IPFS
Space Travel and Exploration Highlights of Coverage - Oct.2005-Dec2006
Written by Ernest Hancock Subject: Space Travel and Exploration
Reference Link • Global
SpaceShipOne: First Space Launch Photos
================
News Link • Global
China Readies 2-Man Crew for Space Mission
•
A rocket carrying the Shenzhou 6 capsule and two astronauts was to blast off sometime Wednesday from the remote base in China's northwest, the official Xinhua News Agency said. In a break with the space agency's typical secrecy, Xinhua said a
=============
News Link • Global
Chinese Crew Blasts Off for Space Mission
•
The mission, reportedly due to last up to five days, is an efforts by the communist government to declare its status as a rising world power with technological triumphs to match its rapid economic growth. It is only the third country to launch a human
================
News Link • Global
11-26-2005 • Reuters
A Japanese space probe made history on Saturday when it landed on the surface of an asteroid and then collected rock samples that could give clues to the origin of the solar system.
==============
News Link • Global
First Falcon 1 rocket flies Saturday
•
After three years of development, SpaceX's privately-made Falcon 1 rocket is set for its debut launch Saturday from a seven-acre isle in the Central Pacific. Liftoff remains targeted for 4 p.m. EST (2100 GMT)
=================
News Link • Global
Virgin's Branson reveals frequent-flyer space plan
12-6-2005 • Agence France Presse
Virgin Airlines is to offer frequent-flyer "Space Miles" that passengers can put towards flights in space with the company's soon-to-be-launched Virgin Galactic, boss Richard Branson revealed.
=================
News Link • Global
Branson chooses New Mexico for space launch
12-9-2005 • Reuters
British entrepreneur Richard Branson has chosen New Mexico for the launch pad of his planned space tourism flights, state officials said on Thursday.
===================
News Link • Global
Amazon.com Exec to Open Aerospace Venture
12-27-2005 • Associated Press
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos expects a rocket-ship complex for his aerospace venture Blue Origin to open early next year. Sending a spaceship into orbit that launches and lands vertically, like a rocket, and eventually building spaceships
=================
News Link • Global
European satellite launch challenges GPS
12-28-2005 • Reuters - By Richard Balmforth
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The European Union launched its first Galileo navigation satellite on Wednesday, moving to challenge the United States' Global Positioning System (GPS).
==================
News Link • Global
FAA rushes to regulate commercial passenger space travel
12-31-2005 • Associated Press
The proposal released sets requirements for crew qualifications and training, and establishes training and informed consent for passengers. Physical exams for passengers, trained on how to respond during emergencies. Pilots must have an FAA pilot cert.
================
News Link • Global
NASA pays Russia to transport our astronauts
1-6-2006 • Reuters
NASA will pay the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) $21.8 million per passenger for Soyuz rides to and from the International Space Station (ISS) starting this spring.
================
News Link • Global
Space tourists to face terrorist checks
1-6-2006 • Reuters
Passengers also would have to clear a security check to guard against any chance a space tourist would try to destroy the rocket or interfere with the flight crew and use it as a weapon. The FAA recommends using the TSA's global "no fly" list.
====================
News Link • Global
The Government is taking over civilian space travel,... surprise surprise.
• By Alan Boyle - MSNBC
New Mexico's plan to build a $225 million spaceport calls for the state Legislature to contribute $100 million in new money. The balance would come from state funding already approved, as well as federal and local funds, said Rick Homans, New Mex
=================
News Link • Global
Stardust spacecraft lands successfully in Utah
01-15-2006 • By MARK CARREAU - Houston Chronicle
After streaking across the darkened skies over the Pacific Northwest, a NASA spacecraft floated to a successful parachute landing in the Utah desert early today with microscopic pieces of a comet and star grains that pre-date the formation of
======================
News Link • Global
Small Rocky Planet Found Orbiting Normal Star
1-26-2006 • Space.com
Astronomers announced the discovery of what is possibly the smallest planet known outside our solar system orbiting a normal star. The planet is estimated to be about 5.5 times as massive as Earth and thought to be rocky. It orbits a red dwarf star
====================
News Link • Global
Remembering Challenger 20 Years Later
1-26-2006 • Associated Press
20 years ago, space shuttle Challenger blew apart into jets of fire and plumes of smoke, a terrifying sight witnessed by the families of the 7 astronauts and by those who came to watch the historic launch of the first teacher in space.
==================
News Link • Global
Air Force Plans Test Flights Of Mach 20+ Hypersonic Vehicle
1-27-2006 • Space.com
A joint U.S. Air Force and DARPA project is moving speedily along— intended to fly to Mach 20, plus some. A Falcon Hypersonic Test Vehicle-1 (HTV-1) is now on the books for a less than one-hour flight in September 2007.
=====================
Reference Link • Global
Bigelow Aerospace: Mfg. inflatable space station modules
Bigelow Aerospace
Provide a low-cost, low earth orbit human-rated space station that is accessible to the commercial sector. Validate expandable structures as a certified space-flight technology for future mission.
============
Feature Article • Global
Rocket Racing League (NASCAR in Space?) - The New X-Prize Project
The mission is to serve as a technology accelerator in the areas of airframe, propulsion and spacecraft design, and reach for the future to inspire the next generation of spaceflight enthusiasts.
===================
News Link • Global
Government Permission for Space Tourism Licenses Coming
2-10-2006 • FOX news
Paying space travelers could be lifting off from the US by 2008, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta says. He expects to issue permits for test flights next year. If those are successful, licenses for passenger space travel could then be issued.
===================
News Link • Global
News Link • Global
2-26-2006 • Space.com
Scaled Composites in Mojave, California is in the deep design stage of a fleet of commercial suborbital spaceships and launch aircraft. They are looking to find the right talent to build the commercial spaceships for the new industry of private space
================
Reference Link • Global
Google Mars
Google provides new mapping service ... of Mars. Enjoy!
===================
News Link • Global
NASA delays Space Shuttle launch ... again
3-15-2006 • Reuters
NASA put off its next space shuttle mission until July at the earliest to replace fuel sensors in the shuttle's external fuel tank that could give faulty readings. Could further delay the orbital construction of the International Space Station
==================
News Link • Global
New light detector improves space communications
3-21-2006 • Space.com
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology have developed a tiny light detector that could one day boost interplanetary communications to broadband speeds. The work could permit the transmission of color video between astronauts and
===============
News Link • Global
Fuel Leak and Fire Led to Falcon 1 Rocket Failure, SpaceX
03-26-2006 • Tariq Malik for Space.com
Musk said the fire began about 25 seconds after liftoff and cut into the Falcon 1 rocket's first stage helium pneumatic system used to pressurize the booster's fuel tanks. Once that pressure dropped, the Falcon 1 rocket's Merlin engine shut down
=============
News Link • Global
Venus Explorer enters orbit today
4-11-2006 • Christian Science Monitor
The planet Venus moves to astronomy's center stage this week with the arrival of the European Space Agency's spacecraft. The Venus Express orbiter is slated to reach Earth's neighbor early Tuesday morning. Roughly 3 weeks later
=============
News Link • Global
Japan eyes moon colonized by robots
04-13-2006 • TOKYO, April 13 (UPI)
Japan will develop advanced robots which can operate exploration vehicles and make decisions on their own to build a base on the moon.
============
News Link • Global
News Link • Global
NASA gets foot in door at X-Prize
5-7-2006 • Associated Press
[You didn't think you were going to the moon without government, did you?] NASA said it is sponsoring a $2 million contest to spur aerospace designers to build and demonstrate versatile rockets that may one day support a lunar mission.
=============
News Link • Global
Space Access: Private or Public Funding
5-12-2006 • Space.com
What is fuelling this libertarian streak in the space advocacy community? For starters, NASA has been struggling to get the Shuttle returned to flight, while small private ventures like Rutan's success with SpaceShipOne in 2004 have generated excitement
==============
News Link • Global
Voyager spacecraft flying almost 30 years
5-23-2006 • Space.com
Voyager 2 could pass beyond the outermost layer of our solar system, called the "termination shock," sometime within the next year. Comes a year after Voyager 1's crossing, comes earlier than expected and suggests the edge of the shock
============
Feature Article • Global
Ernest Hancock
June 2006
The good news is that all vehicle systems, including the main engine, thrust vector control, structures, avionics, software, guidance algorithm, etc. were picture perfect. Falcon's trajectory was within 0.2 degrees of nominal during powered
============
News Link • Global
Asteroid visit results detailed
6-1-2006 • Reuters
A Japanese spacecraft that landed on an asteroid found a ball of rubble held loosely together by its own gravity, unlike other asteroids that have been visited. Taking several measurements before landing briefly on the orbiting gravel pile.
================
News Link • Global
Stephen Hawking advocates space colonies
6-13-2006 • Associated press
The survival of the human race depends on its ability to find new homes elsewhere in the universe because there's an increasing risk that a disaster will destroy the Earth, world-renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking said.
================
News Link • Global
NASA management preparing to incinerate another shuttle crew
6-17-2006 • Associated Press
Representatives from NASA's Office of Safety and Mission Assurance and the Office of the Chief Engineer recommended against flying [the shuttle] until further design changes are made to the external fuel tank. Despite their recommendations, they
======================
News Link • Global
NASA Safety Chief Reiterates Opposition To Launch Decision
6-20-2006 • AP
NASA's top safety official objected to the agency's decision to press ahead with the launch of Discovery next month without fixing a potentially catastrophic foam-shedding problem, but said he won't appeal and won't resign in protest
============
News Link • Global
Amazon.com unveils its spaceship
7-5-2006 • Space.com
The public space travel business is picking up suborbital speed thanks to a variety of private rocket groups and their dream machines. Joining the mix is Blue Origin's New Shepard Reusable Launch System. It is financially fueled by an outflow
==================
News Link • Global
China successfully tests new heavy lift space engine
7-10-2006 • AFP
China has successfully test-fired the engines of a new rocket that could launch its first manned mission to the moon. The engines of the new Long March C rocket are expected to make it three times more powerful than existing versions of the Long March
===================
News Link • Global
Bigelow space station prototype launched into orbit
7-12-2006 • Space.com
Thanks to a boost today from a Russian and Ukrainian rocket-for-hire company, a U.S. private space firm has sent a novel expandable module toward Earth orbit—and a step forward in providing commercial space habitats. Bigelow Aerospace
=================
News Link • Global
Tourists at space station can take walk for extra $15 million
07-24-2006 • Detroit Free Press
The trip would involve a launch in a Soyuz capsule, an eight-day stay aboard the international space station and a 90-minute spacewalk in a Russian spacesuit.
================
Genesis-1: Reaching Escape Velocity From Red Tape
7-29-2006 • Space.com
Obtaining U.S. permission to shoot Genesis-1 into orbit atop the Dnepr booster—a converted Cold War, silo-launched SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missile from Russia—was no trouble-free task.
===============
News Link • Global
Orbital Dreams: New Launch Site in Hand for Private Spaceflight Firm
8-22-2006 • Space.com
A U.S.-Canadian venture to develop suborbital and orbital rocket ships has found a new launch site along the Atlantic coastline of Nova Scotia. The London, Ontario, Canada-based firm PlanetSpace has secured a team agreement for 300 acres of land
=============
News Link • Global
US businesswoman Anousheh Ansari: first woman space tourist next month
8-22-2006 • AP
A Japanese space tourist who had hoped to blast off on board a Russian rocket next month was deemed unfit for the trip, a Russian space official said, adding that a U.S. woman [who funded the X prize] was most likely to replace him.
=================
News Link • Global
Europe's First Lunar Mission Nears End
8-31-2006 • AP
Europe's first mission to the moon is due to crash-land in a cloud of dust and rock early Sunday, ending a three-year voyage that gathered data about the lunar surface and tested a new engine intended to propel future spacecraft to Mercury
===================
News Link • Global
Europe's 1st Lunar Mission Impacts Moon
9-3-2006 • AP
Europe's first spacecraft to the moon ended its three-year mission Sunday with a planned crash, hitting its target after ground controllers had to maneuver it around a looming crater rim.
=============
News Link • Global
Electric Spacecraft Propulsion
09-05-2006 • Science and Technology
The thruster selected for primary propulsion on SMART-1 is the PPS-1350 developed by SNECMA. This is a stationary plasma thruster (SPT) with a chamber diameter of 100 mm
=================
News Link • Global
Earthlike planets may be common
9-8-2006 • Reuters
Earthlike planets covered with deep oceans that could harbor life may be found in as many as a third of solar systems discovered outside of our own, U.S. researchers said.
===============
News Link • Global
NASA it's not, but desert spaceport nears first launch
9-22-2006 • Christian Sceince Monitor
In a sign that spaceport competition is now an entrepreneurial venture, Mr. Larson's company is scheduled to make the first launch from New Mexico's nonfederal spaceport - an airport for space travel - Sept. 25. The 20-foot-long, unmanned
==============
News Link • Global
News Link • Global
India's top scientists to send a manned mission to Space & Moon
11-08-2006 • www.ndtv.com
Last week, the ISRO chairman had told NDTV why ISRO wanted to send an Indian to space on its own rocket and an Indian to the moon six years after that.
=====================
News Link • Global
11-12-2006 • Sajeda Momin
LONDON: Princess Beatrice, the Queen's 18-year-old granddaughter is all set to become the first royal to go into space.
=====================
News Link • Global
Space Probe Brought Real Stardust Back to Earth
12-15-2006 • Space.com
Scientists studied comet grains collected by NASA's Stardust spacecraft, which revealed surprising results. In addition to discovering stardust, or particles older than the Sun, they found material from the hottest part of the solar system.
==============
News Link • Global
Japan Launches Advanced Communications Test Satellite
12-19-2006 • Space.com
Japan's largest satellite was launched by the nation's most powerful rocket Monday to begin a mission testing technologies to aid the burgeoning mobile communications industry.
