Carnival of Space #18

Ken Murphy is hosting this week's Carnival
of Space at:

http://www.outofthecradle.net/archives/2007/08/carnival-of-space-18/

Tether Challenge Teams

Twenty teams are going to try their hand at Beam Power Challenge and Tether Challenge on October 19-21.

Beoing Wins Ares 1 Contract

Boeing has won the contract to design and build the upper stage of the Ares 1 rocket. The contract is valued at $1.8 Billion. I should bring hundreds of jobs to Huntsville, AL.

Beoing

Virgin Galactic Business Not Affected by Accident

The Scaled Composites explosion has had no effect on Virgin Galactic's business. According to Whil Whithorn, four new people have signed up for a suborbital flight. Accidents are tragic, but they are going to happen and it is good to know the dream will continue despite them.

Rovers Keep on Roving

The Mars Rovers, Opportunity and Spirit, have weathered a dust storm and are moving again. I wish my DVD player was that resilient.

Burt Rutan Speaks at Alabama

Jeff Foust has a summary of Burt Rutan's speech at the University of Alabama last Saturday.

XPrize Cup is Coming with Nine Teams

Nine teams are gearing up to compete for $2 million in the Lunar Lander Challenge at this years XPrize Cup. The cup will be held Oct. 27-28, at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, N.M.

SpaceDev Receives Contract for Lunar Lander

SpaceDev has received a contract to prototype a lunar lander vehicle for the International Lunar Observatory Association.

SpaceX to Hire 150-200 More People

SpaceX plans to hire 150 to 200 more people by the end 2008, bringing their total workforce to 600. This is after Elon Musk reported that SpaceX would be cash flow positive this year.

Carnival of Space #17

Emily Lakdawalla is hosting this week's
Carnival of Space at:

http://planetary.org/blog/article/00001103/

SpaceX Update

SpaceX has a new update. Main points are:

• They have hired 350 more people to support COTS
• All COTS material has been provided to NASA
• Cash Flow Positive in 2007
• Moved Falcon 1 to Merlin 1C engine
• Photos of the Falcon 9 Tank are up
• Falcon 9 Tank delivered to Texas to begin stationary testing on a stand
• Falcon 9 will launch from Launch Complex 40in Cape Canaveral, as well as Vandenberg and Kwajalein
• Falcon 9 demo in 2008 (6 flights on the launch manifest including 3 COTS Demos)
• New building in Hawthorne can fit two Falcon 9's or five Falcon 1's
• They are still hiring

Rocketeers on Book TV

I did some checking and Michael Belfiore will be shown talking about "Rocketeers" on August 25, 2007 at 10:45 am EST(a week from Saturday) at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum

Carnival of Space #16 is Up

Carnival of Space #16 is up at Brian Wang's advanced nanotechnology blog.

NASA is Dropping the Delta 2

NASA is loosing the Delta 2 and lining up with the Air Force on Delta IV and Atlas V.

More on Bigelow's Sunchaser

Alan Boyle has an article called NEXT UP ... A NEW SPACE STATION? on Bigelow's plan to launch the Sunchaser, a human habitable station, next.

Fire Someone

Neil Cavuto of Fox News thinks whoever built the shuttle tiles should be fired for incompetence. Sadly it is hard to argue with his logic.

SpaceDev Revenue Increases 12%

SpaceDev's six month revenue increased 12% (ending June 30, 2007) from 2006. Revenue was $17.7 million in 2007 vs. $15.9 million in 2006. They also had income of $156,00 for the same period.

Bigelow Aerospace Moves up Sundancer Schedule

I just received from Bigelow that due to high launch costs andn success they are dropping the Galaxy and moving straight to the Sundancer. No word on when it will be up but we will let you know.

From Bigelow:

First, I would like to thank all of you who have written, called and otherwise expressed congratulations to myself and our team on the successful launch of Genesis II. The energy, enthusiasm and encouragement that we receive both here in the U.S. and abroad are an inspiration to us and part of the reason that we believe so strongly in the dream of entrepreneurial space development. I would like to take this opportunity to honor the interest and support that we’ve received from the general public by providing you with this update in regard to our future plans.


As anyone associated with the aerospace industry is aware, global launch costs have been rising rapidly over the course of the past few years. These price hikes have been most acute in Russia due to a number of factors including inflation, previously artificially low launch costs and the falling value of the U.S. dollar. What this now means for Bigelow Aerospace is that to conduct another subscale demonstrator mission would cost two to three times what it has in the past.

This dramatic rise in launch costs has forced us to rethink our strategy with Galaxy. Due to the fact that a high percentage of the systems Galaxy was meant to test can be effectively validated on a terrestrial basis, the technical value of launching the spacecraft — particularly after the successful launch of both Genesis I and II — is somewhat marginal. Therefore, we have decided to expedite our schedule yet again, and are now planning to move ahead directly with Bigelow Aerospace’s first human habitable spacecraft, the Sundancer.

We still intend to construct and test the Galaxy spacecraft and/or various parts of it in order to gain familiarity and experience with critical subsystems. However, by eliminating the launch of Galaxy, we believe that BA can move more expeditiously to our next step by focusing exclusively on the challenging and exciting task presented by the Sundancer program.

With this decision made, the future of entrepreneurial, private sector-driven space habitats and complexes could be arriving much earlier than any of us had previously anticipated. While recognizing the inherent difficulty, all of us at BA are eager to begin work on an actual human spaceflight program, which is the reason that I and others began this effort in the first place.

In the meantime, we now have two spacecraft in orbit — both of which we hope will produce invaluable data for years to come. It’s upon this solid foundation that we will be constructing our most ambitious spacecraft yet, the Sundancer. I will continue to keep you all apprised of our progress, and promise that every effort will be made at BA to ensure that this bold next step into human spaceflight will be a successful one.

— Robert T. Bigelow

About Bigelow Aerospace:
The mission of Bigelow Aerospace is to open the frontier of space to all of humanity by dramatically reducing the cost of conducting human spaceflight activities. The Las Vegas-based firm’s affordable and flexible space complex architecture can be adapted for virtually any crewed or autonomous mission requiring a large pressurized volume. For more information, go to www.bigelowaerospace.com or call (702) 688-6600.

New Space Review

Space Review is out:

Space: the search for a political consensus
While President Bush unveiled the Vision for Space Exploration three and a half years ago, some believe it has suffered to some degree from a lack of high-level attention since then. Frank Sietzen explains why the creation of a broad political consensus, necessary for the Vision to survive, required educating the public on the benefits of space activities.Monday, August 13, 2007

Fifty years of US space policy: the more things change…
Just after the Space Age began the Eisenhower administration published a document outlining why the US should go into space. Taylor Dinerman examines the document and finds its reasons are still at the core of US space policy today.Monday, August 13, 2007

A renaissance for space solar power?
Space solar power has been an intriguing concept for decades, but one that has failed to gain traction because of its high costs and cheaper terrestrial alternatives for energy. Jeff Foust reports that, thanks to a series of event and a new champion for the concept within the US government, space solar power is getting a new look.Monday, August 13, 2007

Chinese intentions and American preparedness
Many people in the West have tried to speculate about China’s military space plans in the wake of its ASAT test early this year. Christopher Stone argues that there’s enough information publicly available today to draw conclusions that should be a cause for concern in the US.Monday, August 13, 2007

A space nerd responds
Louis Friedman of The Planetary Society responds to a recent essay about space advocacy groups, arguing that it’s unwise to pigeonhole his or other groups as being simply “pro-science” or “pro-human”.Monday, August 13, 2007

Review: Rocketeers
Just who are the people at the leading edge of the entrepreneurial space movement, and what motivates them? Jeff Foust reviews a new book that takes the reader on a tour of some of the leading NewSpace companies and people to help answer those questions.Monday, August 13, 2007