EADS Astrium cancels work on space tourism project

Flight Global has reported that due to the worldwide financial crisis, EADS Astrium has decided to cancel development work on its sub-orbital space plane concept. The ' Space Jet' is understood to have failed to inspire investor confidence after development costs of $1.4 billion were suggested.

Image: EADS Astrium

Charles Simonyi blasts off - again!

Soyuz 'Expedition 19' TMA 14 launched from Kazakhstan at 7:49 a.m. ET (1149 GMT) on March 26 carrying the Hungarian-American computer executive Charles Simyoni on his second space tourism adventure.

Simonyi, who previously launched towards the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-10 in April 2007 ( returning on TMA-9) will make his second visit to the ISS today, with a docking estimate of 9:15 a.m. ET (1315 GMT).

Simonyi will share his Soyuz spacecraft with NASA flight engineer Michael Barratt and Russian expedition commander Gennady Padalka.

Simonyi does not simply intend to use the his time aboard the ISS for mere weightless acrobatics, however. With an intended ISS departure set for April 7, Charles will instead spend his time performing educational outreach and scientific research. His second voyage has reportedly cost him $35 million.

Simonyi's trip could also witness the keen amateur radio enthusiast contacting schools to inform them of the wonders of human spaceflight, hopefully encouraging some of his young audience to pursue the necessary skills needed to enter industries connected to the New Space fields. Who knows who could be listening to his broadcasts back on Earth and who will be inspired to follow Charles' lead into space?

Picture credit: Space.com

Source: Space.com

Myasishchev to end space tourism imput

The Russian Myasishchev design bureau is set to be incorporated into Russia's United Aircraft (UA). Myasishchev, previously responsible for exploring the feasibility of Aerospace System (AKS) M-91/ VM-T Atlant (pictured) for an undisclosed Russian group, will now solely concentrate on aircraft design work.

You may remember Myasishchev as the bureau who were involved with Space Adventures sub orbital space plane concept in february 2006. Space Adventures had agreed to work alongside a US investment company called Prodea who intended to back the develop a sub-orbital space plane concept called the 'Explorer'; unfortunately, however, Prodea could not deliver on a firm timetable for development work to begin, which ultimately left the Explorer concept floundering for want of firm backing. The project's existence was further cast into doubt when in february 2007, Russian Federal Space Agency head, Anatoly Perminov, informed a reporter for Flight Global that his agency had not been dealing with any follow-up work on the Explorer.

The Explorer is clearly dead but still remains a 'what-if' of the early New Space Age.

Source: Flight Global

Picture Credit:Myasishchev

ARCA test lunar engine

Aeronautics and Cosmonautics Romanian Association (ARCA) has recently conducted a propellant firing test for its Stabilo suborbital space vehicle. In addition, the company also tested the lunar injection engine for its European Lunar Explorer - a vehicle that the company hope will be able to soft land on the Moon's surface. ARCA, who joined the X-Prize competition in 2002 have so far concentrated their efforts on two main projects: demonstrator rockets, designed to test essential features of a range of larger vehicles and Stabilo, a two man, air launched suv-orbital vehicle designed to be launched from a solar montgolfier balloon.