Boeing's capsule landing system tested in Nevada
Stephen Clark – SpaceflightNow.com
Boeing conducted a successful end-to-end test Wednesday of the landing parachutes for the CST-100 commercial crew spacecraft, the second drop test of the boilerplate capsule in a month. An Erickson Sky Crane helicopter hoisted the capsule to an altitude of about 14,000 feet and released it, according to a Boeing press release. Wednesday's drop test included two drogue stabilization parachutes and three main chutes to slow the capsule to a gentle touchdown at Delamar Dry Lake near Alamo, Nev., a former emergency landing site for the X-15 rocket plane. Crewed flights of the CST-100 will initially return to Earth at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The parachutes all deployed smoothly on a timing sequence, and six airbags inflated before landing to cushion the impact of touchdown, according to Boeing. A drop test of the same capsule April 3 only used the CST-100's three main parachutes.
Boeing announces successful completion of capsule drop test
James Dean - Florida Today
The Boeing Co.'s commercial crew capsule this week successfully completed a second drop test, the company announced. On Wednesday, a helicopter dropped a test article of the CST-100 capsule from 14,000 feet and it parachuted to a soft landing on six airbags in desert near Alamo, Nev.
Space Station Crew Excited for 1st Private Spaceship Visit
Clara Moskowitz - Space.com
The three astronauts living on the International Space Station are ready to usher in a new era at their orbiting home: the first arrival of a privately built spacecraft. The Hawthorne, Calif.-based commercial spaceflight company Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, is preparing to launch its Dragon capsule toward the station May 7 on an unmanned mission to deliver supplies and demonstrate its own abilities. The flight is the Dragon capsule's maiden voyage for SpaceX under a NASA program aimed at buying cargo delivery services from private companies, now that the agency's space shuttles are retired. The three astronauts on the space station are vital to the SpaceX capsule's safe arrival; the job falls to them to use the space station's robotic arm to grab the craft as it approaches (Dragon does not carry the tools that would allow it to dock itself).
Q&A: Legal Scholar on Historic SpaceX Launch
Adam Mann - Wired.com
In the near future, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will liftoff the launchpad, bringing the Dragon spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station. Until now, only the U.S., Russia, and the European Union have accomplished such a goal. If SpaceX succeeds, it will become the first private company to do so. This week, Wired interviews experts in the spaceflight community to discuss the ways this historic launch will impact NASA and mankind’s presence in space. Is it a giant leap, or just a baby step? Up today is Henry Hertzfeld, a scholar of economic, legal, and policy issues surrounding spaceflight and NASA at George Washington University in Washington D.C. Hertzfeld’s research has looked into the privatization of the Space Shuttle, the economic benefits of NASA’s research and development expenditures, and the socioeconomic impacts of earth observation technologies.
Q&A: Explorer and Robotics Engineer on Historic SpaceX Flight
Michael Ray Taylor - Wired.com
In the near future, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will liftoff the launchpad, bringing the Dragon spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station. Until now, only the U.S., Russia, and the European Union have accomplished such a goal. If SpaceX succeeds, it will become the first private company to do so. Today we have Bill Stone, explorer, inventor, cave diver, and robotics engineer who has designed machines capable of searching the Antarctic ice and the moons of Jupiter for new discoveries.
SpaceX Boldly Looks to Blast 'Millions of People to Mars'
PBS NewsHour
With the space shuttle era now over and U.S. space flight on the verge of going private for the near future, the company behind the so-called SpaceX project has ambitious plans to make space flight cheaper for cargo and for humans, with a bold idea to send millions of people to Mars. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien reports.
City backs SpaceX proposal
Laura Martinez - Brownsville Herald
The City Commission has thrown in its support for SpaceX coming to Brownsville by passing a resolution in support of the $3 billion company. "It’s a win-win situation for everyone," Mayor Tony Martinez said. He is encouraging city commissioners to talk to their constituents and rally support for SpaceX, or Space Exploration Technologies. Should the company decide to come to Brownsville, it could mean hundreds of jobs to the city. Brownsville, or rural Cameron County, is one of three sites that SpaceX has under consideration for a launch site. The others are in Florida and Puerto Rico.
Mock shuttle due here around June 1
Mary Alys Cherry - Bay Area Citizen
Bay Area Houston’s mock space shuttle is being prepared for its journey to Clear Lake and will probably arrive here around June 1, Space Center Houston President Richard Allen said Wednesday. After examining the depth of waters the vehicle will travel from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, around the Gulf of Mexico and across Galveston Bay and Clear Lake to its Space Center Houston destination on NASA Parkway, it was determined the waters are deep enough so no dredging will be necessary, Allen explained. The mock shuttle is the full-size orbiter mockup that has been on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida for a number of years.
Marshall Director to lawmakers: Space exploration part of Alabama's past and future
Kim Chandler - Birmingham News
Marshall Space Flight Center Acting Director Gene Goldman said the center that helped take people to the moon is working again to explore deeper space. "Marshall is still making history and making an impact on Alabama and our world," Goldman said in an address to lawmakers. Lawmakers Thursday honored Marshall for its role in space exploration and for its economic impact in Alabama. Legislators presented a resolution honoring Marshall. Goldman spoke to a joint session of the Senate and House saying that "our past accomplishments and our future successes are intertwined."
NASA Pursues Wearable Technology
Mark Carreau - Aerospace Daily
Spaceflight brings a whole new meaning to dressing for success. An astronaut’s garments must be functional, yet as comfortable as possible, whether the flier is sealed inside a spacecraft or on a spacewalk. As NASA envisions a future of deep-space exploration and missions stretching from months to years, the list of wardrobe requirements soars as well. Mass, volume, durability, ease of care, even resistance to bacteria and recyclability compete with greater demands for functionality. So much so that a small team of Advanced Exploration Systems engineers from NASA’s Johnson Space Center has turned to experts from the University of Minnesota’s College of Design for help in navigating the emerging fields of functional clothing and wearable technology.
Carlisle C. Campbell
Carlisle Caston Campbell, Jr., 81, former NASA engineer, loving husband, father and grandfather, lost his courageous battle with cancer April 30. He was surrounded by family and friends. During his 50 years at NASA, Carlisle received numerous awards including the Engineering Legacy Award, Manned Flight Achievement and the 50 Year Service Award.
Feds inspect bridge to spaceport after structural "popping sounds"
Carol Vaughn - Salisbury Daily News
Federal Highway Administration engineers were called in Thursday morning to inspect the 52 year-old bridge to Wallops Island after “popping sounds” were heard at the bridge on Wednesday, according to NASA Wallops Flight Facility spokesman Keith Kohler. The hump-backed bridge dates to 1960 and crosses Cat’s Creek, connecting the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s launchpads and other facilities on Wallops Island to the mainland Eastern Shore of Virginia.
Neil Armstrong's Corvette lands on eBay
Fox News
It didn't go to the Moon, but it sure looks like it did. A 1967 Chevrolet Corvette once owned by Neil Armstrong is being auctioned on eBay. The blue coupe sat unused in a garage since 1981, before being purchased by its current owner in February of this year. It's in barely running condition, but is mostly original. Aside from a new carburetor, water pump, muffler and wheels, the only major modification is a set of poorly done fender flares. The auction for Armstrong's car ends on May 6th, and as of this writing the bidding is closing in on $250,000, about $1 for every mile to the moon. That's still not enough to meet the unpublished reserve, so the sky's still the limit for this very unique piece of American history.
Buzz Aldrin Gives TV Comedian Stephen Colbert Space Award
Denise Chow - Space.com
Veteran Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, graced the small screen Thursday to present TV comedian Stephen Colbert with a special award for his work in promoting space exploration to the public. Aldrin appeared on Comedy Central's popular late-night show "The Colbert Report" to present its funnyman host with the National Space Society's 2012 Space Pioneer Award for Mass Media.
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