Military-space planners unclear whether smaller means cheaper

Water system success prompts discussion of potential services

There seems to be little hope of better defining U.S. space policy, given the current underfunded NASA vision of human expeditions to Mars and its ambitions to turn responsibility for low-Earth-orbit transportation over to commercial providers, according to members of an expert panel hosted by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Analysis of the Jan. 31 failure of a Sea Launch Zenit-3S with a big Boeing-built Intelsat communications satellite on board will center on thrust vector control in the Russian-built RD-171 main-stage engine, adding to the woes of Russia's mishap-plagued launch vehicle industry. Efforts by Sea Launch to regain financial momentum after emerging from bankruptcy also will be more difficult. The company has no additional firm missions on its manifest.

The company unit will leverage its Orion crew capsule work to help Sierra Nevada Corp. human-rate its Dream Chaser.

The U.S. government spends more on weapons development than any other nation on the planet, but its plans for doing so are caught up in a larger financial debate.

Repurposing of com-sat antennas could yield substantial savings

NASA applies its human-spaceflight standards to lithium-ion batteries