February 28 News Items

Editorial: Failure is Always an Option (Source: Palm Beach Post)
Fans of Star Wars - the anti-missile system, not the George Lucas movies - went all giddy last week after a missile the Navy fired from the Aegis-class cruiser Lake Erie shot down a dead U.S. spy satellite. Although the Pentagon tried to pretend that shooting down the satellite was not a test of the Star Wars system, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, "The question of whether this capability works has been settled." However, the ability to "hit a bullet with a bullet" remains dicey. Even "successful" tests of a system that needs to be infallible have relied on circumstances that have been rigged to some extent. We're far away from being able to shoot down a missile fired in a sneak attack and equipped with software that executes evasive maneuvers or deploys defense mechanisms such as decoy flares.

Our anti-missile missiles are designed to lock onto the heat source of the missile they set out to destroy. But the satellite hit last week was cold. In fact, the big threat was from frozen toxic fuel. Furthermore, the satellite was on a regular, predictable orbit. Shooting it down was a great feat of engineering. But it wasn't a real-life test of an anti-missile system. All space missions run a high risk of failure. That is why it makes no sense to rely on an anti-missile system. Further, it makes no sense to base weapons in space, a development that some people think the U.S. decision to shoot down the satellite makes more likely. If we have weapons in space, sooner or later one of them is going to fail fatally and spectacularly.

Editorial: Informed Consent for Spaceflight (Source: Palm Beach Post)
This week provides new evidence that the dangers of space travel are well known to all. The Florida Legislature soon will consider House Bill 737, "An act relating to informed consent for spaceflight." It would provide immunity from lawsuits for companies that blast tourists - who reportedly would pay $200,000 to $300,000 per trip - into suborbit. "A spaceflight entity is not liable for injury to or death of a participant resulting from the inherent risks of spaceflight launch activities."

Barney Bishop, president of the influential business group Associated Industries of Florida, says state leaders are planning to copy a Virginia law that would provide immunity for, among other things, private satellite-launch companies who operate out of Florida. Why do such companies need immunity? Because it is the nature of launches of all kinds to go, on occasion, horribly wrong. If Virginia isn't going to hold such companies responsible for dropping a satellite on a condominium, the only way Florida can compete for that emerging industry is to give Buck Rogers entrepreneurs a pass if they happen to knock off a few Floridians. Hey, whose fault is it if gravity acting on spacecraft kills a hapless golfer or two?

Economic Study Backs Anglers' Argument Against Launch Complex (Source: Daytona Beach News Journal)
The timing of a new state study couldn't have been better for opponents scrambling for ammunition to shoot down a NASA proposal to build a private launch complex next to a wildlife refuge. The study concluded retail sales for wildlife viewing doubled in Florida in the past five years. Outdoor enthusiasts hope the study will lend oomph to their pleas for NASA to look south instead, to the border it shares with Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The NASA proposal to consider using one of two 200-acre sites on the northern end of Kennedy Space Center as a commercial launch complex has scores of fishermen, bird-watchers, surfers and nude sunbathers in a tizzy. Either complex would be adjacent to or very near popular fishing, swimming and wildlife viewing spots at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore. The two attract more than 1 million visitors each year.

SpaceX Completes Qualification Testing of Merlin Engine for Falcon 1 (Source: SpaceX)
SpaceX has completed the qualification testing program of its Merlin 1C next-generation liquid fueled rocket booster engine for use in the Falcon 1 rocket. Tests were conducted at the SpaceX Texas Test Facility near Waco, TX, on a Merlin 1C configured for powering the first stage of a Falcon 1 rocket. The qualification program included a record-breaking day of four full-mission duration firings on the engine. “This marathon run brought the total operating time on a single engine to over 27 minutes, which is more than ten complete flights. The engine meets or exceeds all requirements for thrust, performance and durability.” “In the coming weeks SpaceX will begin qualifying Merlin for the higher thrust and performance levels required by its Falcon 9 rocket, keeping the company on track for delivering the first Falcon 9 vehicle to Cape Canaveral by year end.”

South Africa Ponders Satellite Launch Options (Source: Engineering News)
The fact that all the leading players in Outer Space have, or are developing, national launch capabilities, has resulted in debate within and between government departments and institutions about South Africa exploring the establishment of its own satellite launch capability. "This has definitely come up," reveals Department of Science and Technology space science and technology manager Dr Val Munsami. "In fact, when we were doing the public consultation on the National Space Science and Technology Strategy, the issue of launch capability came up, purely because of the difficulties we are encountering with SumbandilaSat at the moment...The Department of Trade and Industry is busy drafting a space policy at the moment and the launch issue is part of these discussions. The launch capability issue is also sensitive. Cast your mind back to how we got involved in the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)."

SpaceX Falcon 9 Maiden Flight Delayed by Six Months to Late Q1 2009 (Source: Flight International)
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is blaming the overwhelming amount of work related to the development of its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule for a delay of six months for the new vehicles’ maiden flight. The rocket and capsule’s development is in part being funded by the NASA Commercial Orbital Space Transportation Services (COTS) program. Previously scheduled for a US government funded maiden demonstration flight in the fourth quarter with two more flights before the end of the year; the first launch is now expected late in the first quarter of 2009 and the subsequent COTS and commercial flights in the second quarter.

Space Station Orbit Lifted Three Miles for Shuttle/Soyuz Docking (Source: Itar-Tass)
The Russian Mission Control Center has prepared the International Space Station for docking with the American Endeavour shuttle and a Russian manned Soyuz spaceship. The orbit adjustment was made automatically with the use of two adjusting jets of the Zvezda (Star) service module, which switched on at 08.16 MT and worked 123.6 seconds. According to specialists, the station’s average altitude increased by around 5.2 kilometers.

Loral Urges U.S. To Block Thales Alenia from Using Chinese Launcher (Source: Space News)
Satellite manufacturer Loral is asking the U.S. government to block a competitor -- Thales Alenia Space -- from offering China's Long March rocket in commercial competitions because China's low-priced launch vehicles give the French-Italian company a competitive advantage, Space Systems/Loral Chief Executive Patrick DeWitt said Feb. 27.

Griffin Warns Senate Panel of Possible Future Job Cuts (Source: Space News)
Several thousand NASA contractors in Florida and Louisiana could be out of work once the space shuttle flies its last mission in 2010, the head of the U.S. space agency told a Senate panel Feb. 27.

Thales Alenia Space, Eutelsat Ink Deal for W3B Satellite (Source: Space News)
Thales Alenia Space will build a large Ku- and Ka-band satellite for satellite-fleet operator Eutelsat to cover Europe, southern Africa, the Indian Ocean region and Europe and scheduled for delivery in mid-2010 under a contract the two companies announced Feb. 26.

2007 Was a Mixed Year for Satellite Stocks (Source: Space News)
Satellite stocks got whacked by the credit market downturn along with most other sectors in 2007 but not everyone suffered, and some did very well, Wall Street investment bankers said Feb. 25 in presenting what one called "the Oscars for 2007 satellite stock performance."