SENATOR SHELBY BLOCKS NASA STIMULUS FUNDING FOR COMMERCIAL SPACE; BIGELOW HITS BACK

Space News reports that the supplementary financial stimulus funding for NASA (totalling around $1 billion) is currently held up due to objections from Senator Shelby, a Republican representative for the state of Alabama. Shelby is objecting to the use of $150 million for the development of commercial crew and cargo services to the International Space Station, and would rather see the money go to the NASA Constellation programme developing the Ares-I and V rockets for the return to the Moon. The Ares development programme has significant technical problems. and is running behind schedule and over budget: The total estimated cost to develop the Ares I through 2015 has risen from $28 billion in 2006 to more than $40 billion in 2009.

An editorial in the same issue of Space News by Robert Bigelow of Bigelow Aerospace hits back at Sen. Shelby. He says "Constellation appears to be yet another ill-conceived NASA boondoggle suffering from all too familiar runaway costs." He goes on to say "Commercial crew transport, as demonstrated by SpaceX's dramatic progress and the existing Atlas 5 launcher, represents a viable, affordable, and robust path forward... Moreover, to hear a Republican senator espouse the virtues of a bloated, costly government program over innovative commercial concepts is so paradoxical that it requires no further comment from me."

VIRGIN GALACTIC: MORE WHITE KNIGHT TWO TEST FLIGHTS, FULL 'FLIGHT PROFILE' ROCKET TEST SUCCESS

The pace of the Virgin Galactic development programme continues to accelerate, with no fewer than three White Knight Two test flights in the space of two weeks. The flights (numbers 6,7 and 8 in the test roster) have expanded the performance envelope of the aircraft, with maximum altitude reaching 45,000ft, and speed increased to 340 knots with the gear up and down. In-flight engine restarts were performed successfully. Environmental control systems have been tested. No significant anomalies have been reported.

In a speech at the International Space Development Conference in Orlando, Wil Whitehorn of Virgin Galactic stated that SpaceShipTwo glide testing is expected to start before the end of the year.

Virgin also announced the successful test firing of the hybrid rocket motor which will power the SpaceShipTwo spaceplane on its suborbital trajectory.

The Virgin press release stated: "Virgin Galactic today announces the successful completion of the first phase of tests of the rocket motor that will propel space tourists, scientists and payloads into space.

In the desert of southern California, Virgin Galactic's key supplier Scaled Composites and its subcontractor SNC (Sierra Nevada Corporation) have successfully completed the first tests of the innovative rocket motor that will propel space tourists, scientists and payloads into space. The hybrid Nitrous Oxide system being used is the largest of its kind in the world and it will send Virgin's customers up into sub-orbital space at speeds over 2500 mph (4000kmh), to heights over 65 miles (110km) above the Earth's surface, before the spaceship descends back down through the atmosphere using its pioneering feathered re-entry system."

VVirgin has confirmed that the motor tested was a full-sized prototype of the motor which will be fitted to SS2, and performed a burn with the same thrust profile as required by the suborbital flight.