NewSpace News: Issue #110

August 2014

The Commercial Crew Program partners are steadily completing their milestones as they march on towards their new deadline next year. Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has passed the Risk Reduction and Technology Readiness Level (TRL) Advancement Testing milestones for several of their key systems which included crew systems and structures (Milestone 9), as well as the main propulsion and reaction control system (Milestone 9a). United Launch Alliance (ULA) has announced the successful completion of the critical design review (CDR) for the launch crew accommodations for Boeing's CST-100 vehicle launches. As for the remaining milestones, Boeing has 2 more, SNC has 2, SpaceX has 6, and Blue Origin (who is unfunded) has 1. Press Releases by NASA, SNC, and ULA, Article by Parabolic Arc

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and its Dream Chaser program partner Lockheed Martin has unveiled the composite airframe that will be used to conduct the first orbital launch in 2016. Following similar agreements with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), SNC has signed an agreement with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to explore the application of Japanese technology to the Dream Chaser vehicle, develop mission scenarios for the space vehicle, and study potential launch and landing in Japan. SNC has also added Tuskegee University to its "Dream" team. Press Releases by SNC

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has completed its environmental impact assessment and approved SpaceX's proposed commercial launch site in Texas. SpaceX has also purchased more land and applied for building permits in the area. The launch company has also successfully launched the second set of ORBCOMM satellites into orbit, and the first stage from that launch has returned video of it successfully performing a soft landing onto the ocean. SpaceX has many more launches in its manifest ahead, and it has qualified the dispenser system for the Iridium satellites. Articles by Space News, Statesman.com, The Monitor, Press Releases by SpaceX and Iridium

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded three teams the first phase for its Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1) program. The XS-1 program aims to develop capabilities that will offer "routine, responsive and affordable space operations". The teams that were selected are the following: The Boeing Company (working with Blue Origin), Masten Aerospace (working with XCOR Aerospace), and Northrop Grumman Corporation (working with Virgin Galactic). The technical goals include flying 10 times in 10 days and flying to Mach 10+ at least once. Press Releases by DARPA, Boeing, and Masten

Rocket Lab Ltd. has unveiled its Electron rocket, which is designed to carry a payload of 110 kg (240 lbs.) to a 500 km sun synchronous circular orbit. Rocket Lab is an American company with its headquarters in Aukland, New Zealand. The company is principally funded by Khosla Ventures, and it plans on launching Electron in 2015. Press Releases by Rocket Lab

Nanosatisfi, the inventors of the Ardusat platform, has rebranded itself to Spire to reflect its new goal to provide remote sensing (RS) products to customers. To enable this development, it has also raised $25 million in its Series A funding. One of the competitors in the RS market, Urthecast has announced its plans to install additional optical and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) on the International Space Station. Press Releases by Spire and UrtheCast

Orbital has successfully delivered its second Commercial Orbital Transportation Service (COTS) mission to the ISS. Among the payloads are Planet Labs' new 28 satellites, NASA Ames' TechEdSat-4 which will test an exo-atmospheric deceleration device, an experiment by the Girl Scouts of Hawai'i, and various student experiments sponsored by the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program. Press Release by NASA

The recent Soyuz 2-1B carried several secondary payloads to orbit. Among them was SkyBox's SkySat-2, and the company also provided an update that the acquisition by Google has closed. Dauria Aerospace's technology demonstrator satellite DX1 was placed into orbit by the launch. Dauria also has also announced that it will build two small Ku-band geostationary satellites for India-based Aniara. The other secondary payloads include Surrey Satellite's TechDemoSat-1, United Kingdom Space Agency's UKCube-1, and Norwegian government's AISSat-2. Article by Spaceflight101.com, Press Releases by SkyBox and Dauria

Virgin Galactic (VG) has promoted Doug Shane, who previously was the Executive Vice President and General Manager, to the President of The Spaceship Company. VG also has hired former US Air Force Commander Todd 'Leif' Ericsson to join its ranks of space pilots. In New Mexico, VG has partnered with two local hospitality providers to enhance the spaceflight experience. Test flights for the WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo have also resumed. Article by Parabolic Arc, Press Releases by Virgin Galactic

The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) has teamed up with the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (TEFT) and the Governor's Office of Aerospace and Aviation of Texas to support ventures that utilize the ISS. Space Tango in Kentucky has announced the three companies to go through the nation's first business accelerator program specifically for space companies. Press Releases by CASIS and Space Tango

The American Space Technology for Exploring Resource Opportunities in Deep Space (ASTEROIDS) Act was introduced in the House to promote the outer space resources mining industry. The bill in its current form would grant property rights to the resources extracted from asteroids to private entities. House Bill, Article by Jeff Foust

Zero Gravity Solutions, Inc. (ZGSI) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to implement agricultural research projects using ZGSI's BAM-FX technology. IITA is one of the world's leading research organizations tackling hunger and poverty in Africa and the tropics. [Alternate Link] Press Release by ZGSI

Spaceflight Inc. has announced a new service to provide communications to small-satellite customers as a bundled package with its launch services in response to a shift in need as the launch opportunities for smaller payloads become more abundant. They have also signed a MOU with OmniEarth to provide rideshare opportunity identification and launch support as well as an agreement with DLR to launch the Eu:CROPSIS satellite on its SHERPA platform. Press Releases by Spaceflight

The principal investigator of HI-SEAS Mars analong Dr. Kim Binstead and the New Space Cynics share their respective NewSpace initiatives with Dr. David Livingston on The Space Show.

Thank you to all the speakers, attendees, online viewers, and volunteers for making NewSpace 2014 a blast. If you missed any of the talks, you can watch them here. Congratulations to the winners of the Lightning Pitch Winners: CubeCab (1st), Rockzip (2nd), and Elysium Space (3rd). Also a shout out goes to BioCube, who are the winners of the Startup Weekend: Space, which also happened on the same weekend.

First of all, thank you for reading the NewSpace News. It is exciting to witness the growing volume and quality of NewSpace happenings, and it is a constant dilemma to condense it into a monthly format. In order to better serve you, we are growing the team, and you may see some changes in the next few months as we train new volunteers and try out new things.