March 22 News Items

Pentagon, Intelligence Community to Jointly Manage Procurement (Source: Space News)
The U.S. intelligence community will have more influence over procurements funded by the intelligence budget under a top-level agreement that some national security experts say likely will limit the discretion of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in managing spy satellite programs. Under an initial March 11 agreement, the Pentagon and intelligence community will share what is known as milestone decision authority for programs funded wholly or primarily by the so-called National Intelligence Program. This includes programs executed by the NRO and its sister agencies, including the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency. (3/22)

Proton Upper-Stage Failure Creates Tough Choices for Companies (Source: Space News)
The recent Proton launch mishap was the second Breeze-M upper-stage failure in 25 months and the third overall for the commercial Proton-M rocket, whose sales are managed by International Launch Services (ILS) of McLean, Virginia. ILS officials had said they expected to perform six or seven commercial launches in 2008, which was expected to reflect the rebound in the commercial-satellite market. Next up for ILS is the launch of a satellite for mobile satellite services operator Inmarsat of London, which only weeks earlier had canceled a contract for a 2009 Atlas 5 rocket launch from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in favor of the earlier Proton-M date.

Inmarsat had been counting on a late-April launch, but now has little choice but to wait for the conclusions of the Russian government commission investigating the failure. Inmarsat and its insurers will need to be fully reassured that Proton manufacturers have understood the problem before agreeing to put Inmarsat's satellite on the next commercial Proton flight. Returning to its original plan of an Atlas 5 launch is no longer an option. That mid-2009 launch slot has since been sold to the U.S. Air Force, Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services President Dave Markham said. The earliest available Atlas 5 date is now 2010.

Proton's prime contractor, Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center of Moscow, in 2007 was given full control of Proton's component builders, including the Isayev Design Bureau of Chemical Machine-Building (KBKhM), which builds the Breeze-M motor in question. A Khrunichev official said the company is aware that Proton's recent performance is raising concerns among customers. He said Khrunichev intends to "sort out things" at KBKhM. The official said that despite the February 2007 government decree that gave Khrunichev full authority over Proton contractors, it was not until this year that the reorganization was completed. (3/22)

Marburger: U.S. Has Time To Resume Making Plutonium (Source: Space News)
White House science advisor John Marburger said the United States has not abandoned plans to resume production of plutonium-238, a material used to power long-lasting nuclear batteries critical for deep space missions. "NASA has access to enough plutonium to meet its known mission requirements through much of the next decade, and the administration ultimately determined that funding to restart pu-238 production was not required in FY2009," Marburger said. NASA Administrator Mike Griffin told the House Appropriations commerce, justice, science subcommittee March 6 that the U.S. Department of Energy is running out of plutonium-238 and would not be able to meet the space agency's demand beyond 2017 without resuming production of the radioactive material.

While the Department of Energy has been buying plutonium from Russia to help meet NASA's demand, Griffin said the agency has been informed that Russia is down to its last 10 kilograms -- an amount equivalent to less than half of what NASA expects to use of its outer planets flagship-class mission slated for 2016 or 2017. Restarting production would take about seven years, Griffin said. (3/22)

Proposal Overdue for Non-Proliferation Relief (Source: Space News)
The White House missed the March 14 deadline U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) set for sending Congress a legislative proposal for granting NASA additional relief from a non-proliferation law that bars the U.S. space agency from buying space station-related goods and services from Russia beyond 2011. NASA Administrator Mike Griffin told the Senate Commerce space and aeronautics subcommittee in February that the agency needs relief from the Iran-North Korea-Syria Non-proliferation Act soon in order to enter negotiations with the Russian space agency for the Soyuz and Progress vehicles needed to staff and maintain the international space station in the years immediately following the space shuttle's planned 2010 retirement.

Griffin said U.S. dependence on the Russian spaceships could continue until 2016, because Orion would need to be in service for the better part of a year before it could be certified to serve as the station's crew lifeboat. Nelson, chairman of the Senate Commerce space and aeronautics subcommittee, said the White House would need to submit a formal proposal by March 14 to give Congress enough time to act. Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin said March 20 that the subcommittee had yet to receive a legislative proposal from the White House. "The space agency has made a strong case for why they need it this year, but everything first has to go through [the White House Office of Management and Budget], which seems to be a choke point," he said.

Kristen Scuderi, a spokeswoman for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) said March 20 that a proposal was in the works. "OSTP is working with NASA and other appropriate offices and agencies to coordinate the Administration's next steps on this issue," she said. "We expect this process to be completed soon." NASA has already agreed to pay Russia $780 million for Soyuz and Progress services the United States needs through 2011 fulfill its long-standing international space station commitments. (3/22)

Struggling WorldSpace Eyes Italy, Switzerland (Source: Space News)
Satellite-radio service provider WorldSpace is focusing its attention on Italy and Switzerland in hopes of introducing a hybrid satellite-terrestrial service in 2009 and generating revenue before it runs out of money. But they admitted that WorldSpace's survival is now at stake if the company does not find fresh sources of cash and strategic partners needed to finance the European service rollout. The Silver Spring, Md.-based company had $10.9 million cash and marketable securities as of Dec. 31. WorldSpace spent $19 million in the three months ending Dec. 31. (3/22)

Utah Space Research Initiative Receives Funding (Source: Salt Lake City Tribune)
If scientists could achieve breakthroughs in forecasting this "space weather" and devise technologies to ease the chaos generated by solar winds, millions in taxpayer dollars would be saved annually, according to a Utah State University professor. "Now is the time to get in the field and get moving," says the professor. "People are realizing space weather is causing problems in a number of industries." His space weather team is one of eight groups of USU and University of Utah scientists vying for taxpayer money under the Utah Science, Technology and Research (USTAR) Initiative to explore commercial applications for their research. The Legislature has allocated $15 million a year for the USTAR initiative, with a promise to increase that figure to $25 million if the taxpayer investment produces tangible results.

The budget increase has yet to materialize. Lower-than-anticipated revenue led lawmakers to allocate just $2.5 million more to USTAR this year, even though observers say the initiative so far has exceeded expectations. USTAR was the brainchild of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who pushed the project to legislative leaders as a way to position Utah as a center for research. (3/22)

Four Companies Win Air Force Suborbital Launch Contracts (Source: DOD)
California-based Space Vector Corp., Orbital Science Corp.'s Arizona-based Launch Systems Group, Florida-based L-3 Coleman Aerospace; and Utah-based ATK Launch Systems, are being awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for $250,000,000 to provide multiple awards with a seven year ordering period to provide engineering and technical services necessary to support the Air Force's Sounding Rocket Program. The Sounding Rocket Program provides launch systems and services for sub-orbital ballistic trajectories up to 5,500 km downrange. At this time $200,000 has been obligated. (3/18)

The "Mars Curse": Why Have So Many Missions Failed? (Source: Universe Today)
Admittedly, Mars has drawn more space missions than the rest of the Solar System's planets, but why have nearly two thirds of all Mars missions failed in some way? Is the "Galactic Ghoul" or the "Mars Triangle" real? Or is it a case of technological trial-and-error? In any case, the Mars Curse has been a matter of debate for many years, but recent missions to the Red Planet haven't only reached their destination, they are surpassing our wildest expectations. Perhaps our luck is changing… Click here to view the article. (3/22)

Fuel Tank May Stall Atlantis for Hubble Mission (Source: Florida Today)
Shuttle Atlantis' August mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope might be delayed by problems with building the shuttle's redesigned external tanks. That possibility exists," said a NASA spokesman. "Right now, we are still officially targeting Aug. 28, while managers do an assessment of the tank schedule." NASA redesigned the tank to reduce foam shedding, which doomed Columbia in 2003. Incorporating design changes is taking longer than expected. We're now in the process of building tanks from scratch instead of modifying previously built tanks. The changes and redesigns of the (external tank) have increased the amount of work required to build tanks," said another NASA manager. NASA needs two tanks to launch the Hubble flight. A second shuttle must be poised for a rescue launch because Atlantis could not reach the International Space Station if damaged. (3/22)

ATK Wins $50 Million Solar Array Contract (Source: NoozHawk)
Alliant Techsystems has been selected by Lockheed Martin to design, develop and build UltraFlex solar arrays for NASA's next generation Orion crew exploration vehicle. The value of the initial design and development contract is expected to exceed $50 million. Program management, design, engineering, analysis, manufacturing, assembly and test work for the solar arrays will be conducted at ATK's facility in Goleta, california. Because the flight solar array system is expendable for each Orion mission, ATK expects continuous production through 2020 and beyond. Powered by ATK's solar arrays, Orion is being designed to carry astronauts to the moon. It also will transport crew and cargo to the International Space Station. (3/22)

External Tank's Delay Virtually Wipes Out Days Off Before Launch (Source: Florida Today)
A five-day delay in the arrival of a newly designed external tank is not expected to delay Discovery's May 25 launch. However, the loss of time virtually eliminates days off for technicians. External Tank 128, scheduled to arrive from the New Orleans factory on Thursday, was delayed by bad weather and is now scheduled to arrive Tuesday. The tank has titanium brackets on the liquid oxygen feed line, soldered ECO-sensor connectors, a redesigned ice-frost ramp and minor changes to the metal structure. Discovery is scheduled to be attached to the tank and a pair of solid rocket boosters on April 27 and then to roll out to the launch pad on May 5. (3/22)

Space Development Proves Financial Black Hole (Source: Daily Yomiuri)
Astronaut Takao Doi's recent installation of the first logistics module of Japan's Kibo laboratory on the Space Station instilled a sense of pride in Japanese over their first "territory" in space. But many citizens also harbor skepticism over the cost-efficiency of the government's 1 trillion yen, 20-year construction plan. On the political front, lawmakers have started to review previous space development policies. Discontent within the space industry has prompted the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to review its space policies.

Of the government's 250 billion yen space development budget, which has declined over the past several years, 180 billion yen is allotted to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the only space organization in the country, which places orders with companies for machines and equipment. An official of the Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies, an aerospace industry organization, said that since 2003, government demands have fallen more than budget cuts, resulting in less funds trickling down to aerospace firms. With many companies withdrawing from the aerospace industry, the official said the society is concerned about the hollowing and weakening of the aerospace sector. (3/22)

Russian Rockot Launch Vehicle to Orbit European Satellite (Source: RIA Novosti)
A Russian Rockot launch vehicle is due this year to deliver into orbit Europe's first GOCE satellite which will measure the Earth's gravitational field. The European Space Agency (ESA) Gravity field and steady state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) mission is designed to provide unique models of the Earth's gravity field and of the geoid, on a global scale and with unprecedented accuracy and spatial resolution. GOCE will be launched from the Plesetsk space center in northwest Russia in spring 2008 and put into a low earth orbit (LEO) of 270-300 km (170-186 miles). (3/22)

Tallahassee's Challenger Center Celebrates Five Years (Source: Tallahassee Democrat)
As the Challenger Learning Center celebrates its five-year anniversary, the community is taking time to consider its impact, which starts with the students it has served. Since it opened its doors in 2003, the center has served 307,710 students of all ages from 68 school districts in Florida, Alabama and Georgia. Leon High School junior Keith Leslie was among 30 high-schoolers who participated this week in the center's High School Science Stars Day. The students had lunch with Norman Thagard, a veteran of five NASA missions, and notable scientists. (3/22)