Free Republic

Camels and Rust at Gateway to Space Bernard Besserglik, Agence France Presse BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan, 29 December 2003 — If the colonization of space ever becomes a reality, the last of Earth many of the settlers will see is a wind-blown strip of barren steppe dotted by crumbling and abandoned apartment blocks. Baikonur, the last chance to fuel up before reaching for the stars, is a vestige of the Soviet empire, now rented by Russia from its Central Asian neighbor Kazakhstan. It also provides a fitting prelude to the austerities of interplanetary travel. Freezing in winter and baking in summer,...

SpaceDev Tests Rocket Motor for Powered Spaceshipone Flight POWAY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 11, 2003--SpaceDev has successfully tested a hybrid rocket motor designed for the first powered flight of SpaceShipOne, built by Scaled Composites. SpaceDev successfully test fired a motor with its proprietary propellant equal to about one-half the total capacity of the motor. The purpose of the test was to qualify the exact configuration of the motor to be used for SpaceShipOne's first powered test flight. SpaceDev also performed a full flow oxidizer test through its proprietary main valve, during a recent glide test of SpaceShipOne, in further preparation of the...

Failure to launch Rocket casts shadow on Japan's space, defence plans TOKYO (AFP) Nov 30, 2003 Japan's failed launch this weekend of a rocket carrying spy satellites has cast a shadow over its ambitions to lead Asia's space race, especially following China's successful manned space flight, experts said Sunday. The unsuccessful launch Saturday of two spy satellites to monitor North Korea also dealt a severe blow to Tokyo's space defence programme, meant as a response to Pyongyang's military threat, they said. A Japanese H-2A rocket with two spy satellites on board appeared to have lifted off smoothly from a...

Moon colony 'within 20 years' By Helen Briggs BBC News Online science reporter Humans could be living on the Moon within 20 years, says a leading lunar scientist. According to Bernard Foing of the European Space Agency, the technology will soon exist to set up an outpost for visiting astronauts. However, political will is needed to inspire the public to support the initiative. "We believe that technologically it's possible," the project scientist on Europe's first Moon mission, Smart-1, told BBC News Online. "But it will depend in the end on the political will to go and establish a human...

Congress Should Cut Red Tape Grounding Reusable Rockets by Tony DeTora, SFF Executive Director, Los Angeles - Aug 11, 2003 The Space Frontier Foundation congratulates Congress for taking the first steps to opening space to the public by holding hearings on regulatory barriers that may well ground an entire new spaceship industry before it even gets to fly. "Some insightful leaders in Congress recognize reusable commercial space transportation may well be the next technology revolution following the Internet, and are trying to make sure this incredible new industry gets a chance to spread its wings before being caged by...

The Case For Space Based Solar Power Development by Arthur Smith,New York - Aug 11, 2003 Energy policy is in the news again, with debates in Congress, statements from presidential candidates, consternation over our dependence on the Middle East for oil, and a California recall election traceable in part to energy supply problems for that state. Use of energy, whether fuel for transportation, electrical energy running the internet, or the destructive energy released in weapons, is central to our economy and security. It is with good reason that the technical term for energy use per unit time, "power", suggests...

X Prize Rejects Gravity Control Rocket Group By Leonard David Senior Space Writer posted: 05:30 pm ET 15 June 2003 It was a weighty decision, not taken lightly, but X Prize officials voted last week to bar a group attempting to harness gravity from entering the contest aimed at promoting space tourism. The X Prize Foundation notified Gravity Control Technologies (GCT) of Budapest, Hungary that its application to become an X Prize team had not been accepted. GCT was founded in 1999 and is a privately held aerospace research firm delving into superconductivity and Zero Point Energy Field physics...

Human Mission To Mars: The Second Aurora Working Meeting Paris ( ESA ) Jun 04, 2003 While final preparations continue for the launch of ESA's Mars Express -- the Agency's first mission to explore the Red Planet -- European scientists and engineers are also looking towards the future, to a time when humans are able to set foot on the rust-red sands of our neighbouring world. Preliminary planning for this giant leap in space exploration is well underway as part of ESA's Aurora Programme, and some 60 members of industry, national space agencies and ESA came together on 14-15 May...

China Launches 4th Unmanned Space Capsule BEIJING - China's fourth unmanned space capsule blasted into orbit early Monday in a test launch that soon could lead to a manned flight, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The Shenzhou IV spacecraft blasted off at 12:40 a.m. local time from a launch pad in the Gobi desert and entered a preset orbit, Xinhua said. It did not say when the craft would return. The capsule carries all the equipment for manned flight, and life support and other systems will be tested while it is in orbit, Xinhua said. Beijing has invested prestige...

Shenzhou-4 Blastoff Within Fortnight by Wei Long Beijing - Dec 23, 2002 Shenzhou-4 is ready to launch between Christmas and New Year, the Hong Kong-based Wen Wei Po reported last Wednesday (Dec. 18). Based on information obtained from unidentified sources, the newspaper said that the fourth, and perhaps the last, unmanned test mission of Shenzhou would very likely be launched in this timeframe. The Changzheng-2F (CZ-2F or Long March 2F) launcher is now standing on the pad waiting for the liftoff. Weather at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre (JSLC) and its surrounding area has been favourable. The launch centre,...

PRESS RELEASE Date Released: Thursday, May 30, 2002 European Space Agency Mars Express has the sophisticated science to find the water ice on Mars "The presence of such a large amount of water ice under Mars's surface is very surprising. Especially so close to the surface!" says Gerhard Schwehm, Head of the Planetary Missions Division at ESA. The team working on ESA's Mars Express, the next mission to the Red Planet, is thrilled by NASA's Mars Odyssey detection of hydrogen-rich layers under the Martian surface. This hydrogen indicates the presence of water ice in the top surface of the Martian...

China planning moon landing as first step to Mars BEIJING (AFP) May 20, 2002 China may be planning to go to the moon in the course of the next decade, but an exhibition here Monday suggested it has far more ambitious goals -- Mars. A model at the exhibition, organized for the country's National Science Week, showed China's vision of a permanent settlement on the red planet, a sci-fi fantasy replete with shiny domes and large greenhouses. "From a long-term perspective, it is a historical necessity for man to travel into space," a poster at the exhibition proclaimed. Chinese...

China plans base on the moon to exploit mineral resources: report BEIJING (AFP) May 19, 2002 China, which is pushing ahead with a fledgling space program, plans to establish a base on the moon in order to exploit its mineral resources, state media reported Sunday. "Our long-term goal is to set up a base on the moon and mine its riches for the benefit of humanity," the Beijing Morning Post said, citing Ouyang Ziyuan, an official with the Chinese space program. The paper said China has adopted a three-step plan that will eventually make it possible to fly to...

The Outer Space and Moon Treaties and the Coming Moon Rush by Bill Carswell Los Angeles - Apr 18, 2002 Instead of being led by superpowers, the next space race could reasonably be instigated by a developing nation with spacefaring capabilities. An analysis of current events points to China as being a strong candidate for filling this role. The race would not be a sprint, like the cold war race to the moon, but rather a marathon. The goal of the instigator would be to use lunar resources to build solar power satellites to help develop rural and isolated population...

China launches third unmanned space vehicle BEIJING (AFP) Mar 25, 2002 China has successfully launched its third unmanned space vehicle, the country's official newsagency reported late Monday. According to Xinhua reports, the "Shenzhou III" blasted off Monday night at 2200 local time (1400 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province. Scientists at the Beijing Aerospace Directing and Controlling Center told Xinhua the launch went ahead according to plan and that the vehicle had arrived at a preset orbit. Chinese President Jiang Zemin observed the aunch of the Long March II F rocket which reportedly...

China Plans Heavy Lifter To Launch Space Station And More Beijing - Mar 14, 2002 - People's Daily China is preparing for intensified space missions and international satellite launch services by developing a new family of powerful launch vehicles, senior aerospace officials said Wednesday in Beijing. Such carrier rockets will be used to launch a 20-ton, permanently manned space station, said Zhang Qingwei, president of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC). To realize its goal of exploring outer space and expanding shares in the global satellite launch market, China has stepped up the design and development of carrier...

Shenzhou-3 On The Pad Awaiting Launch by Wei Long Beijing - Mar 12, 2002 Senior Chinese officials have confirmed that the Changzheng-2F (Long March-2F) launcher with the Shenzhou-3 (SZ-3, Shenzhou means quot;Magic Vesselquot; or quot;Divine Vesselquot;) spacecraft on board is now standing at a Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre (JSLC) launch pad. The confirmation came last week here during the Fifth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC) and the Ninth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Last Wednesday (Mar. 6) China News Service reported Hu Shixiang, Deputy Minister of the General Armament Department of...