September 6 News Items

Join the ISDC 2009 Organizing Team! (Source: NSSSC)
The Florida chapters of the National Space Society are looking for volunteers to help to make the Orlando-based 2009 International Space Development Conference a huge success for Florida. Volunteers are the key to making any NSS event run smoothly and ISDC is no exception! We are asking for passionate individuals to work together to make this conference happen. We want to showcase the best of Florida and create an environment where everyone is welcome to participate in the future of space exploration. Please note that all of the listed areas of responsibility are unpaid, volunteer positions, though all volunteers are given complimentary registration to ISDC 2009. Our first team meeting will be in September 2008. Please visit the ISDC 2009 website at http://isdc.nss.org/2009/team-positions.html to see the positions available and apply today. (9/5)

Despite Glitch, European Spacecraft's Asteroid Flyby a Success (Source: Space.com)
Europe's Rosetta comet-chaser satellite successfully detoured to take a look at a rare type of asteroid Friday, getting a close-up view of the diamond-shaped Steins asteroid, a gray, 3-mile (5-km) wide rock that appears in images as a pock-marked object with multiple craters that ultimately will help determine its age. The European probe's narrow-angle camera apparently switched off as it closed in on the asteroid, but a total of fifteen instruments were trained on Steins. Much of the data will be delivered in the coming weeks (9/6)

CSR Wins $78 Million Range Services Contract Options (Source: DOD)
The Air Force is exercising an option with Computer Sciences Raytheon, of Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., for $78,134,869. The Eastern Range Technical Services will provide operations, maintenance, and sustainment of critical range and launch processing systems that support the launch processing mission of the 45th Space Wing and its launch customers at Cape Canaveral Air Station. (9/5)

Delta 2 Rocket Launched from California Spaceport (Source: KCOY)
A Delta II rocket lifted off from Vandenberg AFB Shortly before noon Saturday. The rocket launch had been rescheduled due to Hurricane Hanna affecting the availability of key launch personnel located at Cape Canaveral. The rocket carried a GeoEye-1 remote sensing satellite. Google, which has its logo on the side of the rocket, will use GeoEye data for its online mapping. While GeoEye-1 is capable of imagery with details the size of 41 centimeters, Google will have access to details of 50 centimeters. Current commercial imagery is 60 centimeters. (9/6)

China Launches Two Natural Disaster Monitoring Satellites (Source: Xinhua)
China launched two satellites to monitor the environment and natural disasters on Saturday. The two satellites, launched from the Taiyuan spaceport in Shanxi Province and carried by a Long March 2C rocket, will enhance the country's capacity to forecast natural disasters. They are expected to have a lifespan of more than three years. They have state-of-the-art imaging systems and infrared cameras and provide a global scan every two days. (9/6)

Congress Reluctant to Depend on Russia (Source: Florida Today)
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Orlando, will meet Tuesday with NASA Administrator Mike Griffin to discuss the feasibility of continuing shuttle flights beyond the scheduled end of the program in 2010. The Russian invasion of neighboring Georgia soured many lawmakers on paying hundreds of millions of dollars to the former Cold War adversary for access to the Space Station. "We finally got a dose of reality," Nelson said.

Lawmakers aren't likely to extend an exemption of the Iran, North Korea, Syria Non-Proliferation Act -- known as INKSNA -- which would allow NASA to buy flights on Russian Soyuz spacecraft. The exemption must be passed by early 2009 to allow time to build a Soyuz spacecraft by 2011. "I think we can get it out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but I'm not sure we can pass it," said Nelson, who plans, nevertheless, to push for the exemption. (9/6)

Keeping Shuttle Flying Won't Be Easy (Source: Florida Today)
While the Bush administration has adamantly refused to increase NASA's funding to allow more shuttle flights, both major-party presidential candidates have expressed support for increasing NASA's $17 billion budget by $2 billion a year. Anticipating the effects of tension with the Russians, Mike Griffin late last week asked shuttle program managers to determine the cost and effort required to keep the shuttle flying. One concern: spare parts and expertise might be scarce.

"Subject to safety concerns, I believe it is in the best interest of the U.S. to continue to fly the shuttle until the Constellation" -- the next spacecraft -- "is ready," said U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, a Republican whose district includes KSC. "Restarting the shuttle is more difficult than it was a year ago," Feeney said. "I think, if Mike [Griffin] had a different set of instructions [from the White House], he could find a way to make it work."

For years, NASA officials have said the end of the shuttle program is irreversible, while unofficially acknowledging that the 30-year-old spacecraft could be kept in service, if funds were provided. Extending the shuttle program by up to five years would reduce the loss of 3,000 to 4,000 jobs at Kennedy Space Center, avoiding a blow to Brevard County's economy. United Space Alliance, NASA's prime contractor at KSC, is providing the agency with details on adding shuttle flights. (9/6)

Startup Company To Announce 8-Satellite Global Broadband Network (Source: Space News)
O3B Networks Ltd., a start-up company backed by Liberty Global, is designing an eight-satellite constellation to provide interactive broadband links globally and expects to sign initial satellite manufacturing contracts the week of Sept. 8, according to industry officials familiar with the project. (9/5)

European Space Agency Wants Its Own Manned Space Vehicle (Source: Space News)
The European Space Agency (ESA) is assembling a package of proposals that would place Europe on the road to self-sufficiency in manned spaceflight and scrapping a planned joint development with Russia of a crew-transport vehicle, European government and industry officials said. The proposals, which are being crafted in preparation for a late-November meeting of ESA government ministers, are intended to take full advantage of the success of Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) cargo carrier. The purpose of the meeting is to set long-term space policy for the agency. (9/5)

Signs of Humidity But No Surface Water Puzzles Mars Scientists (Source: Space News)
New data from Mars' surface is puzzling NASA scientists: A fork-like probe on the Phoenix Mars Lander has sensed changes in humidity in the martian air, but finds the dirt below perplexingly dry. The measurements, the latest of which were taken during the week of Sept. 1, indicate that water vapor is settling on or in the martian dirt then being released back into the air on a daily cycle. So mission scientists have expected to find water molecules sticking to the martian surface. (9/5)

Presidential Candidate Obama Clarifies His Support for Space (Source: CSA)
Q: The study of Earth from space can yield important information about climate change; focus on the cosmos can advance our understanding of the universe; and manned space travel can help us inspire new generations of youth to go into science. Can we afford all of them? How would you prioritize space in your administration?

A: "As president, I will establish a robust and balanced civilian space program. Under my administration, NASA not only will inspire the world with both human and robotic space exploration, but also will again lead in confronting the challenges we face here on Earth, including global climate change, energy independence, and aeronautics research. In achieving this vision, I will reach out to include international partners and to engage the private sector to amplify NASA’s reach. I believe that a revitalized NASA can help America maintain its innovation edge and contribute to American economic growth. Click here to view the article. (9/5)