Commercial Space Endeavors

[Dmerdude]

Test of fully reusable rocket from SpaceX

[Jan]

I still hope to live to see the day we can use the space elevator

[AnOldBlackMarble]

I honestly don't think one will ever be built. Too much material mass and too complex. By the time we have the technology to build something like that, we will have better lift capabilities, thus negating the need for the elevator itself.

I equate it to building a rail link across the Atlantic between US and Europe. It was talked about in the 19th century but not technically possible. Today it is technically possible, but not practical when compered to the improved air travel and sea travel technologies of today.

[VelesHomais]

I am convinced that we will see the rise of the space elevator in the 50's.

By the way, I would like to rename the thread to "Commercial Space Endeavors" - any objections?

[Jan]

@AnOldBlackMarble: Yeah, you're probably right. Luckily we still have www.virgingalactic.com even though that requires a winning lottery ticket to buy in.

@VelesHomais: your section, so yes go ahead

[Dmerdude]

Originally Posted by Jan

I still hope to live to see the day we can use the space elevator

Highly unlikely in the foreseeable future. But going to space might become relatively cheap in the near future with the private sector joining in and with reusable things and components.

[VelesHomais]

Space elevator will still make economic and ecological sense even 40 years from now. However, building a space elevator on the Moon makes economic sense right now and I think that we will see it get done in the 2020's and then on Mars in the 2040's.

One aspect to consider, however, is that right now we are most concerned about getting finished product into space. In the future, this will not make sense, as we will get our materials in space and build whatever needs to be built in orbit. It may even turn out to be, that the space elevator will be used more heavily to return materials from space to Earth.

[kicaj]

Golden Spike contracts Northrop Grumman for lunar lander design

The Golden Spike Company Announces Northrop Grumman
Under Study Contract for Lunar Lander Design

BOULDER, CO. (January 3, 2013) – The Golden Spike Company announced today that it has entered into a contract with Northrop Grumman Corporation for the design of a new lunar lander that fits within Golden Spike’s “head start” commercial lunar architecture.

Northrop Grumman’s participation brings heritage lunar engineering expertise to Golden Spike. Northrop Grumman is a major aerospace and defense contractor. Its legacy companies -- Grumman and TRW -- designed and built the Lunar Module and Lunar Module Descent Engines for the Apollo moon landing missions that between 1969 and 1972 ferried a crew of two astronauts from lunar orbit to the lunar surface and back again six times.

Golden Spike debuted last month as the first commercial aerospace company planning to offer routine exploration expeditions to the surface of the Moon by the end of the decade. The company aims to use existing rockets and emerging commercial-crew spacecraft to allow nations, individuals and corporations to mount their own lunar expeditions. The lander is the only significant hardware that needs to be designed from the ground up.

"This is a significant step forward in our plans,” said Golden Spike’s Board Chairman, Gerry Griffin. “Northrop Grumman brings Golden Spike a unique body of knowledge and skills as the only company to ever build a successful human-rated lunar lander, the Apollo Lunar Module.”

Dr. S. Alan Stern, Golden Spike’s President and CEO, added: “We’re very proud to be working with Northrop Grumman, which has the most experience and successful performance record for human lunar lander designs in the world.”

Among the tasks Northrop Grumman will perform for Golden Spike are:
Reviewing requirements and synthesizing a set of study ground rules and assumptions emphasizing system reliability, automated/ground command operability, and affordability
Establishing velocity (Δv) budgets from and to low lunar orbit for pragmatic lunar landing sites
Exploring a wide variety of Lunar Lander concept options, including staging, propellants, engines, reusability, autonomy, systems capabilities for exploration, as well as landing site flexibility
Establishing the design trade space and establish pragmatic limits for future more detailed analysis and development
“This study is one of a number of initial studies we’re undertaking to begin creating the design requirements and specs for the lander contract competition we expect to hold to select a Golden Spike lander for flight development,” said Golden Spike’s Lunar Lander Systems Study (LLaSS) engineering chief, James R. French.

Golden Spike predicts its customers will want to explore the Moon for varying reasons—scientific exploration and discovery, national prestige, commercial development, marketing, entertainment, and even personal achievement. Market studies by the company show the possibility of 15-25 or more expeditions in the decade following a first landing.

http://newspacewatch.com/articles/go...er-design.html

[AnOldBlackMarble]

(wrong thread) moved comment.

[desertpunk]

[Ulpia-Serdica]

Space Expedition Corp. Teams Up With Buzz Aldrin and Axe To Send Contest Winners Into Space



What do a former Apollo 11 astronaut and a popular brand of men’s grooming product have in common? They could be your ticket to a ride into outer space on board a private, commercial vehicle.

Here’s the details: Unilever’s Axe-brand body spray is currently running a contest in which they will send 22 lucky men and women into space on a trip as a passenger on Space Expedition Corporation’s (SXC) and XCOR‘s Lynx suborbital spacecraft sometime in 2014.

“The winner[s] will travel 103 kilometers (64 miles) up from planet Earth and out of the atmosphere into space in an SXC space plane with only the pilot for company,” says VentureBeat’s John Koetsier.

“The ship is less than 30 feet long and powered by four XR-5K18 liquid fueled re-ignitable rocket engines, giving it 11,600 pounds of thrust,” he added. “And you’ll have an amazing 12-foot wide cockpit window to see deep space — and the blue planet below — in all its glory.”

To help promote the giveaway, Unilever has recruited Buzz Aldrin, who along with Neil Armstrong became one of the first men to step foot on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

While “the commercialization of space… has rapidly changed the face of space travel, opening up exciting new possibilities in a number of areas,” this new contest “hopes to truly ramp up the popularity of space travel with the public by giving a group of civilians the chance to win a seat on an upcoming space flight,” PCMag’s Adario Strange said.

Plus, with Aldrin on board, “the contest immediately takes on a sort of historic flavor given the 82-year-old former astronaut’s role in leading mankind into space decades ago.”

The contest runs from now through midnight, February 3; and according to Strange, those interested in entering need to first visit the AXE Apollo Space Academy website, where they will have to create a profile and then complete an essay explaining why they should be chosen for the journey.

“If you enter and are lucky enough to win the first stage, you’ll need to attend ‘Global Space Camp’ in Orlando, Florida during December 2013, where you’ll meet international contestants and compete for the chance to go to space,” explains Koetsier. “Competing involves traveling in a supersonic jet plane, experiencing zero-G in a short parabolic airplane flight, and being tested in a massive centrifuge that will put your body under 6Gs of acceleration.”

“Those who pass the tests will then continue on to the little Caribbean island of Curaçao, where they’ll take off in the SXC space plane and experience space flight firsthand,” he added. “Tickets for that little 60-mile trip, by the way, start out at $95,000. Fortunately, Axe is picking up the tab — if you win.”

http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1...-space-011113/

[Dmerdude]

NASA Buys Private Inflatable Room for Space Station



NASA has officially signed a deal to attach an inflatable private module to the International Space Station, space agency officials confirmed today (Jan. 11).
Under the new deal, NASA will pay $17.8 million to the Nevada-based private spaceflight firm Bigelow Aerospace for the company's Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which will be affixed to the orbiting lab as a technology demonstration.
"This partnership agreement for the use of expandable habitats represents a step forward in cutting-edge technology that can allow humans to thrive in space safely and affordably, and heralds important progress in U.S. commercial space innovation," NASA deputy chief Lori Garver said in a statement.

....

http://www.space.com/19236-space-sta...e-bigelow.html

[Ulpia-Serdica]

Here is a design for the Spaceport Curacao. Base for the Space Expedition Corp.