May 9 News Items

Should NASA Send Humans on Satellite Launchers? (Source: New Scientist)
The US could quickly regain its ability to launch astronauts into space after the 2010 retirement of the space shuttles by flying them up on rockets normally used to carry satellites, a Senate committee was told on Wednesday. NASA's current plan is to buy more Soyuz flights from Russia to transport its astronauts to the space station during the gap. But at a hearing of a US Senate committee on space and aeronautics on Wednesday, concerns were raised about the prices Russia might charge the US for this, and how a potentially difficult relationship between the two countries in the future might affect things.

Some people have proposed accelerating the development of Ares and Orion to narrow the gap, a move that would require an injection of billions of dollars in extra funding. Click here to view the article. (5/9)

Harris Corp. Explores Options, Including Possible Sale (Source: AIA)
Florida-based Harris Corp. is considering strategic options for the future, including a sale. Observers say the electronics and defense company would be an attractive acquisition candidate for several defense companies. Harris' portfolio includes a mix of communications-related businesses, which could be attractive to potential buyers. (5/9)

Space Florida Offers New Space Education Program (Source: Space Florida)
Space Florida and the Florida Space Grant Consortium will sponsor a new educational program in which high achieving and talented youth are exposed to challenging learning opportunities covering math, arts and science. The Math Arts Science Achievement (MASA) program is intended to offer gifted 2nd through 8th graders a comfortable and safe environment where they can engage in activities that will inspire a pursuit of careers that rely on math and science skills. MASA sessions will take place at Trinity Preparatory School in Winter Park, Florida, beginning this summer. Visit http://www.masaflorida.org for information.

Memo to Next President: Keep Space Free of Weapons (Source: San Jose Mercury News)
Far from the glare of presidential politics, a serious debate is taking place on the future of U.S. space policy. At a recent space conference, Republican Sen. Wayne Allard and Democratic Rep. Mark Udall agreed that the next president, to quote Allard, "will have to choose which direction to take."

The options are both stark and clear. Allard is among those who believe the United States needs missile defense weapons in space - weapons that also could be turned against other nations' satellites. Udall, chairman of the congressional subcommittee that oversees NASA and a candidate to succeed the retiring Allard, opposes space weapons. "My vision would be that all nations of the world share the high ground of space," he said, not engage in a new arms race "that results in the weaponization of space." My view is that we shouldn't want anybody to dominate space; we should do whatever we can to ensure that space remains free of weapons. (5/9)

The Race for the Moon: Asia’s Space Race (Source: Diplomatic Courier)
For the better part of the last half-century Japan has reigned supreme as the preeminent regional power in Asia. Its world-class economy—the world’s second largest in terms of GDP—sustained miraculous growth with little interruption from the 1960’s to the present day, resulting in a trajectory of development unequaled during that period. Yet, Japan’s influence has been challenged as of late. With the emergence of other Asian economies, most notably those of China and India, many have suggested Japan to be losing a grip on its stronghold of regional power.

In the midst of this power jockeying a new challenge seems to arise. The past has shown us that space exploration provides a measurable indicator of earthly influence. The United States outpacing the Soviet Union in the Cold War’s space race left a vacuum, so to speak, in man’s celestial ambition. As the sole world power and with no competitive motivation NASA’s programs seemed to lose global validity. The vacuum is now quickly being filled by nations that are coming of age developmentally and recognize this void as an opportunity to demonstrate their maturation. Russia, India, China, and South Korea, all burgeoning economic forces, have thrown their proverbial hats into this generation’s race for space. Click here to view the article. (5/9)

Japan Set to Open Up Defense Use of Space (Source: Reuters)
Japan cleared the way for a law allowing non-aggressive military use of space on Friday, overturning a decades-old policy of limiting space development to peaceful uses. The move comes during a visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao aimed at warming long-fraught bilateral ties. A lower house committee approved the bill, which is to be submitted to a full session of parliament in the next few weeks.

Pacifist Japan's space scientists complain that separation of space development from the military under a policy maintained since 1969 is one reason why its own technological progress has been slower than China's. Unlike China, Japan has never attempted a manned space flight. Tokyo's spy satellites, launched to keep an eye on neighboring North Korea and controlled by a government department, provide far poorer resolution than other governments' military satellites. The new law would allow Japan's military to launch its own surveillance satellites and an early-warning satellite as part of the missile defense system it is building in cooperation with its top ally the United States. (5/9)

ESA to Fund Re-entry Vehicles Study (Source: Flight International)
A €500,000 ($786,000), high lift-over-drag configuration for re-entry vehicles study is to start later this year under the European Space Agency's general studies program of its human spaceflight directorate's future human transport and infrastructure division. The work will examine enhanced re-entry accelerations, localized aero-thermal loading to reduce thermal protection system acreage and operational considerations. (5/9)

Private Space Station Prototype Hits Orbital Milestone (Source: Space.com)
A prototype module for a private space station has passed an orbital milestone after completing its 10,000th trip around the Earth. Genesis 1, an inflatable module built by the Las Vegas, Nev.-based firm Bigelow Aerospace, passed the 10,000-orbit mark as it nears the beginning of its third year of unmanned operations. Bigelow Aerospace launched Genesis 1 atop a converted Russian intercontinental ballistic missile in 2006 to test its ability to self-inflate and operate in Earth orbit. Led by businessman Robert Bigelow, owner of the Budget Suites of America hotel chain and other enterprises, Bigelow Aerospace followed Genesis 1 with a successor, Genesis 2, in 2007. That module also continues to function as designed. (5/9)

ATK Profit Increases 19% (Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune)
Defense and aerospace firm Alliant Techsystems upgraded its forecast Thursday after reporting fourth quarter earnings that jumped 19 percent, to $64 million, on sales that surpassed $1.1 billion for the first time. New contracts for NASA's next-generation space shuttle plus new orders for military ammunition and advanced weapons helped drive results. For the fiscal year, Alliant earnings rose 23 percent to $226 million. Sales rose 17 percent to $4.17 billion, about $200 million more than Wall Street predicted. (5/9)

Canada Officially Rejects Alliant Tech's Satellite Purchase (Source: Reuters)
Canada confirmed on Friday that it would block the proposed $1.325 billion sale of sensitive Canadian satellite technology to U.S. rocket-maker Alliant Techsystems. Canada initially halted the deal a month ago but gave Alliant Tech a month to appeal. Industry Minister Jim Prentice said he still felt the proposed sale by MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates would not be of "net benefit" to Canada. (5/9)

Shooting for the Moon (Source: Maryland Gazette)
The goal: Be the first company to land a privately funded spaceship on the moon by 2012. The entrants: 10 teams so far, including one that includes two Maryland entrepreneurs. Courtney Stadd insists he’s not joking. The Bethesda businessman and former NASA executive really is part of a privately funded team working on an unmanned robotic spaceship with hopes of reaching the moon before the federal space exploration agency can return a manned craft there. His company, Quantum3 Ventures — which Stadd founded in January along with space industry veterans Paul Carliner of Washington, D.C., and Liam Sarsfield of Deale — is one of 10 entrants from as far away as Romania and Italy competing for the Google Lunar X Prize. Visit http://www.gazette.net/stories/050908/businew182942_32355.shtml to view the article. (5/9)

NASA Awards Contract for Ares I Mobile Launcher (Source: NASA)
NASA's Kennedy Space Center has awarded a contract to Hensel Phelps of Orlando for the construction of the Ares I mobile launcher for the Constellation Program. Ares I is the rocket that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle, its crew and cargo to low Earth orbit. The contract includes an option for an additional Ares I mobile launcher. It is a firm fixed-price contract with a value of $263,735,000, if all options are exercised. (5/9)

Supplemental Includes $200 Million for NASA (Source: Space News)
U.S. lawmakers have added $200 million for NASA to an emergency spending measure largely geared toward funding military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. (5/9)

Sea Launch Awaiting Data on Land Launch Mission (Source: Space News)
Sea Launch Co. is moving forward with plans to loft Intelsat's Galaxy 18 satellite the week of May 19 but will not proceed with the launch aboard a Zenit 3SL rocket until it reviews credible data on the performance of the vehicle's Land Launch variant during its inaugural flight April 28. That performance remains unclear, Sea Launch President Rob Peckham said May 8. (5/9)

Globalstar Gains Subscribers but Revenue Declines (Source: Space News)
Mobile satellite services provider Globalstar Inc. reported lower revenue but an increased overall subscriber count as it offered cut-rate subscriptions to keep customers until its second-generation satellite constellation starts coming on line in late 2009 and 2010. (5/9)

Europe's Gravity Measuring Satellite Set for Sept. Launch (Source: Space News)
Europe's Goce satellite to measure Earth's gravity field will be launched in early September following a Russian commission's decision to permit an immediate return to flight of the small Rockot launch vehicle despite Rockot's use of the same upper-stage motor that failed on the heavy-lift Proton rocket in March, the head of Rockot's commercial arm said May 8. (5/9)

Middle Aged Spacemen Needed for Moonshot (Source: CNN)
It may have taken the "right stuff" -- a macho blend of youthful bravado and reckless adrenaline -- to get the first people into space, but if you want to be an astronaut today, be warned, it's no longer a young man's game. "Forty five is the best astronaut age," says Gerhard Thiele, an experienced spaceman who, as flight operations chief for Europe's answer to NASA, now commands a team with an average age of 50. While successful candidates are expected to visit the International Space Station in the near future -- spending up to six weightless months cruising above Earth's atmosphere in ESA's new Columbus lab -- they won't fulfill the ultimate goal of visiting the moon, and eventually Mars, until much later in their careers. (5/9)