August 18 News Items

Astronomers Find a New "Minor Planet" near Neptune (Source: Universe Today)
Astronomers announced today that a new "minor planet" with an unusual orbit has been found just two billion miles from Earth, closer than Neptune. Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, astronomers detected a small, comet-like object called 2006 SQ372, which is likely made of rock and ice. However, its orbit never brings it close enough to the sun for it to develop a tail. Its unusual orbit is an ellipse that is four times longer than it is wide, said University of Washington astronomer Andrew Becker, who led the discovery team. The only known object with a comparable orbit is Sedna — the distant, Pluto-like dwarf planet discovered in 2003. But 2006 SQ372's orbit takes it more than one-and-a-half times further from the Sun, and its orbital period is nearly twice as long. (8/18)

Nominations Sought for California Space Authority Board (Source: CSA)
Nominations for candidates for the California Space Authority's Board of Directors will open September 1 and close on September 30, 2008. The deadline to qualify as a voting member is also September 30, 2008 (i.e. be a member in good standing). Visit http://www.CaliforniaSpaceAuthority.org/ for information. (8/18)

McCain Supports $2 Billion More for NASA (Source: Florida Today)
During a bus ride to Cocoa on the "Straight Talk Express," Sen. John McCain said he would support an additional $2 billion to add to NASA's $17 billion budget that would lessen the gap between the end of the shuttle in 2010 and the next U.S. manned spacecraft in 2015. McCain also said he would protect the Eastern Range from offshore drilling that could disrupt rocket launches from Cape Canaveral. "We would protect our missile ranges," he said. "We can work it out." (8/18)

Space Policy Heats Up This Summer (Source: Space Review)
The last couple of weeks has seen a flurry of activity on space policy issues from the two major presidential candidates. Jeff Foust reports on the policy statements made by both campaigns as well as a recent debate on space issues by representatives of the campaigns. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1192/1 to view the article. (8/18)

The Impulse to be Specific (Source: Space Review)
Many commercial space ventures have grandiose visions and broad aims. Bob Clarebrough explains why these companies might be better off developing a much narrower focus that is easier to explain to and convince investors and to achieve market success. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1191/1 to view the article. (8/18)

Skin in the Game (Source: Space Review)
Finding compelling rationales for government human spaceflight programs can be difficult. Greg Anderson argues that one explanation that might work is that, without such efforts, governments might be able to exercise little authority over private human expeditions and settlements beyond Earth. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1190/1 to view the article. (8/18)

Hitching a Ride to the Oort Cloud (Source: Space Review)
Astronomers have discovered objects that appear to be from the distant Oort Cloud in orbits that come closer to the Sun than Neptune. Taylor Dinerman describes how NASA and partners could use those objects mount a mission to explore those distant icy bodies. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1189/1 to view the article. (8/18)

Obama Vows to Find $2bn For NASA (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The first hints of Sen. Barack Obama’s space funding plans came to light on Sunday as the democratic candidate’s support for a robust program of human and robotic exploration began to attract some heavyweight boosters. Two leading space pioneers – Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida and former Senator and Mercury astronaut John Glenn of Ohio -- yesterday endorsed Obama’s new space platform. In a nutshell, the comprehensive policy released on Saturday backs plans to go to the moon by 2020, supports both human and robotic missions, calls for at least one additional shuttle flight and increased international cooperation in space. The Obama campaign was looking at cutting back on egregious earmarks by Congress, aiming to bring earmarks down to pre-1994 levels and use the savings to help NASA. The rapidly unfolding Obama space policy now puts pressure on Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, to articulate further his space platform. McCain will hold a closed door meeting on Monday with about 20 space experts hand picked by his campaign staff. (8/18)

Dark Energy Spacecraft Could Fly Faster than Light (Source: Cosmos)
A futuristic engine that uses dark energy to propel a spaceship faster than light is theoretically possible, and could revolutionise space travel, U.S. scientists say. The idea is backed up by calculations made by physicists at Baylor University. Like something from the world of Star Trek, their theory says that a spacecraft could travel at 'warp speed' in a bubble of space-time by manipulating dark energy, the mysterious invisible force accelerating the expansion of the universe. The spacecraft would essentially remain in the same place, they said, while space-time ahead of the spaceship shrank, and expanded again behind it. The warp engine is based on the 'Alcubierre warp drive', a mathematical model of a method of stretching space in a wave that was first proposed by Mexican physicist Michael Alcubierre in 1994. (8/18)

Yankees Sent Dirt Into Space, Shea Stadium Plate Headed for Orbit (Source: New York Daily News)
The Yankees-Mets rivalry has really hit new heights. Months after a Bomber-loving astronaut carried some dirt from Yankee Stadium into orbit, a Mets fan has upped the ante and will take a home plate from Shea into space this October. The home plate from the 2007 season was given by the Mets to Mike Massimino to fuel his rivalry with fellow astronaut and Yankees fan Garrett Reisman of Morristown, N.J.

Reisman carried dirt from the Yankee Stadium pitcher's mound on the shuttle Endeavour mission in March. "We can do better than that, pal," said Massimino, 46, of Franklin Square, L.I. "We're flying a home plate from Shea." Massimino's passion for the Mets competes with his life's work as an astronaut to the point where he ranks NASA's feat in landing men on the moon in 1969 equal to the Mets' first World Series victory later that same year. (8/18)

Venezuela to Launch Simon Bolivar Satellite with China in November (Source: Xinhua)
The Simon Bolivar satellite will be launched into the space on Nov. 2, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said. The satellite, made in China, was named after "Simon Bolivar," a hero who played an important role in winning Latin America's independence. Chinese Ambassador to Venezuela Zhang Tuo attended as a guest at a TV and radio program, during which Chavez thanked China for supporting this project. (8/18)

Atlantis Processing Delayed by Hurricane (Source: Florida Today)
The planned rollover of the orbiter Atlantis to the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building is being delayed as a result of Tropical Storm Fay. NASA has planned to tow the winged spaceship from its processing facility at 7 a.m. Monday. The move now is being delayed until after the storm. Atlantis and seven astronauts are scheduled to blast off Oct. 8 on NASA's fifth and final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. A short delay in the move to the assembly building will not impact the launch date, officials said. (8/18)

Iran Says Will Soon Launch 'National Satellite' (Source: YNet)
Day after Islamic republic put dummy satellite into orbit on home-grown rocket for first time, Tehran's defense minister says, ' We are ready to launch satellites for friendly Islamic countries' After report of successful test, Iran prepares to launch real satellite into space. Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar reportedly said Monday that his country was ready to launch a "national satellite" into orbit in the near future. (8/18)

Israel Plays Down Concerns Over Iran's Satellite (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
The head of Israel's space agency on Monday played down concerns over Iran's announcement it sent a rocket into space, saying the real threat came from Tehran's nuclear program. "Iran still has a long way to go as far as satellites are concerned and it deliberately exaggerates its air and space successes in order to dissuade Israel or the United States from attacking its nuclear sites," Yitzhak Ben Israel said. "It is clear that for years Iran has had Shihab-3 ballistic missiles which put Israel within its reach. But the threat posed by Iran comes from its nuclear program and not from its satellites or ballistic missiles," said Ben Israel, who is also a member of parliament with the governing Kadima party. (8/18)

Iran Sparks U.S. Concern with Satellite Rocket Launch (Source: Thomson Financial)
Iran said it had sent a rocket carrying a dummy satellite into space on Sunday, triggering fresh concern in Washington that the technology could be diverted to ballistic missiles. The launch is likely to further exacerbate tensions with the West over its nuclear drive, which Iran's arch-foe Washington and its allies claim is a cover for atomic weapons ambitions. Western governments, already concerned over Iran's nuclear activities, have warned that the technology used in the Islamic republic's space program could be diverted to military use, claims denied by Tehran. (8/18)