March 11 News Items

Lockheed Bids on $1 Billion Satellite Deal (Source: Washington Post)
Lockheed Martin submitted a bid to NASA to design and build weather satellites in a program valued at more than $1 billion. The contract is scheduled to be awarded by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center late this year and to include two satellites -- with first delivery in 2014 -- and options for two more.

Alabama Officials Successfully Court Aerospace Industry (Source: AIA)
Officials in Mobile, Ala., have made a concerted effort to attract aerospace companies to their city over the past few years. They visited Seattle to get a sense of how the city accommodates large aerospace firms. Their diligence has paid off: European aerospace company EADS has pledged to build refueling tankers and commercial jetliners in Mobile.

Satellite-Based Air Traffic Control Needed to Meet Demand (Source: AIA)
FAA officials on Monday forecast slow passenger growth for carriers in the near term. Acting Administrator Bobby Sturgell also noted that long-term demand will only be met if the nation shifts to a satellite-based air traffic control system.

China to Use Jumbo Rocket for Delivery of Lunar Rover, Space Station (Source: Xinhua)
A Chinese space expert said the Long March 5 large-thrust carrier rocket, currently under development and scheduled to be put into service in 2014, will be mainly used for the delivery of lunar rovers, large satellites and space stations. "With a maximum payload capacity up to 25 tons, the jumbo rocket is expected to be able to send lunar rovers, large satellites and space stations into space after 2014," said Liang Xiaohong, vice president of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. The rocket's development was approved by the central authorities in 2007 following two decades of feasibility study.

Editorial: Legislators Should Do More to Lure Space Investments (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Florida's long-standing and lucrative title as the nation's space capital could be stolen. As the space-shuttle program winds down and the commercial space industry begins to take off, the Sunshine State will get left on the launch pad unless legislators do more to keep up with the competition. In Florida, space is a $2 billion-a-year industry supporting jobs in 47 of 67 counties -- some of the best jobs in a state still too dependent on low-wage work. NASA is expected to announce soon that 4,000 shuttle jobs will disappear when the program ends.

Legislators representing the Space Coast -- Republicans Bill Posey in the Senate and Thad Altman in the House -- have sponsored a series of proposals that deserve support from other legislators, even in a tight budget year. More high-wage jobs will help Florida recover from this slump and better withstand the next one. One of the legislators' proposals would create an incentive fund to attract space investments -- the same approach Florida has used to land biomedical investments. The money would go further in this case, because unions representing space workers have offered to match state dollars.

Another solid proposal would create a joint effort among universities, businesses, NASA and the military to spur space-related research and development to diversify Florida's space activities beyond launch-related programs. And another proposal would make space investments eligible for the same kind of state tax incentives for which defense-industry investments already qualify. This one's really a no-brainer. These kinds of strategies are critical to keeping the space industry aloft in Florida.

Shuttle Lifts Off on Mission to ISS (Source: SpaceToday.net)
The space shuttle Endeavour lifted off early Tuesday on a mission to deliver a Japanese laboratory module and robotic arm system to the International Space Station. The rare night launch took place with no significant problems reported during the countdown. Endeavour will spend the next 16 days in orbit, 12 of them docked to the ISS. Five spacewalks are planned for the mission, the most for any shuttle mission to the ISS. One member of the STS-123 crew, Garrett Reisman, will remain on the station after the shuttle departs, with ISS crew member Leopold Eyharts returning on the shuttle.

Trump Space Hotels? (Source: Space Cruise News)
Are Trump and Bigelow (sic) making a deal?...It may be TRUMP Space Hotels opening in early 2012. It is rumored that two more billionaires, Robert Bigelow, head of Bigelow Aerospace, developers of the world's first space habitat and Donald J Trump, Real Estate impresario, are close to a deal that will put the TRUMP name on Bigelow's Genesis I and II and perhaps III and more that will host the weary space traveler for the night. The deal, as we understand, would have Trump license Bigelow for an undisclosed amount of cash plus a percentage based on annual revenue. All travelers would indemnify Trump accepting all risks. Lots of details to be worked out but it sound pretty spacey to us! Visit http://www.spacecruisenews.com/ to view the article.