Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

May 31, 2014

NASA faces identity crisis, funding battle
Washington (UPI) May 30, 2013
As NASA funding continue to dissipate, space agency officials are left trying - frustratingly - to figure out what's worth paying for. And the Spitzer Space Telescope is just the latest in a growing list of defunded and soon-to-be-extinct projects. Since the Apollo missions to the moon ended in 1973, NASA's budget has steadily declined - from 1.35 percent of the federal government's total expenditures to less than 0.6 percent today. Although the 2014 budget recovered a small portion of previ ... read more

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SpaceX unveils capsule to ferry astronauts to space A sleek, white gumdrop-shaped space capsule that aims to carry up to seven astronauts to the International Space Station and return to land anywhere on Earth was unveiled Thursday by SpaceX. ... more		Earth's gravitational pull stretches moon surface Anyone who's been to the beach - and seen the ocean's tides - knows the moon's gravitational effects on Earth are rather obvious. The effects of Earth's gravitational pull on the moon are less apparent. ... more		Apollo 13 astronaut's toothbrush sells for $11,794 A toothbrush used by one of the American astronauts who flew to the Moon was sold at auction for nearly $12,000, or triple the starting bid, the auction house said Friday. ... more
				Engineers reconnect with ISEE-3, retired NASA probe Engineers with Skycorp, Inc. - the Los Gatos, California-based group attempting to reconnect with a retired NASA probe first launched in the 1970s - announced Thursday they had successfully established contact with International Sun-Earth Explorer-3, or ISEE-3. ... more		Sending entangled beams through fast-light materials Michael Lewis's bestselling book "Flash Boys" describes how some brokers, engaging in high frequency trading, exploit fast telecommunications to gain fraction-of-a-second advantage in the buying and ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

Velociraptor robot almost as fast as robotic rival Cheetah Luckily for Usain Bolt, robots aren't allowed to compete for gold medals. If they were, the new Velociraptor robot designed by researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, might force Bolt to settle for silver - or bronze if Raptor's robotic rival Cheetah raced, too. ... more		Virgin space flights cleared for US take-off Richard Branson's dream of commercial space flights took a step nearer reality after Virgin Galactic signed a deal with US aviation authorities to let it blast paying customers into space, the company said Thursday. ... more		US lawmaker warns of military 'misunderstanding' risk with China Spain approves 'total' arms embargo against Israel Khamenei says Iran 'won't yield' to pressure to abandon uranium enrichment		Russian Soyuz with New Crew Docks at ISS in Automatic Mode A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying a trio of crew members docked automatically with the International Space Station on Thursday, some six hours after the launch, a spokesman for the Russian space a ... more
				Six-Person Station Crew Enjoys Day Off Following Docking Following a marathon day that saw the launch and docking of three new crewmates, the fully staffed Expedition 40 crew of the International Space Station enjoyed a day off Thursday to rest and rechar ... more		NASA Missions Let Scientists See Moon's Dancing Tide From Orbit Scientists combined observations from two NASA missions to check out the moon's lopsided shape and how it changes under Earth's sway - a response not seen from orbit before. The team drew on s ... more

William Cress Corporation - We Build To Last

UAV Payloads 2014, 24 - 25 June - London, UK

Startup in the Land of the Rising Sun; A Japanese Solar Venture - by Bradley L. Bartz

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst arrives at ISS A Soyuz spacecraft launched last night from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan docked with the International Space Station in the early hours of this morning. Onboard were ESA astronaut Alexander Ger ... more		Simulation Practices First Flight of New Orion Program In just a matter of months, NASA will send a new spacecraft into space for the first time. And back here on the ground, the Mission Control Center in Houston will be at the helm. "It's the fir ... more		Typhoon Ragasa hits south China after killing 15 in Taiwan Toxic homes a lasting legacy of Los Angeles fires Climate change causing havoc with global water cycle: UN		Why Does Earth Have No Super-Earth Cousins? New discoveries of many super-Earth planets orbiting very close to sun-like stars have started to make Earth's solar system look a little lonely. The mystery of why Earth ended up without any super- ... more
				Million-dollar Kavli prizes split among nine scientists Nine scientists have been awarded Kavli prizes by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. The winners were announced Thursday at the World Science Festival in New York. ... more		XCOR Raises Investment Capital Led by Dutch Investors XCOR Aerospace reports that the United States Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) has approved the Series B lead investment by Dutch investors. The first closing ... more

SpaceX unveils capsule to ferry astronauts to space

Elon Musk to present manned DragonV2 spacecraft on May 29

Russia puts satellite in orbit from sea platform after 2013 flop

New Mars Lander to Probe Interior of Red Planet

A habitable environment on Martian volcano

Mars Curiosity rover may have transported Earth bacteria to Mars

Water in moon rocks provides clues and questions about lunar history

Earth's gravitational pull stretches moon surface

NASA Missions Let Scientists See Moon's Dancing Tide From Orbit

Dwarf planet 'Biden' identified in an unlikely region of our solar system

Planet X myth debunked

WISE Finds Thousands Of New Stars But No Planet X

	Probing satellites' mysterious death tumbling Down on the ground, death equals stillness - but not in space. Derelict satellites can tumble in unpredictable ways and ESA's team tasked with developing a space salvage mission want to find out why ... more		Water in moon rocks provides clues and questions about lunar history A recent review of hundreds of chemical analyses of Moon rocks indicates that the amount of water in the Moon's interior varies regionally - revealing clues about how water originated and was redist ... more		Antares Launch Postponed Orbital Sciences Corporation has postponed the launch of the Orbital-2 mission to the International Space Station after an engine test aborted prematurely. The engine being tested at NASA's St ... more		NASA Awards Simulation and Software Technology Contract for Engineering NASA has selected L-3 National Security Solutions (NSS) Inc. of Reston, Virginia, to provide simulation and software technology support to the Engineering Software, Robotics and Simulation Division ... more

China's Alibaba teams up with Nvidia on AI robot tech

In just one year, Google turns AI setbacks into dominance

China steps into spotlight at UN climate talks

May the Force (Shoes) Be With You		Three New Crew Members En Route to ISS		Elon Musk to present manned DragonV2 spacecraft on May 29		New Mars Lander to Probe Interior of Red Planet		Chinese lunar rover alive but weak
Ecosystem Services: Looking Forward to Mid-Century		Russian-Western crew blasts off for ISS onboard Soyuz rocket		After Injunction lifted, US rocket with Russian RD-180 Engine takes off		A habitable environment on Martian volcano		Russia puts satellite in orbit from sea platform after 2013 flop

China's Jade Rabbit moon rover 'alive but struggling'

NASA Invites Public to Select Favorite Moon Image for Lunar Orbiter Anniversary Collection

Permanently manned ISS could end in 2020

Expedition 40 all set to go

SpaceX Completes Qualification Testing of SuperDraco Thruster

NASA-Funded Rocket to Study Birthplace of Stars

Sunsets on Titan Reveal the Complexity of Hazy Exoplanets

Sea Launch sends Eutelsat 3B satellite into orbit via Zenit 3SL rocket

Russian Rocket Engine Replacement to Cost US $1.5Bln, Take 6 Years

Virgin Galactic Rocket Motor Milestone

India To Launch PSLV On Commercial Mission

Munich to Alexander: all systems go

Chinese space team survives on worm diet for 105 days

SpaceX-3 Science Payloads Return to Kennedy

US allocates $100 million for Russian rocket engine replacement

NASA Mars Weather Camera Helps Find New Crater on Red Planet

Hirst art, DiCaprio space trip help raise record AIDS funds

Joystick sets record price for space collectibles

Mars Curiosity rover may have transported Earth bacteria to Mars

Crew Wraps Up Week With Science, New Trio Awaits Launch

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