More Space Prize Info from 2007 ad Astra

And now for a final post on the summer 2007 ad Astra! The issue has an article on what they call the "Rocket Belt". That's the Southwest from California to Texas and Oklahoma. The article mentions Lunar Lander challenger Armadillo Aerospace and their Pixel vehicle. It also mentions the X PRIZE Cup, and America's Space Prize sponsor Bigelow Aerospace. The article is more on commercial space (especially entrepreneurial space access), but space prize references (whether mentioned outright or not) are there throughout. I found it interesting overall (don't think space prizes are the end-all to me; concentrating on that niche in this blog just helps me keep it focused, both in terms of content and time spent).

There is also an opinion article on NASA's need to keep the NIAC (NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts). NASA has been shedding a lot of capability since starting ESAS and not getting expected budget increases for ESAS. Unfortunately a lot of the capability shed has been what many would call the "meat and bones" of NASA, and dollar per dollar the most productive parts of NASA, rather than what one might want to shed. NIAC may be an example of this, and this article makes the case that NASA needs NIAC (a $4 million program). One of the arguments is that NIAC work has led to benefits to the work of the Air Force, X PRIZE Foundation, and NASA Centennial Challenges.

No links this time ... this is from a hard-copy version of ad Astra. For the details you'll have to get the magazine. Maybe you'll be able to find the articles on Space.com's ad Astra site.