News Summaries for January 16

Bleak Outlook For Russian-US Space Cooperation (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Washington has stopped mentioning the ISS. Russian Federal Space Agency director Anatoly Perminov said the United States is no longer setting forth any specific manned-mission directives. The directors of the various national space agencies involved in the International Space Station (ISS) program will meet to negotiate in France on April 23. One can say that current Russian-U.S. cooperation does not inspire the same joyful optimism typical of the late 1990s. Moreover, both space powers may soon go their separate ways if this trend persists, with mutual rivalry inevitably setting in.

Barring the possible deployment of weapons in near-Earth space, is this situation as bad as it can get? With all due respect for the United States, it is Washington that has initiated this kind of separatism. This is demonstrated by the U.S. national space policy, signed by President Bush in 2006. In effect, Russia's main space partner is determined to lead the global space program. No matter how terrible the deployment of space weapons may seem, the military aspect is not the main one. Russia would be unable to operate the ISS on its own, even with active EU assistance. The United States plans to scrap its shuttle fleet in 2010 and forget all about the ISS program.

Taxpayers Foot Spaceport Bill (Source: KDBC.com)
The new Southern New Mexico spaceport seems to be moving forward, but it lacks one important thing, and that's money -- Money that taxpayers are being asked to give. The project lacks $60 million, money that southern New Mexico residents say they shouldn't have to pay for, especially when Rick Homans of the New Mexico Department of Economic Development says the spaceport will benefit the entire state. Southern New Mexico residents took notice. A $60 million bill is now due, and nearly $58 million of that money will come from only three of the 33 New Mexico counties. Residents may soon see a tax increase, but some taxpayers don't agree with that proposal. Feb. 5 commissioners will decide if the increase makes it on a special ballot. Voters will take to polls in April. Other issues on the spaceport are job opportunities, lack of water in southern New Mexico and the destruction of an historic hiking trail.

Bigelow Suffers Genesis II Delay (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
The launch of Bigelow Aerospace's Genesis II has suffered a delay of at least 60 days. Genesis II was initially set to launch late 2006, but the latest delay is out of their hands, as Bigelow's launch provider required the extra time to complete a review of the Dnepr launch vehicle that will carry the spacecraft into orbit. A Dnepr vehicle failed in July of last year. Genesis I and II are a family of prototype and production space station modules, with their unique element of being inflatable spacecraft potentially aiding a cheaper solution to creating habitable modules in space, from space stations to space hotels. Genesis II will also allow the public to 'fly your stuff' inside the module, for as little as $295. Over the next several years, Bigelow plans to test larger prototype spacecraft, including a full-scale prototype that could to launch as early as 2012.

US Planet-Monitoring Satellites Need Upgrade: Report (Source: Reuters)
The U.S. satellite system that monitors Earth's environment and climate needs an urgent upgrade or scientists will lose much of their ability to predict events like hurricanes, according to a report released by the National Research Council. Maintaining current observation and predictive abilities will cost about $3 billion a year from 2010 to 2020 if its recommendations are carried out, but action needs to be taken soon. "This is only about $10 for every American. But it will probably save more money than it costs in the long run," said report co-chair Richard Anthes of the Colorado-based University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.

Russia And Europe Join Forces In Space (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Russian and European firms are pursuing a joint program to develop heavy-duty launch vehicles. The program, known as Oural, is financed equally by both parties. The European Space Agency, as its spokesmen are wont to say, is "Europe's passport to space." Today it comprises 15 countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Britain, Norway and others. For a long time the Old World's space program was way behind that of the United States, but measures taken by the ESA in recent years have improved its situation.

Scientists Warn of Diminished Earth Studies From Space (Source: New York Times)
The nation’s ability to track retreating polar ice and shifting patterns of drought, rainfall and other environmental changes is being put “at great risk” by faltering efforts to replace aging satellite-borne sensors, a panel convened by the country’s leading scientific advisory group said. By 2010, the number of operating Earth-observing instruments on NASA satellites, most of which are already past their planned lifetimes, is likely to drop by 40 percent, the National Research Council of the National Academies warned in a report posted on the Internet yesterday at www.nas.edu.

The weakening of these monitoring efforts comes even as many scientists and the Bush administration have been emphasizing their growing importance, both to clarify risks from global warming and natural hazards and to track the condition of forests, fisheries, water and other resources. Several prominent scientists welcomed the report, saying that while the overall tightening of the federal budget played a role in threatening Earth-observing efforts, a significant contributor was also President Bush’s recent call for NASA to focus on manned space missions.