Commercial Resupply of ISS

Possibly the single most important NewSpace event of the year was SpaceX's cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The accomplishment marks not only the completion of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, but it has shown the world that NewSpace is not only real, but is here to stay. Press Release at SpaceX

 

CCiCap

After NASA's Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) program wrapped up, it was renamed the "Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) Program" for the third phase. The program down selected to three competitors: Sierra Nevada, SpaceX, and Boeing, and the ultimate goal is to have American astronauts flying on American spacecraft within five years. Not surprisingly, all three companies are well on their way to that goal. Alan Boyle at Cosmic Log and Release at NASA

 

Planetary Resources

If someone told you they were going to fly to an asteroid, grab it, bring it back to Earth, and sell its trillion-dollar value of precious metals, you might laugh. Well, this is exactly what Planetary Resources is setting out to do - and you shouldn't laugh. They are not a group a scoff at, with names like Eric Anderson, Peter Diamandis, Mark Sykes, David Vaskevitch, and James Cameron on their roster; these guys mean business. Company Website

 

Stratolaunch

Another radical project with an all-star line-up is Stratolaunch, which plans to build a 385 ft wingspan, 1.2 million pound air-launch rocket that can place up to 13,500 pounds in LEO. The project is funded by multibillionaires Paul Allen and Larry Page, the carrier aircraft will be designed by Scaled Composites, the launcher by Orbital Sciences, and Dynetics is in charge of integration. Kenneth Chang at New York Times

  

Newt's Moon Base

Although the election almost completely ignored space, there were some subtle, but important, victories for NewSpace. Obama has been good to NewSpace, and all indicators suggest he will continue to be. However, the most significant moment was when Newt Gingrich gave his speech about a permanent, thriving moon base. Despite the mixed reception by the public, talk of space settlement in a high-profile race on the national stage is a huge step forward. Clara Moskowitz and Mike Wall at SPACE.com

 

GLXP Acquisitions and Mergers

Although no one will win the Google Lunar XPrize in the very near future, 2012 was a turning point for the race. The competition started with a large field of very small teams, but over the past year the bigger teams have started buying out the smaller teams, concentrating their resources and polarizing the leader board. The most significant acquisitions were: Moon Express acquiring the Rocket City Space Pioneers and Next Giant Leap, and Odyssey Moon teaming up with Space IL under the SpaceIL banner. GLXP Team Page, and Press Releases at Moon Express and GLXP

 

XCOR Aerospace

Although XCOR Aerospace might not make the list for any individual achievement, they win the award for best overall progress for the year of 2012. Not only did they make significant progress on their hardware, including the successful attachment of the Atsa telescope to Lynx, but also set up their R&D in Midland, Texas and Operations at KSC. Let's not forget how they tested their new piston pump technology: by installing it on a motorcycle and riding it from Roswell to Mojave. Press Releases at XCOR and NASA

 

Golden Spike

After months of secrecy and rumors, Golden Spike was announced near the end of 2012. Therefore not much is known about the company, but it shows extraordinary potential. Their plan is to send paying passengers to the Moon for $1.4 billion dollars (for two), and is led by Alan Stern and Gerry Griffin, in addition to numerous high-profile advisers including Newt Gingrich and Wayne Hale. Alan Boyle at Cosmic Log

 

SENTINEL

The B612 Foundation has started a new program to detect killer asteroids, named SENTINEL. The mission will be the world's first commercially-funded deep space mission, and will increase our database of known asteroids by 50 times. Mission Page at B612 Foundation

 

SABRE Engine

Reaction Engines has stated that the critical technologies for their SABRE engine are possible, and they will begin construction. The engine will be single-stage-to-orbit, which has previously never been accomplished. If successful, SABRE will be a game-changer for space technology.  Project Page at Reaction Engines