A New Era
Goodbye Soyuz. Goodbye critics in Congress. Goodbye OldSpace. Welcome to the era of NewSpace. SpaceX has successfully docked Dragon with the International Space Station. On paper, this feat is simply the completion of COTS 2 and 3, but more than that, it represents the beginning of a new chapter in spaceflight. It is the culmination of many years of hard work by not only SpaceX, but everyone in the NewSpace industry.
Not to be outdone by themselves, SpaceX made sure they were being productive on all fronts. They signed two agreements: to launch Bigelow's private space stations, and to launch Intelsat's satellites atop Falcon Heavy. SpaceX also revealed the first pictures of Grasshopper, and NASA completed wind-tunnel testing for SpaceX's advanced reusable launch vehicle system at Marshall. Press Releases at SpaceX and NASA, and Clark Lindsay at HobbySpace
The Spirit of NewSpace
Who said rocket science was only about rockets? To test their new piston pump design, XCOR Aerospace installed their hardware on a motorcycle, and drove it from Roswell to Mojave. Ideas like this are the essence of what it means to be NewSpace. Press Release at XCOR
Overshadowed
SpaceX may have stolen the limelight with the successful docking of Dragon with the ISS, but Sierra Nevada Corp has made a lot of progress on Dream Chaser this month. They completed four CCDev milestones, had wind tunnel tests completed by NASA at Marshall, partnered with MDA to develop communications, and started a flight test program. Press Releases at Sierra Nevada and NASA
Green Is Good
Rockets are dirty, and dirty is both unsafe and expensive. Fortunately for the space entrepreneurs out there, Innovative Space Propulsion Systems (ISPS) has passed another critical milestone in their progress towards the launch of their NOFBX green propulsion demonstration to the ISS. Press Release at ISPS
Shoot for the Moon
During ISDC last weekend, Excalibur Almaz CEO Art Dula outlined the company's future plans. The list is long (and impressive), including plans to launch their Soviet-era capsules and stations to LEO, the Moon, asteroids, and Lagrange points. Compilation by Doug Messier at Parabolic Arc
We Come In Peace
It is amazing how alien the idea of commercial spaceflight is to the average American, and how much skepticism people have about non-government space. Thankfully, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) have created SARG, a space ambassador program to spread the word that we come in peace. Press Release at CSF
Practice Makes Perfect
Virgin Galactic has plans to start drop testing SpaceShipTwo again, after a 9 month hiatus. They also have plans to begin powered flights with a starter motor, but not the full engine. Company CEO George Whitesides still thinks they can launch commercially by the end of 2013. Zach Rosenberg at Flightglobal and Alex Delmar-Morgan at WSJ
New Name Please
With competition named Dream Chaser, Dragon, and Liberty, you would think Boeing could get a little more creative than CST-100. Fortunately, a boring name is no reflection of their productivity - they completed a drop test and software PDR of CST-100 this month. Press Releases at Boeing and NASA
FrankenFlyer
Well not quite, but only a few months after its announcement, Stratolaunch is not wasting any time. Their hangar is almost complete and they have two 747's in the process of being gutted for parts. Doug Messier at Parabolic Arc
Dare To Hope
One of Obama's campaign messages four years ago that is surprisingly relevant NewSpace today. The President is working hard to keep commercial crew alive, and is refusing to back down to Congress, who wants to reduce CCDev funding, and cut down to a single "competitor" immediately. He also has the strong support of NASA. Statements at White House and NASA
A Good Role Model
Due in large part to the success of American NewSpace companies, ESA is changing its methods to find a replacement for Ariane 5. They have asked industry to design cost-effective rockets that would appeal to owners of satellites, both commercial and governmental, without regard for where the vehicle's contractors are located. Peter B. de Selding at SpaceNews
The Last Icon of America's Space Travel
Stephen Colbert was the recipient of the National Space Society's Space Pioneer Award for Mass Media. Being the "last icon of American space travel still on active duty", Colbert beat out a field of strong nominees, including Meryl Streep, Elroy Jetson, and Modern Family. Video from ColbertNation.com
The Space Show
Ken Davidian, Rex Ridenoure, and Rand Simberg discuss their respective NewSpace initiatives with Dr. David Livingston on The Space Show.
NewSpace 2012 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.
