March 5 News Items

Embry-Riddle Leaders Discuss Space in Washington and Tallahassee (Source: ERAU)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University officials, including its president, provost and vice president for research, met in Washington DC last week with alumni from Capitol Hill and various agencies. They held a reception honoring Rep. John Mica, and attended a joint California/Florida Space Week function, and discussed space transportation issues with officials at the FAA. Meanwhile, the university's space policy analyst attended Space Day legislative meetings in Tallahassee during the opening week of the Florida Legislative Session.

NASA May Consider Moon's South Pole for Human Outpost (Source: AIA)
Images of the moon's south pole suggest it might be ideal for a future human landing, NASA scientists say. The images were obtained with a NASA radar based in Goldstone, Calif., and show mountain peaks higher than 20,000 feet near impact craters up to six miles deep.

Telescopes on Moon Would Allow Deep Look Into Universe (Source: AIA)
Washington Post science writer Marc Kaufman recently discussed NASA's preliminary plans to place arrays of radio antennas on the far side of the moon during an online chat with readers. He noted that the radio antennas would allow astronomers to look far back into the past of the universe.

NASA's Latest Lunar Concept Vehicle Features Six-Wheel Drive (Source: AIA)
The latest lunar concept vehicle has six wheels able to turn individually in any direction, a feature that will allow astronauts to drive into a lunar crater sideways. The vehicle, which was built at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, has no seats, doors or windows.

Colorado Expertise Delivers Amazing Mars Avalanche Photos (Source: Rocky Mountain News)
The camera that took the amazing photos of avalanches on Mars was built in Boulder, and the orbiter on which the camera sits was built in Jefferson County. Pictures sent back from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show graphic images of an avalanche carrying snow down what looks like a rocky cliff. The images are among the nation's and the world's favorite Internet downloads today. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was built at Lockheed-Martin's Waterton Canyon facility near Denver. It launched in 2005 on a Lockheed-Martin Atlas Rocket. The camera, called the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, was built in Boulder at Ball Aerospace, and has such high resolution that it can interpret images on the surface that are the size of a small beach ball.

Aerospace Industry Faces Shortage of Workers (Source: AIA)
Some officials in the aerospace industry are concerned that a shortage of new workers could hurt national security or limit the industry's ability to convert military technology into commercial products. Aerospace Industries Association Chief Executive Marion Blakey said the space program could encourage young people to enter the field. "The question is: how do you encourage young kids to think of themselves as potential scientists and engineers," Blakey said. "We hope that a return to the moon and Mars will help inspire them."

Editorial: Shooting for North Carolina's Space Potential (Source: News Observer)
Have you heard of the following companies? Bigelow Aerospace - developing commercial space stations (Imagine the Triangle's universities forming a consortium to buy, own and operate one of these stations. In effect, they would have the world's first orbiting campus.); Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) - manufactures launch vehicles and crew and cargo capsules for commercial delivery to orbital destinations; Virgin Galactic - the world's first commercial "spaceline."

While NASA struggles to field a space shuttle replacement and prepare for its moon and Mars missions, "NewSpace" firms like these are quietly yet steadily becoming a key contributor to the overall U.S. economy. New jobs and economic development await those who look beyond traditional civil and military aerospace and position themselves now to participate in the NewSpace industry. According to a Council on Competitiveness report, the Research Triangle can seize on under-realized potential by developing "... new opportunities at the intersection of clusters, including environmental sciences, biotechnology and information technology, telecommunications and medicine, and biotechnology and agribusiness."

All these clusters intersect with NewSpace. According to reactions I have encountered when giving presentations to students at N.C. State, Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill, while some would like to work at NASA, even more would prefer to work at NewSpace companies. Visit http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/columns/story/982548.html to view the article.

Additional Satellite Pushes Program Over Budget (Source: AIA)
The Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite program is now running 15% over its baseline budget, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said. He cited the DOD's decision to restart the production line and add a fourth spacecraft for the higher costs. Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are running the program.