News Summaries for January 11

European Workshop on Space Exploration Strategy (Source: ESA)
In the historic city of Edinburgh, Scotland, ESA kicked off its series of stakeholder consultation workshops that will eventually inform the long-term European space exploration strategy. This is a key element in the preparation of the next ESA Council at Ministerial level and the space exploration activities that will be tabled for decision. This first workshop, hosted by the British National Space Centre (BNSC), saw the participation of over 170 people, from all over Europe, as well as US, Japan, Ukraine and Canada, in representation of the main stakeholder groups: the political, the scientific and the industrial sectors as well as the general public.

NOAA Satellites Help Rescue Many in Florida (Source: Florida Today)
Florida had the most rescues in the lower 48 states aided by NOAA satellites last year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA's satellites and Russia's Cospas spacecraft together offer the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking System. If planes, boats or individuals are in trouble, their emergency beacons can be pinpointed by the satellites, which relay the information to rescue coordination centers operated by the Air Force and the Coast Guard. In 2006, Florida had 50 rescues in 18 events last year. Only Alaska had more assisted rescues, with 75 saves in 29 events. Overall last year, the satellites helped rescue 272 people in U.S. waters and on land.

New KSC Director Does Not See Major Reductions in Workforce (Source: Florida Today)
The new director of Kennedy Space Center does not expect any major reductions in the center's workforce as NASA shuts down its shuttle fleet and prepares for moon missions. "I do see some changes. I do probably see some reductions from time to time. But there will probably be surges in different areas, whether it be construction or whatever," Bill Parsons said Wednesday. He took the post on Jan. 3.

Griffin Says NASA Will Protect CEV, Station Against Flat-Budget Squeeze (Source: Aerospace Daily)
NASA will trim from the bottom to accommodate a half-billion-dollar hole in its expected funding this year, halting or shrinking low-priority programs to keep top-dollar efforts like the Orion crew exploration vehicle and International Space Station assembly on track. Administrator Michael Griffin says his choices are clear. "We will find what we believe are the lowest priority half-billion dollars in content, and we'll extract it, across the agency," he says, stressing that does not mean programs at the core of the redirected U.S. space program as defined by President Bush almost three years ago.

Congress hasn't passed its fiscal 2007 appropriation and doesn't intend to. Instead, under the continuing-resolution plan developed by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) and Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.), the new appropriations committee chairmen, most of the government will operate under its fiscal 2006 funding levels. The Byrd/Obey plan includes a no-earmark rule, which knifes a $1 billion add-on proposed last year by Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) to "pay back" NASA the cost of returning the space shuttle to flight after the Columbia accident. So the agency will have about $520 million less than it expected in the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30.

Griffin said "the ideal candidate is a fairly new, lower priority effort where not a lot of money has already been invested, and by stopping it now you can react and not have to spend future money that you know you're not going to get." Using the space shuttle to complete the space station remains the top priority, he says, because if the U.S. doesn't keep its commitment to deliver expensive European, Japanese and Canadian hardware to the station, it will have a hard time finding partners for its long-range lunar exploration plans. Beyond the Orion/Ares I route to low-Earth orbit, it remains to be seen how other elements of the exploration program will fare over the coming year. The Ares V heavy-lift launch vehicle, its Earth-departure stage and the lander and other hardware needed for a resumption of lunar-surface operations are in their early days and could be vulnerable.

US Space Agency Commissions Russian Supply Ships (Source: Itar-Tass)
NASA has signed a contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) for the construction of two Progress supply ships in 2007-08, the president of Moscow’s space rocket corporation Energia.

Griffin Cites Ares 1 as Top Procurement Priority for 2007 (Source: Space News)
NASA Administrator Mike Griffin told an aerospace industry audience here Jan. 11 that awarding contracts for development of the Ares 1 rocket is the U.S. space agency’s top procurement priority for 2007.

KSC Director: 5 Shuttle Missions May be Tough to Pull Off This Year (Source: Space News)
NASA's goal of five space shuttle missions this year may be too ambitious, the new director of Kennedy Space Center said Wednesday.

Mars Phoenix Lander Will Need More Funding To Launch on Time (Source: Space News)
NASA expects to learn by late January just how far over budget the Mars Phoenix Lander is expected to be by the time the nearly completed spacecraft launches this August.

Sweden Looks Set to Host Europe's first Virgin Galactic Spaceport (Source: Flight International)
Commercial spaceline Virgin Galactic is set to announce its first European spaceport location later this month in Kiruna. The Arctic city of Kiruna, which is used as a cold weather trial station for aircraft and automotive projects, has been considered due to its remote location in Swedish Lapland. The region north of the Arctic Circle is an immense snow-scape, where reindeer in the pine forests are practically the sole inhabitants. Kiruna is also the location of the Swedish Space Corporation's 9,000km2 (3,500sq. mile) rocket sounding range, Esrange. Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn had previously suggested starting space toursim flights with a voyage through the Aurora Borealis (or Northern Lights). "No human being has ever flown into an aurora borealis," says Whitehorn. "You have to go beyond the edge of space. I think that will be a magical and mystical experience."

NASA Plans Procurement of Commercial Microgravity Flights (Source: NASA)
NASA has announced plans to procure commercial services for the operation of an aircraft in support of microgravity research. The contractor will be required to manage and operate their own aircraft which performs microgravity flights that meet NASA performance requirements while carrying NASA operated experiments. The expected areas of operation will be from Ellington Field in Houston, Texas and the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio with flights conducted in controlled airspace. Visit http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.nl.html?pid=23008 for information.

Space Florida Plans University Capabilities Assessment (Source: Space Florida)
Space Florida's Education, Research and Development, and Workforce Committee will be conduct two meetings this month to develop a technical information database on aeronautics and space research expertise resident within Florida public and private universities. Information from these meetings will support Space Florida's strategic planning process. The first meeting is scheduled for Jan. 22-23 in Gainesville. The second meeting is tentatively scheduled for January 29-30 in Tampa. Visit http://www.spaceflorida.gov for information.

Russia in Talks to Build 12 Spacecraft for NASA, ESA (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russian spacecraft manufacturer Energia is in talks with NASA and ESA on contracts to build 12 rocket carriers for the U.S. and European space agencies, the head of the corporation said. "Talks to build six Soyuz and six Progress craft in 2009, 2010, and 2011 to launch American and European astronauts into space are ongoing." The corporation plans to double Soyuz and Progress launches by 2009, when the crew of the International Space Station increases to six from the current three members. "We plan to launch four Soyuz and seven Progress spacecraft annually, compared to two Soyuz and four Progress craft launched annually now," he said. The corporation would launch another 26 spacecraft by 2009 - 12 as part of a state order and 14 under commercial projects.