Russia Launches Domestic Comsat (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A Proton rocket successfully launched a Russian communications satellite early Monday. The Proton-M lifted off from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan and placed the Express-AM33 satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The spacecraft, to be located at 96.5 degrees east in GEO, carries a mix of C-, Ku-, and L-band transponders to provide various communications services in Russia and Asia Pacific countries for its operator, Russian Satellite Communications Company. The satellite, with a mass of nearly 2,600 kilograms and a planned 12-year lifetime, was built by Russian company NPO PM with the communications payload provided by Thales Alenia Space.
KSC Plans Public Hearings for New Launch Complex (Source: KSC)
Kennedy Space Center plans a series of Public Scoping Meetings to gather input on a proposed new Vertical Launch Site on KSC property. The meetings would be held in Brevard County at the Titusville Commission Chambers on Feb. 25, at 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.; and in Volusia County at the New Smyrna Public Library on Feb. 28 at 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
California and Florida Plan Joint Space Week Activity in Washington (Source: CSA)
The 10th annual California Space Week is only 2 weeks away! California Space Week will begin on March 4 and continue through March 6. The week will include private meetings with executive branch officials, breakfast with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, meetings with Congressional members and staff, as well as a Capitol Hill reception. This year Space Florida will join the California Space Authority on Tuesday, March 4. There is no cost to attend California Space Week so please register today. Registration is available online at: http://www.californiaspaceauthority.org/spaceweekdc2008/registration.html. For more information, contact Dianna Minor at (805) 349-2633, ext. 110.
Space Adventures Announces Space Tourism Customers (Source: Space Adventures)
Nik Halik of Australia has been chosen to train as the back-up crew member alongside Space Adventures' orbital spaceflight candidate, famed game developer and son of former NASA astronaut, Richard Garriott, who is currently planning a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in October.
Former NASA Chief Sean O'keefe Endorses John McCain For President (Source: Standard Newswire)
U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign announced that Sean O'Keefe, former NASA Administrator, endorsed John McCain for President of the United States. O'Keefe has held several leadership positions in the federal government and institutions of higher education for nearly three decades. He led the NASA team from 2001-05 through the Columbia tragedy and the Return to Flight task group.
SpaceX Conducts First Multi-Engine Firing of Falcon 9 Rocket (Source: SpaceX)
On Jan. 18, SpaceX conducted the first multi-engine firing of its Falcon 9 medium to heavy lift rocket at its Texas Test Facility outside McGregor, Texas. The engines operated at full power, generating over 180,000 pounds of force, equivalent to a Boeing 777 at full power, and consuming 700 lbs per second of fuel and liquid oxygen during the run. This two-engine test was the largest to date on the BFTS (Big Falcon Test Stand). The next run, scheduled for February, will use three engines operating for a full first stage mission duty cycle of three minutes.
Report: Sen. Bill Nelson to Endorse Clinton (Source: Florida Today)
Sen. Bill Nelson will point to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's experience when he endorses her presidential campaign after polls close Tuesday. Nelson will introduce Clinton during her first public event in the state since last fall, when she and other Democratic candidates signed a pledge not to campaign in Florida because it broke party rules by moving its primary ahead of Feb. 5.
Scaled Composites Faces Prosecution Over Fatal Explosion (Source: Flight International)
Scaled Composites could still face a criminal or civil prosecution over the explosion that occurred on 26 July 2007 killing three of its employees. The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (Cal-OSHA) bureau of investigation is now preparing and evaluating its evidence before submitting it to the Kern county district attorney's office for review. That office will then decide whether a prosecution takes place.
Shuttle Launches, Spacewalk Preparations Underway (Source: Florida Today)
NASA is plunging ahead with preparations for three shuttle launches in the next 14 weeks while astronauts aboard the International Space Station gear up for crucial spacewalking repair work this week at the outpost. At launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, technicians are rigging up ordnance on shuttle Atlantis, which is tentatively scheduled to launch Feb. 7 on a mission to haul the European Columbus science laboratory to the station.
First Image of Approaching Asteroid (Source: Space.com)
Astronomers have obtained the first images of an asteroid on course to make its closest approach to Earth on Tuesday, showing the space rock is lopsided. It is now thought to have a diameter of about 800 feet (250 meters). Scientists at NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., have determined that there is no possibility of an impact with Earth in the foreseeable future. It will make its closest approach to Earth, 334,000 miles (537,500 kilometers) away, at 3:33 a.m. Eastern time Jan. 29. For comparison, the moon is an average of 239,228 miles (385,000 kilometers) away.
Local Lawmakers Promote Virginia Spaceport (Source: TriCities.com)
Southwest Virginia lawmakers are sponsoring bills in the General Assembly to promote use of a spaceport located on Wallops Island. Some may wonder why most of the sponsors of the "space bills" represent residents who live about 500 miles away from Accomack County’s Wallops Island, and why they would be involved in such an issue in the first place. Promoting Virginia as a spaceport, especially since the space shuttle program is slated to be scrapped in a couple of years, makes economic sense, some say.
The U.S. needs a way to launch space flights and rockets to resupply astronauts aboard the Space Station once the shuttles no longer are an option. Some also see a possible link between a solid spaceport program in Virginia and the new engineering programs now offered at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise. Space-related bills are under committee review now and there is a chance some could be amended, carried over to next year’s session or referred to the Virginia Aerospace Advisory Council for review. "I’m going up to Richmond next week to try to break it loose and move it forward," Council chairman Jack Kennedy said. "We’re in a tight race with Florida."
Why the Spy Satellite Won't Fall on Your Head (Source: BBC)
An out-of-control US spy satellite - possibly the size of small bus - is believed to be plummeting out of its orbit and is expected to crash somewhere on the planet within weeks. But space experts don't believe the rogue satellite poses much of a threat to humankind. In reality, a spy satellite heading uncontrollably towards Earth is not an uncommon event, says Dr Ruediger Jehn, a space debris analyst at the European Space Agency (ESA). He says that satellites come out of orbit and fall back to Earth harmlessly on average once a year. Visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7213147.stm to view the article.
Call Their Bluff (Source: Space Review)
Just over a year ago China shook up the space security field by testing an anti-satellite weapon. Mike Moore looks at the impact this test had on military space policy and argues that the US should use the test to see if China is sincere about desiring a treaty banning space weapons. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1049/1 to view the article.
Some ORS for ORS (Source: Space Review)
One of the challenges facing Operationally Responsive Space is how low-cost rapidly-launched small satellites can serve the needs of military forces not otherwise served by existing satellites or UAVs. Dwayne Day discusses whether and how ORS can find a niche among the various alternatives. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1048/1 to view the article.
Virgin Galactic: Marketing for the Earth? (Source: Space Review)
Space tourism operator Virgin Galactic unveiled the new designs for the suborbital SpaceShipTwo vehicle and its carrier aircraft at a gala event in New York last week. Taylor Dinerman examines how the company is trying to balance space commercialization with environmental protection. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1047/1 to view the article.
Canada's Space Program in Crisis (Source: Space Review)
Earlier this month Canadian company MDA announced it was selling its space business to a US firm, ATK, shocking many Canadians. Chris Gainor laments the implications of this sale for Canada's modest space efforts. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1046/1 to view the article.
Alliant’s Maryland Expansion to Focus on Space Travel (Source: Baltimore Examiner)
A hypersonic vehicle capable of traveling at speeds of Mach 10 and components of the next generation of spacecraft that will carry astronauts to the moon and Mars may both be born in Maryland. The programs are two projects under development by Alliant Techsystems Inc., commonly known by its stock exchange symbol ATK, which will expand its presence in the state this year with the establishment of a new Space Systems Group. The new sector will be the company’s fourth group and the second headquartered in Maryland, alongside its Baltimore-based Mission Systems Group.
“In the United States, there are two states that have a particular capability in space, and that’s Maryland and California,” said Jack Cronin, president of the Mission Systems Group. That group posts annual sales of more than $1.2 billion, with a total payroll statewide of more than $100 million, according to ATK spokeswoman Tracy Imm. Maryland offers several advantages for ATK, which gains much of its business from government contracts and looks to local schools for high-tech employees.
Editorial: NASA's Inspector General Doesn't Do Enough Inspecting (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
NASA appears close to solving the chronic problem with fuel sensors that has been delaying shuttle launches. A different kind of problem, however, is still festering at the space agency. Last year a federal probe found that NASA's internal watchdog, Inspector General Robert Cobb, didn't maintain an appearance of independence and created a hostile environment for his staff of investigators and auditors. But President Bush foolishly rejected calls to fire Mr. Cobb from Florida Sen. Bill Nelson and others in Congress.
Now a recent report in USA Today has borne out the warnings of Mr. Cobb's critics and bolstered the case for showing him the escape hatch. The report found that inspector-general investigations of waste and fraud by NASA employees and contractors had fallen from 508 in 2002, the year Mr. Cobb took office, to 68 last year. That total compares with hundreds of investigations opened last year by inspectors general at other agencies with similar budgets.
Major Milestones Ahead for New Mexico Spaceport (Source: Space News)
New Mexico's Spaceport America, which is being billed as the first "purpose-built" commercial spaceport in the U.S., must conquer some challenging milestones that lie ahead if it is to open in late 2009 or early 2010. The $198 million New Mexico spaceport project will have an 18,000 acre footprint that covers open, generally level range land north of Las Cruces and east of Truth or Consequences. This area was favored for its low population density, uncongested airspace and high elevation. The spaceport is being designed to support a variety of commercial space businesses. It is intended to serve not only as a hub for the emerging suborbital space tourism market, but also eventually to become a center for handling orbital launch.
Steven Landeene, the newly appointed executive director for Spaceport America, settled into his new post Jan. 7 after his hiring in early December by the New Mexico Spaceport Authority Board. It is clear that Landeene has hit the ground running. One large near-term Spaceport America action item is an April 22 vote in New Mexico's Sierra County to approve a 0.25 percent increase in the gross receipts tax to help foot the bill for building Spaceport America. Visit http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/080128-busmon-newmexico.html to view the article.
By Edward Ellegood
LinkedIn Group
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