science

SpaceDev

SpaceDev is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand SpaceDev rather than just read about it. In short: SpaceDev, a part of the "Space Systems Business" of Sierra Nevada Corporation, is prominent for its spaceflight and microsatellite work. It designed and built components for the hybrid rocket motors for Paul Allen's Tier One suborbital SpaceShipOne space program operated by Scaled Composites.

Key takeaways

SpaceDev belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect SpaceDev to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of SpaceDev from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

SpaceDev, a part of the "Space Systems Business" of Sierra Nevada Corporation, is prominent for its spaceflight and microsatellite work. It designed and built components for the hybrid rocket motors for Paul Allen's Tier One suborbital SpaceShipOne space program operated by Scaled Composites. It is also developing micro- and nano-satellites, a small expendable launch vehicle, the SpaceDev Streaker, and has designed a piloted suborbital and orbital spaceship of its own, the SpaceDev Dream Chaser, in collaboration with NASA. SpaceDev is based near San Diego in Poway, California. Its objective is to make routine commercial spaceflight possible and to help open space for all of humanity. Previously a publicly traded company (OTCBB:SPDV), on 20 October 2008 SpaceDev officials announced that the company would be acquired by Sierra Nevada Corporation, a privately owned company. The announced acquisition price was 38 million dollars. The role of SpaceDev will be melded into another of Sierra Nevada's subsidiary companies, MicroSat, to create a more complete space technology unit. On December 16, 2008, SpaceDev announced its acquisition by Sierra Nevada Corporation had been completed.

History SpaceDev was founded in 1997 by Jim Benson, who acquired Integrated Space Systems of Southern California and then acquired a dormant publicly traded Colorado corporation through a reverse acquisition to create the publicly traded SpaceDev. For a while, SpaceDev also owned UK-based Space Innovations Limited. In August 1998 SpaceDev acquired all patents, intellectual property, test results, and documents that had been produced by the out of business American Rocket Company (AMROC). On August 6, 1998, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filed an administrative proceeding alleging securities fraud against Spacedev Inc. According to the SEC, Spacedev promotes itself extensively on the Internet. The SEC alleged that the company made false and misleading statements over the Internet and via other media in violation of U.S. securities laws in an attempt to increase its stock value. The SEC was seeking cease and desist orders against Spacedev and its chairman, James W. Benson. A settlement was reached between the SEC, Spacedev and James W. Benson. The settlement states that the SEC was founded in its allegations and SpaceDev cease and desist from committing or causing violations or future violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder; and Mr. Benson cease and desist from committing or causing violations or future violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The company's first big project was to be the Near Earth Asteroid Prospector, or NEAP, a small innovative commercial spacecraft mission that would have rendezvoused with and landed on a Near Earth Asteroid (NEO), conducted scientific experiments, and claimed the asteroid as private property. As it turned out however, the company's first success would come a little closer to home, in the form of CHIPSat [1], the Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer microsatellite. SpaceDev built and conducted early orbit operations of the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) microsat, the first to use only the Internet for its communications, for University of California at Berkeley under NASA's University Explorer Program (UNEX). This was followed one year later by supplying the rocket motors that propelled SpaceShipOne into the history books by creating the world's first civilian astronauts and helping Paul Allen win the $10 million Ansari X Prize. On October 26, 2005, SpaceDev announced that the Starsys Research Corporation of Boulder, Colorado, would merge with SpaceDev, which would provide SpaceDev with additional expertise and experience with microsatellite technologies. The acquisition of Starsys on January 31, 2006, put the number of SpaceDev employees over 200, located in three states. The Starsys division is being groomed to become a center of space robotics for SpaceDev. Over 18 years Starsys developed and delivered 2,000 space mechanisms that have flown on over 200 missions, all successfully. SpaceDev has most or all of the moving parts on Mars at this time, had mechanisms on Deep Impact, is supplying the separation system and docking mechanism for the soon to be launched Orbital Express, and has mechanisms on the way to Pluto. On September 28, 2006, SpaceDev announced that founder and CEO Jim Benson was stepping down to start a new space tourism venture, The Benson Space Company (BSC). BSC was expected to be one of SpaceDev's largest customers, purchasing multiple Dream Chaser spaceships for use in personal spaceflight. However BSC was dissolved following the death of Jim Benson on October 10, 2008, due to a brain tumor.

Dream Chaser

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with SpaceDev

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what SpaceDev claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to SpaceDev before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about SpaceDev ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of SpaceDev

In research: SpaceDev appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses SpaceDev in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: SpaceDev is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Aircraft engine manufacturers of the United States, Companies based in San Diego County, California, Companies established in 1997, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for SpaceDev outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study SpaceDev in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what SpaceDev means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain SpaceDev out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is SpaceDev in simple terms?

Why does SpaceDev matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study SpaceDev?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on SpaceDev.