Florida's Cape Canaveral expects to be the world's busiest spaceport this year with up to 24 rocket launches, the U.S. Air Force’s operations commander said on Tuesday. The 2015 launch lineup would give the Cape Canaveral Spaceport its busiest year since 1992, said Thomas Falzarano, commander of the operations group for the Air Force’s Eastern Range.
Fourteen launches on the 2015 schedule would be for privately held SpaceX. Ten launches would be for United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co. For 2016, 36 launches already are on the schedule, Falzarano added.
In 2014, there were 18 launches from Cape Canaveral, all successful. The world’s busiest spaceport in 2014 was the Russian-operated Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which had 21 launches, 19 of which were successful. (1/13)
Senate to Vote on Whether Climate Change is Happening (Source: The Hill)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday he will allow the Senate to vote on an amendment asking if they agree that climate change is impacting the planet. At his weekly press briefing, McConnell said "nobody is blocking any amendments" to legislation that would approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
The GOP leader had promised to allow an open amendment process on the Keystone bill. But a measure proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) had raised questions about whether he would stick to that commitment. The Sanders measure asks whether lawmakers agree with the overwhelming consensus of scientists who say climate change is impacting the planet and is worsened by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. (1/13)
SpaceX Will Give Reusuable Rocket Another Shot (Source: Washington Business Journal)
The launch? Flawless. The return? Not so much. The barge received some damage in the hard landing, and Musk said the company will try again in February. (1/12)
The Microscopic Parasite Helping to Solve Astronaut Bone Density Loss (Source: C/Net)
Investigations by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency aboard the ISS may help figure out how bone and muscle deterioration occurs -- and what may be done to prevent it. The team will be studying the effects of microgravity on Caenorhabditis elegans -- a millimeter-long roundworm that is often used in research as a model for larger organisms.
The team will be conducting two different studies. The first, called Alterations of C. elegans muscle fibers by microgravity, taking place in early 2015 will monitor the worm's muscle fibres and cytoskeleton to observe how they change in response to Zero-G. The worms will be grown in two environments: microgravity, the natural gravity level on the ISS; and in a centrifuge that simulates One-G (the level of gravity on Earth). This will allow the researchers to compare the two to see the precise difference between the effect of Earth gravity and the effect of microgravity. (1/12)
Russia to Decide on Future Participation in ISS in May (Source: RBTH)
Russia will decide on its future involvement in the International Space Station (ISS) project in 2020-2024 only in May, although the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) was supposed to provide an answer back in December 2014. The main reason for the delay was that the deadline for submitting the draft federal space program for 2016-2025 to the government was postponed from December until May this year, according to a source at Roscosmos. (1/13)
Despite Virgin Galactic Setback, Spaceport Can't Take No for an Answer (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
New Mexico's Spaceport America doesn't have the luxury of implementing a well-evolved marketing strategy backed up with a $10 million budget for marketing and recruitment. Their leadership must act now. Those involved with the spaceport are moving quickly given this new environment. They are responding to unplanned change.
This is an extreme example that we are right in the middle of as residents of Doña Ana County. Spaceport America is one of only nine FAA licensed spaceports. This is the total number of licensed commercial spaceports that exist since humans have been on the Earth. Building and operating a spaceport is in itself a risky proposition. No risk, No reward. (1/12)
Bengalurean is New ISRO Chief (Source: Times of India)
AS Kiran Kumar, director of Space Application Center, Ahmedabad, which developed payloads for Mars Orbiter Mission, was on Monday appointed secretary of the department of space, and chairman, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). (1/13)
Emerging National Operators Help Drive Satellite Manufacturing Business (Source: Space News)
The determination of Bulgaria and Afghanistan to have their own telecommunications satellites and the long-expected awakening of the Indonesian market were highlights of the commercial satellite market in 2014.
Afghanistan is leasing an in-orbit Eutelsat spacecraft, moving it to 38 degrees east, before ordering its own. But less-developed nations’ continued appetite for their own satellites has been key to the robustness of the global satellite manufacturing market. Early indications are that 2015 will be another strong order year even if the major fleet operators in Europe and North America are on the down side of their capital spending cycles. (1/12)
Arianespace, SpaceX Battled to a Draw for 2014 Launch Contracts (Source: Space News)
Commercial launch service providers in 2014 booked 19 orders open to competitive bidding for satellites to launch into geostationary orbit. Another eight satellites, including Indian and Chinese spacecraft, were booked, or soon will be, by national launch providers in deals for which no competitive bids were sought.
Another contract, for Orbital Sciences’ Cygnus space station supply freighter, was signed with United Launch Alliance after what Orbital said was a competitive bid evaluation process. The most striking feature of the 2014 contract tally is the absence of Russian and Russian-Ukrainian launch service providers International Launch Services and Sea Launch. (1/12)
Falcon Heavy Poised to Fly This Year (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
One of the most anticipated flights of 2015 is still on track according to representatives from SpaceX. The first flight of the company’s Falcon Heavy booster, is on track for a third quarter launch. A SpaceX spokesman confirmed that it was on track and that both the vehicle and its launch site, historic Launch Complex 39A, located at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, were moving ahead with a launch currently planned for sometime in the third quarter of 2015. (1/13)
Investigation of Failed Virginia Suborbital Launch (Source: WMDT)
The rocket failure investigation for Terrier-Improved Malemute Sounding rocket at Wallops Island is now complete. The rocket which crashed into the Atlantic ocean just 19 seconds after lift off on July 3, 2014. Investigators determined that the rocket's motor igniters failed during the mission and evidence reportedly revealed that the igniter wasn't installed properly. According to NASA officials say, instructions on how to build and install the igniter are being updated to fix the issue. (1/12)
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