May 20 News Items

OMB Protests Cuts in Defense Budget Request (Source: Space News)
The Office of Management and Budget formally notified Congress May 16 of its opposition to proposed cuts in the Pentagon’s 2008 budget request for several space and missile defense programs, but did not threaten a veto over those issues.

STS-117 Atlantis Looking to Launch June 8 from Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Spaceports Blog)
The Space Shuttle Atlantis is on schedule for launch to the Space Station on June 8. NASA hopes to have three to four launches this year to keep on track with Space Station assembly. STS-117 will deliver the second starboard truss segment and energy systems to the Space Station. Starting with this mission, all remaining space shuttle launches will be from pad 39A, as pad B will be deactivated after the launch of the Hubble servicing mission, STS-125, so it can be modified to support Project Constellation.

NASA Prepares Missions to Launch (Source: Florida Today)
Two NASA science missions, one to Mars and the other to a pair of asteroids, remain on schedule for mid-summer launches. The Delta II rocket that will carry the Dawn spacecraft is set to blast off June 30. Dawn will visit two of the solar system's largest asteroids, which have remained intact since they formed. Ceres and Vesta are in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. They evolved very differently and could provide clues to the formation of our solar system.

Meanwhile, Phoenix is scheduled to launch Aug. 3 on a mission to an ice-rich region on Mars' north pole. With a robotic arm, Phoenix will search for water and evidence of conditions that could support life. Additionally, an Air Force global positioning system satellite is scheduled to launch on another Delta II rocket as early as the end of August.

Florida EDC President Wins NASA's Highest Honor (Source: EDC)
The president and CEO of the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast, Lynda Weatherman, was selected to receive the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest honor NASA awards to both government and non-government employees. Ms. Weatherman is among the first recipients not directly employed by NASA to receive this award. This award is granted to individuals whose distinguished accomplishments contributed substantially to the NASA mission. Weatherman was cited as a strong community partner who works towards the betterment of the local community and a diligent facilitator for the creation of the Space Act Agreement.

Hughes Reports Strong Growth in Consumer Broadband (Source: Space News)
Hughes Network Systems (HNS) added 13,700 subscribers per month to its satellite consumer-broadband service in the United States during the first three months of this year, the Germantown, Md.-based company said. After accounting for subscribers who quit the service --2.2 percent per month on average--the company said its consumer-broadband customer base totaled 346,100 as of March 31, a 19 percent increase over a year ago.

Apollo Moonwalker John Young to Appear in Titusville on Thursday (Source: Space Walk of Fame)
Legendary astronaut John Young -- a veteran of NASA's Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs -- will make a public appearance in Titusville this week to mark a major milestone in the construction of a monument to Project Apollo. Young -- who has been launched into space six times; seven, if you count one launch from the lunar surface -- will join local officials and dignitaries at the city's Space View Park at 10:30 a.m. on May 24.

Representatives of major aerospace companies and retired employees who worked on the Saturn 5 Moon rocket and other Apollo hardware also will be in attendance. The event will help raise funds for a new monument. Total cost of the project is $500,000, of which about another $150,000 still must be raised.

Iridium Satellite Launches First Annual 'Test Your Satellite Phone' Week (Source: Iridium)
Iridium Satellite LLC announces its first annual "Test Your Satellite Phone" Week kicking off May 21, 2007. The goal of Test Your Satellite Phone Week is to increase satellite phone user knowledge. It is also set up to help users confirm their access to the critical communication services satellite phones provide before they're needed in an emergency. Similar to the popular bi-annual testing of smoke alarms, this call-to-action is the first in an annual campaign to ensure that first responders know how to use their satellite phones and that they are, in fact, ready for use. Test Your Satellite Phone Week coincides with the U.S. National Weather Service's National Hurricane Preparedness Week. In support of both week-long observances, Iridium hopes to raise more awareness of what first responders and commanders can do to be better prepared prior to disasters.

Launch of 4 Globalstar Satellites Set for May 30 (Source: Space News)
Globalstar Inc. officials said May 14 they were employing a battery of marketing and engineering initiatives to counter what they said is a difficult market resulting from the earlier-than-forecast erosion in their satellite constellation’s service quality.

Air Force Mulls Second Space-Surveillance Satellite (Source: Space News)
The Air Force, whose costs on a space-surveillance satellite have more than doubled, now is considering buying an additional spacecraft to provide expanded coverage of the geostationary-orbit arc, service officials said in a written response to questions. It was not clear at press time exactly why the Air Force would contemplate a move that would further increase the cost of the Space-Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) system -- especially with the service now asking Congress for additional funding just to keep the first satellite on its latest schedule. An industry source said the reason is that a single satellite will not have the coverage that was originally expected, but the Air Force said design issues are not a factor.

NASA Adding Docking Capability to James Webb Telescope (Source: Space News)
NASA is adding a docking ring to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) just in case a visit by astronauts aboard a future Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle is needed to complete deployment of the multibillion-dollar orbiting observatory.

Budget Resolution Boosts NASA's Funding Prospects (Source: Space News)
The $2.9 trillion budget resolution Congress adopted May 17 would permit appropriators to give NASA its full $17.3 billion request for 2008. House and Senate appropriators are not expected to draft actual spending bills before June, but a NASA official said the budget resolution is encouraging news for the agency, especially because it includes language endorsing the Vision for Space Exploration and supports NASA's goal of reducing the gap between retiring the space shuttle and fielding its successor.

Orbcomm to Pick Contractor in June to Build 18 Satellites (Source: Space News)
Orbcomm, the satellite-based two-way messaging service, will select a prime contractor in June to build 18 next-generation spacecraft for the company, which still expects to launch a U.S. Coast Guard demonstration satellite this year. The demonstration satellite could be launched on the same rocket that will carry the final six first-generation Quick Launch spacecraft, Orbcomm Chief Executive Jerome Eisenberg said during a May 14 conference call with financial analysts. Eisenberg said the Coast Guard demonstration spacecraft is ready for launch but noted that its final testing cannot be completed until a launch vehicle has been selected. No launch contract has been signed, he said.

Orbcomm reported that in the first three months of 2007 it added a net 25,000 new subscriber terminals to its customer base, an 11.1 percent increase from Dec. 31 that brought the total subscriber count to about 250,000. Orbcomm recently struck an agreement with cellular-network provider T-Mobile under which Orbcomm will be responsible for selling T-Mobile terrestrial wireless airtime bundled with Orbcomm's satellite-messaging service.