June 2 News Items

NASA Reschedules GLAST Launch for June 7 (Source: NASA)
NASA has set June 7 as the new target launch date for the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The launch window extends from 11:45 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. EDT and remains unchanged through Aug. 7. NASA had targeted June 5 for the GLAST launch aboard a Delta II rocket. Additional time was necessary for the Delta II launch team to assure that open engineering issues, which have been under review, are satisfactorily resolved. (6/2)

Study Finds U.S. Export Controls Hinder Space Industrial Base (Source: AIA)
Policies governing the export of commercial satellites and their components are hurting the U.S. space industrial base, according to a report released by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The study recommends removing commercial communications satellites, subsystems and components from the U.S. Munitions List and suggested further study to determine whether other nonmilitary systems should be available for export. Visit http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/llegrEpjvMzUsuCibSivEatt for more on the study. (6/2)

NASA Internal Investigation Slams Political Influence in Public Affairs (Source: NASA Watch)
"Relations between NASA's climate change science community and the NASA Headquarters Office of Public Affairs had somehow deteriorated into acrimony, non-transparency, and fear that science was being politicized--attributes that are wholly inconsistent with effective and efficient Government. The investigation also uncovered that one of the underlying contributing factors of these problems may have, in fact, been in the very structure of the NASA Headquarters Office of Public Affairs, where political appointees were placed in the seemingly contradictory position of ensuring the "widest practicable" dissemination of NASA research results that were arguably inconsistent with the Administration's policies, such as the "Vision for Space Exploration." (6/2)

Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Plans July Hypersonic Hy-BoLT Launch (Source: Spaceports Blog)
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Virginia's Wallops Island is in a late July launch campaign to loft the Hy-BoLT Hypersonic with a two stage ATK ALV-X1. The new rocket booster will carry three NASA payloads for the suborbital flight. The first payload, from NASA's Langley Research Center, is designed for hypersonic boundary layer research known as the Hypersonic Boundary Layer Transition experiment and then two "soccer ball-sized" secondary payloads, from NASA Ames Research Center, will be deployed at the ALV's suborbital trajectory's apogee. The ATK ALV X-1 booster is a low-cost launch vehicle for the operational responsive space (ORS) market. Possible ORS programs include the delivery of small payloads to low-earth orbit in support of DOD missions, NASA scientific missions, and commercial and university satellite programs. (6/1)

Incentive Prizes: Shooting for the Stars (Source: Business Week)
Taking his cue from Lindbergh's famous prize-winning moment, Peter Diamandis fulfilled his dream to send people into space through his X Prize. Ever since Peter Diamandis was a child, he has wanted to fly into space and dreamed of working for NASA. "I would call it my mission in life," he says. "I had the desire and intention to become a NASA astronaut but I found out how difficult it is, and how few people actually get the chance." Diamandis found a way to help give people that opportunity. He became a commercial space entrepreneur, founding several companies that do everything from designing and launching satellites to sending passengers on flights to experience weightlessness. Click here to view the article. (6/2)

University of Colorado Locks Into Two Long-Term NASA Contracts (Source: Colorado Daily)
Current and prospective CU students looking to broaden their horizons in the fields of earth science and aerospace engineering can look forward to reaping the benefits of two recently-finalized agreements between the university and the NASA. One project offers the promise of integrating CU-Boulder payloads as part of the cargo "on every shuttle mission to the International Space Station until the program is retired in 2010." The agreement between NASA and CU-based BioServe is part of a new NASA initiative to use the space station as a national laboratory for research not directly applicable to NASA's stated mission. For those with a more down-to-earth field of study, a different CU-NASA contract might be more significant as a grant renewal for the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) re-establishes the organization as a Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) for the next five years. (6/2)

New External Shuttle Tank Performs Well (Source: Aviation Week)
Space shuttle mission managers are pleased with the performance of the big external tank that carried liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen propellants for Sunday's launch of the shuttle Discovery. The tank -- designated ET-128 - was the first built from the ground up with modifications added for safety in the wake of the Columbia accident. Photos taken by Discovery's crew as the tank fell away from the orbiter show it generally intact, with none of the white spots seen on past tanks where pieces of insulating foam have fallen away. (6/2)

How to Become a Presidential Hero (Source: Space Review)
Representatives of the three major presidential candidates participated on a panel at the International Space Development Conference (ISDC) last week, to present candidates’ views. There were no revelations: lots of replies amounted to little more than “we’ll have to study that.” Taking a vocal stance on NASA and exploration that is visionary yet fiscally responsible might play very well to a populace weary of issues that deal only with negatives, such as war and the economy. Coming away from these remarks, as well as Stephen Metschan’s talk on the DIRECT alternative to Ares-1 and Ares-5, I’ve begun to think that a presidential candidate could make a real splash if he or she cast themselves as a reformer of NASA.

Taking a vocal stance on NASA and exploration that is visionary yet fiscally responsible might play very well to a populace weary of issues that deal only with negatives, such as war and the economy. We really need a hero these days, and spaceflight is one of those few areas Americans can point to with ready, justifiable pride. At the same time, this is hardly the point at which a battle cry of “Mars or bust, damn the cost!” can be made. This is not about the merits or demerits of the specific shuttle-derived vehicles that the DIRECT team advocates. Overall, they make several excellent general points. If we’re truly trying to build a robust family of launch vehicles that will take us into the next 30 or 40 years of spaceflight, the Ares 1/5 route doesn’t make much sense.

A far more reasonable approach would leave the vast majority of our unique launch facilities, experience, and workforce in place. The overriding principle would be to use whatever immediate technology we have at hand, and rigorously keep new development work and “requirements creep” at a minimum. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1141/1 to view the article. (6/2)

Suborbital Travel Has Low Carbon Footprint says ESA (Source: Flight International)
Suborbital flights could have a better carbon footprint per passenger than transatlantic airline travel, a preliminary European Space Agency study has found. The study, carried out by ESA's general studies department in the first quarter of this year, is expected to be followed up by more detailed work. The preliminary work examined suborbital launch systems and compared, on a per passenger basis, their environmental impact with the carbon footprint of widebody aircraft that operate on transatlantic routes. However ESA's researchers have declined to release the per passenger carbon footprint data from the preliminary study. (6/2)

China and Taiwan Together on the Space Station (Source: Space Review)
Ever since 1972 US-China relations have been—at least in theory—guided by the principles laid out in the “Shanghai Communiqué”, which made it clear that America recognized “One China” and that Beijing would seek reunification by peaceful means. Things have changed a lot in subsequent decades. A proposal for both China and Taiwan to jointly take part in the ISS partnership would be a welcome way to make progress. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1140/1 to view the article. (6/2)

Development Work Drives Personal Spaceflight Industry Growth (Source: Space News)
U.S. companies vying to open up space to ordinary citizens saw total collective revenue surpass a quarter of a billion dollars in 2007, a 50 percent increase over the previous year, according to a new report commissioned by the Personal Spaceflight Federation. The Tauri Group, a market research firm that prepared the report, said the findings were based on interviews with 19 Personal Spaceflight Federation member companies and data gleaned from external research. The Tauri Group and the Personal Spaceflight Federation intend to update the report annually. (6/2)

China Experts Warn of Expanding Space Arms Race (Source: Reuters)
Chinese military experts have warned of an expanding arms race in outer space as Beijing and other rival powers seek to counter U.S. ambitions to dominate the heavens. In a book issued by the state-run China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, two People's Liberation Army experts said Washington's bid for enduring security domination in outer space was pressing Beijing and other powers into competition, even confrontation. "Strategic confrontation in outer space is difficult to avoid. The development of outer space forces shows signs that a space arms race to seize the commanding heights is emerging," wrote Wu Tianfu of the Second Artillery Corps Command College. The Corps controls China's nuclear arsenal. (6/2)