USA Space Vehicles: Transition To Orion Moonship From Shuttle

America's space progress will be highlighted this week at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston TX, as the press will examine both the current Space Shuttle / ISS architecture and NASA's upcoming Moon spacecraft under development. NASA's Constellation Program, responsible for developing the vehicles and technologies required to return humans to the Moon in coming years, will present reporters with a preview of lunar activities being planned at NASA centers across the country. The 'Lunar Exploration Workshop' will be held on Monday, 8 Sep at JSC, immediately following media briefings on the next Shuttle mission, Atlantis STS-125, amid renewed calls to extend the Shuttle's use beyond 2010. On display in a simulated lunar training site will be mock-ups of the Altair lunar lander and the rover vehicle astronauts will use on the surface of the Moon. Apollo Moon rocks will also be on hand. Also Monday, NASA will host a workshop on 'Commercial Lunar Communications and Navigation' in Arlington VA. Communications and navigation capabilities will be crucial in establishing humanity's first permanent settlement on another world, and the infrastructure to expand into the cislunar system will require both government and industry participation. (Credit: NASA)

The '8th European Space Power Conference' takes place on Sep 14-19 in Konstanz, Germany. The tri-annual forum covers all aspects of electrical power for space applications, from power system architecture to generation and storage, to power conversion and power management. Lithium ion batteries, the technology of choice for practically all new spacecraft, will be in focus, particularly management and performance of these batteries during integration and flight. With robotic planetary and space missions becoming more ambitious, technological challenges across the Solar System will be discussed, as well as new technologies in circuitry and components that may help overcome these challenges. Advanced materials and conversion applications will also lead to lower costs and higher reliability and efficiency in future science and exploration missions. Primary topics of the meeting are: power systems and subsystems for spacecraft and habitats, photovoltaic generators including solar cells, electrochemical cell technology and battery design, and power electronics including conversion techniques and electric propulsion. In addition, special workshops will be held throughout the conference on topics such as solar arrays and high-voltage testing for space applications. The event is sponsored by the European Space Agency in cooperation with Europe space firms EADS Astrium, German Aerospace Center DLR, and HTWG Constance. (Credit: ESA, et al)