June 10 News Items

Workers Call Off Strike at KSC (Source: Florida Today)
A strike at Kennedy Space Center was called off today as both sides agreed to mediate a contract dispute between aerospace workers and management at United Space Alliance. Henry Groton Jr. of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services in Orlando asked both sides to return to negotations, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 2061 announced. The union, which represents about 570 workers at USA, NASA’s main contractor for the space shuttle, voted last Saturday to strike after contract negotiations fell apart. The strike was set to begin today, after a five-day cooling off period that began Tuesday.

Gingrich Suggests Mars Prize (Source: AP)
In a speech last week, potential presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said Republicans must offer a more dramatic platform for remaking government that focuses on private-sector innovation. In a glimpse of what his candidacy might look like, he said he would shut down public schools that aren't performing and offer a $20 billion reward for the first private company that successfully completes a Mars mission. "Somebody would be there and back about 40 percent of the way into the NASA process," he said.

China Plan for Long March in Space (Source: Taiwan Journal)
China is again in the news for its space program. The recent release of its 11th five-year space development plan marked an important step toward China's long march to extend its current space agenda. One niggling question is whether this represents a signal aimed at pushing its military space technology to the next level and preparing for "space warfare." At a time when China is modernizing its army, this proposed future space plan appears to mark China's civil as well as military space intentions and capabilities. Whatever its motivation might be, China's space plan is undoubtedly having a global impact, with its close neighbors feeling most rattled.

Its recent space activities reveal a silent Chinese posture to establish its supremacy in space and its strategic goal to prepare itself for possible space warfare. Concerns abound regarding the role of the Chinese military in this space program and, more specifically, the possibility that the People's Liberation Army retains tight control over the direction of the future space program. Moreover, space power has become a pre-condition to controlling air power, and China now has more than 70 satellites in space. The 11th five-year plan sets a platform to achieve some of China's hidden military objectives to modernize its space technology. For example, the Chinese intention in regard to the future information war is to deny its opponents information from space-based platforms by deafening their space systems and disrupting navigation satellites. Visit http://taiwanjournal.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?CtNode=122&xItem=24305to view the article.

Emerging India / Riding High on Success in Space (Source: Yomiuri Shimbun)
India's space center is located on Sriharikota Island in the Indian Ocean. On April 23, a 44-meter rocket was launched successfully from the island. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle was used to send Italy's astronomical satellite AGILE into orbit. With this successful launch, India entered into the international space business. "We've also received two inquiries on satellite launches. Our strong point is price competitiveness, as demonstrated by the fact that the launching cost this time was about 80 percent (about 1.23 billion yen) of that charged by other countries," said an Indian space official.

India plans to launch its first lunar probe satellite Chandrayaan-1, meaning moon vehicle in Hindi, in early 2008, and plans are in place to conduct a manned space flight using the country's own spacecraft in 2015, followed by a moon landing of a manned probe five years after that. Manned space flights would cost 100 billion Indian rupees (about 300 billion yen).

India's First Military Satellite to be Launched in August (Source: India Times)
India will launch its first dedicated military satellite in August to give the country the capability to monitor missile launches in its neighbourhood. The dedicated military reconnaissance satellite, CARTOSAT 2A, will be launched on a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. CARTOSAT 2A will boast of spatial resolution and will be loaded with cameras that can supply advanced imagery. It will cater to military and intelligence specifications. Launch of the first military satellite will be rapidly followed by the launch of two more advanced imaging satellites by next year to give India the capability of keeping an eye round-the-clock on the region surrounding the country.

Europe Joins Space Tourism Race (Source: Times Online)
EADS Astrium, Europe’s biggest builder of satellites and rockets, is this week expected to announce plans to carry tourists into space. The firm is due to unveil plans at the Paris air show for a spacecraft that will carry tourists out of the atmosphere for a brief ride at 3,000mph before ferrying them back to Earth. The scheme is thought to be the first step in a plan to take space tourists into orbit and even to dock at a “space hotel”. EADS Astrium is part of a largely Franco-German group that has plants across Europe, including Britain, and also owns Airbus. It has been developing a space tourism project for seven years with the Phoenix, a reusable craft. The prototype is 23ft long, with a 12ft wing span and an aluminium structure weighing just over a ton. The prototype is believed to be one-sixth of the size of the planned vehicle.

Still Pitching a Far-Out Idea: Ads in Space (Source: LA Times)
It started as a joke. But after a while, Robert Lorsch began to think that selling advertising in space wasn't so funny. Lorsch says he felt compelled to respond to President Reagan's challenge to the private sector in 1981 to help relieve the government's financial burden. He presented his plan to several members of Congress: NASA should allow companies to put their names on plaques inside space shuttles, charging $1 million for the privilege, and let corporate America promote its backing of the space program in the same way businesses do when they pay to be sponsors of the Olympics. His idea might yet get off the ground — Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona) plans to introduce a bill that would create a committee to investigate which advertising partnerships NASA might pursue.

Although NASA has participated in some commercial partnerships that allow businesses to use information learned from space missions, the agency isn't permitted to profit from such pacts. By contrast, the Russian space agency has embraced advertising as a way to fund its program and has signed deals with Pepsi, Pizza Hut and Kodak. Pizza Hut paid about $1.3 million to put a logo on a Russian spacecraft and Pepsi shelled out $5 million to have a cosmonaut float a replica of a soda can in outer space. "Since the first shuttle flight, there have been 113 missions," Lorsch said in testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space in 2004. "If my program had been implemented, the space program could have earned more than $5 billion."

Thermal Breach? NASA Checks Shuttle (Source: ABC)
It doesn't look like much -- a gap where the thermal blanket on one of the space shuttle Atlantis' orbital rockets is puffed out. Mission Management Team Chairman Jon Shannon says it looks like the stitching just simply pulled out. But every gap, wrinkle, dent or ding gets a good look when it's on a space shuttle orbiting Earth, and NASA is examining photos and video of the gap to determine if the shuttle may have a problem. Was the blanket hit by debris during Friday's launch into space? Shannon says engineers won't know for a couple of days until all the video of the launch is retrieved and analyzed. "The blanket is two inches thick," he said, "and under that blanket is a graphite shell, and inside that are the tanks for the reactants for the orbital maneuvering system."