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Wednesday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting on space related activities from around the world. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen joins forces with legendary U. S. aircraft designer Burt Rutan for a new concept in commercial orbital spaceflight operations. The unveiling draws wide news coverage. NASA’s Johnson Space Center partners with a high tech accelerator to nurture the start up of small companies based on space technologies. NASA’s Cassini mission examines Dione, a moon of Saturn. Super Earth discoveries present a surprise.
1. From the Coalition for Space Exploration: Microsoft co-founder and financier Paul Allen join forces with maverick aerospace engineer Burt Rutan on a new commercial launch strategy for satellite launches and crewed missions to Earth orbit.
http://bit.ly/tFWqIo
A. From Space News: The launch strategy involves a large 747 class mother ship that will rise to 30,000 feet prior to releasing and launching a SpaceX developed upper stage rocket. Stratolaunch Systems is based in Huntsville, Ala.
http://bit.ly/sa3hcD
B. From Spaceflightnow.com: Former NASA chief Mike Griffin of Huntsville, Ala., is part of the Stratolaunch Systems team. The airborne launch concept allows commercial customers great flexibility in the trajectory of their payloads. The strategy does not lock operations into one single launch site.
http://bit.ly/stGtOd
C. From the Los Angeles Times: Paul Allen’s Stratolaunch Systems could bring airport like operations to orbital spaceflight for satellite launches and eventually humans.
http://lat.ms/vUpbMe
D. From the Wall Street Journal: Legendary aircraft designer Burt Rutan believes the StratoLaunch Systems strategy can reduce costs through the use of composite materials to fashion the large aircraft that will serve as the rocket launcher.
http://on.wsj.com/tXeYkj
2. From the Houston Chronicle: NASA’s Johnson Space Center forges an alliance with the Houston Technology Center, a business accelerator, to assist displaced shuttle program workers with starting new businesses based on innovations drawn from their spaceflight careers.
http://bit.ly/v74sY7
3. From the Huntsville Times: NASA’s Cassini mission gathers close-up images of Saturn’s moon Dionne.
http://bit.ly/u5SHtI
4. From Nature News: A look at the dilemma posed by alien planets fitting the definition of “Super Earths.” NASA’s Kepler space telescope is finding hundreds of alien planets and perhaps the biggest surprise is how many of them fall into the category of “Super Earths,” planetary bodies larger than the Earth but smaller than Neptune. One third to one half of newly discovered alien planets fall into the category, and that is not what theorists predicted when Kepler was launched in 2009.
http://bit.ly/sLnTIL
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