In the 2010 NASA authorization bill from the US Congress was a request for an assessment of the space weather observational and forecasting ability and the impact space weather may have on Earth systems. At the end of April 2013, the Joint Action Group for Space Environmental Gap Analysis (JAG/SEGA) assembled by the White House Office of Science and Technology [...]
Report
Office Of Audits Report Reveals Flaws In NASA Explosives Handling
NASA’s Office of Audits, which falls under the control of the Office of Inspector General, has released a report on 27th March, which has showed a long list of infractions related to the storage and handling of so-called “energetic materials.” These materials are generally fuels and high explosives, used for launches, tests, and deep space operations. Additionally, the report has [...]
NASA Releases Glory Taurus XL Launch Failure Report Summary
Source: NASA NASA has released a summary report on findings from a panel that investigated the unsuccessful 2011 launch of the agency’s Glory spacecraft. The satellite, designed to improve our understanding of Earth’s climate, was lost March 4, 2011, when it failed to reach orbit after launch aboard an Orbital Sciences Corp. Taurus XL rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base [...]
Not If But When: UK Scientists Release Report on Consequences of Solar Superstorm
At the beginning of February, the UK Royal Academy of Engineering released a report assessing the impact a solar superstorm would have on the United Kingdom. What scientists have in mind when talking about a solar superstorm is an event similar in strength and size to the infamous 1859 Carrington event. This, so far the most intense geomagnetic storm measured, [...]
Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel Issued, Questions Commercial Space Plan
Ever since the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia on February 1, 2003, the US Congress has required an annual report to be delivered on the state of NASA programs’ safety. On January 9, the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel delivered that report, constructed based on direct observations, discussions, and meetings by the panel members. Panel Chair VADM Joseph W. Dyer [...]
Tauri Group Forecasts Suborbital Market Growth
On August 1, the Tauri Group released a study, sponsored by the US Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation and Space Florida, addressing the market demand for suborbital spaceflight over the next decade. The study, which looked at three economic scenarios, predicts a demand for 533 suborbital flight seats, which leaps to 1,592 seats in the event of an economic [...]
NASA Spinoff 2011 Unveils Benefits of NASA Technologies on Earth
Source: NASA NASA’s Spinoff 2011 publication, now available online, reveals how the space agency’s ingenuity and partnerships have saved thousands of lives, generated billions of dollars, and created thousands of American jobs. The latest edition of Spinoff records 44 journeys of NASA’s most innovative technologies. It chronicles their origins in NASA missions and programs and their transfer to the public [...]
Permanent Court of Arbitration Adopts Space Dispute Rules
On December 6, the Administrative Council of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) adopted Optional Rules for Arbitration of Disputes Relating to Outer Space Activities. This procedure represents the first time a formal mechanism has been established to resolve space-related international disputes. The procedure, written by PCA’s International Bureau in conjunction with an advisory group of air and space legal experts, [...]
An NGO Report on Space Waste
The environmental Non Governamental Organization (NGO) Robin des Bois published a 62 page report on “Space Waste“, which includes illustration and maps. This is the report on space waste to be published by a NGO, describing the risks for space activities, Earth and the interplanetary environment. We reproduce here the introduction to the study. The Space race has managed a [...]
