NewSpace News: SpaceX, JP Aerospace, and more

Today I have mostly NewSpace news along with one or two other subjects. Enjoy!

First off I have press release from SpaceX announcing that it has signed a contract with the Department of Defense's Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) Office to carry their first Jumpstart mission payload onboard the upcoming Falcon 1 launch. The flight, scheduled for June 2008, is going up from SpaceX launch complex in the Central Pacific Marshall Islands' Kwajalein Atoll. The Jumpstart mission aims to establish a preliminary framework for responsive contracting, and to demonstrate the ability to rapidly integrate and execute a mission, from initial call-up to launch. By signing this contract the Dept. of Defense has given a huge endorsement to SpaceX that I would imagine will help them gain many more payloads.

I have been kind of following JP Aerospace lately and they have been working on a new airship that they call the Tandem. The Tandem is a low cost airship capable of flight to 140,000 feet. Tandem fills the gap between free balloons and complex high altitude airships. I have always been fascinated by airships and think that a line of luxury airships would do very well. But back to the story; Tandems consist of two balloons separated by a keel. Two propellers designed for flight at 100,000 feet drive Tandems. JP Aerospace developed the Tandem as a tool to construct the Dark Sky Station, a high altitude port and construction facility. It will also be used as a "mothership" for small experimental airships, (Mach Gliders and X-Airships). High Racks, foam and carbon fiber balloon instrument carriers, have been the workhorse for development at JP Aerospace so far. Tandem will now step into that role. JP Aerospace has just come out with some preliminary sketches for the Tandem, check 'em out. For some more info visit: hobbyspace.com.

I read an interesting article on The Space Review that ponders the question of whether or not there is really a market for space commerce. I think that there certainly is, once the price comes down for the average person tourism will boom, and there are many scientific applications that can come out of space.

This isn't really NewSpace, it's about the European Space Agency, but anyway Arianespace launched ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) yesterday (March 9th). This was the first launch of an ATV. ATVs carriy propellant, oxygen, equipment, systems, food and water for the International Space Station and its crew. Once docked to the ISS, this resupply spacecraft also will be able to use its own propulsion system to increase the space station’s altitude to overcome the effects of drag as it orbits the Earth. Although the ATV was launched unmanned, its preparation at the Spaceport followed all of the procedures for a human-rated spacecraft, as it will become part of the International Space Station that is visited by crewmembers during its cargo unloading and other operations. This launch also rocketed Arianespace into the major leagues, giving it some more street cred (or "space cred") among other aerospace companies. Here's some more pictures of the Ariane 5 and the launch.

Sources: SpaceX Press Release, Arianespace.com

Thanks for reading,

The Fool

The Space Race... to the ISS

Sorry for not putting a post out in a while, I have been really busy, but now I am back and I will be posting everyday or every other day, so get ready. Today's main topic is about a few of the new methods of getting people and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS).

The European Space Agency is scheduled to launch their Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) on March 8 this week. The ESA's ATV has been delayed for a while, but now all the lights are green for launch. Each ATV will deliver 7.5 tons of cargo to the ISS, provide reboost capability to help keep the station in its proper orbit, give 45 cubic meters extra pressurized volume, and at the end of its mission will burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere with 6.5 tons of garbage and waste on board. The ATVs will stay with the ISS for around six months. Many countries in the ESA have long wanted to have space faring capabilities, especially France, and this project is a step in the right direction. These ATV will be very helpful for the ISS, even though they can't carry people. The only possible pitfall would be if these ATV were abandoned after the first seven scheduled flights, this would cause the ESA to lose a good investment and a potential market.

Next up is Elon Musk's SpaceX and the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. SpaceX has claimed that they have met all of the COTS guidelines and already have a full-scale engineering model of the Dragon capsule that they are building for launch on their Falcon 9 rocket. The early version of the Dragon capsule is designed to carry cargo, both pressurized and unpressurized, to the ISS. The great difference between ATV and Dragon is that, from the beginning, the Dragon capsule was designed to be used to carry people into orbit. Having this already developed and nearly ready for more production and launches could give SpaceX a huge jump, and near monopoly, on the competition for government launches and of course the private market.

Last up is the Orbital Sciences Corporation and their Cygnus vehicle. Orbital won a funded COTS award last month after Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) lost their funding when they failed to meet their financing requirements. Orbital has proposed to build a Cygnus cargo carrier with similar payload capacity to the Dragon and to be launched from their new Taurus 2 rocket. This rocket, which is to launch from Wallops Island in Virginia, will use the same Russian engines (modified by Aerojet) as the first stage as RpK’s K-1. As far as we know, however, the company has no plans to turn Cygnus into a human-rated system. The Cygnus vehicle is not as developed as the ATV or the Dragon but it will certainly be and up and comer to watch for.

I read an interesting article along with a video on colonyworlds.com about why the Romanians are going to win the Google Lunar X Prize. And I know it's a little late but if you haven't seen the 43rd Carnival of Space go ahead and check it out on startswithabang.com.

Source: The Internet

Thanks for reading,

The Fool

Successful SpaceX Test, NASA Looking for New Partner, and Space Meets the Runway

Today I am going to give you a few news stories because I just had a lot of time to spend posting and I found some interesting stories. So first I will start with SpaceX's recent successful engine test.


On January 18, SpaceX had the first successful test of its multistage Falcon 9 medium to heavy lift rocket. The engines operated at full power, generating over 180,000 pounds of force, equivalent to a Boeing 777 at full power, and consuming 700 lbs per second of fuel and liquid oxygen during the run. Elon Musk says that no real problems were encountered during the test and he hopes to soon have the full complement of nine Merlin engines up and running. The next run, scheduled for February, will use three engines operating for a full first stage mission duty cycle of three minutes. This first stage will get the 180 ft long Falcon 9 vehicle to more than ten times the speed of sound; the Falcon 9 second stage will continue accelerating the payload to a final velocity that may be in excess of Mach 30 for missions beyond low Earth orbit. The next tests will be with 5, 7, and finally all 9 engines firing. SpaceX hopes to have the Falcon 1 ready by this spring and the Falcon 9 ready by the end of 2008. For more info, pics, and some videos go to the press release.


In other news NASA has kicked Rocketplane Kistler out of a commercial partnership where they are trying to develop a spaceship to service the International Space Station. NASA is currently trying to find another partner to take Rockerplane's spot alongside SpaceX, who is also in the partnership. NASA will be splitting $485 million between two companies for their work on vehicles that will travel to the ISS with crews and supplies. Rocketplane was kicked out when they failed to meet the required $500 million of privately raised cash. Rocketplane attempted to file a lawsuit about the severed partnership but their claim was denied. NASA hopes to have a new partner by the end of February. For some more information here is the link.


Finally let's look into the future. Imagine the near future when people will regularly be in outer space and in zero gravity. Will space suits become a fashion statement and zero-g outfits all the rage. That is the idea at the Hyper Space Couture Design Contest. In this contest designers come up with outfits for the passengers of the upcoming suborbital flights. This contest is hosted by Rocketplane Kistler. Virgin Galactic is also working on outfits though they won't comment. More info on space fashion.


Well just to end this post I wanted to ask some of my readers if you like longer posts like this one or shorter posts. I enjoy writing both kinds so I was just going to ask.


Thanks for reading,
The Fool

Elon Musk is Entrepeneur of the Year for 2007

I just read a pretty neat article on the man behind SpaceX, Tesla Motors, and SolarCity. He also co-founded PayPal and plans to colonize Mars. His name is Elon Musk and to read more about him and his award of Entrepeneur of the Year for 2007 go here, it really is a well written, if quite long, article.

The Fool

Space tug offered to NASA as new space delivery system

NASA has been offered an interesting new way to deliver cargo to the ISS and other outer space targets. Space Systems/Loral has submitted proposals for $175 million in Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demonstration money, following NASA's decision to withdraw support from Rocketplane Kistler's stalled K-1 reusable launcher program. NASA is offering a total of $500 million to companies who can show potential ideas for space delivery systems. SpaceX already is entitled to $278 million in grants for it's Dragon rocket system. The Space System/Loral team would use the company's proven 1300-series satellite bus as a refuelable space tug that would remain in orbit for as long as 10 years. After docking with and escorting an essentially dumb cargo vessel to the station, the vehicle would remove it from the station and allow it to be de-orbited over an ocean. The technology is almost all there it is simply a new concept that may be very workable in the end. I think NASA will like this because it is all American made and possible reliable and reusable. Only time will tell.

The Fool