Commercial Space – Page 153

ULA needs commercial customers to close Vulcan rocket business case

April 22, 2015 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance will need to lure commercial customers to ensure the economic viability of its new Vulcan rocket, which is set to debut in 2019 just as the rate of U.S. military satellite launches is due to take a dip.

Former Atlas launch pad gets a new tenant

January 24, 2015 Stephen Clark

A decommissioned launch facility at Cape Canaveral where some of America’s first interplanetary missions left Earth will now be used as a test site for a commercial moon lander.

Ratchet wrench ’emailed’ to space station

December 22, 2014 Stephen Clark

A future where mission control can digitally dispatch tools, spare parts and other vital materials to far-flung space crews took one giant leap toward reality when a 3D printer aboard the International Space Station produced a ratchet wrench on demand.

3D printer activated aboard the International Space Station

November 18, 2014 Stephen Clark

The dream of a self-sufficient space-faring civilization moved a step closer to reality as a commercial 3D printer was installed aboard the International Space Station for a tryout in orbit.

Station astronaut calls private spaceflight ‘next breakthrough’

November 3, 2014 William Harwood

Space station astronaut Reid Wiseman, preparing to return to Earth this weekend after 165 days in orbit, said commercial spaceflight represents the “next breakthrough” in aerospace technology, and that he hopes Virgin Galactic can ultimately turn that dream into reality despite the fatal crash of the company’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane.

Branson vows to press ahead, NTSB investigation begins

November 2, 2014 William Harwood

Richard Branson, the charismatic leader of Virgin Galactic and a driving force in the push to commercialize space travel, vowed to find out what caused the fatal crash of his company’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, to learn from the tragedy and to press ahead with plans to carry paying customers into space.

VIDEO: First NTSB briefing on Virgin Galactic accident

November 1, 2014 Spaceflight Now

Acting NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart briefs the news media on Saturday, soon after arriving at the Mojave Air & Space Port to begin an investigation into the loss of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo.

First commercial mission to the moon launched from China

October 25, 2014 Stephen Clark

A modest privately-funded instrument package built by a company in Luxembourg became the first commercial to the moon to get off the ground with a fiery nighttime launch aboard a Chinese rocket.

UrtheCast says it will be largest commercial ISS user

October 4, 2014 Stephen Clark

Officials with Canadian Earth observation company UrtheCast, which owns two cameras on the International Space Station’s Russian service module, outlined plans to install a remote sensing camera and a radar imaging payload on the outpost’s U.S.-owned Tranquility module in 2017.

Boeing, SpaceX told to stop work under crew contracts

October 1, 2014 Stephen Clark

NASA has directed Boeing and SpaceX to halt activities under contracts awarded last month to build commercial space taxis to ferry astronauts to the Space Station while the U.S. Government Accountability Office reviews a protest of NASA’s decision filed by Sierra Nevada.