Musings from the Peanut Gallery

Seth Godin has a new post up, Square One is Underrated. In it, he points out that when you discover that you are on the wrong path, speeding up is not the solution. The solution is to go back to the last point that you had the chance to find the correct path to the [...]

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Here.
It was obviously a big disappointment not to reach orbit on this flight [Falcon 1, Flight 3]. On the plus side, the flight of our first stage, with the new Merlin 1C engine that will be used in Falcon 9, was picture perfect. Unfortunately, a problem occurred with stage separation, causing the stages [...]

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SpaceX is in the countdown to launch Falcon 1 launch 3 this afternoon. Currently scheduled for about 4:30 pm PDT, 23:30 UTC, they are on a hold at T-1:30 which looks like they’ll be delayed beyond that.
See the webcast

Update 3:44 pm PDT: Countdown at T-01:21:30 and counting. Liftoff expected at about 5 pm PDT, 24:00 [...]

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SpaceX announced a couple days ago that they recieved a launch services contract for the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles.Technorati Tags:SpaceX, NASA, Launch Services, Falcon 1, Falcon 9

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SpaceX issued a press release yesterday highlighting progress on Falcon 9.
McGregor TX ? Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) conducted the first three-engine firing of its Falcon 9 medium to heavy lift rocket at its Texas Test Facility outside McGregor, on March 8, 2008. At full power the engines generated over 270,000 pounds of force, and [...]

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This Universe Today entry discusses experiments using cyanobacteria to break down simulated lunar soil into useful ingredients.
Cyanobacteria harvested from the chambers could then be further processed to make use of the elements they extract from the lunar soil. For example, they could be broken down by other bacteria, resulting in a nutrient-rich soup that [...]

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Taylor Dinerman has a good article in The Space Review dealing with the serious economic costs that ITAR, the International Trafficing in Arms Regulations has had on our commercial space business.
I know first-hand the hassle factor that ITAR brings to business, even large businesses that are used to dealing with government bureaucracies and military secrets. [...]

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I’ve been thinking about living in the close environment of a permanent space colony, whether it’s an orbital station or on another planet or planet-like body. The concern lies around the issues related to people living in close quarters for long periods of time separated from all other humans.
Here’s an article on Human Resources issues [...]

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See it here.

Technorati Tags:
New Space, Virgin Galactic

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The Space Review reports on a COTS proposal by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) and Constellation Services International, Inc.(CSI) to use simple, low cost containers to manage shipping to the International Space Station using a series of vehicles for delivery, much like the surface freight industry uses intermodal containers to ship freight by truck, train and ship.

Technorati [...]

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