Archive for low earth orbit

Giant Glider Concept Launches Rockets Into Space | Video

By alkaon on January 16, 2013 No Comments

Towed behind a large transport aircraft like the Boeing 747, this concept glider conceived by NASA Dryden Flight Research Center would carry a booster rocket capable of launching payloads into low Earth orbit.

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How NASA games the system to find new talent

By alkaon on October 11, 2012 No Comments

How NASA games the system to find new talent

Some federal agencies are really doing a lot to reach out to the public, including creating a variety of apps that are helpful, and shine a positive light on themselves. NASA, which always seems to be at the forefront of this type of outreach program, is taking things a step further.

The space agency’s latest game, NetworKing, challenges players to run the Space Communications and Navigation arm of NASA, which is responsible for keeping all satellites running efficiently. This is the type of application which could expand the minds of people thinking about a science-heavy career, and perhaps draw in more people to work for NASA, which also is part of the goal. On that note, NASA may be following the lead of the Army, which recently released a comic app as a recruiting tool.

NetworKing can be played now in a browser window, or downloaded and played on a PC or Mac.

From a gamer’s point of view, NetworKing is actually a very detailed game, which may be the point: NASA wants to attract a certain type of person who would enjoy a challenge and also to show the kinds of pressure the agency faces.

You start by managing satellites in Low Earth Orbit, which is not all that easy. Not only do you have to make sure the satellites you are supporting contribute to science, but they also have to make money, because maintaining the network takes a lot of cash. To make more money, you can take on contracts to provide ground communications for more satellites, but you only have so much network capacity. Eventually you need to purchase more ground stations to get more throughput.

If you can conquer Low Earth Orbit, you can eventually upgrade to a space network, and then the Deep Space Network — you know, the one that is making NASA consider building a supercomputer on the moon. Each of the networks comes with its share of problems. Disaster can strike either a satellite or a ground station. Then you can either try to fix the problem yourself, which might make things worse, or pay for an expensive fix. Or you could just live with the reduced capacity, but that’s a recipe for failure.

I did find one little bug in my playing, however. When I got to a certain point in the game, it would not let me upgrade my technology even though I had all the prerequisites to do so. Stuck in place, I had to restart that game.

NASA must really enjoy these games. Not only do they own several now in various mediums, such as Moon Base Alpha and its Blast Off trivia game on Facebook, but the agency also has a large library of free-to-use 3D renderings, which the agency says can help would-be designers create their own games.

Gaming efforts like NASA’s and the Army’s are a creative way of attracting young users, and potentially future employees, which is something other public sector agencies could take note of, whether in the federal government, military, law enforcement or health care.

Personally, I was able to fend off the Army’s advances despite its cool games and apps, but those folks at NASA have some really tempting gear. I wonder if they’re hiring?

Posted by John Breeden II on Oct 10, 2012 at 11:52 AM


Article source: http://gcn.com/blogs/emerging-tech/2012/10/nasa-game-networking-recruiting.aspx

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NASA Gives A Boost To Companies Assisting With Space Launch System’s …

By alkaon on October 2, 2012 No Comments

[SatNews] As NASA endeavors to send humans to a range of new destinations, agency initiatives are helping develop a U.S. commercial space transportation industry …

NASA has awarded three contracts totaling $137.3 million to improve the affordability, reliability and performance of an advanced booster for the Space Launch System (SLS). The awardees will develop engineering demonstrations and risk reduction concepts for a future version of the SLS, a heavy-lift rocket that will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.
The initial 77-ton (70-metric-ton) SLS configuration will use two 5-segment solid rocket boosters similar to the boosters that helped power the space shuttle to orbit. The evolved 143-ton (130-metric-ton) SLS vehicle will require an advanced booster with more thrust than any existing U.S. liquid- or solid-fueled boosters. These new initiatives will demonstrate and examine advanced booster concepts and hardware demonstrations during a 30-month period.

The companies selected for SLS Advanced Booster contracts are:
— ATK Launch Systems Inc. of Brigham City, Utah, which will demonstrate innovations for a solid-fueled booster. The contract addresses the key risks associated with low-cost solid propellant boosters, particularly in the areas of composite case design and development, propellant development and characterization, nozzle design and affordability enhancement, and avionics and controls development.

— Dynetics Inc. of Huntsville, Alabama, which will demonstrate the use of modern manufacturing techniques to produce and test several primary components of the F-1 rocket engine originally developed for the Apollo Program, including an integrated powerpack, the primary rotating machinery of the engine. Additionally, the contract will demonstrate innovative fabrication techniques for metallic cryogenic tanks.

— Northrop Grumman Corporation Aerospace Systems of Redondo Beach, California, which will demonstrate innovative design and manufacturing techniques for composite propellant tanks with low fixed costs and affordable production rates. Independent time and motion studies will compare demonstration affordability data to SLS advanced booster development, production and operations.

Additional contracts may be awarded following successful negotiation of other proposals previously received for this NASA Research Announcement (NRA), subject to funding availability.

Designed to be flexible for launching payloads and spacecraft, including NASA’s Orion spacecraft that will take humans beyond low Earth orbit, SLS will enable the agency to meet the Obama Administration’s goal of sending humans to an asteroid by 2025 and to Mars in the 2030s.

The first flight test of NASA’s SLS, an uncrewed mission to lunar orbit, which will feature a configuration for a 77-ton lift capacity, is scheduled for 2017. As SLS evolves, a two-stage launch vehicle configuration will provide a lift capability of 143 tons and include the improved, more powerful advanced booster.

These new contracts are funded under an NRA risk mitigation effort and acquisition. There will be a future competition for design, development, testing and evaluation for the SLS advanced booster. This future competition is planned for 2015 and will be acquired through a separate solicitation. The 2015 competition will not be limited to awardees announced in this NRA. Successful offerors to this NRA are not guaranteed an award for any future advanced booster acquisition.

As NASA endeavors to send humans to a range of new destinations, agency initiatives are helping develop a U.S. commercial space transportation industry with the goal of achieving safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station and low Earth orbit. Ongoing advances made by NASA’s commercial space partners are paving the way for regular contract flights of cargo to the space station and marking progress toward a launch of astronauts from U.S. soil in the next five years.

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. manages the SLS Program for the agency. SLS will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Article source: http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=1215615381

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NASA Commercial Partner SpaceX Completes Dragon Design Review

By alkaon on July 13, 2012 No Comments

HAWTHORNE, Calif., July 12, 2012 — /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — NASA partner Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has completed an important design review of the crewed version of its Dragon spacecraft. The concept baseline review presented NASA with the primary and secondary design elements of its Dragon capsule designed to carry astronauts into low Earth orbit, including the International Space Station.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO)

SpaceX is one of several companies working to develop crew transportation capabilities under the Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) agreement with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP). Through CCDev2, NASA is helping the private sector develop and test new spacecraft and rockets with the goal of making commercial human spaceflight services available to commercial and government customers.

In the June 14 review conducted at the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., SpaceX provided details about each phase of a potential crewed mission. This included how the company plans to modify its launch pads to support such missions, Dragon’s docking capabilities, the weight and power requirements for the spacecraft, and prospective ground landing sites and techniques. The company also outlined crew living arrangements, such as environmental control and life support equipment, displays and controls.

“SpaceX has made significant progress on its crew transportation capabilities,” NASA CCP Manager Ed Mango said. “We commend the SpaceX team on its diligence in meeting its CCDev2 goals to mature the company’s technology as this nation continues to build a real capability for America’s commercial spaceflight needs.”

Safety was a key focus of the review. The SpaceX team presented NASA with analyses on how its SuperDraco launch abort system would perform if an emergency were to occur during launch or ascent. The review also outlined plans for getting astronauts away from danger quickly and safely on the way to low Earth orbit, in space and during the return home.

“The successful conclusion of the concept baseline review places SpaceX exactly where we want to be — ready to move on to the next phase and on target to fly people into space aboard Dragon by the middle of the decade,” said SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk.

All of NASA’s industry partners, including SpaceX, continue to meet their established milestones in developing commercial crew transportation capabilities under CCDev2.

While NASA works with U.S. industry to develop commercial spaceflight capabilities to low Earth orbit, the agency also is developing the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS), a crew capsule and heavy-lift rocket, to provide an entirely new capability for human exploration of deep space. Designed to be flexible for launching crew and cargo missions, Orion and SLS will expand human presence beyond Earth and enable new missions of exploration across the solar system.

For more information about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

SOURCE NASA

Article source: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/12/4627135/nasa-commercial-partner-spacex.html

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NASA Commercial Partner SpaceX Completes Dragon Design Review

By alkaon on July 12, 2012 No Comments

HAWTHORNE, Calif., July 12, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
NASA partner Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has completed an important design review of the crewed version of its Dragon spacecraft. The concept baseline review presented NASA with the primary and secondary design elements of its Dragon capsule designed to carry astronauts into low Earth orbit, including the International Space Station.

SpaceX is one of several companies working to develop crew transportation capabilities under the Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) agreement with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP). Through CCDev2, NASA is helping the private sector develop and test new spacecraft and rockets with the goal of making commercial human spaceflight services available to commercial and government customers.

In the June 14 review conducted at the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., SpaceX provided details about each phase of a potential crewed mission. This included how the company plans to modify its launch pads to support such missions, Dragon’s docking capabilities, the weight and power requirements for the spacecraft, and prospective ground landing sites and techniques. The company also outlined crew living arrangements, such as environmental control and life support equipment, displays and controls.

“SpaceX has made significant progress on its crew transportation capabilities,” NASA CCP Manager Ed Mango said. “We commend the SpaceX team on its diligence in meeting its CCDev2 goals to mature the company’s technology as this nation continues to build a real capability for America’s commercial spaceflight needs.”

Safety was a key focus of the review. The SpaceX team presented NASA with analyses on how its SuperDraco launch abort system would perform if an emergency were to occur during launch or ascent. The review also outlined plans for getting astronauts away from danger quickly and safely on the way to low Earth orbit, in space and during the return home.

“The successful conclusion of the concept baseline review places SpaceX exactly where we want to be — ready to move on to the next phase and on target to fly people into space aboard Dragon by the middle of the decade,” said SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk.

All of NASA’s industry partners, including SpaceX, continue to meet their established milestones in developing commercial crew transportation capabilities under CCDev2.

While NASA works with U.S. industry to develop commercial spaceflight capabilities to low Earth orbit, the agency also is developing the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS), a crew capsule and heavy-lift rocket, to provide an entirely new capability for human exploration of deep space. Designed to be flexible for launching crew and cargo missions, Orion and SLS will expand human presence beyond Earth and enable new missions of exploration across the solar system.

For more information about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

SOURCE NASA

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

Article source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nasa-commercial-partner-spacex-completes-dragon-design-review-2012-07-12

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NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Celebrates 50th Anniversary July 1

By alkaon on June 30, 2012 No Comments

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — On Sunday, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida celebrates 50 years of launching humans and machines to other planets and into low Earth orbit.

Since its inception as the Launch Operations Center on July 1, 1962, Kennedy has supported a variety of launch vehicles and payloads. The Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs carried astronauts on space missions that culminated in moon landings. Planetary probes lifted off on journeys that expanded our knowledge. The space shuttles launched 135 times and helped build the International Space Station.

Kennedy Director Bob Cabana said, “In 50 years, less than a lifetime, Americans first pioneered paths into orbit, then made confident strides onto the surface of another world and sent instrument-laden machines into the perilous reaches of space beyond the solar system. All those voyages began here, made possible in large measure by the professionalism, determination and boldness of the Kennedy team.”

A 50th Anniversary website charts the five-decade history of Kennedy Space Center and includes a video that chronicles some of the center’s most impressive milestones: http://go.nasa.gov/y0VdRi

As it turns 50, Kennedy is transitioning to the launch complex of the future, revamping existing infrastructure and facilities to provide the flexibility to host a variety of vehicles.

“We have learned so much about exploring new horizons,” Cabana said. “In our endeavors, we’ve also come to realize that there is so much out there for us to discover. Kennedy is the linchpin to NASA’s new undertakings because we are, and always have been, the nation’s premier launch site.”

In partnership with NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, the Commercial Crew Program at Kennedy is spurring the innovation and development of commercial spacecraft and launch vehicles to transport our astronauts to and from low Earth orbit and the International Space Station.

Kennedy also will be the starting point for NASA’s Orion crew capsule and Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, which will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.

Kennedy’s Launch Services Program is preparing for at least 25 missions to various destinations, including Mars, Pluto and our sun.

For more information about Kennedy, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/kennedy

Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.

Article source: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=37640

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Thruster Tests Complete For NASA Partner Boeing’s Crew Capsule

By alkaon on June 26, 2012 No Comments

CANOGA PARK, Calif., June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne has successfully completed a series of tests on a thruster destined for Boeing’s Commercial Space Transportation spacecraft, designated CST-100.

Boeing is one of several companies working to develop crew transportation capabilities under the Commercial Crew Development Round 2 agreement with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The goal of the program is to help spur innovation and development of safe, reliable and cost-effective spacecraft and launch vehicles capable of transporting astronauts to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station.

Twenty-four thrusters will be part of the spacecraft’s orbital maneuvering and attitude control system (OMAC), giving the CST-100 the ability to maneuver in space and during re-entry. The thrusters also will allow the spacecraft to separate from its launch vehicle if an abort becomes necessary during launch or ascent.

“Boeing and Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne know what it takes to develop safe systems and subsystems,” said NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager Ed Mango. “They’re building on the successes of their past, while pushing the envelope with next-generation ideas to create a spacecraft for low Earth orbit transportation.”

During tests conducted at the White Sands Space Harbor in Las Cruces, N.M., an OMAC thruster was fired in a vacuum chamber that simulated a space-like environment of 100,000 feet. The tests verified the durability of the thrusters in extreme heat, evaluated the opening and closing of its valves and confirmed continuous combustion and performance.

“We’re excited about the performance of the engine during the testing and confident the OMAC thrusters will affordably meet operational needs for safe, reliable human spaceflight,” said Terry Lorier, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne’s Commercial Crew Development program manager.

All of NASA’s industry partners, including Boeing, continue to meet their established milestones in developing commercial crew transportation capabilities.

NASA also is developing the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS), a crew capsule and heavy-lift rocket that will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Designed to be flexible for launching spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, SLS and Orion will expand human presence beyond low Earth orbit and enable new missions of exploration across the solar system.

For more information about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

SOURCE NASA

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

Article source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/thruster-tests-complete-for-nasa-partner-boeings-crew-capsule-2012-06-26

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NASA encouraging spaceflight to go commercial

By alkaon on June 25, 2012 No Comments

LOS ANGELES — NASA led the way for Americans in space, but now the U.S. space agency is actively encouraging companies to take over primary responsibility for getting in and out of Earth’s orbit. Last month, a capsule built and operated by SpaceX completed a nine-day cargo-hauling mission to the International Space Station, becoming the first private-sector spacecraft to make such a journey.

But it won’t be the last. Ed Mango, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, is charged with helping companies develop vehicles that could ferry astronauts – and eventually, perhaps, civilians – on routine trips to space. Mango visited the Los Angeles Times to discuss his efforts and how they could lead to a “spaceline” industry that resembles today’s airlines.

Q: What’s the goal of the Commercial Crew Program?

A: We still have Americans in space. But we don’t have a way to get there. So the motivation for this small team I have is that we are the next organization within NASA that’s going to get American systems back into low Earth orbit.

Q: Why is NASA relying on private companies instead of operating the flights itself?

A: It fits with what has happened in the past. Look at how the airlines got started: Air Mail was run by the government, totally. Then eventually, the government didn’t want to be the ones to own airplanes, own airfields, employ the pilots – all that kind of stuff. So they said, “We’re going to contract this out.”

That became cargo capability. And as time went on, companies said, “We can transport people, not just cargo.” Thus, the birth of the airlines.

Q: NASA has partnered with seven companies and funded four of them. Why so many?

A: There’s more than one way to get to low Earth orbit. All seven companies have very different approaches.

We had four different capsule designs that can get to low Earth orbit. They all could work, ultimately. I think there are some that could work sooner, some that can work safer, and some that will work with less expense.

Q: The Dragon capsule made by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. of Hawthorne just became the first commercial spacecraft to reach the International Space Station. Does SpaceX have a leg up on the competition?

A: If they’re flying cargo today, they already have a system that works. Modifying a system that works is a lot better than starting any new system, so that becomes an advantage for them.

Boeing has their design, which is also a capsule-type design, and is trying to work out the same kind of issues that Dragon has. The only difference is that they haven’t flown their stuff yet. But Boeing has 50 years of human spaceflight already. They have all the people who did Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and the space shuttle. They have all the trips and falls that have been made over those 50 years.

Q: What are some other designs?

A: Sierra Nevada Corp. has what’s called Dreamchaser. It’s a wing vehicle – some people look at it as a mini-shuttle. It is very small: It carries the same number of people but it doesn’t carry any real cargo. The advantage is they land on a runway. And a wing vehicle can land a lot of different places, so that provides a lot more safety.

Every company is different in what they’re bringing to the table, which is really good for the government.

Q: Looking ahead, can you envision a time when private spaceline companies would set up their own stations in orbit?

A: I don’t know; I’m not a futurist. But I would predict that we would have more than just a government facility in orbit.

Q: And what will NASA be focusing on instead?

A: A lot of the research is about how to go beyond low Earth orbit. What do you have to do in order to live out in space for six months, to live out in space for even longer? How do you rehabilitate the body when it wants to come back to Earth? If you don’t have enough of that research done when they’re ready to go – which won’t be for a while yet – then you’re putting the crew at bigger risk.

(This interview has been edited for space and clarity.)

Article source: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/25/4586684/nasa-encouraging-spaceflight-to.html

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NASA encouraging spaceflight to go commercial

By alkaon on June 25, 2012 No Comments

LOS ANGELES — NASA led the way for Americans in space, but now the U.S. space agency is actively encouraging companies to take over primary responsibility for getting in and out of Earth’s orbit. Last month, a capsule built and operated by SpaceX completed a nine-day cargo-hauling mission to the International Space Station, becoming the first private-sector spacecraft to make such a journey.

But it won’t be the last. Ed Mango, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, is charged with helping companies develop vehicles that could ferry astronauts – and eventually, perhaps, civilians – on routine trips to space. Mango visited the Los Angeles Times to discuss his efforts and how they could lead to a “spaceline” industry that resembles today’s airlines.

Q: What’s the goal of the Commercial Crew Program?


A: We still have Americans in space. But we don’t have a way to get there. So the motivation for this small team I have is that we are the next organization within NASA that’s going to get American systems back into low Earth orbit.

Q: Why is NASA relying on private companies instead of operating the flights itself?

A: It fits with what has happened in the past. Look at how the airlines got started: Air Mail was run by the government, totally. Then eventually, the government didn’t want to be the ones to own airplanes, own airfields, employ the pilots – all that kind of stuff. So they said, “We’re going to contract this out.”

That became cargo capability. And as time went on, companies said, “We can transport people, not just cargo.” Thus, the birth of the airlines.

Q: NASA has partnered with seven companies and funded four of them. Why so many?

A: There’s more than one way to get to low Earth orbit. All seven companies have very different approaches.

We had four different capsule designs that can get to low Earth orbit. They all could work, ultimately. I think there are some that could work sooner, some that can work safer, and some that will work with less expense.

Q: The Dragon capsule made by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. of Hawthorne just became the first commercial spacecraft to reach the International Space Station. Does SpaceX have a leg up on the competition?

A: If they’re flying cargo today, they already have a system that works. Modifying a system that works is a lot better than starting any new system, so that becomes an advantage for them.

Boeing has their design, which is also a capsule-type design, and is trying to work out the same kind of issues that Dragon has. The only difference is that they haven’t flown their stuff yet. But Boeing has 50 years of human spaceflight already. They have all the people who did Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and the space shuttle. They have all the trips and falls that have been made over those 50 years.

Q: What are some other designs?

A: Sierra Nevada Corp. has what’s called Dreamchaser. It’s a wing vehicle – some people look at it as a mini-shuttle. It is very small: It carries the same number of people but it doesn’t carry any real cargo. The advantage is they land on a runway. And a wing vehicle can land a lot of different places, so that provides a lot more safety.

Every company is different in what they’re bringing to the table, which is really good for the government.

Q: Looking ahead, can you envision a time when private spaceline companies would set up their own stations in orbit?

A: I don’t know; I’m not a futurist. But I would predict that we would have more than just a government facility in orbit.

Q: And what will NASA be focusing on instead?

A: A lot of the research is about how to go beyond low Earth orbit. What do you have to do in order to live out in space for six months, to live out in space for even longer? How do you rehabilitate the body when it wants to come back to Earth? If you don’t have enough of that research done when they’re ready to go – which won’t be for a while yet – then you’re putting the crew at bigger risk.

(This interview has been edited for space and clarity.)

Article source: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/06/25/153638/nasa-encouraging-spaceflight-to.html

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NASA encouraging spaceflight to go commercial

By alkaon on June 23, 2012 No Comments

NASA led the way for Americans in space, but now the U.S. space agency is actively encouraging companies to take over primary responsibility for getting in and out of Earth’s orbit. Last month, a capsule built and operated by SpaceX completed a nine-day cargo-hauling mission to the International Space Station, becoming the first private-sector spacecraft to make such a journey.

But it won’t be the last. Ed Mango, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, is charged with helping companies develop vehicles that could ferry astronauts — and eventually, perhaps, civilians — on routine trips to space. Mango visited The Times to discuss his efforts and how they could lead to a “spaceline” industry that resembles today’s airlines.

What’s the goal of the Commercial Crew Program?

We still have Americans in space. But we don’t have a way to get there. So the motivation for this small team I have is that we are the next organization within NASA that’s going to get American systems back into low Earth orbit.

Why is NASA relying on private companies instead of operating the flights itself?

It fits with what has happened in the past. Look at how the airlines got started: Air Mail was run by the government, totally. Then eventually, the government didn’t want to be the ones to own airplanes, own airfields, employ the pilots — all that kind of stuff. So they said, “We’re going to contract this out.”

That became cargo capability. And as time went on, companies said, “We can transport people, not just cargo.” Thus, the birth of the airlines.

NASA has partnered with seven companies and funded four of them. Why so many?

There’s more than one way to get to low Earth orbit. All seven companies have very different approaches.

We had four different capsule designs that can get to low Earth orbit. They all could work, ultimately. I think there are some that could work sooner, some that can work safer, and some that will work with less expense.

The Dragon capsule made by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. of Hawthorne just became the first commercial spacecraft to reach the International Space Station. Does SpaceX have a leg up on the competition?

If they’re flying cargo today, they already have a system that works. Modifying a system that works is a lot better than starting any new system, so that becomes an advantage for them.

Boeing has their design, which is also a capsule-type design, and is trying to work out the same kind of issues that Dragon has. The only difference is that they haven’t flown their stuff yet. But Boeing has 50 years of human spaceflight already. They have all the people who did Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and the space shuttle. They have all the trips and falls that have been made over those 50 years.

What are some other designs?

Sierra Nevada Corp. has what’s called Dreamchaser. It’s a wing vehicle — some people look at it as a mini-shuttle. It is very small: It carries the same number of people but it doesn’t carry any real cargo. The advantage is they land on a runway. And a wing vehicle can land a lot of different places, so that provides a lot more safety.

Every company is different in what they’re bringing to the table, which is really good for the government.

Looking ahead, can you envision a time when private spaceline companies would set up their own stations in orbit?

I don’t know; I’m not a futurist. But I would predict that we would have more than just a government facility in orbit.

And what will NASA be focusing on instead?

A lot of the research is about how to go beyond low Earth orbit. What do you have to do in order to live out in space for six months, to live out in space for even longer? How do you rehabilitate the body when it wants to come back to Earth? If you don’t have enough of that research done when they’re ready to go — which won’t be for a while yet — then you’re putting the crew at bigger risk.

amina.khan@latimes.com

This interview has been edited for space and clarity.

Article source: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-nasa-commercial-future-20120623,0,645125.story

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NASA Image of the day

Launching Balloons to Study Space Weather

 
In Antarctica in January, 2013 – the summer at the South Pole – scientists released 20 balloons, each eight stories tall, into the air to help answer an enduring space weather question: when the giant radiation belts surrounding Earth lose material, where do the extra particles actually go? This NASA-funded mission is called BARREL, for Balloon Array for Radiation belt Relativistic Electron Losses. Each balloon launched by the BARREL team floated for anywhere from three to 40 days, measuring X-rays produced by fast-moving electrons high up in the atmosphere.BARREL works hand in hand with another NASA mission called the Van Allen Probes, which travels directly through the Van Allen radiation belts. The belts wax and wane over time in response to incoming energy and material from the sun, sometimes intensifying the radiation through which satellites orbiting Earth must travel. Scientists need to understand this process better, and even provide forecasts of such space weather, in order to protect our spacecraft.› Read MoreImage Credit: NASA
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