- COTS: what does the customer want?
- The Cold War in space
- Mysterious microsatellites in GEO: is MiTEx a possible anti-satellite capability demonstration?
- "Spirit of the Lone Eagle": an audacious program for a manned Mars landing
- Galileo gets a Chinese overlay
- Clients are actually helping promote space tourism.
- More information on the Genebox experiment aboard Genesis I.
- This morning's rollout of Atlantis was delayed due to weather.
- A little bit about the image of Bigelow's full-up space station for Pop Sci.
- ThGuardianan has an article about why we need private space.
- More on Blue Origin.
- The Humans vs. Robots debate continues without much substance.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Dateline July 31, 2006: Space News from the Internet
The New Space Review is out:
Friday, July 28, 2006
High-Res Outside Photo of Genesis I
Bigelow Aerospace has just released a high resolution image of the outside of their Genesis I module. It is a lot longer than I thought it was. Enjoy!
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Track the Genesis I Module
Bigelow Aerospace has added a map view and a world view tracking of the Genesis I module. Enjoy.
A History of the Genesis I Private Space Module
Bigelow Aerospace is developing the first private space station. A 1/3 scale model, called Genesis I, was launched on July 13, 2006. The inflatable structure of Genesis I is revolutionary, but it was hardy created overnight.
The Story of the Genesis I begins at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas in 1997.
Dr. William Schneider joined NASA in 1962 and went on to work as an Aerospace Engineer working on flight components for Apollo. He moved through different divisions at JSC until he was made Senior Engineer for Space Systems and Assistant Director for Engineering. In 1997 he created the basic architecture for the Transit Habitat or TransHab for short.
TransHab was designed to transport six astronauts on an interplanetary trip, such as a Mars mission. It was then chosen as a possible habitation module for the International Space Station in order to prove the concept.
A team of engineers, architects, and human factors experts at the Johnson Space Center developed the best size and layout for the spacecraft. TransHab was the first space habitat with a endoskeleton. It consisted of a dual system: a light, reconfigurable central structure and a deployable pressure shell. In order to deal with the riggers of space, the shell was made of several layers, each with its own specific purpose.
The layers allowed the TransHab, when inflated, to withstand up to 4 atmospheres, or 54 PSI, of pressure differential between interior and exterior. The shell also provides insulation from temperatures in space that can range from plus 121 degrees Celsius, or 250 degrees Fahrenheit, in the Sun to -128 degrees Celsius, or -200 degrees Fahrenheit, on the dark side. All this, while allowing 13,000 ft3 to fit a launch configuration of 14 ft in diameter. A standard exoskeleton would have a diameter of roughly 27 feet.
All these benefits made TransHab a potential miracle to NASA's Mars Design Reference Mission (DRM), as the crew habitat for the journey between planets. The plan was to launch the TransHab in a space shuttle bay, deflated, and packaged tight; once in orbit it can be unfolded, inflated, and deployed.
However, as Congress is apt to do in a budget crunch, TransHab was canceled in 2000. This is not the end of the story, but the beginning.
Robert Bigelow graduated from Arizona State University with a BS in Business Administration. He went out into the world and put his degree to good use. Budget Suites of America, founded by Mr. Bigelow and Bigelow Management Inc, is a multimillion dollar hotel chain in Nevada, Arizona, and Texas with it’s headquarters in Las Vegas.
Needless to say after this success, Mr. Bigelow was not hurting for money. It is at this point in their life, a person’s hobbies can become much more. Robert Bigelow started the National Institute for Discovery Science in 1995 in Las Vegas. Its mission was to engage in research of aerial phenomena, animal mutilations, and other related anomalous phenomena. However, research was halted in 2004 due to a lack of investigative work.
All the while, Mr. Bigelow started Bigelow Aerospace in 1999. His goal was to put ordinary people into space. When he heard the TransHab project was cancelled, he tracked down Dr. Schneider, who was now a Professor at Texas A&M University. Bigelow bought the exclusive development rights from NASA and entered into a Space Act Agreement with the agency to allow him to work with former TransHab engineers still employed there. To this day, TransHab engineers come to Bigelow’s plant and help to make this dream a reality.
This was no pet project for Robert Bigelow. Between 2002 and 2006 he invested $75 million dollars with a promise of up to $500 million. His goal was nothing short of a private Space Station orbiting the Earth. While this may have seemed “pie in the sky” a few years ago, Mr. Bigelow and his engineers were not deterred.
After the flights of SpaceShipOne and the now famous X-Prize, Bigelow launched his own prize, The American Space Prize. Mr. Bigelow put up $50 million of his own money to anyone who could launch five people to his station and bring them back safely by 2010. A tall order, to be sure, but we will see if it is doable.
Regardless of whether anyone could win this prize, Mr. Bigelow continued with his development of 1/3 scale model test modules to be launched in 2006. After rocket scheduling problems and the ever present ITAR paperwork, the date was set to launch on the ISC Kosmotras Dnepr on June 16, 2006.
As will most rocket launches this one was delayed. The new window was July 4 – July 14, 2006 and this time, nothing would stop Bigelow Aerospace. On July 13, 2006 the Dnepr Rocket lifted off with Genesis I securely attached.
Separation from the rocket was confirmed 14 minutes after launch. But communications from the craft would have to wait. SpaceQuest, of Arlington, VA, was contracted by Bigelow Aerospace to handle the initial communications. As the hour that link-up with Genesis I approached a power outage in Arlington, VA caused some amount of panic. Engineers literally ran an extension cord across the highway to a restaurant with power just in time to get the first hello world from Genesis I.
As it turned out Genesis I is in nearly perfect working order, an amazing achievement unto itself. Bigelow is not resting on his laurels, though. A second Genesis II is set to launch later this fall.
Space Pragmatism wishes everyone at Bigelow Aerospace all the best in their future launches.
Ad Astra per Ardua
References:
http://www.mengr.tamu.edu/people/facultyinfo.asp?LastName=schneider
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/station/transhab/
http://www.bookrags.com/sciences/astronomy/transhab-spsc-04.html
http://www.newmars.com/wiki/index.php/Inflatable_spacecraft
http://www.bigelowaerospace.com/multiverse/
http://www.nidsci.org/bios/bigelow.php
http://www.nidsci.org/
The Story of the Genesis I begins at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas in 1997.
Dr. William Schneider joined NASA in 1962 and went on to work as an Aerospace Engineer working on flight components for Apollo. He moved through different divisions at JSC until he was made Senior Engineer for Space Systems and Assistant Director for Engineering. In 1997 he created the basic architecture for the Transit Habitat or TransHab for short.
TransHab was designed to transport six astronauts on an interplanetary trip, such as a Mars mission. It was then chosen as a possible habitation module for the International Space Station in order to prove the concept.
A team of engineers, architects, and human factors experts at the Johnson Space Center developed the best size and layout for the spacecraft. TransHab was the first space habitat with a endoskeleton. It consisted of a dual system: a light, reconfigurable central structure and a deployable pressure shell. In order to deal with the riggers of space, the shell was made of several layers, each with its own specific purpose.
The layers allowed the TransHab, when inflated, to withstand up to 4 atmospheres, or 54 PSI, of pressure differential between interior and exterior. The shell also provides insulation from temperatures in space that can range from plus 121 degrees Celsius, or 250 degrees Fahrenheit, in the Sun to -128 degrees Celsius, or -200 degrees Fahrenheit, on the dark side. All this, while allowing 13,000 ft3 to fit a launch configuration of 14 ft in diameter. A standard exoskeleton would have a diameter of roughly 27 feet.
All these benefits made TransHab a potential miracle to NASA's Mars Design Reference Mission (DRM), as the crew habitat for the journey between planets. The plan was to launch the TransHab in a space shuttle bay, deflated, and packaged tight; once in orbit it can be unfolded, inflated, and deployed.
However, as Congress is apt to do in a budget crunch, TransHab was canceled in 2000. This is not the end of the story, but the beginning.
Robert Bigelow graduated from Arizona State University with a BS in Business Administration. He went out into the world and put his degree to good use. Budget Suites of America, founded by Mr. Bigelow and Bigelow Management Inc, is a multimillion dollar hotel chain in Nevada, Arizona, and Texas with it’s headquarters in Las Vegas.
Needless to say after this success, Mr. Bigelow was not hurting for money. It is at this point in their life, a person’s hobbies can become much more. Robert Bigelow started the National Institute for Discovery Science in 1995 in Las Vegas. Its mission was to engage in research of aerial phenomena, animal mutilations, and other related anomalous phenomena. However, research was halted in 2004 due to a lack of investigative work.
All the while, Mr. Bigelow started Bigelow Aerospace in 1999. His goal was to put ordinary people into space. When he heard the TransHab project was cancelled, he tracked down Dr. Schneider, who was now a Professor at Texas A&M University. Bigelow bought the exclusive development rights from NASA and entered into a Space Act Agreement with the agency to allow him to work with former TransHab engineers still employed there. To this day, TransHab engineers come to Bigelow’s plant and help to make this dream a reality.
This was no pet project for Robert Bigelow. Between 2002 and 2006 he invested $75 million dollars with a promise of up to $500 million. His goal was nothing short of a private Space Station orbiting the Earth. While this may have seemed “pie in the sky” a few years ago, Mr. Bigelow and his engineers were not deterred.
After the flights of SpaceShipOne and the now famous X-Prize, Bigelow launched his own prize, The American Space Prize. Mr. Bigelow put up $50 million of his own money to anyone who could launch five people to his station and bring them back safely by 2010. A tall order, to be sure, but we will see if it is doable.
Regardless of whether anyone could win this prize, Mr. Bigelow continued with his development of 1/3 scale model test modules to be launched in 2006. After rocket scheduling problems and the ever present ITAR paperwork, the date was set to launch on the ISC Kosmotras Dnepr on June 16, 2006.
As will most rocket launches this one was delayed. The new window was July 4 – July 14, 2006 and this time, nothing would stop Bigelow Aerospace. On July 13, 2006 the Dnepr Rocket lifted off with Genesis I securely attached.
Separation from the rocket was confirmed 14 minutes after launch. But communications from the craft would have to wait. SpaceQuest, of Arlington, VA, was contracted by Bigelow Aerospace to handle the initial communications. As the hour that link-up with Genesis I approached a power outage in Arlington, VA caused some amount of panic. Engineers literally ran an extension cord across the highway to a restaurant with power just in time to get the first hello world from Genesis I.
As it turned out Genesis I is in nearly perfect working order, an amazing achievement unto itself. Bigelow is not resting on his laurels, though. A second Genesis II is set to launch later this fall.
Space Pragmatism wishes everyone at Bigelow Aerospace all the best in their future launches.
Ad Astra per Ardua
References:
http://www.mengr.tamu.edu/people/facultyinfo.asp?LastName=schneider
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/station/transhab/
http://www.bookrags.com/sciences/astronomy/transhab-spsc-04.html
http://www.newmars.com/wiki/index.php/Inflatable_spacecraft
http://www.bigelowaerospace.com/multiverse/
http://www.nidsci.org/bios/bigelow.php
http://www.nidsci.org/
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
What is a Humanitarian?
Interesting take on what the word humanitarian means by Jonathan McGlumphy at Virginia Tech:
It is also of interest to compare Mr. Bezos to Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Both are clearly men of strong minds, as evidenced by their respective fortunes made in the technologies sector. The difference lies in how each has chosen to divest the large sums of money they have made. Mr. Gates has stepped down from a lead role in Microsoft to devote time to his charitable foundation that disburses substantial amounts of funds towards fighting AIDS and poverty in third-world nations — an endeavor that serves only select individuals.
Mr. Bezos, on the other hand, had chosen to invest his resources in an area that will ultimately benefit all of humanity. It is true that not everyone will reap the immediate benefits, but consider that it took decades for most of the world to have the wonderful inventions of electrical generation, motive power (be it steam or hydrocarbon), and telecommunications. Imagine where we would be if the financial backers of the Edisons, Bells, Watts, Ottos and Diesels of the world had chosen to give their money to the poor rather than the aforementioned pioneers of technology.
The greatest irony is that our society labels men like Gates as great humanitarians, but gives slanderous labels such as “greedy capitalist” to men like Bezos. Yet it is the Bezos of the world, along with the men of minds they finance, who will push humanity as a whole forward. As such, we should celebrate the triumphs of free minds and free markets over the altruism of those who would leave humanity in a position of stagnation.
Genesis I Dnepr Rocket Launch
The actual pictures of the Dnepr launch of the Genesis I Module are up on Bigelow Aerospace's website.
Book Signing of Von Neumann's War
If you live in the Huntsville area, this sounds like fun.
Travis Taylor and John Ringo (New York Times Best Selling author) will be signing their new science fiction book Von Neumann's War at BookMark, 7500 S Memorial Parkway, Suite 133, Huntsville, AL, 881-3910 on August 5 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. One attendee will win a dinner with the authors. Please come out and support one of our local authors.
Dateline July 26, 2006: Space News from the Internet
- Jeff Foust writes about how to reform NASA in Seed Magazine.
- By changing some alloys and packing it down, NASA has shrunk the CEV with losing capacity.
- Blue Origin, the company started by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, is building a suborbital spaceport on his ranch is western Texas. Everything looks good so far.
- So Titan does have hydrocarbon lakes. I thought so.
- Sex in Space?
- The Air Venture museum has cloned SpaceShipOne.
- Alan Boyle has a write up on the state of COTS.
Bigelow "Fly Your Stuff" Program is Open for Business
Bigelow Aerospace opened the "Fly Your Stuff" program yesterday. If you have any stuff you want to fly on Genesis II, they are launching later this year. Here are photos of stuff Bigelow employees flew on Genesis I.
Employees Stuff
Interior Photos of Genesis I by Bigelow
More photos released by Bigelow Aerospace. These are much higher quality. There is also what is described as a "magnetic experiment" inside a bode with Mexican jumping beans. Bigelow reports that the fly your stuff photos will be even higher quality than these.
Photo of the "Magnetic Experiment"
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Dateline July 20, 2006: Space News from the Internet
- Today is Apollo Day number 37 and the anniversary of the first Viking probe on Mars.
- China is planning deep space robotic exploration in the next five years. They are shooting for the Sun in 2012.
- SpaceX problem was with an aluminum nut on the fuel line.
- Astrobiology.net is up and running.
- For all of you (like me) who can't be in Vegas, the New Space Conference is going on as we speak.
- Integrated Powerhead Demonstration, or IPD has reached mainstage.
- Buzz Aldrin says we should reach the moon.
- What's going on a the Haughton-Mars Project Research Station.
(Thanks to Curmudgeons Corner, NASA Watch, SpaceToday, & SpaceRef)
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Spaceport America
Gene Grant has an article in the Albuquerque Tribune on the new name for
New Mexico's coming spacport, Spaceport America. I think he hits a lot of
the right ideas.
I think they are already born and they are the reason this is
happening.
New Mexico's coming spacport, Spaceport America. I think he hits a lot of
the right ideas.
I love the symmetry of those Monday events, and I'm getting warm on this spaceport idea.
Cape Canaveral vs. Las Cruces. Shuttle missions vs. private rocket trips. Dreadnoughts vs. sloops. Sounds like a fair fight to me.
...
Florida has a creaky, bloated, politicized infrastructure that is in the
business of continuing a mission laid in its lap more than 40 years ago. We have a bunch of sand, new millennium partners and an attitude.
Ever watch "This Week at NASA" on cable? Not exactly the X Games. Interesting, yes, but only in the sense of doing what it can to maintain what is already in place. If the news of the shuttle landing safely Monday didn't exactly blip on your personal radar, you're in good company.
There's going to be a certain cut of kid who will be attracted to the mission of NASA and the security of a government-funded gig. But my guess is there's a another kind of kid, perhaps yet unborn, who will find the idea of solving the technical problems of private spaceflight in the middle of a far-flung renegade state much more appealing.
Call them the Pirates of the White Sands. I don't know about you, but I want those
kids here.
I think they are already born and they are the reason this is
happening.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Dateline July 18, 2006: Space News from the Internet
- NASA has a GeneBox experiment on Genesis I to test the effects of weightlessness on cells.
- Space Cynic doesn't think NASA buying seats on a rocket is a good idea.
- Chairforce Engineer has an alternative to the current Ares I return to the Moon plan.
- NASA is kicking up the Atlantis Flight for August.
- New Mexico has named it's spaceport SpacePort America.
- A Video on using space as advertising.
- NPR report on Bigelow's Genesis I.
- A report on the seemingly invincible Spirit and Opportunity.
- Virgin Galactic plans to fly passengers by 2008.
(Thanks to RLVNews.com, Curmudgeons Corner, Comm Space Watch, NASA Spaceflight, Pulsar, Space.com, & Space Today)
Bigelow Video Clips of Genesis I
Bigelow Aerospace has two video clips of the Genesis I module. Kind'a like a washing machine.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Dateline July 17, 2006: Space News from the Internet
The Space Review is out:
- Actually, we need more successful failures
- US-China space cooperation: the Congressional view
- Genesis and the future space hotel
- Review: two views of the first man
- Transferring TransHab to Bigelow may be the best thing NASA has done in a long time.
- Discovery has landed in Florida.
- Virtual view of the Moon.
- UA is setting up their first launch from New Mexico for September.
Friday, July 14, 2006
The Inside Story of Genesis
Bigelow Aerospace has published a piece on it's web site on the history of the Genesis I test module by Steve Pellegrino & Chris Reed. I have communicated with Chris and he seems like a good guy.
I liked some of the humanity of the story. As SpaceQuest engineers in Virginia were about to receive data from the module, they lost power due to a storm.
I liked some of the humanity of the story. As SpaceQuest engineers in Virginia were about to receive data from the module, they lost power due to a storm.
Desperate for power, they got all the extension cords they could find and went across the street to ask for help. The restaurant owner agreed to help and SpaceQuest had power."They ran the cords across the road to get power from the restaurant," Bigelow said. "Cars were driving across the cord as it powered their computers and receivers."
Blogroll Addition
At the request of Matt Scott, the editor, I have added the Beginner's Guide to
Astronomy to the blog roll. Check it out.
Astronomy to the blog roll. Check it out.
More on Genesis I Photos
From Spaceflight Now:
So the cameras are working moderately well.
Can't wait.
Bigelow said the cameras positioned outside the module have been affected by poor resolution due to glare and other phenomena. The team is still looking to see the Genesis 1 name on the outer hull of the craft, and a few colors have been off, according to Bigelow.
Despite these minor issues, Bigelow seemed thrilled with the performance of the cameras as he explained details in each image. One clearly showed stars and another had a strange comet-like feature near the edge of the photo, Bigelow said.
So the cameras are working moderately well.
Much of the communication so far between Las Vegas-based ground control and Genesis 1 has been through UHF and VHF radio systems, which are primarily used
to relay telemetry data.
The S-band communications system allows the spacecraft to beam back data and images more rapidly than UHF or VHF. Once a good connection is made, images should flood into Bigelow's mission control room. When this occurs, a page on the company's web site will begin to refresh daily with new photos from the orbiting module.
Can't wait.
Even More Bigelow Aerospace News
More Genesis I news:
http://cbs2.com/kent_blog/local_blogentry_195103441.html
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060714.gtinflatejuly14/BNStory/Technology/home
http://internationalreporter.com/news/read.php?id=1873
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0607/14bigelow/
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/14/eng20060714_283114.html
http://cbs2.com/kent_blog/local_blogentry_195103441.html
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060714.gtinflatejuly14/BNStory/Technology/home
http://internationalreporter.com/news/read.php?id=1873
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0607/14bigelow/
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/14/eng20060714_283114.html
Dateline July 14, 2006: Space News from the Internet
- The August issue of Pop Sci is out with a story on Spaceplanes from Rocketplane and an article on Armadillo.
- The Senate added $1 Billion to NASA's budget for 2007 to help fix the Shuttle.
- Astronauts say they are ready to continue building the ISS.
- An update on Genesis I by Leonard David.
- Congratulations from the Space Frontier Foundation to Bigelow Aerospace on the Genesis I
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Bigelow Aerospace Genesis Update July 13
Bigelow has posted an update on the Genesis module.
July 13, 2006
Genesis I Mission Update4:30 PDT
All Systems are operating within expected parameters. Temperature, avionics, solar arrays and battery power all remain positive. All of our initial orbits have had direct sunlight, which has helped in charging the main battery to maximum capacity.Pressure onboard the spacecraft has remained constant at 7.5 pounds per square inch (PSI).
We have had multiple contacts with the ship, and received several data streams. While most of these current communication streams are dedicated to command and control of the spacecraft, we have downloaded several small images from the onboard cameras and hope to get more as more bandwidth in the data stream becomes available.
- Robert T. Bigelow
Also, Alan Boyle has a blog entry on Genesis I at MSNBC.com.
More Bigelow Aerospace News
Here is a roundup of what I have so far from around the world:
- http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060710/full/060710-10.html
- http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/blow-me-up-scotty-new-space-age/2006/07/13/1152637810771.html
- http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Inflatable+spacecraft+launches+from+Russia&id=90126
- http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/feeds/ap/2006/07/12/ap2874851.html
- http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn9546-inflatable-spacecraft-blows-itself-up.html
- http://www.playfuls.com/news_001581_New_Genesis_in_Space_for_Human_Kind.html
- http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=55668&rubrik1=Science&rubrik2=Engineering&rubrik3=Air%20and%20Space%20Travel&sort=1&start=1
- http://reports.discoverychannel.ca/servlet/an/discovery/1/20060712/060712_discovery/20060712?hub=DiscoveryReport
More as I get it.
Video Interview and Tracking on Bigelow's Genesis
Channel 8 news in Las Vegas has an interview with Robert Bigelow online.
You can also track the Genesis I here. (Use the Hybrid button for best results.)
[update: Channel 3 also have a video interview.]
(Thanks to RLV and Space Transport News.)
You can also track the Genesis I here. (Use the Hybrid button for best results.)
[update: Channel 3 also have a video interview.]
(Thanks to RLV and Space Transport News.)
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Bigelow Genesis Inflation and Comms are Good
According to Bigelow Aerospace, the Genesis I test module is communicating with the ground. It also finished expanding at 5:20 PST (7:20 CST). It is sitting at an altitude of about 334 miles. Everything looks good so far. I am waiting on the pictures with baited breath:
Genesis I Mission Update5:20 PST
Bigelow Aerospace has received confirmation from the Genesis I spacecraft that it has successfully expanded.We have also confirmed that all of the solar arrays have been deployed.
4:15 PST
Bigelow Aerospace mission control has begun to acquire information from the Genesis I spacecraft. The ISC Kosmotras Dnepr rocket has flawlessly delivered the Genesis I into the target orbit of 550km altitude at 64 degrees inclination. The internal battery is reporting a full charge of 26 volts, which leads us to believe that the solar arrays have deployed.The internal temperature of the spacecraft is reported to be 26 degrees Celsius and we have acquired the spacecraft's Global Positioning System (GPS) signal that will enable us to track the ship in flight.
We have initiated communication with the ship's onboard computers and expect to download more information over the next few hours.
- Robert T. Bigelow
Bigelow Has Launched
Bigelow Aerospace has launched the Genesis-1 test module into orbit. Here is more information.
http://www.bigelowaerospace.com/
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/060712_genesis-1_launch.html
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13828908/
http://www.hobbyspace.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=1897
http://www.hobbyspace.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=1893
http://www.spacetoday.net/
Seems like all is going well. I hope they post some photos from orbit when they are ready.
Sorry I haven't been posting, I am swamped in a refactoring effort at work and trying to get the Software Architecture out. Hopefully back to daily news next week. -djs
http://www.bigelowaerospace.com/
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/060712_genesis-1_launch.html
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13828908/
http://www.hobbyspace.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=1897
http://www.hobbyspace.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=1893
http://www.spacetoday.net/
Seems like all is going well. I hope they post some photos from orbit when they are ready.
Sorry I haven't been posting, I am swamped in a refactoring effort at work and trying to get the Software Architecture out. Hopefully back to daily news next week. -djs