Kennedy Space Center Looks Toward The New Space Economy

Kennedy Space Center Looks Toward The New Space Economy

April 15, 2024Posted inGeneral, Space News
Tom Engler, the Director of Center Planning and Development at KSC addressed Florida Tax Watch at their 2024 meeting last week, envisioning up to 300 launches per year from KSC in the near future. Photo: Florida Tax Watch
Tom Engler, the Director of Center Planning and Development at KSC addressed Florida Tax Watch at their 2024 meeting last week, envisioning up to 300 launches per year from KSC in the near future. Photo: Florida Tax Watch

In the new era of both public and private spaceflight, Florida’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) continues to serve as a major launchpad for America’s ambitions in space. Tom Engler, the Director of Center Planning and Development at KSC, recently highlighted the growing synergy between the federal government, private space ventures, and military advancements in space travel during a speech at the 2024 Florida TaxWatch Spring Meeting held last week in in Winter Park.

SpaceX Launches Starlink 6-49, Booster B1062 Completes 20th Mission

SpaceX Launches Starlink 6-49, Booster B1062 Completes 20th Mission

April 13, 2024Posted inFalcon 9, Space News, SpaceX, Starlink
For a time, Falcon 9’s plume illuminated the whole rocket body as it ascended to space, powered by nine Merlin engines.
Photo: Ed Cordero / Florida Media Now

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 tonight from Pad SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and sent another twenty-three Starlink satellites to orbit. Liftoff occurred at 09:22 PM EDT on a crisp, clear spring evening on the Space Coast.

Note: Originally published by Charles Boyer at Talk of Titusville

Astranis Omega – Next Year’s Challenger to Starlink?

Astranis Omega – Next Year’s Challenger to Starlink?

April 11, 2024Posted inSpace News
Astranis today announced their next-gen satellite OMEGA. Graphic: Astranis
Astranis today announced their next-gen satellite OMEGA. Graphic: Astranis

Based in the United States, Astranis says they have made a significant breakthrough in delivering satellite internet with Omega, dubbing it the “pound-for-pound the most powerful communications satellite”. Omega is destined for higher geostationary orbits approximately 22,000 miles above the planet. This positioning is notably different from the lower Earth orbits utilized by Starlink satellites, which orbit sixty times closer.

“With Omega, our customers simply get more throughput at lower prices” 

Astranis CEO John Gedmark
Final Flight: United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy

Final Flight: United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy

April 10, 2024Posted inDelta IV Heavy, Space News, United Launch Alliance
Storied Booster Concludes Its Service with Classified Mission
NROL-70, the final Delta IV mission, launches from CCSFS on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. Photo: Mark Stone/FMN
NROL-70, the final Delta IV mission, launches from CCSFS on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. Photo: Mark Stone/FMN

On a bittersweet day in in the annals of spaceflight, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) said goodbye to one of its most powerful and storied rockets. With an ontime launch at 12:53 PM EDT on April 9, the Delta IV Heavy rocket soared into the skies for its final mission, carrying a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), designated NROL-70.

Space-X Launches First Rideshare to a Mid-Inclination Orbit

Space-X Launches First Rideshare to a Mid-Inclination Orbit

April 8, 2024Posted inSpace News, SpaceX, Uncategorized
Bandwagon - 1 launches from KSC's Pad 39A on 4/7/24.
Bandwagon-1 launches from KSC’s Pad 39A on 4/7/24., marking SpaceX’s entry into Mid-Inclination Orbit ridesharing. Photo: Ed Cordero/FMN

Sunday night saw an on-time launch for SpaceX’s latest Falcon 9 mission known as Bandwagon-1. The rideshare mission, SpaceX’s 35th of 2024, carried 11 satellites to a mid-inclination orbit (45 degrees) for six different companies. A mid-inclination orbit places satellites over populated areas rather than providing global coverage seen with standard polar orbits.

NASA Astronaut Loral O’Hara and International Crew Return to Earth

NASA Astronaut Loral O’Hara and International Crew Return to Earth

April 7, 2024Posted inISS, NASA, Space News
The MS-24 Soyuz capsule returns to Earth on April 6, 2024. Astronaut Loral O'Hara and two cosmonauts were in good health.
The MS-24 Soyuz capsule returns to Earth on April 6, 2024. The three crew members were all reported as being in good health (Image credit: NASA/Roscosmos)

In the quiet, expansive steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, Expedition 70 to the ISS officially ended. NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya from Belarus, concluded their space mission with a parachute-assisted landing in the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft at 3:17 a.m. EDT on Saturday, April 6 (12:17 p.m. Kazakhstan time).

Biden Administration Proposes Taxing Space Launches to Support FAA Operations

Biden Administration Proposes Taxing Space Launches to Support FAA Operations

April 6, 2024Posted inSpace News
A SpaceX Falcon 9 carries a crew to the ISS in this 2023 photo. SpaceX may become subject to commercial spaceflight taxes. Photo: Mark Stone/FMN
A SpaceX Falcon 9 carries a crew to the ISS in this 2023 photo. SpaceX made almost 100 launches in 2023 and is targeting 150 in 2024. Photo: Mark Stone/FMN

In a push that could adversely impact private space companies, President Joe Biden is advocating for the inclusion of space launch operations within the scope of U.S. airspace taxes. This proposal, part of the president’s budget released last month, aims to revise the longstanding aviation excise tax framework to incorporate contributions from private space entities like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, as reported by The New York Times.

NASA Rent-a-Car May Greet Lunar Astronauts

NASA Rent-a-Car May Greet Lunar Astronauts

April 4, 2024Posted inNASA, Space News
An initial rendering from the team led by Intuitive Machines. Photo Credit: Intuitive Machines.
An initial rendering from the team led by Intuitive Machines.  Photo Credit: Intuitive Machines.

At an April 3, 2024, news conference, NASA announced its approach for the development, construction, and fielding of one (or potentially more) lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) as one more element of the Artemis Program.  As opposed to selecting one company to produce an LTV, three “awardees” were selected to compete in a rather complicated process for the final project award. 

NASA Set to Announce Lunar Rover Winner(s) Today

NASA Set to Announce Lunar Rover Winner(s) Today

April 3, 2024Posted inArtemis, Aviation and Space News, NASA, Space News
Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan is seen test driving the “stripped down” Lunar Rover Vehicle (LRV)
prior to loading the LRV up. Equipment later loaded onto the LRV
included the ground controlled television assembly, the lunar communications
relay unit, the hi-gain antenna, the low-gain antenna, aft tool pallet, and
lunar tools and scientific gear.
Photo: NASA

One of the most iconic parts of the Apollo missions were videos and photos of astronauts driving around a lunar rover on the moon’s surface. Used for the final three Apollo missions — Apollo 15, 16, and 17 — the 462-pound rovers were built by Boeing and had a top speed of 6 MPH. They were used for mobility and transporting astronauts and equipment, and were also equipped with a color television camera that showed live views to audiences back on Earth of the astronauts driving on the lunar surface. The cameras also provided remote views of the liftoff of the Lunar Module’s ascent module, and provided the only views of humans lifting off of the surface of the moon as they began their return to Earth.

Launch Date Set for Delta IV Heavy, Another Slight Shift Right For Starliner

Launch Date Set for Delta IV Heavy, Another Slight Shift Right For Starliner

April 3, 2024Posted inDelta IV Heavy, Space News, United Launch Alliance
Delta IV Heavy on March 28, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
Delta IV Heavy on March 28, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN

Tuesday was an active day for launch scheduling: United Launch Alliance has announced that they will make their next attempt to launch Delta IV Heavy and NROL-70 on Tuesday April 9th, and later, NASA announced that the Crewed Flight Test of Boeing’s Starliner is now Monday, May 6th.

Space Debris from International Space Station Crashes into Florida Home

Space Debris from International Space Station Crashes into Florida Home

April 2, 2024Posted inISS, Space News
Space Debris, believed to be a discarded battery from the ISS, crashed into a home in Naples, Florida last month. Photo: Alejandro Ortero
Space Debris, believed to be a discarded battery from the ISS, crashed into a home in Naples, Florida last month. Photo: Alejandro Ortero

In a bizarre incident, a piece of space debris from the International Space Station (ISS) plummeted through the roof of a Florida home last month. The unsuspecting homeowner, Alejandro Otero, was fortunate to be away at the time, but his son was inside when the nearly 2-pound object tore through the roof and both floors of their two-story house in Naples, Florida.