May 22 News Items

NASA's GLAST Space Telescope to Launch Aboard Delta II on June 3 (Source: NASA)
Launch of NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, is targeted for June 3, from Pad 17-B at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The launch window extends from 11:45 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. EDT and would remain unchanged through Aug. 7. The June 3 launch date is dependent on space shuttle Discovery's May 31 liftoff, and will move if the shuttle launch is delayed. (5/22)

UCF Invention Onboard Phoenix Mars Lander Will Reveal True Colors (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
When NASA's Phoenix lander touches down on Mars Sunday, it will be carrying two special tools to give scientists their best look at the Red Planet's true colors. They're called color-calibration targets and are about the size of hockey pucks. Each device is covered with color chips, designed by University of Central Florida Physics and Astronomy Professor Dan Britt and two students. When Phoenix's camera takes pictures of the terrain, it will also capture the calibration targets, allowing scientists to compare the colors in each photo and determine the actual hues. (5/22)

Constellation's Year of Preliminary Design Reviews Sees Mixed Progress (Source: Flight International)
Leaders of NASA's return-to-the-Moon Constellation program are reporting steady progress despite a delay from September to November of the Orion crew exploration vehicle preliminary design review. The two-month delay was decided after a 22 April meeting about the CEV's preliminary design progress. A similar meeting in September will decide if the review's start is to be in November. "[The mass requirement] is tight because we want to go to the Moon and we don't want to leave reliability on the ground," says Geyer. He says his team is now examining what a water landing would mean for the Orion crew module's reusability. (5/22)

NASA Adjusts Shuttle Launch Dates (Source: NASA)
NASA has adjusted the target launch dates for two space shuttle missions in 2008. Shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to the Hubble Space Telescope is now targeted for Oct. 8, and Endeavour's STS-126 supply mission to the International Space Station has moved from Oct. 16 to Nov. 10. The final servicing mission to Hubble was moved from Aug. 28 due to a delay in deliveries of components, including the external fuel tanks, and the need to prepare Endeavour for a possible rescue mission approximately two weeks after STS-125 launches. (5/22)

Johns Hopkins Conference to Grapple with Planet Definitions (Source: SpaceRef.com)
Top scientists and educators will convene in Maryland this summer to explore a basic, but controversial, question: What is a planet? "The Great Planet Debate: Science as Process" conference will be held from Aug. 14-16 at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). The event will include scientific sessions, a debate and an educator's workshop that address the processes leading to planet formation and characteristics and the criteria used to define and categorize planets. (5/22)

Obama Supports Space in Florida Visit (Source: Florida Today)
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama promised to work with NASA officials to develop a focused mission for the future of the space program. He said he would fund a strengthened space program, including the Orion program, which is designed to return Americans to the moon and later get them to Mars. Obama said he wanted to revive the energy the country had for the space program during the Mercury and Apollo programs. "Now, even though lots of good work is being done with the shuttle program, I don't think people have as deep of a commitment to the space program," he said.

"I want us to understand what it is we want to accomplish, so we can continue to build this program," the Democratic presidential candidate said, as he spoke during a "town hall-style" meeting Wednesday in Kissimmee. "Other countries are in position to leapfrog us if we don't continue to make this investment." The remarks eased concerns of aerospace engineer Angel Andujar, who asked Obama about his plans for the space program. "He wants to make sure we're not just wasting money, that NASA and the government have a vision, one goal in mind," Andujar said. (5/22)

California Space Authority Sponsors Los Angeles Breakfast Roundtable on June 12 (Source: CSA)
The California Space Authority will sponsor a roundtable breakfast meeting on June 12 at the Los Angeles Sheraton Gateway LAX. The event will feature various senior officials from the space industry and the military, and a review of California's progress with space industry, workforce, policy, and academic development. For information and to RSVP contact Patti Ruiz Baker at 805-349-2633, ext. 112, or mailto:patti.ruiz@californiaspaceauthority.org. (5/22)

Space Advocates Lobby in D.C. (Source: Huntsville Times)
About 130 members of a multistate, grass-roots space advocacy group were in Washington, D.C., this week lobbying for a strong space exploration program and fully funded NASA budget. This is the 17th Washington trip for Citizens for Space Exploration, which has members from 26 states, said Mike Ward, vice president, governmental relations with the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce. Ward is among 17 people from this area who made the trip. Coalition members, in groups of four and five, spent all day Tuesday and Wednesday visiting more than 300 members of Congress or their staffers, Ward said. Editor's Note: Officials from Florida's Space Coast also participated in the D.C. visit. (5/22)

Wallops Island Continues To Wait For Orbital Answer (Source: WMDT)
There's still no word on whether a new commercial space program will use the Eastern Shore as it's launch pad. Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (VCSFA) Executive Director Dr. Billie Reed says, "We've all been anxiously awaiting. I've been pacing around here like an expectant dad." Dr. Reed wants Orbital Sciences, the company that was chosen to demonstrate a cargo delivery to the International Space Station, to choose the spaceport at Wallops as a launching site. But, Orbital officials have been delaying their decision. Back in February, Orbital Sciences officials said they'd like to use the base at Wallops as a launching site. But, when the base in Florida joined the race, things heated up. Both states have now offered proposals to Orbital Sciences. (5/22)

University of Cincinnati: Robotic Surgery in Space Being Studied (Source: La Crosse Tribune)
Robotic surgery is necessary in space if the United States plans missions to the moon and Mars in the future, a consulting NASA surgeon said Wednesday in La Crosse. Dr. Timothy Broderick, assistant professor of surgery and biomedical engineering at the University of Cincinnati, told Gundersen Lutheran medical staff that NASA has been developing and researching technology to offer robotic surgery by remote voice control. Surgery in space was not needed for short space flights, but surgery capability will be a must during a three-year mission to Mars, where round-trip travel would take 18 months, Broderick said. Visit http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2008/05/22/news/z02surgery.txt to view the article. (5/22)

Giffords' Husband to Command Shuttle (Source: Arizona Capitol Times)
Freshman Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband of six months, Mark Kelly, have schedules that often keep them apart. But on May 24, Giffords and Kelly will be just about as far apart as two people can be: Giffords will spend the first two weeks of June in Washington and in Arizona, while Kelly will be orbiting the Earth in the International Space Station. (5/22)