The Future of the Space Program

(Washington, DC -- July 11, 2011)

NSS CEO Mark Hopkins issues the following statement on the future of the space program (for media interviews contact Mark.Hopkins@nss.org):

The ultimate goal of the National Space Society is nothing less than the settlement of space and the use of its vast resources for the dramatic betterment of humanity.

According to the Augustine Report, which set the stage for the human space program proposed by President Obama, a Democrat: …the ultimate goal of human exploration is to chart a path for human expansion into the solar system.

According to Dr. John Marburger, science advisor to the just previous president, George Bush, a Republican: President Bush’s space vision…is to begin now for a future in which the material trapped in the sun’s vicinity is available for incorporation into our way of life.

Democrats, Republicans, and the National Space Society all agree in a general sense as to what the future of humanity in space should be.

Read Mark Hopkins' full statement. See 7-minute video of speech this statement is derived from.

British Research Team Will Test Laser for Space Based Solar Power

(Surrey, England -- June, 2011)

Using small solar satellites that beam power to Earth has recently become a popular idea. Various groups have shown an interest, including the military for remote expeditions and governments that can use it for disaster relief and even remote desalination plants.

Stephen Sweeney and his colleagues from the University of Surrey, in England, will test a fiber laser in Germany. Using a wavelength of 1.5 microns, it will be within the infra-red part of the spectrum. The goal of the project is to test the effects of atmospheric pollutants and water vapor on the beam. Read the full story from The Economist.

If the test goes well, Europe's largest space company, EADS Astrium, is interested in flying a space-based demonstration within five years. Read the full story from BBC News.

Beam it up, Scotty: 3D Printing may have space applications

(July, 2011)

Tools and mechanical parts might be "beamed" up to a space station or a lunar or Mars base using technology that has in recent years become a central process in design prototyping known as 3D printing or SLS (selective laser sintering). In this technology, an object is scanned and a powdery substance is converted via a heating process into a duplicate solid form. A striking demonstration of this technology can be seen in this 4-minute video clip from the National Geographic Channel.

A variation of the technology might also be used for lunar materials production by fabricating items from lunar regolith. Markus Kayser has demonstrated a prototype "Solar Sinter" device that uses the power of the sun to produce glass-like objects made from desert sand. You can view a 6-minute video demonstration of the device as tested in the Sahara Desert.

Australians Receive Funding for Plasma Thruster

(June, 2011)

Australia National University's Plasma Research Laboratory has received a grant to help build its Helicon Double Layer Thruster (HDLT). If successful, the driver could be in space as early as 2013.

Because of the high temperatures generated in plasma drives, the trick is confining the hot gas without it destroying the chamber. For this, the HDLT uses a magnetic field in the source tube, where a gas like Krypton or Xenon is heated by a radio antenna. In space, the researchers hope that less than one gram of propellant would power a five-hour burn.

SpaceWorks Commercial Releases Analysis of Its First Revenue Space Solar Power Satellite Concept

(June 30, 2011)

The latest addition to the NSS Space Solar Power Library is a new paper released by SpaceWorks Commercial entitled "Operational Demonstration of Space Solar Power (SSP): Economic Analysis of a First Revenue Satellite (FRS)" [PDF], presented at the recent 28th International Symposium on Space Technology and Science (ISTS) in Japan.

The FRS would be a mid-power (1-20 MW of delivered power) space-to-ground demonstrator of SSP. The purpose would be two-fold: prove the end-to-end technical capability and then demonstrate operations over multiple years. The system would be turned over to commercial operators for public/private service.

A Fusion Thruster for Space Travel

(June 28, 2011)

IEEE Spectrum reports that a NASA engineer has come up with a new way to fling satellites through space on mere grams of fuel, tens of times as efficiently as today’s best space probe thrusters. Instead of using deuterium and tritium as the fuel stocks, the new motor extracts energy from boron fuel. Using boron, an "aneutronic" fuel, yields several advantages over conventional nuclear fusion. The idea is a long way from becoming a practical device, however.

Image courtesy NASA Langley Research Center

Making Space Solar Power Available Globally for Fukushima-Like Emergencies

(Mumbai -- June 26, 2011)

Indian news agency PTI quotes a National Space Society Director on a plan to provide electricity in case of a Fukushima-type or other emergency.

"Any equipment placed in space is totally immune to fires, earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, local wars and other forms of destruction on the ground," John K Strickland, who specialises in issues relating to access to space, planetary bases, space solar power and environment and is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Space Society (NSS) in the US told PTI.

"A single satellite would cover most of Asia and I would assume that is where the first satellite would be placed. All that is needed at the site is a flat rooftop or area of ground about 50-100 feet wide to arrange the set of solar panels flat on the surface. The satellite, in the same orbit used by your TV signal satellite, would aim a laser beam also about 50-100 feet wide from 22,000 miles high down to the emergency site," he said.

"Since all the equipment would be brought to the site and set up after the disaster, it would be undamaged and ready to provide power," Strickland said.

Read full story.

Space Solar Power with Small, Operational Single-Launch Satellites

(Washington, DC -- June 26, 2011)

The latest addition to the NSS Space Solar Power Library is a paper by Al Globus which he presented at the 2011 International Space Development Conference: Towards an Early Profitable Power Satellite Part II. Globus investigated technologies and designs that could deliver small, operational single-launch power satellites for niche markets. A reasonably sized R&D program could jump start the project into a vigorous space solar power industry. Indeed, the necessary precursor work may be significantly easier than the paper suggests, with an almost 31% efficiency under space conditions. And if you missed it, here is Part 1 of the paper from 2010.

Space Solar Power -- Recent Conceptual Progress

(Washington, DC -- June 23, 2011)

Lowering launch costs is critical for developing space solar power. Keith Henson at The Oil Drum proposes using Reaction Engine's Skylon Rocket in a novel way: the second stage propulsion would be hydrogen heated by an array of ground-based lasers.

ISDC 2011 Conference Evaluation -- Help us make ISDC 2012 even better!

(Washington, DC -- June 6, 2011)

Please take a moment to complete the evaluation of the 2011 International Space Development Conference. Your comments will assist the ISDC 2012 Conference Committee in planning.  Click here to reach the survey form

Jeff Greason 2011 ISDC Awards Dinner Speech: A Settlement Strategy for NASA

(Washington, DC -- June 1, 2011)

Jeff Greason’s speech at the Awards Dinner at the 2011 NSS International Space Development Conference is being widely regarded as a major statement in the field of space policy. A video of the speech, with transcript, is now on the NSS website.

Greason is President of XCOR Aerospace and was a member of the Augustine Committee (Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee) established by the White House in 2009. Among his provocative comments: "The purpose of the initial human outpost is not to be there and look cool. It is not to unfurl flags and take pretty pictures, and it is not the holy grail of science, although we will get all of those things. It's to make gas."

See the full 42-minute video of the speech online or read more about it on the NSS Blog.

ISDC Silent Auction to Benefit Alabama Tornado Relief Efforts

(Huntsville, AL -- May 17, 2011)

The theme of the International Space Development Conference (ISDC), taking place this week in Huntsville, Alabama, is exploring how we grow a spacefaring civilization "From the Ground Up!" This years silent auction, an annual ISDC tradition, will raise money not just for the National Space Society, but also for tornado relief efforts in Alabama. Fifty percent of auction proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross in Madison County, where Huntsville is located.

Perhaps the most intriguing of the space-related items to appear in the silent auction is a zero-gravity flight that will be provided by Aurora Aerospace of Oldsmar, Florida. The company will have the Rockwell Commander 700 aircraft in Huntsville on Sunday, May 22, and the winner of this auction item can either schedule their flight for that day, or they can make arrangements with Aurora Aerospace to take the flight in Florida at a later date.

Read full statement either on the NSS Blog or the NSS website Press Release.

Robert Bigelow of Bigelow Aerospace to be Keynote Speaker at National Space Society's International Space Development Conference (ISDC)

(Washington, DC -- May 2, 2011)

Robert Bigelow, Founder and President of Bigelow Aerospace, will be the Honored Keynote Speaker at the 2011 International Space Development Conference (ISDC) Governors’ Dinner and Gala to be held in the Davidson Center at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama on May 20. Mr. Bigelow founded Bigelow Aerospace, which is noted for developing and launching the first inflatable space habitats. At the Gala, Mr. Bigelow will also receive the National Space Society’s Space Pioneer Award for Space Development for his efforts to advance the technology of space habitats and for the significance they may play in the development of space tourism, industry and exploration.

Read full statement either on the NSS Blog or the PDF Press Release.

NSS Announces Space Pioneer Award for Business Entrepreneur to be Awarded to SpaceX

(Washington, DC -- April 13, 2011)

In recognition of SpaceX’s groundbreaking year in 2010, with the successful launch of two Falcon 9 rockets, and the safe return of its Dragon capsule, the National Space Society (NSS) is today announcing that Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) will be the recipient of the NSS’s 2011 Pioneer Award for Business Entrepreneur. This award will be presented at the NSS's annual International Space Development Conference (ISDC), which will be held from May 18-May 22, 2011 in Huntsville, Alabama. Adam Harris, SpaceX’s Vice President for Government Affairs, will accept the award on behalf of SpaceX.

Continue reading the full text of the Space Pioneer Award release.

NSS Salutes the 50th Anniversary of Human Spaceflight and 30th Anniversary of First Space Shuttle Flight

(Washington, DC -- April 12, 2011)

This day marks the 50th Anniversary of human spaceflight and the 30th anniversary of the first Space Shuttle flight.  Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin ushered in the beginning of human spaceflight when he became the first human to orbit the Earth on April 12, 1961.  On April 12, 1981 the first flight of Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-1) commanded by John Young and piloted by Robert Crippen set forth into space.  The National Space Society salutes all the men and women that have and continue to lend their efforts and their lives to this the greatest and most complex of all enterprises envisioned by our species.  It is through their unfailing efforts that our vision: people living and working in thriving communities beyond the Earth, and use of the vast resources of space for the dramatic betterment of humanity will be made manifest.  It has been said that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, yet the universe demands more from us.  The price of the stars is our willingness to sustain an unyielding quest for better tomorrows. -- Gary P. Barnhard, Executive Director, National Space Society

Space Solar Power - A Multi-National Power Resource

(Washington, DC -- April 5, 2011)

SENIOR INDIAN RESEARCHER BACKS JOINT US - INDIA DEVELOPMENT OF
SPACE SOLAR POWER – A MULTI-NATIONAL POWER SOURCE

Dr. Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, a Senior Fellow at India's Institute of Security Studies, and Senior Fellow at India's Observer Research Foundation, is urging the United States and India to jointly develop an energy alternative that can take us beyond nuclear technology.  Events like the recent earthquake in Japan are causing many to rethink traditional energy sources.  The energy alternative suggested is Space Solar Power (SSP).  In the online Analysis publication of the Indian Observer Research Foundation, Dr. Rajagopalan writes, "With the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, isn't it time for India and the US to make serious commitments to Space-Based Solar Power?"

Continue reading the full text of the Space Solar Power - A Multi-National Power Resource release.

Popular Science Magazine: The Case for Populating the Universe

(Washington, DC -- March 12, 2011)

The March issue of Popular Science magazine provides a feature cover story titled "After Earth: The Case for Populating the Universe — and How We'll Get There."  The 11-page nicely-illustrated article covers a wide range of space exploration and development topics and includes mention of the National Space Society and several other space advocacy organizations.  NSS CEO Mark Hopkins is quoted, as is the chairman of the NSS Space Settlement Advocacy Committee, Al Globus.  The article is also available online.

The article concludes with two piquant quotes:

Gregory Benford, physics professor, NASA consultant, and science fiction author, points out that "We Americans think we are basically the Columbus of space, making big discoveries.  But I'm afraid we might be the Leif Eriksson.  We go, we try a few things, and then it largely gets forgotten."

Marc Millis, a NASA propulsion physicist who also runs the Tau Zero Foundation, concludes that colonizing space "isn't just about survival, it's about thriving".  What [better] can we do that makes for an exciting future to live in? Something where when you wake up in the morning you're glad to be alive and a human?"

NSS Releases Updated Strategic Plan

(Washington, DC -- February 5, 2011)

The NSS Strategic Plan defines the Five-Year Goals and short-term organizational (external) and operational (internal) objectives of the Society.  Includes background information and rationale for the objectives.  Also includes the NSS Strategic Implementation Plan, defining the set of approved initiatives for meeting the objectives defined in the Strategic Plan.

Read the full NSS Strategic Plan [PDF].