Here’s a pretty good article about what’s going on in that area, with a lot of discussion of NewSpace players.

Clark Lindsey points out this “new” book, but it’s not clear whether it’s really new, or just an update on the old one. SpacePac, the political action committee affiliated with the National Space Society, used to publish a book by this title back in the eighties and early nineties. I know this because I edited (and wrote parts of) it for a few years back then (I think that 1990 was the last year I was involved). So I’m curious if the current author simply picked up that ball, or if it’s a new, unrelated work.

Clark Lindsey has some useful thoughts on the pace of technology development. What I find frustrating is that from a technical standpoint, there’s no reason that all of the current progress in NewSpace couldn’t have all been happening fifteen years ago. I recall talking about rocket racing with Bevin McKinney and Jim Bennett back in the late eighties and early nineties. But apparently society itself wasn’t ready for it.

A private space passenger conference in, of all places, France.

Looking at the description provided by Jack Kennedy, it doesn’t look much different than many similar ones that have been held here over the past few years. The difference, of course, is the location. I think that if this doesn’t show that the “giggle factor” is gone, nothing does.

Looks like NASA has given up on landing at the Cape. I wish we could get some of the rain that was keeping them from landing there today, but it’s pretty dry down here. And hot. Definitely summer time.

Why not blog at Kos? Maybe because of stuff like this.

Highlarious. Hey, Ferris, plenty of subdomains available at Typepad.

Why not blog at Kos? Maybe because of stuff like this.

Highlarious. Hey, Ferris, plenty of subdomains available at Typepad.

Why not blog at Kos? Maybe because of stuff like this.

Highlarious. Hey, Ferris, plenty of subdomains available at Typepad.

I hate to link to Kos, and wish that Ferris Valyn would find some other place to blog (like just getting his own domain), but he’s got a lot of links and commentary that are worth perusing.

My Lunar vendor CSI just got a Space Act Agreement with NASA for their LEO Express system.

Sam Dinkin, Transterrestrial Musings:

Any reason other than testing that this system can’t be used for human passengers?

Charles Miller, CEO, Constellation Services, Inc.:

Yes. Unless the passengers plan to take up permanent residence in orbit, we would need to provide a way to return the passengers to Earth. In addition to a safe re-entry system, we would need to add some other systems that people tend to like, such as air and water and seats. There is a significant hit in terms of mass and financial cost to add all the systems are necessary to carry passengers. Nothing that has not been done before, but the canister that carries passengers will be much less cost effective for delivering cargo.

CSI studied concepts for recoverable canisters for NASA under in Phase 1A of our Alternate Access to Station contract in 2003-04. We have also looked at placing our canister inside RLVs, such as the Kistler K-1, for return to Earth. We received high marks from NASA’s AAS program for our ability to adapt our system to include a recoverable cargo capability.

Continue reading Interview with Charles Miller →