7916272
submission
FleaPlus writes:
The Yecheon Astro Space Center of South Korea has announced a $30 million suborbital spaceflight project with XCOR Aerospace. XCOR, a private US company known for building liquid-fueled rocket engines and rocket racer aircraft, will lease its (in-progress) reusable 2-person Lynx Mark II spacecraft to the South Korean venture for 'space tourism, educational, scientific and environmental monitoring missions,' compliant with US and South Korean export regulations. The development cost is much less than Mojave-neighbor Virgin Galactic's suborbital project, which is itself much less expensive than NASA's $450 million suborbital Ares I-X rocket. The suborbital spaceflight market has recently seen several serious competitors emerge, with Branson/Rutan's Virgin Galactic, John Carmack's Armadillo Aerospace, Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, and Jeff Greason's XCOR Aerospace vying to launch microgravity experiments, atmospheric research payloads, and passengers to suborbital space.
6639323
submission
FleaPlus writes:
NASA's Ares I-X is set to launch this Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on weather. The rocket is the tallest (and possibly most expensive, at $450 million) suborbital rocket ever assembled, consisting of a solid rocket motor from the Space Shuttle and an Atlas V avionics system, with a non-functional upper stage put on top. The Ares I-X has roughly the same shape (but different internal components) compared to NASA's planned medium-lift Ares I, which is scheduled to be completed after 2017 with an estimated cost of $1-$2 billion per launch. Even though the fate of the Ares I itself (and the overall future direction of NASA spaceflight) is uncertain, the >700 sensors on the Ares I-X should provide data useful for validating computer models used by NASA.
6529597
submission
FleaPlus writes:
Buzz Aldrin and twelve other astronauts have published a joint endorsement of commercial human spaceflight, stating that 'while it's completely appropriate for NASA to continue developing systems and the new technologies necessary to take crews farther out into our solar system, [the astronauts] believe that the commercial sector is fully capable of safely handling the critical task of low-Earth-orbit human transportation.' They are confident that commercial systems (which NASA already relies on for launching multibillion-dollar science payloads) can provide a level of safety equal to the Russian Soyuz and higher than the Space Shuttle, while strengthening US economic competitiveness. They also support the expected endorsement of the White House's Augustine Commission regarding NASA's use of commercial spaceflight — the Commission's final report will be released this Thursday.
5905499
submission
FleaPlus writes:
Engineers at the United Launch Alliance (which currently launches NASA, DOD, and US commercial unmanned spacecraft), have proposed a commercially-based architecture for lunar exploration. Coupling already-existing boosters with modular upper stages would allow for cost-effective rapid development, sending humans to orbit by 2014 and landing crew on the Moon by 2018 (compared to the current projection of ~2030 for NASA). At a cost of ~$5B/yr, developing and operating the architecture is designed to fit within NASA's current human spaceflight budget constraints. Its commercial nature means NASA would not need to bear the entire cost and that multiple companies would compete to provide components of the architecture, such as propellant delivery (~75% of the required in-orbit mass). In-space refueling depots in low-orbit and L2 would be used not only for lunar exploration, but would also provide an initial market for new commercial launch vehicles and enable future exploration of near-Earth asteroids/comets, Mars, and the rest of the solar system.
5834535
submission
FleaPlus writes:
A summary of the Augustine Committee's upcoming report on the future of US spaceflight has been submitted to the White House and NASA, and made available to the public. The committee's analysis found that NASA's current plans for a human lunar return by 2020 are unworkable, with NASA's status quo not likely to place them on the moon 'until well into the 2030s, if ever'. Raising NASA's budget by $3B/year opens two primary options: 'Moon First' with a lunar return and possible base-building starting in the mid-2020s, or 'Flexible Path,' which would initially focus on building an in-space architecture for supporting progressive exploration, starting with Lagrange points and Near-Earth Objects (asteroids and comets) in the early 2020s, and exploring the moons of Mars or Earth in the mid-2020s. Options for a heavy-lift launcher were also outlined: NASA's current plans for an Ares V, a less costly 'directly Shuttle-derived' vehicle, or the least costly (but politically most difficult) 'new way of doing business' of purchasing launches on an upgraded EELV. Other key findings are that the ISS should be extended to 2020, that developing in-space refueling would benefit all of NASA's options, that NASA should make use of commercial crew transportation, that NASA should revive its space technology development program (which had largely stagnated in past decades), and that while Mars should be the ultimate destination for human exploration, it is not the best first destination. The White House and NASA will review the report and announce NASA's forward path in early October.
5721887
submission
FleaPlus writes:
Steve Cook, project manager for the Ares I-X, Ares I, and Ares V rockets, announced that he will resign from NASA MSFC after 19 years at the agency, leaving for an executive position at Dynetics, Inc. This raises doubts about the future of the Ares program, which has been plagued with development problems and massive cost/schedule overruns since its inception. Steve Cook also oversaw the (since discredited) 2005 ESAS study which scrapped NASA's prior plans to adapt already-existing commercial rockets for human/beyond-LEO exploration in favor of internally developing the Ares rockets. His management track record included a number of failed NASA MSFC projects, such as the Delta Clipper, X-33, and X-34.
5721831
submission
FleaPlus writes:
Steve Cook, project manager for the Ares I-X, Ares I, and Ares V rockets, announced that he will resign from NASA MSFC after 19 years at the agency, leaving for an executive position at Dynetics, Inc. This raises doubts about the future of the Ares program, which has been plagued with development problems and massive cost/schedule overruns since its inception. Steve Cook also oversaw the (since discredited) 2005 ESAS study which scrapped NASA's prior plans to adapt already-existing commercial rockets for human/beyond-LEO exploration in favor of internally developing the Ares rockets.
5592083
submission
FleaPlus writes:
Excalibur Almaz has come out of stealth mode and unveiled their reusable spacecraft capable of carrying a crew of three and/or cargo to orbit for up to a week. According to VP (and former NASA astronaut) Leroy Chiao, the spacecraft are designed to be launched on a variety of rockets, and are modernized versions of vehicles developed and flight-tested for the Soviet Union's military space station program (the company has also purchased the space stations for potential future use). EA plans to begin flight tests in 2012, with revenue flights starting in 2013. The company will likely be competing with the SpaceX Dragon and Bigelow Aerospace's recently-announced "Orion Lite" for a chunk of the emerging commercial orbital transportation market.
5445051
submission
FleaPlus writes:
NASA is using an initial $50M to 'stimulate efforts within the private sector to develop and demonstrate human spaceflight capabilities.' NASA originally planned to use $150M, which was blocked by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) until it was largely redirected to the ~$35B Ares rocket program based at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office (C3PO) will reward multiple competitive contracts, with the goals of promoting job growth, lowering the cost of spaceflight, and helping reduce the post-Shuttle gap in US human spaceflight capability.
5294537
submission
Neil H. writes:
The Augustine Commission, commissioned by the White House and NASA to provide an independent review of the current US human spaceflight program and potential new directions, is seeking public input on a document describing the preliminary beyond-LEO (Low Earth Orbit) exploration scenarios they're analyzing. The destination-based scenarios, designed with NASA's current budget in mind, range from a Lunar Base (essentially NASA's current plan), to "Mars First" (human exploration of Mars ASAP), to "Flexible Path" (initially focused on several destinations in shallow gravity wells, such as Lagrange points, near-Earth asteroids, and the Martian moon Phobos). The Commission is also seeking input on the issues of engaging commercial spaceflight, in-space refueling, and coordinating human and robotic exploration.
5247673
submission
FleaPlus writes:
From studying past solid rocket launch failures, the 45th Space Wing of the US Air Force has concluded that an early abort (up to a minute after launch) of NASA Marshall Flight Center's Ares I rocket would have a ~100% chance of killing all crew, even if the launch escape system were activated. This would be due to the capsule being surrounded until ground impact by a 3-mile-wide cloud of burning solid propellant fragments, which would melt the parachute. NASA management has stated that their computer models predict a safe outcome, allegedly suppressing engineers who disagreed. The Air Force has also been hesitant to give launch range approval to the predecessor Ares I-X suborbital rocket, since its solid rocket vibrations are violent enough to disable both its steering and self-destruct module, endangering people on the ground.
4978189
submission
FleaPlus writes:
Apollo 11 astronaut (and MIT Astronautics Sc.D.) Buzz Aldrin suggests a bolder plan for NASA (while still remaining within its budget), which he will present to the White House's Augustine Commission; he sees NASA heading down the wrong path with a "rehash of what we did 40 years ago" which could derail future exploration and settlement. For the short-term, Aldrin suggests canceling NASA's troubled and increasingly costly Ares I, instead launching manned capsules on commercial Delta IV, Atlas V, and/or SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. In the medium-term, NASA should return to the moon with an international consortium, with the ultimate goal of commercial lunar exploitation in mind. Aldrin's long term plan includes a 2018 comet flyby, a 2019 manned trip to a near-earth asteroid, a 2025 trip to the Martian moon Phobos, and one-way trips to colonize Mars.
4922009
submission
Neil H. writes:
The White House's Human Space Flight Plans blue-ribbon panel has posted the material from their first public meeting on the future of NASA's spaceflight program. NASA officials presented their Ares I rocket plans and their belief that they can work around its design flaws, with projected development costs ballooning to $35 billion. The panel also heard several alternative proposals, such as adapting already-existing EELV and SpaceX rockets to carry crew to orbit; these proposals would have better safety margins than the Ares I, be ready sooner, and cost NASA less than $2 billion to complete, but are politically unattractive.
2992827
submission
FleaPlus writes:
Popular Mechanics reports that a "renegade" group including NASA engineers has met with President-Elect Obama's space transition team to present information on the DIRECT architecture for launching NASA missions after the Space Shuttle is retired. According to the group, DIRECT's Jupiter launch system will be safer, less expensive, better-performing, and be ready sooner than the Ares launch system NASA is currently developing, while still providing jobs for much of the existing shuttle workforce. Meanwhile, it's expected that current NASA head and adamant Ares supporter Michael Griffin will be replaced by a new NASA administrator.
1220103
submission
FleaPlus writes:
Besides launching paying customers on suborbital spaceflights, it looks like Virgin Galactic will also be helping to monitor the climate. The company has partnered on a "no exchange of funds" basis with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to carry instruments measuring CO2 and other gases on its WhiteKnightTwo carrier plane. Most of the NOAA's current samples go up to 7.6km, but instruments on WhiteKnightTwo will be able to regularly fly above 15km during its test-flight period over the next year and a half, with the option of carrying instruments to the Earth's ionosphere when SpaceShipTwo is operational.
