April 4 News Items

Panel Urges NASA to Lead the Way on Multisector Workforce Issues (Source: NASA Watch)
NASA is undergoing a fundamental mission shift that will require a knowledge-based, data-driven strategy to better align its workforce, according to a National Academy of Public Administration report. But, Congress has banned permanent workforce cuts at the agency, and NASA has sought to ensure that every field center has a place in the new programs with funding to cover existing civil servants. This has resulted in workforce misalignments. Among the reports recommendations: Maximize existing authorities for recruiting and retaining the best and brightest employees, and sharing talent with other federal agencies and levels of government; and Seek statutory and regulatory authorization for modified reduction-in- force rules, buyout changes, and limited emergency retirement reform to remedy skill imbalances. Visit http://www.napawash.org/NASA_Report_2-26-07.pdf to view the report.

Hawaii and the Final Frontier (Source: Honolulu Advertiser)
The definition of space exploration is being decentralized and internationalized. This is potentially good news for Hawaii, provided we understand and act on the available opportunities. One current effort, is in the conceptual stage. It’s called the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES). The goal of PISCES is to capitalize on Hawaii’s unique resources for the purpose of flight training, robotics, sophisticated engineering, unmanned flight, etc. Hawaii has a competitive advantage for fielding an astronaut training program, as indicated by earlier-day NASA training of U.S. astronauts in Hawaii for moon-walking. The lava slopes of the Big Island are indeed much like the moon or, for that matter, Mars.

Our School of Engineering at the University of Hawaii can help develop crucial technologies, such as robotics in space. Hawaii also provides a secure launch site within the U.S. We are the only state from which payloads might be launched into any orbit, polar or equatorial, without flying over populated areas. About a decade ago, this idea of launches from Hawaii — specifically from the Big Island — was widely debated and ultimately vetoed for environmental reasons. We should try to return to the subject with an open mind, given that spacecraft are lightening and diversifying.

There is a proposal before the Legislature to appropriate $1 million for PISCES in each of the coming two years. I believe these seed funds would be an appropriate and productive investment of state resources. First, Hawaii has a base of space-related projects, such as land, reef and ocean monitoring and modeling, that would expand in proximity to a high-profile international space program. Second, Japan and America have many shared needs and wants: the monitoring of storms, quakes and waves, to give but one example. More generally, because space exploration is so expensive, we have a mutual interest in sharing cost.

Spaceport Tax Approval Hinges on Provisional Ballots (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
A Doña Ana County spaceport election will be decided by 541 provisional ballots, which will begin being counted Thursday. By 11 p.m., "yes" votes outnumbered "no" votes by 204. Ballots in favor of a tax totaled 8,781, or 50.6 percent, while those against accounted for 8,577, or 49.4 percent. Votes from a polling place at an elementary school had yet to be included, along with the provisional ballots.

E'Prime Aerospace Announces a Reverse Stock Split (Source: E'Prime)
E'Prime Aerospace Corp. announced that the EPAC Board of Directors has approved a reverse stock split and established a ratio of 1-for-20. This move followed a vote March 20, 2007 to effect the reverse split. EPEA common stock will begin trading on a reverse-split basis on March 30, 2007. As a result of the reverse stock split, every 20 shares of EPEA common stock will be combined into one share of EPEA common stock. The number of shares of EPEA common stock currently outstanding is 826,595,392.

According to E'Prime President and Chairman James D. Oldham, III, the reverse split "paves the way for planned financing and it enables us to attract new investors. In addition, the aerospace industry is moving into a new growth phase and I am convinced this decision, combined with the new E' Prime Aerospace Corporation management team, will guide the company into becoming a viable launch service based on its dependable technology."

E'Prime Aerospace Announces Investigation (Source: E'Prime)
The Board of Directors for E'Prime Aerospace have authorized an extensive, internal investigation into the past actions of Bob G. Davis and Betty Scott Davis during their tenure as officers and directors of the public company, based on information that became available during the 2006 annual audit. Based upon issues raised in the 2006 audit, Mr. Davis was asked to submit his resignation, which Mr. Davis chose not to respond to.

One of the more serious issues revolves around the inaccurate statement made by Mr. Davis that "In 1998, the ESM-9, E'Prime's first stage motor, was eliminated from the START treaty." Members of the E'Prime Board are working to meet with the START Compliance Review Group to resolve this issue and believe it will be resolved shortly. Additionally, M Star Global Communications has assured E'Prime that they are willing to continue with the Memorandum of Understanding (to place up to four Ka-band Satellites in GEO) signed February 8, 2007, providing the Board the time necessary to resolve the START issue.

ATK To Acquire Swales Aerospace (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Alliant Techsystems has announced that it intends to acquire Swales Aerospace, a premier provider of satellite components and subsystems, small spacecraft and engineering services for NASA, Department of Defense and commercial satellite customers. The transaction is subject to review and approval by shareholders and regulators.

Russia Comes Closer to Completing Global Navigation System (Source: AIA)
The Russian space agency by the end of this year plans to launch eight navigation satellites that would nearly complete the country's Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS). The system is expected to compete with the U.S. Global Positioning system by 2009. Meanwhile, the EU and China are also developing rival systems.

Recent Poll Confirms Aerospace Popularity (Source: AIA)
A recent informal AIA-commissioned poll asked a series of questions about aerospace with a randomly selected and demographically balanced pool of respondents from around the country. A total of 70 percent of respondents said they had a positive opinion of the aerospace industry, while 78 percent said aerospace makes a positive contribution to the U.S. economy. A remarkable 89 percent of respondents said the industry was important to our national security.