December 21 News Items

DirectTV Holding Off On New Satellite Orders (Source: Space News)
Satellite-television provider DirecTV is delaying investment in new satellites because of the slowing U.S. economy as a preventive step but is not yet feeling the effects of the economic downturn on its subscriber base, according to Jonathan Rubin, the Los Angeles-based company's senior vice president for financial planning. (12/18)

SpaceShipTwo Carrier Craft Makes Successful First Flight (Source: Space.com)
A carrier aircraft designed to be the first stage of a commercial spaceline system made its maiden test flight today at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. Designed by Scaled Composites, the huge and unique WhiteKnightTwo mothership rolled down the runway and muscled itself into the air using four Pratt and Whitney PW308A turbofan engines. The WhiteKnightTwo flew for about an hour then safely touched down at the Mojave Air and Space Port. (12/21)

NASA Cancels Space-Based Solar Power Work (Source: NASA Watch)
From a NASA memo: "It is with a heavy heart that I tell you that we have been asked to terminate all NASA's support on the SBSP [Space-Based Solar Power] demo activity. This direction was just received from management and I wanted to pass it along to you as soon as possible to avoid wasting any more additional work that you have most graciously been volunteering. Management provided the following explanation: 'The SBSP team has done some excellent work to identify options for an early demo...[but] needs to focus on the tasks associated with near term operations of our current space transportation system and the ISS, as well as planning to transition existing capabilities to the constellation program. As a result, SOMD has determined that it does not have resources available to support a proposed demo for SBSP.' (12/21)

Obama Considers Space-Based Solar Power Generation (SFF)
The Space Frontier Foundation pointed out that President-elect Obama's transition team has published for public comment a white paper entitled Space Solar Power (SSP) - A Solution for Energy Independence & Climate Change. The paper was prepared and submitted by the Space Frontier Foundation and other citizen space advocates, and calls for the new Administration to make development of Space Solar Power a national priority. The SSP white paper was among the first ten released by the Obama transition team. It is the first and only space-related white paper released by the transition team to date. With 145 comments thus far, it is already among the top five most-discussed of the 20-some white papers on Change.gov. Click here to view the article. (12/21)

Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion Comes to Tallahassee (Source: Tallahassee Democrat)
Experts at Florida's universities are working to put a research and technology framework in place to support aerospace companies, train their engineers, and aid the industry's growth in the state. Through the Tallahassee-based Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion, these engineers and scientists have a consortium they say is a technical, research and academic focal point for aerospace firms. A creation of the Florida Legislature, the center was launched with $13.5 million in state funding. Its interdisciplinary team covers aviation, aeronautics, aerospace, propulsion and space sciences. FCAAP will be a technical incubator that facilitates the transfer of technologies to commercial use through partnerships with industry, government, the military and others.

With NASA retiring its space shuttle fleet in 2010, the industry is looking at what systems and products will carry it into the next decade and beyond. Florida State University, FCAAP's lead university, is working with the University Florida, the University of Central Florida and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to give university-produced innovations a push toward commercial viability. FCAAP is providing expertise in such areas as flow and noise control, sensor and actuator design, smart materials, thermal dynamics and computational modeling. "Flow control is also an area that industry is looking at, especially on the aircraft side, really to incorporate into the next generation of aircraft to increase efficiency," Alvi said.

FCAAP's mission is critical, Lear said. "I think this is extremely timely," he added. "It's very important that the state of Florida take a proactive leadership role in this area." Florida ranks third nationally in aerospace employment and has 83,000 highly skilled workers employed in manufacturing of aircraft and components. Altogether, it's a $9 billion industry — one that economic development officials identify as a priority. (12/21)

Europe's Ariane Makes Final Launch of 2008 (Source: BBC)
Europe's Ariane 5 rocket has wrapped up its 2008 campaign with another dual launch from the Kourou spaceport. The vehicle was carrying two satellites into orbit for the Eutelsat company. The Hot Bird 9 and W2M platforms were put on a path to geostationary orbits, to provide a mix of TV, radio and other telecommunications services. It was the sixth flight for an Ariane 5, in a year that also saw the rocket start to service the International Space Station (ISS). (12/21)

Could Dayton Come Up With $42M for a Shuttle? (Source: Dayton Daily News)
NASA is asking interested parties nationwide for information on where the shuttles should be permanently displayed after retirement. This is Dayton's chance, as the birthplace of aviation, to push hard for permanent assignment of one of the shuttles to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, said Tony Sculimbrene, executive director of the National Aviation Heritage Alliance in Dayton. "This isn't just the Air Force," Sculimbrene said. "Dayton, as a community, has to get behind this." (12/21)

Huntsville: Deal on Used Vehicle Simply Too Sky High (Source: Huntsville Times)
Huntsville's U.S. Space & Rocket Center wants one of NASA's three remaining space shuttles to display when the orbiters are retired, but money is going to be a factor. The tab from NASA for a dormant shuttle orbiter is $42 million ... shipping included. "We don't have that kind of money and to be able to do that kind of fundraising effort in this economy is unrealistic," Al Whitaker, spokesman for the Space Center, said. It took the center nearly 5 years to raise about $22 million to refurbish its Saturn V rocket and build the new Davidson Center for Space Exploration, $20 million less than what NASA wants for a shuttle, Whitaker said. (12/19)

Barack Obama Under Fire from NASA Over Plans to Slash Budget (Source: UK Telegraph)
Barack Obama is on a collision course with NASA amid signs that the president-elect wants to torpedo the space agency's plans to rekindle the great days of manned space flight. Mr Obama's transition team is demanding spending cuts to the Constellation Project, the successor to the Space Shuttle, which is supposed to create to a permanent manned base on the Moon by 2020 before a mission to Mars. The president-elect's team is developing plans to scrap the new Ares rocket, designed to blast a new generation of astronauts into space, NASA advisers said.

The team is also investigating whether military Delta IV and Atlas V rockets, already more than 20 years old, could be adapted more cheaply. NASA insiders say that that possibility was rejected years ago because the military rockets are not safe enough for manned flights. NASA put a premium on safety after the Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters. NASA allies fear penny pinching will lead to a delay in replacing the Shuttle, due to make its last flight in 2010, leaving the US without a manned space program for up to a decade, which would destroy US primacy in space technology. (12/21)