March 18 News Items

Engineers Will Try to Correct Satellite Orbit (Source: Rocky Mountain News)
The Dish Network said it is waiting for more detail from the failed Proton launch, and engineers from SES Americom and Lockheed Martin are exploring options to bring the satellite into its proper orbit. If those efforts are successful, the fuel required to do so would substantially reduce the service life of the satellite. (3/18)

NASA Seeks Ideas for New Investigations Using Existing Spacecraft (Source: NASA)
NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) currently sponsors approximately 85 flight missions, involving over 90 spacecraft, divided between missions in development and missions in operations. One of SMD's programmatic objectives is to maximize the science return for the Nation within the available budget. NASA solicits input from the broad space science community that would identify possible new uses for current NASA spacecraft beyond their current missions. Visit http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=27375 for information. (3/17)

Clinton-Obama Standoffs in April (Source: Spaceports Blog)
Space industry advocates may have more chances to ask space-related questions in what may be the last two Democratic presidential debates between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on April 16 and 19. Too few space questions have been asked of the presidential candidates outside of brief editorial questions in Texas and a TV news segments in Ohio. Someone may yet ask a question about commercial space launches, ITAR space technologies, and/or space treaties. Clinton and Obama will debate April 16 in Pennsylvania sponsored by ABC News and April 19 in North Carolina sponsored by CBS. Pennsylvania voters go to the primary polls April 22 and North Carolina voters on May 6. And, who knows, there may yet be a Space Coast, Florida debate?! (3/13)

NASA Probes to Explore Beyond Mars (Source: Spaceports Blog)
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin told the 39th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference that the space agency is cutting its planetary exploration budget to $343 million, which is just nearly half of the $620 million in last year’s budget estimates but will focus more on the outer planets of the solar system in the future. Dr. Griffin said that NASA is now planning in earnest for an outer planets flagship mission to Europa, Titan or Ganymede. Europa and Ganymede are moons of Jupiter. Titan is a moon of Saturn. The major funding cuts would come at the expense of future Mars programs. (3/18)

Florida Lt. Governor Visits Orbital's Virginia HQ (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp toured the Dulles, Va., facilities of Orbital Sciences Corp. as part of Florida’s effort to coax the company into using the Space Coast as its launching site for re-supplying the International Space Station. Orbital recently won a coveted $170 million NASA contract to re-supply the space station after the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010, but stunned Florida by announcing it favored launching from the Wallops Flight Facility along Virginia’s Eastern Shores. Kottkamp said the company has laid out the general type of package it would need from Florida in order to launch from the Cape, generally including: help with launch pad infrastructure, fueling equipment, buildings and support infrastructure, and utility hook-ups. “All of them are extremely achievable on our part,” said Kottkamp.

“They made it clear today they’re proud of their Virginia home, but they’re open on this because it’s a long-term proposition, and a big deal,” he added. “They’re going to weigh the pros and cons of both locations.” One obvious advantge for Florida will be the thousands of highly trained shuttle workers who could be out of work once the shuttle is mothballed. The state plans follow-up meetings with the company, with the rough deadline of late spring for trying to land Orbital’s business, Kottkamp said. (3/10)

Space Robot Goes Operational at ISS (Source: The Register)
Dextre, the mighty ton-and-a-half space robot intended for repair and servicing tasks at the International Space Station (ISS), is now fully operational. The 12-foot-tall mechanical maintenance man, a product of cutting-edge Canadian space robotics tech, has been fully assembled and is ready for work. It seems that the Canadian droid will pretty much eliminate the need for spacewalking astronauts, as it can carry out almost any task a human can. Typical jobs, according to NASA, might include changing batteries or other parts in modules and "payloads" attached to the space station. The mechanoid is apparently designed for "high precision and a gentle touch", though it can also heave the likes of two-hundred-pound power units about with ease. (3/18)

Siberian Farmer's Claim that Rocket Fuel Killed his Horses Dismissed (Source: RIA Novosti)
Scientists in Siberia rejected on Tuesday a farmer's claim that four of his horses were killed by toxic pollution from part of a carrier rocket that fell nearby. In early March, Sergei Kazantsev told district authorities in southwest Siberia's Altai Republic that in the year since a fragment of a rocket launched from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan fell near his herd of horses, four of the horses had died. However, the deputy head of the regional Institute for Water and Ecological Problems said: "The deaths of the animals cannot be associated with the falling of rocket fragments. We have to look elsewhere for the cause." (3/18)