 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Environmental Tectonics' NASTAR Center To Provide Space Training For Virgin Galactic
Southampton PA (SPX) Aug 31, 2007 Environmental Tectonics' National Aerospace Training and Research (NASTAR) Center, has signed a contract with Virgin Galactic to provide training for Virgin Galactic's suborbital space travelers. NASTAR Center is the world leader in aviation and spaceflight training and research, and Virgin Galactic is on track to become the world's first commercial spaceline and provider of private suborbital spaceflights. Virgin Galactic has named NASTAR Center as its official spaceflight training provider. According to the contract, NASTAR Center and Virgin Galactic initially will be cooperating in the training and preparation of Virgin Galactic's Founders. The Founders are the first 100 private space travelers scheduled to take suborbital flights with Virgin Galactic. The contract provides for ongoing training of Virgin Galactic's space travelers after the Founders, and for those seeking a Virgin Galactic-branded space flight experience. This contract puts Pennsylvania on the map as the current center of commercial space training. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell said, "This is an exciting opportunity. NASTAR Center is a tremendous asset for Pennsylvania. We are honored to have a Bucks County business teamed with a prestigious company like Virgin Galactic." The training will take place from September through November at the NASTAR Center facilities near Philadelphia. The NASTAR Center has been designed specifically to provide training for passengers and crew of the budding private space travel industry. "Virgin Galactic chose the NASTAR Center after a comprehensive review of other facilities across the United States and Europe. We are delighted that NASTAR Center won the day, not only because of their state of the art facilities and professional experience but also because they believe in great customer service. We are delighted to be working with NASTAR Center and we believe our Founders will be in excellent hands as they undertake this important initial spaceflight experience," said Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic. NASTAR Center's new training programs include space launch simulations with sustained G forces, real-world visuals and an authentically modeled cabin or cockpit. The Virgin Galactic Founders will experience two days of training at the NASTAR Center, which will give them both a grounding in aerospace physiology concepts and "hands-on" training in a high-performance centrifuge. The experience will culminate in a high-fidelity simulation of the actual launch into space, including the real Gz and Gx forces. Gz is the G force experienced up and down the spine, while Gx is the force felt through the chest. William F. Mitchell, President and Chairman of ETC, stated, "We are very pleased to be working with Virgin Galactic on this exciting project. Virgin Galactic has an excellent space launch program, and we are glad the NASTAR Center can help enhance the experience for the Founders and Virgin Galactic's follow on customers." Virgin Galactic (http://www.virgingalactic.com) is a company owned and established by Richard Branson's Virgin Group to undertake the challenge of making private space travel available to everyone and by creating the world's first commercial spaceline. Virgin will own and operate privately built spaceships based on the history-making SpaceShipOne. These spaceships, which are currently under construction, will allow affordable private sub-orbital space travel for the first time in history and give customers the opportunity of being among the very first private astronauts. NASTAR Center houses state-of-the-art equipment and professional staff to support the training and research needs of the aerospace community, including military aviation (fixed and rotary wing), civil aviation (fixed and rotary wing), space travel (government and private) and research support and data collection. NASTAR Center's equipment and programs are highly modular and flexible and can accommodate a wide range of aerospace training and research requirements. ETC designs, develops, installs and maintains aircrew training systems, public entertainment systems, process simulation systems (sterilization and environmental), clinical hyperbaric systems, environmental testing and simulation systems, and related products for domestic and international customers. Related Links ETC Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
NASA Study Will Help Stop Stowaways To Mars
Pasadena CA (SPX) Aug 30, 2007NASA clean rooms, where scientists and engineers assemble spacecraft, have joined hot springs, ice caves, and deep mines as unlikely places where scientists have discovered ultra-hardy organisms collectively known as 'extremophiles'. Some species of bacteria uncovered in a recent NASA study have never been detected anywhere else. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement |
