December 25 News Items

Petition Drive to Keep Mike Griffin at NASA (Source: Discovery News)
A grass-roots effort was launched by Scott Horowitz, a former space shuttle commander whose last job with NASA was as the associate administrator for the agency's new exploration initiative, which includes the development of the controversial shuttle-derived Ares rockets, along with Apollo-style capsules called Orion. Horowitz has started an internet-based "Keep Mike" petition drive. Click here to sign or view the petition. (12/25)

News Review 2008: The Year NASA's Star Began to Wane (Source: New Scientist)
It was NASA's 50th anniversary year, but despite the celebrations the agency has been beset by bad news and questions over its future. In 2010 its ageing space shuttle fleet is set to retire for safety reasons. The problem is, the Ares I rocket and Orion crew capsule intended to replace it won't be ready until at least 2015, forcing NASA to seek an interim deal with Russia to carry US astronauts to the International Space Station aboard its Soyuz spacecraft.

However, that was put in jeopardy in August when Russia's conflict with Georgia made for frosty relations between the US and Russia. At least the legislation needed to extend NASA's contract with Russia got through the US Senate. To make matters worse, there were mounting concerns about Ares I, not least its tendency to vibrate violently during launch, and worries that it might not have enough power to lift the hefty Orion capsule, putting the future of the entire project in question. (12/25)

NASA Rocket Contract Launches SpaceX Into the Big Time (Source: LA Times)
In a major boost to Southern California's aerospace industry, a Hawthorne start-up founded by an Internet entrepreneur has been awarded a NASA contract potentially worth $3.1 billion to lift supplies to the International Space Station. Space Exploration Technologies, also known as SpaceX, beat out aerospace behemoths Lockheed Martin and Boeing for the contract to build rockets that would replace the space shuttle when it is slated for retirement in 2010.

The commercial contract, the first of its kind for the space agency, marks a huge milestone for the small company, which was founded by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk and only recently successfully launched a rocket after three attempts. The NASA contract to resupply the International Space Station would entail hundreds of new jobs in Hawthorne where SpaceX builds rockets and has about 400 employees. (12/25)

NASA Contract Skips Lockheed Martin (Source: Orlando Business Journal)
Lockheed Martin and two other leading space contractors were part of a losing bid for NASA’s first commercial space cargo contract, a $3.5 billion award. Littleton, Colo.-based Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Boeing Co. and Alliant Techsystems Inc. are partners in PlanetSpace, a Chicago-based company seeking to commercialize space launches. Founded in 2007, PlanetSpace was the newest one of three companies competing to win NASA’s six-year contract for rockets needed to supply the soon-to-be completed International Space Station. (12/25)

Russia Sends Three Navigation Satellites Into Space (Source: Xinhua)
Russia launched a carrier rocket Thursday to put three Glonass navigation satellites into orbit. The Proton-M carrier blasted off from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan. Glonass, a Global Navigation Satellite System, is the Russian version of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and is designed for both military and civilian use. Both systems allow users to determine their positions to within a few meters. (12/25)