Faced with stiff competition from SpaceX, Arianespace is considering lowering its launch prices.
Faced with stiff competition from SpaceX, Arianespace is considering lowering its launch prices.
Tag: spaceflight
SpaceX has scrubbed today’s first geosynchronous launch of its Falcon 9 rocket.
SpaceX has scrubbed today’s first geosynchronous launch of its Falcon 9 rocket.
The scrub occurred after the third unplanned hold. There was an issue with the first stage, but more information has not yet been released, though they also said that they have rescheduled the next launch attempt for Thursday, 5:38 pm, on Thanksgiving.
In an interview Richard Branson says that Virgin Galactic is working to replace SpaceShipTwo’s hybrid engine.
In an interview Richard Branson says that Virgin Galactic is working to replace SpaceShipTwo’s hybrid engine.
So for instance, the initial rocket which I’ll be flying on to space will be thrown away afterward. Within six to nine months, we will be using rockets that will have capability of being used maybe up to 1,000 times, but definitely up to 100 times. That will bring the cost of space travel down dramatically.
This timing fits with their new schedule for the first commercial flights of SpaceShipTwo sometime late in 2014. I suspect they are hoping to fly the ship a few more times with the troublesome hybrid engine, partly for engineering research and partly to keep interest up in the company, and then switch over to a new engine.
“The entry of SpaceX into the commercial market is a game changer. It’s going to really shake the industry to its roots.”
As said by the chief technology officer of one of the world’s largest satellite communications company, in reference to today’s scheduled 5:37 pm (Eastern) launch of Falcon 9’s first geosynchronous satellite payload. As this man and Elon Musk also added,
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A Russian rocket this morning launched a trio of European satellites designed to study the Earth’s magnetic field.
A Russian rocket this morning launched a trio of European satellites designed to study the Earth’s magnetic field.
More information about the science goals of the Swarm mission can be found here.
SpaceX successfully completed a countdown dress rehearsal and launchpad hot fire engine test in preparation for the next commercial launch of its Falcon 9 rocket on November 25.
SpaceX successfully completed a countdown dress rehearsal and launchpad hot fire engine test yesterday in preparation for the next commercial launch of its Falcon 9 rocket on November 25.
This was the first such fueling at Kennedy of the Falcon 9.
Update: This article gives some details about why the second engine burn of the upper stage rocket did not occur on the previous Falcon 9 launch, and what SpaceX has done to fix the problem. That failure caused speculation that the engine exploded at the attempt.
It is essential that engine functions in space on the November 25 launch in order for SpaceX to deliver its commercial satellite to its proper geosynchronous orbit.
ISS celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of the launch of its first module today.
ISS celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of the launch of its first module yesterday.
Tito noted today that if the U.S. doesn’t partner with him to send a couple to fly past Mars, he’ll partner with Russia or China instead.
Dennis Tito noted today that if the U.S. doesn’t partner with him to send a couple to fly past Mars, he’ll partner with Russia or China instead.
That’s nice, but how does he know they’ll partner with him? Based on his proposal, I would expect Russia especially to laugh him out of the room.
Construction of Russia’s new Vostochny spaceport is essentially back on schedule.
Construction of Russia’s new Vostochny spaceport is essentially back on schedule.
“I think we have reduced the lag and are getting back to the initial schedule,” Spetsstroy Director Alexander Volosov said on Thursday, November 21. While in July 2013, the lag was about three months, now it has been reduced to ten days. “Funding is provided on time and in sufficient volumes,” Volosov said. The first stage of the project – construction of roads at the cosmodrome – has been completed. The second stage is proceeding as scheduled and is to be completed in December 2014.
India’s Mangalyaan Mars probe has returned its first image, a picture of Earth.
India’s Mangalyaan Mars probe has returned its first image, a picture of India on Earth.
Though you can always learn something from any image, what is significant here is that before even leaving Earth orbit engineers have proven that the spacecraft’s camera works.
In a launch today a Russian Dnepr rocket sent 32 satellites into orbit, breaking the record of 29 set less than a week ago by a Minotaur rocket.
The competition heats up: In a launch today a Russian Dnepr rocket sent 32 satellites into orbit, breaking the record of 29 set less than a week ago by a Minotaur rocket.
This is the future. Satellites are going to get smaller, and thus cheaper to launch.
Dennis Tito’s project to launch a manned fly-by of Mars by 2018 has issued its revised plans, and they call for NASA to use SLS to do it.
Dennis Tito’s project to launch a manned fly-by of Mars by 2018 has issued its revised plans, and they call for NASA to use SLS to do it.
I will have more to say about this proposal shortly.
On Sunday Curiosity suffered an electrical problem that has caused a pause in operations while engineers troubleshoot it.
On Sunday Curiosity suffered an electrical problem that has caused a pause in operations while engineers troubleshoot it.
At the moment the rover has ceased its travel. Though they are trying to make this sound as if it isn’t that big a deal, it does not sound good to me.
On Tuesday NASA issued a solicitation for bids on providing the agency a manned ferrying capability to and from ISS.
On Tuesday NASA issued a solicitation for bids on providing the agency a manned ferrying capability to and from ISS.
The new solicitation asks for proposals for final design, development, test, evaluation and certification of a human space transportation system, including ground operations, launch, orbital operations, return to Earth and landing.
The article is unclear how this solicitation fits in with the commercial crew program that already exists and is funding the manned upgrade of SpaceX’s Dragon and the development of Boeing’s CST-100 and Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser.
Update: This article makes things much clearer, outlining how this solicitation is the next phase in development and is open to all bidders.
An Orbital Sciences’ Minotaur rocket tonight launched a record 29 satellites into orbit, 28 of which were cubesats.
An Orbital Sciences’ Minotaur rocket tonight launched a record 29 satellites into orbit, 28 of which were cubesats.
More here.
To save money, NASA management has shut down a troubled program to build a more efficient plutonium power supply for its deep space missions.
To save money, NASA management has shut down a troubled program to build a more efficient plutonium power supply for its deep space missions.
The cancelled ASRGs would have generated electrical power from the expansion of gas warmed by the radioactive decay of plutonium-238. NASA says that the devices have the same power output as its current generation of Multi-Mission Radioactive Thermoelectric Generators (MMRTG) but use four times less plutonium-238, a scarce resource. One MMRTG with 4.8 kilograms of plutonium is currently powering the Curiosity rover on Mars.
The United States has less than 40 kilograms of plutonium-238 left, but the DOE restarted production this year. Green says he is confident that the DOE will be producing plutonium-238 at a rate of 1.5 kilograms per year by 2019. He says that the stockpiled plutonium-238, along with the new supply, will be enough to send another planned rover to Mars in 2020 and to complete other missions in the 2020s – without any need for the extra efficiency of the ASRGs.
The ASRG program had been a year and a half behind schedule and had had its management team replaced at one point.
A close look at another government program to try to lower the cost to orbit.
A close look at another government program to try to lower the cost to orbit.
The latest program is know as the Experimental Spaceplane — or XS-1. The objective “is to demonstrate a reusable first stage launch vehicle capable of carrying and deploying an upper stage that inserts 3,000 to 5,000 lb. payloads into Low Earth Orbit (LEO), designed for less than $5M per launch for an operational system.” The system has to be able to perform with aircraft-like operations. And demonstrate the ability to fly 10 times in 10 days. It needs to reach Mach 10 at least once. And provide the basis for next-generation launch services and “global reach hypersonic and space access aircraft.”
Forgive me if I am skeptical. Despite DARPA’s reasonable success (It helped make possible SpaceX’s Merlin engine), these government efforts generally fail because they are unattached to the prime reasons for lowering cost: competition and profits. Consider this very accurate historical summary in the article above:
In the era of bell bottoms and Richard Nixon, there was the space shuttle. When Ronald Reagan ruled the roost, all hope rested in the National Aerospace Plane. During the Bill Clinton era, there were the X-33 and Venture Star. In Barack Obama’s first term, the Air Force pursued its Reusable Booster System (RBS).
Five programs. One objective: to radically reduce the cost to orbit. More than $14 billion spent on development. And the result? A super expensive shuttle program. Four vehicles that never flew. And access to space just kept getting more expensive.
Only when every effort in the aerospace industry is focused on making itself more competitive will we see the kinds of technical advancements this new DARPA program wishes to achieve.
MAVEN has reached orbit.
MAVEN has reached orbit.
After an additional engine burn, the spacecraft is now on its way to Mars.
NASA’s next Mars orbiter, MAVEN, is go for launch today at 1:28 pm from Wallops Island.
NASA’s next Mars orbiter, MAVEN, is go for launch today at 1:28 pm.
Moreover, another launch on Tuesday night from Wallops Island will be visible along the entire east coast, and will put a record 29 satellites into orbit.
The new head of the Russian Space Agency has requested that the government impose a ban on the sale of any foreign made satellites in Russia.
The new head of the Russian Space Agency has requested that the government impose a ban on the sale in Russia of any foreign made satellites.
The idea is that Russian industries should build these satellites instead, and that this ban will encourage the rebirth of the Russian satellite business.
I doubt it. If the Russian satellite business could do it better, they would get the business anyway, especially since their labor costs are generally much lower.