Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

November 04, 2014

Risk-taker Branson battles to protect Virgin brand
London (AFP) Nov 04, 2014
Richard Branson knows how to handle business setbacks, but he is now battling to protect the Virgin empire's image following the test flight crash of his flagship space tourism venture. The British entrepreneur is fighting to stop the fatal explosion that brought down Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo charring his sprawling Virgin Group, which encompasses more than 400 companies in multiple sectors. Risk-taking has always been part of Branson's business entrepreneurism and personal adventurism. ... read more

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NTSB reveals spaceship crash timeline, fingers lever Investigators gave a precise timeline late Monday of the devastating Virgin Galactic spaceship crash, detailing exactly when a slowing mechanism was wrongly deployed, but said they could not determine who activated it. ... more		Life Can Survive on Much Less Water Than You Might Think "Follow the water" has long been the mantra of our scientific search for alien life in the Solar System and beyond. We continue seeking conditions where water can remain liquid either on a world's s ... more		Planetary Atmospheres a Key to Assessing Possibilities for Life A planetary atmosphere is a delicate thing. On Earth, we are familiar with the ozone hole - a tear in our upper atmosphere caused by human-created chemicals that thin away the ozone. Threats to an a ... more
				SpaceShipTwo Manufacturer May Face Setback After Crash in California The crash of the Virgin Galactic suborbital spaceplane SpaceShipTwo in Califonia will be a setback to the company, retired space policy director at George Washington University John Logsdon told RIA ... more		Eye-catching space technology restoring sight Laser surgery to correct eyesight is common practice, but did you know that technology developed for use in space is now commonly used to track the patient's eye and precisely direct the laser scalp ... more

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Five years in space: one satellite, three missions ESA's Proba-2 celebrates five years in orbit today. From technology demonstrator to solar observatory and now space weather platform, the mission has provided triple value to European scientists. ... more		Canadian astronaut's 'Space Oddity' video back on YouTube The first music video recorded in space - a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield - is back after a public outcry over its removal from YouTube. ... more		Russia offers to extend nuclear arms limits with US Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign mutual defense pact Brazil, Chile sign defense agreement		NASA Program Enhances Climate Resilience at Agency Facilities A new study in the latest issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society provides an in-depth look at how NASA facilities have been affected by climate extremes and climate change in r ... more
				China gears up for lunar mission after round-trip success The head of China's lunar probe program has called for a thorough analysis of data collected from the test lunar orbiter, which returned Saturday, to speed up work on Chang'e-5, the star of the 2017 ... more		Virgin boss hits out after safety warning claim Questions about why the Virgin Galactic spaceship crashed switched focus Monday to a prematurely-deployed lever on the doomed flight, as Virgin's boss suggested it may "well be" the cause. ... more

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

China to build global quantum communication network in 2030 China will build a global quantum communication network by 2030, said a leading Chinese quantum physicist on Sunday. "China's quantum information science and technology is developing very fast ... more		India to test fly bigger space vehicle next month India will conduct a partial test flight of a bigger and better space vehicle next month, a top official of the state-owned space agency has reportedly said. The landmark test flight of GSLV M ... more		Ex-US climate envoy: Trump threatening 'consensus science' worldwide How did an Indian zoo get the world's most endangered great ape? Australian scientists grapple with 'despicable' butterfly heist		India to launch unmanned crew module in December India will launch an unmanned crew module in December onboard a heavy rocket to test its re-entry into the atmosphere for the country's future maiden human space flight, the space agency chief said ... more
China's Lunar Orbiter Makes Safe Landing, First in 40 Years China's maiden lunar orbiter has successfully flown around the far side of the Moon and made a safe landing on Saturday, in what is the first mission of the kind in some 40 years, Xinhua news agency ... more		How a giant impact formed asteroid Vesta's 'belt' When NASA's Dawn spacecraft visited the asteroid Vesta in 2011, it showed that deep grooves that circle the asteroid's equator like a cosmic belt were probably caused by a massive impact on Vesta's ... more		China examines the three stages of lunar test run China's experimental lunar orbiter, which blasted off just over a week ago, entered the moon's orbit as part of an eight-day mission. The trial run paves the way for a mission in 2017 to collect lun ... more		Students text International Space Station using a 20-foot antenna Ross McCurdy is a sophomore at the University of Iowa who is in charge of a 20-foot rooftop antenna that he can use to text the International Space Station. ... more

	VLTI detects exozodiacal light Using the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) in near-infrared light [1], the team of astronomers observed 92 nearby stars to probe exozodiacal light from hot dust close to their habitable zo ... more		Virgin 'ignored' space safety warnings: expert Virgin Galactic "ignored" repeated warnings in the years leading up to the deadly crash of its spacecraft in California, a rocket science safety expert said Sunday, as investigators hunted for clues to the accident. ... more

What to look for in China and Europe's climate plans

Chinese firms pay price of jihadist strikes against Mali junta

EU states agree broad UN emissions target avoiding 'embarrassment'

Branson says 'no explosion' behind spacecraft crash		Probe of US spaceship crash may take 'year'		China's First Lunar Return Mission A Stunning Success		You can't get to Mars, but your name can		Branson shocked as Virgin spaceship crash kills pilot
Supersonic Laser-Propelled Rockets		Arianespace signs contract with ELV for ten Vega launchers		Soyuz Installed at Baikonur, Expected to Launch Wednesday		Virgin crash sets back space tourism by years: experts		China completes first mission to moon and back

Getting to Know You, Rocket Edition: Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage

Hybrid fluid transmission enables light and swift robotic arms

Planet-forming Lifeline Discovered in a Binary Star System

Virgin spaceship crashes in US desert, one pilot dead

FY 15 launch schedule kicks off with GPS IIF-8 liftoff from 'The Cape'

Yale finds a planet that won't stick to a schedule

NASA to work with cargo partners despite rocket crash

It's Anchors Aweigh on Modifications to NASA's Pegasus Barge

Mark Olsen - An Atmospheric Dynamicist With a Beat

Student Experiments Lost in Antares Rocket Explosion

Richard Binzel on NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission

Steering ESA satellites clear of space debris

Orbital Sciences Considers Replacing Russian Engine Used on Antares

Antares rocket launch failed due to possible engine flaw

Cassini Sees Sunny Seas on Titan

NASA Completes Initial Assessment after Orbital Launch Mishap

Wenchang to launch China's next space station

Antares Rocket Crash in Virginia Investigation to Take up to Year

Rocket failure casts spotlight on risks of space flight

Decades-old Soviet engines powered US rocket that exploded

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