February 3 News Items

Mission Possible: NASA Past Shows Launch Schedule is Achievable (Source: Florida Today)
Countdown to the planned launch Thursday of shuttle Atlantis will pick up this week while another clock ticks away. Today is 971 days and counting until a Sept. 30, 2010, deadline to complete the International Space Station and retire NASA's aging shuttle fleet. The deadline set by President Bush in 2004 creates the same type of schedule pressure cited as a contributing cause to the 1986 Challenger disaster and 2003 Columbia accident. But senior NASA officials say the agency can safely fly 12 more station assembly flights and a fifth and final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission in just more than two and a half years.

"We have plenty of margin," said shuttle program manager Wayne Hale. An analysis of NASA's schedule and its historical performance shows Hale is likely right, but the schedule will be tight. NASA only needs to match its historical average of four and a half flights a year to finish the station and service the Hubble telescope before the deadline. NASA has flown at least 13 missions during 14 different three-year periods that date back to 1983. NASA flew more than 20 missions during six separate three-year periods in the 1990s. The top performances: 22 missions from 1992 through 1994 and 22 missions from 1995 through 1997.

NASA Unveils New Earth Science Missions (Source: Space News)
NASA will ask Congress for $103 million for 2009 to get started on two new Earth science missions identified as priorities in a 10-year plan the National Academy of Sciences produced last year. The decadal survey put forth a slate of 17 missions for NASA and its sister agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to undertake by 2020.

Failed Satellite Combined Optical, Radar-Like Imaging Capabilities (Source: Space News)
The failed U.S. spy satellite now slowly falling back to Earth was designed to demonstrate a new and unique blend of optical and radar imaging capabilities, according to an intelligence community source. "It's terrible, because this was a special, special capability," this source told Space News. It was an "imaging satellite class, but it may not be optical or radar alone," the source said. The spacecraft, built by the Advanced Systems and Technology Directorate of the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), contains a "telescope-like capability," the source said.

Aerospace and Technology Export Event Planned Feb. 14 (Source: SCWTC)
The Space Coast World Trade Council will sponsor a luncheon symposium on International Contract Terms and Conditions (INCOTERMS) for local exporters and procurement officials. The Feb. 14 event will be held at the new offices of the Technological Research and Development Authority (TRDA) on NASA Boulevard in Melbourne from 11:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Call Bonnie at 321-724-5769 or email mailto:bcantillon@bellsouth.net for registration and information. Come learn to properly use International Contract Terms and Conditions in your international procurement or export trade. Never has there been a more propitious time to sell U.S. goods and services in the Global Marketplace! Attendees passing a 10 question quiz will receive a Valentine chocolate!

Editorial: Space Leadership Lost (Source: ERAU)
Florida's elected officials regularly proclaim the state's leadership in the space launch industry, but the facts don't support the rhetoric. Despite a worldwide demand for about 23 commercial satellite launches per year, commercial launches in Florida have declined from about one per month to about one per year since the late 1990s. The Cape Canaveral Spaceport hosted no commercial launches in 2007, and only one is planned in 2008. The number of NASA and military launches from Florida has similarly declined to historically low levels. Today, the overwhelming majority of satellites--commercial and government--are launched aboard Russian, Ukrainian, European, Chinese, Indian, and Japanese rockets. And what about the emerging suborbital space tourism industry? If it ever truly takes off, it thus far will happen at spaceports in other states like New Mexico, Texas, Virginia, Oklahoma, and others.

However, there is hope that Florida can reclaim its long-lost leadership in all sectors of the launch industry. Space tourism companies are increasingly interested in operating from the Cape, thanks to the availability of NASA's Space Shuttle Landing Facility. Multiple start-up commercial launch companies are now pursuing Florida-based launch sites, thanks to NASA's COTS program to support Space Station supply missions. And new Florida-based launch systems are being developed to replace the Space Shuttle for NASA exploration missions. With our state government's active support for these opportunities, perhaps the world's most capable spaceport can once again become the most competitive one.

Meanwhile, Floridians should not lose sight of the fact that the launch industry is one lower-tech component of a much larger space industry where Florida has no claim to leadership. Those states that dominate the broader space industry are where the satellites, space probes and launch vehicles are developed, and where scientists and engineers design and manage the missions that we only launch from Florida. Those states support robust space research programs that produce talented people who fuel a cycle of space industry growth. There has been no lack of opportunity for expanding and diversifying Florida’s space industry, there has only been a lack of commitment and investment.

Editorial: Presidential Leadership Can Propel Space Program (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
This year, the 50th anniversary of the launch of Explorer I, the first U.S. satellite, has seen leading candidates from both parties taking an early interest in space. In fact, it has been the earliest appearance of space in a presidential contest since the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon election. The candidates have generally supported a balanced and robust space program, but there has been little discussion about what this actually means. Space policy will be an issue the next administration will have to address with more than platitudes and gestures. The next administration should take advantage of this opportunity for U.S. leadership to reorient, reinvest and reinvigorate the space program to make it serve once again as a beacon of hope, optimism and scientific discovery for all, rather than as another battlefield. Visit http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/views/orl-space0308feb03,0,300270.story to view the editorial.