December 6 News Items

California and Alaska Spaceports Support Missile Defense Test (Source: Reuters)
The U.S. military conducted a successful test of its system built to knock out long-range missiles that could be fired by North Korea or Iran, the Pentagon said on Friday. The target missile for the test over the Pacific was launched from Alaska's Kodiak Island spaceport, and an interceptor was launched from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. Boeing is prime contractor for the system, called the ground-based midcourse defense.

U.S. officials had billed the test as a particularly realistic simulation of a possible missile attack but critics of the system disputed that description. Advisers to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama have said he favors missile defense in principle but the program, a flagship policy of the Bush administration, will face more scrutiny after he takes office. President George W. Bush has been spending roughly $10 billion a year on all aspects of missile defense, the Pentagon's costliest annual outlay for an arms development program. (12/6)

India’s Radar Imaging Satellite Planned by ’09 (Source: The Statesman)
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will launch a Radar Imaging Satellite (RIS) into orbit by the end of 2009. The satellite will enable India and other Asian countries to get images of any part of the world even during the monsoons and after sunset. The satellite will also be helpful for security agencies in the country to easily locate areas where terrorists carry out their activities after sunset. (12/6)

Hubble Unlikely to Delay Ares (Source: Huntsville Times)
NASA's scheduling of the Hubble Space Telescope repair mission for mid-May should not delay the first test flight of the Ares I-X, the space agency's new rocket prototype, according to a spokeswoman for Marshall Space Flight Center. Marshall is working to launch the Ares I-X test flight from Florida no sooner than July 11. Delays to the Hubble mission affect the Ares test flight because one of the Kennedy Space Center's launch pads has to be modified to support the Ares rocket, which is lighter and taller than the space shuttle. (12/6)

Obama Pledges Public Works on a Vast Scale (Source: New York Times)
President-elect Barack Obama promised Saturday to create the largest public works construction program since the inception of the interstate highway system a half century ago as he seeks to put together a plan to resuscitate the reeling economy. With jobs evaporating and the recession deepening, Mr. Obama began highlighting elements of the economic recovery program he is trying to fashion with Congressional leaders in hopes of being able to enact it shortly after being sworn in on Jan. 20.

Mr. Obama’s remarks showcased his ambition to expand the definition of traditional work programs for the middle class, like infrastructure projects to repair roads and bridges, to include new-era jobs in technology and so-called green jobs that reduce energy use and global warming emissions. “We need action — and action now,” Mr. Obama said in an address broadcast Saturday morning on radio and YouTube. Mr. Obama’s plan, if enacted, would be in part a government-directed industrial policy, with lawmakers and administration officials picking winners and losers among private projects and raining large amounts of taxpayer money on them. Editor's Note: Will space be included? Stay tuned. (12/6)

Let the Sun Shine In (Source: The Economist)
Satellites that beam solar power to earth have often appeared in science fiction. Will they ever become reality? The concept for space solar power (SSP) has a small but growing number of adherents. The basic idea is simple. Light from the sun is the most abundant and cleanest source of energy available in the solar system. Around the clock, 1.3 gigawatts of energy pour through every square kilometre of space around the earth. This energy could be captured by vast arrays of photovoltaic cells mounted on a satellite in orbit around the planet. These solar cells would be illuminated at all times of day, whatever the weather or the season, overcoming one of the main drawbacks of solar power on the earth’s surface. And with no atmosphere in the way to absorb or scatter the incoming sunlight, solar panels in space would produce over five times as much energy as those on the ground. (12/6)

Space Solar Power Pitched as Solution for Energy Independence & Climate Change (Source: SpaceRef.com)
A National Security Space Office (NSSO) study concluded in Oct. 2007 that "The magnitude of the looming energy and environmental problems is significant enough to warrant consideration of all options, to include ... space-based solar power." This NSSO report also concluded that SSP has "enormous potential for energy security, economic development, improved environmental stewardship, advancement of general space faring, and overall national security for those nations who construct and possess a (SSP) capability."

We urge the next President of the United States to include SSP as a new start in a balanced federal strategy for energy independence and environmental stewardship, and to assign lead responsibility to a U.S. federal agency. Visit http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=30044 to view the article. (12/6)

Mixed Messages From NASA on Parabolic Flight Commercialization (Source: NASA Watch)
Although NASA's Mike Griffin has announced that NASA is moving 100% of their parabolic flights from their own aircraft to Zero-G's 727", the agency has released a solicitation notice on Dec. 5 from JSC which states "The Aircraft Operations Division (AOD) currently uses a DC-9 aircraft to support the Reduced Gravity Program at the Johnson Space Center. The members of the Division's aircrew, who fly the DC-9, have all completed the required DC-9 initial transition training. The objective is to acquire DC-9 aircrew refresher training. This training shall thoroughly cover aircraft systems, operational procedures, normal/abnormal procedures, and systems integration for the DC-9 aircraft." (12/6)