Mentor Blogs

The President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2012, if approved, will revert NASA’s spending to 2010 levels overall. This geek wonders if, as federal funds for space exploration shrink, commercial investment in space innovations will grow. If the previous couple years are any indication, the private space race is likely to heat up and reach new heights (hopefully low Earth orbit, most often referred … Read More

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The Obama administration has announced its 2012 budget request; and, if approved, it will reduce spending for NASA in the next fiscal year to $18.7 billion, the same amount the agency gained in 2010 and roughly $300 million less than NASA received in the 2011 budget request. “The times today are very difficult fiscally, and we’re going to live within a budget,” says NASA administrator … Read More

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Google Lunar X Prize The roster of competitors is set for the Google Lunar X Prize, a multimillion-dollar race to land a homemade robot on the moon. Twenty-nine privately funded teams have thrown their hats in the ring, contest organizers announced Feb. 17. The teams represent 17 nations spanning four continents, and the competitors range from non-profits to university consortia to billion-dollar … Read More

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It’s not that I was suspicious. I have no axe to grind against Toyota and was pleased to read that after a 10-month study, NASA and NHTSA engineers found no electronic flaws in Toyota vehicles capable of causing unintended acceleration. But I was curious to know how they did it – how they examined and tested mechanical and electronic components and what tools they used to analyze some 280,000 lines … Read More

unintende acceleration, Toyota, electromagnetic radiation, event data recorders, brake override systems, nasa, NHTSA, Goddard Space Flight Center, keyless ignition

The President’s budget request for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in fiscal year 2011, released 1 Feb. 2010, added $6 billion over five years. The $6 billion increase was accompanied by instructions as to how the money should be invested, which was hotly criticized at the time. Looking back nearly a year later, it’s evident that the additional funding has been a boon … Read More

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It’s no secret that the economic downturn is prevailing far longer than financial and economic pundits even predicted; layoffs in the mil/aero industry, like various other markets, continue. Companies are doing more with less, and requiring employees to multitask more than ever before. It is not uncommon today to find a single employee today handling the same responsibilities and workload of two or … Read More

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Part 1 explored Boeing and Space Adventures’ new memorandum outlining a partnership to further increase the growing industry of commercial space flight. Part 2 aims to answer some pressing questions: What is Space Adventures’ background? Who is funding the effort? When is the Boeing Crew Space Transport-100 (CST-100) scheduled to be completed? And who are the players involved in this competitive game … Read More

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With NASA’s Space Shuttle program coming to an end, the private space transportation industry is heating up. Many players are making plans to provide out-of-this-world service in the not too distant future. As I have discussed in previous blogs, a growing number of companies (such as SpaceX and Scaled Composites) and private incentive programs (such as Ansari X Prize) have been encouraging the privately … Read More

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According to a recent article in USA Today, at least 41 children have died so far this year in the U.S. because absent-minded parents or caregivers left them in cars in hot weather. NHTSA warns that a car’s windows act like a greenhouse, trapping sunlight and heat. It says cars parked in direct sunlight can reach internal temperatures up to 131° - 172° F when outside temperatures are 80° – 100° F. … Read More

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In recent years, privately funded companies have made many efforts to develop and test space-capable vehicles. One of the most well-known, prize-based technology encouragement activities is the Ansari X Prize, founded in 2004 by the non-profit organization the X Prize Foundation. The competition’s rules were simple: The first privately funded, non-government organization to develop a reusable, manned … Read More

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After 30 years of service, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is going to be retiring its fleet of three space shuttles next year. The final flight of the shuttle Atlantis took place in May, Discovery’s final flight is set for November 1, and Discovery will be grounded after its last mission planned for February of 2011. The first of four test flights of the NASA space shuttle … Read More

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When President Obama unveiled his budget in February, it included an increase in NASA funding. Despite tough economic times, more than $100 billion over the next five years is earmarked for NASA. Nonetheless, the proposed budget still caused upset for those involved in the U.S. space program, including the wealth of aerospace contractors, subcontractors, systems integrators, and technology companies … Read More

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