Many people in Jacksonville and north Florida may not be aware, but Cecil Field is also a spaceport. There are plans set to launch rockets from the old Navy base, but not like what most are used to seeing. There will not be vertical rockets, but horizontal launches. Small Rockets strapped to jets will fly out over the ocean and launch from there.
The first launch is set for December 2016, but there have already been tests run by Atlanta-based Generation Orbit Launch, or GO Launch for short. In July, it tested out a space flight that started at Cecil Spaceport and ended with a rocket launch over the ocean. It used a Learjet with a mock rocket attached. The test was to get a feeling of what workers need to do for the real thing. The rocket was never launched.
The Aviation Authority has spent several million dollars getting the permits and preparing to build a hanger for a much larger plane. "We have the infrastructure in place right now to do those operations," said Rusty Chandler, of Cecil Spaceport. GO Launch has teamed up with NASA to put small satellites into orbit that could be used in communications research and other areas. GO Launch CEO John Olds said the company is still getting ready and working on funding for the launch in December 2016. (10/29)
Spaceport America Hangar Architects Win Award (Source: Albuquerque Business First)
The Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space Terminal Hangar Facility at Spaceport America has been given a merit award by the American Institute of Architects Western Mountain Region. The hangar was selected from 145 projects submitted by architectural firms across six states including Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
SMPC Architects, the Albuquerque-based archtect of record for the project, accepted the award on behalf of the design team, which is a collaboration with URS Corp. and London-based Foster + Partners. (10/29)
Ukraine's Yuzhnoye Launches Investigation of Antares Explosion (Source: Itar-Tass)
Experts of the Ukrainian design bureau Yuzhnoye, which took part in designing and manufacturing the Antares carrier rocket, have launched their own investigation of an explosion of the Antares rocket Tuesday. "We've begun the 'hotwash' already and are scrutinizing the possible causes of the explosion," the press service of the design bureau said. "The results will be reported later." (10/29)
Space Florida Gets State Funding for UAS Project (Source: EOG)
Space Florida was awarded a $38,500 grant to design, plan, and execute an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) component to the annual emergency response exercise at Camp Blanding, the state's largest National Guard installation. This grant will enhance the installation’s capability, and provide research and development for emergency response; thereby providing a springboard for more UAS-related activity in the state.
Senate President-Designate Andy Gardiner said, “This grant will help provide Space Florida the opportunity to play an important role in Camp Blanding’s annual emergency response exercise. We need to make sure Florida is prepared to respond to critical threats to our security and it is great to see Space Florida play a role in that important mission.
Senator Thad Altman said, “The Legislature and Governor Scott recognize the economic importance that our military installations have on state’s economy. We are pleased to be able to make a positive impact and continue to enhance the value Florida’s military bases.” (10/29)
Antares Rocket Crash in Virginia Investigation to Take up to Year (Source: Space Daily)
The investigation into the reasons of the Cygnus spaceship explosion during the launch at the US Wallops Flight Facility can take about a year, a NASA spokesperson said. "Investigation will take up to 6 month to a year," he said. (10/30)
Orbital Asked Judge on Day of Accident To Force Turnover of Launch Hardware (Source: Space News)
Shortly before its Antares rocket exploded Oct. 28, Orbital Sciences Corp. asked a federal judge to force a contractor to turn over hardware the Virginia company needs before it can launch a new version of its Cygnus cargo capsule that was supposed to debut in April. The timing of that mission is now in doubt following the failure of the company’s Antares rocket.
The motion for a preliminary injunction Orbital filed Oct. 28 is the latest turn in a lawsuit centered around the Transporter Erector Launcher, the slow-moving mobile launch tower used to haul Antares out of its hangar and raise the rocket vertical at the pad. NASA’s day-after assessment of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A found that the Transporter Erector Launcher was among the ground hardware damaged when Antares erupted into a ball of flame and debris. (10/30)
Moon Express Plans Tests Soon at KSC (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Moon Express Inc., headquartered at the NASA Research Park at Moffett Field, California, will perform vehicle testing at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility as part of NASA’s Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown or CATALYST initiative. The purpose of the Lunar CATALYST is to encourage the development of U.S. private sector robotic lunar landers, and this initiative is being executed by means of no-funds-exchanged Space Act Agreements with U.S. private sector partners.
Editor's Note: NASA has entered into agreements with three companies to support their lunar landing concepts, including Moon Express, Masten, and Astrobotic. (10/30)
Range-Initiated Flight Termination May Have Saved Launch Pad (Source: SPACErePORT)
It looks like the Antares rocket was OK up to the L+15 seconds mark. "Evidence suggests the failure initiated in the first stage after which the vehicle lost its propulsive capability and fell back to the ground," says Orbital. Space Policy Online reports that a range-initiated "flight termination" signal was sent before the rocket fell back to the ground.
From photos I've seen, it appears that the flight termination system ripped open the vehicle's fuel tanks to ensure that no errant forward propulsion would be possible. The vehicle blew apart as it fell, avoiding a direct impact on the launch pad. Photos show that the launch complex suffered much less damage that I would have expected, given the size of the explosion. Perhaps the range's command-destruct action saved the launch pad from what could have been a much more damaging outcome. (10/30)
Virginia Braces for Aftershocks From Wallops Explosion (Source: Watchdog)
The failed launch and fiery explosion at the Wallops Island spaceport this week could blow up Virginia’s projected financial windfall at the commercial site. The state invested $26 million in 2009 to bring privately operated space flights to the Eastern Shore. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport was estimated to generate $4.25 billion for Virginia’s economy through 2020. Now the short-term outlook isn’t so rosy.
“The complex is pretty much toasted. It was like a tactical nuclear warhead going off,” said Keith Cowing, who edits NASAWatch.com. The question is: Who will pay for the massive repairs, the environmental cleanup and for the $200 million in lost cargo and equipment bound for the International Space Station? The rocket company, Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp., isn’t saying.
With questions still up in the air, neither the company nor NASA nor the state would speculate about the cost of restoring the Wallops site, or who would foot the bill. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s office was looking into the legal ramifications, but had no answers Wednesday night. (10/30)
The 8 Incredible Details You Never Knew About Virgin Galactic (Source: Jaunted)
How about Paris for the weekend, or a two-week trip around Southeast Asia? Forget it—that's so 2014, so terrestrial. Should Virgin Galactic have their way, 2015 will be the year you book a vacation of suborbital space travel, or perhaps a supersonic 45-minute flight from California to London.
This month SpaceShipTwo completed her 54th test flight, improving the odds that next year will indeed be the one to finally kick off space tourism. In fact, Virgin Galactic has already begun the big move from Mojave, CA to Las Cruces, NM, the latter being home to Spaceport America and, hopefully soon, flights to space full of paying passengers (6, to be specific, plus 2 pilots). Click here. (10/30)
NASA's High Altitude Glider Can Fire Rockets Into Space from the Air (Source: Gizmodo)
It still costs an arm and a leg (and sometimes an entire Antares rocket) to lift crews and cargo into space. So until we get around to building that space elevator we've always wanted, NASA will just have to use this drone-towed, pilot-less, rocket-launching glider.
It's called the Towed Glider Air-Launch System (TGALS) and it's designed to launch orbital rockets from high altitude at a fraction of the cost of current methods. So instead of trying to dead lift loads straight up through the atmosphere (and directly against the pull of gravity) atop an SLS rocket, this method gives the launch a running—or rather, flying—start.
NASA successfully tested its 1/3-scale prototype (which still measured 27 feet wingtip to wingtip) earlier this week at Edwards AFB in California as part of the Game Changing Development program. This test did not include a rocket launch, but rather was a dry run to ensure that the glider's mix of OTS and custom built components could hold together during its powered flight and landing. Turns out, it totally did; bring on the rockets. (10/30)
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