April 3 News Items

New Mexico County Plans Spaceport Vote on April 22 (Source: Spaceports Blog)
April 22 is the date set for a tax referendum among Sierra County voters to decide whether or not to impose a .25% sales tax to become part of the team sponsoring New Mexico's Spaceport America. The deal struck nearly two years ago was that at least two of the three counties surrounding the New Mexico spaceport would create a taxing district by voting to levy a quarter percent on gross receipts to support the spaceport construction with the state. Dona Ana County approved the tax last year, with Las Cruces going for it in a big way and voters in the southern part of the county making it a close election. Otero County has not set a date for a vote. Sierra County is the site of the would-be spaceport. (4/1)

Cornell University Student-Built Satellite System Ready For Launch (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Cornell University's CUSat - a student-built, identical-twin satellite system designed to separate so that one twin can obtain three-dimensional images of the other - is one of the three finalists for a June launch from the SpaceX launch complex in the Central Pacific Marshall Islands. Cornell has built the pair of satellites with funding from the Air Force's University Nanosatellite Program. If chosen from among the finalists, CUSat will be the first spacecraft launched by the U.S. Department of Defense's newly formed Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) office. (4/3)

Editorial: ZERO-G Committed to Florida, Brevard (Source: Florida Today)
In response to a recent Florida Today article regarding Zero-G's purchase by Space Adventures, the companies' CEO's wrote a joint letter to clarify Zero-G's plans in Florida. Dr. Peter Diamandis wrote that Zero-G "will continue to operate in Brevard County at the same, and hopefully increased, levels in the future, thanks to our partnership with Florida in Education and Workforce programs and a Space Act agreement we have in place to utilize the Space Shuttle Landing Facility...The Space Coast very much remains our operational headquarters for Zero-G education, research and tourism programs."

"We are actively engaging florida state agencies, educational institutions and private industry to develop microgravity education, workforce training and research that will be unrivaled by any other space state. Our recent $25 million NASA research and training contract will allow the company to grow, and we are hopeful that a portion of this award will lead to additional flights from Kennedy Space Center...While ZERO-G operates nationwide, currently, 50 percent of our flights take place in florida. Additionally, significantly more than 50 percent of our costs are expended in Florida, including those for all of our pilots, maintenance and aircraft operations." (4/2)

Startup SpaceX Could Boost Florida Economy (Source: Florida Today)
SpaceX and other companies working on NASA's crew-cargo privatization program have the potential to bring jobs and manufacturing operations to Florida. The company plans to launch its Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral next year. "Florida is certainly key for us," Vice President Gwynne Shotwell said. "It's possible we will increase our footprint in Florida even further." The company could take over additional launch pads or expand its work in Florida to include refurbishment of reusable portions of its vehicles. (4/3)

Florida Partners Support Aerospace Industry Internships (Source: Space Florida)
A Florida state-wide, work/internship program will take place this summer allowing undergraduates and graduates to participate in 10-week paid internships and on-the-job training at member organizations of the Florida High tech Corridor (FHTC). Each successful applicant will receive a $4000 stipend for their participation. Successful graduates will receive $5,000. Students must take care of their own private accommodations for the internship and are also responsible for their own transportation. They should consider this internship as full time and therefore should not be attending summer classes. Each intern and FHTC mentor will be expected to submit a work experience report to at the conclusion of the program. The program is sponsored by FHTC, the Florida Space Grant Consortium, and Space Florida. Visit http://www.spaceflorida.gov/education2.php for information. (4/3)

Embry-Riddle Hosts Florida Student Conference on Human Factors, Applied Psychology (Source: ERAU)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on April 3 hosted the 2008 Florida Student Conference on Human Factors & Applied Psychology. Students from Embry-Riddle, Bethune Cookman College, UCF, UNF, USF and UWF presented their research on a variety of human factors topics, including space-related projects. (4/3)

Marshall Jobs 'Pretty Stable' (Source: Huntsville Times)
As NASA retires the space shuttle, Marshall Space Flight Center work is steadily moving toward developing the next set of rockets for the space agency, center Director Dave King said. The shuttle is slated to retire by the end of 2010, meaning many NASA workers - mostly civilian contractors - will be out of a job after the final flight. Marshall jobs are "pretty stable and will continue to be so," King said, because its engineers and contractors are developing the Ares I and Ares V rockets. These are the launch vehicles NASA plans to use to send astronauts to the International Space Station and, possibly, on to the moon. "That's an advantage of being a development center and, since the Ares is in the development stage, we have stable work," he said. (4/3)

University of Maine Team to Test Inflatable Habitats for NASA (Source: UMaine)
NASA faces many challenges in its quest to establish a colony on the moon by 2020, and providing suitable shelter for the next generation of space explorers is at the top of the list. An inflatable lunar habitat, one of several concepts now on the drawing boards, must be lightweight and flexible enough to minimize packaging size and transportation costs. Once deployed, the expanded structure must provide its occupants ample living and work space as well as withstand the rigors of the moon's brutal, airless environment for weeks or months on end.

Supported by NASA funds issued through the Maine Space Grant Consortium, Vince Caccese, a professor of mechanical engineering, is examining how flexible fabric-like materials used in inflatable structures wrinkle under shearing strain and how that deformation can be eliminated by making the materials rigid. The rigidifying process, he says, involves treating the materials with a chemical or resin-like material that can then be activated with some form of energy acting as a catalyst. The UMaine team will include researchers from the departments of mechanical, electrical, civil and environmental engineering as well as graduate and undergraduate students. Researchers plan to run tests on a small inflatable structure developed by a leading aerospace contractor to see how it compares to computer models. (4/3)

Noted Physicist Speaks at Embry-Riddle on Big Bang and Beyond (Source: ERAU)
Dirac Medal Winner Dr. Paul Steinhardt will deliver the seventh Elston Memorial Lecture on Gravitation on April 5, at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. His talk is titled “Endless Universe: What Lies Beyond the Big Bang?” Dr. Steinhardt (www.physics.princeton.edu/%7Esteinh/) is the Albert Einstein Professor in Science at Princeton University, where he is on the faculty of the departments of physics and astrophysical sciences. He was a recipient of the Dirac Prize for theoretical physics in 2002 and is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. He is also co-author of the popular book, Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang (see endlessuniverse.net for more information). At the Elston Memorial Lecture, Dr. Steinhardt will present two radically different views of the universe: the standard big bang theory and a new alternative, known as the “cyclic universe.” The lecture will describe how the new picture challenges the conventional views of space and time and offers a novel vision of the origin, evolution, and future of the universe. (4/3)

Florida Microgravity Workforce Training Program Moving Forward (Source: SpaceTEC)
The SpaceTEC consortium at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport received a tremendous response to its request for applicants for the Florida Aerospace Microgravity Training Program (FAMTP). The review process has begun and 75 successful applicants will be notified the week of April 21. Individuals will participate in a "first of its kind" program to provide classroom, web-based, and hands-on microgravity flight training. FAMTP will introduce the applicants to the physiological effects, and engineering and technical challenges of designing, fabricating, testing, operating, and maintaining systems in the microgravity environment of space. Training will begin on June 3 and culminate with flights on June 14 and 15. (4/3)

European Space Freighter Makes ISS Docking Debut (Source: Space.com)
Europe's first space freighter, the unmanned cargo ship Jules Verne, made its docking debut at the International Space Station (ISS) Thursday with a graceful arrival after weeks of waiting in Earth orbit. The first of a new fleet of automated resupply ships, Jules Verne successfully docked at the orbiting laboratory at about 10:40 a.m. EDT under the watchful eye of station commander Peggy Whitson and flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko. (4/3)

Korea Starts to Localize Space Rocket (Source: Korea Times)
South Korea has finished building the upper portion of its first space rocket, which will carry a satellite into orbit in December. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said Thursday that it has built the top section of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) with its own workforce. Final testing was now underway. The project is one of the country's moves into commercial exploitation of space, along with the flight of the first Korean astronaut set for April 8. Lee So-youn is to fly to the International Space Station via a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. "The successful designing, production and testing of the rocket's core parts has enabled Korea to obtain core technology for space vehicles," KARI said. (4/3)

NASA Glenn Center's Tech Transfer Program Running Out of Money (Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer)
A fruitful program that spun NASA Glenn technology into Ohio business will die on the vine unless more money is found, frustrated business leaders say. The Glenn Alliance for Technology Exchange, known as GATE, has no prospects for funding, after expending a $3.2 million congressional earmark. The money seeded efforts to spin off NASA Glenn Research Center technology to eight small, regional companies and to spur research and development of technologies that promise commercial success. (4/3)

NASA Langley Told to Speed Up Spending (Source: DailyPress.com)
The slow speed at which NASA has been spending the money allocated to it by Congress caused lawmakers to pull about $200 million from the space agency's budget last year — a hit that cost Hampton's NASA Langley Research Center $5 million. The agencywide cut amounted to about 1 percent of the NASA budget, while Langley's slice was less than 1 percent of its total. But NASA leaders are now putting an emphasis on speeding up procurement and spending, lest Congress decide to send more of its cash elsewhere. (4/3)

Moon Seen as Laboratory for Life (Source: Space.com)
There are many fascinating places in our solar system to explore, but space missions are dangerous and expensive. Sending robots instead of people helps reduce these drawbacks. For this kind of exploration, Professor Bernard Foing looks to the Moon, Mars and beyond, hoping to discover tantalizing secrets useful to astrobiologists. Foing is the senior research coordinator at the ESA space science department, and executive director of the International Lunar Exploration Working Group. Foing sees potential in using our Moon as a unique laboratory to export life from Earth to other worlds. Visit http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080403-am-moon-development.html to view the article (4/3)

Editorial: Space Coast Needs Aggressive New Plan (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Space Coast advocates at all levels need to be working together to move up the 2015 launch date on NASA's next vehicle, and to land more of the work on that program for the area. They need to attract more investments from the burgeoning commercial space industry. And they need to seize opportunities to diversify the area's economy, so its fortunes don't rely so heavily on space. Moving up the next vehicle's launch date would require a boost in NASA's budget, but advocates have some good arguments beyond preserving jobs. Under current plans, U.S. astronauts traveling to the international space station after shuttles are grounded will have to hitch rides on Russian spacecrafts. And other countries, including China, are racing ahead with their own space programs.

Meanwhile, Florida will win more work on the next vehicle and more commercial space investments if the state gets more aggressive in pursuing them. And there's no need to sacrifice pristine wilderness to do it. Two Space Coast legislators, Rep. Thad Altman and Sen. Bill Posey, have proposed a smart package of initiatives to help Florida keep up amid fierce competition from other states and other countries. Editor's Note: Among the bills filed by Sen. Posey and Rep. Altman are ones for a Space Technology and Research Diversification Initiative (STRDI), aimed at diversifying the state's involvement in space R&D programs. (4/3)

GAO: Shuttle Successor Flawed, Dangerous (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
NASA's Constellation program -- the successor to the aging space shuttle -- faces critical problems and might never work as intended, according to a congressional Government Accountability Office report. The report ticks off a list of difficult issues, especially with the Ares I rocket, which it said is prone to violent shaking on liftoff and might not have enough power to reach orbit with a capsule full of astronauts. In fact, according to GAO, the whole project is dogged by such "considerable unknowns" that it is doubtful whether NASA's request for an additional $2 billion during the next two years will be enough to overcome design flaws and speed its development for a first liftoff before 2015.

"We do not know yet whether the architecture and design solutions selected by NASA will work as intended," says the 20-page report. It was presented at a congressional hearing that is taking a critical look at NASA's plan to return astronauts to the moon by 2020. The GAO identified several areas that could delay Constellation: Orion's weight and Ares' lifting capacity; excessive Ares vibration; heat shield issues for Orion; and insufficient test facilities for the Ares I and Orion systems.

Doubts over the viability of Ares and Orion, which are the two major components of the Constellation program, add to concerns by NASA supporters that the president who takes office in January could gut or abandon the project. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, the leading Democratic candidate, has already questioned the need to keep the moon-rocket program on track. Visit http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/orl-nasa0308apr03,0,7779196.story to view the article. (4/3)

Mikulski Pledges To Keep Fighting To Boost NASA Budget by $1 Billion (Source: Space News)
U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), said she will try again this year to get NASA an extra $1 billion to pay back the agency for what it spent in the aftermath of the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia accident. (4/3)

Proton Accident Investigation Delays Rockot Launches as Well (Source: Space News)
The launch of a European satellite to take precise measurements of Earth's gravity field has been delayed by at least three months, to August, because its Rockot launch vehicle uses the same hardware that failed on a larger Russian Proton rocket in March. The satellite also may need to be placed into a different orbit because of the delay, program managers said April 3. (4/3)

Congress Considers Ares/Orion Alternative (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Among the topics outlined for the April 3 Congressional hearing on NASA's Constellation program was the option to revise the agency's Ares/Orion approach to replacing the Space Shuttle. Enough doubts remain about Ares/Orion that lawmakers planned to ask Richard Gilbrech, NASA's associate administrator for exploration, about possible alternatives to the Ares rocket, including a shuttle-derived system known as Direct. Developed independently of NASA but based on the agency's designs from the 1980s, Direct would use the shuttle's giant external fuel tank and two solid-rocket boosters to blast a capsule -- rather than a shuttle orbiter -- into space. (4/3)