The Light Of Dawn
During the Republican debate in Florida, Newt Gingrich raised a number of eyebrows with his claim to have a fully-functioning Moon base by 2020, the end of his second term. This vision for manned spaceflight has opened the eyes of many Americans, and set the stage for widespread interest in space. Videos at YouTube.com
No one Is Untouchable
SpaceX had a rough start to 2012, with delays in Dragon's launch to ISS (main link), losing Ken Bowersox, and even getting publicly jabbed by Rocketdyne. Luckily for all space enthusiasts, there is nothing substantial to show that SpaceX is losing their touch. Denise Chow at SPACE.com
Our Favorite Word
Delayed. At At the end of last year, optimistic reports came out saying that Orbital would have major Antares launches by late January/early February. Then late February. Now, April at the earliest. On the bright side, they completed the integration and testing of Cygnus. Dan Leone at SpaceNews and Doug Messier at Parabolic Arc
Bon Voyage, Captain Barnhard
USMC Lieutenant Colonel (ret) Paul Damphousse has replaced Gary Barnhard as Executive Director of The National Space Society (NSS). Damphousse has been a member of the NSS since 1999, been on the board since 2010, and received the NSS Space Pioneer Award for Space Development in 2008. Release at NSS
Catching Up?
Alliant Techsystems, Inc. (ATK) has completed a Launch System Initial Systems Design Review of their Liberty rocket. This is the third milestone completed by ATK under their unfunded SAA through NASA's Commercial Crew program. Press Release at NASA
Restructuring at SSI
Late last year, the Space Studies Institute's Senior Advisors got together and restructured their dual Board of Directors and Board of Governors into a single, smaller Board of Trustees. Three Trustees were elected: Lee Valentine, Gary Hudson, and Professor Freeman Dyson, with Hudson working as President and CEO, and Valentine as Chairman. Announcement at SSI
A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.S.
The Commercial Crew Development Program (CCDev), will henceforth be called the Commercial Crew integrated Capability Program (CCiCap). The change reflects the next phase of the program, in which NASA will choose multiple companies to design integrated commercial crew transportation systems. Announcement at NASA
Breaking Ground
Stratolaunch, the new super-project organized by billionaire Paul Allen, has broken ground at their Mojave production facility. The project is being worked on by an all-star lineup including Burt Rutan with Scaled Composites, Elon Musk with SpaceX, and Tim Pickens with Dynetics. News at Stratolaunch
Racking 'Em Up
The Commercial Spaceflight Federation has added three new members to their roster: Arkyd Astronautics, Logyx LLC, and the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR). Arkyd develops technology to enable low-cost robotic exploration, Logyx provides a wide range of technical services, and NIAR provides R&D, testing, and certification to various organizations. Press Release at CSF
Making Friends
The Google Lunar XPrize teams Omega Envoy and the Part-Time Scientists (main link) have added to their rosters. Omega Envoy has partnered with Workforce Central Florida, and the Part-Time Scientists have partnered with the Planetary Geodesy Department at the College of Geodesy and Geoinformation Science. Doug Messier at Parabolic Arc
Lynx Test Schedule
XCOR Aerospace has announced this year's test schedule for Lynx. According to XCOR, the original article was chock-full of mistakes, but they have since clarified the errors. Clark Lindsey at HobbySpace
Starving To Death
The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel has determined that the Commercial Crew Program is at risk due to inadequate budget. They claim that if funding continues into the next year, they believe the program is in jeopardy, which will delay non-Russian access to ISS even further. And, we all know how flawless the Russians are. Release at NASA
The Space Show
Mark Sirangelo, Rick Tumlinson, Bob Lancaster, Robert Zimmerman, and Tom Olson share their respective NewSpace initiatives with Dr. David Livingston on The Space Show.
Man On A Mission
Firmly ensconced in the geeky pantheon of computer legends since high school, Richard Garriott can afford to pursue his dreams - even the wildly improbable ones. For instance, following in his astronaut father's footsteps. NASA won't take you because of bad eyes? No problem! Pioneer your own private space industry and buy a $30 million seat on a Russian Soyuz. Richly funny and invigorating, Man on a Mission tags along with Richard on his years-long quest to be the second Garriott into space. And maybe come back.
