Fwd: This Week in The Space Review - 2014 September 29

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From: jeff@thespacereview.com (Jeff Foust)
Date: September 29, 2014 9:44:47 PM CDT
Subject: This Week in The Space Review - 2014 September 29
Reply-To: jeff@thespacereview.com

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Welcome to this week's issue of The Space Review:


A highway's ending is a spaceport's beginning
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Last week, SpaceX and local officials formally broke ground on a new commercial spaceport the company will build outside of Brownsville, Texas. Jeff Foust reports on the event and the company's plans to develop and use the site over the next several years.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2609/1

ULA, Blue Origin and the BE-4 engine
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One of the big space developments of the last month was the surprise announcement that United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin are partnering on a new rocket engine. Anthony Young examines the program and its prospects for both companies and the space industry in general.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2608/1

Fixing the curse of incumbency: Reward excellence to achieve best value
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Government space procurements can be particularly challenging for incumbent companies to win again because of pressures by competitors to lower prices, perhaps unrealistically. Thomas Taverney explains the problem and how it can be solved to ensure the government really does get the best value, not just the lowest bid price.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2607/1

Review: The Copernicus Complex
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In recent years, scientists have debated whether life is commonplace in the universe or if it, at least in its intelligent forms, is rare. Jeff Foust reviews a book by an astrobiologist that seeks o find middle ground between those extremes.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2606/1


Note: We are in the process of changing our email delivery service. We apologize in advance for any disruptions in the delivery of future newsletters.


If you missed it, here's what we published in our previous issue:


Commercial crew and commercial engines
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Last week, NASA made its long-awaited announcements about the companies that will develop commercial crew transportation systems. Jeff Foust reports that this announcement had to share the spotlight with a surprise commercial partnership that could affect the future of space launch.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2605/1

The ASTEROIDS Act and hearing:  some observations on international obligations
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Earlier this month, a House Science Committee hearing examined legislation that would grant some types of property rights to space resources. Charles Stotler explores some of the international space law issues associated with that bill.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2604/1

In space no one can hear you sigh
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The cover story of the latest issue of "Newsweek" claims to tell newly-revealed stories about the US-USSR Space Race. Dwayne Day notes that these stories aren't that new or properly told.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2603/1

Are solar power satellites sitting ducks for orbital debris?
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Proliferation of orbital debris could have adverse effects not just on existing spacecraft but future ones as well. Three authors examine some of the technical and other solutions needed for cleaning up orbital debris that are essential to making applications like space-based solar power possible.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2602/1

Review: The Edge of the Sky
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How small of a vocabulary can you use to describe the universe? Jeff Foust reviews a book that attempts, with mixed success, to do so with only the one thousand most common words in the English language.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2601/1


We appreciate any feedback you may have about these articles as well as
any other questions, comments, or suggestions about The Space Review.
We're also actively soliciting articles to publish in future issues, so
if you have an article or article idea that you think would be of
interest, please email me.

Until next week,

Jeff Foust
Editor, The Space Review
jeff@thespacereview.com
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