Testing, Testing, 1... 2... 3...

Sierra Nevada Corporation's (SNC) Dream Chaser arrived at NASA Dryden for testing, and they evaluated landing characteristics of the vehicle with NASA astronauts using a flight simulator at NASA Langley. SNC also completed a major milestone, the integrated system safety design review, as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) agreement. In other CCiCap news, Boeing completed its wind tunnel testing of their CST-100 spacecraft and integrated launch vehicle. Without a mature domestic capability to send astronauts to space, NASA extended its crew flight services with the Russian Space Agency to 2017. Press Releases by SNC and NASA

Dangling the Carrot

Texas Governor Rick Perry signed a bill that allows temporary closure of Boca Chica Beach for rocket launches should SpaceX decide to construct a launch site near there. In other stately news, Florida legislature approved an increased budget for 2014 for Space Florida and other space related projects such as infrastructure and space tourism marketing. Articles at Brownsville Herald and Space Florida

It's a Jump to the Left

SpaceX's goal to make fully reusable launch vehicle is making another big hop, not up but west, to a new test site. In order to fly their Grasshopper vehicle at higher altitudes, SpaceX signed a leasing agreement with Spaceport America, which already has a restricted airspace for suborbital flights. They are also making preparations to jump into other markets. SpaceX completed its review with NASA on the certification plan to human rate the Dragon-Falcon 9 crew system. On the military front, SpaceX and the U.S. Air Force are close to agreeing on the details to certify the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. Press Release by Spaceport America and Articles at Space News and Aviation Week

Everyone's Space Telescope

Planetary Resources launched a crowd funded project on kickstarter to put one of their Arkyd space telescopes into orbit. This specific Arkyd telescope will be open to the public to use and operate. Only after few days into the campaign, the project is already more than half funded ($629K out of $1 million as of June 1st). Press Release and Kickstarter by Planetary Resources

Slow and Steady

Orbital Sciences Corporation is gearing up for their cargo demonstration mission to the ISS, but they reported another schedule delay to swap out an engine, pushing it to late-August at the earliest. At least the performance of their Antares rocket from last month's flight test is on target with their engineering predictions, showing how their cautious approach is paying off. Update by Orbital

Eye in the Sky

The International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA) and Moon Express (ME) unveiled the world's first privately sponsored lunar telescope. The telescope was built by ME, and it is scheduled to be delivered to the lunar surface in 2015.

Move It, Move It

The U.S. Department of State and Commerce published draft regulations to move commercial communications satellites and associated parts and components from the U.S. Munitions List to the less restrictive Commerce Control List. This is a significant step towards improving the environment for space companies to do business outside the United States. The Satellite Industry Association (SIA) applauded the speedy publication, but chairman of Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) Mike Gold warned the industry to be proactive in commenting on the drafts. Article at SpacePolitics.com, Postings on Federal Register, and Press Release by SIA

Eye on Europe

A new technology and innovation center called the Satellite Applications Catapult was launched in U.K. in order to spur the British economy through commercialization of space technology. Also, European Space Agency opened the European Center for Space Applications and Telecoms in the U.K., which will be co-located with the Catapult and other space-related organizations at the Harwell Oxford Innovation campus. Article at BBC and Press Release by Satellite Applications Catapult

Shoot for the Stars

A ticket for a suborbital flight with Leonardo DiCaprio raised $1.5 million at an AIDS charity auction. Two more tickets on a Virgin Galactic flight raised another $2.3 million for the fundraiser. Article at Reuters

Carriage to the Moon

As one of the first steps to send a privately funded expedition to the lunar surface, the feasibility study of Golden Spike Lunar Lander was completed by Northrop Grumman Corporation. The study included the descent stage, surface habitat, and ascent pod which they named "Pumpkin". Press Release by Golden Spike

Challenge Accepted

Who would want to go on a no-return, one-way trip to Mars? Apparently over 78,000 people do according to Mars One, which is seeking a few dozen candidates to settle Mars. Press Release by Mars One

The Space Show 

Rob Kelso, Dr. Madhu Thangalevu, Sara Meschberger, and Ryan McLinko share their respective NewSpace initiatives with Dr. David Livingston on The Space Show.

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.

NewSpace 2013 Conference 

The commercial space industry's premier conference, NewSpace 2013, will be held in the high-tech hub of Silicon Valley on July 25-27. Hosted by the Space Frontier Foundation, NewSpace is a hotbed for networking and new ideas, bringing together NASA Directors, space entrepreneurs, investors, engineers, and policy leaders to offer insights, share stories, and unveil new technologies. This year's conference theme is "Preparing for Exponential Growth," so register today at newspace.spacefrontier.org and get your company on the inside track toward shaping the future of commercial space. 

Thank You James

NewSpace News (NSN) would like to thank James Tumber for his hard work and dedication to delivering the NSN for the past few years. Although he will be still supporting the NSN from the shadows, he will be focusing on other projects with the Space Frontier Foundation. The NSN will continue to be delivered by the new editor Curtis Iwata.