Category Archives: NewSpace

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 6-9 Sep 2013

Posted on by

Launch Of Last Scheduled NASA Moon Mission As Lunar Experts Flock To NewSpace Companies

LADEEme0913

LADEE Launch — 6 Sep, 23:27 EDT, Wallops Island VA, Via Minotaur 5 Rocket — Promises To Provide Spectacular Show To East Coast USA Viewers; US$248M-Mission Will Test New System For Ultra-Fast Optical Data Transmission — 600 Mbit/s, Unravel Mysteries Of Lunar Atmosphere / Dust Environment, Premiere Common Spacecraft Bus; Next Flight Of The Bus Likely On Moon Express (ME) GLXP Mission NET 2015; ME Announces Paul Spudis New Chief Scientist, Jack Burns Added To Science Advisory Board

Image Credit: NASA, Moon Express

Friday / 30 August 2013

Posted on by

Google Lunar X Prize Teams Advancing

GLXP Updates

Team Puli With IndieGoGo Campaign Plans To Send Rover To Moon-Like Mauna Kea In Hawai`i, Have It Take HD Video, Move 500 Meters, Test / Control Systems From Budapest, Hungary 12,552 Km Away; Team Indus Based In New Delhi, India Running Competition To Develop Lunar Rover Designs; Red Whittaker Of Astrobotic Discusses Griffin Lander / Red Rover Mission To Investigate Lacus Mortis 44.962° N, 25.61° E

Image Credit: GLXP, Puli, Indus, Astrobotic, IFA

Friday / 16 August 2013

Posted on by

Lunar Elevator Workshop At Space Elevator Conference

Lunar Elevator

2013 ISEC Space Elevator Conference To Be Held 23-25 Aug In Seattle WA Includes 3-Hour Lunar Elevator Workshop Led By Michael Laine Of LiftPort Group; Humans / Cargo Would Be Transported To Lagrange Point 1 Depot Via Rocket, Then Gently Lowered To Moon Surface Via Tether; Able To Transport 36 Humans To Moon Annually; Could Travel 1,000 Times Farther Than Space Shuttle For 1/10th Price

Image Credit: LiftPort Group, Newsweek

Thursday / 8 August 2013

Posted on by

GLXP Team Announces New Launch Date

BarcelonaLaunchDate0813

Barcelona Moon Team Revises Launch Date From June 2014 To June 2015; Spacecraft / Lunar Rover Competing For GLXP Will Launch Aboard Long March 2C Rocket With Upper Stage CTS2 For Lunar Transfer Orbit Insertion; Launch Contract Provided By China Great Wall Industries Corporation; Pictured: Team Leader Xavier Claramunt, President Of Galactic Suite 

Image Credit: GLXP, Barcelona Moon Team

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 26-29 July 2013

Posted on by

Zero Point Frontiers Aids Golden Spike Moon Mission Design

Zero-Point-GSC0713

Golden Spike Company Human Lunar Missions Plan Advanced Through Zero Point Frontiers Corp Architecture Analysis; Company Identified Several Combinations Of Vehicles That Can Support Golden Spike Mission, Using Beyond LEO Architecture Sizing Tool (BLAST) Software It Developed For NASA; Report Provided GSC With Confidence In Technical Approach / Business Model; GSC Will Soon Issue Request For Proposal To Select Launch / Space Vehicle Providers

Image Credit: Golden Spike Company, Zero Point Frontiers Corp

Friday / 26 July 2013

Posted on by

GLXP Proposes New Achievement-Based Cash Prizes

GLXP 25 July

23 Remaining Google Lunar X Prize Teams May Be Able To Receive Additional Cash Prizes Totaling US$14M; Current GLXP Prizes Total $30M; Proposing $7M Split Between 1st Teams To Successfully Launch, $1M For 1st Team To Reach 500-Km Moon Altitude & Eight $750K Prizes Available Prior To Launch – 4 For Complete Designs With Power, Navigation, Hardware Plans, 4 For Complete Camera Subsystem Designs

Image Credit: GLXP, NASA, Xinhua/Y. Yan, SpaceX, Teams: Indus, Penn State, Selenokhod, ARCA

Tuesday / 23 July 2013

Posted on by

Moon Express Opens Huntsville AL Propulsion Development Facility

SlimPickens0713

New Moon Express (ME) Facility In Huntsville AL Now Operational Says Chief Propulsion Engineer Tim Pickens; Several Propulsion Milestones Already Achieved Including Test Firing Green 1780-Newton Demo Rocket Engine, Developing Mono-Prop & Bi-Prop Propulsion In 0.44-4450-Newton Thrust Class For ME Lander; ME Seeking To Land 1st Commercial Spacecraft On Moon In 2015

Image Credit: Moon Express

Thursday / 18 July 2013

Posted on by

ILO Mission Demonstrates Rising Importance Of Moon South Pole Destination

ILO_SouthPole713

South Pole Destination Of NET 2016 ILO-Moon Express Lunar Mission Selected To Ensure Long-Duration Nature Of Mission – Thermal Environment (~-50°C) / Solar Power Access On Malapert Mountain / PEL, Continuous Line Of Sight To Earth For Commercial Communications, Ability To Image Milky Way Galaxy Center; ILO Also To Observe & Report Human Lunar Buildout, Private & Public Parties Pointing To South Pole / Aitken Basin – With Prevalent Water Ice / Mineral Deposits – As Ideal Location For Development 

Image Credit: ILOA, Moon Express, NASA

Friday / 12 July 2013

Posted on by

Astrobotic Reduces Moon Payload Delivery Cost

Astrobotic

GLXP Team Astrobotic Technologies Inc. Offers 30% Price Reduction For Payload Delivery To Moon Aboard Its Lunar Lander / Rover With Launch Set Oct 2015 Via SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket; US$99K/kg For Trans-Lunar Injection, $1.2M/kg For Lunar Surface Delivery On Lander, $2M/kg On Rover; Lander & Rover Will Power & Support Payload Operations For 10 Days, Then Hibernate For 14-Day Lunar Night & Recover After Sunrise, Continue Operations

Image Credit: Astrobotic

Wednesday / 10 July 2013

Posted on by

Solar Sail CubeSat Project Aiming For Moon

LunarSail

Aerospace Research & Engineering Systems Institute, Inc Developing CubeSat Mission To Demonstrate Ability Of Solar Sail Spacecraft To Navigate Itself Into Lunar Trajectory & Insert Itself Into Lunar Orbit; 1000 Cubic Cm Craft Would Be First To Reach Lunar Orbit Under Its Own Power For Entire Journey; ‘Citizen Space Mission’ Seeking Crowdfunding To Build Craft For US$50,000, Solar Sail Via Government Grant; Launch Target Date End 2016

Image Credit: Lunarsail.com