India Ends Chandrayaan-1 Orbiter's Mission After Losing Contact August 31, 2009
Posted by Nick Azer in : Chandrayaan, Chandrayaan-1, Indian Space Research Organization , add a comment
India’s ISRO has decided to end its Chandrayaan-1 orbiter mission after losing contact 2 days ago.
Launched in October last year, this marks a somewhat premature end to the mission, but not before collecting a significant amount of data.
I’ll have a full retrospective up in a few days, as eyes turn to India’s next effort, an unmanned rover (in collaboration with Russia) called simply Chandrayaan-2…
First 2009 Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge Attempts Announced! August 28, 2009
Posted by Nick Azer in : Google Lunar X Prize, lander, Lunar Lander Challenge 2009, Youtube , add a comment
Over at the X PRIZE Foundation‘s official blog The Launch Pad, they announced the official attempt dates for this year’s Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge!
This year’s format is different than last year‘s—instead of the teams all gathering at one location and one time and competing there, teams can make an attempt on their home turf and on their schedule (before a certain date).
There are three teams announced in this first group:
- Armadillo Aerospace, winners last year (and the first to win a prize at all) will compete on September 12th and 13th in Caddo Mills, TX;
- Masten Space Systems will be aiming at different prizes on three different occassions: September 15-16, October 7-8, and October 28-29 from Mojave, CA; and
- Unreasonable Rocket joins the fray Oct. 30-31st, hoping for treats and not tricks from Cantil, CA.
Keep an eye here for coverage, and check out this great X PRIZE recap video from last year:
NM Gov. Bill Richardson To Be Cleared of Federal Probe August 27, 2009
Posted by Nick Azer in : Bill Richardson, Obama, private sector , add a comment
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a prominent private space advocate and President Obama’s initial choice for Commerce Secretary, will be cleared of the federal probe that derailed his nomination to the Commerce Dept., according to an Associated Press report.
At the time of Richardson’s withdrawal from the commerce appointment in January, Obama said “I look forward to his future service to our country and in my administration.” Now that he’s finally cleared, Richardson is sure to be appointed somewhere in the near future.
His original Commerce appointment had a space tinge to it: Richardson’s flagship economic project in New Mexico has been Spaceport America.
Obama has voiced support for private space (“Amplify NASA’s reach” with commercial efforts and “unleash the genius of private enterprise to secure the United States’ leadership in space”), and with the Augustine commission‘s recent grim assessment of Constellation’s future, the development of private space could be taking a leading role in American space efforts soon—and Richardson will probably be at the forefront of it:
“Here’s what I want to be sure of … that the Obama administration is pro-commercial space … that the administration is pro-space, pro-government space, pro-commercial space.” -Bill Richardson, when asked about a potential role in the Obama administration last year
Keep a close eye on Richardson, as I’m confident Obama has space-related plans for him; and those plans could have a significant impact on the future of NASA.
A Look at the MARS (Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport) August 24, 2009
Posted by Nick Azer in : NASA, space tourism, Spaceport , add a comment
A post over at Space Politics (with the glorious title of “Virginia is (still) for spaceport lovers” :) ) recently highlighted the fact that the Republican candidate (Bob McDonnell) for Virginia’s governorship toured the MARS (Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport) and expressed support for its development.
Thsi was actually the first I’d heard about this spaceport, so here’s a look at it:
Located at Wallops Island, VA (just south of the Maryland border on the Atlantic), the MARS facility is being built at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility for use by commercial and other users. This is the second regional spaceport to begin development in the U.S., with New Mexico’s Spaceport America (home of Virgin Galactic) being the first.
Having a high-profile candidate for a governor’s office embrace a spaceport so actively is an interesting step further into the mainstream for private space. With the Augustine Panel’s grim take on NASA’s budgetary future, we may be seeing an increasing number of these embraces of private space as the year goes on…
Neat Will Pomerantz Interview Up Over at 'Out of the Cradle' August 20, 2009
Posted by Nick Azer in : EVA Interviews, Google Lunar X Prize , add a commentOut of the Cradle has a neat interview up, by Eva-Jane Lark, talking to the Google Lunar X PRIZE‘s Will Pomerantz.
The interview is the first in a series by Eva of lunar commercial figures and interests.
Some great quotes there by Will on the direction of the X PRIZE and the importance (or lack thereof) of necessarily winning the prize. A good read :)
The Dog Days of Augustine? Panel Delivers Grim Outlook on Constellation Budgeting August 13, 2009
Posted by Nick Azer in : Augustine Panel, economy, NASA, Obama , 1 comment so far
The Obama-initiated, Norm Augustine-led Human Space Flight review panel has delivered a sobering, pessimistic take on the future of Constellation budgeting:
“The money available has declined considerably since the program began…On the other hand, the Constellation program has proven to be more difficult than it was thought to be. It will be difficult with the current budget to do anything that’s terribly inspiring in the human spaceflight area.” -Norm Augustine (as reported by the Orlando Sentinel)
The panel has concluded that at least an additional $3 billion a year would be needed for NASA to return to the Moon by 2030.
“We are on a path right now, for a system that requires [roughly] double the current budget just to operate. If Santa Claus brought us this [Constellation] system tomorrow, fully developed, and the budget didn’t change, our next action would have to be to cancel it.”- Panel member Jeff Greason (as reported by the Orlando Sentinel)
Considering the economic climate, $3 billion more a year seems extremely unlikely to me (and others), so it looks like reform to Constellation will be on the way, if not outright cancellation or replacement.
If not Constellation’s current path…what, then?
“As president, Barack Obama will establish a robust and balanced civilian space program… In achieving this vision, Obama will reach out to include international partners and to engage the private sector to amplify NASA’s reach. Obama believes that a revitalized NASA can help America maintain its innovation edge and contribute to American economic growth.” -Barack Obama’s campaign space plan
Going back to the economic climate, and Obama’s obvious personal and political motivations to have the recession turn around during his first term, having NASA “contribute to American economic growth” instead of leeching an additional $3 billion a year out of it may direct his next moves regarding the organization’s “revitalization”. (Which now seems like it could be a more dramatic change than was imagined before—with Obama certainly no stranger to the idea of change.)
Recent developments, such as the ISS contracts given in January and the awarding of stimulus funds towards private space, could be steps in a stronger private ‘amplification’ direction than was anticipated before. Amplifying NASA with private space is the option that helps the economy the most (or at all), and with Obama’s future tied to the economy, it seems logical to me that we could be seeing even more along that path, now that Constellation has been rather grimly assessed by Obama’s review panel…
Germany Joining The Lunar Fray? August 12, 2009
Posted by Nick Azer in : European Space Agency, Germany , add a comment
An article from ABC News notes that German Economy Ministry State Secretary Peter Hintze stated today that Germany could and should launch an unmanned lunar mission by 2015 (apparently seperate from any ESA efforts, while also pushing for international cooperation).
Hintze’s stated motives are vague, but the benefit is obvious: any early stake in the helium-3 mining game could prove extremely valuable, much as any lasting stake in early European America proved to be. If you don’t get in early, you might not get in at all…so as the stock of fusion power’s potential increases, expect to see more nations looking to throw their hats into the ring.
A Stimulating Development?: NASA Assigns $50 Million in Stimulus Funds for Commercial Orbital Passenger Service August 10, 2009
Posted by Nick Azer in : economy, Obama, Paragon, private sector, Space Shuttle, SpaceX , 1 comment so far
In an interesting economic development, NASA said today that $50 million in economic stimulus funds will be going towards developing commercial passenger service to orbit (to replace the retired Space Shuttle and to avoid pricey seats on the Russian Soyuz).
Private company SpaceX won one of two cargo contracts for the ISS back in January, and the Dragon craft they are using is designed to be modifiable to a human-passenger mode. NASA is holding a workshop this Thursday for SpaceX and other interested firms (quoted by the Reuters article as Ball Aerospace, Airborne Systems, Boeing, Tether Applications, Retro Aerospace, Emergent Space Technologies, Davidson Technologies, and Paragon Space Development Corp., many of whom appear specialized for certain systems).
Obama’s campaign space plan had hinted at this in the past—the idea of private U.S. space industry as stimulus. Frontiers do have a way of pushing economies along, so this could to be a road to developments much like the railroad projects of old. Considering the potential, Obama’s campaign plan, and certain past Obama decisions, there could be a lot more of this to come, and soon…
LSSW: Extreme Mobility and Unlimited Exploration August 2, 2009
Posted by Nick Azer in : Lunar Surface Systems Workshop, NASA, rover , add a commentThis is the latest in my ongoing series of coverage of the Lunar Surface Systems Workshop, where oodles of new, advanced concepts for NASA’s future lunar base were shown.
Lunar Surface Architecture Status: Part 6
Scenario 8 is a fun one—it emphasizes using the small pressurized Lunar Electric Rovers (pictured below) liberally.
The rovers can sustain a two-person crew for up to two weeks at a time, and travel hundreds of miles per trip. They’re pressurized, so astronauts can live comfortably and suit-free inside (with nifty suitlocks for excursions on foot). Mobile habitats, essentially.
There’s an adventure to the idea that appeals to me—camping trips exploring new areas of the Moon. An exciting concept with a sort of old-frontier romance to it, I think this would go a long ways toward inspiring the public, especially as the initial novelty wears off over the crew’s long stays.
Below is the manifest (timeline) for this scenario, which gets the LERs down pretty quick after the initial human return to the Moon:
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Up next: a look at the basics of the base itself.