August 19 News Items

NASA Ames Awards Contract for Aerospace Testing Support (Source: NASA)
NASA's Ames Research Center awarded a contract modification valued at $34.8 million to Jacobs Technology Inc. The modification will allow additional support for testing and facility operation, development projects, as well as the required maintenance and repairs on wind tunnels and other facilities at Ames. All work will be performed at the center. The cost-plus-incentive fee award fee contract will conclude July 31, 2009. This modification brings the total value of the contract, awarded in June 2004, to $123.8 million. (8/19)

NASA Closes Florida Spaceport for Tropical Storm Fay (Source: Florida Today)
NASA closed its Florida spaceport early Monday to protect its space shuttle fleet and other vital hardware from severe weather associated with Tropical Storm Fay. The storm is expected to make its closest approach to the agency's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Wednesday between 2:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. EDT (0600 and 1200 GMT), though forecasters expect heavy rain and strong wind to begin in the area today at about 2:00 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT). "At least six inches is anticipated during this time," said NASA spokesperson George Diller in an update. (8/19)

NASA Fixes Moonship Shaking with Shock Absorbers (Source: AP)
A space-age version of the rusty springs under old pickup trucks will help NASA fix the most pressing technical problem with its high-tech new rocket to send astronauts back to the moon. NASA is going to use 17 super-sized shock abs, agency officials said in a Tuesday press conference. For close to a year, NASA engineers working on the new Ares 1 rocket and Orion crew capsule have been wrestling with the problem of heavy vibrations from the massive rocket engines about two minutes after launch. If the vibrations are not dampened, it could potentially harm the crew or make it too difficult for them to operate for a few seconds.

Officials on Tuesday said they have settled on a solution that is similar to what smooths the rides of pickup trucks: shock absorbers. But NASA's shock absorbers will be big and mostly remote-controlled. The plan is to install 16 canisters in the bottom of the rocket with 100-pound weights attached to springs. Battery-powered motors will move the weights up and down to stop vibrations. The fix will add weight, but the rocket can handle it, said Ares projects manager Steve Cook. (8/19)

Rocket Scientists Say We'll Never Reach the Stars (Source: WIRED)
Many believe that humanity's destiny lies with the stars. Sadly for us, rocket propulsion experts now say we may never even get out of the Solar System. At a recent conference, rocket scientists from NASA, the Air Force and academia doused humanity's interstellar dreams in cold reality. The scientists analyzed many of the designs for advanced propulsion that others have proposed for interstellar travel. The calculations show that, even using the most theoretical of technologies, reaching the nearest star in a human lifetime is nearly impossible.

"In those cases, you are talking about a scale of engineering that you can't even imagine," Paulo Lozano, an assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a conference attendee, said in a recent interview. The major problem is that propulsion -- shooting mass backwards to go forwards -- requires large amounts of both time and fuel. For instance, using the best rocket engines Earth currently has to offer, it would take 50,000 years to travel the 4.3 light years to Alpha Centauri, our solar system's nearest neighbor. Even the most theoretically efficient type of propulsion, an imaginary engine powered by antimatter, would still require decades to reach Alpha Centauri. (8/19)

Pentagon Doubts Iranian Rocket Test Succeeded (Source: CNN)
The Pentagon does not believe an Iranian rocket test over the weekend was successful, despite reports in the official Iranian media saying the Islamic Republic had launched its first vehicle capable of placing a satellite in orbit. "The Iranians did not successfully launch the rocket," a senior U.S. defense official told CNN. The two-stage rocket could have been capable of launching a satellite into space, but the U.S. intelligence assessment shows that the second stage "was erratic and out of control," said the official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the intelligence. The rocket "did not perform as designed," the official said.

Another U.S. defense official who also asked not to be named said the most immediate monitoring of the Iranian test came from the USS Russell in the Persian Gulf using its radar. It is generally acknowledged that U.S. military and intelligence satellites have a long-standing capability to monitor rocket and missile launches around the world by detecting plumes and other launch emissions. (8/19)

Air Force Official Discusses New Mexico Spaceport (Source: Alamogordo Daily News)
Gary Payton, deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for space programs, took time out of Monday's DC-X/XA 15th anniversary reunion activities to talk about Spaceport America. "The Air Force is interested in this sort of access to space," Payton said. "This is where we could bring our satellites to put on launch vehicles to fly out of Spaceport America." Payton said the Air Force is moving to increasingly smaller satellites, so the launch and recovery facilities that will be available at Spaceport America "are very attractive to us."

New Mexico's Spaceport America is one of several spaceports. Payton said equivalent operations can be found in Florida, Oklahoma, California and possibly more places, although Spaceport America and New Mexico are probably a little further ahead than other states and their spaceports. "The Air Force is watching all of those to find out which ones would be best to launch our satellites," Payton said. (8/19)

Korea's Air Force to Pursue Space Capabilities (Source: KBS)
Korea's Air Force will recruit aerospace experts for the first time in a bid to expand its space exploration capabilities. An Air Force official said Tuesday it will select, this year, 27 aerospace experts among its officers directly involved in space operations, and it hopes to increase the number in the years to come. The official added that the Air Force also plans to establish a new specialty staff for space projects after consulting with the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Air Force aims to establish a basic system for its space capabilities, including implementing an electro-optical space monitoring system by 2015, before obtaining the ability to conduct space operations by 2020. It hopes to have independent space operational capabilities by 2030. (8/19)

Alliant Techsystems Gets NASA Green Light to Launch (Source: Flight International)
NASA has set 21 August as the first opportunity for Alliant Techsystems (ATK) to launch two NASA payloads on what could be the company's first and last ALV X-1 suborbital booster. ATK says it is not planning to manufacture the 16m (53ft)-high, two-stage solid-propellant vehicle, but will instead use the experience to further its expertise in the multi-stage rockets, launch services and payload integration. The company originally developed the ALV to compete in NASA's commercial orbital transport services program. Those contracts were ultimately won by SpaceX and Orbital Sciences.

The booster is expected to loft the hypersonic and research payloads to a 473km (256 miles) altitude and 1,600km downrange of the mid-Atlantic regional spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's eastern shore. One of the four experiments on board is designed to be recovered. Click here to view the rocket on its launch pad. (8/19)

Editorial: NASA Needs Its Own Launch Capability During the Next 10 Years (Source: Houston Chronicle)
Among the many entities and activities placed in jeopardy by the incursion of Russian troops into Georgia is U.S.-Russian space exploration. President Bush said all U.S. alliances with Moscow must be re-evaluated. Members of Congress warned that they would have to take another look at the law that allows NASA to pay Russia hundreds of millions of dollars to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, has the right idea. She says NASA should consider extending the space shuttle past its 2010 deadline. U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Stafford, whose district includes the Johnson Space Center, agrees: Russia's "instability and clear desire to wage war on democracies illustrates the need to increase NASA's funding and close the gap" between the shuttle's end and Orion's advent, he said. Sen. Barack Obama, in a change of mind, also agrees. (8/19)

Ohio's Future Shaped by Space (Source: PR Newswire)
In recent editorials to newspapers in Ohio, Guion "Guy" Bluford, the first African American to fly in space highlights the state's role in space exploration and its impact on the state. "NASA's John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field has long been an engine of American ingenuity. It has pioneered world-class research in aircraft engines dating back to the early 1940s. Glenn Research Center is a hybrid hub of technological work in both aeronautics and key elements of the nation's space program.

"Ohio has directly benefited from strengthening NASA's position of global aerospace leadership. That payback comes in the form of high-tech jobs throughout the state, as well as inspiring a new generation of scientists and engineers." Bluford went on to comment, "Ohio has produced more astronauts than any other state, including John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, and Neil Armstrong, the first person to step onto the Moon. To view Bluford's complete comments on NASA's long partnership with Ohio, please view http://spacecoalition.com/Published_Op-Eds.cfm. (8/19)

SpaceDev Joins SpaceShipTwo Team (Source: SpaceDev)
SpaceDev has signed a multi-year contract with Scaled Composites to assist Scaled in the development of a production rocket motor for the first commercial space vehicle designed for space tourism called SpaceShipTwo. The vehicle is being designed by Scaled for Virgin Galactic and is part of a complete space system that also includes the recently unveiled WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft.

Under the contract, SpaceDev will be the lead rocket motor team member for SpaceShipTwo and will collaborate with Scaled's internal design team to develop a production ready hybrid rocket motor. The SpaceDev teaming will be similar to that done from 2001 through 2004 on the SpaceShipOne program, in that SpaceDev will be providing engineering services to refine the design of the hybrid rocket motor being developed by Scaled Composites, as well as providing the development, manufacture and integration of key rocket motor system components. The contract, which runs through 2012, has an initial value of approximately $15 million for work to be primarily completed over the next two years. (8/19)

ILS Proton Successfully Launches Inmarsat Satellite (SourcE: ILS)
A Proton Breeze M launch vehicle successfully lifted the Inmarsat-4 F3 satellite into orbit Tuesday, marking the third mission of the year for International Launch Services (ILS). The Proton Breeze M vehicle, built by Khrunichev Space Center of Moscow, lifted off from Baikonur Spaceport. The Inmarsat-4 F3 satellite, a Eurostar 3000GM model built by EADS Astrium, is expected to go into service at 98 degrees West longitude, where it will deliver mobile broadband services over the United States for Inmarsat of London. (8/19)

Missile Successfully Launches From Vandenberg (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
A Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile configured with a National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, test assembly was launched from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base on Aug. 13. The launch was an operational test to determine the weapon system's reliability and accuracy. The missile's three unarmed re-entry vehicles traveled approximately 4,220 nautical miles to pre-determined targets in the Pacific Ocean. (8/19)

Russia Vents Fury Over US Missile Plan (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Russia expressed its fury Friday over US plans to place a new missile system in eastern Europe, saying it was clear the weapons were pointed at Moscow and would be a fair military target to strike. Speaking at a news conference in southern Russia, President Dmitry Medvedev stated that, despite Washington's denials, the United States had Russia in mind in basing elements of the system in Poland and the Czech Republic. His comments came a day after Poland, after appearing reticent on the plan in recent months, suddenly announced it had reached an accord with the United States on plans to install US interceptor missiles on its territory.

The timing of that announcement, coming amid a burgeoning international crisis over the conflict between Russia and Georgia in the Caucasus, sparked a bellicose response from the Russian military. Poland is making itself a target for Russia's military "100 percent" by hosting elements of a US anti-missile system, a senior Russian general was quoted as saying. "Such targets are destroyed as a first priority," Gen. Nogovitsy was quoted as saying. Warsaw and Washington signed a preliminary deal Thursday on basing part of a US missile shield in Poland, in the face of Moscow's vehement opposition and mounting East-West tensions over Russia's military presence in Georgia. (8/18)

Georgia 'Will Join NATO': Merkel (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday assured Georgia would join NATO as she strongly backed the ex-Soviet republic's President Mikheil Saakashvili in his conflict with Russia. "Georgia will become a member of NATO if it wants to -- and it does want to," she told reporters before talks with Saakashvili in Tbilisi. It was one of the strongest statements yet of support for Georgia's NATO membership bid, which is fiercely opposed by Russia. "We are on a clear road towards NATO membership (for Georgia)," she added at a later news conference. (8/18)

Cracking the Question of Life (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
With average temperatures of minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit, an almost nonexistent atmosphere and a complex web of cracks in a layer of ice encompassing the entire surface, the environment on Jupiter's moon Europa is about as alien as they come. So are the enormous forces behind the surface display, namely an ocean beneath the ice nine times deeper than Earth's deepest ocean trench and gravitational affects from a planet 318 times the mass of Earth. Visit http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Cracking_The_Question_Of_Alien_Life_999.html to view the article. (8/18)

Iran To Launch Its First Satellite By Next Weekend (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Iran will launch its first satellite in the nearest few days, the country's president said on Saturday. "The first satellite created by Iranian specialists will be orbited by an Iranian carrier rocket before the end of the next week," Iranian media quoted Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying. He added that economic sanctions imposed by the United States against the Islamic Republic had a "favorable effect on the country's scientific progress." According to Ahmadinejad, over 7,000 scientific inventions have been registered in Iran over the last few years.

In February Tehran successfully launched the Explorer-1 research rocket, which is reportedly capable of carrying a satellite into orbit, and unveiled the country's first domestically built satellite, named Omid, or Hope. Iran plans to send into orbit several domestic satellites by 2010, the head of the country's aerospace agency said on Monday. (8/18)

McCain Claims Strongest Space Support (Source: Reuters)
Sen. John McCain said he, and not Sen. Barack Obama, is the presidential candidate who will keep the United States up in space. He lambasted his Democratic rival for changing his position on space funding. “Sometimes it’s difficult to know what a politician will actually do once in office because they say different things at different times to different people,” McCain said in a statement he read to reporters at Brevard Community College, where he met with local officials and business executives. “This is a particular problem when a candidate has a short, thin record on the issues as is the case of Sen. Obama. “Let me just say in case Sen. Obama does decide to return to his original plan of cutting NASA funding, I oppose such cuts,” he said, adding he was committed to funding the Constellation program. (8/18)

Democrats: McCain to Blame for Current Space Problems (Source: Reuters)
The Florida Democratic Party recently criticized McCain by saying the five-year gap was created under his watch as former Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. “It’s a little late for John McCain to claim he would minimize the gap that he helped create or save the jobs he helped put in danger,” state Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff said in the statement. “If concerned Space Coast workers are looking for someone to blame for this poorly-thought-out plan, they need to look no further than John McCain.”

Florida - a major battleground state in the November presidential election — faces the loss of thousands of jobs when the space shuttle program ends in 2010. Both the Republican and the Democratic candidates say they would like to minimize the projected five-year gap between the shuttle’s retirement and introduction of its successor. Obama also has proposed an additional shuttle flight. (8/18)