Falcon 1 is Operational

SpaceX has declared the Falcon 1 operational and ready for missions. This comes after analysis of the Demo Flight 2 last week.

US Military wants Space Based Interceptors

The US Military has asked congress for $10 million to study the use of space based interceptors to augment the missile defense program.

Lieutenant General Trey Obering, head of the MDA, told the House Armed Services Committee
missile defense "could be greatly enhanced" by adding space-based interceptors.

Rocketplane/Kistler to Asymbel COTS Vechicle in New Orleans

Rocketplane Kistler, Inc. has a Space Act Agreement (SAA) with Marshall Space Flight Center to use the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, LA for the assembly of the K-1 Space Transportation System.

There are Plenty of Twin-Star Systems

The NASA Spitzer Telescope has discovered that twin-star systems, including dusty disks of asteroids, comets and possibly planets, are as numerous as normal one star systems.

It has been know that planets could form around wide binary stars, 1000 AUs apart, but this new study shows stars that are between 0 and 500 AUs seem to have no problem forming planetary disks.

FAA to Issue Experimental Permit Regulations

The FAA is expected to issue "experimental permits regulations" in the next few weeks. The permits are designed to allow private space companies to test their rockets in anticipation of providing tourists services to the general public in the next few years.

The regulations are not expected to be very strict, allowing the infant industry to test and experiment as much as they need to. However, tourists will not be allowed on the test flights.

China's Lunar Probe to Complete Four Missions

China's first Lunar probe "Chang'e 1" has a plan to complete four missions.

Chang'e 1's first mission is to obtain 3D images of the lunar surface. Its second task is to analyze the distribution of 14 useful elements and materials below the lunar surface. The third job of the lunar probe is to assess the thickness of the lunar soil and reserves of helium-3 resources. The fourth task is to explore the space environment 400,000 kilometers away from the moon, obtain data about solar winds, and study the impact of solar activity on the space environment between the earth and the moon.

China and Russia to Explore Mars

China and Russia are getting together to send a probe to Mars and one of it's moons in 2009.

NASA Multi-program Schedule

This schedule (pdf) includes milestones for the Space Shuttle, Soyuz, Progress, ATV, HTV, COTS (including Rocketplane/Kistler and SpaceX), Ares 1, and Orion flights between 2007 and 2015. Interesting stuff.

Virgin Galactic and NASA to work on Hypersonic Plane

Virgin Galactic and NASA worked out an agreement to work on a hypersonic plane that can go as fast as Mach 5, making a trip from New York to LA about 45 minutes.

India Begins Assembly of Moon Probe

Assembly of the Chandrayaan-I craft, India's first unmanned mission to the moon, has begun. The probe is scheduled to launch in spring 2008.

SpaceDev Wins Operationally Responsive Space Payload Development Contract

SpaceDev was awarded the an Operationally Responsive Space Payload Development contract from the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). The contract is for Combined Optical, Radio, Radar Instrument (CORRI), designed for a small satellite payload application.

SpaceDev Earnings Report

SpaceDev has set the date for their earning report conference call to April 4, 2007.

SpaceDev, Inc. (OTC BB:SPDV.OB - News) will host a conference call to discuss its 2006 financial results on Wednesday, April 4, 2007, at 1:00 p.m. EDT. The Company expects to file its annual report on Form 10-KSB with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, April 2, 2007 and issue a related press release on its financial results on Tuesday, April 3, 2007.

SpaceX Falcon 1 and Dragon Update

Elon has posted a new update on the Falcon 1 Demo flight.

Flight Global has more on the Dragon capsule.

Astronomers Find Four New Planets

Three new gas giants and one Neptune size (that's a first.) This brings the total count to 204.

NASA is Testing Inflatable Structures for the Moon

Wonder where they got this idea?

Sharper Image to Sell Zero-G Flights

Sharper Image has signed an agreement with Zero-G to sell tickets to public flights. Zero-G is the only FAA approved public supplier of "weightless" flights.

[update 12:07 pm CST: Had the wrong link. Fixed now -djs]

Boeing to Bid on the CLV Upper Stage

Boeing is leading a team hopping to build the upper stage for the CLV.

Genesis II is off to Russia

From Bigelow Aerospace:

Las Vegas, NV 03/27/07 – Bigelow Aerospace announces its second pathfinder space complex module Genesis II has been shipped to a launch site in Russia and is expected to be lofted into orbit in mid-April.

Genesis II will be enclosed in a payload shroud and put atop a Dnepr rocket at the ISC Kosmotras Space and Missile Complex near Yasny, Russia for a launch window that begins on April 19.

If it successfully reaches orbit, Genesis II will mark the second test flight for a Bigelow Aerospace module following the successful start to the Genesis I mission last July. It is not meant for habitation and will launch into an orbit separate from Genesis I.

The outside appearance and size of the new module will be identical to Genesis I — approximately 15 feet (4.4 meters) in length and 6.2 feet (1.9 meters) in diameter, expanding to 2.54 meters (eight feet) in diameter once in orbit. It is a one-third scale version of the manned commercial space modules Bigelow Aerospace hopes to launch in the future.

Unlike the company’s previous spacecraft, Genesis II will feature several systems and materials not flown on Genesis I. This includes upgrades to vehicle control and sensors, a multi-tank inflation system for the module’s expansion and additional layers to the module’s outer shielding. There will also be a total of 22 combined interior and exterior cameras on Genesis II that include articulated and wireless cameras, as well as an exterior projection system to allow the display of images on the main body of the vehicle.

Genesis II features items and pictures sent up by paying customers are part of the “Fly Your Stuff” program. The photos and items will be photographed and displayed on the Bigelow Aerospace Website at www.bigelowaerospace.com.Public participation will also include the first-ever “Space Bingo” game, as well as the Biobox life sciences experiment featuring colonies of ants, scorpions and cockroaches.

The public is invited to follow the preparations for the start of the Genesis II mission through an ongoing blog by company counsel Mike Gold on the Bigelow Aerospace Website at www.bigelowaerospace.com.

Posts From Yasny Launch Base

From Bigelow Aerospace:

A team from Bigelow Aerospace has arrived at the ISC Kosmotras Space and Missile Complex near Yasny, Russia in preparation for the launch. To keep everyone up to date on the lead-up to liftoff, Bigelow Aerospace counsel Mike Gold is writing a series of posts from Yasny describing what is hoped to be the beginning of our next great adventure.

Virgin Galactic and New Mexico Reach Pact

New Mexico and Virgin Galactic have reached a pact on the use of Spaceport America. Virgin Galactic will pay $27.5 million over 20 years to lease launch facilities in southern New Mexico. New Mexico hopes to fund the spaceport with a property tax increase in Dona Ana County, the location of Spaceport America.