June 7 News Items

Thinking Ahead: Jacksonville Spaceport (Source: Jacksonville Times-Union)
Buck Rogers visits Jacksonville? Not exactly. But the quest for a spaceport at Cecil Field, where paying passengers would be launched into sub-orbit, is visionary - and probably a good investment in the city. Space tourism is more than just a vague concept. Cecil Field has a 12,500-foot runway, long enough to land the space shuttle. That makes it ideal for the jet-powered "horizontal launches" likely to be used. Promoters in other potential spaceport sites would need to build suitable runways, but Jacksonville already has one - and it's a metropolitan area, which customers probably prefer.

France Pressures U.S. To Stop Disclosing Sensitive Satellite Locations (Source: Space News)
A French space-surveillance radar has detected 20-30 satellites in low Earth orbit that do not figure in the U.S. Defense Department's published catalogue, a discovery that French officials say they will use to pressure U.S. authorities to stop publishing the whereabouts of French reconnaissance and military communications satellites.

France's Eutelsat says It Is To Buy Satelites Mexicanos (Source: Space News)
Eutelsat Communications, a French operator of satellites, said it had made an offer with two Mexican partners to acquire Satelites Mexicanos.

NASA To Launch Shuttle to Hubble in September 2008 (Source: Space News)
The fifth and final repair mission for the Hubble Space Telescope has been slated for launch Sept. 10, 2008, NASA announced June 7.

NASA's Space Shuttle Successor Could Fly in 2013 (Source: Space.com)
There are only about 16 flights left before NASA's space shuttle fleet retires in 2010, but an ambitious plan is in place to have a replacement spacecraft ready by 2013. This is two years earlier than NASA's previously stated goal of getting the next generation Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle and the Ares I and Ares V rockets ready by 2015. "There is a two-thirds statistical likelihood of being successful in meeting that [2015] date, but our plan is much more aggressive than that," said Jeff Hanley, program manager for NASA's Constellation program. "We're trying to get the [initial operating capabilities] by as early as 2013."

Soyuz Blasts Off From Plesetsk with Military Satellite (Source: Itar Tass)
A Soyuz booster blasted off from Russia’s Plesetsk spaceport on Thursday with a satellite launched in the interests of the Russian Defense Ministry. Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov watched the launch.

Spacehab/Astrotech Wins Payload Processing Contracts (Source: Spacehab)
Spacehab's Astrotech Space Operations subsidiary has been awarded several satellite processing contracts, in both the commercial and government sectors, for a value of $4.7 million. Visit http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.nl.html?pid=22785 for details.

Hillary Clinton Hears About Space Policy at Washington Issues Forum (Source: SpaceRef.com)
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's Presidential campaign held a recent "Issues Forum & Breakfast" in Washington, DC. at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill - and space policy was on the agenda. Among the breakout sessions was one titled "Commercial & Civil Aerospace" which was led and hosted by former NASA Policy and Plans Associate Administrator Lori Garver. Former NASA Public Affairs Associate Administrator Glenn Mahone also participated as a moderator. A dozen or so people participated.

Russia Can Get $800 Million from Joint Space Projects with South Korea (Source: Interfax)
Russian-South Korean cooperation in civilian space exploration projects can draw up to $800 million of non-budget funds, a spokesman for the Russian State Duma's committee for industry, construction and high technologies said. "Such cooperation in exploring and using space for civilian purposes can give Russia up to $800 million of non-budget funds and nearly 60,000 new jobs in the spacecraft manufacturing industry," he said. Implementing a project aimed at creating a Korean spacecraft launch system is expected to help promote Russian space services in the Asia- Pacific region, the spokesman said.

Branson Raises $225 Million for Space Odyssey (Source: The Times)
Sir Richard Branson raised $225 million yesterday by mortgaging about a third of his 10 percent shareholding in Virgin Media to invest in space tourism and other activities. Sir Richard’s Virgin Group had the chance to sell some of its shares in the cable company last month, but opted to raise money against 12.8 million of its shares because it believes that Virgin Media’s share price is too low at $24 to justify baling out. The cash comes from Credit Suisse, which is lending Virgin Group the money for two years and pocketing a fee of $83 million.

German Satellite to be Launched on Russian Rocket (Source: Itar-Tass)
The launch of a German remote sensing satellite on the Russian rocket Dnepr from the Baikonur spaceport is scheduled for June 15. The company will sell images relayed from the satellite. The Dnepr rocket is a conversion of the heavy intercontinental ballistic missile RS-20 Voyevoda called SS-18 Satan in the Western classification. The company Kosmotras, which was founded in 1997, handles the marketing of the Dnepr. The company comprises Russian and Ukrainian enterprises and organizations that designed RS-20. The rockets can be launched from three silos of the Baikonur pad.

Hurricane Tracker Replacement Urged (Source: WBRZ)
A hurricane tracking satellite is about to stop working and supporters of a replacement are trying to cobble together the $375 million needed to build and launch another one. Without a satellite, hurricane forecasting would be 16 percent less accurate 72 hours before a hurricane’s landfall, and 10 percent less accurate within 48 hours, according to the director of the National Hurricane Center. The satellite QuikSCAT is five years past its projected lifespan, Forecasters and congressmen say that makes it vulnerable to failure. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Rep. Charles “Charlie” Melancon, D-Napoleonville, have introduced companion legislation in the Senate and House calling for the federal government to replace the current satellite about to die.