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Leaders gather to discuss commercial space flight's future

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Some of the top minds in the commercial space flight industry gathered in College Station on Wednesday for a brainstorming session at Texas A&M.

The first-ever Texas Commercial Space Workshop at A&M's Rudder Tower and Memorial Student Center brought together commercial space company representatives, investors, aerospace experts, faculty and students from around the nation. Organizers said the workshop was designed to promote dialogue about where space technology is boldly going and what preparation the workforce will need.

About 100 people attended the keynote speeches that were kicked off by state Rep. John E. Davis, R-Houston, whose district includes NASA. The speakers likened the growing commercial space flight industry, by which private companies will fly people into space, to that of commercial airlines in the early 20th century.

"We should be constantly working to entice new commercial space companies to come to Texas and to incetivize those already here to grow their existing businesses. Recognizing that this is the direction the industry is headed, the Legislature has taken some preliminary steps to help ensure that Texas remains a leader in the commercial space industry," Davis told the crowd.

Davis also gave the audience an update on three pieces of legislation from the latest session aimed at enticing the growth of the commercial space flight industry in Texas. He said companies now have additional legal protection from noise complaints related to space flights, local municipalities were encouraged through liability reduction to partner with commercial space flight companies at municipal airports, and that the Boca Chica Beach near Brownsville can now be closed off for space launches.

Planetary scientist Alan Stern, CEO of Golden Spike and a former member of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world, spoke about how the private sector is growing to fill the void left by declining government support for space programs and humanity's efforts to explore the final frontier.

"What we see is the very earliest stages of the development of the whole span of commercial space systems from suborbital to orbital, transportation systems to destination systems, by a whole variety of different companies," Stern said. "If it's anything like early aviation in the 1920s, there's going to be a lot of failures. There's going to be people who get hurt, just like in aviation. There's going to be people who get killed, just like in aviation. There are going to be companies that fail and companies that succeed.

"But this is the American nation and we know how to overcome failure. I predict that the development of commercial space will have its rough spots, but that by the time we get to the 2020s you will see a change in the way people think about space. I think people will primarily think of it as commercial space."

He also elaborated on his company, Golden Spike, which plans to provide commercial trips to the surface of the moon. The service will be primarily targeted at countries without robust space programs, but will be open to corporations and individuals willing to pay. Stern hopes the company will be offering two to three flights per year by 2020. Each flight will fit two persons and will cost $1.5 billion, he said.

"This system will give us the same capability as early Apollo missions," Stern said. "Two people to the moon on each expedition for two days at a time, each one conducting two space walks just like Neil [Armstrong] and Buzz [Aldrin]. They will be able to conduct field geology, sampling, bringing samples home to conduct experiments. I'm a planetary scientist, this is mouth-watering stuff."

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Leaders gather to discuss commercial space flight's future

Marshall Space Flight Center deals with impact of shutdown

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Jacksonville airport reopens after evacuation Jacksonville airport reopens after evacuation The Jacksonville International Airport has reopened after a bomb squad removed a "destructive" device from the area.More >> The Jacksonville International Airport has reopened after a bomb squad removed a "destructive" device from the area.More >> MPS Supt. Thompson issues statement about future of her job; will "forge ahead" she says MPS Supt. Thompson issues statement about future of her job; will "forge ahead" she says

Updated: Tuesday, October 1 2013 11:33 PM EDT2013-10-02 03:33:52 GMT

Updated: Tuesday, October 1 2013 11:23 PM EDT2013-10-02 03:23:43 GMT

Updated: Tuesday, October 1 2013 10:16 PM EDT2013-10-02 02:16:52 GMT

The Marshall Space Flight Center, the largest NASA center, is dealing with the setbacks brought on by the shutdown.

"To that end we will have a minimum core staff here on site whose responsibilities are for the safety of life or the safety of property," said Director of Center Operations for NASA Steve Doering. He said they will only have essential staff on hand.

"We have at Marshall 2,432 civil servants of whom only thirty-four will be accepted employees working full time. Twenty-two of them are working space stations operations," he said. "Orbit operations are on a 24-hours-a-day basis, and we'll have another thirty or so that are going to be on call, so that's roughly less than 3% of the work force here at Marshall."

Doering said that some projects may have to shut down until they know how to proceed.

"We just have to put the right safe guards in place for those facilities," he said.

One big question that came up during shutdown talks was will employees get paid retroactively for furlough time. Officials told WAFF that NASA cannot promise that its employees will be paid for the period during which they are on furlough, since this is subject to Congressional appropriation.

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Marshall Space Flight Center deals with impact of shutdown

Office365 SharePoint Online Yellow Team Space Flight – The Phoenix Endeavor – Video

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Office365 SharePoint Online Yellow Team Space Flight - The Phoenix Endeavor
Microsoft Engineers, a space weather balloon and 6 days. This was a morale event the Service Engineering team did as a competition. Our balloon achieved an a...

By: Dave Gamber

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Office365 SharePoint Online Yellow Team Space Flight - The Phoenix Endeavor - Video

Future of U.S. Human Space Flight, Senate Science Committee, May 12, 2010 – Video

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Future of U.S. Human Space Flight, Senate Science Committee, May 12, 2010
On May 12, 2010, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing titled, "The Future of U.S. Human Space Flight." Invited witness...

By: SpaceKSCBlog

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Future of U.S. Human Space Flight, Senate Science Committee, May 12, 2010 - Video

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center Mighty Eagle Improves Autonomous Landing Software – Video

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NASA #39;s Marshall Space Flight Center Mighty Eagle Improves Autonomous Landing Software
The Mighty Eagle, a NASA robotic prototype lander managed out of NASA #39;s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. successfully completed a test flight...

By: Space Fellowship

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NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Mighty Eagle Improves Autonomous Landing Software - Video

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Mighty Eagle Improves Autonomous Landing Software with Successful Flight

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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The Mighty Eagle, a NASA robotic prototype lander managed out of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. successfully completed a test flight today as part of a series to help validate software from Moon Express, Inc. The flight also evaluated a new hazard avoidance system designed and developed at the Marshall Center.

Under the terms of a Reimbursable Space Act Agreement signed with Moon Express, the Marshall Center is providing its Mighty Eagle lander test vehicle and engineering team in support of a series of test flights to help validate the company's Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) flight software. Guidance algorithms developed by Moon Express will be integrated into the existing software on-board the Mighty Eagle and used to perform the flight test series. This type of software is designed to tell the vehicle where to go and how to get there. In return, Moon Express is reimbursing NASA Marshall for the cost of providing the test vehicle and technical support.

"We are really excited about this flight series," said Jason Adam, flight manager for the Mighty Eagle. "By utilizing both existing and new resources and expertise, we are not only gathering data about the innovative hazard avoidance system we designed, but at the same time we are helping Moon Express reach their goals and further their program. This is a great example of the types of partnership NASA is looking to strengthen in order to enable commercial companies to explore new places in our solar system."

NASA will use the Mighty Eagle and its larger counterpart, the Project Morpheus prototype lander, to mature the technology needed to develop a new generation of small, smart and versatile robotic landers capable of achieving scientific and exploration goals on the surface of planetary bodies.

"Our partnership with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is key to our goal of landing the world's first commercial spacecraft on the moon," said Moon Express co-founder and CEO Bob Richards. "We have benefitted from NASA's encouragement and support in every step of our growth and development and we look forward to the results of our flight software tests on the Mighty Eagle."

The test series is also evaluating a new hazard avoidance system designed and developed by engineers at the Marshall Center. This avoidance hazard system will search for obstacles or hazards like rocks or boulders so that it can steer the vehicle away from those places. The flight series began August 30 and will run through October.

The Mighty Eagle prototype lander was developed by the Marshall Center and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., for NASA's Planetary Sciences Division, Headquarters Science Mission Directorate. Key partners in this project include the Von Braun Center for Science and Innovation, which includes the Science Applications International Corporation, Dynetics Corp. and Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc., all of Huntsville.

For broadcast footage for use in newscasts visit:

http://av.ndc.nasa.gov/content/download.php?video=Mighty_Eagle_B-roll_RevA

For images from today's flight visit:

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NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Mighty Eagle Improves Autonomous Landing Software with Successful Flight

Media Invited to NASA Innovation & Technology Day at Marshall Space Flight Center on Sept. 12

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What: NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., to host the annual Innovation & Technology Day. The daylong expo showcases pioneering technology and developments by various groups across the Marshall Center, providing an opportunity for the NASA and Redstone Arsenal workforce to learn about -- and potentially benefit from -- another organization's work. The event will feature live demonstrations and hands-on exhibits of Marshall's technical capabilities and expertise.

Who: The event is open to badged employees of Marshall and Redstone Arsenal and is hosted by the Marshall Center's Office of the Chief Information Officer, Office of Strategic Analysis & Communications, and Office of the Chief Technologist.

When/Where: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. CDT, Thursday, Sept. 12 Marshall Space Flight Center Activities Building 4316

To attend: News media interested in attending should contact Angela Storey at Marshall's Public & Employee Communications Office at 256-544-0034 no later than 4 p.m. CDT Wednesday, Sept. 11. Media should report to the Redstone Arsenal Joint Visitor Control Center at Gate 9, Interstate 565 interchange at Rideout Road/Research Park Boulevard. Vehicles are subject to a security search at the gate. Two forms of photo identifications and proof of car insurance are necessary to be allowed on site.

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Media Invited to NASA Innovation & Technology Day at Marshall Space Flight Center on Sept. 12


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