May 13 News Items

New Data Available on Florida's Technology Economy and STEM Education (Source: ASTRA)
The Alliance for Science & Technology Research in America (ASTRA) has created state-specific R&D sheets to help illustrate the importance of scientific research to state and local economies, job growth, innovation, the U.S. standard of living, and national security. Click here to view 2008 Florida data on R&D, and click here for a 2006 Florida STEM education report card. (5/13)

85% of Americans Want a Presidential Debate on Science (Source: RichardDawkins.net)
A new poll shows that 85% of U.S. adults agree that the presidential candidates should participate in a debate on how science can be used to tackle America's major challenges. The poll found no difference between Democrats and Republicans on this question. A majority (84%) also agree that scientific innovations are improving our standard of living. The poll, commissioned by Research!America and ScienceDebate2008.com and conducted by Harris Interactive, shows that 56% strongly agree and 29% somewhat agree that the presidential candidates should participate in a debate to discuss key problems facing the United States, such as health care, climate change and energy, and how science can help tackle them. (5/13)

Lawyers in Space (Source: St. Petersburg Times)
While sifting through the bills passed by the Legislature this year I ran across this one: "An act relating to informed consent for spaceflight." Yep. From now on, if you're a space tourist launching from Florida, you'll first have to sign a statement acknowledging the danger involved. And if you get hurt or killed because of the "inherent risks of spaceflight," under Senate Bill 2438 you and your family won't be able to sue. It's sort of like the deal you sign when taking a bungee jump.

Florida wants to be a space-industry-friendly state. After all, nine other states also have "spaceports" and are our potential competitors. As for you space lawyers out there, don't despair. There are still grounds for action if someone acts negligently, knowingly or with intent to hurt someone. You'll always be able to sue the Klingons. (5/13)

Astronaut Health on Moon May Depend on Good Dusting (Source: NSBRI)
Lunar dust could be more than a housekeeping issue for astronauts who visit the moon. Their good health may depend on the amount of exposure they have to the tiny particles. To prepare for a return to the moon, researchers with the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) are evaluating how dust deposits in the lungs in reduced gravity in order to assess the health risk of long-term exposure to the particles. The findings will influence the design of lunar bases and could also provide benefits for healthcare on Earth, such as improved delivery of aerosol medications to the lungs.

NSBRI Human Factors and Performance Team researcher Dr. Kim Prisk said there are major questions that need to be answered. “In the big picture, the questions are: How much goes into the lung? Where does it go? How long does it stay? And how nasty is the stuff?” said Prisk, who is an adjunct professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Visit http://www.nsbri.org/NewsPublicOut/Release.epl?r=108 to view the article. (5/13)

Europe Could Get Manned Spaceship (Source: BBC)
A plan for a manned spacecraft has been announced by the European firm EADS. Its Astrium division has designed a variant of its space station freighter that could also transport astronauts. Limited details were released in Bremen, Germany, on Tuesday; further information and a mock-up are expected at the Berlin Air Show this month. (5/13)

Mars Probe Set for Nail-Biting Touchdown (Source: New Scientist)
NASA's Phoenix spacecraft will experience a harrowing few minutes on 25 May when it hits Mars's atmosphere and attempts to land safely on the surface – without any airbags to cushion its fall. Phoenix will land on Mars's icy north polar region. Changes in the Red Planet's tilt may have allowed the abundant ice there to melt as recently as 100,000 years ago, raising the tantalizing possibility that microscopic life forms could once have eked out an existence in the region. Life might even be present there now in a dormant state. The lander will dig down as much as 50 centimeters below the surface, collecting samples of soil and ice to better understand the region's past climate and check for carbon-containing molecules that could be associated with life. (5/13)

Weather Station To Be First Canadian Science Equipment On Mars (Source: The Canadian Press)
A Canadian weather station the size of a big shoebox with a tiny Maple Leaf flag and a price tag of $37 million is due to arrive on Mars to help in the search for water. The meteorological station is part of the Phoenix Mars Lander. If everything goes as planned on May 25, it will be the first Canadian science instrument to land on the surface of an alien world. (5/13)

Colorado University Team To Build $34 Million Satellite Instrument (Source: CU News Center)
A $34 million solar instrument package to be built by the University of Colorado at Boulder, considered a crucial tool to help monitor global climate change, has been restored to a U.S. government satellite mission slated for launch in 2013. The package will be built by CU-Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics for the first flight of the National Polar Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System, or NPOESS.

Known as the Total Solar Irradiance Sensor, or TSIS, the CU-Boulder package will fly on the first flight of NPOESS in 2013 and is anticipated to fly on two subsequent NPOESS missions slated for 2015 and 2020. The two latter NPOESS missions are expected to bring in an additional $30 million to CU-Boulder, said LASP Senior Researcher and TSIS Project Manager Tom Sparn. (5/13)

Fly Me to the Moon (Source: The Monitor)
Flying to the moon may be reserved for lucky astronauts, but for everyone else at least sending your namesake is possible with a new NASA program. A microchip with names will be onboard a new lunar orbiter set to launch in late 2008 that will study the moon for a planned human-staffed outpost. NASA has established a Web site where anyone can submit their names to the database for flight on board the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter being built at Goddard Space Flight Center. Names can be submitted at http://www.nasa.gov/lro. (5/13)

DRS Technologies to be Acquired by Italy's Finmeccanica (Source: AIA)
In a deal that reflects both the cheap dollar and the desire by European companies to move into the American defense market, Finmeccanica SpA said it will buy DRS Technologies Inc. for $4 billion. An Italian defense and aerospace conglomerate, Finmeccanica's plan calls for DRS to be a stand-alone subsidiary with a special oversight board. The move is in response to American regulations for foreign-owned defense companies. National security reviews will also be conducted prior to the deal's completion sometime next year. (5/13)

Lockheed Favored for GPS Satellite Contract (Source: AIA)
Lockheed Martin Corp. is said to be the favorite to win a $1.8 billion Air Force contract to build the first eight Block A global positioning satellites. Boeing Corp. was also in the running for the contract, which could be awarded as early as Tuesday, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Neither Lockheed nor Boeing was available for comment. (5/13)

Lockheed to Pay $10.5 Million for Titan Rocket Overpayments (Source: AIA)
A unit of Lockheed Martin Corp. settled a federal civil investigation that alleged the company overbilled the Air Force and Pentagon for work on the Titan IV rocket. Lockheed agreed to pay $10.5 million to resolve allegations that it requested unwarranted progress payments from 1998 to 2001. (5/13)

Vatican: It's OK to Believe in Aliens (Source: AP)
The Vatican's chief astronomer says that believing in aliens does not contradict faith in God. The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, says that the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones. In an interview published Tuesday by Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Funes says that such a notion "doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens would still be God's creatures. The interview was headlined "The extraterrestrial is my brother." Funes said that ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom. (5/13)

Russia's Soyuz Rocket Set For Launch to Station (Source: RIA Novosti)
A Soyuz-U carrier rocket is due to blast off from Baikonur spaceport on Thursday to deliver a Progress M-64 spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). The freighter is currently undergoing final prelaunch procedures at the launch site. The previous Progress M-63 spacecraft delivered 2.5 metric tons of cargo, including food, equipment and other supplies to the ISS in February. (5/13)

Malaysian Astronaut Gets Peace Award For Promoting Islam In Science (Source: Bernama)
The Islamic Shura Council of Southern California has awarded Malaysia's first astronaut, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, the Peace Award for his extraordinary effort in promoting Islam in science. Council executive director, Dr Shakeel Syed said Dr Muszaphar had stressed the importance of performing his 'ibadah' (religious obligations) even while carrying out his work as an astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS). The council is the umbrella organization of 250 mosques and several Muslim associations in California. There are roughly one million Muslims in California. (5/13)

MDA Profit Up 23%, but Revenues Slide (Source: Toronto Star)
MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd., which had the sale of its space division to a U.S. defense contractor officially blocked by Ottawa last week, said profit in the first quarter rose 23 percent, but revenues fell as the loonie rose. MDA reported first-quarter earnings of $26 million on revenues of $290 million for the quarter ended March 31. That compared to profit of $21 million on revenues of $306 million for the first quarter of 2007. Revenues would have been $316 million if the average foreign exchange rates had been comparable to the first quarter last year. Revenues in its information systems division – which includes the space division MDA tried to sell to a U.S. defence firm – were $96 million, consistent with the first quarter of 2007. (5/13)

MDA Will Build Up Space Division and Possibly Try to Sell Again (Source: Canadian Press)
The CEO of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates said Ottawa's decision to block the sale of its space division to an American defense contractor was a "misunderstanding," and that it could go on the block again in the coming months. "There are people interested as we speak," MDA president and CEO Daniel Friedmann said. Friedmann said the company is not looking for a buyer at this time and will "focus on going after immediate business, which we think is very strong." (5/13)

China Appears To Regret ASat Test (Source: Aviation Week)
China's leaders miscalculated the international reaction to the country's antisatellite (ASat) weapon test last year, and likely regret that they let their research-and-development bureaucracy carry it out, says a top U.S. expert on the Chinese space program. "The Chinese took very careful aim and shot themselves in the foot with that test," says Joan Johnson-Freese, chairman of the National Security Decision-Making Dept. at the U.S. Naval War College. "I think they now are now recognizing that the international condemnation due them was actually moderated." (5/12)

Sirius Satellite Quarterly Net Loss Narrows (Source: Reuters)
Sirius Satellite Radio, which plans to merge with rival XM Satellite Radio, said its quarterly net loss narrowed on increased revenues from new subscribers to its pay radio service. Sirius, whose acquisition of XM still awaits the approval of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, reported a first-quarter net loss of $104.1 million, compared with a net loss of $144.7 million a year earlier. Revenue climbed 33 percent to $270.4 million. (5/12)

EchoStar Halts Work on CMBStar Satellite (Source: Space News)
EchoStar Corp. is suspending construction of a satellite that was to have been launched this year to provide video programming to mobile handsets in China pending further assessment of whether the satellite's performance specifications can be met, EchoStar said May 13. The company said it may take a charge of up to $100 million as a result. (5/13)

Prentice Pushes Vision of Canada as a Star in Space Exploration (Source: Ottawa Citizen)
Canada must push into space the way the Elizabethans explored the oceans and new continents, says Canada's industry minister. Expanding space development will build a "critical mass" of thinkers and industries that will do things no other country can do -- and will make money for Canada, Jim Prentice says. The minister responsible for the Canadian Space Agency hasn't spelled out specifics, but is pushing a vision for space exploration that is bullish on the agency, space technology and economic spinoffs from it. (5/13)

Space Station Edging Toward Six-Person Crew (Source: Flight International)
Later this month the International Space Station's partners will formally agree the arrangement for the transport and emergency return of the station's crew when it doubles in size to six from May next year. Already agreed informally, two Energia-built Soyuz spacecraft will transport two crews of three to the station, one launching in April and then one in May. The April crew will return to Earth in October, reducing the ISS complement to three, but two weeks after their landing the launch of a third three-person crew will take place, bringing the station team back to full strength. Then in November the second team of three, launched in May, will depart, leaving that October team behind and again reducing the ISS to three members. But two weeks later a fourth team will be launched to return the ISS to full strength again. This cycle will continue until the station ends its operational life. (5/13)