NASA and the Private Sector - Page 24

On May 30 2012 09:53 Gorsameth wrote:


I love you tin foil hat people.
My question to you is simple. Why do we want to go to space with current day technology. Your talking about exploring space but that just isnt doable at this time. Rockets are much to inefficent and slow plus we know what is out there in our solar system. And we can find it all right here on earth.
Just give a simple reason why. Not vague notions of stuff they may or may not find.

ps. Love that your changing you post every other minute.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Space station astronauts readied the world's first commercial supply ship Wednesday for its early morning return to Earth just like NASA's old-time capsules.

The unmanned Dragon capsule was due to splash down into the Pacific on Thursday, nine days after its historic launch to the International Space Station.

Astronaut Donald Pettit and his crewmates closed the hatch to the SpaceX Dragon and disconnected cables on the eve of its departure, after packing it with 1,400 pounds of experiments and old equipment for the ride back.

In the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, the plan was to reverse the steps Pettit took for Dragon's arrival last week, using the space station's robot arm to release the vessel. After flying solo around the planet a few times, the capsule was to aim for a Pacific splashdown, via parachutes, about 500 miles southwest of Los Angeles.

"Only a few countries have done this before, so we're not taking this lightly at all," SpaceX mission director John Couluris told reporters Wednesday.

After making the historic journey as the first commercial spacecraft to visit the International Space Station, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft will return to Earth tomorrow.

The return is by no means an easy operation. In fact, today, Dragon is the only spacecraft capable of returning a significant amount of cargo from the space station. The other cargo vehicles serving the space station - from Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency - can carry cargo up but all are destroyed after leaving the station.

While Dragon was attached to the space station, astronauts unloaded 1,146 pounds of cargo including food and other crew provisions, student experiments and a laptop that Dragon delivered from Cape Canaveral Florida. They then packed the spacecraft with 1,455 pounds of cargo that will be returned to NASA on Earth including hardware used for experiments, spacewalks and station systems.

This morning, astronauts closed the hatch on the vehicle. Early Thursday, at approximately 1:00 AM Pacific/4:00 AM Eastern, they will use the space station's robotic arm to pull the spacecraft from the station. Two hours later, the robotic arm will release Dragon and the spacecraft will begin its journey home.

Dragon is targeted to land in the Pacific Ocean, a few hundred miles west of Southern California, at approximately 8:44 AM Pacific/11:44 AM Eastern on Thursday, May 31st. The spacecraft returns to Earth like a burning comet, protected from extreme reentry temperatures by its powerful PICA-X heat shield. The landing location is controlled by firing the Draco thrusters during reentry.

On May 30 2012 09:53 Gorsameth wrote:
I love you tin foil hat people.
My question to you is simple. Why do we want to go to space with current day technology. Your talking about exploring space but that just isnt doable at this time. Rockets are much to inefficent and slow plus we know what is out there in our solar system. And we can find it all right here on earth.
Just give a simple reason why. Not vague notions of stuff they may or may not find.

ps. Love that your changing you post every other minute.

On June 01 2012 00:22 Epocalypse wrote:


I think i'm quite comfortable leaving the decision to SpaceX whether or not to explore space, how far to go, to go to the Moon, Mars or not. Whether you agree or not, you're in no position to make the decision. Neither do you have the full context of what their capabilities are, what their intentions are, what they hope to discover/accomplish in their missions, and most importantly... their "know how".

I'm grateful that there are people willing to look into the unknown. If they end up spending million/billions/trillion with no results, that's their prerogative.

Commanded main chute release pyros and ... looks good #Dragon

Sending command to shutdown Dragon and prep for boat recovery #Dragon

Mars One will establish the first human settlement on Mars in 2023. A habitable settlement will be waiting for the settlers when they land. The settlement will support them while they live and work on Mars the rest of their lives. Every two years after 2023 an additional crew will arrive, such that there is a real living, growing community on Mars. Mars One has created a technical plan for this mission that is as simple as possible. For every component of the mission we have identified at least one potential supplier. Mars One invites you to join us in this next giant leap for mankind!

On June 01 2012 04:49 Ale. wrote:
Awesome. I wish we could start developing 24th century technology already. More work needs to be done on Energy to matter conversion imo.

The private Dream Chaser space plane took to the skies Tuesday (May 29), kicking off a flight-test program that will vet the vehicle's ability to carry astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit.

The Dream Chaser, which is built by aerospace firm Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC), did not fly under its own power during the test. Instead it was held aloft the entire time by an Erickson Air-Crane heavy-lift helicopter, which hauled the space plane through the skies near Denver to verify its aerodynamic flight performance.

Still, the so-called captive-carry test marks an important step forward in the Dream Chaser's progress, company officials said.

"The successful captive-carry flight test of the Dream Chaser full-scale flight vehicle marks the beginning of SNC's flight test program, a program that could culminate in crewed missions to the International Space Station for NASA," said former astronaut Steve Lindsey, head of the space plane's flight operations at Sierra Nevada, in a statement.

Sierra Nevada got more than $100 million in two rounds of CCDev funding over the past two years, which it's using to develop the Dream Chaser. Tuesday's captive-carry test allows the company to check off another milestone stipulated in the second round, known as CCDev-2.

"This is a very positive success for the Dream Chaser team and their innovative approach," said Ed Mango, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager. "I applaud and encourage the designers and engineers to continue their efforts in meeting the objectives of the rest of their CCDev-2 milestones."

Data from the captive-carry test will be used to evaluate and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations in preparation for approach and landing tests, during which the Dream Chaser will be carried into the skies and then dropped. The first of those test flights is planned for later this year, officials said.

Orbital Sciences Corporation is a 30-year-old firm with more than 60 launches to space using its own rockets, and more than 125 satellites delivered to orbit. The company was founded in 1982 by a trio of Harvard Business School friends who thought a commercial company could provide space products and launch services in a much more affordable way than what was available at the time. After raising the cash, Orbital began work on its first space launch vehicle in the mid-1980s, and by 1990 the company had eight successful launches under its belt.

“COTS is exactly what the company was founded to do,” says Orbital spokesman Barry Beneski.

Roughly a third of the company’s $1.5 billion revenue this year will come from civil government contracts, including the NASA COTS development program and the Commercial Resupply Services contracts to deliver cargo to the ISS. Beneski says a little less than a third of the company’s business comes from commercial customers, mainly communication satellite companies, while the rest of the business is comprised of military and intelligence customers.

“We’re not a new space company,” Beneski told Wired, emphasizing Orbital’s history of building and launching satellites.

Orbital fills a gap between some of the big veteran companies in the space industry, such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, and the newer firms, such as SpaceX and the yet-to-fly-to-space Blue Origin. “We’re big enough to take on big challenges and have the experience to back it up,” Beneski says, touting Orbital’s capabilities.

Orbital expects systems testing at its new launch facility on Wallops Island, Virginia to be complete by the end of this month and is planning its first test flight of Antares in August. The company has two launch windows for the COTS demonstration flight to the ISS later in the year.

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Fresh off SpaceX's historic return from the International Space Station, company founder Elon Musk said Friday that he would like to see humans settle Mars and become a "multi-planet species."

The 40-year-old entrepreneur reiterated his vision to graduates at the California Institute of Technology, a private university 10 miles northeast of Los Angeles known for its science and engineering programs.

Musk said he hoped some of the newly minted graduates would work toward Mars colonization, either at SpaceX or another outfit.

"You guys are the magicians of the 21st century. Don't let anything hold you back," he said. "Imagination is the limit ... go out there and create some magic."

Musk made headlines last month when SpaceX became the first private company to make a roundtrip supply run to the space station — a task that had been dominated by governments. With NASA's space shuttle fleet retired, the space agency is outsourcing the job to private industry.

SpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule splashed into the Pacific on May 31 after a virtually flawless nine-day test flight that included docking with the multibillion-dollar orbiting outpost and delivering a load of food, clothing and equipment to the astronauts aboard.

Earlier this week, Musk accompanied NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on a tour of the Dragon capsule that was plucked from the ocean and trucked to SpaceX's factory in Texas. Save for a few scorch marks from the fiery re-entry, the bell-shaped capsule weathered its maiden journey.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NASA have signed a historic agreement to coordinate standards for commercial space travel of government and non-government astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station (ISS). The two agencies will collaborate to expand efforts that provide a stable framework for the U.S. space industry, avoid conflicting requirements and multiple sets of standards, and advance both public and crew safety.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the two agencies establishes policy for operational missions to the space station. Commercial providers will be required to obtain a license from the FAA for public safety. Crew safety and mission assurance will be NASA's responsibility. This approach allows both agencies to incorporate experience and lessons learned as progress is made.

"This important agreement between the FAA and NASA will advance our shared goals in commercial space travel," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Working together, we will assure clear, consistent standards for the industry."

"This agreement is the next step in bringing the business of launching Americans back to American soil," Charles Bolden, NASA administrator said. "We are fostering private sector innovation while maintaining high standards of safety and reliability to re-establish U.S.-crewed access to low-Earth orbit, in-sourcing work to American companies and encouraging the development of dynamic and cost-effective spaceflight capabilities built to last."

"The Obama administration recognizes the scientific, technological and economic benefits of maintaining the United States' leadership in space travel and exploration," said FAA Acting Administrator Michael Huerta. "This agreement between the FAA and NASA continues and advances those vital national interests."

Who: The B612 Foundation

What: Press Conference to Launch the B612 Foundation and Sentinel Space Telescope Mission-the first privately funded deep space mission.

When: Thursday, June 28, 2012 --- 8:30 AM - 11:00 AM (PT)

Where: Morrison Planetarium, California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco, CA, in Golden Gate Park. (Pay Parking in CA Academy Garage)

Announcement: On June 28, 2012, the B612 Foundation will announce its plans to build, operate and launch the world's first privately funded deep space mission-a space telescope to be placed in orbit around the Sun. We will create the first comprehensive dynamic map of our inner solar system showing the current and future locations and trajectories of Earth-crossing asteroids, paving the way to protect the Earth from future impacts and opening up the Solar System to future exploration.