Wheeeeeee! I'm having fun with more scary headlines.

China plans to launch more than 100 satellites before 2020 to watch every corner of the country, state-run China Central Television quoted a government official as saying Tuesday.

They're gonna watch over their own country. Which is pretty much what we do too. Check it out:

A "large surveying network" would be set up to monitor water reserves, forests, farmland, city construction and "various activities of society," a government official said without elaborating.

It's that "various activities of society" that makes one wonder though. Like Rocket Jones, the Chinese seem to have better success with the 'up' part of rocket launches than the 'down' part.

Last month, the retrievable chamber of China's 20th recoverable satellite returned to Earth with a bang, crashing through the roof of a house.

Posted by: Ted at 04:56 AM | category: Space Program
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The newest challenge for commercial space is the fifty million dollar America's Space Prize. Here's what it's going to take:

There's more:

And one last thing:

That sounds like a pretty ambitious set of requirements, and they're specifically crafted to encourage a private-sector replacement for Russia's Soyuz spacecraft. At this time, the US is dependent on Soyuz for transport to and from the International Space Station.

Bigelow Aerospace is putting up the entire amount of the prize after NASA was unable (for various reasons) to pony up half. I originally talked about inflatables in space here first, then here. Follow those links for even more links and information.

Posted by: Ted at 06:07 AM | category: Space Program
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1 I ask this out of genuine curiosity and pure ignorance:

What is the current state of the law regarding private space ventures?

I believe that these programs are a very good thing. But sooner or later there is going to be a big, headline-grabbing disaster of some sort. This is more than likely to provoke Congress into ramping up regulation of private space flight, if not shutting it down altogether. What actions are being taken to try and head this off?

Posted by: Robert the Llama Butcher at November 10, 2004 10:03 AM (UMVKj)

2 From what I've heard, the private companies are having to jump through hoops to get government approval to launch. Safety for non-participants is paramount, which is why these groups are all launching from the deserts in Nevada or along the coastlines out over the sea (or into the Gulf of Mexico in one case).

I think everyone expects that at some point someone might die in some sort of accident or malfunction. That's the nature of doing something new. The idea is to limit fatalities to those taking the risk such as crew and associated scientists.

At the same time, it's exceedlingly bad business to have people die in your equipment, and the people controlling the money are all businessmen. Nobody wants to be the first (or ever) to have someone die, so testing will be and has been extensive.

In addition, these people all seem to be earnest and sincere in their plans to commercialize space (with one exception I'll note in a bit). The prize money is great and welcomed, but almost nobody is thinking that the final goal is winning the prize. The money is merely incentive, the real prize is creating an actual private business out of going to space.

That exception I noted above is Starchaser from the UK. Their "technical lead" is a self-promoting loon named Bennet who's main achievment so far seems to have been to set half of a British military base on fire with one of his craptacular signature "spacecraft". The result was the refusal of the UK government to allow any more experimental private rocket launches, which forced several serious groups to have to travel to Nevada in the US in order to test launch their rockets. You can do a Rocket Jones search on "Middlesex" or "MARS" for more about one of these groups.

That all happened a few years ago, and I haven't followed up lately, so it may be outdated information.

Posted by: Ted at November 10, 2004 10:41 AM (blNMI)

3 Robert, you should browse Rand Simberg's site and archives for a good sampling of policy and status of the law.

There have been no major changes in Space Law per se since the Cold War treaties of the late 60s, early 70s. There is specifically a 1971 international convention based on the original 1967 Outer Space Treaty. The liability convention imposes liability on the state parties for damages caused by nationals of that state. As with most international law, the treaties deal with state action only, and don't really address the interests of private individuals.

I might turn this into a post later...

Posted by: JohnL at November 10, 2004 10:51 AM (YVul2)

4 John, please do! I only have a vague understanding of legal policy as it pertains to space (it doesn't much interest me). A simplified explanation geared towards us simpletons would be greatly appreciated.

Posted by: Ted at November 10, 2004 10:57 AM (blNMI)

5 Heh, I used variations of "simple" twice. I think my words get bigger the less I know about a subject.

Posted by: Ted at November 10, 2004 10:57 AM (blNMI)

6 Rutan has plans already for a follow on to the very successful and inaptly named spaceshipone. I'd say based on track record alone he's an odds on favorite for winning this one, too.

The money will be there for many entrepreneurs. And private industry has already proven that they can do the design/build/test/design cycle about a million times faster than NASA. I think five years is certainly possible. We will be getting not just a private orbital craft, but one that is deeply innovative as well - look at Rutan's design for evidence of the creativity that is being invested in these projects.

If NASA had spent it's money on half of the ideas floating around out there instead of its own bureaucracy and endless redesigns for teh ISS and other projects, we'd be so much further along... Think about using shuttle ETs for habitat space, shuttle-Cs, inflatable habs like you mentioned, and a thousand other things that have never been given the attention that they deserve by the powers that be.

It's looking like a brave new world out there.

Posted by: buckethead@perfidy.org at November 10, 2004 04:40 PM (2c+XF)

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Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity continue to function and are sending back intriguing data from the surface of the red planet.

Spirit, having trekked nearly two miles across the flat terrain of the vast Gusev Crater region where it set down, is zigzagging up the rugged Columbia Hills and is now nearly 200 feet above the surrounding plain.

Opportunity is nearing the end of its exploration of stadium-size Endurance Crater in the Meridiani Planum region and may claw its way over the rim.

"One favorite [theory] is that a dust devil happened to pick the vehicle to go through and go over the surface of it and clean it off a little bit," Erickson said.

Posted by: Ted at 05:27 AM | category: Space Program
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Last year they had a horrible accident on the pad that killed 21 scientists and technicians. This year, they made it. Congrats, mi Amigos!*

Thanks to both A.E. Brain and Interested Participant for pointing this out.

*Yes, I know Brazilians speak Portuguese, not Spanish. Work with me here.

Posted by: Ted at 12:08 PM | category: Space Program
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Oh man, say it isn't so!!!

The NASA spacecraft that smashed into the Utah desert last month while bringing home fragile samples of the sun may have been doomed by engineering drawings that had been done backwards, an investigating board said Friday.

Because of the backward drawings, the switches that were supposed to detect Genesis' re-entry into Earth's atmosphere and trigger its parachutes were placed incorrectly, said Michael G. Ryschkewitsch, chairman of the board.

Posted by: Ted at 08:08 PM | category: Space Program
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Russia is planning a simulated mission to Mars to study the effects of such a voyage on the crew.

The 500 Days experiment, under development by the Russian Institute of Medical and Biological Problems, will isolate human volunteers in a mock space station module for -- as its namesake suggests -- a complete 500 days to study how a long mission to Mars might affect its human crew.

"Obviously, we're very interested in the results," NASA spokeswoman Dolores Beasley said of the long-duration study during a telephone interview. "It is a high priority for us."

During the 500 Days study, six volunteers will depend on a preset limit of supplies, including about 5 tons of food and oxygen and 3 tons of water. A doctor will accompany volunteers inside the module to treat illnesses and injuries. Volunteers will only be allowed to quit the experiment if the develop a severe ailment or psychological stress.

Posted by: Ted at 04:46 AM | category: Space Program
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Jennifer (who is on a roll) mentioned it yesterday, but I completely misunderstood what she meant. When she posted "Who's the greatest pilot you ever saw?", and then wrote "Goodbye Gordon Cooper", I thought she was referring to the new SpaceShipOne astronauts.

What she was referring to was that Gordon Cooper, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts, passed away yesterday. He was a flake, but he was also a great pilot.

Posted by: Ted at 11:54 AM | category: Links
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Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites has just won the XPrize!!!

Thanks to Pixy for the heads up, and Transterrestrial Musings for the live coverage.

Posted by: Ted at 11:49 AM | category: Space Program
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India has placed EDUSAT into orbit. The satellite has twelve transponders dedicated to educational programming, and will provide coverage to India's vast rural areas.

Using their Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F01 - they need serious help naming their rockets), they sucessfully boosted the satellite into orbit on Monday.

From a statement released by the Minister for Human Resource Development:

''The very fact that a dedicated satellite has been put in space for educational purposes symbolises a national resolve to spread learning across the length and breadth of this country."

Congrats India!

Posted by: Ted at 12:20 PM | category: Space Program
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The Spacearium isn't updated as often as Space.com, but it's still a pretty cool place to find information about all things space.

And since I'm recylcling links today, here's a massive link collection about life, the universe, and everything.

Posted by: Ted at 09:18 AM | category: Space Program
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They're beginning to think they can salvage most of the Genesis mission.

Posted by: Ted at 04:18 PM | category: Space Program
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Genesis comes home today.

The returning craft will be snagged out of mid-air by one of two helicopters flown by stunt pilot crews. Why not military? Well, this recovery required a six-year commitment to training, so they went civilian.

America's first 'spy' satellites used the same method of data transfer. They would take pictures over the interesting parts of the world from orbit, then as they passed over the US a small capsule containing the film would be ejected. Military aircrews would snag the capsules in mid-air and then the film would be developed. This was, of course, Top Secret stuff.

When new Air Force generals joined the program, they would be given a briefing of the flight profile of the intelligence missions. Every time, they would object that the recovery plan was nonsense and impossible. It amused the intelligence director to inform the aviation 'experts' that not only was it possible, but that it had already been done on a regular basis. The exact number of successes and failures is still classified, but best guess estimates say they got it right hundreds of times.

Good luck today, guys. Bring home a piece of the sun to have for our very own.

Posted by: Ted at 06:51 AM | category: Space Program
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(Sorry, that title has nothing to do with the rest of this post. It's just something I noticed on TV).

A new entrant in the rapidly expanding space industry emerged today as Masten Space Systems broke its silence by unveiling its new website, and vehicle development plans. The site contains details on the XA-1 suborbital launch vehicle the company will be developing over the next few years.

"This is the beginning of a lot of fun, but hard work. Work anyone can follow along with by visiting our blog where we will be posting regular updates of our progress," declared Dave Masten, CEO of Masten Space Systems.

Posted by: Ted at 04:54 PM | category: Space Program
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Many people don't know that at one time Great Britain had a space program that was advanced enough to have placed a satellite into earth orbit. This site talks about the Black Arrow and other advanced British aerospace programs.

Posted by: Ted at 04:56 AM | category: Space Program
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X-prize attempt goes kablooie.

These guys are trying to do this on the cheap, and it shows. Then again, there's no reason why their methods won't work. If it was easy, it'd been done long ago. Good luck and keep trying!

Posted by: Ted at 04:48 AM | category: Space Program
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James van Allen, Regent Distinguished Professor at the University of Iowa, is the noted discoverer of radiation belts encircling Earth. His seminal finding -- labeled the Van Allen radiation belts -- stemmed from the scientist's experiment that flew on Explorer 1, Americas first satellite to successfully orbit the Earth back on January 31, 1958.

"Almost all of the space programs important advances in scientific knowledge have been accomplished by hundreds of robotic spacecraft in orbit about Earth and on missions to the distant planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune," van Allen writes. Similarly, robotic exploration of comets and asteroids "has truly revolutionized our knowledge of the solar system," he adds.

"Let us not obfuscate the issue with false analogies to Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, and Lewis and Clark, or with visions of establishing a pleasant tourist resort on the planet Mars," van Allen suggests.

He writes from the viewpoint of someone who doesn't see the point of leaving the planet. Has the scientific viewpoint dulled his imagination and spirit?

Posted by: Ted at 04:34 AM | category: Space Program
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Ten days on the ocean floor is about as isolated as you can get on ol' Mother Earth. This sounds like an excellent way to prepare for long-term space missions.

Posted by: Ted at 08:32 AM | category: Space Program
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An Ariane-5 rocket has placed the world's largest telecommunications satellite into orbit Saturday evening after blasting off from the Kourou site in French Guiana.

Built by Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS) in El Segundo, California, Anik-2F is to provide telecommunications services across North America for 15 years for the Canadian operator Telesat.

Posted by: Ted at 01:31 AM | category: Space Program
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Spain is proposing an interesting concept that could possibly provide Earth with some protection from those 'killer' rocks that's floating around up there (Bruce Willis ain't gonna live forever, ya know).

According to their plan, a pair of spacecraft will be launched together to intercept a selected asteroid. One will orbit the rock and take measurements and pictures, while the other slams into the asteroid in an attempt to alter its trajectory. The idea being if you do it far enough away, a smaller nudge is needed to make it miss Mother Earth.

Posted by: Ted at 06:42 AM | category: Space Program
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Space Services Inc. is poised to resume service in September launching containers full of people's ashes into space, where they will circle the Earth for years to come.

The company also offers a video of the launch and provides software that allows families to track the orbital location of their loved ones' remains in real time.

The last funeral flight, in September 2001, failed to reach orbit, but three prior launches did.

The company pledges a free relaunch if the first attempt fails. Chafer said the families of 48 of the 50 people whose remains were on the last flight had opted for another attempt.

"The key to the business is the routine access to space," Chafer said, adding the company planned to make three to four launches a year if the Falcon program proves successful.

Posted by: Ted at 09:44 AM | category: Space Program
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1 It always struck me as a little vain, IMHO. And what's the use if the orbit decays after a while...?

Of course, I can be just as eccentric, myself...:

My Mom and I were discussing her cremation arrangements not too long ago, and I came up with an idea that she found amusing. You see, she loves fireworks--especially mortars! So I thought of taking some of her ashes and adding them to the payload of a mortar-shell-style firework. Then, during her wake, we set it off and her ashes are spread across the property she loves so much in a decidedly appropriate and spectacular way!

If I can get one of the HUGE kinds that are set off at city functions, so much the better!

--TwoDragons

Posted by: Denita TwoDragons at July 12, 2004 12:36 PM (E0RVk)

2 Google is your friend, Denita. Several years ago, a friend of ours scored a huge crate of monster shells and mortors. Big fun, and the best show outside of the pro's I've ever seen.

Posted by: Ted at July 13, 2004 10:08 AM (ZjSa7)

3 I've already Googled some sites. I have quite a bit of time, silly--Mom's still very much alive, and I'm NOT speeding things along! ;-)

But when the time does come, I've already Bookmarked several sites. Heck--I'd probably buy from them anyways, if I could afford it!

--TwoDragons

Posted by: Denita TwoDragons at July 13, 2004 12:31 PM (FVFTC)

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