Taking Off
Well, not quite...none of the GLXP contenders are launching just yet, but there has been a recent surge in announcements from teams. Below are a few of the highlights:
- Moon Express and Team FredNET win ILDD Awards
- Barcelona Moon teams with China and incorporates INTA
- ARCA gets iQuest sponsorship and partners with LSRS
- Team Jurban uses Team Phoenicia's engines
A Bittersweet 10th
SpaceX has turned 10 years old! This occasion is accompanied by some good - and some not-so-good - news. SpaceX has slipped their COTS 2/3 demo flight to April 30th, and has lost a VP to an aerospace development firm. As always, they have more than compensated for losses with the completion of a CCDev milestone, a Falcon 9 countdown test, the creation of an independant Safety Advisory Panel, and Elon's net worth now being measured in the billions.
Changing Times Changes Minds
To the dismay of many, Bigelow Aerospace laid off half their workforce late last year. They gave lagging launch vehicle development as the reason, but have apparently changed their minds - they are hiring again! Dan Leone at Space News
Hawking Wins Heinlein
Dr. Stephen Hawking has been awarded the Robert A. Heinlein Memorial Award for his "outstanding and continuing public efforts in support of human space development and settlement." Press Release at NSS
The Penultimate Step
The Spaceship Company, responsible for building Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo vehicles, has qualified three aerostructure companies, and completed the Savings By Design energy efficiency program. RocketMotorTwo has also been tested for the 9th time, and Burt Rutan has won the NASM Lifetime Award.
Astronaut To Lead CSF
Retiring NASA Astronaut Michael E. Lopez-Alegria (Capt., U.S. Navy, Ret.) was named President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, succeeding Rear Admiral Craig Steidle. Alegria brings an extensive resume including being a NAVY program manager, test pilot, and having multi-lingual fluency - all in addition to being an ISS commander. Press Release at CSF
The Chosen
NASA has chosen 24 cutting-edge space technology payloads as part of its Flight Opportunities Program. Sixteen of the payloads will be launched on parabolic aircraft flights, five will fly on suborbital launch vehicle test flights, and two will fly on high-altitude weather balloons. Press Release at NASA
Experience Counts
Aerospace giant Boeing may be the old man in the CCDev race, but they are proving to be a top contender. This month, they completed the abort system testing for CST-100 and a PDR for CST-100. Press Releases at Pratt & Whitney and Boeing
Fist Fights, Models, Vodka, and Rockets
In a somewhat comical series of events, Roscosmos head Vladimir Popovkin got in a fight over his model-turned-secretary. In more serious (and completely unrelated) news, The Skolkovo Foundation and the International Space Transport Association (ISTA) have teamed up to create the world's first international knowledge center for commercial suborbital spaceflight. According to the ISTA's Director-General, "The Center is to become the first 'one stop shop' in the world for all in need of suborbital space technology and knowledge." Doug Messier at Parabolic Arc
Congressional Crazies
Having no substantial argument against Commercial Crew, Congress has now resorted to flat-out lies to try and squash it. They claim NASA is not being strict enough with commercial companies when it comes to safety. The targeted companies not only shot back with NASA's CCT-1100 documents, but explained that they have their own, even more stringent, safety standards. Keith Cowing at NASA Watch and Press Release at CSF
The Space Show
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Jim Muncy, and Bob Zimmerman discuss their respective NewSpace initiatives with Dr. David Livingston on The Space Show.
International Space Development Conference
The International Space Development Conference (ISDC) covers several broad areas of study related to building a spacefaring civilization. Area such as: transportation to and through space, technology needed to live and work in space, and Earth-based activities to advocate for or educate others about space development. For 2012, ISDC is returning to Washington, D.C. The conference will be held from May 24 - 28, 2012 at the Grand Hyatt Washington.
Space Access Conference
SA '12 will be the next round of Space Access Society's long-running annual get-together for people seriously interested in the technology, business, and politics of radically cheaper space transportation. This year's conference sessions will run from Thursday morning April 12th through Saturday evening April 14th.
NewSpace Conference
The Space Frontier Foundation's annual conference is one of the most important commercial space conferences in the nation, and will be in July in Silicon Valley. NewSpace 2012 is where networking with leaders, supporters, investors and activists evolves into enterprises that propel the industry upward. It will host a wide-range of thought-provoking panels and visionary keynote speakers that will surpass NewSpace 2011's already highly-praised programming.
