April 14 News Items

China Launches Navigation Satellite (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A Long March rocket launched a Chinese navigation satellite early Saturday, the second Chinese launch in less than a week. The Long March 3A rocket lifted off from the Xichang spaceport and placed its satellite into a medium Earth orbit with an altitude of 21,500 km. The spacecraft, whose specific name was not given in Chinese accounts of the launch, is said to be part of China's planned Compass navigation system. The system will eventually consist of 5 GEO satellites and 30 MEO satellites, although no timetable was given for the system's completion. China launched a GEO navigation satellite in February.

Deadline Approaching for Inclusion in Florida Aviation Directory (Source: FAAA)
Do not miss an opportunity to have your company appear in the Florida Aviation Products and Services Directory. The Florida Aviation Products & Services Directory is now being prepared for worldwide distribution. The directory is made possible through an international grant from Enterprise Florida to promote and increase export sales for Florida aerospace companies. This is a FREE service for Florida’s aviation industry. To have your company included in the directory, you may go on-line to http://www.worldtrade.org to complete and submit a brief questionnaire. The deadline for receipt of all information is April 30, 2007.

KSC Hosts Private Jet's Suborbital Pathfinder Flights (Source: NASA)
Media are invited to NASA's Kennedy Space Center on April 17 to view the flight of a privately operated F-104 jet aircraft on the first in a series of pathfinder test missions from the space shuttle runway. Starfighters Inc. of Clearwater, Fla., will perform the flights to help in assessing suborbital space launch trajectories from the Shuttle Landing Facility and paving the way for future commercial space tourism and research flights from the facility.

NASA Set To Welcome Japanese Space Station Component (Source: NASA)
NASA will officially welcome a new International Space Station component to the Kennedy Space Center on April 17. The Experiment Logistics Module Pressurized Section for the Japanese Experiment Module arrived at Kennedy March 12 to begin preparations for its future launch. The Japanese Experiment Module will be carried into space on three shuttle missions. Known as Kibo, which means "hope" in Japanese, it is Japan's primary contribution to the station. Kibo will serve as an on-orbit storage area for materials, tools and supplies. It can hold up to eight experiment racks and will attach to the top of another larger pressurized module. Kibo is targeted for launch aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-123.

Wisconsin Spaceport Education Complex Closer to Reality (Source: Sheboygan Press)
The push to convert the 65-year-old Sheboygan Armory into a $17 million, 52,000-square-foot aerospace complex took a firm step toward reality Friday as a team of engineers descended on the property to begin a detailed cost and logistics analysis. Developers hope to break ground by next summer, transforming the closed building into the one-of-a-kind Great Lakes Aerospace, Science and Education Center at Spaceport Sheboygan. The site survey Friday began a 10-week process after which developers will find out how their vision fits in the existing space and how much it will cost to put it there, said Gary Dulmes of Sheboygan Development Corp.

Congress Fights NASA Plan to Close Marshall Robotics Office (Source: Birmingham News)
NASA wants to close a lunar robotics office at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville but Congress has ordered the program kept alive with $20 million for the rest of the year. "The lunar precursor program and robotic missions are vital to the future of placing man on the moon and eventually Mars," Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said Friday. The chairmen of the subcommittee that oversees NASA funding wrote to Administrator Michael Griffin this week and directed the agency to continue planning the robotic missions through the rest of 2007. In the letter, provided by Shelby's office, Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and Rep. Alan Mollohan of West Virginia said that President Bush originally called for a robotic mission to Mars before the manned missions, and Congress agreed.

So when NASA decided the missions were no longer necessary, especially in a tight budget, Congress reacted. "We must fund this program to fulfill our plan for lunar exploration and to ensure that that Marshall Space Flight Center continues to be a major component in space exploration, because it is much more than just a rocket center," said Shelby. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, asked Griffin about the decision in a recent congressional hearing. Griffin testified the robotic missions were "nice to have" but not necessary because the information they need about the lunar surface can be obtained from orbit. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, said the cancellation "could adversely affect the space exploration plan." The office was moved to Marshall last year and employs about 30 people. Other work on the program is performed in California and Maryland.

KSC Plans Summit on Operations & Supply Chain Analysis, Modeling and Simulation (Source: ERAU)
Supply chain analysts at NASA KSC are sponsoring a meeting this week (April 18-19) in Florida to discuss supply chain requirements to ensure the success of current and future space operations. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will participate at the summit.

Boeing Honors Six Businesses for Support on NASA Contract (Source: Florida Today)
Boeing gave six businesses that support it on a NASA contract an official pat on the back Friday. And Boeing executives hope NASA looks kindly at those relationships as Boeing competes for the Ares 1 upper-stage rocket contract, due to be awarded in August. NASA is mandating that at least 17.3 percent of the Ares 1 contract work goes to small businesses, and Boeing executives said Friday that requirement should be a breeze, because it already goes above and beyond the space agency guidelines in its contract work.

Last month, the Boeing-led Team Ares held a small-business seminar in Brevard County, trumpeting its efforts to include small business in its efforts. The contract could be worth more than $900 million. The Boeing team for Ares 1 includes Chickasaw Nation Industries; Hamilton Sundstrand, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.; Moog Inc.; Northrop Grumman Corp.; Orion Propulsion Inc.; SUMMA Technology Inc.; United Launch Alliance; and United Space Alliance. At a luncheon in Cape Canaveral on Friday, Boeing honored six smaller companies in Brevard County, including BRPH, CNI/All Points Logistics Inc., Creative Management Technology Inc., InDyne Inc., Spherion Corp. and Yang Enterprises Inc.

Committee Welcomes Decision to Restore Ozone Sensor (House Science Committee)
Senior Members of the House Committee on Science and Technology welcomed a decision this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the NASA to move forward with the full-capability Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) sensor on the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) mission. The NPP is a precursor for the National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) weather satellites, and is intended to give NOAA actual experience with the new and more capable instruments that will one day fly aboard NPOESS.

Indian Manned Lunar Mission Being Planned (Source: The Hindu)
A proposal for an Indian manned mission to the Moon will be submitted this year-end, according to India's space agency, ISRO. "Once this is cleared, the mission could be undertaken within the next 8-10 years," said an official. The manned mission's orbit duration could be seven days, he said adding that the spacecraft can accommodate one or two astronauts, and will be placed at an orbit height of 400 km. Pre-proposal studies on equipment and life-support systems are underway.

Apollo Moon Documentary Shows at Sarasota Film Festival (Source: Bradenton Herald)
The sixth man to walk on the moon smiled at reporters and photographers who clamored for his attention Friday night at the Sarasota Film Festival opening. "In the Shadow of the Moon," a dazzling documentary of the Apollo space missions that put men on the moon, opened the 10-day festival, which runs until April 22. Dr. Edgar Mitchell, one of the NASA astronauts interviewed in the film, and David Sington, who directed, were among the guests on the red carpet at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. The film juxtaposes the historic photographs and film footage with new interviews of surviving astronauts. ThinkFilm will distribute the film in theaters this fall.