1st private cargo run to space station delayed
Marcia Dunn - Associated Press
The first commercial cargo run to the International Space Station has been delayed again for more software testing. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better known as SpaceX, was aiming for a Monday liftoff of its Falcon rocket and Dragon capsule. But on Wednesday, the California-based company announced its latest postponement and said a new launch date had not been set. The test flight already is three months late.
Software studies delay SpaceX's ISS shot again
Dragon capsule's 'intelligence' reviewed
James Dean - Florida Today
Ongoing analysis of spacecraft software systems will delay by at least several days SpaceX’s launch of a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule from Cape Canaveral to the International Space Station. Company spokeswoman Kirstin Grantham said Wednesday that a planned Monday morning launch “appears unlikely,” and a new date was not yet confirmed. “SpaceX is continuing to work through the software assurance process with NASA,” Grantham said. The next possible attempt is next Thursday.
SpaceX Says May 7 Dragon Launch Unlikely
Mark Carreau - Aviation Week
A bid by SpaceX to carry out the first U.S. commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is unlikely to lift off May 7, the latest target launch date, according to the company. “SpaceX is continuing to work through the software assurance process with NASA,” according to a May 2 update from company spokeswoman Kirsten Brost Grantham. Earlier, the company slipped a planned April 30 liftoff to allow more time to work software flight-control issues for the planned 18-day test mission. Launch opportunities for the Falcon 9 booster with the unpiloted Dragon supply craft fall once every three days, opening the possibility of a May 10 liftoff from Cape Canaveral.
SpaceX Says Delay Likely for 1st Private Launch to Space Station
Space.com
The private spaceflight company SpaceX will likely postpone the planned launch of its Dragon capsule to the International Space Station next week, officials announced Wednesday. SpaceX was targeting the launch for Monday, May 7, but now will likely shift to a later date, possibly May 10. The unmanned Dragon spacecraft is due to lift off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
SpaceX: Monday launch of capsule to space station 'appears unlikely'
Lee Roop - Huntsville Times
Ongoing software issues have apparently delayed a scheduled Monday attempt by SpaceX to launch a Dragon supply capsule to the International Space Station. A new launch attempt date has not been set. Here is the text of a SpaceX email sent to the news media at 12:24 p.m. CDT: "At this time, a May 7th launch appears unlikely. SpaceX is continuing to work through the software assurance process with NASA. We will issue a statement as soon as a new launch target is set." According to published reports, the issue is whether electronics on the Dragon capsule might interfere with the station's systems. SpaceX has been running computer simulations. (NO FURTHER TEXT)
Mini-shuttle maker looks at Space Coast
James Dean - Florida Today
The company developing a mini-space shuttle to fly astronauts will visit Cocoa Beach on Friday to discuss its interest in expanding operations to the Space Coast. Mark Sirangelo, the head of Colorado-based Sierra Nevada Corp. Space Systems, will join Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana and local economic development officials for the 11:30 a.m. event being billed as the “Launch of Sierra Nevada Corporation in Florida.”
Antares rocket likely to lift off in August
Carol Vaughn - Salisbury Daily Times (MD)
The first flight of the Antares rocket will likely be in August, according to an Orbital Sciences Corporation official. Orbital Sciences Corporation Chief Executive Officer David W. Thompson in a conference call with investors updated the schedule for several milestones related to the Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft which will be launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in commercial missions to take cargo to the International Space Station. The company on April 19 wrapped up 10 days of transportation runs of the rocket's first stage to and from the launch pad from a building further north on Wallops Island. Those operations included tests of mechanical and electrical interfaces between the rocket and the launch pad as well as of the hydraulic systems that rotate the rocket from a horizontal to vertical position.
Memories of the space program
Bob Ingle - New Jersey Press Media (Opinion)
(Ingle is senior political columnist for New Jersey Press Media)
It was a beautiful but bittersweet scene as the space shuttle Enterprise soared over New Jersey and Manhattan en route to an eventual museum home. The space race touched a whole generation, and for me it was personal. I was in grade school when the Russians sent Sputnik into space, scaring the hell out of us and eventually prompting President John F. Kennedy four years later to one of his best moments. On May 25, 1961, I was in high school when Kennedy set what seemed like an overly ambitious goal of putting a man on the moon and bringing him back safely before the end of the decade.
Lasting space policy needed
Establish panel to define 'true vision' for future
Mike Leinbach - Florida Today (Opinion)
(Leinbach, former shuttle launch director, is director of human spaceflight operations for United Launch Alliance)
I was struggling last week to find the right word to describe the reactions from the public and press seeing space shuttles flying to museums and not into space. The word is predictable. Predictable pride in this true American icon, predictable confusion as to where our manned space program and NASA really are and predictable disgust when the reality of the situation sinks in.
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COMPLETE STORIES
1st private cargo run to space station delayed
Marcia Dunn - Associated Press
The first commercial cargo run to the International Space Station has been delayed again for more software testing.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better known as SpaceX, was aiming for a Monday liftoff of its Falcon rocket and Dragon capsule. But on Wednesday, the California-based company announced its latest postponement and said a new launch date had not been set.
The test flight already is three months late.
The earliest possible launch date would be next Thursday. Otherwise, SpaceX will need to wait until the Russians send a new crew to the space station on May 15.
It will be the first time a private entity launches a supply ship to the space station. Only government space agencies currently do that.
NASA used to stockpile the space station through the shuttles, but the fleet was retired last summer. The space agency wants commercial providers to take over that role.
SpaceX has its eyes on an even bigger prize: launching U.S. astronauts to the space station. That's still three to five years away. Until a private company is able to do that, Americans will have to keep flying on Russian rockets for a steep price. Several U.S. companies are vying for the job.
One American will be on the next Soyuz rocket, along with two Russians. They'll join the three men already on board: one American, one Dutchman and one Russian.
Software studies delay SpaceX's ISS shot again
Dragon capsule's 'intelligence' reviewed
James Dean - Florida Today
Ongoing analysis of spacecraft software systems will delay by at least several days SpaceX’s launch of a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule from Cape Canaveral to the International Space Station.
Company spokeswoman Kirstin Grantham said Wednesday that a planned Monday morning launch “appears unlikely,” and a new date was not yet confirmed.
“SpaceX is continuing to work through the software assurance process with NASA,” Grantham said.
The next possible attempt is next Thursday.
After that, the demonstration mission would have to wait until at least May 19, after the launch and arrival of a new three-person crew at the space station.
SpaceX had previously delayed the launch by a week, from April 30 to May 7, citing a need for more time to test and validate the software that will guide the Dragon through an automated rendezvous and berthing with the space station.
A week apparently was not enough to complete that work and its review by NASA.
The spacecraft software — its “intelligence,” essentially — has been SpaceX’s top challenge for months, CEO Elon Musk has said.
The system must ensure the Dragon’s six flight computers and 18 thrusters respond properly to commands and to a variety of potential failures, and does not prematurely abort the mission when it shouldn’t, as has happened in simulations.
“Just testing a vast amount of intelligence that’s occurring in the software, and making sure even in highly unusual situations that the mission is successful, at least in the simulation — that’s what’s taken the most amount of time,” Musk said during an April 16 news conference with NASA officials. “It’s just a very complex system.”
The launch delay apparently is unrelated to SpaceX’s Monday test firing on the launch pad of the Falcon 9 rocket’s first-stage engines.
The company said its engineers would take days to review the results of that test, which appeared to go off successfully after one halt in the countdown.
The Dragon is attempting to become the first commercial spacecraft to visit the space station.
If the mission is successful, it would enable SpaceX to begin delivering cargo to the outpost under a $1.6 billion contract.
SpaceX Says May 7 Dragon Launch Unlikely
Mark Carreau - Aviation Week
A bid by SpaceX to carry out the first U.S. commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is unlikely to lift off May 7, the latest target launch date, according to the company.
“SpaceX is continuing to work through the software assurance process with NASA,” according to a May 2 update from company spokeswoman Kirsten Brost Grantham. Earlier, the company slipped a planned April 30 liftoff to allow more time to work software flight-control issues for the planned 18-day test mission.
Launch opportunities for the Falcon 9 booster with the unpiloted Dragon supply craft fall once every three days, opening the possibility of a May 10 liftoff from Cape Canaveral.
Though the NASA-led ISS mission management team is not setting the company’s launch dates, it is controlling access to the station once the SpaceX Falcon 9-launched Dragon supply ship reaches orbit.
Upcoming restrictions include Russia’s planned May 15-17 launch and docking of the Soyuz 30S spacecraft with two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut. The newcomers will return the station to six-person operations, following the return to Earth of three U.S. and Russian station astronauts on April 27.
With each slip, the orbiting science lab is also closing in on a restrictive period of high solar beta angles during late May and early June.
SpaceX conducted a mission countdown rehearsal and first-stage hot-fire test on April 30.
As the test concluded, SpaceX was aiming for a liftoff on May 7 at 9:38 a.m., EDT. The mission is intended to demonstrate the automated supply ship’s ability to rendezvous safely with the station.
On the mission’s third day, two astronauts on board will be prepared to grapple the freighter with Canadarm2, the station’s 58-ft.-long robot arm. If successful, they will berth Dragon to the Harmony node on the U.S. segment for a 15-day stay.
SpaceX Says Delay Likely for 1st Private Launch to Space Station
Space.com
The private spaceflight company SpaceX will likely postpone the planned launch of its Dragon capsule to the International Space Station next week, officials announced Wednesday.
SpaceX was targeting the launch for Monday, May 7, but now will likely shift to a later date, possibly May 10. The unmanned Dragon spacecraft is due to lift off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
"At this time, a May 7th launch appears unlikely," SpaceX spokeswoman Kirstin Brost Grantham wrote in a statement. "SpaceX is continuing to work through the software assurance process with NASA. We will issue a statement as soon as a new launch target is set."
The Dragon mission will be be the very first visit of a privately built spacecraft to the International Space Station. During the test flight, the spacecraft will carry food, supplies and scientific equipment for the astronauts living on the orbiting outpost.
The flight was previously delayed from an April 30 launch date to allow more time for tests of Dragon's flight software. The new delay is also meant to allow for further checkouts.
SpaceX conducted a test firing of its Falcon 9 booster engines April 30. The test went successfully on its second try, after a first attempt that same day was stalled by an apparent computer glitch.
SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to fly 12 cargo-delivery missions to the space station with Dragon. The capsule is scheduled to be the first spacecraft to fly under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, which has funded the development of private vehicles to fill the gap in cargo services left by the space shuttle retirement.
Mini-shuttle maker looks at Space Coast
James Dean - Florida Today
The company developing a mini-space shuttle to fly astronauts will visit Cocoa Beach on Friday to discuss its interest in expanding operations to the Space Coast.
Mark Sirangelo, the head of Colorado-based Sierra Nevada Corp. Space Systems, will join Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana and local economic development officials for the 11:30 a.m. event being billed as the “Launch of Sierra Nevada Corporation in Florida.”
“Growth of innovative commercial aerospace companies like Sierra Nevada is the key to ensuring our state’s aerospace economy continues to thrive in the years to come,” said Space Florida President Frank DiBello. “We look forward to continuing to work with Mr. Sirangelo and his team to look at expanding their operations in Florida.”
Specifics about what kind work might be located here weren’t immediately available and Sirangelo couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.
A Space Florida press release said Friday’s event will discuss “the potential for expanded space operations in Florida and next steps,” and “interest in establishing a variety of capabilities in Florida.”
Those capabilities could include processing or manufacturing related to the company’s “Dream Chaser” spacecraft, which resembles a small shuttle that launches on top of an expendable rocket and lands on a runway.
The Dream Chaser is one of four commercial space taxis — and the only winged vehicle — being developed with NASA support, all of which plan to launch from Florida. NASA hopes at least one commercial system will be ready to fly crews to the International Space Station by 2017.
The space agency plans to award its next round of development funding this summer, potentially trimming the field to just one or two finalists.
The scope of Sierra Nevada’s local interest likely is dependent on whether it continues to receive funding under NASA's commercial crew program, and on state incentives that are still being negotiated.
“We are pleased to be a part of the project team working with Space Florida and Sierra Nevada to demonstrate the advantages of expanding the company’s commercial crew operation on the Space Coast,” said Lynda Weatherman, president and CEO of the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast.
Among NASA’s other funded commercial crew partners, SpaceX already has a Cape Canaveral launch complex, and The Boeing Co. last fall announced plans to assemble its crew capsule in a former shuttle hangar at KSC, work that could create 550 jobs.
Antares rocket likely to lift off in August
Carol Vaughn - Salisbury Daily Times (MD)
The first flight of the Antares rocket will likely be in August, according to an Orbital Sciences Corporation official.
Orbital Sciences Corporation Chief Executive Officer David W. Thompson in a conference call with investors updated the schedule for several milestones related to the Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft which will be launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in commercial missions to take cargo to the International Space Station.
The company on April 19 wrapped up 10 days of transportation runs of the rocket's first stage to and from the launch pad from a building further north on Wallops Island. Those operations included tests of mechanical and electrical interfaces between the rocket and the launch pad as well as of the hydraulic systems that rotate the rocket from a horizontal to vertical position.
"All of these activities went very smoothly," Thompson said.
He outlined four activities slated to take place in the next six weeks, leading up to final certification and turnover of the launch pad to Orbital by mid-June, followed by a critical hot-fire test of the first stage on the pad in early July.
A review of construction documentation by NASA and Orbital was expected to be completed within two weeks, followed by liquid nitrogen cryogenic pumping and fueling operations which should take about one week to complete.
A week after that, liquid oxygen cryogenic pumping and fueling operations will commence and are expected to be completed about three weeks from now.
The fourth and final step involves performance testing of liquid oxygen and kerosene and final system certification, Thompson said.
As soon as the launch pad is turned over to Orbital, the same Antares rocket that was on the pad this month will go back for fueling exercises and the hot-fire test.
A second rocket will take its place for the first actual test flight, now planned for August.
Memories of the space program
Bob Ingle - New Jersey Press Media (Opinion)
(Ingle is senior political columnist for New Jersey Press Media)
It was a beautiful but bittersweet scene as the space shuttle Enterprise soared over New Jersey and Manhattan en route to an eventual museum home. The space race touched a whole generation, and for me it was personal. I was in grade school when the Russians sent Sputnik into space, scaring the hell out of us and eventually prompting President John F. Kennedy four years later to one of his best moments.
On May 25, 1961, I was in high school when Kennedy set what seemed like an overly ambitious goal of putting a man on the moon and bringing him back safely before the end of the decade. Those of us who watched space movies — much of them was scary stuff about invasions — didn’t realize at the time that the moon trip, like the space movies, were tied to international politics. This was the Cold War.
If the Soviets could get into space, they could drop something on us, we thought. There was national pride involved, too.
NASA became a household word and spaceflight efforts progressed through projects Mercury, Gemini and Apollo until we got to Apollo 11, and on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface saying, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” All of us alive then know where we were when we heard that. We met Kennedy’s goal, and with five months left in the decade.
Backing up a few steps, I was in college and “Star Trek” was the only TV show that could gather students from across campus to the Student Center, mostly guys. The Enterprise was originally named the Constitution, but those die-hard Trekkies persuaded President Gerald Ford to change the name. A journalism organization I belonged to had a national convention at Cape Kennedy. I went and touched history.
I had been hired by The Associated Press but didn’t report to work until after graduate school. In Florida, we stayed at a fleabag hotel and were bused to the NASA site. On my bus was Peter Arnett, who made his reputation covering the Vietnam War for AP. He quipped that the weather “was just like Vietnam except over there they send the rockets in, here they send them out.”
He, the AP vet, and I, the almost AP rookie, struck up a conversation and got separated from the others. A short, bald fellow approached us, introduced himself and asked if we wanted a tour. He looked so unassuming I figured he was in charge of the Xerox machine in some government office and wanted to feel important, so we accepted. For a copy machine guy, he really knew his rockets and space lingo.
He introduced us to one of his friends, a tall bald guy, someone I figured must have been a colleague from the Copier Corps. It was only after Apollo 12 was the big news on the planet that I realized our guide was Astronaut Pete Conrad, the third man to walk on the moon. His friend was Tom Stafford, commander of Apollo 10, the second manned mission to orbit the moon. Somewhere in there is a message about making assumptions.
The Enterprise will be a part of the Intrepid Air, Sea and Space Museum docked on the Hudson River in New York. One of my roommates was stationed on the USS Intrepid during the Vietnam War. I heard so much about “The Fighting I” I felt like I had been stationed on her myself. He was a Trekkie, too. I’m sorry he didn’t live to see his former home-at-sea become a great museum or the Enterprise to be a part of it. When it comes together I am going to stand above the Intrepid’s fantail — where he told me he watched untold number of sunsets at sea — and say a prayer.
We conquered space with that good old American know-how doing what seemed all but impossible. We caught up to and passed the Soviets. We won. Ironically, now when our astronauts go to the International Space Station, they travel there via a Russian rocket. Considering that space exploration was one of our nation’s greatest achievements, that makes me sad, as do the critics who say the space program was worthless. Not so, our lives are filled with things developed for the program and converted to civilian use.
As for that unassuming tour guide, Philadelphia-born Conrad, a journalist bet him that all that chatter from the moon was scripted on Earth by NASA public relations people and he couldn’t say just anything he wanted. Conrad took the bet.
When he went down the ladder to step onto the moon’s surface, making reference to his stature he joked, “Whoopee! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that’s a long one for me.”
Lasting space policy needed
Establish panel to define 'true vision' for future
Mike Leinbach - Florida Today (Opinion)
(Leinbach, former shuttle launch director, is director of human spaceflight operations for United Launch Alliance)
I was struggling last week to find the right word to describe the reactions from the public and press seeing space shuttles flying to museums and not into space. The word is predictable.
Predictable pride in this true American icon, predictable confusion as to where our manned space program and NASA really are and predictable disgust when the reality of the situation sinks in.
I could go into lengthy detail as to how we found ourselves in the mess we’re in — the inability to launch American astronauts on American rockets for years to come — but as I used to tell the shuttle launch team when confronted with a problem on launch day: “We are where we are. Let’s figure it out, fix it and move on. We’ll do the ‘Who shot John?’ later.” But this isn’t the place for explaining who shot John. Rather, it’s an opportunity to offer a way to avoid future dead Johns.
How did we get here? Simple. Changing directions from Washington, D.C. Changes in administrations and congresses, all with seemingly insatiable appetites to establish their own plans for NASA.
How can we get ourselves out of this mess? Simple to say; difficult, if not impossible, to do.
We need to establish an enduring national space policy that transcends political influences, decades and hopefully even generations. Several of NASA’s greatest accomplishments prove this to be possible, including the moon landing and the shuttle and space station programs.
An enduring space policy will benefit America tremendously. From the inspiration it gives ourselves, our children and future generations, to the jobs and technological advancements it creates, it is one of the best ways to plan for and get to the future.
Mostly lost in the debate last week were the true benefits NASA brings to the nation — technological advancements and many thousands of good jobs. Some have described the shuttle program as a jobs program. I challenge those who say this to name another program in America that isn’t.
How do we get to such a policy? Again, easy to say, difficult to do.
Establish an international commission to define the policy. It must be one with true vision, not one based on stunts. Then, with the administration’s and congressional backing, sign it into law. Do not just recommend such a policy, make it American law, changeable for only the most extreme reasons, and then fund it appropriately.
We, as a nation and a people, can do this. It will take courage and commitment, two traits often missing from our leaders lately.
What will happen absent such an enduring space policy? That, too, is predictable.
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