Collaborations: Web Articles
SpaceX + Astrium: Falcon Finds European Possibilities (Launch Services) : Satnews Publishers
"Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Astrium have engaged in a commercial agreement to provide dedicated launch services to the European institutional small satellite market. Astrium intends to work with SpaceX to market Falcon 1 launch capabilities to various space agencies and other institutional customers in Europe for launches to take place through 2015.(SatNewsPublisher)"
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."
Northrop Grumman Foundation Now Accepting Teacher Applications for 2010 Weightless Flights of Discovery Program - Yahoo! Finance
"The Northrup Gumman Foundation is accepting teacher applications for the 2010 Weightless Flights of Discovery program, a unique initiative that places teachers on micro-gravity flights to test Newton's Laws of Motion and energize students in the formative middle-school years. Middle-school math and science teachers in public schools are welcome to apply for the program."
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.
Why is human Mars exploration so surprisingly hard? | The Space Review
"In the heady aftermath of Apollo 11, it appeared likely humans would journey to Mars by the end of the century; 40 years later, though, such missions seem as far in the future as ever. James Oberg discusses why such missions have proven far more difficult than originally envisioned and how we’ll know that we’re finally ready to go." This valuable assessment nicely complements a CSG article titled "Spacefaring: Our Real Prospects for Homesteading Off-Earth" that also has a rich string of "comments". A major rationale for building the International Space Station was to use it as a LEO "outpost" to do the basic R&D and pilot studies that could lead us toward off-Earth homesteading. Now it's time to use it for that.
Microspace and human spaceflight | The Space Review
"At first glance, there doesn't seem to be much in common between the burgeoning small satellite industry and human spaceflight. However, Grant Bonin argues that the philosophy that has guided smallsat developers over the years may be key to enabling breakthroughs in human access to space."
NASA Finds Ground Water Loss in North India Due to Human Activity |The Hindu News
"Research was conducted by a team of hydrologists led by Matt Rodell of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Using satellite data they determined that Northern India's underground water is being pumped and consumed by human activities, such as cropland irrigation, and is draining aquifers (1 foot/yr) faster than natural processes can replenish them.
This research, which is based on data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites, has been published in the latest issue of Nature. GRACE's two satellites change position in response to variations in the pull of gravity which occurs when there are changes in underground water masses. "
CSF Creates Scientific Advisory Panel on Suborbital Research Applications
"Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce the creation of the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG), composed of experienced scientists, researchers, and educators dedicated to furthering the research and education potential of suborbital reusable launch vehicles under development by the commercial spaceflight sector.
The panel is chaired by Dr. S. Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute, a space scientist who previously served as head of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters."
ISS Space Porch Open for Business | Science@NASA.com
"The International Space Station has a new "engawa"—and it's open for business. Engawa is Japanese for "porch," and while that might seem like a strange thing for a space station to have, researchers have been looking forward to the addition for a long time. Space shuttle Endeavour delivered the Japanese-built platform to the ISS on July 22nd and astronauts attached it to Japan's Kibo1 science lab a day later. Now, when a science experiment requires a dose of hard vacuum or radiation, it can be set "out on the porch" for exposure. And that's just for starters."
NASA Announces Plan to Invest in Commercial Crew Concepts | Commercial Spaceflight Federation
"Today (Aug-4-09) NASA released information regarding its intention to invest $50 million of American Reinvestment and Recovery Act stimulus funding in multiple competitively awarded, funded agreements for commercial crew concepts. This new program, known as the Commercial Crew Development or “CCDev,” represents a new milestone in the development of an orbital commercial human spaceflight sector. By maturing “the design and development of commercial crew spaceflight concepts and associated enabling technologies and capabilities,” the program will allow several companies to move a few steps forward towards the ultimate goal of full demonstration of commercial human spaceflight to orbit." This release from NASA opens the door to commercial transport of humans in space, a true milestone in the realm of human spaceflight.