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.
It is so exciting to look at the change taking place around us. There’s no better time to be alive and no better time to be engaged in living a full life. Here are a few articles that caught my eye to show the wide open new frontiers. A new space race? Amazon might get avian resistance to their new aerial delivery systems. China puts a rover on the moon.
Space
12-8 – Bloomberg Businessweek – Let the Space Price War Begin – Continue reading “More good stuff on the open frontiers – 12-20-13”
Today, twelve articles on education, space, and technology (including Amazon thinking about how to use drones to deliver packages).
Education
12-3 – Via Meadia – Private Sector Warming to MOOCs – Mr. Mead points out that massive open on-line courses Continue reading “More good stuff on the open frontiers in space, education, and technology – 12-7-13”
On 12-3, SpaceX put a satellite into a high-earth orbit. The Luxembourg satellite operator SES will settle their sat into geosync orbit.
This is a major deal for SpaceX because it proves they can lift into geosync orbit. That means the satellite will appear to remain in the same place relative to the ground. They have a lot of contracts to do so and can now try breaking into the market for lifting Pentagon satellites. Up to now, they have only lifted to low-earth orbit.
Two great articles today explain the launch:
As an accountant, here are some tidbits from the articles on the market and economics of launching payloads that caught my eye.
More good stuff on the open frontiers – 11-27-13
Education
Via Meadia – Winter for Higher Ed– How would you handle a double-digit drop in volume over the last three years? That’s the status for one-fourth of private colleges. Add in high uncertainty whether the enrollment trends will change.
Space
11-26 – Space News – SpaceX Challenge Has Arianespace Rethinking Pricing Policies – Continue reading “More good stuff on the open frontiers – 11-27-13”
The Cyngus resupply capsule reached the international space station and successfully docked on Sunday (9-29-13). The capsule carried 1,300 pounds of supplies. In a month it will be loaded with trash and unneeded equipment and burned up in reentry.
That means both Orbital Sciences Corp and SpaceX have the capability to launch privately developed supply ships on top of privately developed rockets to safely deliver supplies into space.
Continue reading “2 private companies have proven ability to lift supplies to space station”
Orbital Sciences is the second private company to design and launch a rocket that can resupply the international space station.
Very cool. The space frontier is open again.
The 40-meter tall Antares rocket lifted off with the company’s Cyngus cargo capsule Wednesday and will rendezvous with the space station Sunday.
Cargo capacity is 680 kg, or about 1,500 pounds.
Continue reading “Second private company launches resupply capsule to space station”
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.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NoxiK7K28PU]
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.
Update 10-13-13: I don’t know if this is the same test. It appears to be from the same site. Regardless, a superb test and a superb view:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9ZDkItO-0a4].
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: Continue reading “2nd private company gets space cargo ship operating”
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: Continue reading “Interview with an asteroid miner – Yeah, I did say mining of asteroids and it’s coming from the private sector”
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: Continue reading “Space frontier is open – legal analysis of mining asteroids and private round-trip supply runs”
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:
The privately developed and funded SpaceX Dragon docked with the international space station.
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.
Continue reading “More background on privately run trips to the moon”
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?
Continue reading “Two companies moving forward with moon tourism”
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.