February 8 News Items

Scaled Composites Appeals Fines (Source: Bakersfield Californian)
Scaled Composites has filed notices of appeal for all the state citations against it for a fatal accident on July 26, 2007, according to a spokeswoman for Cal OSHA. On July 26, employees of Scaled Composites were conducting a propellant test of nitrous oxide when an explosion happened at the Mojave Air & Space Port. Scaled Composites, the makers of SpaceShipOne, rents testing space there. In January, the state issued $25,870 in fines for violations such as not providing procedures for identifying and evaluating workplace hazards and lack of monitoring exposures to nitrous oxide. On the day of the explosion, employees were working on the rocket propulsion test site, according to the state's summary report. Three seconds after flow of nitrous oxide began for the test, an explosion occurred.

KSC Explores Alternate Uses for Spaceport Property (Source: KSC)
NASA KSC is seeking information and formal expressions of interest from industry, academia, and other prospective parties to identify potential alternative land uses and activities for approximately 700 acres of citrus groves currently in active production on space center property. NASA seeks to provide interested parties an opportunity to assist in planning for innovative and environmentally sound uses of the property. NASA intends to use the information provided in response to this RFI to determine, in its sole discretion, the potential for alternative land uses deemed appropriate and compatible with NASA’s operation at KSC in support of the agency’s missions. Visit http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eps/synopsis.cgi?acqid=128613 for information.

SIFT Enlists Aerospace Companies to Host Teacher Summer Jobs (Source: SIFT)
The Summer Industrial Fellowship for Teachers (SIFT), now in its 18th year, is enlisting Central Florida aerospace and technology companies to host summer jobs for local teachers. The program provides highly motivated teachers to serve as temporary employees, giving them "real-world" experience in industry that they can bring back to their classrooms and students. The teachers can win cash awards for developing lesson plans based on their work experience. The program has provided over 750 summer jobs in more than 60 different organizations, including industry, the Air Force and NASA. Visit http://www.floridasift.com for information.

Griffin: No Mass Layoffs Lurking at KSC (Source: Florida Today)
NASA's sun-setting shuttle program will see a significant reduction in the number of people it employs in 2009, but mass layoffs are not expected at Kennedy Space Center. In fact, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin says normal agency attrition and retirement rates, along with transfers to lunar exploration, may eliminate any need for pink slips at the Florida spaceport. "You're not going to see 1,000 jobs come out of the KSC area next year. That's not going to happen," Griffin said in an interview Thursday. "Just because the shuttle program is not paying for somebody to work doesn't mean that NASA is not paying somebody to work.
We've got more than one account at NASA."