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News, Gossip & Rumors

This page may contain unsubstantiated rumor and heresay.  Wherever available and credible, we have referenced the source or confirming reference for the news items.  Wherever items appear without a source or reference, the information should be considered purely rumor.  DSE makes absolutely no claims about the veracity of any information posted on this page and assumes no liability as a result of publishing this third party information.  Please note that DSE only publishes information to this page if it has received express permission to do so from it's source - all normal business correspondence is treated confidentially unless otherwise stated.  To report information to be posted to this page, please send e-mail to news@deepspaceenterprises.com .

Headlines

January 17, 2003
We are happy to congratulate the CHIPSat and FEDSAT teams on successful launches recently.  Both craft appear to be up and running well and are on their respective schedules for on-orbit check out and spacecraft commissioning with only minor anomalies to date.

December 15, 2002
DSE is closing down as an operating company.  Unfortunately we were never able to generate quite enough interest to really spark growth although it has been a great time making a run at it.  Thank you to all of our partners, vendors, supporters and especially customers, and other well-wishers who helped make the effort possible.  No one can tell what the future may hold, so it's entirely possible we'll try again later.  In the meantime, the president and founder of DSE, Terrance Yee, has been retained by MicroSat Systems of Littleton, CO ( http://www.microsatsystems.com ) as Systems Design Lead of TechSat-21, an AFRL technology demonstration mission, scheduled for launch in 2006, and currently the subject of much speculation concerning the final types of payloads to be flown and number of spacecraft to be built.  The DSE website will continue to be maintained as a resource to those interested in small spacecraft and launch vehicles.  We also hope to have the time to transform the site into a tool for the advocacy of such small space activities.  More on that as it develops.

December 13, 2002
Keeping with the Friday the 13th theme, we have some mixed news to report regarding AeroAstro's founder and CEO, Dr. Rick Fleeter.  Unfortunately, Dr. Fleeter was one of two victims in an automobile vs. bicycles collision a few months ago.  He sustained broken bones in his leg and foot as well as a broken clavicle.  Fortunately, he is now on the road back to health.  So, if you see a rider on a new recumbant bicycle in the Ashburn, VA area, please give him a friendly wave and plenty of room to pass.  You have our best wishes for a speedy recovery, Rick.

December 12, 2002
CHIPSat is scheduled for launch from VBAFB at 4:45 PST on December 19.  Check it out on NASA TV, or watch the action live from the satellite control room on SpaceDev's website: http://www.spacedev.com/webcam/srcam.htm .  The launch campaign is reportedly going well with the team ready and eager for launch.  CHIPSat leads a flurry of end-of-the-year launches including FedSat and MOST.  We wish them all the best of luck. 

August 23, 2002
CHIPSat is currently starting environmental testing at AFRL's Space Test Facility on Kirtland, AFB.  The spacecraft is fully integrated with the CHIPS spectrometer.  CHIPSat's launch partner, ICESat is also just starting environmental testing at Ball's Boulder, CO facility.  These satellites are scheduled for launch in December from the Western Test Range at Vandenburg, AFB.

May 21, 2002
After undergoing a major upgrade, the DSE ISP is now back online.  We apologize for the disruption in e-mail during the past week and a half.

April 15, 2002
The NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts announced the winners for their recent call for proposals.  114 proposals were submitted; 16 phase I and 4 phase 2 proposals were selected.  Unfortunately, DSE's proposals were not among the award winners.  The selected Phase I awards included such intriguing titles as "The Black Light Rocket (BLR) Engine" and "Tailored Force Fields for Space-Based Construction".  For a complete list of current and past award winners, see http://www.niac.usra.edu/studies/ .

March 29, 2002
Editorial from DSE President, Terrance Yee:
Tax time blows.  There's no easy way to really express the exasperation we all feel with our current system without resorting to the sort of words I don't want my kids to read, but I feel compelled to share my dismay with the system of corporate (and individual) taxation in America.  I'm now fully convinced that the IRS and CA state tax codes are not designed to fairly bring in revenue to the government but rather as job insurance for accountants, lawyers, lobbyists and legislators not to mention the hoard of civil servants necessary to implement the government end of it.  Instead of this massive welfare system for paper pushers, it's about time we clean the slate and institute a tax code you can fit on a single sheet of paper.  Think of the huge boost in productivity across the nation we could achieve if we didn't have to waste all those hours (and careers) with pointless exercises in schedules and forms for a system that ultimately isn't any fairer than the flat tax proposals out there.  People talk about the peace dividend from the end of the cold war, just imagine what the GDP could do without this millstone around its neck.  I now know why they hold elections in November and make taxes due 6 months later.  I think the election results would be quite different if they were held a May 1 instead.  A word of advice to would be entrepreneurs: make sure you understand the tax consequences early and stay on top of your record keeping.  I can vividly imagine the kind of disaster I'd be in if I hadn't.

March 20, 2002
Monster.com has a new listing for a Project Systems Engineering position at SpaceDev.  Considering SpaceDev's small size and the continuing employment of its other Systems Engineer, one can reasonably infer the beginning of a significant new project at the company.

March 1, 2002
DSE has completed its contracted support of the CHIPS program.  DSE achieved all contractual tasks on time and on budget.  The CHIPS program is lead by the University of California at Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory and is supported by SpaceDev, which is providing the satellite bus, integration services, launch integration, and ground station operations.  The mission is co-manifested with ICESat for DPAF launch aboard a Boeing Delta II.  The launch date is currently expected to be around December of 2002 and is being driven by ICESat needs.  CHIPSat is expected to by fully integrated, tested, and ready to ship to launch in June of 2002.

February 23, 2002
Sean Geiger has recently left his position at Ecliptic Enterprises.  Mr. Geiger was one of the group of talented individuals who went through the BlastOff! experience in Pasadena and decided to join some of his coworkers in making their own startup work after BlastOff! closed its doors.  Mr. Geiger is an extremely talented and dedicated RF and electrical engineer with nearly a decade of experience in the industry.  We can honestly say from personal experience that he's a joy to work with and would be a great addition to any team.  Sean is taking a little time off before deciding on his next endeavor, but is hoping to move closer to family in Milwaukee.  Inquiries can be sent via jobs@DeepSpaceEnterprises.com .

February 19, 2002
DSE has completed a short project for AeroAstro, providing systems engineering support for marketing and proposal efforts in the microsatellite field.

February 6, 2002
DSE, with support from Dynacon, Space Exploration Engineering, and CalSpace, has submitted two proposals to the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts for the current call for proposals.  The first proposal is for a novel method of moving comets to different orbits, and the second proposal is for a unique non-chemical launch system.  Both ideas were originally developed by DSE.  More details will be released when the proposals are selected for funding.

November 27, 2001
Upon a recent tour of the Kennedy Space Center, DSE personnel discovered to their dismay that part of the fallout of the September 11 attacks was the deletion of all the most interesting and close-up portions of the "VIP tour".  The Shuttle Assembly Building is now completely removed from the tour, as are visits past the launch pads.  It is a sad thing to add to the list of secondary effects that these inspiring sights are no longer open to the public.  Although the visitors center is still extremely interesting for space enthusiasts, the VIP tours are a lot less special than they used to be.

November 20, 2001
Dynacon announced today that an agreement has been signed to launch the MOST satellite being built at their Mississauga, Ontario facility.  MOST will be launched as a secondary payload aboard a Eurokot launch from Plesetsk in October of 2002.  See http://www.dynacon.ca/MOST_launch_contract_news.html for further details.

October 22, 2001
DSE has been awarded a contract from the University of California to assist in the integration and testing of the CHIPSat spacecraft in preparation for launch in mid 2002.  We are very happy to be working with some of our old colleagues and look forward to helping CHIPSat achieve success.

October 17, 2001
With Dan Goldin's retirement announced today, speculation about his replacement has begun.  A wave of speculation regarding potential replacements followed last year's presidential election, however, Dan Goldin was not asked to resign upon president Bush's inauguration.  At that time, one of the leading candidates was rumored to be USAF Gen. Pete Worden, who was influential in the genesis of the Clementine mission and is a staunch supporter of small, low-cost missions.  "Vader" as he has been affectionately dubbed by some of his junior officers, has a reputation for being a no-nonsense, results-oriented commander, with a fondness for the KISS principle applied to tightly-focused space missions conducted with practicality and aggressive schedules.

September 25, 2001
SpaceDev announced today that it has been awarded a new contract valued in excess of $1 million, with possible total future value up to $2.2 million (presumably based on add-on options or future phases).  The customer and project are being identified only as a "proprietary research program" at present.  See http://www.spacedev.com/media/pressrelease/25sep01.html for the full press release.

September 18, 2001
AeroAstro has announced that the company has been selected by AFRL to supply STPSat, including launch support and  integration for four payloads provided by the Air Force.  Launch is expected in the 2005/2006 fiscal year as a secondary payload aboard the Delta IV EELV.  The total contract value is $11.2 million.   See http://www.aeroastro.com/hotnews-page.html for the official press release.