30 November 2010
US private rocket readies key demonstration launch
American firm SpaceX readied Tuesday the first demonstration launch of its Falcon 9 rocket to low Earth orbit for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program dubbed COTS 1, for December 7. It is intended as a demonstration mission to prove key capabilities such as launch,
structural integrity of the Dragon spacecraft, on-orbit operation, re-entry, descent and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
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30 November 2010
NASA To Announce Astrobiology Finding: Major Impact On Search For Life
NASA will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 2, to discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life. Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe.
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30 November 2010
Bridging Between Earth And Space
TECHBREAK is a new foresight initiative led by the European Science Foundation to identify the technology areas that could benefit the space sector. It goes beyond space-related technologies to bring in expertise from sectors where technology is evolving faster, ranging from photonics and nanotechnology to energy, nuclear propulsion and robotics. It brings together space and non-space communities to collaborate more closely, to ensure the technology is there to underpin future scientific breakthroughs.
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26 November 2010
Joint Space Programs Seldom Save Money, Report Says
Collaborative efforts that involve more than one U.S. government agency in a domestic space program result in higher overall costs for the U.S. government, according to the report. While international cooperative ventures also are more costly than independent programs, those projects can save money for the U.S. government because international partners are absorbing some of the mission’s expense, the report said.
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26 November 2010
Courting India In Space
How should India and the USA work together in space? It's a question that can't be reasonably answered until the USA decides on exactly what it wants to do with its own space program. Right now, there are plenty of people who could provide a roadmap, but it isn't clear what the volatile mix of America's politics and economics will produce in the near future.
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23 November 2010
Russia To Launch Unmanned Lander To Martian Moon In October 2011
The head of Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Anatoly Perminov, said that the launch of an unmanned lander to one of the moon of Mars, Phobos, was scheduled for October 2011.
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23 November 2010
Russia to spend 2 bln dollars for space clean-up
Russia's Rocket and Space Corporation Energia announced Tuesday that it will build a special orbital pod designed for sweeping-up the near-Earth space from satellite debris. The system was estimated to cost about 60 billion rubles (1.9 billion U.S. dollars).
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23 November 2010
Tasks For Tiangong
In the absence of any official list of hardware or tasks, it's worthwhile taking an educated guess.
One set of instruments on Tiangong is already known. The laboratory holds two small telescopes, clearly visible in video footage. Both are pointed at the ground, indicating they will be used for Earth observation.
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related:
23 November 2010
Russian scientists developing moonbase protection systems
Russian scientists are developing automatic sealing systems to protect future manned space stations on the Moon and Mars from debris, Russia's Central Research Institute of Machine Building said.
"This is why we need to develop new protection based on self-sealing systems capable of independently and quickly restoring the object's air-tightness in case of leaks," they said.
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23 November 2010
Russia to start work on nuclear space engine next year
Russia's Energia space corporation said on Tuesday it is planning to start working on standardized space modules with nuclear-powered propulsion systems next year.
Energia director Vitaly Lopota said the first launches with a capacity of 150 to 500 KW could be made some time in 2020.
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23 November 2010
Graduation Of Europe's New Astronauts
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22 November 2010
Major Tim waits to fly the Union flag in space
The UK never expected to have one of its nationals selected in the recent intake of new astronauts at the European Space Agency (Esa).
But Major Tim Peake was selected - on merit - and on Monday graduated from basic training. Hopes have been raised that we will finally see an "official British astronaut" in orbit soon.
Now, there is a cynical view out there that says Major Tim must be at the back of the queue simply because he's British.
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22 November 2010
China To Launch First Female Astronauts
After the Opening Ceremony of the China Airshow, Yang Liwei, the Deputy Director of the Chinese Manned Space Flight Project, as well as the nation's first astronaut to travel into space, says a second group of astronauts are now undergoing training. He adds that the country will send its first female astronauts into space by 2012.
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19 November 2010
Ukraine Delivers Taurus II Launch Vehicle's First Stage To US
Ukraine has delivered the first stage of the Taurus II launch vehicle to the United States, a step forward in a NASA- funded Taurus II program, the design company said Wednesday
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19 November 2010
KLM Announces Suborbital Flight Relationship With Space Experience Curacao
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has announced to the Netherlands press that they were embarking upon a new relationship with Space Experience Curacao (SXC).
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19 November 2010
Former Officials Urge ‘Radical’ Overhaul of European Launch Industry
A group of former high-ranking European government and industry officials wants European governments to levy an annual tax on commercial satellite operators and abolish the Arianespace launch consortium in its current form to help keep Europe’s launcher industry solvent.
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19 November 2010
Bolden Says Extra Shuttle Flight Needed As Hedge Against Additional COTS Delays
NASA needs to fly an additional space shuttle mission to the international space station next year because development of privately owned rockets and spacecraft designed to ferry cargo to the orbiting outpost is likely to be delayed, according to the agency’s top official.
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19 November 2010
Bolden Details China Trip During Marshall Visit
Bolden said that on his final night in the communist country he met with China’s top human spaceflight official, a three-star general “who ironically is also head of their anti-satellite program. An odd mix of responsibility.”
Bolden said the two had a frank discussion of the merits of bilateral cooperation in space in which the official, whom he did not identify by name, said the potential to work together is “incredible” but that the United States and China do not need each other.
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17 November 2010
KLM Announces Suborbital Flight Relationship with Space Experience Curaçao
In three years, it will be possible for clients of KLM to make a space flight. The Dutch airline company is opening a launch base in Curacao in 2014, De Telegraaf newspaper reported yesterday. "A fantastic project, which fits in completely with the pioneering spirit of KLM," says CEO Peter Hartman. He is embracing the plans of Space Experience CuraÃao (SXC), a Dutch initiative for making space flights from the Netherlands Antilles. KLM has subscribed to the first flights costing 70,000 euros and wants to take on the promotion and ticket sales itself. The company will also enable its best clients to save up points for a free space flight.
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17 November 2010
Hong Kong and China mainland to build joint space lab
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) Wednesday announced the establishment of the Joint Laboratory specializing in Precision Engineering Projects for use in Space.
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FOR FURTHER READING
29 November 2010
Black Apollo
As part of preparations for the Apollo landings, NASA needed to get detailed imagery of potential landing sites. Dwayne Day reveals a partnership between NASA and NRO that proposed using Apollo spacecraft equipped with reconnaissance satellite cameras to provide those images.
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29 November 2010
Year of the solar system
While most of the recent attention NASA has received has been on its human spaceflight programs, its robotic missions also are noteworthy. Lou Friedman contrasts the impending milestones for the agency’s missions with the fiscal issues some of those programs face.
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29 November 2010
Space colonization in three histories of the future
Space settlement has long been a core tenet of space advocates, who have offered a range of scenarios about how it would work. John Hickman examines these proposals and highlights the flaws in their historical analogies.
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29 November 2010
NASA’s extended limbo
Last month the president signed into law a NASA authorization bill that reoriented the agency’s human spaceflight efforts. However, as Jeff Foust reports, budget delays and implementation questions keep NASA’s future plans uncertain.
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22 November 2010
Human spaceflight worth the cost
As we complete the International Space Station and debate future plans for human space exploration, a key question remains: how can we maintain support for this endeavor? In the first in a new series, Lou Friedman examines the issue and the consequences for not answering that question.
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22 November 2010
Where first for space resources?
Much of the debate over the last year regarding human spaceflight has been where humans should go next: the Moon, near Earth objects, or some place else. Jeff Foust reports on a recent panel session that looked at the question of where to go first from the point of view of accessing space resources.
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22 November 2010
Italian doomsday: killer asteroids in 1958
Asteroid impact threats have become a staple of both major motion pictures and made-for-TV sci-fi movies in recent years. Dwayne Day discovers that the theme also was the subject of an obscure Italian movie from the late 1950s.
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22 November 2010
Review: Confessions of an Alien Hunter
For fifty years astronomers have been searching for signals from alien civilizations, without success; is it time to give up? Andre Bormanis reviews a book by a leading SETI researcher that could convince the skeptical that the search is worth the effort.
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