NASA Authorization Bill Passed by House September 30, 2010
Posted by Nick Azer in : Commercial Crew Development [CCDev], Constellation, NASA, National Space Policy, Obama, Space Shuttle , add a commentThe Senate version of the NASA Authorization Bill has been passed by the House!
The bill, approved late Wednesday, gives NASA clearer ‘marching orders’ (as Rick Tumlinson put it on the Huffington Post) going forward, and allows Congress its own modifications on (while finalizing) Obama’s new direction for the space program.
A breakdown:
- $60 billion over three years for NASA
- An official end to Constellation
- $1.9 billion towards initial development of a new heavy lift vehicle, as a replacement to the cancelled Ares rockets. The rocket will begin development in 2011, four years earlier than the 2015 originally slated.
- One additional shuttle flight in 2011, while officially extending NASA involvement with the ISS to 2020
- $1.3 billion towards a new deep space capsule
- $312 million for commercial crew craft (private space)—versus the $500 million mentioned in the original White House 2011 budget plan
It’s good to see a bill passed that doesn’t dramatically alter Obama’s vision, and it is nice to see that new heavy lift moved up four years—even if it potentially is reusing parts of the Shuttle and Ares systems. With the new plan basically bypassing the Moon (as private companies lodge it in their sights), moving up the rocket four years could mean any NASA involvement on (or benefit from) the Moon could happen that much sooner.
For great in-depth coverage of the lead-up and reactions to the bill, check out Space Politics and NASA Watch :)
Google Lunar X PRIZE Roundup #31 September 30, 2010
Posted by Nick Azer in : Google Lunar X Prize, Google Lunar X Prize Roundup , add a commentHere’s the latest roundup of Google Lunar X PRIZE goodness, covering the week of Sept. 20-27th!:
- Team Omega Envoy submitted an ILDD proposal to NASA! They blogged about the student advantage :) (More about the ILDD)
- Team FREDNET featured their most recent NS1b Balloon Launch! They were also featured in an article about them being the first Hunstville, Alabama GLXP team (the new Rocket City Space Pioneers being the second) :)
- Team SELENE posted about the easiest way to win the GLXP! They were also featured in an Asia Times article about US-China relations :)
- Team JUXTOPIA_JURBAN‘s parent (Juxtopia) is a candidate for TechNite Company of 2010—and you can vote :)
- Team Astrobotic blogged about hibernation recovery for rover systems!
- Team Micro-Space blogged about a Bigelow-esque plan to put names/’business cards’ in space :)
- Team ARCA noted the third anniversary of their Mission 2!
- Team Part Time Scientists began holding new contests on their Facebook page! They also uploaded some new wallpapers :)
- Aspiring team Puli was featured in an Evadot podcast!
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden in Hot Water Over Ethics Issues? September 26, 2010
Posted by Nick Azer in : Charles Bolden, ethics, NASA, National Space Policy, Obama , add a comment
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden is starting to find himself in hot water with the Obama administration after a series of ethics issues, it seems:
“Administrator Bolden continues to be not only a distraction for the administration, but most importantly to the mission of NASA.” -Unnamed Obama administration official, “NASA Administrator draws an ethics reprimand”, The Orlando Sentinel
“The president takes the ethics pledge and the commitments made by appointees who sign it seriously, and any breach of the pledge is very disappointing.” -White House Spokesman Nick Shapiro, “NASA Administrator draws an ethics reprimand”, The Orlando Sentinel
It’s generally difficult to be reprimanded much more than that. Distraction to the mission of NASA?
As Space Politics notes, Bolden was cleared of legal violations in regards to his communication with former employer Marathon Oil, but that his actions were found to not be consistent with the administration ethics pledge (referenced by spokesman Nick Shapiro above).
Comments by Bolden earlier this summer about outreach to Muslim countries being one of his “foremost” tasks and general controversy over the new direction of NASA have not helped his cause at an important juncture for Obama’s vision for space.
With a busy year for Obama, this could well mean there’ll be a change to a less ‘distracting’ administrator in the near future, perhaps once the House and Senate compromise bills are settled one way or another. Obama seems to dictate space policy fairly closely regardless (his 2008 campaign space plan having a lot in common with the later findings of the Augustine committee), so a change in administrator may not make much of a difference in the momentum of NASA, and potentially happen that much sooner because of it.
Google Lunar X PRIZE Roundup #30 September 22, 2010
Posted by Nick Azer in : Google Lunar X Prize, Google Lunar X Prize Roundup , add a commentHot on the heels of the three-week Google Lunar X PRIZE Roundup #29, here’s #30, getting the Roundups back into a weekly rotation.
All your GLXP goodness for the week of September 13th-20th:
- A new letter-of-intent (so not-quite-official) team is in the mix: Team Puli, hailing from Hungary! Their website and Facebook page are up and running, and GLXP guy Will Pomerantz welcomed them with a video!
- Team FREDNET blogged about their high altitude balloon (NS1B) launch, and the lessons learned! They also posted about their preparations,
- Team SELENE postponed their own high altitude balloon launch. They also blogged about preparations for the balloon launch, and their engaging of Chinese students with robots :)
- Team White Label Space opened its Japan office!
- Team ARCA posted their Video Journal #35!
- Team Rocket City Space Pioneers blogged about reactions to the announcement of their team (including from CNN) :)
- Team JUXTOPIA_JURBAN‘s parent organization (Juxtopia) was listed as a top Baltimore tech company!
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Google Lunar X PRIZE Roundup #29 September 22, 2010
Posted by Nick Azer in : Google Lunar X Prize, Google Lunar X Prize Roundup , add a commentIt’s time for another bonus-sized dose of Google Lunar X PRIZE goodness, this time covering August 20th-September 13th.
Here’s your three weeks of highlights:
- A new team was announced— Rocket City Space Pioneers! Check out their first post, the Dynetics press release, and my own look at the team :) The official GLXP Launch Pad also featured the team leader’s other rocket tinkerings!
- Team Odyssey Moon CEO Bob Richards resigned. (Sad to see him go—a comment from him on this blog way back in its infancy is what opened my eyes to the potential and kind of audience this little project of mine could have. Totally blew my mind that a team found, read, and commented on my site. Best of luck on all things in your future endeavors, Dr. Richards :) )
- The MoonBots winners were announced! Future lunar pioneers :)
- Also announced was the fourth Google Lunar X PRIZE team summit, to be held October 4-5 on the Isle of Man!
- Team ARCA featured their Mission 4 command center, loading of Mission 4B elements, their new partnership with SC CALOR, and their makeover,
- Team Astrobotic added Caterpillar as a team sponsor! Also, they posted a video tour of their Lunar Expo at Carnegie Mellon (as well asphotos), and also blogged about a Moon Arts Group open house there!
- Team White Label Space featured touch screen technology for rover control—including a plan to have their rover be controlled by fans’ phones during their mission! They also added student help on their rover prototype design, blogged about the heat challenges of the moon, presented for Attraktor, and featured a team member presenting a paper at the International Astronautics Congress (IAC) 2010!
- Team Next Giant Leap‘s director of marketing was selected as a finalist for Ernst+Young’s 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year! The team also posted an update on their rover’s landing gear!
- Team JUXTOPIA_JURBAN is participating in a forum on opportunities for African-Americans in NewSpace :)
- Team SELENE posted concepts of their weather baloon glider, as well as concepts of a ‘lán yuèliàng’ rocket rover and of a cloud chamber!
- Team Micro-Space blogged about a potential NanoSat opportunity with Interorbital Systems!
- Mike Doornbos, Evadot podcaster and GLXP Launch Pad guest-poster, blogged about the GLXP as a human story :)
International Space Transport Association Launched! September 17, 2010
Posted by Nick Azer in : 1967 Outer Space Treaty, International Space Trade Association, Luna C/I, space law , add a commentCommercial space now has its own international trade organization—the International Space Transport Association (ISTA)!
A concept that had tried to get off the ground as early as 1997, the organization was officially launched today to help develop both the international space industry and, more specifically, the arguably sparse laws regarding it.
An interesting patch of the press release, as highlighted by NASA Watch:
“”One of the main goals of the International Space Transport Association is to facilitate the development of new regulations for the commercial space industry, which will help establish a more precise responsibility and liability structure, in line with UN resolution 2222-XXI Art VI.” -Press Release
That UN Resolution is the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the (currently) definitive document governing outer space law.
Article VI:
“States Parties to the Treaty shall bear international responsibility for national activities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, whether such activities are carried on by governmental agencies or by non-governmental entities, and for assuring that national activities are carried out in conformity with the provisions set forth in the present Treaty. The activities of non-governmental entities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall require authorization and continuing supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty. When activities are carried on in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, by an international organization, responsibility for compliance with this Treaty shall be borne both by the international organization and by the States Parties to the Treaty participating in such organization.” – 1967 Outer Space Treaty
In short, states are responsible not only for their own actions in space, but for the actions of organizations (companies, etc. ) from their state, in terms of compliance to the treaty. (Here’s a good, quick overview of the treaty.)
So, the ISTA lists a main goal to be clearing up this definition of liability.
The formation of the ISTA marks an interesting step forward towards more specific governance of space (including, of course, the Moon). NASA Watch’s Marc Boucher voices some skepticism about the organization’s lasting power, but even if other organizations and approaches toward further space law develop, it’s a milestone towards more concrete regulation.
For more on the European-based ISTA (including an intro video and nuggets on its structure and various subgroups for different space topics), check out their website.
A Look at the Chandrayaan-2 Payloads September 12, 2010
Posted by Nick Azer in : Chandrayaan-1, Chandrayaan-2, Indian Space Research Organization, Roscosmos , add a commentLast week, the scientific payloads that’ll be on board the orbiter and rover of the Chandrayaan-2 mission were announced!
Following the accomplishments of its historic first orbiter mission, India’s ISRO is partnering with Russia’s Roscosmos on a combined orbiter-lander-rover mission slated for 2013.
As it was NASA’a M3 Mapper and Mini-RF on board the Chandrayaan-1 that made two of the great lunar water discoveries (molecules in soil and massive amounts of water ice at the north pole), one of these 7 instruments (as reported by the Times of India) could very well be the one to make the next big lunar splash…
Orbiter
1. Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer and Solar X-ray monitor (XSM).
- Similar to a payload on the first Chandrayaan, these will map major elements on the lunar surface—namely magnesium, aluminium, silicon, calcium and iron.
2. L and S band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR).
“…for probing the first few tens of metres of the lunar surface for the presence of different constituents, including water ice. SAR is expected to provide further evidence confirming the presence of water ice below the shadowed regions of the moon…” – “Payloads for Chandrayaan-2 finalised, to carry 7 instruments”, The Times of India
- Icing on the lunar water cake…and, of course, potentially valuable ($$$) info on what deposits there are and where.
3. Imaging IR Spectrometer (IIRS).
“…for mapping of lunar surface over a wide wavelength range for the study of minerals, water molecules and hydroxyl present…”- The Times of India
- This will confirm the levels of water that is collected in the soil and minerals, as opposed to the water ice (as payload 2 above will investigate). This should be a comparatively tiny amount of water, but any in situ amount is both helpful and potentially valuable.
4. Neutral Mass Spectrometer (ChACE-2)
“…to carry out a detailed study of the lunar exosphere.” -The Times Of India
- The lunar exosphere is what little ‘atmosphere’ the moon has, and pertains to the interactions of ions and the solar wind. Japan’s Kaguya was the first craft to detect the Moon originating ions outside of the solar wind, so this is an area really just beginning to be dug into.
5. Terrain Mapping Camera-2 (TMC-2)
“…for preparing a three-dimensaional map essential for studying the lunar mineralogy and geology.” -The Times of India
- Lunar orbiters love their Terrain Cameras, and after seeing the amazing images that the LRO’s been churning out in spades, to have a potentially next-gen set of imagery in 2013 could make for a spectacular view.
Rover
1. Laser induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS).
- As the U.S. Army puts it, a LIBS is “simple, straightforward, and powerful”! It ‘atomizes and excites particles‘, and “in principle, LIBS can analyse any matter regardless of its physical state, be it solid, liquid or gas“…which sounds really convenient for detecting helium-3, it being a gas that collects in the lunar soil and that can be released (and therefore collected for use) by heat.
2. Alpha Particle Induced X-ray Spectroscope (APIXS).
- Also for determining chemical composition, this instrument (at least, on a Mars rover equivalent) is geared more towards geologic study: formation of rock, crust, etc.
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It’s interesting to note that, unlike on the Chandrayaan-1, none of these seven instruments are international: they’re all ISRO, even on the Russian-built rover.
A quote from a September 5th interview with former ISRO chairman Srinivas Laxman, also from the India Times:
“A significant aspect of Chandrayaan-2 is that the orbiter, unlike in Chandrayaan-1, does not have any foreign payloads even though NASA and the European Space Agency showed interest. Is there any reason why foreign payloads have been removed?
As per the present plan we do not have any weight in the orbiter for foreign payloads. We were keen on giving an opportunity to our scientists.”- “‘We’re Launching Chandrayaan-2 for a Total Coverage of the Moon’”, The Times of India
Also of note, four of the seven instruments have connections to either helium-3 or water, which look to both be potentially valuable resources.
Is India getting serious about a headstart on them?
New Google Lunar X PRIZE Team: Rocket City Space Pioneers! September 8, 2010
Posted by Nick Azer in : Google Lunar X Prize, Google Lunar X PRIZE Team Profile, Rocket City Space Pioneers , add a commentToday, a new Google Lunar X PRIZE team was announced to be joining the fray: Rocket City Space Pioneers!
Hailing from ‘Rocket City, USA’—-Huntsville, Alabama— the RCSPs are an experienced group of engineers. Four of the eight initial team members are seasoned employees of Dynetics, with others including Jason Andrews of Andrews Space and general manager of Draper Laboratory, Peter Paceley.
In fact, the team’s leader has been on a winning X PRIZE team before: Tim Pickens, lead propulsion engineer and commercial space advisor on the legendary SpaceShipOne.
With this stellar experience, alongside the resources that Dynetics (currently developing a lunar lander test bed for NASA) and the other companies involved so closely can line up, Rocket City Space Pioneers is definitely a team to be keeping an eye out for…
Google Lunar X PRIZE Roundup #28 September 3, 2010
Posted by Nick Azer in : Google Lunar X Prize, Google Lunar X Prize Roundup, Luna C/I , add a commentAfter some technical downtime here, as well as personal travel and other technical difficulties (I finally set aside time in a crazy week to do a post…and that’s when Twitter’s lists went down temporarily. Doh!), I’m finally able to bunker down and get a mondo-sized Google Lunar X PRIZE Roundup out :)
This roundup’s going to cover the month-long period of July 20th-August 20th, with Roundup #29 (coming shortly) covering the 20th-27th.
So, without further ado, here’s a whole month of GLXP highlights. A lot of technical advancement can be seen…it feels like the competition is rounding a new corner. Exciting! :) Check out the whole lowdown:
- Next Giant Leap and Astrobotic are both seeking awards from NASA’s big new $30.1 million for lunar data! GLXP Gal Amanda Stiles posted a neat feature article on NASA’s move, and GLXP guy Will Pomerantz also blogged about it :)
- Team ARCA‘s Mission 4 was postponed to October after a balloon problem on their attempt. Here’s the mission overview and the initial computer animation.
- Team FREDNET tested components of their rover on a balloon flight (more on the components)! They also blogged video updates on their rover’s progress, a look at lunar squirrel cages and a presentation in Spanish :)
- Team Omega Envoy began construction on their lunar lander prototype, and also announced they’ll have a Honeybee Robotics payload on the lander!
- Team Part Time Scientists‘ rover came to life with its first steps, and they also blogged about it’s brain. (“It’s alive!”) They were also interviewed by Evadot!
- Team White Label Space established themselves as a Foundation, and partnered with Advanced Composites! They were also interviewed by the Asia Times regarding the impact of the upcoming Russian/Indian Chandrayaan-2 and blogged about the mission structure of the NASA Surveyor program, the leader of partner Lunar Numbat’s upcoming TEDx talk,
- Team SELENE blogged all about their weather balloon project: technical progress, fun parachute tests, preparation,the Wilson cloud chamber design and related atom physics! They also featured an article from the Asia Times about GLXP goings-on and blogged more about thelunar mail-by-cannon concept :)
- Team Astrobotic blogged about lunar excavators they are developing, attitude control testing, ramp deployment without motors,. Also, their leader (David Gump) was interviewed for a Carnegie Mellon podcast on the team, the Pittsburgh Tribune featured the team’s multiple award goals, and they were also featured by MSNBC.
- Team Synergy Moon partnered with Aerogels Australia B&C! They also posted photos of a model of their rover.
- Team Barcelona Moon added the Technical University of Catalonia to their team! They (and team FREDNET) were also featured on Spanish TV.
- The New York Times featured Google’s GLXP point gal, Tiffany Montague!
- New Scientist featured 11 total teams in a slideshow article!
I’ll have Roundup #29 posted this weekend as well, and next week the Roundups will be back on their weekly rotation :)