April 23 News Items

India Conducts First Commercial Launch (Source: The Hindu)
An Indian PSLV-C8 rocket blasted into space carrying an Italian astronomical satellite, AGILE, from ISRO's Satish Dhawan spaceport, marking India's first fully commercial launch. Scientists cheered and loud applause was heard as the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its 11th flight, soared into the clear sky. Besides the 352 kg AGILE, the PSLV is also carrying ISRO's Advanced Avionics Module, weighing 185 kg, to flight-test advanced avionics such as mission computers, navigation and telemetry systems for use in future launch vehicles. This is also the first time the PSLV is flying without the six strap-AMM and is only about 540 kg.

Space Visions Congress Planned for This Weekend in Cocoa (Source: CCTS)
The Canaveral Council of Technical Societies (CCTS) is sponsoring the Space Visions Congress this week as a forum for discussion and dissemination of information on space exploration and technology programs. The April 26-28 event will be held at UCF's Florida Solar Energy Center at the Cocoa Campus of Brevard Community College. The event is co-sponsored by the Orbital Commerce Project, Inc., and Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS). One goal of the event is to gauge interest in a larger conference tentatively planned for next year, followed by a full blown Space Congress the year after. Visit http://www.spacevisionscongress.com for information and registration.

Black Holes May Fill The Universe With the Seeds of Life (Source: SpaceRef.com)
New research shows that black holes are not the ultimate destroyers that are often portrayed in popular culture. Instead, warm gas escaping from the clutches of enormous black holes could be one source of the chemical elements that make life possible.

Another Factory Mishap Damages NOAA Satellite (Source: Space News)
A multi-million dollar U.S. weather satellite in development for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been damaged for a second time in a factory accident, contractor and government officials said. The incident occurred April 14 when Lockheed Martin engineers and technicians were rotating the 4.27-meter NOAA N-Prime spacecraft into a horizontal position inside a clean room at the company’s Sunnyvale, Calif. One of the spacecraft’s antennas broke loose from its nylon restraining cords and struck an atmospheric-measuring instrument known as an Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), a NASA official. NASA is managing development of N Prime for NOAA said.

Economic Development the Focus of Next Space Club Luncheon (Source: NSC)
The National Space Club's Florida Committee will sponsor its next monthly luncheon meeting on May at at the DoubleTree hotel in Cocoa Beach. This month's featured speaker will be Lynda Weatherman, president and CEO of the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast. She will provide an overview of how the space industry affects residents of the Space Coast and what how NASA’s future will impact the area. Contact LaDonna Neterer at mailto:ladonna.j.neterer@boeing.com for information or to RSVP by May 3.

Italy’s New Space Agency Chief Embraces Strong National Effort (Source: Space News)
The new president of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) said this month’s launch of an Italian astronomy satellite aboard an Indian rocket and a scheduled June flight of a civil-military radar observation spacecraft on a Boeing Delta vehicle should serve to highlight Italy’s determination to develop a strong national space program in addition to its role inside the 17-nation European Space Agency (ESA). In an April 18 interview, Bignami agreed that Europe’s third-biggest space power after France and Germany needs to be given a clear direction. He has been given a four-year term to accomplish that.

Orbital Sciences Eyes Investment in Large Rocket (Source: Space News)
Orbital Sciences Corp., which has built its success on providing small satellites and launch vehicles to commercial and government customers, is considering an expansion of its rocket business to be able to carry much larger satellites into orbit, Orbital Chief Executive David W. Thompson said. Such a move — like Orbital Sciences’ decision to invest in small commercial telecommunications satellites several years ago — would buck conventional industry wisdom, especially among publicly traded companies. In both the United States and Europe, satellite launching is viewed as a low-margin business at best and investment in new vehicles can be justified only by substantial guaranteed government backing, the presence of a rich entrepreneur — or both.

Analysts: Commercial Spaceflight Industry Ripe for Investment (Source: Space News)
Would-be space investors have a slim window to delve into the field of commercial spaceflight, industry analysts said. With the current push by several private firms to develop commercial launch services for the international space station (ISS) and NASA’s coming gap between the 2010 retirement of its space shuttle fleet and their eventual Orion successor, the time is especially ripe for space savvy investors. “Right now is a very interesting window where there are people who are trying very hard, including [people] within the government, to bring down the very high barriers of entry,” said a consultant at a space investment meeting in New York.

‘Crossing the Valley of Death’ To Get New Technology Into Space (Source: Space News)
Inadequate funding, fear of failure, red tape and high launch costs conspire to make it difficult to take promising new technologies from the laboratory to orbit, officials with some of the leading U.S. space-development institutions said. But these officials also said they have, or are developing, means to counter these roadblocks. Eugene Tattini, deputy director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), admitted that his organization has the unusual luxury of “not having to arduously justify a return on investment for every dollar we expend in the technology arena.” JPL engineers are freer to experiment as they shepherd technologies across the “valley of death” to flight readiness, he said.

The NASA-funded lab’s free-wheeling culture also helps: “The facts of the matter are that if you want to wear your flip flops to work as people do for 37 years at JPL, that’s extremely great. I will keep the labs well stocked, we will keep the people well paid, and in some cases we’ll keep them out of the public’s eye,” Tattini said.

Air Force GPS Payload Intended to Preserve Spectrum (Source: Space News)
Seeking to preserve a radio-spectrum reservation in the event of more delays to its GPS 2F navigation satellites, the U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin Space Systems a $6 million contract to add a third civilian "L5" signal to one of the previous-generation GPS 2RM satellites. L5, is part of the baseline design for the GPS 2F satellites, which are under construction by Boeing and well behind schedule. The first GPS 2F launch, originally expected in 2002, now is scheduled for 2009. The Air Force’s reservation with the International Telecommunication Union for L5 radio spectrum requires that the signal begin operating by August 2009. Putting the signal on a Lockheed Martin-built GPS 2RM spacecraft will ensure that the service maintains its reservation until the GPS 2F satellites come on line.

Missile Defense Agency Mulls Interim Satellite Buy (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is weighing the idea of buying a missile tracking satellite that would bridge the gap between a pair of experimental spacecraft slated to launch this year and an operational constellation whose deployment has been delayed. The Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) will consist of satellites equipped with sensors that can track missiles during the mid-course portion of flight.

Virginia NFIRE Launch Postponed (Source: SpaceToday.net)
The launch of an experimental military satellite was scrubbed early Monday. A Minotaur 1 was scheduled to lift off in the early morning hours Monday, carrying the Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE) spacecraft. However, the launch was scrubbed at around 3 am, a half-hour before the scheduled liftoff time at the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia, because of an issue with ground support equipment.

With Congressional Intervention, Marshall Robotics Office Still Open For Now (Source: Huntsville Times)
A lunar robotics office will remain open at Marshall Space Flight Center while NASA's operating plan to move it to Washington is under review, a NASA spokesman said Sunday. The 32-employee Lunar Precursor and Robotics Program office had been scheduled to be moved because of federal budget shortfalls. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Al, worked with Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W. Va., this month to write a letter directing NASA to restore $20 million for the robotics office. Mikulski and Mollohan chair subcommittees that oversee NASA's budget.