April 17 News Items

NASA Sets New Shuttle Launch Targets for 2007 (Source: Space.com)
NASA aims to launch four space shuttle missions by the end of the year, some aboard different orbiters than originally planned, in order to continue assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). Under the new plan, set down during a Monday meeting of top NASA shuttle and ISS program managers, Atlantis’ STS-117 mission will be followed by the Endeavour orbiter’s STS-118 mission no earlier than Aug. 9. Next to fly will be STS-120 aboard Discovery -- rather than the initially planned Atlantis orbiter -- to launch the Harmony connector node to the space station on Oct. 20. NASA then hopes to close out 2007 with a Dec. 6 launch of Atlantis on the STS-122 mission to deliver the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory.

Contractors Beat Out Federal Employees in Most NASA Job Competitions (Source: Federal Times)
Since it was permitted by the administration four years ago to bypass A-76 rules when determining if new research work would go to its own employees or to contractors, NASA has used the authority in 38 competitions — and 89 percent of those were won by contractors, a new study says. Those results — from competitions held between 2003 and 2005 — contrast sharply with the results of federal jobs competitions conducted under traditional A-76 rules in which federal employees win 83 percent of jobs competed. A-76 refers to rules called Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76; they dictate rules for deciding via a competition if federal work is done by federal employees or by contractors. A-76 rules require that federal employees be given the work unless a competing contractor can do it for at least $10 million or 10 percent less.

Russian Rocket Launches 16 Small Satellites (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia has successfully launched a Dnepr rocket, the first since the failure in late July 2006, and put 16 foreign satellites into orbit. The rocket delivered an Egyptian EgyptSat spacecraft, six Saudi satellites (SaudiSat-3 and five SaudiComSat), and additional P-Pod and CubeSat micro-satellites into orbit. "Control over all satellites has been passed to the customers," a space agency spokesman said. Launches of Dnepr rockets from Baikonur were suspended following a crash shortly after liftoff on July 26, 2006, due to a first stage engine shutdown.

NASA Buys Abort Test Boosters for Orion Flight Tests (Source: NASA)
NASA has entered into an agreement with the Air Force to support abort flight test requirements for the Orion project. The Air Force has contracted with Orbital Sciences Corp. of Chandler, Ariz., to provide launch services for the flight tests. The agreement with the Air Force's Space Development and Test Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., provides for abort test boosters that will serve as launch vehicles for Orion ascent abort flight tests that are set to occur from 2009 through 2011 at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The first abort test is scheduled for 2008, but will not require a functional booster.

Moon, Mars Trips Will Pose Physical, Mental Health Risks (Source: Houston Chronicle)
As the Earth fades into the rearview mirror, the astronauts who set out on the missions that NASA proposes to the moon and Mars will face new challenges to stay mentally and physically fit. Confinement on spacecraft and isolation from friends and family create psychological stress. Bones weaken without gravity and there is solar and cosmic radiation exposure. "The risks to human health on long-duration missions beyond Earth orbit, if not solved, represent the greatest challenge to human exploration of deep space," concludes a study for the space agency by the National Academy of Sciences.

A round-trip voyage to Mars will send astronauts packing for 2 years. A tour of duty at a lunar outpost would last six months. The trip durations lead to another worry: How does a faraway astronaut receive treatment for a medical emergency? Also, the skeletal systems of astronauts who live aboard the space station adjust to weightlessness by losing 1 percent to 2 percent of their mass each month. So far, efforts to stop the losses with daily exercise using treadmills and resistance exercise have not been successful. Explorers could reach Mars at risk of broken bones as they hike and climb. The loss poses another painful problem; deposits of bone calcium that collect in the kidneys, where they can form painful stones.

Italian Group Returning to Florida for Record-Setting Microgravity Research Flight (Source: ERAU)
Researchers and test subjects from Italy's SpaceLand organization will arrive in Florida next week in preparation for a ZERO-G flight campaign on April 28th. Among the SpaceLand test subjects are a 93-year-old man supporting biomedical and bioengineering research (he will become the world's oldest man flying a zero-gravity mission). The SpaceLand campaign, led by Carlo Viberti, will also feature underwater training for the flight team within a specially-built SpaceLand submersible space habitat. Embry-Riddle is assisting the mission and support is also being provided by Space Florida.