XCOR Co-Founders Establish New Company, Space News “The three left XCOR to found a new company, Agile Aero. That company, which, like XCOR, is based in Midland, Texas, will be focused on addressing a problem Greason says has afflicted XCOR and other aerospace companies: the inability to rapidly develop and test vehicles, be they high-speed aircraft or launch vehicles. “We’ve seen so many companies run into the same obstacle,” he […]
Hillary Clinton’s often-told story that NASA rejected her childhood dream of becoming an astronaut, Washington Post “According to NASA and some space historians, the message in the response that Clinton claims to have received is consistent with NASA policy and the agency’s attitudes toward the possibility of female astronauts at the time. It is debatable whether the tone of the letter Clinton describes fits NASA’s response to girls or aspiring […]
NSS Members: voting for the 2016 Heinlein Award closes Monday at midnight (Hawaiian time). https://t.co/zMmPOk822T pic.twitter.com/sQU2XCD9Fz — National Space Soc. (@nss) November 30, 2015 Pathetic: @NSS has 28 nominees for the 2016 Heinlein Award and they could only find 2 women to include? #dinosaurs https://t.co/fug1ijmSLP — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) November 30, 2015
President Obama Signs Bill Recognizing Asteroid Resource Property Rights into Law, Planetary Resources “Planetary Resources, the asteroid mining company, applauds President Obama who signed the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (H.R. 2262) into law. This law recognizes the right of U.S. citizens to own asteroid resources they obtain and encourages the commercial exploration and utilization of resources from asteroids.” U.S. space-mining law seen leading to possible treaty violations, CBC […]
Standoff over government climate study provokes national uproar by scientists, Washington Post “Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, has subpoenaed scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and demanded that they turn over internal e-mails related to their research. Their findings contradicted earlier work showing that global warming had paused, and Smith, a climate change skeptic, has accused them of altering […]
ICYMI @BlueOrigin recreated Alan Shepard's 1st flight – without Alan Shepard – but they can re-use the rocket – unlike Alan Shepard's rocket — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) November 25, 2015
NASA Statements on Katherine Johnson’s Medal of Freedom, NASA “Katherine Johnson once remarked that even though she grew up in the height of segregation, she didn’t think much about it because ‘I didn’t have time for that don’t have a feeling of inferiority. Never had. I’m as good as anybody, but no better.’ “The truth in fact, is that Katherine is indeed better. She’s one of the greatest minds ever […]
The rarest of beasts – a used rocket. Controlled landing not easy, but done right, can look easy. Check out video: https://t.co/9OypFoxZk3 — Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) November 24, 2015 Jeff maybe unaware SpaceX suborbital VTOL flight began 2013. Orbital water landing 2014. Orbital land landing next. https://t.co/S6WMRnEFY5 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2015 There’s a major difference between SpaceX and Blue Origin that makes them incomparable, Business Insider “We […]
Neil deGrasse Tyson: ‘The delusion is thinking that SpaceX is going to lead the space frontier’, The Verge “The delusion is thinking that SpaceX is going to lead the space frontier. That’s just not going to happen, and it’s not going to happen for three really good reasons: One, it is very expensive. Two, it is very dangerous to do it first. Three, there is essentially no return on that […]
Blue Origin Makes Historic Rocket Landing [With Video] “Blue Origin today announced that its New Shepard space vehicle successfully flew to space, reaching its planned test altitude of 329,839 feet (100.5 kilometers) before executing a historic landing back at the launch site in West Texas.” “Blue Origin’s reusable New Shepard space vehicle flew a flawless mission–soaring to 329,839 feet and then returning through 119-mph high-altitude crosswinds to make a gentle, […]