Monthly Archives: July 2009

Depot-Centric Human Spaceflight

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

In light of how well today went at the Augustine Committee, I felt that it would be worthwhile to post the propellant depot white paper that a group of us submitted last week. I was originally planning a much longer … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Space, Launch Vehicles, Lunar Commerce, Lunar Exploration and Development, Propellant Depots, RLV Markets, Space Transportation | 17 Comments

One of the Most Amazing 25 Minutes in (Recent) NASA History [Updated]

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

Or at least that’s how Stephen Flemming put it on Twitter regarding Jeff Greason’s presentation at the Augustine Committee meeting today in Florida. To be fair, the rest of the subgroup also did an amazing job, especially Chris Chyba’s wrapup … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Space, COTS, ESAS, International Space Collaboration, International Space Competition, Launch Vehicles, Lunar Commerce, Lunar Exploration and Development, NASA, Propellant Depots, Space Policy, Space Transportation, Technology | 8 Comments

Random Thought: NASA Multi-Launch Hypocrisy

Posted on July 29, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

Just reading some of the comments from the Constellation used-car sale pitch going on in Huntsville today.  One of the topics discussed was how Ares-V enables manned missions to Mars.   The Marshall guys put up a chart showing that depending … Continue reading →

Posted in ESAS, Launch Vehicles, Lunar Exploration and Development, NASA | 10 Comments

Shameless Self-Promotion: Depot Article on New Scientist

Posted on July 29, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

Last week, right after I finished sending my propellant depot white paper in to the Augustine Committee, I got contacted by David Shiga of New Scientist with some questions for an article he was writing.  The article is now available … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Space, NASA, Propellant Depots, RLV Markets | 3 Comments

MSFC Competency Bleg

Posted on July 28, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

I know this may sound mean-spirited, but I’m genuinely curious: does anyone know of any big projects that MSFC has played a major role in over the last 30 years that were actually successful?  I’ve only been paying attention since … Continue reading →

Posted in NASA | 12 Comments

Assumptions

Posted on July 25, 2009 by johnhare

guest blogger john hare It is a requirement of living that you make assumptions about things. If you have to have all conceivable information on any subject, and have all of it verified to a high degree, before you do … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Tethercatcher

Posted on July 25, 2009 by johnhare

guest blogger john hare Momentum exchange tethers could be one of the enabling technologies of the next phase of space development, and almost certainly will be a centerpiece in the phase after that. The problem with them is the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Heading North

Posted on July 20, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

I’m just about to head out from the NewSpace 2009 conference.  Honestly, I ditched out of all of today, and parts of the other days, between my propellant depot panel, and the white paper I was working on.  The panel … Continue reading →

Posted in Administrivia | 3 Comments

Ribbon II

Posted on July 19, 2009 by johnhare

guest blogger john hare Whether or not the ribbon propellant system of Universal will work well or not is a subject of interest. I gave some thought to similar concepts some time ago, which makes it more interesting to me … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments

Feeding the Turborocket

Posted on July 19, 2009 by johnhare

guest blogger john hare Air breathing engines have many problems competing with rockets on acceleration missions. High on the list is the inlet that slows the incoming air and uses that kinetic energy to compress the air before sending it … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 19 Comments