World’s First Commercial SpacePort!!!

[Melkor]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww6NQKDx6zI&feature=player_embedded#!

Sir Richard Branson, owner of the Virgin Group of companies, opened the world’s first commercial SpacePort at a dedication ceremony in southern New Mexico. Branson was joined by New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin and scores of would-be space travelers at the Virgin Galactic Gateway for the dedication.


It had been nearly a year since the businessman was here to celebrate the completion of the runway.  ”The building is absolutely magnificent,” he said. “It is literally out of this world, and that’s what we were aiming at creating.”
The 120,000 square-foot building, built at a cost of $209 million, meets LEED Gold standards for environmental quality.  It was designed by United Kingdom-based Foster + Partners, along with URS Corporation and local New Mexico architects SMPC. The facility was built using local materials and regional construction techniques, its range of sustainable features include geothermal heating and cooling.
The SpacePort, a combined terminal and hangar facility, will support up to two WhiteKnightTwo and five SpaceShipTwo vehicles. In addition, The Gateway will house all of the company’s astronaut preparation and celebration facilities, a mission control center, and a friends and family area. There is also space committed to public access via the planned New Mexico Spaceport Authority’s Visitor Experience.
Commercial service will start-up after the company gets a license from the Federal Aviation Administration. NASA has already signed a $4.5m contract with the company for up to three chartered research flights.  Passenger tickets will cost $200,000 each; more than 450 people have already  purchased tickets to fly with Virgin Galactic.  The two and a half-hour sub-orbital flights will include about five minutes of weightlessness and views of Earth that only astronauts have been able to experience.
Sir Richard said he expects flights for space tourists to begin in nine to 18 months. He and his two children, Sam and Holly, will be the first commercial passengers on the SpaceShipTwo.

[zakk]

 

[Meho Krljic]

U relativno sličnom tonu:
 
 Asteroid Mining Venture Backed by Google Execs, James Cameron Unveiled

A newly unveiled company with some high-profile backers — including filmmaker James Cameron and Google co-founder Larry Page — has announced plans to mine near-Earth asteroids for resources such as precious metals and water.
Planetary Resources, Inc. intends to sell these materials, generating a healthy profit for itself. But it also aims to advance humanity's exploration and exploitation of space, with resource extraction serving as an anchor industry that helps our species spread throughout the solar system.
"If you look at space resources, the logical next step is to go to the near-Earth asteroids," Planetary Resources co-founder and co-chairman Eric Anderson told SPACE.com. "They're just so valuable, and so easy to reach energetically. Near-Earth asteroids really are the low-hanging fruit of the solar system."
Planetary Resources is officially unveiling its asteroid-mining plans at 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT) Tuesday (April 24) during a news conference at Seattle's Museum of Flight.
Precious metals and water
Two of the resources the company plans to mine are platinum-group metals and water, Anderson said. [Images: Planetary Resources' Asteroid Mining Plans]
Platinum-group metals — ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum — are found in low concentrations on Earth and can be tough to access, which is why they're so expensive. In fact, Anderson said, they don't occur naturally in Earth's crust, having been deposited on our planet over the eons by asteroid impacts.
"We're going to go to the source," Anderson said. "The platinum-group metals are many orders of magnitude easier to access in the high-concentration platinum asteroids than they are in the Earth's crust."
And there are a lot of precious metals up there waiting to be mined. A single platinum-rich space rock 1,650 feet (500 meters) wide contains the equivalent of all the platinum-group metals ever mined throughout human history, company officials said.
 
 (Planetary Resources, Inc. ) Small, water-rich near-Earth asteroids can be captured by spacecraft, allowing their … "When the availability of these metals increase, the cost will reduce on everything including defibrillators, hand-held devices, TV and computer monitors, catalysts," Planetary Resources co-founder and co-chairman Peter Diamandis said in a statement. "And with the abundance of these metals, we’ll be able to use them in mass production, like in automotive fuel cells."
Many asteroids are rich in water, too, another characteristic the company plans to exploit. Once extracted, this water would be sold in space, providing significant savings over water launched from the ground.
Asteroid water could help astronauts stay hydrated and grow food, provide radiation shielding for spaceships and be broken into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen, the chief components of rocket fuel, Anderson said.
Planetary Resources hopes its mining efforts lead to the establishment of in-space "gas stations" that could help many spacecraft refuel, from Earth-orbiting satellites to Mars-bound vessels.
"We're really talking about enabling the exploration of deep space," Anderson said. "That's what really gets me excited." [Future Visions of Human Spaceflight]
In addition to Page, Planetary Resources counts among its investors Ross Perot Jr., chairman of The Perot Group and son of the former presidential candidate; Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google; K. Ram Shriram, Google board of directors founding member; and Charles Simonyi, chairman of Intentional Software Corp., who has taken two tourist flights to the International Space Station.
Cameron serves the company as an adviser, as does former NASA space shuttle astronaut Tom Jones.
The plan
The company is not ready to break ground on an asteroid just yet. Before that can happen, it needs to do some in-depth prospecting work.
Of the roughly 8,900 known near-Earth asteroids, perhaps 100 or 150 are water-rich and easier to reach than the surface of the moon, Anderson said. Planetary Resources wants to identify and characterize these top targets before it does anything else.
To that end, it has designed a high-performance, low-cost space telescope that Anderson said should launch to low-Earth orbit within the next 18 to 24 months. This telescope will make observations of its own but also serve as a model for future instruments that will journey near promising asteroids and peer at them in great detail.
The prospecting phase should take a couple of years or so, Anderson added.
"We will then, at that time, determine which of these objects to pursue first for resource extraction, and what mission we'll be facilitating," he said. "Before you decide where to put the gas station, you've got to understand where the trucks are going to be driving by."
Mining activities will be enabled by swarms of unmanned spacecraft, according to company materials. Planetary Resources will focus on near-Earth asteroids, with no immediate plans to extend its reach to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter or to the surface of the moon, Anderson said.
He declined to estimate when Planetary Resources would begin extracting metals or water from space rocks, saying there are too many variables to lay out a firm timeline. But a recent study sponsored by Caltech's Keck Institute for Space Studies estimated that a 500-ton near-Earth asteroid could be snagged and dragged to the moon's orbit by 2025, at a cost of about $2.6 billion.
Whatever Planetary Resources' exact schedule may be, Anderson said the company is already well on its way to making things happen.
"We're out there right now, talking to customers," Anderson said. "We are open for discussions with companies — aerospace companies, mining companies, prospecting companies, resource companies. We're out working in that field, to really open up the solar system for business."

[scallop]

Zgodno, samo mislim da je Kameron malo prezreo za tu akciju. I, pitam se, šta ćemo sa 500 tona platine? Da pravimo konzerve za pivo?

[Meho Krljic]

Pa, piše:
 

When the availability of these metals increase, the cost will reduce on everything including defibrillators, hand-held devices, TV and computer monitors, catalysts," Planetary Resources co-founder and co-chairman Peter Diamandis said in a statement. "And with the abundance of these metals, we’ll be able to use them in mass production, like in automotive fuel cells."
 

Naravno, to će dramatično poremetiti stanje na berzama itd, tako da... počnite da prodajete tozla i platinu a kupujte genetski modifikovane žitarice dok je vreme 

[scallop]

Jebiga, ovaj Diamandis misli samo kako će i dalje da vozi svoj auto.   Zar nije šarmantna ova neinventivnost onih koji veruju da pokreću svet. Ja mogu da napišem ubedljiviju priču.

[Meho Krljic]

Pa, ja tek ne mogu da kažem da sam dovoljno maštovit da zamislim svet u kome eksploatacija asteroidnih rudnih bogatstava dramatično menja sve, tako da...

[scallop]

Ali si sigurno gledao kaubojski film kad banda osvoji grad sa štamparijom novca. Znaš i grčku legendu o kralju kome se ispunila želja da se sve što dodirne pretvori u zlato.   

[Meho Krljic]

Ma, naravno, zato sam i pomenuo gore da krenemo da se oslobađamo plemenitih metala a ulažemo u nešto drugo, no to je samo prostačko predviđanje. Ko zna šta sve još može da se promeni...

[scallop]

Kupi ti pušku i nešto municije. Sve mi se čini da će uskoro zatrebati.

[Meho Krljic]

I da krenem sa skladištenjem konzervirane hrane i flaširane vode? Ima smisla! Ali nemojmo odmah u apokaliptične vode, možda se sve promeni na bolje!!!

[scallop]

Jesi li primetio kako je reagovao Kuga kad je shvatio da su Merkelova i Sarkozi opet zajebali raju, a ne bankare? Apokalipsa je sada! Mi smo kao žabac koga kuvaju, a još misli da mu je toplo.

[Meho Krljic]

Ma, dobro, u svakom vremenu mi matori mislimo da je Apokalipsa sada... Tako da treba i to uzeti u obzir u računicama.

[Gaff]

Our Reborn Future in Space

[Gaff]

Asteroid Mining: Science or Fiction

[Meho Krljic]

SpaceX Launches Private Capsule on Historic Trip to Space Station 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A private space capsule called Dragon soared into the predawn sky Tuesday, riding a pillar of flame like its beastly namesake on a history-making trip to the International Space Station.
The unmanned capsule, built by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), is the first non-governmental spacecraft to launch to the space station, ushering in a new era of partnership between the public and private spaceflight programs.
"I think this is an example of American entrepreneurship at its best," said Alan Lindenmoyer, manager of NASA's commercial crew and cargo program, in a briefing before the launch. About 100 VIP guests were on hand to witness the launch, NASA officials said.
The Hawthorne, Calif.-based SpaceX launched its Dragon capsule at 3:44 a.m. EDT (0744 GMT) today (May 22) from a pad here at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It blasted off atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, a 157-foot (48-meter) booster powered by nine Merlin rocket engines. The space station was flying 249 miles above the North Atlantic Ocean as the rocket lifted off, NASA officials said.
The gumdrop-shaped capsule is 14.4 feet tall (4.4 meters) and 12 feet wide (3.7 m), and packed with 1,014 pounds (460 kilograms) of cargo for the space station, including 674 pounds (306 kg) of food and supplies for the crew, as well as student-designed science experiments and a laptop computer.
The Falcon 9 rocket's second stage is also reportedly carrying ashes from 308 people, including actor James Doohan, who played Scotty on the 1960s television series "Star Trek," and Mercury program astronaut Gordon Cooper. The ashes were flown under a deal with the "memorial spaceflight" company Celestis, according to ABC News and Reuters.
The SpaceX launch vehicle is named after the Millennium Falcon of "Star Wars," while the capsule got its moniker from the Peter, Paul and Mary song, "Puff, the Magic Dragon." [Quiz: How Well Do You Know SpaceX's Dragon?]
Today marked only the second-ever launch of a Dragon capsule, and the third flight for the Falcon 9 rocket. It was the second attempt to launch the space station-bound test flight after a launch try Saturday was thwarted by a faulty rocket engine valve. Repairs were made over the weekend, and the SpaceX team counted down smoothly to the liftoff this morning.
"One thing that they are very good at is being able to work through launch abort and treat those problems and be prepared to go again in a very short time," Mike Horkachuck, NASA project executive for SpaceX, said Monday (May 21).
Today's launch is the last planned test flight for SpaceX under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program intended to develop a private-sector replacement for the cargo-delivery services of the retired space shuttles. SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract to fly at least 12 unmanned missions to the space station through 2015.
Orbital catch up
The spacecraft is due to spend its first day on orbit catching up with the 240-mile high (390 km) space station, where it will rendezvous Thursday (May 24) and perform a fly-by to within 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) to check its navigation systems. [Gallery: How SpaceX's Space Station Flight Works]
On Friday (May 25), the capsule is slated to perform a series of maneuvers to approach the station, with crewmembers onboard the outpost issuing commands to Dragon. If the spacecraft passes a set of "go-no go" checks at Mission Control in Houston, NASA will approve the vehicle to approach the International Space Station. From inside, astronauts Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers will use the lab's robotic arm to grab Dragon and berth it to the station's Harmony node.
The hatches between the two spacecraft are due to be opened early Saturday (May 26), so the crew can enter Dragon and unpack its deliveries.
Dragon is due to spend about a week and a half attached to the outpost. On May 31, the capsule will be packed with completed science experiments and other equipment, unberthed, and sent back toward Earth. The vehicle is equipped with a heat shield to withstand the fires of re-entry, and is due to splash down and be recovered by ship in the Pacific Ocean.
Private spaceflight reality
Dragon is an unmanned version of a capsule ultimately intended to carry people as well.
Another company, Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., also has a NASA contract to deliver cargo to the space station, and plans to launch its first test flight later this year.
The program is part of a larger effort by NASA to outsource low-Earth orbit transportation to the private sector, allowing the space agency to begin work on a new spacecraft and heavy-lift rocket to visit asteroids, the moon and Mars.
The plan has received criticism from some lawmakers and members of the public, who worry that commercial vehicles aren't as safe or reliable as NASA's in-house built spacecraft.
"It's really easy to criticize, and it's very difficult to solve a problem and actually do something," said SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell. "So I tend to focus on the business and getting our jobs done and not focus on those that want to criticize."
NASA officials and leaders of the commercial space sector say the time is right for space to transition from an exclusively government regime to an arena open to private companies.
"I kind of see that transition as being inevitable," said Phil McAlister, NASA's director of Commercial Spaceflight Development. "I believe it is going to happen at some point. If it's not today and this mission falls short of expectations, it is going to happen eventually."
You can follow SPACE.com assistant managing editor Clara Moskowitz on Twitter @ClaraMoskowitz. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
 

• SpaceX to Space Station: Complete Coverage
• Now Boarding: The Top 10 Private Spaceships
• Space Station's Robotic Cargo Ship Fleet (A Photo Guide)

Copyright 2012 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 

[Gaff]

 New Era In Space Exploration Taking Off: Entrepreneurs Step In Where Big Government Left Off
 

While the multibillionaires start working on varying designs to get us up in space cheaply, a second wave (akin to the maker community) have started to take it upon themselves to take the definition of “smarter, faster, cheaper” to a whole new level. Just like the rise of electronics hobbyists in the 1970’s and the proliferation of garage manufactured personal computers, the do-it-yourself DIY movement is now making use of rapidly developing and exponential technologies to creatively come up with new ways to affordably spark the commercial space revolution.

http://singularityhub.com/2012/07/26/new-era-in-space-exploration-taking-off-entrepreneurs-step-in-where-big-government-left-off/

[Gaff]

NASA Awards $1.1 Billion for Commercial Space Development

http://allthingsd.com/20120803/nasa-awards-1-1-billion-for-commercial-space-development/

[mac]

Zanimljiv koncept nebeske kuke, koji je ostvariv postojećim tehnologijama, za razliku od svemirskog lifta:

https://youtu.be/dqwpQarrDwk