS that are not having money problems. The difference, of course, is that those firms have sufficient self-financing to carry them through.
A key aspect of the original push for a commercial services approach was to test whether NASA acting as an anchor customer for a launch service would allow a company to raise the money to develop the hardware to provide that service.
NASA, though, has not acted as an anchor customer, i.e. it did not guarantee ISS cargo contracts to the COTS contractors if they succeed in Phase 1. Furthermore, the agency undercut their money raising efforts by going to an outside contractor with the Progress deal and thus reduced the potential market for those contractors. (The Russian deal was announced after the COTS contracts were signed.)
So COTS has not proven one way or the other if this anchor customer approach can work. For similar programs in the future, say a commercial orbiting fuel depot, that depend on NASA as the anchor customer, the contracts better make iron sure that NASA will fulfill that role.
Powered landing lesson
A new space blog -
Gravity Loss - begins with a tutorial on
Powered landing, analytical solution.
10/03/07 05:14 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Propulsion
No comments | Permalink |
Space...It's closer than you think - in LA
If you are in the Los Angeles area on Thursday you should check out the
62MileClub.com's debut event -
Space...It's closer than you think - at the Hotel Luxe. Otherwise, you can listen in via a live broadcast by
The Space Show.
10/03/07 04:56 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Events
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: CNET space; Garriott's space collectibles; Space tech
More articles in the CNET series on space:
*
Do we need NASA?
*
Major players in private space travel
*
Q&A: Designing a 21st-century space suit
===
A NY Times article about Richard Garriott and his Sputnik:
Texas Man Linked to Past and Future of Space Exploration by Sputnik and Soyuz - New York Times
===
Private development is key to future spaceflight progress:
Forward Thinking: Spaceflight Technology's Next 50 Years - Space.com
10/03/07 08:32 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
1 comment | Permalink |
Radio Tagging Mission Design to Near-Earth Asteroid Apophis
SEI and
SpaceDev respond to the Planetary Society's
Apophis Mission Design Competition:
SpaceWorks Engineering, Inc. (SEI) and SpaceDev, Inc. Announce Radio Tagging Mission Design to Near-Earth Asteroid ApophisAtlanta, September 28, 2007 — Engineering services and concept development firm SpaceWorks Engineering, Inc. (SEI) and small satellite developer SpaceDev, Inc. announce the submission of a joint proposal, the Foresight spacecraft, to the Planetary Society's Apophis mission design competition. Foresight is a low-cost, low-risk, minimal science approach to achieve the specific goal of obtaining accurate tracking to reduce the uncertainty in the orbit of potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) Apophis.
continue...
10/03/07 07:35 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category In Space Transport
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: NewSpace in India; Spaceflight training; BBC and NewSpace
Will Pomerantz reports from India on great interest there in the Google Lunar Prize and other entrepreneurial space activites:
Hydera-blog - X PRIZE Foundation - Oct.2.07
===
A report from the
NASTAR Center, which has an
agreement with Virgin Galactic to provide spaceflight training:
Experience Space Without Leaving The Ground - ky2.com - Oct.2.07 (via
spacetoday.net).
===
A BBC overview of NewSpace:
Entrepreneurs rally for new space age - BBC - Oct.2.07
10/02/07 10:20 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Thinning Orion; Big chutes; Asteroid webbing
Mr. X critiques
the report on the efforts to get an Orion safely into space on an Ares 1:
Thinner - Chair Force Engineer - Oct.2.07
===
The $10B capsule-on-an-expendable Orion/Ares system fails to impress but by golly Orion will have really, really big parachutes:
World's Largest Rocket Stage Recovery Parachute Test is Successful - CNN - Oct.2.07
===
A clever way to get around (so-to-speak) on an asteroid:
MIT tether could aid asteroid missions - MIT News Office
PlanetSpace sponsors space training and flight contest
PlanetSpace has started a year long contest in which a text message sent to special address enters you into a space sweepstakes:
SPACE505050.COM - Simply Text to 505050 and WIN your FREE Ticket to SPACE.
Every month a drawing will determine a winner of "Free Astronaut training in the United States worth of $15,000".
At the end of the year, "one lucky winner will be chosen for the Grand Prize - A Free Space Flight Ticket worth $250,000".
From the graphics, this appears to be for a ticket on a suborbital version of the company's
Silver Dart vehicle, not on the
Canadian Arrow.
10/02/07 09:34 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Prizes
5 comments | Permalink |
Rocket Boy vs Transterrestrial : rounds 2 and 3
Homer Hickam and
Rand Simberg continue their interesting back-and-forth on the state of space exploration and development:
*
Does Mars need humans? - Los Angeles Times - Oct.2.07
*
NASA vs. the far-out space nuts - Los Angeles Times - Oct.3.07
10/02/07 09:24 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Activism
No comments | Permalink |
RpK fights back
NASASpaceflight.com has posted lengthy excerpts of a letter from
Rocketplane Kistler to NASA's Scott Horowitz that asks him to cancel plans to terminate their COTS contract. The firm cites several agency actions that undermined its attempts to obtain $500M in private investement as required by a milestone in the contract :
RpK protest NASA's COTS decision - NASASpaceflight.com.
RpK says many interested potential investors were discouraged by the following :
* NASA's decision not to guarantee an ISS servicing contract if RpK successfully demonstrated the capabilities required by COTS Phase 1.
* Opening up COTS Phase 2 to any outside contractor added more risk and meant that the major aerospace companies could team up and possibly, as one potential investor decided, turn COTS 2 "into just another cost-plus NASA program"
* NASA 's decision to "procure additional launches of the Russian Progress and Soyuz vehicles [through 2011] significantly reduced near term cargo requirements, and therefore potential revenues during the critical early years of operations".
The letter mentions a Canadian fund that would have invested at least $200M but withdrew because of NASA's restrictions on non-US ownership. As RpK notes, there is some irony in this considering the agency's funding of Russian competition.
Rocket Racer under the Christmas tree
NewSpacers everywhere will want to start writing letters to Santa to ask for their very own Rocket Racing Team from Neiman Marcus this year:
Rocket Racing League™ Team
Price $2,000,000.00 *
Item #: OCBF8_NMO2801Holy cow! Your very own, totally tricked out racing team franchise. And not just cars, rockets! In the world's first aerospace racing league! A next-generation lightweight Mark-1 X-Racer, with 1,500 pounds of liquid-oxygen thrust, to be exact. Your pilot zipping through a 3D racetrack in the air at up to 320 mph, outmaneuvering other pilots at eight officially sanctioned Rocket Racing™ League events.
Your 2008 inaugural season package includes custom team colors and logo, rocket and custom-built trailer, training for pit crew and pilot(s), and a full year of ground support, equipment, parts and fuel.
Call 1.877.9NM.GIFT and stomp it!
10/02/07 04:42 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Rocket Racing
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Zero base Orion; Exploration pie; NASA in Silicon Valley
The shoehorning of Orion into Ares 1 continues:
Saving spaceship Orion - Zero Base Vehicle task complete - NASA SpaceFlight.com - Oct.2.07
===
An overview of plans and discussions regarding deep space exploration in Europe and Asia :
Nations Looking For a Piece of the Exploration Pie - Aviation Week - Sept.30.07
===
CNET continues its series this week on space with:
*
Day 2: How NASA helped invent Silicon Valley
*
Day 2: The age of the satellite
10/02/07 08:49 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Mojave edge; Lunar prize potential; Ansari interview
This overview of the various NewSpace rocket firms at the
Mojave Spaceport includes remarks from Jeff Greason, Dave Masten, Jon Goff, and other Mojave rocketeers.
Mojave: Edge of the final frontier - Los Angeles Times - Oct.2.07. Includes a picture of a rocket racer under construction at
XCOR.
===
Now a list of reasons why winning the Google Lunar Prize is feasible:
Rent-a-Rocket Rule Shift Opens Up Field for Google Lunar X Prize: Update - Popular Mechanics - Oct.2.07. See
earlier discussion here of a PopMech blog posting on the prize.
===
Despite various hassles along the way, Anousheh Ansari loved her trip to space and would like to go back:
*
Space explorer speaks at Tech - CollegiateTimes.com - Oct.2.07
*
Video Interview - CollegiateTimes - Oct.2.07
*
Ansari: the difficulties of being a female space tourist - Personal Spaceflight - Oct.2.07
10/02/07 08:02 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
1 comment | Permalink |
SpaceDev gets solar thermal propulsion contract
SpaceDev wins a $3.75M DARPA grant to develop the "solar thermal propulsion (STP) and bus design for the
High Delta-V Satellite Program [HiDVE]" :
SpaceDev Selected as Contractor for DARPA Propulsion Program - Rockets Away! - Oct.2.07. Partner firms include
General Atomics and
BAE Systems.
10/02/07 07:41 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Propulsion
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: CSI/ULA COTS plans; New suits for NASA; Shuttle schedule
More about the CSI/ULA collaboration:
ULA Atlas V to form part of COTS challenge - Flight Global. Here is the
CSI press release from last week.
===
NASA wants a new generation of spacesuits usable for both in-space and lunar surface activities:
*
NASA Searches for New Spacesuit Tailors - SPACE.com - Oct.1.07
*
NASA Seeks Proposals for Constellation Moon Suit - NASA
===
It will be interesting to see if NASA gets
two shuttle missions off the ground by the end of the year:
Discovery rolled out to launch pad - spacetoday.net
10/01/07 10:02 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Angara booster test; CATS in India; Galactic Suites update
Khrunichev will soon start testing the Angara rocket's common core booster (CCB) first stage:
*
Angara core booster prepared for 2008 test firing - Flight Global
*
Energia Rockets - Astronautix
===
Hope that ISRO really follows through on this promise:
India focuses on low-cost access to space - Flight Global
===
Jeff Foust looks in on the
Galactic Suites project:
Checking in with Galactic Suite - Personal Spaceflight
10/01/07 02:38 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Dust-up in space
Homer Hickam and
Rand Simberg have begun a debate for the
LA Times Dust-Up section this week. Today's installment is titled:
Why is NASA the only game in space?
10/01/07 01:56 PM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
The Space Show this week; Special issue of Space Review
The
Space Show has a big week of programs including an interview with Roald Sagdeev on Wednesday. Several shows mark the 50th anniversary of Sputnik. Today's program at 2-3:30 PM Pacific has Bruce Damer of
DigitalSpace. See
schedule posted at Space-for-All.
===
The Space Review will also issue a special Sputnik edition on Thursday, October 4th.
10/01/07 07:32 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category Space Activism
No comments | Permalink |
The Space Review this week
The latest issue of
The Space Review begins with a list from Wayne Eleazer of
common myths about space.
Timothy N. Barnes examines
setbacks with the European Galileo satellite naviagation project.
Taylor Dinerman believes that problems showing up with the Law of the Sea Treaty could eventually
undermine support for the Outer Space Treaty as well.
Dwayne Day has evil but unfunded
designs on an underground missile complex.
Jeff Foust
reviews a new book about the year following the launch of Sputnik 1 called
A Ball, A Dog, and A Monkey - The Space Race Begins.
10/01/07 06:49 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category General
No comments | Permalink |
Briefs: Private space development; Lunar prize team; No sponsor for Garriott
CNET.com has a
series this week on space and begins with these two articles dealing with private space development:
*
Private industry moves to take over space race
*
Q&A: Space entrepreneur shoots for the moon - Interview with Peter Diamandis
===
An article about Red Whittaker's robotics group and its plans for winning the lunar prize competition:
Carnegie Mellon Sets Sights on Google's Lunar X Prize
===
I think orbital ticket prices will have to drop below $10M before corporate sponsorship starts to kick in:
*
NCsoft Rejects Funding US Director’s Space Trip - Korean Times
*
Garriott’s company not funding space flight - Personal Spaceflight
10/01/07 06:24 AM |
Posted by TopSpacer | Category NewSpace
1 comment | Permalink |
