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Domain: transorbital.net
Stories and comments across the archive that link to transorbital.net.
Stories · 7
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The Case for the Moon
apsmith writes "Continuing the flurry of recent hearings on the future of humans in space, a Senate committee on Thursday heard testimony in favor of a return to the Moon. Former senator and moon-walker Harrison Schmitt and physicist David Criswell see the lunar surface as an immense energy resource, just waiting to be tapped. Astronomer Roger Angel sees the lunar south pole as the ideal astronomical observatory, with locations for telescopes 100 times better than anything we've done so far. And geologist Paul Spudis sees a lot of unfinished business on the Moon, to develop it as the "feedstock of an industrial space infrastructure." TransOrbital also sent written testimony." -
Kosmotras Launches Again
apsmith writes "When somebody says "world space power", how many of you think of Ukraine? Kosmotras has done it again though, with a third $1000/pound launch December 20, 2002 to low Earth orbit of six spacecraft on the Dnepr (formerly SS-18 ICBM) launch vehicle. Among the six were a variety of small European, South American, and one Saudi satellite, and a 'dummy' of the commercial TrailBlazer craft headed to the Moon next year. The Rubin2 craft launched yesterday is also of interest, as it will be the first Internet-controlled spacecraft to operate 24 hours a day without having to use ground stations." -
Kosmotras Launches Again
apsmith writes "When somebody says "world space power", how many of you think of Ukraine? Kosmotras has done it again though, with a third $1000/pound launch December 20, 2002 to low Earth orbit of six spacecraft on the Dnepr (formerly SS-18 ICBM) launch vehicle. Among the six were a variety of small European, South American, and one Saudi satellite, and a 'dummy' of the commercial TrailBlazer craft headed to the Moon next year. The Rubin2 craft launched yesterday is also of interest, as it will be the first Internet-controlled spacecraft to operate 24 hours a day without having to use ground stations." -
First Commercial Moon Mission Approved
dorantrist writes "A Discovery Channel article that The U.S. Government has just licensed the first commercial mission to the moon to TransOrbital, Inc.. Part of the mission is "to VERIFY Apollo and other landing sites" because there are still a few people out there who believe the Apollo program was a hoax. --Maybe they can also pickup the golf balls left by Alan Shepard?" -
TransOrbital: The Commercial Race To The Moon
apsmith writes: "Some of the companies that were preparing for a race to commercialize space and return to the moon (like Idealab's "Blastoff.com") have vanished with the stock market meltdown. But TransOrbital, a privately held company, is still plugging away, and claims to be on schedule for launch in the 4th quarter of 2001. The funding model seems to be generating lots of pretty pictures and selling them. Though for just $2500 you can also send your business card to the Moon!" Sounds like they've pushed their schedule a little bit since last mention, but considering the scope of the project, nearly any launch date would still be respectable. -
TransOrbital: The Commercial Race To The Moon
apsmith writes: "Some of the companies that were preparing for a race to commercialize space and return to the moon (like Idealab's "Blastoff.com") have vanished with the stock market meltdown. But TransOrbital, a privately held company, is still plugging away, and claims to be on schedule for launch in the 4th quarter of 2001. The funding model seems to be generating lots of pretty pictures and selling them. Though for just $2500 you can also send your business card to the Moon!" Sounds like they've pushed their schedule a little bit since last mention, but considering the scope of the project, nearly any launch date would still be respectable. -
A For-Profit Trip To The Moon
jrg writes "The company, TranOrbital, Inc. has a project, TrailBlazer, to become the first (early 2001) commercial space mission to enter lunar orbit. They plan to do this for a fraction of the price it would cost NASA, plus they plan to map the entire surface of the moon in unprecedented detail using HDTV video cameras (finally, we get to see those alien bases! ;) ). If they can pull it off as cheaply as they claim, this might signal a new phase in the human utilization of space. "