Romney and Gingrich offer contrasting space policy views in Florida debate
Romney and Gingrich and their contrasting space policy views, as stated during in Florida debate last night.
Tag: spaceflight
Gingrich plans ‘visionary’ speech on space this week in Florida
Gingrich has announced that he plans to give a “visionary” speech on space this week in Florida.
To me, this does not bode well. The last thing the American aerospace industry needs right now is another politician dictating a “new” path. The best thing Gingrich could do is to endorse the effort to have private companies do the work, and to then outline how he will get the government out of their way.
The deadline to apply for NASA’s next astronaut class is Friday.
Act quick! The deadline to apply to join the next astronaut class at NASA is Friday.
Though if you ask me (and no one is), it probably makes more sense to apply to Virgin Galactic, Scaled Composites, SpaceX, or Stratolaunch if you want to be a space cadet, as these are going to be the guys in charge in coming years.
Stratolaunch announced yesterday the groundbreaking of its facility at Mohave
Stratolaunch announced yesterday the groundbreaking of its production facility and hanger at Mohave.
Some details on the cause of the Dragon/Falcon 9 launch delay
Bill Harward has some details on the cause of the Dragon/Falcon 9 launch delay.
Essentially, nothing seems critical. They found a few minor issues that they felt needed more testing, and are simply making sure these issues are resolved before launch. All in all I find this report very encouraging. Stay tuned.
The Dragon/Falcon 9 test flight is now set for no earlier than late March
The Dragon/Falcon 9 test flight is now set for no earlier than late March.
Several Republicans in Congress expressed concern yesterday about the Obama administration’s decision earlier this week to negotiate a space code of conduct with Europe and others.
Several Republicans in Congress expressed concern yesterday about the Obama administration’s decision earlier this week to negotiate a space code of conduct with Europe and others.
“I will blast Britain’s Got Talent winner into space.”
The Russian commission investigating the failure of Phobos-Grunt has concluded that the spacecraft failed because of Russian engineering errors, not U.S. sabotage.
Why am I not surprised? The Russian commission investigating the failure of Phobos-Grunt has concluded that the spacecraft failed because of Russian engineering errors, not U.S. sabotage.
I had suspected this whole kerfuffle was a fake issue inspired by Russian politicians. This report proves it.
The Japanese release more details about the hacking of their computers
The Japanese space agency has released more details about the hacking of their computers.
In a break from standard practice, U.S. military has removed the links to its tracking data of Phobos-Grunt.
Could the Russians be right!? In a break from standard practice, U.S. military has removed the links to its tracking data of Phobos-Grunt.
On Jan. 12, the Space Track website originally published information on the estimated re-entry track for Phobos-Grunt, a Russian probe that malfunctioned shortly after its November 2011 launch and was stuck in low-Earth orbit for more than two months.
After routine updates and revised estimates over the course of the next two days, the military removed links to these re-entry predictions and did not publish final confirmation data on the spacecraft’s fall on Jan. 15, according to Aviation Week.
A careful analysis of recent activities by U.S. radar show that it could not have affected Phobos-Grunt. Yet, the U.S. military has now taken actions that not only break with standard procedures, they draw attention to the issue. All very astonishing.
Orbital Sciences has once again delayed its first launch of Antares, the rocket that will lift its Cygnus cargo capsule to ISS.
Orbital Sciences has once again delayed its first launch of Antares, the rocket that will lift its Cygnus cargo capsule to ISS.
A hold-down test of Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Antares rocket, a prerequisite for the launch vehicle’s maiden flight, likely will not be completed before April because of ongoing tests and certification work on the vehicle’s launch pad at Wallops Island, Va., a launch official said.
As much as I am a fan of these private companies (Orbital and SpaceX), I also recognize the great risks. Both companies are building new rockets and capsules, and have many enemies. If they fail, those enemies will jump on their effort like sharks, ready to shut them down and move all government funding to NASA’s big heavy-lift program. Thus, they have to succeed. Better to delay and get things right then hurry and have them blow up in everyone’s face.