Source: Arianespace The Ariane V booster for the next ATV headed for the International Space Station was moved from the Launcher Integration Building to the Final Assembly building yesterday at the equatorial launch site in Kourou, French Guiana. The launch of the ES version of the world’s undisputed heavy lift champion is currently scheduled for sometime […]
Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn (R) recently released an annual “Waste Book” detailing specific examples of perceived waste in the federal spending. As might be expected, NASA was not immune, being tagged for spending just under a million dollars on a Cornell University study which involves sending volunteers to a Mars simulation event in Hawaii to test the […]
In what turned out to be a rather busy last Friday in September for European space, an Ariane V rocket completed its 51st consecutive successful launch at almost the same time the ESA built ATV-3 resupply ship departed the International Space Station following a six month stay. The ATV was actually scheduled to depart earlier in the week, but was […]
The Orlando Sentinel reported that NASA administrator Charles Bolden met with White House officials recently to lobby for the agency’s plan to develop a small space station at the Earth – Moon L-2 La Grange point beyond the lunar far side. If approved, the station, would represent the first step along the so-called “flexible path”of space exploration which was […]
NASA’s Mars Program Planning Group delivered its summary report today, a copy of which is here. The 66 page document firmly establishes a Mars Sample Return as the next logical goal for Mars exploration, but examines a number of different architectures for achieving that goal, some of which involve multiple pre-cursor missions. Certain to be debated and offering […]
The House subcommittee held a hearing to “explore” progress in the SLS/Orion program today. Prepared statements can be found here. Two items stand out, the first is a new definition for affordability offered by Boeing V.P. Jim Chilton, who speaking of modest improvements in processing said, “This will enable the country to finally have access to […]
Taking the opportunity of the upcoming SpaceX Cots launch to preview coming attractions, NASA and Lockheed Martin gave the space press a chance to take a look at the MPCV (Orion) Structural Test Article. Of particular note was a growing tendency to speak in terms of efficiencies in operations, ranging from large to small. It […]
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