EU Agrees to Fully Fund Galileo After Addressing Spain's Concerns (Source: Intl. Herald Tribune)
European Union governments agreed Friday to jointly complete the development of the much-delayed Galileo satellite navigation project after mollifying Spain, which had demanded a bigger stake in the venture. At an EU meeting, Spain was the lone holdout in a 26-1 vote on moving ahead with the €3.4 billion (US$5 billion) undertaking. In seeking unanimity, the EU later won Spain's approval with a deal that said a secondary ground station — planned for Spain to monitor emergency services on Galileo channels — may one day be a full-blown ground control station if Spain pays for that upgrade.
Campaigns Should Support Space Exploration (Source: AIA)
Presidential campaigns should publicly express their support of NASA's Constellation Program to ensure America's leadership in space exploration as well as boost education, AIA President and CEO Marion Blakey said. The exploration program, which will return astronauts to the moon and explore Mars and beyond, should not be delayed under any circumstances since there is already a manned spaceflight gap looming.
"Space exploration brings enormous national security, economic and scientific benefits to our nation and should be a win-win issue for all the candidates to endorse," Blakey said. "Presidential hopefuls should make their support of Constellation clear and make it an integral part of their campaigns." Constellation will have a powerful effect in attracting students to science, technology, engineering and mathematics studies, disciplines in which the nation is lacking, Blakey said.
Editorial: Space as a Campaign Issue (Source: Space News)
The pledge by Barack Obama to increase education funding in part by delaying NASA's Constellation program could thrust space exploration to the issues forefront as the race for the party's nomination heats up. Delaying Constellation and delaying retirement of the Space Shuttle would not save money, given the multibillion-dollar annual cost of flying and updating the shuttle fleet. It would be interesting to see how American voters, particularly in key swing states such as Florida, react to the prospect of abandoning U.S. leadership in space exploration.
Cargo Ship Could Deliver Jobs to KSC (Source: Florida Today)
Spacehab is developing a cargo ship to deliver supplies to the International Space Station after NASA's shuttles retire. The Houston company said Thursday that it has submitted a proposal to NASA outlining its plan for an unmanned craft that could carry between 2 and 5 tons to low-Earth orbit. Final assembly, integration and checkout work would be done at the company's facilities in Titusville and Cape Canaveral. If successful, Spacehab's ARCTUS spacecraft would launch on United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 or Delta 4 rockets from Cape Canaveral, possibly protecting or even creating hundreds of space jobs just as NASA is cutting several thousand people from its work force at Kennedy Space Center.
Government Auditors Say NASA's Not Ready for Moon Launch (Source: Houston Chronicle)
Congressional auditors on Thursday challenged NASA's readiness to move ahead with development of the Ares I rocket that will propel the new Orion moonship into Earth orbit with astronauts. The $14.4 billion that NASA plans to spend on the craft's development may be inadequate based on the space agency's aggressive development schedule and technical risks, said a report by the General Accountability Office. The agency's auditors urged the space agency to postpone plans for a key July 2008 design review of the rocket, if necessary, to remedy a list of 51 unknowns, including 31 issues considered high risk to the success of the program.
November 29 News Items
Space Question Addressed in Republican Debate (Source: SpaceRef.com)
Gov. Huckabee and Rep. Tancredo were given the opportunity to respond to a question about their support for space exploration during the Nov. 28 debate in Florida. Huckabee recognized the space program's importance to Florida's economy and said he would "want to make sure that we expand the space program, because every one of us who are sitting here tonight have our lives dramatically improved because there was a space program -- whether it's these screens that we see or the incredible electronics that we use, including the GPS systems that got many of you to this arena tonight...Now, whether we need to send somebody to Mars, I don't know. But I'll tell you what: If we do, I've got a few suggestions, and maybe Hillary could be on the first rocket to Mars."
Tancredo's response was less positive on space. "How many questions have dealt with the issue of deficit spending, the debt out of control? And yet, we have somebody saying, 'But would you spend more money on going to Mars?' And the suggestion that we need to spend more money on space exploration. This is it, folks. That's why we have such incredible problems with our debt, because everybody's trying to be everything to all people. We can't afford some things, and by the way, going to Mars is one of them."
GAO: Ares 1 Faces Cost, Schedule, Tech Gaps (Source: Florida Today)
NASA has taken steps in building a good business plan around the development of the Ares I launch vehicle, but the agency has yet to come up with "the knowledge needed to make sound investment decisions" for the program, according to a government audit. "Principally, there are gaps in knowledge about requirements, costs, schedule, technology, design and production feasibility," the Government Accountability Office told House lawmakers in its report. NASA still has 10 months left under its own schedule to close technology, cost and other gaps, but the GAO described those holes as "fairly significant and challenging given the complexity and interdependencies" in the program.
Auditors recommended that NASA establish "a sound business case" for Ares I before going forward on its preliminary design review, currently set for next July. It also suggested delaying that review "until the project's readiness to move forward is demonstrated." Rep. Bart Gordon, the Tennessee Democrat who heads the House Science and Technology Committee, had asked for the audit as part of the panel's oversight of NASA's Exploration plan to return humans to the moon and prepare for eventual human space flight to Mars.
European Ministers Work to Overcome New Galileo Spat (Source: Earth Times)
European Union transport ministers were meeting in Brussels Thursday and Friday to try and overcome a new split over the bloc's troubled Galileo satellite-navigation system project. The latest spat involves a ground-control station, which both Spain and Italy claim should be based in their territory, according to reports. Lack of agreement threatens to further delay the project, which is due to become operational by 2013.
STSS To Launch Next Summer (Source: Aerospace Daily)
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) completed thermal vacuum testing on the second of its two Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) satellites, which are expected to launch from Cape Canaveral in July. Both of the satellites, designed to track ballistic missiles in their midcourse phase of flight, have completed acceptance testing and will be receiving final tweaks for launch configuration and acoustic testing. STSS, together with ground-based radars and other space-based constellations, eventually will cue interceptors against hostile long-range ballistic missiles.
NASA: Possible Air Leak Found in Harmony Module Link (Source: Houston Chronicle)
Engineers have detected what may be a small air leak between the new gateway module delivered to the space station by shuttle astronauts in late October and the rest of the orbital base. More measurements were planned on Friday at the port where the new school bus-sized Harmony module is parked against the station's U.S.-provided science compartment. "At this point, we are not sure if this is truly a leak or not," said a NASA spokeswoman.
Today, Countries Battle for a Piece of the Arctic. Tomorrow? The Moon (Source: WIRED)
In 2005, the Canadian military launched Exercise Frozen Beaver. Eleven soldiers flew in helicopters to Hans Island, a hunk of rock off the coast of Greenland that's long been claimed by both Denmark and Canada. When they landed on the half-square-mile outcropping, the troops planted a Canadian flag, ripping down the Danish colors that had been flying there since 1984. It was the opening shot in what has become a fusillade of bizarre military posturing over the Arctic. More recently, Russian scientist Artur Chilingarov used a small submersible to plant a Russian flag encased in a titanium capsule on the Arctic seafloor some 13,000 feet under the North Pole. "If someone doesn't like this, let them go down themselves," he said. "The Arctic has always been Russian."
Global warming has opened the fabled Northwest Passage for the first time in recorded history. The melt also made the billions of barrels of oil thought to be under the Arctic suddenly seem within our grasp. Some are calling it the Cold Rush. This Arctic battle has implications that reach far beyond the top of Earth. The squabbling will set the tone for eventual sovereignty claims on the moon. At the same time that it was making Arctic claims, Russia announced plans for manned lunar missions by 2025 and a permanent base there by 2032. Japan might beat them to the punch with a 2030 base. Both will be able to stop over and share a glass of Tang with US astronauts, who are supposed to start setting up shop in 2020. China also has lunar aspirations, though officials will say only that they plan to get to the moon sometime after 2020.
"The seabed, high seas, Antarctica, and space are, as a matter of law, global commons. What happens in one can be argued to be legal precedent in the others," says Joanne Gabrynowicz, an international space law expert. Since 2002, China's chief lunar scientist has made his country's intentions clear: "Our long-term goal is to set up a base on the moon and mine its riches for the benefit of humanity." But by far the moon's biggest asset is its primal cachet. Lunar settlers could brandish their nationalism over all of Earth every night. Add to that the fact that the moon is perfect practice for conquest of Mars, the Asteroid Belt, and moons of Jupiter, Saturn, and beyond. In human history, anywhere there's value, there are eventually property rights. Visit http://www.wired.com/science/space/magazine/15-12/st_essay to view the article.
Plan to Send People Into Space from Cecil Field Not Dead Yet (Source: Florida Times-Union)
An environmental study is the latest step in Jacksonville Aviation Authority's plans to begin using the 12,500-foot runway at the former Naval air base for horizontal spacecraft launches. Although the base closed in 1993, 50 years worth of spilled fuels, oils, solvents, paints and pesticides made Cecil Field one of the most notoriously polluted areas in Jacksonville. Cecil Field was listed as an EPA Superfund site in 1989. Cleanup efforts are ongoing. Neighboring resident Raymond Richard, 60, said he was concerned what spacecraft fuel could do if it got into nearby Yellow Water Creek. Overall, he supports the spaceport idea.
The authority is paying Reynolds Smith & Hills Inc. roughly $130,000 for a study. The authority agreed to keep its projects away from Navy cleanup work, and spaceport, at least at first, would open without any new infrastructure. The spaceport would serve as a small component to an overall rebuilding of Cecil into a logistics and distribution hub. The authority sees space tourism as a fledgling business that could boost Jacksonville's economy while making Northeast Florida a major technology hub. "It's going to bring research and development you otherwise might not get," said an official.
Retiree: U.S. Lacks Passion for Space (Source: Florida Today)
The scramble to find new work will not wait for the last shuttle mission. Retirements and voluntary career changes will begin soon, even though the shuttle fleet is scheduled to keep flying through 2010, said one retired space industry worker who lived through the slowdown after the Apollo program, which ended after the last moon mission in 1972. A more diverse economy will provide more opportunities than were available to the men and women who were suddenly unemployed when the U.S. shut down Apollo early. However, he fears that the future health of the space program could be threatened more by the diminished interest of the public and Congress in space exploration. That could translate into less money flowing into NASA and KSC. "We need to get back to that passion we had. I think with the new vehicle you'll have passion because everybody (will be) down here wanting to watch the first or second launch."
Gov. Huckabee and Rep. Tancredo were given the opportunity to respond to a question about their support for space exploration during the Nov. 28 debate in Florida. Huckabee recognized the space program's importance to Florida's economy and said he would "want to make sure that we expand the space program, because every one of us who are sitting here tonight have our lives dramatically improved because there was a space program -- whether it's these screens that we see or the incredible electronics that we use, including the GPS systems that got many of you to this arena tonight...Now, whether we need to send somebody to Mars, I don't know. But I'll tell you what: If we do, I've got a few suggestions, and maybe Hillary could be on the first rocket to Mars."
Tancredo's response was less positive on space. "How many questions have dealt with the issue of deficit spending, the debt out of control? And yet, we have somebody saying, 'But would you spend more money on going to Mars?' And the suggestion that we need to spend more money on space exploration. This is it, folks. That's why we have such incredible problems with our debt, because everybody's trying to be everything to all people. We can't afford some things, and by the way, going to Mars is one of them."
GAO: Ares 1 Faces Cost, Schedule, Tech Gaps (Source: Florida Today)
NASA has taken steps in building a good business plan around the development of the Ares I launch vehicle, but the agency has yet to come up with "the knowledge needed to make sound investment decisions" for the program, according to a government audit. "Principally, there are gaps in knowledge about requirements, costs, schedule, technology, design and production feasibility," the Government Accountability Office told House lawmakers in its report. NASA still has 10 months left under its own schedule to close technology, cost and other gaps, but the GAO described those holes as "fairly significant and challenging given the complexity and interdependencies" in the program.
Auditors recommended that NASA establish "a sound business case" for Ares I before going forward on its preliminary design review, currently set for next July. It also suggested delaying that review "until the project's readiness to move forward is demonstrated." Rep. Bart Gordon, the Tennessee Democrat who heads the House Science and Technology Committee, had asked for the audit as part of the panel's oversight of NASA's Exploration plan to return humans to the moon and prepare for eventual human space flight to Mars.
European Ministers Work to Overcome New Galileo Spat (Source: Earth Times)
European Union transport ministers were meeting in Brussels Thursday and Friday to try and overcome a new split over the bloc's troubled Galileo satellite-navigation system project. The latest spat involves a ground-control station, which both Spain and Italy claim should be based in their territory, according to reports. Lack of agreement threatens to further delay the project, which is due to become operational by 2013.
STSS To Launch Next Summer (Source: Aerospace Daily)
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) completed thermal vacuum testing on the second of its two Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) satellites, which are expected to launch from Cape Canaveral in July. Both of the satellites, designed to track ballistic missiles in their midcourse phase of flight, have completed acceptance testing and will be receiving final tweaks for launch configuration and acoustic testing. STSS, together with ground-based radars and other space-based constellations, eventually will cue interceptors against hostile long-range ballistic missiles.
NASA: Possible Air Leak Found in Harmony Module Link (Source: Houston Chronicle)
Engineers have detected what may be a small air leak between the new gateway module delivered to the space station by shuttle astronauts in late October and the rest of the orbital base. More measurements were planned on Friday at the port where the new school bus-sized Harmony module is parked against the station's U.S.-provided science compartment. "At this point, we are not sure if this is truly a leak or not," said a NASA spokeswoman.
Today, Countries Battle for a Piece of the Arctic. Tomorrow? The Moon (Source: WIRED)
In 2005, the Canadian military launched Exercise Frozen Beaver. Eleven soldiers flew in helicopters to Hans Island, a hunk of rock off the coast of Greenland that's long been claimed by both Denmark and Canada. When they landed on the half-square-mile outcropping, the troops planted a Canadian flag, ripping down the Danish colors that had been flying there since 1984. It was the opening shot in what has become a fusillade of bizarre military posturing over the Arctic. More recently, Russian scientist Artur Chilingarov used a small submersible to plant a Russian flag encased in a titanium capsule on the Arctic seafloor some 13,000 feet under the North Pole. "If someone doesn't like this, let them go down themselves," he said. "The Arctic has always been Russian."
Global warming has opened the fabled Northwest Passage for the first time in recorded history. The melt also made the billions of barrels of oil thought to be under the Arctic suddenly seem within our grasp. Some are calling it the Cold Rush. This Arctic battle has implications that reach far beyond the top of Earth. The squabbling will set the tone for eventual sovereignty claims on the moon. At the same time that it was making Arctic claims, Russia announced plans for manned lunar missions by 2025 and a permanent base there by 2032. Japan might beat them to the punch with a 2030 base. Both will be able to stop over and share a glass of Tang with US astronauts, who are supposed to start setting up shop in 2020. China also has lunar aspirations, though officials will say only that they plan to get to the moon sometime after 2020.
"The seabed, high seas, Antarctica, and space are, as a matter of law, global commons. What happens in one can be argued to be legal precedent in the others," says Joanne Gabrynowicz, an international space law expert. Since 2002, China's chief lunar scientist has made his country's intentions clear: "Our long-term goal is to set up a base on the moon and mine its riches for the benefit of humanity." But by far the moon's biggest asset is its primal cachet. Lunar settlers could brandish their nationalism over all of Earth every night. Add to that the fact that the moon is perfect practice for conquest of Mars, the Asteroid Belt, and moons of Jupiter, Saturn, and beyond. In human history, anywhere there's value, there are eventually property rights. Visit http://www.wired.com/science/space/magazine/15-12/st_essay to view the article.
Plan to Send People Into Space from Cecil Field Not Dead Yet (Source: Florida Times-Union)
An environmental study is the latest step in Jacksonville Aviation Authority's plans to begin using the 12,500-foot runway at the former Naval air base for horizontal spacecraft launches. Although the base closed in 1993, 50 years worth of spilled fuels, oils, solvents, paints and pesticides made Cecil Field one of the most notoriously polluted areas in Jacksonville. Cecil Field was listed as an EPA Superfund site in 1989. Cleanup efforts are ongoing. Neighboring resident Raymond Richard, 60, said he was concerned what spacecraft fuel could do if it got into nearby Yellow Water Creek. Overall, he supports the spaceport idea.
The authority is paying Reynolds Smith & Hills Inc. roughly $130,000 for a study. The authority agreed to keep its projects away from Navy cleanup work, and spaceport, at least at first, would open without any new infrastructure. The spaceport would serve as a small component to an overall rebuilding of Cecil into a logistics and distribution hub. The authority sees space tourism as a fledgling business that could boost Jacksonville's economy while making Northeast Florida a major technology hub. "It's going to bring research and development you otherwise might not get," said an official.
Retiree: U.S. Lacks Passion for Space (Source: Florida Today)
The scramble to find new work will not wait for the last shuttle mission. Retirements and voluntary career changes will begin soon, even though the shuttle fleet is scheduled to keep flying through 2010, said one retired space industry worker who lived through the slowdown after the Apollo program, which ended after the last moon mission in 1972. A more diverse economy will provide more opportunities than were available to the men and women who were suddenly unemployed when the U.S. shut down Apollo early. However, he fears that the future health of the space program could be threatened more by the diminished interest of the public and Congress in space exploration. That could translate into less money flowing into NASA and KSC. "We need to get back to that passion we had. I think with the new vehicle you'll have passion because everybody (will be) down here wanting to watch the first or second launch."
November 28 News Items
China, Brazil Give Africa Free Satellite Land Images (Source: AFP)
China and Brazil will give Africa free satellite imaging of its landmass to help the continent respond to threats like deforestation, desertification and drought. A land imaging satellite launched by the two governments at a cost of some $100 million dollars in September would relay images, updated monthly, to four ground stations for dissemination to African states. "How much is it worth for (Africa) to have an up-to-date mapping of its agricultural areas? It is priceless," Gilberto Camara, director general of Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, told AFP.
Public Sees Plans for Cecil Field Spaceport (Source: First Coast News)
Airport managers are taking their plans to the public, asking for input on their proposal to make Cecil Field a commercial spaceport. Cecil Field is already home to big aircraft. But it could also house spacecraft someday. There are new developments in a proposal to turn the former Navy base into a spaceport, while keeping its new role as a commerce center. When the idea was first pitched a couple of years ago to add a spaceport at Cecil Field, it came from a state agency. Things have changed. Now the Jacksonville Aviation Authority is pursuing the idea on its own.
The Jacksonville Aviation Authority is about six months away from filing its final piece of paperwork seeking FAA permission to launch and land two types of spaceships. "The X-Concept vehicle and the Z-Concept vehicle are the ones that we're pursuing on our license," Stewart said, referring to a pair of images on one of the posters in his office. Both designs would take off like a regular plane and be no louder than a single military jet, Stewart said.
Mars Visionary Tackles Earth Energy Policy (Source: EnergyDaily.com)
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez says he wants to send oil to $200 a barrel. Robert Zubrin has a plan to stop him. In his just released book, Energy Victory: Winning the War on Terror by Breaking Free of Oil, Zubrin, an American aerospace engineer known previously primarily for his inventive approach to Mars exploration, lays out the strategy. To say the book is remarkable, would be a severe understatement. Combining soaring idealism, incisive thinking, and a viscous go-for-throat killer instinct in a single package, Energy Victory is the first book I have ever read that actually lays out a credible plan to turn around the world energy situation. Visit http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/The_Plan_To_Destroy_OPEC_999.html to view the article.
NASCAR Enters the Space Age (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
It will bring a whole new meaning to the term "space race," or so NASA hopes. If the agency's promotional plan pays off, millions of NASCAR fans will have their eyes glued to the skies next month when space shuttle Atlantis blasts off into orbit -- carrying three Daytona 500 race flags in its cargo bay. The green starter flags are being launched into space to celebrate the 50th running of the Daytona 500 in February, as well as NASA's own upcoming 50th anniversary. "It's great," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said. "It will hopefully bring space to a whole new audience." Editor's note: NASCAR racers have recently used the Shuttle Landing Facility as a super-long, super-straight roadway testbed, and have for many years used NASA-developed materials for heat shielding in their cars.
Entrepreneur of the Year: Elon Musk (Source: Inc.)
Electric sports cars. Solar power. Space travel. Finally, an entrepreneur who's not afraid to think really, really big. Watching Elon Musk at work is an exercise in controlling your urge to buy a man a drink. Make that several drinks. Musk is 36 years old, wicked smart, worth several hundred million dollars, and built like a tight end--thickset through the middle and well over 6 feet tall. Yet he never looks quite comfortable. Sitting in front of the oversize computer screen on his desk, he rolls back and forth in his chair, slouches and unslouches, rubs his temples, raps his fingers, and plays with his wedding ring. When he sighs, which he does frequently, his chest heaves, and his eyes widen, like someone confronted with news of his own death. He generally speaks in complete, precise sentences, rarely telling a joke or even cracking a smile.
It's not that Musk is an unpleasant guy. He just happens to be really, really busy. Musk is CEO, majority owner, and head rocket designer at SpaceX, an aerospace start-up in El Segundo, California, that by 2011 plans to be hauling astronauts to and from the International Space Station. And that's just his day job. Musk has two more wildly ambitious start-ups in play--the electric-car maker Tesla Motors and the solar panel installer SolarCity; in both cases, he serves as chairman and controlling shareholder. In fact, the South African native has been building big, ambitious companies for more than a decade. He co-founded PayPal, the online payment processor that eBay bought in 2002 for $1.5 billion, as well as Zip2, a dot-com media company that was sold for $307 million when he was just 27. Visit http://www.inc.com/magazine/20071201/entrepreneur-of-the-year-elon-musk.html to view the article.
China and Brazil will give Africa free satellite imaging of its landmass to help the continent respond to threats like deforestation, desertification and drought. A land imaging satellite launched by the two governments at a cost of some $100 million dollars in September would relay images, updated monthly, to four ground stations for dissemination to African states. "How much is it worth for (Africa) to have an up-to-date mapping of its agricultural areas? It is priceless," Gilberto Camara, director general of Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, told AFP.
Public Sees Plans for Cecil Field Spaceport (Source: First Coast News)
Airport managers are taking their plans to the public, asking for input on their proposal to make Cecil Field a commercial spaceport. Cecil Field is already home to big aircraft. But it could also house spacecraft someday. There are new developments in a proposal to turn the former Navy base into a spaceport, while keeping its new role as a commerce center. When the idea was first pitched a couple of years ago to add a spaceport at Cecil Field, it came from a state agency. Things have changed. Now the Jacksonville Aviation Authority is pursuing the idea on its own.
The Jacksonville Aviation Authority is about six months away from filing its final piece of paperwork seeking FAA permission to launch and land two types of spaceships. "The X-Concept vehicle and the Z-Concept vehicle are the ones that we're pursuing on our license," Stewart said, referring to a pair of images on one of the posters in his office. Both designs would take off like a regular plane and be no louder than a single military jet, Stewart said.
Mars Visionary Tackles Earth Energy Policy (Source: EnergyDaily.com)
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez says he wants to send oil to $200 a barrel. Robert Zubrin has a plan to stop him. In his just released book, Energy Victory: Winning the War on Terror by Breaking Free of Oil, Zubrin, an American aerospace engineer known previously primarily for his inventive approach to Mars exploration, lays out the strategy. To say the book is remarkable, would be a severe understatement. Combining soaring idealism, incisive thinking, and a viscous go-for-throat killer instinct in a single package, Energy Victory is the first book I have ever read that actually lays out a credible plan to turn around the world energy situation. Visit http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/The_Plan_To_Destroy_OPEC_999.html to view the article.
NASCAR Enters the Space Age (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
It will bring a whole new meaning to the term "space race," or so NASA hopes. If the agency's promotional plan pays off, millions of NASCAR fans will have their eyes glued to the skies next month when space shuttle Atlantis blasts off into orbit -- carrying three Daytona 500 race flags in its cargo bay. The green starter flags are being launched into space to celebrate the 50th running of the Daytona 500 in February, as well as NASA's own upcoming 50th anniversary. "It's great," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said. "It will hopefully bring space to a whole new audience." Editor's note: NASCAR racers have recently used the Shuttle Landing Facility as a super-long, super-straight roadway testbed, and have for many years used NASA-developed materials for heat shielding in their cars.
Entrepreneur of the Year: Elon Musk (Source: Inc.)
Electric sports cars. Solar power. Space travel. Finally, an entrepreneur who's not afraid to think really, really big. Watching Elon Musk at work is an exercise in controlling your urge to buy a man a drink. Make that several drinks. Musk is 36 years old, wicked smart, worth several hundred million dollars, and built like a tight end--thickset through the middle and well over 6 feet tall. Yet he never looks quite comfortable. Sitting in front of the oversize computer screen on his desk, he rolls back and forth in his chair, slouches and unslouches, rubs his temples, raps his fingers, and plays with his wedding ring. When he sighs, which he does frequently, his chest heaves, and his eyes widen, like someone confronted with news of his own death. He generally speaks in complete, precise sentences, rarely telling a joke or even cracking a smile.
It's not that Musk is an unpleasant guy. He just happens to be really, really busy. Musk is CEO, majority owner, and head rocket designer at SpaceX, an aerospace start-up in El Segundo, California, that by 2011 plans to be hauling astronauts to and from the International Space Station. And that's just his day job. Musk has two more wildly ambitious start-ups in play--the electric-car maker Tesla Motors and the solar panel installer SolarCity; in both cases, he serves as chairman and controlling shareholder. In fact, the South African native has been building big, ambitious companies for more than a decade. He co-founded PayPal, the online payment processor that eBay bought in 2002 for $1.5 billion, as well as Zip2, a dot-com media company that was sold for $307 million when he was just 27. Visit http://www.inc.com/magazine/20071201/entrepreneur-of-the-year-elon-musk.html to view the article.
November 27 News Items
Space Station Ready for Atlantis Visit (Source: Florida Today)
The International Space Station is ready to host Atlantis, now scheduled for a Dec. 6 launch, according to the ISS Flight Readiness Review that met Tuesday in Houston. "No issues. They were good with pressing ahead," said NASA spokesman James Hartsfield. At a readiness review on Friday at Kennedy Space Center, shuttle program managers are expected to give final approval to the 4:31 p.m. EST Dec. 6 launch. The early December launch is possible because the space station crew has performed two robotic relocations and two spacewalks since Discovery delivered the Harmony module in October. The module and docking port are operational.
NASA's Most Serious Management and Performance Challenges (Source: SpaceRef.com)
According to NASA's Inspector General, the five most serious management and performance challenges facing the agency include: 1) Transitioning from the Space Shuttle to the Next Generation of Space Vehicles; 2) Managing Risk to People, Equipment, and Mission; 3) Financial Management; 4) Information Technology (IT) Security; and 5) Acquisition and Contracting Processes. Visit http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.nl.html?pid=26136 to view the article.
Embry-Riddle Establishes McNair Scholars Program (Source: ERAU)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will receive a four-year $879,596 grant from the U.S. Department of Education for a McNair Scholars Program. Named for fallen Challenger astronaut Dr. Ronald McNair, the McNair Scholars Program will prepare undergraduate students from disadvantaged backgrounds for doctoral study, with the ultimate goal of increasing the number of underrepresented students obtaining doctorates. The grant will allow Embry-Riddle to assist 25 McNair Scholars each year.
SeaLaunch Reschedules the Thuraya-3 Launch Campaign (Source: SeaLaunch)
Due to unusually strong ocean currents at the launch site, Sea Launch is rescheduling the launch campaign for the Thuraya-3 satellite. The team is establishing an extended schedule for the Thuraya-3 mission, as the vessels return to Sea Launch Home Port. All personnel are doing well and all systems and the spacecraft are secure.
US plans GPS Upgrade to Rival Galileo (Source: AFP)
The US military is working on super-powerful updates to its GPS satellite navigation technology to try to trump the rival European Galileo project which just received key funding, experts say. Galileo is now set to be deployed by 2013. But in a bid to maintain its economic and military edge in the sector, the United States has been preparing to wheel out GPS III satellites, the most significant upgrade to its Global Positioning System since it was first launched in the 1990s.
Small Satellite Specialist SSTL is for Sale (Source: Space News)
Britain's Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL), arguably the world's most successful builder of small satellites, has been put on the auction block by its owner, the University of Surrey, in a sale that is likely to occur by spring, according to SSTL Managing Director Sir Martin Sweeting.
Northrop, Raytheon Stay in Hunt for GPS Ground Segment (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Air Force awarded contracts worth $160 million each to Northrop Grumman Corp. and Raytheon Co. Nov. 21 to continue design work on the ground control segment for the next generation of GPS navigation and positioning satellites.
Situational Awareness, Protection Top USAF Space Control Priorities (Source: Aerospace Daily)
Improved situational awareness and protection capabilities are the top two priorities for the U.S. Air Force's growing space control efforts in the fiscal 2009 budget cycle. In the area of protection, the Pentagon, intelligence community and commercial users have developed a "neighborhood watch," whereby users exchange data on anomalies or operations on orbit. This helps diagnose jamming or other tampering when they occur and also helps narrow down sources of satellite interference if they are natural or unintended.
In the area of space situational awareness, Air Force Space Command is studying how to better use existing sensors and what new systems may be needed to properly monitor activities in space. Congress added $100 million to a variety of space situational awareness efforts in the recently approved FY '08 budget. A topline increase is needed for Air Force space efforts in FY '09 to handle these and other initiatives. Among them are a cost overrun in the Space-Based Infrared System high and the addition of a fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite, which could cost up to $1.2 billion.
Space Vs. Education (Source: MSNBC)
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s education policy is causing a stir … but not all in a good way. Advocates for space exploration are noting with dismay that he’d take billions of dollars from NASA to pay for the educational programs he'd like to expand. The first years of an Obama administration would be particularly critical for NASA, because that's the time frame during which the shuttle fleet is due to retire. The schedule already calls for the space agency to hitch rides into orbit on other people's spaceships for up to four years, and if Obama follows through that gap could go for years longer - even assuming that Constellation goes into hurry-up mode if and when the budgetary spigots are opened wider.
USA Today quoted the Illinois senator as defending his plan to put NASA's vision on hold: "We're not going to have the engineers and the scientists to continue space exploration if we don't have kids who are able to read, write and compute," he said. "That would be very destructive," rocket scientist Robert Zubrin said. "There's so much more we could do for education by having a visionary space program than by just throwing it away into the educational bureaucracy."
Editorial: An Overpriced Piece of Pie in the Sky (Source: Times Online)
Europe is heading for the worst of all worlds in its high-minded determination to press ahead with Galileo, the satellite navigation system that it believes should rival the US Global Positioning System. The European Union is paying too much (of taxpayers’ money) for an overcomplicated system that doesn’t yet work, in which private companies have refused to take part, and which may be overtaken by its rivals before it starts. In the deal thrashed out last week, it is dividing the enterprise into six, not for reasons of engineering or competitiveness, but simply so that a slice can go to each of the main donors (one might as well use the vocabulary of development aid, as that is what the project is).
In conception, Galileo was not a disaster. It was sensible to think of developing a rival to the US system, given that the normal commercial dangers of losing that competition were always there. The best that can be said is that it has already prompted the US to improve GPS. But the EU’s decisions display its least commercial reflexes.
The International Space Station is ready to host Atlantis, now scheduled for a Dec. 6 launch, according to the ISS Flight Readiness Review that met Tuesday in Houston. "No issues. They were good with pressing ahead," said NASA spokesman James Hartsfield. At a readiness review on Friday at Kennedy Space Center, shuttle program managers are expected to give final approval to the 4:31 p.m. EST Dec. 6 launch. The early December launch is possible because the space station crew has performed two robotic relocations and two spacewalks since Discovery delivered the Harmony module in October. The module and docking port are operational.
NASA's Most Serious Management and Performance Challenges (Source: SpaceRef.com)
According to NASA's Inspector General, the five most serious management and performance challenges facing the agency include: 1) Transitioning from the Space Shuttle to the Next Generation of Space Vehicles; 2) Managing Risk to People, Equipment, and Mission; 3) Financial Management; 4) Information Technology (IT) Security; and 5) Acquisition and Contracting Processes. Visit http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.nl.html?pid=26136 to view the article.
Embry-Riddle Establishes McNair Scholars Program (Source: ERAU)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will receive a four-year $879,596 grant from the U.S. Department of Education for a McNair Scholars Program. Named for fallen Challenger astronaut Dr. Ronald McNair, the McNair Scholars Program will prepare undergraduate students from disadvantaged backgrounds for doctoral study, with the ultimate goal of increasing the number of underrepresented students obtaining doctorates. The grant will allow Embry-Riddle to assist 25 McNair Scholars each year.
SeaLaunch Reschedules the Thuraya-3 Launch Campaign (Source: SeaLaunch)
Due to unusually strong ocean currents at the launch site, Sea Launch is rescheduling the launch campaign for the Thuraya-3 satellite. The team is establishing an extended schedule for the Thuraya-3 mission, as the vessels return to Sea Launch Home Port. All personnel are doing well and all systems and the spacecraft are secure.
US plans GPS Upgrade to Rival Galileo (Source: AFP)
The US military is working on super-powerful updates to its GPS satellite navigation technology to try to trump the rival European Galileo project which just received key funding, experts say. Galileo is now set to be deployed by 2013. But in a bid to maintain its economic and military edge in the sector, the United States has been preparing to wheel out GPS III satellites, the most significant upgrade to its Global Positioning System since it was first launched in the 1990s.
Small Satellite Specialist SSTL is for Sale (Source: Space News)
Britain's Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL), arguably the world's most successful builder of small satellites, has been put on the auction block by its owner, the University of Surrey, in a sale that is likely to occur by spring, according to SSTL Managing Director Sir Martin Sweeting.
Northrop, Raytheon Stay in Hunt for GPS Ground Segment (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Air Force awarded contracts worth $160 million each to Northrop Grumman Corp. and Raytheon Co. Nov. 21 to continue design work on the ground control segment for the next generation of GPS navigation and positioning satellites.
Situational Awareness, Protection Top USAF Space Control Priorities (Source: Aerospace Daily)
Improved situational awareness and protection capabilities are the top two priorities for the U.S. Air Force's growing space control efforts in the fiscal 2009 budget cycle. In the area of protection, the Pentagon, intelligence community and commercial users have developed a "neighborhood watch," whereby users exchange data on anomalies or operations on orbit. This helps diagnose jamming or other tampering when they occur and also helps narrow down sources of satellite interference if they are natural or unintended.
In the area of space situational awareness, Air Force Space Command is studying how to better use existing sensors and what new systems may be needed to properly monitor activities in space. Congress added $100 million to a variety of space situational awareness efforts in the recently approved FY '08 budget. A topline increase is needed for Air Force space efforts in FY '09 to handle these and other initiatives. Among them are a cost overrun in the Space-Based Infrared System high and the addition of a fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite, which could cost up to $1.2 billion.
Space Vs. Education (Source: MSNBC)
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s education policy is causing a stir … but not all in a good way. Advocates for space exploration are noting with dismay that he’d take billions of dollars from NASA to pay for the educational programs he'd like to expand. The first years of an Obama administration would be particularly critical for NASA, because that's the time frame during which the shuttle fleet is due to retire. The schedule already calls for the space agency to hitch rides into orbit on other people's spaceships for up to four years, and if Obama follows through that gap could go for years longer - even assuming that Constellation goes into hurry-up mode if and when the budgetary spigots are opened wider.
USA Today quoted the Illinois senator as defending his plan to put NASA's vision on hold: "We're not going to have the engineers and the scientists to continue space exploration if we don't have kids who are able to read, write and compute," he said. "That would be very destructive," rocket scientist Robert Zubrin said. "There's so much more we could do for education by having a visionary space program than by just throwing it away into the educational bureaucracy."
Editorial: An Overpriced Piece of Pie in the Sky (Source: Times Online)
Europe is heading for the worst of all worlds in its high-minded determination to press ahead with Galileo, the satellite navigation system that it believes should rival the US Global Positioning System. The European Union is paying too much (of taxpayers’ money) for an overcomplicated system that doesn’t yet work, in which private companies have refused to take part, and which may be overtaken by its rivals before it starts. In the deal thrashed out last week, it is dividing the enterprise into six, not for reasons of engineering or competitiveness, but simply so that a slice can go to each of the main donors (one might as well use the vocabulary of development aid, as that is what the project is).
In conception, Galileo was not a disaster. It was sensible to think of developing a rival to the US system, given that the normal commercial dangers of losing that competition were always there. The best that can be said is that it has already prompted the US to improve GPS. But the EU’s decisions display its least commercial reflexes.
November 26 News Items
Spain Accuses Germany and Italy of Blocking Galileo Role (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Spain has accused Germany and Italy of seeking to prevent Madrid from playing a leading role in the Galileo satellite-navigation project. "There is political obstruction by Germany and Italy to Spain playing a prominent role" in Galileo, according to a document by the ministry of public works seen by the El Mundo newspaper. "This political obstruction is done with the connivance of the European Commission and the European Space Agency, which aim to bring the project to a conclusion and are ready to not respect the rules in order not to offend these two countries," it said. The document is dated several months ago, but El Mundo quoted sources close to the issue as saying it remains valid.
China Denies Plans for Manned Moon Mission (Source: Computing)
The head of China's space agency has confirmed that his country has no plans to put a man on the Moon. Sun Laiyan, chief of the China National Space Administration, said that the hurdles to manned space exploration are too great for the time being, and that his agency will concentrate on mechanical exploration. "I have read reports by foreign media saying that China would carry a manned Moon landing in 2020, but I do not think there has been such a plan," Sun said. "So far, our Moon mission only includes unmanned probes. But I believe one day China will send its own astronauts to land on the Moon. I hope I can see it happen."
ESA Considers Lunar Lander, Other Proposals (Source: Flight International)
A lunar lander study that could lead to a 2011 start for a development program is being considered by the European Space Agency as a proposal for its 2008 ministerial conference. The lander work would be part of a wider post-2008 three-year system level design study examining an affordable space station, possibly with international collaboration. ESA has to consider developing specific technologies such as environmental control and life support systems and robotic elements for wider exploration missions anyway.
ESA is working with Russia's Federal Space Agency on a 15-month preparatory project for a four- or six-crew spacecraft called the Crew Space Transportation System and this could have a circumlunar flight capability. If the 2008 ministerial meeting gives the green light to a further development stage for CSTS then the lander, if approved, could one day operate in tandem with the new manned spacecraft.
NASA Manned Mars Mission Details Emerge (Source: Flight International)
A 400,000kg (880,000lb) Marship would be assembled in orbit using six Ares V cargo launch vehicle flights for a 900-day mission to the red planet, according to details that have emerged about NASA's new Constellation program's manned Mars mission. The spacecraft would take a "minimal crew" to Mars in six to seven months, with the crew spending up to 550 days on the surface, according to the program's design reference architecture 5.0, currently in development.
The Ares V rockets used to launch the Marship elements into low Earth orbit will need a 125,000kg payload capacity and use a 10m (32.7ft) fairing. Crews would be sent every 26 months, will need up to 50,000kg of cargo, use an aerodynamic and powered descent method and the 40-minute communications delay between Earth and Mars would require autonomy or at least asynchronous operation with mission control. Notionally launched in February 2031, the first crew's flight would be preceded by the cargo lander and surface habitat being sent in December 2028 and January 2029, respectively.
Watch Out For Flying Moondust (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
At Cape Canaveral, not far from the launch pad where the space shuttle lifts off, there's a ragged hole in a chain link fence. Its message: Watch out for flying boulders. "The powerful exhaust of the shuttle's solid rocket boosters blasts concrete out of the flame trench below the engines," explains physicist Phil Metzger of KSC. This is no problem as long as people and equipment are kept at a safe distance. Easily done at KSC, but what if all this was happening on the Moon?
There will be habitats, rovers, supply depots and mining equipment. Ships will be coming and going, landing and blasting off--and kicking up debris that might fly a lot farther than boulders at Cape Canaveral. At KSC's Granular Mechanics and Surface Systems Lab, Metzger is sweating the really small stuff--"moondust." On the Moon, small grit can travel enormous distances at high speeds, scouring everything in its path, including the reflective coating off thermal control blankets, roughen the surfaces of windows and other optics, compromise the surfaces of solar panels, and penetrate connectors or other mechanisms on digging machines or spacesuits, causing friction and even mechanical failure.
You can run, but you can't hide. Dust particles accelerated by a rocket's exhaust could theoretically travel all the way around the Moon! Now, Metzger is helping other teams of NASA engineers figure out how to mitigate the effects of lunar landings and takeoffs. One strategy might be to locate spaceports in places where mountains and hills serve as natural dust blockers. Artificial berms or other ingenious structures might offer a solution, too. Visit http://www.moondaily.com/reports/Watch_Out_For_Flying_Moondust_999.html for information.
What Space Startups Really Need (Source: Space Review)
The last several years has seen a surge in new space ventures, but most have found difficulty in attracting funding beyond individual "angel" investors. Rocky Persaud argues that what the industry needs is an incubator-like entity to help these new ventures mature. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1007/1 to view the article.
The Space Station: The Best of Times, The Worst of Times (Source: Space Review)
The latest shuttle mission and more recent work on the ISS have cleared the way for the launch of two key laboratory modules from Europe and Japan. Taylor Dinerman contends that now is the time to examine the long-term future of the station in order to maximize its value for all the partners. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1009/1 to view the article.
Spain has accused Germany and Italy of seeking to prevent Madrid from playing a leading role in the Galileo satellite-navigation project. "There is political obstruction by Germany and Italy to Spain playing a prominent role" in Galileo, according to a document by the ministry of public works seen by the El Mundo newspaper. "This political obstruction is done with the connivance of the European Commission and the European Space Agency, which aim to bring the project to a conclusion and are ready to not respect the rules in order not to offend these two countries," it said. The document is dated several months ago, but El Mundo quoted sources close to the issue as saying it remains valid.
China Denies Plans for Manned Moon Mission (Source: Computing)
The head of China's space agency has confirmed that his country has no plans to put a man on the Moon. Sun Laiyan, chief of the China National Space Administration, said that the hurdles to manned space exploration are too great for the time being, and that his agency will concentrate on mechanical exploration. "I have read reports by foreign media saying that China would carry a manned Moon landing in 2020, but I do not think there has been such a plan," Sun said. "So far, our Moon mission only includes unmanned probes. But I believe one day China will send its own astronauts to land on the Moon. I hope I can see it happen."
ESA Considers Lunar Lander, Other Proposals (Source: Flight International)
A lunar lander study that could lead to a 2011 start for a development program is being considered by the European Space Agency as a proposal for its 2008 ministerial conference. The lander work would be part of a wider post-2008 three-year system level design study examining an affordable space station, possibly with international collaboration. ESA has to consider developing specific technologies such as environmental control and life support systems and robotic elements for wider exploration missions anyway.
ESA is working with Russia's Federal Space Agency on a 15-month preparatory project for a four- or six-crew spacecraft called the Crew Space Transportation System and this could have a circumlunar flight capability. If the 2008 ministerial meeting gives the green light to a further development stage for CSTS then the lander, if approved, could one day operate in tandem with the new manned spacecraft.
NASA Manned Mars Mission Details Emerge (Source: Flight International)
A 400,000kg (880,000lb) Marship would be assembled in orbit using six Ares V cargo launch vehicle flights for a 900-day mission to the red planet, according to details that have emerged about NASA's new Constellation program's manned Mars mission. The spacecraft would take a "minimal crew" to Mars in six to seven months, with the crew spending up to 550 days on the surface, according to the program's design reference architecture 5.0, currently in development.
The Ares V rockets used to launch the Marship elements into low Earth orbit will need a 125,000kg payload capacity and use a 10m (32.7ft) fairing. Crews would be sent every 26 months, will need up to 50,000kg of cargo, use an aerodynamic and powered descent method and the 40-minute communications delay between Earth and Mars would require autonomy or at least asynchronous operation with mission control. Notionally launched in February 2031, the first crew's flight would be preceded by the cargo lander and surface habitat being sent in December 2028 and January 2029, respectively.
Watch Out For Flying Moondust (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
At Cape Canaveral, not far from the launch pad where the space shuttle lifts off, there's a ragged hole in a chain link fence. Its message: Watch out for flying boulders. "The powerful exhaust of the shuttle's solid rocket boosters blasts concrete out of the flame trench below the engines," explains physicist Phil Metzger of KSC. This is no problem as long as people and equipment are kept at a safe distance. Easily done at KSC, but what if all this was happening on the Moon?
There will be habitats, rovers, supply depots and mining equipment. Ships will be coming and going, landing and blasting off--and kicking up debris that might fly a lot farther than boulders at Cape Canaveral. At KSC's Granular Mechanics and Surface Systems Lab, Metzger is sweating the really small stuff--"moondust." On the Moon, small grit can travel enormous distances at high speeds, scouring everything in its path, including the reflective coating off thermal control blankets, roughen the surfaces of windows and other optics, compromise the surfaces of solar panels, and penetrate connectors or other mechanisms on digging machines or spacesuits, causing friction and even mechanical failure.
You can run, but you can't hide. Dust particles accelerated by a rocket's exhaust could theoretically travel all the way around the Moon! Now, Metzger is helping other teams of NASA engineers figure out how to mitigate the effects of lunar landings and takeoffs. One strategy might be to locate spaceports in places where mountains and hills serve as natural dust blockers. Artificial berms or other ingenious structures might offer a solution, too. Visit http://www.moondaily.com/reports/Watch_Out_For_Flying_Moondust_999.html for information.
What Space Startups Really Need (Source: Space Review)
The last several years has seen a surge in new space ventures, but most have found difficulty in attracting funding beyond individual "angel" investors. Rocky Persaud argues that what the industry needs is an incubator-like entity to help these new ventures mature. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1007/1 to view the article.
The Space Station: The Best of Times, The Worst of Times (Source: Space Review)
The latest shuttle mission and more recent work on the ISS have cleared the way for the launch of two key laboratory modules from Europe and Japan. Taylor Dinerman contends that now is the time to examine the long-term future of the station in order to maximize its value for all the partners. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1009/1 to view the article.
November 25 News Items
Spacewalk Generates Power, Reveals Additional Station Damage (Source: Florida Today)
Spacewalking astronauts cleared the way Saturday for the launch next month of shuttle Atlantis and the European Columbus laboratory. But they also found what could spell trouble for the planned delivery next April of the Japanese Kibo science research facility. Inspecting a fouled-up solar wing rotary joint, they found more metal shavings to gum up its gears. "The engineers are going to go off and talk about this in great detail, but basically, the damage is significant and is widespread," said NASA's lead flight director. The station is generating enough electricity to support the arrival of Atlantis with Columbus, but the faulty rotary joint almost certainly will have to be fixed to produce enough power to feed the Kibo facility, too. Three or four more dedicated spacewalks likely will be required.
UK's XEUS Telescope to Replace Hubble (Source: Telergraph)
British scientists are building the biggest telescope to be launched into space - aiming to probe some of the most distant and mysterious corners of the universe. The X-ray Evolving Universe Spectroscopy, or XEUS, telescope is one of the next generation of space-based observatories that will replace the famous NASA Hubble Space Telescope, which has orbited Earth since 1990. The ambitious new telescope project has been short-listed by the European Space Agency for launch in the next 10 years. Unlike Hubble, which is encased in a single protective tube, XEUS will consist of two mini-bus sized spacecraft flying in formation 114ft apart from each other as they orbit the Sun.
Has First Evidence of Another Universe Been Seen? (Source: ITWire)
Astronomers announced in August 2007 the discovery of a large hole at the edge of our universe. Since then, theoretical physicist and cosmologist Laura Mersini-Houghton and colleagues have claimed it is an “unmistakable imprint of another universe beyond the edge of our own.” The hole is estimated to be almost one billion light-years across, where one light-year is about 9.5 trillion kilometers (5.9 trillion miles) and is located beyond the constellation Eridanus. The Mersini-Houghton team states that the hole is another universe at the edge of our own universe. Such an explanation, if true, would be the first experimental evidence of such an exo-universe, or a universe outside of our own universe.
Spacewalking astronauts cleared the way Saturday for the launch next month of shuttle Atlantis and the European Columbus laboratory. But they also found what could spell trouble for the planned delivery next April of the Japanese Kibo science research facility. Inspecting a fouled-up solar wing rotary joint, they found more metal shavings to gum up its gears. "The engineers are going to go off and talk about this in great detail, but basically, the damage is significant and is widespread," said NASA's lead flight director. The station is generating enough electricity to support the arrival of Atlantis with Columbus, but the faulty rotary joint almost certainly will have to be fixed to produce enough power to feed the Kibo facility, too. Three or four more dedicated spacewalks likely will be required.
UK's XEUS Telescope to Replace Hubble (Source: Telergraph)
British scientists are building the biggest telescope to be launched into space - aiming to probe some of the most distant and mysterious corners of the universe. The X-ray Evolving Universe Spectroscopy, or XEUS, telescope is one of the next generation of space-based observatories that will replace the famous NASA Hubble Space Telescope, which has orbited Earth since 1990. The ambitious new telescope project has been short-listed by the European Space Agency for launch in the next 10 years. Unlike Hubble, which is encased in a single protective tube, XEUS will consist of two mini-bus sized spacecraft flying in formation 114ft apart from each other as they orbit the Sun.
Has First Evidence of Another Universe Been Seen? (Source: ITWire)
Astronomers announced in August 2007 the discovery of a large hole at the edge of our universe. Since then, theoretical physicist and cosmologist Laura Mersini-Houghton and colleagues have claimed it is an “unmistakable imprint of another universe beyond the edge of our own.” The hole is estimated to be almost one billion light-years across, where one light-year is about 9.5 trillion kilometers (5.9 trillion miles) and is located beyond the constellation Eridanus. The Mersini-Houghton team states that the hole is another universe at the edge of our own universe. Such an explanation, if true, would be the first experimental evidence of such an exo-universe, or a universe outside of our own universe.
November 24 News Items
EU Reaches Agreement on Galileo Funding (Source: SpaceToday.net)
European Union member nations reached an agreement late Friday to fund the Galileo satellite navigation system after resolving concerns by one major nation about the distribution of contracts. EU finance ministers agreed to a proposal first announced this fall to use €2.4 billion (US$3.5 billion) in unspent agricultural subsidies on Galileo, filling a shortfall created when previous efforts to create a public-private partnership that would have paid for most of Galileo fell through. Germany had raised objections to the proposal both because of the precedent created by transferring unspent funds from one program to another as well as concerns that a single company could dominate the contracts that will be awarded for the system. EU officials did agree to divide the development of Galileo into six contracts and prohibit any one company from winning more than two of them. Germany still voted against the proposal, according to reports, but welcomed the revised bidding plan.
Space Race for a New Century (Source: Tampa Tribune)
President Bush wants Americans to walk on the moon again ten years from now, and even wants astronauts to go onto Mars. Yet with the Shuttle program winding down just over two years from now, Florida is worried about a new missle gap. The new rockets won't be ready for four years, so there are jobs on the line—high tech, high paying jobs at Kennedy Space Center that Florida doesn't want to lose. There are also jobs in the Tampa Bay area, at Honeywell and other space contractors, jobs that Governor Charlie Crist is fighting to keep. "It's an economic impact issue," Crist said. "It really is, and the Shuttle program will phase out in 2010, and I want to make sure we are doing everything we can to transit to the next mission, which is to begin in 2014, but I just got a briefed it might be earlier."
Earlier depends on more money from Congress in a presidential election year fraught with debate over the cost of war and a sputtering economy. It also depends on the next President. Among all the candidates, only Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Mitt Romney support the Bush plan. Political history would not seem to be on NASA's side. President John F. Kennedy of course, launched the great space race in the 60s, but once Kennedy's goal was realized, President Richard Nixon killed the moon program, blaming the economy and the cost of the Vietnam war. But what price international prestige, and leadership in space? Enter the Chinese—just last month they orbited the moon, and they have plans to land astronauts there. The question then becomes: could another space race save NASA?
European Union member nations reached an agreement late Friday to fund the Galileo satellite navigation system after resolving concerns by one major nation about the distribution of contracts. EU finance ministers agreed to a proposal first announced this fall to use €2.4 billion (US$3.5 billion) in unspent agricultural subsidies on Galileo, filling a shortfall created when previous efforts to create a public-private partnership that would have paid for most of Galileo fell through. Germany had raised objections to the proposal both because of the precedent created by transferring unspent funds from one program to another as well as concerns that a single company could dominate the contracts that will be awarded for the system. EU officials did agree to divide the development of Galileo into six contracts and prohibit any one company from winning more than two of them. Germany still voted against the proposal, according to reports, but welcomed the revised bidding plan.
Space Race for a New Century (Source: Tampa Tribune)
President Bush wants Americans to walk on the moon again ten years from now, and even wants astronauts to go onto Mars. Yet with the Shuttle program winding down just over two years from now, Florida is worried about a new missle gap. The new rockets won't be ready for four years, so there are jobs on the line—high tech, high paying jobs at Kennedy Space Center that Florida doesn't want to lose. There are also jobs in the Tampa Bay area, at Honeywell and other space contractors, jobs that Governor Charlie Crist is fighting to keep. "It's an economic impact issue," Crist said. "It really is, and the Shuttle program will phase out in 2010, and I want to make sure we are doing everything we can to transit to the next mission, which is to begin in 2014, but I just got a briefed it might be earlier."
Earlier depends on more money from Congress in a presidential election year fraught with debate over the cost of war and a sputtering economy. It also depends on the next President. Among all the candidates, only Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Mitt Romney support the Bush plan. Political history would not seem to be on NASA's side. President John F. Kennedy of course, launched the great space race in the 60s, but once Kennedy's goal was realized, President Richard Nixon killed the moon program, blaming the economy and the cost of the Vietnam war. But what price international prestige, and leadership in space? Enter the Chinese—just last month they orbited the moon, and they have plans to land astronauts there. The question then becomes: could another space race save NASA?
November 23 News Items
Clinton Launches Space Position as Other Democrats Orbit From Safe Distance (Source: Washington Post)
The major presidential candidates pummel each other daily on issues ranging from the Iraq war to health care. But when it comes to President Bush's ambitious initiative to send humans back to the moon and on to Mars, Sen. Clinton (D-N.Y.) is all but alone in staking out a formal position. She initially outlined the need for a "robust" human spaceflight program last month, despite being broadly critical of the Bush administration's record on scientific issues.
The question of future manned space exploration took on greater prominence this week when Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) advocated delaying for five years NASA's Constellation program and using the savings to fund a variety of education initiatives. Asked for a response, a Clinton spokesman said, "Senator Clinton does not support delaying the Constellation program and intends to maintain American leadership in space exploration." She also said that in pursuing next-generation programs, she will "capitalize on the expertise of the current shuttle program workforce and will not allow a repeat of the 'brain drain' that occurred between the Apollo and shuttle missions."
Former senator John Edwards (N.C.), who is also vying for the Democratic nomination, said in a statement: "We need a balanced space and aeronautics program. We need to support solar system exploration as an important goal for our human and robotic programs, but only as one goal among several."
PlanetSpace & Lockheed Martin Pitch COTS Plan to NASA (Source: Chronicle Herald)
The company that wants to build a rocket launch pad in Nova Scotia has teamed up with some heavy hitters in the aerospace industry to submit a proposal to NASA. PlanetSpace said that for the past six months, it has been working with partners Lockheed Martin, Alliant Techsystems, and the Bank of Montreal (as a financial adviser), to put together a proposal to demonstrate the capability to deliver cargo and crew to the Space Station. PlanetSpace's consortium has also signed teaming agreements with Space Florida, United Launch Alliance, Wyle Laboratories, Paragon Space, and MEHTA Engineering.
"We have developed an innovative, low-risk business plan and technical approach that can deliver cargo to the International Space Station economically and has the added benefits of providing low-cost launch services to commercial and NASA customers," Chirinjeev Kathuria, chairman of PlanetSpace said Thursday. The release does not specifically mention Cape Breton, but Sarah Levy, a spokeswoman for Nova Scotia Business Inc., the province’s development agency, said discussions with the company about building a launch pad in the province are ongoing.
Republican Positions Vary on Space (Source: Washington Post)
The Republican National Committee criticized Obama on his plans for Constellation. A spokesman said: "It is ironic that Barack Obama's plan to help our children reach for the stars is financed in part by slashing a program that helps us learn about those very same stars." But Republican presidential candidates have also been less than effusive about the Bush space initiative. When asked about their candidates' positions on the moon-Mars project, a spokeswoman for Sen. John McCain did not respond, while one for Rudy Giuliani said, "I'm not sure anything is out there on this subject."
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's campaign responded by providing an article from the Florida Today newspaper that said: "During the first campaign visit to the Space Coast by a 2008 presidential candidate, Republican Mitt Romney said he supports Bush's vision for space exploration and has no reason yet to propose a new direction."
Science Advice: Who is Advising the Candidates About Space? (Source: What's New)
It was a jolt to read in the Washington Post that the Democratic front runner supports key aspects of the Bush space plan, hereafter referred to as the Lunacy Program. It calls for a return to the Moon in the multibillion dollar Constellation spacecraft to prepare for a vastly more expensive human mission to Mars to do that which robots do better. Barack Obama would delay Constellation for five years to provide funds for education. We’re all in favor of education, but there are vital science programs in space that are getting squeezed out for this money sink.
Use of 2nd Launch Pad at Baikonur Will Boost ILS Capacity (source: Space News)
International Launch Services (ILS) expects to inaugurate a second commercial Proton-M launch pad at Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan this summer to assure the company's ability to conduct seven to eight missions in 2008 and in 2009. Now back in action with a successful Nov. 18 Proton-M flight following the September failure, ILS has been assured that the Russian government's own demand for Proton rockets will not create logjams in the ILS manifest.
"We expect that Russian federal missions will account for three to five Proton launches in 2008 and about the same in 2009," said an ILS official. "When you add in the seven to eight ILS commercial missions, Proton will be conducting on average one mission per month. Proton has demonstrated its capacity to perform 14 missions per year in the past, so we feel comfortable about meeting our manifest."
Europe Takes Steps to Reduce Duplication in Military Satellites (Source: Space News)
The European Defence Agency (EDA) slowly is moving into position to help coordinate European Union governments' future military satellite telecommunications and space-based reconnaissance activities to serve the broader goal of avoiding duplicative spending.
Griffin Says MSU Study with Surrey Will Go No Further (Source: Space News)
Responding to a pair of U.S. congressmen upset that Mississippi State University (MSU) is paying Surrey Satellite Technology around $2 million to teach its faculty about small satellite design, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin said NASA has no plans to continue supporting the effort once current funding runs out. Reps. Frank Wolf and Randy Forbes, both Republicans from Virginia, wrote Griffin Nov. 6 complaining that money appropriated for NASA has found its way to a non-U.S. company that has sold satellites to China, something American firms have been barred from doing.
Replacement Satellites Top List of Upcoming NASA Deals (Source: Space News)
The biggest acquisitions NASA has on tap for 2008 are satellite systems being procured largely on behalf of other U.S. government agencies, a circumstance industry analysts attribute in part to the space agency having most of its money already tied up in operations and existing development contracts.
Bezos Sheds Light on Blue Origin Test Efforts (Source: Space News)
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos provided a glimpse of his Blue Origin rocket development venture during a television interview Nov. 19, saying the first test vehicle has made several flights and construction of a second is under way. Bezos said the first development vehicle — the Goddard — has made several low-altitude flights from the company's 80,000-hectare launch complex in western Texas. The tight-lipped Blue Origin group had only publicized the Nov. 13, 2006, first flight of that vehicle.
"We are now working on a second development vehicle," Bezos said. "There will be at least one more development vehicle after that ... at least — I don't know, maybe it'll be more." Dubbed New Shepard in honor of the 1961 suborbital flight of Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, the program is proceeding one step at a time, Bezos said. "We're not in any hurry ... because we're trying to build a very safe, well-engineered vehicle. [I] don't see any reason to rush on this," Bezos said.
China Aims to Increase Longevity of Satellites (Source: Space News)
China is on track to increase the in-orbit service life of its future domestic Earth observation and telecommunications satellites, bringing them closer to U.S. and European standards by 2010. Domestically built Earth observation satellites launched into sun-synchronous low Earth orbit would have an average service life of four to five years by 2010, compared to two to three years currently. China's domestic geostationary telecommunications satellites would have a service life of 15 years by 2010, compared to eight years currently. China has begun developing made-in-China platforms, with two such satellites sold to Nigeria and Venezuela.
Brazil, Argentina Agree to Build Hyperspectral Satellite (Source: Space News)
Brazil and Argentina have agreed in principle to collaborate on the construction and launch of a hyperspectral Earth observation satellite for environmental monitoring and oceanography. The satellite would carry a payload of about 800 kilograms, with about 700 watts of power. The sensor will include between 15 and 25 bands in the visible and infrared spectrum. Final technical specifications are to be decided early in 2008. INPE said the joint work would further the two nations' goal of becoming more independent in space-based sensors and less reliant on foreign suppliers whose products are often subject to export restrictions.
Europe says Galileo Satellite Navigation System Might Be Scrapped (Source: Earth Times)
A planned European satellite-navigation system will have to be scrapped unless national governments resolve their differences over funding within the next five weeks, the EU Commission warned Friday. "If no agreement is reached by the end of the year, we will have to put an end to our efforts because it will be too late," a spokesman for Transport Commissioner Barrot said.
Progress on the so-called Galileo project has been hampered by disagreement on how to fund a 2.4-billion-euro (3.56 billion dollars) budget shortfall. Barrot has proposed diverting unused community funds. But this would require revising the EU's budget for 2007-2013, which governments have already agreed on. Germany also opposes Barrot's rescue plan because of concerns that it might exclude its aerospace industry from the project.
Editorial: Space Program's Gap Until Next Vehicle is Way Too Long (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
It's never a good idea to depend on an unreliable or unfriendly driver for rides. But that's the predicament that America's space program could be facing. Between the retirement of the space shuttle and the first launch of NASA's next manned program -- a gap that could stretch to five years or more -- U.S. astronauts will have to rely on Russian vehicles to reach space and the space station. The U.S. has invested tens of billions of dollars in the station.
Shortfalls in NASA's budget, now $17.3 billion a year, have pushed back the new U.S. program's first launch to March 2015. At a Senate hearing chaired by Florida Democrat Bill Nelson, NASA officials said the agency could move up Constellation's first launch to September 2013 with another $2 billion over three years. But other lawmakers are reluctant to make that investment. Meanwhile, Congress is poised to approve a bill that would dump tens of billions of dollars into subsidies for farms that don't need them. Go figure.
Narrowing the gap between the shuttle and Constellation programs also would make it easier for NASA to hold on to its skilled workforce, including thousands on Florida's Space Coast. It would help the United States keep its lead in space exploration, and the related science and technology that drive economic growth. Congress needs to come up with the funding NASA needs, ideally through other spending cuts or tweaks to the tax code. It's a small fraction of the federal budget that would make a big difference for the nation's space program, economy and security. It's not prudent to depend on Vladimir Putin's Russia any longer than necessary.
Europe Hopes to Salvage Galileo (Source: International Herald Tribune)
The European Commission proposed a new construction plan for its troubled Galileo satellite system meant to ensure the multibillion euro project is not dominated by a single company. The plan responds to concerns by Germany that its industry may be underrepresented in the venture. Under funding proposals by the EU's executive arm, Germany would become the biggest financial contributor to the navigation system, and as such, Berlin wants to ensure its companies get bigger business opportunities from the project. The new plan would divide contracts for Galileo into six segments covering various stages of the project, with no single company able to be the prime contractor for more than two segments.
Interplanetary Exploration Hinges on Ability to Cut Costs (Source: NewIndPress.com)
The future of interplanetary exploration hinges on the ability to cut costs of space transportation, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) director B.N.Suresh has said. Today it costs US $20,000 to put one kg of equipment in space. We should be able to bring it down to US $500 to US $200, Suresh said. Depletion of energy sources, water and minerals on earth has spurred renewed interest in interplanetary missions in the space-faring nations. Also, there has been a tremendous surge in aviation across the globe. This underlines the need to consider various configuration options for space vehicles and aircraft to get optimal benefit, Suresh said.
The major presidential candidates pummel each other daily on issues ranging from the Iraq war to health care. But when it comes to President Bush's ambitious initiative to send humans back to the moon and on to Mars, Sen. Clinton (D-N.Y.) is all but alone in staking out a formal position. She initially outlined the need for a "robust" human spaceflight program last month, despite being broadly critical of the Bush administration's record on scientific issues.
The question of future manned space exploration took on greater prominence this week when Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) advocated delaying for five years NASA's Constellation program and using the savings to fund a variety of education initiatives. Asked for a response, a Clinton spokesman said, "Senator Clinton does not support delaying the Constellation program and intends to maintain American leadership in space exploration." She also said that in pursuing next-generation programs, she will "capitalize on the expertise of the current shuttle program workforce and will not allow a repeat of the 'brain drain' that occurred between the Apollo and shuttle missions."
Former senator John Edwards (N.C.), who is also vying for the Democratic nomination, said in a statement: "We need a balanced space and aeronautics program. We need to support solar system exploration as an important goal for our human and robotic programs, but only as one goal among several."
PlanetSpace & Lockheed Martin Pitch COTS Plan to NASA (Source: Chronicle Herald)
The company that wants to build a rocket launch pad in Nova Scotia has teamed up with some heavy hitters in the aerospace industry to submit a proposal to NASA. PlanetSpace said that for the past six months, it has been working with partners Lockheed Martin, Alliant Techsystems, and the Bank of Montreal (as a financial adviser), to put together a proposal to demonstrate the capability to deliver cargo and crew to the Space Station. PlanetSpace's consortium has also signed teaming agreements with Space Florida, United Launch Alliance, Wyle Laboratories, Paragon Space, and MEHTA Engineering.
"We have developed an innovative, low-risk business plan and technical approach that can deliver cargo to the International Space Station economically and has the added benefits of providing low-cost launch services to commercial and NASA customers," Chirinjeev Kathuria, chairman of PlanetSpace said Thursday. The release does not specifically mention Cape Breton, but Sarah Levy, a spokeswoman for Nova Scotia Business Inc., the province’s development agency, said discussions with the company about building a launch pad in the province are ongoing.
Republican Positions Vary on Space (Source: Washington Post)
The Republican National Committee criticized Obama on his plans for Constellation. A spokesman said: "It is ironic that Barack Obama's plan to help our children reach for the stars is financed in part by slashing a program that helps us learn about those very same stars." But Republican presidential candidates have also been less than effusive about the Bush space initiative. When asked about their candidates' positions on the moon-Mars project, a spokeswoman for Sen. John McCain did not respond, while one for Rudy Giuliani said, "I'm not sure anything is out there on this subject."
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's campaign responded by providing an article from the Florida Today newspaper that said: "During the first campaign visit to the Space Coast by a 2008 presidential candidate, Republican Mitt Romney said he supports Bush's vision for space exploration and has no reason yet to propose a new direction."
Science Advice: Who is Advising the Candidates About Space? (Source: What's New)
It was a jolt to read in the Washington Post that the Democratic front runner supports key aspects of the Bush space plan, hereafter referred to as the Lunacy Program. It calls for a return to the Moon in the multibillion dollar Constellation spacecraft to prepare for a vastly more expensive human mission to Mars to do that which robots do better. Barack Obama would delay Constellation for five years to provide funds for education. We’re all in favor of education, but there are vital science programs in space that are getting squeezed out for this money sink.
Use of 2nd Launch Pad at Baikonur Will Boost ILS Capacity (source: Space News)
International Launch Services (ILS) expects to inaugurate a second commercial Proton-M launch pad at Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan this summer to assure the company's ability to conduct seven to eight missions in 2008 and in 2009. Now back in action with a successful Nov. 18 Proton-M flight following the September failure, ILS has been assured that the Russian government's own demand for Proton rockets will not create logjams in the ILS manifest.
"We expect that Russian federal missions will account for three to five Proton launches in 2008 and about the same in 2009," said an ILS official. "When you add in the seven to eight ILS commercial missions, Proton will be conducting on average one mission per month. Proton has demonstrated its capacity to perform 14 missions per year in the past, so we feel comfortable about meeting our manifest."
Europe Takes Steps to Reduce Duplication in Military Satellites (Source: Space News)
The European Defence Agency (EDA) slowly is moving into position to help coordinate European Union governments' future military satellite telecommunications and space-based reconnaissance activities to serve the broader goal of avoiding duplicative spending.
Griffin Says MSU Study with Surrey Will Go No Further (Source: Space News)
Responding to a pair of U.S. congressmen upset that Mississippi State University (MSU) is paying Surrey Satellite Technology around $2 million to teach its faculty about small satellite design, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin said NASA has no plans to continue supporting the effort once current funding runs out. Reps. Frank Wolf and Randy Forbes, both Republicans from Virginia, wrote Griffin Nov. 6 complaining that money appropriated for NASA has found its way to a non-U.S. company that has sold satellites to China, something American firms have been barred from doing.
Replacement Satellites Top List of Upcoming NASA Deals (Source: Space News)
The biggest acquisitions NASA has on tap for 2008 are satellite systems being procured largely on behalf of other U.S. government agencies, a circumstance industry analysts attribute in part to the space agency having most of its money already tied up in operations and existing development contracts.
Bezos Sheds Light on Blue Origin Test Efforts (Source: Space News)
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos provided a glimpse of his Blue Origin rocket development venture during a television interview Nov. 19, saying the first test vehicle has made several flights and construction of a second is under way. Bezos said the first development vehicle — the Goddard — has made several low-altitude flights from the company's 80,000-hectare launch complex in western Texas. The tight-lipped Blue Origin group had only publicized the Nov. 13, 2006, first flight of that vehicle.
"We are now working on a second development vehicle," Bezos said. "There will be at least one more development vehicle after that ... at least — I don't know, maybe it'll be more." Dubbed New Shepard in honor of the 1961 suborbital flight of Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, the program is proceeding one step at a time, Bezos said. "We're not in any hurry ... because we're trying to build a very safe, well-engineered vehicle. [I] don't see any reason to rush on this," Bezos said.
China Aims to Increase Longevity of Satellites (Source: Space News)
China is on track to increase the in-orbit service life of its future domestic Earth observation and telecommunications satellites, bringing them closer to U.S. and European standards by 2010. Domestically built Earth observation satellites launched into sun-synchronous low Earth orbit would have an average service life of four to five years by 2010, compared to two to three years currently. China's domestic geostationary telecommunications satellites would have a service life of 15 years by 2010, compared to eight years currently. China has begun developing made-in-China platforms, with two such satellites sold to Nigeria and Venezuela.
Brazil, Argentina Agree to Build Hyperspectral Satellite (Source: Space News)
Brazil and Argentina have agreed in principle to collaborate on the construction and launch of a hyperspectral Earth observation satellite for environmental monitoring and oceanography. The satellite would carry a payload of about 800 kilograms, with about 700 watts of power. The sensor will include between 15 and 25 bands in the visible and infrared spectrum. Final technical specifications are to be decided early in 2008. INPE said the joint work would further the two nations' goal of becoming more independent in space-based sensors and less reliant on foreign suppliers whose products are often subject to export restrictions.
Europe says Galileo Satellite Navigation System Might Be Scrapped (Source: Earth Times)
A planned European satellite-navigation system will have to be scrapped unless national governments resolve their differences over funding within the next five weeks, the EU Commission warned Friday. "If no agreement is reached by the end of the year, we will have to put an end to our efforts because it will be too late," a spokesman for Transport Commissioner Barrot said.
Progress on the so-called Galileo project has been hampered by disagreement on how to fund a 2.4-billion-euro (3.56 billion dollars) budget shortfall. Barrot has proposed diverting unused community funds. But this would require revising the EU's budget for 2007-2013, which governments have already agreed on. Germany also opposes Barrot's rescue plan because of concerns that it might exclude its aerospace industry from the project.
Editorial: Space Program's Gap Until Next Vehicle is Way Too Long (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
It's never a good idea to depend on an unreliable or unfriendly driver for rides. But that's the predicament that America's space program could be facing. Between the retirement of the space shuttle and the first launch of NASA's next manned program -- a gap that could stretch to five years or more -- U.S. astronauts will have to rely on Russian vehicles to reach space and the space station. The U.S. has invested tens of billions of dollars in the station.
Shortfalls in NASA's budget, now $17.3 billion a year, have pushed back the new U.S. program's first launch to March 2015. At a Senate hearing chaired by Florida Democrat Bill Nelson, NASA officials said the agency could move up Constellation's first launch to September 2013 with another $2 billion over three years. But other lawmakers are reluctant to make that investment. Meanwhile, Congress is poised to approve a bill that would dump tens of billions of dollars into subsidies for farms that don't need them. Go figure.
Narrowing the gap between the shuttle and Constellation programs also would make it easier for NASA to hold on to its skilled workforce, including thousands on Florida's Space Coast. It would help the United States keep its lead in space exploration, and the related science and technology that drive economic growth. Congress needs to come up with the funding NASA needs, ideally through other spending cuts or tweaks to the tax code. It's a small fraction of the federal budget that would make a big difference for the nation's space program, economy and security. It's not prudent to depend on Vladimir Putin's Russia any longer than necessary.
Europe Hopes to Salvage Galileo (Source: International Herald Tribune)
The European Commission proposed a new construction plan for its troubled Galileo satellite system meant to ensure the multibillion euro project is not dominated by a single company. The plan responds to concerns by Germany that its industry may be underrepresented in the venture. Under funding proposals by the EU's executive arm, Germany would become the biggest financial contributor to the navigation system, and as such, Berlin wants to ensure its companies get bigger business opportunities from the project. The new plan would divide contracts for Galileo into six segments covering various stages of the project, with no single company able to be the prime contractor for more than two segments.
Interplanetary Exploration Hinges on Ability to Cut Costs (Source: NewIndPress.com)
The future of interplanetary exploration hinges on the ability to cut costs of space transportation, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) director B.N.Suresh has said. Today it costs US $20,000 to put one kg of equipment in space. We should be able to bring it down to US $500 to US $200, Suresh said. Depletion of energy sources, water and minerals on earth has spurred renewed interest in interplanetary missions in the space-faring nations. Also, there has been a tremendous surge in aviation across the globe. This underlines the need to consider various configuration options for space vehicles and aircraft to get optimal benefit, Suresh said.
November 22 News Items
Oddball White Dwarfs Embody New Category of Star (Source: Reuters)
Eight unusual examples of a burned-out celestial object known as a white dwarf detected in our Milky Way galaxy represent a previously unknown category of stars, astronomers said. White dwarfs mark the end point in stellar evolution for all but the most massive of stars in the universe, with about 97 percent of stars, including our sun, destined to finish their existence this way, according to astronomers. White dwarfs result from the collapse of star cores in dying stars whose nuclear fusion has ceased. They usually have a mass about that of the sun, but are only a bit larger than Earth because they have blown off their outer layers, leaving behind only a small, dim and extremely dense core.
University of Arizona astrophysicist Patrick Dufour said previously known white dwarfs have fallen into two categories: those with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and those with a helium-rich atmosphere. But Dufour and three other scientists, writing in the journal Nature, described eight white dwarfs that break the mold by possessing carbon atmospheres.
Study Sheds New Light on Early Formation of Earth and Mars (Source: NASA)
A team of scientists from NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) and the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), both in Houston, and the University of California, Davis (UCD) has found that terrestrial planets such as the Earth and Mars may have remained molten in their early histories for tens of millions of years. The findings indicate that the two planets cooled slower than scientists thought and a mechanism to keep the planet interiors warm is required.
Have We Sealed the Universe's Fate by Looking At It? (Source: New Scientist)
Have we hastened the demise of the universe by looking at it? That’s the startling question posed by a pair of physicists, who suggest that we may have accidentally nudged the universe closer to its death by observing dark energy, which is thought to be speeding up cosmic expansion. By making this observation in 1998 we may have caused the universe to revert to a state similar to early in its history, when it was more likely to end. The researchers came to their conclusion by calculating how the energy state of our universe might have evolved. Visit http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-11/ns-hws112107.php to view the article.
Eight unusual examples of a burned-out celestial object known as a white dwarf detected in our Milky Way galaxy represent a previously unknown category of stars, astronomers said. White dwarfs mark the end point in stellar evolution for all but the most massive of stars in the universe, with about 97 percent of stars, including our sun, destined to finish their existence this way, according to astronomers. White dwarfs result from the collapse of star cores in dying stars whose nuclear fusion has ceased. They usually have a mass about that of the sun, but are only a bit larger than Earth because they have blown off their outer layers, leaving behind only a small, dim and extremely dense core.
University of Arizona astrophysicist Patrick Dufour said previously known white dwarfs have fallen into two categories: those with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and those with a helium-rich atmosphere. But Dufour and three other scientists, writing in the journal Nature, described eight white dwarfs that break the mold by possessing carbon atmospheres.
Study Sheds New Light on Early Formation of Earth and Mars (Source: NASA)
A team of scientists from NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) and the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), both in Houston, and the University of California, Davis (UCD) has found that terrestrial planets such as the Earth and Mars may have remained molten in their early histories for tens of millions of years. The findings indicate that the two planets cooled slower than scientists thought and a mechanism to keep the planet interiors warm is required.
Have We Sealed the Universe's Fate by Looking At It? (Source: New Scientist)
Have we hastened the demise of the universe by looking at it? That’s the startling question posed by a pair of physicists, who suggest that we may have accidentally nudged the universe closer to its death by observing dark energy, which is thought to be speeding up cosmic expansion. By making this observation in 1998 we may have caused the universe to revert to a state similar to early in its history, when it was more likely to end. The researchers came to their conclusion by calculating how the energy state of our universe might have evolved. Visit http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-11/ns-hws112107.php to view the article.
November 21 News Items
South Korea Outlines Space Program (Source: UPI)
South Korean space officials said Tuesday they plan to send an unmanned probe to the moon's orbit in 2020 and land a probe on the moon's surface in 2025. The country's Ministry of Science and Technology also announced it will develop a large-sized rocket capable of carrying 300 tons of freight into space by 2017, and will begin construction on a space shuttle launching system in 2020. Officials said the country's space institute expects to complete construction of a space research center and a rocket launching pad next year. They will also pay roughly $21 million to Russia to send a South Korean astronaut to the International Space Station in April, hoping the event will increase public interest in the country's space exploration efforts.
Spacehab Announces Stock Changes (Source: Spacehab)
Spacehab has amended its articles to increase the number of authorized shares of the Company’s common stock from 70,000,000 shares to 750,000,000 shares. Also approved by Spacehab's shareholders was a reverse stock split of the Company’s common stock in the ratio of one share of new common stock for each ten shares of old common stock and to decrease the number of authorized shares of common stock from 750,000,000 shares to 75,000,000 shares.
DOD Warns of Layoffs if War Funding is Not Approved (Source: AIA)
The Defense Department warned it might lay off thousands of contractors and civilian employees if lawmakers do not act on the president's $196 billion war funding request. Senior Democrats say they will not approve the funds until the White House changes its policy on Iraq.
Florida Firm Wins NASA Dryden Engineering, Technical Services Contract (Source: NASA)
NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center has awarded a multi-year competitive contract to Tybrin Corporation of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, for engineering and technical services. The award-term contract covers a four-year base period with six one-year award-term periods and could have a total value of $149 million if all award term periods are exercised. The agreement takes effect Feb. 1, 2008. The contract is indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity, and includes cost-plus-award-fee and cost-no-fee line items.
China to Launch 3rd Manned Space Mission After Olympics (Source: AP)
China will launch its third manned space mission after next year's Beijing Olympics. The Shenzhou 7 launch is on track for October 2008 to carry three astronauts and will feature China's first space walk. Also Tuesday, official media reported that China's first moon probe, called Chang'e 1 after a mythical Chinese moon goddess, had positioned its directional antenna toward Earth to allow data to be transmitted home later this month.
Conerns Persist over Chinese Anti-Satellite Test: US Military (Source: AFP)
US concerns about China's military buildup have only been heightened by a Chinese anti-satellite test in January that has yet to be explained, a top US military leader said Tuesday. Admiral Michael Mullen, the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he raised the test with Chinese leaders when he visited the country in August, as have other senior US officials. "It speaks to a higher level of concern that many of us in the United States have about what is the strategic intent of the investment, the high tech investment the Chinese government is making with respect to its military capability in the future," Mullen said.
Govt Offers 100 Acres of Land for India's Space Institute (Source: Economic Times)
Seeking to end the long-drawn row over the land for ISRO's Space Institute, the Kerala Government offered 100 acres of land free-of-cost close to the Ponmudi, a hill station in the district, to the space agency. "There is no dispute over the land. It comes under the Revenue department and not at the disposal of the Forest department," the Chief Minister said when his attention was drawn to reports that Divisional Forest Officer in charge of the area had raised objections to the transfer of the land. To a question that if he thought that this decision would bring all the related controversy to an end, he said "there has never been any dispute between ISRO and the state government." He had a dig at the media saying "so long as you (journalists) are there, controversies will keep coming up."
Russia's New Spaceport to Launch First Manned Spacecraft in 2018 (Source: Interfax)
A new dual-purpose space center in the Amur region will be ready for its first manned spacecraft launch by 2018. "On November 6 this year, the Russian president signed a decree to set up a new Russian space center - its name will be Vostochny [Eastern], and it will be located in the Amur region," said Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov.
South Korean space officials said Tuesday they plan to send an unmanned probe to the moon's orbit in 2020 and land a probe on the moon's surface in 2025. The country's Ministry of Science and Technology also announced it will develop a large-sized rocket capable of carrying 300 tons of freight into space by 2017, and will begin construction on a space shuttle launching system in 2020. Officials said the country's space institute expects to complete construction of a space research center and a rocket launching pad next year. They will also pay roughly $21 million to Russia to send a South Korean astronaut to the International Space Station in April, hoping the event will increase public interest in the country's space exploration efforts.
Spacehab Announces Stock Changes (Source: Spacehab)
Spacehab has amended its articles to increase the number of authorized shares of the Company’s common stock from 70,000,000 shares to 750,000,000 shares. Also approved by Spacehab's shareholders was a reverse stock split of the Company’s common stock in the ratio of one share of new common stock for each ten shares of old common stock and to decrease the number of authorized shares of common stock from 750,000,000 shares to 75,000,000 shares.
DOD Warns of Layoffs if War Funding is Not Approved (Source: AIA)
The Defense Department warned it might lay off thousands of contractors and civilian employees if lawmakers do not act on the president's $196 billion war funding request. Senior Democrats say they will not approve the funds until the White House changes its policy on Iraq.
Florida Firm Wins NASA Dryden Engineering, Technical Services Contract (Source: NASA)
NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center has awarded a multi-year competitive contract to Tybrin Corporation of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, for engineering and technical services. The award-term contract covers a four-year base period with six one-year award-term periods and could have a total value of $149 million if all award term periods are exercised. The agreement takes effect Feb. 1, 2008. The contract is indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity, and includes cost-plus-award-fee and cost-no-fee line items.
China to Launch 3rd Manned Space Mission After Olympics (Source: AP)
China will launch its third manned space mission after next year's Beijing Olympics. The Shenzhou 7 launch is on track for October 2008 to carry three astronauts and will feature China's first space walk. Also Tuesday, official media reported that China's first moon probe, called Chang'e 1 after a mythical Chinese moon goddess, had positioned its directional antenna toward Earth to allow data to be transmitted home later this month.
Conerns Persist over Chinese Anti-Satellite Test: US Military (Source: AFP)
US concerns about China's military buildup have only been heightened by a Chinese anti-satellite test in January that has yet to be explained, a top US military leader said Tuesday. Admiral Michael Mullen, the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he raised the test with Chinese leaders when he visited the country in August, as have other senior US officials. "It speaks to a higher level of concern that many of us in the United States have about what is the strategic intent of the investment, the high tech investment the Chinese government is making with respect to its military capability in the future," Mullen said.
Govt Offers 100 Acres of Land for India's Space Institute (Source: Economic Times)
Seeking to end the long-drawn row over the land for ISRO's Space Institute, the Kerala Government offered 100 acres of land free-of-cost close to the Ponmudi, a hill station in the district, to the space agency. "There is no dispute over the land. It comes under the Revenue department and not at the disposal of the Forest department," the Chief Minister said when his attention was drawn to reports that Divisional Forest Officer in charge of the area had raised objections to the transfer of the land. To a question that if he thought that this decision would bring all the related controversy to an end, he said "there has never been any dispute between ISRO and the state government." He had a dig at the media saying "so long as you (journalists) are there, controversies will keep coming up."
Russia's New Spaceport to Launch First Manned Spacecraft in 2018 (Source: Interfax)
A new dual-purpose space center in the Amur region will be ready for its first manned spacecraft launch by 2018. "On November 6 this year, the Russian president signed a decree to set up a new Russian space center - its name will be Vostochny [Eastern], and it will be located in the Amur region," said Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov.
November 20 News Items
New Chinese Rocket Set to Blast Off by 2013 (Source: China Daily)
China's next-generation launch vehicles for heavyweight satellites or space stations will be ready to blast off by 2013, a senior official has said. The Long March 5 launch vehicle, to be made in the Binhai New Area of the northern coastal city of Tianjin, will be 59.4 meters long, with a launch weight of 643 tons and a lift-off thrust of 825 tons. The diameter will be increased to 5 meters from 3.35 meters in the current-generation Long March 3 series.
Commercial Spacesuit Tailors Hire NASA Contest Winner (Source: Space.com)
Peter Homer, an out-of-work aerospace engineer and one-time sailmaker from Maine who won $200,000 from NASA this May for an astronaut glove stitched together on his dining room table, has been hired by a start-up hoping to outfit private space explorers. Los Angeles-based Orbital Outfitters intends to put Homer's engineering and sewing skills to work on a pressurized space suit for suborbital space flyers. A prototype of that suit, dubbed the Industrial Suborbital Space Suit-Crew, was unveiled at the X Prize Cup in New Mexico in late October.
Homer, a mechanical and aeronautical and astronautical engineer with degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Stanford University, took home $200,000 in NASA's first-ever Astronaut Glove Challenge by demonstrating that a glove he designed could perform at least as well as NASA's current space glove – built by Hamilton Sundstrand and ILC Dover – in a variety of dexterity, flexibility and durability tests held over a two-day period.
Obama Plan: Reward Teachers, Lengthen School Time (Source: Baltimore Sun)
Barack Obama is planning to unveil an education plan today that would make affordable pre-school programs more widely available, offer pay incentive programs for effective teachers, and lengthen the teaching day or the school year. The $18 billion annual program would be offset by savings and cuts in federal agencies, including NASA. The cost would come partly from delaying the NASA Constellation Program for five years, cutting costs in the government procurement process and auctioning surplus federal property. The Obama plan also cites "closing the CEO pay deductibility loophole" and ending the Iraq war as other ways to pay for the program.
Americans Overestimate Cost of NASA (Source: AOL News)
Two astronauts from the international space station took a spacewalk to prepare the station for a December docking with the space shuttle. Sounds pricey. In fact, everything about NASA sounds pricey. For instance, NASA said it would need an additional $2 billion to speed up construction of the successor to the space shuttle. So how much does all this cost taxpayers? Apparently, not as much as people think.
A recent survey revealed that the average American believes a quarter of the country's public purse goes towards funding NASA. The survey found that most people reported the belief that NASA is almost as well funded as the military. The Department of Defense receives roughly 21 percent of the nation's budget, but NASA gets something like 0.6 percent. Upon learning this, one survey participant replied "No wonder we haven't gone anywhere!".
Ron Paul's Position on NASA (SourceL: AOL News)
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, believes that whatever we're paying for NASA, it's too much. In fact, David Hill of The Hill reports that Paul might even lose his House seat in Texas, in part, because of his consistent opposition to funding for NASA and his desire to eliminate the agency.
Lou Dobbs Entering Presidential Race? (Source: AOL News)
CNN News anchor Lou Dobbs, founder of Space.com and a long-time space advocate, is rumored to be considering a run for the presidency. The nightly purveyor of common sense when it comes to dollars and cents, Mr. Dobbs portrays himself as centrist and a champion of the middle class. His signature topics (and the ones that generate the highest ratings) are illegal immigration, and what he considers bogus free trade agreements.
Bargain Basement Satellites (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
A NASA team has built a small, low-cost satellite called FASTSAT, and it's almost ready to fly. The FASTSAT team built this prototype in a mere 10½ months for the relatively thrifty sum of $4 million. The FASTSAT Project Manager led a team already experienced in low-cost, quick turnaround balloon missions. "In the balloon program, people know how to take risks and do things more quickly," he says. "Quicker build time means less labor charges, and that's one of the keys to keeping costs down."
Balloon missions taught the team some specific ways to save time and money. For instance, they used commercial off-the-shelf components, which are readily available and cheaper than specially ordered parts. A new class of very low cost launch vehicles (such as SpaceX's Falcon 1) has opened doors for inexpensive satellites and instruments. "You wouldn't put an expensive payload on an inexpensive rocket - it's a risk issue. You'd use an inexpensive bus to fly an inexpensive instrument on an inexpensive rocket," said the project manager.
China Aiming to Replace Foreign Satellites (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
China is aiming to replace all its imported communications and broadcast satellites with home-made ones by 2010 as part of efforts to reduce its reliance on overseas technology. The nation will step up research and development of these satellites as just one out of the 12 currently in use is Chinese-made. As China has become an economic powerhouse in recent decades, it has been intent on trying to phase out its use of overseas technology in a wide range of sectors for financial as well as national interest reasons.
Partnership in Space Critical for National Security (Source: GWU)
Collaborating with other nations on space exploration is vital to America’s national security, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said. “Space exploration, whether human or robotic, is the grandest and most technically challenging expression of human endeavor,” Griffin said. “I think it is in our nation’s best interest to work together, learn as much from each other as different countries and cultures about how to go about solving unique problems presented by the exploration of space.”
Griffin described America’s history of partnership with other nations on space exploration. He described the collaboration between 16 nations including the United States, Russia, the countries of the European space agency, Japan and Canada on the International Space Station as “the largest task ever performed by the civilian agencies of the United States or our international partners.” “One day the International Space Station will be no more but I believe that the most important legacy of the ISS endeavor will be…the partnership itself,” Griffin said.
Valve, Atlantis Set for Launch (Source: Florida Today)
Kennedy Space Center crews fixed a helium valve in Atlantis' forward control system. The shuttle crew, in town for a practice countdown, confirmed Monday that launch remains on track for Dec. 6. The valve was stuck open in its normal position and was fixed by replacing a lug on ground equipment. Two European astronauts, Leopold Eyharts and Hans Schlegel, will fly aboard Atlantis. The flight has captured the attention of the European public, which funded the construction of the module they'll be delivering to the Space Station.
South Korea Plans Lunar Rocket by 2017 (Source: Xinhua)
South Korean government said Tuesday that it plans to develop a powerful two-stage rocket by 2017 to send a satellite to the moon. According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, South Korea plans to build and test a 300-ton Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 (KSLV-II) booster rocket and launch its first lunar exploration satellite in 2020. If the plan is successfully, South Korea will launch a lunar probe in 2025. South Korea plans to launch a satellite weighing about 100 kg every 3-4 years, and at least two smaller satellites every year.
Florida Companies Win NASA SBIR/STTR Contracts (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded contracts to 302 small business proposals that address critical research and technology needs for agency programs and projects. Eight Florida projects won "Phase One" awards, including seven SBIR and one STTR. The STTR is a partnership with the University of Central Florida. The winners are:
1) Mnemonics, Inc. (STTR) of Orlando for Wireless, Passive Encoded Saw Sensors and Communication Links; 2) Tai-Yang Research Co. of Tallahassee for Novel Lightweight Magnets for Space Applications; 3) Advanced Materials Technology of Tampa for Novel Materials for Mirror Substrate in Space Telescopes; 4) Rini Technologies of Orlando for Lightweight and Energy Efficient Heat Pump; 5) Mainstream Engineering Corporation of Rockledge for Active Thermal Control System for Extreme Environments; 6) DMD Concepts of Rockledge for Chemically and Thermally Stable High Energy Density Silicone Composites; 7) New Span Opto-Technology of Miami for Foveated 3-D Imaging Rangefinder for Object Tracking; and 8) Design Interactive of Oviedo for a CogGauge.
In October, NASA also awarded three Florida-based SBIR "Phase Two" awards to: 1) Summation Research of Melbourne for Programmable High-Rate Multi-Mission Receiver for Space Communications; 2) Soneticom of West Melboune for Remote EMI Field Strength Mapping; and 3) APECOR of Orlando for Integrated Three-Port Converters for Compact and Efficient Power Management.
China's next-generation launch vehicles for heavyweight satellites or space stations will be ready to blast off by 2013, a senior official has said. The Long March 5 launch vehicle, to be made in the Binhai New Area of the northern coastal city of Tianjin, will be 59.4 meters long, with a launch weight of 643 tons and a lift-off thrust of 825 tons. The diameter will be increased to 5 meters from 3.35 meters in the current-generation Long March 3 series.
Commercial Spacesuit Tailors Hire NASA Contest Winner (Source: Space.com)
Peter Homer, an out-of-work aerospace engineer and one-time sailmaker from Maine who won $200,000 from NASA this May for an astronaut glove stitched together on his dining room table, has been hired by a start-up hoping to outfit private space explorers. Los Angeles-based Orbital Outfitters intends to put Homer's engineering and sewing skills to work on a pressurized space suit for suborbital space flyers. A prototype of that suit, dubbed the Industrial Suborbital Space Suit-Crew, was unveiled at the X Prize Cup in New Mexico in late October.
Homer, a mechanical and aeronautical and astronautical engineer with degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Stanford University, took home $200,000 in NASA's first-ever Astronaut Glove Challenge by demonstrating that a glove he designed could perform at least as well as NASA's current space glove – built by Hamilton Sundstrand and ILC Dover – in a variety of dexterity, flexibility and durability tests held over a two-day period.
Obama Plan: Reward Teachers, Lengthen School Time (Source: Baltimore Sun)
Barack Obama is planning to unveil an education plan today that would make affordable pre-school programs more widely available, offer pay incentive programs for effective teachers, and lengthen the teaching day or the school year. The $18 billion annual program would be offset by savings and cuts in federal agencies, including NASA. The cost would come partly from delaying the NASA Constellation Program for five years, cutting costs in the government procurement process and auctioning surplus federal property. The Obama plan also cites "closing the CEO pay deductibility loophole" and ending the Iraq war as other ways to pay for the program.
Americans Overestimate Cost of NASA (Source: AOL News)
Two astronauts from the international space station took a spacewalk to prepare the station for a December docking with the space shuttle. Sounds pricey. In fact, everything about NASA sounds pricey. For instance, NASA said it would need an additional $2 billion to speed up construction of the successor to the space shuttle. So how much does all this cost taxpayers? Apparently, not as much as people think.
A recent survey revealed that the average American believes a quarter of the country's public purse goes towards funding NASA. The survey found that most people reported the belief that NASA is almost as well funded as the military. The Department of Defense receives roughly 21 percent of the nation's budget, but NASA gets something like 0.6 percent. Upon learning this, one survey participant replied "No wonder we haven't gone anywhere!".
Ron Paul's Position on NASA (SourceL: AOL News)
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, believes that whatever we're paying for NASA, it's too much. In fact, David Hill of The Hill reports that Paul might even lose his House seat in Texas, in part, because of his consistent opposition to funding for NASA and his desire to eliminate the agency.
Lou Dobbs Entering Presidential Race? (Source: AOL News)
CNN News anchor Lou Dobbs, founder of Space.com and a long-time space advocate, is rumored to be considering a run for the presidency. The nightly purveyor of common sense when it comes to dollars and cents, Mr. Dobbs portrays himself as centrist and a champion of the middle class. His signature topics (and the ones that generate the highest ratings) are illegal immigration, and what he considers bogus free trade agreements.
Bargain Basement Satellites (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
A NASA team has built a small, low-cost satellite called FASTSAT, and it's almost ready to fly. The FASTSAT team built this prototype in a mere 10½ months for the relatively thrifty sum of $4 million. The FASTSAT Project Manager led a team already experienced in low-cost, quick turnaround balloon missions. "In the balloon program, people know how to take risks and do things more quickly," he says. "Quicker build time means less labor charges, and that's one of the keys to keeping costs down."
Balloon missions taught the team some specific ways to save time and money. For instance, they used commercial off-the-shelf components, which are readily available and cheaper than specially ordered parts. A new class of very low cost launch vehicles (such as SpaceX's Falcon 1) has opened doors for inexpensive satellites and instruments. "You wouldn't put an expensive payload on an inexpensive rocket - it's a risk issue. You'd use an inexpensive bus to fly an inexpensive instrument on an inexpensive rocket," said the project manager.
China Aiming to Replace Foreign Satellites (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
China is aiming to replace all its imported communications and broadcast satellites with home-made ones by 2010 as part of efforts to reduce its reliance on overseas technology. The nation will step up research and development of these satellites as just one out of the 12 currently in use is Chinese-made. As China has become an economic powerhouse in recent decades, it has been intent on trying to phase out its use of overseas technology in a wide range of sectors for financial as well as national interest reasons.
Partnership in Space Critical for National Security (Source: GWU)
Collaborating with other nations on space exploration is vital to America’s national security, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said. “Space exploration, whether human or robotic, is the grandest and most technically challenging expression of human endeavor,” Griffin said. “I think it is in our nation’s best interest to work together, learn as much from each other as different countries and cultures about how to go about solving unique problems presented by the exploration of space.”
Griffin described America’s history of partnership with other nations on space exploration. He described the collaboration between 16 nations including the United States, Russia, the countries of the European space agency, Japan and Canada on the International Space Station as “the largest task ever performed by the civilian agencies of the United States or our international partners.” “One day the International Space Station will be no more but I believe that the most important legacy of the ISS endeavor will be…the partnership itself,” Griffin said.
Valve, Atlantis Set for Launch (Source: Florida Today)
Kennedy Space Center crews fixed a helium valve in Atlantis' forward control system. The shuttle crew, in town for a practice countdown, confirmed Monday that launch remains on track for Dec. 6. The valve was stuck open in its normal position and was fixed by replacing a lug on ground equipment. Two European astronauts, Leopold Eyharts and Hans Schlegel, will fly aboard Atlantis. The flight has captured the attention of the European public, which funded the construction of the module they'll be delivering to the Space Station.
South Korea Plans Lunar Rocket by 2017 (Source: Xinhua)
South Korean government said Tuesday that it plans to develop a powerful two-stage rocket by 2017 to send a satellite to the moon. According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, South Korea plans to build and test a 300-ton Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 (KSLV-II) booster rocket and launch its first lunar exploration satellite in 2020. If the plan is successfully, South Korea will launch a lunar probe in 2025. South Korea plans to launch a satellite weighing about 100 kg every 3-4 years, and at least two smaller satellites every year.
Florida Companies Win NASA SBIR/STTR Contracts (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded contracts to 302 small business proposals that address critical research and technology needs for agency programs and projects. Eight Florida projects won "Phase One" awards, including seven SBIR and one STTR. The STTR is a partnership with the University of Central Florida. The winners are:
1) Mnemonics, Inc. (STTR) of Orlando for Wireless, Passive Encoded Saw Sensors and Communication Links; 2) Tai-Yang Research Co. of Tallahassee for Novel Lightweight Magnets for Space Applications; 3) Advanced Materials Technology of Tampa for Novel Materials for Mirror Substrate in Space Telescopes; 4) Rini Technologies of Orlando for Lightweight and Energy Efficient Heat Pump; 5) Mainstream Engineering Corporation of Rockledge for Active Thermal Control System for Extreme Environments; 6) DMD Concepts of Rockledge for Chemically and Thermally Stable High Energy Density Silicone Composites; 7) New Span Opto-Technology of Miami for Foveated 3-D Imaging Rangefinder for Object Tracking; and 8) Design Interactive of Oviedo for a CogGauge.
In October, NASA also awarded three Florida-based SBIR "Phase Two" awards to: 1) Summation Research of Melbourne for Programmable High-Rate Multi-Mission Receiver for Space Communications; 2) Soneticom of West Melboune for Remote EMI Field Strength Mapping; and 3) APECOR of Orlando for Integrated Three-Port Converters for Compact and Efficient Power Management.
November 19 News Items
SeaLaunch Launch Delayed Until November 20 (Source: RIA Novosti)
The delayed launch of a Zenit-3SL rocket with a Thuraya-3 communications satellite from the Pacific Ocean will go ahead on November 20. The launch, originally scheduled for November 18, has been delayed due to poor weather conditions.
Spacehab Supporting Milestones Under NASA Space Act Agreement (Source: Spacehab)
Spacehab hosted a formal Systems Requirements Review of its Advanced Research and Conventional Technology Utilization Spacecraft (ARCTUS) on Oct. 25-26 at its Houston Headquarters facility. Attendees included representatives from NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, United Launch Alliance, Cimarron, Inc., and Lockheed Martin. Spacehab has engaged key suppliers to support major elements of the ARCTUS program including launch services provider, United Launch Alliance, spacecraft bus component supplier, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Cimarron, tasked with mission control center development and integration, and Odyssey Space Research, LLC, providing trajectory analysis and integration services.
Capable of delivering and returning pressurized cargo to and from Low Earth Orbit, ARCTUS will supply a critical ‘means to an end’ for two distinct, yet complementary, space transport needs. First, ARCTUS supports NASA’s requirement to fill the International Space Station (ISS) cargo transport gap after the space shuttle’s planned 2010 retirement. Second, ARCTUS provides Spacehab with an additional means of space access in support of the Company’s previously announced microgravity processing initiatives, many of which are destined for production and processing on the ISS.
Launch Alliance Off to Fast Start (Source: Florida Today)
United Launch Alliance has fired off 11 rockets in its first year, including eight in the last six months. If there have been any early bumps in the marriage of the rocket divisions of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, it’s not evident in the pace of flights or the swiftness with which problems have been resolved. The alliance, which opened for business Dec. 1, has three more flights scheduled by year’s end from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport and Vandenberg Air Force Base to complete what will be one of the busiest launch years in recent history.
The Chicken and The Egg: RLVs and Space-Based Solar Power (Source: Space Review)
RLVs need a large market to be economically viable, while space-based solar power needs low launch costs for its own economic viability. Taylor Dinerman examines how to bridge the gap to enable both RLVs and space solar power. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1004/1 to view the article.
Space Property Rights and The 3:10 to Yuma (Source: Space Review)
What can a Western teach us about space property rights? According to Jonathan Card, it's a reminder that there's a need for the rule of law on any frontier. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1002/1 to view the article.
For Florida, the SpaceX Factor is Key (Source: Florida Today)
If all goes well, SpaceX represents a bright opportunity for Cape Canaveral. "The eyes of the world are on us," the company's local director of launch operations, Norman Bobczynski, told Florida government and business leaders recently. "...They're watching the state of Florida. They're watching SpaceX, and companies like SpaceX, and they're all asking the same question: 'Can they make it happen?' Like it or not, the success of SpaceX in this endeavor will have a tremendous impact on the state of Florida -- good or bad."
Making sure to land companies working on NASA's crew-cargo privatization program -- companies like SpaceX -- is "probably tops on our priority list," said Lee Solid, a consultant for the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast. The reason: the potential support jobs for the rocket launches, supply chains and even manufacturing. SpaceX has two new rockets in testing and a capsule-style spacecraft that appears on track to be a privatized cargo and maybe crew hauler for NASA's space station program. Click here to view the article.
The delayed launch of a Zenit-3SL rocket with a Thuraya-3 communications satellite from the Pacific Ocean will go ahead on November 20. The launch, originally scheduled for November 18, has been delayed due to poor weather conditions.
Spacehab Supporting Milestones Under NASA Space Act Agreement (Source: Spacehab)
Spacehab hosted a formal Systems Requirements Review of its Advanced Research and Conventional Technology Utilization Spacecraft (ARCTUS) on Oct. 25-26 at its Houston Headquarters facility. Attendees included representatives from NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, United Launch Alliance, Cimarron, Inc., and Lockheed Martin. Spacehab has engaged key suppliers to support major elements of the ARCTUS program including launch services provider, United Launch Alliance, spacecraft bus component supplier, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Cimarron, tasked with mission control center development and integration, and Odyssey Space Research, LLC, providing trajectory analysis and integration services.
Capable of delivering and returning pressurized cargo to and from Low Earth Orbit, ARCTUS will supply a critical ‘means to an end’ for two distinct, yet complementary, space transport needs. First, ARCTUS supports NASA’s requirement to fill the International Space Station (ISS) cargo transport gap after the space shuttle’s planned 2010 retirement. Second, ARCTUS provides Spacehab with an additional means of space access in support of the Company’s previously announced microgravity processing initiatives, many of which are destined for production and processing on the ISS.
Launch Alliance Off to Fast Start (Source: Florida Today)
United Launch Alliance has fired off 11 rockets in its first year, including eight in the last six months. If there have been any early bumps in the marriage of the rocket divisions of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, it’s not evident in the pace of flights or the swiftness with which problems have been resolved. The alliance, which opened for business Dec. 1, has three more flights scheduled by year’s end from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport and Vandenberg Air Force Base to complete what will be one of the busiest launch years in recent history.
The Chicken and The Egg: RLVs and Space-Based Solar Power (Source: Space Review)
RLVs need a large market to be economically viable, while space-based solar power needs low launch costs for its own economic viability. Taylor Dinerman examines how to bridge the gap to enable both RLVs and space solar power. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1004/1 to view the article.
Space Property Rights and The 3:10 to Yuma (Source: Space Review)
What can a Western teach us about space property rights? According to Jonathan Card, it's a reminder that there's a need for the rule of law on any frontier. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1002/1 to view the article.
For Florida, the SpaceX Factor is Key (Source: Florida Today)
If all goes well, SpaceX represents a bright opportunity for Cape Canaveral. "The eyes of the world are on us," the company's local director of launch operations, Norman Bobczynski, told Florida government and business leaders recently. "...They're watching the state of Florida. They're watching SpaceX, and companies like SpaceX, and they're all asking the same question: 'Can they make it happen?' Like it or not, the success of SpaceX in this endeavor will have a tremendous impact on the state of Florida -- good or bad."
Making sure to land companies working on NASA's crew-cargo privatization program -- companies like SpaceX -- is "probably tops on our priority list," said Lee Solid, a consultant for the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast. The reason: the potential support jobs for the rocket launches, supply chains and even manufacturing. SpaceX has two new rockets in testing and a capsule-style spacecraft that appears on track to be a privatized cargo and maybe crew hauler for NASA's space station program. Click here to view the article.
November 18 News Items
Satellite Firms Win C-Band War (Source: Space News)
Satellite networks won continued priority access to C-band radio spectrum at a meeting of global regulators thanks to key backing from African and South American nations. In what satellite-fleet operators described as a precedent-setting victory, the four-week World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) rejected attempts by backers of terrestrial wireless broadband networks to be granted a global right to use spectrum between 3.4 and 4.2 gigahertz.
SeaLaunch Mission Delayed to Monday (Source: SeaLaunch)
Preparations continue for the launch of the Thuraya-3 mobile communications satellite for Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company, based in the United Arab Emirates. After a few days' delay due to high winds and strong ocean currents, SeaLaunch resumed our countdown, with liftoff now planned for Monday, Nov 19, at 7:33 PST. Sea Launch's Zenit-3SL rocket resumes operations with this flight, carrying the Boeing-built Thuraya-3 mobile communications satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit. Once operational, this satellite will expand Thuraya's network coverage to include all key markets of the Asia Pacific region.
Russian Rocket Launches Communications Satellite (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A Proton rocket successfully launched a European communications satellite early Sunday in the Proton's first commercial flight since a September launch failure. The Proton M lifted off from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan. The satellite will provide broadcast and broadband services across Europe. The launch was the first commercial Proton launch since the September launch of JCSAT 11, which ended in failure when the Proton's second stage failed to separate from the first stage. The Proton carried out a Russian government launch last month.
FAA to Florida: “Step Up!” (Source: ERAU)
The FAA’s Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation, Patti Grace Smith, told an audience at a recent KSC-based commercial space forum that the State of Florida should “Step Up!” its efforts to establish a competitive space transportation industry. Rather than rest on past accomplishments, Florida should compete aggressively with those other states developing new spaceports and space launch industry programs.
ATV Launch On Track Despite Leaks, Moisture Build-Up (Source: Space News)
Managers of the large European unmanned supply ship being readied for launch to the space station in late January said Nov. 15 they still meet that date despite the discovery of leaks in the vehicle's propulsion valves, water-moisture buildup in its optical-sensor system, and the presence of dust or other foreign material in its Russian-supplied docking system. Those problems were uncovered during tests of the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) at the Guiana Space Center spaceport in French Guiana. ATV is a $1.9 billion program financed by the European Space Agency (ESA).
Future NASA Astronomy Budgets Expected to Mirror Inflation Rate (Source: Space News)
As astronomers gathered at the Space Telescope Science Institute here for talks about the big missions they would like to tackle from 2020 onward, NASA's astrophysics chief warned them not to get stars in their eyes as they envision future budgets. "I would encourage folks to think about the future optimistically, but we do have to live within realistic funding levels," Jon Morse, the director of NASA's astrophysics division, said.
Scholars: No Proof Chinese A-Sat Test A Threat to U.S. (Source: Space News)
In the latest volley in the ongoing debate over the meaning of China's anti-satellite test early this year, scholars from a pair of Washington think tanks said there is no conclusive evidence that the demonstration represents a growing threat to the U.S. Greg Kulacki and Jeffrey Lewis challenged assertions that the Jan. 11 test is part of a Chinese effort to counter U.S. military satellite capabilities. Kulacki, a senior analyst and China project manager in the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Lewis, director of the New America Foundation's Nuclear Strategy Initiative, based their findings on discussions with Chinese technical experts.
Nelson, Hutchison Press NASA to Find Ride for Station Project (Source: Space News)
Two U.S. lawmakers continue to press NASA to find a launch for the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), a bulky particle physics facility developed at a cost of more than $1 billion and designed to be attached to the international space station. NASA had planned to launch AMS on the space shuttle, but dropped the international payload from the manifest in order to concentrate on station construction and vital logistics. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) suggested that NASA make room for the AMS by taking supplies slated to fly in 2010 on one of the shuttle's final dedicated logistics runs and launch them aboard European or Japanese cargo vehicles instead.
NASA Administrator Mike Griffin said the preferable approach, if Congress really wants the AMS to launch, is to buy a ride on an expendable rocket. He said NASA studied that possibility last year at the request of Congress and found that it could be done for about $350 million to $400 million, a cost that includes a rocket and the necessary modifications to the AMS. Gerstenmaier said the modification costs likely have since risen because additional work has been done on the AMS. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) said she would like NASA to find a way to deliver the AMS to the station, even if that means buying an expendable rocket launch for it.
AIA, U.S. Government Form Council for Space Cost Estimates (Source: Space News)
The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and the U.S. government will create a permanent council tasked with improving the fidelity of cost estimates on military space programs, AIA President and Chief Executive Marion Blakely announced. The Joint Government/Industry Space Cost Analysis and Estimating Improvement Council will officially form in 2008. Its goal is to bridge the gap between government and industry cost calculations that have caused planning and funding problems for years. The council will include participation from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Air Force, National Reconnaissance Office and Office of the Director of National Intelligence in conjunction with AIA member companies.
Editorial: Fire in the Belly (Source: Florida Today)
The script is written and everyone knows the ending: the shuttle fleet retires in less than three years, causing the loss of thousands of KSC jobs and potentially serious damage to the Brevard County and Florida economies. Economies that gain $1.65 billion and $4 billion annually from NASA spending, respectively. But with the concern comes a once in a generation chance to transform the spaceport into something new and better -- a place where lunar rockets and spacecraft are built and assembled, not just launched, and where cutting edge research creates new industries. But fleshing out that plan to replace 2,500 to 5,000 lost shuttle jobs remains extremely difficult as KSC battles other states for projects. Those projects include getting final assembly and integration of the Ares 5, manufacturing the moon landers and lunar living quarters, luring private launch companies, fostering a climate for research and development, and jump-starting space tourism flights.
Florida has big sweeteners to attract the deals -- among them a highly skilled workforce and significant cost savings in building spacecraft at the launch site. But those pluses will amount to nothing without a sustained political offensive in Washington, Tallahassee putting real money and incentives on the table, and creating a business-friendly climate at the Cape. Florida has squandered too much time meeting this challenge. Now, there's no more time to waste.
New Mexico's Big Risk (Source: Florida Today)
A bustling new spaceport is expected to bring, at most, 3,000 or so new jobs to this state. That assumes an optimistic flight rate and that New Mexico captures the lion's share of the suborbital space tourism industry, which experts say is more likely to be spread out instead of concentrated. The New Mexico government's studies indicate that space tourism flights could generate around $1 billion in economic activity and about 2,200 to 2,900 jobs depending on the circumstances. So why would New Mexico gamble its taxpayers' treasure -- to the tune of more than $200 million -- on the project? A few thousand jobs might not sound like a lot in a huge state like Florida. In New Mexico, even half that number could have a monstrous impact. That's not to mention the positive attention from drawing in a new high-tech industry could add priceless momentum to other economic development bids.
Today, at the New Mexico spaceport, there is nothing but a tiny concrete slab pad, a gravel drive and a few office trailers. The fanciful spaceport terminal is just an architect's drawing. No dirt has been turned for the runway where stylish Virgin Galactic spaceliners would take off and land. No real roads are here to get heavy construction equipment and hundreds of builders to the site, which is more than 20 miles from the last paved road and even further from anything resembling a town. Visitors brave crater-pocked dirt roads, dipping into deep ravines and muscling over rocky embankments, to get to the ranchland being leased to the state for the spaceport. Just to get the site fit for development, the New Mexico government must spend $50 million building roads and another $50 million to bring in utilities. The state plans to spend another $200 million or so constructing the super-long runway, terminal and other structures needed to support regular tourist flights.
Other Spaceports Reach for Sky (Source: Florida Today)
A Florida Today analysis of what is happening at spaceports across the United States and in space tourism shows there is no real threat that the launch industry is going to up and relocate to the desert -- or anyplace else. Instead, new opportunities from space tourism will benefit sites worldwide. Some big aerospace interests look at New Mexico's effort with disdain; others with fear. An onslaught of press coverage is building an aura that this will be the new "place for space," replacing space havens such as Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral. That is simply not true. But the newspaper's investigation of what is happening in other states and throughout the blooming space tourism industry shows Florida will gain even if the first flights happen somewhere else.
In New Mexico, the only indication that flights could begin in 2009 or 2010 is in press releases. The reality of a giant government-run construction effort belies the timeline. At the same time, sites like New Mexico have built-in advantages starting from scratch even against more developed sites like KSC. The first flights of experimental, startup systems like Virgin Galactic's are going to shy away from places like Cape Canaveral, with surrounding population centers and the safety bureaucracy of a busy military range. "They are looking for places with regulations that have the least impact on their schedule," said Wayne Finger, a consultant with a Merritt Island firm that has worked with spaceports worldwide. "When you look at the financial model for a lot of businesses, if they do not pay off in three to five years, investors are not interested."
Rutan and Branson say they want to fly spaceliners from hubs around the world. The more people they fly, the more money they make. If space tourism takes off, investment will spread. If New Mexico's spaceport is not ready when Rutan and Branson have a ship to fly, other sites such as the Mojave Air and Space Port or KSC's shuttle runway could be used. Branson has said KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility is an ideal spot. And Branson will not be the only operator. Rutan is not obligated to sell spaceships only to Virgin. Like Boeing and Airbus sell planes to Delta, United and Southwest, he will sell spaceships to many operators who will pick their own launch sites. Tourist hot spots like California and Florida are not likely to be left out in the cold.
Will KSC Be Ready for Space Tourism? (Source: Florida Today)
The Space Coast is poised to capitalize on space tourism's growth. Among KSC's built-in advantages: Government studies indicate the shuttle runway at KSC is suitable for launching suborbital spacecraft such as SpaceShipTwo; NASA already has federal government authority for launches from the site, so no new permit is needed; and The Shuttle Landing Facility has all the fuels, buildings, experienced workers and other essentials needed.
KSC and local officials are marketing the runway's benefits because it will have limited use after the shuttles retire. Already, Zero G uses the runway for its weightless simulation flights. Zero G is likely to be used by space lines for training flights, which could be based here. Starfighters Inc. of Clearwater this year flew a pathfinder mission aimed at carving out trajectories from KSC for spaceliners. Indeed, KSC would be ready to host such flights earlier than most of the competitors, according to the reports and studies the nation's other startup spaceports have filed with the Federal Aviation Administration.
Add to that the "cool factor" of launching from the same place the astronauts of lore -- legends like Glenn, Armstrong, Shepard and Young -- and the site is bound to attract attention from space line operators. "We believe this is going to be a big industry," said KSC spaceport development manager Jim Ball. "And we're doing the things we need to do to support those flights from here. We believe we have a good chance to get them."
Satellite networks won continued priority access to C-band radio spectrum at a meeting of global regulators thanks to key backing from African and South American nations. In what satellite-fleet operators described as a precedent-setting victory, the four-week World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) rejected attempts by backers of terrestrial wireless broadband networks to be granted a global right to use spectrum between 3.4 and 4.2 gigahertz.
SeaLaunch Mission Delayed to Monday (Source: SeaLaunch)
Preparations continue for the launch of the Thuraya-3 mobile communications satellite for Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company, based in the United Arab Emirates. After a few days' delay due to high winds and strong ocean currents, SeaLaunch resumed our countdown, with liftoff now planned for Monday, Nov 19, at 7:33 PST. Sea Launch's Zenit-3SL rocket resumes operations with this flight, carrying the Boeing-built Thuraya-3 mobile communications satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit. Once operational, this satellite will expand Thuraya's network coverage to include all key markets of the Asia Pacific region.
Russian Rocket Launches Communications Satellite (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A Proton rocket successfully launched a European communications satellite early Sunday in the Proton's first commercial flight since a September launch failure. The Proton M lifted off from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan. The satellite will provide broadcast and broadband services across Europe. The launch was the first commercial Proton launch since the September launch of JCSAT 11, which ended in failure when the Proton's second stage failed to separate from the first stage. The Proton carried out a Russian government launch last month.
FAA to Florida: “Step Up!” (Source: ERAU)
The FAA’s Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation, Patti Grace Smith, told an audience at a recent KSC-based commercial space forum that the State of Florida should “Step Up!” its efforts to establish a competitive space transportation industry. Rather than rest on past accomplishments, Florida should compete aggressively with those other states developing new spaceports and space launch industry programs.
ATV Launch On Track Despite Leaks, Moisture Build-Up (Source: Space News)
Managers of the large European unmanned supply ship being readied for launch to the space station in late January said Nov. 15 they still meet that date despite the discovery of leaks in the vehicle's propulsion valves, water-moisture buildup in its optical-sensor system, and the presence of dust or other foreign material in its Russian-supplied docking system. Those problems were uncovered during tests of the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) at the Guiana Space Center spaceport in French Guiana. ATV is a $1.9 billion program financed by the European Space Agency (ESA).
Future NASA Astronomy Budgets Expected to Mirror Inflation Rate (Source: Space News)
As astronomers gathered at the Space Telescope Science Institute here for talks about the big missions they would like to tackle from 2020 onward, NASA's astrophysics chief warned them not to get stars in their eyes as they envision future budgets. "I would encourage folks to think about the future optimistically, but we do have to live within realistic funding levels," Jon Morse, the director of NASA's astrophysics division, said.
Scholars: No Proof Chinese A-Sat Test A Threat to U.S. (Source: Space News)
In the latest volley in the ongoing debate over the meaning of China's anti-satellite test early this year, scholars from a pair of Washington think tanks said there is no conclusive evidence that the demonstration represents a growing threat to the U.S. Greg Kulacki and Jeffrey Lewis challenged assertions that the Jan. 11 test is part of a Chinese effort to counter U.S. military satellite capabilities. Kulacki, a senior analyst and China project manager in the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Lewis, director of the New America Foundation's Nuclear Strategy Initiative, based their findings on discussions with Chinese technical experts.
Nelson, Hutchison Press NASA to Find Ride for Station Project (Source: Space News)
Two U.S. lawmakers continue to press NASA to find a launch for the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), a bulky particle physics facility developed at a cost of more than $1 billion and designed to be attached to the international space station. NASA had planned to launch AMS on the space shuttle, but dropped the international payload from the manifest in order to concentrate on station construction and vital logistics. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) suggested that NASA make room for the AMS by taking supplies slated to fly in 2010 on one of the shuttle's final dedicated logistics runs and launch them aboard European or Japanese cargo vehicles instead.
NASA Administrator Mike Griffin said the preferable approach, if Congress really wants the AMS to launch, is to buy a ride on an expendable rocket. He said NASA studied that possibility last year at the request of Congress and found that it could be done for about $350 million to $400 million, a cost that includes a rocket and the necessary modifications to the AMS. Gerstenmaier said the modification costs likely have since risen because additional work has been done on the AMS. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) said she would like NASA to find a way to deliver the AMS to the station, even if that means buying an expendable rocket launch for it.
AIA, U.S. Government Form Council for Space Cost Estimates (Source: Space News)
The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and the U.S. government will create a permanent council tasked with improving the fidelity of cost estimates on military space programs, AIA President and Chief Executive Marion Blakely announced. The Joint Government/Industry Space Cost Analysis and Estimating Improvement Council will officially form in 2008. Its goal is to bridge the gap between government and industry cost calculations that have caused planning and funding problems for years. The council will include participation from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Air Force, National Reconnaissance Office and Office of the Director of National Intelligence in conjunction with AIA member companies.
Editorial: Fire in the Belly (Source: Florida Today)
The script is written and everyone knows the ending: the shuttle fleet retires in less than three years, causing the loss of thousands of KSC jobs and potentially serious damage to the Brevard County and Florida economies. Economies that gain $1.65 billion and $4 billion annually from NASA spending, respectively. But with the concern comes a once in a generation chance to transform the spaceport into something new and better -- a place where lunar rockets and spacecraft are built and assembled, not just launched, and where cutting edge research creates new industries. But fleshing out that plan to replace 2,500 to 5,000 lost shuttle jobs remains extremely difficult as KSC battles other states for projects. Those projects include getting final assembly and integration of the Ares 5, manufacturing the moon landers and lunar living quarters, luring private launch companies, fostering a climate for research and development, and jump-starting space tourism flights.
Florida has big sweeteners to attract the deals -- among them a highly skilled workforce and significant cost savings in building spacecraft at the launch site. But those pluses will amount to nothing without a sustained political offensive in Washington, Tallahassee putting real money and incentives on the table, and creating a business-friendly climate at the Cape. Florida has squandered too much time meeting this challenge. Now, there's no more time to waste.
New Mexico's Big Risk (Source: Florida Today)
A bustling new spaceport is expected to bring, at most, 3,000 or so new jobs to this state. That assumes an optimistic flight rate and that New Mexico captures the lion's share of the suborbital space tourism industry, which experts say is more likely to be spread out instead of concentrated. The New Mexico government's studies indicate that space tourism flights could generate around $1 billion in economic activity and about 2,200 to 2,900 jobs depending on the circumstances. So why would New Mexico gamble its taxpayers' treasure -- to the tune of more than $200 million -- on the project? A few thousand jobs might not sound like a lot in a huge state like Florida. In New Mexico, even half that number could have a monstrous impact. That's not to mention the positive attention from drawing in a new high-tech industry could add priceless momentum to other economic development bids.
Today, at the New Mexico spaceport, there is nothing but a tiny concrete slab pad, a gravel drive and a few office trailers. The fanciful spaceport terminal is just an architect's drawing. No dirt has been turned for the runway where stylish Virgin Galactic spaceliners would take off and land. No real roads are here to get heavy construction equipment and hundreds of builders to the site, which is more than 20 miles from the last paved road and even further from anything resembling a town. Visitors brave crater-pocked dirt roads, dipping into deep ravines and muscling over rocky embankments, to get to the ranchland being leased to the state for the spaceport. Just to get the site fit for development, the New Mexico government must spend $50 million building roads and another $50 million to bring in utilities. The state plans to spend another $200 million or so constructing the super-long runway, terminal and other structures needed to support regular tourist flights.
Other Spaceports Reach for Sky (Source: Florida Today)
A Florida Today analysis of what is happening at spaceports across the United States and in space tourism shows there is no real threat that the launch industry is going to up and relocate to the desert -- or anyplace else. Instead, new opportunities from space tourism will benefit sites worldwide. Some big aerospace interests look at New Mexico's effort with disdain; others with fear. An onslaught of press coverage is building an aura that this will be the new "place for space," replacing space havens such as Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral. That is simply not true. But the newspaper's investigation of what is happening in other states and throughout the blooming space tourism industry shows Florida will gain even if the first flights happen somewhere else.
In New Mexico, the only indication that flights could begin in 2009 or 2010 is in press releases. The reality of a giant government-run construction effort belies the timeline. At the same time, sites like New Mexico have built-in advantages starting from scratch even against more developed sites like KSC. The first flights of experimental, startup systems like Virgin Galactic's are going to shy away from places like Cape Canaveral, with surrounding population centers and the safety bureaucracy of a busy military range. "They are looking for places with regulations that have the least impact on their schedule," said Wayne Finger, a consultant with a Merritt Island firm that has worked with spaceports worldwide. "When you look at the financial model for a lot of businesses, if they do not pay off in three to five years, investors are not interested."
Rutan and Branson say they want to fly spaceliners from hubs around the world. The more people they fly, the more money they make. If space tourism takes off, investment will spread. If New Mexico's spaceport is not ready when Rutan and Branson have a ship to fly, other sites such as the Mojave Air and Space Port or KSC's shuttle runway could be used. Branson has said KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility is an ideal spot. And Branson will not be the only operator. Rutan is not obligated to sell spaceships only to Virgin. Like Boeing and Airbus sell planes to Delta, United and Southwest, he will sell spaceships to many operators who will pick their own launch sites. Tourist hot spots like California and Florida are not likely to be left out in the cold.
Will KSC Be Ready for Space Tourism? (Source: Florida Today)
The Space Coast is poised to capitalize on space tourism's growth. Among KSC's built-in advantages: Government studies indicate the shuttle runway at KSC is suitable for launching suborbital spacecraft such as SpaceShipTwo; NASA already has federal government authority for launches from the site, so no new permit is needed; and The Shuttle Landing Facility has all the fuels, buildings, experienced workers and other essentials needed.
KSC and local officials are marketing the runway's benefits because it will have limited use after the shuttles retire. Already, Zero G uses the runway for its weightless simulation flights. Zero G is likely to be used by space lines for training flights, which could be based here. Starfighters Inc. of Clearwater this year flew a pathfinder mission aimed at carving out trajectories from KSC for spaceliners. Indeed, KSC would be ready to host such flights earlier than most of the competitors, according to the reports and studies the nation's other startup spaceports have filed with the Federal Aviation Administration.
Add to that the "cool factor" of launching from the same place the astronauts of lore -- legends like Glenn, Armstrong, Shepard and Young -- and the site is bound to attract attention from space line operators. "We believe this is going to be a big industry," said KSC spaceport development manager Jim Ball. "And we're doing the things we need to do to support those flights from here. We believe we have a good chance to get them."
November 17 News Items
Ex-NASA Workers Sentenced (Source: Florida Today)
Two former NASA employees who embezzled thousands of dollars from the space agency were ordered to prison. U.S. District Judge Anne Conway ordered Judith Lynna Frisbee, 46, of Titusville to serve 16 months and pay back the $127,029.37 she defrauded from NASA contractor Space Gateway Support by falsifying records and inflating expense reports between 2001 and 2005. She pleaded guilty in August and faced up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Elizabeth Ann Osborne, 52, received an 18-month sentence for using her government credit card to make $157,394.21 worth of electronics, furniture, jewelry and other purchases for herself. She had faced up to 10 years in prison plus a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty to the charges.
Editorial: How Can We Not Forge Ahead? (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The Nov. 9 "Friday Forum" question was, "Should we go to the moon and Mars?" The answer for me is unequivocally, "YES!" I pose a follow-up question: Why wouldn't we, and how can we not? I agree that a "been there, done that" mentality to further exploring the moon is like saying there was no need for Lewis and Clark to return to the Mississippi River once they had been there. Furthermore, it's like saying there was no need to explore beyond the Mississippi River. Thanks to their vision and commitment, we know what would have been lost had westward exploration halted. Imagine the same scenario for space exploration. Going back to the moon will allow us to create a lunar outpost for exploration, with missions generating from the moon rather than Earth. This outpost will serve as a learning laboratory like no other.
Spaceport Sheboygan Caught in Federal Budget Battle (Source: Sheboygan Press)
Rep. Tom Petri is hoping federal funds earmarked for several major state projects, including $100,000 for Spaceport Sheboygan, can be saved from presidential veto. Petri, R-Fond du Lac, got to tout $1.1 million in special project money for three projects in his district when the House passed the 2008 spending bill for the departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday. But those earmarks — $600,000 for an engineering study of a bridge across the North Fond du Lac rail yard, $400,000 for the reconstruction of State Highway 44 in Oshkosh and $100,000 for the Sheboygan Development Corporation's Great Lakes Aerospace Science and Education Center project – are caught up in the tug-of-war between President Bush and the Democratic-controlled Congress.
From Delaware to the Moon? (Source: Philadelphia Inquirer)
If NASA makes good on its promise, when astronauts land on the moon again around 2020, they won't just walk around, they'll camp out for days or even weeks, eventually constructing a permanent moon base. To do that they will need a shelter that protects them from radiation, 600-degree temperature swings, and the occasional pebble flying by at 17,000 miles an hour. This week, a small Delaware company unveiled an early prototype - a garage-size inflatable building. Over the next few days, engineers at ILC Dover will deflate it and ship it to Antarctica, where it will be tested under 100-m.p.h. winds and temperatures of minus 60 degrees. But that's mild compared with conditions on the moon. Because the moon is well beyond Earth's protective magnetic field, it is bombarded by deadly particles and light radiation from the sun and from deep space.
SeaLaunch Launch Scheduled for November 18 (Source: RIA Novosti)
The delayed sea launch of a Zenit-3SL rocket with a Thuraya-3 communications satellite is scheduled to go ahead on Nov. 18. A SeaLaunch consortium spokesperson said the launch had been delayed indefinitely due to poor weather conditions. The consortium, established in 1995, is owned by Boeing, Norway's Kvaerner ASA, Ukraine's Yuzhmash, and Russia's RSC-Energia, and is the only company which launches its vehicles from the equator, allowing the rockets to carry heavier payloads than from other latitudes.
India Crosses Rocket Science Milestone (Source: Hundustan Times)
Indian space scientists have reached a new galaxy with the successful test of the indigenous cryogenic stage which powers the gigantic Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). Indians have joined an exclusive league of scientists — from the US, Russia and Europe — who have the capability to design and build cryogenic engines which are critical for hoisting communication satellites as well as manned missions to space. This development creates an entirely indigenous launch vehicle development capability in India, removing the nation's reliance on suppliers from other nations.
Two former NASA employees who embezzled thousands of dollars from the space agency were ordered to prison. U.S. District Judge Anne Conway ordered Judith Lynna Frisbee, 46, of Titusville to serve 16 months and pay back the $127,029.37 she defrauded from NASA contractor Space Gateway Support by falsifying records and inflating expense reports between 2001 and 2005. She pleaded guilty in August and faced up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Elizabeth Ann Osborne, 52, received an 18-month sentence for using her government credit card to make $157,394.21 worth of electronics, furniture, jewelry and other purchases for herself. She had faced up to 10 years in prison plus a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty to the charges.
Editorial: How Can We Not Forge Ahead? (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The Nov. 9 "Friday Forum" question was, "Should we go to the moon and Mars?" The answer for me is unequivocally, "YES!" I pose a follow-up question: Why wouldn't we, and how can we not? I agree that a "been there, done that" mentality to further exploring the moon is like saying there was no need for Lewis and Clark to return to the Mississippi River once they had been there. Furthermore, it's like saying there was no need to explore beyond the Mississippi River. Thanks to their vision and commitment, we know what would have been lost had westward exploration halted. Imagine the same scenario for space exploration. Going back to the moon will allow us to create a lunar outpost for exploration, with missions generating from the moon rather than Earth. This outpost will serve as a learning laboratory like no other.
Spaceport Sheboygan Caught in Federal Budget Battle (Source: Sheboygan Press)
Rep. Tom Petri is hoping federal funds earmarked for several major state projects, including $100,000 for Spaceport Sheboygan, can be saved from presidential veto. Petri, R-Fond du Lac, got to tout $1.1 million in special project money for three projects in his district when the House passed the 2008 spending bill for the departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday. But those earmarks — $600,000 for an engineering study of a bridge across the North Fond du Lac rail yard, $400,000 for the reconstruction of State Highway 44 in Oshkosh and $100,000 for the Sheboygan Development Corporation's Great Lakes Aerospace Science and Education Center project – are caught up in the tug-of-war between President Bush and the Democratic-controlled Congress.
From Delaware to the Moon? (Source: Philadelphia Inquirer)
If NASA makes good on its promise, when astronauts land on the moon again around 2020, they won't just walk around, they'll camp out for days or even weeks, eventually constructing a permanent moon base. To do that they will need a shelter that protects them from radiation, 600-degree temperature swings, and the occasional pebble flying by at 17,000 miles an hour. This week, a small Delaware company unveiled an early prototype - a garage-size inflatable building. Over the next few days, engineers at ILC Dover will deflate it and ship it to Antarctica, where it will be tested under 100-m.p.h. winds and temperatures of minus 60 degrees. But that's mild compared with conditions on the moon. Because the moon is well beyond Earth's protective magnetic field, it is bombarded by deadly particles and light radiation from the sun and from deep space.
SeaLaunch Launch Scheduled for November 18 (Source: RIA Novosti)
The delayed sea launch of a Zenit-3SL rocket with a Thuraya-3 communications satellite is scheduled to go ahead on Nov. 18. A SeaLaunch consortium spokesperson said the launch had been delayed indefinitely due to poor weather conditions. The consortium, established in 1995, is owned by Boeing, Norway's Kvaerner ASA, Ukraine's Yuzhmash, and Russia's RSC-Energia, and is the only company which launches its vehicles from the equator, allowing the rockets to carry heavier payloads than from other latitudes.
India Crosses Rocket Science Milestone (Source: Hundustan Times)
Indian space scientists have reached a new galaxy with the successful test of the indigenous cryogenic stage which powers the gigantic Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). Indians have joined an exclusive league of scientists — from the US, Russia and Europe — who have the capability to design and build cryogenic engines which are critical for hoisting communication satellites as well as manned missions to space. This development creates an entirely indigenous launch vehicle development capability in India, removing the nation's reliance on suppliers from other nations.
November 16 News Items
Wisconsin Spaceport Plans Rocketing Ahead (Source: Sheboygan Press)
Sky-high plans for a sprawling aerospace complex on Sheboygan's lakefront are gaining momentum, as developers pursue donors, line up exhibits and work with schools to develop complementary curriculum. The Great Lakes Aero-space, Science and Education Center at Spaceport Sheboygan is expected to be under construction by next fall and open — at least in part — by the end of 2008, said Gary Dulmes, vice chairman of the board of directors for the planned $21 million complex. Dulmes said developers will not be slowed by the death Wednesday of local businessman Mike Muth, who was a major force in conceiving and driving the project, though he had stepped back over the last six months. The funds committed for the project remain at about $4 million, but that number could grow quickly in the coming months, Dulmes said.
NASA Conducts Second Test of Main Parachute for Ares Rockets (Source: SpaceRef.com)
NASA and industry engineers successfully tested the main parachute for Constellation Program rockets during a drop test Thursday at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground near Yuma, Ariz. The parachute system will allow Ares I and Ares V first stage boosters to be recovered and reused. Thursday's test validated the results of an earlier test conducted in September. "Measuring 150-feet in diameter and weighing 2,000 pounds, this is the biggest chute of its kind that's been tested," said Steve Cook, director of the Ares Projects Office.
NASA Would Need $2 Billion to Hasten Shuttle Successor (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
To close the five-year gap between retirement of the space shuttle and the first launch of its successor, NASA would need $2 billion more during the next three years, agency officials said Thursday. The money would allow NASA to advance the launch of the first Constellation mission to September 2013, rather than the current March 2015 projection. But it's uncertain whether NASA allies can find the necessary dollars on Capitol Hill. And even if Congress approves the money, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin acknowledged, it might not prevent the loss of as many as 5,000 workers at Kennedy Space Center after the space shuttle stops flying in 2010.
Sen. Nelson: Job Losses Would Be "Bolt of Lightning" in Florida (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Thousands of post-Shuttle space industry layoffs "hits me like a bolt of lightning and would hit the Kennedy Space Center likewise," said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who called Mike Griffin before his Space, Aeronautics and Related Sciences subcommittee. Kennedy Space Center could lose up to a third of its 15,000 workers as NASA transitions from the shuttle to Constellation. The longer the gap, the less likely KSC workers will be retained -- because the facility's primary responsibility is preparing spacecraft for flight.
Diversification Initiative Approved for Post-Shuttle Florida Space Economy (Source: ERAU)
Officials representing statewide interests have come together under a Space Coast-led "Aerospace Career Development Council" to craft recommendations for dealing with the impacts of the Shuttle's retirement. Among five recommendations approved by the Council is a $20 million Space Technology & Research Diversification (STRD) initiative, designed to expand the state's involvement in strategic space research programs that will enable long-term space industry growth. The STRD initiative was also endorsed by the Board of Directors of Space Florida.
Virginia Legislature May Adopt ZeroG ZeroTax Proposal (Source: spaceports blog)
Virginia was the first state in the nation to adopt a space flight liability and immunity law in 2007 and it may become the first state in the nation to adopt its own state version of 'Zero-G, Zero Tax' in 2008. Later this month the Virginia Joint Commission on Technology and Science aerospace advisory panel will hear a recommendation to adopt new state tax law provisions to exclude from corporate state income tax "any gain recognized as a result of the sale of passenger tickets on a suborbital spaceflight conducted by a spaceflight entity as defined in § 8.01-227.8 and "any gain recognized as a result of resupply services contracts entered with the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services division" of NASA. In addition, the tax proposal may exempt from state sales tax "the sale of spaceflight services or activities to spaceflight participants."
The legislation is being designed to boost the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport attract utilization of its launch pads and the NASA Wallops Flight Facility runway. Commercial space launch firms for both NASA ISS resupply flights and subsequent space tourist flights could be attracted to Virginia based upon its liability and immunity act, a potentially favorable tax regime, and outstanding low cost launch and runway facilities. No other state has yet to adopt a similar space liability and immunity act.
Europe Eyes Six Martian Landing Sites (Source: The Register)
The European Space Agency (ESA) has compiled a shortlist of places it would like to look for life (past or present) on Mars. The agency says its ExoMars mission, planned for a 2013 launch, will touch down on some of the red planet's oldest rocks, as these might once have been in contact with Martian water. A region rich in clay minerals would be ideal, the agency said, since these so-called phyllosilicates contain water in their crystalline structure. Planetary researcher Dr Jean-Pierre Bibring, from the University of Paris, told the BBC: "Phyllosilicates are not just regions where we think water must have been. We also think they are places that helped reactions to take place. On the early Earth, all the primordial biochemistry took place in phyllosilicates as well."
The mission is expected to cost of the order of a billion Euros, with half of that money going on the industrial costs of designing and constructing the craft. Initial designs have been approved, but the finer details, such as what kind of rocket it will launch on, are still up for discussion. Whatever form the mission takes, and wherever it lands, it must be a rover capable of roaming over the surface of Mars, drilling two meters into the surface and analysing the soil samples it collects. The pre-launch process will also be complicated, because the craft must be totally sterile before it heads into space, to avoid contaminating the landing site with life from Earth. Spending €1bn to rediscover the common cold would not make for a happy space agency, after all.
Arianespace to Post 'Moderate' Profit Despite Weak Dollar (Source: Thomson Financial)
Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said he expects the company's results to be 'stable' for the fifth consecutive year. Le Gall was speaking after the successful launch of two satellites from Ariane 5. He expects a 'moderate' profit despite the unfavorable dollar/euro exchange which makes life 'difficult', Le Gall said. Arianespace is owned by a European consortium, which includes French shareholders EADS, Safran and Air Liquide.
DIRECTV Offers to Install HD in New Space Station Module (Source: DirecTV)
Congratulating NASA on the completion of a successful shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) and the recent unveiling of a new living space aboard the orbital laboratory, DIRECTV is offering the ISS a complete HD makeover – including its industry-leading line-up of national HD channels, the most advanced HD DVR on the market, a 42” flat screen HDTV and a sturdy velcro-wrapped remote control.
If NASA accepts DIRECTV’s offer, the nations #1 satellite TV company is prepared to offer its top engineer to assist in the installation of the familiar satellite dish on the roof of the new module. As a satellite TV service we obviously have a vested interest in space exploration and we’ve certainly benefited from NASA’s many technical and scientific achievements over the years. This is one way we can give a little something back.”
Real-Life Star Wars: The Militarization of Space (Source: AlterNet)
On Jan. 11, 2001, the Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management and Organization issued a report to Congress. The group, which had been headed by President-elect George W. Bush's Defense Secretary-to-be Donald Rumsfeld, asserted that it's only a matter of time until there's all-out war in the heavens: "We know from history that every medium -- air, land and sea -- has seen conflict. Reality indicates that space will be no different. Given this virtual certainty, the U.S. must develop the means both to deter and to defend against hostile acts in and from space -- and ensure continuing superiority."
The current thinking of military and industry officials was revealed last month at the annual Strategic Space and Defense Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. At that meeting, held in the backyard of the US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). And that strategy includes not just war mongering against countries like China and Pakistan by "space warriors," but it poses a threat to the safety and liberties of all Americans. Visit http://www.alternet.org/audits/67699/ to view the article.
NASA Lifts Brief Ban on U.S. Spacewalks (Source: Space.com)
NASA lifted a brief ban on U.S. spacewalks outside the International Space Station (ISS) Thursday after engineers cleared the orbital laboratory's spacesuits of potential fire-hazards. The decision allows ISS Expedition 16 commander Peggy Whitson and flight engineer Dan Tani to proceed with preparations for two critical spacewalks next week to continue space station construction. NASA temporarily suspended U.S. spacewalks earlier this week after an astronaut smelled smoke inside a U.S. spacesuit during a ground test. While engineers have not completely identified root cause of the Earth-based suit's smoky odor, the leading candidate is the specific canister used to sift carbon dioxide from the EMU's 100 percent oxygen interior.
Apollo Astronaut Presents FWB Native with Scholarship Award (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News)
Edgar Mitchell, an Apollo 14 astronaut and moonwalker, presented University of Central Florida senior Benjamin Corbin with a $10,000 scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation in Orlando. A Fort Walton Beach native, Corbin is the second UCF student to receive an Astronaut Scholarship Foundation award during the past two years. The award is one of 19 made available each year through the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. The scholarships are awarded to college students who exhibit exceptional performance, initiative and creativity in the science or engineering field of their major.
Griffin: Spaceflight Gap Unseemly, Unwise (Source: Florida Today)
NASA may possibly cinch the gap between manned space missions from five to three years but only if it gets an extra $2 billion in funding from Congress, agency officials told senators Thursday. But about $400 million of that would need to come in next year's fiscal budget. That's an unlikely scenario given that President Bush has threatened to veto a current effort by the Senate to give NASA an extra $1 billion, specifically to help the agency transition from its retiring space shuttle fleet to its replacement. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin acknowledged that as many as 5,000 employees could lose their jobs at Kennedy Space Center once the shuttle is retired in 2010, although he described that estimate as "on the high side of credible."
Experimental Preparation of Flight to Mars Begins in Moscow (Source: Itar-Tass)
A 14-day experiment to prepare a manned flight to Mars began at the Moscow Institute of Biomedical Problems on Thursday. The director of the Institute of Biomedical Problems, Anatoly Grigoryev, had said that a simulation of manned flights Mars included a 14-day and a 105-day mission. "During 14 days we shall check technical equipment, and then we shall select for the 105-day experiment Russian and European proposals that will be later implemented in the program. He said an international crew of volunteers would be formed for the 105-day experiment that begins in early 2008. Intensive selection of a main crew for the “Martian flight” is going on. It will include four Russians and two Europeans.
Griffin Says $2 Billion Would Speed Development of Shuttle Replacement (Source: Space News)
NASA Administrator Mike Griffin told a Senate panel Nov. 15 that the United States could field the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle and its Ares 1 launcher within three years of the space shuttle's retirement, but meeting that earlier delivery date would require an extra $2 billion over the next couple of years.
Hutchison: Extra $1 Billion for NASA Unlikely This Year (Source: Space News)
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) said Nov. 15 that the extra $1 billion she and Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) have been pushing to give NASA appears unlikely to make it through Congress this year.
Airline Navigation Threatened by Space Weather Plasma Plumes (Source: New Scientist)
Mysterious plumes of plasma at the edge of the Earth's atmosphere are threatening airline navigation by throwing off GPS positioning information by up to the length of a football field. But a poor understanding of how the plumes form means that accurate forecasts of the phenomena – which would allow GPS users to plan around them – are years away. Scientists have long understood that outbursts from the Sun called coronal mass ejections can interfere with communication between Earth-orbiting satellites and the ground.
More recently, they have learned that at least some of the disruptions are due to giant plumes of charged particles, or plasma, that form in response to the solar outbursts in the Earth's ionosphere, a region filled with ions at the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space. The concentrated plasma in the plumes diverts and delays satellite communications, such as GPS signals. But forecasting these disruptions is difficult because scientists do not know exactly how the plumes form or where the extra plasma they contain comes from.
Incredible Comet Bigger than the Sun (Source: Space.com)
A comet that has delighted backyard astronomers in recent weeks after an unexpected eruption has now grown larger than the sun. The sun remains by far the most massive object in the solar system, with an extended influence of particles that reaches all the planets. But the comparatively tiny Comet Holmes has released so much gas and dust that its extended atmosphere, or coma, is larger than the diameter of the sun. "It continues to expand and is now the largest single object in the solar system," according to astronomers at the University of Hawaii. Separately, a new Hubble Space Telescope photo of the comet reveals an intriguing bow-tie structure around its nucleus.
Sky-high plans for a sprawling aerospace complex on Sheboygan's lakefront are gaining momentum, as developers pursue donors, line up exhibits and work with schools to develop complementary curriculum. The Great Lakes Aero-space, Science and Education Center at Spaceport Sheboygan is expected to be under construction by next fall and open — at least in part — by the end of 2008, said Gary Dulmes, vice chairman of the board of directors for the planned $21 million complex. Dulmes said developers will not be slowed by the death Wednesday of local businessman Mike Muth, who was a major force in conceiving and driving the project, though he had stepped back over the last six months. The funds committed for the project remain at about $4 million, but that number could grow quickly in the coming months, Dulmes said.
NASA Conducts Second Test of Main Parachute for Ares Rockets (Source: SpaceRef.com)
NASA and industry engineers successfully tested the main parachute for Constellation Program rockets during a drop test Thursday at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground near Yuma, Ariz. The parachute system will allow Ares I and Ares V first stage boosters to be recovered and reused. Thursday's test validated the results of an earlier test conducted in September. "Measuring 150-feet in diameter and weighing 2,000 pounds, this is the biggest chute of its kind that's been tested," said Steve Cook, director of the Ares Projects Office.
NASA Would Need $2 Billion to Hasten Shuttle Successor (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
To close the five-year gap between retirement of the space shuttle and the first launch of its successor, NASA would need $2 billion more during the next three years, agency officials said Thursday. The money would allow NASA to advance the launch of the first Constellation mission to September 2013, rather than the current March 2015 projection. But it's uncertain whether NASA allies can find the necessary dollars on Capitol Hill. And even if Congress approves the money, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin acknowledged, it might not prevent the loss of as many as 5,000 workers at Kennedy Space Center after the space shuttle stops flying in 2010.
Sen. Nelson: Job Losses Would Be "Bolt of Lightning" in Florida (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Thousands of post-Shuttle space industry layoffs "hits me like a bolt of lightning and would hit the Kennedy Space Center likewise," said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who called Mike Griffin before his Space, Aeronautics and Related Sciences subcommittee. Kennedy Space Center could lose up to a third of its 15,000 workers as NASA transitions from the shuttle to Constellation. The longer the gap, the less likely KSC workers will be retained -- because the facility's primary responsibility is preparing spacecraft for flight.
Diversification Initiative Approved for Post-Shuttle Florida Space Economy (Source: ERAU)
Officials representing statewide interests have come together under a Space Coast-led "Aerospace Career Development Council" to craft recommendations for dealing with the impacts of the Shuttle's retirement. Among five recommendations approved by the Council is a $20 million Space Technology & Research Diversification (STRD) initiative, designed to expand the state's involvement in strategic space research programs that will enable long-term space industry growth. The STRD initiative was also endorsed by the Board of Directors of Space Florida.
Virginia Legislature May Adopt ZeroG ZeroTax Proposal (Source: spaceports blog)
Virginia was the first state in the nation to adopt a space flight liability and immunity law in 2007 and it may become the first state in the nation to adopt its own state version of 'Zero-G, Zero Tax' in 2008. Later this month the Virginia Joint Commission on Technology and Science aerospace advisory panel will hear a recommendation to adopt new state tax law provisions to exclude from corporate state income tax "any gain recognized as a result of the sale of passenger tickets on a suborbital spaceflight conducted by a spaceflight entity as defined in § 8.01-227.8 and "any gain recognized as a result of resupply services contracts entered with the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services division" of NASA. In addition, the tax proposal may exempt from state sales tax "the sale of spaceflight services or activities to spaceflight participants."
The legislation is being designed to boost the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport attract utilization of its launch pads and the NASA Wallops Flight Facility runway. Commercial space launch firms for both NASA ISS resupply flights and subsequent space tourist flights could be attracted to Virginia based upon its liability and immunity act, a potentially favorable tax regime, and outstanding low cost launch and runway facilities. No other state has yet to adopt a similar space liability and immunity act.
Europe Eyes Six Martian Landing Sites (Source: The Register)
The European Space Agency (ESA) has compiled a shortlist of places it would like to look for life (past or present) on Mars. The agency says its ExoMars mission, planned for a 2013 launch, will touch down on some of the red planet's oldest rocks, as these might once have been in contact with Martian water. A region rich in clay minerals would be ideal, the agency said, since these so-called phyllosilicates contain water in their crystalline structure. Planetary researcher Dr Jean-Pierre Bibring, from the University of Paris, told the BBC: "Phyllosilicates are not just regions where we think water must have been. We also think they are places that helped reactions to take place. On the early Earth, all the primordial biochemistry took place in phyllosilicates as well."
The mission is expected to cost of the order of a billion Euros, with half of that money going on the industrial costs of designing and constructing the craft. Initial designs have been approved, but the finer details, such as what kind of rocket it will launch on, are still up for discussion. Whatever form the mission takes, and wherever it lands, it must be a rover capable of roaming over the surface of Mars, drilling two meters into the surface and analysing the soil samples it collects. The pre-launch process will also be complicated, because the craft must be totally sterile before it heads into space, to avoid contaminating the landing site with life from Earth. Spending €1bn to rediscover the common cold would not make for a happy space agency, after all.
Arianespace to Post 'Moderate' Profit Despite Weak Dollar (Source: Thomson Financial)
Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said he expects the company's results to be 'stable' for the fifth consecutive year. Le Gall was speaking after the successful launch of two satellites from Ariane 5. He expects a 'moderate' profit despite the unfavorable dollar/euro exchange which makes life 'difficult', Le Gall said. Arianespace is owned by a European consortium, which includes French shareholders EADS, Safran and Air Liquide.
DIRECTV Offers to Install HD in New Space Station Module (Source: DirecTV)
Congratulating NASA on the completion of a successful shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) and the recent unveiling of a new living space aboard the orbital laboratory, DIRECTV is offering the ISS a complete HD makeover – including its industry-leading line-up of national HD channels, the most advanced HD DVR on the market, a 42” flat screen HDTV and a sturdy velcro-wrapped remote control.
If NASA accepts DIRECTV’s offer, the nations #1 satellite TV company is prepared to offer its top engineer to assist in the installation of the familiar satellite dish on the roof of the new module. As a satellite TV service we obviously have a vested interest in space exploration and we’ve certainly benefited from NASA’s many technical and scientific achievements over the years. This is one way we can give a little something back.”
Real-Life Star Wars: The Militarization of Space (Source: AlterNet)
On Jan. 11, 2001, the Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management and Organization issued a report to Congress. The group, which had been headed by President-elect George W. Bush's Defense Secretary-to-be Donald Rumsfeld, asserted that it's only a matter of time until there's all-out war in the heavens: "We know from history that every medium -- air, land and sea -- has seen conflict. Reality indicates that space will be no different. Given this virtual certainty, the U.S. must develop the means both to deter and to defend against hostile acts in and from space -- and ensure continuing superiority."
The current thinking of military and industry officials was revealed last month at the annual Strategic Space and Defense Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. At that meeting, held in the backyard of the US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). And that strategy includes not just war mongering against countries like China and Pakistan by "space warriors," but it poses a threat to the safety and liberties of all Americans. Visit http://www.alternet.org/audits/67699/ to view the article.
NASA Lifts Brief Ban on U.S. Spacewalks (Source: Space.com)
NASA lifted a brief ban on U.S. spacewalks outside the International Space Station (ISS) Thursday after engineers cleared the orbital laboratory's spacesuits of potential fire-hazards. The decision allows ISS Expedition 16 commander Peggy Whitson and flight engineer Dan Tani to proceed with preparations for two critical spacewalks next week to continue space station construction. NASA temporarily suspended U.S. spacewalks earlier this week after an astronaut smelled smoke inside a U.S. spacesuit during a ground test. While engineers have not completely identified root cause of the Earth-based suit's smoky odor, the leading candidate is the specific canister used to sift carbon dioxide from the EMU's 100 percent oxygen interior.
Apollo Astronaut Presents FWB Native with Scholarship Award (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News)
Edgar Mitchell, an Apollo 14 astronaut and moonwalker, presented University of Central Florida senior Benjamin Corbin with a $10,000 scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation in Orlando. A Fort Walton Beach native, Corbin is the second UCF student to receive an Astronaut Scholarship Foundation award during the past two years. The award is one of 19 made available each year through the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. The scholarships are awarded to college students who exhibit exceptional performance, initiative and creativity in the science or engineering field of their major.
Griffin: Spaceflight Gap Unseemly, Unwise (Source: Florida Today)
NASA may possibly cinch the gap between manned space missions from five to three years but only if it gets an extra $2 billion in funding from Congress, agency officials told senators Thursday. But about $400 million of that would need to come in next year's fiscal budget. That's an unlikely scenario given that President Bush has threatened to veto a current effort by the Senate to give NASA an extra $1 billion, specifically to help the agency transition from its retiring space shuttle fleet to its replacement. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin acknowledged that as many as 5,000 employees could lose their jobs at Kennedy Space Center once the shuttle is retired in 2010, although he described that estimate as "on the high side of credible."
Experimental Preparation of Flight to Mars Begins in Moscow (Source: Itar-Tass)
A 14-day experiment to prepare a manned flight to Mars began at the Moscow Institute of Biomedical Problems on Thursday. The director of the Institute of Biomedical Problems, Anatoly Grigoryev, had said that a simulation of manned flights Mars included a 14-day and a 105-day mission. "During 14 days we shall check technical equipment, and then we shall select for the 105-day experiment Russian and European proposals that will be later implemented in the program. He said an international crew of volunteers would be formed for the 105-day experiment that begins in early 2008. Intensive selection of a main crew for the “Martian flight” is going on. It will include four Russians and two Europeans.
Griffin Says $2 Billion Would Speed Development of Shuttle Replacement (Source: Space News)
NASA Administrator Mike Griffin told a Senate panel Nov. 15 that the United States could field the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle and its Ares 1 launcher within three years of the space shuttle's retirement, but meeting that earlier delivery date would require an extra $2 billion over the next couple of years.
Hutchison: Extra $1 Billion for NASA Unlikely This Year (Source: Space News)
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) said Nov. 15 that the extra $1 billion she and Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) have been pushing to give NASA appears unlikely to make it through Congress this year.
Airline Navigation Threatened by Space Weather Plasma Plumes (Source: New Scientist)
Mysterious plumes of plasma at the edge of the Earth's atmosphere are threatening airline navigation by throwing off GPS positioning information by up to the length of a football field. But a poor understanding of how the plumes form means that accurate forecasts of the phenomena – which would allow GPS users to plan around them – are years away. Scientists have long understood that outbursts from the Sun called coronal mass ejections can interfere with communication between Earth-orbiting satellites and the ground.
More recently, they have learned that at least some of the disruptions are due to giant plumes of charged particles, or plasma, that form in response to the solar outbursts in the Earth's ionosphere, a region filled with ions at the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space. The concentrated plasma in the plumes diverts and delays satellite communications, such as GPS signals. But forecasting these disruptions is difficult because scientists do not know exactly how the plumes form or where the extra plasma they contain comes from.
Incredible Comet Bigger than the Sun (Source: Space.com)
A comet that has delighted backyard astronomers in recent weeks after an unexpected eruption has now grown larger than the sun. The sun remains by far the most massive object in the solar system, with an extended influence of particles that reaches all the planets. But the comparatively tiny Comet Holmes has released so much gas and dust that its extended atmosphere, or coma, is larger than the diameter of the sun. "It continues to expand and is now the largest single object in the solar system," according to astronomers at the University of Hawaii. Separately, a new Hubble Space Telescope photo of the comet reveals an intriguing bow-tie structure around its nucleus.
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