On February 1, the US Congress released the final version of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill. Hidden among the labor provisions is a three year extension of the Commercial Space Launch Ammendments Act (CSLAA). CSLAA was originally passed in 2004 and was set to expire at the end of 2012. The act restricts the ability of the FAA [...]
Post Tagged with: “Commercial Spaceflight”
SpaceX Test Fires Engine Prototype for Astronaut Escape System
Source: NASA One of NASA’s industry partners, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), completed a full-duration, full-thrust firing of its new SuperDraco engine prototype at the company’s Rocket Development Facility in McGregor, Texas. The firing was in preparation for the ninth milestone to be completed under SpaceX’s funded Space Act Agreement (SAA) with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP). “SpaceX and all our [...]
Space Shuttle Director Goes Commercial
NASA’s long-time space shuttle launch director, Mike Leinbach, has taken a new position as United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) head of human spaceflight operations. The move is one more sign of the ongoing shift to commercial spaceflight. “We are fortunate to have Mike with his wealth of human spaceflight experience join the ULA team,” said George Sowers, ULA’s vice president of [...]
SpaceX Dragon COTS-2 Mission Animation
The video below, courtesy of NASA, provides a detailed look at the launch, flight, and landing of SpaceX Dragon, due to launch to the ISS on a resupply mission on Feburary 7. The flight will combine Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demonstration testing and ISS rendezvous testing. During the flight, Dragon will conduct a series of check-out procedures that will [...]
Commercial Spaceflight Companies Take Different Approaches to Seat Egress Safety
Commercial Spaceflight operators such as Virgin Galactic and Armadillo Aerospace aim to provide tourist spacefarers with a view of Earth and a true experience of weightlessness – including the opportunity to float free of seat restraints. As Air & Space Smithsonian reports, however, there may be some safety concerns associated with such a free float. “Unstrapping and re-strapping in such a [...]
Newly Created Stratolaunch to Develop Air-Launch System
Philanthropist and entrepreneur Paul Allen announced in a press release on December 13 that he would be reuniting with his former SpaceShipOne partner Burt Rutan to found Stratolaunch Systems. The main objective of Stratolaunch will be to develop a revolutionary aircraft-launched space transportation system. “We are at the dawn of radical change in the space launch industry,” said Allen. ”Stratolaunch Systems is [...]
Orbital Renames Medium-Class Rocket “Antares”
Orbital Sciences Corporation announced on December 12th that it had given its Taurus II medium-lift launch vehicle a new name: Antares. The 40-meter rocket, capable of lofting over 5000 kg in low earth orbit, is intended for resupply of the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) and Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) initiatives. In a [...]
Successful Test Flight of Armadillo Aerospace STIG-A Rocket
On December 4th, Armadillo Aerospace conducted a successful launch of its reusable STIG-A suborbital rocket from Spaceport America, reaching an apogee altitude of 41.9 km. The purpose of the flight was to test an array of key technologies as part of the firm’s suborbital flight program. Neil Milburn, Vice President of Program Management at Armadillo, said “This successful test of [...]
Proposed Law to Limit Liability of Commercial Space Flight Firms
Legislators in New Mexico, United States are considering new legislation that would protect suborbital launch vehicle manufacturers and operators from being sued by space tourists and their families in case of injury or death during a suborbital flight. The bill, which will go before the New Mexico State Legislature for debate in January, passed a vote by the Legislature’s financial oversight [...]
AsiaSat 7 Successfully Launched
AsiaSat 7, a communications satellite destined by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) for Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat), was successfully launched atop an International Launch Services (ILS)-operated Proton rocket from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on November 26th. Following the launch, SS/L announced that the satellite had successfully deployed its solar panels and was performing scheduled post-launch maneuvers that would take it to geostationary [...]
