News Summaries for November 9-12

The New [Florida] Space Race (Source: St. Petersburg Times)
Florida, the nation’s premier launch site since the 1960s thanks to NASA’s largesse, is in danger of being eclipsed in a fast-changing space race. In less than four years when the space shuttle program ends, one-third of the 15,000 space-related jobs on Florida’s Space Coast will be eliminated. Meanwhile, a growing number of billionaire businessmen are proving that space is not just NASA anymore. These entrepreneurs, used to thinking big while profiting bigger, are into everything from commercial satellite launches to space tourism. And, instead of heading to Florida, they’re taking their fledgling businesses to places as far-flung as an atoll in the Pacific Ocean and Star City, Russia.

Amid this growing competition for space business, Florida has created a new space organization. But it has hired a guy from Pennsylvania with no aerospace background to run the show. Surprising? Not at all, said Steve Kohler, the man selected by Gov. Jeb Bush to head Space Florida, which replaced a confusing trifecta of state bureaucracies: Florida Space Authority, Florida Space Research Institute and Florida Aerospace Finance Corp. Visit http://www.sptimes.com/2006/11/11/Business/The_new_space_race.shtml to view the article.

Russia Raises Price of Station Tourist Flights by $1 Million (Source: MosNews)
The price of a commercial flight to the International Space Station has risen from $20 million to $21 million. Russia has so far sent four commercial space tourists to the orbital station on board Soyuz spacecraft. Nikolai Sevastyanov, the head of the Energia rocket and space corporation, said the price rise was caused by growth in the cost of materials and components used in the construction of the Soyuz spacecraft.

Nelson's 'Right Stuff' a Plus for State (Source: Herald Tribune)
Sen. Bill Nelson has built a large part of his political identity on being one of the few members of Congress to have traveled in space. He orbited the planet aboard the space shuttle Columbia and has said it gave him a new appreciation for the environment. Now, the former astronaut is poised to have a significant say in the direction of the U.S. space program. When Democrats take control of the Senate in January, Nelson -- re-elected to a second term Tuesday -- is in line to become chairman of two boards that oversee NASA and military space programs: the Science and Space Subcommittee and the Strategic Forces Subcommittee. The positions would give him a big say about whether NASA-related projects go forward in Congress and in keeping Florida's Kennedy Space Center at the forefront of the federal government's space program. Visit http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061111/NEWS/611110467/1006/SPORTS to view the article.

Texas to the Moon: Spaceport Coming Soon (Source: WOAI)
Finding your way to outer space could soon be as easy as easy as trip down I-10 towards El Paso. That is, if you have a lot of money. It isn't Houston or Cape Canaveral. Van Horn, Texas is a small desert town built around railroad tracks and interstate roads. Its economic base is primarily the travel industry because it's on the interstate. Now, the town is preparing for some really rich tourists, people ready to fly to outer space. Blue Origin has applied to the FAA to obtain a license to create a launch site in Culbertson County, Texas.

Blue Origin wouldn't allow us on the property but the mayor said construction was already underway. He added crews are building a launch pad and landing site. All of the land belongs to Jeff Bezos, the co-founder of Amazon.com. "This guy has more money than God," said David Scott, a Van Horn resident. "Let him spend some of it around here." Visit http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=AE27AF1F-A15A-453C-9F3E-01A8F027131A to view the article.

Space Venture Buys up Land in Texas Counties (Source: AIA)
Commercial space venture Blue Origin LLC has purchased thousands of acres of land in southwest Texas, where it plans to build a launch pad. The venture, owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, may start offering suborbital trips to space in 2010. Some residents of nearby towns are frustrated that Bezos is saying little about his space venture.

'Doom' Creator Turned Rocket Pioneer (Source: CNET)
Best known for creating two of the world's most ground-breaking video games, Doom and Quake, John Carmack is quietly breaking ground in another nascent field: commercial rocketry. Nearly six years ago, Carmack founded Texas-based Armadillo Aerospace to build next-generation vehicles for transporting people and payloads into suborbital space. Still under development, his experimental rockets were put to the test at last month's X Prize Cup, as the lone competitors in a NASA-funded contest to build and fly a lunar vehicle. Armadillo's rockets, called Pixel and Texel, didn't win the $1 million-plus prize money (their legs buckled upon landing). But they did fly and, in doing so, offered hope that a hyped commercial space tourism industry could get off the ground. Visit http://news.com.com/Doom+creator+turned+rocket+pioneer/2008-11397_3-6133892.html to view the article.

Virgin Galactic: Anatomy of a Business Model (Source: Space.com)
For Virgin Galactic—the passenger-carrying spaceliner company—plans are rapidly taking shape to offer suborbital space flights in the near-term but also to eventually offer point-to-point rocket travel around the globe, as well as to space hotels, and trips to the Moon. While the business case for public space transportation has yet to be proven, sections of Virgin Galactic’s spaceliner already dot the factory floors at Scaled Composites in Mojave, California—all under the watchful eye of aerospace designer, Burt Rutan. Visit http://space.com/news/061110_tai_galactic.html to view the article.

Princess Plans Virgin Galactic Spaceflight (Source: This is London)
Princess Beatrice is set to become the first Royal to travel into space. The 18-year-old daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York has agreed to fly on Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic mission, the first commercial spacecraft. Beatrice - fifth in line to the throne - was persuaded to take part by new boyfriend David Clark, who works in the sales and marketing division of the tycoon's latest project.

Space Tourism Flight May be as Easy as Making a Golf Putt (Source: OpenPress)
Charity fundraising events have entered the space age with contests that will send the winner into space. Now that space tourism and commercial space flights have become a reality with the first flights scheduled for 2008, it is not surprising that http://www.eSpaceTickets.com has created a way for non-profit groups to raise funds from the millions of people who would love to ride into orbit but cannot afford the $2 million price tag. "There are 15 contests to choose from, and they are all easy and fun for contestants to play. Because they are easier than getting a hole in one on a golf course, most people will be willing to give them a try. That means plenty of people will buy tickets to play and charities will benefit as a result."

Defense Stocks Tumble After Rumsfeld Resigns (Source: AIA)
Shares of large defense firms, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, dropped Wednesday after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned. President George W. Bush nominated former Central Intelligence Agency Director Robert Gates to replace Rumsfeld.

Russians Overreacting to Overwrought Reports on U.S. Space Policy (Source: MSNBC)
International frictions over space policy took a rising turn this week, with Russian President Vladimir Putin accusing unnamed countries — clearly meaning the United States and perhaps Israel — of "seeking to untie their hands in order to take weapons to outer space, including nuclear weapons." Putin continued: "Great harm to stability is caused by unilateral, illegitimate actions by some powers." In a separate newspaper interview, GRU Chief Valentin Korabelnikov echoed Putin’s specific warning: "Our attention is focused on the threats associated with the appearance of destabilizing weapons, including plans to launch weapons, including nuclear weapons, into space."

In semantics and timing, these warnings are tied to the worldwide uproar over the U.S. space policy released by the White House last month. Inflammatory accounts of that policy have hit a nerve in Moscow, Beijing and elsewhere. Thinking themselves justified by such rumors, Russian leaders could instinctively respond by fielding dusted-off and refurbished space weapons from the Soviet era, along with militarized versions of dual-use modern space technologies. But if they did so, they would be sparring with a phantom — and might realize that too late.

NASA, Lockheed Try to Re-establish Contact with Mars Orbiter (Source: AIA)
The Mars Global Surveyor orbiter appears to have entered a preprogrammed safe mode. NASA and Lockheed Martin are trying to re-establish full communication with the orbiter, which was having difficulty moving one of its solar arrays.

Lockheed Martin in Talks with India to Collaborate in Space (Source: Zee News)
Lockheed Martin is in talks to collaborate in India''s space program and joint research on integrated weapons platforms to counter future security threats. "We are exploring what desire there is on Indian side," Lockheed Martin''s CEO Robert J Stevens. A number of meetings have been held with the top brass of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and more are slated, he said.

Jacksonville Engineering Firm has Stellar Reputation with NASA (Source: SanLuisObispo.com)
When Darold Cole watches NASA send its vehicles into space, he's as enthralled as anyone else seeing the spacecraft heave themselves out of the atmosphere. But even after all these years, Cole, an engineer with Jacksonville-based Reynolds, Smith and Hills Inc., has part of his attention focused on the launch pads, towers and other structures necessary for the rockets to work. RS&H has been involved with NASA - and with space - since the 1960s, when the agency asked the company to design a launch pad. Since its work on the first structure, the company went on to build all three mobile launch platforms for the Apollo missions and the launch umbilical tower, among other projects, in many cases having to come up with the proper technology from scratch.

The company has recently expanded into the private sector, helping companies looking to launch satellites, working with entrepreneurs trying to create the space tourism industry and even doing projects like evaluating Jacksonville's Cecil Field's potential as a spaceport. "I think Cecil Field has an excellent chance of becoming a spaceport," Cole said. Among RS&H's other recent work: helping establish new spaceports in Australia and the central United States and modifying existing commercial launch sites. Visit http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/business/15985691.htm to view the article.

NASA Encounters Problems With Ares 1 Vehicle Design (Source: NASA Watch)
Sources inside the development of the Ares 1 launch vehicle (aka Crew Launch Vehicle or "The Stick") have reported that the current design is underpowered to the tune of a metric ton or more. As currently designed, Ares 1 would not be able to put the present Orion spacecraft design (Crew Exploration Vehicle) into the orbit NASA desires for missions to the Space Station. This issue is more pronounced for CEV missions to the moon.

One possible solution to the Stick's current design problems is to add side-mounted solid rocket motors. Many inside the program are not so sure that this solution is worth the effort. Others suggest that starting from a clean sheet of paper may be the only prudent course of action. Visit http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=1171 to view the article.