Spacevidcast - Space News and Launches » NewSpace http://www.spacevidcast.com Making Space Commonplace Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:27:30 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Making Space Commonplace Spacevidcast - Space News and Launches no Making Space Commonplace Spacevidcast - Space News and Launches » NewSpace http://www.spacevidcast.com/svcrss.png http://www.spacevidcast.com/newspace/ Spaceport America Runway Dedication – SpacePod 2010.10.26 http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/10/26/spaceport-america-runway-dedication-spacepod-2010-10-26/ http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/10/26/spaceport-america-runway-dedication-spacepod-2010-10-26/#comments Tue, 26 Oct 2010 00:49:54 +0000 Benjamin Higginbotham http://www.spacevidcast.com/?p=4689 SPACEPORT RUNWAY DEDICATION INCLUDES SIR RICHARD BRANSON AND NM GOVERNOR RICHARDSON

UPHAM, NM – The New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) today dedicated the nearly two-mile long “Governor Bill RIchardson Spaceway” at Spaceport America, representing significant progress toward launching commercial customers into space from the desert of New Mexico. Governor Bill Richardson, Sir Richard Branson and approximately 30 of more than 380 Virgin Galactic future astronauts attended the event along with guests from around the world and watched a flyover and landing by Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo, in a captive carry with SpaceShipTwo.

“We are celebrating the world’s first spaceway at the world’s first purpose-built, commercial spaceport,” said Governor Richardson. “New Mexico is not only helping to launch the commercial spaceflight industry, but we are launching new jobs and opportunities for the people of southern New Mexico. Today marks a significant milestone on our historic and exciting journey.”


The nearly two-mile long runway was officially named the “Governor Bill Richardson Spaceway” at the event, and Governor Richardson joined Sir Richard in placing their handprints in clay as a permanent commemoration of the historic day.
NMSA Chairman Ben Woods said the board of the NMSA had met early today to formally and unanimously approve the name of the spaceway.


Sir Richard Branson commented, “It is incredible to be here today with Governor Richardson and be part of the runway dedication at Spaceport America. To see for myself how far the construction has come from when I last visited New Mexico is truly inspiring – I for one can’t wait for the grand opening – today has brought it one step closer to reality for me. The last few weeks have been some of the most exciting in Virgin Galactic’s development. Our spaceship is flying beautifully and will soon be making powered flights, propelled by our new hybrid rocket motor, which is also making excellent progress in its own test program. The investment deal with our new partners Aabar has successfully closed, securing funding for the remainder of the development program and we are seeing unprecedented numbers of people coming forward to secure their own reservations for this incredible experience. To be here in New Mexico to witness this historic moment is the perfect end to a great month.”

Governor Richardson, Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin Galactic future astronauts and the guests were all invited to tour the terminal hangar facility, which is nearing completion. The iconic building, meeting Gold LEED standards, will serve as the operating hub for Virgin Galactic and is expected to house up to two WhiteKnightTwos and five SpaceShipTwos, in addition to all of Virgin’s astronaut preparation facilities and mission control.

Held immediately following the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS), the Spaceport America Runway Dedication marked the culmination of “Space Week” in New Mexico, and was made possible in part thanks to premier event sponsors Summit West Construction, Gerald Martin Construction Management, AECOM, Molzen-Corbin, Dekker/Perich/Sabatini, of Albuquerque, NM, and the New Mexico Tourism Department. Other speakers at the event included: Lori Garver, Deputy Administrator of NASA; George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic; Patricia Hynes, Executive Director of the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium; and Rick Homans, Executive Director of the NMSA.

Lori Garver, Deputy Administrator of NASA, said, “With the recent signing of the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 by President Obama, it is clear that our nation’s future space efforts will be working even more closely than with the growing commercial space transportation industry,“ She added, ”Innovative approaches that foster this new commercial industry will bring more competition and opportunities that will lower the costs of spaceflight and payload services for America’s aerospace programs, and introduce new human space transportation systems.”

The 42-inch thick spaceway is designed to support nearly every type of aircraft in the world today. It is made up of 24 inches of prepared sub-grade, followed by four inches of asphalt, and finished with a 14-inch layer of concrete. The spaceway will accommodate returning launch vehicles, fly-back rocket boosters and other space launch and training vehicles.

Spaceport America has been providing commercial launch services since 2006. The state-of-the-art launch facility is under construction near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and is expected to become fully operational in 2011. Officials at Spaceport America have been working closely with their anchor tenant Virgin Galactic and other leading aerospace firms such as Lockheed Martin, Moog-FTS, Armadillo Aerospace, and UP Aerospace to develop commercial spaceflight at the new facility. The economic impact of launches, tourism and new construction at Spaceport America are already delivering on its promise to the people of New Mexico.

]]> http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/10/26/spaceport-america-runway-dedication-spacepod-2010-10-26/feed/ 5 NewSpace News – Live Show 3.32 http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/09/28/newspace-news-live-show-3-32/ http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/09/28/newspace-news-live-show-3-32/#comments Tue, 28 Sep 2010 04:52:16 +0000 Benjamin Higginbotham http://www.spacevidcast.com/?p=4591 Space Adventures has been busy setting up new partnerships to get YOU in to space, Boeing is making good use of their Orion tech, Armadillo Aerospace not only wants to put you in to space, but they also have awesome video of their Super Mod vehicle. As mentioned in the show, this is the new Virgin Galactic video that we decided not to air: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPJSlI4XXhE If you’re a space geek, that is certainly worth the 9 minute watch!

]]> http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/09/28/newspace-news-live-show-3-32/feed/ 0 NewSpace 2010: SEDS-ISU Dinner — Students and Alumni Only http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/30/newspace-2010-seds-isu-dinner-students-and-alumni-only/ http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/30/newspace-2010-seds-isu-dinner-students-and-alumni-only/#comments Fri, 30 Jul 2010 03:27:52 +0000 Benjamin Higginbotham http://www.spacevidcast.com/?p=4209 Students for the Exploration and Development of Space – International Space University Dinner is open to SEDS, ISU, and Singularity University students and alumni only. Current space industry leaders engage in an inspirational and motivational discussion giving their perspectives on how to be a leader in tomorrow’s space industry. A presentation on the National Space Society’s Space Ambassador Program will also be given.

Gary Barnhard, National Space Society
Will Pomerantz, X Prize Foundation
Dr. Bob Richards, CEO Odyssey Moon

]]> http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/30/newspace-2010-seds-isu-dinner-students-and-alumni-only/feed/ 3 NewSpace 2010: Lunch with Tom Nugent: The Story of LaserMotive http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/29/newspace-2010-lunch-with-tom-nugent-the-story-of-lasermotive/ http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/29/newspace-2010-lunch-with-tom-nugent-the-story-of-lasermotive/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:56:37 +0000 Benjamin Higginbotham http://www.spacevidcast.com/?p=4202 LaserMotive is a Seattle-based company developing laser power beaming systems to transmit electricity without wires, for applications where wires are either cost prohibitive or physically impractical. Their first project was to win the NASA-sponsored Power Beaming Challenge, which they did by winning the Level 1 prize of $900,000 in 2009. This is the story of how it all started, and where it’s headed.

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]]> http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/29/newspace-2010-lunch-with-tom-nugent-the-story-of-lasermotive/feed/ 1 NewSpace 2010: The Road Forward to the New Worlds of Tomorrow http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/27/newspace-2010-the-road-forward-to-the-new-worlds-of-tomorrow/ http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/27/newspace-2010-the-road-forward-to-the-new-worlds-of-tomorrow/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:51:00 +0000 Benjamin Higginbotham http://www.spacevidcast.com/?p=4198 What does the future hold for the space industry? What role should NASA play and how should commercial companies (new and old) fit into this plan? What destinations and business cases should be the focus of efforts? This panel of experts and visionaries will seek to answer these questions.

]]> http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/27/newspace-2010-the-road-forward-to-the-new-worlds-of-tomorrow/feed/ 2 NewSpace 2010: To Mars and Beyond http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/27/newspace-2010-to-mars-and-beyond/ http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/27/newspace-2010-to-mars-and-beyond/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:49:16 +0000 Benjamin Higginbotham http://www.spacevidcast.com/?p=4195 When humans go to mars, what would be the best use of resources and what should be done to support science, exploration, and development? What technologies and infrastructure will be necessary?

]]> http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/27/newspace-2010-to-mars-and-beyond/feed/ 1 NewSpace 2010: Approaching Warp Speed: Advanced Space Propulsion http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/27/newspace-2010-approaching-warp-speed-advanced-space-propulsion/ http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/27/newspace-2010-approaching-warp-speed-advanced-space-propulsion/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:47:42 +0000 Benjamin Higginbotham http://www.spacevidcast.com/?p=4192 Up until recently, propulsion systems have been either high thrust or high efficiency, but recent technologies and methods, such as VASMIR, fission-based propulsion, and laser based propulsion look promising. Are these systems capable of delivering payloads to new destinations in the near future?

]]> http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/27/newspace-2010-approaching-warp-speed-advanced-space-propulsion/feed/ 5 NewSpace 2010: Space Solar Power http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/27/newspace-2010-space-solar-power/ http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/27/newspace-2010-space-solar-power/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:45:45 +0000 Benjamin Higginbotham http://www.spacevidcast.com/?p=4189 Recently, a number of governments have taken a serious interest in Space Solar Power as a way to alleviate the world’s energy crisis. This panel will investigate what technologies are necessary to utilize SSP on a commercial scale and if this is feasible in the long term.

]]> http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/27/newspace-2010-space-solar-power/feed/ 4 NewSpace 2010: Closing the Lunar Business Case http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/27/newspace-2010-closing-the-lunar-business-case/ http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/27/newspace-2010-closing-the-lunar-business-case/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:43:52 +0000 Benjamin Higginbotham http://www.spacevidcast.com/?p=4186 What does it take to close a business case on the moon? What technologies are necessary in order to sufficiently reduce the cost and how can we leverage current technologies in order to reach that level with the least development time and cost? A panel of lunar science experts will discuss the status and future of these technologies.

]]> http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/27/newspace-2010-closing-the-lunar-business-case/feed/ 1 NewSpace 2010: A New Space Exploration Enterprise http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/27/newspace-2010-a-new-space-exploration-enterprise/ http://www.spacevidcast.com/2010/07/27/newspace-2010-a-new-space-exploration-enterprise/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:42:19 +0000 Benjamin Higginbotham http://www.spacevidcast.com/?p=4183 Why should we go to space? What should be our priorities and destinations? How should we get there?

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