Happy New Year from the Space Frontier Foundation! Exciting changes are taking place for NewSpace News as the Foundation makes the transition to Web 2.0. Please visit NewSpace News' new home at www.NewSpaceNews.org, where you can search our database of past issues and add your comments to articles.

NASA Invests $3.5 Billion in Commercial Space
COTS competitors SpaceX and Orbital Sciences were congratulated in a big way recently, when NASA awarded $3.5 Billion in contracts to re-supply the International Space Station after the Space Shuttle's retirement in 2010.

RocketShip Tours Blast Off
A trip to space for $95,000 is now a reality, thanks to Phoenix, AZ-based RocketShip Tours, which sells tickets aboard XCOR Aerospace's Lynx suborbital vehicle.

Obama Nods to Space Solar Power
The Office of the President-Elect is looking at the possibility Space Solar Power can provide for our nation's future energy needs, thanks in part to papers submitted by The Space Frontier Foundation and partner space advocacy organizations.

WhiteKnightTwo Takes Flight
Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo, the mothership for SpaceShipTwo, recently took its maiden flight from Scaled Composites headquarters in Mojave, CA.

Blue Origin Reveals Plans
Secretive rocket designer Blue Origin, headed by Amazon.com's CEO Jeff Bezos, recently announced progress with flight testing of their suborbital craft at a private launch site in Texas.

The Falcon is Ready to Fly
SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle is fully integrated in Cape Canaveral, Florida, awaiting some minor details before it can take its maiden flight to orbit.

The Lynx is Alive
XCOR Aerospace recently completed the first successful test fire of the engine that will be used for their Lynx suborbital launch vehicle.

Lunar X-Prize Heats Up
Two new multi-international teams have been announced to compete for the Google Lunar X-Prize, Euroluna and SELENE.

UP Aerospace Has Big Plans
Mojave, Ca-based Up Aerospace plans on a profit of nearly $1 million in 2009 from launching small payloads to space via their rocket - costing only one-tenth of what it costs the Air Force and NASA.

DragonLab Looks Promising
Hawthorne, CA-based Space Exploration Technologies announced that two DragonLab missions will be added to their launch manifest, scheduled to launch in 2010 and 2011.

Plant a Tree in the Space Explorer's Forest
In an initiative between American Forests and Yuri's Night to bring Earth and space a little closer, a Space Explorer's Forest is being planted near Mojave, CA, replacing trees that burned in 2003's devastating San Bernadino Fires.

The Silicon Valley of NewSpace
The concentration of entrepreneurial space companies in Mojave, CA has led some to liken Mojave Air and Space Port to a NewSpace version of Silicon Valley.

The New Red Rover
Red Whittaker, the man behind the Google Lunar X-Prize Team Astrobotic, is a master of robotics - but will one of his robots reach the moon?

Spaceport America Becomes Official
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently issued Spaceport America a "Launch Site Operator License," making it officially a spaceport.

MIT Studies Human Spaceflight
An in-depth study of the goals of the nation's human spaceflight program was recently published, which among other things, promotes the collaboration between NASA and the commercial space sector.

Space Show Highlights
Dr. Ben Bova, Dr. Tom Jones, Robert Zimmerman and James Muncy discuss their respective NewSpace initiatives with Dr. David Livingston on The Space Show.

Access NewSpace News Discussion Forums