"At Draper, another drive into space" by Hiawatha Bray Globe Staff April 29, 2016
At the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, Draper engineers built the guidance and navigation systems that took Americans to the moon and back, and the navigation gear on the Space Shuttle. Now they’re creating the computers and software to control Dream Chaser, an unmanned winged spacecraft being developed by Sierra Nevada Corp. of Sparks, Nev.
They are going to help build a cargo carrier to ferry supplies to the International Space Station.
The Dream Chaser can land at most commercial airports, even Logan, and fits in a military cargo plane for the return trip.
Because of Dream Chaser’s advanced features, Séamus Tuohy, director of space systems at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, thinks NASA will eventually order a version capable of carrying humans. “Once we have a vehicle that flies,” he said, “we expect that there will be an investment necessary to put a crew on board.”
Aerospace consultant Rand Simberg, who worked on a predecessor of the Dream Chaser in the 1990s, said the craft has unique abilities that make it a valuable alternative to manned space capsules. Dream Chaser’s gentle method of reentry, he said, would make it ideal for transporting sick or injured astronauts....
Related:
"Retired astronaut James Halsell Jr. seemed the very definition of someone with the right stuff. An Air Force Academy graduate and decorated test pilot, he commanded or piloted five space shuttle missions. NASA even turned to him for leadership as it was picking up the pieces after the Columbia disaster in 2003. Now, a decade after his retirement from the space agency, the 59-year-old Halsell is in a new kind of danger: He is charged with murder after an early-morning car wreck Monday killed two young sisters on a lonely stretch of highway in Alabama. State police said alcohol and speed may have been factors in the crash around 2:50 a.m."
It's a sickness.
--more--"
Related: Ma$$achu$etts Drapered in DARPA
NASA a nice way of saying MIC.
I was supposed to have posted this back on Easter:
SpaceX launch, landing are successful
SpaceX launches futuristic pop-up room, lands rocket at sea
SpaceX lands rocket at sea 2nd time after satellite launch
SpaceX Dragon returns to Earth with precious science load
"After successfully delivering an international ocean-monitoring satellite into orbit, a SpaceX rocket made a hard landing on a floating barge in the roiling Pacific, breaking a support leg and toppling over Sunday. The failed landing was a setback for the Hawthorne, Calif., company’s plan to reduce launch costs by reusing rockets rather than having them fall into the ocean."
"The anticipation of rocket booster reusability, which is also being pursued by Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, has already upended the commercial launch industry. Players such as ULA, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture, Orbital ATK, Arianespace SA, and others face pressure from customers to lower their own launch costs. “The staggering price of spaceflight has been the single greatest deterrent to a thriving space market,’’ said Hannah Kerner, executive director of the Space Frontier Foundation, which advocates for greater human space exploration and settlement. “What we’re seeing is not just billionaires playing with rockets. It’s actually a clear step towards opening up the space frontier to the average person.’’
SpaceX fails in latest attempt to land rocket on ocean barge
How far do they have to go?
Musk not faring much better on ground:
US regulators looking into Tesla suspension problems
Tesla offers to buy Elon Musk-controlled SolarCity for $2.86b
Musk fails to reassure investors on SolarCity bid
Tesla Motors charging ahead, station by station
Tesla driver killed in crash while using car’s ‘Autopilot’
Maybe someone should hit the brakes on the driverless cars; otherwise, they will be naming schools and museums after them.
NASA to try again to inflate portable room
The did it slowly and then were BEAMed aboard.
NASA tests massive rocket booster it says will go to Mars
Seems like a lot of hot air, but you know what is beyond that.
NASA’s Juno mission set to be captured by Jupiter
I didn't see it and I'm from New England. Just didn't make my top 15.
Of course, it is only Russia that can ferry people back and forth.
Just be careful walking around up there, even if Nasa approves it.
UPDATES:
Second federal agency joins probe of Tesla crash
"Two other crashes have been reported since the Florida fatality. Meanwhile, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is reviewing whether Tesla, which sold $1.4 billion in stock in mid-May to pay for expanded production, failed to properly notify investors about the Florida crash before the sale, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing a person familiar with the matter. Tesla didn’t disclose the fatality to investors before raising money for expanded production or proposing on June 21 to acquire SolarCity Corp. The SEC declined to comment Monday. The Autopilot feature maintains a vehicle’s position in a well-marked lane and adjusts speed to match surrounding traffic and is still in so-called beta testing. Drivers have to actively engage Autopilot, and the vehicles warn motorists to keep their hands on the wheel. “Point of calling it ‘beta’ was to emphasize to those who chose to use it that it wasn’t perfect,” chief executive Elon Musk said on Twitter."
Is it just me or did he just blame the victims of his pos?
SpaceX launches space station docking port for NASA
It's f***ing Lord of the Rings!
