Satellite Superpower
McDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) has acquired 100% of Space Systems/Loral, Inc. (SS/L), for $875 million dollars. This acquisition gives MDA a "critical mass" in the U.S. communication satellite market and a bigger presence worldwide. Release at NASA
CCDev Devs
On Page 2 of their Return on Investment Report, NASA released a progress report for the CCDev competitors, and is making promotional videos for each company, some of which have already been released. Meanwhile, the companies themselves have been hard at work:
- SpaceX may have docked Dragon with the ISS last month, but the capsule did not successfully splash down until June. According to PrivCo, SpaceX has doubled their valuation with the successful docking. SpaceX has also completed a full mission duration firing of their Merlin 1D engine. Video at YouTube, Article at PrivCo, and Press Release at SpaceX
- Sierra Nevada Corp. has completed their captive carry flight test (video here) and the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for Dream Chaser. Their promo video from NASA gives a glimpse at what Dream Chaser will look like and be capable of. Article at SPACE.com, Video at YouTube, Press Release at SNC, and Doug Messier at Parabolic Arc
- Boeing has completed a series of tests on the thrusters for CST-100. The capsule will use 24 of these thrusters for both attitude control and separation from the launch vehicle if an abort becomes necessary. NASA's promo video for Boeing primarily shows how the capsule will be launched and landed. Press Release at NASA and Doug Messier at Parabolic Arc
- Blue Origin has completed the System Requirements Review for their Space Vehicle. Their unique, biconic design allows the vehicle to be positioned vertically for takeoff and horizontally for landing, affording the launch simplicity of a capsule and the reentry advantages of a lifting body. Press Release at Blue Origin
- Alliant Techsystems (ATK) have brought Liberty's second stage one step closer to production, conducted ground testing for their Delta IV engine with ULA (who also just had their 50th successful launch!), and have completed their software TIM for Liberty. NASA's promo video for ATK shows Liberty's massive engines under construction and in testing. Press Releases at ATK and ULA, and Doug Messier at Parabolic Arc
That Time
The Google Lunar XPrize has reached a major turning point, where many of the smaller teams are being gobbled up by bigger, more favored teams. Most notably, Moon Express has acquired Next Giant Leap, and Omega Envoy added the Florida Institute of Technology, CT Social, and Boca Bearings as partners. Press Releases at PRNewsWire and GLXP
Not-So-NanoRacks
The once-small NewSpace start-up, NanoRacks is growing at a blazing rate, with numerous well-funded projects underway. This month alone, they readied their centrifuge for flight to the ISS, unveiled a space payload tracker, and signed a marketing deal with ATK for Liberty. Press Releases at NASA, NanoRacks, and ATK
SENTINEL
The B-612 Foundation has announced their bold mission: to build the world's first commercial deep-space satellite, which will be an infrared asteroid-seeking telescope, named SENTINEL. Announcement at B-612
Capitol Comradery
Despite all of the bickering in Washington over Obamacare, the turbulence does not seem to be affecting the FAA. Not only did they come to an agreement with NASA over space taxi safety rules, but the House provided the FAA with their full commercial space office budget request. Report at THOMAS and Denise Chow at SPACE.com
40-Year-Old Virgin
Virgin Galactic might not be 40, but as far as NewSpace companies go, they are getting pretty old. Luckily for all space geeks, Virgin Galactic shows no signs of slowing down. This month, they completed a taxi test, a captive-carry flight, a glide test of SpaceShipTwo and a RocketMotorTwo test on the same day, and announced their plans to air-launch small satellites. Richard Branson may have made more than a few empty promises over the years, but it might be for real this time. Press Release at Virgin Galactic, Doug Messier at Parabolic Arc, and Rob Coppinger at SPACE.com
Underdog
While SpaceX has been basking in the limelight, Orbital Sciences has been quietly chugging away on Antares. Virtually overnight, they became the underdog, which was not helped by their announcement that their launch has slipped another month. On a somewhat brighter note, NASA has extended their Launch Services II Contract to include Antares. Peter B. de Selding at SpaceNews and press release at NASA
Plasma Propulsion
In addition to their agreement with the FAA over space taxi safety rules, NASA has signed a support agreement with Ad Astra to collaborate on aspects of safety, reliability, and mission assurance for VASIMR, a plasma propulsion system. Press Release at Ad Astra
Mixed Bag
A victory was won for CCDev in Congress this month, with Representative Wolf backing down from his demand to down select to one company immediately. Unfortunately, Wolf and his friends cut the President's requested funding for commercial crew, and have stated that any future levels of CCDev will be FAR-based (i.e. a single company). Press Release at Rep. Wolf's website
The Space Show
Jim Muncy, Paul Spudis, and Tom Olson 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.
