Former NASA astronaut Samuel T. Durrance, a PhD astronomer and veteran of two Space Shuttle missions, has been selected as the latest addition to the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG).

“We are very happy to have Sam aboard SARG to contribute his expertise as a two-time NASA payload specialist on the Space Shuttle,” said Dr. S. Alan Stern, Chairman of SARG and a space scientist who previously served as head of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. “Sam also broadens our educator and astronomy experience base, and we are looking forward to his many contributions to the growth of the suborbital research and education markets.”

Including Dr. Durrance, SARG now consists of eleven researchers and educators, in disciplines ranging from microgravity physics to life sciences, who are aiming to increase awareness of commercial suborbital spacecraft in the science and R&D communities, work with policymakers to ensure that payloads can have easy access to these vehicles, and further develop ideas for the uses of vehicles under development by Armadillo Aerospace, Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic, and XCOR Aerospace.

Dr. Durrance stated, “I am very excited to be joining the other scientists in SARG. I think the astronomy community will be astonished by the capabilities of this new generation of commercial suborbital vehicles. And having journeyed into space alongside a telescope I helped develop on the ground, I am excited about the human-in-the-loop capabilities of these new vehicles.”

After receiving his PhD degree in astro-geophysics from the University of Colorado in 1980, Sam Durrance served as a Principal Research Scientist at Johns Hopkins University and was a co-investigator for the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope, one of the instruments for the Astro Observatory. As a NASA payload specialist, Sam Durrance traveled into space aboard the STS-35/Astro-1 and STS-67/Astro-2 missions. Complementing his astronomy training and astronaut flight experience, Dr. Durrance also has experience with sounding rockets and was a former director of the Florida Space Grant Consortium. He currently works as a professor of physics and space sciences at Florida Tech.

In addition to Dr. Durrance and Dr. Stern, the other members of SARG are Dr. Steven Collicott (Purdue University), Dr. Joshua Colwell (University of Central Florida), Dr. Daniel Durda (Southwest Research Institute), Dr. David Grinspoon (Denver Museum of Natural Sciences), Dr. Richard Miles (Princeton University), Dr. John Pojman (Louisiana State University), Dr. Mark Shelhamer (Johns Hopkins University), Dr. Mike Summers (George Mason University), and Dr. Erika Wagner (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

About the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group
The Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG) is a coordination and advisory committee of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, composed of scientists and researchers dedicated to furthering the scientific potential of suborbital reusable launch vehicles under development by the commercial spaceflight sector. SARG seeks to increase awareness of commercial suborbital vehicles in the science, R&D, and education communities, engage with policymakers to ensure that payloads can have easy access to these vehicles, and generate new ideas for uses of these vehicles for science, engineering, and education missions. SARG is taking a leadership role in the February 2010 Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (NSRC). For more information please contact Dr. Alan Stern at astern@boulder.swri.edu or at 303.324.5269.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. Commercial Spaceflight Federation member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please contact Executive Director John Gedmark at 202.349.1121 or visit http://www.commercialspaceflight.org.

At about 7:45 pm Monday night, with the Virgin Galactic post-rollout party in full swing in Mojave, the person who had been announcing routine bus departures to various hotels made a more urgent announcement: everyone was asked to “evacuate” the tents where the event took place because of a high wind warning, and to instead board the waiting buses to leave. The video below shows what happened to those tents after hurricane-force wind gusts ripped through them. Fortunately, that destruction took place after we left.

Here are a couple of pictures of the SS2 rollout from this evening:

SS2 and WK2 roll into position

Closeup of the side of SS2, including its own version of the 'Galactic Girl' nose art

Some photos I took of the SS2 rollout and related events:

I’m sitting in a hotel next to the Mojave Airport, which is serving as the registration area for SS2 rollout event. Even though the event is still a couple hours away, Virgin has already issued a press release about the unveiling and included some photos, one of which is below:

SpaceShipTwo attached to WhiteKnightTwo

It’s cold. It’s windy. (advance excuse for typos: my hands are still warming up!) Not the best weather to roll out a new spacecraft, but it was still an interesting event. SpaceShipTwo is a beautiful spacecraft, rolling up to the site attached to WhiteKnightTwo.

There were, by Virgin’s count, about 800 people for the rollout, ranging from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and New Mexico Gov. Bill RIchardson to Virgin customers (”future astronauts”), sales agents, and other invited guests. The event took place on a tent erected on the end of a runway at Mojave Airport, one that rattled in the wind at times during the speech. (Did I mention it was cold and windy?) There was about an hour’s worth of speeches, a brief “press conference” (if you can call about four questions that) and then the rollout of the SS2 in the bitter cold.

There were no great surprises at the event, in terms of major announcements or other developments. I asked Burt Rutan about the test schedule for SS2: he would not give any dates for when tests would start (although one rumor floating around the press site today was that the first “captive carry” test flight could be tomorrow, weather permitting.) He did say the test program would be like that Scaled did for SS1, with captive carry tests, then glide tests, eventually leading to powered flights. But he didn’t say how long the test program would last or how many flights it might involve.

As you’ve noticed, Personal Spaceflight has undergone a dramatic redesign, including a new name. The new design was long overdue – the site has been using the same design since its inception in 2006 – but the focus of the site is changing slightly. Back in 2006 NewSpace was almost synonymous with space tourism (or personal spaceflight), and that’s where the bulk of the attention was focused. Today space tourism is still important, but other entrepreneurial efforts, and new markets, are emerging, from smallsat launches to orbital spaceflight to serve the ISS and more.

It’s a bit ironic that the site is relaunching today, given that today’s the day Virgin Galactic is unveiling SpaceShipTwo in Mojave. (I’ll be there, and reporting on it here over the next day.) Virgin Galactic has been closely tied to space tourism, but even they have recognized the emergence of other markets besides space tourism. Moreover, that suborbital research market is gaining momentum, as I report in today’s issue of The Space Review. So this is a major milestone, but also part of an interesting time for the entrepreneurial NewSpace field.

If you have any questions or comments about the new design or content, please email me at jeff [at] thespacereview.com, or leave a comment here. I’ll be tweaking the site over the coming days and weeks based on this feedback and more.

The Virgin Group, including Virgin Galactic, is well known for its planned, glitzy events to showcase the company and their achievements. Today is scheduled to be no exception: the rollout of SpaceShipTwo in Mojave reportedly will include some kind of lightshow Monday evening. A check of the NOTAMs, or notices to airmen, for Mojave Airport (KMHV), shows that the airport’s runways will be closed Monday night, and there’s also a reference to that “airspace lightshow”.

One thing Virgin can’t control (not yet, anyway) is the weather, and it won’t be cooperating. Right now there’s only report clouds and light rain in Mojave, but the forecast mentions snow, and lots of it: up to five inches (12.5 cm) today, and up to two more inches (5 cm) tonight. Mojave may get much less, but it still doesn’t look like it will be the most inviting day to roll out a spaceship.

Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation congratulates Masten Space Systems of Mojave, California, and Armadillo Aerospace, of Rockwall, Texas, for their success in NASA’s $2 million Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. The prize money was awarded by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden in ceremony yesterday in Washington, DC. The two winning companies qualified for the prize, which is managed by the X PRIZE Foundation, by building and flying vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicles that hovered for up to 180 seconds, translated horizontally, landed under rocket power, and repeated the feat in two hours.

“We commend Masten Space Systems and Armadillo Aerospace for their tremendous success in NASA’s Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge,” said Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “High flight rates and quick turnaround are exciting features of this new era of commercial spaceflight, and we look forward to seeing these vehicles climb to higher and higher altitudes in the months ahead.”

Distinguished speakers in yesterday’s Capitol Hill prize ceremony in Washington, DC, included:
• Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator;
• Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director for Policy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP);
• Dr. Peter Diamandis, X PRIZE Foundation Chairman;
• Dr. George Nield, Associate Administrator of the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation;
• Representative Ralph Hall (R-Texas), Ranking Member of the House Science Committee;
• Representative Adam Schiff (D-California), Member of the House CJS Appropriations Subcommittee;
• Mitch Waldman, Vice President for Business Development at Northrop Grumman;
• Doug Comstock, NASA Innovative Partnerships Program Director.

Additional guests at the event included Representative Parker Griffith (D-Alabama), Member of the House Space Subcommittee; Lori Garver, NASA Deputy Administrator; and George Whitesides, NASA Chief of Staff.

David Masten, CEO of Masten Space Systems, stated, “We’d been building our vehicles before the prize started, but the NASA prize was a great incentive along the path towards the market for flying low-cost science and educational payloads. Now we are going beyond the prize and will be flying higher and faster in the coming months. High-altitude flights of aerospace R&D payloads, science experiments, and educational payloads are planned for 2010.”

Phil Eaton, VP of Operations at Armadillo Aerospace, stated, “We see more than a prize – we see the growth of the commercial space industry.”

Bretton Alexander added, “The diverse range of speakers at the prize ceremony, from NASA and FAA to Congress, signals the level of support and encouragement that the commercial spaceflight industry is receiving from policymakers in Washington DC. This week’s ceremony represents another exciting milestone for an industry that has made tremendous strides in the last few years.”

In order to meet the requirements of the Lunar Lander Challenge, the Masten and Armadillo vehicles had to ascend to a height of 50 meters, translate horizontally to a landing pad 50 meters away, land safely on another pad after 90 seconds of flight time (for Level 1), or 180 seconds of flight time (for Level 2), and then repeat the flight. $350,000 was awarded last year to Armadillo Aerospace, and at this year’s prize ceremony a total of $1,650,000 was awarded to Masten Space Systems and Armadillo Aerospace for successfully completed flights.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please visit http://www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

In a Washington DC speech yesterday, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden delivered a strong endorsement of commercial spaceflight, specifically highlighting NASA’s new Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research program, the importance of commercial human spaceflight, and the value of prize competitions to promote space innovation.

During his remarks to the National Association of Investment Companies, Administrator Bolden said, “NASA’s founding legislation states that we will ‘seek and encourage, to the maximum extent possible, the fullest commercial use of space.’ … NASA must determine efficient and effective ways to leverage the power and innovation of American industry and the American entrepreneur.” Bolden then highlighted several specific NASA initiatives:

• Suborbital science: Bolden stated, “In the 1920s, the U.S. Post Office became a major customer for airmail, which created the demand that justified the private investment in many airlines. NASA is doing something similar right now. We are engaged in a new program — the Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research program — that will buy space transportation services from the emerging reusable spaceflight companies to conduct science research, technology development, with a keen focus on education.”

• Commercial human spaceflight: Bolden stated, “Some of the most exciting companies in America today go by the names of SpaceX, Blue Origin, Armadillo Aerospace, Virgin Galactic, XCOR, Bigelow Aerospace, Masten, Flag Suit, and Ad Astra…. What these companies, and others, are doing is nothing short of inspirational. Today, we at NASA are devising ways to work with these companies and others who will come.”

• Innovation prizes: Bolden stated, “You may not know it, but NASA also has the authority to fund prizes. Over this weekend, NASA just held a competition in California with $750,000 in prizes for anyone in America who could move the most “regolith” — or moon dirt — with a robot. Twenty-three teams competed. The winning team is “Paul’s Robotics”, led by a young man by the name Paul Ventimiglia. … Paul is a college student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. … Now that is inspiring.”

Administrator Bolden also talked about the potential for commercial human spaceflight to motivate the nation’s youth to study math, science, and engineering, stating, “What if you were a seventh grader and you knew that if you buckled down, and studied hard at math and science, that you could go to space? Not because you would be the one of the very few who might become a NASA astronaut, as I was so privileged, but because you saw hundreds of people of all nations traveling into space each and every year, and knew in your bones that you could soon be one of them?”

The full text of Bolden’s speech can be found on the NASA website at http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/395165main_Bolden_NAIC_Speech.pdf.

Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation welcomes the strong support for commercial human spaceflight expressed by the White House’s Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, also known as the Augustine Committee, which released its final report today. The Augustine Committee endorsed the creation of a Commercial Crew program to develop commercial capabilities to transport crew to the International Space Station, with a baseline NASA investment of $3 billion, to include multiple competitors and human-rating of an existing reliable launch vehicle.

The report further included the following key statements in support of the commercial procurement of crew transportation services to the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit:

• The time is right: The report stated, “Commercial services to deliver crew to low-Earth orbit are within reach. … A new competition with adequate incentives should be open to all U.S. aerospace companies. This would allow NASA to focus on more challenging roles, including human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit…”

• Industry is capable: The report stated, “There is little doubt that the U.S. aerospace industry, from historical builders of human spacecraft to the new entrants, has the technical capability to build and operate a crew taxi to low-Earth orbit.”

• Commercial is safe: The report stated, “Any concepts falling short in human safety have simply been eliminated from consideration.” Later, the report added, “The Committee… would not suggest that a commercial service be provided for transportation of NASA crew if NASA could not be convinced that it was substantially safe.”

• A diverse set of competitors exist: The report stated, “During its fact-finding process, the Committee received proprietary information from five different companies interested in the provision of commercial crew transportation services to low-Earth orbit. These included large and small companies, some of which have previously developed crew systems for NASA.”

Commenting on the release of the Augustine Report, Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and Chairman of Sierra Nevada Corporation Space Systems, stated, “Augustine’s detailed report could not be more clear – only by pursuing commercially procured crew transportation can the nation afford to extend the Space Station beyond 2015, even if NASA does receive extra funding. Leveraging the commercial sector will also free up NASA resources for exploration beyond Earth orbit.”

A recent industry-wide survey by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation revealed that 5,000 direct American jobs would be created by a full Commercial Crew program. Through a combination of government and private investment, companies such as United Launch Alliance, Sierra Nevada Corporation, SpaceX, and others would be able to create jobs in states including Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Texas, Maryland, and Virginia.

“If a Commercial Crew program is not started now,” added Sirangelo, “America will be forced to pay Russia to launch our astronauts to orbit for years to come, at a price of $51 million per seat and rising. With so many capable American companies here at home, why should we outsource our entire human spaceflight program to Russia?”

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “Shortly before the Augustine report was released, over a dozen distinguished former NASA astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin, published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal stating that commercial companies can safely handle the task of low-Earth orbit transportation. NASA already relies on the commercial sector for high-value satellite and cargo missions, and the time has come for an evolution to commercial procurement of crew services as well.”

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please visit http://www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

Washington, D.C. – Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, has been appointed by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to the NASA Advisory Council, a federally chartered body of experts that provides advice and counsel directly to the NASA Administrator. Additionally, Alexander has been selected to chair the newly formed Commercial Space Committee of the NASA Advisory Council.

Following his appointment, Alexander attended a meeting of the full NASA Advisory Councilon October 29 at the NASA Ames Research Center, which included discussions with NASA Administrator Bolden, Ames Center Director Dr. Pete Worden, and NASA Advisory Council Chair Dr. Kenneth Ford. According to NASA, “the NASA Advisory Council provides the NASA Administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the Agency… and presents any findings and recommendations to the NASA Administrator on a quarterly basis.”

Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, said, “We are very proud that Brett has been granted this prestigious appointment by the NASA Administrator. As a well-respected and articulate leader in the commercial spaceflight industry, Brett is a fitting individual for this role.”

Added Alexander, “It is a deep honor to be appointed by the Administrator to serve on the NASA Advisory Council. I believe the Administrator recognizes that the success of NASA’s exploration activities must involve commercial spaceflight and I look forward to chairing the Commercial Space Committee.”

Alexander joins the following other members of the newly restructured NASA Advisory Council:

• Chair: Kenneth M. Ford
• Aeronautics Committee: Marion Blakey
• Audit, Finance and Analysis Committee: Robert M. Hanisee
• Education and Public Outreach: Miles O’Brien
• Exploration Committee: Gen. Lester L. Lyles
• Science Committee: Wesley T. Huntress, Jr.
• Space Operations Committee: Col. Eileen M. Collins
• Technology and Innovation Committee: Esther Dyson
• Ex officio members (National Academies): Raymond S. Colladay and Charles F. Kennel

Bretton Alexander holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. In addition to his role as President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Alexander has previously served as Executive Director for Space at the X PRIZE Foundation, where he oversaw all aspects of the Google Lunar X Prize, the Lunar Lander Challenge, and the X PRIZE Cup, and was also Senior Advisor to Transformational Space Corporation (t/Space).

Prior to joining the entrepreneurial space community, Alexander served under presidents William J. Clinton and George W. Bush as Senior Policy Analyst for space issues. During his tenure at the White House, he was one of the primary authors of the “Vision for Space Exploration” announced by President Bush in January 2004. He has also held positions in the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, the Aerospace Corporation, and ANSER Corporation.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please visit http://www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

In a ceremony this Thursday on Capitol Hill, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will award $1.65 million in prizes to two commercial spaceflight companies, Masten Space Systems and Armadillo Aerospace, for completing successful flights in the NASA-funded Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge managed by the X PRIZE Foundation.

Time: Doors open 11:45 am and ceremony begins at noon, Thursday November 5th.

Place: Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2325. Open to the public.

Speakers include: NASA Administrator, Charles Bolden; NASA Innovative Partnerships Director, Doug Comstock; OSTP Deputy Director for Policy, Tom Kalil; X PRIZE Foundation CEO, Peter Diamandis; Rep. Ralph Hall, ranking member of the House Science Committee; Rep. Adam Schiff, House CJS Appropriations Subcommittee; and the winning teams.

The NASA-funded Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge (NGLLC) is a $2,000,000 incentive prize program designed to build an industry of American companies capable of routinely and safely flying vertical-takeoff-and-landing rocket vehicles useful both for lunar exploration and for other applications. $350,000 was awarded last year to Armadillo Aerospace, and this year $1,650,000 will be awarded to Masten Space Systems and Armadillo Aerospace for successfully completed flights.

The importance of spaceport infrastructure was one of the clear messages from our first Spaceports Executive Summit, held at the Kennedy Space Center in May 2009. As we prepare for our second Spaceports Executive Summit on October 20, 2009 (to be held in conjunction with the International Symposium for Personal & Commercial Spaceflight in Las Cruces, New Mexico), we wanted to share some information about the STIM-Grants Program, an important initiative for upgrading spaceport infrastructure.

Unlike airports, commercial spaceports currently have no opportunity to apply for federal matching dollars for infrastructure to support operations and protect public safety. In the 1993 NASA Authorization Act (Public Law No. 102-588), Congress authorized a new program to support commercial space transportation facilities, but no funding has been appropriated to date.

Under the Space Transportation Infrastructure Matching Grants Program (also known as STIM-Grants), existing and proposed spaceports in California, Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Virginia / Maryland, Alaska, Wisconsin, Indiana, and other states, will be eligible for competitively-awarded grants.

To build infrastructure for a vital national capability and develop a source of high-tech, high-wage jobs, funding support for STIM-Grants is crucial, and we will be sure to keep you updated on the status of this important program.

To learn more about the STIM-Grants Program, please click here.

Five years ago on October 4, 2004, the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for commercial spaceflight was won when SpaceShipOne completed a pair of back-to-back flights to space. With pilot Brian Binnie at the controls, the prize-winning flight of SpaceShipOne made the front pages of newspapers worldwide, and marked a key milestone in the growth of commercial human spaceflight. Fittingly, October 4th also marks the launch of humanity’s first satellite into orbit, which occurred in 1957, beginning the Space Age.

“Since the X PRIZE flights occurred in 2004, we’ve seen a drumbeat of steady growth in the commercial spaceflight industry: the creation of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, hundreds of deposits put down for suborbital flights, the winning of NASA’s Lunar Lander Challenge prize money, over $1.2 billion of investment poured into this new industry, and now the Augustine Committee’s endorsement of commercial spaceflight,” stated John Gedmark, Executive Director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “We are eagerly looking forward to many more exciting accomplishments to come.”

SpaceShipOne, which was funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and developed by Burt Rutan’s company Scaled Composites, flew from the Mojave Spaceport in Mojave, California. By flying two piloted flights to 100 km within two weeks, the SpaceShipOne team successfully met the requirements to win the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE set up by the X PRIZE Foundation.

Gedmark added, “the X PRIZE flights drew thousands of spectators to the Mojave Spaceport to experience the excitement of commercial spaceflight, and the new generation of commercial vehicles coming online – both suborbital and orbital – will continue to raise the awareness of the wonders of spaceflight to the general public.”

The pilots who reached space aboard SpaceShipOne, Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie, became the world’s first commercial astronauts and were awarded astronaut wings by the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation.

SpaceShipOne, now retired from service, occupies a place of honor at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, alongside Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis and Chuck Yeager’s Bell X-1.

Image credit: Scaled Composites

Masten Space Systems successfully qualified today for a $150,000 prize in NASA’s Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge by flying a rocket-powered vehicle twice in two hours between a pair of landing pads. Masten’s vertical-takeoff-vertical-landing vehicle, known as “Xombie,” met the requirements of Level 1 of the Lunar Lander Challenge by ascending to a height of 50 meters, translating horizontally to a landing pad 50 meters away, landing safely on a concrete pad after 90 seconds of flight time, and then repeating the flight.

The flights took place at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, where Masten Space Systems’ facilities are based. Today’s successful flights by Masten, along with successful flights last month by Armadillo Aerospace, mean that it is certain NASA will be giving away at least two checks worth a total of at least $1.15 million this year. Later this month, Masten is also scheduled to compete for Level 2, which requires 180 seconds of flight time rather than 90 seconds.

David Masten, CEO of Masten Space Systems, stated, “The Xombie’s flights have established Masten Space Systems as a serious competitor. This is not just good for Masten, but good news for the commercial space industry. It shows that we have grown to the point that many teams now have the skills to build and fly successful rockets.”

Brett Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “Congratulations to Masten Space Systems, NASA, Northrop Grumman, and the X PRIZE Foundation for a job well done. The Lunar Lander Challenge is generating a tremendous return on NASA’s investment, helping to build the workforce, technologies, and vehicles useful to both NASA and the commercial spaceflight sector.”

Peter Diamandis, Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, which manages the prize on behalf of NASA’s Centennial Challenges program, said, “Congratulations to Dave Masten and his team on successfully completing Level-1 of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. What they accomplished with 6 people is outstanding. These young entrepreneurial companies are the future Apple and Dells of the space industry, building the propulsion that will launch the public into space. They are also the industry cluster that will give NASA robust future suppliers and capability.”

Masten’s flights complement the success of the Armadillo Aerospace team, led by id Software founder John Carmack, which qualified in September for the $1 million first place prize for Level 2 of the Lunar Lander Challenge. Before the closing of this year’s competition window on October 31st, Masten Space Systems will attempt Level 2 of the competition, along with two additional competitors, Unreasonable Rocket and BonNova, who will compete for both levels.

Each level of the Lunar Lander Challenge includes both first and second place prizes, with the second place prize for Level 1 worth $150,000, and the two prizes for Level 2 worth $1 million and $500,000. In 2008, Armadillo Aerospace claimed the first prize for Level 1, worth $350,000.

Image credit: Masten/X Prize

Washington, D.C. – Commercial human spaceflight received a strong endorsement today by a group of thirteen former NASA astronauts who published an opinion piece titled “Commercial Spaceflight: All Systems Go” in the Wall Street Journal.

Astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Ken Bowersox, Jake Garn, Robert Gibson, Hank Hartsfield, John Herrington, John Lounge, Rick Searfoss, Norman Thagard, Kathryn Thornton, Jim Voss and Charles Walker stated, “We strongly agree with the Augustine Committee’s endorsement of commercial human spaceflight, and we encourage the White House and Congress to embrace this positive vision for our nation’s future in space.”

The thirteen astronauts have collectively flown a total of 42 space missions and logged a total of 2 years and 48 days in space aboard six different space vehicles including Gemini, Apollo, Space Shuttle, Soyuz, Mir, and the International Space Station. The group included the following excerpts in their op-ed:

• “We believe that the commercial sector is fully capable of safely handling the critical task of low-Earth-orbit human transportation.”
• “NASA should put its unique resources into pushing back the final frontier and not in repaving the earth-to-orbit road it cleared a half century ago.”
• “We are fully confident that the commercial spaceflight sector can provide a level of safety equal to that offered by the venerable Russian Soyuz system, which has flown safely for the last 38 years, and exceeding that of the Space Shuttle.”
• “We enthusiastically endorse this robust vision for the future of human spaceflight— a vision in which NASA is free to concentrate on the challenges of exploration beyond low Earth orbit while private commerce enables increased activity in Earth orbit.”

Following the publication of the astronaut op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation welcomed today’s show of support by the community of former NASA astronauts. Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, stated, “As the nation’s policymakers consider the future path of our space program, the commercial spaceflight sector is honored to receive today’s strong endorsement by these distinguished former NASA astronauts. We agree with these astronauts that a robust commercially procured crew capability will help enable our nation’s space program to reach new heights.”

The full text of the astronaut op-ed can be found on the Wall Street Journal website by clicking here.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. Commercial Spaceflight Federation member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please contact Executive Director John Gedmark at 202.349.1121 or visit http://www.commercialspaceflight.org.

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Our scientific advisory committee, the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG), brings together scientists and engineers from a variety of scientific disciplines. Today, we kick off the first of a series of occasional columns in which we’ve invited SARG scientists to discuss the research potential of next-generation commercial suborbital vehicles for their particular scientific disciplines.

Our first columnist is Dr. John Pojman, a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Louisiana State University, who has led microgravity experiments using parabolic aircraft, a sounding rocket, and the International Space Station. Below, Dr. Pojman offers some thoughts on how microgravity experiments aboard commercial suborbital spacecraft will contribute to his research discipline:

Dr. Pojman: “There are many problems involving chemistry that can only be studied in the type of weightlessness afforded by suborbital flights, or as we like to say, “There is no way on Earth to do the experiment!”. Why should gravity be an issue for any chemical process? Gravity does not affect the fundamental atomic and molecular interactions, but it can drastically alter the macroscopic transport of heat and matter through convection, or fluid motion.

“A clear example of the role of gravity is in combustion. Hot air rises but not in weightlessness. Combustion processes occur very differently in weightlessness. Suborbital flights can allow testing how something will burn on a spacecraft in weightlessness. Suborbital flights can also be used to study the fundamental nature of some combustion processes without the interferences of gravity-induced convection. Figure 1 shows a candle burning under 1 g; Figure 2 shows the same candle burning in weightlessness.

Figure 1 (left). A candle burning in 1 g.
Figure 2 (right). The same candle burning in weightlessness.

“A process that is dramatically affected by gravity is frontal polymerization in which a localized reaction zone propagates from the coupling of thermal diffusion and the Arrhenius-dependence of the reaction rate of an exothermic polymerization. The reaction spreads like a flame but through a liquid monomer converting that liquid to a solid polymer or liquid polymer, depending on the type of monomer.

“Extremely complicated behavior can be observed if the reaction also produces gas (from the decomposition of the initiator used for the reacation). Buoyancy cause bubbles to rise but polymer to sink. Parabolic flights with frontal polymerization on NASA’s KC-135 revealed interesting effects of gravity. Figure 3 below shows a front propagating down (the image rotated to allow reading the information) under 1.5 g. Figure 4, further down, shows the same front in weightlessness. Interesting bubble patterns emerged but given the short duration of weightlessness (only 20 seconds) it was difficult to glean much quantitative results. Suborbital flights would allow studying such a system in greater detail.

Figure 3 (top right). Frontal polymerization of hexyl acrylate under 1.4 g on the KC-135 aircraft. The front is descending in the direction of the acceleration vector, which is to the right in the image.

Figure 4 (bottom right). Frontal polymerization of hexyl acrylate under approximately 0.01 g on the KC-135. Notice the unusual bubble patterns.

“Gravity is also very important for systems with different phases that can sediment, as in colloids, emulsions and blends. Performing experiments with such systems on suborbital flights can be a method to prepare “benchmark materials” that can serve as a goal for ground-based processing to achieve.

“Overall, suborbital flights can allow chemists the chance to determine how important gravity is to a process and thus to learn about aspects of a chemical system that would be complicated by buoyancy-driven convection on earth.”

For more information about SARG member Dr. John Pojman and his microgravity chemistry research, please see http://www.pojman.com, and stay tuned for future columns from other SARG scientists. For information about the upcoming Next-Gen Suborbital Researchers Conference, please click here.

This year the Lunar Lander Challenge competition that is part of NASA’s Centennial Challenges prize program is being run differently: rather than a single once-a-year event in New Mexico, each team can decide when and where they will compete during a competition window that opened July 20 and runs through October 31. At another Centennial Challenges event, the Tether Strength competition, held as part of the Space Elevator Conference in Redmond, Washington on Friday, Andy Petro, who manages the Centennial Challenges program, said that “at least three” attempts at winning either second prize for Level One or first and second prize for Level Two would be made in September and October.

It looks the first team (or at least one of the first) to make an attempt will be Armadillo Aerospace, who won first prize in Level One last October. According to a post on the “Official Armadillo Q&A thread at The Space Fellowship, John Carmack said at the QuakeCon 2009 convention Thursday that their Level Two attempt is planned for Labor Day weekend, three weekends from now. That development was also picked by a GameSpot article about Carmack’s speech, although not specifically mentioning the Lunar Lander Challenge, only an upcoming “Labor Day launch”. There’s nothing official yet on the Armadillo Aerospace or competition web sites.

A couple of other items: the Space Fellowship post states that Armadillo has also been busy with Rocket Racing League vehicle test flights and that “AA would make a lot more progress in the next year for reasons he couldn’t announce yet.” On the other hand, though, Carmack said that since his gaming company, id Software, was sold this summer, “he feels compelled to produce and deliver, rather than working on fun extracurricular projects like Armadillo Aerospace.”

(As as for the Tether Strength competition: only one team, from Japan, participated this year, and its tether, made of carbon nanotube material, broke almost immediately after force was applied.)

Pity poor Emma Morris, a 27-year-old publicist from Melbourne, Australia. Or not. You see, she’s a winner of a contest by Australian airline Virgin Blue that awarded her 25 million points, enough to be redeemed for a flight on Virgin Galactic. However, she can also use the points for two Alfa Romeo Spider sports cars (plus gas vouchers and cash), or a shopping spree, or a luxury vacation. She was offered the flight when Sir Richard Branson called her to let her know she had won the contest. “Do you fancy going into space?” he asked. Her response: “Nobody’s ever asked me that before. Um, quite possibly.” (You can hear a recording of the call on the contest web site, although be prepared for some celebratory shouting and screaming as well.) Later: “I can’t quite, you know, get my head around it that’s even one of the prizes.”

The press release, as well as a NEWS.com.au article, notes that her friends have created a “Will Emma Go to Space?” Facebook group to help her decide. She has until September 8 to choose a prize.