January 5 News Items

Israeli Spy Satellite Launch Likely in First Quarter (Source: The Hindu)
The much-delayed launch of an Israeli spy satellite by an Indian rocket is expected to take place in the first quarter of this year. The military satellite TechSAR will be put in orbit by the ISRO's workhorse rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), from the Satish Dhawan spaceport at Sriharikota. TechSAR, Israel's first synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellite, can take sharp pictures of sub-metre resolution, which will boost its intelligence gathering capabilities significantly. The microwaves sent from SAR can penetrate a thick cloud cover and dust storms and send sharp photographs back to earth.

National Space Club Meeting Features Gen. Susan Helms (Source: NSC)
The Florida Committee of the National Space Club will host their monthly luncheon meeting at the Cocoa Beach DoubleTree hotel on Jan. 8 at 11:30 a.m. This month's featured speaker will be Brigadier General Susan Helms, commander of the 45th Space Wing. Gen. Helms will provide an update on Air Force operations at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, and present the 2007 Florida National Defense Space Award. For reservations, call LaDonna Neterer at 321-505-2037 or ladonna.j.neterer@boeing.com.

SpaceTEC Advisory Committee Meets at Spaceport (Source: SpaceTEC)
The Aerospace Technology Advisory Committee (ATAC), which serves as a Steering Committee for local SpaceTEC aerospace technical training programs, will meet on Jan. 7 at the SpaceTEC headquarters building on the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. and will include a discussion on new workforce training opportunities.

Challenger: The Cold, Hard Truth (Source: New York Daily News)
Anyone who has taken an airline flight in the winter knows that one of the least reassuring words in the English language is "de-icing." So no one who watched the Challenger shuttle preparations on the morning of Jan. 28, 1986, felt encouraged to hear that technicians had to hack large sections of ice off the big bird and its launching pad before the craft could be sent hurtling into space. But it wasn't until months after Challenger exploded in midair, taking the lives of its seven crew members, that we learned just how lethal a message that ice was sending us.

South Korea Loses Contact With First Satellite (Source: AFP)
South Korea has lost communication with its first multipurpose satellite launched in 1999, a state agency said Saturday. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) confirmed its surface uplink with the Arirang 1 satellite was lost on December 30. "Our efforts to restore communication with the Arirang 1 satellite have been unsuccessful," an institute official said. Arirang 1 was launched on December 21, 1999 to take high-resolution photos of the Earth's surface. South Korea, a relatively slow starter in the space program, has launched three commercial communications satellites since 1995. It launched its first military communications satellite in 2006.

RocketPlane Loses Pilot (Source: NewsOK)
Former astronaut John Herrington recently resigned from Rocketplane Global Inc., the Oklahoma City-based company that plans to operate a commercial spacecraft that will take travelers to space. Herrington was slated to pilot Rocketplane's vehicle, the XP. "I was fortunate during my tenure at Rocketplane to work with an incredibly talented group of professionals,” Herrington said. "My decision to leave was a difficult one.” Herrington said he plans to continue doing public speaking engagements as well as work with the Chickasaw Nation.

NASA Develops New Docking System for Constellation (Source: Flight International)
The first two manned Orion crew exploration vehicle flights to the International Space Station, scheduled from September 2015, will deliver a new NASA-developed docking adaptor. These will be fitted to the two ISS ports the Space Shuttle currently uses to dock with the station, and which from 2015 will be used by CEV. The change is intended to address issues with Orion's support to the Space Station prior to supporting NASA's Altair Lunar Lander.