A Tribute

In my life, I have have worked at three companies, held five jobs, and had nine bosses. I have been lucky, not only to have had these jobs, not only to have had the opportunity to work with good people, but to have had 8 of my 9 bosses be absolutely spectacular.

In my three summers at the factory, I had four bosses. One in particular was really great. Things were tight financially for everyone at that factory, but she always found the means to bring us a couple of pizzas every once in a while. She always resolved disputes in a fair manner, and was nothing but kind to everyone.

At the university, I had three bosses simultaneously, and later on, one person who wasn't technically my boss (we didn't even work in the same department), but she was in charge of telling me what to do all the time. All four of them were just spectacular. Even when there was something difficult to bring up, it was handled with humor and understanding. For example, the tardy policy was explained this way: "The first time you're late, we just laugh about it and joke around. The second time, we get a little more serious and have some big lecture about emerging patterns. There is no third time." Working there was the best. So sad that it was a student job.

Then in my current position, I've only had one boss, but he has been the best. Conditions here can be difficult. I won't go into details because of the typical non-disclosure agreement, but I'll refer you to every Dilbert comic ever created to give you the general idea of life here. However, having the boss I do has made it all worthwhile. Whenever we're lacking of anything we need, it is despite the fact that he has fought tooth and nail to get it to us. When the corporate structure was overlooking us, he has made sure we were heard. He built a great team here (he really did build this team), and has kept everything running smoothly for the two years that I have known him. When the company stopped sponsoring our team events, he paid for them out of his own pocket. The list goes on.

Last night, he passed away.

He was a really great guy, and I feel lucky to have known him. He was actually the butt of some large, unfriendly comments I made a few posts back, but I'm sure if he had seen those, he would have known that it was all in good fun; he was laid back like that. I'm really going to miss him. I don't really know what to say that would really live up to who he was; I hope I've made a dent.

Needless to say,
the beast was stunned.
Whip-crack went his whippet tail,
And the beast was done.
He asked us:
"BE you angels?"
And we said,
"Nay.
We are but men
Rock!!
Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh-ah-ah-ah-ah-ahh,
Ohhh, whoah, ah-whoah-oh!

This is not The Greatest Song in the World, No
This is just a tribute.
Couldn't remember The Greatest Song in the World, No.
No!
This is a tribute!

Progress: 3.89%  Flight Time: 0:05:50

SpaceX Signs Contract with US Department of Defense

SpaceX has just announced that they have formally signed a contract with the Department of Defense for the launch of a payload aboard a Falcon 1 rocket in June.

Woo. The government is launching a satellite. Big deal, right?

Well, actually, there are a couple of things that make this a big deal. First of all, SpaceX has not yet had a successful test flight. So if this launch succeeds, it will be the first time that one of these Falcon 1 rockets has made into orbit. Secondly (and more interestingly), the full payload will likely not be determined until two weeks prior to launch.

That's right, kids. They are planning and putting together this mission without even knowing what the payload is. To give you an idea of the significance of that, many rocket launches go gone through months of careful measurements to make sure the weight is exactly right and is distributed correctly, and integration to make sure the payload fits the rocket. However SpaceX is putting together this Falcon 1 rocket knowing only that there's going to be some "stuff" in it (though there are three known candidates for what that "stuff" will be). That's a fairly impressive timeline, and that's one of SpaceX's goals.

SpaceX has geared themselves up for ultra-low-cost launches, and one of their principal ideas is that when a customer orders a launch, that launch could potentially be performed very quickly from the time that it was requested. This is one of the steps needed to accomplish that.

Here's specifically what they're doing. The main payload will be specified by the Department of Defense. It will be one of three things: an Air Force Research Laboratory satellite bus, a satellite bus designed by SpaceDev (it's funny how the names of these potential space tourism companies constantly appear in eachothers' news stories), or two nanosatellites designed by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. According to the SpaceX Press release, the secondary payload will be "a rideshare adapter experiment for ATSB of Malaysia ... and two CubeSat payloads." I'll probably talk a lot more on this launch as it approaches, and I'll be sure to post more details on the secondary payload at that time. For now, though, I'll have to leave it at that. I just... uh... haven't gotten much sleep lately due to daylight savings time and some other stuff going on. Yeah, that's my excuse.

But this is all very good for the space tourism industry! Not only is this because of the fact that SpaceX could potentially take tourists into orbit someday, but because any space tourism payload will vary in weight just like this Falcon 1 payload. The technology to launch a rocket with minimal alterations, whether it holds 6 children or 6 pie-eating champions, will be necessary in a space tourism setting. While SpaceX's June launch may not be directly related to space tourism, I call it one step closer to the goal.

By the way, have I gone on a rant about daylight savings time yet? No? Well, you can look forward to that in the near future.

Progress: 3.89%  Flight Time: 0:05:50

Another Bump Toward my Goal!

Well, my regular monthly contribution toward my space tourism savings went in today! Based on Virgin Galactic's expected suborbital offering, that puts me up to 3.89%, or a hair's width from six minutes' flight time!

I think I'll take the opportunity to talk a little bit about saving money. I understand that different people work a little differently, but for me, I find that the easiest way to save money is to have some put away automatically, so that I never see it. That way, I'm not tempted to use it. So every month, I have a certain amount automatically deducted from my bank account and put in a separate place. And the amount I'm saving each month really isn't enough; at this rate, it will take me over 50 years to save what I need, assuming I only put this same amount away every month. I fully intend to increase the monthly amount when I have the ability (and I have a couple other things going for me that I'll talk about later), but my point is this: I'm saving. And that's rule 3 for getting into space:

Rule 3: Save a little money each month.

That's it. No big secret here. Do it every week if you like, or every other month, but keep saving! Those little bits add up, and with them, you'll be a lot closer to your goal, whatever that may be!

Progress: 3.89%  Flight Time: 0:05:50

Masten Space Tests New Igniter Design

Masten Space has created a few interesting bits of news in the past months, including the complete destruction of their first prototype XA 0.1 engine in December. You can find a great picture of the destruction on their website. This piece of news is relatively minor, but it gives me an excuse to do a profile on the company.

Masten Space is based in Mojave, California, and is currently in the design and construction phases of the first of their many planned spacecraft, the XA 1.0. The various design phases are named 0.1, 0.2, etc., much like designations of early software releases. Their plans are as follows:

XA 1.0, 1.5, 2.0
Suborbital reusable vertical takeoff and landing spacecraft of increasing capacities. Launching items on one of these rockets is expected to cost about $300/kg, and it is anticipated that a single one of these rockets will be able to be launched several times per day. The XA 2.0 would be capable of carrying approximately five people, and is therefore the first of their craft that can service the space tourism market.

B 1.0, 2.0
These will be booster units based on XA 2.0 technology, capable of acting as a first stage for a larger payload, and then land once more so that it can be reused.

O 1.0, 2.0
These will be orbital spacecraft. Specifically, they will be the second stage of a B/O combination craft. These will also be able to re-enter the atmosphere and land so that they can be reused.

XL 1.0, 2.0
At this point in Masten Space's plans, vertical takeoff and landing technology will be mature enough so that it can me used on other worlds. XL stands for eXtraterrestrial Landers, and these will be used in places like the Moon and Mars.

xT
The xT vehicles will be pure extraorbital transfer vehicles based on the O 1.0 and 2.0 technologies.

Payload slots on their first successful spacecraft are already available for purchase, starting at $99 for a 350g payload, all the way up to $1250 for a 5 kg payload.

After the destruction of XA 0.1 last month, Masten has decided to scrap plans for further 0.1 development and to start building XA 0.2! Masten gives out a lot of details of current development process on their website, so I encourage you to read it! As for their current news, they have completed the design of a new igniter with a liquid oxygen tank for the XA 0.2. I have no idea what that means, so if you're interested, you can read up on it in their news section. Also, they're hiring two new interns! So if you're qualified to become a rocket-scientist-in-training, you might want to check them out.

Progress: 3.74%  Flight Time: 0:05:36

Tax return bumps me above five minutes!

Well, my tax return arrived, and I promptly stuck over half of it into my 'trip to space' pot; that's by far my single largest contribution to date! Now granted, it's stuff I had taken out temporarily in December to handle some expenses, but I'm excited anyway. Based on Virgin Galactic's expected suborbital offering, I've now saved up for over five minutes of a flight on SpaceShipTwo!

Of the other half of the tax return, some of it went to fixing up things around the house. The rest went straight into my solar panel savings.

Wait, I haven't mentioned that yet, have I?

Yes, I've kind of been on an environmental kick lately, and I'm trying to save up for a solar array for my roof! I've already bought a couple of solar panels, and I use those to recharge all of the rechargeable batteries that I bought for all of my battery-powered gizmos. My goal is to have saved enough by the summer of 2009 to put a full scale array on my roof and power my whole house. Yeah, it cuts a little into my space tourism savings, but it's for the best. Besides, with the country's population growing with no sign of tapering off, energy prices have nowhere to go but up. If I save enough, maybe I can get a big enough array to start selling some of my own power, and that will only help my space tourism savings over the long term. In your face, Halliburton!

YYRRRAAAHHH!

Actually, while on the subject of politics, I think I'll write about a moral quandary that I recently resolved. The government wants to hand out these $600 checks to everyone to "help fix the economy". Now, I know that a lot of people could really use the money, and I don't mean to slight them; they deserve it. However, most economists say that the checks will do little to stimulate the economy, and it seems like more of a political gesture than something that will actually help. In the meantime, these checks are going to increase are already bloated national debt. Did you know that this country is now over nine trillion dollars in debt?

That's Trilion. With a T.

To put that in perspective, each citizen's share of that debt is over $30,000. That's you, me, guys in retirement homes, newborn babies, everybody. That's right; our babies are born $30,000 in debt. That's sad.

To give you an even better idea of the gravity of the situation (har har), 9 trillion is about the average distance from the Earth to Mars. In inches. Yes, that's inches, from here to Mars. That's how much national debt we have. And we're about to increase it by spending a bunch of money to (essentially) make people feel better about the government without creating any significant improvement.

So here's my quandary: If George W. Bush came up to me, gave me $600, and told me that this was to fix the economy, I believe I would be morally obligated (based on the above statements) to throw it in his face and tell him to shove off. And that's if I was feeling exceptionally, unusually polite. But since it's coming in a check in the mail, how could I possibly accept it and look myself in the mirror the next morning?

Well, I pondered this for a week or two, until I realized, hey, I can drop the entire amount into my solar panel savings. They're giving the money to us in the hopes that we will spend it. So by doing this, I will both go against their wishes by saving it, and stick it to Bush and his big oil buddies by saving it toward solar power for my house.

And that, my friends, is poetic justice.

Progress: 3.74%  Flight Time: 0:05:36

Bigelow Aerospace

There are a few companies out there that are taking on the goal of creating space habitats for tourism purposes, but none of them are as promising as Bigelow Aerospace.

Bigelow Aerospace was founded in 1999 by Robert Bigelow. The company purchased rights from NASA to technologies that had been researched for NASA's canceled Translab program. The particular technologies they were interested in were designs for inflatable space station modules. Bigelow Aerospace took these designs and ran with them, quickly beginning design and production of prototype modules based on the technology.

Inflatable technology has several advantages. The modules are launched in a compressed state, allowing for a launch vehicle's typically volume-limited design. After the vehicle reaches orbit and the module has separated, it is inflated with breathable air, creating a much larger orbital habitat. The use of a flexible outer shell also makes the module much lighter then conventional metal habitation modules.

Concern has been raised about the prospect of meteorite impacts potentially puncturing the modules' walls and causing them to deflate. However, those concerns have been at least somewhat discouraged by the fact that the modules' walls are made of several layers of vectran, a material twice as tough as kevlar. If you shot the walls, you would have to dodge the ricochet. Also, a meteor impacting a flexible surface that was tough enough would theoretically bounce off where it might damage a rigid surface, due to the fact that the energy would largely be transferred back to the meteor.

On July 12, 2006, Bigelow Aerospace successfully launched the Genisis I, a 3000 lb, 15 foot prototype module. After achieving orbit, it successfully inflated and deployed its solar panels, and it orbits the Earth to this day. Bigelow hopes to keep it operating for at least another three years. Just a year later, on June 28, 2007, Bigelow launched Genisis II, their second prototype. Genisis II is similar to Genisis I, except that it contains twice as many cameras and a more complex array of sensors and other devices. Also, Genisis II contains an array of random items sent in by interested members of the public for Bigelow's "Fly Your Stuff" program.

Initially, Bigelow had plans to launch a larger prototype craft called the Galaxy, but the success of Genisis was so great, and launch costs are increasing so much, that they canceled the Galaxy program and are skipping to their full-size, human-habitable Sundancer prototype, to launch between 2010 and 2012. The speculation is that the Sundancer will be launched on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, but this hasn't been confirmed. If the launch and deployment of the Sundancer is successful, crew may be transported to it to further test its capabilities. Following that will be the launch of the first BA 330 (the first full-scale, production module) from 2012-2014.

And after that, a space hotel becomes a significant possibility. And remains an awesome possibility.

Progress: 3.24%  Flight Time: 0:04:51

SpaceX Releases Mission Manifest

Well, it seems as if SpaceX has really been busy of late, and is ramping up for full-scale operations. They just released their revised mission manifest for launches from this spring all the way to 2011. There is some pretty interesting stuff here! It goes something like this:

Customer	Launch Date	Launch Vehicle	Launch Site
US Government & ATSB	Q2 2008	Falcon 1	Kwajalein
ATSB (Malaysia)	Q3 2008	Falcon 1	Kwajalein
US Government	Q4 2008	Falcon 9	Cape Canaveral
MDA Corp. (Canada)	2009	Falcon 9	Cape Canaveral
Avanti Communications (UK)	2009	Falcon 9	Cape Canaveral
NASA COTS - Demo 1	2009	Falcon 9	Cape Canaveral
NASA COTS - Demo 2	2009	Falcon 9	Cape Canaveral
SpaceDev	2009	Falcon 1	Kwajalein
NASA COTS - Demo 3	2010	Falcon 9	Cape Canaveral
MDA Corp. (Canada)	2010	Falcon 1	Kwajalein
Swedish Space Corp. (Sweden)	2010	Falcon 1	Kwajalein
Bigelow Aerospace	2011	Falcon 9	Cape Canaveral

Some of these are simply communications satellite launches. However, the items 5, 6, and 8 that say NASA COTS are of some interest. These are demonstration launches of SpaceX's pressurized Dragon capsule. The NASA COTS program (Commercial Orbital Transportation Services) has been set up to finance demonstration flights by several commercial space launch companies to see who might best be able to provide cargo and crew transportation for the international space station after the space shuttle retires, but before the Ares/Orion vehicle project is completed. These three launches will demonstrate the capabilities of the Dragon capsule for NASA, in the hopes that it will be chosen to transport astronauts to the International Space Station. These will also serve as the Dragon's only currently planned test flights (SpaceX is all about the saving of the moneys).

The second interesting item is launch 7. This launch is being performed for SpaceDev, the company that designed SpaceShipOne's rocket, and is a former competitor in the COTS program. The goal of this launch is to put a number of very small satellites in orbit (called micro- and nanosatelites) developed by SpaceDev and others to advance the technologies behind mini floaters of doom. Or something.

The last, but most interesting item is the last on the list, the launch for Bigelow Aerospace. Bigelow Aerospace is a company that is developing very exciting space habitat technologies based on an inflatable design originally developed by NASA. The payload on this launch will likely be Bigelow's Sundancer prototype craft, the third of Bigelow's flight prototypes, though this has not been confirmed. If successful, this launch will almost certainly lead to more interesting space tourism potential.

It looks like SpaceX is going to attempt its first satellite launch this spring without having made a successful test flight, so one way or another, this will be an exciting year for the company! I posted in greater detail about SpaceX just last week here, I will post in greater detail about Bigelow Aerospace in the next few days, and a full profile of SpaceDev is on my to-do list later down the road.

Progress: 3.24% Flight Time: 0:04:51