Public-Private Partnerships: Web Articles
2nd Annual NASA STEM Educators Workshop Series - AESP
"Calling all teachers in the Charlotte area. NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are inviting educators to take part in free workshops Feb. 23-25. The second annual NASA STEM Educator Workshop Series will showcase science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education resources relating to studying the NASA mission to return to the moon."
This announcement is from a NASA-sponsored Aerospace Education Services Project (AESP) located at Penn State. STEM education for teachers flows into our classrooms and helps stimulate creation of our future workforce, that includes commercial space enterprises.
This Land - A New Exit to Space Readies for Business | NYTimes.com
Barry digs into the local scene and discovers some background stories about SpacePort America that's emerging from the barren flats of New Mexico.
"This is not a secret government project, or some NASA reception hall for alien dignitaries. This is Spaceport America, a $198 million endeavor by the State of New Mexico to plumb the commercial potential of the suborbital heavens — a place once known only to astronauts, dreamers and the occasional chimp.
Space tourism. Scientific research. Satellite deliveries. All possible up there, where the stars glitter like spilled coins. Who knows? One day you might decide to skip another two-week vacation in the Wisconsin Dells for a two-hour trip into space. Fly Virgin Galactic. See the sights from as high as 80 miles up. Five minutes of weightlessness guaranteed. Just $200,000."
A SpacePort Field Guide: SpaceWorks Commercial
"The Spaceport Field Guide (SpFG) is a Google Earth-compatible file developed by SpaceWorks Commercial that provides a database of worldwide launch sites and associated facilities. The tool offers information about global spaceports including location, current and potential facilities, current and potential launch vehicles, and a rating of operational readiness (as defined by a Spaceport Readiness Level or SpRL).The tool is available for free download from the SpaceWorks Commercial website. SpaceWorks Commercial, a division of SpaceWorks Engineering, Inc. (SEI), provides this software as an educational service to the community."
Final frontier beckons for researchers | Nature News
"Spaceflight could soon be opened up to hundreds or potentially thousands of researchers rather than just an elite few, said experts at a space-research conference in Boulder, Colorado, this week.
The Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference, which runs until 20 February, has drawn more than 250 delegates, including space scientists, aerospace-industry representatives and government officials. Their aim is to discuss the logistics of doing research aboard commercial suborbital space flights, which the industry says will soon be routine and affordable."
Musk refutes report slamming safety standards | Spaceflight Now
"A commercial space pioneer and a former astronaut are answering claims by an independent advisory panel that private companies do not meet NASA human-rating standards and last year's presidential review of the space program did not adequately consider safety.
In an annual report released Friday, the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel...said it would be "unwise" to abandon NASA's Ares 1 rocket and turn to private companies to transport astronauts to low Earth orbit. The board said potential commercial crew transportation providers do not meet NASA safety standards for piloted vehicles."
Some commentators note that NASA's available safety standards are not clearly defined. SpaceX, the current primary private sector rocket developer contends that its Dragon capsule meets NASA's guidelines and they just need to acquire sufficient budget to develop a launch escape tower. Clear, comprehensive safety standards will be required in order to make objective comparisons between launchers.
Department of Commerce Secretary, Gary Locke's "States of Entrepreneurism" Address
"The United States has not adjusted to a new global marketplace where foreign countries and foreign companies have the ability to outpace their American counterparts. It’s not tenable for...[us] to continue with the status quo. In a world where innovation is critical to U.S. competitiveness, we must do everything in our power to optimize commercialization that stems from our nation’s vast research investments. This is an issue where the Commerce Department is working hard to find solutions.
Last fall, we launched the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, whose mandate is to drive policies and programs that help entrepreneurs translate new ideas, products, and services into economic growth, and to accelerate technology commercialization of federal R&D.
And today, I want to announce that on February 24 [2010], this Office will host a forum with university leaders and key stakeholders on the roles of universities in innovation, economic development, job creation, and commercialization of federally funded research."
Locke's analysis is dead on and includes references to NASA, aerospace and public-private collaboration in commercialization. The emerging suborbital space vehicle industry is a classic example of what he and the Obama administration are strongly promoting and they surely support STEM education as a critical lifeline essential to feed such entrepreneurial innovations.
Development of the American commercial space industry: imminent federal decisions and implications for economic development in the states
"It’s very early to have much certainty, but I’d say that a shift in federal policy toward commercial operation presages a subtle but notable shift in the center of gravity of the American space program from the South/Southeast to the Far West and Southwest, with lots of interesting economic-development consequences.
The table in this article by Hochman summarizes these data, noting the broad mandates of these space authorities to develop comprehensive aerospace sectors, including enabling technologies of all types. The table also lists states with NASA Centers and their expertises, some but not all of which will be salient to Augustine’s call for enhanced attention to “technology development” necessary to meet long-term, inspirational space goals."
The End of Magical Climate Thinking | Foreign Policy
"The Obama administration succumbed, like many others, to a sort of magical climate thinking that promised a painless and even prosperous transition to a low-carbon future with the tools already at hand. The only official within his administration to accurately grasp the technology challenges faced, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, was sidelined at crucial moments. Here is the back story of how the Obama administration dramatically raised and then dashed America's -- and the world's -- hopes that 2009 would be a pivotal year for remaking our collective energy future." This article places blame on both government and green energy advocates for "magical thinking" about what will surely at minimum be a tough, expensive, decades-long slog. The importance of space infrastructure advancements, especially by the private sector, to developing innovative lower-cost solar power and biospheric and climate monitoring systems will be major. Earth and its environment are increasingly understood as one evolving macro-ecosystem traveling through space over eons.
New leader takes on Space Florida challenges | OrlandoSentinel.com
"Frank DiBello, the head of Space Florida, "is trying to buck the trend" of making promises but not delivering them. "Since taking over the troubled state aerospace-development agency in September, DiBello has been scrambling to get money and plans in place to soften the double blow of 7,000 shuttle-related layoffs and a minimum five-year gap before NASA resumes human spaceflight." DiBello "canceled or phased out nearly $3 million worth of projects and contracts he considered either wasteful or impractical" while also trying to draw business to the region. Furthermore, DiBello "sees opportunity" with commercial space companies, although he is working to diversify the local industry. According to the article, "Although he has yet to score any deals, his efforts have won widespread praise," including from Rep. Suzanne Kosmas and Mark Nappi, head of the United Space Alliance." Thanks to AIAA Daily Launch.
New leader takes on Space Florida challenges | OrlandoSentinel.com
"Frank DiBello, the head of Space Florida, "is trying to buck the trend" of making promises but not delivering them. "Since taking over the troubled state aerospace-development agency in September, DiBello has been scrambling to get money and plans in place to soften the double blow of 7,000 shuttle-related layoffs and a minimum five-year gap before NASA resumes human spaceflight." DiBello "canceled or phased out nearly $3 million worth of projects and contracts he considered either wasteful or impractical" while also trying to draw business to the region. Furthermore, DiBello "sees opportunity" with commercial space companies, although he is working to diversify the local industry. According to the article, "Although he has yet to score any deals, his efforts have won widespread praise," including from Rep. Suzanne Kosmas and Mark Nappi, head of the United Space Alliance." Thanks to AIAA Daily Launch.