Mishaal Aerospace Corp., the Miami-based launch vehicle provider for small satellites, is pleased to announce that SpaceQuest Ltd., a Virginia based advanced satellite developer, signed a Letter of Intent for launch of their satellites once Mishaal Aerospace’s M-OV, Orbital Vehicle, is ready. Mishaal Aerospace's M-SV propulsion system successfully completed its first static test on August 11, 2014. Click here. (10/22)
SpaceX Builds Enough Merlin 1D Engines for 10 Falcon 9 Flights (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Less than two years after SpaceX began producing the Merlin 1D engines that power the Falcon 9 rocket, the 100th Merlin 1D engine is complete. SpaceX is currently the largest private producer of rocket engines in the world. The Merlin 1D is an all-American engine designed and built in-house at SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif.
Engines are currently manufactured at a rate of four per week, projected to rise to five per week by the end of 2014. The production process begins with major engine components – injector, turbopump, gas generator, thrust chamber, valves and actuators – integrated with tubing, sensors, and other small components to form the major sub-assemblies of the engine. These sub-assemblies are put together to become the engine’s lower and upper assembly. Once the lower and upper assemblies are stacked and mated, the engine undergoes a series of quality checks prior to testing. (10/23)
China Launches Flyby Mission to the Moon (Source: CBS)
A Long March 3C rocket launched a robotic Chinese space probe Thursday, setting the stage for a looping flight around the moon and a high-speed dash back to Earth to test technology and procedures needed for a planned robotic sample return mission in 2017.
Chinese news agencies reported the 184-foot-tall Long March booster blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province, but the launch time and other details were not immediately available. The ascent was intended to put the solar-powered spacecraft, known in some quarters as Chang'e-5 T1, on a "free return" trajectory around the moon. (10/23)
Report: KSC Must Do More to Succeed as Spaceport (Source: Florida Today)
Kennedy Space Center has made progress transitioning into a multiuser spaceport but must do more to compete with a growing number of alternative launch sites, according to a NASA audit report. "The better Kennedy can position itself now as a commercial-friendly launch site, the more competitive it will be in the future," says the report by NASA's Office of Inspector General.
In interviews with the auditors, six companies and KSC's closest government partner, Space Florida, continued to raise concerns about bureaucracy, high costs and potential mission conflicts that can hamper commercial operations at KSC. The companies have not abandoned the spaceport given limited options available today, but "this may change as the commercial space industry grows and additional non-Federal launch sites become available," the report says. (10/23)
Report: KSC Offers Weak Reason for Resisting Shiloh Support (Source: Florida Today)
The OIG audit of KSC's commercial spaceport efforts undercuts one of NASA's primary reasons for resisting a state proposal to develop a site that might make the Cape more attractive for commercial launches. Space Florida two years ago sought NASA's permission to develop one or two pads on up to 200 acres at the north end of KSC and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, in an area known as Shiloh.
While NASA let the state start an environmental review of the proposed site, it continues to claim that it needs the land as a safety buffer zone and to support future missions. When questioned by auditors, however, "Kennedy personnel were unable to provide any details as to the need for a buffer zone of information about specific future missions involving the property." Click here to download the report. (10/23)
Hold Your Breath: 'Aquastronauts' Go Underwater to Train for Space (Source: NBC)
Have you ever wondered where astronauts train before heading into space? They actually travel in the opposite direction of the International Space Station: they go underwater. Since 2001, NASA has sent astronauts-in-training to take part in the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) program, alongside astronauts from the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. So far, they’ve completed 19 missions, each of which comprises a six- to ten-day stay in the habitat.
I had the rare opportunity to join a group of NASA astronauts-in-training underwater at the Aquarius base off of Key Largo, Florida, located 63 feet underwater. The base offers the would-be space-faring candidates the most extraterrestrial experience available while still on Earth. Click here. (10/23)
Florida Transportation System is Adding More Intermodal Components (Source: Florida TaxWatch)
"One of the selling points for relocating space-oriented businesss to Florida is that our state includes areas where multi-modal transport is possible for payloads to space. The Cape Canaveral Spaceport already provides access for four modes of transportation: roads, rail, sea, and space; and this combination of efficient transfers between modes has helped companies decide to relocate to Florida to pursue delivery of payloads of satellites and other space-oriented items." (10/23)
Original Redstone Launch Team Recalls Start of Modern Space Program (Source: Florida Today)
Bill Grafton ran. As the last one on the pad before the launch of the first Redstone rocket from Cape Canaveral, on Aug. 20, 1953, it was his job to plug an igniter into the enormous, seven-story missile. "I was a little bit nervous, because this thing was filled with all the fuel and it was sitting there puffing like an old train," Grafton, 89, remembered recently.
Four of the five living members of the original Redstone launch team gathered last week in Titusville home to reminisce and record some of their stories. Reed Barnett, of Melbourne Beach, and Bill "Curly" Chandler, of Astor, Fla., joined Rigell and Grafton, visiting from Flagstaff, Ariz. Their friend Jim Rorex was unable to make the trip from Huntsville, Ala. Click here. (10/23)
CASIS Awards Life Sciences Research Grants (Source: Parabolic Arc)
CASIS announced a series of unsolicited investigations focused on life science studies for flight to the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory. These unsolicited investigations represent targeted areas of emphasis in the life and biological sciences as determined by the CASIS Science and Technology Advisory Panel as well as the CASIS business development team. Click here. (10/23)
Suborbital Rocket Launched at Spaceport America (Source: Parabolic Arc)
New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) officials announced the launch of the third NASA “Flight Opportunities Program” rocket from Spaceport America. The launch of SpaceLoft XL 9 (SL-9) took place from Spaceport America’s Launch Complex-1. Today’s liftoff marks the 21st launch at Spaceport America and the 13th flight conducted by UP Aerospace, the spaceport’s oldest launch customer. (10/23)
Ukraine Seeks to Revive Space Industry (Source: Parabolic Arc)
On Oct. 21, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko held a meeting to discuss progress, problems and prospects of development of the space industry. General Designer Alexander Degtyarev presented on participation in international projects like Sea Launch and Land Launch; in the joint Ukrainian-Brazilian Cyclone-4; the Antares; and remote sensing satellites.
President Poroshenko said that Ukraine’s space industry suffered through a break ties with Russia as key partners in space programs. However, there are prospects for cooperation in space with such countries as Brazil, Turkey, and the USA. He also raised questions about the prospects for space cooperation with other interested countries, including the Republic of Kazakhstan.
"We need to develop a strategy to return the status of great space power,” he said. According to him, Ukraine requires political will and support of the international community. Also, According to a Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, YS Alekseev was dismissed as Chairman of the State Space Agency of Ukraine. (10/22)
Buzz Aldrin Says One-Way Trips to Mars Could Actually Work (Source: Space.com)
Buzz Aldrin wants to send people on a trip to Mars, and he doesn't want them to come home — at least not at first. The time and resources that will be used to get humans to the Red Planet only make sense if the astronauts stay there and help to jump-start an outpost on the new world, Aldrin said.
"It [will] cost the world — and the U.S. — billions and billions of dollars to put these people there, and you're going to bring them back?" Aldrin said. "What are you going to do when you bring them back here that can possibly compare [to] the value that they would be if they stayed there and Mars wasn't empty? And then, they helped to work with the next group and it builds up a cadre of people. When we've got 100 — or whatever it is — then we start bringing people back." (10/23)
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