Author Archives: LED Editor

Friday / 15 July 2016

Posted on by

Spaceweek Begins With Moon Day 2016,
Apollo 11 Launch 47th Observation

Moon Day 2016

Moon Day 2016 On July 16 At Frontiers Of Flight Museum, Dallas TX Will Feature Apollo 7 Lunar Module Pilot Walt Cunningham (BR), Apollo 7 Command Module, Adult-Oriented ‘Lunar University’ Classes, Live Talk With ISS Exp. 48 Commander Jeffrey Williams (BL), Russia Spacesuit, Inflatable Planetariums, Model Rocket Builds; Hosted Annually By The Moon Society & National Space Society Of North Texas Over 2,000 Attendees To Revisit Humankind’s 1st Steps On Another World & Learn About Current / Planned Human Exploration Efforts

Credit: NASA, Frontiers Of Flight Museum, Moon Society, Ken Murphy (TL), NSS of North Texas

Thursday / 14 July 2016

Posted on by

GLXP: Moon Express Expanding To LC 17 & 18 At Cape Canaveral; SpaceIL Testing Engine

LED-7-13-16

Moon Express Announces Agreement To License Historic Launch Complexes (LC) For Lunar Lander Development, Test Operations From USAF 45th Wing; State Of Florida Has Approved Up To US$1.85M In Matching Funds Toward Improving Facilities; Press Release Projects 25-50 New Jobs Enabled Immediately, 100s More Direct & Indirect Jobs Possible Over Next 5 Years; LC 17 Dormant Since Sep 2011 GRAIL Moon Launch; Israel Team SpaceIL Recently Tested Lunar Lander Main Engine At Facilities In England; Successfully Met Durability Requirements During Multiple Operation Modes, Shutdown Cycles Without Overheating

Credit: ME, SpaceIL, GLXP, USAF

Wednesday / 13 July 2016

Posted on by

Surrey Satellite & Goonhilly Earth Station Team Up For Lunar Pathfinder Mission By 2019-2020

LED-7-12-16

UK Space Age Heavyweights Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) & Goonhilly Earth Station (GES) Announce Partnership To Provide Low Cost, High Value System To Transport Payloads To Moon Orbit (£0.8-1.5M/kg), Provide Communications Links Back To Earth (Via Mothership X-band Link To 32-meter GHY-6 Dish In Cornwall, UK); Pilot Phase Activity Underway With ESA; Ultimate Aim To Support Solar System Network; SSTL Executive Chairman Sir Martin Sweeting Wants To Help Lunar Explorers Be Able To “Focus On The Science And Business Aspects Of Their Missions”

Credit: SSTL, GES

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 8-11 July 2016

Posted on by

LRO Mission Receives NASA Extension Through March 2018

LED-7-8-16

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Shedding Light On Origin And Evolution Of The Solar System Through A Multitude Of Science Investigations At The Moon; NASA Planning US$20M / Year To Operate Flagship Lunar Mission Through FY2018 (Subject To Appropriation & Annual Budget Process); Latest Results Include SwRI Team Led By Kathleen Mandt Identifying 2 Geologically Young Craters Near South Pole Using Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) Detector Which Observes With Help Of Ultraviolet Light Coming From Distant Stars & From The Lyman-Alpha Skyglow Scattering Of Hydrogen Atoms In Solar System

Credit: LRO, NASA, SwRI

Friday / 8 July 2016

Posted on by

Rocket Lab Electron Rocket May Launch Late Summer, Qualifies Rutherford Engine For Flight

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab Planning Maiden Electron Rocket Launch Within A Couple Months From Wairoa, New Zealand Followed By Launches From New Site At Onenui Station, Mahia Peninsula (39° S, 177° E) Which Is Close To Completion; CEO Peter Beck Notes Mahia Can Offer “Widest Range Of Orbital Azimuths Of Any Launch Site Globally”; Electron Is 10,000kg, 16-meters Tall, Able To Carry 150kg To 500-km Sun-Synchronous Orbit For Less Than US$5M; HQ In Los Angeles, Company Working With Moon Express For 2017 Launch To Moon & Potentially 3 Other Launches, And Up To 12 Missions For Spire Satellites

Credit: Rocket Lab, Google, Moon Express

Thursday / 7 July 2016

Posted on by

LPI Seminar 8 July: Micro Cold Traps On The Moon Presented By Paul Hayne

LED-7-6-16

Lunar And Planetary Institute Seminar Series Hosts Paul Hayne, Geophysics & Planetary Geosciences, JPL On Fri 8 July; Recent Observations Of Moon, Mercury Confirm Predictions Of Water Ice In High-Latitude Permanent-Shadow Craters; Some Discrepancies Exist As To Concentrations / Locations Of Volatiles, Presence Of Super-Volatiles (CH4, CO2, Methanol), Heterogeneous Thermal Environments; Hayne Presents New Theory To Explain These Based On Evidence Of Micro Cold Traps, Discusses Importance For Future Robotic / Human Exploration

Credit: LPI, JPL, UCLA/NASA/JPL/Goddard

Wednesday / 6 July 2016

Posted on by

Team Indus Gets Boost From New CNES Lunar Payload For GLXP Mission

LED-7-5-16

India GLXP Team Indus To Carry French Space Agency CNES CASPEX (Colour cmos cAmera for SPace EXploration); Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) Technology And Patented (3DPlus) Integration Methods Reduce Size Of Optical Imaging Instrument By Factor Of Ten; System Is Also Reprogrammable & Radiation-Tolerant; CASPEX Micro Cameras To Aid Rover Movement By Detecting Ground Obstacles, No-Funds Exchanged Collaboration Saves Team Indus US$500,000 In Development / Procurement Costs; Total Project Cost Estimated At Over $60M; Team Founder Rahul Narayan Sees This As Huge Vote Of Confidence From Prestigious Global Agency

Credit: Axiom Research Labs, Team Indus, CNES, GLXP

Weekend Edition
Fri-Tue / 1-5 July 2016

Posted on by

2017 USA Space Program And The Moon – Galaxy Forum USA Inaugurates Spacemonth July 2016 / July 4th Weekend

LED-7-1-2016

 GF USA 2016 In Santa Clara CA On 2 July; Presentations By Bruce Pittman Of NASA Ames On USA Space Direction 2017, Imke de Pater Of UC Berkeley Astronomy On Jupiter, Steve Durst Of SPC / ILOA On Getting Human Moon Missions & Jupiter Back Into American Space Program, Considerations For 21st Century Solar System Complete; Bipartisan Support & Implementation Of Evolvable Lunar Architecture (ELA) Study Partly Funded By NASA, Proposed July 2015 By Charles Miller Of NexGen Space; ELA Designed To Lead A Return Of Humans To The Moon Surface Within 5-7 Years For US$10B (+/-30%) Via Development Of 2 Independent Competing Commercial Service Providers

Credit: Space Age Publishing Company (SPC) , International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA), NASA, NexGen Space LLC, A. Nesterova, UC Berkeley, FreeFlagIcons.com

Friday / 1 July 2016

Posted on by

GLXP Team Indus Offering Public Project Ride To Moon, Astrobotic Selects New Mission Director

Team Indus

From 28 Jun – 30 Aug Young Adults Ages 14-25 Able To Register Via Lab2Moon For Their Experiment To Fly On Team Indus Craft To Moon Surface 2017; Project Should Fit Inside 330-ml Can, Weigh Less Than 250-grams & “Catalyse The Evolution Of Mankind As A Sustainable Multi-Planetary Species”; Winner Announced 26 Jan 2017, Selection Jury Will Include Dr. K. Kasturirangan (BR), Former Chairman Of ISRO; Team Indus With 85 Engineers & 15 Former ISRO Scientists Hoping For Subsidized ISRO Launch; Astrobotic Announces Sharad Bhaskaran (BL) As New Lunar Mission Director   

Credit: Team Indus, GLXP, Lab2Moon, Cairo University, IEEE, Astrobotic, NASA

Thursday / 30 June 2016

Posted on by

New Hainan Spaceport / Moonport  “China’s Cape Canaveral” Opens With LM-7 First Launch

LED-6-29-16

New Wenchang Satellite Launch Center At 19°N 110°E On Hainan Island, Southern-most Province Off Southeast Coast of China Is 20-km2 Complex With 2 Main Launch Sites, Rocket Assembly Plant, Command Center, Tracking Stations; Will Host China’s Largest, Most Ambitious Launches For Decades To Come, Including Chang’e 4-6, Mars Probes, Eventual Human Moon Missions, China Space Station; Astronaut Leroy Chiao Sums Up China Space Program “The Message Is The Same That It’s Been For Some Time. They’re In This Game To Stay. They’re Making Long-term Plans To Stay In Space & Expand Their Presence In Space”

Credit:Google, CNSA