News Summaries for February 26

A New Hope for Export Control Reform? (Source: Space Review)
Stringent export control regulations have been the bane of the American space industry for years with few signs of change. Jeff Foust reports on whether the change in control of Congress, coupled with other factors, might present a new window of opportunity to improve the regulatory environment. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/819/1 to view the article.

Moving Beyond Science (Source: Space Review)
Many of the debates about whether and how to explore the Moon center around science. Gregory Anderson notes that science should be seen as only one reason of many to return to and settle on the Moon. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/818/1 to view the article.

Astronaut Featured at BCC Planetarium Event on Mar. 20 (Source: Cocoa Beach Area Chamber)
The Cocoa Beach Area Chamber of Commerce will feature Astronaut Bruce Melnick on Mar. 20 at the Astronaut Memorial Planetarium & Observatory located on the Cocoa Campus of Brevard Community College. The event will begin with a cocktail reception at 6 p.m., followed by a presentation and Q&A session with Mr. Melnick at 7p.m. The public is welcomed to attend this event. Mr. Melnick is Vice President for Boeing Florida Operations. To learn more about this program or the Citizens For Space Exploration initiative led by the Chamber, visit http://www.cocoabeachchamber.com.

Boeing Offers Antijamming Technology on Satellites (Source: AIA)
Boeing is offering to install advanced antijamming technology on commercial satellites. The technology is in response to the possible risks that terrorists and hostile governments pose to U.S. space assets.

EADS Astrium to Build ESA's $435 Million Mercury Probe (Source: Reuters)
Astrium, the space arm of EADS, said on Monday it had won a 330 million euro ($434.6 million) contract to build BepiColombo, a Mercury probe for the European Space Agency due to be launched in 2013. Astrium is the lead partner on an industrial team also including Alcatel Alenia Space.

Official Opening of the Soyuz Launch Base Construction In French Guiana (Source: ESA)
The construction site of the Soyuz launch base in French Guiana was officially opened by ESA, CNES, Arianespace, and Roscosmos. Launching Soyuz from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) will make it possible to use French Guiana’s equatorial position to significantly increase the launcher's lift capability. After an inaugural flight at the end of 2008, Soyuz will launch communication satellites into geostationary orbit, navigation satellites forming part of the European Galileo constellation, Earth observation satellites into polar orbit, and interplanetary probes.

Virgin Galactic Aims to Offer Hypersonic Flights (Source: Flight International)
Virgin Galactic is planning commercial hypersonic point-to-point travel using a vehicle flying at 150,000ft to avoid friction from the atmosphere. NASA could assist Virgin Galactic after the two signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) last week to explore possible collaboration in the development of vehicles capable of travelling at Mach 5-plus. Under the MoU, spacesuits, heat shields, hybrid rocket motors and other spaceflight technologies may also be examined. "We are really looking forward to exploring opportunities for the future and making hypersonic point-to-point travel possible," says Virgin Galactic chief operating officer Alex Tai.
Spacefleet Consortium Seeks Funds (Source: Flight International)
A group of UK, Ukrainian and German academics and engineers are seeking financing for a suborbital horizontal take-off and landing space tourism vehicle, following 16 months of design work. The Spacefleet consortium's SF-01 vehicle is a 14m (45.9ft)-long, 14m-span titanium lifting-body design carrying two pilots and eight passengers. The rocket glider has a maximum take-off weight of 50,000kg (110,000lb) and would be launched horizontally via a ramp, or vertically, and glide back to a runway landing. Click here to view the article and a graphic of the proposed vehicle.

NASA Plans to Hitch a Lift on SpaceShipTwo (Source: Flight International)
NASA is prepared to spend $9 million on buying seats on future SpaceShipTwo (SS2) flights, says Virgin Galactic. Speaking at the UK parliamentary science and technology committee's space policy review meeting in London last week, Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn said that NASA had budgeted to buy seats on SS2 flights for astronaut training after the first six months of commercial operations. He also expected NASA to conduct research flights where scientists would fly with their microgravity experiments.

Whitehorn said SS2 and its carrier aircraft White Knight 2 (WK2) could have up to 100 test flights between May 2008 and May 2009, when commercial services are due to start. Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic has begun studying a SpaceShipFour (SS4) that could serve as a satellite launcher. By 2014 a version of WK2, with its 13,300kg (30,000lb) payload capability, could air launch the two-stage SS4 vehicle. SpaceShipThree would be an orbital version of SS2.

Virgin Galactic Spaceliner Steps Forward (Source: Space News)
Virgin Galactic's passenger-carrying suborbital spaceliner and the airplane that will serve as its first stage are starting to take shape on the factory floors at Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif. At this point spaceline operator Virgin Galactic is eyeing late 2009 as the beginning of commercial flights with paying customers. The Spaceship Co., jointly owned by Virgin and Scaled Composites, was created to manufacture launch aircraft, spaceships and support equipment and market them to spaceline operators, including Branson’s Virgin Galactic, which placed orders for five spaceships and two launch aircraft with options on additional systems. Branson’s order secured the exclusive use of the systems for the initial 18 months of commercial passenger operations.

At present, Virgin Galactic has $20 million in deposits, said Will Whitehorn, the company’s president. “We just surpassed the 200-customer level in terms of people who have actually made a financial commitment, put their money down and signed their contracts,” Whitehorn said. Whitehorn said more than 100 test flights are scheduled to give spaceliner operations a good shakeout. Whitehorn said that flight tests of the SpaceShipTwo/White Knight 2 will take place out of the inland spaceport at Mojave, Calif. “I imagine even the early flying program of commercial flights in late 2009 will be from Mojave,” he said.

Spaceport America Progresses (Source: Space News)
Phased work on New Mexico’s Spaceport America has begun. The facilities will be located 48.3 kilometers east of Truth or Consequences, N.M. and 72.4 kilometers north of Las Cruces. Virgin Galactic will locate its world headquarters and mission control operations in New Mexico. Spaceport America and Virgin Galactic are negotiating the details of a legally binding term sheet that will be developed into a formal and legal lease agreement. The term sheet begins to define the operational structure of Spaceport America, as well the relationship and responsibilities between the New Mexico Spaceport Authority and the facility’s tenants and lease holders.

To prepare for the start of operations, Spaceport America is expected to spend between $150 million and $200 million, but enhancements would push the facility to becoming a $225 million site in the future. Spaceport America’s construction is to progress in two phases. Phase 1 is the programming stage, which includes the construction of related infrastructure such as roads, utilities, etc. Phase 2 will involve the full-fledged design of the spaceport itself. “The critical path here is the environmental impact statement and [spaceport] license from the Federal Aviation Administration,” said Rick Homans, chairman of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority. “All is going okay … taking a little longer than expected, as should be expected,” he said. Extra effort is being taken to work with state, county and private stakeholders in order to design and build the first “purpose built” spaceport. A draft environmental impact statement for the spaceport should be completed in April or May, he said.

Can Video Help Save the Satellite Radio Business? (Source: New York Times)
If the plan to merge XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio is approved, one result may be less music and less talk radio beamed into cars around the country. The reasons for that, however, will have nothing to do with regulators. Washington will take its first look at the proposed merger on Wednesday when the House Judiciary Committee’s newly formed antitrust task force meets...Satellite companies are looking into what other services they can offer to make them appealing to motorists. Although XM and Sirius offer radio, in theory, the systems could be adapted to distribute any kind of data [including video]. And, indeed, both companies have made limited steps in that direction.