February 2013 Archives

NASA and SpaceX officials provide an update on preparations for the scheduled launch of the second Dragon cargo capsule to the International Space Station on Friday, Mar. 1, at 10:10 a.m. EST.

The Small Business Act (the Act) authorized Federal agencies, including NASA, to "set- aside" contracts for small business firms or for small business owners who are members of socioeconomically disadvantaged groups.

It's been a difficult but worthwhile week for Mike Johnson and the NanoRacks team working payloads.

On February 27, 2013, the House Subcommittee on Space held a hearing to review a bill proposed by six Republican members of the House that would take away governance of NASA from the President and give it to a board appointed by the President and members of Congress.

On Monday, February 25, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET, SpaceX conducted a successful static fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket, in advance of a targeted March mission to the International Space Station.

NASA commercial partner Orbital Sciences of Dulles, Va., successfully conducted an engine test of its Antares rocket Friday at the nation's newest launch pad.

NASA's Launch Services Program announced today that it selected United Launch Alliance's (ULA's) proven Delta II launch vehicle to launch the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) mission.

NASA's Wallops Flight Facility will provide launch range support for an Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares rocket engine test scheduled for Feb. 22 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's Pad-0A.

NASA has released a summary report on findings from a panel that investigated the unsuccessful 2011 launch of the agency's Glory spacecraft.

As part of the Obama Administration's recognition of the critical role that space technology and innovation will play in enabling both future space missions and bettering life here on Earth, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden has announced the creation of the Space Technology Mission Directorate. The directorate will be a catalyst for the creation of technologies and innovation needed to maintain NASA leadership in space while also benefiting America's economy.

ATK successfully delivered a launch abort motor to Kennedy Space Center, Fla., for Exploration Flight Test (EFT-1) of NASA's Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, scheduled to fly next year.

The Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, Dragon spacecraft stands inside a processing hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Teams had just installed the spacecraft's solar array fairings.

Performing sensitive biological experiments is always a delicate affair. Few researchers, however, contend with the challenges faced by Cheryl Nickerson, whose working laboratory aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA and its international partners are targeting Friday, March 1, as the launch date for the next cargo resupply flight to the International Space Station by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX).

NASA/DFRC is hereby soliciting information and feedback from both current and potential flight service providers, as well as the technology payload providers and potential sources for Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicles And Payload Integration Services For Maturing Crosscutting Technologies That Advance Multiple Future Space Missions To Flight Readiness Status.

The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), the nonprofit organization promoting and managing research on board the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory, today announced it will provide up to $100,000 in grant funding for qualified research projects as part of its partnership with the "MassChallenge Startup Accelerator."

Planetary Resources, Inc. (PRI) announced that the Arkyd-100 Series - technology demonstrator for asteroid prospecting missions - will assist in the detection and characterization of potentially hazardous asteroids near Earth

The planned first stage propulsion system "hot fire" test of Orbital's new Antares medium-class rocket was halted in the final seconds of the countdown by the rocket's flight computer, which detected an anomalous condition. The Antares team will evaluate the data from the test to determine the nature of the abort. A new date for the test has not been determined.

NASA today released its strategic space technology investment plan. The plan, outlined in a 92 page document, is meant to be a comprehensive strategic plan prioritizing technologies for NASA to achieve its mission.

A prelaunch news conference featuring NASA and USGS scientists was held on Feb. 8 at the Vandenberg AFB in California, where the launch of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission(LDCM), is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 11.

Orbital announced today that on Tuesday, February 12th they will perform a hot-fire test at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's Pad-0A for their new Antares rocket. The window for the engine test is 6-9 p.m. EST. NASA's Wallops Flight Facility will provide launch range support.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its report today on the Air Force's Launch Services New Entrant Certification Guide (NECG).

On Thursday, February 7, 2013, Arianespace successfully carried out the 54th Ariane 5 launch in a row, orbiting two telecommunications satellites: Amazonas-3 for Spanish operator Hispasat, and Azerspace/Africasat-1a for the Azerbaijani operator Azercosmos JSC and the Azerbaijan Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies.

The Air Force based its Guide on existing NASA policy and procedures with respect to payload risk classification and launch vehicle certification. Payloads are classified based in part on factors such as national significance, payload complexity and cost, and are assigned a risk tolerance level accordingly.

As government spending decreases worldwide, space launch expenditures within established national programs will steadily decrease with the implementation of cost-cutting measures.

Euroconsult, the leading global consulting firm in the space sector, today announced the hiring of two new executives and six affiliate experts.

Arianespace and their partners Starsem launched six Globalstar satellites this morning at 10:50 a.m. EST on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Reuters is reporting that Boeing filed a lawsuit last Friday to recover $350 million from RSC Energia and its partners in Sea Launch for refusing to pay their share of loan guarantees after the joint-venture went bankrupt in 2009.

Welcome to the SpaceRef Business Monday Brief, a short business update on some noteworthy news items of the past few days.

Approximately 40 seconds after the launch from the Odyssey Sea Launch platform in the pacific, the Zenit-3SL rocket carrying the Intelsat 27 failed. The launch was at 1:57 a.m. EST. The reason for failure is unknown at this time and according to Intelsat, Sea Launch will convene a Failure Review Oversight Board to look into the mishap.