DailyDirt: Space Race Continues

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Recently, some cool new space efforts are lining up to deliver people and payloads into orbit. For example, SpaceX shipped some supplies to the International Space Station, and it's on track to providing a rocket system for ferrying astronauts to the ISS as well. More and more commercial space ventures are competing with government space programs, and this new space race will hopefully continue and create even more inspiring space technologies over the next decade and beyond. Here are just a few other interesting developments along the way. If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.
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Filed Under: ardusat, astronauts, commercial rockets, excalibur almaz, international space station, moon, orbit, space, taikonauts
Companies: faa, kickstarter, nasa, scistarter, spacex, virgin galactic


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  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 26 Jun 2012 @ 5:22pm

    um....

    The Soviets never put a man on the moon, so that part don't seem so reliably tested. I'm sure their spacecraft can do low earth orbit and re-entry. The moon would be a altogether different venture for soviet-era tech.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    abc gum, 26 Jun 2012 @ 6:26pm

    With irresponsible corporate interests in outer space there will be renewed interest and need for junk collectors. To date little has been accomplished in this field other than empty promises. Gee, let's test our new sat killer on this broken satellite, I'm looking at you China - not that they are any worse than the multitudes of other self interests. Based upon an exponential growth rate, how many decades will it take for the earth to have its very own rings, pretty!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Wolfy, 26 Jun 2012 @ 7:32pm

    Just a reminder to poster #1, the soviets have had the most success with landings in the seriously harsh environment of Venus... that kind of thing really, really tests your engineering.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Wally (profile), 26 Jun 2012 @ 8:06pm

    Why the FAA will regulate weather balloon rocket launches

    "NASA and the FAA have reached a tentative agreement to provide better guidelines for regulating all kinds of space launches. Virgin Galactic has been granted a license, but it might be interesting to see if all those amateur weather balloons and sub-orbital rocket projects will run into any regulatory problems."

    Not that anybody will complain but:
    I can think of a couple very good reasons for this.
    1.Weather balloons are hard to predict where they will land where rockets are.
    2. Any one familiar with the name "Lary Walters" and his story would know this is a very good idea.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    btr1701 (profile), 26 Jun 2012 @ 8:54pm

    Jurisdiction

    > NASA and the FAA have reached a tentative
    > agreement to provide better guidelines for regulating
    > all kinds of space launches. Virgin Galactic has been
    > granted a license, but it might be interesting to see if all
    > those amateur weather balloons and sub-orbital rocket
    > projects will run into any regulatory problems.

    I wonder why the FAA and NASA think they have the jurisdiction to regulate all space launches.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    abc gum, 26 Jun 2012 @ 9:27pm

    Somewhat related link

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2012 @ 1:07am

    I would like to see a steampunk satellite powered by a tiny combustion engine in space.

    Youtube: El motor V-12 más pequeño del mundo.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    snidely (profile), 27 Jun 2012 @ 3:42am

    It's only a matter of time...

    How long until somebody attempts to copyright the interface to attach to the international space station? Hey, it's just a big API and it's in SPACE, so it definitely needs a license fee to attach.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      abc gum, 27 Jun 2012 @ 5:04am

      Re: It's only a matter of time...

      A whole new realm of patent opportunities await in the final frontier. Just imagine the innovation inspired by existing things with "connected to the internet from low earth orbit" appended to them. We have a very bright future my friends.

      link to this | view in chronology ]


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