22 January 2013
Russia to Sign Final Mars Probe Deal in March
Russia's space agency Roscosmos and its European counterpart the European Space Agency (ESA) will sign a final agreement on March 15 on the ExoMars project, whose goal is to send unmanned probes to Mars, Roscosmos spokeswoman Anna Vedisheva said on Tuesday. A meeting took place on Tuesday between the two agencies' managers, Roscosmos head Vladimir Popovkin and ESA boss Jean-Jacques Dordain, at which the two sides exchanged information about their work on the project and affirmed the final wording of the Russian and English agreement texts.
MORE...
22 January 2013
UK Space Agency unveils new chief
Dr David Parker takes the top job at a time when British orbital activity is experiencing a great renaissance.
MORE...
22 January 2013
New venture 'to mine asteroids'
A new venture is joining the effort to extract mineral resources on asteroids. The announcement of plans by Deep Space Industries to exploit the rare metals present in the space rocks turns asteroid mining into a two-horse race. The other venture, Planetary Resources, went public with its proposals last year.
MORE...
22 January 2013
NASA Selects Experimental Commercial Suborbital Flight Payloads
NASA's Flight Opportunities Program has selected 13 cutting-edge space technology payloads for flights on commercial reusable launch vehicles, balloons and a commercial parabolic aircraft in 2013 and 2014. The flights will allow participants to demonstrate their technologies to the edge of space and back, before committing them to the harsh and unforgiving conditions of spaceflight.
MORE...
22 January 2013
China outlines aerospace development goal for 2020
According to information on the Chinese website People Daily, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation announced on 16 January, that by 2020, the number of China's spacecrafts in orbit will be more than 200, accounting for about 20 percent of the total number of orbiting spacecrafts in space, and the annual average launches will reach about 30 times, accounting for 30 percent of global launches. Moreover, China will be equipped with a full range of space exploration capability, form a new generation of carrier rocket family, break through the key technologies of heavy lift launch vehicles and manned lunar landing, establish independent space station and carry out the deep space exploration projects on Mars, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and other asteroids. People Daily learned that the Corporation has explicitly put forward China's aerospace development goal of 2020 including the above-mentioned contents to accelerate the construction of a space power.
MORE...
21 January 2013
The Night Sky show of the year 2013?
Out near the orbit of Jupiter, a faint speck of light is moving through the black of space. On 28 November 2013, this "dirty snowball" will fly through the sun's atmosphere little more than a million km from the stellar surface. If the comet survives- a big IF - it could emerge glowing as brightly as the Moon, briefly visible near the sun in broad daylight. The comet's dusty tail stretching into the night sky could create a worldwide sensation.
MORE...
18 January 2013
Mona Lisa Lasered to the Moon - First ever lunar laser communication demonstration
An image of the iconic masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci was digitally beamed from the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) which is circling the moon, scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced this week. “This is the first ever lunar laser communication demonstration,” said NASA scientist Xiaoli Sun in an interview with RIA Novosti.
MORE...
17 January 2013
Soyuz rockets will be taking Americans to ISS
US President Barack Obama has signed a bill permitting NASA to pay Russia for delivering American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) till the end of 2020.
Each place aboard a Russian Soyuz spaceship will cost the US $60 Million. The price for the delivery of one US astronaut has been calculated by both sides and provides more than just a seat aboard but also meals and various consumables because in the next few years food will only be delivered by Russian spacecraft.
MORE...
17 January 2013
NASA to Send Inflatable Pod to International Space Station
NASA announced on Wednesday that it had signed a $17.8 million contract with Nevada-based Bigelow Aerospace to build the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), in the hopes of developing deep space habitats for future missions.
MORE...
16 January 2013
Asteroid deflection mission seeks smashing ideas
ESA is appealing for research ideas to help guide the development of a US-European asteroid deflection mission now under study. Concepts are being sought for both ground- and space-based investigations, seeking improved understanding of the physics of very high-speed collisions involving both man-made and natural objects in space.
MORE...
16 January 2013
US, Europe team up for moon fly-by
The US and European space agencies on Wednesday announced a new partnership pairing a European cargo module with NASA's Orion space capsule, which aims to take astronauts into deep space. The new agreement covers Orion's first planned mission, set for 2017, which will take the spacecraft on an unmanned fly-by around the moon.
MORE...
16 January 2013
NASA's Robotic Refueling Demo Set to Jumpstart Expanded Capabilities in Space
In mid-January, NASA will take the next step in advancing robotic satellite-servicing technologies as it tests the Robotic Refueling Mission, or RRM aboard the International Space Station.
MORE...
15 January 2013
Russia to Launch Lunar Mission in 2015
Russia will launch a robotic lunar station in 2015, Federal Space Agency Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin said on Tuesday. Luna-Glob will lift off from the Vostochny space port in Russia’s Far East after several test launches, he said. Luna-Glob is the first of four missions planned before the creation of a fully robotic lunar base scheduled for after 2015.
MORE...
15 January 2013
Moscow still waits Astana's response on Baikonur spaceport use prospects
Russia's still has not received an official response from Kazakhstan to its note issued on December 13, 2012 regarding the prospects of using the Baikonur space port, a source with the national space industry told Interfax Saturday. The Russian government sent its note in response to a statement made by the head of the Kazakh Space agency Talgat Musabayev on December 2012.
MORE...
14 January 2013
Mars One announces requirements for Red Planet colonists
The most important criteria are to be at least 18 years old, to be intelligent, in good mental and physical health and to be dedicated to the project. Candidates will be subject to a prolonged televised selection process that will begin later this year. None of the Red planet pioneers, the company notes, will ever return to the Earth. To cover the mission costs, about $6 billion, Mars One says it will launch a reality show, a sort of interplanetary reality show a la "Big Brother", and raise the needed funds by selling corporate sponsorships.
MORE...
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
FOR FURTHER READING
21 January 2013
Cargo cult exploration
As a new study on the rationale for human spaceflight gets underway, many people are likely to consider historical parallels in exploration as one justification for sending people into space. Dan Lester argues that doing so without taking into account our evolving robotic capabilities is tantamount to, and likely to be as successful as, a cargo cult.
MORE...
21 January 2013
The benefits (and limitations) of space partnerships
Last week NASA announced a deal with ESA to provide the service module for the Orion spacecraft and a contract with Bigelow Aerospace to send an inflatable module to the ISS. Jeff Foust reports on these developments and how they show the strengths of such partnerships, but also how they risk being oversold.
MORE...
21 January 2013
Cislunar transportation: the space trucking system
Why establish “waystations” at the Earth-Moon L1 point or other locations in space, as some have proposed? John Strickland draws an analogy to terrestrial transportation systems to explain how such facilities could make space exploration and development more affordable.
MORE...
21 January 2013
An airborne telescope prepares for takeoff
Infrared astronomy is difficult to do from the ground because of the atmosphere, so astronomers seek to get above with both satellites and aircraft. Jeff Foust checks on the status of a NASA airborne observatory that is finally ready to begin regular science flights.
MORE...
14 January 2013
A golden age of exoplanet science
Last week astronomers met in California to discuss the latest discoveries in the field, and the study of extrasolar planets was front and center. Jeff Foust reports on the wealth of exoplanet discoveries that are giving scientists new clues about how common planets, and potentially Earth-like ones, are in the galaxy.
MORE...
14 January 2013
Higher Look: A top secret reconnaissance mission in 1982
To fill a looming gap in satellite imagery, the NRO pursued an unusual mission in the early 1980s. Dwayne Day describes this effort, and what went wrong.
MORE...
14 January 2013
SLS Block II drives hydrocarbon engine research
NASA is looking at several options for new rocket engines to power the boosters of the Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket. Anthony Young notes that this, plus Air Force interest, has driven work on new hydrocarbon rocket engines, including one based on the venerable F-1.
MORE...
14 January 2013
Visiting the shuttles
Two of the four shuttle orbiters assigned to museums are currently open to the public: Discovery at the Udvar-Hazy Center and Endeavour at the California Science Center. Jeff Foust pays a visit to both to compare and contrast the displays.
MORE...