NASA Warns of Job Cuts
Moon Trucks
ESA Jules Vern Moves to its Launcher
The European Space Agency has moved its ATV, dubbed Jules Vern, to the launcher. It is set to launch on March 8 (next Saturday) from French Guiana.
SpaceX Delays Falcon 9 Launch
Due to a great deal of work with the Falcon 1, 9 and the Dragon capsule, SpaceX has delayed the first launch of their Falcon 9 until early next year.
NASA Say Shuttle is a Go for March 11
NASA has given the green light for Space Shuttle Endeavor to launch at 2:28 a.m. EST March 11 for a 16 day mission to the ISS to deliver a Japanese logistics module and a Canadian robot.
Space Tourism the Next Step in Human Evolution?
Brent Rose thinks Virgin Galactic will finally make space a “primary conduit to human evolution” by taking anyone willing to pay.
Best Image of the Moon’s South Pole
NASA, using radar imaging in California, has created the best images of the Moon’s south pole ever. These images have up to 40 times more resolution than the images taken by Clementine in 1994. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter due to launch later this year, should have twice as much resolution as this image.
NASA Tries to Fire up Public
NASA is trying to get the public more excited about space by pushing the advancements it brings to the Earth, such as insulin pumps.
I think they would do better to get people out of orbit.
Report from the Exploration Conference
Rob Coppinger is blogging from the Exploration Conference in Denver.
* NASA 3rd Space Exploration Conference blog - Hyperbola
* NASA 3rd Space Exploration Conference blog: Day 2 - Hyperbola
SpaceX Completes Qualification Testing of Merlin Regeneratively Cooled Engine for Falcon 1 Rocket
Hawthorne CA – Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) announced today that it has completed the qualification testing program of its Merlin 1C next generation liquid fueled rocket booster engine for use in the Falcon 1 rocket.
Tests were conducted at the SpaceX Texas Test Facility near Waco, TX, on a Merlin 1C configured for powering the [...]
Dress Rehearsal for Next Shuttle Launch
Astronauts will strap into the Shuttle Endeavour today in a dress rehearsal for the March 11 liftoff. The trip will carry the first part of the Japanese Kibo science research facility and two Canadian robot arms to the ISS. The 20 turnaround after Atlantis landed on the 20th of this month is the fastest since [...]
Great Planet Debate
Next August the “Great Planet Debate” will be held at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory. Apparently the definition of a planet the IAU created last year just hasn’t stuck with people. Critics say the letter of the definition leaves Jupiter out as a planet.
Virgin Galactic Looks for Profit in 2010
Virgin Galactic group director, Alex Tai, says he expects the company to be profitable by 2010. Virgin plans to buy five SpaceShipTwo suborbital spacecraft with an option for seven. The company says 800,000 people have expressed interest and they have $31 million in ticket sales. A single suborbital ticket costs $200,000.
NASA Delays Discovery’s Mission until May
NASA has delayed the Space Shuttle Discovery’s mission one month to May 25 due to a bad angle between the ISS power generation panels and the sun during that month.
US Hits Spy Satellite
Wednesday Evening, the US Navy was on target to destroy the aging spy satellite that was falling towards the Earth.
China sees it as the beginning of a space arms race. I would argue there are a lot of differences between the US destruction of its satellite and Chinas hit on an old weather satellite January [...]
