Archive for October, 2014

SNC Protest Ruling: SpaceX and Boeing to Continue Commercial Crew Work

SNC Protest Ruling: SpaceX and Boeing to Continue Commercial Crew Work

Image Credit: SNC Not a good day for Sierra Nevada at court. In a very brief ruling, a judge in the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals declined to “overrule the override” and order NASA rescind its order to Boeing and SpaceX to resume work on the recently awarded Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contracts. To […]

SpaceX Set for Dragon Return on Saturday

SpaceX Set for Dragon Return on Saturday

The SpaceX CRS-4 Dragon’s return from ISS is now scheduled for this Saturday, October 25th, with departure beginning at 9:30 AM EDT. This will mark the sixth return of Dragon capsule from orbit.  The next SpaceX flight to ISS is currently scheduled for December 9th. NASA media advisory: October 20, 2014 MEDIA ADVISORY M14-173 NASA […]

Posted in: Dragon
Viewing National Space Investments From a NewSpace Perspective

Viewing National Space Investments From a NewSpace Perspective

Vostochny Under Construction. Image Credit The Moscow Times One question which defines the NewSpace movement, is which individuals, companies, or governments are investing in technologies or systems which have the capacity to significantly reduce the cost of access to space. In the case of the latter, governments, all too often it is just as easy […]

Siding Spring Clears Mars, Program Which Discovered it is Shut Down

Siding Spring Clears Mars, Program Which Discovered it is Shut Down

Siding Spring Imaged By MRO’s HiRISE Camera. Image Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech The Siding Spring comet which gave Mars a close shave on Sunday was a bit smaller than many had predicted. NASA Story on Siding Spring Image From MRO’s HiRISE camera: These images were taken of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter […]

Posted in: Mars
X-37B Lands at Vandenberg

X-37B Lands at Vandenberg

Image Credit USAF Concluding its longest mission to date, the U.S. Air Force X-37B space plane returned to Earth on Friday, Here is the full Air Force Press Release: Release Number: 041014 10/17/2014 – VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle mission 3 (OTV-3), the Air Force’s unmanned, reusable space plane, […]

Posted in: Space Planes
Boeing Completes Final CCiCap Milestones (Again?)

Boeing Completes Final CCiCap Milestones (Again?)

Image Credit: Boeing Note: NASA’s start work /stop work/ start work edicts to Boeing and SpaceX due to the Sierra Nevada Commercial Crew bid protest do not apply to the work being performed under CCiCap. The timing of this announcement is also a little strange. Boeing announced in August that it had completed all of […]

Watch as SpaceX Falcon 9 Burns a Hole in the Sky

Watch as SpaceX Falcon 9 Burns a Hole in the Sky

Event though it was not equipped with landing legs, the SpaceX Falcon 9 V1.1 first stage which boosted the Dragon CRS-4 mission to ISS on September 21st, still made a bit of history. And the imagery is simply amazing. As part of the ongoing campaign to use operational Falcon 9 missions to advance the development […]

Cassini Journals: A Shocking Encounter at Hyperion and an Ocean on Mimas

Cassini Journals: A Shocking Encounter at Hyperion and an Ocean on Mimas

A Shocking Encounter at Hyperion:  NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute This week brought two new findings from the Cassini spacecraft in the Saturn system. The first involved data from a September 26, 2005 flyby of Saturn’s bizarrely shaped moon Hyperion. According to new analysis, during the approach, Cassini was struck by a beam of electrons coming from […]

Posted in: Outer Planets
Hold On A Minute! SNC Files New Motion for Dream Chaser

Hold On A Minute! SNC Files New Motion for Dream Chaser

Still Holding On:  Image Credit Sierra Nevada Corporation. The Wall Street Journal (yes, Andy Pasztor) reports that Sierra Nevada has taken its protest of NASA’s Commercial Crew award to a new level. According to the story, SNC has filed a motion with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. seeking to prevent NASA […]

No Mars Yet, But Earthly Simulations Aplenty

No Mars Yet, But Earthly Simulations Aplenty

Mars advocates may not agree on how to get to Mars, or even whether or not to come back, but one thing apparently everyone shares in common is an affinity for Mars simulations. Today marks the first day of an eight month long Mars habitat simulation study being held in conjunction with the University of […]

Posted in: Mars
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