Will NASA Rocket Help Lift USA Space Program?

A successful test firing of the Ares 1-X test rocket on October 27 could breathe some much-needed life into USA’s stalled and underfunded space program. The 2.5 minute, 45 km / 28 mi vertical suborbital demonstration flight will determine first stage separation functions, booster performance, parachutes and other apparatus including data analysis from over 700 sensors. If all goes well, the Ares 1-X could be considered a worthy Shuttle replacement prototype under NASA’s new Constellation Program. Skeptics consider the $445 million pricetag of this world’s tallest rocket test as overly-complex, expensive and too late in the game, with some soliciting more solutions from the emerging NewSpace industry. The Area test comes at a critical time when the Augustine Commission is set to deliver their final space program recommendations to President Obama. Whether or not the Commission decides to fund the rocket or scrap it in lieu of other options, USA’s permanent return to the Moon and beyond will require executive, nation-level leadership. Should the Constellation Program be pursued, the next Ares test flight 1-Y will take place in 2014, followed by a third unpiloted mission, Orion 1, which will send a spacecraft into orbit around 2015-17. (Credit: NASA, Wikipedia)

DragonLab Spacecraft Capabilities Highlight Conference

On October 29, Space Exploration (SpaceX) Technologies will hold the 2nd DragonLab User Conference in Haarlem, Netherlands. DragonLab, a commercial, free-flying, reusable spacecraft developed by SpaceX, is capable of hosting pressurized / unpressurized payloads to and from orbit. It also provides a platform for in-space technology demonstrations and scientific instrument testing. The invite-only conference will focus on the needs of European customers and give them a chance to explore the capabilities of the spacecraft as well as cover concepts of operation, payload accommodations and costs. Some of the speakers featured at the conference include SpaceX Director of Civil Business Development, Max Vozoff (T) to discuss DragonLab as a microgravity platform and Eric Groen (B) of Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research will speak on microgravity on the human vestibular system. SpaceX, a private company located near Los Angeles, manufactures the successful Falcon, Falcon 9 and Falcon 9-Heavy reusable launch vehicles. Established in 2002 by Elon Musk, SpaceX aims to produce low-cost, reliable launch options for customers. The Dragon spacecraft is set to revolutionize access to space by providing efficient and reliable transport of crew and cargo to the ISS in 2010 and other LEO destinations. (Credit: SpaceX, CANEUS)