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We need to learn quickly to keep up with the massive change around us so we don't get run over. We need to outrun change.

Archive for the tag “private space exploration”

30 Apr 2013

Successful test of rocket hovering and making soft landing

SpaceX had a successful test of their Grasshopper rocket.

News 92 FM in Houston reports – SpaceX Rocket Launches, Hovers, and Lands:

The ten-story tall vertical takeoff, vertical landing vehicle slowly lifts off the ground and climbs to a height of around 850 feet, then hovers effortlessly in the air before slowly lowering back down to the launch pad, successfully nailing one of the softest landings you’ll ever see.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NoxiK7K28PU

I’m no rocket scientist, sitting here in my comfy armchair, but seems like a soft landing from an 850’ hover proves a critical skill for space travel to, say, asteroids or Mars. The jaw-dropping news here is this effort was privately designed, built, funded, and operated. Very cool.

Faster please, as Glenn Reynolds says.

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23 Apr 2013

2nd private company gets space cargo ship operating

Orbital Sciences Corp. had a successful test of their privately designed, funded and built spaceship. Their lifting vehicle made it to orbit and the cargo pod successfully separated. See Private company succeeds in test launch of rocket that will carry cargo ship.

They are one of two companies that will be providing lift capability to NASA: Read more…

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18 Apr 2013

Interview with an asteroid miner – Yeah, I did say mining of asteroids and it’s coming from the private sector

Check out this video - Profits in Space! Entrepreneurs Are Scanning the Cosmos for Big Money. Glenn Reynolds interviews Chris Lewicki, CEO and Chief Asteroid Miner at Planetary Resources.

A few highlights: Read more…

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04 Apr 2013

Space frontier is open – legal analysis of mining asteroids and private round-trip supply runs

Who Has the Right to Mine an Asteroid gives an overview of the legal issues involved in getting minerals and water from asteroids. The discussion is from Professor Glenn Reynolds, of course.

What’s the payoff?

Here’s the possible yield from mining asteroids: Read more…

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19 Jan 2013

4 private companies are developing space flight capacity to lift cargo to International Space Station

The space frontier is open.

Popular Mechanics reports in The 4 Spaceships Vying to Send Crews to the ISS just what their title says.

There are four companies developing lift capacity:

Read more…

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12 Oct 2012

SpaceX Dragon docks with space station

The privately developed and funded SpaceX Dragon docked with the international space station.

Read more…

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13 Jul 2012

More background on privately run trips to the moon

Space.com has good background on Excalibur Almaz, one of the companies working towards private space flight including excursions to the moon, in their article Space Tourist Trip to the Moon May Fly on Recycled Spaceships.

Excalibur Almaz will start with refurbished Russian spacecraft:

It bought four 1970s-era Soviet Almaz program three-crew capsules and two Russian Salyut-class 63,800-pound (29,000 kilograms) space station pressure vessels.

The plan is to lift an Almaz reusable return vehicle and a Salyut space station into Earth orbit separately. Then match them together with a propulsion unit and the combined stack heads to the moon.

Read more…

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05 Jul 2012

Two companies moving forward with moon tourism

The Economist reports in their article Fly me to the moon that two companies are moving forward with tourist trips to the moon.

The article lays out the playing field as follows:

On June 19th Excalibur Almaz, a space company based on the Isle of Man, a British dependency in the Irish Sea, became the second company—after Space Adventures, an American space-tourism firm—to offer tickets for a commercial moonshot.

Price tag?

Read more…

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31 May 2012

Dragon splashes down – first commercial space travel ship returns

First privately designed, funded, operated, recovered, and paid space ship splashed down May 31. SpaceX’s Dragon capsule returned from its resupply mission to the International Space Station. It will be towed to Los Angeles. How’s that for a more efficient recovery methodology?

See Space.com’s article – Space Dragon Capsule Splashes Down in Pacific, Ending Historic Test Flight.

The article points out this is the first resupply ship that brings things back. It returned with 1,367 pounds of cargo, including completed experiments.

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26 May 2012
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SpaceX’s Dragon capsule docks with Space Station and the cost per pound for delivery

On Saturday, astronauts on board the International Space Station docked with and entered a privately designed, built, and funded resupply ship. Count that as a major victory for SpaceX specifically and private space travel in general.

The Wall Street Journal has two great articles:

Here is a one paragraph summary of the plan:

Read more…

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25 May 2012
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Private space travel is here

The Dragon capsule docked with the International Space Station.

This is significant because SpaceX privately developed and funded the Falcon 9 lift vehicle and Dragon capsule.

The Dragon had to pass quite a few tests before it was allowed to draw near the ISS and then be grabbed by the remote arm.

Very cool. Congratulations to the SpaceX team.

AP has an article – Dragon arrives at space station in historic 1st

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03 May 2012

Some skepticism on mining asteroids

Count The Economist as skeptical on the plans Planetary Resources has to mine asteroids as one step in their privately funded space exploration efforts.

In their article, Going platinum, they survey some of the hurdles.

Read more…

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25 Apr 2012

Mining asteroids? I get it!

An organization called Planetary Resources had their big press conference yesterday announcing their plans to mine asteroids for raw materials that will facilitate private space travel.  I mentioned this here and here.

I’ve barely started reading their website, but that’s enough for me to ‘get it’.  With other work commitments I will have to get back to this later, but wanted to highlight it now.

An article in The New York Times provides more background – In Pursuit of Riches, and Travelers’ Supplies, in the Asteroid Belt

Here’s the concept in one paragraph from Planetary Resources’ web site – mind-boggling amounts of natural resources have yet to be discovered:

Read more…

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23 Apr 2012
1 Comment

Private space travel – connecting some dots

Previous post discussed mining asteroids to get raw materials for space exploration. 

Ponder the idea of private space travel and tie that to mining asteroids for some really wild possibilities for change in the future.

This video from Reason.TV is a bit smart alack, but makes a number of points about the future of private space travel:

It’s a short video talking about the final shuttle being retired and moved to DC where it will reside at the Air and Space Museum. Check it out.  Here are some of my favorite lines:

Read more…

Posted in Change down the road and tagged
22 Apr 2012
2 Comments

Mining asteroids?

Here’s a brain stretcher for you.

People with money to back their ideas are thinking about mining asteroids for natural resources.

After you finish chuckling, consider the materials needed for extended space travel and the cost of lifting them from earth into space.  How about pulling those resources off an asteroid, since its already in space?

Like I said, it’s a stretch.

And yet…

An outfit called Planetary Resources is planning to research the idea and figure out how to pull it off.

Read more…

Posted in Change down the road and tagged , ,

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