NewSpace News: Issue #107

May 2014

Astrobotic Technology, Masten Space Systems, and Moon Express have been selected by NASA for the Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown (Lunar CATALYST) initiative for a no-funds exchanged partnership agreements to support the development of advanced planetary landing technologies. Under this partnership, NASA will contribute technical expertise, provide access to facilities, loan equipment and software for an estimated 3-year period. Press Release by NASA

SpaceX has successfully launched and berthed to the International Space Station, delivering approximately 5,000 lbs of cargo. As they have done in the first commercial resupply mission, new recovery systems on the rocket first stage were tested such as the landing legs, and based on the data from the rocket, the rocket performed a soft landing maneuver over the water. In parallel to that, the development using the Grasshopper vehicle is continuing as shown in their latest video release. Video and Press Release by SpaceX, Article by SpaceFlightNow, Press Release by NASA

New technology development and manufacturing of small satellites, especially CubeSats, has been on the rise. Clyde Space, which specializes in making these smaller satellites, has reported a record order of nearly $5 million (£3million) last year and announced plans for expansions. One of the drawbacks to using such small satellites is the lack of propulsion system for orbital maneuvers, but companies like Digital Solid State Propulsion, which has provided thrusters to the Navy's SpinSat, and Aerojet Rocketdyne, which has received a NASA Award to develop a CubeSat propulsion system, are working to fill this gap. Press Releases by Clyde Space, Space Frontier Foundation, and Aerojet Rocketdyne

Suborbital spaceships appear to be capturing people's attention. Virgin Galactic has announced a long-term strategic partnership with Land Rover, and video from SpaceShipTwo flights are prominently featured in the car's commercial. XCOR, which last year partnered with Unilever in the Axe Apollo campaign, has raised nearly a quarter million at a fundraising event for a ride in its Lynx suborbital spacecraft. Press Release by Virgin Galactic, Video by Land Rover, Press Release by XCOR

The 2015 NASA budget is moving through Congress, and the House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) subcommittee approved a $17.9 billion fiscal year 2015 spending bill. In the House's version, NASA is expected to get a bump up from last year's appropriations in overall budget, as well as in Space Technology and possibly in Commercial Crew. The Senate Appropriations CJS subcommittee has yet to approve its version of the bill, which is expected to occur this month. Press Release by Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Articles by Space News and SpacePolitics.com

Garvey Spacecraft Corporation has conducted a successful static fire testing of its Nanosat Launch Vehicle (NLV). The 3-second burn tested its 5,000 lbf-thrust main engine using a liquid oxygen and propylene mix. Generation Orbit, the winner of last year's SFF's Business Plan Competition, has also posted some updates of their new working space and projects. Article by Parabolic Arc, Update from Generation Orbit

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has announced a partnership with the Houston Airport System to study the possibilities of the proposed Houston Space Port. SpaceX and NASA have penned a 20-year property agreement for the much contested Pad 39A, which SpaceX will use for commercial use. SpaceX is also looking to operate out of Texas, and key environmental hurdles were overcome in the proposed Texas launch site. Press Releases by SNC and NASA, Article by Brownsville Herald

The second series of sponsored payloads by Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) have arrived at the ISS, and this set of experiments primarily feature protein crystallization tests submitted from both academia and industry. NASA has also announced a new request for information (RFI) for new commercial uses for the ISS. Press Releases by CASIS and NASA

Following SpaceMETA's success in raising $10 million in March, the Google Lunar XPRIZE (GLXP) team SpaceIL has received a $16.4 million donation from the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife. The team estimates that the entire project will cost around $36 million and hopes it will spark an "Apollo Effect" that will inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers in Israel. Astrobotic has developed a mobility testbed and has completed a test run of 100 meters [video]. Article by Haaretz, Update by Astrobotic

Deep Space Industries (DSI) has announced a preliminary design contract with Dunvegan Space Systems to develop an orbital system for the BitSat project. The satellite nodes will serve as a backup to the terrestrial bitcoin network in the event of disruptions or outages. Press Release by DSI

Plentary Society's Emily Lakdawalla and Space Frontier Foundation's James Pura and Aaron Oesterle share their respective NewSpace initiatives with Dr. David Livingston on The Space Show.

Space Frontier Foundation is excited to announce NewSpace 2014 Conference, which will be held from July 24-26 in Silicon Valley, CA. NewSpace 2014 shall usher in a broad spectrum of space related topics that will influence new ideas and innovation and serve as a stepping stone for the future of commercial space exploration and development. This year's conference will be host to an extensive range of topics including: orbital debris, space data, space policy discussions, newspace business models, launch companies and more. NewSpace 2014 will serve as the premier gathering for space industry leaders, providing an opportunity to learn about the latest issues in commercial space.