Tag: Planetary Resources
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Deep Space Industries entering asteroid-mining world, creates competition for Planetary Resources
Planetary Resources, the Bellevue-based asteroid-mining company backed by some of the biggest names in technology and aerospace, now has some more competition. A new Virginia-based space company called Deep Space Industries announced today that by 2015, it will be sending a 55-pound “FireFly” spacecraft into the sky in search of asteroids near earth. The company vows…
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Planetary Resources shows ‘daringly small’ asteroid-hunting spacecraft
Planetary Resources, the asteroid-mining company backed by some of the biggest names in technology and aerospace, is out with a new behind-the-scenes video showing some of the latest prototypes of the spacecraft that it plans to use to hunt for asteroids. An earlier rendering of the Arkyd-100 in orbit. Chris Lewicki, the Bellevue-based company’s president…
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Newsmakers 2012: Asteroid miner Chris Lewicki points Planetary Resources to a new industry in space
Chris Lewicki with a prototype of Planetary Resources’ Arkyd-100 spacecraft. They plan to send robots into space to mine asteroids — opening up a new frontier for natural resources and creating a trillion-dollar industry in the process. Planetary Resources’ mission would sound crazy if it wasn’t for the people behind it — led by “chief…
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Asteroid miners may launch their own Kickstarter project
Planetary Resources, the Bellevue-based company that plans to launch robotic spacecraft to mine near-Earth asteroids, doesn’t need extra money, backed by investors including Google’s Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, and Ross Perot Jr. But the company is considering a Kickstarter campaign to get the public more involved in its effort — offering donors benefits including the…
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SpaceX and beyond: Latest from the new space race
The docking of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule with the International Space Station is a landmark for the private space industry, marking the first time a commercial spacecraft has flown a mission to the International Space Station, to deliver supplies. The SpaceX Falcon 9 carries the Dragon capsule to orbit, launching last week from Cape Canaveral. (Credit:…
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GeekWire Radio: Our future in space, and why it might be closer than we thought
Our topic this week on the GeekWire radio show and podcast is space, and our possible future in it. Joining us is Adam Bruckner — a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the University of Washington. He shares his insights and perspectives on the emerging era of commercial spaceflight, asteroid mining, the potential impact on the…
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Asteroid mining company flooded with job applications
Who wouldn’t want to work with these guys? Peter Diamandis, Chris Lewicki and Eric Anderson of Planetary Resources at the news conference this week. Planetary Resources, the Bellevue-based company that this week unveiled plans to launch robotic spacecraft to mine asteroids, has received nearly 1,000 job applications since making its announcement. The company cited the…
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Rockets, robots and a big week in the ‘Silicon Valley of Space’
Blue Origin’s space capsule. We’ve had fun this week following the story of Planetary Resources, the new startup that plans to launch robots into space to mine asteroids. Their news conference at Seattle’s Museum of Flight really did feel like the opening scene of a science fiction novel. And in the process of developing the…
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Science fiction writers inspired as asteroid miners make fiction fact
It was the very last question at the news conference announcing Planetary Resources’ plans to find mineral-rich asteroids, pull them into near-Earth orbit, and mine them. Did science fiction play a role? The response was an accurate, but unsatisfyingly vague, “Science fiction is fiction right up to the point that it’s science fact.” Greg Bear The Seattle area,…
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Robots in Space: Live from the Planetary Resources news conference
Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream UPDATE: The news conference is over, but you can read our live notes below. Stay tuned for more later today on GeekWire. Coming up at Seattle’s Museum of Flight this morning is the highly anticipated news conference by Planetary Resources, the space robot venture that plans to formally unveil…