April 29 News Items

Ares I Thrust Oscillation Mitigation Options Head Into Trade Study (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
A trade study has begun on three leading candidates to mitigate Ares I's Thrust Oscillation problem, as the Tiger Team works through design immaturity and mass constraints. Active Pulse RCS (Reaction Control System) - mounted on the aft skirt, Isolation Mounts between the First Stage and the Upper Stage, and a Tuned Mass Damper are three concepts that have made the cut as the most favorable options. (4/29)

Wanted: Space-Age Dust Removal On Mars (Source: SpaceRef.com)
NASA's Spirit rover has accumulated a lot of dust during four years of exploring Mars, especially following last year's dust storms. Only about one-third of incoming sunlight is able to penetrate dust on the rover's solar panels to be converted to electricity. As a result, Spirit is experiencing the lowest energy levels to date and accumulating a backlog of data waiting to be transmitted to Earth. The only available cleaning agent would be a timely gust of Martian wind! (4/29)

Scientists Say Photos Show Two Hot Springs on Mars (Source: AIA)
Scientists have identified what they say may be remains of two hot springs on Mars. The pictures suggest water may have flowed on Mars within the past tens of millions of years. "This is the first time that features that are so close in all of their shapes and details to springs on Earth have been reported and identified on Mars," said Carlton Allen of NASA's Johnson Space Center. "This puts the story of water on the Martian surface in a totally different context." (4/29)

State Giving $15M to Help Space Coast Economy Adjust After Shuttle Era (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
In an otherwise grim budget year, the Space Coast landed $15 million from the state to help wean its work force off the soon-to-be-retired shuttle fleet. The money is earmarked to help upgrade launch pads at Cape Canaveral and lure private enterprise. Space backers began the session seeking a $45 million incentive fund to lure companies looking to relocate. They also wanted financial sweeteners for aviation and aerospace companies willing to do business in Florida, including extending tax breaks previously offered to defense contractors and pumping $20 million into a multi-university research and technology center that could cluster space-related brain power.

State budget writers also had been asked to extend work-force retraining dollars for the thousands of soon-to-be-unemployed shuttle workers. The Legislature is still poised to pass the tax refunds and a bill authorizing the research center -- but without the money -- and another giving future commercial space ventures immunity from most lawsuits in the event of deaths. (4/29)

Bigger Rockets to Help India Tap $3 Billion Global Launch Biz (Source: Economic Times)
The perfect launch of 10 satellites, two Indian and eight foreign, simultaneously by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C-9 has catapulted the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) into a new orbit. The world record mission not only demonstrates capability to launch small satellites but also puts ISRO’s commercial arm, Rs 660-crore Antrix Corporation, in a competitive position to capture a portion of the over $3-billion global satellite launch business. But if ISRO seeks to tap this market aggressively, it will have to shift focus to launch bigger rockets and heavier satellites.

Globally, the 720-ton Ariane 5 can effectively put a five-ton satellite into orbit. But the one way fare is a whopping $120 million. Other rockets capable of putting heavy satellites into space like Atlas V can take up to eight tons into orbit, but are rarely available for non-US missions. Likewise, the Delta IV rocket is primarily for US military use. Most commercial satellites weigh between three tons and five tons and Ariane 5 can carry two into space at once. (4/29)

Raytheon Lands Contract to Upgrade Army Satellite Terminal System (Source: AIA)
Raytheon will build and install an upgrade for an Army satellite communications system as part of an $86.7 million contract. The Secure Mobile Anti-jam Reliable Tactical Terminal will be capable of handling four times more data after the upgrade. (4/29)

White House Race Holds Key to Future of Space Program (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
According to Senator Bill Nelson, as shuttle era winds down, the next president could deeply alter the future of NASA and Kennedy Space Center. "And East-Central Florida has an opportunity to influence the next president because, at the end of the day, Florida is going to be important this November." His remarks were made at a Brevard County workshop intended to help chart a strategy to deal with the looming job cuts and the post-Shuttle gap in human spaceflight. There were few answers, however, beyond continuing to look for ways to attract more commercial space business to the region and to secure additional funding for NASA to speed up Constellation.

Clinton was the first candidate to outline support for "robust human spaceflight" and is seen as NASA's biggest booster of the three. But there are questions on how committed she is to the Bush administration's plans for exploration to the moon and then Mars. McCain recently worried space supporters by backing a plan to freeze all federal discretionary spending -- including NASA's budget -- except on defense and homeland-security programs. Obama supports human spaceflight but wants to use money from NASA to fund education reforms. County commissioners said they were planning to send invitations to each candidate to tour KSC. (4/29)

Space Coast Workshop Raises New Concerns About NASA's Plans (Sources: ERAU)
NASA's policy of "ten healthy centers" is not consistent with the agency's plans for Kennedy Space Center, which Senator Bill Nelson said would be on "life support" unless policies change for retiring the Space Shuttle and implementing the Constellation program. During an April 28 workshop, elected officials and labor representatives expressed deep concerns about the loss of skilled workers who will be required to support Constellation. Although some officials suggested the Space Coast is more prepared for the Shuttle retirement than it was for the Apollo cancellation, one County Commission member pointed out that the Shuttle impacts could be worse than anticipated since they will be exacerbated by an ongoing national recession.

By doing nothing to shorten the post-Shuttle gap, Congressman Dave Weldon said NASA would be laying off U.S. workers so Russia can hire more Soyuz workers in Moscow. Potential solutions discussed included adding Shuttle flights to delay the retirement, accelerating Constellation's Ares rocket development, accelerating the COTS human transport option, and switching from the Ares-1 to an Atlas-V carrier vehicle for Orion. Also discussed was the need for NASA to transfer appropriate projects to KSC to retain the skilled workforce, and for improvements at the Eastern Range to help bring new commercial and military programs to the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. (4/29)

NASA Opposes KSC Hearing (Source: Florida Today)
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson wants the subcommittee overseeing NASA to have a hearing this summer in Brevard County about the future of Kennedy Space Center, but NASA opposes the idea, Nelson said Monday. "I'm sad to tell you, NASA has asked me not to have a meeting, because they don't want to stir up the people," Nelson said during a Brevard County Commission workshop on space issues. His comments came during a meeting that also featured appearances by U.S. Reps. Dave Weldon and Tom Feeney, and a brief video address from U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez.

They said they were working against budget odds to narrow the projected five-year gap in manned space flight from KSC. And they stressed the need to frame that gap as an issue of national security importance, not just one that affects local jobs, in order to achieve any change in policy or funding. Feeney said China and others are chipping away at leadership in space, and in math and science education, that the United States once took for granted. Weldon stressed the security and financial risks of relying on Russian launch vehicles to access the International Space Station, and the threat to astronauts' safety if Russian rockets should be unable to reach the station.

Nelson painted a dire picture, saying a continuation of existing policies would leave KSC "on life support." In response to Nelson's remarks about his subcommittee hearing, a NASA spokesman said, "If any congressional committee schedules a hearing involving NASA, we will be there to support it and answer any questions." (4/29)

Indian Manned Space Mission Possible in 7 Years (Source: The Hindu)
In about seven years from now, India will be able to send two of its astronauts into space aboard its Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), said an Indian official. The go-ahead to the manned mission project is awaited. The manned mission will be preceded by three unmanned ones to the moon. The Indian Space Research Organization’s first unmanned mission to the moon — sending Chandrayaan-1 into lunar orbit — will take place in the third quarter of 2008. The GSLV would be able to take a crew of two astronauts into low-earth orbit. (4/29)