KSC-Based World Space Expo on YouTube Channel (Source: WSE)
The World Space Expo, planned for Nov. 1-4 at Kennedy Space Center, is featured on a YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/wse2007. Videos will be posted throughout the next few weeks leading up to the event. For more info and to purchase tickets to WSE visit http://www.worldspaceexpo.com.
Big Dreams, Few Results in Private Space Exploration (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
A dusty launchpad in a remote region of New Mexico could become one of the first gateways to the heavens for private individuals clamoring to be the pioneer generation of space tourists. "I think they [Virgin Galactic] will get two or three missions a day, five days a week, around 700, 800 flights a year," Ben Woods, a member of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority said. Woods said New Mexico authorities hope to regenerate the region through commercial space travel, denying it will merely become a folly of the super-rich.
"If you look at this strictly as saying 'Well we're going to have some rich people come up to take a joyride' you can misinterpret what we are actually doing, what the real endgame is here," Woods said. "The intention from the very beginning was to undertake this as part of an economic development impact for the entire community in New Mexico," he adds. Burt Rutan believes the launch of the first commercial spaceflights will lead to the mushrooming of other private operators.
Are Human Missions Needed to Explore Mars and Beyond? (Source: AFP)
The United States has pledged to colonize the Moon by 2020 and send astronauts to Mars, but many scientists say dangerous and costly manned space missions should be a thing of the past, not the future. Intelligent robots and satellites such as those already exploring the Red Planet, they say, do a good job and are a lot less fragile than human organisms too easily stranded millions of miles from home. No one expected that Apollo 11 would remain the fulcrum of human space exploration for nearly four decades and counting. "Apollo gave us a false sense of security, it showed us what could be done," said an official at the Science Museum in London. "But all we have managed to do since then -- no matter how magnificent it might be -- is to send humans round and round in orbit around Earth."
"We are many decades from robots that can match humans, even in the lab, and laboratory robotics is about 20 years ahead of space robotics," Steve Squyres, an astronomy professor at Cornell University and principal investigator of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission, recently told a science forum. Mike Griffin predicts that human footprints will grace Mars by 2037. But many space experts are skeptical. "I would be surprised if we do it this century," said Millard. "Going to the Moon was almost like going out for a little swim with a snorkel. Going to Mars is a totally different order of magnitude," he added, citing at least three serious constraints.
One is how to protect human beings from the hazards, many of them poorly understood, of long term space travel. Cosmic radiation, weightlessness, psychological stress -- no one knows what it will feel like to watch one's home planet dwindle into invisibility -- all pose serious challenges to any future Mars mission. And adding a human being to an exploratory space mission boosts the cost roughly a hundred fold, said Millard. "You can now put together a pretty decent unmanned mission for a few hundred million euros (dollars), but you are usually talking about many billions for a manned mission," especially if it is something new, Millard said.
USA to Replace Striking Space Center Workers (Source: Florida Today)
United Space Alliance said it plans to hire hundreds of workers to replace members of the Machinists union on strike at Kennedy Space Center since June over failed contract negotiations. Meanwhile, a letter dated Friday from 23 members of Congress to USA's CEO encourages the company "to reach an agreement in a timely manner." The "nation is counting on a continuation" of the productive partnership between the union and the company to "ensure that the remaining shuttle missions are carried out safely and successfully," the letter states. "If we are to transition smoothly from the space shuttle program to the Ares/Orion program, we will need the talents and experience of this workforce."
USA spokeswoman Tracy Yates said the company's hiring plan "is not an effort to replace" the strikers permanently "at this time." Yates said the replacement workers will be hired as subcontractors or temporary company employees, but converting them to permanent employees "is an option that USA could exercise at any time." Working with a federal mediator, the two sides returned to the bargaining table Sep. 20 for the first time in more than three months, but negotiations broke down after one day. In a Florida Today advertisement, USA invites people to apply for "hundreds of opportunities" in a variety of jobs, from painters and welders to machinists and crane operators. Already, USA has hired about 130 temporary workers as subcontractors, and more than 100 workers who are part of the union's bargaining unit are not striking and are working for the company, Yates said.
Union representatives traveled to Washington, D.C., in advance of a meeting Monday with federal mediators, in hopes of getting the company back to the bargaining table. "USA is as eager to resolve this as these members of Congress are," Yates said, referring to the letter. All of the Congressional members who signed the letter are Democrats, and most are members of the House Committee on Science and Technology, and the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, according to a union spokesman. The two members of Congress who represent Brevard County -- Reps. Tom Feeney of Oviedo and Dave Weldon of Indialantic, both Republicans -- did not sign the letter.
VSAT Market Expands Rapidly Despite Land-Based Competition (Source: Space News)
The global market for very small aperture satellite terminals, or VSATs, used by businesses is expanding just about everywhere despite the continued advance of DSL and fiber-optic lines. In the enterprise market alone, more than 1.6 million VSAT units have been shipped worldwide in the last 20 years, with more than one-third of these being delivered in the past two years. These 1.6 million enterprise VSAT terminals accounted for $4.5 billion in service revenue in 2006, a 10 percent increase over 2005, which was a 10 percent increase from 2004.
Satellite Shortages Hit Asia, Africa, Maritime Users (Source: Space News)
Satellite users in South Asia, Central Asia and Africa, plus those with maritime operations, will have to live with a shortage of capacity and rising prices for the little capacity that comes onto the market for another two years or so, according to satellite operators and satellite network operators. It will take that long for spacecraft now on order to be put into service, or for satellite-fleet operators to reshuffle their current businesses to free up space on existing satellites. In the meantime, demand for C-band and, in some cases, Ku-band will outstrip supply, forcing satellite-service providers to sell the idea of higher transmission costs to customers accustomed to prices going in the other direction.
U.S. Senate Set to Vote on Defense, Civil Space Bills (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Senate intends to vote the week of Oct. 1 on a pair of bills funding the U.S. Defense Department, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for 2008. The NASA and NOAA money is included in the Commerce, Justice, Science spending bill (HR 3093), which cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee in July with $17.46 billion carved out for the U.S. space agency and $4.2 billion for NOAA. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) said at the time that she intended to wait until the bill moved to the Senate floor to introduce an amendment seeking an additional $1 billion to help offset costs NASA incurred to recover from the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia accident.
Kazakhs Seek Damages Following Proton Rocket Failure (Source: Space News)
Authorities in Kazakhstan will seek more than $8 million in compensation from Russia following the crash of a Russian Proton-M rocket that was launched Sept. 6 from the Central Asian republic's Baikonur spaceport. "Preliminary calculations demonstrate that the fines will exceed 1 billion tenge ($8.4 million) by far, and this sum will be presented to the Russian side after finalizing the costs related to liquidation of the consequences of the fall of the rocket," Viktor Khrapunov, Kazakhstan's minister of emergency situations, said. The debris fell 50 kilometers southwest of the Kazakh city of Dzhezkagan with no injuries or destruction of property reported.
Sen. Hutchison: U.S. Must be Committed to Being a Leader (Source: Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel)
Since it was founded in 1958, America's space program has been enormously successful. The research that has gone into the program has spurred innovations that have greatly improved our lives, from car phones to heart monitors, from ultrasound scanners to laser surgery. Recently, NASA has begun implementing my plan to use the U.S. segment of the International Space Station (ISS) as a National Laboratory, which means that even more exciting breakthroughs can be expected in the next few years.
The ISS provides our scientists with a unique environment where they can conduct many experiments not possible on Earth. For example, biologists can study the growth of human cells without the influence of gravity, learning details that they would not be able to detect on Earth. By seeing how fire and water behave in outer space, they have discovered better ways of spraying water to put out a fire. There have also been discussions about placing a sophisticated particle detector on the space station to learn more about cosmic rays. The planned research on cosmic rays may provide researchers with vital insights in understanding and using dark matter. As much as 70 percent of the universe is made up of dark matter, but at the present time, scientists know very little about it. Those insights could directly advance our knowledge of using superconducting magnet technology for propulsion and radiation shielding. Click here to view the article.
Asia Could Win Next 'Space Race', US Scientists Fear (Source: AFP)
Fifty years after the launch of Sputnik left the United States scrambling to play catch-up in the first Space Race, US scientists fear history may be repeating itself as Asia emerges as the rising force in space exploration. While the achievements of space programs run by China, Japan and India are modest in comparison to the milestones set by the United States and former Soviet Union, some experts believe it is only a matter of time before Asia leads the field. Many astrophysicists, space engineers and other high-ranking US scientists do not share Mike Griffin's optimism, pointing to waning interest in space exploration amongst young Americans and a lack of government investment in developing elite scientists.
"In America, contrary to our self-image, we are no longer leaders but simply players," said Neil DeGrasse Tyson, the director of the Hayden Planetarium in a recent editorial. "We've moved backward just by standing still." The numbers of new scientists in Asian countries are eclipsing those in the United States. In 2004, around 500,000 engineers graduated in China, 200,000 in India and only 70,000 in the US, according to a report from the National Academy of Sciences released this year.
Ben Bova: Stumbling into the Space Age (Source: Naples Daily News)
Thursday marks the 50th anniversary of the Space Age. On Oct. 4, 1957, Soviet Russia launched the first artificial satellite of Earth, Sputnik I. I was working on the American satellite program, Vanguard, at the time. The experience taught me a lot about how politics interacts with science and technology. In the early 1950s, both the U.S. and the USSR agreed to participate in the International Geophysical Year, an 18-month-long international scientific study in which geophysicists from all over the world would study our planet in all its aspects, including its relationship with the sun. Both the U.S. and the USSR announced intentions to launch one or more artificial satellites to help the IGY studies. No one paid much attention to the Soviet announcement — although American intelligence knew that the Russians were test-flying ballistic missiles over 5,000-mile ranges.
Dwight Eisenhower was president, and for some reason the White House decided that Vanguard would be a “peaceful” program. Vanguard would not be allowed to use the rockets the armed services were developing for military use, even though the Vanguard program would be managed by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), a scientific offshoot of the U.S. Navy. Wernher von Braun, architect of Nazi Germany’s V-2 rocket, which bombarded London during World War II, was now working for the U.S. Army at Redstone Arsenal, in Alabama. His team had developed the Jupiter rocket, a medium-range ballistic missile, and wanted to use it as a satellite launcher. No, said the White House. Von Braun’s team launched a Jupiter variation to show that they could put a payload into orbit, even though they were forced to refrain from actually orbiting anything. Click here to view the article.
September 29 News Items
European Firm Plans Space Tourism Flights Beginning in 2012 (Source: Asian Age)
Europe's EADS Astrium has unveiled a revolutionary new vehicle for space tourism. It can carry four passengers to space every week. The spacecraft is a size of a business jet and is designed to carry passengers up to 100 km above the earth into space and give passengers more than three minutes of weightlessness. The altitude of 100 km is officially recognized as space. Astrium plans to open commercial service in 2012. As many as 40 similar projects are going on worldwide to take tourists to space including the most well-known competitor, Virgin Galactic. The market is expected to have 15,000 passengers in a year by 2020.
The space journey begins with a regular aeroplane-like 45-minute cruise to an altitude of 12 km (about 40,000 feet). Then a rocket takes over, firing for 80 seconds and taking the spacecraft to an altitude of 60 km. The rocket is shut down and the momentum takes the vehicle to over 100 km, or space. As the spacecraft falls back to earth, jet engines take over again at 12 km. From there, it is a 30-minute descent to earth.
Spacehab Announces NASDAQ Deficiency Notice and Going Concern Qualification (Source: Spacehab)
Texas-based Spacehab announced its receipt of a notice from NASDAQ on Sep. 25 stating that the company does not comply with Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(3). Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(3) requires the Company to have $500,000 of net income from continuing operations for the most recently completed fiscal year or two of the three most recently completed fiscal years; or $35,000,000 market value of listed securities; or $2,500,000 in stockholders’ equity. Spacehab had previously announced a Tender Offer to exchange its outstanding convertible notes into common and preferred Spacehab stock. The Tender Offer is slated to close on Oct. 1, 2007. If the Tender Offer is successful, the Company anticipates it will regain compliance with Rule 4310(c)(3).
Bigelow Space Modules: Sky High Plans Face Transportation Concerns (Source: Space News)
Two Bigelow Aerospace privately-built prototype modules are circuiting the Earth – a prelude to far larger modules that will support human occupants. But the company faces significant challenges in attaining their sky-high goals. While Bigelow's Sundancer module is already taking shape – with 2010 eyed as the time period for launch – it also brings about some bad news. According to the company's attorney: "Our schedule is so aggressive and our progress has been so good, it is creating some significant concerns in terms of transportation."
He urged launch companies to recognize the fact that the International Space Station is not the only destination target out there. While there are rockets, both domestic and foreign, to loft the large and heavier Sundancer module, affordable, reliable, and safe transportation of crews to the private outpost is missing right now, he said. Why not utilize the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to send crews to Sundancer? From a simple financial perspective, he responded, "we don't know if it can support the business case" of Bigelow Aerospace. "It's probably not a financially viable choice for us."
Europe's EADS Astrium has unveiled a revolutionary new vehicle for space tourism. It can carry four passengers to space every week. The spacecraft is a size of a business jet and is designed to carry passengers up to 100 km above the earth into space and give passengers more than three minutes of weightlessness. The altitude of 100 km is officially recognized as space. Astrium plans to open commercial service in 2012. As many as 40 similar projects are going on worldwide to take tourists to space including the most well-known competitor, Virgin Galactic. The market is expected to have 15,000 passengers in a year by 2020.
The space journey begins with a regular aeroplane-like 45-minute cruise to an altitude of 12 km (about 40,000 feet). Then a rocket takes over, firing for 80 seconds and taking the spacecraft to an altitude of 60 km. The rocket is shut down and the momentum takes the vehicle to over 100 km, or space. As the spacecraft falls back to earth, jet engines take over again at 12 km. From there, it is a 30-minute descent to earth.
Spacehab Announces NASDAQ Deficiency Notice and Going Concern Qualification (Source: Spacehab)
Texas-based Spacehab announced its receipt of a notice from NASDAQ on Sep. 25 stating that the company does not comply with Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(3). Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(3) requires the Company to have $500,000 of net income from continuing operations for the most recently completed fiscal year or two of the three most recently completed fiscal years; or $35,000,000 market value of listed securities; or $2,500,000 in stockholders’ equity. Spacehab had previously announced a Tender Offer to exchange its outstanding convertible notes into common and preferred Spacehab stock. The Tender Offer is slated to close on Oct. 1, 2007. If the Tender Offer is successful, the Company anticipates it will regain compliance with Rule 4310(c)(3).
Bigelow Space Modules: Sky High Plans Face Transportation Concerns (Source: Space News)
Two Bigelow Aerospace privately-built prototype modules are circuiting the Earth – a prelude to far larger modules that will support human occupants. But the company faces significant challenges in attaining their sky-high goals. While Bigelow's Sundancer module is already taking shape – with 2010 eyed as the time period for launch – it also brings about some bad news. According to the company's attorney: "Our schedule is so aggressive and our progress has been so good, it is creating some significant concerns in terms of transportation."
He urged launch companies to recognize the fact that the International Space Station is not the only destination target out there. While there are rockets, both domestic and foreign, to loft the large and heavier Sundancer module, affordable, reliable, and safe transportation of crews to the private outpost is missing right now, he said. Why not utilize the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to send crews to Sundancer? From a simple financial perspective, he responded, "we don't know if it can support the business case" of Bigelow Aerospace. "It's probably not a financially viable choice for us."
September 28 News Items
NASA Blocks Release Of Galileo Jovian Spacecraft Drawings on ITAR Grounds (Source: NASA Watch)
I give up. We're talking about a 15 year old spacecraft - one which was destroyed years ago - of which high resolution images are readily available - and have been in the public domain for decades. And the drawings are ITAR-controlled? NASA's denial to share the information--requested through a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request sent to NASA JPL--was based on a finding that it might be useful for the the design, development, production, manufacture, assembly, operation, repair, testing, maintenance or modification of defense articles. This includes information in the form of blueprints. drawings, photographs, plans, instructions and documentation.
Space Adventures Announces 1st Second Generation Astronaut (Source: Space Adventures)
Space Adventures announced that famed game developer Richard Garriott, son of former NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, has begun preparations for a "commercially active" mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Mr. Garriott's spaceflight, currently planned for October 2008, will be the first in a series of missions that will accommodate commercial activity aboard the ISS. Involvement from the private sector can include scientific and environmental research and educational outreach programming.
Astronomers Find Mysterious Radio Burst (Source: Space.com)
A new and intense type of radio burst has been discovered in archived views of the cosmos, astronomers revealed today. The single, short-lived blast of radio waves likely occurred some 3 billion light-years from Earth, and it may signal a cosmic car crash of two neutron stars, the death throes of a black hole—or something else. "This is something that's completely unprecedented," said Duncan Lorimer, an astrophysicist at West Virginia University in Morgantown and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory who led the discovery-making team. He noted that radio-emitting pulsars send out similar emissions, but repeat them every few hours. "We're confused and excited, but it could open up a whole new research field," Lorimer said.
Rocketplane in Trouble, Still Forging Ahead (Source: MSNBC)
Rocketplane Global six years ago made a splash in the aerospace market by pledging to offer suborbital flights to anyone who could pay for a $200,000 ticket. Funding and technical problems have dogged the concern, along with its subsidiary Rocketplane Kistler. Still, company officials are confident and forging ahead. "We're doing fine," Rocketplane Chairman and CEO George French Jr. said. "We have not given up, and we are heavily committed."
US Regulations Restrict Space Industry Growth (Source: India PRwire)
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) of the US are a major hurdle in the growth of new space industry actors in the global market, said speakers from emerging space nations at the 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2007). They also made a strong case for change in the rules to facilitate cooperation and healthy competition in the global space industry. The speakers were unanimous that both cooperation and competition were necessary to ensure growth of the space industry, especially among emerging nations and new players.
While China said US policy was the biggest hurdle in growth of new actors, India said there was more risk to non-US players because of ITAR rules, which govern the space industry, among other sectors. 'The US policy is the biggest hurdle and it needs to be changed,' said Hua Changzhi, vice president, China Great Wall Corp. Pointing out that US satellite manufacturers had lost market share in recent years, he remarked, 'This is the price paid by US policy'. 'ITAR is the most challenging and difficult regulation we have to contend with. On the issue of licences, there is more risk to non-US players,' said K.R. Sridhara Murthy, executive director, Antrix Corp., the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
India and China Battle for Launch Market (Source: Wall Street Journal)
The global satellite manufacturing and launch industry is expected to grow to $145 billion for the next decade from $116 billion in the last decade. Demand will come largely from the US, European nations, Russia, Japan, China and India. Asian space rivals India and China are wooing nations in Europe, Asia and Latin America to build and launch satellites aboard their homegrown rockets, as they aim for a larger share of the market. India is offering its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) at nearly 75% of the price charged by companies such as International Launch Services (ILS), which offers Russian Proton rockets.
China Great Wall Industry Group, the marketing arm for China’s space industry, said customers from Africa and Latin America are looking to China to build, launch and operate satellites for up to 15 years. “We are cheaper compared to Europe’s Arianespace,” said Hua Chongzi, Great Wall’s vice-president, but did not divulge financial details. China has launched 33 foreign satellites in 27 rocket missions since 1980.
India to Develop Own Technology for Space Travel (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
India will develop its own technology to launch an astronaut into space rather than rely on outside support, the head of the country's space agency said. India's space program suffered in the past from sanctions imposed by the West, barring access to space material and technology transfers, after the country tested nuclear weapons in 1974 and in 1998. "We have learned the hard way that we should have indigenous capability," said ISRO's chairman. "Only then will anyone respect you."
Japan Plans Two More Moon Missions (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Japan plans to carry out two more missions to the moon and then collaborate internationally to put a man on the lunar surface, a Japanese space scientist said. Asia's biggest economy this month successfully launched Kaguya (or Selene), its first lunar orbiter, in advance of China and India which are planning unmanned missions of their own to the moon. Japan's next mission in 2012 will aim at landing a robot on the moon's surface, followed by one in 2018 that will seek to return successfully to earth. "We are also discussing human exploration but we expect international collaboration" in a manned mission. Human exploration could be followed by human colonies on the moon, he said. Cooperation between nations for lunar exploration should be modelled on the international space station, he said.
I give up. We're talking about a 15 year old spacecraft - one which was destroyed years ago - of which high resolution images are readily available - and have been in the public domain for decades. And the drawings are ITAR-controlled? NASA's denial to share the information--requested through a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request sent to NASA JPL--was based on a finding that it might be useful for the the design, development, production, manufacture, assembly, operation, repair, testing, maintenance or modification of defense articles. This includes information in the form of blueprints. drawings, photographs, plans, instructions and documentation.
Space Adventures Announces 1st Second Generation Astronaut (Source: Space Adventures)
Space Adventures announced that famed game developer Richard Garriott, son of former NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, has begun preparations for a "commercially active" mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Mr. Garriott's spaceflight, currently planned for October 2008, will be the first in a series of missions that will accommodate commercial activity aboard the ISS. Involvement from the private sector can include scientific and environmental research and educational outreach programming.
Astronomers Find Mysterious Radio Burst (Source: Space.com)
A new and intense type of radio burst has been discovered in archived views of the cosmos, astronomers revealed today. The single, short-lived blast of radio waves likely occurred some 3 billion light-years from Earth, and it may signal a cosmic car crash of two neutron stars, the death throes of a black hole—or something else. "This is something that's completely unprecedented," said Duncan Lorimer, an astrophysicist at West Virginia University in Morgantown and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory who led the discovery-making team. He noted that radio-emitting pulsars send out similar emissions, but repeat them every few hours. "We're confused and excited, but it could open up a whole new research field," Lorimer said.
Rocketplane in Trouble, Still Forging Ahead (Source: MSNBC)
Rocketplane Global six years ago made a splash in the aerospace market by pledging to offer suborbital flights to anyone who could pay for a $200,000 ticket. Funding and technical problems have dogged the concern, along with its subsidiary Rocketplane Kistler. Still, company officials are confident and forging ahead. "We're doing fine," Rocketplane Chairman and CEO George French Jr. said. "We have not given up, and we are heavily committed."
US Regulations Restrict Space Industry Growth (Source: India PRwire)
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) of the US are a major hurdle in the growth of new space industry actors in the global market, said speakers from emerging space nations at the 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2007). They also made a strong case for change in the rules to facilitate cooperation and healthy competition in the global space industry. The speakers were unanimous that both cooperation and competition were necessary to ensure growth of the space industry, especially among emerging nations and new players.
While China said US policy was the biggest hurdle in growth of new actors, India said there was more risk to non-US players because of ITAR rules, which govern the space industry, among other sectors. 'The US policy is the biggest hurdle and it needs to be changed,' said Hua Changzhi, vice president, China Great Wall Corp. Pointing out that US satellite manufacturers had lost market share in recent years, he remarked, 'This is the price paid by US policy'. 'ITAR is the most challenging and difficult regulation we have to contend with. On the issue of licences, there is more risk to non-US players,' said K.R. Sridhara Murthy, executive director, Antrix Corp., the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
India and China Battle for Launch Market (Source: Wall Street Journal)
The global satellite manufacturing and launch industry is expected to grow to $145 billion for the next decade from $116 billion in the last decade. Demand will come largely from the US, European nations, Russia, Japan, China and India. Asian space rivals India and China are wooing nations in Europe, Asia and Latin America to build and launch satellites aboard their homegrown rockets, as they aim for a larger share of the market. India is offering its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) at nearly 75% of the price charged by companies such as International Launch Services (ILS), which offers Russian Proton rockets.
China Great Wall Industry Group, the marketing arm for China’s space industry, said customers from Africa and Latin America are looking to China to build, launch and operate satellites for up to 15 years. “We are cheaper compared to Europe’s Arianespace,” said Hua Chongzi, Great Wall’s vice-president, but did not divulge financial details. China has launched 33 foreign satellites in 27 rocket missions since 1980.
India to Develop Own Technology for Space Travel (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
India will develop its own technology to launch an astronaut into space rather than rely on outside support, the head of the country's space agency said. India's space program suffered in the past from sanctions imposed by the West, barring access to space material and technology transfers, after the country tested nuclear weapons in 1974 and in 1998. "We have learned the hard way that we should have indigenous capability," said ISRO's chairman. "Only then will anyone respect you."
Japan Plans Two More Moon Missions (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Japan plans to carry out two more missions to the moon and then collaborate internationally to put a man on the lunar surface, a Japanese space scientist said. Asia's biggest economy this month successfully launched Kaguya (or Selene), its first lunar orbiter, in advance of China and India which are planning unmanned missions of their own to the moon. Japan's next mission in 2012 will aim at landing a robot on the moon's surface, followed by one in 2018 that will seek to return successfully to earth. "We are also discussing human exploration but we expect international collaboration" in a manned mission. Human exploration could be followed by human colonies on the moon, he said. Cooperation between nations for lunar exploration should be modelled on the international space station, he said.
September 27 News Items
Arianespace to Market Indian Launch Services (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Arianespace plans to market two Indian space rockets in a potential boost to the South Asian nation offering commercial satellite launch services. India has developed two launch systems -- the PSLV capable of putting satellites of up to 1.6 tonnes in orbit and the GSLV that can launch payloads weighing between two tons and three tons.
India to Develop its Version of GPS (Source: DNA India)
India will develop its own version of the Global Positioning System by launching seven satellites in the next six years. The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), expected to be functional by 2012, will be used for surveying, telecommunications, transport, identifying disaster areas and public safety among others. The satellites will be placed at a higher orbit to have a larger signal footprint and lower number of satellites to map the region. The first satellite of the proposed constellation is expected to be launched in 2009.
Eleven Mars Missions Equal One Iraq War (Source: BurtonMackenzie.com)
NewScientist reported that the cost of President Bush's proposed mission to Mars was "expected to cost $40 billion to $80 billion." That really seemed like a lot of money. It is believed that as of Sep. 2007, the war in Iraq has cost the United States a $454 billion dollars. If the original Mars estimate was accurate, that means the U.S. could have funded somewhere between 5 and 11 independent human missions to Mars with the funds spent in Iraq.
Defense Secretary Asks Congress for $190 Billion in War Funds (Source: AIA)
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has asked Congress for nearly $190 billion for the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of the money -- $11 billion -- would be used to pay for additional armored vehicles needed to protect troops from roadside bombs. The request adds another $42 billion to the administration's initial budget request of $142 billion plus $5.3 billion allotted over the summer for the purchase of armored vehicles.
Russia Promises Retaliation if Weapons Deployed in Space (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia is ready to take appropriate measures if weapons are deployed in space, the commander of the Russian Space Forces said. "Should any country deploy weapons in space, then the laws of armed warfare are such that retaliatory weapons are certain to appear," Col. Gen. Vladimir Popovkin said. He said Russia and China have drafted an international declaration on the non-deployment of weapons in space and sent it to the UN.
"It is necessary to establish the rules of the game in space," he said, adding that the deployment of weapons in space could have unpredictable consequences, since such weapons are "very complex systems." "A sizable war could break out," the commander said. He said space must not be the sphere of interests of any one country. "We do not want to fight in space, and we do not want to call the shots there either, but we will not permit any other country to do so," he said.
Space Station Partners Bicker Over Closure Date (Source: AFP)
NASA administrator Michael Griffin has told space station partners that the US agency has no plans for "utilisation and exploitation" of the science research lab for more than five years after it is completed, [European Space Agency (ESA) chief Jean-Jacques] Dordain said. "ESA is not prepared to pay NASA's share when NASA has left the space station," Dordain told reporters Tuesday night on the sidelines of the space summit. "If NASA is staying, we are ready to follow," he added. "If NASA is quitting, I shall not propose to ESA to pay part of the cost that NASA is covering today."
NASTAR Spaceflight Training Center Opens in Pennsylvania (Source: ETC)
The National Aerospace Training and Research (NASTAR) Center will open on Oct. 3 in Southampton, Pennsylvania. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will attend the opening ceremony, which will feature Buzz Aldrin and private space travelers Anousheh Ansari and Greg Olsen. NASTAR has been selected by Virgin Galactic to provide training for the company's first 100 suborbital spaceflight passengers. Visit www.nastarcenter.com/launch for information.
NASA's Launch Starts 3Billion-Mile Trip to Asteroids (Source: Houston Chronicle)
NASA's Dawn spacecraft began an unprecedented, eight-year mission to the asteroid belt with a liftoff from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport on Thursday morning. The unmanned probe was developed to circle two of the largest objects in the asteroid belt, Vesta and Ceres, for closeup studies. The orbital scrutiny should provide scientists with new clues about the collection of rocky materials that were left over from the formation of the planets. Thousands of asteroids orbit the sun between Mars and Jupiter.
After separating from the Delta II rocket, the spacecraft will rely on a novel ion propulsion system to gradually achieve the velocity required for a mission estimated to span 3.2 billion miles. The propulsion drive, popularized on a grander scale in the Star Trek television and Star Wars film series, relies on solar power to heat xenon fuel. The heat fractures xenon atoms into electrically-charged sub-atomic particles called ions. As the ions are accelerated across an electrical field aboard the spacecraft, they exit as a gentle but continuiously accelerating thrust.
On 50th Anniversary of Space Age, Students From 9 Countries Will Fly With ZERO-G (Source: SpaceRef.com)
On October 6, nine exceptional students from around the world will commemorate the 50th anniversary of space age and experience weightlessness for the first time on a zero-gravity flight from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. This flight will serve to inspire students worldwide to excel in education, demonstrate international cooperation and visibly launch humankind's next 50 years in space. The flight is part of the global celebration of United Nations-declared World Space Week, October 4-10.
NASA KSC Provides Inventions for Licensing (Source: NASA)
NASA Kennedy Space Center has filed several KSC-developed technologies with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and they are available for licensing. They include: KSC-12848: Foam/Aerogel Composite Materials for Thermal and Acoustic Insulation and Cryogen Storage; KSC-12890: Aerogel/Polymer Composite Materials; KSC-12978: Mechanical Alloying of a Hydrogenation Catalyst Used for the Remediation of Contaminated Compounds; and KSC-13100: Ice Adhesion Mitigation. For more information contact Randy Heald, Patent Counsel, Kennedy Space Center, Mail Code CC-A, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899; telephone (321) 867-7214; fax (321) 867-1817.
GenCorp Earns $15.6 Million in Third Quarter (Source: Sacramento Bee)
GenCorp Inc. reported its third-consecutive profitable quarter, boosted by gains in the company's defense and aerospace business. For the third quarter, the company earned $15.6 million, a sharp improvement over the loss of $13.1 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue soared 25.4 percent to $198.5 million, largely on the strength of higher sales in space and defense programs, including NASA's Orion program and missile programs. "Our strategy to focus on space propulsion and missile defense ... has driven our success."
Seven Nations Planning Missions to the Moon (Source: Hindustan Times)
Seven nations, including India, the US and China, are planning to launch lunar missions in the near future, even as experts have sounded a word of caution about the impact these missions would have on moon's environment. Japan, Germany, Britain and Italy are the other countries whose delegates made their countries' plans clear at the 58th Astronautical Congress. "There is need for increased cooperation and coordination among countries to ensure that there is no pollution of lunar environment," said Roger-Maurice Bonnet, President, Committee on Space Research (COPSAR), France.
Arianespace plans to market two Indian space rockets in a potential boost to the South Asian nation offering commercial satellite launch services. India has developed two launch systems -- the PSLV capable of putting satellites of up to 1.6 tonnes in orbit and the GSLV that can launch payloads weighing between two tons and three tons.
India to Develop its Version of GPS (Source: DNA India)
India will develop its own version of the Global Positioning System by launching seven satellites in the next six years. The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), expected to be functional by 2012, will be used for surveying, telecommunications, transport, identifying disaster areas and public safety among others. The satellites will be placed at a higher orbit to have a larger signal footprint and lower number of satellites to map the region. The first satellite of the proposed constellation is expected to be launched in 2009.
Eleven Mars Missions Equal One Iraq War (Source: BurtonMackenzie.com)
NewScientist reported that the cost of President Bush's proposed mission to Mars was "expected to cost $40 billion to $80 billion." That really seemed like a lot of money. It is believed that as of Sep. 2007, the war in Iraq has cost the United States a $454 billion dollars. If the original Mars estimate was accurate, that means the U.S. could have funded somewhere between 5 and 11 independent human missions to Mars with the funds spent in Iraq.
Defense Secretary Asks Congress for $190 Billion in War Funds (Source: AIA)
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has asked Congress for nearly $190 billion for the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of the money -- $11 billion -- would be used to pay for additional armored vehicles needed to protect troops from roadside bombs. The request adds another $42 billion to the administration's initial budget request of $142 billion plus $5.3 billion allotted over the summer for the purchase of armored vehicles.
Russia Promises Retaliation if Weapons Deployed in Space (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia is ready to take appropriate measures if weapons are deployed in space, the commander of the Russian Space Forces said. "Should any country deploy weapons in space, then the laws of armed warfare are such that retaliatory weapons are certain to appear," Col. Gen. Vladimir Popovkin said. He said Russia and China have drafted an international declaration on the non-deployment of weapons in space and sent it to the UN.
"It is necessary to establish the rules of the game in space," he said, adding that the deployment of weapons in space could have unpredictable consequences, since such weapons are "very complex systems." "A sizable war could break out," the commander said. He said space must not be the sphere of interests of any one country. "We do not want to fight in space, and we do not want to call the shots there either, but we will not permit any other country to do so," he said.
Space Station Partners Bicker Over Closure Date (Source: AFP)
NASA administrator Michael Griffin has told space station partners that the US agency has no plans for "utilisation and exploitation" of the science research lab for more than five years after it is completed, [European Space Agency (ESA) chief Jean-Jacques] Dordain said. "ESA is not prepared to pay NASA's share when NASA has left the space station," Dordain told reporters Tuesday night on the sidelines of the space summit. "If NASA is staying, we are ready to follow," he added. "If NASA is quitting, I shall not propose to ESA to pay part of the cost that NASA is covering today."
NASTAR Spaceflight Training Center Opens in Pennsylvania (Source: ETC)
The National Aerospace Training and Research (NASTAR) Center will open on Oct. 3 in Southampton, Pennsylvania. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will attend the opening ceremony, which will feature Buzz Aldrin and private space travelers Anousheh Ansari and Greg Olsen. NASTAR has been selected by Virgin Galactic to provide training for the company's first 100 suborbital spaceflight passengers. Visit www.nastarcenter.com/launch for information.
NASA's Launch Starts 3Billion-Mile Trip to Asteroids (Source: Houston Chronicle)
NASA's Dawn spacecraft began an unprecedented, eight-year mission to the asteroid belt with a liftoff from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport on Thursday morning. The unmanned probe was developed to circle two of the largest objects in the asteroid belt, Vesta and Ceres, for closeup studies. The orbital scrutiny should provide scientists with new clues about the collection of rocky materials that were left over from the formation of the planets. Thousands of asteroids orbit the sun between Mars and Jupiter.
After separating from the Delta II rocket, the spacecraft will rely on a novel ion propulsion system to gradually achieve the velocity required for a mission estimated to span 3.2 billion miles. The propulsion drive, popularized on a grander scale in the Star Trek television and Star Wars film series, relies on solar power to heat xenon fuel. The heat fractures xenon atoms into electrically-charged sub-atomic particles called ions. As the ions are accelerated across an electrical field aboard the spacecraft, they exit as a gentle but continuiously accelerating thrust.
On 50th Anniversary of Space Age, Students From 9 Countries Will Fly With ZERO-G (Source: SpaceRef.com)
On October 6, nine exceptional students from around the world will commemorate the 50th anniversary of space age and experience weightlessness for the first time on a zero-gravity flight from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. This flight will serve to inspire students worldwide to excel in education, demonstrate international cooperation and visibly launch humankind's next 50 years in space. The flight is part of the global celebration of United Nations-declared World Space Week, October 4-10.
NASA KSC Provides Inventions for Licensing (Source: NASA)
NASA Kennedy Space Center has filed several KSC-developed technologies with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and they are available for licensing. They include: KSC-12848: Foam/Aerogel Composite Materials for Thermal and Acoustic Insulation and Cryogen Storage; KSC-12890: Aerogel/Polymer Composite Materials; KSC-12978: Mechanical Alloying of a Hydrogenation Catalyst Used for the Remediation of Contaminated Compounds; and KSC-13100: Ice Adhesion Mitigation. For more information contact Randy Heald, Patent Counsel, Kennedy Space Center, Mail Code CC-A, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899; telephone (321) 867-7214; fax (321) 867-1817.
GenCorp Earns $15.6 Million in Third Quarter (Source: Sacramento Bee)
GenCorp Inc. reported its third-consecutive profitable quarter, boosted by gains in the company's defense and aerospace business. For the third quarter, the company earned $15.6 million, a sharp improvement over the loss of $13.1 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue soared 25.4 percent to $198.5 million, largely on the strength of higher sales in space and defense programs, including NASA's Orion program and missile programs. "Our strategy to focus on space propulsion and missile defense ... has driven our success."
Seven Nations Planning Missions to the Moon (Source: Hindustan Times)
Seven nations, including India, the US and China, are planning to launch lunar missions in the near future, even as experts have sounded a word of caution about the impact these missions would have on moon's environment. Japan, Germany, Britain and Italy are the other countries whose delegates made their countries' plans clear at the 58th Astronautical Congress. "There is need for increased cooperation and coordination among countries to ensure that there is no pollution of lunar environment," said Roger-Maurice Bonnet, President, Committee on Space Research (COPSAR), France.
September 26 News Items
From 4 Key Players, A Sense of Regret and A Call to Action (Source: USA Today)
USA Today interviews Konrad Dannenberg, Michael Griffin, Elon Musk, and Tom Stafford to get their take on the history and future of space exploration. Visit http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2007-09-25-sputnik-4-players_N.htm to view the article.
Space Junk Threat to Earth (Source: Geelong Advertiser)
Space junk, comets crashing through our atmosphere, extra-terrestrial micro-organisms that survive in appalling cold or searing heat, bacteria that grow more virulent in the gravity-free vacuum of space. What happens when fate conspires to bring such creatures and creations to earth? There's no shortage of speculation of what the future might hold, what with holes in the ozone admitting cosmic radiation and comets, meteorites, space junks -- and all the microscopic hitchhikers they might be carrying -- hurtling towards us at mind-boggling speeds. Now there's a new kid on the inter-planetary catastrophist's block: superbugs. Super spacebugs. Scientists working on and with the space shuttle have found certain bugs, dangerous enough when earth-bound, will grow more powerful in space.
A Man, A Plan, A Planet: Mars Direct (Source: The Varsity)
Dr. Robert Zubrin is an ambitious man with an equally ambitious idea: he not only wants to see humans on Mars in seven years, he also has a workable plan to make it a reality. With its apparently dry riverbeds and ice-capped poles, Mars has remained a tantalizing target for space programs and the governments that fund them. What happened? Why aren’t we there yet? As far as Zubrin is concerned, we should be able to get there soon. He expressed the nature of the problem using a simple analogy: “In principle, it can take any amount of rope to connect two posts separated by 10 metres. The issue is whether you want to connect the posts or sell rope.”
In other words, a bare-bones mission designed to keep costs low while still sending people to Mars is feasible but unappealing to the numerous corporations contracted by NASA to design and manufacture the necessary equipment. Politicians also complicate the issue. Bush has declared that before America goes to Mars, there must first be a launch pad on the moon. A not-so- subtle land grab, the lunar base also carries a huge price tag of U.S. $450 billion. But there’s another problem with Bush’s plan: it just doesn’t make sense. “Flying to the moon before going to Mars is like flying to Saskatoon on your way to Chicago,” said Zubrin. Visit http://www.thevarsity.ca/article/438 to view the article.
Scientists Warn Against Colonisation in Space (Source: The Statesman)
A top Indian scientist today warned the international space community against colonization of Moon and Mars and said any knowledge gained by such expeditions should be shared among all countries without discrimination. “All resources on the Moon and Mars should be used for the common good of mankind. Nobody can claim ownership on celestial bodies because of their technology or because they reached there first”, said an ISRO deputy director. "The biggest ethical question before the space-faring nations is whether mankind is looking at ‘habitation or colonization’ of Moon and Mars. The construction and occupation of bases should be fundamentally treated as habitations rather than colonies in the conventional sense,” he said.
NASA's Griffin Ready to Cooperate with India (Source: The Hindu)
Michael Griffin reiterated that NASA “will be open to the idea of cooperating with India in human space flights for our efforts beyond the [International] Space Station, which could again be taking people back to the moon and establishing a research station there.” NASA was also “open to discussions [with India] for Chandrayaan-II or other missions,” he said. The U.S. was already on Chandrayaan-I mission and exchange of scientific data.
“The centrepiece of our programme right now is the Space Station. We hope that when we return to the moon, it will be done with our space station partners and others may be India.” But he made it clear that the Government of India had not made any specific proposal on these lines. “You have a capable organization in ISRO and a capable chairman and I am pleased to have the opportunity to know him and may be the opportunity to work with ISRO. At this point, the discussions are in an exploratory stage,” he said.
To Save Humanity (Source: UPI)
The official reasons for renewing the human space flight program usually start with scientific research and end with national prestige, but they never mention the fact that humanity will one day be wiped out unless it has found a habitat beyond the Earth. Mars is by far the most congenial candidate, with potential to eventually be "terraformed" into a planet where pressure suits and airtight structures will no longer be needed to sustain human beings. That's a long way off, and it may never happen at the rate our current space efforts are progressing. But whenever you hear about other ways we might spend money set aside for the human space flight program, you ought to think about the big rock that is out there somewhere, destined to destroy everything we have created unless human beings have found another place to live.
Space Tether Experiment Hits Major Snag (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
A small capsule the size of a beach ball was stranded in Earth orbit early Tuesday after an attempt to return the craft from space via a revolutionary technique using a nearly 20-mile-long tether. The 12-pound Fotino re-entry capsule was to be released from the tether to parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan Tuesday, but the deployment procedure apparently hit a snag, according to the European Space Agency. The Young Engineers' Satellite 2 test mission was sponsored by ESA as part of its experiment package on the Russian Foton M3 microgravity research mission. Delta-Utec, a Dutch contractor specializing in tether systems, provided the technology and solicited the help of about 450 students from across Europe.
NASA Extends European Space Station Engineering Services Contract (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded a contract modification to the European Space Agency's Space Technology Center for additional engineering services for the International Space Station Node 2 and 3 modules. The modification is valued at $27.5 million. The contract modification extends the current contract to reflect adjustments made to the station's assembly manifest and to meet increased contract requirements through June 30, 2011. The two-year extension increases the value of the $22 million fixed price contract to $49.5 million.
Asteroid Defense Possible Career Field (Source: Aerospace Daily)
A growing awareness of the threat to Earth posed by even relatively small asteroids and comet chunks suggests a potential career path for budding engineers. William Ailor, an engineer who directs the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies at The Aerospace Corp., told the International Astronautical Congress here Sept. 24 that the possibility of another event the size of the one that leveled a Siberian forest in 1908 with an airburst estimated as the equivalent of 10-15 megatons of high explosive is about one in 10 in any given century. Had it happened near Manhattan instead of the isolated Tunguska River, it would have been an unprecedented disaster.
The chance of an actual civilization-threatening impact - caused by an asteroid a kilometer across - is about one in 1,000 over a century, while an extinction-level event like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs has a one-in-a-million chance of happening over a century, he said. NASA's goal is to identify 90 percent of the 1-kilometer near-Earth objects by the end of next year. Tracking an object after it is spotted with enough accuracy and lead time to justify and accomplish a multibillion international attempt to deflect it is very tricky, and the methods for doing so are uncertain at best. "If you're a young person and you're just getting into the space field, it is not unlikely that you might get involved in actually doing some serious planning for a deflection mission," Ailor said. "This is not something that is many generations off. It's something that we really should be preparing for."
USA Today interviews Konrad Dannenberg, Michael Griffin, Elon Musk, and Tom Stafford to get their take on the history and future of space exploration. Visit http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2007-09-25-sputnik-4-players_N.htm to view the article.
Space Junk Threat to Earth (Source: Geelong Advertiser)
Space junk, comets crashing through our atmosphere, extra-terrestrial micro-organisms that survive in appalling cold or searing heat, bacteria that grow more virulent in the gravity-free vacuum of space. What happens when fate conspires to bring such creatures and creations to earth? There's no shortage of speculation of what the future might hold, what with holes in the ozone admitting cosmic radiation and comets, meteorites, space junks -- and all the microscopic hitchhikers they might be carrying -- hurtling towards us at mind-boggling speeds. Now there's a new kid on the inter-planetary catastrophist's block: superbugs. Super spacebugs. Scientists working on and with the space shuttle have found certain bugs, dangerous enough when earth-bound, will grow more powerful in space.
A Man, A Plan, A Planet: Mars Direct (Source: The Varsity)
Dr. Robert Zubrin is an ambitious man with an equally ambitious idea: he not only wants to see humans on Mars in seven years, he also has a workable plan to make it a reality. With its apparently dry riverbeds and ice-capped poles, Mars has remained a tantalizing target for space programs and the governments that fund them. What happened? Why aren’t we there yet? As far as Zubrin is concerned, we should be able to get there soon. He expressed the nature of the problem using a simple analogy: “In principle, it can take any amount of rope to connect two posts separated by 10 metres. The issue is whether you want to connect the posts or sell rope.”
In other words, a bare-bones mission designed to keep costs low while still sending people to Mars is feasible but unappealing to the numerous corporations contracted by NASA to design and manufacture the necessary equipment. Politicians also complicate the issue. Bush has declared that before America goes to Mars, there must first be a launch pad on the moon. A not-so- subtle land grab, the lunar base also carries a huge price tag of U.S. $450 billion. But there’s another problem with Bush’s plan: it just doesn’t make sense. “Flying to the moon before going to Mars is like flying to Saskatoon on your way to Chicago,” said Zubrin. Visit http://www.thevarsity.ca/article/438 to view the article.
Scientists Warn Against Colonisation in Space (Source: The Statesman)
A top Indian scientist today warned the international space community against colonization of Moon and Mars and said any knowledge gained by such expeditions should be shared among all countries without discrimination. “All resources on the Moon and Mars should be used for the common good of mankind. Nobody can claim ownership on celestial bodies because of their technology or because they reached there first”, said an ISRO deputy director. "The biggest ethical question before the space-faring nations is whether mankind is looking at ‘habitation or colonization’ of Moon and Mars. The construction and occupation of bases should be fundamentally treated as habitations rather than colonies in the conventional sense,” he said.
NASA's Griffin Ready to Cooperate with India (Source: The Hindu)
Michael Griffin reiterated that NASA “will be open to the idea of cooperating with India in human space flights for our efforts beyond the [International] Space Station, which could again be taking people back to the moon and establishing a research station there.” NASA was also “open to discussions [with India] for Chandrayaan-II or other missions,” he said. The U.S. was already on Chandrayaan-I mission and exchange of scientific data.
“The centrepiece of our programme right now is the Space Station. We hope that when we return to the moon, it will be done with our space station partners and others may be India.” But he made it clear that the Government of India had not made any specific proposal on these lines. “You have a capable organization in ISRO and a capable chairman and I am pleased to have the opportunity to know him and may be the opportunity to work with ISRO. At this point, the discussions are in an exploratory stage,” he said.
To Save Humanity (Source: UPI)
The official reasons for renewing the human space flight program usually start with scientific research and end with national prestige, but they never mention the fact that humanity will one day be wiped out unless it has found a habitat beyond the Earth. Mars is by far the most congenial candidate, with potential to eventually be "terraformed" into a planet where pressure suits and airtight structures will no longer be needed to sustain human beings. That's a long way off, and it may never happen at the rate our current space efforts are progressing. But whenever you hear about other ways we might spend money set aside for the human space flight program, you ought to think about the big rock that is out there somewhere, destined to destroy everything we have created unless human beings have found another place to live.
Space Tether Experiment Hits Major Snag (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
A small capsule the size of a beach ball was stranded in Earth orbit early Tuesday after an attempt to return the craft from space via a revolutionary technique using a nearly 20-mile-long tether. The 12-pound Fotino re-entry capsule was to be released from the tether to parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan Tuesday, but the deployment procedure apparently hit a snag, according to the European Space Agency. The Young Engineers' Satellite 2 test mission was sponsored by ESA as part of its experiment package on the Russian Foton M3 microgravity research mission. Delta-Utec, a Dutch contractor specializing in tether systems, provided the technology and solicited the help of about 450 students from across Europe.
NASA Extends European Space Station Engineering Services Contract (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded a contract modification to the European Space Agency's Space Technology Center for additional engineering services for the International Space Station Node 2 and 3 modules. The modification is valued at $27.5 million. The contract modification extends the current contract to reflect adjustments made to the station's assembly manifest and to meet increased contract requirements through June 30, 2011. The two-year extension increases the value of the $22 million fixed price contract to $49.5 million.
Asteroid Defense Possible Career Field (Source: Aerospace Daily)
A growing awareness of the threat to Earth posed by even relatively small asteroids and comet chunks suggests a potential career path for budding engineers. William Ailor, an engineer who directs the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies at The Aerospace Corp., told the International Astronautical Congress here Sept. 24 that the possibility of another event the size of the one that leveled a Siberian forest in 1908 with an airburst estimated as the equivalent of 10-15 megatons of high explosive is about one in 10 in any given century. Had it happened near Manhattan instead of the isolated Tunguska River, it would have been an unprecedented disaster.
The chance of an actual civilization-threatening impact - caused by an asteroid a kilometer across - is about one in 1,000 over a century, while an extinction-level event like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs has a one-in-a-million chance of happening over a century, he said. NASA's goal is to identify 90 percent of the 1-kilometer near-Earth objects by the end of next year. Tracking an object after it is spotted with enough accuracy and lead time to justify and accomplish a multibillion international attempt to deflect it is very tricky, and the methods for doing so are uncertain at best. "If you're a young person and you're just getting into the space field, it is not unlikely that you might get involved in actually doing some serious planning for a deflection mission," Ailor said. "This is not something that is many generations off. It's something that we really should be preparing for."
September 25 News Items
Embry-Riddle Names New Dormitory for Apollo Program (Source: ERAU)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has completed a new residence hall for students and will christen it Apollo Hall in honor of NASA's historic lunar exploration program. The new facility will open in October at the university's Daytona Beach campus.
Astrium Ties Up with India's Space Agency (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Astrium, a unit of Europe's EADS conglomerate, announced that India's space agency will assemble satellites for some launch customers under a new partnership. The Bangalore, southern India-based Indian Space Research Organisation will build two satellites, one for France-based Eutelsat to be launched by Astrium in the last quarter of 2008, and the other for Britain's Avanti due for lift-off in 2009. "These satellites will be integrated, assembled and tested in Bangalore," Astrium's chief executive officer Francois Auque told reporters on the sidelines of the astronautics congress under way in Hyderabad, southern India. The company will also market India's "cost-effective platforms" to other launch customers in Europe, and offer India's earth observation services to its clients in the US, Auque said.
Wanted: Billionaire Risk-Takers Seeking Eternal Renown (Source: New York Times)
This is a once-in-a-planet’s-lifetime opportunity to win eternal renown — and perform a lasting public service that won’t be done anytime soon by any public agency. Politicians are understandably leery of a Mars mission, and not only because the payoff would come decades after the next election. It’s hard to make a moral case for cutting social programs and science research (like climatology or unmanned space probes) to spend tens or hundreds of billions of dollars to put a human on Mars. But a billionaire doesn’t have to answer to voters. It’s not a public scandal when private explorers make fatal mistakes.
Robert Zubrin, the head of the Mars Society, figures a private explorer could get there within a decade for $8 billion to $10 billion, and a good chunk of that cost — maybe all of it — could be offset with revenues from media rights and marketing tie-ins. Elon Musk of SpaceX guesses it could be done for just $5 billion. “It would be neat to have a one-time $5 billion mission to Mars,” he told me, “but $5 billion is still far too much. There’s no way that we could establish any kind of base on Mars or any kind of self-sustaining biology there. We need to get that first mission to under $1 billion, and then the later missions down to under $100 million.” Mr. Musk says his goal is to help establish a colony on Mars by lowering the cost of launching payloads into space, but his company’s not ready to go up there until the venture looks profitable. Click here to view the article.
Arms in Space (Source: New York Times)
The push into space has always been, in part, a push to stay ahead militarily. Successive administrations have explored the possibilities of weaponry that often sounded like science fiction but sometimes lead to breakthroughs -- like lasers, for example. Space weapons are "still definitely part of the program," said Philip E. Coyle III, a former director of weapon testing at the Pentagon. "But they don't emphasize it because the arms-control people come out of the woodwork."
NASA Ames to Co-Sponsor International Space Station Workshop (Source: NASA)
Researchers, educators, venture capitalists and NASA officials will convene at NASA Ames Research Center on Oct. 2-4 to begin identifying and crafting pioneering research opportunities for the International Space Station. Chaired by Nobel Laureate Baruch S. Blumberg of the Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pa., the International Space Station National Laboratory Workshop will feature panel discussions, presentations and remarks by a variety of space exploration experts. "This major workshop affords an opportunity to bring together some of the best minds in the business of space exploration to discuss future research opportunities for the International Space Station," said S. Pete Worden, director, NASA Ames Research Center. "We're delighted to be a co-sponsor of this conference and look forward to some engaging discussions," he added. The workshop is hosted by the Alliance for Commercial Enterprises in Space.
Space Business Commits to New Mexico (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
The Sierra County Economic Development Organization has landed its first space-related company, a British firm specializing in being "random." British firm Yuzoz Ltd. has made a commitment to base its "mission control" center somewhere in Sierra County, the location of Spaceport America, which is expected to open by 2010. Yuzoz will provide space-themed entertainment and promises to offer a new way of interacting with the solar system. With its Generator-I, the company plans to use satellites and observatories to capture impulses from space that can be converted into random data and applied to general numbers. Those numbers can be used for everyday decisions, including what movie to watch, choosing names and what color shirt to wear, according to the company's Web site. "We're not about hardware," Yuzoz CEO Jeff Manber said. "We're the first company that's about emotion. There is a renaissance of interest in our connection to space and space explorations. We're the first to come in and say, "we know the power of space, we want to provide that emotional link.'"
India Not Interested in Space Station (Source: DNA)
The International space station (ISS) is perhaps the most important project as far as space exploration is concerned. In fact, for ISS members it is a launchpad for lunar and interplanetary missions. However, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists seem to be least interested in becoming a member of this prestigious project. This was revealed by ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair during an interaction with the media. About reports that India had approached Russia for membership of the exclusive group, Nair said ISRO had not initiated any dialogue with the Russians. “There is no such proposal from the scientific community,” he said.
Space Makes Bacteria More Dangerous (Source: ASU)
A germ that causes food poisoning and other illnesses can be three times more dangerous in space than on the ground, an experiment has shown. The finding spells out tougher challenges for astronauts taking trips to the moon or Mars, as recent work also hints that the body's immune system weakens during extended stays in space. "Space flight alters cellular and physiological responses in astronauts including the immune response," said Cheryl Nickerson, a microbiologist at Arizona State University and leader of the experiment. "However, relatively little was known about microbial changes to infectious disease risk in response to space flight." Bacteria express different sets of genes in different environments to ensure their survival. Inhospitable conditions, for example, can turn on a "master switch" in some bacteria and allow the microbes to form tough spores that can survive the extreme conditions of space.
E'Prime Judgement Not Final (Source: ERAU)
A report last week on competing lawsuits related to E'Prime Aerospace Corp. relayed that an Orlando judge ordered the company's new president to pay its previous president over $4.3 million. The judgement was not final and is still pending a judicial review of a recommendation filed by the plaintiff in the Orlando lawsuit.
NASA Awards Lockheed Martin $178M Deal (Source: AP)
NASA on Monday awarded Lockheed Martin a solar instrument contract worth up $178 million. The pact is for one solar ultraviolet imager that will fly on the next generation of geostationary satellites, the first of which is scheduled to launch in December 2014. The deal also includes three options for additional instruments. The imager will help monitor dynamic features on the sun, including flares, and provide better direct measurements of those features, according to NASA.
Constellation Services and United Launch Alliance Study Atlas V Cargo Missions (Source: CSI)
Constellation Services International (CSI) and United Launch Alliance (ULA) will study the potential of launching LEO Express cargo canisters on Atlas V rockets. Destinations could include the International Space Station and other commercial orbital destinations. The CSI LEO Express cargo service uses low-risk systems including the ISS-certified Progress “spacetug” along with a Progress-derived cargo Canister, each launched separately. In the first step, the standardized canister would be launched by an Atlas V launch vehicle. Next, the proven Progress spacecraft would leave ISS and act as a reusable tug to dock with the cargo canister and return it to ISS. This low-risk approach could be implemented as early as 2009, and would eliminate any potential gap in ISS cargo delivery after the Shuttle is retired.
Editorial: Moon Base Project Sucks Up Potential Climate Research Dollars (Source: Grist)
In the annals of self-delusion, NASA's Moon-Mars mission ranks right at the top. Let me be clear. There is a 0 percent chance that NASA's Moon base or anything like it will ever be built, for the following reason: the moon missions in the '60s and early '70s cost something like $100 billion in today's dollars. There is no way that setting up a semipermanent lunar base will be anything other than many times more expensive. That would put the total cost at one to a few trillion dollars. NASA, however, is spending a few billion dollars each year on this -- something like 1 percent of the money they would need to spend each year to actually accomplish this task, well short of the $100 billion or so actually required.
NASA Imagines Earth-Like Worlds (Source: Space.com)
Astronomers have yet to find an Earth-size planet beyond our solar system, but that hasn't stopped them from modeling what these worlds might look like. A new catalog of 14 types of such planets, some fantastical, could help planet hunters spot what has until now remained fictional. The computer models provide specs for 14 planet types, varying according to mass, diameter, composition and where the worlds could be found in our galaxy. Some are made mostly of pure water ice, carbon, iron, silicate, carbon monoxide or silicon carbide, while others are mixtures of these various compounds.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has completed a new residence hall for students and will christen it Apollo Hall in honor of NASA's historic lunar exploration program. The new facility will open in October at the university's Daytona Beach campus.
Astrium Ties Up with India's Space Agency (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Astrium, a unit of Europe's EADS conglomerate, announced that India's space agency will assemble satellites for some launch customers under a new partnership. The Bangalore, southern India-based Indian Space Research Organisation will build two satellites, one for France-based Eutelsat to be launched by Astrium in the last quarter of 2008, and the other for Britain's Avanti due for lift-off in 2009. "These satellites will be integrated, assembled and tested in Bangalore," Astrium's chief executive officer Francois Auque told reporters on the sidelines of the astronautics congress under way in Hyderabad, southern India. The company will also market India's "cost-effective platforms" to other launch customers in Europe, and offer India's earth observation services to its clients in the US, Auque said.
Wanted: Billionaire Risk-Takers Seeking Eternal Renown (Source: New York Times)
This is a once-in-a-planet’s-lifetime opportunity to win eternal renown — and perform a lasting public service that won’t be done anytime soon by any public agency. Politicians are understandably leery of a Mars mission, and not only because the payoff would come decades after the next election. It’s hard to make a moral case for cutting social programs and science research (like climatology or unmanned space probes) to spend tens or hundreds of billions of dollars to put a human on Mars. But a billionaire doesn’t have to answer to voters. It’s not a public scandal when private explorers make fatal mistakes.
Robert Zubrin, the head of the Mars Society, figures a private explorer could get there within a decade for $8 billion to $10 billion, and a good chunk of that cost — maybe all of it — could be offset with revenues from media rights and marketing tie-ins. Elon Musk of SpaceX guesses it could be done for just $5 billion. “It would be neat to have a one-time $5 billion mission to Mars,” he told me, “but $5 billion is still far too much. There’s no way that we could establish any kind of base on Mars or any kind of self-sustaining biology there. We need to get that first mission to under $1 billion, and then the later missions down to under $100 million.” Mr. Musk says his goal is to help establish a colony on Mars by lowering the cost of launching payloads into space, but his company’s not ready to go up there until the venture looks profitable. Click here to view the article.
Arms in Space (Source: New York Times)
The push into space has always been, in part, a push to stay ahead militarily. Successive administrations have explored the possibilities of weaponry that often sounded like science fiction but sometimes lead to breakthroughs -- like lasers, for example. Space weapons are "still definitely part of the program," said Philip E. Coyle III, a former director of weapon testing at the Pentagon. "But they don't emphasize it because the arms-control people come out of the woodwork."
NASA Ames to Co-Sponsor International Space Station Workshop (Source: NASA)
Researchers, educators, venture capitalists and NASA officials will convene at NASA Ames Research Center on Oct. 2-4 to begin identifying and crafting pioneering research opportunities for the International Space Station. Chaired by Nobel Laureate Baruch S. Blumberg of the Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pa., the International Space Station National Laboratory Workshop will feature panel discussions, presentations and remarks by a variety of space exploration experts. "This major workshop affords an opportunity to bring together some of the best minds in the business of space exploration to discuss future research opportunities for the International Space Station," said S. Pete Worden, director, NASA Ames Research Center. "We're delighted to be a co-sponsor of this conference and look forward to some engaging discussions," he added. The workshop is hosted by the Alliance for Commercial Enterprises in Space.
Space Business Commits to New Mexico (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
The Sierra County Economic Development Organization has landed its first space-related company, a British firm specializing in being "random." British firm Yuzoz Ltd. has made a commitment to base its "mission control" center somewhere in Sierra County, the location of Spaceport America, which is expected to open by 2010. Yuzoz will provide space-themed entertainment and promises to offer a new way of interacting with the solar system. With its Generator-I, the company plans to use satellites and observatories to capture impulses from space that can be converted into random data and applied to general numbers. Those numbers can be used for everyday decisions, including what movie to watch, choosing names and what color shirt to wear, according to the company's Web site. "We're not about hardware," Yuzoz CEO Jeff Manber said. "We're the first company that's about emotion. There is a renaissance of interest in our connection to space and space explorations. We're the first to come in and say, "we know the power of space, we want to provide that emotional link.'"
India Not Interested in Space Station (Source: DNA)
The International space station (ISS) is perhaps the most important project as far as space exploration is concerned. In fact, for ISS members it is a launchpad for lunar and interplanetary missions. However, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists seem to be least interested in becoming a member of this prestigious project. This was revealed by ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair during an interaction with the media. About reports that India had approached Russia for membership of the exclusive group, Nair said ISRO had not initiated any dialogue with the Russians. “There is no such proposal from the scientific community,” he said.
Space Makes Bacteria More Dangerous (Source: ASU)
A germ that causes food poisoning and other illnesses can be three times more dangerous in space than on the ground, an experiment has shown. The finding spells out tougher challenges for astronauts taking trips to the moon or Mars, as recent work also hints that the body's immune system weakens during extended stays in space. "Space flight alters cellular and physiological responses in astronauts including the immune response," said Cheryl Nickerson, a microbiologist at Arizona State University and leader of the experiment. "However, relatively little was known about microbial changes to infectious disease risk in response to space flight." Bacteria express different sets of genes in different environments to ensure their survival. Inhospitable conditions, for example, can turn on a "master switch" in some bacteria and allow the microbes to form tough spores that can survive the extreme conditions of space.
E'Prime Judgement Not Final (Source: ERAU)
A report last week on competing lawsuits related to E'Prime Aerospace Corp. relayed that an Orlando judge ordered the company's new president to pay its previous president over $4.3 million. The judgement was not final and is still pending a judicial review of a recommendation filed by the plaintiff in the Orlando lawsuit.
NASA Awards Lockheed Martin $178M Deal (Source: AP)
NASA on Monday awarded Lockheed Martin a solar instrument contract worth up $178 million. The pact is for one solar ultraviolet imager that will fly on the next generation of geostationary satellites, the first of which is scheduled to launch in December 2014. The deal also includes three options for additional instruments. The imager will help monitor dynamic features on the sun, including flares, and provide better direct measurements of those features, according to NASA.
Constellation Services and United Launch Alliance Study Atlas V Cargo Missions (Source: CSI)
Constellation Services International (CSI) and United Launch Alliance (ULA) will study the potential of launching LEO Express cargo canisters on Atlas V rockets. Destinations could include the International Space Station and other commercial orbital destinations. The CSI LEO Express cargo service uses low-risk systems including the ISS-certified Progress “spacetug” along with a Progress-derived cargo Canister, each launched separately. In the first step, the standardized canister would be launched by an Atlas V launch vehicle. Next, the proven Progress spacecraft would leave ISS and act as a reusable tug to dock with the cargo canister and return it to ISS. This low-risk approach could be implemented as early as 2009, and would eliminate any potential gap in ISS cargo delivery after the Shuttle is retired.
Editorial: Moon Base Project Sucks Up Potential Climate Research Dollars (Source: Grist)
In the annals of self-delusion, NASA's Moon-Mars mission ranks right at the top. Let me be clear. There is a 0 percent chance that NASA's Moon base or anything like it will ever be built, for the following reason: the moon missions in the '60s and early '70s cost something like $100 billion in today's dollars. There is no way that setting up a semipermanent lunar base will be anything other than many times more expensive. That would put the total cost at one to a few trillion dollars. NASA, however, is spending a few billion dollars each year on this -- something like 1 percent of the money they would need to spend each year to actually accomplish this task, well short of the $100 billion or so actually required.
NASA Imagines Earth-Like Worlds (Source: Space.com)
Astronomers have yet to find an Earth-size planet beyond our solar system, but that hasn't stopped them from modeling what these worlds might look like. A new catalog of 14 types of such planets, some fantastical, could help planet hunters spot what has until now remained fictional. The computer models provide specs for 14 planet types, varying according to mass, diameter, composition and where the worlds could be found in our galaxy. Some are made mostly of pure water ice, carbon, iron, silicate, carbon monoxide or silicon carbide, while others are mixtures of these various compounds.
September 24 News Items
NASA Quest Announces the Student HiRISE Image Targeting Challenge (Source: NASA)
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera now orbiting Mars is helping NASA search for signs of water on Mars. Students are invited to help choose regions of Mars for HiRISE to image. The HiRISE team will pick several suggestions and image them with the camera in the coming months. The participants will represent the first people on Earth to see the resulting image and will have the chance to search for signs of water in the image. Background information, teacher guides, student activity books and tutorials are available online to help students choose a region. Visit http://quest.nasa.gov/challenges/hirise/ for information.
Dawn Launch Slips a Day (Source: SpaceToday.net)
NASA announced Monday that the launch of a mission to the main asteroid belt will be delayed a day after weather hampered launch preparations. The Dawn mission, which had been scheduled for launch Wednesday on a Delta 2 from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, will now launch between 7:20 and 7:49 am EDT Thursday. Once launched, Dawn will fly to the main asteroid belt and visit the large asteroids Ceres and Vesta. The launch had been scheduled for earlier this summer, but was postponed by a number of problems, and the launch team stood down in July so that NASA could focus on the time-critical August launch of the Phoenix mission to Mars.
Second Galileo Satellite Delayed to 2008 (Source: The Register)
Media reports suggest the Giove-B satellite, second in a series of testbed and validation platforms preceding the main Galileo birds, will not now be launched until next year. Giove B, which has already suffered delays, was to be orbited aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket in December. Now, however, a spokesman from launch company Arianespace said it will now be held in March 2008. Problems with the launch rocket rather than the satellite were blamed for the delay.
NASA Means Business Student Competition 2008 (Source: SGC)
The NASA Means Business Student Competition program invites undergraduate and graduate students to employ their skills to help NASA articulate the contributions of space exploration to everyday life. This year¹s challenge is: Help NASA to increase the number of corporate researchers, university researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors who utilize the Nation's investment in spaceflight to grow their investments in knowledge and commerce. Specifically, participating teams will compete by designing and preparing a NASA Spaceflight Promotion Plan and illustrative flagship promotion projects including a fully implemented Internet Solution with a 20-second promotional video and other concept design/media elements. Visit http://www.tsgc.utexas.edu/nmb/ for information.
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West Oakland, California, Space Academies Close (Source: Alameda Timmes-Star)
In September 2006, two space-themed charter academies opened in West Oakland with a lofty vision and support from NASA and the University of California, Berkeley. Less than a year later, the Space Exploration Academies are gone, and the families that bought into the dream now must find new schools, weeks into the semester. The junior high and high schools, which had a combined enrollment of about 75 children, closed last week after losing an appeal to the state board of education. The Oakland school district revoked the schools' charters in February, citing low enrollment and substandard instruction, but the academies appealed the decision.
"We were railroaded, and that's the bottom line," said co-founder Camron Gorguinpour, a doctoral physics and astronomy student at UC Berkeley. George Gagnon, director of pre-engineering partnerships at UC Berkeley and a board member of SSOAR, a nonprofit organization that runs the schools, said he believed the appeals process was deeply flawed. As an Oakland public school parent as well as an educator, Gagnon said, he also found it troubling the school district would try to close the academies just months after they opened.
Please, Mr. Bezos (Source: Space Review)
So far, all we really know about Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin reusable launch vehicle (RLV) project, is that they flew a test vehicle to an altitude of less than 100 meters in Nov. 2006 from their private Texas spaceport. That test item, called “Goddard”, is a precursor to a suborbital vehicle called the New Shepard that may fly sometime around 2010. Beyond this, we know from their web site that they want to hire people “with turbopump or propulsion experience on large, modern, cryogenic engines such as the RS-68.” That leaves us with lots of room to speculate about what they are up to.
A suborbital vehicle that will be able to take tourists up to the edge of space and compete with Scaled Composites’ SpaceShipTwo will be a welcome addition to the suborbital market: may the best rocket win. But why all the secrecy if that is all there is to it? Why build a craft that can almost reach orbit unless, eventually, one wants to go all the way? So are we going to see a New Shepard 2? Will it be single stage to orbit (SSTO) or will it need two stages? Will it use plug aerospike engines or something more conventional?
The team that Bezos has built has no obligation to provide the public with any information on its plans other than what it has to give to the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation in order to get a license to operate. Thanks to Jeff Bezos’ money they do not have to seduce investors or satisfy politicians or bureaucrats. They can just get on with the job with no distractions or pressure. In many ways it’s an ideal situation. Yet for the space industry, and in the long term for Blue Origin itself, it might be wise for them to be a bit more forthcoming about their long-term plans. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/959/1 to view the article.
The Case for Withdrawing From the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (Source: Space Review)
This year is the 40th anniversary of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration of Outer Space Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, more commonly known as the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. Born out of anxiety about the Cold War and excitement about the Space Age, the agreement is a tribute to the ability of diplomats to draft international law that is simultaneously effective but bad. Successful in preventing states from claiming sovereign territory in outer space the treaty also hobbled space exploration and development. Today, human activity in outer space is confined to low Earth orbit and unmanned space exploration of the solar system proceeds at a leisurely pace. The Space Age has sputtered to a crawl and the 1967 Outer Space Treaty deserves a large measure of the blame.
The core legal principle of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty declared that everywhere beyond the atmosphere to be res communis, an international commons rather akin to the “international waters” of the open oceans on Earth, rather than terra nullius, the sort of territory that is unclaimed yet claimable by states as sovereign territory. In what was then stirring, and today preposterous, language of the agreement, all of outer space was declared the “Common Home of Mankind” to be explored and exploited by all countries and for the benefit of all humanity. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/960/1 to view the article.
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera now orbiting Mars is helping NASA search for signs of water on Mars. Students are invited to help choose regions of Mars for HiRISE to image. The HiRISE team will pick several suggestions and image them with the camera in the coming months. The participants will represent the first people on Earth to see the resulting image and will have the chance to search for signs of water in the image. Background information, teacher guides, student activity books and tutorials are available online to help students choose a region. Visit http://quest.nasa.gov/challenges/hirise/ for information.
Dawn Launch Slips a Day (Source: SpaceToday.net)
NASA announced Monday that the launch of a mission to the main asteroid belt will be delayed a day after weather hampered launch preparations. The Dawn mission, which had been scheduled for launch Wednesday on a Delta 2 from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, will now launch between 7:20 and 7:49 am EDT Thursday. Once launched, Dawn will fly to the main asteroid belt and visit the large asteroids Ceres and Vesta. The launch had been scheduled for earlier this summer, but was postponed by a number of problems, and the launch team stood down in July so that NASA could focus on the time-critical August launch of the Phoenix mission to Mars.
Second Galileo Satellite Delayed to 2008 (Source: The Register)
Media reports suggest the Giove-B satellite, second in a series of testbed and validation platforms preceding the main Galileo birds, will not now be launched until next year. Giove B, which has already suffered delays, was to be orbited aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket in December. Now, however, a spokesman from launch company Arianespace said it will now be held in March 2008. Problems with the launch rocket rather than the satellite were blamed for the delay.
NASA Means Business Student Competition 2008 (Source: SGC)
The NASA Means Business Student Competition program invites undergraduate and graduate students to employ their skills to help NASA articulate the contributions of space exploration to everyday life. This year¹s challenge is: Help NASA to increase the number of corporate researchers, university researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors who utilize the Nation's investment in spaceflight to grow their investments in knowledge and commerce. Specifically, participating teams will compete by designing and preparing a NASA Spaceflight Promotion Plan and illustrative flagship promotion projects including a fully implemented Internet Solution with a 20-second promotional video and other concept design/media elements. Visit http://www.tsgc.utexas.edu/nmb/ for information.
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West Oakland, California, Space Academies Close (Source: Alameda Timmes-Star)
In September 2006, two space-themed charter academies opened in West Oakland with a lofty vision and support from NASA and the University of California, Berkeley. Less than a year later, the Space Exploration Academies are gone, and the families that bought into the dream now must find new schools, weeks into the semester. The junior high and high schools, which had a combined enrollment of about 75 children, closed last week after losing an appeal to the state board of education. The Oakland school district revoked the schools' charters in February, citing low enrollment and substandard instruction, but the academies appealed the decision.
"We were railroaded, and that's the bottom line," said co-founder Camron Gorguinpour, a doctoral physics and astronomy student at UC Berkeley. George Gagnon, director of pre-engineering partnerships at UC Berkeley and a board member of SSOAR, a nonprofit organization that runs the schools, said he believed the appeals process was deeply flawed. As an Oakland public school parent as well as an educator, Gagnon said, he also found it troubling the school district would try to close the academies just months after they opened.
Please, Mr. Bezos (Source: Space Review)
So far, all we really know about Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin reusable launch vehicle (RLV) project, is that they flew a test vehicle to an altitude of less than 100 meters in Nov. 2006 from their private Texas spaceport. That test item, called “Goddard”, is a precursor to a suborbital vehicle called the New Shepard that may fly sometime around 2010. Beyond this, we know from their web site that they want to hire people “with turbopump or propulsion experience on large, modern, cryogenic engines such as the RS-68.” That leaves us with lots of room to speculate about what they are up to.
A suborbital vehicle that will be able to take tourists up to the edge of space and compete with Scaled Composites’ SpaceShipTwo will be a welcome addition to the suborbital market: may the best rocket win. But why all the secrecy if that is all there is to it? Why build a craft that can almost reach orbit unless, eventually, one wants to go all the way? So are we going to see a New Shepard 2? Will it be single stage to orbit (SSTO) or will it need two stages? Will it use plug aerospike engines or something more conventional?
The team that Bezos has built has no obligation to provide the public with any information on its plans other than what it has to give to the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation in order to get a license to operate. Thanks to Jeff Bezos’ money they do not have to seduce investors or satisfy politicians or bureaucrats. They can just get on with the job with no distractions or pressure. In many ways it’s an ideal situation. Yet for the space industry, and in the long term for Blue Origin itself, it might be wise for them to be a bit more forthcoming about their long-term plans. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/959/1 to view the article.
The Case for Withdrawing From the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (Source: Space Review)
This year is the 40th anniversary of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration of Outer Space Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, more commonly known as the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. Born out of anxiety about the Cold War and excitement about the Space Age, the agreement is a tribute to the ability of diplomats to draft international law that is simultaneously effective but bad. Successful in preventing states from claiming sovereign territory in outer space the treaty also hobbled space exploration and development. Today, human activity in outer space is confined to low Earth orbit and unmanned space exploration of the solar system proceeds at a leisurely pace. The Space Age has sputtered to a crawl and the 1967 Outer Space Treaty deserves a large measure of the blame.
The core legal principle of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty declared that everywhere beyond the atmosphere to be res communis, an international commons rather akin to the “international waters” of the open oceans on Earth, rather than terra nullius, the sort of territory that is unclaimed yet claimable by states as sovereign territory. In what was then stirring, and today preposterous, language of the agreement, all of outer space was declared the “Common Home of Mankind” to be explored and exploited by all countries and for the benefit of all humanity. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/960/1 to view the article.
September 23 News Items
Texas Space Ventures Rocket Into Reality (Source: Dallas Morning News)
Construction is to begin next year on Spaceport America, a commercial spaceport in New Mexico (in rendering above). In Van Horn, Texas - 120 miles southeast of El Paso - a private spaceport built by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, is already testing rockets for his Blue Origin venture. This spaceward expansion involves scores of rival start-up firms and aerospace outfits, including some in the North Texas area, prospecting on the final frontier. The companies are working on a slew of space-related projects, from building lunar landers for NASA's proposed moon and Mars missions to constructing inflatable orbital hotels to pitch to wealthy tourists eager to wake up to a sunrise in space.
While the pursuit may sound quixotic – how long have we been dreaming of jet-setting like the Jetsons? – the work is far more advanced than you might imagine. Firms have launched prototypes into orbit, secured funding for their spaceports and taken deposits for their first commercial flights. The most prominent local firm is probably Dallas-based Armadillo Aerospace. The company, founded by John Carmack, the wealthy genius programmer who created the popular Quake and Doom computer games, is focused on building vertical takeoff and landing modules for a lunar explorer. But it will soon turn its attention to building a reusable suborbital launch vehicle for space tourists.
Bigelow Aerospace, which operates out of Houston and Las Vegas, launched the Genesis II, an experimental inflatable space habitat, into low Earth orbit in June. The company hopes to have space hotels in business by 2012. And it has some experience in the hospitality industry behind it - Robert Bigelow, who built his fortune from Budget Suites of America, is its founder. Eventually, Armadillo – which has eight employees, most of them part-time – expects to build longer-range vehicles that can make it into orbit and even venture on to the moon. Click here to view the article.
Space Businesses Still Wait for Countdown (Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
After SpaceShipOne pierced the heavens high over California in the first private manned spaceflight, many expected the event would immediately ignite a new era of commercial space businesses. But three years after that historic flight, the private space industry has still barely left the ground. Several commercial space projects that were supposed to take off by now have been delayed. Recent high-profile problems — including an explosion that killed three researchers at SpaceShipOne's parent company and the crashes of two unmanned rockets at another private space company — sent shudders through the industry.
Together, the setbacks reinforce what most in the fledgling industry already knew: Rocket science isn't easy, and success in space doesn't come quickly. To be sure, few if any in the space business intend to give up until they either succeed or run out of money. Like test pilots in the early days after the Wright brothers, most consider delays and mistakes part of the learning experience. Click here to view the article.
China to Build New Spaceport (Source: AP)
China is planning to build a new spaceport — the country's fourth — to boost its burgeoning space program, state media reported Sunday. The facility will be located in Wenchang on the southern island province of Hainan, about 38 miles away from the provincial capital Haikou. The site is close to the equator which makes it well suited for launches because lower latitudes have stronger centrifugal forces, reducing the amount of energy required to launch rockets. The plan has been approved by the State Council, China's Cabinet, and the Central Military Commission, it said, without giving any details on construction or a completion date.
Construction is to begin next year on Spaceport America, a commercial spaceport in New Mexico (in rendering above). In Van Horn, Texas - 120 miles southeast of El Paso - a private spaceport built by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, is already testing rockets for his Blue Origin venture. This spaceward expansion involves scores of rival start-up firms and aerospace outfits, including some in the North Texas area, prospecting on the final frontier. The companies are working on a slew of space-related projects, from building lunar landers for NASA's proposed moon and Mars missions to constructing inflatable orbital hotels to pitch to wealthy tourists eager to wake up to a sunrise in space.
While the pursuit may sound quixotic – how long have we been dreaming of jet-setting like the Jetsons? – the work is far more advanced than you might imagine. Firms have launched prototypes into orbit, secured funding for their spaceports and taken deposits for their first commercial flights. The most prominent local firm is probably Dallas-based Armadillo Aerospace. The company, founded by John Carmack, the wealthy genius programmer who created the popular Quake and Doom computer games, is focused on building vertical takeoff and landing modules for a lunar explorer. But it will soon turn its attention to building a reusable suborbital launch vehicle for space tourists.
Bigelow Aerospace, which operates out of Houston and Las Vegas, launched the Genesis II, an experimental inflatable space habitat, into low Earth orbit in June. The company hopes to have space hotels in business by 2012. And it has some experience in the hospitality industry behind it - Robert Bigelow, who built his fortune from Budget Suites of America, is its founder. Eventually, Armadillo – which has eight employees, most of them part-time – expects to build longer-range vehicles that can make it into orbit and even venture on to the moon. Click here to view the article.
Space Businesses Still Wait for Countdown (Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
After SpaceShipOne pierced the heavens high over California in the first private manned spaceflight, many expected the event would immediately ignite a new era of commercial space businesses. But three years after that historic flight, the private space industry has still barely left the ground. Several commercial space projects that were supposed to take off by now have been delayed. Recent high-profile problems — including an explosion that killed three researchers at SpaceShipOne's parent company and the crashes of two unmanned rockets at another private space company — sent shudders through the industry.
Together, the setbacks reinforce what most in the fledgling industry already knew: Rocket science isn't easy, and success in space doesn't come quickly. To be sure, few if any in the space business intend to give up until they either succeed or run out of money. Like test pilots in the early days after the Wright brothers, most consider delays and mistakes part of the learning experience. Click here to view the article.
China to Build New Spaceport (Source: AP)
China is planning to build a new spaceport — the country's fourth — to boost its burgeoning space program, state media reported Sunday. The facility will be located in Wenchang on the southern island province of Hainan, about 38 miles away from the provincial capital Haikou. The site is close to the equator which makes it well suited for launches because lower latitudes have stronger centrifugal forces, reducing the amount of energy required to launch rockets. The plan has been approved by the State Council, China's Cabinet, and the Central Military Commission, it said, without giving any details on construction or a completion date.
September 22 News Items
SpaceX Reports Milestone, Details Future Plans (Source: CNET News)
SpaceX reached a milestone Thursday by finishing the primary engine for Falcon 9, its larger rocket launcher with which it will conduct a few operational lift-offs with satellites next year. Musk reportedly said earlier in the week that Falcon 9 could launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station next fall.
Late Payload Delays Sea Launch's Return to Flight (Source: Space News)
Sea Launch Co.'s planned late October return to flight has been postponed until mid November because the payload, the Boeing-built Thuraya 3 mobile telecommunications satellite, has been delayed, Sea Launch and Boeing officials said.
Taurus 2 Coming Into Focus (Source: Space News)
Orbital Sciences Corp. considered taking over Delta 2 rocket operations from Boeing before finally deciding to pursue development of its own solution for orbiting medium-sized payloads, which are becoming increasingly expensive to launch and a lower priority for the major launch services companies. Orbital's solution, dubbed the Taurus 2, would take advantage of surplus Russian engines and other cost-saving measures to deliver a launch service priced more in line with what NASA and other U.S. government customers historically have paid to loft medium-sized payloads.
TacSat-3 Launch from Virginia Delayed Due to Component Issues (Source: Space News)
Component problems have delayed the launch of the U.S. Air Force's experimental TacSat-3 satellite until June 25. TacSat-3, one of a series of small spacecraft designed to bring information to the battlefield rapidly, is slated to launch from Virginia's Wallops Island aboard a Minotaur 1 rocket built by Orbital Sciences Corp. As of this past May, the launch was supposed to take place in December. The delay was due to thermal issues with the optical link between the spacecraft's sensor processor and communications system. Another factor was the need to upgrade mirror mounts on TacSat-3's Artemis hyperspectral imaging payload to better handle launch vibration, he said.
Orbital Sciences Ready to Expand in Virginia (Source: BizJournals.com)
Orbital Sciences Corp. is planning a major expansion of its Dulles, Virginia, campus and will add 600 jobs during the next four years. The satellite design and manufacturing company wants to build 140,000 square feet of office space at its headquarters. The new facilities would house a variety of engineering, laboratory and manufacturing operations. Work on the first office building will start in early 2008. The expansion is expected to help Orbital keep pace with a backlog of about $4 billion in current contracts. Orbital, which has been in Dulles since 1992, has a 77-acre campus with about 1,500 employees. When the expansion is completed sometime in 2011, Orbital will have 700,000 square feet of operations at the Dulles campus.
Orbcomm is Target of Class-Action Lawsuits (Source: Space News)
Two U.S. law firms are seeking clients for class-action lawsuits against satellite-messaging service provider Orbcomm Inc., alleging that Orbcomm misled investors about its revenue outlook as it prepared the company's initial public offering of stock last November. Orbcomm's stock, traded since November on the U.S. Nasdaq exchange, tumbled this summer when the company said new contracts that had been expected this year likely would be delayed, forcing a downward revision of its full-year revenue forecast. Company officials said the issue was only one of contract timing and that they still expected the business to be booked.
ESA Eyes European Space Surveillance Network (Source: Space News)
The European Space Agency (ESA) is investigating the creation of a quasi-commercial body that would operate a network of ground- and space-based sensors to forecast space weather and provide, to a restricted audience, a space-surveillance service to track satellites and debris in orbit, according to ESA and European industry officials. The idea would be to offset part of the cost of establishing a space-surveillance network by selling space-weather data to governments and other subscribers, much as some meteorological data is commercialized in Europe today.
Russia Aims for New Far East Space Launch Pad by 2020 (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Anatoly Perminov, head of the Russian space agency Roskosmos, said he hoped a new spaceport would be built in the Russian far east by 2020 to supplement the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan. Perminov said that Russia would need a new launch site partly so it can launch a new type of manned spacecraft, which is still to be developed. "I'm absolutely sure that a new cosmodrome should exist in the far east and be developed for launches of various space vehicles for civilian use and also launches for manned space exploration," Perminov said.
SpaceX reached a milestone Thursday by finishing the primary engine for Falcon 9, its larger rocket launcher with which it will conduct a few operational lift-offs with satellites next year. Musk reportedly said earlier in the week that Falcon 9 could launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station next fall.
Late Payload Delays Sea Launch's Return to Flight (Source: Space News)
Sea Launch Co.'s planned late October return to flight has been postponed until mid November because the payload, the Boeing-built Thuraya 3 mobile telecommunications satellite, has been delayed, Sea Launch and Boeing officials said.
Taurus 2 Coming Into Focus (Source: Space News)
Orbital Sciences Corp. considered taking over Delta 2 rocket operations from Boeing before finally deciding to pursue development of its own solution for orbiting medium-sized payloads, which are becoming increasingly expensive to launch and a lower priority for the major launch services companies. Orbital's solution, dubbed the Taurus 2, would take advantage of surplus Russian engines and other cost-saving measures to deliver a launch service priced more in line with what NASA and other U.S. government customers historically have paid to loft medium-sized payloads.
TacSat-3 Launch from Virginia Delayed Due to Component Issues (Source: Space News)
Component problems have delayed the launch of the U.S. Air Force's experimental TacSat-3 satellite until June 25. TacSat-3, one of a series of small spacecraft designed to bring information to the battlefield rapidly, is slated to launch from Virginia's Wallops Island aboard a Minotaur 1 rocket built by Orbital Sciences Corp. As of this past May, the launch was supposed to take place in December. The delay was due to thermal issues with the optical link between the spacecraft's sensor processor and communications system. Another factor was the need to upgrade mirror mounts on TacSat-3's Artemis hyperspectral imaging payload to better handle launch vibration, he said.
Orbital Sciences Ready to Expand in Virginia (Source: BizJournals.com)
Orbital Sciences Corp. is planning a major expansion of its Dulles, Virginia, campus and will add 600 jobs during the next four years. The satellite design and manufacturing company wants to build 140,000 square feet of office space at its headquarters. The new facilities would house a variety of engineering, laboratory and manufacturing operations. Work on the first office building will start in early 2008. The expansion is expected to help Orbital keep pace with a backlog of about $4 billion in current contracts. Orbital, which has been in Dulles since 1992, has a 77-acre campus with about 1,500 employees. When the expansion is completed sometime in 2011, Orbital will have 700,000 square feet of operations at the Dulles campus.
Orbcomm is Target of Class-Action Lawsuits (Source: Space News)
Two U.S. law firms are seeking clients for class-action lawsuits against satellite-messaging service provider Orbcomm Inc., alleging that Orbcomm misled investors about its revenue outlook as it prepared the company's initial public offering of stock last November. Orbcomm's stock, traded since November on the U.S. Nasdaq exchange, tumbled this summer when the company said new contracts that had been expected this year likely would be delayed, forcing a downward revision of its full-year revenue forecast. Company officials said the issue was only one of contract timing and that they still expected the business to be booked.
ESA Eyes European Space Surveillance Network (Source: Space News)
The European Space Agency (ESA) is investigating the creation of a quasi-commercial body that would operate a network of ground- and space-based sensors to forecast space weather and provide, to a restricted audience, a space-surveillance service to track satellites and debris in orbit, according to ESA and European industry officials. The idea would be to offset part of the cost of establishing a space-surveillance network by selling space-weather data to governments and other subscribers, much as some meteorological data is commercialized in Europe today.
Russia Aims for New Far East Space Launch Pad by 2020 (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Anatoly Perminov, head of the Russian space agency Roskosmos, said he hoped a new spaceport would be built in the Russian far east by 2020 to supplement the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan. Perminov said that Russia would need a new launch site partly so it can launch a new type of manned spacecraft, which is still to be developed. "I'm absolutely sure that a new cosmodrome should exist in the far east and be developed for launches of various space vehicles for civilian use and also launches for manned space exploration," Perminov said.
September 21 News Items
Lawmakers, Bidders Threaten New Satellite Work (Source: Wall Street Journal)
A pair of multibillion-dollar, next-generation military satellite projects appear to be jeopardized by congressional budget cuts and jockeying by rivals Boeing and Lockheed Martin to extend existing programs. The latest problems are serious enough that the military's most-advanced satellite programs may be significantly delayed or put off indefinitely, said Gary Payton, the Air Force's top space acquisition official. If lawmakers continue to funnel funds toward current versions of communications and navigation satellites, "that's a death spiral for both" of the new programs, he said.
Weldon Hosts House Aerospace Caucus (Source: AIA)
Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.), co-chairman of the House Aerospace Caucus, co-hosted a meeting with AIA last week and delivered opening remarks underlining the importance of long-term funding for aerospace programs. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin participate and stressed the national security and economic benefits of space exploration. Boeing Integrated Defense Systems President and CEO James Albaugh applauded NASA's historical record in engineering process and technology innovation, noting that defense contractors rely on many of these breakthroughs in supporting today's war fighting requirements.
NASA Unveils Pressurized Rover (Source: Florida Today)
NASA officials say the agency's new rover will allow astronauts to putter around the Moon in the comfort of their shirtsleeves, requiring them to don spacesuits only if they need to leave the vehicle. "I call it a cross between a sports car and a spacesuit," said NASA astronaut Mike Gernhardt. Officials say the vehicles will allow researchers to explore the Moon without worrying about how far they are from an established base.
NASA Mars Odyssey Finds Possible Cave Skylights on Mars (Source: SpaceRef.com)
NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has discovered entrances to seven possible caves on the slopes of a Martian volcano. The find is fueling interest in potential underground habitats and sparking searches for caverns elsewhere on the Red Planet.
Colorado Company Earns NOAA Contract (Source: The Coloradoan)
Riverside Technology Inc., a Colorado engineering and consulting firm, was awarded a $115 million contract by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to support NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service. Riverside will manage and operate environmental satellite programs. The satellites provide uninterrupted flow of data about the Earth's weather, atmosphere and oceans, which is used to monitor hurricanes and rainstorms around the world.
Beast of a Fight Ahead Over Galileo Funding (Source: EE Times)
Differences between member states could scupper the European Union's plans to salvage funding for the ill fated Galileo satellite navigation system after private companies earlier this year decided not to back the project as originally intended. French plans, backed by some other countries, to bail out the Galileo project with a $3 billion raid on the EU farming budget are being strongly resisted by other countries, notably the U.K. and Germany. The European Commission said it could move money within the bloc's 2007-2013 budget to come up with $3.3 billion needed to bail out Galileo, as well as $427 million to start up the planned European Institute of Technology.
But critics fear the attempt to seize spare taxpayers' cash after private investors pulled out would break every budgetary rule in the book and set an alarming precedent. Galileo was conceived seven years ago as a rival to the U.S. operated Global Positioning S system and touted as a key high-technology venture for the EU. But it stalled earlier this year after a group of eight companies charged with developing the system disagreed on how to share out work and failed to make headway.
NASA Helps Wipe Away Worries About Germs (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Fresh fruits and vegetables have been in demand by orbiting astronauts since the early days of the space shuttle. But fresh produce can create a queasy bouquet in a closed space environment as it ages past its prime. NASA has helped develop a product that thoroughly cleanses fruits and vegetables being sent into space, helping to increase their shelf life. Meanwhile, this product is ripe for the picking for consumers on Earth. NASA teamed with Microcide, Inc., of Michigan, to develop a nontoxic, biodegradable, microbicidal product to disinfect fresh fruit and vegetables for Space Shuttle crews. The product -- PRO-SAN -- is safe, stable and biodegradable for use in space. To offset the challenges of zero gravity, NASA and Microcide created the powder concentrate as a water-soluble package. Once dropped in water, the packet dissolves and creates a ready-to-use sanitizer.
India Seeking Russian Help to Join ISS Project (Source: Hindu News)
India has sought the help of Russia to join the orbital International Space Station (ISS) project in the face of "objection by some other project partners", a top Russian space agency official said. "India has approached us, this (India) is a serious space power and would like to join ISS project. However, objection by some other project partners has put a question mark on this issue," Russia's Federal Space Agency (RKA) Chief Anatoly Perminov said responding to a question about the expansion of the ISS project participants. Besides Russian RKA, the ambitious ISS project includes the NASA of the USA, Canada, Japan and European Space Agency (ESA). "I won't identify, who is concretely blocking India's entry, but they argue that the number of participants of the project is set by the international treaties and is enough to complete the construction of the orbital station," Perminov told reporters at a news conference.
Sierra County Commission Takes Step Toward Spaceport District (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Sierra County commissioners approved a resolution allowing the county manager to work toward a spaceport tax district, an entity that must be in place under state law to spend any spaceport tax dollars. The commission's decision, however, might have limited weight, considering the county hasn't yet held a spaceport sales tax election. Some have contended state law doesn't allow counties to join a spaceport tax district until their voters approve a spaceport sales tax. But, the New Mexico Spaceport Authority has argued the statute allows a county to join a spaceport district before an election, though voters eventually would have to approve a tax to remain in the district. State law requires that a district be made up of at least two counties, but so far, only Doña Ana County has held and election and approved a spaceport tax.
Space Integral To Military, General Says (Source: Aerospace Daily)
As U.S. dependence and reliance on space grows, the development community has a "serious obligation" to deliver on its commitments, an Air Force lieutenant general said. "Truly space has become integral to every aspect of what we do in military operations today," Lt. Gen. Michael Hamel said. The ability of U.S. forces to know what's happening in space is "critical" to having assured mission capability, he said. "Space situational awareness (SSA) is now the means by which we intend to knit all those capabilities Air Force Space Command has been conducting a review of space situational awareness assets, many of which are a legacy of the Cold War, particularly in terms of sensors.
E'Prime Legal Problems Put Company Control in Limbo (Source: ERAU)
Lawsuits filed over a funding dispute surrounding the sale of Titusville-based E'Prime Aerospace Corp. are clouding an already fuzzy outlook for the aspiring launch service provider. A Tennessee lawsuit filed by James Oldham, who took control of the company from Bobby Davis in a stock purchase deal, was filed in response to an Orlando lawsuit filed by Davis. Oldham seeks to cancel certain payments to Davis on the grounds that Davis misrepresented the company's competitive and legal viability, and services Davis claimed to have provided for the company and its subsidiaries. Davis' lawsuit seeks payment beyond the amount originally agreed upon in the Oldham purchase deal. Oldham failed to appear for an Orlando court date and was ordered to pay Davis a total of $4,385,260.46. The outcome of the Tennessee lawsuit is still pending.
E'Prime in the 1980s launched what was then referred to as the first commercial launch from the Cape Canaveral spaceport. The small suborbital rocket carried mementos and items that were offered for sale. The company later gained access to deactivated Peacekeeper missile production hardware and has attempted to develop a family of "Eagle" launch vehicles based on the Peacekeeper system. Among the complaints against Bobby Davis is that he claimed to have Federal approval to commercially market the missile-derived launch vehicle technology when he in fact did not. Under Oldham, the company has relocated offices to the Washington DC area and is working to gain Federal clearance, attract customers, and obtain financing. E'Prime recently announced a partnership with a propulsion company and plans to launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.
A pair of multibillion-dollar, next-generation military satellite projects appear to be jeopardized by congressional budget cuts and jockeying by rivals Boeing and Lockheed Martin to extend existing programs. The latest problems are serious enough that the military's most-advanced satellite programs may be significantly delayed or put off indefinitely, said Gary Payton, the Air Force's top space acquisition official. If lawmakers continue to funnel funds toward current versions of communications and navigation satellites, "that's a death spiral for both" of the new programs, he said.
Weldon Hosts House Aerospace Caucus (Source: AIA)
Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.), co-chairman of the House Aerospace Caucus, co-hosted a meeting with AIA last week and delivered opening remarks underlining the importance of long-term funding for aerospace programs. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin participate and stressed the national security and economic benefits of space exploration. Boeing Integrated Defense Systems President and CEO James Albaugh applauded NASA's historical record in engineering process and technology innovation, noting that defense contractors rely on many of these breakthroughs in supporting today's war fighting requirements.
NASA Unveils Pressurized Rover (Source: Florida Today)
NASA officials say the agency's new rover will allow astronauts to putter around the Moon in the comfort of their shirtsleeves, requiring them to don spacesuits only if they need to leave the vehicle. "I call it a cross between a sports car and a spacesuit," said NASA astronaut Mike Gernhardt. Officials say the vehicles will allow researchers to explore the Moon without worrying about how far they are from an established base.
NASA Mars Odyssey Finds Possible Cave Skylights on Mars (Source: SpaceRef.com)
NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has discovered entrances to seven possible caves on the slopes of a Martian volcano. The find is fueling interest in potential underground habitats and sparking searches for caverns elsewhere on the Red Planet.
Colorado Company Earns NOAA Contract (Source: The Coloradoan)
Riverside Technology Inc., a Colorado engineering and consulting firm, was awarded a $115 million contract by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to support NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service. Riverside will manage and operate environmental satellite programs. The satellites provide uninterrupted flow of data about the Earth's weather, atmosphere and oceans, which is used to monitor hurricanes and rainstorms around the world.
Beast of a Fight Ahead Over Galileo Funding (Source: EE Times)
Differences between member states could scupper the European Union's plans to salvage funding for the ill fated Galileo satellite navigation system after private companies earlier this year decided not to back the project as originally intended. French plans, backed by some other countries, to bail out the Galileo project with a $3 billion raid on the EU farming budget are being strongly resisted by other countries, notably the U.K. and Germany. The European Commission said it could move money within the bloc's 2007-2013 budget to come up with $3.3 billion needed to bail out Galileo, as well as $427 million to start up the planned European Institute of Technology.
But critics fear the attempt to seize spare taxpayers' cash after private investors pulled out would break every budgetary rule in the book and set an alarming precedent. Galileo was conceived seven years ago as a rival to the U.S. operated Global Positioning S system and touted as a key high-technology venture for the EU. But it stalled earlier this year after a group of eight companies charged with developing the system disagreed on how to share out work and failed to make headway.
NASA Helps Wipe Away Worries About Germs (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Fresh fruits and vegetables have been in demand by orbiting astronauts since the early days of the space shuttle. But fresh produce can create a queasy bouquet in a closed space environment as it ages past its prime. NASA has helped develop a product that thoroughly cleanses fruits and vegetables being sent into space, helping to increase their shelf life. Meanwhile, this product is ripe for the picking for consumers on Earth. NASA teamed with Microcide, Inc., of Michigan, to develop a nontoxic, biodegradable, microbicidal product to disinfect fresh fruit and vegetables for Space Shuttle crews. The product -- PRO-SAN -- is safe, stable and biodegradable for use in space. To offset the challenges of zero gravity, NASA and Microcide created the powder concentrate as a water-soluble package. Once dropped in water, the packet dissolves and creates a ready-to-use sanitizer.
India Seeking Russian Help to Join ISS Project (Source: Hindu News)
India has sought the help of Russia to join the orbital International Space Station (ISS) project in the face of "objection by some other project partners", a top Russian space agency official said. "India has approached us, this (India) is a serious space power and would like to join ISS project. However, objection by some other project partners has put a question mark on this issue," Russia's Federal Space Agency (RKA) Chief Anatoly Perminov said responding to a question about the expansion of the ISS project participants. Besides Russian RKA, the ambitious ISS project includes the NASA of the USA, Canada, Japan and European Space Agency (ESA). "I won't identify, who is concretely blocking India's entry, but they argue that the number of participants of the project is set by the international treaties and is enough to complete the construction of the orbital station," Perminov told reporters at a news conference.
Sierra County Commission Takes Step Toward Spaceport District (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Sierra County commissioners approved a resolution allowing the county manager to work toward a spaceport tax district, an entity that must be in place under state law to spend any spaceport tax dollars. The commission's decision, however, might have limited weight, considering the county hasn't yet held a spaceport sales tax election. Some have contended state law doesn't allow counties to join a spaceport tax district until their voters approve a spaceport sales tax. But, the New Mexico Spaceport Authority has argued the statute allows a county to join a spaceport district before an election, though voters eventually would have to approve a tax to remain in the district. State law requires that a district be made up of at least two counties, but so far, only Doña Ana County has held and election and approved a spaceport tax.
Space Integral To Military, General Says (Source: Aerospace Daily)
As U.S. dependence and reliance on space grows, the development community has a "serious obligation" to deliver on its commitments, an Air Force lieutenant general said. "Truly space has become integral to every aspect of what we do in military operations today," Lt. Gen. Michael Hamel said. The ability of U.S. forces to know what's happening in space is "critical" to having assured mission capability, he said. "Space situational awareness (SSA) is now the means by which we intend to knit all those capabilities Air Force Space Command has been conducting a review of space situational awareness assets, many of which are a legacy of the Cold War, particularly in terms of sensors.
E'Prime Legal Problems Put Company Control in Limbo (Source: ERAU)
Lawsuits filed over a funding dispute surrounding the sale of Titusville-based E'Prime Aerospace Corp. are clouding an already fuzzy outlook for the aspiring launch service provider. A Tennessee lawsuit filed by James Oldham, who took control of the company from Bobby Davis in a stock purchase deal, was filed in response to an Orlando lawsuit filed by Davis. Oldham seeks to cancel certain payments to Davis on the grounds that Davis misrepresented the company's competitive and legal viability, and services Davis claimed to have provided for the company and its subsidiaries. Davis' lawsuit seeks payment beyond the amount originally agreed upon in the Oldham purchase deal. Oldham failed to appear for an Orlando court date and was ordered to pay Davis a total of $4,385,260.46. The outcome of the Tennessee lawsuit is still pending.
E'Prime in the 1980s launched what was then referred to as the first commercial launch from the Cape Canaveral spaceport. The small suborbital rocket carried mementos and items that were offered for sale. The company later gained access to deactivated Peacekeeper missile production hardware and has attempted to develop a family of "Eagle" launch vehicles based on the Peacekeeper system. Among the complaints against Bobby Davis is that he claimed to have Federal approval to commercially market the missile-derived launch vehicle technology when he in fact did not. Under Oldham, the company has relocated offices to the Washington DC area and is working to gain Federal clearance, attract customers, and obtain financing. E'Prime recently announced a partnership with a propulsion company and plans to launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.
September 20 News Items
Boeing Wins Delta-2 Launch Contract for Italian Satellite (Source: Boeing)
Boeing has been awarded a contract to launch the third COSMO-Skymed commercial satellite for Thales Alenia Space Italia, the prime contractor of the Italian Space Agency. A Delta-2 7420-10 launch vehicle will loft the satellite in 2008 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Boeing will procure the launch vehicle and related support from United Launch Alliance, a Boeing/Lockheed Martin joint venture.
NASA Researchers Find Snowmelt in Antarctica Creeping Inland (Source: SpaceRef.com)
On the world's coldest continent of Antarctica, the landscape is so vast and varied that only satellites can fully capture the extent of changes in the snow melting across its valleys, mountains, glaciers and ice shelves. In a new NASA study, researchers using 20 years of data from space-based sensors have confirmed that Antarctic snow is melting farther inland from the coast over time, melting at higher altitudes than ever and increasingly melting on Antarctica's largest ice shelf.
Space Based Solar Power Fuels Vision of Global Energy Security (Source: Space News)
The deployment of space platforms that capture sunlight for beaming down electrical power to Earth is under review by the Pentagon, as a way to offer global energy and security benefits – including the prospect of short-circuiting future resource wars between increasingly energy-starved nations. A proposal is being vetted by U.S. military space strategists that 10 percent of the U.S. baseload of energy by 2050, perhaps sooner, could be produced by space based solar power (SBSP). Furthermore, a demonstration of the concept is being eyed to occur within the next five to seven years. Visit http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/070919_sps_airforce.html to view the article.
Dealing with Threatening Space Rocks (Source: ESA)
Every now and then a space rock hits the world's media – sometimes almost literally. Threatening asteroids that zoom past the Earth, fireballs in the sky seen by hundreds of people and mysterious craters which may have been caused by impacting meteorites; all make ESA's planned mission Don Quijote look increasingly timely. ESA has always been interested in such endeavours and conducted a number of studies into how it might best help. Those studies showed that it is probably the smaller pieces of rock, at most a few hundred metres across, rather than the larger ones that we should be more worried about for the time being. A worldwide network of astronomers is currently cataloguing most of the larger objects, those above 1 km in diameter. A number of survey telescopes have taken up the challenge to detect as many as 90 percent of all near Earth objects down to a size of 140 metres by around 2020. Only after this time will we know whether space-based observatories will be needed to find the rest.
Islamic Body Rules on How to Pray, Wash and Die in Space (Source: Space Daily)
Malaysia's first astronaut will blast off into space armed with guidelines from Muslim authorities on how to pray, wash and even be "buried" in space. Other Muslims have ventured into space, but none during the fasting month of Ramadan, and Malaysia's Department of Islamic Development (JAKIM) is hopeful the astronaut will choose to fast during his voyage. "Conditions at the International Space Station...are not a hindrance for the astronaut to fulfil his obligations as a Muslim," it said in a 20-page booklet. Because the space station circles the Earth 16 times a day, theoretically a Muslim would have to pray 80 times a day while staying there. But the guidelines stipulate that the astronaut need only pray five times a day, just as on Earth.
The booklet covers Islamic washing rituals required before prayer, saying that if water is not available the astronaut can symbolically "sweep holy dust" onto the face and hands "even if there is no dust" in the space station. In the unlikely event the Muslim astronaut dies in space, the religious directives said his body should be brought back to Earth for the usual burial rituals. If that's not possible, he should be "interred" in Space after a brief ceremony, though the guidelines failed to explain how that should be done. Visit http://www.spacedaily.com/2006/070920054704.4yrxlpq1.html to view the article.
Rocket Gap Could Keep U.S. Earthbound (Source: WIRED)
Space industry executives lamented Wednesday that the United States will likely have to rely on other countries to send men, women and materials into space. The nation's most visible launch vehicle, the space shuttle, will have its wings clipped in 2010, and current plans for a successor rocket to lift cargo and crew into orbit won't come to fruition until at least 2015, when the first manned Ares rockets make it to the launch pad.
"Frankly, as a nation, it is stupid," said John Douglass, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), at the Space 2007 conference Tuesday. "For the four years that we are sitting around watching other people and nations put vehicles in space, there (are) going to be questions about how we got there." The U.S. military has long used other means of getting payloads to orbit, so "the gap" -- as executives here referred to the five-year delay -- will not likely affect national security.
Discovery Repair Ahead of Schedule (Source: AIA)
Discovery might still make its launch on schedule, as technicians repairing faulty seals on the orbiter's landing gear were able to complete the work faster than expected. "Right now, we're still targeting Oct. 23. That's not off the table," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said. "We didn't encounter any glitches while we were putting it back together. There's nothing else we think would pop up."
Nobel Laureate Disses Manned Spaceflight (Source: MSNBC)
While praising NASA's robotic missions such as the Mars Exploration Rovers, Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg said the manned part of the space program has contributed essentially nothing to science. The physics Nobel Laureate issued a scathing critique of NASA's manned spaceflight program and questioned the scientific usefulness of the international space station. "The international space station is an orbital turkey," said Weinberg. "No important science has come out of it. I could almost say no science has come out of it. And I would go beyond that and say that the whole manned spaceflight program, which is so enormously expensive, has produced nothing of scientific value." Weinberg made the comments while speaking at a dark energy workshop at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. Visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20869407/ to view the article.
Israel to Launch Spy Satellite in India (Source: Jerusalem Post)
Israeli space capabilities will take a giant leap this week when an Indian rocket launches the IDF's most-advanced satellite to date, capable of transmitting tiny images in all weather conditions. The takeoff from India follow's the June launch of the Ofek-7 spy satellite. The satellite to be placed in orbit this week is called Tecsar and was developed and manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries. It will be the first Israeli satellite with Synthetic Aperture Radar capabilities, allowing the camera to take pictures of targets under cloudy and foggy conditions, a capability not available in Israel's Ofek satellite series.
Florida Governor Names New Economic Development Chief (Source: Tallahassee Democrat)
Gov. Charlie Crist named a former Florida State University professor as the man responsible for leading Florida's Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development (OTTED). Dale Brill takes over at OTTED on Oct. 1. Brill told reporters that he has already met with executives of one of the state's signature industries, space. He said he was aware of the intense competition from other states that are already developing aerospace industries, but he said he's still optimistic. Crist praised Brill's public- and private-sector background, and pledged that Brill would ''nurture an economic climate that encourages diverse, high-wage business to expand and relocate to Florida.'' His new job pays $120,000 a year.
Iridium Sets Record Summer Numbers (Source: Iridium)
Iridium Satellite announces a record-breaking summer with unprecedented worldwide growth in both subscribers and airtime. In August, Iridium added 8,150 total subscribers -- the most ever in a single month. Over the past three months, Iridium has added a combined total of 22,000 net subscribers compared to 9,000 and 7,000 during the same period in 2006 and 2005 respectively.
Falcon 9 Could Soar from Cape Next Year (Source: Florida Today)
A heavier-lift version of a new American-made rocket could launch from a former Titan pad at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport as early as next year. The first Falcon 9, which is similar in scale to United Launch Alliance's Delta 4 and Atlas 5 rockets, is scheduled to be erected on dormant pad 40 next fall. A launch could come within months, according to SpaceX chief executive officer Elon Musk.
Editorial: NASA Should Dump RpK in COTS Competition (Source: Florida Today)
When the space shuttle fleet retires in three years, NASA will be grounded and must rely on Russian rockets, at least through 2011. That's why NASA is rightly poised to dump a company that has gotten government seed money to develop a new privately operated rocket that could ship the station supplies and crews. The company, Rocketplane Kistler, has failed to meet financial and technical benchmarks, earning it a default letter from NASA. It's time for NASA to quickly move on and determine if the other company involved -- California-based SpaceX -- can deliver a rocket that could do the job.
The project's importance is underscored by its potential to boost the local space industry at a time when thousands of Kennedy Space Center jobs will be lost after the shuttle program ends in 2010. That's because the private rockets, if developed, would likely be launched from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. NASA deserves credit for launching the innovative competition at a time when the nation's space program is speeding toward a massive transition. No one knows if the project will work, but the only way to find out is pressing ahead toward the competition's 2010 deadline with the company with the best chance of success. And right now, that looks like SpaceX.
Galileo Gets Funding Kiss of Life (Source: VNUnet.com)
The European Commission will meet the €2.4 billion funding shortfall for the Galileo European satellite navigation system by reshuffling resources. Additional taxpayer funds will not be needed. Instead money will be transferred from agriculture, administration and research budgets. The project hit delays when eight companies from France, Germany, Spain, Britain and Italy clashed over the development of the system. EU member states must now decide whether to accept the Commission proposal and carry on with the project.
Colorado No. 2 in Private Aerospace Jobs (Source: Denver Post)
The Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. released a report today confirming that Colorado's aerospace industry is the second-largest nationwide when ranked by total private employment. Colorado has total private aerospace employment of 26,650 workers, an increase of 12.9 percent from 2006 to 2007, according to the report. With direct and indirect employment, Colorado's aerospace industry totals 171,200 workers. California has the largest aerospace industry in the nation. Colorado moved ahead of Texas to become second-largest.
Aerospace companies look to Colorado for expansion because of its large aerospace industry with well-trained employees and cheaper costs than California. New projects and operations have been fueling the growth. The United Launch Alliance started operations in December 2006 and now has about 1,600 employees here. Lockheed Martin's work on an $8.2 billion NASA contract for the Orion crew-exploration vehicle that it won last year also has given the industry a huge boost, with nearly 500 employees here. Another 600 Orion-related jobs could be added in Colorado by 2009.
10 Things You Didn't Know About Space Exploration (Source: US News & World Report)
The Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik I in 1957 is credited with launching the U.S. space program. In the past 20 years, the space shuttle has launched 3 million pounds of cargo, transported more than 600 passengers and pilots, cumulatively spent more than three years in flight, and logged more than 366 million miles. Click here to learn some other interesting facts about the U.S. space program.
Experts Confirm Meteorite Crash in Peru (Source: AP)
A fiery meteorite crashed into southern Peru over the weekend, experts confirmed on Wednesday. But they were still puzzling over claims that it gave off fumes that sickened 200 people. A geologist confirmed that it was a "rocky meteorite," based on the fragments analyzed. He said water in the meteorite's muddy crater boiled for maybe 10 minutes from the heat and could have given off a vapor that sickened people, and scientists were taking water samples.
Jorge Lopez, director of the health department in the state where the meteorite crashed, said that 200 people suffered headaches, nausea and respiratory problems caused by "toxic" fumes emanating from the crater, which is some 65 feet wide and 15 feet deep. But a team of doctors who reached the isolated site said Wednesday they found no evidence the meteorite had sickened people. Peasants living near the crater said they had smelled a sulfurous odor for at least an hour after the meteorite struck and that it had provoked upset stomachs and headaches. A member of the medical team said fear may have provoked psychosomatic ailments.
Spacehab Swings to Fourth-Quarter Loss (Source: BizJournals)
Spacehab reported a net loss of $13.2 million, on revenue of $12.8 million, for the period ended June 30, 2007. That compared with net income of $48,000, on revenue of $14.6 million, for the same period in 2006. For the full year, Spacehab reported a net loss of $16.3 million, on revenue of $52.8 million, compared with a net loss of $12.4 million, on revenue of $50.7 million, for 2006. Spacehab has until Oct. 3 to regain compliance with NASDAQ's $1 per share minimum bid price requirement. For the past year, the company's stock has traded between 39 cents and $1.23 a share.
SpaceDev Attracts European Aerospace Strategic Partner (Source: MarketWire)
SpaceDev has entered into a strategic relationship with the OHB Technology Group, a leading European Aerospace company with operations in satellite, space hardware manufacturing and advanced space payload systems development. The companies will establish a mutual high level management team to actively explore manufacturing, systems development, and program opportunities in Europe as well as in the US. As part of this effort, OHB and its subsidiary, MT Aerospace, has made an investment of approximately $4.4 million into SpaceDev. The investment will be used by SpaceDev for growth capital, to expand its research and to retire previous interest bearing preferred stock.
Arianespace to Launch Japanese Satellite JCSAT-12 (Source: Arianespace)
Japanese operator JSAT Corporation has chosen Arianespace to launch its JCSAT-12 communications satellite. This is the 24th launch contract won by Arianespace in Japan out of 33 commercial contracts in the competitive market. JCSAT-12 will be launched by an Ariane 5 during the summer of 2009 from the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. This satellite replaces the one lost recently in a Proton launch failure in Kazakhstan.
Universal Space Network Expands Satellite Ground Stations (Source: USN)
Universal Space Network, Inc. (USN), a provider of commercial space operations and ground station services, is dramatically expanding its network of satellite ground stations in Hawaii and Australia in response to USN's record backlog and growing customer demand for low-latitude ground station services. In addition to added capacity, each of the new full-motion antennas will provide a new capability for USN's customers--an X-band uplink service--and USN is one of the first in the industry to provide this service to its customers.
Boeing has been awarded a contract to launch the third COSMO-Skymed commercial satellite for Thales Alenia Space Italia, the prime contractor of the Italian Space Agency. A Delta-2 7420-10 launch vehicle will loft the satellite in 2008 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Boeing will procure the launch vehicle and related support from United Launch Alliance, a Boeing/Lockheed Martin joint venture.
NASA Researchers Find Snowmelt in Antarctica Creeping Inland (Source: SpaceRef.com)
On the world's coldest continent of Antarctica, the landscape is so vast and varied that only satellites can fully capture the extent of changes in the snow melting across its valleys, mountains, glaciers and ice shelves. In a new NASA study, researchers using 20 years of data from space-based sensors have confirmed that Antarctic snow is melting farther inland from the coast over time, melting at higher altitudes than ever and increasingly melting on Antarctica's largest ice shelf.
Space Based Solar Power Fuels Vision of Global Energy Security (Source: Space News)
The deployment of space platforms that capture sunlight for beaming down electrical power to Earth is under review by the Pentagon, as a way to offer global energy and security benefits – including the prospect of short-circuiting future resource wars between increasingly energy-starved nations. A proposal is being vetted by U.S. military space strategists that 10 percent of the U.S. baseload of energy by 2050, perhaps sooner, could be produced by space based solar power (SBSP). Furthermore, a demonstration of the concept is being eyed to occur within the next five to seven years. Visit http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/070919_sps_airforce.html to view the article.
Dealing with Threatening Space Rocks (Source: ESA)
Every now and then a space rock hits the world's media – sometimes almost literally. Threatening asteroids that zoom past the Earth, fireballs in the sky seen by hundreds of people and mysterious craters which may have been caused by impacting meteorites; all make ESA's planned mission Don Quijote look increasingly timely. ESA has always been interested in such endeavours and conducted a number of studies into how it might best help. Those studies showed that it is probably the smaller pieces of rock, at most a few hundred metres across, rather than the larger ones that we should be more worried about for the time being. A worldwide network of astronomers is currently cataloguing most of the larger objects, those above 1 km in diameter. A number of survey telescopes have taken up the challenge to detect as many as 90 percent of all near Earth objects down to a size of 140 metres by around 2020. Only after this time will we know whether space-based observatories will be needed to find the rest.
Islamic Body Rules on How to Pray, Wash and Die in Space (Source: Space Daily)
Malaysia's first astronaut will blast off into space armed with guidelines from Muslim authorities on how to pray, wash and even be "buried" in space. Other Muslims have ventured into space, but none during the fasting month of Ramadan, and Malaysia's Department of Islamic Development (JAKIM) is hopeful the astronaut will choose to fast during his voyage. "Conditions at the International Space Station...are not a hindrance for the astronaut to fulfil his obligations as a Muslim," it said in a 20-page booklet. Because the space station circles the Earth 16 times a day, theoretically a Muslim would have to pray 80 times a day while staying there. But the guidelines stipulate that the astronaut need only pray five times a day, just as on Earth.
The booklet covers Islamic washing rituals required before prayer, saying that if water is not available the astronaut can symbolically "sweep holy dust" onto the face and hands "even if there is no dust" in the space station. In the unlikely event the Muslim astronaut dies in space, the religious directives said his body should be brought back to Earth for the usual burial rituals. If that's not possible, he should be "interred" in Space after a brief ceremony, though the guidelines failed to explain how that should be done. Visit http://www.spacedaily.com/2006/070920054704.4yrxlpq1.html to view the article.
Rocket Gap Could Keep U.S. Earthbound (Source: WIRED)
Space industry executives lamented Wednesday that the United States will likely have to rely on other countries to send men, women and materials into space. The nation's most visible launch vehicle, the space shuttle, will have its wings clipped in 2010, and current plans for a successor rocket to lift cargo and crew into orbit won't come to fruition until at least 2015, when the first manned Ares rockets make it to the launch pad.
"Frankly, as a nation, it is stupid," said John Douglass, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), at the Space 2007 conference Tuesday. "For the four years that we are sitting around watching other people and nations put vehicles in space, there (are) going to be questions about how we got there." The U.S. military has long used other means of getting payloads to orbit, so "the gap" -- as executives here referred to the five-year delay -- will not likely affect national security.
Discovery Repair Ahead of Schedule (Source: AIA)
Discovery might still make its launch on schedule, as technicians repairing faulty seals on the orbiter's landing gear were able to complete the work faster than expected. "Right now, we're still targeting Oct. 23. That's not off the table," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said. "We didn't encounter any glitches while we were putting it back together. There's nothing else we think would pop up."
Nobel Laureate Disses Manned Spaceflight (Source: MSNBC)
While praising NASA's robotic missions such as the Mars Exploration Rovers, Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg said the manned part of the space program has contributed essentially nothing to science. The physics Nobel Laureate issued a scathing critique of NASA's manned spaceflight program and questioned the scientific usefulness of the international space station. "The international space station is an orbital turkey," said Weinberg. "No important science has come out of it. I could almost say no science has come out of it. And I would go beyond that and say that the whole manned spaceflight program, which is so enormously expensive, has produced nothing of scientific value." Weinberg made the comments while speaking at a dark energy workshop at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. Visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20869407/ to view the article.
Israel to Launch Spy Satellite in India (Source: Jerusalem Post)
Israeli space capabilities will take a giant leap this week when an Indian rocket launches the IDF's most-advanced satellite to date, capable of transmitting tiny images in all weather conditions. The takeoff from India follow's the June launch of the Ofek-7 spy satellite. The satellite to be placed in orbit this week is called Tecsar and was developed and manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries. It will be the first Israeli satellite with Synthetic Aperture Radar capabilities, allowing the camera to take pictures of targets under cloudy and foggy conditions, a capability not available in Israel's Ofek satellite series.
Florida Governor Names New Economic Development Chief (Source: Tallahassee Democrat)
Gov. Charlie Crist named a former Florida State University professor as the man responsible for leading Florida's Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development (OTTED). Dale Brill takes over at OTTED on Oct. 1. Brill told reporters that he has already met with executives of one of the state's signature industries, space. He said he was aware of the intense competition from other states that are already developing aerospace industries, but he said he's still optimistic. Crist praised Brill's public- and private-sector background, and pledged that Brill would ''nurture an economic climate that encourages diverse, high-wage business to expand and relocate to Florida.'' His new job pays $120,000 a year.
Iridium Sets Record Summer Numbers (Source: Iridium)
Iridium Satellite announces a record-breaking summer with unprecedented worldwide growth in both subscribers and airtime. In August, Iridium added 8,150 total subscribers -- the most ever in a single month. Over the past three months, Iridium has added a combined total of 22,000 net subscribers compared to 9,000 and 7,000 during the same period in 2006 and 2005 respectively.
Falcon 9 Could Soar from Cape Next Year (Source: Florida Today)
A heavier-lift version of a new American-made rocket could launch from a former Titan pad at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport as early as next year. The first Falcon 9, which is similar in scale to United Launch Alliance's Delta 4 and Atlas 5 rockets, is scheduled to be erected on dormant pad 40 next fall. A launch could come within months, according to SpaceX chief executive officer Elon Musk.
Editorial: NASA Should Dump RpK in COTS Competition (Source: Florida Today)
When the space shuttle fleet retires in three years, NASA will be grounded and must rely on Russian rockets, at least through 2011. That's why NASA is rightly poised to dump a company that has gotten government seed money to develop a new privately operated rocket that could ship the station supplies and crews. The company, Rocketplane Kistler, has failed to meet financial and technical benchmarks, earning it a default letter from NASA. It's time for NASA to quickly move on and determine if the other company involved -- California-based SpaceX -- can deliver a rocket that could do the job.
The project's importance is underscored by its potential to boost the local space industry at a time when thousands of Kennedy Space Center jobs will be lost after the shuttle program ends in 2010. That's because the private rockets, if developed, would likely be launched from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. NASA deserves credit for launching the innovative competition at a time when the nation's space program is speeding toward a massive transition. No one knows if the project will work, but the only way to find out is pressing ahead toward the competition's 2010 deadline with the company with the best chance of success. And right now, that looks like SpaceX.
Galileo Gets Funding Kiss of Life (Source: VNUnet.com)
The European Commission will meet the €2.4 billion funding shortfall for the Galileo European satellite navigation system by reshuffling resources. Additional taxpayer funds will not be needed. Instead money will be transferred from agriculture, administration and research budgets. The project hit delays when eight companies from France, Germany, Spain, Britain and Italy clashed over the development of the system. EU member states must now decide whether to accept the Commission proposal and carry on with the project.
Colorado No. 2 in Private Aerospace Jobs (Source: Denver Post)
The Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. released a report today confirming that Colorado's aerospace industry is the second-largest nationwide when ranked by total private employment. Colorado has total private aerospace employment of 26,650 workers, an increase of 12.9 percent from 2006 to 2007, according to the report. With direct and indirect employment, Colorado's aerospace industry totals 171,200 workers. California has the largest aerospace industry in the nation. Colorado moved ahead of Texas to become second-largest.
Aerospace companies look to Colorado for expansion because of its large aerospace industry with well-trained employees and cheaper costs than California. New projects and operations have been fueling the growth. The United Launch Alliance started operations in December 2006 and now has about 1,600 employees here. Lockheed Martin's work on an $8.2 billion NASA contract for the Orion crew-exploration vehicle that it won last year also has given the industry a huge boost, with nearly 500 employees here. Another 600 Orion-related jobs could be added in Colorado by 2009.
10 Things You Didn't Know About Space Exploration (Source: US News & World Report)
The Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik I in 1957 is credited with launching the U.S. space program. In the past 20 years, the space shuttle has launched 3 million pounds of cargo, transported more than 600 passengers and pilots, cumulatively spent more than three years in flight, and logged more than 366 million miles. Click here to learn some other interesting facts about the U.S. space program.
Experts Confirm Meteorite Crash in Peru (Source: AP)
A fiery meteorite crashed into southern Peru over the weekend, experts confirmed on Wednesday. But they were still puzzling over claims that it gave off fumes that sickened 200 people. A geologist confirmed that it was a "rocky meteorite," based on the fragments analyzed. He said water in the meteorite's muddy crater boiled for maybe 10 minutes from the heat and could have given off a vapor that sickened people, and scientists were taking water samples.
Jorge Lopez, director of the health department in the state where the meteorite crashed, said that 200 people suffered headaches, nausea and respiratory problems caused by "toxic" fumes emanating from the crater, which is some 65 feet wide and 15 feet deep. But a team of doctors who reached the isolated site said Wednesday they found no evidence the meteorite had sickened people. Peasants living near the crater said they had smelled a sulfurous odor for at least an hour after the meteorite struck and that it had provoked upset stomachs and headaches. A member of the medical team said fear may have provoked psychosomatic ailments.
Spacehab Swings to Fourth-Quarter Loss (Source: BizJournals)
Spacehab reported a net loss of $13.2 million, on revenue of $12.8 million, for the period ended June 30, 2007. That compared with net income of $48,000, on revenue of $14.6 million, for the same period in 2006. For the full year, Spacehab reported a net loss of $16.3 million, on revenue of $52.8 million, compared with a net loss of $12.4 million, on revenue of $50.7 million, for 2006. Spacehab has until Oct. 3 to regain compliance with NASDAQ's $1 per share minimum bid price requirement. For the past year, the company's stock has traded between 39 cents and $1.23 a share.
SpaceDev Attracts European Aerospace Strategic Partner (Source: MarketWire)
SpaceDev has entered into a strategic relationship with the OHB Technology Group, a leading European Aerospace company with operations in satellite, space hardware manufacturing and advanced space payload systems development. The companies will establish a mutual high level management team to actively explore manufacturing, systems development, and program opportunities in Europe as well as in the US. As part of this effort, OHB and its subsidiary, MT Aerospace, has made an investment of approximately $4.4 million into SpaceDev. The investment will be used by SpaceDev for growth capital, to expand its research and to retire previous interest bearing preferred stock.
Arianespace to Launch Japanese Satellite JCSAT-12 (Source: Arianespace)
Japanese operator JSAT Corporation has chosen Arianespace to launch its JCSAT-12 communications satellite. This is the 24th launch contract won by Arianespace in Japan out of 33 commercial contracts in the competitive market. JCSAT-12 will be launched by an Ariane 5 during the summer of 2009 from the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. This satellite replaces the one lost recently in a Proton launch failure in Kazakhstan.
Universal Space Network Expands Satellite Ground Stations (Source: USN)
Universal Space Network, Inc. (USN), a provider of commercial space operations and ground station services, is dramatically expanding its network of satellite ground stations in Hawaii and Australia in response to USN's record backlog and growing customer demand for low-latitude ground station services. In addition to added capacity, each of the new full-motion antennas will provide a new capability for USN's customers--an X-band uplink service--and USN is one of the first in the industry to provide this service to its customers.
September 19 News Items
Malaysians Take Last Tests Before Blast Off Into Space (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
The two candidates to become Malaysia's first man in space underwent final exams on Tuesday before one is selected to blast off on October 10 to the International Space Station (ISS). Khaleed, a 27-year-old army dentist, and Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, a 35-year-old doctor and part-time model, were undergoing the second of two days of tests to ensure they are fully ready for their 11-day mission. One of the two will be selected to travel to the ISS alongside Russian Yury Malenchenko and American Peggy Whitson, spending about nine days there before returning to Earth with the station's current crew.
Delta Launch Begins New Era in Commercial Remote Sensing (Source: Space News)
A Delta 2 rocket placed a next-generation commercial remote sensing satellite into orbit Tuesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The vehicle's payload, WorldView-1, is the most powerful commercial remote sensing satellite ever launched, and is capable of taking images with a resolution of sharp as half a meter. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) financed the satellite under its NextView program to support to development of a new generation of commercial remote sensing satellites. The launch was the 75th consecutive successful launch for the Delta 2 family, dating back over a decade.
China Launches Third Sino-Brazilian Earth Resources Satellite (Source: The Hindu)
China today successfully launched the third Sino-Brazilian earth resources satellite jointly developed by the two nations. The satellite, dubbed "02B", was lifted by a Chinese "Long March-4B" rocket which blasted off from the Taiyuan spaceport in north China's Shanxi Province. The satellite will gather earth resources information and send earth images to China, Brazil and other countries, which could be used for agricultural production, environmental protection, city planning and land resources survey. This is the third earth resources satellite launched by the two countries. The previous ones were launched in 1999 and 2003.
Local Space Tourists Get Free Access to Space Center (Source: Florida Today)
Florida's premier space tourism attraction, the KSC Visitor Complex, is providing free admission this weekend to Space Coast residents. The normal admission charge -- $38 for adults and $28 for children ages 3 through 11 -- will be waived for Brevard County residents on Sept. 21-23 as Delaware North Park Services shows its gratitude for 40 years of support from the local community. Click here for information
Spain To Build Radar Reconnaissance Satellite (Source: Space News)
The Spanish Defense Ministry has committed 112.5 million euros ($156 million) for the construction of a high-resolution radar imaging satellite to be launched in 2011 for military and civil-security applications, a decision that would bring to 10 the number of European military radar spacecraft expected to be in orbit by then, according to a Spanish Defense Ministry official.
Bush Accepts Pentagon Position on GPS (Source: AP)
President Bush on Tuesday accepted the Pentagon's decision to stop buying Global Positioning System satellites that can intentionally degrade the accuracy of civil signals used for a myriad of purposes — from tracking aircraft to finding missing skiers. In May 2000, President Clinton abandoned the practice of deliberately degrading the accuracy of civilian navigation signals, a technique known as "selective availability." This capability will no longer be present in the next generation of GPS satellites. The move coincides with the Air Force's solicitation to purchase the next generation of GPS satellites known as GPS III.
ATK Selected for Prompt Global Strike Study (Source: ATK)
Alliant Techsystems has been selected to support the U.S. Air Force's Conventional Ballistic Missile Prompt Global Strike (PGS) efforts. The company will conduct a study to evaluate options for replacing the Minotaur booster. The study effort is focused on identifying candidates to replace the Minotaur boosters that draw on a family of motors concept to reduce total system cost. Evaluation of the options includes associated cost, risk and schedule. The objective of the study is to provide affordable and executable options to transition the Minotaur replacement motors in support of the PGS missions.
Nebraska Governor Gets Surprise Call from Space (Source: Beatrice Daily Sun)
Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman is used to getting phone calls from people in high places, but not like this. Heineman got a surprise phone call from astronaut Clayton Anderson and spoke with the Ashland native for about five minutes Tuesday. Anderson is part of a NASA crew that launched into space aboard space shuttle Atlantis in June and is working on the space station. The two Nebraska natives also talked football. Heineman says they were both disappointed in the Huskers' loss to USC Saturday but think the team can still have a good season.
The two candidates to become Malaysia's first man in space underwent final exams on Tuesday before one is selected to blast off on October 10 to the International Space Station (ISS). Khaleed, a 27-year-old army dentist, and Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, a 35-year-old doctor and part-time model, were undergoing the second of two days of tests to ensure they are fully ready for their 11-day mission. One of the two will be selected to travel to the ISS alongside Russian Yury Malenchenko and American Peggy Whitson, spending about nine days there before returning to Earth with the station's current crew.
Delta Launch Begins New Era in Commercial Remote Sensing (Source: Space News)
A Delta 2 rocket placed a next-generation commercial remote sensing satellite into orbit Tuesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The vehicle's payload, WorldView-1, is the most powerful commercial remote sensing satellite ever launched, and is capable of taking images with a resolution of sharp as half a meter. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) financed the satellite under its NextView program to support to development of a new generation of commercial remote sensing satellites. The launch was the 75th consecutive successful launch for the Delta 2 family, dating back over a decade.
China Launches Third Sino-Brazilian Earth Resources Satellite (Source: The Hindu)
China today successfully launched the third Sino-Brazilian earth resources satellite jointly developed by the two nations. The satellite, dubbed "02B", was lifted by a Chinese "Long March-4B" rocket which blasted off from the Taiyuan spaceport in north China's Shanxi Province. The satellite will gather earth resources information and send earth images to China, Brazil and other countries, which could be used for agricultural production, environmental protection, city planning and land resources survey. This is the third earth resources satellite launched by the two countries. The previous ones were launched in 1999 and 2003.
Local Space Tourists Get Free Access to Space Center (Source: Florida Today)
Florida's premier space tourism attraction, the KSC Visitor Complex, is providing free admission this weekend to Space Coast residents. The normal admission charge -- $38 for adults and $28 for children ages 3 through 11 -- will be waived for Brevard County residents on Sept. 21-23 as Delaware North Park Services shows its gratitude for 40 years of support from the local community. Click here for information
Spain To Build Radar Reconnaissance Satellite (Source: Space News)
The Spanish Defense Ministry has committed 112.5 million euros ($156 million) for the construction of a high-resolution radar imaging satellite to be launched in 2011 for military and civil-security applications, a decision that would bring to 10 the number of European military radar spacecraft expected to be in orbit by then, according to a Spanish Defense Ministry official.
Bush Accepts Pentagon Position on GPS (Source: AP)
President Bush on Tuesday accepted the Pentagon's decision to stop buying Global Positioning System satellites that can intentionally degrade the accuracy of civil signals used for a myriad of purposes — from tracking aircraft to finding missing skiers. In May 2000, President Clinton abandoned the practice of deliberately degrading the accuracy of civilian navigation signals, a technique known as "selective availability." This capability will no longer be present in the next generation of GPS satellites. The move coincides with the Air Force's solicitation to purchase the next generation of GPS satellites known as GPS III.
ATK Selected for Prompt Global Strike Study (Source: ATK)
Alliant Techsystems has been selected to support the U.S. Air Force's Conventional Ballistic Missile Prompt Global Strike (PGS) efforts. The company will conduct a study to evaluate options for replacing the Minotaur booster. The study effort is focused on identifying candidates to replace the Minotaur boosters that draw on a family of motors concept to reduce total system cost. Evaluation of the options includes associated cost, risk and schedule. The objective of the study is to provide affordable and executable options to transition the Minotaur replacement motors in support of the PGS missions.
Nebraska Governor Gets Surprise Call from Space (Source: Beatrice Daily Sun)
Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman is used to getting phone calls from people in high places, but not like this. Heineman got a surprise phone call from astronaut Clayton Anderson and spoke with the Ashland native for about five minutes Tuesday. Anderson is part of a NASA crew that launched into space aboard space shuttle Atlantis in June and is working on the space station. The two Nebraska natives also talked football. Heineman says they were both disappointed in the Huskers' loss to USC Saturday but think the team can still have a good season.
September 18 News Items
Satellites Witness Lowest Arctic Ice Coverage In History (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Paris, France (EAA) Sep 18, 2007 - The area covered by sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk to its lowest level this week since satellite measurements began nearly 30 years ago, opening up the Northwest Passage - a long-sought short cut between Europe and Asia that has been historically impassable.
Europe May Use Spare Farm Funds to Save Galileo (Source: Hemscott)
The European Commission will present its public finance plans for the troubled Galileo satellite navigation network, with unused farm funds viewed as a potential piggy bank, according to sources. According to European sources, the Commission could finally assure the project's survival through affording it unused funds from the Common Agricultural Policy for 2007 and 2008. Brussels, while favouring communal funding, has also been persuaded to submit an alternative proposal under which the EU governments involved in the project would make supplementary contributions, according to sources. While Germany, where industry has a key role in Galileo, strongly supports that approach, France feels it leans too heavily on the public purse.
NASA Opens Applications for New Astronaut Class (Source: SpaceRef.com)
To be considered, a bachelor's degree in engineering, science or math and three years of relevant professional experience are required. Typically, successful applicants have significant qualifications in engineering or science, or extensive experience flying high-performance jet aircraft. Teaching experience, including work at the kindergarten through 12th grade level, is considered qualifying. Educators with the appropriate educational background are encouraged to apply. Visit http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/recruit.html for information.
Mystery Illness Strikes After Meteorite Hits Peruvian Village (Source: AFP)
Villagers in southern Peru were struck by a mysterious illness after a meteorite made a fiery crash to Earth in their area. Around midday Saturday, villagers were startled by an explosion and a fireball that many were convinced was an airplane crashing near their remote village, located in the high Andes near the border with Bolivia. Residents complained of headaches and vomiting brought on by a "strange odor." Seven policemen who went to check on the reports also became ill and had to be given oxygen before being hospitalized.
Rescue teams and experts were dispatched to the scene, where the meteorite left a 100-foot-wide (30-meter-wide) and 20-foot-deep (six-meter-deep) crater. "Boiling water started coming out of the crater and particles of rock and cinders were found nearby. Residents are very concerned," said a local official.
Paris, France (EAA) Sep 18, 2007 - The area covered by sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk to its lowest level this week since satellite measurements began nearly 30 years ago, opening up the Northwest Passage - a long-sought short cut between Europe and Asia that has been historically impassable.
Europe May Use Spare Farm Funds to Save Galileo (Source: Hemscott)
The European Commission will present its public finance plans for the troubled Galileo satellite navigation network, with unused farm funds viewed as a potential piggy bank, according to sources. According to European sources, the Commission could finally assure the project's survival through affording it unused funds from the Common Agricultural Policy for 2007 and 2008. Brussels, while favouring communal funding, has also been persuaded to submit an alternative proposal under which the EU governments involved in the project would make supplementary contributions, according to sources. While Germany, where industry has a key role in Galileo, strongly supports that approach, France feels it leans too heavily on the public purse.
NASA Opens Applications for New Astronaut Class (Source: SpaceRef.com)
To be considered, a bachelor's degree in engineering, science or math and three years of relevant professional experience are required. Typically, successful applicants have significant qualifications in engineering or science, or extensive experience flying high-performance jet aircraft. Teaching experience, including work at the kindergarten through 12th grade level, is considered qualifying. Educators with the appropriate educational background are encouraged to apply. Visit http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/recruit.html for information.
Mystery Illness Strikes After Meteorite Hits Peruvian Village (Source: AFP)
Villagers in southern Peru were struck by a mysterious illness after a meteorite made a fiery crash to Earth in their area. Around midday Saturday, villagers were startled by an explosion and a fireball that many were convinced was an airplane crashing near their remote village, located in the high Andes near the border with Bolivia. Residents complained of headaches and vomiting brought on by a "strange odor." Seven policemen who went to check on the reports also became ill and had to be given oxygen before being hospitalized.
Rescue teams and experts were dispatched to the scene, where the meteorite left a 100-foot-wide (30-meter-wide) and 20-foot-deep (six-meter-deep) crater. "Boiling water started coming out of the crater and particles of rock and cinders were found nearby. Residents are very concerned," said a local official.
September 17 News Items
Finishing the Space Station (Source: Space Review)
After years of delays and threats of cancellation, the International Space Station is finally entering the home stretch of its assembly phase. Taylor Dinerman reviews the challenges the station program has faced, both technical and programmatic. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/956/1 to view the article.
From the European Garage (Source: Space Review)
When a European company rolled out its entry into the suborbital space tourism sweepstakes, it was dismissive of entrepreneurial, largely American ventures. Bob Clarebrough argues that European companies could learn a lesson or two from American garage tinkerers. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/955/1 to view the article.
French Guiana Cannot Launch Latest Soyuz (Source: Flight International)
European launch provider Arianespace is only able to offer the Samara Space Center-built Soyuz 2-1a rocket for launches from French Guiana and not the more powerful 2-1b version owing to launch complex infrastructure issues. From the new $553.4 million Soyuz launch complex at the Kourou spaceport, the 2-1a can put 2,700kg (5,940lb) into geostationary transfer orbit and the 2-1b, 3,600kg. It would take two years and over 400 million Euros to install the infrastructure. A decision is expected soon whether to develop it.
ULA Answers NASA's RFI on COTS-2 with Recommendations (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) has sent a list of recommendations in response to the NASA Request For Information (RFI) pertaining to Commercial Space Transportation Services (CSTS), while highlighting their range of capabilities. The presentation outlines several suggestions for NASA to improve the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) marketplace, for the purpose of increasing the viability for companies wishing to bid for COTS (Commercial Orbital Transportation Services) Phase 2 contracts.
Among the recommendations, ULA suggests that NASA pursue an Acquisition Strategy that includes multi-year procurement of launch services. This will provide the most affordable launch solution for NASA while preserving competition for new entrants. Visit http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5230 to view the article.
Leaky Seals on Shuttle May Delay Flight (Source: AP)
Leaky hydraulic seals on space shuttle Discovery must be replaced, and the extra work may end up delaying next month's flight.
NASA plans to replace the seals in the right main landing gear strut later this week with help from contractor BF Goodrich. The job includes removing the brakes, wheels and tires, and NASA was unsure how long it would take. Discovery is scheduled to blast off Oct. 23 on a flight to the international space station. That date is in jeopardy now because of the leaking hydraulic fluid, which has been traced to faulty seals.
Ivanov Says Space Exploration May Become New National Project (Source: Itar-Tass)
Acting First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov did not rule out that one more priority national project might appear in Russia – space exploration. Young scientists asked Ivanov on Monday what he thought about space exploration as a national project. “It’s quite possible. I am sincerely convinced that space is priority for Russia. I would probably put only atom next to it, and nothing else,” he said.
NASA Administrator Discusses Value of the Space Economy (Source: NASA)
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin kicked off a lecture series honoring the agency's 50th anniversary with an address describing the critical role that space exploration plays in the global economy. The "space economy" was estimated at about $180 billion in 2005, according to a report by the Space Foundation released in 2006. More than 60 percent of space-related economic activity came from commercial goods and services. "NASA opens new frontiers and creates new opportunities, and because of that [NASA] is a critical driver of innovation," Griffin said. Visit http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/sep/HQ_07193_Griffin_lecture.html to view the article.
After years of delays and threats of cancellation, the International Space Station is finally entering the home stretch of its assembly phase. Taylor Dinerman reviews the challenges the station program has faced, both technical and programmatic. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/956/1 to view the article.
From the European Garage (Source: Space Review)
When a European company rolled out its entry into the suborbital space tourism sweepstakes, it was dismissive of entrepreneurial, largely American ventures. Bob Clarebrough argues that European companies could learn a lesson or two from American garage tinkerers. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/955/1 to view the article.
French Guiana Cannot Launch Latest Soyuz (Source: Flight International)
European launch provider Arianespace is only able to offer the Samara Space Center-built Soyuz 2-1a rocket for launches from French Guiana and not the more powerful 2-1b version owing to launch complex infrastructure issues. From the new $553.4 million Soyuz launch complex at the Kourou spaceport, the 2-1a can put 2,700kg (5,940lb) into geostationary transfer orbit and the 2-1b, 3,600kg. It would take two years and over 400 million Euros to install the infrastructure. A decision is expected soon whether to develop it.
ULA Answers NASA's RFI on COTS-2 with Recommendations (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) has sent a list of recommendations in response to the NASA Request For Information (RFI) pertaining to Commercial Space Transportation Services (CSTS), while highlighting their range of capabilities. The presentation outlines several suggestions for NASA to improve the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) marketplace, for the purpose of increasing the viability for companies wishing to bid for COTS (Commercial Orbital Transportation Services) Phase 2 contracts.
Among the recommendations, ULA suggests that NASA pursue an Acquisition Strategy that includes multi-year procurement of launch services. This will provide the most affordable launch solution for NASA while preserving competition for new entrants. Visit http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5230 to view the article.
Leaky Seals on Shuttle May Delay Flight (Source: AP)
Leaky hydraulic seals on space shuttle Discovery must be replaced, and the extra work may end up delaying next month's flight.
NASA plans to replace the seals in the right main landing gear strut later this week with help from contractor BF Goodrich. The job includes removing the brakes, wheels and tires, and NASA was unsure how long it would take. Discovery is scheduled to blast off Oct. 23 on a flight to the international space station. That date is in jeopardy now because of the leaking hydraulic fluid, which has been traced to faulty seals.
Ivanov Says Space Exploration May Become New National Project (Source: Itar-Tass)
Acting First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov did not rule out that one more priority national project might appear in Russia – space exploration. Young scientists asked Ivanov on Monday what he thought about space exploration as a national project. “It’s quite possible. I am sincerely convinced that space is priority for Russia. I would probably put only atom next to it, and nothing else,” he said.
NASA Administrator Discusses Value of the Space Economy (Source: NASA)
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin kicked off a lecture series honoring the agency's 50th anniversary with an address describing the critical role that space exploration plays in the global economy. The "space economy" was estimated at about $180 billion in 2005, according to a report by the Space Foundation released in 2006. More than 60 percent of space-related economic activity came from commercial goods and services. "NASA opens new frontiers and creates new opportunities, and because of that [NASA] is a critical driver of innovation," Griffin said. Visit http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/sep/HQ_07193_Griffin_lecture.html to view the article.
September 16 News Items
Problem Could Delay Shuttle Discovery's Launch (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
Engineers are assessing an apparent hydraulic leak in the shuttle Discovery's right-side main landing gear strut. If internal seals have to be replaced, launch on a space station assembly mission could slip a few days, but it's not yet clear how long such repairs might actually take. As of Friday, rollout to launch pad 39A was targeted for Sept. 27, setting the stage for launch Oct. 23. But work to replace the hydraulic seals, if required, would delay rollover and rollout. Even with several days of contingency time in the schedule, launch could be delayed a few days if repairs are ordered.
To Compete, Houston Must Tout Space Leadership (Source: Houston Chronicle)
In the early 1960s, when a group of Houstonians caught wind of a possible new manned flight project that needed a home, we sold Houston like Mattress Mac selling an Armani sectional. We sent men with slideshows. We schmoozed NASA reps, sent brochures and worked every political connection we had in orbit. Today it's hard to imagine Houston without Johnson Space Center — ground zero for NASA's human space travel efforts and global space thought leadership in general.
But soon it will be time to polish our shoes for a new phase in selling Houston. New Mexico-based space missions will include everything from mission and launch control to training and passenger terminal facilities, beginning as early as 2010. Comparing Spaceport America to Johnson Space Center is like comparing a handful of very small, unripe apples to a grove of thriving oranges. But it brings up a challenging question: How long can Houston maintain the benefits of being a national center for manned space travel leadership in a world where NASA is no longer the only player? Visit http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/5137133.html to view the article.
Space: The Scottish Frontier (Source: Sunday Herald)
There can be no question that attempting to keep pace with the monolithic space programs run by the US and China is a task that most men would quail at, but the head of the European Space Agency's Research and Technology Center has set himself an even loftier goal: persuading Scotland that it needs a space program of its own. "Why shouldn't Scotland have a space industry? You already have proven expertise and the demand for research and services is increasing all the time," he says.
"People might imagine that America and China are the only serious space race contenders, but across Europe there are many countries contributing to our work and yours has already produced one of the top examples of this. I see no reason why there should not be more." He is sending a delegation to Dundee this week in an effort to drive home his message. The city is hosting the first international SpaceWire conference, and over 100 top scientists will be flooding into the city to discuss the latest developments in this cutting-edge sector.
Engineers are assessing an apparent hydraulic leak in the shuttle Discovery's right-side main landing gear strut. If internal seals have to be replaced, launch on a space station assembly mission could slip a few days, but it's not yet clear how long such repairs might actually take. As of Friday, rollout to launch pad 39A was targeted for Sept. 27, setting the stage for launch Oct. 23. But work to replace the hydraulic seals, if required, would delay rollover and rollout. Even with several days of contingency time in the schedule, launch could be delayed a few days if repairs are ordered.
To Compete, Houston Must Tout Space Leadership (Source: Houston Chronicle)
In the early 1960s, when a group of Houstonians caught wind of a possible new manned flight project that needed a home, we sold Houston like Mattress Mac selling an Armani sectional. We sent men with slideshows. We schmoozed NASA reps, sent brochures and worked every political connection we had in orbit. Today it's hard to imagine Houston without Johnson Space Center — ground zero for NASA's human space travel efforts and global space thought leadership in general.
But soon it will be time to polish our shoes for a new phase in selling Houston. New Mexico-based space missions will include everything from mission and launch control to training and passenger terminal facilities, beginning as early as 2010. Comparing Spaceport America to Johnson Space Center is like comparing a handful of very small, unripe apples to a grove of thriving oranges. But it brings up a challenging question: How long can Houston maintain the benefits of being a national center for manned space travel leadership in a world where NASA is no longer the only player? Visit http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/5137133.html to view the article.
Space: The Scottish Frontier (Source: Sunday Herald)
There can be no question that attempting to keep pace with the monolithic space programs run by the US and China is a task that most men would quail at, but the head of the European Space Agency's Research and Technology Center has set himself an even loftier goal: persuading Scotland that it needs a space program of its own. "Why shouldn't Scotland have a space industry? You already have proven expertise and the demand for research and services is increasing all the time," he says.
"People might imagine that America and China are the only serious space race contenders, but across Europe there are many countries contributing to our work and yours has already produced one of the top examples of this. I see no reason why there should not be more." He is sending a delegation to Dundee this week in an effort to drive home his message. The city is hosting the first international SpaceWire conference, and over 100 top scientists will be flooding into the city to discuss the latest developments in this cutting-edge sector.
September 15 News Items
Galileo Funding Solution Remains Elusive (Source: Space News)
European government and industry officials have begun to doubt whether a political consensus exists in Europe to complete the Galileo satellite navigation system. In public and private comments, officials said the main government backers - Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain - appear far apart on how best to finance the 30-satellite constellation and the remaining portion of the associated ground network. Decisions at the European Union's executive commission and among EU governments in the coming weeks will determine whether any kind of Galileo network - with or without the special features that had set it apart from GPS - will be built.
Senate Appropriators Direct Air Force to Buy 4th AEHF Satellite (Source: Space News)
The Senate Appropriations Committee's version of the 2008 defense spending bill directs the Air Force to buy a fourth satellite under T-Sat's predecessor program, the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) system, and added $125 million to the AEHF budget for that purpose. Current Air Force plans call for buying three AEHF satellites before moving on to T-Sat. In its version of the defense appropriations bill, the House also added $125 million to the White House's AEHF request and directed that the money go toward a fourth satellite. The Senate committee's action makes it likely that the final version of the 2008 appropriations bill will direct the Air Force to begin procurement of a fourth AEHF satellite.
SAIC Wins Space Command Support Contract (Source: Space News)
Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) has been awarded an initial indefinite quantity/indefinite delivery contract potentially worth $49.5 million to provide systems support to Air Force Space Command. The contract has a base period of four months and four one-year options. SAIC will oversee 14 subcontractors providing technical services for government systems including weapon systems for the Space and Missile Systems Center Space Logistics Group.
Embry-Riddle to Host Antarctic Space Sciences Workshop (Source: ERAU)
The Space Physics Research Laboratory at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will host an Antarctic Space Sciences Workshop Sep. 27-28 in Daytona Beach. The meeting is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The workshop will bring together nationally renowned scientists who conduct space science research at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and other sites in Antarctica. Scientists will review the status of their research, identify scientific criteria for future investigations, and talk about how to increase visibility for space sciences research in Antarctica. Participating will be Augsburg College, Colorado Research Associates, Dartmouth College, Embry-Riddle, National Science Foundation, Oberlin College, Raytheon Polar Services Co., Siena College, and SRI International. Scientists also will attend from Stanford University, University of California Los Angeles, University of Colorado, University of New Hampshire, University of Saskatchewan, Utah State University, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
Teachers Learn Lesson In Weightlessness (Source: NBC4.com)
Levitation has become part of the lesson plan for some area Washington DC area high school teachers. They are shifting their curriculum into high gear, beginning with a zero gravity flight from Dulles International Airport. Many of those participating have been teaching for more than 20 years. But on Friday, they got to revisit the joy of being a student. For nearly an hour, they experienced how exactly how NASA trains its astronauts. Teachers said they were amazed at what it feels like to float. They said they will take a different perspective back to the classrooms now that they have floated above the clouds. The Washington region is one of eight where teachers will get to fly with ZERO-G under a program sponsored by Northrop Grumman.
The Future for XM, With or Without a Sirius Merger (Source: New York Times)
Sirius and XM Satellite Radio, the only satellite radio networks authorized to operate by the FCC, expect to learn by the end of this year whether their request to merge will be successful. The move has been opposed by the National Association of Broadcasters, the group representing traditional television and radio companies, and by some consumer groups as anticompetitive and counter to agreements the companies made when the government approved their requests for operating licenses. XM's top executives discussed the merger and the future of the company if the merger petition is not successful. Visit http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/15/business/15interview.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin to view the interview.
Gentlemen, Start Your Rockets (Source: Business Week)
Out in the Mojave Desert, amid the tumbleweed and dust funnels, a new racing league is taking shape. A sign welcomes visitors to the home of SpaceShipOne—the first privately financed aircraft to leave earth's atmosphere. Here, in a small, bustling hangar, workers are carefully assembling one of the league's first racers, an exotic hybrid that's part experimental airplane and part rocket. If all goes as planned, this aircraft will make its maiden flight in October. And next year a half dozen such planes could fire up with a chest-thumping rumble, blast off vertically, and emit 10-foot yellow plumes as they climb about one mile up. Then they'll hurtle around a giant virtual racetrack in the sky at speeds approaching 320 miles per hour, separated from one another by just a few hundred feet. NASCAR it's not—that's for the timid. Rocket racing could well evolve into America's riskiest, noisiest, and nuttiest new sport.
WorldView-1 Satellite to Launch on Tuesday (Source: AIA)
DigitalGlobe's WorldView-1 satellite, scheduled for launch atop a Boeing Delta II rocket on Tuesday, is the first of three next-generation commercial U.S. satellites that will be placed in orbit over the next few years. The satellites are designed to deliver the clearest photos yet to the government and consumers. "This new generation in its entirety really is going to sharpen the images people see in Google, Microsoft, Yahoo! and MapQuest with about four times the detail," said an analyst.
Japan Successfully Launches Moon Probe (Source: AIA)
Japan's quest to explore the Moon has begun with the launch of its first lunar probe. The spacecraft will orbit the Moon for about a year, collecting data on its origin and evolution. Japanese scientists say it is the most complex lunar mission since NASA's Apollo program, which put astronauts on the Moon's surface.
Council Concerned About Lack of Earth Monitoring Satellites (Source: What's New)
A National Research Council report says global warming's effect on people is the big unanswered question. The report laments that, "The loss of existing and planned satellite sensors is perhaps the greatest single threat" to climate research.
South Korean Spaceport to Launch Satellite Next Year (Source: International Herald Tribune)
South Korea plans to place a satellite into orbit next year from its own space center — the first time the country launches a rocket into space from its territory. Since 1992, South Korea has launched 11 satellites, mostly for space and ocean observation and communication, but all of them were carried aboard foreign-made rockets from space centers in France, the U.S., Russia and other countries. South Korea has been developing a two-stage rocket with Russia, dubbed the Korea Space Launch Vehicle. The launch will be conducted in Goheung, about 465 kilometers (290 miles) south of Seoul, where South Korea has been building its first spaceport. The complex is expected to be operational by the end of next year.
Russian Scientific Satellite Launched from Baikonur Spaceport (Source: International Herald Tribune)
A Russian scientific satellite was launched into orbit aboard a Soyuz rocket Friday, just eight days after another Russian-built rocket crashed destroying a Japanese satellite and spreading toxic chemicals. The Soyuz-U rocket lifted off from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan. During its 12-day mission, the satellite Photon will conduct nearly four dozen experiments set up by European, Russian and Chinese scientists to study bone tissue cells, protein crystals and other areas. Several of the experiments also include measurements on butterfly pupae, snails and geckos.
Shoot for the Moon, Break Even (Source: Marketplace)
Forget cyberspace, Google is now reaching for outer space. Google and the X Prize Foundation have announced a $30 million prize for someone to land a robotic rover on the moon and send back pictures. The reward should just about cover the cost of getting the robot up there. Bretton Alexander of the X Prize Foundation expects that teams will spend anywhere from $10-15 million all the way up to $50 million. The teams can then make money back by selling the intellectual property, selling the system, selling services later. He says there are other economic incentives, such as mineral resources on the moon. Ultimately, the prize founders hope private-sector innovation will lead to cheaper methods for space exploration.
Experts Urge British Manned Space Program (Source: Financial Times)
Britain should set up a manned space exploration program, a government advisory committee says. It recommends British astronauts could travel to the International Space Station by 2014 and walk on the Moon in the 2020s. The UK Space Exploration Working Group was set up by the British National Space Centre in January to look at the role Britain should play in the worldwide plans for future space exploration, laid out in the Global Exploration Strategy. Fourteen national space agencies have signed up to the global strategy that would see humans and robots working in partnership on the surfaces of the Moon and Mars, while fleets of unmanned probes venture out across the far reaches of the solar system.
European government and industry officials have begun to doubt whether a political consensus exists in Europe to complete the Galileo satellite navigation system. In public and private comments, officials said the main government backers - Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain - appear far apart on how best to finance the 30-satellite constellation and the remaining portion of the associated ground network. Decisions at the European Union's executive commission and among EU governments in the coming weeks will determine whether any kind of Galileo network - with or without the special features that had set it apart from GPS - will be built.
Senate Appropriators Direct Air Force to Buy 4th AEHF Satellite (Source: Space News)
The Senate Appropriations Committee's version of the 2008 defense spending bill directs the Air Force to buy a fourth satellite under T-Sat's predecessor program, the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) system, and added $125 million to the AEHF budget for that purpose. Current Air Force plans call for buying three AEHF satellites before moving on to T-Sat. In its version of the defense appropriations bill, the House also added $125 million to the White House's AEHF request and directed that the money go toward a fourth satellite. The Senate committee's action makes it likely that the final version of the 2008 appropriations bill will direct the Air Force to begin procurement of a fourth AEHF satellite.
SAIC Wins Space Command Support Contract (Source: Space News)
Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) has been awarded an initial indefinite quantity/indefinite delivery contract potentially worth $49.5 million to provide systems support to Air Force Space Command. The contract has a base period of four months and four one-year options. SAIC will oversee 14 subcontractors providing technical services for government systems including weapon systems for the Space and Missile Systems Center Space Logistics Group.
Embry-Riddle to Host Antarctic Space Sciences Workshop (Source: ERAU)
The Space Physics Research Laboratory at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will host an Antarctic Space Sciences Workshop Sep. 27-28 in Daytona Beach. The meeting is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The workshop will bring together nationally renowned scientists who conduct space science research at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and other sites in Antarctica. Scientists will review the status of their research, identify scientific criteria for future investigations, and talk about how to increase visibility for space sciences research in Antarctica. Participating will be Augsburg College, Colorado Research Associates, Dartmouth College, Embry-Riddle, National Science Foundation, Oberlin College, Raytheon Polar Services Co., Siena College, and SRI International. Scientists also will attend from Stanford University, University of California Los Angeles, University of Colorado, University of New Hampshire, University of Saskatchewan, Utah State University, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
Teachers Learn Lesson In Weightlessness (Source: NBC4.com)
Levitation has become part of the lesson plan for some area Washington DC area high school teachers. They are shifting their curriculum into high gear, beginning with a zero gravity flight from Dulles International Airport. Many of those participating have been teaching for more than 20 years. But on Friday, they got to revisit the joy of being a student. For nearly an hour, they experienced how exactly how NASA trains its astronauts. Teachers said they were amazed at what it feels like to float. They said they will take a different perspective back to the classrooms now that they have floated above the clouds. The Washington region is one of eight where teachers will get to fly with ZERO-G under a program sponsored by Northrop Grumman.
The Future for XM, With or Without a Sirius Merger (Source: New York Times)
Sirius and XM Satellite Radio, the only satellite radio networks authorized to operate by the FCC, expect to learn by the end of this year whether their request to merge will be successful. The move has been opposed by the National Association of Broadcasters, the group representing traditional television and radio companies, and by some consumer groups as anticompetitive and counter to agreements the companies made when the government approved their requests for operating licenses. XM's top executives discussed the merger and the future of the company if the merger petition is not successful. Visit http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/15/business/15interview.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin to view the interview.
Gentlemen, Start Your Rockets (Source: Business Week)
Out in the Mojave Desert, amid the tumbleweed and dust funnels, a new racing league is taking shape. A sign welcomes visitors to the home of SpaceShipOne—the first privately financed aircraft to leave earth's atmosphere. Here, in a small, bustling hangar, workers are carefully assembling one of the league's first racers, an exotic hybrid that's part experimental airplane and part rocket. If all goes as planned, this aircraft will make its maiden flight in October. And next year a half dozen such planes could fire up with a chest-thumping rumble, blast off vertically, and emit 10-foot yellow plumes as they climb about one mile up. Then they'll hurtle around a giant virtual racetrack in the sky at speeds approaching 320 miles per hour, separated from one another by just a few hundred feet. NASCAR it's not—that's for the timid. Rocket racing could well evolve into America's riskiest, noisiest, and nuttiest new sport.
WorldView-1 Satellite to Launch on Tuesday (Source: AIA)
DigitalGlobe's WorldView-1 satellite, scheduled for launch atop a Boeing Delta II rocket on Tuesday, is the first of three next-generation commercial U.S. satellites that will be placed in orbit over the next few years. The satellites are designed to deliver the clearest photos yet to the government and consumers. "This new generation in its entirety really is going to sharpen the images people see in Google, Microsoft, Yahoo! and MapQuest with about four times the detail," said an analyst.
Japan Successfully Launches Moon Probe (Source: AIA)
Japan's quest to explore the Moon has begun with the launch of its first lunar probe. The spacecraft will orbit the Moon for about a year, collecting data on its origin and evolution. Japanese scientists say it is the most complex lunar mission since NASA's Apollo program, which put astronauts on the Moon's surface.
Council Concerned About Lack of Earth Monitoring Satellites (Source: What's New)
A National Research Council report says global warming's effect on people is the big unanswered question. The report laments that, "The loss of existing and planned satellite sensors is perhaps the greatest single threat" to climate research.
South Korean Spaceport to Launch Satellite Next Year (Source: International Herald Tribune)
South Korea plans to place a satellite into orbit next year from its own space center — the first time the country launches a rocket into space from its territory. Since 1992, South Korea has launched 11 satellites, mostly for space and ocean observation and communication, but all of them were carried aboard foreign-made rockets from space centers in France, the U.S., Russia and other countries. South Korea has been developing a two-stage rocket with Russia, dubbed the Korea Space Launch Vehicle. The launch will be conducted in Goheung, about 465 kilometers (290 miles) south of Seoul, where South Korea has been building its first spaceport. The complex is expected to be operational by the end of next year.
Russian Scientific Satellite Launched from Baikonur Spaceport (Source: International Herald Tribune)
A Russian scientific satellite was launched into orbit aboard a Soyuz rocket Friday, just eight days after another Russian-built rocket crashed destroying a Japanese satellite and spreading toxic chemicals. The Soyuz-U rocket lifted off from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan. During its 12-day mission, the satellite Photon will conduct nearly four dozen experiments set up by European, Russian and Chinese scientists to study bone tissue cells, protein crystals and other areas. Several of the experiments also include measurements on butterfly pupae, snails and geckos.
Shoot for the Moon, Break Even (Source: Marketplace)
Forget cyberspace, Google is now reaching for outer space. Google and the X Prize Foundation have announced a $30 million prize for someone to land a robotic rover on the moon and send back pictures. The reward should just about cover the cost of getting the robot up there. Bretton Alexander of the X Prize Foundation expects that teams will spend anywhere from $10-15 million all the way up to $50 million. The teams can then make money back by selling the intellectual property, selling the system, selling services later. He says there are other economic incentives, such as mineral resources on the moon. Ultimately, the prize founders hope private-sector innovation will lead to cheaper methods for space exploration.
Experts Urge British Manned Space Program (Source: Financial Times)
Britain should set up a manned space exploration program, a government advisory committee says. It recommends British astronauts could travel to the International Space Station by 2014 and walk on the Moon in the 2020s. The UK Space Exploration Working Group was set up by the British National Space Centre in January to look at the role Britain should play in the worldwide plans for future space exploration, laid out in the Global Exploration Strategy. Fourteen national space agencies have signed up to the global strategy that would see humans and robots working in partnership on the surfaces of the Moon and Mars, while fleets of unmanned probes venture out across the far reaches of the solar system.
September 14 News Items
Google to Sponsor Lunar Lander Prize (Source: SpaceToday.net)
Google has agreed to sponsor $30 million in prizes for the first privately-developed lunar rovers. The Google Lunar X Prize competition will award $20 million to the first private spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon, rove at least 500 meters, and return a series of high-resolution panoramic images and videos. A $5 million prize will go to the second company to achieve the feat, with the remaining $5 million set aside for bonus prizes, such as discovering water ice. The prize competition will be run by the X Prize Foundation, which ran the $10-million Ansari X Prize competition for privately developed manned suborbital spacecraft. The prize expires at the end of 2014. A group at Carnegie Mellon University has already announced its intent to compete for the prize.
Satellite to Test Special Deliveries From Space (Source: MSNBC)
Russia’s Foton science satellite will include an innovative space transportation experiment that is testing a theoretically cheaper method of returning small cargo from the international space station — and it’s been designed and developed by a team of students organized by the European Space Agency. The approach is to use a space tether as a transportation mechanism, a concept so risky and revolutionary that existing space agencies have for years been afraid of even trying it out for fear of an embarrassing failure. The Young Engineers Satellite 2, or YES2 for short, is piggybacking into orbit aboard Russia's Foton-M3 satellite.
The YES2 objective is to demonstrate the ability to fling a small landing capsule down into the atmosphere without the use of rockets at all. Instead, the tiny 12-pound (5.5-kilogram) heat-shielded sphere, nicknamed "Fotino," will be lowered from the Foton-M3 to the end of a 19-mile-long (30-kilometer-long) fishline-thin tether (the reel is called "Floyd"), and then released.
County Sponsors Space Forum (Source: ERAU)
Brevard County, on Florida's Space Coast, sponsored a Sep. 14 forum on space industry issues, intended to identify issues requiring federal and state action in support of statewide space industry development. Elected officials and industry leaders from around the state participated. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University participated to represent education and research interests.
The Planetary Society Is Ready to Fly You to the Moon (Source: Planetary Society)
The Moon looms large for The Planetary Society this week. Japan's Kaguya mission will launch on its journey there on Sep. 13, carrying more than 400,000 names and messages that the Society helped gather from well-wishers around the world. And today The Planetary Society announces a new opportunity to send names aboard an upcoming lunar-bound mission. Anyone can send their name, and those of friends and loved ones, to the Moon aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The launch of Kaguya will also kick off an International Lunar Decade, a period when several nations are actively planning missions to the Moon, leading to a proposed human-occupied lunar base. Visit http://www.planetary.org/home/ for information.
Google has agreed to sponsor $30 million in prizes for the first privately-developed lunar rovers. The Google Lunar X Prize competition will award $20 million to the first private spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon, rove at least 500 meters, and return a series of high-resolution panoramic images and videos. A $5 million prize will go to the second company to achieve the feat, with the remaining $5 million set aside for bonus prizes, such as discovering water ice. The prize competition will be run by the X Prize Foundation, which ran the $10-million Ansari X Prize competition for privately developed manned suborbital spacecraft. The prize expires at the end of 2014. A group at Carnegie Mellon University has already announced its intent to compete for the prize.
Satellite to Test Special Deliveries From Space (Source: MSNBC)
Russia’s Foton science satellite will include an innovative space transportation experiment that is testing a theoretically cheaper method of returning small cargo from the international space station — and it’s been designed and developed by a team of students organized by the European Space Agency. The approach is to use a space tether as a transportation mechanism, a concept so risky and revolutionary that existing space agencies have for years been afraid of even trying it out for fear of an embarrassing failure. The Young Engineers Satellite 2, or YES2 for short, is piggybacking into orbit aboard Russia's Foton-M3 satellite.
The YES2 objective is to demonstrate the ability to fling a small landing capsule down into the atmosphere without the use of rockets at all. Instead, the tiny 12-pound (5.5-kilogram) heat-shielded sphere, nicknamed "Fotino," will be lowered from the Foton-M3 to the end of a 19-mile-long (30-kilometer-long) fishline-thin tether (the reel is called "Floyd"), and then released.
County Sponsors Space Forum (Source: ERAU)
Brevard County, on Florida's Space Coast, sponsored a Sep. 14 forum on space industry issues, intended to identify issues requiring federal and state action in support of statewide space industry development. Elected officials and industry leaders from around the state participated. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University participated to represent education and research interests.
The Planetary Society Is Ready to Fly You to the Moon (Source: Planetary Society)
The Moon looms large for The Planetary Society this week. Japan's Kaguya mission will launch on its journey there on Sep. 13, carrying more than 400,000 names and messages that the Society helped gather from well-wishers around the world. And today The Planetary Society announces a new opportunity to send names aboard an upcoming lunar-bound mission. Anyone can send their name, and those of friends and loved ones, to the Moon aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The launch of Kaguya will also kick off an International Lunar Decade, a period when several nations are actively planning missions to the Moon, leading to a proposed human-occupied lunar base. Visit http://www.planetary.org/home/ for information.
September 13 News Items
Colorado Project Assembles Suite of Space-Tech Business Services (Source: SSTI)
While dozens of states have instituted clean-tech strategies in order to cash in on the high-tech wave of the future, some are looking even further ahead. In several western states, private space travel and companies are drawing the attention of political leaders, researchers and investors eager to pioneer an industry that may still be many years away from creating dividends. California has long been involved in promoting space technology companies through the California Space Authority. In New Mexico, Virgin Galactic plans to begin construction on Spaceport America next year with $67 million in state funds.
Colorado also has entered the arena with the launch of the Eighth Continent Project, hosted at the Colorado School of Mines Center for Space Resources. The project has assembled an array of services, including a trade association, workshops, a planned incubator and venture fund, and a collaborative research program for private space enterprises. Project Director Burke Forke believes the program will help position Colorado as a leader in 'Space 2.0' in which the industry will be dominated by venture-backed entrepreneurs instead of large government projects.
The Eighth Continent Project differs from other state and university initiatives because of its focus on the private space flight industry and its commercialization services. The nation's 52 space grant consortia, based at universities around the country and administered by NASA, promote space research and education, but few of these offer services tailored to the needs of space entrepreneurs. Partners in the program include Colorado's CTEK, the Governor's Office of Economic Development, the Colorado School of Mines, the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business Deming Center, the Keirestu Forum, and several existing space businesses. Find out more about the Eighth Continent Project at: http://www.8cproject.com.
NASA and NIH Plan Space Station Research (Source: SpaceRef.com)
A Sept. 12 signing of a memorandum of understanding between NASA and the National Institutes of Health will help American scientists use the International Space Station to answer questions about human health and diseases. The pact signals to researchers the availability of a remarkable platform on which to conduct experiments. "The congressional designation as a national laboratory underscores the significance the American people place on the scientific potential of the space station," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin explained. "Not only will the station help in our efforts to explore the moon, Mars and beyond, its resources also can be applied for a much broader purpose - improving human health."
Embry-Riddle and SpaceTEC Plan Events Around Expo (Source: ERAU)
Embry-Riddle and SpaceTEC will sponsor a two-day aerospace-focused teacher workshop during the week leading up to the World Space Expo at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The workshop is being sponsored by the Florida Space Grant Consortium and Space Florida under the Florida/NASA Matching Grant Program. Meanwhile, SpaceTEC is planning its next Co-Investigator meeting during the Expo, with representatives from colleges nationwide meeting to discuss future plans for the aerospace training and certification program.
Commentary: Why Not Just Sell all of NASA to Google? (Source: MarketWatch)
Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have apparently made their Silicon Valley neighbors jealous with the disclosure that they get to park their private jets at a NASA facility just 10 minutes from their offices. Community activists are perturbed. Executives are even madder because they have to drive up and down crowded freeways to San Francisco or San Jose to get to their planes. Page and Brin apparently can get away with the perk by paying a trivial -- to them -- parking fee and fitting their aircraft -- widebody jet and a couple of Gulfstreams -- with measuring instruments so NASA can claim the flights out of Moffett Field serve some kind of scientific purpose.
But as long as the guys are so scientifically inclined, why not just unload all of NASA on them? It's only got a budget of $16 billion a year. The way things are going, that'll soon be just a couple of quarter's profit to Google. And NASA's going to out of the manned launch business for the foreseeable future anyway in 2010, once the remaining space shuttles are retired. Actually, Page and Brin are late to the space game. PayPal founder Elon Musk is already running SpaceX. That's the first private rocket development venture with a decent shot at getting satellites into orbit. As clever as doing a deal for access to a NASA airstrip may be, it's just not worthy of the world's new media titans. They won't really have made it big until they get their own private parking spot at the space station.
New Mexico Spaceport Officials Ask for $1.5M (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
New Mexico Spaceport Authority officials told lawmakers Wednesday they'll need more staff and a larger budget next year to handle key steps in the construction of a spaceport. Spaceport Authority Chairwoman Kelly O'Donnell, also deputy secretary for the state's Economic Development Department, said the authority will need some $1.5 million next year, mostly to hire additional staff. The authority's budget this year was about $365,000. O'Donnell said the Spaceport Authority is relying heavily on contractors to carry out its work, a fact that has concerned entities that deal with the agency — including the FAA and Virgin Galactic, the spaceport's major tenant company.
"We really need to get that staff support," she said. O'Donnell told the New Mexico legislative Finance Authority Oversight Committee that the additional staff is needed to keep construction costs for Spaceport America within a $198 million budget and keep the project on schedule. The Spaceport Authority's proposal would add six employee positions, including an attorney and a marketing director. A technical director, someone who would create flight safety policies, is another position that's needed, O'Donnell said.
Arianespace to Launch French Military Satellites (Source: SpaceToday.net)
Arianespace has won a contract from the French military to launch four small experimental reconnaissance satellites on a Soyuz, the company announced this week. Arianespace will launch the for ELISA (ELectronic Intelligence by SAtellite), each weighing about 135 kg, for the French Ministry of Defence on a Soyuz from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana in late 2009. The four spacecraft, operating from Sun-synchronous orbit, will be equipped with radar transmitters "to map the entire globe", according to the press release. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Opportunity Rover Dives Into Mars Crater (Source: SpaceRef.com)
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity entered Victoria Crater for the first time. It radioed home information via a relay by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, reporting its activities for the day. Opportunity drove far enough in -- about four meters (13 feet) -- to get all six wheels past the crater rim.
World Space Expo Celebrates 50 Years in Space (Source: WSE)
Kennedy Space Center plays host to the inaugural World Space Expo, celebrating NASA's 50 years in space exploration. World Space Expo will take place from Nov. 1-4, 2007. "Working with NASA, we are gathering together some of the most exciting efforts in space exploration into a comprehensive space exposition, World Space Expo. The event will give all who attend a glimpse of mankind's space achievements from the place that sends people into space," said Daniel LeBlanc, Chief Operating Officer, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. "The Aerial Salute to 50 Years in Space featuring the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will mark only the second time an air show has been held at Kennedy Space Center, with special viewing from the NASA Causeway."
NASA Extends Support Contract for Johnson Space Center (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded five one-month extensions of the Center Operations Support Services contract for Johnson Space Center to Computer Sciences Corp. The contract's base period began April 1, 2002. A series of options and extensions, including these five one-month extensions, continue the contract through Feb. 29, 2008. The five one-month options together are valued at $25 million, bringing the total value of the contract to $342.9 million.
Space Entrepreneurs Making Tracks to Las Cruces (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Adventure-seeking, risk-taking entrepreneurs are driving the new space race, but government partnerships are critical to the success of the emerging commercial spaceflight industry, says Patricia Hynes, chair of the upcoming International Symposium for Personal Spaceflight. ISPS 2007 will be held at the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces Oct. 24-25. Key players from both the public and private sectors will participate in the symposium — along with experts on marketing, tourism and other aspects of the industry.
Falling Satellites as Bargaining Chips (Source: Moscow Times)
Kazakhstan's emergency situations minister said levels of contaminants contained in rocket fuel at the Proton crash site were from 1,100 to 5,200 times higher than normal, and that the full damage from the mishap had yet to be determined. Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov pointed indignantly to the fact that the launch occurred at the same time that Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev was visiting Dzhezkazgan. The Kazakhs have subsequently prohibited any launch when the president is in an area falling under a rocket's planned trajectory. These announcements look like they were made as a signal that the Kazakh government is getting ready to lodge some serious complaints with Moscow. The complaints will undoubtedly come with a price tag.
NASA Refines Lunar Architecture (Source: Aviation Week)
Future lunar explorers may set out from their base at one of the moon's poles for long-distance surface sorties in pressurized rovers hardened against the galactic cosmic radiation that makes extravehicular activity (EVA) dangerous to their health in the long run. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin has given his OK to refinements in his agency's lunar-surface architecture. The needs of scientists drove some of the work, since scientific interest in the moon will extend beyond the fixed base NASA plans to build at one of the lunar poles. To get there, four-member lunar-surface teams would take two pressurized rovers dubbed "Freds," for Flexible Roving Exploration Devices.
Also under study are plug-in appliances for the rovers, such as backhoes or robotic arms, and perhaps having the rovers dock directly to the pressurized habitats of the lunar base. Those habitats would be larger than originally planned, landed early in the base-assembly sequence to minimize assembly time later. Inflatable structures remain a possibility for habitats. Click here to view the article.
Senate Appropriators Recommend Slowing T-Sat, GPS 3 (Source: Space News)
The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up a 2008 defense spending bill that applies the brakes to two of the Air Force's biggest satellite procurement programs, the Transformational Satellite Communications system (T-Sat) and the GPS 3 satellite navigation system.
Selection of GPS 3 Contractor Likely Delayed Until 2008 (Source: Space News)
The Air Force has decided to wait until at least January 2008 to select the company that will build the military's next generation of GPS navigation and timing satellites, according to a service spokeswoman. The selection of a prime contractor for the GPS 3 satellites had been expected this month.
Globalstar To Pay $210 Million to Launch 24 Satellites on Four Soyuz Rockets (Source: Space News)
Globalstar has agreed to pay $210 million to launch 24 second-generation mobile-communications satellites aboard four Arianespace Soyuz vehicles in 2009 and 2010.
Telenor Says Launch Delay Needs To Be Less than Six Months (Source: Space News)
Officials at Norwegian satellite-fleet operator Telenor Satellite Broadcasting say they can absorb a six-month delay in the launch of their Thor 2R spacecraft resulting from the grounding of the commercial Proton-M launch vehicle. However, a delay much longer than that would have a measurable impact on Telenor's planned expansion, the company's chief executive said.
While dozens of states have instituted clean-tech strategies in order to cash in on the high-tech wave of the future, some are looking even further ahead. In several western states, private space travel and companies are drawing the attention of political leaders, researchers and investors eager to pioneer an industry that may still be many years away from creating dividends. California has long been involved in promoting space technology companies through the California Space Authority. In New Mexico, Virgin Galactic plans to begin construction on Spaceport America next year with $67 million in state funds.
Colorado also has entered the arena with the launch of the Eighth Continent Project, hosted at the Colorado School of Mines Center for Space Resources. The project has assembled an array of services, including a trade association, workshops, a planned incubator and venture fund, and a collaborative research program for private space enterprises. Project Director Burke Forke believes the program will help position Colorado as a leader in 'Space 2.0' in which the industry will be dominated by venture-backed entrepreneurs instead of large government projects.
The Eighth Continent Project differs from other state and university initiatives because of its focus on the private space flight industry and its commercialization services. The nation's 52 space grant consortia, based at universities around the country and administered by NASA, promote space research and education, but few of these offer services tailored to the needs of space entrepreneurs. Partners in the program include Colorado's CTEK, the Governor's Office of Economic Development, the Colorado School of Mines, the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business Deming Center, the Keirestu Forum, and several existing space businesses. Find out more about the Eighth Continent Project at: http://www.8cproject.com.
NASA and NIH Plan Space Station Research (Source: SpaceRef.com)
A Sept. 12 signing of a memorandum of understanding between NASA and the National Institutes of Health will help American scientists use the International Space Station to answer questions about human health and diseases. The pact signals to researchers the availability of a remarkable platform on which to conduct experiments. "The congressional designation as a national laboratory underscores the significance the American people place on the scientific potential of the space station," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin explained. "Not only will the station help in our efforts to explore the moon, Mars and beyond, its resources also can be applied for a much broader purpose - improving human health."
Embry-Riddle and SpaceTEC Plan Events Around Expo (Source: ERAU)
Embry-Riddle and SpaceTEC will sponsor a two-day aerospace-focused teacher workshop during the week leading up to the World Space Expo at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The workshop is being sponsored by the Florida Space Grant Consortium and Space Florida under the Florida/NASA Matching Grant Program. Meanwhile, SpaceTEC is planning its next Co-Investigator meeting during the Expo, with representatives from colleges nationwide meeting to discuss future plans for the aerospace training and certification program.
Commentary: Why Not Just Sell all of NASA to Google? (Source: MarketWatch)
Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have apparently made their Silicon Valley neighbors jealous with the disclosure that they get to park their private jets at a NASA facility just 10 minutes from their offices. Community activists are perturbed. Executives are even madder because they have to drive up and down crowded freeways to San Francisco or San Jose to get to their planes. Page and Brin apparently can get away with the perk by paying a trivial -- to them -- parking fee and fitting their aircraft -- widebody jet and a couple of Gulfstreams -- with measuring instruments so NASA can claim the flights out of Moffett Field serve some kind of scientific purpose.
But as long as the guys are so scientifically inclined, why not just unload all of NASA on them? It's only got a budget of $16 billion a year. The way things are going, that'll soon be just a couple of quarter's profit to Google. And NASA's going to out of the manned launch business for the foreseeable future anyway in 2010, once the remaining space shuttles are retired. Actually, Page and Brin are late to the space game. PayPal founder Elon Musk is already running SpaceX. That's the first private rocket development venture with a decent shot at getting satellites into orbit. As clever as doing a deal for access to a NASA airstrip may be, it's just not worthy of the world's new media titans. They won't really have made it big until they get their own private parking spot at the space station.
New Mexico Spaceport Officials Ask for $1.5M (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
New Mexico Spaceport Authority officials told lawmakers Wednesday they'll need more staff and a larger budget next year to handle key steps in the construction of a spaceport. Spaceport Authority Chairwoman Kelly O'Donnell, also deputy secretary for the state's Economic Development Department, said the authority will need some $1.5 million next year, mostly to hire additional staff. The authority's budget this year was about $365,000. O'Donnell said the Spaceport Authority is relying heavily on contractors to carry out its work, a fact that has concerned entities that deal with the agency — including the FAA and Virgin Galactic, the spaceport's major tenant company.
"We really need to get that staff support," she said. O'Donnell told the New Mexico legislative Finance Authority Oversight Committee that the additional staff is needed to keep construction costs for Spaceport America within a $198 million budget and keep the project on schedule. The Spaceport Authority's proposal would add six employee positions, including an attorney and a marketing director. A technical director, someone who would create flight safety policies, is another position that's needed, O'Donnell said.
Arianespace to Launch French Military Satellites (Source: SpaceToday.net)
Arianespace has won a contract from the French military to launch four small experimental reconnaissance satellites on a Soyuz, the company announced this week. Arianespace will launch the for ELISA (ELectronic Intelligence by SAtellite), each weighing about 135 kg, for the French Ministry of Defence on a Soyuz from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana in late 2009. The four spacecraft, operating from Sun-synchronous orbit, will be equipped with radar transmitters "to map the entire globe", according to the press release. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Opportunity Rover Dives Into Mars Crater (Source: SpaceRef.com)
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity entered Victoria Crater for the first time. It radioed home information via a relay by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, reporting its activities for the day. Opportunity drove far enough in -- about four meters (13 feet) -- to get all six wheels past the crater rim.
World Space Expo Celebrates 50 Years in Space (Source: WSE)
Kennedy Space Center plays host to the inaugural World Space Expo, celebrating NASA's 50 years in space exploration. World Space Expo will take place from Nov. 1-4, 2007. "Working with NASA, we are gathering together some of the most exciting efforts in space exploration into a comprehensive space exposition, World Space Expo. The event will give all who attend a glimpse of mankind's space achievements from the place that sends people into space," said Daniel LeBlanc, Chief Operating Officer, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. "The Aerial Salute to 50 Years in Space featuring the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will mark only the second time an air show has been held at Kennedy Space Center, with special viewing from the NASA Causeway."
NASA Extends Support Contract for Johnson Space Center (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded five one-month extensions of the Center Operations Support Services contract for Johnson Space Center to Computer Sciences Corp. The contract's base period began April 1, 2002. A series of options and extensions, including these five one-month extensions, continue the contract through Feb. 29, 2008. The five one-month options together are valued at $25 million, bringing the total value of the contract to $342.9 million.
Space Entrepreneurs Making Tracks to Las Cruces (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Adventure-seeking, risk-taking entrepreneurs are driving the new space race, but government partnerships are critical to the success of the emerging commercial spaceflight industry, says Patricia Hynes, chair of the upcoming International Symposium for Personal Spaceflight. ISPS 2007 will be held at the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces Oct. 24-25. Key players from both the public and private sectors will participate in the symposium — along with experts on marketing, tourism and other aspects of the industry.
Falling Satellites as Bargaining Chips (Source: Moscow Times)
Kazakhstan's emergency situations minister said levels of contaminants contained in rocket fuel at the Proton crash site were from 1,100 to 5,200 times higher than normal, and that the full damage from the mishap had yet to be determined. Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov pointed indignantly to the fact that the launch occurred at the same time that Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev was visiting Dzhezkazgan. The Kazakhs have subsequently prohibited any launch when the president is in an area falling under a rocket's planned trajectory. These announcements look like they were made as a signal that the Kazakh government is getting ready to lodge some serious complaints with Moscow. The complaints will undoubtedly come with a price tag.
NASA Refines Lunar Architecture (Source: Aviation Week)
Future lunar explorers may set out from their base at one of the moon's poles for long-distance surface sorties in pressurized rovers hardened against the galactic cosmic radiation that makes extravehicular activity (EVA) dangerous to their health in the long run. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin has given his OK to refinements in his agency's lunar-surface architecture. The needs of scientists drove some of the work, since scientific interest in the moon will extend beyond the fixed base NASA plans to build at one of the lunar poles. To get there, four-member lunar-surface teams would take two pressurized rovers dubbed "Freds," for Flexible Roving Exploration Devices.
Also under study are plug-in appliances for the rovers, such as backhoes or robotic arms, and perhaps having the rovers dock directly to the pressurized habitats of the lunar base. Those habitats would be larger than originally planned, landed early in the base-assembly sequence to minimize assembly time later. Inflatable structures remain a possibility for habitats. Click here to view the article.
Senate Appropriators Recommend Slowing T-Sat, GPS 3 (Source: Space News)
The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up a 2008 defense spending bill that applies the brakes to two of the Air Force's biggest satellite procurement programs, the Transformational Satellite Communications system (T-Sat) and the GPS 3 satellite navigation system.
Selection of GPS 3 Contractor Likely Delayed Until 2008 (Source: Space News)
The Air Force has decided to wait until at least January 2008 to select the company that will build the military's next generation of GPS navigation and timing satellites, according to a service spokeswoman. The selection of a prime contractor for the GPS 3 satellites had been expected this month.
Globalstar To Pay $210 Million to Launch 24 Satellites on Four Soyuz Rockets (Source: Space News)
Globalstar has agreed to pay $210 million to launch 24 second-generation mobile-communications satellites aboard four Arianespace Soyuz vehicles in 2009 and 2010.
Telenor Says Launch Delay Needs To Be Less than Six Months (Source: Space News)
Officials at Norwegian satellite-fleet operator Telenor Satellite Broadcasting say they can absorb a six-month delay in the launch of their Thor 2R spacecraft resulting from the grounding of the commercial Proton-M launch vehicle. However, a delay much longer than that would have a measurable impact on Telenor's planned expansion, the company's chief executive said.
September 12 News Items
Penn State Supplies NASA to the Schools (Source: Penn State)
Coming soon to a school near you is a shiny, silver Airstream RV, emblazoned with "NASA to the Schools, Penn State" as part of a five-year $27.3 million Aerospace Education Services Program contract. Penn State will be NASA's face to K-12 education. Penn State took over Sept. 1 from Oklahoma State University. "This is the only program in the U.S. that can put professional science educators on the ground in 50 states and territories," said William S. Carlsen, professor of science education and director of Penn State's Center for Science and the Schools.
The Penn State program will shift the existing emphasis from one-time school visits and short teacher seminars to university-based space-oriented summer courses for teachers. School visits will continue, but rather than emphasizing auditorium presentations, NASA education specialists will work closely with teachers and school administrators to infuse cutting-edge science content into extended instructional units. Education specialists will also collect data on how summer course experiences translate to the classroom and how teachers adapt materials to the various states and schools.
Dark, but Light: Smallest Galaxies Ever Seen Solve a Big Problem (Source: Keck Observatory)
Scientists may have solved a discrepancy between the number of extremely small, faint galaxies predicted to exist near the Milky Way and the number actually observed. In an attempt to resolve the “Missing Dwarf Galaxy” problem, two astronomers used the Keck Observatory to study a population of the darkest, most lightweight galaxies known, each containing 99% dark matter. The findings suggest the “Missing Dwarf Galaxy” problem is not as severe as previously thought, and may have been solved completely.
“It seems that very small, ultra-faint galaxies are far more plentiful than we thought,” said Dr. Marla Geha, co-author of the study and a Plaskett Research Fellow at the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics in Canada. “If you asked me last year whether galaxies this small and this dark existed, I would have said no. I’m astonished that so many tiny, dark matter-dominated galaxies have now been discovered.”
The Missing Dwarf Galaxy puzzle comes from a prediction of the “Cold Dark Matter” model, which explains the growth and evolution of the universe. It predicts large galaxies like the Milky Way should be surrounded by a swarm of up to several hundred smaller galaxies known as “dwarf galaxies.” However, until recently, only 11 such companions were known to be orbiting the Milky Way. To explain this large discrepancy, theorists suggested that while hundreds of dwarf galaxies near the Milky Way may indeed exist, the majority might have few, if any, stars. If so, the galaxies would be comprised almost entirely of dark matter—a mysterious type of matter that has gravitational effects on ordinary atoms, but which does not produce any light.
Google Founders Trade Research Chores for Moffett Landing Rights (Source: San Fancisco Chronicle)
Google's founders will carry scientific equipment for NASA on their private Boeing 767 as part of a deal that grants them landing rights at Moffett Federal Airfield. The agreement gives Larry Page and Sergey Brin use of the former naval air station, from which civilian aircraft are normally barred, in exchange for allowing NASA to place instruments on board their planes for atmospheric and other research. The agreement with Google's founders is non-exclusive, meaning that the door is open to others with private aircraft who want to use Moffett Field and are willing to contribute to NASA's mission. NASA also acknowledged that it is negotiating to lease aircraft hangars at Moffett Field.
VAB Work Hinders Schedule (Source: Florida Today)
Foam repair is not the only threat to NASA's chance of launching two more space shuttle missions before the end of 2007. The other hurdle is the traffic jam inside the mammoth Vehicle Assembly Building. Decades of exposure to salty seaside conditions corroded and rusted parts of the gigantic metal doors that cover each of the 45-story openings through which space shuttles must roll on their way out to the launch pads. A few years ago, NASA took on a multimillion dollar effort to replace the doors on one of the two high bays facing the launch pads.
That left the shuttle program with just one bay in which they could stack shuttles for launch. The work was supposed to be finished a year ago, but is behind schedule. Now, the work is set to be complete by around Nov. 1, meaning NASA has to finish out the year stacking shuttles in just one of the high bays.
Alliant Techsystems Gets Space Contract (Source: AP)
Munitions maker Alliant Techsystems Inc. has received an initial $3.3 million Air Force contract to develop a propulsion system for small spacecraft. The contract, for a combined chemical-electric propulsion system that allows spacecraft to maneuver in orbit, includes options worth an additional $4.7 million. Alliant's design was the only one chosen after a competition involving five other competitors last year. The company, which boosted its space-systems portfolio this summer with its acquisition of satellite parts maker Swales Aerospace, will lead a development team that includes Busek Co. and American Pacific Corp.
NASA Plans New COTS Competition if it Terminates Rocketplane Kistler Deal (Source: Space News)
NASA said Sept. 10 that it would hold a competition for $175 million in unspent funds should the U.S. space agency terminate Rocketplane Kistler's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement. The competition would be open to all comers, NASA spokeswoman Melissa Mathews said, including Rocketplane Kistler.
Baikonur Satellite Launch to Go Ahead Despite Rocket Crash (Source: RIA Novosti)
The recent crash of a Russian Proton-M rocket will not affect the launch of a Foton bio-satellite piggybacked on a Soyuz rocket, since the two rockets are entirely different, a spokesman for the Federal Space Agency said. "The Proton is a heavy rocket, which uses highly toxic heptyl as fuel, whereas Soyuz is a medium-class booster using environmentally friendly fuel - kerosene and liquid oxygen," the spokesman said, adding that the two rockets are also produced by different plants - in Moscow and in Samara, respectively.
Engineers Boost Useful Life of Old Satellites (Source: AIA)
Scientists at Purdue University and Lockheed Martin have figured out how to extend the lives of older communications satellites by redistributing propellant in their fuel tanks. The method was tested on two communications satellites launched in 1991. The remaining life of the satellites was increased from six to nine months to about two years. A researcher said the longer life brought in an additional $60 million in revenue for the broadcast companies that owned the satellites.
Russian Rocket Launches Suspended at Baikonur Spaceport (Source: Florida Today)
Kazakhstan today suspended all launches of Russian Proton rockets, following a crash last week that destroyed a Japanese communications satellite and spread toxic chemicals over the Kazakh steppe. Thursday’s crash was the second time in the past 14 months that an unmanned Russian rocket launched from the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome has strewn rocket fuel and debris, prompting angry statements from Kazakh officials. “Launches of all modifications of Proton rockets are suspended until the causes for the (crash) are determined,” Deputy Prime Minister Umirzak Shukeyev said. “This is a temporary measure that will remain in force until a decision is made jointly with the Russian side,” he said.
NM Spaceport Tax District Decision Delayed (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Dona Ana County can't negotiate details of a key step toward spending spaceport tax dollars until Sierra and Otero counties make moves to hold spaceport tax elections of their own, decided the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday. County Commissioners voted 4-1 to delay action on the creation of a spaceport tax district — an entity that will spend spaceport tax dollars from local governments — until Sierra and Otero counties pass an ordinance setting dates for spaceport tax elections.
Several commissioners said that they were concerned the counties hadn't yet set dates for their elections and that they didn't see any hurry in passing Tuesday's measure, which initially was proposed by the New Mexico Spaceport Authority. No spaceport tax dollars can be spent until a district is formed, under state law. Also, a district must be made up of two or more local governments that approve spaceport taxes, through voter elections, before Jan. 1, 2008.
Rocket Puts Secret Russian Satellite Into Polar Orbit (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
A Russian military satellite was lobbed into orbit aboard a Kosmos 3M rocket during a Tuesday launch from the nation's northern launch site. The mission began with liftoff of the 105-foot-tall booster from the Plesetsk spaceport. The two-stage Kosmos 3M rocket successfully deployed its secret payload into a circular near-polar orbit about an hour later.
Space Commerce Centre Lands on the Isle of Man (Source: VNUnet.com)
The International Space University, the only learning establishment dedicated to space science, is to launch the International Institute of Space Commerce (IISC) in the UK. The new body will be located at the Isle of Man International Business School following a five-year commitment by the Manx government to establish and host the facility. "Welcoming the IISC to the Isle of Man is part of our overall strategy to encourage space innovation," said Alex Downie, Isle of Man Minister for Space. "We have attracted some of the space industry's most successful companies along with several niche players to our island over the past few years.
Early Shuttle Termination Eyed (Source: Aviation Week)
NASA is proposing to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that the space shuttle program be terminated six months early, in March 2010 instead of by Sept. 31, 2010, Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach says. Rita Wilcoxon, director of launch vehicle processing at the Kennedy Space Center, said that OMB reacted positively to the idea. The plan would be part of the next NASA fiscal budget. If adopted, it would call for a planning target of March 31, 2010 for termination of the shuttle program, and would include the launch of the STS-131 and STA-133 logistics missions to the International Space Station. Those flights had earlier not been funded.
Under the plan, the March 2010 date would be NASA's termination target for shuttle operations, providing margin against weather and technical delays to ensure that NASA could make the Sept. 31 national target date set out earlier by President Bush. NASA is not asking for any additional shuttle funding in the plan, according to Wilcoxon. And extra funding left over in the budget from an early shuttle termination would first go to pay for termination costs and employee retirement plans, then into the Constellation program.
An early termination would be achieved by beginning to bias the launch dates of the remaining flights toward that target date. It also adds use of the orbiter Atlantis two more times than planned and would add margin to ensure NASA achieves unmanned Ares booster flight-tests as early as possible. The plan is to announce the new target by early October, Leinbach believes.
Coming soon to a school near you is a shiny, silver Airstream RV, emblazoned with "NASA to the Schools, Penn State" as part of a five-year $27.3 million Aerospace Education Services Program contract. Penn State will be NASA's face to K-12 education. Penn State took over Sept. 1 from Oklahoma State University. "This is the only program in the U.S. that can put professional science educators on the ground in 50 states and territories," said William S. Carlsen, professor of science education and director of Penn State's Center for Science and the Schools.
The Penn State program will shift the existing emphasis from one-time school visits and short teacher seminars to university-based space-oriented summer courses for teachers. School visits will continue, but rather than emphasizing auditorium presentations, NASA education specialists will work closely with teachers and school administrators to infuse cutting-edge science content into extended instructional units. Education specialists will also collect data on how summer course experiences translate to the classroom and how teachers adapt materials to the various states and schools.
Dark, but Light: Smallest Galaxies Ever Seen Solve a Big Problem (Source: Keck Observatory)
Scientists may have solved a discrepancy between the number of extremely small, faint galaxies predicted to exist near the Milky Way and the number actually observed. In an attempt to resolve the “Missing Dwarf Galaxy” problem, two astronomers used the Keck Observatory to study a population of the darkest, most lightweight galaxies known, each containing 99% dark matter. The findings suggest the “Missing Dwarf Galaxy” problem is not as severe as previously thought, and may have been solved completely.
“It seems that very small, ultra-faint galaxies are far more plentiful than we thought,” said Dr. Marla Geha, co-author of the study and a Plaskett Research Fellow at the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics in Canada. “If you asked me last year whether galaxies this small and this dark existed, I would have said no. I’m astonished that so many tiny, dark matter-dominated galaxies have now been discovered.”
The Missing Dwarf Galaxy puzzle comes from a prediction of the “Cold Dark Matter” model, which explains the growth and evolution of the universe. It predicts large galaxies like the Milky Way should be surrounded by a swarm of up to several hundred smaller galaxies known as “dwarf galaxies.” However, until recently, only 11 such companions were known to be orbiting the Milky Way. To explain this large discrepancy, theorists suggested that while hundreds of dwarf galaxies near the Milky Way may indeed exist, the majority might have few, if any, stars. If so, the galaxies would be comprised almost entirely of dark matter—a mysterious type of matter that has gravitational effects on ordinary atoms, but which does not produce any light.
Google Founders Trade Research Chores for Moffett Landing Rights (Source: San Fancisco Chronicle)
Google's founders will carry scientific equipment for NASA on their private Boeing 767 as part of a deal that grants them landing rights at Moffett Federal Airfield. The agreement gives Larry Page and Sergey Brin use of the former naval air station, from which civilian aircraft are normally barred, in exchange for allowing NASA to place instruments on board their planes for atmospheric and other research. The agreement with Google's founders is non-exclusive, meaning that the door is open to others with private aircraft who want to use Moffett Field and are willing to contribute to NASA's mission. NASA also acknowledged that it is negotiating to lease aircraft hangars at Moffett Field.
VAB Work Hinders Schedule (Source: Florida Today)
Foam repair is not the only threat to NASA's chance of launching two more space shuttle missions before the end of 2007. The other hurdle is the traffic jam inside the mammoth Vehicle Assembly Building. Decades of exposure to salty seaside conditions corroded and rusted parts of the gigantic metal doors that cover each of the 45-story openings through which space shuttles must roll on their way out to the launch pads. A few years ago, NASA took on a multimillion dollar effort to replace the doors on one of the two high bays facing the launch pads.
That left the shuttle program with just one bay in which they could stack shuttles for launch. The work was supposed to be finished a year ago, but is behind schedule. Now, the work is set to be complete by around Nov. 1, meaning NASA has to finish out the year stacking shuttles in just one of the high bays.
Alliant Techsystems Gets Space Contract (Source: AP)
Munitions maker Alliant Techsystems Inc. has received an initial $3.3 million Air Force contract to develop a propulsion system for small spacecraft. The contract, for a combined chemical-electric propulsion system that allows spacecraft to maneuver in orbit, includes options worth an additional $4.7 million. Alliant's design was the only one chosen after a competition involving five other competitors last year. The company, which boosted its space-systems portfolio this summer with its acquisition of satellite parts maker Swales Aerospace, will lead a development team that includes Busek Co. and American Pacific Corp.
NASA Plans New COTS Competition if it Terminates Rocketplane Kistler Deal (Source: Space News)
NASA said Sept. 10 that it would hold a competition for $175 million in unspent funds should the U.S. space agency terminate Rocketplane Kistler's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement. The competition would be open to all comers, NASA spokeswoman Melissa Mathews said, including Rocketplane Kistler.
Baikonur Satellite Launch to Go Ahead Despite Rocket Crash (Source: RIA Novosti)
The recent crash of a Russian Proton-M rocket will not affect the launch of a Foton bio-satellite piggybacked on a Soyuz rocket, since the two rockets are entirely different, a spokesman for the Federal Space Agency said. "The Proton is a heavy rocket, which uses highly toxic heptyl as fuel, whereas Soyuz is a medium-class booster using environmentally friendly fuel - kerosene and liquid oxygen," the spokesman said, adding that the two rockets are also produced by different plants - in Moscow and in Samara, respectively.
Engineers Boost Useful Life of Old Satellites (Source: AIA)
Scientists at Purdue University and Lockheed Martin have figured out how to extend the lives of older communications satellites by redistributing propellant in their fuel tanks. The method was tested on two communications satellites launched in 1991. The remaining life of the satellites was increased from six to nine months to about two years. A researcher said the longer life brought in an additional $60 million in revenue for the broadcast companies that owned the satellites.
Russian Rocket Launches Suspended at Baikonur Spaceport (Source: Florida Today)
Kazakhstan today suspended all launches of Russian Proton rockets, following a crash last week that destroyed a Japanese communications satellite and spread toxic chemicals over the Kazakh steppe. Thursday’s crash was the second time in the past 14 months that an unmanned Russian rocket launched from the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome has strewn rocket fuel and debris, prompting angry statements from Kazakh officials. “Launches of all modifications of Proton rockets are suspended until the causes for the (crash) are determined,” Deputy Prime Minister Umirzak Shukeyev said. “This is a temporary measure that will remain in force until a decision is made jointly with the Russian side,” he said.
NM Spaceport Tax District Decision Delayed (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Dona Ana County can't negotiate details of a key step toward spending spaceport tax dollars until Sierra and Otero counties make moves to hold spaceport tax elections of their own, decided the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday. County Commissioners voted 4-1 to delay action on the creation of a spaceport tax district — an entity that will spend spaceport tax dollars from local governments — until Sierra and Otero counties pass an ordinance setting dates for spaceport tax elections.
Several commissioners said that they were concerned the counties hadn't yet set dates for their elections and that they didn't see any hurry in passing Tuesday's measure, which initially was proposed by the New Mexico Spaceport Authority. No spaceport tax dollars can be spent until a district is formed, under state law. Also, a district must be made up of two or more local governments that approve spaceport taxes, through voter elections, before Jan. 1, 2008.
Rocket Puts Secret Russian Satellite Into Polar Orbit (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
A Russian military satellite was lobbed into orbit aboard a Kosmos 3M rocket during a Tuesday launch from the nation's northern launch site. The mission began with liftoff of the 105-foot-tall booster from the Plesetsk spaceport. The two-stage Kosmos 3M rocket successfully deployed its secret payload into a circular near-polar orbit about an hour later.
Space Commerce Centre Lands on the Isle of Man (Source: VNUnet.com)
The International Space University, the only learning establishment dedicated to space science, is to launch the International Institute of Space Commerce (IISC) in the UK. The new body will be located at the Isle of Man International Business School following a five-year commitment by the Manx government to establish and host the facility. "Welcoming the IISC to the Isle of Man is part of our overall strategy to encourage space innovation," said Alex Downie, Isle of Man Minister for Space. "We have attracted some of the space industry's most successful companies along with several niche players to our island over the past few years.
Early Shuttle Termination Eyed (Source: Aviation Week)
NASA is proposing to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that the space shuttle program be terminated six months early, in March 2010 instead of by Sept. 31, 2010, Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach says. Rita Wilcoxon, director of launch vehicle processing at the Kennedy Space Center, said that OMB reacted positively to the idea. The plan would be part of the next NASA fiscal budget. If adopted, it would call for a planning target of March 31, 2010 for termination of the shuttle program, and would include the launch of the STS-131 and STA-133 logistics missions to the International Space Station. Those flights had earlier not been funded.
Under the plan, the March 2010 date would be NASA's termination target for shuttle operations, providing margin against weather and technical delays to ensure that NASA could make the Sept. 31 national target date set out earlier by President Bush. NASA is not asking for any additional shuttle funding in the plan, according to Wilcoxon. And extra funding left over in the budget from an early shuttle termination would first go to pay for termination costs and employee retirement plans, then into the Constellation program.
An early termination would be achieved by beginning to bias the launch dates of the remaining flights toward that target date. It also adds use of the orbiter Atlantis two more times than planned and would add margin to ensure NASA achieves unmanned Ares booster flight-tests as early as possible. The plan is to announce the new target by early October, Leinbach believes.
September 11 News Items
RpK Lawsuit Puts Space Tourism Work in Limbo (Source: Chicago Tribune)
The Oak Brook luxury vacation firm contracted to market and reserve flights on a planned suborbital space plane has filed a $3.4 million lawsuit against its partner, Rocketplane Kistler (RpK), that it claims has stopped all work on the project. Abercrombie & Kent says it spent $1 million drawing up a marketing plan for the zero-gravity plane only to see Rocketplane Kistler's corporate board move in April to abandon the project, according to a lawsuit.
RpK's George French denied that the company has abandoned the project. "That's not the case at all," he said. "We've been moving forward." He said the company, which now hopes to have its first commercial flight in 2010, would unveil more advanced engineering details about the XP this fall. Last summer, Cindy Cashman and Mitch Walling decided to reserve $250,000 tickets with the idea that they'd be the first two humans married in space. "I'm very concerned," said Cashman, "I put a large down payment in and I want to get it back."
Company Short of Financing, Partners for Singapore Spaceport (Source: Intl. Herald Tribune)
More than a year after the project was first announced, Space Adventures Ltd. said Tuesday it was still seeking local partners and financing for a Singapore-based spaceport to launch suborbital tourism flights. The company said in February last year it was forming a venture with a Singapore-based consortium to build a $115 million facility in the Southeast Asian city-state.
"It's not a done deal. We have a plan, we don't have financing, there's not enough local support," said Eric Anderson, president of Space Adventures, on the sidelines of a business conference in Singapore. He said the company was also looking at a number of other Asian locations for its spaceport, including China, Japan and Korea, but remained confident of the Singapore project's success. He did not provide a timeframe for the project.
Japan Postpones Launch of Lunar Orbiter to Friday (Source: The Star)
Japan's space agency has postponed the launch of its long-delayed lunar orbiter until later this week because of anticipated bad weather. The largest lunar mission since the U.S. Apollo program will be launched on Friday. The probe will be launched on Tanegashima, the remote island where JAXA's spaceport is located.
Rocketplane Kistler Press On Despite COTS Notice (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) was officially notified by NASA that they had failed to complete two COTS milestones. Sources from both NASA and RpK have confirmed that the letter does NOT represent a final decision by NASA to terminate the company's COTS contract. Meanwhile, RpK are pressing on with the a new configuration of their suborbital Rocketplane XP - to be unveiled at the X Prize Cup.
The letter is a formal pre-requisite to termination of NASA's $207 million contract with RpK, with 30 days notice. However, it appears extremely unlikely that the company can raise the money required in time to cure the breach. In addition to the financing shortfall, the letter cited RpK's failure to fully complete a Critical Design Review of the Pressurized Cargo Module design due to an apparent lack of funding to complete the work. The company did complete a Preliminary Design Review of the module.
NASA Actions May Have Shook Investor Confidence in RpK (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
NASA may have partially shaken the confidence of potential COTS investors earlier this year by extending its Roscosmos contract in April. The contract modification pays $719 million for Russian ISS resupply and crew rotation services for three additional years through 2011 - after the COTS vehicles were originally hoped to take over at least the cargo resupply role.
Recent fund-raising may also have been complicated by the release of the NASA COTS Phase II Request for Information (RFI) last month. The RFI was not expected until next year, and the early information request occurs when SpaceX and RpK are still in a relatively early stage of development. The RFI provides an opportunity for new competition to declare an interest in COTS 2 before the COTS 1 winners are, figuratively and literally, off the launch pad.
Glenn Center Plans to Upgrade Facilities (Source: Zanesville Times Recorder)
The NASA Glenn Research Center plans to replace and upgrade facilities and laboratories as it helps to design a new space vehicle. The projects include demolishing aging buildings and replacing them with environmentally friendly ones. NASA headquarters has approved the plan. It includes a proposal to lease unused land and NASA Glenn facilities in Cleveland and near Sandusky for regional economic development. The center has about 2,500 employees and contract workers.
Engage the Antimatter Drive (Source: New Scientist)
Gliese 581c has got to be the ultimate tourist destination. Discovered in April this year, it is the first rocky planet beyond our solar system with anything like a pleasant climate. How mind-blowing would it be just to stroll along its beaches - surely it must have beaches - or watch the planet's red-dwarf sun setting in a scarlet blaze over the alien landscape. There's just one little problem to consider before you rush to book your ticket. Gliese 581c is 20 light years away - over a million times the distance from Earth to the sun. There is no question that conventional chemical rockets aren't up to the task. Visit http://space.newscientist.com/article/mg19526201.900-engage-the-antimatter-drive.html to read about alternative propulsion methods.
Posh Space Center, Big Carbon Footprint (Source: Spiegel)
The world's first private spaceport in New Mexico may be an environmentally friendly piece of architecture, but the carbon footprint left behind by the rockets taking tourists into orbit will be enormous. The terminal building and its hangars are expected to cost about $31 million and construction is expected to begin in 2008, with completion by 2010. The designers also appear to be cutting no corners when it comes to making the passive building as environmentally friendly as possible. Power will be generated with solar panels and even water will be recycled. But all the fuss about conservation comes across as a bit empty considering the enormous fuel consumption and carbon footprint of each rocket that will launch from the private spaceport, taking space tourists into orbit for $200,000 a pop.
The Oak Brook luxury vacation firm contracted to market and reserve flights on a planned suborbital space plane has filed a $3.4 million lawsuit against its partner, Rocketplane Kistler (RpK), that it claims has stopped all work on the project. Abercrombie & Kent says it spent $1 million drawing up a marketing plan for the zero-gravity plane only to see Rocketplane Kistler's corporate board move in April to abandon the project, according to a lawsuit.
RpK's George French denied that the company has abandoned the project. "That's not the case at all," he said. "We've been moving forward." He said the company, which now hopes to have its first commercial flight in 2010, would unveil more advanced engineering details about the XP this fall. Last summer, Cindy Cashman and Mitch Walling decided to reserve $250,000 tickets with the idea that they'd be the first two humans married in space. "I'm very concerned," said Cashman, "I put a large down payment in and I want to get it back."
Company Short of Financing, Partners for Singapore Spaceport (Source: Intl. Herald Tribune)
More than a year after the project was first announced, Space Adventures Ltd. said Tuesday it was still seeking local partners and financing for a Singapore-based spaceport to launch suborbital tourism flights. The company said in February last year it was forming a venture with a Singapore-based consortium to build a $115 million facility in the Southeast Asian city-state.
"It's not a done deal. We have a plan, we don't have financing, there's not enough local support," said Eric Anderson, president of Space Adventures, on the sidelines of a business conference in Singapore. He said the company was also looking at a number of other Asian locations for its spaceport, including China, Japan and Korea, but remained confident of the Singapore project's success. He did not provide a timeframe for the project.
Japan Postpones Launch of Lunar Orbiter to Friday (Source: The Star)
Japan's space agency has postponed the launch of its long-delayed lunar orbiter until later this week because of anticipated bad weather. The largest lunar mission since the U.S. Apollo program will be launched on Friday. The probe will be launched on Tanegashima, the remote island where JAXA's spaceport is located.
Rocketplane Kistler Press On Despite COTS Notice (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) was officially notified by NASA that they had failed to complete two COTS milestones. Sources from both NASA and RpK have confirmed that the letter does NOT represent a final decision by NASA to terminate the company's COTS contract. Meanwhile, RpK are pressing on with the a new configuration of their suborbital Rocketplane XP - to be unveiled at the X Prize Cup.
The letter is a formal pre-requisite to termination of NASA's $207 million contract with RpK, with 30 days notice. However, it appears extremely unlikely that the company can raise the money required in time to cure the breach. In addition to the financing shortfall, the letter cited RpK's failure to fully complete a Critical Design Review of the Pressurized Cargo Module design due to an apparent lack of funding to complete the work. The company did complete a Preliminary Design Review of the module.
NASA Actions May Have Shook Investor Confidence in RpK (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
NASA may have partially shaken the confidence of potential COTS investors earlier this year by extending its Roscosmos contract in April. The contract modification pays $719 million for Russian ISS resupply and crew rotation services for three additional years through 2011 - after the COTS vehicles were originally hoped to take over at least the cargo resupply role.
Recent fund-raising may also have been complicated by the release of the NASA COTS Phase II Request for Information (RFI) last month. The RFI was not expected until next year, and the early information request occurs when SpaceX and RpK are still in a relatively early stage of development. The RFI provides an opportunity for new competition to declare an interest in COTS 2 before the COTS 1 winners are, figuratively and literally, off the launch pad.
Glenn Center Plans to Upgrade Facilities (Source: Zanesville Times Recorder)
The NASA Glenn Research Center plans to replace and upgrade facilities and laboratories as it helps to design a new space vehicle. The projects include demolishing aging buildings and replacing them with environmentally friendly ones. NASA headquarters has approved the plan. It includes a proposal to lease unused land and NASA Glenn facilities in Cleveland and near Sandusky for regional economic development. The center has about 2,500 employees and contract workers.
Engage the Antimatter Drive (Source: New Scientist)
Gliese 581c has got to be the ultimate tourist destination. Discovered in April this year, it is the first rocky planet beyond our solar system with anything like a pleasant climate. How mind-blowing would it be just to stroll along its beaches - surely it must have beaches - or watch the planet's red-dwarf sun setting in a scarlet blaze over the alien landscape. There's just one little problem to consider before you rush to book your ticket. Gliese 581c is 20 light years away - over a million times the distance from Earth to the sun. There is no question that conventional chemical rockets aren't up to the task. Visit http://space.newscientist.com/article/mg19526201.900-engage-the-antimatter-drive.html to read about alternative propulsion methods.
Posh Space Center, Big Carbon Footprint (Source: Spiegel)
The world's first private spaceport in New Mexico may be an environmentally friendly piece of architecture, but the carbon footprint left behind by the rockets taking tourists into orbit will be enormous. The terminal building and its hangars are expected to cost about $31 million and construction is expected to begin in 2008, with completion by 2010. The designers also appear to be cutting no corners when it comes to making the passive building as environmentally friendly as possible. Power will be generated with solar panels and even water will be recycled. But all the fuss about conservation comes across as a bit empty considering the enormous fuel consumption and carbon footprint of each rocket that will launch from the private spaceport, taking space tourists into orbit for $200,000 a pop.
September 10 News Items
Striking Spaceport Machinists: Contract Talks to Resume (Source: Florida Today)
Striking machinists and NASA's prime shuttle contractor apparently are set to return to the bargaining table, a move that would kick-start stalled contract negotiations after a standstill of nearly three months. In a flash notice to its members, leaders with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 2061 said that labor relations officials with United Space Alliance have proposed a return to the bargaining table. USA officials say the company is willing to reopen negotiations as long as there are no preconditions.
RpK's COTS Contract Terminated (Source: Aviation Week)
NASA has informed Congress it is terminating its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement with Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) because the company has failed to meet financial milestones. Aides said that after reviewing the company's performance, the space agency sent RpK formal notification Sept. 7 saying that additional activity under the agreement is "not in the best interest" of NASA. RpK and SpaceX had been sharing about $500 million in NASA seed money to spur development of commercial vehicles able to resupply the Space Station with cargo and eventually crew after the space shuttle retires. RpK had negotiated a July 31 deadline with NASA to raise $500 million in private funds to complete development of K-1.
Russia Unveils Aggressive Space Plan (Source: RIA Novosti)
On the last day of summer, the Russian Space Agency made a sensational announcement. Its head Anatoly Perminov painted an epic picture of Russia's immediate future in space, specifically its manned part. What are these ambitions? 1) A new manned space transport system by 2015; 2) A new spaceport on Russian territory built from scratch; 3) A Russian manned station in a polar orbit, after the International Space Station (ISS) outlives its usefulness in about 2020; 4) A manned mission to the Moon in 2025, and a permanent base on the Moon in 2028-2032; and 5) A possible manned flight to Mars after 2035.
Russia to Launch UAE Spacecraft in 2008 From Baikonur (Source: RIA Novosti)
The chief of Russia's space agency said Russia would launch a spacecraft for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2008 from the launch site in Kazakhstan. A related agreement had been signed on the sidelines of President Vladimir Putin's first visit to the Arab state. Perminov said he hoped the agreement with Kazakhstan, which suspended Russian Proton booster launches from the Baikonur spaceport following a crash last week, would be reached within a month.
European Satellite Servicing Competitors Announce Customers and New Spacecraft (Source: Flight International)
The two competing on-orbit satellite servicing companies, UK based-Orbital Satellite Services (OSS) and Greco-German company Kosmas Georing Services (KGS) announced new designs and new customers. OSS was formed by Spain's SENER, Germany's Kayser-Threde, and the Swedish Space Corporation. Their redesigned SMART-orbital life-extension (OLEV) spacecraft is based on the European Space Agency's lunar orbiter SMART-1. SMART-OLEV is 500kg lighter than its 1,500kg predecessor and will service one satellite by docking with its apogee kick motor. No fuel is transferred, as SMART-OLEV will use its own rocket motor. OSS has an undisclosed customer for its first mission, and has identified 140 commercial satellites that can be serviced over the next decade.
KGS announced that it signed an MOU with Arabsat for the development of methods for the on-orbit servicing of its spacecraft by KGS' Hermes vehicle. The MOU also gives Arabsat preferential client status and an opportunity to invest in KGS. Refuelling by Hermes requires the client satellite's fuel valve to be fitted with a special coupling before launch. Each refuelling costs up to $13.6 million per 50kg of propellant. Hermes can refuel up to three satellites before itself requiring refuelling and can attach a refuellable rocket motor. KGS is working with eight technical partners including Franco-Italian joint venture Thales-Alenia Space and German space technology provider OHB-System. The US DARPA successfully carried out an in-orbit servicing demonstration mission in June and July of this year with its Orbital Express vehicle.
SpaceX Signs British Firm for Falcon 9 Launch (Source: Space News)
Start-up commercial satellite operator Avanti Communications Group of London has contracted with SpaceX to launch Avanti's Hylas broadband telecommunications satellite aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket in mid-2009, Avanti announced Sept. 10.
Thuraya Plans Asia-Pacific Launch Soon (Source: Reuters)
UAE-based Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co plans to start services in the Asia Pacific region in late 2007 after it launches its delayed third satellite next month, the company's CEO said yesterday. "Following the launch of Thuraya-3 satellite, the company expects to... start commercial services in Asia Pacific markets by December 23," Yousuf Al Sayed said, adding that the launch would be on October 28. The new satellite is part of the company's plans to expand coverage to countries including China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and Australia, doubling the market size under its footprint.
Virgin Galactic Spaceship Designer Reveals Changing Ideas (Source: Flight International)
Virgin Galactic's suborbital rocket glider SpaceShipTwo (SS2) could have a low wing and its carrier aircraft, White Knight II (WK2), a 43m (140ft) wingspan and four engines, chief designer Burt Rutan has said. Rutan is chief executive of Scaled Composites and a director of the Virgin Group-Scaled WK2/SS2 intellectual rights joint venture The Spaceship Company. In Virgin Galactic's conceptual images, SS2 has a high wing, like its predecessor SpaceShipOne (SS1), and WK2 has two engines, like SS1's carrier aircraft White Knight. The low wing is a possible solution to SS1's dihedral effect-induced spin on its ascent.
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Amid NASA Turbelence, Congress Stays on Board (Source: Houston Chronicle)
With NASA pushing ahead with plans for exploring the moon and Mars, administrator Michael Griffin acknowledged last week that scandals and reports of astronaut misconduct have "shaken public confidence" in his agency. Congress, however, is standing by NASA, ignoring a veto threat in an attempt to fund space endeavors with more money than President Bush's $17.3 billion request for the 2008 fiscal year. The House approved $17.8 billion in funding for the space agency this summer, and the Senate Appropriations Committee passed its version of the budget at $17.5 billion. The full Senate has yet to vote on most of its spending bills and the NASA budget is likely to be rolled into a much broader package later this year.
Schools' Spaceport Tax Money on Hold (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Dona Ana County has run into a hurdle that could delay its spending of revenue from a spaceport sales tax. The county can't allocate funding aimed at boosting spaceport-related education in local schools until it becomes part of a spaceport district — a requirement of state law. Under state law, a spaceport district can be formed by at least two local governments that approve a spaceport sales tax before Dec. 31, 2008. Dona Ana County so far is the only local government that has approved — through a voter referendum — a sales tax to fund Spaceport America. The Dona Ana County commission will consider authorizing their County Manager to enter into talks with other local governments about forming a tax district.
22 Crash Sites of Proton-M Discovered (Source: KazInform)
A commission studying aftermath of the Proton-M rocket’s wreck discovered 22 sites of the fall of the rocket’s debris. Veterinary service completed work on medical examination of farm and domestic animals in the region the rocket fell down. Checkpoints for protection of public order were positioned near Zhezdinsk water storages, Karsakpai village and Satpayev town. First results of soil samples at the sites of Proton-M fall will be known today.
Thruster May Shorten Mars Trip (Source: Photonics.com)
An amplified photon thruster that could potentially shorten the trip to Mars from six months to a week has reportedly attracted the attention of aerospace agencies and contractors. Young Bae, founder of the Bae Institute in Tustin, Calif., first demonstrated his photonic laser thruster (PLT), which he built with off-the-shelf components, in December. The demonstration produced a photon thrust of 35 µN and is scalable to achieve much greater thrust for future space missions, the institute said. Applications include highly precise satellite formation flying configurations for building large synthetic apertures in space for earth or space observation, precision contaminant-free spacecraft docking operations, and propelling spacecraft to unprecedented speeds -- faster than 100 km/sec. Visit http://www.photonics.com/content/news/2007/September/7/88894.aspx for information.
Striking machinists and NASA's prime shuttle contractor apparently are set to return to the bargaining table, a move that would kick-start stalled contract negotiations after a standstill of nearly three months. In a flash notice to its members, leaders with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 2061 said that labor relations officials with United Space Alliance have proposed a return to the bargaining table. USA officials say the company is willing to reopen negotiations as long as there are no preconditions.
RpK's COTS Contract Terminated (Source: Aviation Week)
NASA has informed Congress it is terminating its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement with Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) because the company has failed to meet financial milestones. Aides said that after reviewing the company's performance, the space agency sent RpK formal notification Sept. 7 saying that additional activity under the agreement is "not in the best interest" of NASA. RpK and SpaceX had been sharing about $500 million in NASA seed money to spur development of commercial vehicles able to resupply the Space Station with cargo and eventually crew after the space shuttle retires. RpK had negotiated a July 31 deadline with NASA to raise $500 million in private funds to complete development of K-1.
Russia Unveils Aggressive Space Plan (Source: RIA Novosti)
On the last day of summer, the Russian Space Agency made a sensational announcement. Its head Anatoly Perminov painted an epic picture of Russia's immediate future in space, specifically its manned part. What are these ambitions? 1) A new manned space transport system by 2015; 2) A new spaceport on Russian territory built from scratch; 3) A Russian manned station in a polar orbit, after the International Space Station (ISS) outlives its usefulness in about 2020; 4) A manned mission to the Moon in 2025, and a permanent base on the Moon in 2028-2032; and 5) A possible manned flight to Mars after 2035.
Russia to Launch UAE Spacecraft in 2008 From Baikonur (Source: RIA Novosti)
The chief of Russia's space agency said Russia would launch a spacecraft for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2008 from the launch site in Kazakhstan. A related agreement had been signed on the sidelines of President Vladimir Putin's first visit to the Arab state. Perminov said he hoped the agreement with Kazakhstan, which suspended Russian Proton booster launches from the Baikonur spaceport following a crash last week, would be reached within a month.
European Satellite Servicing Competitors Announce Customers and New Spacecraft (Source: Flight International)
The two competing on-orbit satellite servicing companies, UK based-Orbital Satellite Services (OSS) and Greco-German company Kosmas Georing Services (KGS) announced new designs and new customers. OSS was formed by Spain's SENER, Germany's Kayser-Threde, and the Swedish Space Corporation. Their redesigned SMART-orbital life-extension (OLEV) spacecraft is based on the European Space Agency's lunar orbiter SMART-1. SMART-OLEV is 500kg lighter than its 1,500kg predecessor and will service one satellite by docking with its apogee kick motor. No fuel is transferred, as SMART-OLEV will use its own rocket motor. OSS has an undisclosed customer for its first mission, and has identified 140 commercial satellites that can be serviced over the next decade.
KGS announced that it signed an MOU with Arabsat for the development of methods for the on-orbit servicing of its spacecraft by KGS' Hermes vehicle. The MOU also gives Arabsat preferential client status and an opportunity to invest in KGS. Refuelling by Hermes requires the client satellite's fuel valve to be fitted with a special coupling before launch. Each refuelling costs up to $13.6 million per 50kg of propellant. Hermes can refuel up to three satellites before itself requiring refuelling and can attach a refuellable rocket motor. KGS is working with eight technical partners including Franco-Italian joint venture Thales-Alenia Space and German space technology provider OHB-System. The US DARPA successfully carried out an in-orbit servicing demonstration mission in June and July of this year with its Orbital Express vehicle.
SpaceX Signs British Firm for Falcon 9 Launch (Source: Space News)
Start-up commercial satellite operator Avanti Communications Group of London has contracted with SpaceX to launch Avanti's Hylas broadband telecommunications satellite aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket in mid-2009, Avanti announced Sept. 10.
Thuraya Plans Asia-Pacific Launch Soon (Source: Reuters)
UAE-based Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co plans to start services in the Asia Pacific region in late 2007 after it launches its delayed third satellite next month, the company's CEO said yesterday. "Following the launch of Thuraya-3 satellite, the company expects to... start commercial services in Asia Pacific markets by December 23," Yousuf Al Sayed said, adding that the launch would be on October 28. The new satellite is part of the company's plans to expand coverage to countries including China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and Australia, doubling the market size under its footprint.
Virgin Galactic Spaceship Designer Reveals Changing Ideas (Source: Flight International)
Virgin Galactic's suborbital rocket glider SpaceShipTwo (SS2) could have a low wing and its carrier aircraft, White Knight II (WK2), a 43m (140ft) wingspan and four engines, chief designer Burt Rutan has said. Rutan is chief executive of Scaled Composites and a director of the Virgin Group-Scaled WK2/SS2 intellectual rights joint venture The Spaceship Company. In Virgin Galactic's conceptual images, SS2 has a high wing, like its predecessor SpaceShipOne (SS1), and WK2 has two engines, like SS1's carrier aircraft White Knight. The low wing is a possible solution to SS1's dihedral effect-induced spin on its ascent.
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Amid NASA Turbelence, Congress Stays on Board (Source: Houston Chronicle)
With NASA pushing ahead with plans for exploring the moon and Mars, administrator Michael Griffin acknowledged last week that scandals and reports of astronaut misconduct have "shaken public confidence" in his agency. Congress, however, is standing by NASA, ignoring a veto threat in an attempt to fund space endeavors with more money than President Bush's $17.3 billion request for the 2008 fiscal year. The House approved $17.8 billion in funding for the space agency this summer, and the Senate Appropriations Committee passed its version of the budget at $17.5 billion. The full Senate has yet to vote on most of its spending bills and the NASA budget is likely to be rolled into a much broader package later this year.
Schools' Spaceport Tax Money on Hold (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Dona Ana County has run into a hurdle that could delay its spending of revenue from a spaceport sales tax. The county can't allocate funding aimed at boosting spaceport-related education in local schools until it becomes part of a spaceport district — a requirement of state law. Under state law, a spaceport district can be formed by at least two local governments that approve a spaceport sales tax before Dec. 31, 2008. Dona Ana County so far is the only local government that has approved — through a voter referendum — a sales tax to fund Spaceport America. The Dona Ana County commission will consider authorizing their County Manager to enter into talks with other local governments about forming a tax district.
22 Crash Sites of Proton-M Discovered (Source: KazInform)
A commission studying aftermath of the Proton-M rocket’s wreck discovered 22 sites of the fall of the rocket’s debris. Veterinary service completed work on medical examination of farm and domestic animals in the region the rocket fell down. Checkpoints for protection of public order were positioned near Zhezdinsk water storages, Karsakpai village and Satpayev town. First results of soil samples at the sites of Proton-M fall will be known today.
Thruster May Shorten Mars Trip (Source: Photonics.com)
An amplified photon thruster that could potentially shorten the trip to Mars from six months to a week has reportedly attracted the attention of aerospace agencies and contractors. Young Bae, founder of the Bae Institute in Tustin, Calif., first demonstrated his photonic laser thruster (PLT), which he built with off-the-shelf components, in December. The demonstration produced a photon thrust of 35 µN and is scalable to achieve much greater thrust for future space missions, the institute said. Applications include highly precise satellite formation flying configurations for building large synthetic apertures in space for earth or space observation, precision contaminant-free spacecraft docking operations, and propelling spacecraft to unprecedented speeds -- faster than 100 km/sec. Visit http://www.photonics.com/content/news/2007/September/7/88894.aspx for information.
September 9 News Items
Russian Launch Failure Exacerbates Global Launch Market Squeeze (Source: Space News)
The Sept. 6 failure of a commercial Proton-M rocket following an anomaly in the vehicle's second stage will shut down one of the world's three principal commercial-launch vehicles (Proton, Zenit, Ariane) just eight months after one of the other two - the Sea Launch Co. Zenit 3SL - was grounded because of its own failure. As was the case with the Sea Launch incident, the most serious consequence of the Proton mishap likely will be felt not by the affected customer, Japan's JSAT Corp., but by other commercial operators depending on a launch in the coming months. They have nowhere to turn given the current state of the global commercial-launch industry.
Live Webcast of STS-118 Crew Event at Walt Disney World (Source: NASA)
On Sep. 10, join NASA's STS-118 crew, including mission specialist and Educator Astronaut Barbara Morgan, for a live webcast from Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center. The crew will talk with and answer questions from high school students from Oak Ridge High School Aviation and Aerospace Academy Magnet Program, high school students from Osceola High School Aviation Academy, and middle school students from the Siemens Science Days Program at Epcot. NASA education specialists will provide information about the NASA Engineering Design Challenge: Lunar Plant Growth Chamber for a plant habitat on the moon. They will also discuss thermal protection systems for space (shuttle tiles). The webcast will begin at 11:15 a.m. EDT and will last one hour. The webcast will be archived and made available to educators through NASA’s Digital Learning Network, or DLN. For more information, visit: http://www.disneyworld.com/nasa.
Announcing the NASA Fit Explorer Challenge Site for Educators (Source: NASA)
Inspire the nation's future explorers by joining NASA and the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in a variety of exciting physical and hands-on educational activities to encourage students to train like astronauts. Developed in cooperation with NASA scientists and fitness professionals working directly with astronauts, the Fit Explorer Challenge is a physical and inquiry-based approach to human health and fitness on Earth and in space. Students in grades 3-5 can participate in physical activities modeled after the real-life physical requirements of humans traveling in space. Through structured, hands-on science activities, students relate physical Earth-based needs to the requirements of exploring space and assist students in gaining additional understanding of the science behind nutrition and physical fitness. Find student handouts and download standards-based education modules related to the challenge at http://www.nasa.gov/education/fitexplorer.
Ares Contracts Help Solidify Huntsville as Rocket City (Source: Space News)
For Huntsville, Ala., the ink NASA put on the Ares 1 upper-stage production contract in August was icing on an already generous slab of cake. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville is leading the U.S. space agency's efforts to design and develop the new human-rated launcher and its proposed cargo-carrying follow on, the heavy-lift Ares 5. The work is expected to provide thousands of jobs in the region in the years ahead and continue a legacy of rocket building that dates back to Wernher von Braun and the Saturn 5.
But as important as the Ares work is to Huntsville's long-standing identity as Rocket City, Marshall's roughly 2,600 civil-servant jobs and 5,800 contractor positions are dwarfed by those of its host, the U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal. Home to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Army Aviation and Missile Command, and major components of the Defense Intelligence Agency and Missile Defense Agency, Redstone is Huntsville's largest employer, providing some 14,600 government jobs and thousands more contractor positions.
Boeing Satellite Business to Become More Commercially Active in 2008 (Source: Space News)
Boeing Satellite Systems International, which has been on the sidelines of most commercial satellite competitions in the past three years, expects to be more active in this arena starting in 2008, according to the company's chief executive. He said Boeing for the past year has been too busy preparing bids on U.S. government satellite programs - which are usually larger and more profitable - and has been unable to train its resources on as many commercial projects as it might have otherwise. With the coming decisions on the U.S. Air Force's GPS 3 satellite navigation program and Transformational Satellite, or T-Sat, secure communications system, Boeing will be able to free up resources to the commercial-satellite sector.
Indonesian Papua to Accommodate Russian Space Launch in 2010 (Source: Xinhua)
Frans Kaisepo Airport in Biak Numfor district, Papua province of Indonesia, has been designated as the location from where a Russian satellite will be launched in 2010. "The Russian satellite will be launched using an air launch system. And this will certainly require a huge investment," Biak Numfor, District Chief Yusuf Melianus Maryen, was quoted as saying. As the location chosen for the satellite's launching, Biak Numfor would be built with high-tech facility and modern infrastructure by that time, which has positive impact to the local economy and promotion of technology, Yusuf said. The designation was made when Russian president Vladimir Putin had his first visit to Indonesia and reached bilateral agreement with Indonesia on space technology cooperation on Sept. 6.
The Sept. 6 failure of a commercial Proton-M rocket following an anomaly in the vehicle's second stage will shut down one of the world's three principal commercial-launch vehicles (Proton, Zenit, Ariane) just eight months after one of the other two - the Sea Launch Co. Zenit 3SL - was grounded because of its own failure. As was the case with the Sea Launch incident, the most serious consequence of the Proton mishap likely will be felt not by the affected customer, Japan's JSAT Corp., but by other commercial operators depending on a launch in the coming months. They have nowhere to turn given the current state of the global commercial-launch industry.
Live Webcast of STS-118 Crew Event at Walt Disney World (Source: NASA)
On Sep. 10, join NASA's STS-118 crew, including mission specialist and Educator Astronaut Barbara Morgan, for a live webcast from Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center. The crew will talk with and answer questions from high school students from Oak Ridge High School Aviation and Aerospace Academy Magnet Program, high school students from Osceola High School Aviation Academy, and middle school students from the Siemens Science Days Program at Epcot. NASA education specialists will provide information about the NASA Engineering Design Challenge: Lunar Plant Growth Chamber for a plant habitat on the moon. They will also discuss thermal protection systems for space (shuttle tiles). The webcast will begin at 11:15 a.m. EDT and will last one hour. The webcast will be archived and made available to educators through NASA’s Digital Learning Network, or DLN. For more information, visit: http://www.disneyworld.com/nasa.
Announcing the NASA Fit Explorer Challenge Site for Educators (Source: NASA)
Inspire the nation's future explorers by joining NASA and the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in a variety of exciting physical and hands-on educational activities to encourage students to train like astronauts. Developed in cooperation with NASA scientists and fitness professionals working directly with astronauts, the Fit Explorer Challenge is a physical and inquiry-based approach to human health and fitness on Earth and in space. Students in grades 3-5 can participate in physical activities modeled after the real-life physical requirements of humans traveling in space. Through structured, hands-on science activities, students relate physical Earth-based needs to the requirements of exploring space and assist students in gaining additional understanding of the science behind nutrition and physical fitness. Find student handouts and download standards-based education modules related to the challenge at http://www.nasa.gov/education/fitexplorer.
Ares Contracts Help Solidify Huntsville as Rocket City (Source: Space News)
For Huntsville, Ala., the ink NASA put on the Ares 1 upper-stage production contract in August was icing on an already generous slab of cake. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville is leading the U.S. space agency's efforts to design and develop the new human-rated launcher and its proposed cargo-carrying follow on, the heavy-lift Ares 5. The work is expected to provide thousands of jobs in the region in the years ahead and continue a legacy of rocket building that dates back to Wernher von Braun and the Saturn 5.
But as important as the Ares work is to Huntsville's long-standing identity as Rocket City, Marshall's roughly 2,600 civil-servant jobs and 5,800 contractor positions are dwarfed by those of its host, the U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal. Home to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Army Aviation and Missile Command, and major components of the Defense Intelligence Agency and Missile Defense Agency, Redstone is Huntsville's largest employer, providing some 14,600 government jobs and thousands more contractor positions.
Boeing Satellite Business to Become More Commercially Active in 2008 (Source: Space News)
Boeing Satellite Systems International, which has been on the sidelines of most commercial satellite competitions in the past three years, expects to be more active in this arena starting in 2008, according to the company's chief executive. He said Boeing for the past year has been too busy preparing bids on U.S. government satellite programs - which are usually larger and more profitable - and has been unable to train its resources on as many commercial projects as it might have otherwise. With the coming decisions on the U.S. Air Force's GPS 3 satellite navigation program and Transformational Satellite, or T-Sat, secure communications system, Boeing will be able to free up resources to the commercial-satellite sector.
Indonesian Papua to Accommodate Russian Space Launch in 2010 (Source: Xinhua)
Frans Kaisepo Airport in Biak Numfor district, Papua province of Indonesia, has been designated as the location from where a Russian satellite will be launched in 2010. "The Russian satellite will be launched using an air launch system. And this will certainly require a huge investment," Biak Numfor, District Chief Yusuf Melianus Maryen, was quoted as saying. As the location chosen for the satellite's launching, Biak Numfor would be built with high-tech facility and modern infrastructure by that time, which has positive impact to the local economy and promotion of technology, Yusuf said. The designation was made when Russian president Vladimir Putin had his first visit to Indonesia and reached bilateral agreement with Indonesia on space technology cooperation on Sept. 6.
September 7 News Items
Kazakhstan Wants Right to Ban Launches Over its Territory (Source: RIA Novosti)
Kazakhstan wants the right to ban rocket launches from its Baikonur spaceport, which Russia rents, in situations where the Kazakh president is located near the launch. "If the president is on a visit, and a rocket is being launched, then we should have the right to stop everything immediately," Prime Minister Karim Masimov said Friday. The Proton-M rocket came down in the central Kazakh steppe, 50 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of the town of Zhezkazgan.
Can You Write a Better Slogan for NASA? (Source: WIRED)
In early August, NASA internally released its latest marketing campaign, designed to show its relevance and value to the American people. Its new slogan? “NASA explores for answers that power our future.” The campaign now seems to be aborted, but it did get me thinking, could we do any better? I am no marketing genius, but I think that we could. I mean North Face’s has much more zing, “Never Stop Exploring.” Even Dow Chemicals did better, “The Human Element.” Visit http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/09/can-you-write-a.html#more to view information on the contest.
Japan Aims for Space-Based Solar Power by 2030 (Source:SciFiTech)
Putting solar collectors into space circumvents the biggest problems facing the environmentally sound energy source -- namely night-time and cloud cover that keeps the sun's rays from reaching earth-bound collectors. Japan's space agency, JAXA, has plans to put solar collectors in orbit and then beam 42% of the collected energy to Earth via lasers. The agency hopes to have the system in place by 2030.
Fear May be NASA Problem (Source: Florida Today)
NASA needs to improve internal communications and chip away at its image as an institution where fear of ostracism and retribution routinely hush potential critics, lawmakers told agency leaders. During a congressional hearing, lawmakers questioned steps the agency has taken to address concerns aired in an independent review about astronaut health. A panel reported two alleged cases involving excessive astronaut preflight drinking. The reports stem from interviews conducted with employees volunteering information, cloaked by the promise of anonymity. In its own investigation, NASA failed to find any corroborating evidence of such drinking incidents -- or that NASA supervisors dismissed concerns expressed by a flight surgeon in the matter. "It almost seems like we're hearing about two different organizations," said Rep. Mark Udall, the Colorado Democrat. The chairman of the independent panel defended his committee's findings, suggesting the difference in the two reports might stem from fear of professional retribution among those within the agency since NASA's internal review did not provide anonymity to those interviewed.
Editorial: It's Called AWOL (Source: Florida Today)
When the shuttle fleet retires in just three years, the result could be 3,500 to 5,000 fewer workers at Kennedy Space Center, making every day critical in recruiting entrepreneurs and creating the business-friendly climate necessary for a 21st-century spaceport. That's why the Brevard County Commission held the second of two workshops Wednesday to launch a strategy, a meeting that drew leaders from around the Space Coast. But Space Florida was an inexcusable no-show, AWOL at a moment it should be in the forefront of reaching out and helping build consensus. The failure reflects major problems with the Cape Canaveral-based agency that should be fixed with a hard push from Brevard's state lawmakers and Gov. Charlie Crist. Visit http://www.flatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070907/OPINION/709070325/1004 to view the editorial.
Ukraine to Strengthen Cooperation with Russia on Space Science Research (Source: Xinhua)
Ukraine will strengthen cooperation with Russia on space science research projects. The two countries reached agreements on boosting space science cooperation on the sidelines of Ukraine's and Russia's economic cooperation committee meeting. During the meeting, the two countries discussed the feasibility of using Ukrainian technology in a Russian research project to explore the Moon and Mars. The two sides will also jointly build the ground infrastructure for a global satellite navigation system covering Ukraine, Russia and parts of Europe for the 2012 Ukraine European Football Championship and the 2014 Russia Winter Olympic Games. Ukraine and Russia also decided to resume regular meetings between the two countries' aeronautics and space departments and academies of science.
Kazakhstan wants the right to ban rocket launches from its Baikonur spaceport, which Russia rents, in situations where the Kazakh president is located near the launch. "If the president is on a visit, and a rocket is being launched, then we should have the right to stop everything immediately," Prime Minister Karim Masimov said Friday. The Proton-M rocket came down in the central Kazakh steppe, 50 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of the town of Zhezkazgan.
Can You Write a Better Slogan for NASA? (Source: WIRED)
In early August, NASA internally released its latest marketing campaign, designed to show its relevance and value to the American people. Its new slogan? “NASA explores for answers that power our future.” The campaign now seems to be aborted, but it did get me thinking, could we do any better? I am no marketing genius, but I think that we could. I mean North Face’s has much more zing, “Never Stop Exploring.” Even Dow Chemicals did better, “The Human Element.” Visit http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/09/can-you-write-a.html#more to view information on the contest.
Japan Aims for Space-Based Solar Power by 2030 (Source:SciFiTech)
Putting solar collectors into space circumvents the biggest problems facing the environmentally sound energy source -- namely night-time and cloud cover that keeps the sun's rays from reaching earth-bound collectors. Japan's space agency, JAXA, has plans to put solar collectors in orbit and then beam 42% of the collected energy to Earth via lasers. The agency hopes to have the system in place by 2030.
Fear May be NASA Problem (Source: Florida Today)
NASA needs to improve internal communications and chip away at its image as an institution where fear of ostracism and retribution routinely hush potential critics, lawmakers told agency leaders. During a congressional hearing, lawmakers questioned steps the agency has taken to address concerns aired in an independent review about astronaut health. A panel reported two alleged cases involving excessive astronaut preflight drinking. The reports stem from interviews conducted with employees volunteering information, cloaked by the promise of anonymity. In its own investigation, NASA failed to find any corroborating evidence of such drinking incidents -- or that NASA supervisors dismissed concerns expressed by a flight surgeon in the matter. "It almost seems like we're hearing about two different organizations," said Rep. Mark Udall, the Colorado Democrat. The chairman of the independent panel defended his committee's findings, suggesting the difference in the two reports might stem from fear of professional retribution among those within the agency since NASA's internal review did not provide anonymity to those interviewed.
Editorial: It's Called AWOL (Source: Florida Today)
When the shuttle fleet retires in just three years, the result could be 3,500 to 5,000 fewer workers at Kennedy Space Center, making every day critical in recruiting entrepreneurs and creating the business-friendly climate necessary for a 21st-century spaceport. That's why the Brevard County Commission held the second of two workshops Wednesday to launch a strategy, a meeting that drew leaders from around the Space Coast. But Space Florida was an inexcusable no-show, AWOL at a moment it should be in the forefront of reaching out and helping build consensus. The failure reflects major problems with the Cape Canaveral-based agency that should be fixed with a hard push from Brevard's state lawmakers and Gov. Charlie Crist. Visit http://www.flatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070907/OPINION/709070325/1004 to view the editorial.
Ukraine to Strengthen Cooperation with Russia on Space Science Research (Source: Xinhua)
Ukraine will strengthen cooperation with Russia on space science research projects. The two countries reached agreements on boosting space science cooperation on the sidelines of Ukraine's and Russia's economic cooperation committee meeting. During the meeting, the two countries discussed the feasibility of using Ukrainian technology in a Russian research project to explore the Moon and Mars. The two sides will also jointly build the ground infrastructure for a global satellite navigation system covering Ukraine, Russia and parts of Europe for the 2012 Ukraine European Football Championship and the 2014 Russia Winter Olympic Games. Ukraine and Russia also decided to resume regular meetings between the two countries' aeronautics and space departments and academies of science.
September 6 News Items
Space Florida Lets Brevard Students Learn at KSC (Source: Florida Today)
Patriot eighth-grader C. J. Shiffer and 29 of his classmates from the Patriot campus of Palm Bay Municipal Charter Schools became the first school group from Brevard County to attend a three-day space academy at Kennedy Space Center. The academy began Wednesday and ends today with the launch of a 12-foot wide scientific balloon carrying a camera that should float up high enough to capture images of the Earth’s curvature. Using a global positioning system, the students hope to track the balloon for 60 to 90 minutes. “Everybody thinks I’d make a great engineer,” the 13-year-old said. Patriot hopes to send more teachers and students through the program to spur interest in math and science. Space Florida, a public-private partnership to develop the state’s aerospace industry, paid for the Patriot group to attend the academy and will fund places for 30 more students next spring.
Proton Launch Fails (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A Proton rocket carrying a Japanese communications satellite failed to reach orbit Thursday because of an anomaly with the vehicle's second stage. The Proton-M, carrying the JCSAT-11 spacecraft, lifted off from the Baikonur spaceport. While the launch initially proceeded as planned, the Proton's second-stage engines apparently failed to ignite, causing the upper stages of the rocket to crash on Kazakh territory downrange from the launch site. Few other details about the accident have been released; International Launch Services, which markets the Proton for commercial customers, said in a statement that a Russian State Commission has been convened to investigate the accident. The failure is the second in less than 18 months for the Proton: a commercial Proton launch in March 2006 failed because of a problem with the vehicle's Breeze-M upper stage.
Only One Source for Astronaut Drinking Allegations (Source: NASA Watch)
Hearings are being held regarding the Astronaut Health Report issued in July by the NASA Astronaut Health Care System Review Committee. According to its chair, Col. Richard Bachmann, Jr., the allegation about astronaut drinking was only made by one NASA individual - and made only to one member of Bachmann's committee. It would seem that Bachmann's committee never tried to corroborate this information by finding other sources. Instead, they just published it as fact.
ISRO Bleeds as Scientists Leave (India Economic Times)
India's space agency is bleeding. Droves of scientists are leaving for greener pastures with the result that ISRO is hiring scientists in a great hurry to replace hundreds of trained hands. Last year, it hired 354 fresh scientists, but 187 trained ones left the organization. The trend is only growing. Against a nearly similar level of fresh recruits in 2004 and 2005 (360 and 346), the number of those who left the organization was 105 and 100. If you take all three years together, and you get a sense of the high level of attrition. In 36 months, ISRO has lost 392 scientists against 1,060 it has hired. This means almost 11 scientists are leaving every month.
This trend is not unique to ISRO. The government has already admitted that a good number of scientists have quit the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) in recent years and it was finding it difficult to stem the outflow as the monetary incentive outside the government was much higher. "The stupendous growth of IT and communications sector and the higher remunerative packages offered by the private sector are the main reasons for scientists/engineers to leave ISRO," Chavan said.
Plan to 'Launch' ISRO Institute Hits Roadblock (Source: Times of India)
The 'launch' of a space institute by ISRO to serve as an assembly line for the country's future space scientists has hit a stumbling block in Kerala even before its lift-off. A land deal near Thiruvananthapuram -- with a private party to set up the institute -- has landed ISRO in the centre of a raging controversy. The Opposition Congress has demanded a CBI probe into the purchase of the land, which it says is ecologically fragile. A portion of the 82 acres sold to ISRO by businessman Xavi Mano Mathew, the party says, is actually owned by the government and, therefore, not transferable. Tempers ran high on Wednesday with the Opposition demanding the resignation of state Forest Minister Binoy Viswam, asking how the land under his ministry came to be in possession of a private individual.
Compulsory ISRO Stint for IIST Students (Source: Times of India)
ISRO is hiring scientists in a great hurry to replace hundreds of trained hands who have left for greener pastures. Realising the scale of the problem, ISRO, which has shortlisted 150 students to for BTech or MSc courses at the just established Indian Institute of Space Technology (IIST), has made it mandatory for them to serve ISRO for five years after graduation, provided they secure a first class. And if they still do quit, they have to shell out Rs 10 lakh. The first batch starts its classes on September next week and ISRO hopes IIST to be its nursery for space scientists and technologists.
Florida Researchers Use NASA Satellites to Eye Coastal Water Quality (Source: SpaceDaily)
Using data from instruments aboard NASA satellites, Zhiqiang Chen and colleagues at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg, found that they can monitor water quality almost daily, rather than monthly. Such information has direct application for resource managers devising restoration plans for coastal water ecosystems and federal and state regulators in charge of defining water quality standards. The team's findings will help tease out factors that drive changes in coastal water quality. For example, sediments entering the water as a result of coastal development or pollution can cause changes in water turbidity - a measure of the amount of particles suspended in the water. Sediments suspended from the bottom by strong winds or tides may also cause such changes. Knowing where the sediments come from is critical to managers because turbidity cuts off light to the bottom, thwarting the natural growth of plants.
Brevard Prepares for Life After Shuttle (Source: Florida Today)
Efforts to help workers in Brevard County and elsewhere in the state weather the space shuttle program's 2010 retirement may cost $75 million over three years, local workforce experts said Wednesday. "We have to move quickly," said Lisa Rice, president of the Brevard Workforce Development Board. Rice joined economic development and education officials at the second Brevard County Commission workshop on the topic in the past month. All agreed a coordinated campaign must begin immediately to anticipate job training needs, attract new businesses and lobby political leaders in Tallahassee and Washington for funding.
Lobbying will ramp up this fall to convince legislators and Gov. Charlie Crist to allocate funding in next year's session. Local officials want to expand their pitch beyond Brevard's state and congressional delegates and capture the attention of presidential candidates. "Brevard County underestimates how powerful we are as a voting block," said commission chairwoman Jackie Colon. Representatives from area schools, colleges and universities pledged to expand or develop programs that would help train workers for new technologies or the transition to new careers. They also will work to secure research grants that could diversify Kennedy Space Center operations.
Amid a Second Tragedy, Plans for New Mexico Spaceport are Unveiled (Source: Popular Science)
Under the cloud cast by Steve Fossett's apparent accident, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic moves forward with the ambitious Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert. The press conference unveiling the design for Spaceport America, the New Mexico facility from which Virgin Galactic intends to launch paying customers on suborbital spaceflights, was originally going to be held on July 27. The day before, however, a tragic explosion killed three engineers at a test facility in California operated by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites, the company building Virgin's spacecraft. The press conference was quickly postponed to September 4, which unfortunately turned out to be the day after adventurer Steve Fossett, a close friend of Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson and pilot of Rutan's around-the-world Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer aircraft, disappeared on a flight over the Nevada desert. His condition remains unknown, but many fear he perished in a crash.
Panel Urges NASA to Study Dark Energy (Source: Space.com)
A proposed NASA mission to study a mysterious force thought to be accelerating the expansion of the universe should be the first in the agency's "Beyond Einstein" program to be developed and launched, the National Research Council recommended today. Beyond Einstein is NASA's research roadmap for five proposed space missions set to begin in 2009 that will study areas in science that build on and extend the work of physicist Albert Einstein. The missions include Constellation-X and the laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), which will measure X-rays and look for hypothetical gravity waves, respectively, as well as the Inflation Probe (IP), the Black Hole Finder Probe (BHFP) and the Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM).
Want to Travel to Space? 1st Stop: Sarasota (Source: Bradenton.com)
Admiral Travel Gallery in Sarasota, which specializes in high-end vacations such as photo safaris, has added space to it's roster of fantasy vacations. Ryan Hilton, co-owner of Admiral Travel Gallery of Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch, is among 47 exclusive agents worldwide selling Virgin Galactic's commercial flights into space. The trips aren't for everyone. For one thing, they cost $200,000 for a few minutes of weightlessness. For another, the spacecraft for the flights is still being tested and flights aren't expected to start until 2009.
Diana Cloud, 52, of Sarasota, has signed on for seat number 161 on the six-passenger spaceship to be launched from the Mojave Desert. The spaceship, which sits atop a jet carrier aircraft, flies to 50,000 feet before it leaves the mother ship and continues on to the edge of the atmosphere at 360,000 feet, or nearly 70 miles. Virgin Galactic, owned by billionaire Sir Richard Branson, is offering the space travel. Cloud, who will receive two days of training before the flight, is expected to be on the 30th trip from Earth. "It's very exciting. She's a pioneer," Hilton said.
Lowering Cost Key to Japan's Post-M5 Rocket Success (Source: Yomiuri Shimbun)
The Education, Science and Technology Ministry's Space Activities Commission on Wednesday approved studies by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to develop a new type of solid-fuel rocket to be the successor to the M5 rocket series. The development plan aims to lower costs by increasing efficiency. JAXA's introduction of the new solid-fuel rocket is an entirely different approach from Japan's past rocket development projects. About 40 days of launchpad preparations were necessary to launch an M5 rocket. But for the new rocket, JAXA plans to shorten the period to about a week by integrating information technology that includes self-examination functions.
Patriot eighth-grader C. J. Shiffer and 29 of his classmates from the Patriot campus of Palm Bay Municipal Charter Schools became the first school group from Brevard County to attend a three-day space academy at Kennedy Space Center. The academy began Wednesday and ends today with the launch of a 12-foot wide scientific balloon carrying a camera that should float up high enough to capture images of the Earth’s curvature. Using a global positioning system, the students hope to track the balloon for 60 to 90 minutes. “Everybody thinks I’d make a great engineer,” the 13-year-old said. Patriot hopes to send more teachers and students through the program to spur interest in math and science. Space Florida, a public-private partnership to develop the state’s aerospace industry, paid for the Patriot group to attend the academy and will fund places for 30 more students next spring.
Proton Launch Fails (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A Proton rocket carrying a Japanese communications satellite failed to reach orbit Thursday because of an anomaly with the vehicle's second stage. The Proton-M, carrying the JCSAT-11 spacecraft, lifted off from the Baikonur spaceport. While the launch initially proceeded as planned, the Proton's second-stage engines apparently failed to ignite, causing the upper stages of the rocket to crash on Kazakh territory downrange from the launch site. Few other details about the accident have been released; International Launch Services, which markets the Proton for commercial customers, said in a statement that a Russian State Commission has been convened to investigate the accident. The failure is the second in less than 18 months for the Proton: a commercial Proton launch in March 2006 failed because of a problem with the vehicle's Breeze-M upper stage.
Only One Source for Astronaut Drinking Allegations (Source: NASA Watch)
Hearings are being held regarding the Astronaut Health Report issued in July by the NASA Astronaut Health Care System Review Committee. According to its chair, Col. Richard Bachmann, Jr., the allegation about astronaut drinking was only made by one NASA individual - and made only to one member of Bachmann's committee. It would seem that Bachmann's committee never tried to corroborate this information by finding other sources. Instead, they just published it as fact.
ISRO Bleeds as Scientists Leave (India Economic Times)
India's space agency is bleeding. Droves of scientists are leaving for greener pastures with the result that ISRO is hiring scientists in a great hurry to replace hundreds of trained hands. Last year, it hired 354 fresh scientists, but 187 trained ones left the organization. The trend is only growing. Against a nearly similar level of fresh recruits in 2004 and 2005 (360 and 346), the number of those who left the organization was 105 and 100. If you take all three years together, and you get a sense of the high level of attrition. In 36 months, ISRO has lost 392 scientists against 1,060 it has hired. This means almost 11 scientists are leaving every month.
This trend is not unique to ISRO. The government has already admitted that a good number of scientists have quit the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) in recent years and it was finding it difficult to stem the outflow as the monetary incentive outside the government was much higher. "The stupendous growth of IT and communications sector and the higher remunerative packages offered by the private sector are the main reasons for scientists/engineers to leave ISRO," Chavan said.
Plan to 'Launch' ISRO Institute Hits Roadblock (Source: Times of India)
The 'launch' of a space institute by ISRO to serve as an assembly line for the country's future space scientists has hit a stumbling block in Kerala even before its lift-off. A land deal near Thiruvananthapuram -- with a private party to set up the institute -- has landed ISRO in the centre of a raging controversy. The Opposition Congress has demanded a CBI probe into the purchase of the land, which it says is ecologically fragile. A portion of the 82 acres sold to ISRO by businessman Xavi Mano Mathew, the party says, is actually owned by the government and, therefore, not transferable. Tempers ran high on Wednesday with the Opposition demanding the resignation of state Forest Minister Binoy Viswam, asking how the land under his ministry came to be in possession of a private individual.
Compulsory ISRO Stint for IIST Students (Source: Times of India)
ISRO is hiring scientists in a great hurry to replace hundreds of trained hands who have left for greener pastures. Realising the scale of the problem, ISRO, which has shortlisted 150 students to for BTech or MSc courses at the just established Indian Institute of Space Technology (IIST), has made it mandatory for them to serve ISRO for five years after graduation, provided they secure a first class. And if they still do quit, they have to shell out Rs 10 lakh. The first batch starts its classes on September next week and ISRO hopes IIST to be its nursery for space scientists and technologists.
Florida Researchers Use NASA Satellites to Eye Coastal Water Quality (Source: SpaceDaily)
Using data from instruments aboard NASA satellites, Zhiqiang Chen and colleagues at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg, found that they can monitor water quality almost daily, rather than monthly. Such information has direct application for resource managers devising restoration plans for coastal water ecosystems and federal and state regulators in charge of defining water quality standards. The team's findings will help tease out factors that drive changes in coastal water quality. For example, sediments entering the water as a result of coastal development or pollution can cause changes in water turbidity - a measure of the amount of particles suspended in the water. Sediments suspended from the bottom by strong winds or tides may also cause such changes. Knowing where the sediments come from is critical to managers because turbidity cuts off light to the bottom, thwarting the natural growth of plants.
Brevard Prepares for Life After Shuttle (Source: Florida Today)
Efforts to help workers in Brevard County and elsewhere in the state weather the space shuttle program's 2010 retirement may cost $75 million over three years, local workforce experts said Wednesday. "We have to move quickly," said Lisa Rice, president of the Brevard Workforce Development Board. Rice joined economic development and education officials at the second Brevard County Commission workshop on the topic in the past month. All agreed a coordinated campaign must begin immediately to anticipate job training needs, attract new businesses and lobby political leaders in Tallahassee and Washington for funding.
Lobbying will ramp up this fall to convince legislators and Gov. Charlie Crist to allocate funding in next year's session. Local officials want to expand their pitch beyond Brevard's state and congressional delegates and capture the attention of presidential candidates. "Brevard County underestimates how powerful we are as a voting block," said commission chairwoman Jackie Colon. Representatives from area schools, colleges and universities pledged to expand or develop programs that would help train workers for new technologies or the transition to new careers. They also will work to secure research grants that could diversify Kennedy Space Center operations.
Amid a Second Tragedy, Plans for New Mexico Spaceport are Unveiled (Source: Popular Science)
Under the cloud cast by Steve Fossett's apparent accident, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic moves forward with the ambitious Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert. The press conference unveiling the design for Spaceport America, the New Mexico facility from which Virgin Galactic intends to launch paying customers on suborbital spaceflights, was originally going to be held on July 27. The day before, however, a tragic explosion killed three engineers at a test facility in California operated by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites, the company building Virgin's spacecraft. The press conference was quickly postponed to September 4, which unfortunately turned out to be the day after adventurer Steve Fossett, a close friend of Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson and pilot of Rutan's around-the-world Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer aircraft, disappeared on a flight over the Nevada desert. His condition remains unknown, but many fear he perished in a crash.
Panel Urges NASA to Study Dark Energy (Source: Space.com)
A proposed NASA mission to study a mysterious force thought to be accelerating the expansion of the universe should be the first in the agency's "Beyond Einstein" program to be developed and launched, the National Research Council recommended today. Beyond Einstein is NASA's research roadmap for five proposed space missions set to begin in 2009 that will study areas in science that build on and extend the work of physicist Albert Einstein. The missions include Constellation-X and the laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), which will measure X-rays and look for hypothetical gravity waves, respectively, as well as the Inflation Probe (IP), the Black Hole Finder Probe (BHFP) and the Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM).
Want to Travel to Space? 1st Stop: Sarasota (Source: Bradenton.com)
Admiral Travel Gallery in Sarasota, which specializes in high-end vacations such as photo safaris, has added space to it's roster of fantasy vacations. Ryan Hilton, co-owner of Admiral Travel Gallery of Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch, is among 47 exclusive agents worldwide selling Virgin Galactic's commercial flights into space. The trips aren't for everyone. For one thing, they cost $200,000 for a few minutes of weightlessness. For another, the spacecraft for the flights is still being tested and flights aren't expected to start until 2009.
Diana Cloud, 52, of Sarasota, has signed on for seat number 161 on the six-passenger spaceship to be launched from the Mojave Desert. The spaceship, which sits atop a jet carrier aircraft, flies to 50,000 feet before it leaves the mother ship and continues on to the edge of the atmosphere at 360,000 feet, or nearly 70 miles. Virgin Galactic, owned by billionaire Sir Richard Branson, is offering the space travel. Cloud, who will receive two days of training before the flight, is expected to be on the 30th trip from Earth. "It's very exciting. She's a pioneer," Hilton said.
Lowering Cost Key to Japan's Post-M5 Rocket Success (Source: Yomiuri Shimbun)
The Education, Science and Technology Ministry's Space Activities Commission on Wednesday approved studies by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to develop a new type of solid-fuel rocket to be the successor to the M5 rocket series. The development plan aims to lower costs by increasing efficiency. JAXA's introduction of the new solid-fuel rocket is an entirely different approach from Japan's past rocket development projects. About 40 days of launchpad preparations were necessary to launch an M5 rocket. But for the new rocket, JAXA plans to shorten the period to about a week by integrating information technology that includes self-examination functions.
September 5 News Items
Shuttle Manifest Acceleration Could Speed Ares Timeline (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
The shuttle program is finalizing the approval of a manifest acceleration that will shake-up the remaining flights of the shuttle, to ease the Constellation schedule. NASA has been holding meetings to approve the changes, which include flying Atlantis for an additional two flights, adding STS-131 and STS-133 logistics flights to the confirmed schedule, and ending the shuttle program earlier - at the end of March, 2010. The possibility of Atlantis avoiding retirement in 2008 was proposed as early as last year, when documentation was provided to the PRCB (Program Control Requirements Board) showing that the Orbiter Maintenance Down Period (OMDP) requirements could allow critical overhaul elements to be carried out during normal processing flows.
Space Exploration Does Not Come Cheap (Source: New Scientist)
Space travel is 50 next month. In this relatively short time, we have put people in orbit, walked on the moon and created a permanent encampment in space. We have surrounded Earth with satellites looking inwards and outwards, our spacecraft have visited every planet in the solar system and a probe is even now heading for ex-planet Pluto. Has it all been worth it? Some think not. Through the decades, one question has repeatedly sprung to the lips of opposing politicians: would the money invested in exploring space be better spent helping the poor here on Earth?
Killer Asteroid Traced in Space (Source: Discovery Channel)
The extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago can be traced to a collision between two monster rocks in the asteroid belt nearly 100 million years earlier, scientists report on Wednesday. The smash drove a giant sliver of rock into Earth's path, eventually causing the climate-changing impact that ended the reign of the dinosaurs and enabled the rise of mammals — including, eventually, us. Other asteroid fragments smashed into the Moon, Venus and Mars, pocking their faces with mighty craters, the researchers believe.
India To Build Constellation Of Seven Navigation Satellites (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Bangalore, India (PTI) Sep 05, 2007 - India plans to build a constellation of seven geo-stationary satellites at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore to meet the navigational system requirements in cars, trains and aircraft. "Design (of the satellites) is more or less complete. We are in the process of building the first proto model," Secretary in the Department of Space G Madhavan Nair said. "First launch will take place around 2010.
Stringent New California Rules Govern Cleanup at Rocket Testing Site (Source: LA Times)
Boeing and two federal agencies face daily fines if they violate the terms of the California consent decree. State regulators monitoring cleanup of contaminants at a former nuclear research and rocket engine testing facility near Simi Valley have set new rules and deadlines for the contractor and the two government agencies responsible. The Aug. 16 consent decree requires Boeing Corp., owner of the Santa Susana Field Lab; the U.S. Department of Energy; and NASA to submit reports by Nov. 14 detailing how they plan to complete the cleanup by June 30, 2017. The reports must provide a schedule of analysis on the extent of contamination as well as cleanup operations.
Norman F. Riley, the substance control department's project director for the field lab cleanup since April, said this order supersedes a 15-year-old agreement, which was far more general and didn't establish penalties. "It's more stringent; it's much more detailed," Riley said of the new order. "If they find that they are out of compliance, there will not be any arguing: It will be flat out $15,000 a day for every day they are out of compliance." A Boeing representative said the company would meet its responsibilities.
Florida Students Speak to Astronauts (Source: Naples News)
Clayton Anderson was happy to show about 200 middle-school students his room. As they watched on a large television screen, Anderson floated to a pair of padded doors and pulled them open. Sure, the kids had seen bedrooms before, but not one orbiting the Earth. Anderson, an American astronaut, and Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov spoke to the students from Pine Ridge and Immokalee middle schools from their home in the International Space Station on Tuesday. Only 30 schools have ever had the opportunity to speak to astronauts working in the International Space Station. Three Florida schools preceded Pine Ridge and Immokalee for the honor.
First Astronaut, Space Mission to Help Boost Korean Aerospace Research (Source: Korea Times)
South Korea has chosen an artificial intelligence engineer as its first astronaut to fly to the International Space Station next April. The man basking in the limelight is Ko San, a 30-year-old researcher at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). Ko’s planned space travel is a great honor and achievement not only for himself but also for the nation. His mission will open a new chapter in the country’s space exploration history. People have high expectations that the first astronaut will carry out their long-cherished dream of space exploration. The public has shown strong interest in the astronaut selection process that started in April last year. A total of 36,206 Koreans applied to be the nation’s first person to venture into space.
The shuttle program is finalizing the approval of a manifest acceleration that will shake-up the remaining flights of the shuttle, to ease the Constellation schedule. NASA has been holding meetings to approve the changes, which include flying Atlantis for an additional two flights, adding STS-131 and STS-133 logistics flights to the confirmed schedule, and ending the shuttle program earlier - at the end of March, 2010. The possibility of Atlantis avoiding retirement in 2008 was proposed as early as last year, when documentation was provided to the PRCB (Program Control Requirements Board) showing that the Orbiter Maintenance Down Period (OMDP) requirements could allow critical overhaul elements to be carried out during normal processing flows.
Space Exploration Does Not Come Cheap (Source: New Scientist)
Space travel is 50 next month. In this relatively short time, we have put people in orbit, walked on the moon and created a permanent encampment in space. We have surrounded Earth with satellites looking inwards and outwards, our spacecraft have visited every planet in the solar system and a probe is even now heading for ex-planet Pluto. Has it all been worth it? Some think not. Through the decades, one question has repeatedly sprung to the lips of opposing politicians: would the money invested in exploring space be better spent helping the poor here on Earth?
Killer Asteroid Traced in Space (Source: Discovery Channel)
The extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago can be traced to a collision between two monster rocks in the asteroid belt nearly 100 million years earlier, scientists report on Wednesday. The smash drove a giant sliver of rock into Earth's path, eventually causing the climate-changing impact that ended the reign of the dinosaurs and enabled the rise of mammals — including, eventually, us. Other asteroid fragments smashed into the Moon, Venus and Mars, pocking their faces with mighty craters, the researchers believe.
India To Build Constellation Of Seven Navigation Satellites (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Bangalore, India (PTI) Sep 05, 2007 - India plans to build a constellation of seven geo-stationary satellites at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore to meet the navigational system requirements in cars, trains and aircraft. "Design (of the satellites) is more or less complete. We are in the process of building the first proto model," Secretary in the Department of Space G Madhavan Nair said. "First launch will take place around 2010.
Stringent New California Rules Govern Cleanup at Rocket Testing Site (Source: LA Times)
Boeing and two federal agencies face daily fines if they violate the terms of the California consent decree. State regulators monitoring cleanup of contaminants at a former nuclear research and rocket engine testing facility near Simi Valley have set new rules and deadlines for the contractor and the two government agencies responsible. The Aug. 16 consent decree requires Boeing Corp., owner of the Santa Susana Field Lab; the U.S. Department of Energy; and NASA to submit reports by Nov. 14 detailing how they plan to complete the cleanup by June 30, 2017. The reports must provide a schedule of analysis on the extent of contamination as well as cleanup operations.
Norman F. Riley, the substance control department's project director for the field lab cleanup since April, said this order supersedes a 15-year-old agreement, which was far more general and didn't establish penalties. "It's more stringent; it's much more detailed," Riley said of the new order. "If they find that they are out of compliance, there will not be any arguing: It will be flat out $15,000 a day for every day they are out of compliance." A Boeing representative said the company would meet its responsibilities.
Florida Students Speak to Astronauts (Source: Naples News)
Clayton Anderson was happy to show about 200 middle-school students his room. As they watched on a large television screen, Anderson floated to a pair of padded doors and pulled them open. Sure, the kids had seen bedrooms before, but not one orbiting the Earth. Anderson, an American astronaut, and Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov spoke to the students from Pine Ridge and Immokalee middle schools from their home in the International Space Station on Tuesday. Only 30 schools have ever had the opportunity to speak to astronauts working in the International Space Station. Three Florida schools preceded Pine Ridge and Immokalee for the honor.
First Astronaut, Space Mission to Help Boost Korean Aerospace Research (Source: Korea Times)
South Korea has chosen an artificial intelligence engineer as its first astronaut to fly to the International Space Station next April. The man basking in the limelight is Ko San, a 30-year-old researcher at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). Ko’s planned space travel is a great honor and achievement not only for himself but also for the nation. His mission will open a new chapter in the country’s space exploration history. People have high expectations that the first astronaut will carry out their long-cherished dream of space exploration. The public has shown strong interest in the astronaut selection process that started in April last year. A total of 36,206 Koreans applied to be the nation’s first person to venture into space.
September 4 News Items
Spaceport America: First Looks at a New Mexico Space Terminal (Source: Space.com)
Architectural and engineering teams have begun shaping the look and feel of New Mexico's Spaceport America, taking the wraps off new images that showcase the curb appeal of the sprawling main terminal and hangar at the futuristic facility. Last month, a team of U.S. and British architects and designers had been recommended for award to design the primary terminal and hangar facility at Spaceport America - structures that symbolize the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport. Visit http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/070904_virgingalactic_spaceport.html to view artist renderings of the proposed spaceport terminal.
Editorial: Presidential Candidates Showing No Interest in Moon Program (Source: Florida Today)
The pieces are slowly falling into place at Kennedy Space Center for the new Ares rocket and manned Orion spacecraft that will replace the shuttle fleet. Developing the Orion and its launcher is exceedingly difficult, but it's nothing compared to NASA's moon program getting attention from the presidential candidates, one of whom could decide its fate upon entering the White House. Simply put, none of them gives a hoot.
The Web sites of the top contenders -- Democrats Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards, and Republicans Rudy Guiliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain -- shows a long list of detailed positions on many issues, but nothing on space. Romney never even mentioned the subject during a recent campaign stop at the Space Coast Tiger Bay Club until asked by someone in the audience. It's time for the White House wannabes to recognize the program's importance for vital domestic and national security reasons.
Registration for National Rocketry Challenge (Source: AIA)
Registration for the Team America Rocketry Challenge 2008, a national model rocket competition for U.S. students in grades 7 through 12, opened on Sep. 5. Thousands of students compete each year in the world’s largest model rocket contest. Cash prizes are awarded to the top finishers. Teams of three to 15 students design, build and fly a model rocket to carry two raw eggs for a precise flight duration of 45 seconds and to an exact altitude of 750 feet. The team whose rocket comes the closest to both, and brings the eggs back unbroken, wins. To be eligible for the national fly-off, teams must fly a qualifying flight observed by an adult member of the National Association of Rocketry. The top-scoring 100 teams in the country will be invited to participate in the final fly-off to be held in May 2008. Registration closes on Nov. 30, or when 750 teams have registered -- whichever comes first. For more information, visit http://www.rocketcontest.org/.
Arianespace Wins Deal to Launch 24 Globalstar Satellites in 2009 (Source: Thomson Financial)
Arianespace has been selected to launch Globalstar Inc's second generation constellation of telecommunications satellites, comprising 24 satellites, in 2009. The satellites will be put into orbit using Russian Soyuz rockets from Arianespace's base in French Guyana. Globalstar Inc's first generation satellites, providing telephone communication and data transmission services to companies, government agencies and private individuals were launched in 1999 from Baikonur by Arianespace's Russian affiliate.
Architectural and engineering teams have begun shaping the look and feel of New Mexico's Spaceport America, taking the wraps off new images that showcase the curb appeal of the sprawling main terminal and hangar at the futuristic facility. Last month, a team of U.S. and British architects and designers had been recommended for award to design the primary terminal and hangar facility at Spaceport America - structures that symbolize the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport. Visit http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/070904_virgingalactic_spaceport.html to view artist renderings of the proposed spaceport terminal.
Editorial: Presidential Candidates Showing No Interest in Moon Program (Source: Florida Today)
The pieces are slowly falling into place at Kennedy Space Center for the new Ares rocket and manned Orion spacecraft that will replace the shuttle fleet. Developing the Orion and its launcher is exceedingly difficult, but it's nothing compared to NASA's moon program getting attention from the presidential candidates, one of whom could decide its fate upon entering the White House. Simply put, none of them gives a hoot.
The Web sites of the top contenders -- Democrats Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards, and Republicans Rudy Guiliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain -- shows a long list of detailed positions on many issues, but nothing on space. Romney never even mentioned the subject during a recent campaign stop at the Space Coast Tiger Bay Club until asked by someone in the audience. It's time for the White House wannabes to recognize the program's importance for vital domestic and national security reasons.
Registration for National Rocketry Challenge (Source: AIA)
Registration for the Team America Rocketry Challenge 2008, a national model rocket competition for U.S. students in grades 7 through 12, opened on Sep. 5. Thousands of students compete each year in the world’s largest model rocket contest. Cash prizes are awarded to the top finishers. Teams of three to 15 students design, build and fly a model rocket to carry two raw eggs for a precise flight duration of 45 seconds and to an exact altitude of 750 feet. The team whose rocket comes the closest to both, and brings the eggs back unbroken, wins. To be eligible for the national fly-off, teams must fly a qualifying flight observed by an adult member of the National Association of Rocketry. The top-scoring 100 teams in the country will be invited to participate in the final fly-off to be held in May 2008. Registration closes on Nov. 30, or when 750 teams have registered -- whichever comes first. For more information, visit http://www.rocketcontest.org/.
Arianespace Wins Deal to Launch 24 Globalstar Satellites in 2009 (Source: Thomson Financial)
Arianespace has been selected to launch Globalstar Inc's second generation constellation of telecommunications satellites, comprising 24 satellites, in 2009. The satellites will be put into orbit using Russian Soyuz rockets from Arianespace's base in French Guyana. Globalstar Inc's first generation satellites, providing telephone communication and data transmission services to companies, government agencies and private individuals were launched in 1999 from Baikonur by Arianespace's Russian affiliate.
September 2 News Items
India Launches Communications Satellite (Source: SpaceToday.net)
India successfully launched a communications satellite in the return to flight of a launch vehicle that failed in its last launch over a year ago. The GSLV lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on India's east coast, placing the INSAT-4CR spacecraft into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The launch was scheduled to take place two hours earlier, but the countdown was halted because of a last-second computer problem that eventually was resolved. The launch is the first for the GSLV since a July 2006 launch failure that was traced to a problem with a propellant regulator in one of the rocket's four liquid-propellant strap-on stages. This was the largest satellite launched by an Indian rocket to date. The launch is the third this year by India, with two more launches planned before the end of the year.
Brits and Russians Plan Spacecraft Response to Apophis Asteroid Threat (Source: Spaceports Blog)
The Russian Federal Space Agency plans a system of protection of the Earth from asteroid Apophis. The UK-based space firm EADS Astrium too is planning a bid to develop a spacecraft, known as Apex or Apophis Explorer, which would reach the asteroid in January 2014. According to the Planetary Society, more than 100 teams worldwide are developing plans for Apophis missions. Prompted by computations by specialists, who say that asteroid Apophis is bound to fly at a 40,000-kilometer distance from the Earth in 2029, and there is a risk of it colliding with the Earth in 2036, space agencies around the world are beginning to take the threat seriously.
Apophis is a 300-metre-wide asteroid and is still millions of kilometres away. But, in 2029, its orbit will take it worryingly close to Earth – closer than many satellites. When it does, its orbit around the Sun will be affected and just a tiny shift of just a few hundred kilometres could mean Apophis returns in 2036 to slam into Earth, creating unimaginable death and destruction.
China Implementing Space Debris Mitigation Measures (Source: Space News)
The Chinese government is implementing a wide series of measures to reduce the amount of debris left in orbit by Chinese rockets and satellites, and to develop a space-surveillance tool to determine what is in orbit, Chinese space-debris experts said. The measures, some of which already have been put into place, include techniques already adopted by some other space powers to reorbit retired satellites out of the geostationary orbital arc and to render Chinese rocket upper stages passive in orbit by emptying their fuel tanks to prevent the threat of explosion and debris propagation.
Lawsuit Claims Globalstar Knowlingly Misled Investors (Source: Space News)
A new lawsuit claims Globalstar Inc. misled investors about the health of the company's satellite constellation before a November stock offering. The complaint also says one or more former Globalstar employees who have been interviewed on the subject are willing to back up the allegation. The complaint is the latest in a series of securities class-action lawsuits filed since Globalstar's February disclosure that its 40-satellite constellation's S-band payload, which permits two-way voice communications, was degrading faster than expected and might not survive beyond 2008. While L-band data service would continue, Globalstar's stock began to fall sharply following the announcement that the more-profitable voice service might cease functioning.
Congressman to Root Out NASA Complaints Himself (Source: Space News)
A congressman with a key role in NASA oversight says he is investigating some whistleblowers' complaints himself because he does not trust NASA Inspector General (IG) Robert Cobb with the job. Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.), chairman of the House Science and Technology subcommittee on investigations and oversight, said rather than give tips on possible violations at the agency to the inspector general, he has instructed his investigators to tackle complaints on their own. Miller, as well as Sen. Bill Nelson, (D-Fla.), chairman of the Senate Science Committee, and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), a former Missouri state auditor, called for Cobb's resignation in early June and asked President Bush to fire him. Cobb has said he will not resign.
Hughes Seeks Arbitration in Dispute with SeaLaunch (Source: Space News)
Hughes Network Systems (HNS) is asking the American Arbitration Association to force SeaLaunch to refund $44.4 million in payments made before HNS decided to cancel its SeaLaunch contract and use an Ariane 5 rocket to loft the Spaceway 3 satellite. HNS, in an Aug. 10 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), says the company was within its rights to cancel the contract because of launch delays following Sea Launch's January 2007 failure. Spaceway 3 had been scheduled for a May launch on Sea Launch. It successfully was launched Aug. 14 aboard an Ariane 5 vehicle. Sea Launch argues that the failure-related delays in its schedule are covered by the launch agreement with HNS and cannot be used to terminate the contract unilaterally.
Group Aims to Broker Capacity on Hobbled Satellites (Source: Space News)
A group of former satellite-industry officials has formed a new company whose business model is to sell cut-rate capacity aboard damaged or aging satellites owned by the major fleet operators to create a new business for small thematic television channels. The Green Satellite, based in Switzerland, is raising funds in a bid to take unused and unwanted capacity off the hands of the major satellite owners, rebrand it and sell it at a much lower cost. The business model is similar to what occurs in other industries including clothing and wine, in which branded manufacturers sell their excess production to third parties that agree not to use the brand name and are free to sell for low prices.
ATK Gets $681 Million Shuttlee Motor Contract Modification (Source: Space News)
Alliant TechSystems (ATK) Launch Systems Group of Brigham City, Utah, received a contract modification valued at $681 million for continued delivery of space shuttle reusable solid-rocket motors, NASA announced Aug. 29. The modification extends ATK's current contract to ensure NASA has the solid-rocket boosters it needs to fly the 14 shuttle missions manifested between now the fleet's planned September 2010 retirement to complete construction of the international space station.
Faulty Valve Pushes Back Atlas 5 Launch (Source: Florida Today)
An Atlas 5 rocket launch is being delayed about a week to allow teams more time to replace a fuel valve that froze up during the failed launch of a similar rocket earlier this year. The military communications satellite will be launched at 8:10 p.m. Sept. 21 from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The launch was delayed from Sept. 13. The next Atlas V will carry the first of five Wideband Global Satellites, which will provide as much communication power as the entire present system. The Atlas delay is not expected to move the Sept. 26 launch of the Dawn spacecraft on a $450 million mission to the asteroid belt.
Space Experts Meet to Address ORS Warfighter Needs (Source: USAF)
More than 70 senior leaders and experts from across the Services, joint agencies and Intelligence Community came together Aug. 28 to discuss the way ahead for Operationally Responsive Space. The objective -- a clearly defined joint process for identifying and developing ORS requirements and capabilities; how they are integrated and deconflicted; and ways to create, follow and use common standards. "It was very productive," said Army Col. Dave Cox, Future Warfare Center deputy director, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. "The right people were in the room to discuss how to apply the right resources to support the joint warfighter, and to identify the best organization to figure out the joint process for requirements." The ORS concept is to provide joint force commanders space and space-related capabilities on orbit, quickly to meet urgent operational needs.
India successfully launched a communications satellite in the return to flight of a launch vehicle that failed in its last launch over a year ago. The GSLV lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on India's east coast, placing the INSAT-4CR spacecraft into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The launch was scheduled to take place two hours earlier, but the countdown was halted because of a last-second computer problem that eventually was resolved. The launch is the first for the GSLV since a July 2006 launch failure that was traced to a problem with a propellant regulator in one of the rocket's four liquid-propellant strap-on stages. This was the largest satellite launched by an Indian rocket to date. The launch is the third this year by India, with two more launches planned before the end of the year.
Brits and Russians Plan Spacecraft Response to Apophis Asteroid Threat (Source: Spaceports Blog)
The Russian Federal Space Agency plans a system of protection of the Earth from asteroid Apophis. The UK-based space firm EADS Astrium too is planning a bid to develop a spacecraft, known as Apex or Apophis Explorer, which would reach the asteroid in January 2014. According to the Planetary Society, more than 100 teams worldwide are developing plans for Apophis missions. Prompted by computations by specialists, who say that asteroid Apophis is bound to fly at a 40,000-kilometer distance from the Earth in 2029, and there is a risk of it colliding with the Earth in 2036, space agencies around the world are beginning to take the threat seriously.
Apophis is a 300-metre-wide asteroid and is still millions of kilometres away. But, in 2029, its orbit will take it worryingly close to Earth – closer than many satellites. When it does, its orbit around the Sun will be affected and just a tiny shift of just a few hundred kilometres could mean Apophis returns in 2036 to slam into Earth, creating unimaginable death and destruction.
China Implementing Space Debris Mitigation Measures (Source: Space News)
The Chinese government is implementing a wide series of measures to reduce the amount of debris left in orbit by Chinese rockets and satellites, and to develop a space-surveillance tool to determine what is in orbit, Chinese space-debris experts said. The measures, some of which already have been put into place, include techniques already adopted by some other space powers to reorbit retired satellites out of the geostationary orbital arc and to render Chinese rocket upper stages passive in orbit by emptying their fuel tanks to prevent the threat of explosion and debris propagation.
Lawsuit Claims Globalstar Knowlingly Misled Investors (Source: Space News)
A new lawsuit claims Globalstar Inc. misled investors about the health of the company's satellite constellation before a November stock offering. The complaint also says one or more former Globalstar employees who have been interviewed on the subject are willing to back up the allegation. The complaint is the latest in a series of securities class-action lawsuits filed since Globalstar's February disclosure that its 40-satellite constellation's S-band payload, which permits two-way voice communications, was degrading faster than expected and might not survive beyond 2008. While L-band data service would continue, Globalstar's stock began to fall sharply following the announcement that the more-profitable voice service might cease functioning.
Congressman to Root Out NASA Complaints Himself (Source: Space News)
A congressman with a key role in NASA oversight says he is investigating some whistleblowers' complaints himself because he does not trust NASA Inspector General (IG) Robert Cobb with the job. Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.), chairman of the House Science and Technology subcommittee on investigations and oversight, said rather than give tips on possible violations at the agency to the inspector general, he has instructed his investigators to tackle complaints on their own. Miller, as well as Sen. Bill Nelson, (D-Fla.), chairman of the Senate Science Committee, and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), a former Missouri state auditor, called for Cobb's resignation in early June and asked President Bush to fire him. Cobb has said he will not resign.
Hughes Seeks Arbitration in Dispute with SeaLaunch (Source: Space News)
Hughes Network Systems (HNS) is asking the American Arbitration Association to force SeaLaunch to refund $44.4 million in payments made before HNS decided to cancel its SeaLaunch contract and use an Ariane 5 rocket to loft the Spaceway 3 satellite. HNS, in an Aug. 10 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), says the company was within its rights to cancel the contract because of launch delays following Sea Launch's January 2007 failure. Spaceway 3 had been scheduled for a May launch on Sea Launch. It successfully was launched Aug. 14 aboard an Ariane 5 vehicle. Sea Launch argues that the failure-related delays in its schedule are covered by the launch agreement with HNS and cannot be used to terminate the contract unilaterally.
Group Aims to Broker Capacity on Hobbled Satellites (Source: Space News)
A group of former satellite-industry officials has formed a new company whose business model is to sell cut-rate capacity aboard damaged or aging satellites owned by the major fleet operators to create a new business for small thematic television channels. The Green Satellite, based in Switzerland, is raising funds in a bid to take unused and unwanted capacity off the hands of the major satellite owners, rebrand it and sell it at a much lower cost. The business model is similar to what occurs in other industries including clothing and wine, in which branded manufacturers sell their excess production to third parties that agree not to use the brand name and are free to sell for low prices.
ATK Gets $681 Million Shuttlee Motor Contract Modification (Source: Space News)
Alliant TechSystems (ATK) Launch Systems Group of Brigham City, Utah, received a contract modification valued at $681 million for continued delivery of space shuttle reusable solid-rocket motors, NASA announced Aug. 29. The modification extends ATK's current contract to ensure NASA has the solid-rocket boosters it needs to fly the 14 shuttle missions manifested between now the fleet's planned September 2010 retirement to complete construction of the international space station.
Faulty Valve Pushes Back Atlas 5 Launch (Source: Florida Today)
An Atlas 5 rocket launch is being delayed about a week to allow teams more time to replace a fuel valve that froze up during the failed launch of a similar rocket earlier this year. The military communications satellite will be launched at 8:10 p.m. Sept. 21 from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The launch was delayed from Sept. 13. The next Atlas V will carry the first of five Wideband Global Satellites, which will provide as much communication power as the entire present system. The Atlas delay is not expected to move the Sept. 26 launch of the Dawn spacecraft on a $450 million mission to the asteroid belt.
Space Experts Meet to Address ORS Warfighter Needs (Source: USAF)
More than 70 senior leaders and experts from across the Services, joint agencies and Intelligence Community came together Aug. 28 to discuss the way ahead for Operationally Responsive Space. The objective -- a clearly defined joint process for identifying and developing ORS requirements and capabilities; how they are integrated and deconflicted; and ways to create, follow and use common standards. "It was very productive," said Army Col. Dave Cox, Future Warfare Center deputy director, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. "The right people were in the room to discuss how to apply the right resources to support the joint warfighter, and to identify the best organization to figure out the joint process for requirements." The ORS concept is to provide joint force commanders space and space-related capabilities on orbit, quickly to meet urgent operational needs.
September 1 News Items
Motorola Didn't Mislead Iridium Investors, Judge Says (Source: Bloomberg)
Motorola Inc., the world's second- biggest mobile-phone maker, didn't knowingly mislead investors about the prospects of its failed Iridium LLC satellite unit, a bankruptcy judge ruled. It couldn't be proved Iridium was insolvent before its 1998 launch, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Peck in New York said today in a written ruling. His finding will keep Iridium creditors from recovering at least some of the $3.45 billion they claim Motorola owes them under a theory that it was liable for Iridium's collapse because it saddled the unit with debt and a poor business plan as consumers shunned its bulky, expensive phones. "The fact that Iridium failed in such a spectacular fashion stands out as a disturbing counterpoint to the market's optimistic predictions of present and future value," Peck wrote, closing the first phase of a six-year-old case.
Cocoa Firm Wins California Spaceport Support Contract (Source: DOD)
Call Henry, Inc., of Cocoa, Florida, has being awarded a contract modification for $8,821,848 for centralized management, operation, maintenance, repair, upgrade, and launch support for critical range and launch facilities and infrastructure supporting range transmitting and receiving sites, launch pads, spacecraft clean rooms, processing facilities, and aerospace ground equipment at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Motorola Inc., the world's second- biggest mobile-phone maker, didn't knowingly mislead investors about the prospects of its failed Iridium LLC satellite unit, a bankruptcy judge ruled. It couldn't be proved Iridium was insolvent before its 1998 launch, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Peck in New York said today in a written ruling. His finding will keep Iridium creditors from recovering at least some of the $3.45 billion they claim Motorola owes them under a theory that it was liable for Iridium's collapse because it saddled the unit with debt and a poor business plan as consumers shunned its bulky, expensive phones. "The fact that Iridium failed in such a spectacular fashion stands out as a disturbing counterpoint to the market's optimistic predictions of present and future value," Peck wrote, closing the first phase of a six-year-old case.
Cocoa Firm Wins California Spaceport Support Contract (Source: DOD)
Call Henry, Inc., of Cocoa, Florida, has being awarded a contract modification for $8,821,848 for centralized management, operation, maintenance, repair, upgrade, and launch support for critical range and launch facilities and infrastructure supporting range transmitting and receiving sites, launch pads, spacecraft clean rooms, processing facilities, and aerospace ground equipment at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
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