Keith’s note: According to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s new report on Low Earth Orbit research: “The United States holds the preeminent global position in space thanks to steadfast investments in space research and technology development, and strategic partnerships and collaborations. As we work to further explore the Moon and Mars, the use of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) grows, and the International Space Station begins its phased retirement, it is crucial that we maintain preeminence in space research. That’s why today the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is releasing the Biden-Harris Administration’s vision for U.S. leadership in the future research and development (R&D) in LEO.” Summary and full report

CASIS Announces Its Commercial Business Expansion Plans, earlier post (March 2019) “CASIS Chief Strategy Officer Richard Leach made a presentation “Forecasting the 2024-2035 Space Based National Laboratory for Life and Physical Sciences Space Research” at the National Academies of Science Committee on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space meeting yesterday. During that presentation he announced that CASIS aka The ISS National Laboratory has expanded their scope of operations. They are […]

Today's dazed and confused @NASA press release sentence award goes to @NASA_Ames for this: "Orbiting about 250 miles above the Earth in the weightlessness of microgravity" https://t.co/ZJ86lUYTYa pic.twitter.com/empirmMqLI — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) December 21, 2018

ACME Advanced Materials, Inc Announces First Commercial Production of 4″ SiC Wafers in Microgravity “ACME Advanced Materials, Inc. today announced the successful commercialization of its process to produce large quantities of low loss, electrically defect free (EDF) Silicon Carbide (SiC) wafers in a microgravity environment.” Made in space, Albuquerque Journal “We take crappy wafers, the lowest grade we can buy, and use a microgravity environment to turn them into what […]

Keith’s note: The Technical Capabilities Assessment Team has decided to shut down the reduced flight program at JSC and transfer what is left of it to AFRC. JSC Center Director Ochoa has been directed to shut things down by mid-summer and mothball their C-9. Henceforth NASA will depend on one source: ZeroG. No real reason is given – and AFRC admits that it does not have the staff to run […]

Bioreactors Drive Advances in Tissue Engineering, NASA Spinoffs 2011 “Johnson Space Center innovators created a rotating wall bioreactor that mimics microgravity conditions, allowing for healthier, more natural-forming cell cultures. Licensed to Synthecon Inc. of Houston, the technology now enables drug development and medical research into treatment for conditions such as diabetes and cancer.” New method makes culture of complex tissue possible in any lab, University of California – San Diego […]

Magnetically-levitated Flies Offer Clues to Future of Life in Space “Using powerful magnets to levitate fruit flies can provide vital clues to how biological organisms are affected by weightless conditions in space, researchers at The University of Nottingham say. The team of scientists has shown that simulating weightlessness in fruit flies here on earth with the use of magnets causes the flies to walk more quickly — the same effect […]

NASA Opportunities for Payloads Requiring an Near-Zero or Reduced Gravity Environment “Payloads selected under this announcement will fly on aircraft that provide parabolic flight trajectories and on suborbital reusable launch vehicles (sRLVs) that are capable of flying to altitudes above 100 km, providing exposure to reduced gravity and near-zero gravity environments. In exchange for the opportunity to fly, the proposer will provide data, designs, processes, and other relevant information to […]

NASA Solicitation: Flight and Payload Services for Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicles “This notice is issued by the NASA/DFRC to post a draft RFP via the internet, and solicit responses from interested parties. This document is for information and planning purposes and to allow industry the opportunity to verify reasonableness and feasibility of the requirement, as well as promote competition.”

EIAST and Bigelow Aerospace sign agreement to create next-generation commercial human spaceflight programme “The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) and Bigelow Aerospace LLC, an organisation dedicated to providing affordable options for spaceflight to national space agencies and corporate clients, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to drive joint efforts to usher in a new era in human spaceflight based on innovative technologies, affordability, commercial sustainability, and […]