News: Space: The Next Business Frontier

Space: The Next Business Frontier
Wall Street Journal, 17 December 2011
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203413304577086660050261668.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

"We can put satellites into space at a fraction of the price that it currently costs," he says—and Virgin is working with a "tiny little" company (the name of which hasn't yet been publicly disclosed) to do just that. "Whereby, for instance, [on] Google, you can see what's going on six months ago, these satellites will be able to see what's going on right now."

News: Stratolaunch: a contrarian view

Stratolaunch: a contrarian view
NewSpace Journal, 15 December 2011
http://www.newspacejournal.com/2011/12/15/stratolaunch-a-contrarian-view/

However, the more I thought about it later Tuesday and into yesterday, the more questions developed in my mind about this venture. From a technical standpoint, I don’t doubt that the Stratolaunch team has the ability to develop what they’re proposing, particularly given the experience of Scaled and SpaceX. Yes, there will be complications along the way, but these companies are as well positioned as any to deal with them.

News: Stratolaunch Announces Formation

Stratolaunch Systems
Stratolaunch Systems, 13 December 2011
http://stratolaunchsystems.com/

Stratolaunch Systems, a Paul G. Allen project, is developing an air-launch system that will revolutionize space transportation by providing orbital access to space at lower costs, with greater safety and more flexibility. Delivering payloads in the 10,000lbm class into low earth orbit, the system allows for maximum operational flexibility and payload delivery from several possible operational sites, while minimizing mission constraints such as range availability and weather.

LEO on the Cheap

LEO on the Cheap
Quarkweb, 12 December 2011
http://www.quarkweb.com/nqc/lib/gencoll/

This is a good book on some approaches to lowering the cost of access to space.

News: Buried in space? Virginia may help pay for it

Buried in space? Virginia may help pay for it
LA Times, 11 December 2011
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-space-burial-20111209,0,993488.story

A bill intended as a boost for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport would provide a state income tax deduction.

News: $5,000 Kit to Send Your Own Rocket to the Moon

$5,000 Kit to Send Your Own Rocket to the Moon
Space.com, 9 December 2011
http://www.space.com/13884-cheap-moon-rocket-balloon.html

Launching the rocket into space from its balloon is expected to be as easy as "fire and forget," but a simple ham radio aboard the rocket could beam telemetry data back to the human user on the ground. True to the DIY spirit, the team also plans to use mostly commercially available parts for building the rocket.

News: So, You Got a Space Rocket But Nowhere To Launch It?

So, You Got a Space Rocket But Nowhere To Launch It?
Wired, 8 December 2011
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/12/so-you-got-a-space-rocket-but-nowhere-to-launch-it/

So, you want to build a space rocket or maybe you already have? Unless you represent a government agency, have access to Californian deserts or Siberia you might soon realize you have problem. The problem faced by everyone building rockets.

Where in hell are you going to launch it?

[...]

Water!