62 Mile Club

Dr. David Livingston, host of The Space Show has graciously offered to broadcast 62 Mile Club’s featured presentation at the upcoming event Space…It’s closer than you think on the evening of October 4th, 2007. Please check The Space Show’s website for schedule details. Featured speakers are Rick Citron & Gwynne Shotwell.

Commission Takes Step Toward Spaceport District (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Sierra County commissioners approved a resolution allowing the county manager to work toward a spaceport tax district, an entity that must be in place under state law to spend any spaceport tax dollars. The commission’s decision, however, might have limited weight, considering the county hasn’t yet held a spaceport sales tax election. Some have contended state law doesn’t allow counties to join a spaceport tax district until their voters approve a spaceport sales tax. But, the New Mexico Spaceport Authority has argued the statute allows a county to join a spaceport district before an election, though voters eventually would have to approve a tax to remain in the district. State law requires that a district be made up of at least two counties, but so far, only Doña Ana County has held and election and approved a spaceport tax.

Texas Space Ventures Rocket Into Reality (Source: Dallas Morning News)
Construction is to begin next year on Spaceport America, a commercial spaceport in New Mexico (in rendering above). In Van Horn, Texas – 120 miles southeast of El Paso – a private spaceport built by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, is already testing rockets for his Blue Origin venture. This spaceward expansion involves scores of rival start-up firms and aerospace outfits, including some in the North Texas area, prospecting on the final frontier. The companies are working on a slew of space-related projects, from building lunar landers for NASA’s proposed moon and Mars missions to constructing inflatable orbital hotels to pitch to wealthy tourists eager to wake up to a sunrise in space.

While the pursuit may sound quixotic – how long have we been dreaming of jet-setting like the Jetsons? – the work is far more advanced than you might imagine. Firms have launched prototypes into orbit, secured funding for their spaceports and taken deposits for their first commercial flights. The most prominent local firm is probably Dallas-based Armadillo Aerospace. The company, founded by John Carmack, the wealthy genius programmer who created the popular Quake and Doom computer games, is focused on building vertical takeoff and landing modules for a lunar explorer. But it will soon turn its attention to building a reusable suborbital launch vehicle for space tourists.

Bigelow Aerospace, which operates out of Houston and Las Vegas, launched the Genesis II, an experimental inflatable space habitat, into low Earth orbit in June. The company hopes to have space hotels in business by 2012. And it has some experience in the hospitality industry behind it – Robert Bigelow, who built his fortune from Budget Suites of America, is its founder. Eventually, Armadillo – which has eight employees, most of them part-time – expects to build longer-range vehicles that can make it into orbit and even venture on to the moon.

Please, Mr. Bezos (Source: Space Review)
So far, all we really know about Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin reusable launch vehicle (RLV) project, is that they flew a test vehicle to an altitude of less than 100 meters in Nov. 2006 from their private Texas spaceport. That test item, called “Goddard”, is a precursor to a suborbital vehicle called the New Shepard that may fly sometime around 2010. Beyond this, we know from their web site that they want to hire people “with turbopump or propulsion experience on large, modern, cryogenic engines such as the RS-68.” That leaves us with lots of room to speculate about what they are up to.

A suborbital vehicle that will be able to take tourists up to the edge of space and compete with Scaled Composites’ SpaceShipTwo will be a welcome addition to the suborbital market: may the best rocket win. But why all the secrecy if that is all there is to it? Why build a craft that can almost reach orbit unless, eventually, one wants to go all the way? So are we going to see a New Shepard 2? Will it be single stage to orbit (SSTO) or will it need two stages? Will it use plug aerospike engines or something more conventional?

The team that Bezos has built has no obligation to provide the public with any information on its plans other than what it has to give to the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation in order to get a license to operate. Thanks to Jeff Bezos’ money they do not have to seduce investors or satisfy politicians or bureaucrats. They can just get on with the job with no distractions or pressure. In many ways it’s an ideal situation. Yet for the space industry, and in the long term for Blue Origin itself, it might be wise for them to be a bit more forthcoming about their long-term plans. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/959/1 to view the article.

Space Businesses Still Wait for Countdown (Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
After SpaceShipOne pierced the heavens high over California in the first private manned spaceflight, many expected the event would immediately ignite a new era of commercial space businesses. But three years after that historic flight, the private space industry has still barely left the ground. Several commercial space projects that were supposed to take off by now have been delayed. Recent high-profile problems — including an explosion that killed three researchers at SpaceShipOne’s parent company and the crashes of two unmanned rockets at another private space company — sent shudders through the industry.

Together, the setbacks reinforce what most in the fledgling industry already knew: Rocket science isn’t easy, and success in space doesn’t come quickly. To be sure, few if any in the space business intend to give up until they either succeed or run out of money. Like test pilots in the early days after the Wright brothers, most consider delays and mistakes part of the learning experience. Click here to view the article.

Orbital Sciences Ready to Expand in Virginia (Source: BizJournals.com)
Orbital Sciences Corp. is planning a major expansion of its Dulles, Virginia, campus and will add 600 jobs during the next four years. The satellite design and manufacturing company wants to build 140,000 square feet of office space at its headquarters. The new facilities would house a variety of engineering, laboratory and manufacturing operations. Work on the first office building will start in early 2008. The expansion is expected to help Orbital keep pace with a backlog of about $4 billion in current contracts. Orbital, which has been in Dulles since 1992, has a 77-acre campus with about 1,500 employees. When the expansion is completed sometime in 2011, Orbital will have 700,000 square feet of operations at the Dulles campus.

Falcon 9 Could Soar from Cape Next Year (Source: Florida Today)
A heavier-lift version of a new American-made rocket could launch from a former Titan pad at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport as early as next year. The first Falcon 9, which is similar in scale to United Launch Alliance’s Delta 4 and Atlas 5 rockets, is scheduled to be erected on dormant pad 40 next fall. A launch could come within months, according to SpaceX chief executive officer Elon Musk.

SpaceX Reports Milestone, Details Future Plans (Source: CNET News)
SpaceX reached a milestone Thursday by finishing the primary engine for Falcon 9, its larger rocket launcher with which it will conduct a few operational lift-offs with satellites next year. Musk reportedly said earlier in the week that Falcon 9 could launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station next fall.

Editorial: NASA Should Dump RpK in COTS Competition (Source: Florida Today)
When the space shuttle fleet retires in three years, NASA will be grounded and must rely on Russian rockets, at least through 2011. That’s why NASA is rightly poised to dump a company that has gotten government seed money to develop a new privately operated rocket that could ship the station supplies and crews. The company, Rocketplane Kistler, has failed to meet financial and technical benchmarks, earning it a default letter from NASA. It’s time for NASA to quickly move on and determine if the other company involved — California-based SpaceX — can deliver a rocket that could do the job.

The project’s importance is underscored by its potential to boost the local space industry at a time when thousands of Kennedy Space Center jobs will be lost after the shuttle program ends in 2010. That’s because the private rockets, if developed, would likely be launched from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. NASA deserves credit for launching the innovative competition at a time when the nation’s space program is speeding toward a massive transition. No one knows if the project will work, but the only way to find out is pressing ahead toward the competition’s 2010 deadline with the company with the best chance of success. And right now, that looks like SpaceX.

China to Build New Spaceport (Source: AP)
China is planning to build a new spaceport — the country’s fourth — to boost its burgeoning space program, state media reported Sunday. The facility will be located in Wenchang on the southern island province of Hainan, about 38 miles away from the provincial capital Haikou. The site is close to the equator which makes it well suited for launches because lower latitudes have stronger centrifugal forces, reducing the amount of energy required to launch rockets. The plan has been approved by the State Council, China’s Cabinet, and the Central Military Commission, it said, without giving any details on construction or a completion date.

Russia Aims for New Far East Spaceport by 2020 (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Anatoly Perminov, head of the Russian space agency Roskosmos, said he hoped a new spaceport would be built in the Russian far east by 2020 to supplement the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan. Perminov said that Russia would need a new launch site partly so it can launch a new type of manned spacecraft, which is still to be developed. “I’m absolutely sure that a new cosmodrome should exist in the far east and be developed for launches of various space vehicles for civilian use and also launches for manned space exploration,” Perminov said.

Spacehab Swings to Fourth-Quarter Loss (Source: BizJournals)
Spacehab reported a net loss of $13.2 million, on revenue of $12.8 million, for the period ended June 30, 2007. That compared with net income of $48,000, on revenue of $14.6 million, for the same period in 2006. For the full year, Spacehab reported a net loss of $16.3 million, on revenue of $52.8 million, compared with a net loss of $12.4 million, on revenue of $50.7 million, for 2006. Spacehab has until Oct. 3 to regain compliance with NASDAQ’s $1 per share minimum bid price requirement. For the past year, the company’s stock has traded between 39 cents and $1.23 a share.

SpaceDev Attracts European Aerospace Strategic Partner (Source: MarketWire)
SpaceDev has entered into a strategic relationship with the OHB Technology Group, a leading European Aerospace company with operations in satellite, space hardware manufacturing and advanced space payload systems development. The companies will establish a mutual high level management team to actively explore manufacturing, systems development, and program opportunities in Europe as well as in the US. As part of this effort, OHB and its subsidiary, MT Aerospace, has made an investment of approximately $4.4 million into SpaceDev. The investment will be used by SpaceDev for growth capital, to expand its research and to retire previous interest bearing preferred stock.

We need volunteers to help us on 10-04-07 for our debut live event, Space…It’s closer than you think. Duties are minimal; contact us for more details.

Dr. David Livingston, host of The Space Show has graciously offered to broadcast 62 Mile Club’s featured presentation at the upcoming event Space…It’s closer than you think on the evening of October 4th, 2007. Please check The Space Show’s website for schedule details. Featured speakers are Rick Citron and Gwynne Shotwell.

Rocketplane Kistler to Press On Despite COTS Notice (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) was officially notified by NASA that they had failed to complete two COTS milestones. Sources from both NASA and RpK have confirmed that the letter does NOT represent a final decision by NASA to terminate the company’s COTS contract. Meanwhile, RpK are pressing on with the a new configuration of their suborbital Rocketplane XP – to be unveiled at the X Prize Cup.

The letter is a formal pre-requisite to termination of NASA’s $207 million contract with RpK, with 30 days notice. However, it appears extremely unlikely that the company can raise the money required in time to cure the breach. In addition to the financing shortfall, the letter cited RpK’s failure to fully complete a Critical Design Review of the Pressurized Cargo Module design due to an apparent lack of funding to complete the work. The company did complete a Preliminary Design Review of the module.

NASA Plans New COTS Competition if it Terminates Rocketplane Kistler Deal (Source: Space News)
NASA said Sept. 10 that it would hold a competition for $175 million in unspent funds should the U.S. space agency terminate Rocketplane Kistler’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement. The competition would be open to all comers, NASA spokeswoman Melissa Mathews said, including Rocketplane Kistler.

NASA Actions May Have Shook Investor Confidence in RpK (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
NASA may have partially shaken the confidence of potential COTS investors earlier this year by extending its Roscosmos contract in April. The contract modification pays $719 million for Russian ISS resupply and crew rotationservices for three additional years through 2011 – after the COTS vehicles were originally hoped to take over at least the cargo resupply role.

Recent fund-raising may also have been complicated by the release of the NASA COTS Phase II Request for Information (RFI) last month. The RFI was not expected until next year, and the early information request occurs when SpaceX and RpK are still in a relatively early stage of development. The RFI provides an opportunity for new competition to declare an interest in COTS 2 before the COTS 1 winners are, figuratively and literally, off the launch pad.

RpK Lawsuit Puts Space Tourism Work in Limbo (Source: Chicago Tribune)
The Oak Brook luxury vacation firm contracted to market and reserve flights on a planned suborbital space plane has filed a $3.4 million lawsuit against its partner, Rocketplane Kistler (RpK), that it claims has stopped all work on the project. Abercrombie & Kent says it spent $1 million drawing up a marketing plan for the zero-gravity plane only to see Rocketplane Kistler’s corporate board move in April to abandon the project, according to a lawsuit.

RpK’s George French denied that the company has abandoned the project. “That’s not the case at all,” he said. “We’ve been moving forward.” He said the company, which now hopes to have its first commercial flight in 2010, would unveil more advanced engineering details about the XP this fall. Last summer, Cindy Cashman and Mitch Walling decided to reserve $250,000 tickets with the idea that they’d be the first two humans married in space. “I’m very concerned,” said Cashman, “I put a large down payment in and I want to get it back.”

SpaceX Signs British Firm for Falcon 9 Launch (Source: Space News)
Start-up commercial satellite operator Avanti Communications Group of London has contracted with SpaceX to launch Avanti’s Hylas broadband telecommunications satellite aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in mid-2009, Avanti announced Sept. 10.

Virgin Galactic Spaceship Designer Reveals Changing Ideas (Source: Flight International)
Virgin Galactic’s suborbital rocket glider SpaceShipTwo (SS2) could have a low wing and its carrier aircraft, White Knight II (WK2), a 43m (140ft) wingspan and four engines, chief designer Burt Rutan has said. Rutan is chief executive of Scaled Composites and a director of the Virgin Group-Scaled WK2/SS2 intellectual rights joint venture The Spaceship Company. In Virgin Galactic’s conceptual images, SS2 has a high wing, like its predecessor SpaceShipOne (SS1), and WK2 has two engines, like SS1′s carrier aircraft White Knight. The low wing is a possible solution to SS1′s dihedral effect-induced spin on its ascent.

International Herald Tribune reports that thousands have signed up for space tourism related flights.

A few key quotes from the article:

“But the real money, some analysts predict, is likely to be made from earthbound ventures linked to the personal space flight industry. ”

“Futron, a market research firm, predicts that as many as 14,000 space tourists will be heading into space each year by 2021, generating annual revenue of more than $700 million. ”

“These companies are trying to start commercial operations before they really have a track record,” said Marco Caceres, a space industry analyst at the Teal Group, a consulting group based in Virginia. “None of these vehicles has really been tested that much. It is an open question whether the industry will be able to overcome one of these rockets blowing up with passengers on board.”

The full story

If your in Southern California this weekend, I recommend going to the L.A. Convention Center to check out Wired Next Fest. The folks at Wired along with their main sponsor Hitatchi created a wonderful pavillion for ‘experiencing the future.’

In case you haven’t heard, the XPRIZE Foundation announced their newest and biggest prize ever at Wired Next Fest in Los Angeles yesterday morning. XPRIZE is partnering with Google on this most ambitious, for cash competition. This effort intends to ‘inspire through competition,’ a privately funded robotic expedition to the moon utilizing a robotic rover.

Another interesting note, is that Elon Musk, Founder and CTO of Space X, also announced there that Space X would sell flights to competitiors of the Google Lunar X PRIZE on their vehicle for cost.

Some of the noteworthy people in attendance at the announcement, included Dr. Buzz Aldrin, Dr. Peter Diamandis, Bob Weiss, Larry Page, Elon Musk,George Whitesides,, Sergei Brin (via video, and Jim Cameron (via video).

For those of you who missed Robert Jacobson’s (co-founder of 62 Mile Club) appearance on The Space Show yesterday, you can listen to it archived here.
A text summary is available here .

It was a ton of fun and thank you to Dr. David Livingston for the invite and providing a wonderful service to the space community. He runs The Space Show as a non-profit, so if you’re feeling gene

I saw a screening of the new short film Postcards From The Future
by director/writer Alan Chan last evening. It’s a must see if you are a space enthusiast and it addresses issues not usually dealt with in a space movie. It’s definitely biased toward human settlement of space. It also acknowledges that this endeavor will be vastly challenging but could be infinitely rewarding.

It’s in limited release and on the film festival circuit. Seek this one out!