'Dirty Finger Al' Allegedly Served Outdated Food at KSC Cafeteria (Source: Florida Today)
A Lackmann Food Services employee is accused in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Orlando of serving weeks-old outdated food, usually disguised in spicy dishes like chili or barbecue, to KSC employees. The company denied the allegation at the time, saying it actually does about six times better than average in its state inspections. In a sworn affadavit, a former Lackmann chef says he saw the employee put rotten vegetables into soup and cook rancid chicken in Lackmann's cafeteria in the KSC headquarters building. The employee also allegedly kept a dumpster within three feet of the back door so employees could dump out-of-date food when a health inspector visited.
Station's Protective Shielding Installed During Space Walk (Source: AIA)
Two Russian cosmonauts spent about five hours on a space walk to install protective panels that will shield the international space station from debris. An independent safety task force in February said that there was a 9% risk that the space station or its crew could be lost because of space debris. The risk dropped to 5% if protective panels were installed on Russian portions of the space station.
Research Finds That Earth's Climate is Approaching 'Dangerous' Point (Source: NASA)
NASA and Columbia University Earth Institute research finds that human-made greenhouse gases have brought the Earth’s climate close to critical tipping points, with potentially dangerous consequences for the planet. From a combination of climate models, satellite data, and paleoclimate records the scientists conclude that the West Antarctic ice sheet, Arctic ice cover, and regions providing fresh water sources and species habitat are under threat from continued global warming.
Tipping points can occur during climate change when the climate reaches a state such that strong amplifying feedbacks are activated by only moderate additional warming. This study finds that global warming of 0.6ºC in the past 30 years has been driven mainly by increasing greenhouse gases, and only moderate additional climate forcing is likely to set in motion disintegration of the West Antarctic ice sheet and Arctic sea ice. Amplifying feedbacks include increased absorption of sunlight as melting exposes darker surfaces and speedup of iceberg discharge as the warming ocean melts ice shelves that otherwise inhibit ice flow.
Space-Faring Nations Call for Exploration Standards (Source: Space News)
The world’s principal space-faring nations on May 31 agreed to the broad outlines of a global space-exploration strategy that calls for common standards for communications, control, life-support and docking systems for future missions.
Taiwan Head of Space Program in Corruption Probe (Source: Space News)
Investigators detained the head of Taiwan's budding space program Thursday, amid allegations that funds were spent illegally in seeking to acquire a satellite from Canada, a prosecutor said.
Increased Defense Around KSC For Shuttle Launch (Source: Aerospace Daily)
The North American Aerospace Defense Command and the U.S. Air Force will greatly step up combat air patrols around Kennedy Space Center in the days leading up to the countdown and planned launch of the space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-117 mission June 8. A mix of F-15s and F-16s from several Air National Guard units are to be on patrol early next week to thwart any airborne terrorist attack against the shuttle. Some of the fighters also will fly air defense deterrence missions in the days before scheduled liftoff. The deterrence missions are designed to be seen by citizen pilots - and potential terrorists - that might be in the area. They will involve the fighters flying low approaches into airports in the Kennedy Space Center area.
Multi-National Space Exploration Strategy Released (Source: JAXA)
"One of the most fundamental human characteristics is a relentless curiosity that drives us to investigate the unknown. Throughout our history, we have looked beyond our apparent boundaries to the mysteries that lie beyond. Compelled to explore, to understand and to use the world in which we find ourselves, we have spread across continents and oceans. We have probed the farthest reaches of the planet—the frozen poles, the deep oceans, the high atmosphere."
"With increasing intent and determination, we are resolved to explore our nearest companions—the Moon, Mars and some nearby asteroids. Our goal is not a few quick visits, but rather a sustained and ultimately self-sufficient human presence beyond Earth supported by robotic pathfinders. Sustainable space exploration is a challenge that no one nation can do on its own. This is why fourteen space agencies have developed the Global Exploration Strategy: The Framework for Coordination, which presents a vision for robotic and human space exploration, focussing on destinations within the solar system where we may one day live and work." Visit http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2007/05/20070531_ges_e.pdf to download the document.
NASA Chief Casts Doubt on Need to Manage Gloabal Warming (Source: AIA)
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin says that while his agency is helping to document rising temperatures on Earth and in the atmosphere, he's not sure about trying to regulate the changes. "I have no doubt that ... a trend of global warming exists," Griffin said. "I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with."
NASA Gives Go-Ahead for June 8 Launch (Source: Florida Today)
NASA has, as expected, decided to clear shuttle Atlantis for a launch next Friday. Liftoff time will be 7:38 p.m., agency officials said at the conclusion of a two-day review by top agency brass at Kennedy Space Center. There were no dissenting opinions during the final poll on whether to launch or not. There are minor technical issues to be resolved, but nothing that would prevent an on-time launch on Friday as planned.
China and India in ‘Race to the Moon’ (Source: Financial Times)
China and India are both planning to launch moon shots within a year in the latest sign of the two Asian powerhouses’ intensifying rivalry and growing technological prowess. Although both countries deny they are engaged in a 21st century re-run of the 1960s race to the moon between the cold war superpowers, their haste to launch suggests more than casual interest in the other’s progress. China said this month that it expected to launch its first unmanned lunar orbiter, the Chang’e-1 (named after China’s mythological “lady in the moon”) before the end of this year, while India this week announced that it could send up a similar space probe as early as April 2008. The two lunar programs should be scientifically complementary, with Chinese scientists stressing Chang’e’s goal of improving understanding of the geochemistry of the moon’s surface and India focusing on three-dimensional mapping.
May 30 News Items
Legendary Astronauts Offer Unforgettable Experiences in Online Auction (Source: ASF)
The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) has published an online catalog for its Fifth Annual Auction of Astronaut Experiences and Memorabilia. Beginning May 31, space fans can bid on once-in-a-lifetime adventures with famed Astronauts and vie for the chance to win some of the most sought-after space artifacts – those that have been to the Moon! Auctioned experiences will include: Dive in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with Moonwalker Buzz Aldrin; Throw out the first pitch at a Houston Astros game with Apollo 13 Commander James Lovell; Host a private dinner party with Moonwalker Charlie Duke; and others. Auctioned memorabilia will include a U.S. flag that landed on the Moon, and an Apollo 13 patch flown to the Moon with Lovell. Registration is now open at http://www.AstronautScholarship.org/Auction.pl. proceeds will go directly to fund scholarships for exceptional science and engineering students nationwide.
NASA Managers Mull Shuttle Engine Issue (Source: Florida Today)
A potential shuttle main engine problem that could trigger a catastrophic failure in flight will be discussed by NASA managers during a flight readiness review for the upcoming launch of shuttle Atlantis, but liftoff likely will remain set for June 8. Among topics on the agenda for an upcoming Flight Readiness Review: a potential problem with bolts that hold low-pressure turbopumps in their housings within the shuttle's three liquid-fueled main engines. Engineers uncovered evidence that sleeve-like inserts the bolts are screwed into could be be corroded. If so, the inserts and the bolts could come loose, triggering a potentially catastrophic leak of liquid oxygen in flight. But it appears that the silver-plated inserts on Atlantis' engines are not old enough to have rusted. Moreover, boroscope inspections showed the bolts appear to be in good condition.
Soyuz Launches Four Globalstar Satellites (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A Russian Soyuz rocket placed four Globalstar replacement satellites into low Earth orbit from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan. The satellites are spares that were manufactured at the same time as the original constellation, launched between 1998 and 2000, but were placed in ground storage until now. The satellites will augment the existing constellation, some of whose satellites have suffered from degrading performance in the S-band amplifiers, reducing their effectiveness. A second launch of four spare satellites is planned for this summer. A second generation of Globalstar satellites is under development by Thales Alenia Space, with deliveries scheduled to begin in the second half of 2009.
Air Force Tackles Range Improvement Challenges at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: USAF)
The 45th Space Wing is pursuing increased efficiency in the areas of Eastern Range safety and scheduling under an Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century (AFSO21) initiative. The program aims to: achieve greater utilization of the Range Automated Tasking System; better define roles and responsibilities in the wing's anomaly resolution process; better utilize technology to witness ordnance installation (with enhanced acknowlement of ordnance program maturity); and redefine how procedures are reviewed and how the wing conducts local witnessing.
"Key to AFSO21 is understanding that we're not conducting drills to eliminate jobs," General Susan Helms explained. "We're looking for efficiencies to reduce costs so we can free up resources to help the Air Force with its priorities of recapitalizing and modernizing our air and space systems...I'm highly encouraged by the great preliminary work our AFSO21 teams have done...Secretary Wynne challenged us to improve the launch process, and we're going to deliver."
Girls to Explore Math and Science at Embry-Riddle Summer Camp (Source: ERAU)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is sponsoring a GEMS (Girls Exploring Math & Science) Summer Camp at its Daytona Beach campus July 9-13. The camp runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day and is open to all girls ages 8-13, with special discounts and badges for Girl Scouts. The camp’s directors are Dr. Joanne Detore-Nakamura, an Assistant Professor of Communication and Humanities at Embry-Riddle, and Dr. Pamela Loughmiller, a National Science Foundation Post-Doc Research Fellow in Space Physics. Girls attending the program will learn about chemistry by making lip gloss, ice cream, and slime; aerodynamics by making hot-air balloons and water rockets; meteorology by pretending to be newscasters in front of a green screen and learning about weather; aviation by flying using a computer simulator; aerospace engineering by making water rockets and egg carriers; GPS location while scavenger hunting; mathematics by solving puzzles, making salsa, and creating proportional art; and space exploration by watching IMAX films and creating a Mars colony with arts and crafts materials. Visit http://www.erau.edu/db/summer/gems.html for information.
The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) has published an online catalog for its Fifth Annual Auction of Astronaut Experiences and Memorabilia. Beginning May 31, space fans can bid on once-in-a-lifetime adventures with famed Astronauts and vie for the chance to win some of the most sought-after space artifacts – those that have been to the Moon! Auctioned experiences will include: Dive in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with Moonwalker Buzz Aldrin; Throw out the first pitch at a Houston Astros game with Apollo 13 Commander James Lovell; Host a private dinner party with Moonwalker Charlie Duke; and others. Auctioned memorabilia will include a U.S. flag that landed on the Moon, and an Apollo 13 patch flown to the Moon with Lovell. Registration is now open at http://www.AstronautScholarship.org/Auction.pl. proceeds will go directly to fund scholarships for exceptional science and engineering students nationwide.
NASA Managers Mull Shuttle Engine Issue (Source: Florida Today)
A potential shuttle main engine problem that could trigger a catastrophic failure in flight will be discussed by NASA managers during a flight readiness review for the upcoming launch of shuttle Atlantis, but liftoff likely will remain set for June 8. Among topics on the agenda for an upcoming Flight Readiness Review: a potential problem with bolts that hold low-pressure turbopumps in their housings within the shuttle's three liquid-fueled main engines. Engineers uncovered evidence that sleeve-like inserts the bolts are screwed into could be be corroded. If so, the inserts and the bolts could come loose, triggering a potentially catastrophic leak of liquid oxygen in flight. But it appears that the silver-plated inserts on Atlantis' engines are not old enough to have rusted. Moreover, boroscope inspections showed the bolts appear to be in good condition.
Soyuz Launches Four Globalstar Satellites (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A Russian Soyuz rocket placed four Globalstar replacement satellites into low Earth orbit from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan. The satellites are spares that were manufactured at the same time as the original constellation, launched between 1998 and 2000, but were placed in ground storage until now. The satellites will augment the existing constellation, some of whose satellites have suffered from degrading performance in the S-band amplifiers, reducing their effectiveness. A second launch of four spare satellites is planned for this summer. A second generation of Globalstar satellites is under development by Thales Alenia Space, with deliveries scheduled to begin in the second half of 2009.
Air Force Tackles Range Improvement Challenges at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: USAF)
The 45th Space Wing is pursuing increased efficiency in the areas of Eastern Range safety and scheduling under an Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century (AFSO21) initiative. The program aims to: achieve greater utilization of the Range Automated Tasking System; better define roles and responsibilities in the wing's anomaly resolution process; better utilize technology to witness ordnance installation (with enhanced acknowlement of ordnance program maturity); and redefine how procedures are reviewed and how the wing conducts local witnessing.
"Key to AFSO21 is understanding that we're not conducting drills to eliminate jobs," General Susan Helms explained. "We're looking for efficiencies to reduce costs so we can free up resources to help the Air Force with its priorities of recapitalizing and modernizing our air and space systems...I'm highly encouraged by the great preliminary work our AFSO21 teams have done...Secretary Wynne challenged us to improve the launch process, and we're going to deliver."
Girls to Explore Math and Science at Embry-Riddle Summer Camp (Source: ERAU)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is sponsoring a GEMS (Girls Exploring Math & Science) Summer Camp at its Daytona Beach campus July 9-13. The camp runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day and is open to all girls ages 8-13, with special discounts and badges for Girl Scouts. The camp’s directors are Dr. Joanne Detore-Nakamura, an Assistant Professor of Communication and Humanities at Embry-Riddle, and Dr. Pamela Loughmiller, a National Science Foundation Post-Doc Research Fellow in Space Physics. Girls attending the program will learn about chemistry by making lip gloss, ice cream, and slime; aerodynamics by making hot-air balloons and water rockets; meteorology by pretending to be newscasters in front of a green screen and learning about weather; aviation by flying using a computer simulator; aerospace engineering by making water rockets and egg carriers; GPS location while scavenger hunting; mathematics by solving puzzles, making salsa, and creating proportional art; and space exploration by watching IMAX films and creating a Mars colony with arts and crafts materials. Visit http://www.erau.edu/db/summer/gems.html for information.
May 29 News Items
Delta II's Fate Worries Nonmilitary Users (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Uncertainty over the fate of Boeing Co.'s Delta II rocket has some satellite operators and research scientists increasingly worried about losing an affordable and dependable means of launching their hardware into space. The Delta II has been a workhorse of the U.S. space program, which has depended on the rocket and its forerunners since 1960. But military brass, confronting mounting war expenses and cuts in space budgets, have decided they can't afford to continue to help underwrite three Delta II launch pads, associated personnel and other fixed costs. NASA also seems unable to shoulder the costs as it focuses on larger vehicles required for Moon and Mars missions, and new commercial vehicles that have been proposed for commercial transport to the Space Station.
Cracked Launch Pad on the Mend (Source: Florida Today)
The 23rd and last defense satellite of its kind is back on schedule for a mid-August launch, after damage to Launch Complex 37 delayed the launch. Carried to a 23,000-mile orbit on a Delta IV Heavy rocket, DSP-23 will be the last of a series of spacecraft first launched in 1970. The DSP satellites help detect missile or spacecraft launches and nuclear explosions using sensors that record infrared emissions from these intense sources of heat. During Desert Storm, the satellite system marked the launches of Iraqi Scud missiles and provided warnings to civilians and military forces in Israel and Saudi Arabia. The launch, originally scheduled for March, was delayed when two structural cracks were found on the pad after a liquid oxygen leak during a countdown test.
Final Push to Launch Countdown Under Way (Source: Florida Today)
NASA is stepping through final launch countdown prepartions at Kennedy Space Center this week as the agency positions itself for the planned launch next week of shuttle Atlantis on an International Space Station assembly mission. Technicians with United Space Alliance are finishing up work in the shuttle's rear engine compartment at launch pad 39A, where Atlantis is being readied for a 7:38 p.m. June 8 liftoff.
28 Newfound Planets in Milky Way Spur Hunt for Earth Look-Alikes (Source: SFgate.com)
All of a sudden the Milky Way is filling up with far-off solar systems never seen before -- more and more planets of all shapes and sizes, wheeling in orbits around their own sunlike stars. Astronomers on teams from UC Berkeley and Australia reported the discovery of 28 new planets all at once on Monday, and their leader -- working through the night all this week at the world's biggest telescope in Hawaii -- is now on the hunt for rocky planets that might resemble Earth.
"An overarching question now is whether our own solar system is really alone," said Geoffrey Marcy, the Berkeley astronomer whose team has led in the discovery of what are now widely known as "exoplanets." Marcy and many of his colleagues are in Honolulu for a meeting of the American Astronomical Society, and in telephone interviews and e-mails he said he and Katie Peek, 26, a Berkeley graduate student, are scanning 70 more stars right now to seek still more of the increasingly common objects.
Norway's Hybrid Test Rocket Takes to Skies (Source: Flight International)
Norwegian company Nammo Raufoss has launched a 10m (33ft)-long hybrid test rocket from the Andoya range in Norway. The launch is the outcome of a research program undertaken in conjunction with Lockheed Martin, which produced the solid rocket motor. The solid fuel was burned with a liquid oxygen in the hybrid rocket. The company's hybrid sounding rocket work has links with the European Space Agency, but there is also Norwegian government involvement in the project.
Red Dwarf Systems Could Harbour Life (Source: Nature)
The most common type of star in the Galaxy may be more hospitable to life than was previously believed, say astronomers who have calculated how much radiation planets orbiting such stars would receive. Red dwarfs — cool, low-mass stars — make up more than 75% of the stars in the Milky Way. So far, ten planets have been found around red dwarfs, including one announced on 24 April that appears to be on the edge of a 'habitable zone', the region around a star thought to be capable of supporting life. Many astronomers are skeptical that life could survive around red dwarfs. Because the stars are cooler than, say, our Sun, their habitable zones lie much closer to the star. That means that planets in the zone could be exposed to damaging levels of ultraviolet and X-ray radiation. But life might be able to stand the radiation — if the planet was like Earth.
When Courting Capital, New Space Companies Should Stress Competence Over Coolness (Source: Ad Astra)
As the International Space Development Conference (ISDC) wound down Sunday, business practices were on the mind of many speakers. "There's too much reliance on the 'coolness factor'," according to a firm that specializes in due-diligence investigations for venture capitalists. Instead, entrepreneurs need to concentrate on knowing what they are trying to do and solve specific problems, from providing lunar oxygen to future exploration missions to building solar power satellites to approaching venture capitalists.
One of the biggest challenges for due diligence investigators is the lies people tell in their business plans, from claiming that a larger company is about to make a purchase to "Some other group is interested in us." Space businesses can kill deals with venture capitalists in other ways, like using bogus or questionable market studies, claiming one's management team is experienced despite lack of past performance, or assuming that one's company position is unassailable because it has patented intellectual property. "Mention patents once, and leave it alone. If there's a dispute with a larger company, they have deeper pockets," meaning they can fight legal battles longer. Visit http://www.space.com/adastra/070529_isdc_business.html to view the article.
Bratwurst and Cheeseheads and… Rocket Ships? (Source: Space Review)
For people familiar with Sheboygan, Wisconsin, space launches are not the first thing that comes to mind. In America’s Dairyland, the Sheboygan area is known for great bratwurst, quality plumbing fixtures, world-class golf courses, and a beautiful shoreline and harbor on Lake Michigan. Neither the city of Sheboygan nor the state of Wisconsin, with the possible exception of the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh, are known for being a hotbed of aerospace activity. So why would Sheboygan become a site for suborbital tourist flights? Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/876/1 to view the article.
Uncertainty over the fate of Boeing Co.'s Delta II rocket has some satellite operators and research scientists increasingly worried about losing an affordable and dependable means of launching their hardware into space. The Delta II has been a workhorse of the U.S. space program, which has depended on the rocket and its forerunners since 1960. But military brass, confronting mounting war expenses and cuts in space budgets, have decided they can't afford to continue to help underwrite three Delta II launch pads, associated personnel and other fixed costs. NASA also seems unable to shoulder the costs as it focuses on larger vehicles required for Moon and Mars missions, and new commercial vehicles that have been proposed for commercial transport to the Space Station.
Cracked Launch Pad on the Mend (Source: Florida Today)
The 23rd and last defense satellite of its kind is back on schedule for a mid-August launch, after damage to Launch Complex 37 delayed the launch. Carried to a 23,000-mile orbit on a Delta IV Heavy rocket, DSP-23 will be the last of a series of spacecraft first launched in 1970. The DSP satellites help detect missile or spacecraft launches and nuclear explosions using sensors that record infrared emissions from these intense sources of heat. During Desert Storm, the satellite system marked the launches of Iraqi Scud missiles and provided warnings to civilians and military forces in Israel and Saudi Arabia. The launch, originally scheduled for March, was delayed when two structural cracks were found on the pad after a liquid oxygen leak during a countdown test.
Final Push to Launch Countdown Under Way (Source: Florida Today)
NASA is stepping through final launch countdown prepartions at Kennedy Space Center this week as the agency positions itself for the planned launch next week of shuttle Atlantis on an International Space Station assembly mission. Technicians with United Space Alliance are finishing up work in the shuttle's rear engine compartment at launch pad 39A, where Atlantis is being readied for a 7:38 p.m. June 8 liftoff.
28 Newfound Planets in Milky Way Spur Hunt for Earth Look-Alikes (Source: SFgate.com)
All of a sudden the Milky Way is filling up with far-off solar systems never seen before -- more and more planets of all shapes and sizes, wheeling in orbits around their own sunlike stars. Astronomers on teams from UC Berkeley and Australia reported the discovery of 28 new planets all at once on Monday, and their leader -- working through the night all this week at the world's biggest telescope in Hawaii -- is now on the hunt for rocky planets that might resemble Earth.
"An overarching question now is whether our own solar system is really alone," said Geoffrey Marcy, the Berkeley astronomer whose team has led in the discovery of what are now widely known as "exoplanets." Marcy and many of his colleagues are in Honolulu for a meeting of the American Astronomical Society, and in telephone interviews and e-mails he said he and Katie Peek, 26, a Berkeley graduate student, are scanning 70 more stars right now to seek still more of the increasingly common objects.
Norway's Hybrid Test Rocket Takes to Skies (Source: Flight International)
Norwegian company Nammo Raufoss has launched a 10m (33ft)-long hybrid test rocket from the Andoya range in Norway. The launch is the outcome of a research program undertaken in conjunction with Lockheed Martin, which produced the solid rocket motor. The solid fuel was burned with a liquid oxygen in the hybrid rocket. The company's hybrid sounding rocket work has links with the European Space Agency, but there is also Norwegian government involvement in the project.
Red Dwarf Systems Could Harbour Life (Source: Nature)
The most common type of star in the Galaxy may be more hospitable to life than was previously believed, say astronomers who have calculated how much radiation planets orbiting such stars would receive. Red dwarfs — cool, low-mass stars — make up more than 75% of the stars in the Milky Way. So far, ten planets have been found around red dwarfs, including one announced on 24 April that appears to be on the edge of a 'habitable zone', the region around a star thought to be capable of supporting life. Many astronomers are skeptical that life could survive around red dwarfs. Because the stars are cooler than, say, our Sun, their habitable zones lie much closer to the star. That means that planets in the zone could be exposed to damaging levels of ultraviolet and X-ray radiation. But life might be able to stand the radiation — if the planet was like Earth.
When Courting Capital, New Space Companies Should Stress Competence Over Coolness (Source: Ad Astra)
As the International Space Development Conference (ISDC) wound down Sunday, business practices were on the mind of many speakers. "There's too much reliance on the 'coolness factor'," according to a firm that specializes in due-diligence investigations for venture capitalists. Instead, entrepreneurs need to concentrate on knowing what they are trying to do and solve specific problems, from providing lunar oxygen to future exploration missions to building solar power satellites to approaching venture capitalists.
One of the biggest challenges for due diligence investigators is the lies people tell in their business plans, from claiming that a larger company is about to make a purchase to "Some other group is interested in us." Space businesses can kill deals with venture capitalists in other ways, like using bogus or questionable market studies, claiming one's management team is experienced despite lack of past performance, or assuming that one's company position is unassailable because it has patented intellectual property. "Mention patents once, and leave it alone. If there's a dispute with a larger company, they have deeper pockets," meaning they can fight legal battles longer. Visit http://www.space.com/adastra/070529_isdc_business.html to view the article.
Bratwurst and Cheeseheads and… Rocket Ships? (Source: Space Review)
For people familiar with Sheboygan, Wisconsin, space launches are not the first thing that comes to mind. In America’s Dairyland, the Sheboygan area is known for great bratwurst, quality plumbing fixtures, world-class golf courses, and a beautiful shoreline and harbor on Lake Michigan. Neither the city of Sheboygan nor the state of Wisconsin, with the possible exception of the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh, are known for being a hotbed of aerospace activity. So why would Sheboygan become a site for suborbital tourist flights? Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/876/1 to view the article.
May 28 News Items
South Korea Aims to Start Planet Exploration From 2017 (Source: Yonhap News)
South Korea will push to explore the moon and planets in the solar system from around 2017 in line with a long-term plan to become a global space power. The Ministry of Science and Technology said the plan calls for spending a total of 3.8 trillion won (US$4.1 billion) in the next 10 years to build satellites and rockets without outside help and train and hire 3,600 specialists in the space technology field. At present the country can design rockets and satellites in cooperation with countries like Israel and Russia.
"Once this stage is completed in 2016, the country should have the basic know-how to start building machines that can explore the moon, planets and other extraterrestrial objects," a Science Ministry official said. South Korea currently is pushing to launch a two-stage KSLV-1 rocket in the near future. The rocket is being built with Russian help. The ministry, however, said that the target dates are subject to change because countries that are ahead in space exploration are reluctant to help South Korea.
India, Brazil Set to Ink Oil, Space Deals (Source: Times of India)
Government officials have been traveling to and from Brazil and India to work out MoUs that could be signed when president Luiz Inaceo Lula da Silva pays a three-day visit to India on June 3. It looks certain that space will be one area where an agreement will be signed. Brazil will likely share space at one of its existing ground facilities for India to set up a satellite tracking module. This will allow for easier course-correction for satellites and boost India's commercial launch capability. The MoU will also envisage India sharing its satellite images to help Brazil track its green cover, particularly in the Amazon which has been causing concern among policymakers. There will also be joint research in atmospherics that help in meteorological predictions which are vital for a rain-fed agricultural country like Brazil.
Pentagon Weighs Options for Quick Space Launches (Source: Defense News)
The Air Force is preparing to purchase next year a block of small rockets for Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) launches, an effort to place satellites in orbit on short notice. The most likely near-term options come from Orbital Sciences and SpaceX. Orbital Sciences launched the first ORS payload — TacSat-2 — in December aboard its Minotaur-1 rocket, and plans to launch the TacSat-3 satellite aboard a Minotaur-1 this December. While the company is not under contract to launch any further ORS payloads on its Minotaurs, it could demonstrate responsive preparations in launches of other military payloads.
The Minotaur rockets include components from decommissioned intercontinental ballistic missiles. While these components are a finite resource, sufficient numbers are available to build hundreds of Minotaurs. Orbital built the two rockets for TacSat-2 and TacSat-3 for a total of $24 million. The company likely could reduce that price somewhat if the Air Force bought a larger block of rockets.
Elon Musk of SpaceX said his company also plans to compete for the block of ORS launches. Musk said his company could reduce its $7 million price tag for the Falcon 1 rocket for a block purchase if the launches came within 12 months of each other, and it could find efficiencies such as increasing its order quantities from suppliers. Musk said Space Exploration plans to increase the price of Falcon 1 launches in 2009 as part of an effort to increase the rocket’s payload. While the price tag will rise to $8.5 million, the cost increase will be proportionately less than the planned increase in payload mass and volume, he said. While the final figures for the upgrade have not yet been determined, Musk said that payload mass and volume capacity will likely increase by 30 percent.
AirLaunch Also Plans for Responsive Launches (Source: Defense News)
AirLaunch LLC is taking a more cautious path than originally planned. It is developing a new satellite launcher that the Pentagon hopes will play a key role in the future. The first demonstration space launch will likely move from 2008 into 2009 as the company gathers additional data on key components for its QuickReach vehicle. AirLaunch in 2004 won a $17.8 million contract from DARPA to refine its QuickReach concept for a flight demonstration in 2008. The QuickReach system uses a rocket that is dropped from an unmodified C-17 or other large cargo aircraft.
The contract covered what DARPA referred to as phase 2B of the Falcon Small Launch Vehicle program, which is a joint effort between DARPA and the U.S. Air Force. That contract ran for one year, but the work under that phase took longer than expected. The company had anticipated signing a contract for phase 2C that would have taken it through the flight demonstration. Instead, phase 2C likely will cover additional testing on the QuickReach propulsion systems, with an additional phase — 2D — covering the flight demonstration. She declined to comment on the exact nature of the work and potential contract value while it is still under negotiation. AirLaunch’s recent accomplishments include a test-fire with its second stage during a demonstration in April.
Microcosm Also Anticipates ORS Business (Source: Defense News)
Other launch concepts that the Pentagon may turn to in the future include the Sprite vehicle, which is being developed by Microcosm. Microcosm was one of the competitors that lost out to AirLaunch in a DARPA Small Launch Vehicle competition in 2004. The Sprite rocket was featured in briefing charts used by Simon “Pete” Worden in 2003 when he was a brigadier general and in charge of transformation efforts at the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. Worden cited the Sprite in briefings for military officials as an example of a potentially key enabling technology for launching small satellites on short notice. Worden currently serves as director of NASA’s Ames Research Center. Microcosm officials believe that they have boosted Sprite's potential payload capacity from about 800 pounds to about 1,050 pounds to low Earth orbit. At the same time, the potential cost of about $4.6 million, including range operations, has not gone up.
NSS Chief: Can NASA and Bush Get It Done? (Source: WIRED)
This weekend's International Space Development Conference, held in Dallas, and produced by the National Space Society, brought together entrepreneurs, NASA staff, astronauts and scientists hash out the big question: how do we get there from here? NSS director George Whitesides talked to Wired News about one of the events, a screening of Alan Chan's indie short film Postcards from the Future, about George Bush's disappearing space initative, New Visions for Space Exploration, and how Rutan, Musk et. al. are becoming the engine of the new push towards space colonization. Visit http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2007/05/nss_chief_can_n.htmlto view the article.
Senate Committee Cuts all Funding for AIRSS (Source: Space News)
The Senate Armed Services Committee cut all funding for the Alternative Infrared Space System (AIRSS) missile warning system in its version of the fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill and cut $200 million from the president’s request for the Airborne Laser boost-phase missile defense program. The House Armed Services Committee had cut $250 million from the Airborne Laser system.
Stern Vows More Effective Use of NASA Science Budget (Source: Space News)
NASA science chief Alan Stern, is vowing to wring more science out of the agency's tight budget by getting better upfront cost estimates, holding managers more accountable, canceling projects that are not performing, ending missions that have outlived their usefulness, and collaborating more with other space agencies. "We just have to change our attitude around here. The budgets are what they are and we have to get more out of the budget that we have," Stern said since taking the helm of NASA's $5.2 billion science portfolio in April. NASA has been harshly criticized by many scientists since unveiling a five-year budget plan that reneged on an earlier promise to keep the science budget growing at a healthy clip through the end of the decade and beyond. But greater-than-expected human spaceflight costs coupled with less-than-expected budget increases prompted NASA to cut several billion dollars from the long-range science plan.
Presidential Hopeful Richardson Talks with Space Advocates (Source: Space News)
Space professionals got a chance to talk shop with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson at a campaign fundraiser for the Democratic presidential candidate on May 16. According to the accounts of several of the organizers, Richardson told the gathering he sees space as a bona fide area of economic growth and opportunity, citing New Mexico's investment in Spaceport America - which already has landed Virgin Galactic as an anchor tenant - as an example of the type of initiative he would pursue at the national level to spur job growth. About two-thirds of the more than 50 people attending the fundraiser were from the space community. Organizers of the event included Personal Spaceflight Federation President Brett Alexander, consultant Lori Garver, Arianespace Inc. President Clay Mowry, consultant Jim Muncy, Alliant Techsystems Washington representative Erin Neal, and National Space Society Executive Director George Whitesides.
DOD Report Says China Interested in ORS (Source: Space News)
China possesses the ability to jam GPS receivers and "common" satellite communications frequencies and is pursuing a "multi-dimensional" program so it can deny others access to outer space, according to the Pentagon's annual study of Chinese military capabilities and intentions. The study also says that China appears to be pursuing something similar to the U.S. Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) program. China seeks to become a world leader in space development and maintain a leading role in space launch activity. Beijing's goal is to place a satellite into orbit "within hours upon request." Also, the rising Asian power has "established dedicated small satellite design and production facilities" and is developing microsatellites that could be used for "a rapid reconstitution or expansion of China's satellite force in the event of any disruption in coverage."
South Korea will push to explore the moon and planets in the solar system from around 2017 in line with a long-term plan to become a global space power. The Ministry of Science and Technology said the plan calls for spending a total of 3.8 trillion won (US$4.1 billion) in the next 10 years to build satellites and rockets without outside help and train and hire 3,600 specialists in the space technology field. At present the country can design rockets and satellites in cooperation with countries like Israel and Russia.
"Once this stage is completed in 2016, the country should have the basic know-how to start building machines that can explore the moon, planets and other extraterrestrial objects," a Science Ministry official said. South Korea currently is pushing to launch a two-stage KSLV-1 rocket in the near future. The rocket is being built with Russian help. The ministry, however, said that the target dates are subject to change because countries that are ahead in space exploration are reluctant to help South Korea.
India, Brazil Set to Ink Oil, Space Deals (Source: Times of India)
Government officials have been traveling to and from Brazil and India to work out MoUs that could be signed when president Luiz Inaceo Lula da Silva pays a three-day visit to India on June 3. It looks certain that space will be one area where an agreement will be signed. Brazil will likely share space at one of its existing ground facilities for India to set up a satellite tracking module. This will allow for easier course-correction for satellites and boost India's commercial launch capability. The MoU will also envisage India sharing its satellite images to help Brazil track its green cover, particularly in the Amazon which has been causing concern among policymakers. There will also be joint research in atmospherics that help in meteorological predictions which are vital for a rain-fed agricultural country like Brazil.
Pentagon Weighs Options for Quick Space Launches (Source: Defense News)
The Air Force is preparing to purchase next year a block of small rockets for Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) launches, an effort to place satellites in orbit on short notice. The most likely near-term options come from Orbital Sciences and SpaceX. Orbital Sciences launched the first ORS payload — TacSat-2 — in December aboard its Minotaur-1 rocket, and plans to launch the TacSat-3 satellite aboard a Minotaur-1 this December. While the company is not under contract to launch any further ORS payloads on its Minotaurs, it could demonstrate responsive preparations in launches of other military payloads.
The Minotaur rockets include components from decommissioned intercontinental ballistic missiles. While these components are a finite resource, sufficient numbers are available to build hundreds of Minotaurs. Orbital built the two rockets for TacSat-2 and TacSat-3 for a total of $24 million. The company likely could reduce that price somewhat if the Air Force bought a larger block of rockets.
Elon Musk of SpaceX said his company also plans to compete for the block of ORS launches. Musk said his company could reduce its $7 million price tag for the Falcon 1 rocket for a block purchase if the launches came within 12 months of each other, and it could find efficiencies such as increasing its order quantities from suppliers. Musk said Space Exploration plans to increase the price of Falcon 1 launches in 2009 as part of an effort to increase the rocket’s payload. While the price tag will rise to $8.5 million, the cost increase will be proportionately less than the planned increase in payload mass and volume, he said. While the final figures for the upgrade have not yet been determined, Musk said that payload mass and volume capacity will likely increase by 30 percent.
AirLaunch Also Plans for Responsive Launches (Source: Defense News)
AirLaunch LLC is taking a more cautious path than originally planned. It is developing a new satellite launcher that the Pentagon hopes will play a key role in the future. The first demonstration space launch will likely move from 2008 into 2009 as the company gathers additional data on key components for its QuickReach vehicle. AirLaunch in 2004 won a $17.8 million contract from DARPA to refine its QuickReach concept for a flight demonstration in 2008. The QuickReach system uses a rocket that is dropped from an unmodified C-17 or other large cargo aircraft.
The contract covered what DARPA referred to as phase 2B of the Falcon Small Launch Vehicle program, which is a joint effort between DARPA and the U.S. Air Force. That contract ran for one year, but the work under that phase took longer than expected. The company had anticipated signing a contract for phase 2C that would have taken it through the flight demonstration. Instead, phase 2C likely will cover additional testing on the QuickReach propulsion systems, with an additional phase — 2D — covering the flight demonstration. She declined to comment on the exact nature of the work and potential contract value while it is still under negotiation. AirLaunch’s recent accomplishments include a test-fire with its second stage during a demonstration in April.
Microcosm Also Anticipates ORS Business (Source: Defense News)
Other launch concepts that the Pentagon may turn to in the future include the Sprite vehicle, which is being developed by Microcosm. Microcosm was one of the competitors that lost out to AirLaunch in a DARPA Small Launch Vehicle competition in 2004. The Sprite rocket was featured in briefing charts used by Simon “Pete” Worden in 2003 when he was a brigadier general and in charge of transformation efforts at the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. Worden cited the Sprite in briefings for military officials as an example of a potentially key enabling technology for launching small satellites on short notice. Worden currently serves as director of NASA’s Ames Research Center. Microcosm officials believe that they have boosted Sprite's potential payload capacity from about 800 pounds to about 1,050 pounds to low Earth orbit. At the same time, the potential cost of about $4.6 million, including range operations, has not gone up.
NSS Chief: Can NASA and Bush Get It Done? (Source: WIRED)
This weekend's International Space Development Conference, held in Dallas, and produced by the National Space Society, brought together entrepreneurs, NASA staff, astronauts and scientists hash out the big question: how do we get there from here? NSS director George Whitesides talked to Wired News about one of the events, a screening of Alan Chan's indie short film Postcards from the Future, about George Bush's disappearing space initative, New Visions for Space Exploration, and how Rutan, Musk et. al. are becoming the engine of the new push towards space colonization. Visit http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2007/05/nss_chief_can_n.htmlto view the article.
Senate Committee Cuts all Funding for AIRSS (Source: Space News)
The Senate Armed Services Committee cut all funding for the Alternative Infrared Space System (AIRSS) missile warning system in its version of the fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill and cut $200 million from the president’s request for the Airborne Laser boost-phase missile defense program. The House Armed Services Committee had cut $250 million from the Airborne Laser system.
Stern Vows More Effective Use of NASA Science Budget (Source: Space News)
NASA science chief Alan Stern, is vowing to wring more science out of the agency's tight budget by getting better upfront cost estimates, holding managers more accountable, canceling projects that are not performing, ending missions that have outlived their usefulness, and collaborating more with other space agencies. "We just have to change our attitude around here. The budgets are what they are and we have to get more out of the budget that we have," Stern said since taking the helm of NASA's $5.2 billion science portfolio in April. NASA has been harshly criticized by many scientists since unveiling a five-year budget plan that reneged on an earlier promise to keep the science budget growing at a healthy clip through the end of the decade and beyond. But greater-than-expected human spaceflight costs coupled with less-than-expected budget increases prompted NASA to cut several billion dollars from the long-range science plan.
Presidential Hopeful Richardson Talks with Space Advocates (Source: Space News)
Space professionals got a chance to talk shop with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson at a campaign fundraiser for the Democratic presidential candidate on May 16. According to the accounts of several of the organizers, Richardson told the gathering he sees space as a bona fide area of economic growth and opportunity, citing New Mexico's investment in Spaceport America - which already has landed Virgin Galactic as an anchor tenant - as an example of the type of initiative he would pursue at the national level to spur job growth. About two-thirds of the more than 50 people attending the fundraiser were from the space community. Organizers of the event included Personal Spaceflight Federation President Brett Alexander, consultant Lori Garver, Arianespace Inc. President Clay Mowry, consultant Jim Muncy, Alliant Techsystems Washington representative Erin Neal, and National Space Society Executive Director George Whitesides.
DOD Report Says China Interested in ORS (Source: Space News)
China possesses the ability to jam GPS receivers and "common" satellite communications frequencies and is pursuing a "multi-dimensional" program so it can deny others access to outer space, according to the Pentagon's annual study of Chinese military capabilities and intentions. The study also says that China appears to be pursuing something similar to the U.S. Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) program. China seeks to become a world leader in space development and maintain a leading role in space launch activity. Beijing's goal is to place a satellite into orbit "within hours upon request." Also, the rising Asian power has "established dedicated small satellite design and production facilities" and is developing microsatellites that could be used for "a rapid reconstitution or expansion of China's satellite force in the event of any disruption in coverage."
May 26 News Items
U.S. Scraps Missile-Defense Test as Target Misfires (Source: Reuters)
The U.S. scrapped on Friday a key test of an emerging missile-defense shield after a dummy missile that was to have been the system's target went astray over the Pacific. "The target did not reach sufficient altitude to be deemed a threat, and so the ballistic missile defense system did not engage it, as designed," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering. The event was officially designated a "no test" when the target, launched from Alaska's Kodiak Island, failed to reach the defended zone. It was a blow to President Bush's multibillion-dollar drive for a layered shield to thwart ballistic missiles from countries like North Korea and Iran that could be tipped with chemical, germ or nuclear warheads.
NASA Done with Oefelein (Source: Florida Today)
The male astronaut involved in the Lisa Nowak love triangle will be shipped back to the Navy, NASA officials said Friday. Shuttle pilot William Oefelein was told Wednesday that his temporary assignment to the space agency ends June 1. "The Navy and NASA mutually agreed to end his detail to NASA," said Kylie Clem, a spokeswoman at Johnson Space Center in Houston. "NASA has determined that his detail is no longer required for the purposes for which it was originally granted."
NASA Looks to Private Sector to Help it Go Lunar (Source: Reuters)
NASA is in the market for commercial relationships and private capital as it gears up for its next manned missions to the moon. "If somebody says 'I have this really great way to be able to extract water ice from lunar regolith (lunar rocks) that I've developed on my own dime' we would be interested," said a NASA official. "If we could be in a commercial relationship with somebody who has the capability that's fine because in many cases they can do it for less money than we can...Maybe at that point there will be commercial exploitation and we won't be sending missions there but some of the commercial companies here will start sending people there," he said.
Armadillo, Orbital Outfitters Could Fly "Spacedivers" from Rocket (Source: MSNBC)
Next year, a modular rocket system developed by Armadillo Aerospace could be used to fly a skydiver, equipped with a parachute as well as an Orbital Outfitters spacesuit, up to an altitude high enough to challenge a 47-year-old skydiving record. Such a feat could usher in a new breed of adventure dubbed spacediving, Armadillo's John Carmack said. Orbital Outfitters' Rick Tumlinson said the spacediving venture would send "adrenaline junkies" up to an altitude of about 120,000 feet, so they can jump into a freefall like no other. "We're going to be there before anybody else goes up into that domain," Tumlinson said. Expect to hear more in the weeks to come.
Armadillo Wins SBIR Award (Source: Armadillo Aerospace)
Armadillo was awarded an Air Force SBIR phase one contract for the design of a modular space launch system. Two SBIR awards were made for similar work, with the other going to XCOR Aerospace. While phase I awards are really just for studies, Armadillo will be generating a lot of flight and operational data from the module work they were already doing. If a phase II contract is awarded, Armadillo would plan to deliver some actual flight vehicles. Experimental flight permits are being sought for launches from Oklahoma and New Mexico.
Astronauts, VIPs Gather at Cape for Shuttle Simulation Ride Debut (Source: ERAU)
KSC's new Shuttle Launch Experience simulator was a huge hit during its grand opening last week, with dozens of current and former astronauts giving their thumbs-up for the realistic ride. The attraction is expected to boost Florida's space tourism industry by thousands of visitors each year.
The U.S. scrapped on Friday a key test of an emerging missile-defense shield after a dummy missile that was to have been the system's target went astray over the Pacific. "The target did not reach sufficient altitude to be deemed a threat, and so the ballistic missile defense system did not engage it, as designed," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering. The event was officially designated a "no test" when the target, launched from Alaska's Kodiak Island, failed to reach the defended zone. It was a blow to President Bush's multibillion-dollar drive for a layered shield to thwart ballistic missiles from countries like North Korea and Iran that could be tipped with chemical, germ or nuclear warheads.
NASA Done with Oefelein (Source: Florida Today)
The male astronaut involved in the Lisa Nowak love triangle will be shipped back to the Navy, NASA officials said Friday. Shuttle pilot William Oefelein was told Wednesday that his temporary assignment to the space agency ends June 1. "The Navy and NASA mutually agreed to end his detail to NASA," said Kylie Clem, a spokeswoman at Johnson Space Center in Houston. "NASA has determined that his detail is no longer required for the purposes for which it was originally granted."
NASA Looks to Private Sector to Help it Go Lunar (Source: Reuters)
NASA is in the market for commercial relationships and private capital as it gears up for its next manned missions to the moon. "If somebody says 'I have this really great way to be able to extract water ice from lunar regolith (lunar rocks) that I've developed on my own dime' we would be interested," said a NASA official. "If we could be in a commercial relationship with somebody who has the capability that's fine because in many cases they can do it for less money than we can...Maybe at that point there will be commercial exploitation and we won't be sending missions there but some of the commercial companies here will start sending people there," he said.
Armadillo, Orbital Outfitters Could Fly "Spacedivers" from Rocket (Source: MSNBC)
Next year, a modular rocket system developed by Armadillo Aerospace could be used to fly a skydiver, equipped with a parachute as well as an Orbital Outfitters spacesuit, up to an altitude high enough to challenge a 47-year-old skydiving record. Such a feat could usher in a new breed of adventure dubbed spacediving, Armadillo's John Carmack said. Orbital Outfitters' Rick Tumlinson said the spacediving venture would send "adrenaline junkies" up to an altitude of about 120,000 feet, so they can jump into a freefall like no other. "We're going to be there before anybody else goes up into that domain," Tumlinson said. Expect to hear more in the weeks to come.
Armadillo Wins SBIR Award (Source: Armadillo Aerospace)
Armadillo was awarded an Air Force SBIR phase one contract for the design of a modular space launch system. Two SBIR awards were made for similar work, with the other going to XCOR Aerospace. While phase I awards are really just for studies, Armadillo will be generating a lot of flight and operational data from the module work they were already doing. If a phase II contract is awarded, Armadillo would plan to deliver some actual flight vehicles. Experimental flight permits are being sought for launches from Oklahoma and New Mexico.
Astronauts, VIPs Gather at Cape for Shuttle Simulation Ride Debut (Source: ERAU)
KSC's new Shuttle Launch Experience simulator was a huge hit during its grand opening last week, with dozens of current and former astronauts giving their thumbs-up for the realistic ride. The attraction is expected to boost Florida's space tourism industry by thousands of visitors each year.
May 25 News Items
China Launches Remote Sensing Satellite (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A Long March rocket launched a Chinese remote sensing satellite with potential military applications. The Long March 2D rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Friday and placed the Yaogan 2 satellite into orbit. The satellite wil be used for a variety of remote sensing applications. Other reports identify the spacecraft as a synthetic aperture radar spacecraft, which can observe terrain both day and night and through adverse weather conditions. Also on board the launch was a one-kilogram picosatellite built by Zheijiang University to test microelectronics.
State Provides $7 Million for Space Florida, Other Funds for Aerospace Projects (Source: ERAU)
The $71.5 billion budget signed by Governor Charlie Crist includes $7 million for Space Florida, several million for defense-oriented grant programs, and hundreds of thousands of dollars for projects like a suborbital spaceflight initiatve and a university space education initiative. These aerospace projects survived a record $459 million in vetoed spending within the budget passed by the Florida Legislature. "The Governor today hit a grand slam for the taxpayers of Florida with his budget message and vetoes," TaxWatch President Dominic Calabro said. "This Governor has indeed set the bar to a new high for sound fiscal stewardship."
Pentagon Worries About China Space Test (Source: AP)
China's recent success at destroying a satellite in low-Earth orbit threatens the interests of all space-faring nations and posed dangers to human space flight, the Pentagon said Friday. In its annual report on Chinese military developments, the Pentagon also said the People's Liberation Army is building a greater capacity to launch preemptive strikes. It cited as examples China's acquisition of long-endurance submarines, unmanned combat aircraft and additional precision-guided air-to-ground missiles. "The [anti-satellite] test put at risk the assets of all space-faring nations and posed dangers to human space flight due to the creation of an unprecedented amount of debris," the report said, adding that this is an important expansion of China's pursuit of weaponry and strategies that are designed to deny U.S. forces access to areas in Asia. "We wish that there were greater transparency, that they would talk more about what their intentions are, what their strategies are," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said. "It would be nice to hear firsthand from the Chinese how they view some of these things."
NASA's Lawyer May Face Inquiry (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
A key congressional leader said Thursday that NASA's top lawyer may have committed a crime in destroying a recording of a controversial meeting between agency Administrator Michael Griffin, his embattled inspector general and agency staffers. A hearing Thursday before the House Science Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee painted "an ugly picture" of how NASA leaders reacted to a highly critical outside investigation of NASA Inspector General Robert "Moose" Cobb, said Chairman Brad Miller, D-N.C. The space agency's general counsel, Michael Wholley, admitted under oath Thursday that he took DVD recordings of a controversial April 10 meeting, snapped them in half and tossed them into the trash because he didn't want them making their way to the public.
U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., lashed into Wholley for destroying public records and said he is willing to sign a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales with Miller requesting a criminal investigation. "I think it's very clear the tape was a public record," Sensenbrenner said, brandishing a copy of federal law on preserving public documents. "It's also a crime to destroy public records."
The April meeting was controversial and sparked bad feelings among many of the inspector-general staffers for various reasons, including Griffin's reported comments that the IG's office should lay off technical audits as well as investigations of waste, fraud and abuse that totaled less than $1 billion. Click here to view the article.
Lt. Governor at KSC to Launch 'Experience' (Source: Florida Today)
Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp travels to Kennedy Space Center this morning to help launch a $60 million tourist attraction. Kottkamp appears at the Visitor’s Complex at 10:30 a.m. to inaugurate the “Shuttle Launch Experience.” Opening to the public this weekend, the attraction is housed in the six-story Shuttle Launch Simulation Facility that takes visitors through the steps of a shuttle launch. Groups of 44 patrons are strapped to a platform that jolts them through the 3-g experience of liftoff, the thump of booster separation and the sudden stop of main engine cut off.
Benson Space Improves Design of Its Spaceship (Source: Benson Space)
As a result of a five month-long study by SpaceDev, Benson Space Company (BSC) has chosen to pursue a fresh approach in the design of its Dream Chaser spaceship. Rather than using the orbital NASA HL-20 vehicle as a model, BSC will base its suborbital spaceship on an amalgam of the NASA and Air Force X-2, X-15 and T-38 vehicles. While the new design is safer and more aerodynamic, explains Benson, it will also be easier and faster to construct, allowing BSC to remain on-schedule to make its initial commercial spaceflights in 2009 -- aiming to provide the first, safest and best astronaut-making spaceflights for the emerging space tourism market. "During the past two months a small, highly experienced team has taken a fresh look and concluded that we can do better," says Benson.
No Plans to Join NASA Lunar Program - Russian Space Agency (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia will not participate in joint lunar exploration with NASA, but will assist the U.S. with its shuttle program until 2015, a spokesman for the Russian space agency said. NASA's program envisions the construction of a manned lunar base, which will require broad international cooperation. Russian funds have not been earmarked for Moon exploration projects under Russia's federal space program for 2006-2015 and Russia will conduct its own lunar research in the next decade using unmanned spacecraft. "Until 2015, we are planning to study the Moon only with the use of unmanned space vehicles," an official said. "However, after 2015, when our program is concluded, we might consider other approaches [to cooperation in lunar exploration]."
Space Tourism Gets Down-to-Earth (Source: MSNBC)
The most popular destinations for space tourism won't be in outer space itself, but right here on Earth. Already, an estimated 1.5 million people stream through Kennedy Space Center's visitor complex every year, and that rate is expected to tick upward after the opening of the Shuttle Launch Experience, the center's virtual space ride. In the years to come, a new generation of space-themed attractions could morph into working spaceports - where crowds of tourists can watch real-life space fliers as they train for the trip of a lifetime.
At least that's the vision set forth by Michael Lyon, managing director of Spaceport. Lyon gave a progress report on the plans for space centers in Singapore as well as the United Arab Emirates during the Space Venture Finance Symposium, a warmup for this week's International Space Development Conference in Dallas. Spaceport has partnered with Space Adventures and other backers to develop actual launch facilities in Ras al-Khaimah, one of the emirates, and in the island nation of Singapore. Eventually, the spaceports would serve as the home bases for suborbital spaceships yet to be built - but even before the first liftoff, they could offer Earth-based activities that give visitors a feel for the final frontier.
This new breed of integrated space center would have spaceship simulators, interactive exhibits and displays of rocket replicas, just like today's space museums. But you could also take a ride on a zero-gravity airplane flight. If that isn't hard-core enough, you could go through a realistic space camp, complete with underwater training and circuits on a high-G centrifuge. And if that's too hard-core, you could simply take the tour, stopping off to look through the window while someone else goes around on the centrifuge.
E-mails Offer Inside Look at NASA Strategy (Source: Florida Today)
E-mails by NASA General Counsel Michael Wholley released by the House science committee Thursday offer an inside look into the agency's strategy regarding the controversy involving Inspector General Robert Cobb and the destruction of video recordings of a meeting about him. The committee released his e-mails even though they are stamped with a statement saying they are "solely for Congressional use and not for further release." In one e-mail to an administration official, Wholley accuses staff members with the House science committee and Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, D- Orlando, chairman of the Senate space subcommittee, of leaking documents. After his destruction of the DVDs was discovered, Wholley wrote a frustrated and apologetic e-mail to another NASA official on April 28 referring to "my bad . . . pure heart, empty head!"
Jacksonville Travel Agent Offering Experience That’s Out of This World (Source: JaxDailyRecord.com)
If you attended the Jacksonville Film Festival and saw the documentary “In the Shadow of the Moon” about America’s Apollo astronauts, you might have left the theater wishing you could screw on a helmet, strap yourself in and blast off in a spaceship. The fact is that’s not entirely out of the question. The screening was sponsored by Suzanne Perritt, a travel agent with Valerie Wilson Travel in Ponte Vedra Beach. She is one of only 47 “accredited space agents” in North America authorized to book passage on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo. “With Virgin Galactic, I’ve extended my territory to outer space. These trips are literally out of this world.”
Virgin Galactic expects its flights will one day take off from a commercial spaceport that is to be built in New Mexico. The site was chosen for its sparse population and generally favorable weather, but it won’t be ready for takeoffs and landings until at least 2010. If the New Mexico project were to fizzle out for any reason, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority knows a good place where Virgin Galactic could land – Cecil Field. JAA has applied for a license and recently cleared the first hurdle with the FAA.
Microgravity Enterprises, Inc. Launches Commercial Payload from New Mexico Spaceport (Source: MEI)
Microgravity Enterprises, Inc. (MEI) recovered ingredients that were successfully launched into space onboard UP Aerospace’s SpaceLoft-2 (SL-2) rocket on April 28th. These ingredients will be used to make the world’s first consumer food products fortified by elements that have been flown in space. MEI’s initial product offering will include an energy drink called Antimatter, a purified water with important electrolytes called Space2O, and the world’s first true space beer called Comet’s Tail AleTM. “We flew enough ingredients to support almost a year’s worth of production,” said Darryl Hupfer, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, MEI. “This is just the beginning. In the next two years, we plan to introduce a broad family of commercial products that are made from ingredients flown in space.”
Another key ingredient of MEI’s business model is the company’s ACCESS for Education program. MEI is donating payload space on every MEI launch for the purpose of conducting research and executing experiments aimed at advancing space commercialization. Payload space will be allocated for a full spectrum of activities, from K-12 inspirational experiments, to next generation commercial space demonstration payloads developed by U.S. universities. Visit http://www.microgravityenterprises.com/ for information.
Astrobiology On Better Footing At NASA Under Stern (Source: Aviation Week)
Astrobiology, which has seemed like the poor stepchild at NASA with Michael Griffin as administrator, has regained some ground under Alan Stern, the planetary scientist Griffin hired as the agency's new associate administrator for science. Stern found funds for four new NASA Astrobiology Institute teams - at the University of Wisconsin, CalTech, Montana State and MIT - to pursue such diverse topics as microbial research that could help build instruments to search for the signatures of life on Mars; the role of iron-sulfide compounds in pre-biotic chemistry, and what it took for multi-cellular life to emerge on Earth. From initial 18-month grants of $350,000, the teams stand to get as much as $7 million each over five years. That is good news for the discipline, which studies how life may have evolved and spread through the universe.
Boeing Stockholders Smiling at All-Time High (Source: AIA)
Boeing stock values rose on news of a $4 billion commercial jet order and an analyst's rave analysis. The company's stock traded at an all-time high of $98.84 the day after its stockholders' meeting. Boeing stock jumped nearly $3 following an announcement that Air France-KLM Group will place an order for 18 of the company's 777 jets. Boeing's stock closed at $97.42, up 1.94% for the day.
SpaceDev Expands Production Capability in North Carolina (Source: SpaceDev)
SpaceDev has signed a five year lease on a new 13,500 square foot design and manufacturing facility located near the Research Triangle Park in Durham, North Carolina. The facility will be the new home for SpaceDev's Electro-Mechanical Components (EMC) group. "The new facility will incorporate features specifically designed to support SpaceDev spacecraft subsystem product offerings," said Mark Sirangelo, SpaceDev's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Our new facility lease demonstrates our commitment to our North Carolina operations. Our EMC business continues to grow and this new facility dramatically increases our capability in this important product area."
Chairman of Senate Antitrust Panel Pushes to Block XM-Sirius Merger (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis), the chairman of a key Congressional antitrust panel, urged the Department of Justice and FCC to reject the proposed merger between Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio. The lawmaker is the chairman of the Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee, which sits within the Senate Judiciary Committee. He is the first chairman of the four Congressional panels which held hearings into the proposed tie-up shortly after it was announced to publicly denounce it.
Pentagon Reaffirms U.S. Right to Deny Adversaries' Use of Space (Source: RIA Novosti)
The United States has the inherent right of self-defense to protect its national interests in space and can deny its adversaries the use of hostile space capabilities, a senior Pentagon official said. "The United States views purposeful interference with its space systems as an infringement on its rights and will take actions necessary to preserve its rights, capabilities, and freedom of action in space including denying, if necessary, adversaries the use of space capabilities hostile to U.S. national interests," Major General James Armor, director of the National Security Space Office said at a congressional hearing. Proposed government spending on space defense programs was hit by severe cuts when the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $2.9 trillion fiscal 2008 budget May 17, but reduced the proposed $8.9 billion on missile defenses by $764 million.
ICO Signs Launch Services and Dual Launch Study Agreement with ILS (Source: ILS)
ICO Global Communications has signed a Launch Services and Dual Launch Study Agreement with ILS International Launch Services (ILS). The contract represents a Proton launch services agreement for up to five launches between 2009-2011. In addition, ILS will design and propose a dual launch capability for ICO's Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites.
Monster Asteroid to Hit the Earth in 2036 Spawns Earth Rescue Ideas (Source: SatNews)
In February 2006, the Russians reminded everyone that an asteroid should shave by the Earth in April 2029, a scant 29 years away. At its worst, the asteroid—identified as Apophis-99942—should smash into the Earth by 2036. At the least, it should wipe out practically all civilian and military satellites in geostationary orbit, which is about 42,000km above the planet. Russia’s Pulkovo Space Observatory estimates that on April 13, 2029, Apophis-99942 (the inverted three 6s are not lost on the superstitious) will be at its closest distance to the Earth for 200 years. Apophis will pass the Earth at a distance of 30,000 to 40,000 km. Whatever happens, the Earth will suffer from the effects of the close encounter with this asteroid. This chilling doomsday scenario wrought by the “killer asteroid” Apophis-99942 has prompted the California-based non-governmental group, The Planetary Society, to launch the “Apophis Mission Design Competition”.
Space Tourism Still Distant (Daily Bruin)
During travel season, a trip to Disney World may sound exciting, but to some space enthusiasts, taking a space flight in orbit around the earth may sound astronomically more intriguing. But [despite recent reports on the emerging space tourism industry] a trip to the moon is much less attainable than the common individual may think. Space travel and tourism is often misunderstood, as many underestimate the monetary and energy costs of the endeavor. While some space stations have made limited travel somewhat available, the ability to stay in orbit is still a distant reality for a non-astronaut.
“(Currently), you can take a person high enough to a place where the space is black and earth looks curved,” said Michael Rich, a UCLA research astronomer. But the type of trip Rich refers to is a suborbital trip in which those traveling will go just beyond the atmosphere and into space, but will not continue to orbit the earth. “Basically, you go up into space, but you come back down like a rock or baseball – you don’t orbit around the earth,” Rich said.
A Long March rocket launched a Chinese remote sensing satellite with potential military applications. The Long March 2D rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Friday and placed the Yaogan 2 satellite into orbit. The satellite wil be used for a variety of remote sensing applications. Other reports identify the spacecraft as a synthetic aperture radar spacecraft, which can observe terrain both day and night and through adverse weather conditions. Also on board the launch was a one-kilogram picosatellite built by Zheijiang University to test microelectronics.
State Provides $7 Million for Space Florida, Other Funds for Aerospace Projects (Source: ERAU)
The $71.5 billion budget signed by Governor Charlie Crist includes $7 million for Space Florida, several million for defense-oriented grant programs, and hundreds of thousands of dollars for projects like a suborbital spaceflight initiatve and a university space education initiative. These aerospace projects survived a record $459 million in vetoed spending within the budget passed by the Florida Legislature. "The Governor today hit a grand slam for the taxpayers of Florida with his budget message and vetoes," TaxWatch President Dominic Calabro said. "This Governor has indeed set the bar to a new high for sound fiscal stewardship."
Pentagon Worries About China Space Test (Source: AP)
China's recent success at destroying a satellite in low-Earth orbit threatens the interests of all space-faring nations and posed dangers to human space flight, the Pentagon said Friday. In its annual report on Chinese military developments, the Pentagon also said the People's Liberation Army is building a greater capacity to launch preemptive strikes. It cited as examples China's acquisition of long-endurance submarines, unmanned combat aircraft and additional precision-guided air-to-ground missiles. "The [anti-satellite] test put at risk the assets of all space-faring nations and posed dangers to human space flight due to the creation of an unprecedented amount of debris," the report said, adding that this is an important expansion of China's pursuit of weaponry and strategies that are designed to deny U.S. forces access to areas in Asia. "We wish that there were greater transparency, that they would talk more about what their intentions are, what their strategies are," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said. "It would be nice to hear firsthand from the Chinese how they view some of these things."
NASA's Lawyer May Face Inquiry (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
A key congressional leader said Thursday that NASA's top lawyer may have committed a crime in destroying a recording of a controversial meeting between agency Administrator Michael Griffin, his embattled inspector general and agency staffers. A hearing Thursday before the House Science Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee painted "an ugly picture" of how NASA leaders reacted to a highly critical outside investigation of NASA Inspector General Robert "Moose" Cobb, said Chairman Brad Miller, D-N.C. The space agency's general counsel, Michael Wholley, admitted under oath Thursday that he took DVD recordings of a controversial April 10 meeting, snapped them in half and tossed them into the trash because he didn't want them making their way to the public.
U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., lashed into Wholley for destroying public records and said he is willing to sign a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales with Miller requesting a criminal investigation. "I think it's very clear the tape was a public record," Sensenbrenner said, brandishing a copy of federal law on preserving public documents. "It's also a crime to destroy public records."
The April meeting was controversial and sparked bad feelings among many of the inspector-general staffers for various reasons, including Griffin's reported comments that the IG's office should lay off technical audits as well as investigations of waste, fraud and abuse that totaled less than $1 billion. Click here to view the article.
Lt. Governor at KSC to Launch 'Experience' (Source: Florida Today)
Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp travels to Kennedy Space Center this morning to help launch a $60 million tourist attraction. Kottkamp appears at the Visitor’s Complex at 10:30 a.m. to inaugurate the “Shuttle Launch Experience.” Opening to the public this weekend, the attraction is housed in the six-story Shuttle Launch Simulation Facility that takes visitors through the steps of a shuttle launch. Groups of 44 patrons are strapped to a platform that jolts them through the 3-g experience of liftoff, the thump of booster separation and the sudden stop of main engine cut off.
Benson Space Improves Design of Its Spaceship (Source: Benson Space)
As a result of a five month-long study by SpaceDev, Benson Space Company (BSC) has chosen to pursue a fresh approach in the design of its Dream Chaser spaceship. Rather than using the orbital NASA HL-20 vehicle as a model, BSC will base its suborbital spaceship on an amalgam of the NASA and Air Force X-2, X-15 and T-38 vehicles. While the new design is safer and more aerodynamic, explains Benson, it will also be easier and faster to construct, allowing BSC to remain on-schedule to make its initial commercial spaceflights in 2009 -- aiming to provide the first, safest and best astronaut-making spaceflights for the emerging space tourism market. "During the past two months a small, highly experienced team has taken a fresh look and concluded that we can do better," says Benson.
No Plans to Join NASA Lunar Program - Russian Space Agency (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia will not participate in joint lunar exploration with NASA, but will assist the U.S. with its shuttle program until 2015, a spokesman for the Russian space agency said. NASA's program envisions the construction of a manned lunar base, which will require broad international cooperation. Russian funds have not been earmarked for Moon exploration projects under Russia's federal space program for 2006-2015 and Russia will conduct its own lunar research in the next decade using unmanned spacecraft. "Until 2015, we are planning to study the Moon only with the use of unmanned space vehicles," an official said. "However, after 2015, when our program is concluded, we might consider other approaches [to cooperation in lunar exploration]."
Space Tourism Gets Down-to-Earth (Source: MSNBC)
The most popular destinations for space tourism won't be in outer space itself, but right here on Earth. Already, an estimated 1.5 million people stream through Kennedy Space Center's visitor complex every year, and that rate is expected to tick upward after the opening of the Shuttle Launch Experience, the center's virtual space ride. In the years to come, a new generation of space-themed attractions could morph into working spaceports - where crowds of tourists can watch real-life space fliers as they train for the trip of a lifetime.
At least that's the vision set forth by Michael Lyon, managing director of Spaceport. Lyon gave a progress report on the plans for space centers in Singapore as well as the United Arab Emirates during the Space Venture Finance Symposium, a warmup for this week's International Space Development Conference in Dallas. Spaceport has partnered with Space Adventures and other backers to develop actual launch facilities in Ras al-Khaimah, one of the emirates, and in the island nation of Singapore. Eventually, the spaceports would serve as the home bases for suborbital spaceships yet to be built - but even before the first liftoff, they could offer Earth-based activities that give visitors a feel for the final frontier.
This new breed of integrated space center would have spaceship simulators, interactive exhibits and displays of rocket replicas, just like today's space museums. But you could also take a ride on a zero-gravity airplane flight. If that isn't hard-core enough, you could go through a realistic space camp, complete with underwater training and circuits on a high-G centrifuge. And if that's too hard-core, you could simply take the tour, stopping off to look through the window while someone else goes around on the centrifuge.
E-mails Offer Inside Look at NASA Strategy (Source: Florida Today)
E-mails by NASA General Counsel Michael Wholley released by the House science committee Thursday offer an inside look into the agency's strategy regarding the controversy involving Inspector General Robert Cobb and the destruction of video recordings of a meeting about him. The committee released his e-mails even though they are stamped with a statement saying they are "solely for Congressional use and not for further release." In one e-mail to an administration official, Wholley accuses staff members with the House science committee and Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, D- Orlando, chairman of the Senate space subcommittee, of leaking documents. After his destruction of the DVDs was discovered, Wholley wrote a frustrated and apologetic e-mail to another NASA official on April 28 referring to "my bad . . . pure heart, empty head!"
Jacksonville Travel Agent Offering Experience That’s Out of This World (Source: JaxDailyRecord.com)
If you attended the Jacksonville Film Festival and saw the documentary “In the Shadow of the Moon” about America’s Apollo astronauts, you might have left the theater wishing you could screw on a helmet, strap yourself in and blast off in a spaceship. The fact is that’s not entirely out of the question. The screening was sponsored by Suzanne Perritt, a travel agent with Valerie Wilson Travel in Ponte Vedra Beach. She is one of only 47 “accredited space agents” in North America authorized to book passage on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo. “With Virgin Galactic, I’ve extended my territory to outer space. These trips are literally out of this world.”
Virgin Galactic expects its flights will one day take off from a commercial spaceport that is to be built in New Mexico. The site was chosen for its sparse population and generally favorable weather, but it won’t be ready for takeoffs and landings until at least 2010. If the New Mexico project were to fizzle out for any reason, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority knows a good place where Virgin Galactic could land – Cecil Field. JAA has applied for a license and recently cleared the first hurdle with the FAA.
Microgravity Enterprises, Inc. Launches Commercial Payload from New Mexico Spaceport (Source: MEI)
Microgravity Enterprises, Inc. (MEI) recovered ingredients that were successfully launched into space onboard UP Aerospace’s SpaceLoft-2 (SL-2) rocket on April 28th. These ingredients will be used to make the world’s first consumer food products fortified by elements that have been flown in space. MEI’s initial product offering will include an energy drink called Antimatter, a purified water with important electrolytes called Space2O, and the world’s first true space beer called Comet’s Tail AleTM. “We flew enough ingredients to support almost a year’s worth of production,” said Darryl Hupfer, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, MEI. “This is just the beginning. In the next two years, we plan to introduce a broad family of commercial products that are made from ingredients flown in space.”
Another key ingredient of MEI’s business model is the company’s ACCESS for Education program. MEI is donating payload space on every MEI launch for the purpose of conducting research and executing experiments aimed at advancing space commercialization. Payload space will be allocated for a full spectrum of activities, from K-12 inspirational experiments, to next generation commercial space demonstration payloads developed by U.S. universities. Visit http://www.microgravityenterprises.com/ for information.
Astrobiology On Better Footing At NASA Under Stern (Source: Aviation Week)
Astrobiology, which has seemed like the poor stepchild at NASA with Michael Griffin as administrator, has regained some ground under Alan Stern, the planetary scientist Griffin hired as the agency's new associate administrator for science. Stern found funds for four new NASA Astrobiology Institute teams - at the University of Wisconsin, CalTech, Montana State and MIT - to pursue such diverse topics as microbial research that could help build instruments to search for the signatures of life on Mars; the role of iron-sulfide compounds in pre-biotic chemistry, and what it took for multi-cellular life to emerge on Earth. From initial 18-month grants of $350,000, the teams stand to get as much as $7 million each over five years. That is good news for the discipline, which studies how life may have evolved and spread through the universe.
Boeing Stockholders Smiling at All-Time High (Source: AIA)
Boeing stock values rose on news of a $4 billion commercial jet order and an analyst's rave analysis. The company's stock traded at an all-time high of $98.84 the day after its stockholders' meeting. Boeing stock jumped nearly $3 following an announcement that Air France-KLM Group will place an order for 18 of the company's 777 jets. Boeing's stock closed at $97.42, up 1.94% for the day.
SpaceDev Expands Production Capability in North Carolina (Source: SpaceDev)
SpaceDev has signed a five year lease on a new 13,500 square foot design and manufacturing facility located near the Research Triangle Park in Durham, North Carolina. The facility will be the new home for SpaceDev's Electro-Mechanical Components (EMC) group. "The new facility will incorporate features specifically designed to support SpaceDev spacecraft subsystem product offerings," said Mark Sirangelo, SpaceDev's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Our new facility lease demonstrates our commitment to our North Carolina operations. Our EMC business continues to grow and this new facility dramatically increases our capability in this important product area."
Chairman of Senate Antitrust Panel Pushes to Block XM-Sirius Merger (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis), the chairman of a key Congressional antitrust panel, urged the Department of Justice and FCC to reject the proposed merger between Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio. The lawmaker is the chairman of the Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee, which sits within the Senate Judiciary Committee. He is the first chairman of the four Congressional panels which held hearings into the proposed tie-up shortly after it was announced to publicly denounce it.
Pentagon Reaffirms U.S. Right to Deny Adversaries' Use of Space (Source: RIA Novosti)
The United States has the inherent right of self-defense to protect its national interests in space and can deny its adversaries the use of hostile space capabilities, a senior Pentagon official said. "The United States views purposeful interference with its space systems as an infringement on its rights and will take actions necessary to preserve its rights, capabilities, and freedom of action in space including denying, if necessary, adversaries the use of space capabilities hostile to U.S. national interests," Major General James Armor, director of the National Security Space Office said at a congressional hearing. Proposed government spending on space defense programs was hit by severe cuts when the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $2.9 trillion fiscal 2008 budget May 17, but reduced the proposed $8.9 billion on missile defenses by $764 million.
ICO Signs Launch Services and Dual Launch Study Agreement with ILS (Source: ILS)
ICO Global Communications has signed a Launch Services and Dual Launch Study Agreement with ILS International Launch Services (ILS). The contract represents a Proton launch services agreement for up to five launches between 2009-2011. In addition, ILS will design and propose a dual launch capability for ICO's Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites.
Monster Asteroid to Hit the Earth in 2036 Spawns Earth Rescue Ideas (Source: SatNews)
In February 2006, the Russians reminded everyone that an asteroid should shave by the Earth in April 2029, a scant 29 years away. At its worst, the asteroid—identified as Apophis-99942—should smash into the Earth by 2036. At the least, it should wipe out practically all civilian and military satellites in geostationary orbit, which is about 42,000km above the planet. Russia’s Pulkovo Space Observatory estimates that on April 13, 2029, Apophis-99942 (the inverted three 6s are not lost on the superstitious) will be at its closest distance to the Earth for 200 years. Apophis will pass the Earth at a distance of 30,000 to 40,000 km. Whatever happens, the Earth will suffer from the effects of the close encounter with this asteroid. This chilling doomsday scenario wrought by the “killer asteroid” Apophis-99942 has prompted the California-based non-governmental group, The Planetary Society, to launch the “Apophis Mission Design Competition”.
Space Tourism Still Distant (Daily Bruin)
During travel season, a trip to Disney World may sound exciting, but to some space enthusiasts, taking a space flight in orbit around the earth may sound astronomically more intriguing. But [despite recent reports on the emerging space tourism industry] a trip to the moon is much less attainable than the common individual may think. Space travel and tourism is often misunderstood, as many underestimate the monetary and energy costs of the endeavor. While some space stations have made limited travel somewhat available, the ability to stay in orbit is still a distant reality for a non-astronaut.
“(Currently), you can take a person high enough to a place where the space is black and earth looks curved,” said Michael Rich, a UCLA research astronomer. But the type of trip Rich refers to is a suborbital trip in which those traveling will go just beyond the atmosphere and into space, but will not continue to orbit the earth. “Basically, you go up into space, but you come back down like a rock or baseball – you don’t orbit around the earth,” Rich said.
May 24 News Items
Coast Guard Establishes Launch Safety Zone for Alaska Spaceport (Source: US Coast Guard)
The Coast Guard has established a Safety Zone in the vicinity of Narrow Cape and Ugak Island due to upcoming operations at the Kodiak Launch Complex. The Safety Zone is in effect from May 24 through May 27, 2007, between 2 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. each day, or until cancelled. Unauthorized entry into or through this zone is strictly prohibited and may result in civil and/or criminal penalties, including fines of up to $32,500. There will also be a hazardous rocket impact areas established at points where the rocket stages are predicted to enter the ocean.
Blocked by U.S., China Finds it Own Way to Space (Source: International Herald Tribune)
For years, China has chafed at efforts by the United States to exclude it from full membership in the world's elite space club. So, lately, China seems to have hit on a solution: create a new club. Beijing is trying to position itself as a space benefactor to the developing world - the same countries, in some cases, whose natural resources China covets here on Earth. The latest, and most prominent, example came last week when China launched a communications satellite for Nigeria in a project that serves as a tidy case study of how space has become another arena where China is trying to exert its soft power.
Not only did China design, build and launch the satellite for oil-rich Nigeria - it also provided a huge loan to help pay the bill. China has also signed a satellite contract with another major oil supplier, Venezuela. It is developing an earth observation satellite system with Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru and Thailand. And it has organized a satellite association in Asia. For China, the strategy is a blend of self-interest, broader diplomacy and, from a business standpoint, an effective way to break into the satellite market. Satellites have become status symbols and technological necessities for many countries that want an ownership stake in the digital world dominated by the West, analysts say. Visit http://www.iht.com/bin/print.php?id=5843980 to view the article.
The Coast Guard has established a Safety Zone in the vicinity of Narrow Cape and Ugak Island due to upcoming operations at the Kodiak Launch Complex. The Safety Zone is in effect from May 24 through May 27, 2007, between 2 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. each day, or until cancelled. Unauthorized entry into or through this zone is strictly prohibited and may result in civil and/or criminal penalties, including fines of up to $32,500. There will also be a hazardous rocket impact areas established at points where the rocket stages are predicted to enter the ocean.
Blocked by U.S., China Finds it Own Way to Space (Source: International Herald Tribune)
For years, China has chafed at efforts by the United States to exclude it from full membership in the world's elite space club. So, lately, China seems to have hit on a solution: create a new club. Beijing is trying to position itself as a space benefactor to the developing world - the same countries, in some cases, whose natural resources China covets here on Earth. The latest, and most prominent, example came last week when China launched a communications satellite for Nigeria in a project that serves as a tidy case study of how space has become another arena where China is trying to exert its soft power.
Not only did China design, build and launch the satellite for oil-rich Nigeria - it also provided a huge loan to help pay the bill. China has also signed a satellite contract with another major oil supplier, Venezuela. It is developing an earth observation satellite system with Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru and Thailand. And it has organized a satellite association in Asia. For China, the strategy is a blend of self-interest, broader diplomacy and, from a business standpoint, an effective way to break into the satellite market. Satellites have become status symbols and technological necessities for many countries that want an ownership stake in the digital world dominated by the West, analysts say. Visit http://www.iht.com/bin/print.php?id=5843980 to view the article.
May 23 News Items
DOD Stands Up Joint Space Office in New Mexico (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
The Department of Defense stood up the joint service Operationally Responsive Space Office in a ceremony May 21 at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. The ORS Office will be responsible for integrating joint ORS capabilities and for applying ORS resources to the development, acquisition and demonstration of capabilities to meet specific responsive space needs as established by global combatant command joint force commanders and users.
Airborne Systems Selected for SpaceX Parachutes (Source: PR Newswire)
Airborne Systems, which has combined the world's leading parachute brands specializing in aerial delivery, rescue and survival equipment, and engineering services announced that its Space and Recovery Systems Engineering team (formerly Irvin Aerospace) has been selected to provide Recovery Systems for Space Exploration Technologies Corp.'s (SpaceX) Falcon 9/Dragon system. These systems will support government and commercial launch operations and the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.
The Airborne Systems team will design and manufacture parachutes and related equipment to recover both the First and Second Stages of the Falcon 9 Rocket and the Dragon Capsule. The capsule will become a transportation vehicle to deliver cargo to and return equipment from the International Space Station. In addition to carrying cargo, it is also being designed to transport crew members to the ISS in the future.
NASA KSC Develops 'Smart' Weather Balloons for Launch Sites (Source: New Scientist)
NASA is developing small, cheap "smart balloons" to monitor weather conditions around rocket pads on launch days. NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has fast-tracked a team from the technology company ENSCO, based in Melbourne, Florida, US, to build the balloons using technology developed for smart dust – tiny devices capable of sensing their environment and transmitting the data home. The solar-powered balloons carry temperature, pressure, humidity and GPS sensors. They are also equipped with transmitters that can work together as a mesh network or, if the balloons drift too far apart, send data back via satellite links. The balloons, which are filled with helium, weigh only 130 grams and are the size of a beach ball. They have been tested on the Florida coast over the last few months.
The Planet NASA Needs to Explore (Source: Washington Post)
Decades ago, a shift in NASA priorities sidelined progress in human space exploration. As momentum gathers to reinvigorate human space missions to the moon and Mars, we risk hurting ourselves, and Earth, in the long run. Our planet -- not the moon or Mars -- is under significant threat from the consequences of rapid climate change. Yet the changing NASA priorities will threaten exploration here at home. NASA not only launches shuttles and builds space stations, it also builds and operates our nation's satellites that observe and monitor the Earth. These satellites collect crucial global data on winds, ice and oceans. They help us forecast hurricanes, track the loss of Arctic sea ice and the rise of sea levels, and understand and prepare for climate changes.
NASA's budget for science missions has declined 30 percent in the past six years, and that trend is expected to continue. As more dollars are reallocated to prepare for missions back to the moon and Mars, sophisticated new satellites to observe the Earth will be delayed, harming Earth sciences. Click here to view the article.
The Department of Defense stood up the joint service Operationally Responsive Space Office in a ceremony May 21 at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. The ORS Office will be responsible for integrating joint ORS capabilities and for applying ORS resources to the development, acquisition and demonstration of capabilities to meet specific responsive space needs as established by global combatant command joint force commanders and users.
Airborne Systems Selected for SpaceX Parachutes (Source: PR Newswire)
Airborne Systems, which has combined the world's leading parachute brands specializing in aerial delivery, rescue and survival equipment, and engineering services announced that its Space and Recovery Systems Engineering team (formerly Irvin Aerospace) has been selected to provide Recovery Systems for Space Exploration Technologies Corp.'s (SpaceX) Falcon 9/Dragon system. These systems will support government and commercial launch operations and the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.
The Airborne Systems team will design and manufacture parachutes and related equipment to recover both the First and Second Stages of the Falcon 9 Rocket and the Dragon Capsule. The capsule will become a transportation vehicle to deliver cargo to and return equipment from the International Space Station. In addition to carrying cargo, it is also being designed to transport crew members to the ISS in the future.
NASA KSC Develops 'Smart' Weather Balloons for Launch Sites (Source: New Scientist)
NASA is developing small, cheap "smart balloons" to monitor weather conditions around rocket pads on launch days. NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has fast-tracked a team from the technology company ENSCO, based in Melbourne, Florida, US, to build the balloons using technology developed for smart dust – tiny devices capable of sensing their environment and transmitting the data home. The solar-powered balloons carry temperature, pressure, humidity and GPS sensors. They are also equipped with transmitters that can work together as a mesh network or, if the balloons drift too far apart, send data back via satellite links. The balloons, which are filled with helium, weigh only 130 grams and are the size of a beach ball. They have been tested on the Florida coast over the last few months.
The Planet NASA Needs to Explore (Source: Washington Post)
Decades ago, a shift in NASA priorities sidelined progress in human space exploration. As momentum gathers to reinvigorate human space missions to the moon and Mars, we risk hurting ourselves, and Earth, in the long run. Our planet -- not the moon or Mars -- is under significant threat from the consequences of rapid climate change. Yet the changing NASA priorities will threaten exploration here at home. NASA not only launches shuttles and builds space stations, it also builds and operates our nation's satellites that observe and monitor the Earth. These satellites collect crucial global data on winds, ice and oceans. They help us forecast hurricanes, track the loss of Arctic sea ice and the rise of sea levels, and understand and prepare for climate changes.
NASA's budget for science missions has declined 30 percent in the past six years, and that trend is expected to continue. As more dollars are reallocated to prepare for missions back to the moon and Mars, sophisticated new satellites to observe the Earth will be delayed, harming Earth sciences. Click here to view the article.
May 22 News Items
How NASA Screwed Up (And Four Ways to Fix It) (Source: WIRED)
Here is a set of rational priorities for NASA, in descending order of importance: (1) Conduct research, particularly environmental research, on Earth, the sun, and Venus, the most Earth-like planet. (2) Locate asteroids and comets that might strike Earth, and devise a practical means of deflecting them. (3) Increase humanity's store of knowledge by studying the distant universe. (4) Figure out a way to replace today's chemical rockets with a much cheaper way to reach Earth orbit. Here are NASA's apparent current priorities: (1) Maintain a pointless space station. (2) Build a pointless Motel 6 on the moon. (3) Increase humanity's store of knowledge by studying the distant universe. (4) Keep money flowing to favored aerospace contractors and congressional districts.
Only one priority of four correct! Worse, NASA's to-do list neglects the two things that are actually of tangible value to the taxpayers who foot its bills — research relevant to environmental policymaking and asteroid-strike protection. NASA has recently been canceling or postponing "Earth observation" missions intended to generate environmental information about our world. For instance, a year and a half ago the agency decided not to fund Hydros, a satellite that would have provided the first global data on soil moisture trends. NASA focuses its planetary research on frigid Mars rather than Venus, which suffers a runaway greenhouse effect. The agency is conducting only a few sun-study missions — even though all life depends on the sun, and knowing more about it might clarify the global-warming debate. Visit http://www.wired.com/science/space/magazine/15-06/ff_space_nasato view the article.
House Advances Major U.S. Competitiveness, Science/Math Education Package (Source: U.S. House of Reps)
The U.S. House of Representatives followed through on a commitment to ensure U.S. students, teachers, businesses and workers are prepared to continue leading the world in innovation, research and technology - well into the future. Six competitiveness-enhancing bills have been passed as part of the House Democrats' "Innovation Agenda." The bills were authored and steered by the House Committee on Science and Technology.
The House legislative package authorizes a total of $23.6 billion in 2008 - 2010, including $21 billion for research and education programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF), $2.5 billion for the research labs, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and other activities at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST), and $96 million for early career awards and teacher professional development programs at the Department of Energy (DOE). An additional $70 million is authorized for these programs at DOE for fiscal years 2011-2012. Click here for more information.
Europe Gets a Space Policy - Defense or Exploration? (Source: The Register)
The European Union has officially got a space policy, an essential item for any aspiring superpower. The document talks a lot about the importance of space as an inspirational tool to get youngsters into science and engineering, and it mentions the need for pan-European coordination of space efforts to maximize research gains. The policy makes several references to the importance of emerging satellite communications and navigation technologies, (independent of the US GPS system). As for access to space, the Council of Ministers says it is vitally important that Europe "maintain an independent, reliable and cost-effective access to space".
In terms of space technology, the council stresses the importance of "a targeted approach for the development of strategic components, for which the dependency of European Industry on international suppliers should be avoided". Of course, it is about exploration too. It also emphasises the importance of "proactive" ESA involvement in the international space station, and gives ESA a pat on the back for the work it has done over the last 30 years. Click here to view a copy of the policy.
Jacksonville Spaceport Closer to Lifting Off (Source: Jacksonville.com)
Cecil Field is a step closer to having space craft launch from its runway following the FAA's review of an environmental assessment examining its suitability as a spaceport. With the FAA's comments in hand, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority can move ahead with the licensing process. That will require the FAA to review a number of details about the site, including making sure the site wouldn't violate any federal policies and evaluating safety issues. No major issues came up during the review, although there were a number of items that must be addressed or answered. The review considered a number of environmental issues, including the affects of noise. Noise is a major issue for the area around the former military base. Among the next steps that must be taken before the site could be licensed will be public workshops, which could occur over the summer.
The authority began considering turning Cecil into a spaceport last year, when the airfield's name surfaced in a Florida Space Authority report that said Cecil Field is "the best airport for aircraft-like launch vehicles." At that time, it looked like the Space Authority would select some site to serve as the state's first commercial spaceport, a facility that would handle horizontal flights for tourists and other commercial purposes. While Cape Canaveral has long been the home of U.S. launch operations, the space center there comes with a raft of restrictions on private operations, limiting its appeal to businesses. Other states have been quick to jump on that opening, with New Mexico and other states moving to set up their own launch facilities. Meanwhile, Florida's efforts appeared to have stalled, with changes in the structure of the state's space agency - which is reorientating itself after being combined with other agencies last year - taking precedent. This led the Aviation Authority to strike out on its own rather than waiting for the state to lead them into space.
Oklahoma Fosters Future Space Commerce (Source: Edmond Sun)
Within the next several centuries, when colonization of other planets begins, there may be a monument situated at the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority’s facility in Burns Flat in Washita County to commemorate those who left earth to begin new lives on other planets. That authority was created by the Oklahoma Legislature for the purpose of creating a spaceport in Oklahoma and to encourage both space commerce and education about space in the state. In accordance with those goals, the authority acquired title to what had been the Clinton Industrial Park in Burns Flat. That site initially was created by in 1942 as the 5,000-acre Clinton Naval Air Station where the Navy trained its pilots.
Late last year, the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority was awarded by the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation a Launch Site Operator License that will allow it to begin private travel into space. Oklahoma-based Rocketplane Kistler was selected by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and the Oklahoma Tax Commission as the firm most qualified to receive state-issued investment tax credits allowed for construction of a vehicle capable of space travel, and is now in the process of constructing a suborbital transporter for that purpose. Rocketplane Kistler currently is leasing several hangars at Burns Flat to prepare the vehicle, and has entered into an agreement with the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute for space flight training, and has signed contracts with several out-of-state aerospace companies who wish to utilize the Burns Flat site.
Here is a set of rational priorities for NASA, in descending order of importance: (1) Conduct research, particularly environmental research, on Earth, the sun, and Venus, the most Earth-like planet. (2) Locate asteroids and comets that might strike Earth, and devise a practical means of deflecting them. (3) Increase humanity's store of knowledge by studying the distant universe. (4) Figure out a way to replace today's chemical rockets with a much cheaper way to reach Earth orbit. Here are NASA's apparent current priorities: (1) Maintain a pointless space station. (2) Build a pointless Motel 6 on the moon. (3) Increase humanity's store of knowledge by studying the distant universe. (4) Keep money flowing to favored aerospace contractors and congressional districts.
Only one priority of four correct! Worse, NASA's to-do list neglects the two things that are actually of tangible value to the taxpayers who foot its bills — research relevant to environmental policymaking and asteroid-strike protection. NASA has recently been canceling or postponing "Earth observation" missions intended to generate environmental information about our world. For instance, a year and a half ago the agency decided not to fund Hydros, a satellite that would have provided the first global data on soil moisture trends. NASA focuses its planetary research on frigid Mars rather than Venus, which suffers a runaway greenhouse effect. The agency is conducting only a few sun-study missions — even though all life depends on the sun, and knowing more about it might clarify the global-warming debate. Visit http://www.wired.com/science/space/magazine/15-06/ff_space_nasato view the article.
House Advances Major U.S. Competitiveness, Science/Math Education Package (Source: U.S. House of Reps)
The U.S. House of Representatives followed through on a commitment to ensure U.S. students, teachers, businesses and workers are prepared to continue leading the world in innovation, research and technology - well into the future. Six competitiveness-enhancing bills have been passed as part of the House Democrats' "Innovation Agenda." The bills were authored and steered by the House Committee on Science and Technology.
The House legislative package authorizes a total of $23.6 billion in 2008 - 2010, including $21 billion for research and education programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF), $2.5 billion for the research labs, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and other activities at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST), and $96 million for early career awards and teacher professional development programs at the Department of Energy (DOE). An additional $70 million is authorized for these programs at DOE for fiscal years 2011-2012. Click here for more information.
Europe Gets a Space Policy - Defense or Exploration? (Source: The Register)
The European Union has officially got a space policy, an essential item for any aspiring superpower. The document talks a lot about the importance of space as an inspirational tool to get youngsters into science and engineering, and it mentions the need for pan-European coordination of space efforts to maximize research gains. The policy makes several references to the importance of emerging satellite communications and navigation technologies, (independent of the US GPS system). As for access to space, the Council of Ministers says it is vitally important that Europe "maintain an independent, reliable and cost-effective access to space".
In terms of space technology, the council stresses the importance of "a targeted approach for the development of strategic components, for which the dependency of European Industry on international suppliers should be avoided". Of course, it is about exploration too. It also emphasises the importance of "proactive" ESA involvement in the international space station, and gives ESA a pat on the back for the work it has done over the last 30 years. Click here to view a copy of the policy.
Jacksonville Spaceport Closer to Lifting Off (Source: Jacksonville.com)
Cecil Field is a step closer to having space craft launch from its runway following the FAA's review of an environmental assessment examining its suitability as a spaceport. With the FAA's comments in hand, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority can move ahead with the licensing process. That will require the FAA to review a number of details about the site, including making sure the site wouldn't violate any federal policies and evaluating safety issues. No major issues came up during the review, although there were a number of items that must be addressed or answered. The review considered a number of environmental issues, including the affects of noise. Noise is a major issue for the area around the former military base. Among the next steps that must be taken before the site could be licensed will be public workshops, which could occur over the summer.
The authority began considering turning Cecil into a spaceport last year, when the airfield's name surfaced in a Florida Space Authority report that said Cecil Field is "the best airport for aircraft-like launch vehicles." At that time, it looked like the Space Authority would select some site to serve as the state's first commercial spaceport, a facility that would handle horizontal flights for tourists and other commercial purposes. While Cape Canaveral has long been the home of U.S. launch operations, the space center there comes with a raft of restrictions on private operations, limiting its appeal to businesses. Other states have been quick to jump on that opening, with New Mexico and other states moving to set up their own launch facilities. Meanwhile, Florida's efforts appeared to have stalled, with changes in the structure of the state's space agency - which is reorientating itself after being combined with other agencies last year - taking precedent. This led the Aviation Authority to strike out on its own rather than waiting for the state to lead them into space.
Oklahoma Fosters Future Space Commerce (Source: Edmond Sun)
Within the next several centuries, when colonization of other planets begins, there may be a monument situated at the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority’s facility in Burns Flat in Washita County to commemorate those who left earth to begin new lives on other planets. That authority was created by the Oklahoma Legislature for the purpose of creating a spaceport in Oklahoma and to encourage both space commerce and education about space in the state. In accordance with those goals, the authority acquired title to what had been the Clinton Industrial Park in Burns Flat. That site initially was created by in 1942 as the 5,000-acre Clinton Naval Air Station where the Navy trained its pilots.
Late last year, the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority was awarded by the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation a Launch Site Operator License that will allow it to begin private travel into space. Oklahoma-based Rocketplane Kistler was selected by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and the Oklahoma Tax Commission as the firm most qualified to receive state-issued investment tax credits allowed for construction of a vehicle capable of space travel, and is now in the process of constructing a suborbital transporter for that purpose. Rocketplane Kistler currently is leasing several hangars at Burns Flat to prepare the vehicle, and has entered into an agreement with the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute for space flight training, and has signed contracts with several out-of-state aerospace companies who wish to utilize the Burns Flat site.
May 21 News Items
BAE Team Pursues Ares Avionics Contract (Source: Manufactung News)
BAE Systems' onslaught on the US defense market is in full flood as it heads an industry team in pursuit of a contract to support NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center with the design, development and production of Instrument Unit Avionics (IUA) on the new Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle. The team, lead by BAE Systems as prime contractor, includes United Space Alliance, General Dynamics, Harris Corporation, Goodrich Corporation, Wyle Laboratories, Arcata Associates. Inc, Barrios Technology and AURA Instrumentation.
Aerospace Companies Seek Young Recruits (Source: AP)
Justin Wong, an aerospace engineering student from MIT, was schmoozing on Facebook.com last fall when he came across a sleek Boeing job ad. Wong, who had just interned at the aerospace company, saw the banner on the popular social networking site as a "two-way street" -- a defense behemoth reaching out to today's youth in their virtual playground. "My first impression was that Boeing is getting with the times," said the 21-year-old senior, who will work at Boeing's satellite division after graduation. "It shows the company is making an effort to talk to us on our level."
It's no secret the U.S. aerospace industry is rapidly graying: The average age of an aerospace worker was 45 in 2005. By next year, roughly one out of four will be eligible to retire. Faced with a looming brain drain, companies are cooking up creative ways to lure and keep talent from chatting with students online to fast-tracking young workers to be future leaders. Industry analysts say there's still time to stave off a shortage -- if the effort begins now.
1,000 Pounds Cut from Orion CEV (Source: Aerospace Daily)
NASA's Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) will lose about 1,000 pounds of the mass it carries to orbit with a newly adopted redesign of the service module that flies just aft of the pressurized crew capsule. Orion also may save some more weight from an ongoing redesign of the boost protective cover that shelters the capsule during its ascent through the lower atmosphere. Mass to orbit continues to be a problem with the Orion design as it matures. In the latest configuration - designated 606 by prime contractor Lockheed Martin - three panels on the outside of the service module are jettisoned shortly after the upper-stage engine on the Ares I launch vehicle ignites, much like the fairing surrounding a satellite on an expendable rocket.
In earlier Orion configurations, designated 604 and 605, the solid sides of the service module carried structural loads from the spacecraft adaptor at the top of the Ares I to the pressurized crew capsule. In configuration 606 most of those loads are moved inside the encapsulated service module (ESM) onto an internal arrangement of struts called the Service Module/Crew Launch Vehicle Truss Adaptor that will support the capsule. The truss adaptor is dropped after main engine cutoff, and Orion proceeds to orbit with a service module much smaller in diameter than in the earlier configurations. It is shrouded not by an aluminum skin as in the earlier versions, but by thermal-control radiators that may wind up being made of composite materials to save more weight.
Europe's Mission to Mars Hangs in Balance (Source: The Register)
Top boffins from the European Space Agency (ESA) are to meet in Paris this week to vote on plans for a European mission to Mars. Delegates will be asked to choose between two options: the original plan, and a scaled up, more expensive mission that would free the mission from reliance on the U.S. for communications. The need for an independent communications system was underlined by the demise of NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, which was died last year. But sending communications gear along with the original ExoMars mission means a heavier spacecraft, which in turn means a bigger rocket, a more complex landing system, and that is where the costs start to pile up.
China Confirms Lunar Mission Plans (Source: SpaceToday.net)
Chinese officials confirmed that the country will launch its first lunar orbiter mission by the end of this year. The Chang'e 1 lunar orbiter will likely be launched in the second half of 2007. Earlier reports had indicated that the launch would take place in September. The orbiter, China's first mission beyond Earth orbit, will carry a suite of instruments to study the lunar surface. The mission is the first in a three-phase lunar exploration effort that will also include a lunar lander/rover and a sample return mission.
Launch Delayed of Russian-Ukrainian Rocket with US Satellite (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
The launch of a privately funded US space module, Genesis II, has been delayed by a month for testing, the second such delay for it. Genesis II was scheduled for launch in Russia by a civilian Dnepr rocket, based on a modified intercontinental ballistic missile. But a Dnepr launch vehicle crashed shortly after lift-off last year. "The launch will take place towards the end of June near Yasny in Orenburg region (in the Urals)," said a spokesman for Kosmotras, a joint venture by Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
Russia's Energia Posts 220% Rise in 2006 Net Profit (Source: RIA Novosti)
Energia, a Russian rocket and space company, said its net profit calculated to Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) grew 220% year-on-year in 2006 to 509.5 million rubles (about $20 million). Company officials attributed the higher figure to a dynamic increase in revenue from commercial services in 2006. Sales grew 38% in the reporting period to 8.69 billion rubles (about $337 million) while pre-tax profit was up 160% to more than 789 million rubles (about $31 million), Energia said.
European Team Selected for Big UAE Satellite Contract (Source: Space News)
Astrium and Thales Alenia Space have been selected to build a $1.36 billion civil-military satellite telecommunications system for Mubadala Development Co. of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), besting a competing offer by Boeing in what is likely to be one of the year’s biggest satellite procurements.
BAE Systems' onslaught on the US defense market is in full flood as it heads an industry team in pursuit of a contract to support NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center with the design, development and production of Instrument Unit Avionics (IUA) on the new Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle. The team, lead by BAE Systems as prime contractor, includes United Space Alliance, General Dynamics, Harris Corporation, Goodrich Corporation, Wyle Laboratories, Arcata Associates. Inc, Barrios Technology and AURA Instrumentation.
Aerospace Companies Seek Young Recruits (Source: AP)
Justin Wong, an aerospace engineering student from MIT, was schmoozing on Facebook.com last fall when he came across a sleek Boeing job ad. Wong, who had just interned at the aerospace company, saw the banner on the popular social networking site as a "two-way street" -- a defense behemoth reaching out to today's youth in their virtual playground. "My first impression was that Boeing is getting with the times," said the 21-year-old senior, who will work at Boeing's satellite division after graduation. "It shows the company is making an effort to talk to us on our level."
It's no secret the U.S. aerospace industry is rapidly graying: The average age of an aerospace worker was 45 in 2005. By next year, roughly one out of four will be eligible to retire. Faced with a looming brain drain, companies are cooking up creative ways to lure and keep talent from chatting with students online to fast-tracking young workers to be future leaders. Industry analysts say there's still time to stave off a shortage -- if the effort begins now.
1,000 Pounds Cut from Orion CEV (Source: Aerospace Daily)
NASA's Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) will lose about 1,000 pounds of the mass it carries to orbit with a newly adopted redesign of the service module that flies just aft of the pressurized crew capsule. Orion also may save some more weight from an ongoing redesign of the boost protective cover that shelters the capsule during its ascent through the lower atmosphere. Mass to orbit continues to be a problem with the Orion design as it matures. In the latest configuration - designated 606 by prime contractor Lockheed Martin - three panels on the outside of the service module are jettisoned shortly after the upper-stage engine on the Ares I launch vehicle ignites, much like the fairing surrounding a satellite on an expendable rocket.
In earlier Orion configurations, designated 604 and 605, the solid sides of the service module carried structural loads from the spacecraft adaptor at the top of the Ares I to the pressurized crew capsule. In configuration 606 most of those loads are moved inside the encapsulated service module (ESM) onto an internal arrangement of struts called the Service Module/Crew Launch Vehicle Truss Adaptor that will support the capsule. The truss adaptor is dropped after main engine cutoff, and Orion proceeds to orbit with a service module much smaller in diameter than in the earlier configurations. It is shrouded not by an aluminum skin as in the earlier versions, but by thermal-control radiators that may wind up being made of composite materials to save more weight.
Europe's Mission to Mars Hangs in Balance (Source: The Register)
Top boffins from the European Space Agency (ESA) are to meet in Paris this week to vote on plans for a European mission to Mars. Delegates will be asked to choose between two options: the original plan, and a scaled up, more expensive mission that would free the mission from reliance on the U.S. for communications. The need for an independent communications system was underlined by the demise of NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, which was died last year. But sending communications gear along with the original ExoMars mission means a heavier spacecraft, which in turn means a bigger rocket, a more complex landing system, and that is where the costs start to pile up.
China Confirms Lunar Mission Plans (Source: SpaceToday.net)
Chinese officials confirmed that the country will launch its first lunar orbiter mission by the end of this year. The Chang'e 1 lunar orbiter will likely be launched in the second half of 2007. Earlier reports had indicated that the launch would take place in September. The orbiter, China's first mission beyond Earth orbit, will carry a suite of instruments to study the lunar surface. The mission is the first in a three-phase lunar exploration effort that will also include a lunar lander/rover and a sample return mission.
Launch Delayed of Russian-Ukrainian Rocket with US Satellite (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
The launch of a privately funded US space module, Genesis II, has been delayed by a month for testing, the second such delay for it. Genesis II was scheduled for launch in Russia by a civilian Dnepr rocket, based on a modified intercontinental ballistic missile. But a Dnepr launch vehicle crashed shortly after lift-off last year. "The launch will take place towards the end of June near Yasny in Orenburg region (in the Urals)," said a spokesman for Kosmotras, a joint venture by Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
Russia's Energia Posts 220% Rise in 2006 Net Profit (Source: RIA Novosti)
Energia, a Russian rocket and space company, said its net profit calculated to Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) grew 220% year-on-year in 2006 to 509.5 million rubles (about $20 million). Company officials attributed the higher figure to a dynamic increase in revenue from commercial services in 2006. Sales grew 38% in the reporting period to 8.69 billion rubles (about $337 million) while pre-tax profit was up 160% to more than 789 million rubles (about $31 million), Energia said.
European Team Selected for Big UAE Satellite Contract (Source: Space News)
Astrium and Thales Alenia Space have been selected to build a $1.36 billion civil-military satellite telecommunications system for Mubadala Development Co. of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), besting a competing offer by Boeing in what is likely to be one of the year’s biggest satellite procurements.
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.
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.
May 19 News Items
Researchers Can Modify Internal Clock to Aid Space Explorers (Source: BBC)
Our natural daily 24-hour cycle could be stretched by an extra hour safely and simply by exposure to pulses of bright light, research suggests. Experts say it could prove useful for astronauts adapting for long-term missions to Mars - where a day lasts an extra 40 minutes. The team, from universities in the US and France, tested the light treatment successfully on 12 volunteers. Scientists already know that it is possible to interfere with the human circadian "pacemaker" by controlling exposure to light. The latest research project, shared between Lyon University in France, and Harvard University and Medical School in the US, looked at whether it was possible to "fine-tune" these alterations to achieve a precise result.
After allowing test subjects to sleep and wake normally for a few days, a new regime was imposed, with artificial "days" produced by a combination of low light and very bright pulses of light near the end of the intended "wakeful" hours. After 30 days, scientists found that a combination of light brightness and pulses was able to manipulate the circadian rhythm, over time adding approximately one hour to each subject's day. One possible application might be during long space missions - and to allow astronauts to adapt to longer days on Mars. "In these situations, sleep and circadian disruptions could have serious consequences on the effectiveness, health and safety of astronaut crews," the team told the PNAS journal. For this to work, you have to able to avoid light sometimes, which is more difficult in a real-life situations. The scientists suggested that the light "treatment" could be administered as Mars astronauts tended crops at the appropriate times of day in a brightly lit greenhouse module.
Scotty's Ashes Recovered (Source: MSNBC)
The rocket payload containing samples of cremated remains from "Star Trek" actor James Doohan, pioneer astronaut Gordon Cooper and 200 other dearly departed has been found in a surprising place, more than two weeks after its rise to - and fall from - outer space. Teams had been looking for it in remote mountainous terrain within the White Sands Missile Range. But it turned out that the payload actually came down in a flat area of the range, less than a mile from the rocket's aim point. The intensive search in the mountains, two miles away from the actual landing site, ended up being little more than a "wild goose chase." The search got on the wrong track because the four tiny radio transmitters that were attached to the payload's parachute apparently had fallen off during the descent and landed in the mountains.
Putin Makes Glonass Navigation System Free for Customers (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the Glonass navigation system to provide the service free for customers. Glonass is a Russian version of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), which is designed for both military and civilian use, and allows users to identify their positions in real time. The system can also be used in geological prospecting. In line with the decree, satellite navigation equipment bought for Russian government bodies of executive power and organizations subordinate to them should operate using Glonass signals. Putin charged the Federal Space Agency with coordinating work to maintain, develop and use the system for civilian and commercial needs. The head of the space agency said in April Russia will bring the number of satellites comprising its Glonass navigation system to 18 by the end of 2007.
Our natural daily 24-hour cycle could be stretched by an extra hour safely and simply by exposure to pulses of bright light, research suggests. Experts say it could prove useful for astronauts adapting for long-term missions to Mars - where a day lasts an extra 40 minutes. The team, from universities in the US and France, tested the light treatment successfully on 12 volunteers. Scientists already know that it is possible to interfere with the human circadian "pacemaker" by controlling exposure to light. The latest research project, shared between Lyon University in France, and Harvard University and Medical School in the US, looked at whether it was possible to "fine-tune" these alterations to achieve a precise result.
After allowing test subjects to sleep and wake normally for a few days, a new regime was imposed, with artificial "days" produced by a combination of low light and very bright pulses of light near the end of the intended "wakeful" hours. After 30 days, scientists found that a combination of light brightness and pulses was able to manipulate the circadian rhythm, over time adding approximately one hour to each subject's day. One possible application might be during long space missions - and to allow astronauts to adapt to longer days on Mars. "In these situations, sleep and circadian disruptions could have serious consequences on the effectiveness, health and safety of astronaut crews," the team told the PNAS journal. For this to work, you have to able to avoid light sometimes, which is more difficult in a real-life situations. The scientists suggested that the light "treatment" could be administered as Mars astronauts tended crops at the appropriate times of day in a brightly lit greenhouse module.
Scotty's Ashes Recovered (Source: MSNBC)
The rocket payload containing samples of cremated remains from "Star Trek" actor James Doohan, pioneer astronaut Gordon Cooper and 200 other dearly departed has been found in a surprising place, more than two weeks after its rise to - and fall from - outer space. Teams had been looking for it in remote mountainous terrain within the White Sands Missile Range. But it turned out that the payload actually came down in a flat area of the range, less than a mile from the rocket's aim point. The intensive search in the mountains, two miles away from the actual landing site, ended up being little more than a "wild goose chase." The search got on the wrong track because the four tiny radio transmitters that were attached to the payload's parachute apparently had fallen off during the descent and landed in the mountains.
Putin Makes Glonass Navigation System Free for Customers (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the Glonass navigation system to provide the service free for customers. Glonass is a Russian version of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), which is designed for both military and civilian use, and allows users to identify their positions in real time. The system can also be used in geological prospecting. In line with the decree, satellite navigation equipment bought for Russian government bodies of executive power and organizations subordinate to them should operate using Glonass signals. Putin charged the Federal Space Agency with coordinating work to maintain, develop and use the system for civilian and commercial needs. The head of the space agency said in April Russia will bring the number of satellites comprising its Glonass navigation system to 18 by the end of 2007.
May 18 News Items
Alliance To Help Small Business Work with NASA (Source: Huntsville Times)
How does a small business pursue contract work with NASA? A new alliance plans to answer that question, among others. More than 100 small businesses from across the country were represented Thursday at the inaugural meeting of the Marshall Small Business Alliance. The alliance to help small businesses pursue NASA procurement and subcontracting opportunities is sponsored by Marshall Space Flight Center's Procurement and Small Business Office. Almost 300 people signed up for the event.
Galileo is Military, European Commission Admits (Source: The Register)
Galileo, the planned European sat-nav system, has been acknowledged as having a military role by the European Commission. EC Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot saidGalileo will be "civilian controlled...but there will be military users". The US defense department's Global Positioning System (GPS) offers a good service for free, and Galileo' previous private sector bosses doubted that users would pay for Galileo services even if they were somewhat enhanced. As a result, the EC has been pushing for an extra €2bn of taxpayers' money in order to build the system. Many observers have suggested that government funding for Galileo only makes sense in the context of European military action and infrastructure security, independent of the US.
An EC prediction that Galileo would gain significant revenues from military users appears questionable, as the US offers its NATO allies military access to the higher-precision encrypted "p-code" GPS signal. Just as with civilian GPS users, it doesn't seem especially plausible that European armed forces will want to pay for what they can get free.
Brazil, India Set Up Work Team for Space Program (Source: China View)
Representatives of Brazil's Space Agency (AEB) and India's Space Department (ISRO) have set up a team to study cooperation in the space sectors of both countries, the AEB announced on Thursday. Satellite projects, such as satellite tracking, satellite launching and development projects, are the main areas the two countries will focus on. Brazil has shown an interest in tele-medicine and tele-education programs, and interchange of scientists. India's space activities are mainly focused on satellite programs linked to food safety, management of natural resources and disaster monitoring.
NASA's Talent Pool Shallow, Studies Say (Source: Florida Today)
When NASA was in its moon-landing heyday, the space agency had 36,000 employees and many of the best young scientific minds in the country. Now, when the agency is being asked to return man to the moon and head on to Mars, it has fewer than half that number of employees and is not attracting enough of the best and brightest college graduates, according to two recent reports that examined NASA's workforce needs.
How does a small business pursue contract work with NASA? A new alliance plans to answer that question, among others. More than 100 small businesses from across the country were represented Thursday at the inaugural meeting of the Marshall Small Business Alliance. The alliance to help small businesses pursue NASA procurement and subcontracting opportunities is sponsored by Marshall Space Flight Center's Procurement and Small Business Office. Almost 300 people signed up for the event.
Galileo is Military, European Commission Admits (Source: The Register)
Galileo, the planned European sat-nav system, has been acknowledged as having a military role by the European Commission. EC Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot saidGalileo will be "civilian controlled...but there will be military users". The US defense department's Global Positioning System (GPS) offers a good service for free, and Galileo' previous private sector bosses doubted that users would pay for Galileo services even if they were somewhat enhanced. As a result, the EC has been pushing for an extra €2bn of taxpayers' money in order to build the system. Many observers have suggested that government funding for Galileo only makes sense in the context of European military action and infrastructure security, independent of the US.
An EC prediction that Galileo would gain significant revenues from military users appears questionable, as the US offers its NATO allies military access to the higher-precision encrypted "p-code" GPS signal. Just as with civilian GPS users, it doesn't seem especially plausible that European armed forces will want to pay for what they can get free.
Brazil, India Set Up Work Team for Space Program (Source: China View)
Representatives of Brazil's Space Agency (AEB) and India's Space Department (ISRO) have set up a team to study cooperation in the space sectors of both countries, the AEB announced on Thursday. Satellite projects, such as satellite tracking, satellite launching and development projects, are the main areas the two countries will focus on. Brazil has shown an interest in tele-medicine and tele-education programs, and interchange of scientists. India's space activities are mainly focused on satellite programs linked to food safety, management of natural resources and disaster monitoring.
NASA's Talent Pool Shallow, Studies Say (Source: Florida Today)
When NASA was in its moon-landing heyday, the space agency had 36,000 employees and many of the best young scientific minds in the country. Now, when the agency is being asked to return man to the moon and head on to Mars, it has fewer than half that number of employees and is not attracting enough of the best and brightest college graduates, according to two recent reports that examined NASA's workforce needs.
May 17 News Items
NASA Awards Development Contract For Ares I Roll Control Engines (Source: Aero-News)
NASA has selected Aerojet to provide developmental engines for the Ares I crew launch vehicle first stage roll control system. These engines are the first in a series of steps to develop the roll control system to manage the amount of rotation by the first stage solid rocket from liftoff to its separation from the second stage, ensuring that Ares I stays on the designated trajectory for the first two minutes of flight. The engines being developed by Aerojet under this contract will be used to mature the roll control system that will be used on the Ares I tests program.
Embry-Riddle Student Team Takes Second Place in Aero Design Competition (Source: ERAU)
A student team from Embry-Riddle took second place in the open class category of the 2007 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Aero Design East competition, and they won the Best Report/Presentation Award. The design-and-fly event challenged 73 teams of college students from around the world to build and fly a remote-control aircraft carrying as much weight as possible. The Embry-Riddle students competed against 10 other teams in open class, the category that permits maximum design innovation and complexity. With a 12.5-foot wingspan, the team’s aircraft weighs 16 pounds and can carry 40 pounds of payload. It has two engines that generate 20 pounds of static thrust and is capable of flying on one engine.
NASA Official Guest Speaker at Cape Coral Event (Source: News-Press.com)
Stephanie Stilson enjoyed a rare homecoming to Cape Coral from her busy job at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Stilson, a Cape Coral High School graduate, was the guest speaker at the city’s monthly “Do the Right Thing” award ceremony, which honors Cape youngsters who make positive choices. Stilson, now 37, recalled a time when she was in the award-winners’ age range. At 8 years old, during her third-grade year at Caloosa Elementary, her family visited the space center.“There’s a rocket garden with all the old rockets and missiles you can walk by and read the plaques, see the launches and what they were for,” she said. “And I stood out there and I said, ‘Dad, when I grow up, I’m going to work for NASA.’ And at the time he probably patted me on the head and said, ‘OK, honey, whatever you want to do.’”
Glove Design Is Out of this World (Source: Ellsworth American)
A glove designed for astronauts working in space — made from materials purchased from Home Depot and on the Internet — has earned $200,000 for Peter Homer, an unemployed aerospace engineer who made the prototype on his dining room table. The Astronaut Glove Challenge was one of several contests sponsored by NASA to stimulate solutions in space flight technology. Homer said he decided about a year ago to work on a way to make pressurized spacesuit gloves more flexible. Developing a better inner glove could be done without expensive equipment or materials, he reasoned. "It was something I thought I could do,” Homer said. “It wasn’t a big project...The main problem is the resistance to the bending of joints,” he said. “The problem I focused on was the mobility of the joints.”
NASA Needs Plan to Transition Workforce (Source: Florida Today)
NASA needs to attract more young scientists and retrain its existing employees if it wants to successfully revive its manned space program and return to the moon and go to Mars. That was the message of several witnesses at a hearing of the House Science Committeeabout the future of NASA's workforce. But Lee Stone, with NASA's unionized engineers, said the agency is overly focused on forcing older workers to retire and is not properly funding President Bush's ambitious plan to return to manned space flight.
"NASA is not facing a workforce crisis, it is facing a fiscal crisis, " said Stone, legislative representative for the NASA Council of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers. The issue is of intense interest to NASA and contractor workers, particularly at shuttle-centric sites such as Kennedy Space Center and Johnson Space Center. Those sites could face reductions after the shuttles retire in 2010 and NASA transitions to a spacecraft that is expected to require fewer people to support and launch.
Orbital Express Suffers Anomaly (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A pair of spacecraft launched earlier this year to test satellite servicing technologies are drifting apart from one another after suffering a computer problem. The Orbital Express mission, launched in March, consists of a pair of satellites, NextSat and ASTRO, designed to autonomously rendezvous and dock with each other and test the ability to service spacecraft in orbit. After several earlier, successful tests, the two spacecraft drifted apart last week after ASTRO suffered a problem with a flight computer and moved away from NextSat to avoid a potential collision. Satellite watchers have noticed that the two spacecraft are now as much as five kilometers apart. Project officials said while they're uncertain of the root cause of the problem, they plan to bring the two spacecraft closer together soon, using a backup flight computer on ASTRO.
Bigelow Space Habitat Test Delayed (Source: MSNBC)
The launch of Bigelow Aerospace's second prototype for a future space station has been delayed again, from late this month to late June, due to continuing Russian qualms about the rocket that would be used for the launch. An earlier version of the Russian-Ukrainian Dnepr rocket blew up last July, right on the heels of the successful liftoff of Bigelow's Genesis 1 inflatable space module. Since then, the Dnepr has gotten an upgrade - but making sure that the upgrade solves all the problems without creating new ones has taken longer than expected.
Florida School Teams Compete as Finalists in Rocket Challenge (Source: AIA)
Nine student teams from seven Florida high schools will compete among 100 finalists in the Team America Rocketry Challenge on May 19. Their amateur-class rockets will attempt to carry raw egg payloads to an altitude of 850 feet during a 45-second flight. The team that is closest to the altitude and time goals, with an uncracked egg, will win the prize. Prizes include $5,000 in scholarships to each of the top three teams (provided by Lockheed Martin), and a trip for the winning team to the Paris Air Show (provided by Raytheon).
Florida teams are from Spanish River High School, West Boca Raton High School, Boynton Beach Community High School, Park Vista Community High School, Charles Flanagan High School, Plantation High School, and Trinity Preparatory School.
NASA has selected Aerojet to provide developmental engines for the Ares I crew launch vehicle first stage roll control system. These engines are the first in a series of steps to develop the roll control system to manage the amount of rotation by the first stage solid rocket from liftoff to its separation from the second stage, ensuring that Ares I stays on the designated trajectory for the first two minutes of flight. The engines being developed by Aerojet under this contract will be used to mature the roll control system that will be used on the Ares I tests program.
Embry-Riddle Student Team Takes Second Place in Aero Design Competition (Source: ERAU)
A student team from Embry-Riddle took second place in the open class category of the 2007 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Aero Design East competition, and they won the Best Report/Presentation Award. The design-and-fly event challenged 73 teams of college students from around the world to build and fly a remote-control aircraft carrying as much weight as possible. The Embry-Riddle students competed against 10 other teams in open class, the category that permits maximum design innovation and complexity. With a 12.5-foot wingspan, the team’s aircraft weighs 16 pounds and can carry 40 pounds of payload. It has two engines that generate 20 pounds of static thrust and is capable of flying on one engine.
NASA Official Guest Speaker at Cape Coral Event (Source: News-Press.com)
Stephanie Stilson enjoyed a rare homecoming to Cape Coral from her busy job at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Stilson, a Cape Coral High School graduate, was the guest speaker at the city’s monthly “Do the Right Thing” award ceremony, which honors Cape youngsters who make positive choices. Stilson, now 37, recalled a time when she was in the award-winners’ age range. At 8 years old, during her third-grade year at Caloosa Elementary, her family visited the space center.“There’s a rocket garden with all the old rockets and missiles you can walk by and read the plaques, see the launches and what they were for,” she said. “And I stood out there and I said, ‘Dad, when I grow up, I’m going to work for NASA.’ And at the time he probably patted me on the head and said, ‘OK, honey, whatever you want to do.’”
Glove Design Is Out of this World (Source: Ellsworth American)
A glove designed for astronauts working in space — made from materials purchased from Home Depot and on the Internet — has earned $200,000 for Peter Homer, an unemployed aerospace engineer who made the prototype on his dining room table. The Astronaut Glove Challenge was one of several contests sponsored by NASA to stimulate solutions in space flight technology. Homer said he decided about a year ago to work on a way to make pressurized spacesuit gloves more flexible. Developing a better inner glove could be done without expensive equipment or materials, he reasoned. "It was something I thought I could do,” Homer said. “It wasn’t a big project...The main problem is the resistance to the bending of joints,” he said. “The problem I focused on was the mobility of the joints.”
NASA Needs Plan to Transition Workforce (Source: Florida Today)
NASA needs to attract more young scientists and retrain its existing employees if it wants to successfully revive its manned space program and return to the moon and go to Mars. That was the message of several witnesses at a hearing of the House Science Committeeabout the future of NASA's workforce. But Lee Stone, with NASA's unionized engineers, said the agency is overly focused on forcing older workers to retire and is not properly funding President Bush's ambitious plan to return to manned space flight.
"NASA is not facing a workforce crisis, it is facing a fiscal crisis, " said Stone, legislative representative for the NASA Council of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers. The issue is of intense interest to NASA and contractor workers, particularly at shuttle-centric sites such as Kennedy Space Center and Johnson Space Center. Those sites could face reductions after the shuttles retire in 2010 and NASA transitions to a spacecraft that is expected to require fewer people to support and launch.
Orbital Express Suffers Anomaly (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A pair of spacecraft launched earlier this year to test satellite servicing technologies are drifting apart from one another after suffering a computer problem. The Orbital Express mission, launched in March, consists of a pair of satellites, NextSat and ASTRO, designed to autonomously rendezvous and dock with each other and test the ability to service spacecraft in orbit. After several earlier, successful tests, the two spacecraft drifted apart last week after ASTRO suffered a problem with a flight computer and moved away from NextSat to avoid a potential collision. Satellite watchers have noticed that the two spacecraft are now as much as five kilometers apart. Project officials said while they're uncertain of the root cause of the problem, they plan to bring the two spacecraft closer together soon, using a backup flight computer on ASTRO.
Bigelow Space Habitat Test Delayed (Source: MSNBC)
The launch of Bigelow Aerospace's second prototype for a future space station has been delayed again, from late this month to late June, due to continuing Russian qualms about the rocket that would be used for the launch. An earlier version of the Russian-Ukrainian Dnepr rocket blew up last July, right on the heels of the successful liftoff of Bigelow's Genesis 1 inflatable space module. Since then, the Dnepr has gotten an upgrade - but making sure that the upgrade solves all the problems without creating new ones has taken longer than expected.
Florida School Teams Compete as Finalists in Rocket Challenge (Source: AIA)
Nine student teams from seven Florida high schools will compete among 100 finalists in the Team America Rocketry Challenge on May 19. Their amateur-class rockets will attempt to carry raw egg payloads to an altitude of 850 feet during a 45-second flight. The team that is closest to the altitude and time goals, with an uncracked egg, will win the prize. Prizes include $5,000 in scholarships to each of the top three teams (provided by Lockheed Martin), and a trip for the winning team to the Paris Air Show (provided by Raytheon).
Florida teams are from Spanish River High School, West Boca Raton High School, Boynton Beach Community High School, Park Vista Community High School, Charles Flanagan High School, Plantation High School, and Trinity Preparatory School.
May 16 News Items
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."
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."
May 15 News Items
Alaska Spaceport Gets State and Federal Funds (Source: ERAU)
Alaska's spaceport authority is set to receive $15 million in funding under the governor's amended FY-2008 budget for "launch complex infrastructure." Also, "continuing earmarks" of federal DOD funds for the Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC) include $5.5 million for "infrastructure, transportation, and security improvements," as well as $8.9 million in transfers to the Alaska Army National Guard for "telecommunications upgrades at Kodiak Launch Complex." Click here, here, and here for information. The Kodiak Island spaceport has become an important location for military missile defense launch programs.
Embry-Riddle Students Win NASA PR Contest (Source: ERAU)
A plan to help NASA promote science and math among middle and high school students earned first prize for a team of six students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University who created the marketing plan. They developed the plan for the NASA Means Business Competition. Tying Embry-Riddle for the top spot was a combined team of 84 students from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and the Art Institute of Phoenix.
On the first day of the three-day competition, each team presented strategic marketing communication plan. The Embry-Riddle plan, “The Solution for Inclusion,” included 30-second public service announcements in English and Spanish, a print ad campaign, outreach activities, and a web site www.morethanrocketscience.com. At the end of the first day, teams were given 24 hours to create a strategic marketing proposal to get university educators involved in science, technology, engineering, and math projects in middle and high schools. The proposal included storyboards for a 30-second public service announcement, a web site, and a comprehensive strategic plan.
“One of our strengths is that our team is interdisciplinary,” Detore-Nakamura said. “When we did outreach in the community our engineering student could answer youngsters’ questions, because he knew the science.” The Embry-Riddle team will meet this fall with legislators and NASA officials in Washington, DC, and team leader Billon will serve on the advisory board of the Coalition for Space Exploration, which promotes space exploration and the U.S. space program.
Collaborative Space Medicine Program Planned (Source: Wyle)
A comprehensive space medicine resource for the entire civilian spaceflight industry is the focus of a memorandum of understanding signed between Mayo Clinic, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) and Wyle Laboratories. The partners hope to “provide medical assessment and screening services to people considering space flight in an effort to assure passengers remain healthy and well,” said the director of Wyle’s Commercial Spaceflight Service unit. Medical services including screening, medical management and special environmental testing would be available to spaceflight vehicle operators, suborbital spaceflight passengers, commercial spaceports and other entities involved in the commercial spaceflight industry.
Alaska's spaceport authority is set to receive $15 million in funding under the governor's amended FY-2008 budget for "launch complex infrastructure." Also, "continuing earmarks" of federal DOD funds for the Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC) include $5.5 million for "infrastructure, transportation, and security improvements," as well as $8.9 million in transfers to the Alaska Army National Guard for "telecommunications upgrades at Kodiak Launch Complex." Click here, here, and here for information. The Kodiak Island spaceport has become an important location for military missile defense launch programs.
Embry-Riddle Students Win NASA PR Contest (Source: ERAU)
A plan to help NASA promote science and math among middle and high school students earned first prize for a team of six students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University who created the marketing plan. They developed the plan for the NASA Means Business Competition. Tying Embry-Riddle for the top spot was a combined team of 84 students from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and the Art Institute of Phoenix.
On the first day of the three-day competition, each team presented strategic marketing communication plan. The Embry-Riddle plan, “The Solution for Inclusion,” included 30-second public service announcements in English and Spanish, a print ad campaign, outreach activities, and a web site www.morethanrocketscience.com. At the end of the first day, teams were given 24 hours to create a strategic marketing proposal to get university educators involved in science, technology, engineering, and math projects in middle and high schools. The proposal included storyboards for a 30-second public service announcement, a web site, and a comprehensive strategic plan.
“One of our strengths is that our team is interdisciplinary,” Detore-Nakamura said. “When we did outreach in the community our engineering student could answer youngsters’ questions, because he knew the science.” The Embry-Riddle team will meet this fall with legislators and NASA officials in Washington, DC, and team leader Billon will serve on the advisory board of the Coalition for Space Exploration, which promotes space exploration and the U.S. space program.
Collaborative Space Medicine Program Planned (Source: Wyle)
A comprehensive space medicine resource for the entire civilian spaceflight industry is the focus of a memorandum of understanding signed between Mayo Clinic, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) and Wyle Laboratories. The partners hope to “provide medical assessment and screening services to people considering space flight in an effort to assure passengers remain healthy and well,” said the director of Wyle’s Commercial Spaceflight Service unit. Medical services including screening, medical management and special environmental testing would be available to spaceflight vehicle operators, suborbital spaceflight passengers, commercial spaceports and other entities involved in the commercial spaceflight industry.
May 14 News Items
Industry Leaders Call on Congress to Boost NASA Budget (Source: NASA Watch)
An unprecedented coalition of nearly two dozen U.S. aerospace corporations told the Congress on May 11 that NASA is in urgent need of a boost to its fiscal year 2008 budget or America's space leadership could be lost for a generation. The group, which includes the chairmen, presidents and chief executives of such industry giants as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon, asked the Congress to support an increase to NASA's FY08 budget of $1.4 billion. The budget is currently under review on Capitol Hill.
China Launches Satellite for Nigeria (Source: SpaceToday.net)
China launched a communications satellite it built for Nigeria early Monday. A Long March 3B rocket lifted off from the Xichang spaceport and placed the Nigcomsat-1 spacecraft into geosynchronous transfer orbit. The spacecraft, to be located at 42 degrees east in GEO, will be used by the Nigerian government to provide telecommunications services for its citizens and those in neighboring countries. The satellite was built and launched by China in a package deal with $311 million that also includes the construction of two ground stations and training for Nigerian personnel to operate the spacecraft.
New Mexico Spaceport Leader Keeps His Eyes Upturned (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Rick Homans spent a great deal of time in Doña Ana County during the lead-up to the recent spaceport tax vote. His appointment to the Spaceport Authority makes him even more of a presence in the region. For the next two years — maybe less, maybe more — the responsibility of getting the spaceport off the ground will fall squarely on his shoulders. With the responsibility comes great risk. But what if all does not go well with the spaceport? "I embrace the risk," Homans said. "...if you're cautious about everything, if you're always afraid to make a decision, then you'll never succeed at the project."
Homans asked for the job after passage of the spaceport tax, around the same time he decided against running for Congress in 2008. Homans hopes to find someone with aerospace experience to replace him, possibly before the spaceport opens or soon afterwards. After that, Homans said he'll return to the private sector but hasn't completely ruled out a run for office somewhere down the road.
An unprecedented coalition of nearly two dozen U.S. aerospace corporations told the Congress on May 11 that NASA is in urgent need of a boost to its fiscal year 2008 budget or America's space leadership could be lost for a generation. The group, which includes the chairmen, presidents and chief executives of such industry giants as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon, asked the Congress to support an increase to NASA's FY08 budget of $1.4 billion. The budget is currently under review on Capitol Hill.
China Launches Satellite for Nigeria (Source: SpaceToday.net)
China launched a communications satellite it built for Nigeria early Monday. A Long March 3B rocket lifted off from the Xichang spaceport and placed the Nigcomsat-1 spacecraft into geosynchronous transfer orbit. The spacecraft, to be located at 42 degrees east in GEO, will be used by the Nigerian government to provide telecommunications services for its citizens and those in neighboring countries. The satellite was built and launched by China in a package deal with $311 million that also includes the construction of two ground stations and training for Nigerian personnel to operate the spacecraft.
New Mexico Spaceport Leader Keeps His Eyes Upturned (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Rick Homans spent a great deal of time in Doña Ana County during the lead-up to the recent spaceport tax vote. His appointment to the Spaceport Authority makes him even more of a presence in the region. For the next two years — maybe less, maybe more — the responsibility of getting the spaceport off the ground will fall squarely on his shoulders. With the responsibility comes great risk. But what if all does not go well with the spaceport? "I embrace the risk," Homans said. "...if you're cautious about everything, if you're always afraid to make a decision, then you'll never succeed at the project."
Homans asked for the job after passage of the spaceport tax, around the same time he decided against running for Congress in 2008. Homans hopes to find someone with aerospace experience to replace him, possibly before the spaceport opens or soon afterwards. After that, Homans said he'll return to the private sector but hasn't completely ruled out a run for office somewhere down the road.
May 13 News Items
No Winners in NASA's Regolith Competition (Source: SFgate.com)
Four teams and some strange machines competed for a quarter-of-a-million dollars from NASA, but all walked away empty-handed. NASA's Regolith Excavation Challenge invited teams to build machines for digging mock moon dirt, or regolith, in a competition held in a one-ton sandbox on Saturday. But all the teams fell well short of the winning requirement of 330 pounds of regolith deposited in a container in 30 minutes, and no one claimed the $250,000 purse. The prize rolls over to next year's competition, which will be worth $750,000.
Hughes Reports Strong Growth in Satellite 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. 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.
Damaged Shuttle Booster Segments Returned to ATK (Source: Space News)
Four solid-rocket booster segments riding near the front of the freight train that derailed May 2 in Alabama are headed back to Utah where their manufacturer, Alliant Techsystems (ATK), will either use them for ground tests or thoroughly refurbish them.
Coast Guard Gives Warning to Orbcomm (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Coast Guard has given Orbcomm Inc. until July 2 to launch a Coast Guard-financed spacecraft or face penalties. The Coast Guard warning threatens "contractual or statutory" penalties unless the satellite, whose original launch date was in mid-2006, is operational by then, Orbcomm said in a submission to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Texas Congressman Requests NASA/NOAA Plan for QuickScat Replacement (Source: Space News)
U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas) has asked NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to explain their contingency plans should a research satellite useful to hurricane forecasters suddenly shut down. NASA's QuickScat satellite, which tracks ocean surface wind data, is two years beyond its five-year design lifetime. Lampson is concerned that neither NASA nor NOAA have a near-term plan to replace the spacecraft's capability to forecast severe weather.
Martinez & Weldon Introduce Bills for Tax-Free Bonds for Spaceports (Source: Space News)
Legislation that would allow U.S. spaceports to use tax-free bonds to fund infrastructure improvements was introduced in both houses of Congress May 10. The Spaceport Equality Act of 2007 was introduced by Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) in the Senate and Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.) in the House. "This will give the space transportation industry the same financial incentives currently granted to airports, seaports and rail, spurring private investment and modernizing our launch facilities," Martinez said in a prepared statement.
Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) are co-sponsors. Weldon has introduced such legislation before, only to see it stall in the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over bills requiring changes to the U.S. tax code.
Raytheon-Led Team Bidding for Ares Avionics Work (Source: Space News)
Raytheon Missile Systems intends to submit a bid this summer for a contract worth roughly $400 million to help NASA develop the avionics suite for the Ares 1 rocket. The company will be supported in its bid for the avionics work by Intergraph Corp. and Dynetics. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, also in Huntsville, is leading the Ares program. BAE Systems, Ball Aerospace, Boeing and Honeywell all previously have announced their intent to go after the avionics work.
NASA New Orleans Site Girds for Next Storm (Source: NOLA.com)
Before the 2007 hurricane season, work at the Michoud Assembly Facility has been completed to automate the four giant pumps that suck storm surge and rain off the grounds of the 832-acre campus and push the water back over the levees shielding the plant from adjacent canals and the Intracoastal Waterway. The pumps can now be managed from a new command center containing state-of-the-art communications equipment that provides a continuous flow of data about water levels, pump capacity and other items. Using closed-circuit cameras and wall-mounted widescreen monitors, the 39 members of the so-called ride-out crew can also monitor local and national weather reports, NASA's own communications channel and every one of the 48 buildings on the campus.
Four teams and some strange machines competed for a quarter-of-a-million dollars from NASA, but all walked away empty-handed. NASA's Regolith Excavation Challenge invited teams to build machines for digging mock moon dirt, or regolith, in a competition held in a one-ton sandbox on Saturday. But all the teams fell well short of the winning requirement of 330 pounds of regolith deposited in a container in 30 minutes, and no one claimed the $250,000 purse. The prize rolls over to next year's competition, which will be worth $750,000.
Hughes Reports Strong Growth in Satellite 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. 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.
Damaged Shuttle Booster Segments Returned to ATK (Source: Space News)
Four solid-rocket booster segments riding near the front of the freight train that derailed May 2 in Alabama are headed back to Utah where their manufacturer, Alliant Techsystems (ATK), will either use them for ground tests or thoroughly refurbish them.
Coast Guard Gives Warning to Orbcomm (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Coast Guard has given Orbcomm Inc. until July 2 to launch a Coast Guard-financed spacecraft or face penalties. The Coast Guard warning threatens "contractual or statutory" penalties unless the satellite, whose original launch date was in mid-2006, is operational by then, Orbcomm said in a submission to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Texas Congressman Requests NASA/NOAA Plan for QuickScat Replacement (Source: Space News)
U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas) has asked NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to explain their contingency plans should a research satellite useful to hurricane forecasters suddenly shut down. NASA's QuickScat satellite, which tracks ocean surface wind data, is two years beyond its five-year design lifetime. Lampson is concerned that neither NASA nor NOAA have a near-term plan to replace the spacecraft's capability to forecast severe weather.
Martinez & Weldon Introduce Bills for Tax-Free Bonds for Spaceports (Source: Space News)
Legislation that would allow U.S. spaceports to use tax-free bonds to fund infrastructure improvements was introduced in both houses of Congress May 10. The Spaceport Equality Act of 2007 was introduced by Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) in the Senate and Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.) in the House. "This will give the space transportation industry the same financial incentives currently granted to airports, seaports and rail, spurring private investment and modernizing our launch facilities," Martinez said in a prepared statement.
Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) are co-sponsors. Weldon has introduced such legislation before, only to see it stall in the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over bills requiring changes to the U.S. tax code.
Raytheon-Led Team Bidding for Ares Avionics Work (Source: Space News)
Raytheon Missile Systems intends to submit a bid this summer for a contract worth roughly $400 million to help NASA develop the avionics suite for the Ares 1 rocket. The company will be supported in its bid for the avionics work by Intergraph Corp. and Dynetics. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, also in Huntsville, is leading the Ares program. BAE Systems, Ball Aerospace, Boeing and Honeywell all previously have announced their intent to go after the avionics work.
NASA New Orleans Site Girds for Next Storm (Source: NOLA.com)
Before the 2007 hurricane season, work at the Michoud Assembly Facility has been completed to automate the four giant pumps that suck storm surge and rain off the grounds of the 832-acre campus and push the water back over the levees shielding the plant from adjacent canals and the Intracoastal Waterway. The pumps can now be managed from a new command center containing state-of-the-art communications equipment that provides a continuous flow of data about water levels, pump capacity and other items. Using closed-circuit cameras and wall-mounted widescreen monitors, the 39 members of the so-called ride-out crew can also monitor local and national weather reports, NASA's own communications channel and every one of the 48 buildings on the campus.
May 12 News Items
KSC Chief Says More Tech Work Needed (Source: Florida Today)
Kennedy Space Center is facing tough times, and new business will have to be lured to keep the workforce at its current level when the nation's shuttle fleet is retired in 2010, the center's director said. An extended gap between the shuttle's final mission and the first piloted flights of the Ares/Orion system also will make it difficult to retain critical skilled workers, he said. The state of Florida and local economic-development leaders consequently need to seal more deals like one which will bring final integration and assembly of the Orion spacecraft to NASA's prime launch operations center.
The spaceport now is the largest employer in Brevard County, with about 15,000 contractor and civil-service workers. The NASA work done there pumps about $3.7 billion into the state economy each year. Potential post-shuttle job loss estimates range from 5,000 to 8,000, and NASA is trying to avoid the type of exodus of expertise that followed the shutdown of the Apollo moon-landing program in the 1970s. The multiplier effect raises the number of potential job losses to 12,250 to 19,560. "We're going to need fewer people (to launch moon missions). So it's going to be very important that we try to capture different kinds of jobs here at the Kennedy Space Center," Bill Parsons said. "We may not have the exact same number of people working here at the Kennedy Space Center, but we need to make it just as close as we possibly can. And that's what we're all trying to do, trying to accomplish."
Japan/Europe Rocket Agreement Raises Questions for Government (Source: Yomiuri Shimbun)
Arianespace and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have agreed to work together to offer launch services to customers. The joint venture was prompted by the limited demand for commercial launch services, with Europe, Russia and the United States competing in a market limited to about 20 launches each year. According to the FAA, there were 21 commercial launches in 2006, with Russia having 43 percent of the market and Europe 24 percent. Arianespace and MHI are trying to add value to their services by offering better schedule capabilities, with one launcher being readily available if the other is not. They hope that by cooperating, Arianespace will be able to retain its customers, while MHI will not be exposed to the difficulties, especially with pricing, usually encountered by new entrants to the market, as it will be able to rely on Arianespace's experience, the two companies said.
At present, Japan does not have systems in place allowing for a flexible launch schedule, and the cost of launching the H2-A is about 20-30 percent higher than a typical commercial launch. It is therefore unclear whether MHI can meet customer budget and launch date expectations. Meanwhile, Arianespace maintains price competitiveness through European governments' bulk-buy of Ariane rockets. MHI has asked the Japanese government for similar support.
Russian Cargo Ship Blasts Off to Space Station (Source: AP)
An unmanned Russian cargo ship carrying 2.5 tons of supplies, equipment and gifts blasted off Saturday en route to the international space station. The Progress M-60 mounted atop a Soyuz-U booster rocket lifted off as scheduled from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan. The ship is scheduled to moor at the orbiting outpost Tuesday. It will deliver oxygen, water, food and scientific equipment.
Kennedy Space Center is facing tough times, and new business will have to be lured to keep the workforce at its current level when the nation's shuttle fleet is retired in 2010, the center's director said. An extended gap between the shuttle's final mission and the first piloted flights of the Ares/Orion system also will make it difficult to retain critical skilled workers, he said. The state of Florida and local economic-development leaders consequently need to seal more deals like one which will bring final integration and assembly of the Orion spacecraft to NASA's prime launch operations center.
The spaceport now is the largest employer in Brevard County, with about 15,000 contractor and civil-service workers. The NASA work done there pumps about $3.7 billion into the state economy each year. Potential post-shuttle job loss estimates range from 5,000 to 8,000, and NASA is trying to avoid the type of exodus of expertise that followed the shutdown of the Apollo moon-landing program in the 1970s. The multiplier effect raises the number of potential job losses to 12,250 to 19,560. "We're going to need fewer people (to launch moon missions). So it's going to be very important that we try to capture different kinds of jobs here at the Kennedy Space Center," Bill Parsons said. "We may not have the exact same number of people working here at the Kennedy Space Center, but we need to make it just as close as we possibly can. And that's what we're all trying to do, trying to accomplish."
Japan/Europe Rocket Agreement Raises Questions for Government (Source: Yomiuri Shimbun)
Arianespace and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have agreed to work together to offer launch services to customers. The joint venture was prompted by the limited demand for commercial launch services, with Europe, Russia and the United States competing in a market limited to about 20 launches each year. According to the FAA, there were 21 commercial launches in 2006, with Russia having 43 percent of the market and Europe 24 percent. Arianespace and MHI are trying to add value to their services by offering better schedule capabilities, with one launcher being readily available if the other is not. They hope that by cooperating, Arianespace will be able to retain its customers, while MHI will not be exposed to the difficulties, especially with pricing, usually encountered by new entrants to the market, as it will be able to rely on Arianespace's experience, the two companies said.
At present, Japan does not have systems in place allowing for a flexible launch schedule, and the cost of launching the H2-A is about 20-30 percent higher than a typical commercial launch. It is therefore unclear whether MHI can meet customer budget and launch date expectations. Meanwhile, Arianespace maintains price competitiveness through European governments' bulk-buy of Ariane rockets. MHI has asked the Japanese government for similar support.
Russian Cargo Ship Blasts Off to Space Station (Source: AP)
An unmanned Russian cargo ship carrying 2.5 tons of supplies, equipment and gifts blasted off Saturday en route to the international space station. The Progress M-60 mounted atop a Soyuz-U booster rocket lifted off as scheduled from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan. The ship is scheduled to moor at the orbiting outpost Tuesday. It will deliver oxygen, water, food and scientific equipment.
May 11 News Items
Payloads Lost in Mountains After Trip to Space (Source: Space.com)
The search for the UP Aerospace payload of experiments and the cremated remains of some 200 people - including "Scotty" of Star Trek fame, as well as pioneeering NASA Mercury astronaut, Gordon Cooper - continues within rugged New Mexico mountain landscape. After a successful blastoff from New Mexico's Spaceport America on April 28, the UP Aerospace SpaceLoft XL rocket and its payload nosed into space on a suborbital trajectory. As part of launch operations, the rocket was tracked by specialists at the neighboring White Sands Missile Range.
While all went well with the flight, the rocket components parachuted into rough and tumble terrain. Repeated searches within the landing zone have come up empty. Jerry Larson, President of UP Aerospace, said the general location of the rocket hardware is known within some 1,300 feet or so. But given the dense vegetation on the side of the mountain being searched, along with equipment available to the search team, pinpointing the exact locale has proven a tough assignment. Yet another trip up on the mountain is slated next week, Larson said.
DRS Tech Fourth-Quarter Profit Rises (Source: MarketWatch)
DRS reported fourth-quarter earnings of $45.5 million, up from a year-ago profit of $28.8 million. Revenue rose 24% in the latest three months to $798.9 million from $645.7 million a year earlier. Looking ahead, the supplier of military products (with operations in Melbourne, FL) said it sees earnings of $3.10 to $3.20 a share in fiscal 2008 on revenue of between $3 billion and $3.05 billion.
Mannheim Steamroller Heads to KSC (Source: Florida Today)
Mannheim Steamroller is scheduled to play a concert at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex at 8 p.m. May 26. The concert follows the debut of the $60 million Shuttle Launch Experience shuttle simulator attraction, which opens May 25 at the visitor complex. Manheim Steamroller recorded sound from the last space shuttle liftoff at Kennedy Space Center, and that will be incorporated into its music. There is no extra charge to attend the concert, beyond the admission to the Visitor Complex.
NASA Clears Atlantis' Tank for Rollout (Source: Florida Today)
NASA managers cleared shuttle Atlantis for rollout to the launch pad next week. The announcement came after a review of the repairs to an external tank badly damaged by a freakish hail storm in February. Work to repair the tank is all but complete, shuttle program manager Wayne Hale says. Contractor technicians are putting the finishing touches on the tank. Mounted atop a mobile launcher platform in the Vehicle Assembly Building, the shuttle and its repaired tank are set to roll to launch pad 39A on Wednesday morning. The 3.5-mile trip would take about six or seven hours to complete.
The search for the UP Aerospace payload of experiments and the cremated remains of some 200 people - including "Scotty" of Star Trek fame, as well as pioneeering NASA Mercury astronaut, Gordon Cooper - continues within rugged New Mexico mountain landscape. After a successful blastoff from New Mexico's Spaceport America on April 28, the UP Aerospace SpaceLoft XL rocket and its payload nosed into space on a suborbital trajectory. As part of launch operations, the rocket was tracked by specialists at the neighboring White Sands Missile Range.
While all went well with the flight, the rocket components parachuted into rough and tumble terrain. Repeated searches within the landing zone have come up empty. Jerry Larson, President of UP Aerospace, said the general location of the rocket hardware is known within some 1,300 feet or so. But given the dense vegetation on the side of the mountain being searched, along with equipment available to the search team, pinpointing the exact locale has proven a tough assignment. Yet another trip up on the mountain is slated next week, Larson said.
DRS Tech Fourth-Quarter Profit Rises (Source: MarketWatch)
DRS reported fourth-quarter earnings of $45.5 million, up from a year-ago profit of $28.8 million. Revenue rose 24% in the latest three months to $798.9 million from $645.7 million a year earlier. Looking ahead, the supplier of military products (with operations in Melbourne, FL) said it sees earnings of $3.10 to $3.20 a share in fiscal 2008 on revenue of between $3 billion and $3.05 billion.
Mannheim Steamroller Heads to KSC (Source: Florida Today)
Mannheim Steamroller is scheduled to play a concert at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex at 8 p.m. May 26. The concert follows the debut of the $60 million Shuttle Launch Experience shuttle simulator attraction, which opens May 25 at the visitor complex. Manheim Steamroller recorded sound from the last space shuttle liftoff at Kennedy Space Center, and that will be incorporated into its music. There is no extra charge to attend the concert, beyond the admission to the Visitor Complex.
NASA Clears Atlantis' Tank for Rollout (Source: Florida Today)
NASA managers cleared shuttle Atlantis for rollout to the launch pad next week. The announcement came after a review of the repairs to an external tank badly damaged by a freakish hail storm in February. Work to repair the tank is all but complete, shuttle program manager Wayne Hale says. Contractor technicians are putting the finishing touches on the tank. Mounted atop a mobile launcher platform in the Vehicle Assembly Building, the shuttle and its repaired tank are set to roll to launch pad 39A on Wednesday morning. The 3.5-mile trip would take about six or seven hours to complete.
May 10 News Items
EADS Reports Q1 Loss as Airbus Restructures (Source: AIA)
EADS reported a first-quarter loss and said the weak dollar and costs related to the restructuring at Airbus hurt results. The company reported a loss of $13.5 million. Executives expect Airbus to report a large loss this year but return to profitability in 2008. EADS also said it is making progress toward the sale of some of its sites as part of a restructuring program.
Orbital Wins Multisatellite Order (Source: SpaceToday.net)
Orbital Sciences Corp. has won an order for as many as five communications satellites from SES Americom. The contract includes firm orders for two satellites, AMC-5R and a ground spare, with options for three additional satellites over the next few years. The first two satellites, scheduled for delivery in mid and late 2009, will carry 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders and generate five kilowatts of power; future satellites will be identical to the first two. The satellites are the third and fourth new small commercial GEO communications satellites ordered from Orbital this year.
Mars Spacecraft Delivered to Florida for Launch (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A NASA Mars lander scheduled for launch in August arrived at the Kennedy Space Center earlier this week to begin launch preparations. A C-17 spacecraft shipped the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft from Colorado, where it was assembled, to Florida on Monday. Workers will begin preparing the spacecraft for an August launch on a Delta 2 spacecraft. Phoenix is scheduled to land in the northern arctic plains of Mars in spring 2008, where the stationary lander will dig into the surface to look for any ice deposits that may exist there.
India to Launch More Foreign Satellites (Source: Times of India)
India's space agency, which successfully launched the Italian satellite Agile last month, has signed agreements for putting into space three more foreign satellites. The government is encouraging Antrix Corporation, the marketing arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, to promote the commercial launches. Antrix has inked commercial agreements with EADS Astrium of Europe to jointly make and supply two commercial communication satellites.
Loral Awarded Contract To Build Satellite For SES New Skies (Source: Loral)
Loral has been awarded a contract to manufacture a new spacecraft for SES NEW SKIES, a subsidiary of SES Global. The NSS-12 satellite will be used to enable communications services for telecommunications providers, broadcasters, corporations and governments in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India and other parts of Asia.
Curbs on Satellite Photos May be Needed (Source: AP)
The director of a little-known U.S. spy agency that analyzes imagery from the skies says that the increasing availability of commercial satellite photos may require the government to restrict distribution. "If there was a situation where any imagery products were being used by adversaries to kill Americans, I think we should act," Vice Adm. Robert Murrett, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, said.
EU Seeking to Take Over Financing of Troubled Galileo Project (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
The European Commission said EU's Galileo satellite navigation system would need to be entirely financed with public money to get the troubled program back on track. The private consortium building the project was supposed to give plans on Thursday to overcome the current impasse, but their solutions had been "far from being sufficient," said a Commission spokesman. Therefore, EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot was preparing recommendations to member states, with the best option being that public authorities take over the financing of Galileo's construction. The construction was originally expected to cost 1.5 billion euros (2.0 billion dollars), but Barrot now expects the price to reach "a range between two and three billion euros", said the spokesman.
EADS reported a first-quarter loss and said the weak dollar and costs related to the restructuring at Airbus hurt results. The company reported a loss of $13.5 million. Executives expect Airbus to report a large loss this year but return to profitability in 2008. EADS also said it is making progress toward the sale of some of its sites as part of a restructuring program.
Orbital Wins Multisatellite Order (Source: SpaceToday.net)
Orbital Sciences Corp. has won an order for as many as five communications satellites from SES Americom. The contract includes firm orders for two satellites, AMC-5R and a ground spare, with options for three additional satellites over the next few years. The first two satellites, scheduled for delivery in mid and late 2009, will carry 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders and generate five kilowatts of power; future satellites will be identical to the first two. The satellites are the third and fourth new small commercial GEO communications satellites ordered from Orbital this year.
Mars Spacecraft Delivered to Florida for Launch (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A NASA Mars lander scheduled for launch in August arrived at the Kennedy Space Center earlier this week to begin launch preparations. A C-17 spacecraft shipped the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft from Colorado, where it was assembled, to Florida on Monday. Workers will begin preparing the spacecraft for an August launch on a Delta 2 spacecraft. Phoenix is scheduled to land in the northern arctic plains of Mars in spring 2008, where the stationary lander will dig into the surface to look for any ice deposits that may exist there.
India to Launch More Foreign Satellites (Source: Times of India)
India's space agency, which successfully launched the Italian satellite Agile last month, has signed agreements for putting into space three more foreign satellites. The government is encouraging Antrix Corporation, the marketing arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, to promote the commercial launches. Antrix has inked commercial agreements with EADS Astrium of Europe to jointly make and supply two commercial communication satellites.
Loral Awarded Contract To Build Satellite For SES New Skies (Source: Loral)
Loral has been awarded a contract to manufacture a new spacecraft for SES NEW SKIES, a subsidiary of SES Global. The NSS-12 satellite will be used to enable communications services for telecommunications providers, broadcasters, corporations and governments in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India and other parts of Asia.
Curbs on Satellite Photos May be Needed (Source: AP)
The director of a little-known U.S. spy agency that analyzes imagery from the skies says that the increasing availability of commercial satellite photos may require the government to restrict distribution. "If there was a situation where any imagery products were being used by adversaries to kill Americans, I think we should act," Vice Adm. Robert Murrett, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, said.
EU Seeking to Take Over Financing of Troubled Galileo Project (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
The European Commission said EU's Galileo satellite navigation system would need to be entirely financed with public money to get the troubled program back on track. The private consortium building the project was supposed to give plans on Thursday to overcome the current impasse, but their solutions had been "far from being sufficient," said a Commission spokesman. Therefore, EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot was preparing recommendations to member states, with the best option being that public authorities take over the financing of Galileo's construction. The construction was originally expected to cost 1.5 billion euros (2.0 billion dollars), but Barrot now expects the price to reach "a range between two and three billion euros", said the spokesman.
May 9 News Items
Florida Establishes Aerospace Fund (Source: Florida Today)
The state's legislature has created a Florida Energy, Aerospace and Technology Fund, which will provide up to $250 million for aerospace and alternative energy projects. The Legislature passed the measure late last week with support from Gov. Charlie Crist, who is expected to sign the bill at Cape Canaveral in the next few weeks, and Rep. Bob Allen. Its money could be used to nurture space start-up firms and try to turn KSC into a hub for NASA's moon program by luring facilities for the construction of lunar landers, lunar habitation modules and an array of other research.
The fund combines $125 million in taxpayer dollars with a matching amount from other sources, including union pension funds, energy companies and U.S. Department of Energy grants. It will be jointly managed by the state and private managers, and include strict criteria for ventures to qualify, as well as a solid approach to accountability. Allen wants to double the fund's size next year to $500 million -- again matching public and private money -- which should be done to further advance creation of the high-tech, high-pay jobs that Florida and the Space Coast need.
Space Florida Plans Improvements to RLV Hangar at Spaceport (Source: Space Florida)
Space Florida is soliciting proposals for engineering, architectural, and project management services to facilitate the recommended improvements to the existing Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Hangar located adjacent to the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) on Kennedy Space Center. Click here for information.
Space Florida Upgrading Rocket Maintenance/Storage Facility (Source: Space Florida)
Space Florida plans to overhaul the fire and security systems within its rocket maintenance/storage facility at Camp Blanding in Northeast Florida. Upgrades are planned for the Security and Entry Control Building (SECB), Transfer Inspection and Maintenance Facility (TIMF), Segment Storage Facility (SSF), Covered Air-Bearing Roadway (CAR), and Pump House. Click here for information.
Loral Announces Quarterly Results (Source: Loral)
Loral announced that quarterly revenue rose 28 percent over last year's first quarter to $221 million. Loral reported a net loss in the quarter of $17 million, compared to a net loss of $16 million in the first quarter of 2006. Loral ended the first quarter of 2007 with $507 million in available cash and short term investments. Loral's total consolidated backlog at March 31, 2007 was $1.559 billion, compared to $1.347 billion at December 31, 2006 and $1.115 billion on March 31, 2006.
Near Miss for Space History (Source: Huntsville Times)
The losses from Monday's fire at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center were not as severe as initially feared. Huntsville firefighters stopped the fire from reaching space exploration artifacts stored near the flames. On Monday, officials speculated that the museum had lost an irreplaceable instruments unit built for the Saturn V moon rocket. The heat appears to have bubbled the paint, but the unit is otherwise OK. Only a nose cone from the launch escape system for a Saturn V test unit was scorched. It can be repaired and will likely be displayed when the museum's new building opens in January.
Airbus Overhaul May Provide Clues About New French President (Source: AIA)
How newly elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy manages the ongoing overhaul at Airbus will demonstrate whether he is a free-market reformer or an economic nationalist. Reforms at the jetmaker could eliminate thousands of jobs and close several factories. Observers expect Sarkozy to give Airbus flexibility to cut costs. They also believe he will try to strengthen France's influence over Airbus.
Vero Beach in Fight for Piper Jobs (Source: Florida Today)
Vero Beach hopes to keep Piper Aircraft -- and its 1,029 local employees -- from taking flight to another manufacturing location in the United States. Piper, a Vero Beach icon since 1957, is considering moving to one of four other locations to produce its new $2.2 million PiperJet single-engine, seven-seat aircraft, as well as its other general aviation products. On Piper's short list of relocation sites are Tallahassee, New Mexico, Oklahoma and South Carolina. To keep Piper in Vero Beach, local officials are considering offering the company a package of incentives worth tens of millions of dollars.
NASA to Test Ares Engines in Mississippi (Source: AP)
NASA plans to build a new rocket engine test stand at the Stennis Space Center on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, according to Senators Thad Cochran and Trent Lott. The new stand will test NASA’s J-2X engines, which will be used in the second stage of the Ares I launch vehicle. Cochran and Lott said the announcement represents an estimated $175 million investment at Stennis to support the Constellation Project. The Stennis Space Center, which opened in the 1960s, is NASA’s primary center for rocket propulsion testing.
SpaceHab Getting Uninhabitable (Source: Motley Fool)
NASA outsources many of its logistical and other services supporting space operations to SpaceHab, and also contracts with it to manufacture space-proof habitat and laboratory modules used on, for example, the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. If it sounds like a sexy business, well, it is. If it sounds like a profitable business, though, well, it isn't. Not by a long shot. Things have deteriorated rapidly. According to their latest earnings report, and also a few of its pre-earnings 8-K filings with the SEC, SpaceHab lost $1.2 million on revenue that declined 2% year over year to $12.2 million for its fiscal third quarter. That brings the firm's net loss for the fiscal year to date to just under $3.1 million.
Embry-Riddle’s Hybrid Race Car Takes Top Awards in Competition (Source: ERAU)
No, it doesn’t fly. But a race car designed and built by students from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University won the Most Innovative Design Award and the Daimler-Chrysler Award for Hybrid Systems Engineering at the inaugural Formula Hybrid International Competition. The Embry-Riddle car – dubbed “Shredder” – also came in first overall among U.S. competitors, which included Colorado State University, Dartmouth College, Drexel University, Florida Institute of Technology, Illinois Institute of Technology, and Yale University. Canada’s McGill University won the overall international competition.
India: Manned Mission in 8 Years (Source: IBN Live)
Government officials have said that India will send the first man to space in the next eight years, if all goes well. Though the Government has not yet sanctioned the project, a minister during Question Hour said, "An Indian manned mission (to space) is under preparation. Government has not yet sanctioned the mission. But, plans are being made to send a man to space. That does not necessarily mean sending a man to moon".
The state's legislature has created a Florida Energy, Aerospace and Technology Fund, which will provide up to $250 million for aerospace and alternative energy projects. The Legislature passed the measure late last week with support from Gov. Charlie Crist, who is expected to sign the bill at Cape Canaveral in the next few weeks, and Rep. Bob Allen. Its money could be used to nurture space start-up firms and try to turn KSC into a hub for NASA's moon program by luring facilities for the construction of lunar landers, lunar habitation modules and an array of other research.
The fund combines $125 million in taxpayer dollars with a matching amount from other sources, including union pension funds, energy companies and U.S. Department of Energy grants. It will be jointly managed by the state and private managers, and include strict criteria for ventures to qualify, as well as a solid approach to accountability. Allen wants to double the fund's size next year to $500 million -- again matching public and private money -- which should be done to further advance creation of the high-tech, high-pay jobs that Florida and the Space Coast need.
Space Florida Plans Improvements to RLV Hangar at Spaceport (Source: Space Florida)
Space Florida is soliciting proposals for engineering, architectural, and project management services to facilitate the recommended improvements to the existing Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Hangar located adjacent to the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) on Kennedy Space Center. Click here for information.
Space Florida Upgrading Rocket Maintenance/Storage Facility (Source: Space Florida)
Space Florida plans to overhaul the fire and security systems within its rocket maintenance/storage facility at Camp Blanding in Northeast Florida. Upgrades are planned for the Security and Entry Control Building (SECB), Transfer Inspection and Maintenance Facility (TIMF), Segment Storage Facility (SSF), Covered Air-Bearing Roadway (CAR), and Pump House. Click here for information.
Loral Announces Quarterly Results (Source: Loral)
Loral announced that quarterly revenue rose 28 percent over last year's first quarter to $221 million. Loral reported a net loss in the quarter of $17 million, compared to a net loss of $16 million in the first quarter of 2006. Loral ended the first quarter of 2007 with $507 million in available cash and short term investments. Loral's total consolidated backlog at March 31, 2007 was $1.559 billion, compared to $1.347 billion at December 31, 2006 and $1.115 billion on March 31, 2006.
Near Miss for Space History (Source: Huntsville Times)
The losses from Monday's fire at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center were not as severe as initially feared. Huntsville firefighters stopped the fire from reaching space exploration artifacts stored near the flames. On Monday, officials speculated that the museum had lost an irreplaceable instruments unit built for the Saturn V moon rocket. The heat appears to have bubbled the paint, but the unit is otherwise OK. Only a nose cone from the launch escape system for a Saturn V test unit was scorched. It can be repaired and will likely be displayed when the museum's new building opens in January.
Airbus Overhaul May Provide Clues About New French President (Source: AIA)
How newly elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy manages the ongoing overhaul at Airbus will demonstrate whether he is a free-market reformer or an economic nationalist. Reforms at the jetmaker could eliminate thousands of jobs and close several factories. Observers expect Sarkozy to give Airbus flexibility to cut costs. They also believe he will try to strengthen France's influence over Airbus.
Vero Beach in Fight for Piper Jobs (Source: Florida Today)
Vero Beach hopes to keep Piper Aircraft -- and its 1,029 local employees -- from taking flight to another manufacturing location in the United States. Piper, a Vero Beach icon since 1957, is considering moving to one of four other locations to produce its new $2.2 million PiperJet single-engine, seven-seat aircraft, as well as its other general aviation products. On Piper's short list of relocation sites are Tallahassee, New Mexico, Oklahoma and South Carolina. To keep Piper in Vero Beach, local officials are considering offering the company a package of incentives worth tens of millions of dollars.
NASA to Test Ares Engines in Mississippi (Source: AP)
NASA plans to build a new rocket engine test stand at the Stennis Space Center on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, according to Senators Thad Cochran and Trent Lott. The new stand will test NASA’s J-2X engines, which will be used in the second stage of the Ares I launch vehicle. Cochran and Lott said the announcement represents an estimated $175 million investment at Stennis to support the Constellation Project. The Stennis Space Center, which opened in the 1960s, is NASA’s primary center for rocket propulsion testing.
SpaceHab Getting Uninhabitable (Source: Motley Fool)
NASA outsources many of its logistical and other services supporting space operations to SpaceHab, and also contracts with it to manufacture space-proof habitat and laboratory modules used on, for example, the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. If it sounds like a sexy business, well, it is. If it sounds like a profitable business, though, well, it isn't. Not by a long shot. Things have deteriorated rapidly. According to their latest earnings report, and also a few of its pre-earnings 8-K filings with the SEC, SpaceHab lost $1.2 million on revenue that declined 2% year over year to $12.2 million for its fiscal third quarter. That brings the firm's net loss for the fiscal year to date to just under $3.1 million.
Embry-Riddle’s Hybrid Race Car Takes Top Awards in Competition (Source: ERAU)
No, it doesn’t fly. But a race car designed and built by students from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University won the Most Innovative Design Award and the Daimler-Chrysler Award for Hybrid Systems Engineering at the inaugural Formula Hybrid International Competition. The Embry-Riddle car – dubbed “Shredder” – also came in first overall among U.S. competitors, which included Colorado State University, Dartmouth College, Drexel University, Florida Institute of Technology, Illinois Institute of Technology, and Yale University. Canada’s McGill University won the overall international competition.
India: Manned Mission in 8 Years (Source: IBN Live)
Government officials have said that India will send the first man to space in the next eight years, if all goes well. Though the Government has not yet sanctioned the project, a minister during Question Hour said, "An Indian manned mission (to space) is under preparation. Government has not yet sanctioned the mission. But, plans are being made to send a man to space. That does not necessarily mean sending a man to moon".
May 8 News Items
DOD Turns to Venture Capitalists in Search for New Technology (Source: AIA)
The DOD is turning to technology investors to lead it to cutting-edge technology developed by startup firms. The program, called the Defense Venture Catalyst Initiative, provides the government and the investors with fast, efficient ways to work together. The investors have knowledge technology that may be developed by companies with just two employees, program director Bob Pohanka says. "These are companies that are not involved in the DOD supply chain," he says.
Who's Paying $200,000 For a Few Minutes in Space? (Source: USA Today)
The next space race is on, and this time it's for the masses. Well, not exactly the masses. More like the actors, real estate magnates, hedge fund managers and well-off adventurers who can afford $200,000 or so for a quick jaunt beyond the Earth's atmosphere and several minutes of zero-gravity weightlessness. They include actress and skin-care entrepreneur Victoria Principal, 57 and Hollywood director Bryan Singer, 41, who got turned on to the idea while planning a shuttle disaster scene for his movie Superman Returns. Among the not-so-famous is Soviet émigré Lina Borozdina-Birch, 38, who took out a second mortgage on her house to fulfill her extraterrestrial dream — despite her fear of flying. Space junkies George and Loretta Whitesides, both 33, plan to celebrate their honeymoon more than 70 miles above Earth. Customers have put down $21 million in deposits. Those who want to be among the first 100 to fly had to pay the full $200,000 fare up front; the rest put down a minimum deposit of $20,000. Visit
Virgin, which plans to eventually offer two spaceflights a day, is trying to appeal to a broader audience. In its quest to become the first commercial "spaceline," however, it has several competitors. Rocketplane Inc. of Oklahoma City plans to offer suborbital flights starting in 2009, the company's George French says. Tickets will cost $225,000 to $300,000, depending on how soon passengers fly and where they sit in the spacecraft. Benson Space Co. in Poway, Calif., also hopes to offer flights in 2009. The fare is $200,000. Neither wouldn't say how many reservations have been made. Visit http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2007-05-07-space-tourist_N.htm to view the article.
Space Camp Center Suffers Loss of Artifacts in Fire (Source: Huntsville Times)
U.S. Space & Rocket Center officials are assessing their losses from a maintenance building fire Monday that destroyed at least two Apollo-era relics. The blaze created a real launch-like backdrop for lunchtime commuters along Interstate 565 with smoke billowing behind the 360-foot-tall Saturn V replica. No one was injured and the fire posed no threat to the museum or U.S. Space Camp. Museum officials are grieving over the loss of a historic test command module and a historic "instruments unit" built for the Saturn V program. The equipment was in the building awaiting refurbishment.
Lockheed-Built Spacecraft to Set Out for Mars (Source: AIA)
The Phoenix lander is leaving Colorado for its trip to Florida today. Lockheed Martin built the spacecraft, which will launch from Kennedy Space Center in August and land on Mars' north pole next May to dig through the surface of Mars for signs of life.
Huge Star Explodes in Brightest Supernova Yet Seen (Source: Reuters)
A gargantuan explosion ripped apart a star perhaps 150 times more massive than our sun in a relatively nearby galaxy in the most powerful and brightest supernova ever observed, astronomers said on Monday. And there is one such star in our own Milky Way galaxy that appears to be on the brink of dying in just such a supernova. The exploding star's dramatic death may have come in a rare type of supernova reserved for "freakishly massive" stars that astronomers had speculated about but never previously witnessed. The explosion occurred long ago but was detected last year after its light traveled many, many trillions of miles before it could be observed from Earth.
Rocket Racing Team Withdraws from League (Source: Space.com)
The first team to join the growing Rocket Racing League (RRL) has pulled out of the high-flying venture, citing fundamental differences. The Leading Edge Rocket Racing team announced its intent to withdraw from the nascent league late Friday. After working with [the] Rocket Racing League for the past 17 months, we have concluded that our vision, business practices, and communications standards are incompatible with those of the league," Robert Rickard, Leading Edge president and CEO, said in a statement. "We had very high hopes for this enterprise and tried very hard to find a common way forward."
Hawking Concerned for Earth-Bound Humans (Source: The Independent)
Professor Stephen Hawking has just completed a series of "zero-gravity" flights and says he wants to see the Earth from space by going for a ride with Virgin Galactic, which is scheduled to offer tourist trips into "space" in two years. Hawking believes that travelling into space is the only way humans will be able to survive in the long-term. He said in a statement: "Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers...I think the human race has no future if it doesn't go into space."
Is It Not Better to Send Robots to Explore Space? (Source: The Independent)
Many intelligent people believe this is the case, given that a robot mission costs between 10 and 100 times less than a manned mission. Safety in space can be incredibly expensive, and to send people aloft means that three or four levels of safety precautions have to be built in to minimise risks. Robots are a long way from being able to substitute humans. A robot geologist, for instance, might take weeks analysing a Martian landscape or a piece of lunar rock that a human specialist could evaluate in minutes. Steve Squyres, the principle scientist on the NASA mission to explore Mars, pointed out that for all their apparent sophistication, space robots are still relatively primitive machines. "We are many decades away from robots that can match humans even in the lab. And laboratory robotics is about 20 years ahead of space robotics," he said.
What is the Point of a Suborbital Space Trip? (Source: The Independent)
Good question. At these altitudes it is possible to see the curvature of the Earth and look down on the thin smudge of air; our life-support system. Critics will argue that the space tours being promoted by billionaires such as Richard Branson will merely provide rich people with a good view of the atmosphere that their carbon-hungry trip has just helped to destroy - the ultimate 4x4 experience. Encouraging rich people to go for short, but expensive, joy rides into space appears to be led by even richer men with a boyish fascination for space travel. They argue that space tourism is about adventure and excitement, but the bottom line is that they also believe, with the right work behind it, it can be profitable.
The DOD is turning to technology investors to lead it to cutting-edge technology developed by startup firms. The program, called the Defense Venture Catalyst Initiative, provides the government and the investors with fast, efficient ways to work together. The investors have knowledge technology that may be developed by companies with just two employees, program director Bob Pohanka says. "These are companies that are not involved in the DOD supply chain," he says.
Who's Paying $200,000 For a Few Minutes in Space? (Source: USA Today)
The next space race is on, and this time it's for the masses. Well, not exactly the masses. More like the actors, real estate magnates, hedge fund managers and well-off adventurers who can afford $200,000 or so for a quick jaunt beyond the Earth's atmosphere and several minutes of zero-gravity weightlessness. They include actress and skin-care entrepreneur Victoria Principal, 57 and Hollywood director Bryan Singer, 41, who got turned on to the idea while planning a shuttle disaster scene for his movie Superman Returns. Among the not-so-famous is Soviet émigré Lina Borozdina-Birch, 38, who took out a second mortgage on her house to fulfill her extraterrestrial dream — despite her fear of flying. Space junkies George and Loretta Whitesides, both 33, plan to celebrate their honeymoon more than 70 miles above Earth. Customers have put down $21 million in deposits. Those who want to be among the first 100 to fly had to pay the full $200,000 fare up front; the rest put down a minimum deposit of $20,000. Visit
Virgin, which plans to eventually offer two spaceflights a day, is trying to appeal to a broader audience. In its quest to become the first commercial "spaceline," however, it has several competitors. Rocketplane Inc. of Oklahoma City plans to offer suborbital flights starting in 2009, the company's George French says. Tickets will cost $225,000 to $300,000, depending on how soon passengers fly and where they sit in the spacecraft. Benson Space Co. in Poway, Calif., also hopes to offer flights in 2009. The fare is $200,000. Neither wouldn't say how many reservations have been made. Visit http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2007-05-07-space-tourist_N.htm to view the article.
Space Camp Center Suffers Loss of Artifacts in Fire (Source: Huntsville Times)
U.S. Space & Rocket Center officials are assessing their losses from a maintenance building fire Monday that destroyed at least two Apollo-era relics. The blaze created a real launch-like backdrop for lunchtime commuters along Interstate 565 with smoke billowing behind the 360-foot-tall Saturn V replica. No one was injured and the fire posed no threat to the museum or U.S. Space Camp. Museum officials are grieving over the loss of a historic test command module and a historic "instruments unit" built for the Saturn V program. The equipment was in the building awaiting refurbishment.
Lockheed-Built Spacecraft to Set Out for Mars (Source: AIA)
The Phoenix lander is leaving Colorado for its trip to Florida today. Lockheed Martin built the spacecraft, which will launch from Kennedy Space Center in August and land on Mars' north pole next May to dig through the surface of Mars for signs of life.
Huge Star Explodes in Brightest Supernova Yet Seen (Source: Reuters)
A gargantuan explosion ripped apart a star perhaps 150 times more massive than our sun in a relatively nearby galaxy in the most powerful and brightest supernova ever observed, astronomers said on Monday. And there is one such star in our own Milky Way galaxy that appears to be on the brink of dying in just such a supernova. The exploding star's dramatic death may have come in a rare type of supernova reserved for "freakishly massive" stars that astronomers had speculated about but never previously witnessed. The explosion occurred long ago but was detected last year after its light traveled many, many trillions of miles before it could be observed from Earth.
Rocket Racing Team Withdraws from League (Source: Space.com)
The first team to join the growing Rocket Racing League (RRL) has pulled out of the high-flying venture, citing fundamental differences. The Leading Edge Rocket Racing team announced its intent to withdraw from the nascent league late Friday. After working with [the] Rocket Racing League for the past 17 months, we have concluded that our vision, business practices, and communications standards are incompatible with those of the league," Robert Rickard, Leading Edge president and CEO, said in a statement. "We had very high hopes for this enterprise and tried very hard to find a common way forward."
Hawking Concerned for Earth-Bound Humans (Source: The Independent)
Professor Stephen Hawking has just completed a series of "zero-gravity" flights and says he wants to see the Earth from space by going for a ride with Virgin Galactic, which is scheduled to offer tourist trips into "space" in two years. Hawking believes that travelling into space is the only way humans will be able to survive in the long-term. He said in a statement: "Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers...I think the human race has no future if it doesn't go into space."
Is It Not Better to Send Robots to Explore Space? (Source: The Independent)
Many intelligent people believe this is the case, given that a robot mission costs between 10 and 100 times less than a manned mission. Safety in space can be incredibly expensive, and to send people aloft means that three or four levels of safety precautions have to be built in to minimise risks. Robots are a long way from being able to substitute humans. A robot geologist, for instance, might take weeks analysing a Martian landscape or a piece of lunar rock that a human specialist could evaluate in minutes. Steve Squyres, the principle scientist on the NASA mission to explore Mars, pointed out that for all their apparent sophistication, space robots are still relatively primitive machines. "We are many decades away from robots that can match humans even in the lab. And laboratory robotics is about 20 years ahead of space robotics," he said.
What is the Point of a Suborbital Space Trip? (Source: The Independent)
Good question. At these altitudes it is possible to see the curvature of the Earth and look down on the thin smudge of air; our life-support system. Critics will argue that the space tours being promoted by billionaires such as Richard Branson will merely provide rich people with a good view of the atmosphere that their carbon-hungry trip has just helped to destroy - the ultimate 4x4 experience. Encouraging rich people to go for short, but expensive, joy rides into space appears to be led by even richer men with a boyish fascination for space travel. They argue that space tourism is about adventure and excitement, but the bottom line is that they also believe, with the right work behind it, it can be profitable.
May 7 News Items
The Last Schirra: Looming Extinction of The Right Stuff (Source: MND.com)
Last week, Wally Schirra, Jr., a member of a shrinking and nearly extinct daredevil brotherhood, died of a heart attack. Schirra was the only astronaut to fly in all three of NASA’s original manned spaceflight programs: Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. Of the original Mercury Seven, only Scott Carpenter and John Glenn are still alive. As a matter of fact, John Glenn was still cheating death as late as last year. Last summer, Glenn and his wife were injured in a traffic accident near Columbus. Several years ago, Chuck Yeager was severely injured after falling from a ladder. In April of 2006, Yeager’s colleague and competitor in the halcyon days of the space race, Scott Crossfield, was killed when his single-engine plane crashed in the Georgia mountains. This was a little closer to a “fitting” death (if there is such a thing) for a risk-taking pilot, but it is still like a NASCAR driver dying in a lawn mower accident. We still have Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, and many, many others with us, but as time goes by, it takes many of our heroes with it. What makes the aging and passing of a generation of true American heroes that much harder to take is that it seems they’re not being replaced.
Sea Launch's Odyssey Heading to Vancouver (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
In what is a key stage of Sea Launch's return to flight plans, the refurbished Odyssey Launch Platform will head to Vancouver, where special engineering work will be carried out on replacing the flame deflector that was blown off during January's launch failure. The explosion of the Zenit 3SL was caused by a small foreign object - believed to be a loose bolt in the LOX tank - which was sucked into the RD-171 engine's turbomachinery...likely the result of 'improper assembly' at a Ukraine factory. The lack of blame associated with the RD-171 has been known for some months, and played a part in allowing the United Launch Alliance to press ahead with their Atlas V launch in March. Atlas was stood down in the aftermath of the Sea Launch failure due to commonality between Atlas' RD-180 and the Zenit 3SL's RD-171.
Hall of Fame Inducts Astronauts (Source: Florida Today)
Growing up, Steven Hawley never imagined he would ever meet any of the great pioneer astronauts he considered his heroes. But Saturday, Hawley, along with Michael Coats and Jeffrey Hoffman, joined their ranks as they were inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. "Today is a day I will never forget," he said. The addition of Hawley, Coats and Hoffman bring the total of hall of fame inductees to 66. About two dozen of those elite members were on hand to welcome in the trio. The hall of fame honor is awarded based not only on their flight accomplishments, but also to what they've contributed to the space program since then.
Last week, Wally Schirra, Jr., a member of a shrinking and nearly extinct daredevil brotherhood, died of a heart attack. Schirra was the only astronaut to fly in all three of NASA’s original manned spaceflight programs: Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. Of the original Mercury Seven, only Scott Carpenter and John Glenn are still alive. As a matter of fact, John Glenn was still cheating death as late as last year. Last summer, Glenn and his wife were injured in a traffic accident near Columbus. Several years ago, Chuck Yeager was severely injured after falling from a ladder. In April of 2006, Yeager’s colleague and competitor in the halcyon days of the space race, Scott Crossfield, was killed when his single-engine plane crashed in the Georgia mountains. This was a little closer to a “fitting” death (if there is such a thing) for a risk-taking pilot, but it is still like a NASCAR driver dying in a lawn mower accident. We still have Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, and many, many others with us, but as time goes by, it takes many of our heroes with it. What makes the aging and passing of a generation of true American heroes that much harder to take is that it seems they’re not being replaced.
Sea Launch's Odyssey Heading to Vancouver (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
In what is a key stage of Sea Launch's return to flight plans, the refurbished Odyssey Launch Platform will head to Vancouver, where special engineering work will be carried out on replacing the flame deflector that was blown off during January's launch failure. The explosion of the Zenit 3SL was caused by a small foreign object - believed to be a loose bolt in the LOX tank - which was sucked into the RD-171 engine's turbomachinery...likely the result of 'improper assembly' at a Ukraine factory. The lack of blame associated with the RD-171 has been known for some months, and played a part in allowing the United Launch Alliance to press ahead with their Atlas V launch in March. Atlas was stood down in the aftermath of the Sea Launch failure due to commonality between Atlas' RD-180 and the Zenit 3SL's RD-171.
Hall of Fame Inducts Astronauts (Source: Florida Today)
Growing up, Steven Hawley never imagined he would ever meet any of the great pioneer astronauts he considered his heroes. But Saturday, Hawley, along with Michael Coats and Jeffrey Hoffman, joined their ranks as they were inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. "Today is a day I will never forget," he said. The addition of Hawley, Coats and Hoffman bring the total of hall of fame inductees to 66. About two dozen of those elite members were on hand to welcome in the trio. The hall of fame honor is awarded based not only on their flight accomplishments, but also to what they've contributed to the space program since then.
May 5 News Items
NASA Science Chief Puts Principle Investigators on Notice (Source: Space News)
NASA's new science chief, Alan Stern, used his first appearance before Congress to put principal investigators on notice: keep your missions on budget or prepare to step aside. Stern, an experienced principal investigator (PI) with his own NASA-funded spacecraft hurtling toward Pluto, said scientists lucky enough to have their mission proposals selected by NASA have an obligation to put their research duties on hold and focus on getting their spacecraft and instruments built.
Oklahoma Gets Spaceport License (Source: KSWO)
It's a project that's been in the works for the better part of the decade and finally, on Friday, a part of Oklahoma became a licensed gateway to space. The Oklahoma Spaceport in Burns Flat is now one of just six places in the United States licensed by the FAA for private space travel. "In a world more eager than ever to find out what space flight is like, Oklahoma has officially decided to find out for itself," said Patti Grace Smith, the FAA's Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Travel. Oklahoma is competing with California, Texas, and New Mexico to become the future hub of space tourism. Officials said the state has a leg up, thanks to the Oklahoma Spaceport with nearly three miles of runway, 2700 total acres, and six hangars, all formerly part of Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base.
ZERO-G Eyes NASA Weightless Flights (Source: Space News)
Less than 24 hours after Zero Gravity Corp. (ZERO-G) flew wheelchair-bound cosmologist Stephen Hawking on a high-profile flight that gave him the opportunity to experience brief periods of weightlessness, executives at the Ft. Lauderdale-based company were poring over a NASA solicitation that would open the door to companies that want to provide similar airplane services to the U.S. government. Whether NASA entrusts ZERO-G to fly its astronauts and scientists or continues to operate its own dedicated airplane is up in the air. A NASA RFP issued April 27 says the agency is interested in buying between one and 20 weeks of flights per year from a qualified bidder offering safe and reliable services.
SES Scraps Deal with Boeing to Replace Satellite (Source: Space News)
SES Global has terminated a contract with Boeing to build an identical replacement for the NSS-8 satellite lost in the Jan. 30 failure of a Sea Launch rocket. That decision followed Boeing's refusal to abide by the contract's terms, SES Global officials said. SES Global's Chief Executive said the company is seeking bids from other manufacturers for a similar satellite for its SES New Skies division and is keeping its legal options open with respect to possible recourse against Boeing.
Firms to Develop Backup Orion Heat Shield Materials (Source: Space News)
NASA awarded two contracts totaling $34 million to develop three alternative heat-shield materials the agency could fall back on if it runs into problems with the primary material chosen for its Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. Boeing, which is developing the primary material, stands to receive $10 million to do early work on a proprietary alternative. The other two alternatives are being developed by Textron under a $24 million contract.
Lockheed Martin Awarded SBIRS Work Worth $35.8 Million (Source: Space News)
The Air Force awarded a contract modification to Lockheed Martin worth $35.8 million to address issues with the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) High missile warning satellite program. The contract announcement stated that the money is intended to pay for "upgrades of the Geosynchronous Earth Orbit test anomaly resolution and operation support." The first SBIRS High satellite is expected to launch in 2008.
U.S. Plans $750 Million in Satellite Service Buys (Source: Space News)
About two-dozen providers of fixed and mobile satellite services will be able to bid on an estimated $750 million in U.S. government civil and military business in the next five years following awards announced May 2 by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). GSA's Satcom-2 program succeeds Satcom-1, which was valued at about $500 million over five years.
Ariane Launches Two Satellites (Source: SpaceToday.net)
An Ariane 5 launched two commercial communications satellites Friday after a one-day delay. The Ariane 5 ECA lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, and placed the Astra 1L and Galaxy 17 spacecraft into geosynchronous transfer orbit about a half-hour later. Astra 1L, a Lockheed Martin A2100AX spacecraft owned by SES Astra, weighed 4,500 kg at launch and carries a mix of Ku- and Ka-band transponders. Galaxy 17 is a Thales Alenia Space Spacebus 3000B3 spacecraft that weighed 4,100 kg at launch. It will be used by Intelsat to provide services for North America. The launch is the second of a planned six Ariane missions in 2007.
May 4 News Items
Space Pioneer Wally Schirra Dies at 84 (Source: Reuters)
U.S. space pioneer Wally Schirra, who helped lead America into the space age as one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, has died at the age of 84. Schirra had a heart attack and died early on Thursday at a hospital near his home in Rancho Santa Fe, California. Schirra and his Mercury 7 colleagues captured the nation's imagination as they flew NASA's earliest flights in the Cold War space race with the Soviet Union. NASA promoted them as all-American heroes with the "right stuff" to go into the unexplored darkness of space aboard still-experimental rockets. Schirra, the only astronaut to fly on Mercury, Gemini and Apollo flights, was the third American into space when he orbited Earth six times in an October 1962 Mercury flight.
Florida House of Reps Has Moment of Silence for Schirra (Source Ft. Myers News-Press)
The Florida House stood in silence a moment Friday to honor Wally Schirra, one of the original NASA astronauts. Schirra, 84, was the third American to orbit the Earth, flying aboard the Sigma 7 Mercury orbiter. Rep. Bob Allen, R-Merritt Island, arranged the floor tribute, and recalled meeting with Schirra and other astronauts at reunions at Cape Canaveral. "He was so proud to see what Florida was doing in this new international competition," Allen said. He noted that the Legislature on Thursday, the day Schirra died, approved legislation that creates a state fund to match private investments in aerospace industries.
Alliant Techsystems Profit Up, Raises Forecast (Source: Reuters)
Alliant Techsystems' (ATK) quarterly profit rose a greater-than-expected 84 percent, spurred by strong sales of its ammunition, military technology and space equipment. ATK, which is the largest supplier of bullets to the U.S. military and also makes rocket motors for NASA, raised its profit forecasts on the expectation that sales will continue to grow across all its businesses. ATK reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $54.1 million, compared with $29.4 million in the year-ago quarter. Sales rose 10 percent to $1 billion, ahead of analysts' average forecast of $960 million. The company recorded higher sales in each of its three units, which focus on military technology, ammunition and rocket launch systems.
More Space Law Like Virginia? (Source: Spaceports Blog)
SpaceLawProbe blogger Jessica Londin rhetorically posed a question recently: "Which state will be the first to follow the lead of the Commonwealth of Virginia and enact its own spaceflight immunity law? California, Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas?" Alex Tai, Personal Spaceflight Federation chairman and chief operating officer of Virgin Galactic, recently told The Space Foundation conference in Colorado that the industry group wants to see the Virginia prototype become law in California, Florida, Oklahoma and Texas - all states that are locations for commercial spaceports. The Virginia Spaceflight Liability and Immunity Act goes into effect on July 1, 2007 with the intent of encoraging commercial launch firms to inquire about utilization of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia.
Weldon Says Democrats To Cripple Manned Space Program (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon,(R-FL) excoriated the Democratic leadership for failing to allow a vote on an amendment he proposed that would have kept Congress from raiding NASA's budget to fund a 35% increase for the National Science Foundation (NSF). "It's increasingly clear that Democratic leaders have our manned space program in their crosshairs," said Weldon. He noted that at the hearing to introduce his proposal Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), who sits on the powerful Rules Committee, said he opposed the amendment because he was 'not convinced' of the need for human space exploration.
Weldon originally introduced the amendment after the Democrats proposed an astounding 40% percent ($2 billion) funding increase for NSF this year alone. The proposed increase was made possible earlier this year when Democrats cut a half-a-billion dollars from NASA funding. NASA and NSF are funded through the same budget account and compete for the same pot of money.
Winds Delay Ariane Launch (Source: SpaceToday.net)
Gusty high-altitude winds delayed Thursday's scheduled launch of two communications satellites on an Ariane 5. The Ariane 5ECA was scheduled to lift off Thursday evening from Kourou, French Guiana, and place into orbit the Astra 1L and Galaxy 17 commercial communications satellites for SES Astra and Intelsat, respectively. However, strong upper-level winds forced Arianespace to scrub the launch, rescheduling it for Friday evening. The launch will be the second Ariane mission the year by Arianespace.
Homemade Space Glove Wins NASA Contest (Source: Space.com)
An astronaut glove stitched together on a Maine engineer's dining room table won a cool $200,000 in a NASA competition. Peter Homer, an engineer from Southwest Harbor, Maine, won NASA's first-ever Astronaut Glove Challenge after a two-day competition. Homer's two home-built spacesuit gloves beat entries from two other teams to take home the top prize. "It took a lot of sitting at the sewing machine." A total of $250,000, split into two separate prizes, was up for grabs during NASA's Astronaut Glove Challenge, one of several Centennial Challenges offered by the space agency to spur interest and innovation in spaceflight technology. Entrants were charged with constructing spacesuit gloves capable of meeting, or exceeding, the specifications of NASA's current Phase VI glove. "If you're looking for innovative ideas, evolutionary steps and better gloves, you can't beat it," said a NASA spacesuit subsystems manager.
Repairs to Railroad Had Wrapped Up Moments Before (Source: AP)
Workers had just finished repairs on a railroad bridge and were watching as the track collapsed under a train hauling pieces of space shuttle rockets. The train was the first to go over the bridge after the repairs and testing wrapped up only moments before the crash, authorities said. Work was done on the pilings that hold the trestle up over a boggy area and on other parts of the structure. "A number" of railroad workers or contractors were on hand when the derailment occurred at a wooden trestle described as 650 feet long and 10 feet high, said Warren Flatau, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration.
U.S. space pioneer Wally Schirra, who helped lead America into the space age as one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, has died at the age of 84. Schirra had a heart attack and died early on Thursday at a hospital near his home in Rancho Santa Fe, California. Schirra and his Mercury 7 colleagues captured the nation's imagination as they flew NASA's earliest flights in the Cold War space race with the Soviet Union. NASA promoted them as all-American heroes with the "right stuff" to go into the unexplored darkness of space aboard still-experimental rockets. Schirra, the only astronaut to fly on Mercury, Gemini and Apollo flights, was the third American into space when he orbited Earth six times in an October 1962 Mercury flight.
Florida House of Reps Has Moment of Silence for Schirra (Source Ft. Myers News-Press)
The Florida House stood in silence a moment Friday to honor Wally Schirra, one of the original NASA astronauts. Schirra, 84, was the third American to orbit the Earth, flying aboard the Sigma 7 Mercury orbiter. Rep. Bob Allen, R-Merritt Island, arranged the floor tribute, and recalled meeting with Schirra and other astronauts at reunions at Cape Canaveral. "He was so proud to see what Florida was doing in this new international competition," Allen said. He noted that the Legislature on Thursday, the day Schirra died, approved legislation that creates a state fund to match private investments in aerospace industries.
Alliant Techsystems Profit Up, Raises Forecast (Source: Reuters)
Alliant Techsystems' (ATK) quarterly profit rose a greater-than-expected 84 percent, spurred by strong sales of its ammunition, military technology and space equipment. ATK, which is the largest supplier of bullets to the U.S. military and also makes rocket motors for NASA, raised its profit forecasts on the expectation that sales will continue to grow across all its businesses. ATK reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $54.1 million, compared with $29.4 million in the year-ago quarter. Sales rose 10 percent to $1 billion, ahead of analysts' average forecast of $960 million. The company recorded higher sales in each of its three units, which focus on military technology, ammunition and rocket launch systems.
More Space Law Like Virginia? (Source: Spaceports Blog)
SpaceLawProbe blogger Jessica Londin rhetorically posed a question recently: "Which state will be the first to follow the lead of the Commonwealth of Virginia and enact its own spaceflight immunity law? California, Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas?" Alex Tai, Personal Spaceflight Federation chairman and chief operating officer of Virgin Galactic, recently told The Space Foundation conference in Colorado that the industry group wants to see the Virginia prototype become law in California, Florida, Oklahoma and Texas - all states that are locations for commercial spaceports. The Virginia Spaceflight Liability and Immunity Act goes into effect on July 1, 2007 with the intent of encoraging commercial launch firms to inquire about utilization of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia.
Weldon Says Democrats To Cripple Manned Space Program (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon,(R-FL) excoriated the Democratic leadership for failing to allow a vote on an amendment he proposed that would have kept Congress from raiding NASA's budget to fund a 35% increase for the National Science Foundation (NSF). "It's increasingly clear that Democratic leaders have our manned space program in their crosshairs," said Weldon. He noted that at the hearing to introduce his proposal Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), who sits on the powerful Rules Committee, said he opposed the amendment because he was 'not convinced' of the need for human space exploration.
Weldon originally introduced the amendment after the Democrats proposed an astounding 40% percent ($2 billion) funding increase for NSF this year alone. The proposed increase was made possible earlier this year when Democrats cut a half-a-billion dollars from NASA funding. NASA and NSF are funded through the same budget account and compete for the same pot of money.
Winds Delay Ariane Launch (Source: SpaceToday.net)
Gusty high-altitude winds delayed Thursday's scheduled launch of two communications satellites on an Ariane 5. The Ariane 5ECA was scheduled to lift off Thursday evening from Kourou, French Guiana, and place into orbit the Astra 1L and Galaxy 17 commercial communications satellites for SES Astra and Intelsat, respectively. However, strong upper-level winds forced Arianespace to scrub the launch, rescheduling it for Friday evening. The launch will be the second Ariane mission the year by Arianespace.
Homemade Space Glove Wins NASA Contest (Source: Space.com)
An astronaut glove stitched together on a Maine engineer's dining room table won a cool $200,000 in a NASA competition. Peter Homer, an engineer from Southwest Harbor, Maine, won NASA's first-ever Astronaut Glove Challenge after a two-day competition. Homer's two home-built spacesuit gloves beat entries from two other teams to take home the top prize. "It took a lot of sitting at the sewing machine." A total of $250,000, split into two separate prizes, was up for grabs during NASA's Astronaut Glove Challenge, one of several Centennial Challenges offered by the space agency to spur interest and innovation in spaceflight technology. Entrants were charged with constructing spacesuit gloves capable of meeting, or exceeding, the specifications of NASA's current Phase VI glove. "If you're looking for innovative ideas, evolutionary steps and better gloves, you can't beat it," said a NASA spacesuit subsystems manager.
Repairs to Railroad Had Wrapped Up Moments Before (Source: AP)
Workers had just finished repairs on a railroad bridge and were watching as the track collapsed under a train hauling pieces of space shuttle rockets. The train was the first to go over the bridge after the repairs and testing wrapped up only moments before the crash, authorities said. Work was done on the pilings that hold the trestle up over a boggy area and on other parts of the structure. "A number" of railroad workers or contractors were on hand when the derailment occurred at a wooden trestle described as 650 feet long and 10 feet high, said Warren Flatau, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration.
May 3 News Items
An Out-of-This-World-Class Supply Chain? (Source: DC Velocity)
Within the next 15 years, NASA hopes to have a permanent station on the moon. To make that possible, it must develop a channel for delivering food, fuel, oxygen, exploration equipment, and spare parts that's at least as good as the best earthbound networks, if not better. A missed shipment of oxygen generators from Earth to the moon would have far more serious consequences than a missed shipment of machine parts from Long Beach to Albany.
At least NASA will have some help. Two MIT researchers have begun work on a project with Kennedy Space Center to determine what a space exploration supply chain will have to look like and how it might work. In January, they released an initial version of SpaceNet, described as a software tool for modeling interplanetary supply chains. Their plan is based on a network of distribution centers, or "nodes," that would include space-based platforms that would serve as both inventory-holding sites and as transfer points between Earth and the lunar station.
Though the interplanetary supply chain will operate on essentially the same principles as its terrestrial counterparts, the MIT researchers acknowledge that NASA logisticians will face a few added challenges. For one thing, transit times (at least in the case of Mars) could stretch to nearly a year. For another, capacity would be limited by the number of space launches. It's safe to say, none of this will make the traditional cost vs. service tradeoffs any easier.
Global Space Missions Stifled by US Restrictions (Source: New Scientist)
NASA's ability to cooperate with the space agencies of other countries is sharply limited by US security regulations, top space scientists told a US congressional committee. Using a set of rules called ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations), the US government restricts the exchange of information and hardware that could potentially have military applications. But scientists speaking to the committee said it is inappropriately hampering international cooperation on space science missions. "It has become a nightmare and is probably the single biggest impediment to international collaboration in the science program," said Lennard Fisk of the University of Michigan, who chairs the National Research Council's Space Studies Board.
He warned that not cooperating with other countries could leave the US behind in space exploration. "If we choose not to, there are alignments that will take place among other nations," he said. "We could find ourselves in a space race with the world, and that would probably be an unwise position." Those concerns were echoed by other scientists at the hearing. "We are the ones that lose out as much as anyone else, or maybe more so," said scientist.
Ohio Provides $5 Million to Upgrade Space Power Facility for Moonship Tests (Source: Sandusky Register)
NASA Plum Brook Station hopes to use a $5 million grant from the Ohio Department of Development to create 82 full-time jobs, NASA officials said Wednesday. The state grant will be matched with $5 million of NASA funds to upgrade the Space Power Facility at Plum Brook, a gigantic vacuum chamber. The plan is to use the new additions to the facility to test components of Orion, the new spaceship NASA plans to build to return astronauts to the moon and send them to Mars.
The project will add a "vibro-acoustic test capability" to the facility, checking to see how spacecraft cope with the noise and vibrations they'll be subjected to when launched into space. Gov. Ted Strickland began looking for ways to help NASA -- and bring jobs to Ohio -- as soon as he won the election. The night he won, Strickland and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher signed a letter to NASA urging the space agency to move forward on its planned Ohio work.
HASC Panel Targets Missile Defense, Milspace (Source: Aviation Week)
The House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee is recommending Congress cut the boost-phase Airborne Laser missile defense effort by $400 million, re-evaluate nuclear weapons policy while slowing the Reliable Replacement Warhead, (RRW) and bar the Pentagon from deploying Trident nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles as converted, conventional prompt global strike weapons. For milspace, the panel would slice $200 million from the Alternative Infrared Satellite System, $150 million from the Global Positioning System III effort and $80 million out of the High-Integrity GPS element. But the group would add $100 million toward buying the fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite, $40 million to buy GPS II-F satellites 13-15, $100 million to procure the fourth Space-Based Infrared satellite, $63 million for modernized GPS-user equipment and $30 million for so-called operationally responsive space capabilities.
Train Carrying Shuttle SRB Segments Derails (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A train carry shuttle solid rocket booster (SRB) segments for use on a launch later this year derailed Wednesday, injuring several people. The train, en route from Utah to the Kennedy Space Center, derailed when a bridge it was crossing in rural Alabama collapsed, causing several cars to overturn. Six people riding in the train's passenger car suffered injuries. One car, carrying a single SRB segment, overturned; cars carrying seven other SRB segments and two aft exit cones remained upright. The status of the booster segments is still under investigation. The SRB segments were intended for use on a shuttle mission scheduled for launch in October or December. NASA officials said that replacement SRB segments are available for those flights if needed.
Launch Simulation Ride Should Reel in Dollars (Source: Florida Today)
The Shuttle Launch Experience -- Brevard County's next major theme park-style attraction -- is expected to provide a boost to the Space Coast tourism industry. And, to coincide with the May 25 debut of the Shuttle Launch Experience at the KSC Visitor Complex, area hotels are offering discounted rooms and packages that include tickets to the Visitor Complex. The $60 million Shuttle Launch Experience is designed to give riders a chance to feel what the astronauts feel when they lift off in a space shuttle. It will be one of the major debuts at a U.S. tourist attraction this year.
Within the next 15 years, NASA hopes to have a permanent station on the moon. To make that possible, it must develop a channel for delivering food, fuel, oxygen, exploration equipment, and spare parts that's at least as good as the best earthbound networks, if not better. A missed shipment of oxygen generators from Earth to the moon would have far more serious consequences than a missed shipment of machine parts from Long Beach to Albany.
At least NASA will have some help. Two MIT researchers have begun work on a project with Kennedy Space Center to determine what a space exploration supply chain will have to look like and how it might work. In January, they released an initial version of SpaceNet, described as a software tool for modeling interplanetary supply chains. Their plan is based on a network of distribution centers, or "nodes," that would include space-based platforms that would serve as both inventory-holding sites and as transfer points between Earth and the lunar station.
Though the interplanetary supply chain will operate on essentially the same principles as its terrestrial counterparts, the MIT researchers acknowledge that NASA logisticians will face a few added challenges. For one thing, transit times (at least in the case of Mars) could stretch to nearly a year. For another, capacity would be limited by the number of space launches. It's safe to say, none of this will make the traditional cost vs. service tradeoffs any easier.
Global Space Missions Stifled by US Restrictions (Source: New Scientist)
NASA's ability to cooperate with the space agencies of other countries is sharply limited by US security regulations, top space scientists told a US congressional committee. Using a set of rules called ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations), the US government restricts the exchange of information and hardware that could potentially have military applications. But scientists speaking to the committee said it is inappropriately hampering international cooperation on space science missions. "It has become a nightmare and is probably the single biggest impediment to international collaboration in the science program," said Lennard Fisk of the University of Michigan, who chairs the National Research Council's Space Studies Board.
He warned that not cooperating with other countries could leave the US behind in space exploration. "If we choose not to, there are alignments that will take place among other nations," he said. "We could find ourselves in a space race with the world, and that would probably be an unwise position." Those concerns were echoed by other scientists at the hearing. "We are the ones that lose out as much as anyone else, or maybe more so," said scientist.
Ohio Provides $5 Million to Upgrade Space Power Facility for Moonship Tests (Source: Sandusky Register)
NASA Plum Brook Station hopes to use a $5 million grant from the Ohio Department of Development to create 82 full-time jobs, NASA officials said Wednesday. The state grant will be matched with $5 million of NASA funds to upgrade the Space Power Facility at Plum Brook, a gigantic vacuum chamber. The plan is to use the new additions to the facility to test components of Orion, the new spaceship NASA plans to build to return astronauts to the moon and send them to Mars.
The project will add a "vibro-acoustic test capability" to the facility, checking to see how spacecraft cope with the noise and vibrations they'll be subjected to when launched into space. Gov. Ted Strickland began looking for ways to help NASA -- and bring jobs to Ohio -- as soon as he won the election. The night he won, Strickland and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher signed a letter to NASA urging the space agency to move forward on its planned Ohio work.
HASC Panel Targets Missile Defense, Milspace (Source: Aviation Week)
The House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee is recommending Congress cut the boost-phase Airborne Laser missile defense effort by $400 million, re-evaluate nuclear weapons policy while slowing the Reliable Replacement Warhead, (RRW) and bar the Pentagon from deploying Trident nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles as converted, conventional prompt global strike weapons. For milspace, the panel would slice $200 million from the Alternative Infrared Satellite System, $150 million from the Global Positioning System III effort and $80 million out of the High-Integrity GPS element. But the group would add $100 million toward buying the fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite, $40 million to buy GPS II-F satellites 13-15, $100 million to procure the fourth Space-Based Infrared satellite, $63 million for modernized GPS-user equipment and $30 million for so-called operationally responsive space capabilities.
Train Carrying Shuttle SRB Segments Derails (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A train carry shuttle solid rocket booster (SRB) segments for use on a launch later this year derailed Wednesday, injuring several people. The train, en route from Utah to the Kennedy Space Center, derailed when a bridge it was crossing in rural Alabama collapsed, causing several cars to overturn. Six people riding in the train's passenger car suffered injuries. One car, carrying a single SRB segment, overturned; cars carrying seven other SRB segments and two aft exit cones remained upright. The status of the booster segments is still under investigation. The SRB segments were intended for use on a shuttle mission scheduled for launch in October or December. NASA officials said that replacement SRB segments are available for those flights if needed.
Launch Simulation Ride Should Reel in Dollars (Source: Florida Today)
The Shuttle Launch Experience -- Brevard County's next major theme park-style attraction -- is expected to provide a boost to the Space Coast tourism industry. And, to coincide with the May 25 debut of the Shuttle Launch Experience at the KSC Visitor Complex, area hotels are offering discounted rooms and packages that include tickets to the Visitor Complex. The $60 million Shuttle Launch Experience is designed to give riders a chance to feel what the astronauts feel when they lift off in a space shuttle. It will be one of the major debuts at a U.S. tourist attraction this year.
May 2 News Items
SpaceTEC Wins Key Accreditation, and Inclusion in Military Education Programs (Source: SpaceTEC)
SpaceTEC, the national center for aerospace technology training and certification, has received approval from the American Council on Education (ACE) for SpaceTEC's Core Certification Examination for aerospace technicians to be assigned a value of 24 college credits at colleges and universities nationwide. SpaceTEC has also achieved formal recognition and approval by the Veterans’ Administration Montgomery GI Bill for funding of the examination for credentialing of veterans and active duty servicemen and servicewomen, as well as acceptance by the Navy COOL program and the DANTES program for military reservists. The Community College of the Air Force over a year ago also decided to apply college credit for SpaceTEC examinations and coursework toward degree programs at all locations where the institution operates.
Pratt & Whitney Testing Under Way On RL-10 (Source: Aviation Week)
Engineers at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) in West Palm Beach are dissecting their data after running a specially equipped RL-10 rocket engine at 10 percent of its full 13,000-pound thrust in a series of tests aimed at using the venerable cryogenic engine for the descent stage of NASA's planned lunar lander. Tests last year at the PWR facility in West Palm Beach showed combustion instability at low throttle levels, so a new test series just wrapping up is trying out different mixture ratios of liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen (LOX) to ease the problem.
XM-Sirius Merger Still On Table (Source: Wall Street Journal)
There's good reason to suspect the merger between Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio Holdings is as good as dead. Both companies' licenses specifically forbid them from combining. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin and several senators have stated they are skeptical that the public would be well-served by a merger.
Management at each company remains optimistic that the merger will go through. But investors think otherwise, and have marked down both stocks. This looks like an overreaction. Little about their businesses has changed since the merger announcement in mid-February. Yet both stocks are trading below their preannouncement levels.
Sirius Satellite Radio 1Q Loss Narrows (Source: AP)
Sirius Satellite Radio reported a narrower loss for its first quarter compared with the same period a year ago, when it recorded $225 million in expenses for stock paid to Howard Stern. Net loss narrowed to $144.7 million versus $458.5 million in the same period a year ago, slightly better than analysts were expecting. Revenue rose 61 percent to $204 million from $126.7 million, but was below the estimates of $212 million recorded by analysts. Sirius gained 556,490 net subscribers in the first quarter, ending the period with 6.6 million subscribers.
Lawsuit Claims Boeing Failed to Warn About Solar Array Problems (Source: AIA)
A lawsuit filed by Telesat Canada alleges that Boeing withheld information or "recklessly" failed to issue timely warnings about the use of certain defective solar arrays. The solar arrays shortened the useful lives of a handful of satellites, the lawsuit claims. Boeing has denied improperly withholding information and in recent SEC filings calls the claims "meritless."
Lockheed Set to Launch ASTRA 1L Satellite for SES (Source: AIA)
Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems said Tuesday the ASTRA 1L broadcast satellite built for Europe's SES will launch on Thursday. The launch is the first of five launches for SES scheduled for this year.
Wisconsin's Rockets for Schools Has Lasting Effect (Source: Sheboygan Press)
The skies over Horace Mann Middle School will be filled with rockets screaming into the heavens. The middle school's soccer field in Sheboygan will be home to this year's Rockets for Schools elementary school launch, where fourth- and fifth-grade students get a hands-on lesson in science by building and launching model rockets. "They enjoy the fun of it, it's a nice activity," said a program director. "Hopefully, this will get them more involved in science in middle school, high school and beyond." This year, 172 elementary students will launch the rockets they built during workshops on Monday and Tuesday night.
Nelson Calls For 2nd NASA Official To Resign (Source: WKMG)
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said in a letter there is "dysfunctional" oversight of NASA as evidenced by the discovery that the space agency's top lawyer personally destroyed internal records. As a result, Nelson said, NASA's general counsel, Mike Wholley, should resign immediately.
SpaceTEC, the national center for aerospace technology training and certification, has received approval from the American Council on Education (ACE) for SpaceTEC's Core Certification Examination for aerospace technicians to be assigned a value of 24 college credits at colleges and universities nationwide. SpaceTEC has also achieved formal recognition and approval by the Veterans’ Administration Montgomery GI Bill for funding of the examination for credentialing of veterans and active duty servicemen and servicewomen, as well as acceptance by the Navy COOL program and the DANTES program for military reservists. The Community College of the Air Force over a year ago also decided to apply college credit for SpaceTEC examinations and coursework toward degree programs at all locations where the institution operates.
Pratt & Whitney Testing Under Way On RL-10 (Source: Aviation Week)
Engineers at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) in West Palm Beach are dissecting their data after running a specially equipped RL-10 rocket engine at 10 percent of its full 13,000-pound thrust in a series of tests aimed at using the venerable cryogenic engine for the descent stage of NASA's planned lunar lander. Tests last year at the PWR facility in West Palm Beach showed combustion instability at low throttle levels, so a new test series just wrapping up is trying out different mixture ratios of liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen (LOX) to ease the problem.
XM-Sirius Merger Still On Table (Source: Wall Street Journal)
There's good reason to suspect the merger between Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio Holdings is as good as dead. Both companies' licenses specifically forbid them from combining. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin and several senators have stated they are skeptical that the public would be well-served by a merger.
Management at each company remains optimistic that the merger will go through. But investors think otherwise, and have marked down both stocks. This looks like an overreaction. Little about their businesses has changed since the merger announcement in mid-February. Yet both stocks are trading below their preannouncement levels.
Sirius Satellite Radio 1Q Loss Narrows (Source: AP)
Sirius Satellite Radio reported a narrower loss for its first quarter compared with the same period a year ago, when it recorded $225 million in expenses for stock paid to Howard Stern. Net loss narrowed to $144.7 million versus $458.5 million in the same period a year ago, slightly better than analysts were expecting. Revenue rose 61 percent to $204 million from $126.7 million, but was below the estimates of $212 million recorded by analysts. Sirius gained 556,490 net subscribers in the first quarter, ending the period with 6.6 million subscribers.
Lawsuit Claims Boeing Failed to Warn About Solar Array Problems (Source: AIA)
A lawsuit filed by Telesat Canada alleges that Boeing withheld information or "recklessly" failed to issue timely warnings about the use of certain defective solar arrays. The solar arrays shortened the useful lives of a handful of satellites, the lawsuit claims. Boeing has denied improperly withholding information and in recent SEC filings calls the claims "meritless."
Lockheed Set to Launch ASTRA 1L Satellite for SES (Source: AIA)
Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems said Tuesday the ASTRA 1L broadcast satellite built for Europe's SES will launch on Thursday. The launch is the first of five launches for SES scheduled for this year.
Wisconsin's Rockets for Schools Has Lasting Effect (Source: Sheboygan Press)
The skies over Horace Mann Middle School will be filled with rockets screaming into the heavens. The middle school's soccer field in Sheboygan will be home to this year's Rockets for Schools elementary school launch, where fourth- and fifth-grade students get a hands-on lesson in science by building and launching model rockets. "They enjoy the fun of it, it's a nice activity," said a program director. "Hopefully, this will get them more involved in science in middle school, high school and beyond." This year, 172 elementary students will launch the rockets they built during workshops on Monday and Tuesday night.
Nelson Calls For 2nd NASA Official To Resign (Source: WKMG)
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said in a letter there is "dysfunctional" oversight of NASA as evidenced by the discovery that the space agency's top lawyer personally destroyed internal records. As a result, Nelson said, NASA's general counsel, Mike Wholley, should resign immediately.
May 1 News Items
Russia Sees Moon Plot in NASA Plans, NASA Denies Offer (Source: Telegraph)
Mankind's second race for the moon took on a distinctly Cold War feel yesterday when the Russian space agency accused its old rival NASA of rejecting a proposal for joint lunar exploration. The claim comes amid suspicion in Moscow that the United States is seeking to deny Russia access to helium-3 in abundance that many believe could replace fossil fuels and even end the threat of global warming. The head of Russia's space agency said: "We are ready to co-operate but for some reason the United States has announced that it will carry out the program itself. Strange as it is, the United States is short of experts to implement the program."
NASA Denies Offer Was Made By Russia (Source: New Scientist)
NASA denies that it has received any proposal from Russia to conduct joint moon activities, despite media reports to the contrary. Still, some experts say the US agency is pursuing an increasingly isolationist stance and could be left behind as other nations forge new partnerships to explore space. "Nothing was offered and nothing was declined," said a NASA spokesman. "We have not received a moon cooperation offer from Roskomos."
He says the agency was still seeking international cooperation on projects that could include joint construction of a moon base and joint robotic moon missions. But he repeated NASA's stated intention to go it alone to build the Ares launch vehicle and Orion crew capsule that would propel people to the moon (see NASA seeks partners as budgets tighten. "It's a matter of space economic and security policies that we want to develop the Orion and Ares launch vehicles," he says.
What's Up With Helium-3? (Source: Telegraph)
While the Americans have either been coy or dismissive on the subject, Russia openly says the main purpose of its Moon program is the extraction of helium-3. Dismissed by critics as a 21st-century equivalent of the medieval alchemist's fruitless quest to turn lead into gold, some scientists say helium-3 could be the answer to the world's energy woes. A non-radioactive isotope of helium, helium-3 is a proven and potent fuel for nuclear fusion - so potent that just six metric tons would supply Britain with enough energy for a year.
As helium-3 is non-polluting and is so effective in such tiny quantities, many countries are taking it very seriously. Germany, India and China, which will launch a lunar probe to research extraction techniques in September, are all studying ways to mine the isotope. "Whoever conquers the moon first will be the first to benefit," said Ouyang Ziyuan, the chief scientist of China's lunar program. Energia says it will start "industrial scale delivery" of helium-3, transported by cargo space ships via the International Space Station, no later than 2020. Gazprom, the state-owned energy giant directly controlled by the Kremlin, is said to be strongly supportive of the project.
'Good News' at Virgin Galactic (Source: MSNBC)
Virgin Galactic, the company that’s working with physicist Stephen Hawking to get him into space someday, hails his better-than-expected ZERO-G flight as a significant step toward his goal. Virgin officials were impressed with the way ZERO-G organized Hawking's flight. "They carried out a fantastic operation, better than anyone - other than perhaps Steven - thought," Attenborough said. "Clearly the lessons learned during that flight can be shared."
Mankind's second race for the moon took on a distinctly Cold War feel yesterday when the Russian space agency accused its old rival NASA of rejecting a proposal for joint lunar exploration. The claim comes amid suspicion in Moscow that the United States is seeking to deny Russia access to helium-3 in abundance that many believe could replace fossil fuels and even end the threat of global warming. The head of Russia's space agency said: "We are ready to co-operate but for some reason the United States has announced that it will carry out the program itself. Strange as it is, the United States is short of experts to implement the program."
NASA Denies Offer Was Made By Russia (Source: New Scientist)
NASA denies that it has received any proposal from Russia to conduct joint moon activities, despite media reports to the contrary. Still, some experts say the US agency is pursuing an increasingly isolationist stance and could be left behind as other nations forge new partnerships to explore space. "Nothing was offered and nothing was declined," said a NASA spokesman. "We have not received a moon cooperation offer from Roskomos."
He says the agency was still seeking international cooperation on projects that could include joint construction of a moon base and joint robotic moon missions. But he repeated NASA's stated intention to go it alone to build the Ares launch vehicle and Orion crew capsule that would propel people to the moon (see NASA seeks partners as budgets tighten. "It's a matter of space economic and security policies that we want to develop the Orion and Ares launch vehicles," he says.
What's Up With Helium-3? (Source: Telegraph)
While the Americans have either been coy or dismissive on the subject, Russia openly says the main purpose of its Moon program is the extraction of helium-3. Dismissed by critics as a 21st-century equivalent of the medieval alchemist's fruitless quest to turn lead into gold, some scientists say helium-3 could be the answer to the world's energy woes. A non-radioactive isotope of helium, helium-3 is a proven and potent fuel for nuclear fusion - so potent that just six metric tons would supply Britain with enough energy for a year.
As helium-3 is non-polluting and is so effective in such tiny quantities, many countries are taking it very seriously. Germany, India and China, which will launch a lunar probe to research extraction techniques in September, are all studying ways to mine the isotope. "Whoever conquers the moon first will be the first to benefit," said Ouyang Ziyuan, the chief scientist of China's lunar program. Energia says it will start "industrial scale delivery" of helium-3, transported by cargo space ships via the International Space Station, no later than 2020. Gazprom, the state-owned energy giant directly controlled by the Kremlin, is said to be strongly supportive of the project.
'Good News' at Virgin Galactic (Source: MSNBC)
Virgin Galactic, the company that’s working with physicist Stephen Hawking to get him into space someday, hails his better-than-expected ZERO-G flight as a significant step toward his goal. Virgin officials were impressed with the way ZERO-G organized Hawking's flight. "They carried out a fantastic operation, better than anyone - other than perhaps Steven - thought," Attenborough said. "Clearly the lessons learned during that flight can be shared."
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