April 8 News Items

ITAR Complicates Preparations for New Station Supply Vehicle (Source: Space News)
As the international space station partners get ready for the first flight of Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) this year, U.S. export controls are slowing down important collaboration that is needed between U.S. and European contractors. In an effort to make it easier for U.S. contractors to work with their European and Russian counterparts, Mike Griffin sent a letter in December to Condoleezza Rice, seeking some streamlining of the steps needed to comply with the U.S. International Traffic in Arms (ITAR) regulations that govern many space-related products and services.

As Shuttle Era Ends, NASA Rethinks ISS Supply Chain (Source: Space News)
The looming retirement of the U.S. space shuttle fleet has NASA scrambling to come up with a new approach to keeping the space station —- and its hundreds of replaceable parts —- in working order well beyond 2010. For years, NASA’s ISS managers took for granted that they would have the shuttle’s capacious payload bay at their disposal for hauling up loads of spare parts and hauling worn out hardware back to Earth for refurbishment. That particular supply line, however, shuts down once the shuttle flies its last mission in 2010. And while Europe, Japan and possibly the U.S. should join Russia by then with spacecraft capable of hauling spares to the ISS, none of these systems are designed to bring back much if anything in the way of spent hardware.

Libya Pinpointed as Source of Months-Long Jamming in 2006 (Source: Space News)
An investigation into the months-long intentional jamming of mobile satellite communications provided by Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications of Abu Dhabi concluded that the jamming came from Libya, one of Thuraya’s shareholders, according to officials familiar with the episode. In perhaps one of the most persistent jamming events ever recorded in the commercial satellite sector, Libyan nationals operating from three widely separated locations inside Libya — at least one of them a restricted military site — compromised the L-band communications signals from Thuraya for more than six months in 2006.

Europe Sees Little Progress on Joint Launcher Work with Russia (Source: Space News)
Europe’s planned strategic partnership with Russia on next-generation rockets — a goal that was used to justify purchasing Russia’s Soyuz vehicle to operate at Europe’s equatorial launch base — has foundered because of an apparent lack of interest in Russia, combined with European concerns about work-share distribution, according to European government officials. The result is that while construction of a Soyuz launch pad at Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana is proceeding as planned, with commercial launches set to start in early 2009, the promised joint Euro-Russian research effort in next-generation launch vehicles is going nowhere.

“Russia’s willingness to work with us on Soyuz has been clear,” said Flaminia Rossi, head of policy and future programs at the launcher directorate of the European Space Agency (ESA). “The problem is that this has not been the case for future launchers. We have not seen concrete steps in Russia to work on future rockets.”

Sen. Kyl Calls for Firewall To Protect Space Spending (Source: Space News)
Space programs might fare better in the Pentagon’s annual budget request if the military had taken the advice of an expert commission and established a special account for satellite and rocket work, according to some space advocates. U.S. Sen. John Kyl (R-Ariz.), the ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary terrorism, technology and homeland security subcommittee, and chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, says establishing what is called a Major Force Program (MFP) for space spending would help bolster spending on efforts like protecting U.S. satellites in the wake of the Chinese anti-satellite demonstration that took place in January.

French Think Tank Offers Money-Making Tips for Galileo (Source: Space News)
A prominent French international affairs think tank is urging European governments to broaden the revenue-generating potential of the Galileo satellite navigation system by adding a signal-authenticity feature to Galileo’s free, open signal. In a March 30 report titled, “Galileo and the Profit Motive,” the Paris- and Brussels-based Ifri organization speculates that such an “Authenticated Open Service” — which has not been approved by European governments — could provide 50 percent to 60 percent of Galileo revenues. Ifri also offers its interpretation for why the British government has objected to any military use of Galileo’s Public Regulated Service (PRS) encrypted signal.

Nasdaq Gives Spacehab Time to Avoid Delisting (Source: Space News)
On April 4 the Nasdaq stock exchange gave Spacehab Inc. 180 days to raise the price of its common stock to $1 or higher per share or face delisting. Spacehab has until Oct. 1 to raise its share price to at least $1 — and keep it there for a minimum of 10 consecutive trading days — or its securities will be removed from Nasdaq. Spacehab would be able to file an appeal should that happen, according to the release. Spacehab’s common shares closed at $0.61 April 5.

Congressman Demands Answers from Google (Source: Space News)
U.S. Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.), chairman of the House Science and Technology investigations and oversight committee, is asking why Google Earth changed its satellite maps of New Orleans to depict the region prior to its devastation by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. “If current Google Maps satellite imagery is to be believed, Hurricane Katrina never struck New Orleans, there was never any flooding and thousands of people do not need to be living in trailers because their homes are still habitable,” Miller wrote in a March 30 letter to Eric Schmidt, Google Inc.’s chairman and chief executive officer. Miller told Schmidt he wanted to know why the change was made, when the satellite imagery for the New Orleans region was last updated and what imaging sources have been used to supply the satellite maps of New Orleans since Katrina struck Aug. 29, 2005.