August 23 News Items

Biden on Space (Source: Space Politics)
Obama's running mate, Senator Joe Biden has a limited record on space issues, but he recently said he “wants to make China a full partner in space rather than a ‘frustrated new entrant’ that has to catch up with the United States.” And at a New Hampshire debate last fall, he told an attendee, “I like the robotic programs” and, about human spaceflight, “with clear leadership we could do anything, good luck.” In June he and the ranking Republican on the committee, Richard Lugar, introduced S.3103, the “International Space Station Payments Act of 2008″. This bill would have extended the current waiver in the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act that allows NASA to purchase flight services from Russia. That waiver currently expires at the end of 2011, and NASA officials have said that they need the extension this year.

One other thing to keep in mind. Earlier this month Obama advocated re-establishing the National Space Council (also known as the National Aeronautics and Space Council), which traditionally has been chaired by the vice president. That means that, if Obama is elected in November and he carries through with his plans to recreate the council, Biden could be playing a much larger role in space policy in the next four years. (8/23)

Inmarsat Picks Thales Alenia, ILS for S-Band Satellite (Source: Space News)
Inmarsat has selected Thales Alenia Space to build a large S-band satellite for two-way mobile communications in Europe to be launched aboard an International Launch Services (ILS) Proton Breeze M rocket in early 2011, London-based Inmarsat announced Aug. 22. The satellite construction and launch agreements are subject to Inmarsat's receipt of a license from the European Commission to operate the service. (8/23)

Orbital Sciences To Build Next Intelsat Satellite (Source: Space News)
Orbital Sciences Corp. will build Intelsat's IS-18 satellite under a contract Dulles, Va.-based Orbital announced Aug. 21. IS-18 will operate from 180 degrees east and will replace the IS-701 satellite currently in operation there and in orbit since October 1993. Orbital said IS-18 is the third order this year for the company's Star-2 commercial geostationary satellite platform. Company officials told investors in July that they expect to end the year with four or five new commercial Star-2 orders. IS-18 will carry 24 C-band and 12 Ku-band transponders and deliver 4.9 kilowatts of power to the payload. (8/23)

Air Force, ULA to Study Guidelines for ESPA Ring (Source: Space News)
United Launch Alliance is working with the U.S. Air Force to develop guidelines that could pave the way for routine launches by 2011 of small secondary payloads aboard Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets. The guidelines would provide commercial companies, university and government researchers a standard set of requirements for launching their payloads in unused space aboard the two rockets, which are the backbone of the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program.

Small satellite industry officials have expressed frustration over the fact that Delta and Atlas rockets routinely leave the launch pad with excess space on board that could be used to get small payloads into orbit. Three upcoming Air Force launches will carry secondary payloads using the EELV Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA), and ULA is working with the Air Force to identify more ESPA opportunities. The pace of integrating ESPA, however, has not kept pace with the rising focus — particularly in the military — on building smaller, cheaper constellations of small satellites for commercial and military applications such as Earth monitoring and communications.

One estimate of all Atlas and Delta launches scheduled through 2013 suggests there would be 13,500 kilograms of excess lift capacity still available during those five years, once the primary payload was subtracted from the equation. (8/23)

Surrey to Establish Satellite Subsidiary in Colorado (Source: Space News)
As Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. awaits European Commission approval for its sale to EADS Astrium, the company is establishing a U.S. subsidiary it hopes will mirror its U.K.-based satellite manufacturing operation by 2012. The subsidiary, Surrey Satellite Technology US, is led by the company's commercial director, John Paffett, who said the United States offers some of the greatest potential for growth in the small satellite market. The company plans to grow its staff of four to 250 employees during the next three-and-a-half years and open offices in Washington and Los Angeles, Paffett said. The company will build its satellites in Denver. (8/23)

Commission Advises Combining Black and White Military Space Programs (Source: Space News)
A new report that recommends combining the organizations responsible for unclassified and classified U.S. military space assets likely will face opposition that could be strong enough to squash the idea. The soon-to-be-released report by a congressionally mandated panel recommends the creation of a National Security Space Authority (NSSA), an organization that would have acquisition and requirements authority for both unclassified and classified national security space systems. The head of the NSSA would be dual-hatted as an undersecretary of Defense for space and a deputy director of national intelligence for space, and would lead a new organization, the National Security Space Organization, responsible for the acquisition and operation of all U.S. military and intelligence space assets. (8/22)

Bigelow Advances Work on Space Habitat Considers Expansion Locations (Source: Space News)
Building on lessons they continue to learn from their two space modules still operating in low Earth orbit, the team at Bigelow Aerospace is accelerating its push to get a habitable version launched. The initial focus of that work is Sundancer, a larger version of the subscale Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 spacecraft now in orbit. Sundancer will have 175 cubic meters of habitable space and come fully equipped with life support systems, attitude control, on-orbit maneuvering systems, the ability to reboost itself and, at the end of its life, the ability to conduct a controlled deorbit. It would support a crew of up to three individuals for varying mission durations and eventually provide the backbone for the first commercial space station.

Drawing on the cash generated by other companies in his large suite of enterprises — such as his hotel and real estate businesses — Bigelow said he had put $150 million into Bigelow Aerospace as of April. In 1999, he said he was prepared to spend $500 million by 2015. That remains a valid number, he said July 30. Bigelow Aerospace announced in May it had inked a nearly $5 million contract with Orion Propulsion to supply the attitude control system for the forward end of Sundancer. The company also announced that Aerojet has been awarded a $23 million deal to supply the propulsion system for the aft end of Sundancer, as well as a system to handle rendezvous and docking.

The company already has expanded its sprawling complex of buildings and test facilities. Bigelow said the new facilities are needed to set up an assembly line for producing large space modules and associated propulsion buses and docking nodes. A facility may be sited in a location like Florida, New Mexico, Texas or California, Bigelow said. "In some ways we would prefer being close to our launch facilities. But there could be various ways to make it so attractive that locating away from those launch facilities is advantageous to go ahead and pay for shipping everything else," Bigelow said. (8/23)

McCain's Moon Property: Real Estate Even He Won't Forget (Source: eMediaWire)
Upon learning that Republican presidential candidate John McCain can't remember how many homes he owns, a company specializing in lunar real estate has offered the Arizona senator some property even he can't forget. Lunar International, a company that offers lunar land claims to the public in order to support future lunar exploration efforts, has reserved an acre of moon property for McCain in the famed Sea of Tranquility. A man of his stature deserves real estate that's truly memorable. (8/22)

New Park Celebrates Aerospace, Aviation Pioneers (Source: Bakersfield Californian)
Legacy Park at the Mojave Air and Space Port pays tribute to the men and women whose hard work, innovation and sacrifice put the desert community on the aviation and space map. Dignitaries, including pioneer Dick Rutan, celebrated the park’s dedication Friday morning under clear blue skies. Rutan commanded Voyager, a composite plane that flew around the world in 1986 without refueling. The park's most notable features are a replica of SpaceShipOne, the first private craft to reach suborbital space, and the actual Rotary Rocket Roton craft, the first rocket-powered vehicle to fly at the space port. (8/22)

Russian Rocket: All Fueled Up, But No Place to Fly (Source: Space.com)
In another frustrating foul-up on the path towards converting Soviet-era military missiles into cash-paying satellite launchers, a military-industrial team in Moscow has announced the 'indefinite suspension' of plans to launch an earth resources survey satellite for Thailand. The reasons: at the last moment, for the second time, overflight permission has been revoked by a country downrange of the launch site. First Uzbekistan, and now Kazakhstan, denied permission for dropping the booster's spent first stage onto their territories.

The Dnepr rocket, a converted SS-18 "Satan" ICBM had finished 25 years of alert duty in 2005, and had been stored awaiting a more peaceful assignment. The countdown was underway towards a launch at 1.37 p.m. Thailand time on Aug. 6. Then the clock stopped. In what had looked like a 'win-win-win' situation for all concerned, a Ukrainian rocket factory had been acquiring old military missiles from the Russian 'Strategic Rocket Forces' and adding an off-the-shelf upper stage to create a satellite launch capability that they then sold to foreign customers. (8/22)

Destroyed Rocket Cost NASA $17M; Residents Shower 911 With Calls (Source: DelMarVaNow.com)
A suborbital rocket carrying two NASA experiments costing $11 million was destroyed after it veered off course soon after liftoff early Friday morning, sending fragments raining into the Atlantic Ocean and at least one barrier island. The flight reached an altitude of about 12,000 feet and was headed south before officials destroyed the rocket at 5:10 a.m., about 27 seconds into the mission. The total cost to NASA of the failed launch was $17 million, NASA spokeswoman Beth Dickey said during a teleconference held Friday morning.

As many as six calls were made to 911 just after the explosion by area residents reporting debris falling on land. Ed Hopkins of Modest Town, who lives within view of the launch site, was watching the launch with his wife when he said he saw two “large flaming pieces” land within a mile of his home. He said it caused a fire that burned for about 20 minutes. "We were concerned," said Hopkins. "I saw it was kind of coming our way. I told my wife to move toward the back of our deck." (8/22)

Space Junkies Ask 'Who Owns the Moon?' (Source: Cnet)
Within the next 10 years, the U.S., China, Israel, and a host of private companies plan to set up camp on the moon. So if and when they plant a flag, does that give them property rights? A NASA working group hosted a discussion this week to ask: who owns the moon? The answer, of course, is no one. The Outer Space Treaty, the international law signed by more than 100 countries, states that the moon and other celestial bodies are the province of all mankind. No doubt that would irk all of the people throughout the ages, like monks from the Middle Ages, who have tried to claim the moon was theirs.

But ownership is different from property rights. People who rent apartments, for example, don't own where they live, but they still hold rights. So with all of the upcoming missions to visit the moon and beyond, space industry thought leaders are seriously asking themselves how to deal with a potential land rush, cowboy-style. Visit http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10024047-76.html to view the article. (8/23)

University of Toledo Gets $1.13M NASA Grant for Solar-Panel Testing Center (Source: Toledo Blade)
The University of Toledo has received $1.13 million from NASA to fund a solar-panel testing center, a grant which university officials said will help the region cement itself as the alternative-energy capital of the Midwest. "This will make our future a lot brighter in a lot of ways," U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, (D., Toledo) said. The Lucas County commissioners have pledged to contribute $100,000 to the project for a local match. The money will come from the county's economic development fund, which has about $200,000 from the sale of land last year. An official said the testing center could be a boon to Toledo's economy by attracting alternative-energy companies. (8/23)

National Space Club Luncheon Features SpaceX Official (Source: NSC)
The National Space Club's Florida Committee will held its next monthly luncheon on Sep. 9 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Cocoa Beach. The featured speaker will be Brian Mosdell, the Director of Florida Launch Operations for SpaceX. Visit http://www.nscfl.org or email mailto:ladonna.j.neterer@boeing.com for reservations and information. (8/22)