Russia's future fighter conquers the skies

Russia's prototype fifth-generation fighter made a 45-minute maiden flight on Friday in the Far East, Russian television reported.

The flight had been postponed for 24 hours due to poor weather conditions in Komsomolsk-on-Amur where the prototype is being tested.

"The plane showed a superb performance. It has met all our expectations for the maiden flight," said Olga Kayukova, a spokesperson for the Sukhoi aircraft manufacturer.

Russia has been developing its newest fighter since the 1990s. The country's top military officials earlier said the stealth fighter jet, with a range of up to 5,500 km, would enter service with the Air Force in 2015.

Russia's fifth-generation project is Sukhoi's PAK FA and the current prototype is the T-50. It is designed to compete with the U.S. F-22 Raptor, so far the world's only fifth-generation fighter, and the F-35 Lightning II.

The PAK FA is to be equipped with the most advanced technology and armed with next-generation high-precision weaponry.

India, which has a long history of defense relations with Moscow, remains Russia's sole partner in the project.

India's Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) was reported to be seeking a 25% share in design and development in the project. It has also sought to modify Sukhoi's single-seat prototype into the twin-seat fighter India's Air Force wants.

Russian company eyes offensive military satellite

Leading Russian spacecraft producer Energia has presented a concept of a universal military satellite with offensive capabilities.

The 20-ton orbiter with a life expectancy of 10 to 15 years would be powered by a 150 to 500 kilowatt nuclear reactor and will be able to “monitor territories and airspace, provide informational superiority – including in armed conflicts – and perform target designation and traffic control. It will also be offensive-capable,” said Energia head Vitaly Lopota, as cited by ITAR-TASS news agency.

He did not specify what offensive capabilities the satellite would have; whether it will be able to target other spacecraft, ground targets, or both.

The concept goes against Russia’s voiced intention to keep space an arms-free zone. However, with several nations believed to be actively pursuing space-based or anti-satellite weapons, Energia’s design may find support among the country’s leadership.

Buzz Aldrin Released A Statment In Support Of New Space Initiatives.

“Statement from Buzz Aldrin: A New Direction in Space
Today I wish to endorse strongly the President’s new direction for NASA. As an
Apollo astronaut, I know the importance of always pushing new frontiers as we
explore space. The truth is, that we have already been to the Moon – some 40
years ago. A near-term focus on lowering the cost of access to space and on
developing key, cutting-edge technologies to take us further, faster, is just what our
Nation needs to maintain its position as the leader in space exploration for the rest
of this century. We need to be in this for the long haul, and this program will
allow us to again be pushing the boundaries to achieve new and challenging things
beyond Earth. I hope NASA will embrace this new direction as much as I do, and
help us all continue to use space exploration to drive prosperity and innovation
right here on Earth.
I also believe the steps we will be taking following the President’s direction will
best position NASA and other space agencies to send humans to Mars and other
exciting destinations as quickly as possible. To do that, we will need to support
many types of game-changing technologies NASA and its partners will be
developing. Mars is the next frontier for humankind, and NASA will be leading
the way there if we aggressively support the President’s plans.
Finally, I am excited to think that the development of commercial capabilities to
send humans into low earth orbit will likely result in so many more earthlings
being able to experience the transformative power of spaceflight. I can personally
attest to the fact that the experience results in a different perspective on life on
Earth, and on our future as a species. I applaud the President for working to make
this dream a reality.”
Buzz Aldrin
Feb. 1, 2010

NASA: Good night moon, hello new rocket technology

By SETH BORENSTEIN The Associated Press
Monday, February 1, 2010; 4:11 PM

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is redirecting America's space program, killing NASA's $100 billion plans to return astronauts to the moon and using much of that money for new rocket technology research.

The moon plan, which NASA had already spent $9.1 billion on, was based on old technology and revisiting old places astronauts had already been, officials said. The previous NASA chief, in selling the old moon plan, had even called it "Apollo on steroids." The rockets were based on space shuttle boosters.

"Simply put, we're putting the science back into the rocket science at NASA," White House science adviser John Holdren said at a budget briefing Monday.

The $4 billion that NASA spends yearly on human space exploration will now be used for what NASA and White House officials called dramatic changes in rocketry, including in-orbit fueling. They said eventually those new technologies would be used to send astronauts to a nearby asteroid, a brief foray back to the moon, or the Martian moons.

The White House plan was short on details, such as where astronauts would fly next, on what type of rocketship, or when. However, officials were quick to point out the failures of the Bush administration's moon program, called Constellation. It included the construction of two types of rockets, Ares I and Ares V, and an Orion crew capsule. All were canceled. Shutting down the program will cost about $2.5 billion, NASA said.

Former President George W. Bush proposed the moon mission after the Feb. 1, 2003, space shuttle Columbia disaster that claimed seven lives - exactly seven years ago Monday.

Besides redirecting money to new technologies, NASA is getting an extra $6 billion over five years to encourage companies to build private spaceships that NASA could rent. Many of those companies are run by Internet pioneers. The companies included in the pilot project include Blue Origin, which is run by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Another firm already building private rockets is run by PayPal founder Elon Musk.

NASA will also spend an additional $2.5 billion over five years for more research on how global warming is affecting Earth, including replacing a carbon dioxide monitoring satellite that crashed last year. NASA will also extend the life by several years of the International Space Station, which had been slated for retirement in 2016. NASA's yearly budget is $19 billion.

NASA said if the private companies work well on their unproven spaceships, astronauts could fly in them to the space station as soon as 2016. After the next five space shuttle flights, NASA will have to hitch rides to the space station on Russian rockets.

"The truth is we were not on a sustainable path to get back to the moon," NASA administrator Charles Bolden said in a telephone conference call. "We were neglecting investments in key technologies."

Congressional officials howled over lost programs and jobs, but it is hard for Congress to save such a large program that is being cut with redistributed money.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., called the cancellation of the moon program the "death march for the future of U.S. human space flight."

---

AP Aerospace Writer Marcia Dunn contributed to this report from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Missiles Over Newfoundland? Mystery Continues!

Click Here For Video News Reports

CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Thu. Jan. 28 2010 6:01 PM ET

No one seems to know what two neighbors saw off the coast of Newfoundland earlier this week, but the two are convinced three large bullet-like objects were missiles. And they have photos they say prove it.

It all began around 5 p.m. Monday when Darlene Stewart of Harbour Mille, N.L., was outside snapping photos of a sunset, when she saw a long, thin glimmering object in the sky that appeared as if it came out of water.

The photos she took show a thin object shooting into the air, with a tail of fire and smoke.

She called her neighbour Emmy Pardy, who went to get binoculars for a closer look.

“I went out on the patio and I zoomed in and I saw a humungous bullet, silver-grey in colour and it had flames coming out of the bottom and a trail of smoke,” Pardy told CTV.ca.

“I said to Darlene my God, this looks like it’s a missile or something.”

Stewart and Pardy said the objects were visible in the sky for about 15 minutes.

The women say they watched in fear and thought that a missile could be heading their way.

“I was sick to my stomach,” Stewart said. “If it was a missile, what goes up does come down, but where is it going to land?”

“If I hadn’t taken the pictures, they’d figure it was just another UFO sighting.”

Liberal Sen. George Baker said that the direction of the missiles suggests a launch from nearby St-Pierre-Miquelon, which is French territory.

If true, Baker said such a launch could contravene international sovereignty rules. He added that Ottawa should be treating the situation seriously.

“Knowing that France has territory within our 200 mile (320 kilometre) zone in Canada, they should at least ask the French, ‘Look, are you launching these missiles?’ Because if they are, (and) everybody is denying knowledge of it, then the laws have been broken.”

Agence France Presse reported that France fired a missile on Wednesday – not Monday – and it was launched from Bay of Audierne in Northwestern France.

In a statement, the French Defence Ministry said the missile was fired from the submarine “Le Terrible.”

No answers

Neither government officials, nor the RCMP are providing answers as to what the objects could be.

Stewart says RCMP told her it was a missile, but RCMP would not confirm details with CTV News, Thursday.

Newfoundland RCMP spokesperson Helen Cleary-Escott said no debris has been found.

“The RCMP has concluded it’s an unexplained sighting. It’s our final conclusion,” she said.

“If there’s any new stuff that comes in, we’ll follow up on it.”

She referred all calls to Public Safety Canada, which did not immediately respond to CTV’s calls Thursday.

A spokesman for the Canadian Forces said they there have been no planned missile exercises off the seaboard.

"There's no threat to the security of Canada," Maj. Jason Proulx said from Ottawa.

Dimitri Soudas, a spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said in an email that "there is no indication that there was ever a rocket launch."

Gerry Byrne, the MP for Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte, is demanding to know if the objects were, in fact, missiles.

He wants to know whether the government knew about it and failed to inform residents, or was simply not told.

“The RCMP provided an initial report that it was some sort of rocketry that initiated from France,” he said.

“They subsequently retracted that story.”

Byrne told CTV News Channel that he wants to know whether radar picked up the objects, and whether civil aviation authorities were informed.

“This is a major flyway for transatlantic aircraft,” he said. Thousands of flights pass over the area each day.

“If (a missile) had failed and the rocket descended to earth, were reasonable steps taken to protect life and property?”

If the objects were in fact, missiles, Stewart and Pardy also want to know whether the military was informed that they were going to be launched.

The photos created a media firestorm in Newfoundland, and Stewart said her phone is ringing off the hook.

Spaceflight Now | Breaking News | Musk refutes report slamming safety standards

Musk refutes report slamming safety standards
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: January 19, 2010

A commercial space pioneer and a former astronaut are answering claims by an independent advisory panel that private companies do not meet NASA human-rating standards and last year's presidential review of the space program did not adequately consider safety.

In an annual report released Friday, the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, or ASAP, said it would be "unwise" to abandon NASA's Ares 1 rocket and turn to private companies to transport astronauts to low Earth orbit. The board said potential commercial crew transportation providers do not meet NASA safety standards for piloted vehicles.

Elon Musk stands with a Falcon 9 first stage during tests at Cape Canaveral in January 2009. Credit: SpaceX

Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corp., said his company's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon space capsule were designed to meet NASA's published human-rating standards.

In an interview Monday, Musk responded to the ASAP findings and recommendations.

"I have to say I've lost a lot of respect for the ASAP panel," Musk said. "If they are to say such things, then they ought to say it on the basis of data, not on random speculation."

SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp. are developing the Dragon and Cygnus spacecraft, plus new launch vehicles, under a NASA contract to deliver equipment to the International Space Station beginning next year.

The ASAP report said neither company "is [human] qualified, despite some claims and beliefs to the contrary."

According to Musk, the panel's findings are "bizarre." He says the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft "meet all of NASA's published human-rating requirements, apart from the escape systems."

"They've spent almost no time at SpaceX," Musk said. "They've not reviewed our data. They have no idea what what our margins are, and what is and what isn't human-rated."

The safety panel was established by Congress following the Apollo 1 launch pad fire that took the lives of three astronauts in 1967. Since then, the board has been an independent voice on astronaut safety issues for NASA.

The Ares 1 rocket is part of the agency's Constellation program aimed at returning humans to the moon. The moon program is in danger of being slashed or revamped by President Obama in the coming weeks.

"The Ares 1 is a paper rocket that's far off in the future," Musk said. "Falcon 9 is a real rocket, most of which is at Cape Canaveral right now."

The Falcon 9 is set for its maiden launch no earlier than March 3, but that is a tentative date and is likely to slip, according to SpaceX officials.

The ASAP report cited the Ares 1 design's emphasis on safety to back up its findings, saying NASA should not cancel the program unless commercial alternatives are on equal or better safety footing.

The panel also criticized the presidential review team that last year presented the White House with eight options for the space program's future. Most of the Augustine commission's alternatives involved scrapping the Ares 1 and turning to commercial providers for astronauts in the near-term.

The ASAP report said the Augustine committee made premature and oversimplified assumptions about safety. Members of the review board say safety was not in the scope of the Augustine commission's work.

"We did not feel it was appropriate for our committee to define what should be the specific safety criteria for commercial crew access, but that it was up to NASA and other regulatory agencies to make this determination," said Leroy Chiao, a member of the Augustine commission, in a response to written questions.

Chiao is also a former astronaut and a Spaceflight Now contributor.

"We stated that commercial crew access should be pursued, with an acceptable level of safety, defined by the appropriate agencies," Chiao said.

The safety panel is chaired by retired Navy Admiral Joseph Dyer. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden was a member of the board until July, when he stepped down to take the helm at NASA.

Spaceflight Now | Breaking News | Musk refutes report slamming safety standards

Paavo John Rahkonen dies at age 79

Saturday, January 16, 2010



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Paavo John Rahkonen 1930-2009

OGDEN, Utah USA — After three years of battling a rare incurable blood disease, American solid rocket propulsion pioneer Paavo John Rahkonen died December 16th, 2009.

Rahkonen was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 6th, 1930, the second child of Paarly Johannes Rahkonen and Linda Lujunen, Finnish nationals who immigrated to the United States from Finland.

After he graduated from Bay Ridge High School in Brooklyn, his educational journey would see Rahkonen studying at the U.S.A.F. Institute of Technology as well as the University of Tennessee and the Polytechnic Institute of New York University.

As a child, young Rahkonen was shaken by the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, an act that would shape his future career path. His motivation was to build rockets in hopes of literally leaving the planet, seeking answers from wiser extraterrestrial beings who could instruct the people on Earth how to live in peace.

Rahkonen joined the U.S. Air Force in January of 1948 and then left the service in 1954.  He went on to work with the Republic Aviation Corporation of New York, the Curtiss-Wright Corporation of New Jersey and the Martin Company, now know as Lockheed Martin, in Denver, Colorado.  Ultimately, Rahkonen would end up Morton-Thiokol in Utah, where he directed research and development of their rocket propellant development laboratory, and is credited with being the person who developed the solid rocket motor propellent currently used in the detachable boosters of the NASA Space Shuttle. 

A scene from "Ihmeellinen viesti toiselta tähdeltä" pictures a passionate rocketeer. Photo: International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.

Rahkonen's work with ammonium perchlorate composite propellant would eventually trickle down into the hobby rocketry community. G. Harry Stine, commonly referred to as the father of hobby rocketry, introduced the hobby community to Rahkonen in a 1963 issue of American Modeler magazine with the mention of a new model rocket company called Scientific Amateur Supply Company (SASCO), located in Ogden, Utah.

SASCO would go on become Propulsion Dynamics, more commonly known in the hobby as Prodyne, which would bring three model rockets to the market; the Swift, Swallow and Skylark. In addition to the three kits were three black power rocket motors; a D2, an E2 and an F2, called "Cyclone" motors, utilizing plastic cases and ceramic nozzles. Rahkonen and Prodyne would eventually go on to develop and market a K700 composite high power rocket motor that was available in the early 90's.

Rahkonen's history with rocket propellant and the ties to other model rocketry luminaries from the past were a direct result of his employment at Thiokol's solid rocket propellant plant in Brigham City, Utah, where he worked with Irving S. Wait and George Roos, creating composite rocket motors used in the United States' intercontinental ballistic missile program.  Wait was the founder of Rocket Development Corporation (RDC), the creator of the Enerjet composite model rocket motors, and Roos founded Flight Systems, Inc. (FSI).

An industrial accident while employed at Thiokol would wreck Rahkonen's career and leave his health in tatters, something he attributed to working with so many exotic chemicals used in rocket propellant. Rahkonen retired from Thiokol in 1990.

In 1998, Rahkonen's somewhat unusual perspective on life inspired a short documentary film entitled "Ihmeellinen viesti toiselta tähdeltä," which translates into "A Strange Message from Another Star." The film, directed and produced by Veli Granö of Finland, received several awards abroad.

Rahkonen is survived by his wife Francoise of Ogden, Utah, five children, thirteen grandchildren and six great grandchildren. A memorial service in celebration of his life is being planned for the spring or early summer of 2010.

Paavo John Rahkonen was 79.

From: Rocketry Planet News

The X-37B and Beyond. The Future of the Space Plane

I have been wondering why the USAF created the X-37B? Why has the USAF and NASA gone in separate directions when it comes to accessing space. Basically it boils down to the mission and the money. The USAF is looking for faster turnaround of unmanned missions to LEO and futuristic semi-suborbital once around atmospheric skip missions. Where NASA's mission is to launch men to the Moon. Then there is the budget. While the USAF's is black and deep. NASA's is public and gets tighter by the minute. So this is what drives the USAF into cutting edge futuristic space planes and why NASA has gone back to the monkey in the capsule approach.

So you may be asking yourself. What's the future hold for the space plane once the shuttle retires? Well I am pleased to inform you that there is a bright future ahead and it involves some serious new hypersonic technologies. Air breathing scram jets, Reusable first stages that fly back and land on a runway autonomously. Yes my friends the future is bright when your pockets are deep.

So here it is. The USAF's master plan for orbital and suborbital access. This is the future. The FAST program. A must read document.

Fully Reusable Access to Space Technology (PDF)



New military space shuttle technology
Dec 28, 2009 02:12 GMT - Multimedia
A 4-percent model of the Fully-Reusable Access to Space Technology (FAST) proof-of-concept launch vehicle underwent aerodynamic testing in Arnold Engineering Development Center’s von Kàrmàn Gas Dynamics Facility (VKF) Supersonic Wind Tunnel A.

FAST is an Air ForceResearch Laboratory initiative to methodically mature the technologiesrequired for next generation operationally responsive space access – an Air Force Space Command mission. Program goals andrequirements are delineated as well as technology approaches. Theacquisition strategy matures key technologies in ground experimentsthrough 2011, and then integrates the experiments into a subscale Xaircraftfor ground or potentially flight test by 2013. The airframeexperiment includes propellant tanks, structure and thermal protectionsystems fabricated and tested at the X-aircraft scale.

Preps Continue Toward a Targeted Feb. 7 Launch

Preps Continue Toward a Targeted Feb. 7 Launch
Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:28:37 AM CST

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers at Launch Pad 39A began loading fuel into space shuttle Endeavour's orbital maneuvering system and auxiliary power units. The process is expected to be completed today.

Payload for the STS-130 mission, consisting of the Italian-built Tranquility node and its attached cupola, will be transported to the pad beginning at 4 a.m. EST Saturday. Once there, it will be lifted and stored in the payload changeout room.

Near NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick and Robert Behnken will be immersed in the massive pool in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab to practice techniques for their first spacewalk.

Meanwhile, Commander George Zamka and Pilot Terry Virts will practice shuttle landings at White Sands Space Harbor in Las Cruces, N.M., in the Shuttle Training Aircraft.

New Materials Designed To Deal With Hypersonic And Supersonic Hot Stuff

ROCKET SCIENCE
New Materials Designed To Deal With Hypersonic And Supersonic Hot Stuff

Hypersonic vehicle in the upper atmosphere travelling at Mach 8, indicating heating in the leading edges and inside the vehicle. Source: Professor Michael Smart, Professor John Drennan, David Yu of The University of Queensland.

University of Queensland researchers are testing new materials to withstand the extreme heat experienced by hypersonic vehicles in flight so they can fly for substantially longer.
Previous Australian experimental flight tests of scramjets, a type of very fast jet engine, have not lasted longer than five seconds.

The tests, conducted at Woomera in South Australia over the past eight years, have used scramjet engines made of conventional materials which have problems with extreme heat including melting, and are not designed for re-use.

However, further experimental tests are planned in 2011 through to 2013 in the HiFIRE series at Woomera using free-flying engines and eventually, a whole free-flying vehicle which will generate enough thrust to fly for a minute.

The leader of UQ's Hyshot scramjet experiment program and UQ Professor in Hypersonic Propulsion, Professor Michael Smart said the project was testing new composite materials for the longer flights at Mach 8 (eight times the speed of sound).

"If they can fly for a minute, they can fly for an hour," he said.

"A scramjet-powered vehicle could fly between London and Australia in two hours so we're looking at materials that can survive hypersonic speeds for longer periods."

[Hypersonics is the study of flight speeds faster than Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound or more than twice as fast as the Concorde). Supersonic speed is greater than Mach 1, while modern commercial airliners fly below the speed of sound. ]

Professor Smart said the research was particularly looking at new materials for leading edges, the parts of the wings that first contact the air.

In high speed aircraft, air friction can cause extreme heating of the leading edge - temperatures on the surface of an object travelling at Mach 5 can reach 1000 degrees C (1800 deg F). These high temperatures can not be sustained by most materials.

Another challenging problem area is inside the scramjet engine, which must handle a corrosive mix of hot oxygen and combustion products, as well as high thermal, mechanical and acoustic loadings.

At higher speeds the temperatures can be even more extreme - for example at Mach 8 the temperatures can reach 2700 degress C at the leading edge and 3000 degrees C in the engine combustion chamber.

Extreme heating of the leading edge was the cause of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident during re-entry in 2003. The accident was preceded by damage to protective tiles on the leading edge which occurred during takeoff.

Professor Smart said hypersonic propulsion heating problems could be overcome through the selection of materials, as well as design and cooling arrangements.

He is working with ceramic composite materials pioneer Professor John Drennan, Director of UQ's Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, and postdoctoral researchers Dr James Turner and Dr Anna Lashtabeg on the current project. Student David Yu (School of ITEE,eResearch Centre) has prepared animations showing processes occurring at extreme temperatures.

Professor Drennan is looking at a number of concepts to enable hypersonics vehicles to handle extreme heat for prolonged periods.

One of the concepts that is looking promising is to design materials which ablate at high temperature. However, unlike the usual systems where material is lost to the surroundings, this new material is able to replenish the lost material through microstructural design.

"The technologies we are developing will have application anywhere where performance is needed from materials in high temperature environments for long periods," he said.

"Some potential uses for the new materials might include in power plants and for exhaust nozzles of jet engines."

Professor Drennan said the technologies developed would benefit Australian industry by providing further capabilities in materials science.

"Australian industries will be able to build components of aircraft, rather than having to import these materials from the U.S. and Europe," he said.

The $1.5 million project is led by UQ and also involves The University of Melbourne, Swinburne University of Technology, BAE Systems, DSTO and ANSTO. It has received $700,000 funding from the newly formed Defence Materials Technology Centre as well as in-kind funding from UQ.

Constellation Year in Review

While I haven't been a big fan of the Constellation program. There still have been many accomplishments made over the last year that deserve recognition. So I am posting the following video in recognition of those that sacrificed over the last year to get the program off the drawing board. Enjoy.

X-51A WaveRider Gets Airborne

The US Air Force Research Laboratory's X-51A WaveRider scramjet engine demonstrator completed its first captive-carry flight under the wing of its B-52H mothership from Edwards AFB on Dec. 9. The first free flight is planned for mid-February.

The B-52 climbed to the planned launch altitude of 50,000ft during a 1.4h flight that checked out systems and telemetry. The next flight, planned for mid-January, will be a full dress-rehearsal for the first of four planned X-51A hypersonic test flights.

The Boeing-built X-51A will be released at 50,000ft over the Pacific and accelerated to Mach 4.5 by a solid rocket booster. The cruiser will then separate and its hydrocarbon-fuelled scramjet, developed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, will ignite and run for about 300 seconds, accelerating the vehicle to Mach 6.

That's the plan, anyway, and the Air Force has four shots to prove that practical hypersonic propulsion is a reality. Tests of the fuel-cooled scramjet have gone well on the ground, but a lot is riding on the X-51A. If it succeeds, missile and other applications could quickly follow. If it fails, hypersonics could be set back for years.

From: Aviation Week / Posted by: Graham Warwick

Spring 2010 Battle of the Rockets scheduled for March 27

CULPEPER, Virginia USA — The 2010 Battle of the Rockets Competition is scheduled for March 27, 2010, in Culpeper, Virginia, where Tripoli Central Virginia will be hosting eleven participating teams.

The participating teams are from University of Texas Arlington, Oklahoma State University, Shippensburg University, Fauqier High School, Cosby High School, Thomas Jefferson High School, with two teams coming from the University of Cincinnati and three teams coming from Chantilly High School as part of the Federation of Galaxy Explorers (www.foge.org).

The Spring Competition, which is open to high schools, universities, and community colleges, consists of three events:

• The G class altitude event with a minimum altitude of 2281 feet has eight teams competing;
• The H class altitude event with a minimum altitude of 6201 feet has six teams competing; and
• The planetary rover event where teams design and launch a rocket/rover combination has five teams competing.

For more information on the competition, go to http://www.rocketbattle.org.

New Zealand Has Joined The Commercial Space Race

[Click Here For Video of the Launch]
[Click Here For Video of the News Report on the Rocket]

New Zealand has entered the space age, blasting a rocket into space just after 2pm on Monday from a launch pad on Great Mercury Island off the Coromandel Coast.

The successful launch came after a day of delays.

In a puff of smoke, Atea-1 accelerated to five times the speed of sound, leaving Great Mercury Island for the great unknown.

At daybreak the weather conditions had been perfect for lift-off. The rocket sat centre stage while the man who paid for it, Mark Rocket, sat in the paddock above.

As the rocket scientists worked from a special underground bunker, a crowd of onlookers gathered together, but the last minute the rocket's final checks didn't check-out after an aerocoupler, which connects the fuel line to the rocket, froze.

A three hour delay became a seven hour delay, but an emergency flight to the mainland brought a replacement part for the rocket's jammed valve and the launch finally went ahead.

Sir Michael Fay, owner of Great Mercury Island, was impressed.

"Boy, it just took off. I think it was hard to comprehend that it could go that fast," says Fay.

Another spectator says the blast-off was absolutely awesome.

"I thought at minus one countdown, she was a fizzer because all I could see was a spark coming out the bottom. And then it just disappeared. It hit the afterburners before the tree tops I reckon," he says.

And with a successful launch now complete the next blast-off could carry anything from someone's ashes to a space age advertising message.

The launch company, Rocket Lab Ltd, started up three years ago with the aim of developing a series of Atea rockets that would make space more accessible, Mark Rocket says.

"This is the first step in a long journey," he says.

The six-metre-long craft should reach speeds of up to Mach 5, flying 120km into the air, before splashing down in the sea, where it will be picked up.

Atea is the Maori word for space as the team wanted an indigenous name for the rockets.

The first rocket Atea-1 has been named Manu Karere by the local Thames iwi, which means Bird Messenger.

The payload from New Zealand's first home-grown space rocket is floating somewhere off the Coromandel coast following this afternoon's successful launch.

Rocket Lab's six-metre-long, 60kg rocket Atea-1 was launched about 2.30pm from Great Mercury Island, watched by about 50 people.

It burned for 20 seconds or so, reaching its target speed of up to Mach 5, or 5000kmh, reaching at least 100km altitude and spending between 10 and 20 minutes in the sky before splashing down.

It is the first time a privately-owned rocket has been launched in the southern hemisphere.

Atea is the Maori word for space as the team wanted an indigenous name for the rocket.

Monday's rocket was named Manu Karere by the local Thames iwi, which means Bird Messenger.

The target area for the launch was about 50km northeast of the island.

The team hope to pick the rocket's payload up within the next two days and physically recover its data.

Rocket Lab was now waiting for the payload's GPS signal to be picked up, company director Mark Rocket said.

That could depend on the waves or how buoyant the payload finally was when it splashed down, he said.

The team would not know how high the rocket reached, but with a new nose cone Rocket speculated it could have reached as high as 150km.

That height was suborbital, but it was still considered to be space as there was no atmosphere.

The International Space Station was about 300km above Earth, Rocket said.

Rocket, who changed his name from Mark Stevens about seven years ago, said the crew was very, very pleased with the launch, which was originally scheduled for about 7am on Monday.

However, an aerocoupler, which connects the fuel line to the rocket, froze, effectively sticking the rocket to its launch pad.

A helicopter was dispatched from the launch site to Whitianga to pick up another hydraulic coupling - worth about $6 - from an engineering supplier.

"We nearly scrubbed the launch three times," Rocket said.

The fuel had to be dumped and the rocket refilled.

"Peter Beck (Rocket Lab's chief executive and technical director) is a brilliant scientist and he managed to think quickly on his feet."

Mr Rocket said the feeling after the launch was profound and one of pure elation, incredible.

"A lot of people were crying. It was really dramatic. The power of the rocket is just incredible."

Rocket said the cost of the project so far was commercially sensitive.

Rocket Labs, which was set up three years ago, did not have any government investment. While it did not have the budget of NASA needless to say it's a considerable investment, he said.

"The last six months have been a terrific amount of work. The tech team has put in a massive effort.

"It's not trivial sending something into space. This is a huge technological leap for New Zealand."

The next step after recovering the payload would be planning for the next launch, he said.

Rocket Lab was a space launch business and there was massive interest in the company's products from around the world, he said.

While the Atea-1 is New Zealand's first home-grown and privately-funded space rocket it is not the first to be launched from these shores.

In 1963 an imported rocket was launched to a height of about 75km to conduct upper atmospheric research in a joint venture between Canterbury University's physics department and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

It was launched from Birdlings Flat, 44km southeast of Christchurch, spent about 2 1/2 minutes airborne and landed in the sea.

Air Force space plane shooting for April launch

In a response to written questions, an Air Force spokesperson said the unmanned spaceship is scheduled for launch April 19 on an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

The winged X-37B, also named the Orbital Test Vehicle, is managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office under the direct supervision of the secretary of the Air Force and the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics.

The photos were published by Air & Space Magazine and provided to Spaceflight Now by the Air Force.

Air Force officials declined earlier requests for interviews on the mission.

"The Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office expedites development and fielding of select Department of Defense combat support and weapon systems by leveraging defense-wide technology development efforts and existing operational capabilities," the unit's mission statement says.

The spacecraft measures more than 29 feet long and nine-and-a-half feet tall. Its wingspan is 14 feet, 11 inches, and it will weigh about 11,000 pounds at launch, according to an Air Force fact sheet.

The OTV will be shrouded inside a bulbous five-meter diameter payload fairing for launch. The Atlas 5 rocket will fly in the 501 configuration with the large nose cone, no solid rocket boosters and a single engine Centaur upper stage.

The military is tight-lipped on the demonstrator's payload for the April mission, but the Air Force says it will test space technologies and prove concepts for small reusable spacecraft.

The OTV spacecraft is currently awaiting launch at its factory at Boeing Phantom Works in California. The vehicle is integrated and ready for shipment to Cape Canaveral two months before launch, according to Andrew Bourland, a spokesperson for the secretary of the Air Force.

Officials say the biggest challenge of late has been securing a launch opportunity on the Eastern Range. One more Atlas 5 rocket is in the queue ahead of the OTV mission.

"There are no spacecraft threats to the schedule," Bourland said.

The Air Force has also not disclosed the length of the OTV's mission in space. The ship will glide to an autonomous re-entry and landing at the end of its flight, most likely at a lengthy runway modified for the space shuttle at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

The spacecraft completed a series of captive carry and free flight tests in 2006 underneath the privately-owned White Knight aircraft from Scaled Composites. Taxi tests were conducted at Vandenberg in 2007.

Today, Monday Nov 16th, at 1:28PM CST, Space Shuttle Atlantis will be launched into low earth orbit where it will rendezvous
with the International Space Station to deliver a heavy payload of spare equipment. With the shuttle program being ended in
a few years, only a few scheduled missions remain before America loses it's ability to launch citizens into space, requiring
us to rely on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft for several years (perhaps as long as a decade) before our newest fleet of rockets
is ready to blast off.

On board the STS-129 will be carrying "two pump modules, two control moment gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, an
ammonia tank assembly, a high-pressure gas tank, a latching end effector for the station’s robotic arm and a trailing umbilical
system reel assembly for the railroad cart that allows the arm to move along the station’s truss system. There’s also a power
control unit, a plasma container unit, a cargo transportation container and a battery charge/discharge unit. In all, that’s
27,250 pounds worth of spares to keep the station going long after the shuttles retire."

So strap in, take a five minute break and watch as we launch several tons of equipment, and several people off of our planet
at 1,020.87 meters per second.

Streaming .TV shows by Ustream

Assembly of Soyuz’ mobile gantry is now underway at the Spaceport

November 12, 2009

The assembly process has begun for Soyuz’ mobile gantry at the Spaceport, which will enable the integration of payloads with Soyuz in the vertical position.

The new Soyuz operating base in French Guiana is entering final preparations for Arianespace’s inauguration of commercial missions next year, with the facility’s launch pad undergoing final outfitting and acceptance, and assembly now underway for its mobile gantry.

This activity is continuing apace as the first two Soyuz 2-1a launchers are en route from Russia to French Guiana for an arrival later this month aboard the MN Colibri roll-on/roll-off transport ship.


The Spaceport’s new Soyuz launch site is nearly identical to the legendary vehicle’s long-operating facilities at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia – retaining the simplicity and robustness demonstrated in more than 1,740 missions performed from these two continental locations.

One key difference is the Spaceport’s 52-meter-tall mobile gantry, which will be rolled out to the launch pad for Soyuz’ payload integration and final pre-liftoff processing. This allows for the vertical installation of payloads atop the launch vehicle, which is typical in Western operations, rather than the horizontal procedures used in Soyuz operations from the Baikonur and Plesetsk Cosmodromes. It also provides a controlled environment for the launcher, and enables customer access to the payload when required prior to final countdown.

The gantry is designed to be relatively lightweight for a structure of this type – weighing approximately 800 metric tons, according to Bruno Gerard, who is Arianespace’s project head for Soyuz at the Spaceport. In comparison, the mobile gantry previously used for Ariane 4 missions at French Guiana weighed about 4,000 metric tons.

In its retracted position, the Soyuz gantry is parked 80 meters away from the launcher, removing any potential influence on the launch pad’s acoustic environment during liftoff, Gerard said.

One of the mobile gantry’s four-wheel bogies is positioned on its track, which leads to the Soyuz launch pad – visible in the background.

During Arianespace mission campaigns at the Spaceport, Soyuz’ preparation flow begins with horizontal assembly of the basic vehicle in a dedicated launcher integration building (which is known by its Russian designation, MIK). Using the typical process employed in decades of Soyuz operations, this horizontal build-up involves its four first-stage strap-on boosters, the Block A core stage and the Block I third stage.

Once integration is completed, the launch vehicle is transported horizontally to the launch zone, and then raised to the vertical position over the concrete launch pad.

Processing of the Soyuz launcher’s upper component begins with electrical testing and checkout of its Fregat upper stage, which is performed in the MIK. Fregat then will move to the Spaceport’s S3B preparation building, where it is to be loaded with propellant. This is followed by integration with the mission's satellite passenger, and the process is completed with their encapsulation inside the payload fairing. The finalized upper component will be transferred by road from the S3B building to the launch pad, and lifted 39 meters for mating with the launch vehicle inside the gantry.

A few hours before launch, the Soyuz’ first, second and third stages will be fueled while the mobile gantry is still in position around the launcher. At 1.5 hours before liftoff, the gantry will roll back to its parked location.

Gerard said the overall equipment outfitting for the Spaceport’s multi-level Soyuz launch table is nearly complete. Current activity is focused on the ongoing installation of gas, fluids and electrical systems, as well as the acceptance process for various elements of the mission system equipment.

New Video Of My Rocket The Max Attack Flying At High Cotton On October 24th, 2009

This video was shot from three different cameras. One was a pad cam setup by Nathan Mumphrey. The rocket is my Performance Rocketry Competitor 5 "The Max Attack" The motor was a Loki Research M1200 "Sparky". It was a awesome day and this was one awesome flight. This is probably the closest I have ever been to a big motor being fired. It was an incredible experience that is impossible to describe. The ground shakes and the sound echoing off the surrounding terrain is amazing. Anyone that has witnessed this knows what I am talking about. The only thing it could possibly be compared to is a Top Fuel Dragster. I hope you enjoy this video as much as I enjoyed making it. Don't forget to CRANK IT UP!

Ares 1X Booster Hits Hard After Chute Does Not Inflate

No wonder the booster had a huge dent in it. That chute just shreds. I guess it's back to the drawing board for the chute department.

My Launch Report From High Cotton Oct. 24-25 2009

What a weekend! We had a great launch with lot's of memorable flights. Here is a list of my successes and failures.

My first flight was my Apogee Aspire. I had loaded it up with a G79W single use motor. When the button was pushed the rocket exploded off the pad. Then about 10 feet off the rod the nozzle blew and the rocket fell backwards and landed hard on the ground. the body tube had suffered a crease just above the motor. The rest of the rocket looked to be in good shape so I loaded it backup with a G78G motor and made a second attempt. This time the failure was much more spectacular. The rocket ripped off the pad and got up about 500ft and proceeded to disassemble it's self back into a kit. As it rained back down as rocket confetti I couldn't help but think about rebuilding this kit. I really like small fast rockets. I got the nose cone back so it will be built again.





It was time to move on to bigger and better things. I started prepping my rocket "The Max Attack". This is my 5" Performance Rocketry Competitor Five. I had loaded it up with a 75/6000 Loki M1200 sparky motor. After packing the chute and shear pinning the nose cone I loaded it up on the pad. The rocket weights about 40lbs and is tough to get on the pad by myself. Thanks to Bou Button for helping me get it on the rail. We had everything set. Altimeters armed, igniters hooked up. When the button was pushed nothing happen. Clarence pushed it again and nothing. "Check the igniter." Again nothing. There's is something about a big rocket when it's just sitting on the pad and won't launch that will rattle the coolest of nerves. But patients and experience prevailed as we practically rewired the whole launch controller only to find the clip whip was at fault. We changed out the leads and we were back in business. This time the count down ended in lots of smoke, fire and a load roar. The rocket rose off the rail spitting hot molten Titanium sparks and thick black smoke. This motor has a progressive thrust profile starting off at about 250lbs. So the lift off was slow. Then it ramps up to a peak of 350lbs 2 seconds into the burn. So it made for a spectacular lift off as it left the pad and then accelerated through the 4.5 second burn.























Now that the burn was complete. The rocket coasted to an apogee of over 8,200'. It arced over perfectly visible against the crystal clear blue sky. As I was starting to hold my breath the first apogee charge blew. The rocket separated in two and started the long fall to 1,000' were the main deployed right on cue. The rocket settled down in the field 50 yds. off the road. The flight was perfect but the rocket had picked a mud bog to land in. All was recovered with out incident, except for a muddy pair of shoes. That was it for me on Saturday.

Saturday night we all met at the Mexican restaurant at the Motel. We all enjoyed a nice dinner and swapped war stories.

Sunday morning was another perfect day. I decided to fly my scratch build rocket Research 3 with the camera payload. I chose a J350 as the motor since I was trying to get a good picture of the rocket under the 72" custom Spherachute parachute for there web site. The flight was perfect and produced another awesome on-board video. Even though the camera cut off at main deployment. I think the record button got pressed by the bracket that holds the camera down. The camera seems to be in working order. I even got a great picture of the rocket under main for there website.



Now it was time for my GPS experiment. I flew it in my Little Dog. It was suppose to be an I357B but turned out to be an I245G. I picked up the wrong reload. Oh well. This turned out to be the least of my problems. The GPS device is a Boost mobile cell phone. The phone was mounted in the nose cone directly above the altimeter. After I armed the altimeter on the pad and was hooking up the igniter the altimeter kept resetting. Hmmm. I scratched my head. Then pulled the rocket off the pad and back to the work table. I disassembled the altimeter bay and found nothing wrong. I changed some wires and put it all back together. This time after I armed the altimeter and was hooking up the igniters. BOOM! The charge blew. Luckily I was down on my knees hooking up the igniters and didn't get the charge in my face. But it scared me half to death. After I regained my composure I decided to go with motor deployment. I knew it would be a less then favorable deployment since it would be way short of a delay. But It's a tough little rocket and I knew it could take the abuse. So I loaded the charge and proceeded with the flight.

The rocket was on the pad and I was at the computer screen tracking the GPS signal. The button was pushed and the rocket headed up on a pretty green flame. Oops that's suppose to be blue. Then as the rocket rose I noticed the GPS signal had stopped. The rocket quickly headed to 3,600' and deployed hard. When I recovered it I found the cell phone was off. I tried to turn it on. nothing happen. It's dead. After reviewing everything I found it was the phone that was causing the altimeter to reset and ultimately blowing the charge on the pad. Then it was the G force of launch the killed the phone. Over all the experiment was a failure but lessons were learned and the phone is being replaced under warranty. Next time I will separate the phone from the altimeter and it will be protected from the excessive G force.

Hope to see you at a launch soon!