House plan edges toward extra shuttle flight
WASHINGTON — The latest House proposal for NASA's future edges closer to President Obama's plan to develop a commercial rocket program and would provide the extra space shuttle flight sought by shuttle advocates in Florida.
But it's not clear the three-year bill released Thursday will satisfy NASA advocates in the Senate. House and Senate lawmakers may continue haggling over their differences after the election.
"This is a good, bipartisan and fiscally responsible bill," House science committee Chairman Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., said after releasing the compromise.
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Orlando, who has led negotiations with Gordon, said he still hopes the two chambers will come together and approve a compromise on NASA policy by the end of next week.
"We're trying to match up," he said. "We're talking."
Gordon said certain senators want to reduce NASA funding -- currently about $19 billion a year -- by $1 billion a year. But after huddling in a hallway with Nelson, Gordon said senators are negotiating in good faith and legislation still could be approved.
The House compromise bill released Thursday would spend $600 million on a third and final shuttle flight. That's vitally important to Kennedy Space Center, where the shuttle fleet's retirement next year could cost about 8,000 jobs. The House science committee's earlier proposal -- and a rival bill approved by the Senate -- also called for an extra shuttle flight.
The main debate over space policy is whether to spend money on NASA rockets or those developed by commercial companies.
Obama has proposed giving NASA an additional $6 billion over five years to work with private companies to develop commercial rockets that would ferry people to the International Space Station. He also wants to eliminate the Constellation return-to-the-moon program and its Ares rocket.
In the House, where opposition to commercial rockets is strongest, the latest compromise would boost the amount spent on commercial rocket development to $1.2 billion over three years, up from $464 million in a committee-passed bill.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Our leadership in space exploration [Canada]
Our leadership in space exploration
By Ed Fast, Special to the Times September 24, 2010
On Sept. 2, Canada's Conservative government announced that veteran astronaut Colonel Chris Hadfield will be the first-ever Canadian to command the International Space Station.
The announcement reaffirmed Canada's role as one of the world's leaders in space exploration.
Most Canadians are unaware that our country was the third nation in space. Canada's astronauts have participated in 15 space missions - more than any country other than the US and Russia. The world famous Canadarm and "space robot" Dextre were both designed, developed and built in Canada. Canadians are rightly proud of our accomplishments in space.
Space exploration and aerospace research are strategic national assets that are essential for Canada to assert sovereignty over its borders and natural resources.
Our leadership in space research and technology also enhances our government's ability to keep Canadians safe and secure.
To ensure that Canada maintains its strong position in this important field, our government is investing $497 million in the Canadian space industry to develop the RADARSAT Constellation Mission, the next generation of advanced radar remote sensing satellites.
Our desire to protect our advantage in radar satellite technology is also the reason why in 2008 Prime Minister Stephen Harper refused to allow the sale of Canadian aerospace firm, Macdonald Dettwiler & Associates Ltd., to a large American military contractor. The proposed sale simply did not meet the test of "net benefit" to Canadians.
Our government's investments in space exploration complement our efforts to safeguard Arctic waters and assert Canadian sovereignty in an era of melting sea ice and increasing northern ship traffic.
At the same time, these investments are driving cutting-edge research within Canada while promoting technological excellence and a resilient economy.
As Colonel Hadfield takes over command of the International Space Station, we wish him and his colleagues a successful mission and safe return.
By Ed Fast, Special to the Times September 24, 2010
On Sept. 2, Canada's Conservative government announced that veteran astronaut Colonel Chris Hadfield will be the first-ever Canadian to command the International Space Station.
The announcement reaffirmed Canada's role as one of the world's leaders in space exploration.
Most Canadians are unaware that our country was the third nation in space. Canada's astronauts have participated in 15 space missions - more than any country other than the US and Russia. The world famous Canadarm and "space robot" Dextre were both designed, developed and built in Canada. Canadians are rightly proud of our accomplishments in space.
Space exploration and aerospace research are strategic national assets that are essential for Canada to assert sovereignty over its borders and natural resources.
Our leadership in space research and technology also enhances our government's ability to keep Canadians safe and secure.
To ensure that Canada maintains its strong position in this important field, our government is investing $497 million in the Canadian space industry to develop the RADARSAT Constellation Mission, the next generation of advanced radar remote sensing satellites.
Our desire to protect our advantage in radar satellite technology is also the reason why in 2008 Prime Minister Stephen Harper refused to allow the sale of Canadian aerospace firm, Macdonald Dettwiler & Associates Ltd., to a large American military contractor. The proposed sale simply did not meet the test of "net benefit" to Canadians.
Our government's investments in space exploration complement our efforts to safeguard Arctic waters and assert Canadian sovereignty in an era of melting sea ice and increasing northern ship traffic.
At the same time, these investments are driving cutting-edge research within Canada while promoting technological excellence and a resilient economy.
As Colonel Hadfield takes over command of the International Space Station, we wish him and his colleagues a successful mission and safe return.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Gemini, by Virgil "Gus" Grissom
Excerpts from Gus Grissom's book, Gemini!, completed just a couple of weeks before his death in 1968, and edited afterwards by Jacob Hay.
The Introduction
Grissom explains why he wrote the book, in part saying:
Newspapers and magazines yellow and crumble away. And my two sons, Scott and Mark, may, like thousands of other young people, never learn to read a technical report or extract records from a computer's memory...Technical reports aren't concerned with the feelings of the people involved, just the results-did Gadget A operate on schedule? Did Gismo [stet] B malfunction?A computer wouldn't say that Gadget A worked because Wally Schirra sweated for weeks to be absolutely sure it would work when we needed it. It wouldn't say John young [my co-pilot on GEmini 3] and I knew it would work, because we'd learned to have perfect confidence in our backup team, Wally and Tom Stafford.
...
Heaven knows, in the years ahead, once we've gone on from GEmini to Apollo and far beyond, we're going to need all the scientists and engineers and technicians we can get. So that's why this book, too. If this brings only one bright, curious, hard-driving youngster into space science and technology, that's justification enough for me.
...
This new dimension their fathers are just now starting to explore is going to need young women, too.
...
So here it is: the story of GEmini as we've lived it.
The Introduction
Grissom explains why he wrote the book, in part saying:
Newspapers and magazines yellow and crumble away. And my two sons, Scott and Mark, may, like thousands of other young people, never learn to read a technical report or extract records from a computer's memory...Technical reports aren't concerned with the feelings of the people involved, just the results-did Gadget A operate on schedule? Did Gismo [stet] B malfunction?A computer wouldn't say that Gadget A worked because Wally Schirra sweated for weeks to be absolutely sure it would work when we needed it. It wouldn't say John young [my co-pilot on GEmini 3] and I knew it would work, because we'd learned to have perfect confidence in our backup team, Wally and Tom Stafford.
...
Heaven knows, in the years ahead, once we've gone on from GEmini to Apollo and far beyond, we're going to need all the scientists and engineers and technicians we can get. So that's why this book, too. If this brings only one bright, curious, hard-driving youngster into space science and technology, that's justification enough for me.
...
This new dimension their fathers are just now starting to explore is going to need young women, too.
...
So here it is: the story of GEmini as we've lived it.
Space Exploration Glossary - the As
Ablating materials - Special heat-dissipating materials on the surface of a spacecraft that can be sacrificed (carried away, vaporized) during re-entry.
Ablation - Melting of ablative heat shield materials during re-entry of spacecraft into earth's atmosphere at hypersonic speeds.
Ablation - Melting of ablative heat shield materials during re-entry of spacecraft into earth's atmosphere at hypersonic speeds.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Space agency funding Mars exploration
The Vancouver Sun: Space agency funding Mars exploration
The Canadian Space Agency has awarded a contract to develop a Canadian-designed vehicle to explore the surface of Mars.
The $6-million contract given to B.C.-based MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates will help fund the development of a semi-autonomous rover that can be commanded from a remote location.
"The project will position Canada as a potential partner in international space exploration missions, and maintain Canadian technical expertise in space robotics," according to a release from the space agency.
The rover, similar to the ones launched by NASA in 2004, will be equipped with cameras and detectors for navigation and a small robotic arm to help conduct experiments on the planet's surface.
The prototype is expected to be ready for field testing in 2012.
The CSA expects the technology will also have applications on Earth-based mining, transportation and security.
MDA has proven expertise in space robotics, including the development of the robotic arm on the International Space Station — Canadarm2 or Dextre — the CSAs contribution to the orbiting space lab.
The Canadian Space Agency has awarded a contract to develop a Canadian-designed vehicle to explore the surface of Mars.
The $6-million contract given to B.C.-based MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates will help fund the development of a semi-autonomous rover that can be commanded from a remote location.
"The project will position Canada as a potential partner in international space exploration missions, and maintain Canadian technical expertise in space robotics," according to a release from the space agency.
The rover, similar to the ones launched by NASA in 2004, will be equipped with cameras and detectors for navigation and a small robotic arm to help conduct experiments on the planet's surface.
The prototype is expected to be ready for field testing in 2012.
The CSA expects the technology will also have applications on Earth-based mining, transportation and security.
MDA has proven expertise in space robotics, including the development of the robotic arm on the International Space Station — Canadarm2 or Dextre — the CSAs contribution to the orbiting space lab.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Space Exploration Technologies and EADS's Astrium offer launch services
FlightGlobal: Space Exploration Technologies and EADS's Astrium offer launch services
With a newly signed marketing agreement with California-based Space Exploration Technologies and the operation from next year of its new medium-lift Vega launcher, EADS's Astrium subsidiary is set to offer what it claims is a unique range of launch services.
The SpaceX deal gives Astrium exclusive rights up to 2015 to market in 28 European countries launches aboard the US company's Falcon 1e rocket, which is set to make its maiden flight next year from the US Army's Reagan test site at Kwajalein Atoll.
Falcon 1e is a heavy version of SpaceX's Falcon 1, which successfully launched a commercial payload in July to mark the company's entry to the launch market. The size of the Falcon 1e rocket is significant, as it will give Astrium the ability to offer to European institutional customers dedicated launches of very small satellites, of up to 500kg (1,100lb).
© Astrium
Ariane 5 is getting a small US cousin
Alain Charmeau, chief executive of Astrium Space Transportation, says there are no other commercial operators that can offer dedicated launches of very small satellites, and he cites three key advantages to customers who would otherwise have to rely on "piggyback" launches on much larger rockets, such as the 1,500kg-payload Vega or Russian Soyuz, which is also available through Astrium, or Astrium's heavylift workhorse, the 10t payload Ariane 5.
The first, he says, is that a dedicated launch should be much more affordable. Second, a dedicated launch gives the customer a fixed launch date of their choosing. And, third, a dedicated launch will put the satellite into the most suitable orbit - not one determined by the requirements of a larger piggyback partner.
SpaceX and Astrium have been discussing this marketing arrangement for more than a year, visiting each other's facilities in France, Germany and California. Good contact between working teams has established the start of a "very long co-operation" between two companies Charmeau sees as innovators.
FOR STARTERS
For now, he says, collaboration is strictly in marketing, with launches available from SpaceX locations at Cape Canaveral, Kwajalein and Vandenberg AFB in California.
No technical collaboration is part of the deal, but Charmeau readily concedes that the partnership could develop further.
Early signs are good. Charmeau says the first launch under the new marketing arrangement will come "very soon", although he is not as yet revealing any details. Astrium last September placed an order with SpaceX to launch a yet-to-be-identified Earth observation satellite.
His opposite number at SpaceX, Elon Musk, describes the agreement as "opening new doors for SpaceX". Musk, who made a fortune as co-founder of the PayPal internet payment system, subsequently founded SpaceX and later launched the Tesla all-electric sports car, boasts that the Falcon concept is to "provide breakthrough advances in reliability, cost, and time to launch".
This month also marks a milestone in the Vega project, with prime contractor ELV, of Colleferro in Italy, signed to deliver five launchers after the type's qualification flight.
Vega features three solid-propulsion stages and a fourth stage with a reignitable liquid rocket engine to offers payload capacity of 1,500kg into polar orbit at 700km (435 miles) altitude, for launch from Europe's French Guiana spaceport.
With a newly signed marketing agreement with California-based Space Exploration Technologies and the operation from next year of its new medium-lift Vega launcher, EADS's Astrium subsidiary is set to offer what it claims is a unique range of launch services.
The SpaceX deal gives Astrium exclusive rights up to 2015 to market in 28 European countries launches aboard the US company's Falcon 1e rocket, which is set to make its maiden flight next year from the US Army's Reagan test site at Kwajalein Atoll.
Falcon 1e is a heavy version of SpaceX's Falcon 1, which successfully launched a commercial payload in July to mark the company's entry to the launch market. The size of the Falcon 1e rocket is significant, as it will give Astrium the ability to offer to European institutional customers dedicated launches of very small satellites, of up to 500kg (1,100lb).
© Astrium
Ariane 5 is getting a small US cousin
Alain Charmeau, chief executive of Astrium Space Transportation, says there are no other commercial operators that can offer dedicated launches of very small satellites, and he cites three key advantages to customers who would otherwise have to rely on "piggyback" launches on much larger rockets, such as the 1,500kg-payload Vega or Russian Soyuz, which is also available through Astrium, or Astrium's heavylift workhorse, the 10t payload Ariane 5.
The first, he says, is that a dedicated launch should be much more affordable. Second, a dedicated launch gives the customer a fixed launch date of their choosing. And, third, a dedicated launch will put the satellite into the most suitable orbit - not one determined by the requirements of a larger piggyback partner.
SpaceX and Astrium have been discussing this marketing arrangement for more than a year, visiting each other's facilities in France, Germany and California. Good contact between working teams has established the start of a "very long co-operation" between two companies Charmeau sees as innovators.
FOR STARTERS
For now, he says, collaboration is strictly in marketing, with launches available from SpaceX locations at Cape Canaveral, Kwajalein and Vandenberg AFB in California.
No technical collaboration is part of the deal, but Charmeau readily concedes that the partnership could develop further.
Early signs are good. Charmeau says the first launch under the new marketing arrangement will come "very soon", although he is not as yet revealing any details. Astrium last September placed an order with SpaceX to launch a yet-to-be-identified Earth observation satellite.
His opposite number at SpaceX, Elon Musk, describes the agreement as "opening new doors for SpaceX". Musk, who made a fortune as co-founder of the PayPal internet payment system, subsequently founded SpaceX and later launched the Tesla all-electric sports car, boasts that the Falcon concept is to "provide breakthrough advances in reliability, cost, and time to launch".
This month also marks a milestone in the Vega project, with prime contractor ELV, of Colleferro in Italy, signed to deliver five launchers after the type's qualification flight.
Vega features three solid-propulsion stages and a fourth stage with a reignitable liquid rocket engine to offers payload capacity of 1,500kg into polar orbit at 700km (435 miles) altitude, for launch from Europe's French Guiana spaceport.
Monday, September 20, 2010
China’s space programme gears up for missions to Moon, Mars
The Hindu: China’s space programme gears up for missions to Moon, Mars
China is planning giant strides into deep space exploration by sending its first lunar manned mission by 2025, a probe to Mars by 2013 and to Venus by 2015, intensifying its space race with India which also plans Moon and Sun missions.
China’s first step toward expected to orbit the Moon, land and return to Earth by 2020, said Ye Peijian, Commander in Chief of the Chang’e (lunar landing) programme and an academic at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Ye told a meeting Space scientists that China plans to launch its first manned moon landing in 2025, a probe to Mars by 2013 and to Venus by 2015.
“China has the full capacity to accomplish Mars exploration by 2013,” Ye was quoted as saying by the state-run Global Times newspaper.
The unmanned mission to the Moon was seen as a counter to India’s Chandrayan-1, which left its foot prints on the Moon by crashing on to the lunar surface with the tricolour, stealing a march over China by becoming the fourth country to do so after the U.S., Russia and Japan.
China, earlier, had a head start by flying a man into space in 2003 thus becoming the third nation only after United States and the Soviet Union and Chang’e 1 was launched in 2007 which entered lunar orbit and sent pictures of the moon.
India plans to launch its Chandrayan-II mission in 2012-13 with its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), which would include a lunar orbiter to probe the moon surface for geological date and look for helium-3.
ISRO also plans to send manned space flight by 2015 and a human moon mission by 2025 besides plans to send a satellite (Aditya) to study Sun corona with more advanced GSLV launchers.
China has also announced plans to set up its orbital space station by 2020.
Earlier this month, Chief Engineer overseeing China’s lunar exploration programme Wu Weiren said that work on the Chang’e-2 lunar orbiter had entered the pre-launch testing stage and it would make its first trial flight before the end of the year.
Chang’e-2 will carry out a soft-landing test in preparation for the launch of Chang’e-3, which is scheduled for 2013. The Chang’e Project is named after a Chinese legend of a goddess who took a magic elixir and flew to the moon.
Space-programme officials had said previously that the Chang’e-2 mission would be launched in October around the Mid Autumn Festival, dedicated to the Moon Goddess, Chang’e, but no precise date has been given.
Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of China’s lunar orbiter project, said Beijing plans to launch an orbital space station by around 2020 is achievable, based on aerospace technology development and the success of future manned missions.
China’s space programme will pose great challenges to scientists and technicians, Mr. Ouyang said. The space station will be quite small in size compared with the International Space Station, a joint collaboration between 16 countries, including the U.S. and Russia.
Chinese analysts, however, dismissed international concerns that Beijing is engaging in an outer-space arms race, stressing that recent activities and future missions are for scientific purposes and for the benefit of mankind.
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