News Summaries for January 24

China Confirms ASAT Test (Source: SpaceToday.net)
The Chinese government finally confirmed Tuesday that the country destroyed one of its own satellites with an anti-satellite weapon earlier this month, nearly a week after the test was first reported. A spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry admitted that China conducted the ASAT test on January 11, destroying an aging Chinese polar-orbiting weather satellite, but said that the country still supported the "peaceful development of outer space". Officials also confirmed the test Monday in discussions with US officials. Chinese officials had previously declined to comment on the test, which was was sharply criticized worldwide, in part for creating a cloud of debris that could jeopardize other satellites in similar orbits.

Space Florida Meetings Advance Agency Plans (Source: ERAU)
In a series of meetings over the past week, Space Florida officials advanced the new agency's agenda for strengthening the state's space programs. In Tallahassee, Space Florida President Steve Kohler testified before a Florida Senate committee on the agency's strategic plan development and infrastructure initiatives. Meanwhile in Gainesville, universities from around the state, including Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, gathered to share information on their space-related programs and capabilities. Also, Space Florida committees on business development and spaceport operations met to discuss the agency's capabilities, opportunities and plans.

Aerospace Business Helps United Technologies Report Strong Q4 (Source: AIA)
United Technologies reports its fourth-quarter profit rose 38% to $865 million. The company said strong growth in its aerospace business offset weaker results at other divisions. A large defense budget and a robust commercial market have helped the company's aerospace business, analysts said.

Rolls-Royce Considers Mississippi for New Facilities (Source: AIA)
Rolls-Royce is considering several locations, including Mississippi, to expand its civil aerospace, defense aerospace, marine and energy businesses. "This is part of a global effort to manage capacity going forward," a spokeswoman says. "There is a lot of potential work. How it will be divided amongst sites is yet to be decided."

NASA Will Induct Three Astronauts into Hall of Fame (Source: Florida Today)
NASA will induct two veterans of Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions and an astronaut who now is director of Johnson Space Center into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in May. Michael Coats, Steven Hawley and Jeffrey Hoffman were members of NASA's astronaut class of 1978.

Reaching For the Moon At Sundance (Source: Washington Post)
Only 12 men walked upon its surface. Three of them are dead. One, Neil Armstrong, is something of a recluse. But the other eight? For the first and perhaps last time, a filmmaker gathered these most rare human specimens together and let them describe in their own words what it felt it like -- and what it meant to them -- to visit another world. The film by David Sington, "In the Shadow of the Moon," premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and included footage unearthed from the NASA vaults that has never been widely seen before. Some of it is amazing. Discovery has acquired rights to show the movie on television and THINKfilm has signed on as a distributor to put it into theaters.

Committee Welcomes Members, Announces Subcommittee Chairs (Source: House Science Committee)
House Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) officially announced the full committee membership, subcommittee chairmen and subcommittees for the 110th Congress. The committee has added one subcommittee from the previous line-up in the 109th Congress – the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight – and altered the names of several subcommittees to better reflect their jurisdictions. In addition to the new Investigations & Oversight Subcommittee, the other four subcommittees are Energy & Environment, Technology & Innovation, Space & Aeronautics, and Research & Science Education. Two Florida republicans, Tom Feeney and Mario Diaz-Balart, will serve on the committee.

Commercialism of Space Exploration Can't Hurt, Advocate Says (Source: NYJournalNews.com)
Columbus had a hard time selling the crowned heads of Europe on the merits of paying for his voyage of discovery across the Atlantic. What finally convinced Spain to back him, Tim Huddleston said yesterday, was the prospect of controlling the lucrative traffic in spices. When considering the benefits of space exploration in the 21st century, it doesn't hurt to focus on the capitalist aspects, Huddleston told the White Plains Rotary at their lunch meeting yesterday.

Chairman of the National Aerospace Development Center, Huddleston is in the middle of a nationwide tour in which he is both speaking and listening. Huddleston is working on a book in which he hopes to articulate a national vision for space, and he is looking for ideas. During his talk at the Crowne Plaza, he observed that commercial interests have already taken the high ground. Huddleston suggested that government's most appropriate role would be to take the lead in projects that provide research and development that in turn could be used by private interests.

General Dynamics Reports Earnings and Revenue Growth (Source: PR Newswire)
General Dynamics reported earnings from continuing operations in the fourth quarter of 2006 were $463 million, an increase of 16.3 percent compared to 2005 fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations of $398 million. Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2006 was $6.5 billion, compared to fourth- quarter 2005 revenue of $5.8 billion. Earnings from continuing operations for 2006 grew by 18.1 percent to $1.71 billion, compared with earnings of $1.45 billion in 2005. Revenue for the full year of 2006 was $24.1 billion, compared with $21 billion for 2005, an increase of 14.7 percent.

Former Astronaut Leads Air Force Space Command (Source: MinotDailyNews)
Gen. Kevin Chilton considers himself a lucky man. He’s been fortunate that his life has taken him from being an Air Force test pilot, a NASA astronaut who has flown on three space missions, the commander of 8th Air Force and now as the commander of Air Force Space Command. He said his career goal was to join the Air Force to be a pilot. But originally, he wanted to be a United (airline) pilot. He hasn’t done that yet, he added.

America Must Answer the Chinese Challenge (Source: Baltimore Sun)
China recently shot down an aging Chinese weather satellite - a signal that China will not abide by the doctrine of U.S. space superiority outlined in the new National Space Policy released in October by the White House. The policy states that "freedom of action in space is as important to the United States as air power and sea power." Further, it declares that the United States reserves the right to "deny such freedom of action to adversaries." That was a very large bet, and it appears that Chinese President Hu Jintao has very quickly called our hand. Which raises the question: What cards are we holding?

The U.S. policy further states, "In this new century, those who effectively utilize space will enjoy added prosperity and security and will hold a substantial advantage over those who do not." Clearly, China intends to grab that added prosperity. After successful manned launches, it (as well as India) has announced plans to land on the moon in the same time frame as a scheduled U.S. return.

De-militarize Space (Source: LA Times)
We should not let space become a battlefield, but treaties banning weapons there will be difficult. Space warfare may be a staple of science fiction, but almost no one in the real world thinks it's a good idea. That's why China's destruction this month of a moribund weather satellite is so alarming: It was the first time in more than 20 years that a ground-fired missile was used against a satellite.

Yet a ban on all weapons in space that could be enforced, while desirable, may be as utopian as some science fiction scenarios. Official U.S. space policy instructs the Pentagon "to ensure freedom of action in space and, if directed, deny such freedom of action to adversaries." The Chinese test, as well as other technological developments, suggest that a rethinking of this position is in order.

Arms Race in Space? (Source: Japan Times)
News that China destroyed one of its satellites with a ground-based ballistic missile should cause international concern since it could trigger an arms race in outer space. China is the third country to carry out such a test following the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, which conducted similar tests of antisatellite weapons in the 1980s. Theoretically, China now can shoot down satellites launched by other countries. The U.S., which heavily relies on satellites for intelligence gathering, military communication and guiding of missiles as well as for commercial communication and other nonmilitary purposes, lodged a formal protest with China. Japan expressed a concern both from the viewpoint of security and the peaceful use of outer space.

Moon Astronauts Face X-ray Danger (Source: New Scientist)
Future lunar astronauts could be harmed by X-ray outbursts from the Sun that occur without warning and can deliver dangerous doses of radiation in just a few minutes, a new study says. The researchers suggest that lunar rovers be equipped with metal shields that astronauts could duck behind during such events. NASA has long recognised that protons and other particles spewed out by solar flares pose a threat to astronaut safety, but particles are relatively easy to block with layers of polyethylene.

The appearance of the flare also acts as a warning that energetic particles may be on the way, and when they arrive they tend to be spread out over many hours, so there is plenty of time for astronauts to seek shelter to avoid accumulating a dangerous dose.
By contrast, there is no warning that X-rays are on their way, as they are among the first signs of a solar flare.

NASA Moves Shuttle Launch to March 15 (Source: Florida Today)
NASA is moving the planned March 16 launch of shuttle Atlantis from Kennedy Space Center up a day to create an extra launch opportunity before a March 29 deadline.

Russia to Close Seldom-Used Spaceport (Source: SpaceToday.net)
Russian military officials said Monday that they plan to close a little-used spaceport after one final launch later this year. The Svobodny Cosmodrome, located in the Russian Far East, will be closed after the Start-1 launch of an unidentified Israeli satellite later this year. The spaceport, at the site of a former missile base, was established in the mid-1990s but has hosted only a handful of launches of small vehicles.

Wisconsin Spaceport Organizers Optimistic About 'Late 2008' Start (Source: Sheboygan Press)
It's T-minus $13 million and counting before construction blasts off to convert the Sheboygan Armory into a $17 million aero-space and science museum. "We're looking at a late '08 start for the project," James Testwuide, chairman of the Spaceport Sheboygan Committee said after the group's presentation. In the last 18 months, organizers have gotten commitments for $4 million in cash and in-kind services toward the planned 52,000-square-foot Great Lakes Aerospace, Science and Education Center, said Testwuide, of Sheboygan.

Space Tourists Welcome (Source: The Hindu)
Russia was open to taking Indian cosmonaut or space tourist on its space missions if India was ready. "You could be a space tourist, if you have the money," Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Sergey B. Ivanov told presspersons here. He "saw no obstacles" to India and Russia collaborating on space missions. "But the Indian side has to decide." Mr. Ivanov held a meeting at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He also met representatives of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and information technology industry.

NASA: Destroyed Chinese Satellite No Threat to Space Station (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Debris thrown out by a satellite destroyed by Chinese authorities earlier this month poses no immediate threat to the International Space Station, NASA administrator Michael Griffin said on Tuesday. "We are always performing debris analysis and so far we do not see any need for debris avoidance manoeuvres," Griffin told a news conference in Paris attended by representatives of agencies participating in the construction of the space station. The test means that China becomes the third country after the United States and the former Soviet Union to shoot down an object in space.