tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-185780802012-05-21T01:09:17.357-05:00Committed to gathering, sorting and disseminating news and information meant to inspire those who look up at the star filled sky to see, not darkness, distance and cold, but adventure, opportunity and the destiny of all humankind. Devoted to all things Space, we find the stories - big and small, comical and inspiring - and pass them along to readers around the globe, hungry for news of the new frontier. We provide links to resources to help you get involved, stay informed and make a difference.Devan Filchakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05915951205677100278noreply@blogger.comBlogger443125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-16967863413210225902012-02-12T16:33:00.000-05:002012-02-12T16:33:17.632-05:002012-02-12T16:33:17.632-05:00

Cue the Pink Floyd because NASA may be turning their lunar attention toward the establishment of an orbital station parked above the dark side of the moon, in a region of space known as the Earth-Moon libration point 2. Libration points, also known as Lagrangian points, are places in space where the combined gravitational pull of two large masses roughly balance each other out, allowing

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-16115831603439530752012-01-26T18:47:00.000-05:002012-01-26T18:47:00.774-05:002012-01-26T18:47:00.774-05:00

NASA's Kepler mission has continued to advance our knowledge of planetary systems with the recent discovery of 11 new systems hosting 26 confirmed planets. With the latest data now released by NASA the total number of planets revealed by Kepler has nearly doubled, and the number of stars known to have more than one planet that passes before their host star has tripled. These discoveries are

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-84788244386321936452012-01-25T13:20:00.000-05:002012-01-25T13:20:05.775-05:002012-01-25T13:20:05.775-05:00

It wasn't taken too seriously, but the recent news that a Russian probe may have captured images of life on the surface of Venus was not immediately dismissed either. We have come a long way from the days of believing that we are the only life in the universe (at least most of us have) and today it seems we are open to the idea life can exist not only as we know it, but also in ways which are

Jerry Battistehttps://profiles.google.com/108248631112273942342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-44098257417824246422012-01-23T20:26:00.002-05:002012-01-23T20:38:44.835-05:002012-01-23T20:38:44.835-05:00

Another milestone has been reached on the road to developing a commercial crew transportation system, as Utah based Alliant Techsystems, Inc. (ATK) and their Liberty Transportation System has successfully passed a critical review as a partner in NASA’s Commercial Crew Development Round 2 program. ATK is an unfunded participant in the program under an agreement with NASA that

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-91064740174471007452012-01-21T18:19:00.000-05:002012-01-21T18:19:21.215-05:002012-01-21T18:19:21.215-05:00

Although the debut commercial flight of the SpaceX Dragon to the International Space Station has been postponed from the slated Feb. 7 launch date, ITWire.com is reporting that the capsule which is now expected to fly no sooner than late March has arrived at the Kennedy Space Center. Last week California based SpaceX announced that the potentially historic flight would be delayed to allow

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-83023699963657002312012-01-12T13:22:00.000-05:002012-01-12T13:23:06.078-05:002012-01-12T13:23:06.078-05:00

If you love Apple technology and you’re accident prone then an amazing product demonstration video that was recently posted online may be of interest to you. Or you may just like videos of objects being dropped from the very edges of space. Either way this clip is worth viewing: VIDEO OF iPad IN G-FORM EXTREME EDGE CASE FALLING FROM 100,000 FEET The folks at Rhode Island based G-Form were

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-8552916721797410112012-01-11T13:56:00.000-05:002012-01-11T13:56:37.029-05:002012-01-11T13:56:37.029-05:00

As the clock ticks down to the expected uncontrolled re-entry on Saturday of Russia’s failed Phobos-Grunt spacecraft, a leading Russian space official has interjected the possibility that the craft may have been disabled by an orbiting anti-satellite weapon. When Phobos-Grunt first went awry following its launch on November 9, 2011, Vladimir Popovkin, the director of the Russian space agency

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-9585413286529929032012-01-09T20:13:00.001-05:002012-01-09T20:13:22.241-05:002012-01-09T20:13:22.241-05:00

Although much attention has been devoted to next month’s Commercial Orbital Transportation System, or C.O.T.S. test flight of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, another competitor for C.O.T.S. has been toiling ahead in anticipation of their own upcoming test flight. Orbital Sciences Corp. is busy readying their Cygnus spacecraft for a first-quarter 2012 launch from their facilities at Wallops Island

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-68440599762360959972012-01-08T18:15:00.002-05:002012-01-08T18:15:40.580-05:002012-01-08T18:15:40.580-05:00

The Mars Science Laboratory is getting ready to make some moves. Already about 75 million miles from Earth on its 352-million mile journey to Mars, the spacecraft is slated to perform a series of thruster firings on January 11 which will leave the MSL’s Curiosity Rover on a more precise course for its planned August landing at Gale Crater. The 175 minute long sequential firing of the craft’

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-67060655664053966442012-01-07T23:48:00.000-05:002012-01-07T23:48:06.558-05:002012-01-07T23:48:06.558-05:00

While the eyes of many space observers are focused on the upcoming historic launch of a SpaceX Dragon on the first commercial cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station, slated for Feb. 7, at least one other cargo mission is set to rendezvous with the station over the next few months. Work is underway at the Arianespace launch center in French Guiana for the planned March 9

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-15089232398060476372012-01-07T20:36:00.001-05:002012-01-07T20:36:57.233-05:002012-01-07T20:36:57.233-05:00

She may have been the only applicant whose resume could claim she has boldly gone where no one has gone before, as a real space scientist and fictional Star Fleet officer. MSNBC’s Cosmic Log Blog is reporting that officials at DARPA, the Pentagon's think tank, have selected a group likely to be led by former Astronaut Mae Jemison to head up the development of the "100 Year Starship" project.

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-25399905895211256642012-01-03T21:30:00.000-05:002012-01-03T21:30:39.369-05:002012-01-03T21:30:39.369-05:00

After a few days of light duty over the New Year holiday for the crew of the International Space Station, it was back to work Tuesday for the six-man crew of Expedition 30 crew. The crew spent the day working on upgrading some the computer technology aboard the I.S.S. As Commander Dan Burbank worked to install an Enhanced Processor and Integrated Communications (EPIC) card into the station’

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-61589012942197769182012-01-03T13:55:00.000-05:002012-01-03T21:27:57.114-05:002012-01-03T21:27:57.114-05:00

NASA is reporting that the second GRAIL spacecraft has executed its planned main engine burn and has now joined its companion craft in lunar orbit. Working together, NASA’s two Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) probes will allow researchers to utilize new ways of studying the moon. Designed to work in tandem, the GRAIL craft transmit radio signals that precisely measure

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-55241277464971635852011-12-29T19:03:00.001-05:002011-12-29T19:04:24.633-05:002011-12-29T19:04:24.633-05:00

SpaceX had opted not to piggyback the launch of two small communication satellites with the crucial and potentially historic launch in February of the first commercial cargo flight to the International Space Station. Originally the private aerospace development firm planned to send aloft two prototype Orbcomm satellites on the upcoming Feb. 7 launch of a Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 booster

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-83549513310348402212011-12-23T20:39:00.001-05:002011-12-23T20:39:32.882-05:002011-12-23T20:39:32.882-05:00

Posting a few updates to add some rocket’s red glare to your holiday glow. The big space news today was the arrival of three more crew members at the International Space Station, bringing the station up to its planned capacity of six. Following the end of the shuttle program and the loss of a Soyuz based cargo craft, the capacity had been halved. NASA provided the following update on today’

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-24120107829663427862011-12-23T20:36:00.001-05:002011-12-23T20:37:47.619-05:002011-12-23T20:37:47.619-05:00

Also in space news, Nasa posted this summary of their efforts in spaceflight in 2011, and where that vision may take us one day. It’s a pretty accurate summary of progress being made when many people are only aware of the passing of the space shuttle program. Its been a challenge to the already strapped economy in Florida’s Space Coast region, but there are signs of progress and future

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-90872118868624338392011-12-21T19:10:00.000-05:002011-12-21T19:10:55.241-05:002011-12-21T19:10:55.241-05:00

Once again Russia’s venerable space workhorse the Soyuz spacecraft proved that winter weather is not a launch concern as three new crew members blasted off from Kazakhstan on a mission to the International Space Station. The impending arrival of NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, and Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers, representing the European Space Agency brings the

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-41975317237483270152011-12-18T20:46:00.001-05:002011-12-18T20:46:53.684-05:002011-12-18T20:46:53.684-05:00

Curiosity may only be three weeks into an eight month journey to Mars, but the NASA probe is already collecting and contributing data that may one day help astronauts to safely follow in its path. Space.com reported that the Curiosity rover is transmitting data on deep space radiation which could help spacecraft developers in designing shielding to keep crews safe on planetary or deep space

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-67223799295383590862011-12-15T20:49:00.002-05:002011-12-15T20:49:39.105-05:002011-12-15T20:49:39.105-05:00

It’s been a busy week for space news and SpaceBlogAlpha wanted to bring our readers up to date on some of the items we haven’t featured yet. Many of the breaking space stories we feature come from Florida Today’s outstanding space news and their own space blog, The Flame Trench. The shuttle era has ended but there is a lot of exciting commercial space development work being done, and it is an

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-62238413317484954732011-12-15T18:40:00.002-05:002011-12-15T18:40:57.725-05:002011-12-15T18:40:57.725-05:00

NASA has changed their funding processes in the development of a new commercial crew transport system to hold off on the need to drop competing firms due to a sharp reduction in their 2012 budget request. Instead of issuing a formal Request for Proposals next week, which would have led to the space agency signing a contract by June with at least two private aerospace developers, NASA will now

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-29784013390171120292011-12-14T21:45:00.000-05:002011-12-14T21:45:17.793-05:002011-12-14T21:45:17.793-05:00

Aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan is thinking big in his latest venture with Microsoft co-founder and SpaceShipOne partner Paul Allen, announcing earlier this week that they were again teaming up to develop the largest aircraft ever built as an airborne launch platform for a SpaceX powered rocket which may begin flight tests in 2015. The creation of Huntsville, Ala. Based Stratolaunch Systems was

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-91089829940217155462011-12-11T16:24:00.001-05:002011-12-11T16:26:06.129-05:002011-12-11T16:26:06.129-05:00

If all goes as planned SpaceX will again make history in early 2012, flying the first commercial cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station. NASA announced on Friday that California based Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, is set to launch their Dragon capsule from Cape  Canaveral on Feb. 7. That flight would come one year and one day after SpaceX became the first

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-48385528474464855812011-12-10T16:16:00.001-05:002011-12-10T16:18:02.649-05:002011-12-10T16:18:02.649-05:00

Thanks to a little serendipity and the generosity of two of the first space tourists, visitors to aerospace museums on both coasts will soon be able to check out their Russian Soyuz capsules side-by-side with a space shuttle. Initially millionaire space tourist Greg Olsen loaned his Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York for public display in

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-33858791555197189312011-12-09T20:08:00.002-05:002011-12-10T21:54:46.309-05:002011-12-10T21:54:46.309-05:00

Dreaming of building your own moon rocket? If a team of space enthusiasts succeeds in their goal of developing a crowd-funded rocket kit you may be able to send a 3-lb. payload from your backyard to the moon for about $5,000. While it’s not advisable (or humane) to begin training your child’s hamster for the rigors of a space voyage, it would be entirely possible to send a loved one’s ashes or

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18578080.post-33416152517341115172011-12-07T15:28:00.001-05:002011-12-07T15:30:25.505-05:002011-12-07T15:30:25.505-05:00

Officials at Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) see the massive budget reductions in NASA’s commercial crew program as an opportunity to clinch the competition to develop a commercial space taxi. NASA had requested a commercial crew budget of $850 million for the fiscal year which began on Oct.1, but received only $406 million instead. This raises the possibility that either the number of

J.G. Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334085701059425508noreply@blogger.com0