April 22 News Items

SES Negotiating To Sell AMC-14 To US Government Agency (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
The fate of geostationary satellite AMC-14 that failed to achieve its desired orbit in March continues to cause problems for the Luxembourg-based SES group and its underwriters. SpaceDaily has learned that SES has backtracked on their original plan to ditch the Lockheed Martin built A2100 satellite, and is trying to offload the spacecraft to a US government agency before an SES competitor or even one of its own customers buys it from the underwriters.(4/22)

NASA Awards Launch Services Contract to SpaceX (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded SpaceX a Launch Services contract for the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles. NASA has awarded such Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts to multiple launch providers, allowing the companies to submit proposals if their vehicles meet the minimum contract requirements. The SpaceX contract allows NASA to order launch services through June 30, 2010, for launches to occur through December 2012. The potential total contract value is between $20,000 and $1 billion, depending on the number of missions awarded.

The contract seeks a launch capability for payloads weighing 551 pounds or heavier into a circular orbit of 124 miles at an orbital inclination of 28.5 degrees. Payloads would be launched to support three NASA mission directorates: Science, Space Operations and Exploration Systems. NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center is responsible for program management. (4/22)

Embry-Riddle Long Beach Campus Plans Open House on May 7 & 14 (Source: ERAU)
CSA member Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will hold an informational open house for graduate and undergraduate degree programs on May 7 and May 14 at its Long Beach campus. The May 7 event is focused on graduate-degree programs, including Project Management, MBA and Master of Aeronautical Science. The May 14 event is focused on undergraduate-degree programs, including Professional Aeronautics, Aviation Maintenance Management, and Aviation Business Administration. Two sessions on both days are scheduled, at 11:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. The campus facility is located near the Long Beach Airport at 5001 Airport Plaza Drive, Long Beach 90815. Please call 562-627-5870 or send an e-mail to la.center@erau.edu for information and reservations. (4/22)

Lockheed Profit Up for First Quarter (Source: Reuters)
Lockheed Martin's quarterly profit rose a greater-than-expected 6 percent, helped by higher sales of its electronic, information and space systems. The world's largest defense contractor, which also runs a host of civil projects for the U.S. government, raised its full-year profit forecast, chiefly due to better projected margins at its space unit, but left it slightly below Wall Street's average forecast. Lockheed reported first-quarter profit of $730 million, compared with $690 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose 8 percent to $10 billion, helped by higher sales of its electronic and information systems, but dragged back by a dip at its plane-making unit. Analysts were expecting $9.68 billion in quarterly sales, on average. (4/22)

Ruptured Gas Duct Blamed for Proton Failure (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A Russian commission has concluded that a ruptured gas duct caused the premature shutdown of the upper stage of a Proton rocket launched last month. Investigators concluded that the duct, which runs from the gas generator to a propellant pump turbine in the Breeze M upper stage, ruptured late in the second burn of the stage on the March 15 launch, causing the engine to shut down prematurely and ultimately stranding the AMC-14 payload in a transfer orbit. The duct likely ruptured because of the combined effects of duct wall erosion, high temperatures and prolonged low frequency pressure fluctuation in the duct. The commission identified a number of corrective actions for both that particular failure as well as steps to improve the reliability of the Breeze M main engine. (4/22)

Malaysia to Shelve Space Program Due to Lack of Finances (Source: Earth Times)
Malaysia's fledgling space program will be temporarily shelved due to a lack of funds, six months after sending its first astronaut to space. Science Minister Maximus Ongkili said the initial plan to send a second astronaut to space could not be carried out due to a problem of budgeting. "There are competing priorities and other social development needs. We have to ensure that the money spent is worth it," said an official. The first launch cost the government $25 million, an amount partly offset by the country's purchase of 18 Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets in a 900-million-dollar deal in 2003. (4/22)

Report: Soyuz Capsule Nearly Burned Up (Source: USA Today)
A Russian news agency says the crew of the Soyuz capsule that landed in Kazakhstan this weekend after an unexpectedly severe descent was in serious danger. Interfax quotes an unnamed space official as saying that the capsule entered the atmosphere improperly, with the hatch first, instead of with heat shields leading the way. The official says the hatch suffered significant damage. The official also says the capsule's antenna burned up during the descent, meaning the crew could not communicate properly. The crew, which included South Korea's first astronaut, endured severe gravitational forces because it took a steeper-than-usual trajectory. (4/22)

Arianespace Revenue, Profit Decline in 2007 (Source: Space News)
Europe's Arianespace launch consortium reported a 6.4 percent decline in revenue and a 68 percent drop in profit in 2007 compared to 2006 and continued to be buffeted by the weak dollar despite signing contracts designed to hedge against the dollar's continued decline versus the euro, the company said in its annual report. (4/22)

Russian Capsule Separation Under Scrutiny (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
The Russian Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft apparently suffered a failure, possibly involving explosive bolts, that prevented one of two sections connected to the central crew capsule from separating properly before re-entry. The capsule apparently entered the atmosphere in an unusual orientation and was subjected to relatively violent buffeting until the attached section finally broke away, as planned in such scenarios, allowing the descent module to settle into a normal heat-shield-down orientation. The failure of the lower propulsion module to cleanly separate is believed to have forced the craft into a steep, so-called ballistic re-entry. Smoke apparently entered the capsule at one point, but it's not clear what might have caused it.

The timing of major entry events is not yet known, but the spacecraft landed some 295 miles short of its target. Instead of being met by flight surgeons and engineers, the crew were initially were assisted by local residents who were astonished to find the charred spacecraft resting on its side in their fields. Recovery crews eventually arrived and flew the crew back to Star City near Moscow. (4/22)

Florida Universities Partner in Cosmic Venture (Source: Florida Flambeau)
Last year, the Florida Legislature awarded Florida State University, in partnership with the Florida Institute of Technology and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a grant to begin developing plans for a Governor's School of Space, Science and Technology, which would attract gifted students from across the state. The school, which would require students to stay on the campus for a residence of two years, is to be located near the Kennedy Space Center.

"Our vision is for the brightest high school students in Florida to be adjacent to NASA, in close connection to Kennedy Space Center and their research scientists," said Steven Pfeiffer, a professor in FSU's Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems and director of clinical training in the university's College of Education. "Primary credit goes to Sen. Steve Wise and Rep. Thad Altman, who have worked closely together to encourage the state to move forward in its efforts towards gifted students," said Pfeiffer. "They are also sensitive to the important economic and scientific economic opportunity we have."

Based on comparative research done regarding the nation's 17 other Governor's Schools, Pfeiffer noted that the average grade level for students at the school would be juniors and seniors in high school, with schools encouraging sophomores to apply for these times. "One of the many challenges is how to recruit students," explained Pfeiffer. "At this point we have a good idea of what we'd look at. We want students who represent the entire state. We hope also to have an equal number of boys and girls. We'd be looking for the brightest students in Florida." (4/22)