Dateline November 29, 2006: Space News from the Internet

• Scientists are working on Liquid Mirror telescopes and other possible lunar observatories.
• In the next week, Blue Origin will have another test launch. Good Luck!
• New Horizon's has it's first image of Pluto.
• NASA will release their lunar architecture next week.
• Shuttle Launch STS 116 should be next week.

Dateline November 28, 2006: Space News from the Internet

• Varied space associations are calling on funding for the Centennial Challenges for 2007.
• Space Colonists will need to be handy.
• Some research going on the space station
• China is jumping on the space tourism bandwagon.
• NASA is trying out different robot designs.

Dateline November 20, 2006: Space News from the Internet

• The Air Force is working on an orbital test bed ship called the X-37B. It will be used to send equipment into orbit to test its reaction to space.
• The Russians are about to smack a golf ball off the ISS.
• The Space Review is out:
  
  • Will Congressman James Oberstar (D-MN), destroy the coming space tourism industry now that he is likely the chairman of the Transportation Committee? He will try, I imagine.
  • Lies of the Cold War
  • The history of the Space Shuttle and national intelligence.
  • Satellite policy that was left out of the National Space Policy.
  • Review of The Rock from Mars.
  
  
• NASA response to the rumors that the Ares I would lift enough mass.

  Hanley said in an interview he normally does not respond so directly to what he characterized as misinformation that appears in “the pseudo media—blogs and so forth.

  Don't you just love NASA. Apparently it is in the same thrust category as the Saturn V 3rd stage. However, if I am not mistaken the Orion is heavier than the Apollo module, is it not?

  “If you held [Lockheed Martin's] feet to the fire and asked them what is their no-kidding projected mass, it would be something on the order of 15-20 percent lower than 48,500 pounds (21,825 kilograms),” he said. “They have plenty of margin.”

  I would like to get ahold of his crystal ball if that turns out to be true.
• China may be building space weapons.
• Jon Goff talks about dry launch.
• A view on the first time to the Wirefly X-Prize Cup.
• Armadillo may switch to Methane.
• Alternatives to the Ares I & V.
• A European game show may send a winner to the ISS for 9 days.

Dateline November 17, 2006: Space News from the Internet

• NASA has finished a review of all the Orion spacecraft and there respective launchers, the Ares I & V.
• Let me just say for fans of Serenity, this is too cool. (The Notes of a Fridge are awesome).
• Information on the test firing of the Shuttle SRB by ATK.
• Masten-Space Systems progress, thus far.
• Star Chasers test firing is being put off.
• More on the Blue Origin. The Van Horn Advocate has the story (big shock).

Dateline November 15, 2006: Space News from the Internet

• This has nothing to do with space, but it is funny and good advice. Marine Corps rules for Gun Fighting.
• NASA is releasing the national strategy for Lunar Exploration next month. They are planning on "sorties" of between 3 & 6 days with 14 days as the maximum.
• ESA is launching the COROT satellite to search for extra-solar planets
• Information on DARPA's Falcon program (not to be confused with SpaceX's Falcon I rocket)
• StarChaser is test firing their rocket.
• More on Blue Origin's rocket firing earlier this week.

Dateline November 14, 2006: Space News from the Internet

• NASA says the Ares I has plenty of power.
• Apparently space companies are outperforming the S&P 500.
• SpaceDev's earnings for the 3rd quarter are out.
• The moon may have useful localized magnetic fields.

Blue Origin Rocket Test

Blue Origin fired a rocket test fire this morning, but you didn't hear it from me :) They will apparently release a statement later this week (likely through the Van Horn Advocate, the unlikely media center of all things Blue Origin.)

Dateline November 13, 2006: Space News from the Internet

Prelims are almost over, my life is calming down. Sorry about the lapse this fall, but you get what you pay for ;-)

• The Ares I may be underpowered.
• Space Review is out. Space Weapons, National Space Policy, A Liberal magazine's view on space exploration, SDI, and A Book Review on Astrobiology and Society.
• Michael Belfiore will be on the Space Show tommorrow night (11/14/2006).
• Russia is having a fit over our latest space policy.
• Global Surveyor has lost contact after 10 years.
• Virgin Galactic is detailing some of the aspects of a suborbital vacation.
• Another announcement from Bigelow Aerospace and Lockheed Martin is coming...

Dateline October 24, 2006: Space News from the Internet

• More reasons I quite the planetary society and will never rejoin. Louis Friedman is a nut.
• The decision on repairing Hubble is coming soon.
• Progress is on its way to the ISS.
• Brad Edwards take on the Space Elevator challenge.
• Johm Carmack's report of the X-Prize Cup
• Blue Origin got an FAA waiver for a short flight.
• Mark Whittington has a column in the Washington Post on commercial space.
• My representative Bud Cramer, thinks the monopoly concerns on the ULA are misplaced. I think he is an old b**tard that should be replaced. I just wish someone would run against him.

Dateline October 23, 2006: Space News from the Internet

• The Space Elevator Games opened at the X-Prize Cup yesterday. U of Saskatchewan came 2 seconds away from winning!
• Review of the X-Prize Cup. Here is some more. And some more. Apparently, about 20,000 people showed up.
• X Racer is called the Thunderhawk.
• And check out the rest of today's space review.

Dateline October 11, 2006: Space News from the Internet

• Alan Boyle discusses NASA's lunar lander competition
• Northrop Grumman is helping NASA to sponsor the Lunar Lander Challenge.
  
• Wirefly is the new sponsor of the Wirefly X-Prize Cup. Here is PR video on Google.
  
• Globalstar is launching 2nd generation communications satellites.
• ATK is building a "responsive" vehicle for the military.
• More comments on the new Space Policy.
• More comments on the ULA merger between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
• A study on alternatives to the Ares I/V launchers. Clark Lindsey comments.
• Here is an (unofficial) launch schedule for the Shuttle through 2010. Hubble is April 17, 2008. And they plan 5 launches next year. Yeah, I see that happening.
• Everything in our solar system could be made of the same stuff.
• Mars Global Surveyor is tracking dust devils. (Just in time for Halloween).
• A Panel on robots vs humans in space came up with (gasp!) shocking conclusion that we need both. Duh!
• I think Mr. Herbert must have a boring existence if the only pictures that excite him are Wal-marts and McDonald's.

  The first color pictures sent back from the red planet tell me that Mars today is full of rocky craters and at least Saraha-like orange-hued sand dunes. No signs of a Wal-Mart or any golden arches, though. NASA scientists are reported to be overjoyed by the photos, from a robot they launched almost three years ago.

Dateline October 10, 2006: Space News from the Internet

New Space News

• Bigelow is selling advertising on the Genesis II, due to launch early next year.
• John Goff has some thoughts on space tugs and cryo fuels in space.

NASA News

• NASA is planning the first flight test of the Ares I in 2009.
• NASA is developing two versions of the J-2X engine.
• It looks like NASA is doing studies of what would make them more exciting to the public. About time if you ask me. Of course they could save the trouble and actually do some stuff. Clark has some thoughts as well.
• I got to agree with Mike Griffin on the ISS, much as I would like to chunk it into the Sun.

International Space News

• Russia is working on a space tug, Parom.

Astronomy News

• Hubble has (indirectly) shown that planets do in fact form from discs (well maybe...)
• Black hole jets appear to be made of protons and electrons. The jets observed by Swift contain about the mass of Jupiter if it were pulverized and blasted out into intergalactic space. (cool, huh?)
• "Space Scientists" never seize to amaze me. Now they are complaining about our new space policy being unilateral. Its our space policy, we can't plan the rest of the world.

Dateline October 9, 2006: Space News from the Internet

• Hobby Space sums up an article in Aviation Week describing each of the COTS winners plans for the future.
• A "Big announcement" is coming out sometime today about the X Prize Cup coming up in a few weeks. Stay tuned!
• NASA is now allowed to do night launches. That gives them a larger window to get the rest of the ISS built and fix Hubble.
• An article on spaceflight out of Mojave.
• The Space Review is up:
  
  • Space sports and space power
  • Dealing with risk
  • Homesteading the solar system: location, location, location
  • Mars: open for business?
  
  
• Fact checking is a problem in Utah. J Baxter seems to think the problem with space launches is propulsion technology. Even if the fuel was free, the cost wouldn't go down much. Check this out from Hobby Space. Also, Virgin Galactic is charging $200,000 not $500,000.

Why I Want to go to Space

To see stuff like this up close:



[Zoom In]


This is the HiRISE image of the Victoria Crater the Mars Rover Opportunity drove through. Go here for more information.

Dateline October 6, 2006: Space News from the Internet

• Garden's for the Moon & Mars
• A nuclear battery that could be used for space.
• Some thoughts on Lockheed Martin's newspace rumblings with Bigelow Aerospace. Mark Whittingham's thoughts as well.
• Truth or Consequences is growing, in part due to the Spaceport.
• The X-Prize Cup is in two weeks.

Battlestar Galactica is back

The single greatest show on television (since Firefly went off the air) is returning for Season 3 Friday night. Get your popcorn & mountain dew ready.

If you haven't ever seen it, The Story so Far.
If you haven't seen the 9 webisodes between Season 2 and Season 3, take a look.

BTW: I am a colonial. Try your luck with the Quiz.


And Boomer/Sharon is a hottie.

Dateline October 5, 2006: Space News from the Internet

• NASA has modified the contractt with ATK Thiokol for the Ares I first stage. The extension goes through Dec 31, 2006 and adds $35 million making the total value of the contract $63 million.
• Even the Washington Post thinks the ULA is a bad idea. The FTC is now intervening the formation of the ULA. They are requiring ULA to do the following:

  
  (1) ULA must cooperate on equivalent terms with all providers of government space vehicles;
  (2) Boeing and Lockheed's space vehicle businesses must provide equal consideration and support to all launch services providers when seeking any U.S. government delivery in orbit contract; and
  (3) Boeing, Lockheed, and ULA must safeguard competitively sensitive information obtained from other space vehicle and launch services providers.



• Michael Belfiore has the cover of his book on private space business leaders out.
• A new class of planets orbit their sun in hours rather than years.
• The shuttle has a ding. Better not tell Dad ;)
• Scientists are looking for other habitable universes (subscription)
• Burt Rutan is one of Popular Mechanic's breakthrough leaders.
• The Register thinks space tourism will help NASA with the public.

Dateline October 4, 2006: Space News from the Internet

• NASA has extended the Space Elivator Challenge to 5 years.
• Alan Boyle has a post on the state of private spaceflight two years after the X-Prize was won.
• Neiman Marcus is selling Virgin Galactic seats.
• 2/3 of Americans polled support NASA's plan to go to the Moon.

Dateline October 3, 2006: Space News from the Internet

• The Lunar Surface Module will be called Artemis. I wish NASA would put out as much new hardware as it does new names.
• A new survey on space tourism from Spaceport Associates and Incredible Adventures shows. Apparently, $25,000 for suborbital and $500,000 for orbital is the sweet spot as 2/3 of respondents would go at that price.
• Apparently the FTC has cleared the Boeing Lockheed Martin joint venture, ULA. Help us Jesus. Jeff Foust discusses.
• A launch ring. Very Heinleinian.
• The Ares I recovery systems seem to be working.
• An overview of the three Centennial Challenges taking place at or around the X-Prize Cup this year.
• SpaceDev won a contract to work on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Dateline October 2, 2006: Space News from the Internet

[Editor - Sorry I have been out of action. I have a lot more stuff on me than I used to and it has taken some time to get schedule set so I could get everything done. Should be find now -djs]

• NASA is checking out possible commercial uses for the shuttle landing landing strip at Kennedy an performing an environmental assessment of such activities.
• Jim Benson, of SpaceDev fame, has stepped down as the chairman and CTO to found a new human spaceflight company, Benson Space Company (BSC). BSC plans to buy the Dream Chaser(TM) ship from SpaceDev and be on of its largest customers. More from Space.com.
• Rocketplane Kistler is setting up an alliance with Andrews Space to support COTS.
• In the space review: A look at the interior of SpaceShipTwo, History if Science Fiction, The importance of suborbital in getting a RLV, and a review of Einstein's Jury.
• More photos of SpaceShipTwo's interior. Michael Belfiore has more still.
• Apparently, Neil Armstrong did say "One small step for a man..."
• UP Aerospace's first rocket was found in the New Mexico desert. The failed launch went up 40,000 feet and went off course last Monday.
• NASA's planned launch schedule may be too much. (You think?)
• A short run-down of what is happening in new space the rest of the year along with two articles on the coming new space industry 1 & 2.
• Some guy has traded in 2 million Virgin Atlantic miles to get a ride on SpaceShipTwo.