February 29 News Items

XM and Sirius Extend Merger Deadline by Two Months (Source: Reuters)
XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio have extended by two months a deadline to potentially terminate without penalty Sirius's year-old proposed acquisition of its bigger rival. Under the original terms of their deal, first announced in February 2007, the companies could have walked away after March 1 if they did not receive regulatory approval. U.S. regulators, including the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice, have yet to decide whether to approve the merger. Both companies said this week that they are optimistic both agencies will approve the deal. The deal's strongest critics, including the traditional radio industry, charge that combining the two U.S. satellite radio companies would be anti-competitive.

NASA Awards External Tank Contract Modification (Source: NASA)
NASA has signed a $47.5 million contract modification with Lockheed Martin for space shuttle external fuel tanks. The modification aligns and extends all activities associated with the production contract to include final assembly of one tank, partial manufacture of a tank and the acquisition of the component parts for one additional tank to serve as spares. The cost plus award fee/incentive fee contract will conclude Sept. 30, 2010, and brings the total value of the contract, awarded in October 2000, to $2.93 billion. The contract calls for the delivery of 18 external tanks to NASA.

Starfighters Flies Range Technology Test from Shuttle Landing Facility (Source: Starfighters)
Clearwater-based Starfighters Inc. conducted two F-104 flights on Feb. 28 from KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility. The test flights carried elements of a NASA-sponsored Autonomous Flight Safety System (AFSS), a developmental flight termination system for space launch vehicles. The AFSS uses vehicle navigation data from redundant onboard sensors and makes flight termination decisions using software-based rules. Starfighters pilots Rick Svetkoff and Michael Smith flew a dynamic flight profile off the Space Coast with AFSS integrated to the aircraft. The test and AFSS integration work was sponsored by the Florida Institute of Technology under a grant from the State of Florida. Preliminary data that showed the system worked and all mission requirements were met and valid flight solutions were generated. Starfighters president Rick Svetkoff said the flights demonstrated the value of the F-104 as an outstanding research platform.

Obama Talks Space on WKYC Interview (Source: NASA Watch)
Obama: "I've got a strong belief in NASA and the process of space exploration. I do think that our program has been stuck for a while - that the space shuttle mission did not inspire the imagination of the public - that much of the experimentation that was done could have been conducted not necessarily with manned flights. I think that broadening our horizons - and looking at a combination of both unmanned satellites of the sort that we saw with the Jupiter launch - but also looking at where we can start planning for potential manned flights. I think that is something that I'm excited about and could be part of a broader strategy for science and technology investment ... The only thing I want to say is that I want to do a thorough review because some of these programs may not be moving in the right direction and I want to make sure that NASA spending is a little more coherent than it has been over the last several years."

Space Club Sponsors Congressional Luncheon at Cape Canaveral (Source: NSC)
The National Space Club's Florida Committee, in cooperation with the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast and the Space Coast Tiger Bay Club, will sponsor a March 25 luncheon featuring Congressman Dave Weldon and Congressman Tom Feeney. The officials will discuss their perspectives on federal space programs and policy. The luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Radisson Resort in Cape Canaveral. For reservations, go to http://www.SpaceCoastEDC.org/Events/Registration.aspx by March 20.

Plant Ggrowth Experiment Starts Aboard Columbus Laboratory Module (Source: ESA)
European astronaut Léopold Eyharts has activated the first experiment inside the European Columbus laboratory. The WAICO experiment, which investigates the effect of gravity on plant root growth, has started inside the module's Biolab facility. WAICO, short for Waving and Coiling of Arabidopsis Roots at Different g-levels, looks at the growth of two types of Arabidopsis seed. In all, two different sets of seeds – wild type and genetically modified type - will be allowed to grow under varying levels of gravity, 0g and 1g, where g is the equivalent of gravity on Earth.

Siberian Shepherd Seeks $40,000 Over Space Junk Impact (Source: RIA Novosti)
A shepherd in Russia's southwestern Siberian Altai Republic is to seek over $40,000 in damages from the Russian space agency Roscosmos over a fragment of rocket that fell into his yard on Feb. 5. "Boris Urmatov [the shepherd] is preparing to file a lawsuit demanding compensation to the sum of about 1 million rubles [over $40,000]," a local administration official said. The incident occurred after the launch of a Proton-M carrier rocket from the Baikonur spaceport. The three-and-a-half-meter (11 foot) long fragment of rocket fell several meters from his door, badly frightening him and his children. Although the shepherd was not physically harmed, he is seeking moral damages. The official said the local administration would back him up because the fragment fell outside the designated area for rocket debris. Several years ago, another resident sought damages from Roscosmos in similar circumstances. A court awarded him some $400 in compensation.

Starchaser Rethinking New Mexico Site (Source: Las Cruces Sun)
A British rocket company, cited by New Mexico economic development officials as a potential tenant at the state's spaceport, is looking at other launch sites in Florida and Europe. Steve Bennett, chief executive of Starchaser Industries, said Thursday by e-mail that the company performed a European Space Agency study contract "which effectively defined a 'road map to launch' for Starchaser." "It became clear that New Mexico may not be the optimum location from which to conduct Starchaser operations," he wrote. "Launch location offers from Florida, as well as Europe, are therefore under consideration as possible alternatives."

Bennett didn't elaborate on reasons for the decision, but the company's fledgling operation west of Las Cruces — a small building along Interstate 10 — has been shuttered since November. Spaceport America executive director Steve Landeene said he hadn't spoken with Bennett and didn't have additional details. But he said the company's decision won't affect plans to develop the $225 million spaceport. "I wouldn't characterize it as a strike," Landeene said. "I haven't fully assessed the situation for Starchaser, but they were not in the core model. They are one of many out there on the horizon."

NASA Baffled by Unexplained Force Acting on Space Probes (Source: Space.com)
Mysteriously, five spacecraft that flew past the Earth have each displayed unexpected anomalies in their motions. These newfound enigmas join the so-called "Pioneer anomaly" as hints that unexplained forces may appear to act on spacecraft. A decade ago, after rigorous analyses, anomalies were seen with the identical Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft as they hurtled out of the solar system. Both seemed to experience a tiny but unexplained constant acceleration toward the sun.

A host of explanations have been bandied about for the Pioneer anomaly. At times these are rooted in conventional science — perhaps leaks from the spacecraft have affected their trajectories. At times these are rooted in more speculative physics — maybe the law of gravity itself needs to be modified. Now Jet Propulsion Laboratory astronomer John Anderson and his colleagues — who originally helped uncover the Pioneer anomaly — have discovered that five spacecraft each raced either a tiny bit faster or slower than expected when they flew past the Earth en route to other parts of the solar system.

Florida Race to Space (Source: Naples News)
Once the exclusive province of science fiction or the government, economic opportunities in space are now available to all. Steve Kohler, president of Space Florida, pointed out that there are now vast fields of opportunities available to entrepreneurs in Southwest Florida — and anywhere on Earth — from technological partnerships to mining of precious metals on asteroids. The fast-talking former CEO of Winner Global Defense now runs the single point of contact for state aerospace-related activities with federal agencies, the military, state agencies, businesses and the private sector.

In case opportunities weren’t clearcut enough for his audience, Kohler pointed out that a standard asteroid has a market value of $20 trillion in metals: nickel, iron, platinum, iridium, osmium and palladium. Florida has some $9 billion in aerospace assets at Cape Canaveral and at the Jacksonville Spaceport, but there is growing competition from 13 other states, including nine states with spaceports. Florida has aerospace-related industries in 47 of its 67 counties. And for those who need to relate to a more tangible market: There is a commercial space tourism need coming, Kohler said. British entrepreneur Richard Branson is already starting to sell tickets for Virgin Galactic’s second spaceship, Kohler said.

For XM, Fewer Losses And More Subscribers (Source: Washington Post)
XM Satellite Radio said it trimmed its loss while adding more subscribers in the fourth quarter, and its executives said they remain hopeful that its merger with Sirius Satellite Radio will be approved. But as the wait for the regulatory go-ahead drags on, the company also tried to reassure investors that it's prepared for a future without Sirius. XM executives cast the sales increase in sunny light. But analysts said remaining independent would cloud both companies' futures. XM's revenue during the quarter rose 20 percent, to $308 million, from the fourth quarter a year earlier. The company lost $239 million, compared with a loss of $257 million in the comparable quarter of 2006. For the full year, revenue rose 22 percent, to $1.1 billion. The loss narrowed to $682 million, from $719 million in 2006. XM ended 2007 with 9 million subscribers.