Excalibur Almaz's space tourism vehicle concept. (Credit: Excalibur Almaz)

Excalibur Almaz is looking beyond sending its Soviet-era space vehicles and stations into Earth orbit and is actively working on human missions to the moon, asteroids and lagrange points.

Excalibur Almaz CEO Art Dula outlined the company’s plans on Sunday during the International Space Development Conference in Washington. Based upon Twitter posts by attendees, here are the highlights:

• The company has four reusable capsules (with four seats) and two space station pressure vessels that it is upgrading with modern technology
• Planned services include crew and cargo transportation from Earth to LEO, lunar orbits and lagrange point 2 (L2)
• EA is working with: MDA and Ad Astra (VASIMR engine) on asteroid rendezvous scenarios; ULA (launchers); Astrium (ATV-based propulsion system); NASA (Space Act Agreement on commercial crew); and Futron (marketing studies)
• Company appears to be no longer interested in providing commercial crew services to ISS
• Possible launch vehicles include Atlas V, Falcon 9 and Zenit
• EA had looked at buying Sea Launch (Zenit boosters) a while back (Sea Launch is now 95 percent owned by Energia)
• Based on Futron studies, total 2013-2023 market demand is 29 lunar passengers paying $100 million apiece
• Key flight element (manned spacecraft) has been flight tested with re-entries (albeit without people on board)
• EA will discuss its business plan and display a twice-flown re-eentry capsule during a Royal Aeronautical Society space tourism meeting in London on June 19
• EA will display cis-lunar spacecraft during a space conference on the Isle of Man in July
• Dula has spent as much time on U.S. ITAR (export control) issues as he has on engineering (American company using Russian technology now based on the Isle of Man).

Story based upon the Tweets of:

• jeff_foust
• A.C. Charania
• Marc Boucher

Thanks guys! Great work!

The ISS crew describes Dragon’s arrival at the station.

Dnepr launch vehicle. (Credit: ISC Kosmotras)

Russian media are reporting that it is “very likely” that the nation will stop launching Dnepr rockets, ending a 13-year joint program with Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

The articles cite the high cost of launching payloads on the converted Soviet-era SS-18 Satan missiles. They also point to the rocket’s toxic hypergolic fuel as being unsafe for the environment.

Dnepr rockets are converted in Ukraine and launched at Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome and Russia’s Yasny launch complex. There have been 17 successful Dnepr launches that have orbited 62 spacecraft from 12 nations.

Over the next year, Russia will introduce two new light launchers, Soyuz 2-1v and Angara, that are likely to loft some of the satellites that Dnepr normally handles. Both of these rockets use non-toxic fuels and they are produced domestically, reducing Russia’s dependence on foreign nations for launch services. This latter goal has been a key concern since the fall of the Soviet Union more than 20 years ago left some of that nation’s launch and rocket production facilities in Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

It is not clear whether Ukraine and Kazakhstan will continue launching Dnepr rockets if the Russians pull out of the program.

Two sources familiar with the negotiations said the state is working on a multimillion-dollar package that could include funding from the Texas Enterprise Fund, infrastructure support from the state Department of Transportation and assistance from the Texas Workforce Commission, among others…

On Friday a spokesman for Texas Gov. Rick Perry confirmed that the state is engaged in talks with SpaceX.

“We’re very supportive of this project,” said Allison Castle. “We’re coordinating with every agency across state government that might have a positive impact on this project.”

In some respects, the state is well behind some of its competitors for the spaceport, which would launch up to 10 rockets a year, initially carrying cargo payloads but eventually including human passengers.

The successful flight of Dragon to ISS this week will give SpaceX Founder Elon Musk a much stronger hand in dealing with state officials. SpaceX is also looking at locations in Florida, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

Read the full story.

Astronauts inside the Dragon. (Credit: SpaceX)

MISSION UPDATE VIA SPACEX

This morning, at 2:53 AM Pacific/5:53 AM Eastern, NASA astronauts stationed on board the International Space Station opened the hatch to SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.

Astronaut Don Pettit opened the hatch and he and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, Station Commander, entered the Dragon for initial inspections. They were joined at the entrance of the hatch by ESA astronaut Andre Kuipers and Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka.

Don Pettit opens the Dragon hatch. (Credit: SpaceX)

The operation went smoothly and ahead of schedule.  Dragon’s interior looked good and Pettit remarked on the vehicle’s new car smell.

SpaceX engineers in Hawthorne, CA are putting Dragon into its final configuration for the duration of its visit to the station.  Now the astronauts will get to work unloading the more than 1,000 pounds of cargo before refilling the vehicle with more than 1,400 pounds of cargo that will make the trip home.

Inside the Dragon. (Credit: SpaceX)

]]> http://www.parabolicarc.com/2012/05/26/enter-the-dragon-astronaut-open-freighter-hatch/feed/ 5 http://www.parabolicarc.com/2012/05/25/summary-of-whiteknighttwo-flight-no-80/ http://www.parabolicarc.com/2012/05/25/summary-of-whiteknighttwo-flight-no-80/#comments Fri, 25 May 2012 19:21:01 +0000 Doug Messier http://www.parabolicarc.com/?p=39279

WhiteKnightTwo on the tarmac in Mojave. (Credit: Douglas Messier)

Objectives:

Pilot familiarization
Cold soak gear extension retraction
Dump valve evaluation

Results:

Primary objectives achieved. Early return due to increasing surface winds.

Dragon berthed at the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)

Hawthorne, CA (SPACEX PR) – Today, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) made history when its Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial vehicle in history to successfully attach to the International Space Station.  Previously only four governments – the United States, Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency – had achieved this challenging technical feat.

The vehicle was grappled by the station’s robotic arm at 9:56 a.m. Eastern.  Dragon’s passive common berthing mechanism successfully attached to the orbiting laboratory at 12:02 p.m Eastern.

When asked for his initial thoughts on Dragon’s capture and move into the history books, Elon Musk stated, “just awesome.”

Broadcast quality videos, including video inside of the SpaceX factory, may be downloaded at vimeo.com/spacexlaunch.  For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv. High-resolution photos are posted at spacexlaunch.zenfolio.com.

SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk will join NASA Space Station Program Manager Mike Suffredini, NASA COTS Program Manager Alan Lindenmoyer and NASA Flight Director Holly Ridings  for a press conference to discuss the remarkable achievement at 1:00 PM Eastern.

This is SpaceX’s second demonstration flight under a 2006 Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement with NASA to develop the capability to carry cargo to and from the International Space Station. Demonstration launches are conducted to determine potential issues so that they might be addressed; by their very nature, they carry a significant risk. If any aspect of the mission is not successful, SpaceX will learn from the experience and try again.

Mission Highlights:

·         May 22/Launch Day: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched the Dragon spacecraft into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

·         May 23: Dragon orbited Earth as it traveled toward the International Space Station.

·         May 24: Dragon’s sensors and flight systems were subjected to a series of complicated tests to determine if the vehicle wa           s ready to berth with the space station; these tests included maneuvers and systems checks in which the vehicle came within 1.5 miles of the station.

·         May 25: NASA gave Dragon the GO to attempt berthing with the station.  Dragon approached. It was captured by station’s robotic arm and attached to the station.

Coming up next:

·         May 25 – 31: Astronauts open Dragon’s hatch, unload supplies and fill Dragon with return cargo.

·         May 31: Dragon is detached from the station and returns to Earth, landing in the Pacific, hundreds of miles west of Southern California.

Commercial Spaceflight Federation

CSF President and former ISS commander Michael Lopez-Alegria said in a statement, “Tomorrow the six astronauts currently aboard the International Space Station will open the hatches to the first visiting vehicle from a private company. Future commercial cargo deliveries under NASA’s COTS and CRS programs will ensure that the ISS continues to be a resource for America and its international partners.

“This is truly a momentous accomplishment for SpaceX and for the industry. The capabilities of the commercial space industry grow by the day, and America is well on its way to having a diverse, cost-effective and dependable space transportation system. The entire team at SpaceX should be commended for their commitment and skill, and thanked for their contribution to restoring U.S. access to the Space Station.”

Space Florida

The successful docking of the Dragon capsule – a major milestone in NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program – also marks the beginning of commercially enabled, cutting edge research opportunities on board the unparalleled microgravity environment of the U.S. National Lab.

“The State of Florida is so proud to be the launching place of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon capsule that made today’s ISS docking exercise possible,” said Space Florida President Frank DiBello. “We are thrilled that Florida continues to shine as the birthplace of next-generation U.S. commercial space launch and exploration initiatives – as it has been for the past 50+ years. We congratulate SpaceX on today’s historic achievement.”

CASIS

The success marks a significant milestone in bringing ISS cargo delivery and return capabilities back to the U.S. Currently, U.S. cargo is delivered to the ISS via Russian, European and Japanese launch vehicles.

Unlike other vehicles, Dragon offers not just the ability to make ISS deliveries but also to safely return significant amounts of cargo to Earth – a key to maximizing research on the ISS, which is CASIS’ ultimate goal. Once NASA has formally approved Dragon to make regular resupply flights to the ISS, CASIS will work with the company to ferry cutting edge research payloads to and from the National Lab.

A major component of the next-generation U.S. Space Program will include the groundbreaking research that will take place on board the ISS, an unparalleled scientific platform with unique environments that when harnessed in research can enable the development of new products and technologies to benefit life on Earth.

“We saw history made today with the successful arrival of Dragon on Station,” said CASIS Interim Executive Director Jim Royston. “We look forward to working with SpaceX to deliver research scientific payloads to the ISS National Lab to further U.S.-based R&D opportunities.”

Spaceport America

Christine Anderson, Executive Director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, said, “It’s not every day you get to witness history in the making. The successful on-orbit rendezvous of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with the ISS is a watershed moment for the U.S. commercial spaceflight industry. All of us at Spaceport America salute SpaceX for their groundbreaking achievement. We send our congratulations to Elon Musk and the entire SpaceX team, and wish them continued success of their mission.”

OSTP Director John Holdren

John P. Holdren
Assistant to the President for Science and Technology

For the first time, a private American company has successfully launched a spacecraft into orbit and berthed it with the International Space Station—an achievement of historic scientific and technological significance and a key milepost in President Obama’s vision for America’s continued leadership in space.

That is exactly what the President had in mind when he laid out a fresh course for NASA to explore new scientific frontiers and take Americans ever deeper into our Solar System while relying on private-sector innovators—working in the competitive free market—to ferry astronauts and cargo to Low Earth Orbit and the International Space Station. It’s essential we maintain such competition and fully support this burgeoning and capable industry to get U.S. astronauts back on American launch vehicles as soon as possible.

I could not be prouder of our scientists and engineers—both government and private sector employees—who have contributed to this historic mission.   A passion for discovery and a sense for adventure have always driven this Nation forward, and I join all Americans in watching what future possibilities are enabled by today’s great achievement.

Caption: This 747 is sitting in a boneyard in Mojave, CA awaiting scrapping. On May 23rd, 2012 the area experienced extreme winds of 70+ miles per hour due to a low pressure zone. Without the weight of its engines, the slightly tail heavy 747 tries to take to the skies one last time. The next day the plane was found to have also rotated about 45 degrees from its original position. The same wind storm damaged many rooftops, cut power and sent huge clouds of sand and dust billowing into the sky. Mojave will occasionally experience this type of wind storm due to geography. –Mike Massee

Dragon on the end of the space station's Canadarm2. (Credit: NASA)

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft was captured by the International Space Station at 9:56 a.m. EDT on Friday. Astronauts aboard the station captured the automated spacecraft using Canadarm2.

UPDATE: The SpaceX Dragon capsule was securely bolted to the Harmony module of the International Space Station at 12:02 p.m. EDT.

SpaceX becomes the first private company to launch and reach the space station. ISS astronauts are now in the process of berthing the cargo freighter to the orbiting facility.

The catpure came 3 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 23 seconds after the mission’s launch. The station was 251 miles over northwest Australia when capture occurred. The capture took place about two hours beyond the original schedule as controllers worked out issues with rendezvous.

Congratulations to SpaceX and NASA on this historic achievement!

Boeing's CST-100 crew transport. (Credit: Boeing)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The Boeing Company has successfully completed a new milestone in the development of software that will operate its Crew Space Transportation (CST) spacecraft. The company is one of NASA’s partners developing commercial crew transportation capabilities to ferry U.S. astronauts to and from low Earth orbit and the International Space Station.

With the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) of its software on May 18, the company now has completed more than 40 milestones under partnerships supporting NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP).

“When it comes to designing a spacecraft safe enough to transport humans, software is as important as the hardware,” said Ed Mango, CCP manager. “Boeing has made an excellent effort to take safety into consideration while developing critical software components of its spacecraft.”

Boeing’s CST-100 is designed to be a reusable, capsule-shaped spacecraft, capable of transporting up to seven people or a combination of people and cargo. It is compatible with a variety of expendable launch vehicles. Boeing has selected United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket for initial CST-100 test flights.

Software is essential to all operational aspects of the spacecraft, including launch, orbital maneuvering, docking with and separating from the space station, re-entry and landing. The testing is part of a NASA-funded Space Act Agreement under the second round of the agency’s commercial crew development (CCDev2) activities, which could eventually lead toward human spaceflight certification of the CST-100.

The Boeing team is on schedule to complete its remaining CCDev2 milestones in the next few months, including an orbital maneuvering/attitude control engine hot fire test that will provide additional data on significant elements of the spacecraft design.

All of NASA’s industry partners, including Boeing, continue to meet their established milestones in developing commercial crew transportation capabilities.

Ghostly images of aircraft are obscured by a sandstorm in the Mojave Air & Space Port Boneyard on Tuesday. (Credit: Douglas Messier)

By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor

Well. the Mojave Big Wind Sandapaloozza of 2012 ended late last night. Sunny skies devoid of massive dust clouds once again shined over the desert today. And massive 747 aren’t threatening to go cartwheeling across the Boneyard.

I saw a fair amount of damage. There was a recreational vehicle run off the road up near where I live. It wasn’t turned over on its side, thankfully, so I’m assuming everyone was OK. There was a road sign utterly demolished across from where those two tractor trailers turned over. The winds also wrecked a covering over fuel pumps at a gasoline station on the south end of town.

There are some damaged buildings at the airport. There are at least 3 hangars at the airport with some degree of damage. A small building next to another hangar had its roof tore up like a can opener was used on it. A crew is now removing what’s left.

I didn’t get a chance to get a full damage assessment from the airport. I took advantage of the break in the weather to run a bunch of errands down in civilization (the sprawling Lancaster/Palmdale metropolis).

Mike Massee of XCOR has posted some amazing photos of the windstorm that blew through Mojave on Tuesday and Wednesday. That includes the Southern Air 747 in the Boneyard that was trying to take off on its own.

This morning it was so calm — it was really eerie — that when I drove down to Lancaster I could have probably taken my hands off the steering wheel and not touched it except for when the road curved. It’s the only time I can remember driving north or south through this desert without having to fight crosswinds. It was just awesome! I had forgotten what that was like.

By afternoon, the winds were back to normal….normal being a relative term around these parts…What’s next? No, I don’t want to know!

Dragon during its fly under of ISS. (Credit: NASA)

The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft approaches the International Space Station on May 24, 2012 for a series of tests to clear it for its final rendezvous and grapple on May 25. At 3:58 a.m. (EDT), Dragon performed a height adjust burn to bring it to a path 2.4 kilometers below the station. During this “fly-under,” Dragon established UHF communication with the station using its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Ultra-high frequency Communication Unit (CUCU). Dragon performed a test of its Relative GPS system, which uses the relative positions of the spacecraft to the space station to determine its location.

Dragon during its flyby of ISS. (Credit: NASA)

On May 25, Expedition 31 Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to grapple the supply ship about 8:06 a.m., with the berthing to the Earth-facing side of the station’s Harmony node following about 11:20 a.m. Dragon is scheduled to spend about a week docked with the station before returning to Earth on May 31 for retrieval.

HOUSTON (Conrad Foundation PR)—

Junior high, high school and undergraduate college students from accredited U.S. schools who register for the DreamUp program will have access to Nanoracks’ two standardized research platforms (also known as NanoLabs) aboard the ISS, each of which supports 16 payloads, or experiments, housed in small containers. Each NanoLab is plugged into the ISS’ power and communications system by a NASA astronaut, offering students a chance to test scientific theories in the unique zero gravity environment. Students also get the opportunity to interact with ISS astronauts regarding their experiments.

“Some experiments can’t be done on Earth because we can’t turn off gravity,” Conrad said. “DreamUp, powered by our partner NanoRacks, is the ultimate ‘plug and play,’ helping our next great innovators participate in a scientific research opportunity like no other.”

Students can design two different size payloads, starting at $15,5000 each. To fund this learning opportunity, Conrad Foundation created a unique fundraising opportunity through the American Express Members Give program. Students, parents, teachers and friends can simply use their American Express card or donate their Membership Rewards points to the DreamUp program to help fund experiments for the school(s) of their choice. For every 1,000 points redeemed, the DreamUp program will receive $10.00.

“We are committed to lowering the barriers for entry to space research,” stated Jeffrey Manber, managing director of NanoRacks. “This is a double win. By lowering the costs via the use of customer reward programs and bringing in the world-class students through the Conrad Foundation, everyone gains.”

Some potential experiments that would work well for the DreamUp program include: testing plant growth in space; comparing insect lifespan in space versus Earth; testing food decomposition in space using leftovers from an astronaut’s meal; measuring the time it takes to hatch an egg in space; or studying the behavior of fish in a sealed aquarium.

Donations can also be made to a scholarship fund, which will help deserving, under-served schools fund their own NanoLab payload. Unused funds by participating DreamUp students will also be added to the scholarship fund.

“A number of schools are already collaborating with astronauts aboard the ISS to research various experiments in a microgravity environment,” said Julie Robinson, chief scientist for the International Space Station. “Now, students of all socioeconomic levels will be able to send their projects to space, taking their research capabilities a step farther. This program between the Conrad Foundation and NanoRacks will allow students from all across the country to utilize the resources of the National Lab.”

Schools interested in signing up for DreamUp should complete an easy online registration [B1] form to get started. Once registered, schools can join the Conrad Foundation’s online community and connect with other students, teachers and advisors to get even more ideas for new innovative technologies and research.

Anyone interested in donating money or points to the DreamUp program, please visit http://bit.ly/HgJKn5.

About The Conrad Foundation

The Conrad Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to transforming the current methods of teaching science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in high schools. The program is free to all who wish to participate and reaches all socio-economic levels. The Foundation is the only organization of its kind to combine education, innovation and entrepreneurship to inspire solutions for achieving global sustainability. For more information, visit www.conradfoundation.org.

About NanoRacks

NanoRacks LLC was formed in 2009 to provide quality hardware and services for the U.S. National Laboratory onboard the International Space Station. The company developed and has two research platforms onboard the U.S. National Laboratory which can house plug and play payloads using the CubeSat form factor. The current signed customer pipeline of over 60 payloads including domestic and international educational institutions, research organizations and government organizations, has propelled NanoRacks into a leadership position in understanding the emerging commercial market for low‐earth orbit utilization. Visit us at http://www.nanoracks.com and follow us at @nanoracks.

Relevant Links:

• Conrad Foundation: http://www.conradfoundation.org/pages/about-us
• Nanoracks: http://www.nanoracks.com
• American Express: http://bit.ly/HgJKn5

CSA PR – “Here, there be dragons”…the phrase used to designate the boundaries of the known world on historical maps seems fitting as the US space program embarks upon a new frontier in space exploration with the launch of the first commercial demonstration flight to the International Space Station. However, rarely were the monsters of yore as eagerly anticipated as SpaceX’s Dragon, the first privately built cargo ship destined for the orbiting outpost.

Dragon represents a new era and a new NASA approach to space transportation systems. Since the retirement of the space shuttle, NASA has turned to the private sector to develop and operate safe, reliable and affordable commercial space transportation systems. Slated for lift-off on April 30, 2012, at 12:22 EDT from the Kennedy Space Center, the goal of Dragon’s planned 21-day mission will be to test the unpiloted capsule’s ability to rendezvous with the space station. Shortly after launch, Dragon will undergo a series of checkout procedures to test and prove its systems in advance of its docking with the station. It will approach from the Earth-facing (nadir) side, then hover at a distance of 2.5 kilometers [1.5 miles] so that its sensors and flight systems can be examined to ensure that it is safe to proceed. The spacecraft also will demonstrate its capability to abort the rendezvous.

Another Cosmic Catch for Canadarm2

Once Dragon is cleared for capture, Canadarm2 will perform a cosmic catch: it will grapple the capsule and install it on the space station. With NASA Astronaut Don Pettit and European Space Agency Astronaut Andre Kuipers at the helm, Canadarm2 will reach out to grasp Dragon at a distance of 8-10 meters below the station. Pettit will use the robotic arm to seize a grapple fixture located on the side of the capsule and Kuipers will use Canadarm2 to install it on the Earth-facing side of the station’s Harmony node. Dragon will mark Canadarm2′s third successful capture and docking of a free-flying spacecraft.

Dextre and Canadarm2 lend a hand

During the 18 days that Dragon will spend docked to the International Space Station, the crew will unload its cargo of about half a ton of food and clothing packed inside the pressurized section. On flight day 6, Dextre and Canadarm2 will move in closer to inspect Dragon’s external surfaces and its “trunk”—the open, unpressurized section of the spacecraft that will later be used to transport a variety of payloads and science instruments on future missions.

At the end of the mission, Canadarm2 will detach Dragon from the station so that the reusable vehicle will return to Earth and be recovered and refurbished for its next mission.