Hawaii Legislature Passes Space Bill (Source: SSTI)
While legislators did not agree to all of Gov. Linda Lingle’s Innovation Initiative – including a $100 million innovation fund - some of the governor’s original concepts emerged from several other bills at the close of the 2007 legislative session last week. Among them is SB 907, which renames the Office of Space Industry to the Office of Space Development and provides $500,000 to identify and promote opportunities for expanding and diversifying aerospace-related industries in the state. Among other things, the bill directs the office to support various initiatives, including the development of a Pacific International Center for Space Exploration Systems, participate in international aerospace conferences, and support a Japan/U.S. space and technology symposium. The bill can be downloaded at http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessioncurrent/Bills/SB907_CD1_.htm.
Florida Congressman Pledges Fight for Hurricane Satellite Funding (Source: LA Times)
A satellite crucial to developing hurricane forecasts is past its life expectancy and could die at any time. U.S. Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.) said Monday that he planned to make federal funding for its replacement a top priority. "It's totally unacceptable, with what this country's been through, that we won't have all the necessary forecasting equipment available to us," Klein said. Officials at NOAA say it would cost $375 million to $400 million to replace the satellite. They say the money isn't available. Klein said he would do "whatever it takes" to find funding in light of forecasts for a busy storm season. "We cannot afford to take any steps backward," he said. "In Florida, as in many other parts of the country, we rely heavily on state-of-the-art science and technology to help predict the path of hurricanes."
Europe Proposes Public Funding for Galileo, Excludes Private Companies (Source: AP)
The European Commission has recommended full public funding of Europe's problem-plagued, multibillion-euro Galileo satellite navigation project, abandoning a plan to share the cost with business. Public funds were originally set aside to cover one-third of the project, with the private sector penciled in to pay the lion's share. EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said an extra €2.4 billion ($3.25 billion) of public money would be needed of the total cost of about €3.6 billion ($4.88 billion). EU transport ministers must now assess the proposal when they meet on June 7-8.
Amid internal bickering, a consortium of eight companies from France, Germany, Spain, Britain and Italy charged with building and running Galileo missed a May 10 deadline to set up a joint legal entity to run the system, and the EU executive has recommended they lose control of the project, which is now likely to be operational no earlier than 2012. The original private-public partnership would be scrapped under the new plan, and new bids will be called for operation and maintenance of satellites.
Feeney Promoted on Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee (Source: U.S. House of Reps)
Ranking Member Ralph Hall has appointed Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) to serve as the Ranking Member of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee. Feeney replaces Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), who recently accepted a position on the House Appropriations Committee. "My top priorities are to promote America's Vision for Space Exploration and to sustain the vitality of all NASA centers including the Kennedy Space Center. I will fight to continue the progress NASA has made in returning the Space Shuttle to regular flight and developing the Shuttle's successor -- the Constellation Program. It is my hope to ensure the transition from the Shuttle program to Constellation will have minimal impact on the human spaceflight workforce," Feeney said.
Boeing-Lockheed Rocket Venture Is Slow to Pay Off for Government (Source: Wall Street Journal)
A rocket joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin that was intended to easily yield more than $150 million in annual savings is still years away from producing such benefits for the government, according to a senior Air Force general. Lt. Gen. Michael Hamel, commander of the Space and Missiles System Center in El Segundo, Calif., said during an interview that company submissions and government approval of a rocket-manufacturing consolidation plan will take "on the order of 18 to 24 months."
Air Force Secretary Discusses Space Workforce (Source: USAF)
The Secretary of the Air Force, Michael Wynne, met with Gen. Kevin Chilton, Commander of Air Force Space Command, and senior leadership May 7 to discuss space issues. Clearly a priority, the general led the day's discussions with space professional development. "We were very proud to present the success of the Space Professional Development Program, since it is critical to enabling the command's priority of developing and retaining people with necessary expertise," said Maj. Denise Harris, Space Professional Management Office at HQ AFSPC. "It is an Air Force-level program focusing on career development, which ensures we have highly competent, motivated Airmen with the depth and breadth of skills to deliver space power."
When the discussion turned to retaining space professionals, the secretary indicated he is "pushing hard to make professional training relevant to personal goals." As it stands, it can be problematic to pursue a graduate degree due to course availability and funding, according to the Space Professional Management office. The command has a number of initiatives which include a space certificate pilot program and on-line distance learning.
Space Firm Loses Scotty's Ashes (Source: VNUnet.com)
Slight problem with the transporter, Captain. The ashes of actor James Doohan, who played Scotty in the original Star Trek television series, are still missing after being shot into a brief Earth orbit two weeks ago. The canister containing the ashes, along with those of NASA pioneer Gordon Cooper and 200 others, was sent up on a brief suborbital flight before re-entering the atmosphere and parachuting to Earth. But after two weeks of searching the company that organized the flight cannot find the canister. Celestis said that the canister's homing device is being shielded by the mountainous area of New Mexico into which it has fallen. Celestis sells the space missions for between $495 and $1,495 depending on how much of the ashes people want to send. The remains spend around five minutes above the atmosphere before returning to Earth.
Hubble Detects Ring of Dark Matter (Source: SpaceToday.net)
Astronomers announced Tuesday that they have discovered a ring of dark matter created by the collision of two massive galaxy clusters. The ring, located in a galaxy cluster, CL0024+17, five billion light-years away, is about 2.6 million light-years across. Astronomers detected the ring indirectly by mapping the gravitational bending of light from most distant galaxies caused by the cluster. The ring may have been created by the collision of that galaxy cluster with another one to two billion years ago. Because the ring is not directly associated with the galaxies and hot gas found in the cluster, astronomers consider the ring's discovery the strongest evidence to date for the existence of dark matter, which does not otherwise interact with ordinary matter or light.
Promotional Campaign to Lead Up to Shuttle Attraction Kickoff (Source: Florida Today)
It takes more than top mechanical design and vision to launch an attraction. As the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex prepares to debut the Shuttle Launch Experience to the media and to the public, its executives will have to use a lot of imagination. "It's the type of attraction with a great story line, and that really helps," said Jerry Aldrich, president of Amusement Industry Consulting in Orlando. Aldrich has overseen the installation of many simulator-based attractions, inside and outside the United States. "They have to have a good story to tell, and that's where NASA certainly has an advantage," Aldrich said.
In preparation for the Shuttle Launch Experience debut on May 25, a promotional campaign has swung into high gear at the KSC Visitor Complex. Newspaper, magazine, television and Internet stories play a big role in promoting the attraction. Various campaigns have begun, including national newspaper and television campaigns, consumer promotion and a family vacation sweepstakes. The marketing campaign features three 30-second television spots that focus on the excitement of the $60 million Shuttle Launch Experience.
More Nations Crave Independent Satellite Navigation Systems (Source: Space.com)
Europe is not the only focus of efforts to build a rival to GPS, efforts by China, Japan and India are also underway to develop alternatives to GPS for regional coverage, and in China's case as a stepping stone to a global system, U.S. satellite navigation experts said. "There is a symbolic reason to deploy these systems. That is the idea that they would like to be independent of any dependencies on U.S. controlled assets," said Brad Parkinson, a retired U.S. Air Force officer and one of the original architect's of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), corresponding by email.
Space Day Brings Worlds of Wonder, Astronaut to Manatee Schoolkids (Source: Bradenton Herald)
Robots, astronauts and assorted flying objects - including the unidentified variety - descended Tuesday on Kinnan Elementary School for Space Day, a day jam-packed with activities that introduced students to everything from anti-gravity boots to the SR-71 Blackbird. The Lockheed Martin-sponsored event visited the area for the first time. Almost 1,000 students from Kinnan and Abel elementaries orbited stations set up around the school as retired astronaut Dan Brandenstein spoke in a darkened auditorium about his time spent in space. Before retiring from NASA and the U.S. Navy in 1992, Brandenstein flew four missions aboard the space shuttle, three of them as commander.
Lockheed Looks to Youth for Workforce (Source: Denver Post)
As aerospace companies prepare to add hundreds to their Colorado payrolls, they face a similar challenge - recruiting the next generation of qualified workers. "Fewer and fewer college students are preparing for a career in this industry," a Lockheed Martin official said. Of those who earn engineering degrees, many are foreign students and are ineligible for the overwhelming majority of Lockheed Martin's jobs. Because the company does national-security work, most of its employees must be U.S. citizens. "We need more young people to get excited about math and science," the official said. Lockheed Martin, the largest aerospace employer in Colorado, is targeting new college graduates for half of its new hires. To keep pace with its evolving workforce, the company is also changing its management style with a program called full-spectrum leadership.
Huge Waves that Hit Reunion Island Tracked From Space (Source: ESA)
The origin and movement of waves reaching up to 11 meters that devastated France’s Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean on Saturday evening have been detected with ESA’s Envisat satellite. The waves that thrashed the southern port of Saint Pierre, leaving two fishermen missing, causing several piers to collapse and flooding several homes and businesses, originated south of Cape Town, South Africa, and travelled northeast for nearly 4000 km over a period of three days before slamming into Reunion Island.
Abramoff Scandal Leads to Feeney Advancement (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff may yet help the political fortunes of Rep. Tom Feeney of Florida. Feeney will take over as GOP leader on the space subcommittee. Why the open slot? The previous GOP leader, Rep. Ken Calvert of California, left his "ranking member" post to fill a vacant seat on the appropriations committee. That seat was available because its former occupant, Rep. John Doolittle of California, stepped down from the appropriations committee following an FBI raid on his Virginia home in connection to the Abramoff corruption scandal.
Embry-Riddle Flight Teams Dominate National Competition (Source: ERAU)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s flight teams dominated the National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s (NIFA) Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (SAFECON) held May 7-12 in Ohio. Two Embry-Riddle flight teams from the university’s Arizona and Florida campuses placed first and third, respectively, in the national competition. It was the seventh NIFA SAFECON national championship for Embry-Riddle, who also took the spot in 2005, 2003, 1999, 1997, 1993 and 1992.
Weldon Will Run for Eighth Term (Source: Florida Today)
Space Coast Congressman Dave Weldon will run for an eighth term, saying he wants to address issues he believes have been mishandled by the Democratic-controlled Congress. Among the concerns he cited: tax relief, federal spending and a resolution to the war in Iraq. Also a great concern for the Indialantic Republican is funding for the national space program. Much of the region represented by Weldon is linked economically to the Kennedy Space Center. "Our space program was recently given a major budget blow by Democrats who see it as a piggy bank for their new spending priorities," he said in a statement released from his home. "Space and space exploration is not only important to our area, it is important for our nation."
By Edward Ellegood
LinkedIn Group
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