February 22 News Items

The Milky Way is Twice the Size We Thought it Was (Source: University of Sydney)
It took just a couple of hours using data available on the internet for University of Sydney scientists to discover that the Milky Way is twice as wide as previously thought. Astrophysicist Professor Bryan Gaensler led a team that has found that our galaxy - a flattened spiral about 100,000 light years across - is 12,000 light years thick, not the 6,000 light years that had been previously thought. Proving not all science requires big, expensive apparatus, Professor Gaensler and colleagues, Dr Greg Madsen, Dr Shami Chatterjee and PhD student Ann Mao, downloaded data from the internet and analyzed it in a spreadsheet. "We thought we had to be wrong, so we checked and rechecked and couldn't find any mistakes."

Newspapers Endorse Sasso for Space Coast Office (Source: ERAU)
The Orlando Sentinel and Florida Today have both endorsed Tony Sasso for election to the Space Coast's District 32 seat in the Florida House of Representatives. Among other things, the newspapers cite his position on space industry issues, including his plans for luring high-tech industry as the Space Shuttle program moves toward retirement.

Editorial: Space - A Lost Cause? (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
If we are not going to be in space, who will be in space? The Russians and the Chinese. Who will we have to rely on to get to the space station? The Russians. Who do we turn space over to militarily? The Russians and the Chinese and possibly Iran. Congressman Dave Weldon (R-FL), a member of the Space Committee is extremely worried about this problem and has introduced legislation to keep the shuttle flying through 2015...The budget for the space program is pitifully small, less than five-tenths of one percent of the national budget. Jobs will disappear in Brevard County, Florida during the gap period, not only hurting the economy but destroying the skilled employee base which makes the space program go. Unless the Weldon legislation is passed the gap period will be more than five years and could stretch to 2020. The military control of space will go by default to Russia and to China. Very few people in the Country know about this problem and even less in the Congress seem to care.

Gascom To Buy 8 New Satellites (Source: Space News)
Russian satellite-fleet operator Gascom, flush with cash from a booming domestic and regional business, plans to quadruple its satellite capacity by 2015 by launching eight new satellites, the Moscow-based company said Feb. 22.

Europe Urged to Give Allies Access to Galileo's Best Signal (Source: Space News)
The vice president of the European Commission said Feb. 21 that the United States and other European allies should have access to the encrypted service of Europe's future Galileo satellite navigation system, just as U.S. allies have access to the military signals of the U.S. GPS system.

Marshall Chief Calls for Unity Behind Ares (Source: Space News)
The director of NASA's main rocket development center urged aerospace contractors to get with the program and stop second-guessing the decision to use space shuttle-heritage hardware to launch future astronaut crews to Earth orbit and beyond.

SES Prepares to Order Two Satellites (Source: Space News)
Satellite-fleet operator SES expects to order two new satellites in the coming weeks, increasing the number of satellites under construction to 10, to reinforce its coverage in North and South America, and the trans-Atlantic region, SES Chief Executive Romain Bausch said Feb. 18. SES is expected to order its biggest-ever satellite from Loral, a 70-transponder satellite called NSS-14 that will be launched in late 2010 into SES New Skies' 22 degrees west orbital slot, according to industry officials.

The First 10 Teams in the Lunar X Prize An Odd Lot (Source: WIRED)
The first 10 teams in Google's $30 million robotic race to the moon include a Jesus freak, a Linux geek and a guy who recently bought 30 books on space exploration. Each promised to be the first to send a privately funded rocket to the moon and deploy a rover that will explore that distant hunk of rock. Joining them are heavy hitters in robotics and aeronautics, including the Carnegie Mellon University crew that won the DARPA Challenge and the Romanians who made a run for the money in the Ansari X Prize. Visit http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/02/the-first-10-te.html to view the article.