Commercial Certification Criteria Finalized
NASA, along with the NRO and USAF, have signed an agreement that establishes a clear set of criteria for the certification of commercial launch providers in national security space and civil space missions. So far, the agreement has been met with open arms by industry. Press Release at NASA
The Ups and Downs
Virgin Galactic has had a big month, despite a few hiccups. They opened their spaceship factory (main link), sold tickets to NASA, got more money from one of their largest investors, selected their first commercial astronaut pilot, and decided on a spacesuit design. The bad news is that they had one of their original customers demanding a refund, and the SpaceShipTwo engine stalled during its most recent test.
Bigelow Downsizes
Bigelow Aerospace laid off nearly half of their 90-person work force this month. Mike Gold, Director of Washington operations and business growth, explained that the remaining workforce will allow them to retain key human capitol, and still pursue the design and eventual deployment of the BA 330 system. The reasons for the layoffs are due to the slow (compared to Bigelow) development of the commercial launch industry that Bigelow requires for their habitats. Brian Berger and Dan Leone at SpaceNews
Closing the Gap
Excalibur Almaz is has signed an unfunded Space Act Agreement with NASA, which adds them to the elite group of CCDev2 competitors. Excalibur Almaz will be designing a modified version of their tourist space vehicle, which will fly in concert with a middle stage on top of a to-be-determined commercial launch vehicle. Press Release at Excalibur Almaz
Isle of Man Launches First Satellite
Isle of Man has made the space industry a centerpiece of its economic growth strategy, and this month they have completed a major milestone. The launch of ViaSat-1 marks the first time the Isle of Man has launched a satellite using one of its own orbital slots. ViaSat-1 will operate as a Ka-band broadband satellite for ViaSat, Inc. Peter B. de Selding at SPACE.com in cooperation with SpaceNews
Chugging Along
SpaceX has had another successful month, with the most exciting piece of news being their announcement of the world's first-ever fully-reusable rocket (main link), which Elon Musk hopes will open the gates of Mars to humanity. They have also completed the Preliminary Design Review for their abort system and resolved some software issues that NASA had expressed concern about.
NanoRacks Streamlines
NanoRacks LLC has opened their Customer Operations Center for the commercial customers' payloads utilizing the U.S. National Lab on the ISS. The new center will allow NanoRacks to consolidate services for their customers that were previously done with external partners, meaning customers will now be able to have NanoRacks control every aspect of their payload process. Press Release at NanoRacks
Giving Back
The Commercial Crew Development Round 2 had its two-month birthday last month, and NASA was so excited that they deployed astronauts to help companies refine their crewed spacecraft system designs. Article at MoonAndBack
From The Shadows
Boeing has kept silent about their CST-100 progress, but some recent developments have snuck their way out. The CST-100 capsule has successfully completed its extensive wind-tunnel testing (main link), and Boeing has signed a deal with NASA to continue CST-100's development in Discovery's old hangar. Mara Bellaby at Florida Today; Article at SPACE.com
UP and Schafer Team Up
The Schafer Corporation, a scientific and engineering company, has teamed up with UP Aerospace to launch NASA payloads out of Spaceport America. Schafer Corp. will provide launch and payload integration services for up to eight NASA flights in 2012 and 2013. Doug Messier at Parabolic Arc
Shell Sponsors X PRIZE
Oil giant Shell has inked a three-year, $9 million deal with the X PRIZE Foundation. The money will go to the X PRIZE Exploration Prize Group, which aims to foster innovation through exploration to improve life on Earth. Press Release at X PRIZE
Ex-Astronaut Joins Dynetics
Retired Air Force colonel and ex-astronaut Jim Halsell has joined Dynetics as a technical director in the space division where he will manage advanced space transportation projects. Halsell is coming from ATK, where he served as VP of Safety and Mission Assurance. Press Release at Dynetics
Delays, Delays
Orbital Sciences and SpaceX are having their rocket launches pushed back until 2012, delaying an already behind-schedule program to develop resupply vehicles for the ISS. The expected launch dates for Orbital and SpaceX are sometime in January and February, respectively. Dan Leone at SpaceNews
Commercial Space Has To Be A Priority
During a recent NASA safety panel, Retired Vice Admiral Joseph Dyer stated that "if America wants a solid space program, [commercial space] has to be a priority." The Senate wants to fund $500 million to commercial crew for FY2012, but the House spending bill only allots $312 million. NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver stated that underfunding commercial crew now could delay commercial flights until 2016, costing NASA $450 million in Russian flights. Mark Carreau at AviationWeek
Control Issues
Blue Origin is famously secretive about their work, which is understandable given the competitive nature of commercial space. However, there may be something more to it: Jeff Bezos is a notorious micromanager, which might explain why the company is so much more secretive then their competition. Doug Messier at Parabolic Arc
The Space Show
Dr. Paul Spudis, Tim Pickens, and Amaresh Kollipara share their respective NewSpace initiatives with Dr. David Livingston on The Space Show.
