News Summaries for January 7

Launches Slip - Four 2007 Shuttle Missions (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Both STS-122 and STS-123 have slipped in the latest NASA FAWG (Flight Assignment Working Group) launch manifest, reducing the amount of shuttle missions in 2007 to four. The moves set up a run of six launches in 2008, the year which will be highlighted by STS-125 - the mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope for a final time. The two moves are both listed as 'ISS requests' - which refer to conflicts in the schedule of visiting vehicles to the station, namely the on-going changes to the Soyuz and shuttle arrival and departure dates.

Congressional Budget Delay Stymies Scientific Research (Source: New York Times)
The failure of Congress to pass new budgets for the current fiscal year has produced a crisis in science financing that threatens to close major facilities, delay new projects and leave thousands of government scientists out of work, federal and private officials say. “The consequences for American science will be disastrous,” said Michael S. Lubell, a senior official of the American Physical Society, the world’s largest group of physicists. “The message to young scientists and industry leaders, alike, will be, ‘Look outside the U.S. if you want to succeed.’ ”

Google to Help Build Giant Telescope (Source: AP)
Google has already planted its flag on Earth, the Moon and Mars. The universe could be next. The Internet search company has struck a partnership with scientists building a huge sky-scanning telescope, with hopes of helping the public access digital footage of asteroids, supernovas and distant galaxies. "Frankly, I could see the day when they would be our sort of window to the general public," said Donald Sweeney, manager of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

XM, Sirius Report Customer Growth (Source: UPI)
XM Satellite Radio ended 2006 with more than 7.6 million customers. The company, based in Washington, netted 442,000 new subscribers during the fourth quarter. Rival Sirius Satellite Radio's subscriber base grew 82 percent to more than 6 million in 2006. Like Sirius, XM had positive cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter, but both companies said they were unprofitable.

Lakes Seen on Titan (Source: SpaceToday.net)
Scientists have found what they believe is definitive evidence that lakes of liquid methane exist on the surface of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Scientists said radar imaging data collected during a flyby of the moon by NASA's Cassini spacecraft in July 2006 showed that dark features seen near the moon's north pole are best explained by them being lakes.

Unexpectedly Flat 2007 Budget Forces NASA To Reset Priorities (Source: Space News)
NASA officials are working feverishly to make some tough new spending choices for 2007 in response to election-related developments that will hold its budget for the next year to 2006 spending levels. All parts of the agency may be forced to “tighten their belts” this year if Congress, as the newly installed Democratic leadership has promised, approves a measure in coming weeks to continue funding federal agencies at their 2006 budget levels rather than try to complete work on nearly a dozen unfinished spending bills. That means NASA officials can forget about receiving the roughly $16.7 billion the White House sought for the space program

Britain Launches Review of Its Space Policy (Source: Space News)
The British government is scheduled to begin a 12-week study Jan. 8 to determine whether its current space policy should be modified, especially with respect to a global exploration effort that ultimately will include an element traditionally of little interest to Britain: astronauts. Britain’s new space minister, Malcolm Wicks, has expressed interest in a NASA-coordinated international exploration program, but has remained noncommittal about whether Britain’s participation would extend to astronaut-related efforts. Britain withdrew from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) astronaut-related programs in the 1980s and even declined initial involvement in the European Ariane 5 rocket because the vehicle was designed with manned spaceflight as an option.

2006 Satellite Orders Surpass Forecasts (Source: Space News)
Twenty-seven geostationary-orbiting commercial telecommunications satellites were ordered in 2006, a total that bested all but the most optimistic forecasts and far surpassed the 19-satellite tally in 2005. The continued consolidation among satellite-fleet operators, long expected to reduce overall satellite demand, has been matched by the emergence of new operators — some along the national flag-carrier lines of the 1970s and 1980s, and some with purely commercial ambitions. Marking a trend that has been long anticipated, 2006 was a year in which Chinese and Indian satellite manufacturers moved closer toward having a regular presence in a market dominated by four U.S. and two European companies.

Launch Industry Posts a Successful 2006 (Source: Space News)
The world’s three principal commercial launch-services providers each conducted five launches in 2006 and plan to conduct at least that many in 2007. Equally important to the companies — Arianespace, International Launch Services (ILS) and Sea Launch — each was able to continue to increase its prices after abandoning a price-war strategy now viewed as counterproductive. “Prices increased in 2005 and again in 2006,” ILS President Frank McKenna said. “The cutthroat competition [of previous years] only eroded shareholder value.” The identical launch rates, and the fact that all three are fully booked for 2007 and most of 2008, are among the few similarities among the three companies, which are pursuing different strategies and facing different challenges.

Raytheon Wins $32.7 Million Radar Satellite Work (Source: Space News)
Raytheon has received a $32.7 million contract to sustain its work on the sensor for the Missile Defense Agency’s Sea Based X-Band Radar (SBX) system. Boeing is the prime contractor for the SBX, which features a Raytheon-built sensor intended to track incoming ballistic missiles launched at the United States, and discriminate between incoming missiles and decoys.