December 19 News Items

Spaceport States Await NASA Commercial Launch Contract Decision This Week (Source: ERAU)
NASA this week is supposed to announce the winner(s) of the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract to support International Space Station cargo transport, potentially leading to future human transport services. The potential $3.1 billion effort features competition among SpaceX, Orbital Sciences Corp., PlanetSpace, and possibly other companies. NASA could select one or a combination of these competitors, or they could cancel or delay the procurement in response to transition issues between the Bush and Obama administrations. Two of the companies have confirmed plans to operate from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, while the other (Orbital Sciences) currently plans to operate from Virginia's spaceport. (12/19)

Boeing GOES-R Protest Halts Lockheed Work (Source: Aviation Week)
Lockheed Martin has been notified by NASA to stop work on GOES-R, because Boeing has filed a protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office over the Dec. 2 $1.09 billion satellite award. A Boeing official said the company learned "very little" from a Dec. 10 contract debriefing from NASA and NOAA on why Lockheed Martin was chosen over Boeing. Based on what it did hear, Boeing concluded, "We offered a superior proposal under the disclosed evaluation criteria." GAO has 100 days to respond to the company's protest.

Boeing built the current generation of GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) weather satellites on its older 601 platform. It proposed a modularized version of its current commercial bus called the 702B for the new series. Cost estimates of the next generation constellation of three to eight GOES-R spacecraft ballooned from an originally budgeted $6.2 billion to $11.4 billion, prompting the space agency to scale back its plans and launch just two spacecraft, with options for a third and fourth. The current lifecycle baseline cost is $7.7 billion. (12/19)

Abrupt Climate Change: Will It Happen this Century? (Source: SpaceRef.com)
The U.S. faces the potential for abrupt climate change in the 21st century that could pose clear risks to society in terms of our ability to adapt. "Abrupt" changes can occur over decades or less, persist for decades more, and cause substantial disruptions to human and natural systems. A new report, based on an assessment of published science literature, makes the following conclusions:

Simulations and observations suggest that rapid and sustained September arctic sea ice loss is likely in the 21st century. The southwestern United States may be beginning an abrupt period of increased drought. It is very likely that the northward flow of warm water in the upper layers of the Atlantic Ocean, which has an important impact on the global climate system, will decrease by approximately 25-30 percent. However, it is very unlikely that this circulation will collapse or that the weakening will occur abruptly during the 21st century and beyond.

An abrupt change in sea level is possible, but predictions are highly uncertain due to shortcomings in existing climate models. There is unlikely to be an abrupt release of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, to the atmosphere from deposits in the earth. However, it is very likely that the pace of methane emissions will increase. (12/19)

India Makes $40 Million Profit on W2M Satellite (Source: Economic Times)
India's space program is all set to achieve a major milestone when European space consortium Arianespace launches over the weekend the W2M
satellite built by ISRO for a foreign customer for the first time fetching it $40 million profit. Building W2M for satellite operator Eutelsat under the ISRO-EADS Astrium alliance has signalled the Bangalore- headquartered space agency's foray into the satellite-manufacturing market. While W2M was built under a $80 million contract by ISRO, officials said it was a good deal for the space agency which made a profit of $40 million in this venture. (12/19)

Editorial: NASA's Chief Should Welcome Obama Team's Scrutiny (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
For NASA, the transition between the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama has been a bumpy ride. The blame goes to NASA Administrator Michael Griffin. Last week the Sentinel reported that Mr. Griffin, trying to protect the space agency's Constellation program, was obstructing information-gathering by Mr. Obama's transition team. With its goal of sending astronauts to the moon and Mars, the program is considered Mr. Griffin's signature project. Mr. Griffin vehemently disputed the report. But a NASA spokesman confirmed to The Washington Post that the administrator had told the head of the transition team, a former associate administrator at NASA, that no one on her team had the engineering qualifications to evaluate the agency's choice of rocket for the program. Click here to view the editorial. (12/19)

Firm Named to Build New Mexico Spaceport (Source: KDBC)
The New Mexico Spaceport Authority has selected Gerald Martin Construction Management of Albuquerque to oversee construction of the state's spaceport north of Las Cruces. Spaceport officials said Thursday that Gerald Martin's team will include specialists familiar with aviation facilities, fire and emergency medical services facilities and aeronautics and rocket facilities. (12/19)

China to Launch 3rd Geostationary Wwather Satellite Next Week (Source: Xinhua)
China will launch its third geostationary meteorological satellite, the Fengyun-2-06, some time next week, according to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA). It will take off from the Xichang spaceport in southwestern Sichuan Province. It is designed to replace Fengyun-2-C which has outlived its service. (12/19)