December 14 News Items

Science Debate 2008: Can We Talk About Issues Now? (Source: What's New?)
The U.S. blocks climate agreement in Bali; American children trail the industrialized world in math; stem cell researchers are preoccupied with getting around the embryonic stem cell ban; the green revolution is diverted to feed SUVs instead of people; creationists are conspiring to get God back in the classroom; and our space program is reduced to pointless media spectaculars. Instead of candidates debating who loves Jesus most, Lawrence Krauss and Chris Mooney propose that science be the subject of a debate. An impressive group of science leaders has already signed on http://www.sciencedebate2008.com. It deserves the support of every scientist and every science organization.

Russian Soyuz Rocket Soars with Canadian Satellite (Source: Itar-Tass)
A Russian Soyuz-FG booster carrying the Canadian satellite Radarsat-2 has blasted off from the Baikonur spaceport on Friday. Canada's Radarsat-2 satellite has been almost a decade in design and construction.

SpaceDev Attracts Institutional Investor (Source: MarketWire)
SpaceDev has entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement and Stockholder Agreement with Loeb Partners Corporation, a New York-based investment firm. Pursuant to the Stock Purchase Agreement, SpaceDev issued and sold 3,750,000 shares of SpaceDev common stock in a private transaction to Loeb for $2,812,500.

Ohio County Hitches Wagon to NASA Star with Industrial Park (Source: Sandusky Register)
A new high-technology industrial park is going up to use NASA's reach for the stars to pull jobs into Erie County. The Erie County Commissioners announced Thursday they are building the 24-acre industrial park. As NASA ramps up work at Plum Brook Research Station, testing spaceships and other equipment for the agency's planned return to the Moon and trips to Mars, commissioners hope high-tech companies associated with Plum Brook will move to the park. Commissioners are seeking a $900,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Development to fund infrastructure. "The governor loved the project. I talked to him personally about it," Ferrell said.

Flamingo Elementary Named New NASA School (Source: Miami Herald)
Arlette Gomez loves to discover new things, which is why she wants to be a scientist. But the Flamingo Elementary fifth-grader does not know what kind of scientist she wants to be. Maybe she could work for NASA one day, she said. That dream took a small step closer to reality Wednesday when a real-life astronaut visited Arlette's school in Hialeah, and Flamingo Elementary formally became a NASA Explorer School -- the only one selected in the state this year for the program that puts some of the space agency's resources at the disposal of schools to boost science and mathematics education. Since 2003, NASA annually selects about 25 schools from a long list of applicants to participate in the three-year program. The schools have at least 51 percent minority enrollment; students are in grades 4-9 and come from households where the poverty level is at least 40 percent.

FAU Grad Who Became Astronaut Returns for Honorary Degree (Source: Sun-Sentinel)
Long before he became an astronaut, flew aboard space shuttle Atlantis, visited the International Space Station and performed two spacewalks lasting nearly 14 hours, Steve Swanson was a University of Colorado graduate looking for a place to earn a master's degree. So what attracted him to Florida Atlantic University in 1984? "The beach," Swanson admitted, during a presentation for more than 300 middle and high school students from Palm Beach and Broward counties.

Swanson received a master's of applied science in computer systems from the university in 1986. This week, just six months after his first space voyage, he returned as a celebrated alumnus and hero. Swanson was inducted into the FAU Alumni Hall of Fame on Wednesday. On Thursday, Boca Raton Mayor Steven Abrams gave him a key to the city. He'll also receive an honorary doctorate during a fall commencement ceremony. Swanson will give the university the gift of a blue and silver FAU banner he took on the shuttle.

'Tranquility Base Here, the Altair has Landed' (Source: ABC News)
The winning name for NASA's new lunar lander is...Altair. The agency confirms it. This is the four-legged landing ship that would land astronauts on the lunar surface, starting, the agency hopes, in about a decade, as part of President Bush's Vision for Space Exploration. Altair would fly to the moon, docked to a mother ship called...Orion. They would be launched separately by rockets called...Ares 1 and Ares V. Altair is the brightest star in the summer constellation Aquila the Eagle. Hmmm...Eagle...the name used for the Lunar Module flown by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. The logo above does look passingly like the mission patch for Apollo 11.

UK Could Provide Instruments for Chinese Lunar Rover (Source: Flight International)
China's next attempt at lunar exploration, its rover mission Chang'e-2, could use UK instruments if ongoing Sino-British academic contacts develop into government-approved collaboration. Led by the UK's University of Leicester, contact between the two countries' academic institutions saw early discussions two years ago. The UK scientists have now submitted a proposal to the UK government to gain funding for work that could lead to the country's involvement. The UK instruments could be based on technology developed for the ill-fated Beagle 2 Mars lander, which lost contact with Earth as it entered the Martian atmosphere on 25 December 2003.

Corpus Christi May Be Launch Pad for Space Tourism (Source: KRISTV.com)
Space travel may not be just for astronauts anymore. If an Indiana company has is way, rides into space would launch from right here in Corpus Christi. Reservations for a seat on those flights could be available as early as next month. "What we're doing is building an experience of a lifetime," said Steve Wurst, founder of Space Access. Aerospace and entertainment industry professionals met for hours behind close doors at the American Bank Center, arranging details of an out-of-this-world project 12 years in the making.

Wurst said an aircraft similar to a jet would allow everyday people to travel thousands of miles into the sky to see a bird's eye view of the country. Flights, he said, could begin as soon as January. "Experience the weightlessness and you'd go up to approximately the same altitude as a satellite or a space station might be," Wurst said, "and see the curvature of the earth, you know, stars out at night." He chose these flights to take off from Corpus Christi for several reasons. "It offers wonderful climate, low cost housing," Wurst said. "I love the food, and we think the guests are going to enjoy it too."

NASA and Florida Power & Light Explore Renewable Energy Projects at KSC (Source: NASA)
NASA and FPL are studying potential renewable energy projects that would be done at Kennedy Space Center. KSC and FPL managers signed an agreement that establishes the framework for determining how technically and financially possible it would be to carry out various 'green power' plans, including solar energy power generation concepts, using biomass for energy production and wind power generation. One plan under consideration is a solar photovoltaic power generation system that would occupy about 50 acres of KSC's approximately 140,000 acres and would be capable of producing up to 10 megawatts of electrical power. That is enough energy to serve roughly 3,000 homes.

NASA Targets Space Shuttle Atlantis Launch On Jan. 10 (Source: NASA)
NASA's Space Shuttle Program managers have targeted Jan. 10 for the launch of shuttle Atlantis' STS-122 mission to the International Space Station. The liftoff date depends on the resolution of a problem in a fuel sensor system. The shuttle's planned launches on Dec. 6 and Dec. 9 were postponed because of false readings from the part of the system that monitors the liquid hydrogen section of the tank.

'Spaceship Earth' Ready for Launch at EPCOT (Source: Florida Today)
Epcot's "Spaceship Earth" is preparing to reopen to the public after a refurbishment that started in July. There will be special viewings to preview the attraction before its soft opening at the end ofthe month. "The 'imagineers' are putting the final touches on Spaceship Earth," said Andrea Finger, a Walt Disney World spokeswoman, referring to Disney's creative design team. "We've retained the rich elements that made it a classic experience that's been enjoyed by generations." She said: "We have 're-imagined' Spaceship Earth presented by Siemens, added new show scenes, new lighting effects and new costumes for the audio animatronics. There's also new narration and new musical score."

Astronauts Launch Autograph Club (Source: Delaware North Corp.)
The Astronaut Autograph Club (AAC) may just be the ultimate Out-of-This-World Gift this Holiday Season, offering an authentic autographed photo and personalized letter from a Hall of Fame Astronaut for each month of the upcoming year! Children, young and old, will rejoice when they receive letters and photos from such legendary astronauts as Moonwalkers Charlie Duke and Edgar Mitchell; Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter, first Space Shuttle Pilot Robert Crippen and more explaining why they chose to reach for the stars! Limited to the first 350 to subscribe, members will also receive two admission tickets to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex ($80 value), certificate of membership, archival photo box with protective sleeves, twelve 8x10" authentic astronaut autographed photos and personalized astronaut letters. Visit http://www.astronautscholarship.org/2008_aac.html for information.

Lockheed Lands Lunar Mission (Source: Rocky Mountain News)
Lockheed Martin Space Systems won a contract to build twin spacecraft for a $375 million NASA mission to learn more about the moon's anatomy and history - information that will support a manned lunar mission. The washing machine-sized satellites will be built at Lockheed Martin's Waterton campus in Jefferson County. It's not year clear what the company's financial cut of the $375 million will be. Lockheed Martin is teaming with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and a lead scientist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the project. The two spacecraft will fly in formation around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field in "unprecedented detail."

Predictions for Space Tourism (Source: AIA)
Audience predictions made during the AIA's Space 2007 conference suggest that "the future can be more amazing than we sometimes dare to imagine." Predictions included: billionaire tourists travel to orbit within 10 years, and millionaires visit orbiting space hotels in 20 years; development of a "space lottery" for space tourism/travel; and the space tourism industry would experience a minor setback if a commercial catastrophe takes any lives.