Up, Up and Away
Orbital Sciences Corp. has successfully completed their Commercial Orbital Transportation Systems (COTS) demo flight of Antares. The launch was the inaugural flight of the "largest and most complex rocket the company has ever developed and flown", said Mr. David W. Thompson, Orbital's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Press Release at Orbital
SS2 Has Arrived
Marking yet another major flight by a NewSpace company this month, Virgin Galactic (VG) has successfully completed the first powered flight of SpaceShipTwo. VG has been testing their vehicles for years, but this milestone means they are one step closer to commercial flights. Press Release at Virgin Galactic
The Sludge Is Moving
Ever so slightly...NASA has a lot of sludge to move in this House after all. To their credit, NASA's budget proposal has been applauded by some NewSpace groups. They have also announced missions to asteroids and the Moon that will involve the private sector, and awarded several hundred SBIRs. The SBIR recipients include Astrobotic, Arkyd, Garvey Spacecraft, Final Frontier Design, and many, many more. Press Releases at NASA, CSF, and NSS and article at Space News
Right On Dream's Heels
Sierra Nevada Corp.'s (SNC) Dream Chaser team has completed two milestones for the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative. They have also added former NASA astronaut Lee Archambault to their team as a chief systems engineer and test pilot. Press Releases at Sierra Nevada
Team Effort
Planetary Resources, Inc. has announced that Bechtel has joined their core group of investors and will be a collaborative partner in helping them achieve their long-term mission. Currently, Planetary Resources has multiple contracts to develop miniaturized and responsive technologies with far-reaching applications to space assessment, accessibility and resource recovery. Press Release at Planetary Resources
The Xombie Has Risen
Masten Space Systems has released a video of their most recent Xombie flight, where the vehicle flew more than 1,600 feet above ground and flew almost 1,000 feet laterally. They also announced that they have lit X-aeroB's engine for the first time. Video from Masten and Twitter post via Parabolic Arc
A Big Hop
SpaceX has released a video of their recent Grasshopper flight, where the vehicle successfully flew 820ft. According to the video's description, Grasshopper is a 10-story Vertical Takeoff Vertical Landing (VTVL) vehicle that SpaceX has designed to test the technologies needed to return a rocket back to Earth intact. While most rockets are designed to burn up in the atmosphere during reentry, SpaceX's rockets are being designed to return to the launch pad for a vertical landing. Video from SpaceX
It's All About Connections
Boeing has successfully completed a preliminary design review (PDR) of the component that would connect the company's new crew capsule to its rocket. The review is the sixth performance milestone Boeing has completed for NASA's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative. Press Release at NASA
Round 'Em Up
The Google Lunar XPrize (GLXP) had their annual team summit in Chile, bringing together many of the teams. Whether you are interested in which teams have new partnerships with NASA or which teams were the best dressed, you should check out their event summary. Update from GLXP
The Space Show
This Tuesday on the Space Show program (May 7th, 7-8:30pm), Dr. David Livingston's is being publicly recognized for his contributions to the show. The event is in celebration of the 2000th episode!
Space Tech Expo 2013
The Space Tech Conference 2013, held on May 21-23, 2013, in Long Beach, CA, will explore commercial lunar exploration, space tourism, and space citizenship. Leading executives from Moon Express, Golden Spike, Virgin Galactic, XCOR, Space Adventures, and Mars One will share insights into the innovations being driven in making civilian space exploration a reality. Join 2,000+ professionals from the space industry and over 150 exhibiting companies for the Space Satellite Summit, Space Experience Park, seminars and workshops at the Open Tech Forum, and dedicated networking time.
Next-Generation Suborbital Researcher's Conference 2013
This year's NSRC will include presentations on flight experiments, funding and flight opportunities for flying payloads and a NASA FOP workshop. For the first time, NSRC-2013 will also include technical sessions by suborbital providers to present each flight system's capabilities, development status, and future plans. Keynoters include NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, ISS Program Manager Mike Suffredini and FAA Associate Administrator George Nield. NSRC-2013 will be held at the Interlocken Resort in Broomfield, Colorado, just outside Boulder, on June 3-5.
