NASA Sets Launch Coverage for SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon Spacecraft COTS-1 Flight

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

NASA Sets Launch Coverage for SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon Spacecraft COTS-1 Flight

Credit: SpaceX

NASA just announced that the prelaunch news conference for the COTS 1 Falcon 9 launch is planned for Monday, December 6th at 1:30 p.m., at the press site at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA Television will provide live coverage and the briefing at http://www.naas.gov/ntv
The prelaunch news conference participants will be:

• Phil McAlister, Acting Director, Commercial Space Flight Development NASA Headquarters, Washington
• Alan Lindenmoyer, Manager, Commercial Crew and Cargo Program NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston 
• Gwynne Shotwell, President SpaceX, Hawthorne, Calif.
• Mike McAleenan, Falcon 9 Launch Weather Officer 45th Weather Squadron, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

A post-mission news conference will be held at Kennedy approximately one hour after splashdown occurs.

Audio of the prelaunch and post-mission news conferences also will be carried on the NASA "V" circuits, which can be accessed directly by dialing 321-867- 1220, 1240, 1260 or 7135.

On launch day, Dec. 7, NASA TV live coverage will begin at the conclusion of the built in hold at T-5 minutes and counting. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video,
visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv 

Prelaunch and launch day coverage of the COTS 1 Falcon 9 mission will be available on the NASA website at: http://www.nasa.gov/

Coverage will include live streaming and text updates of the final five minutes of the countdown. On-demand streaming video, podcast and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. To access these features, go to NASA's COTS website at: http://www.nasa.gov/cots
Media Advisory: M10-168

This first COTS-1 demonstration flight will carry the first operational Dragon Spacecraft and will be the second flight for the Falcon 9 rocket. The launch is now targeted for December 7th, 2010 (with 8th and 9th as back-up days) with a launch window between 8:55am and 12:05pm EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 40. The mission profile calls for the dragon Spacecraft to complete three to four orbits, transmit telemetry, receive commands, maneuver, re-enter and splash down off the coast of Southern California.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Introducing Explore Mars, Inc.

"It is time that we commit to a human space program that is going somewhere! After decades of literally going around in circles in low Earth orbit, it is time to launch a program that will land humans on Mars by 2030. This is a VERY achievable goal. However, we can't just assume this will happen without constant pressure... The private sector can do REAL work to advance technology, science, and overall goal of sending humans to Mars. This is why Explore Mars, Inc. was created.

Explore Mars is a project-oriented non-profit group that was created to promote science and technology innovation and education related to Mars Exploration. Through a series of technology innovation awards, scientific symposiums and workshops, Mars analog work, technology demonstrations, and other programs, we provide a platform for scientists and "citizen scientists" to engage in meaningful space exploration research and development in the private sector.

We launched the Mars Education Challenge and will soon launch the In Situ Resource Utilization Challenge, as well as some other exciting projects. We will also announce details about a series of panels about Mars and International Space Station (ISS) Symposium, as well as the Mars Agriculture Workshop within in the next couple of months."

- Explore Mars, Inc.

Explore Mars was co-founded by Chris Carberry who is also the Executive Director. My dear friend Artemis Westenberg is President and Director. Artemis was the Mission Director for the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) during my mission to the MDRS as part of Crew 88 (Janury 2010), and most recently I served as an engineer on Crew 95 (June 2010) where Artemi personally led a MDRS engineering refit and repair mission. More information about their biographies can be found here. In addition to these two great individuals, Explore Mars has assembled a very distinguished team of advisors: Astronaut Dr. Buzz Aldrin, Dr. Penelope Boston of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, award winning film maker and writer Sam Burbank, award winning journalist and spaceflight historian Andrew Chaiken, NASA planetary scientist Dr. Chris McKay, and journalist and broadcast veteran Miles O'Brien.