Does "Project Odyssey" Make Sense? (Source: Lurio Report)
In Florida, accusations have been flying that an employee of the Governor's Office improperly took advantage of his position with the recent creation of “Project Odyssey,” a partnership between Space Florida and the Andrews Institute to create a commercial spaceflight training and screening program. Among other things, Andrews caters to professional athletes trying stretch their performance. But there is a more fundamental question than the ‘scandal’: Was the creation of this partnership a good investment for the state of Florida? Or is it premature and/or redundant?
Virgin Galactic passengers are being screened and trained (including being spun in a centrifuge) at the NASTAR Center in Pennsylvania. Similarly, those flying on XCOR’s Lynx will go through a screening/training program including a session held at an Arizona resort. That process culminates in an acrobatic plane flight which applies g-forces like those experienced on the Lynx. Particularly given the early state of industry development, what added value does the Florida program provide that these programs don’t?
I posed this question to Deb Spicer, a spokesperson for Space Florida. Her basic answer was that the Andrews Institute would be able to go beyond screening and offer a regimen to get people into shape to fly, and Andrews' other high-net-worth clients are in an adventure-seeking demographic so could become spaceflight customers. No private passengers have yet flown on suborbital vehicles, and those vehicles are at least a year or so from starting operations. Sooner or later there may indeed be a market for the suite of services of “Project Odyssey.” I do not have a crystal ball, but for now I remain concerned about the utility of that effort. (2/1)
Time, Like the Rockets, Flies By (Source: Lompoc Record)
Activity at what is now Vandenberg Air Force Base's busiest launch pad was once so slow that an aerospace firm had to hunt hard for other projects to keep workers on the job, some long-time employees recall. Today that's not a concern at SLC-2, the West Coast home of the United Launch Alliance's Delta 2 rocket, which marks 20 years of flight this month. The rocket's first liftoff on Feb. 14, 1989, from Florida was followed by 138 more on both East and West Coasts. Number 140 is scheduled between 2:22 and 2:32 a.m. Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base. (2/1)
Obama Offers NASA $150 Million for NextGen (Source: Flight Global)
NASA's work on the US air transport industry's NextGen air traffic control system could see its annual budget more than doubled if President Barack Obama's fiscal stimulus bill is passed. The 2009 budget was to spend $74.6 million on NextGen. NASA declines to comment on a proposed $150 million addition until the recovery bill becomes law. The space agency co-operates with the FAA on NextGen's development, with publication date for the FAA's new implementation plan set for 30 January. (2/1)
Giant Worlds Collide With Ours in San Diego (Source: San Diego Union-Tribune)
Far, far away is a quartet of planets that rarely attract much sustained public interest – the outer worlds of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Even Pluto – still farther away and technically not even a planet – gets more ink. But that's changing. In this, the International Year of Astronomy, Jupiter and company find themselves much more on the minds of scientists, stargazers and San Diegans, the last able to visit the planets – metaphorically at least – in a new exhibit that opened yesterday at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.
The 3,500-square-foot national traveling show, dubbed “Giant Worlds,” is making its West Coast debut at the Fleet, where it will run through May 3. The local exhibition consists of 20 distinctive elements, including interactive games, models, murals and the latest NASA photography. Nothing is to scale, of course. The subjects are simply too big and too far away. (2/1)
Uncertain Future for Delta 2 (Source: Santa Maria Times)
The Delta 2 rocket has a busy schedule planned for the next two years, but beyond that its launch rate is set to slow down dramatically. The slowdown is blamed on the fact that fewer medium-sized satellites — which Delta 2 rockets carry to space — are being built. “For sure, ULA is in the medium market to stay,” said Rick Navarro, ULA director of Delta 2 programs. “The solution ULA will have to the medium-market needs will be market-driven. Right now, the market forecasts that we’re seeing don’t justify anything other than slowly building and slowly launching the last remaining Deltas. But if the market picks up, we’ll look at other solutions.”
Instead of a launch rate of between four and six missions for medium-size satellites annually, the future so far calls for just one blastoff a year. It comes down to simple economics. Building one rocket a year means the individual booster would cost more than if the manufacturing plant was pumping out multiple vehicles annually. ULA officials dispute reports that the booster will be retired because the Air Force no longer intends to use Delta 2. NASA also remains a potential customer, but Delta 2 would have to compete against future rockets such as the Orbital Sciences Corp. Taurus 2 and Space Exploration Technologies Falcon 9. Neither of those new rockets have flown yet, but their manufacturers say they’ll be less expensive than Delta. (2/1)
Apollo 10 Astronauts Come to Santa Rosa (Source: Santa Rosa Press Democrat)
They belong to the rarest of clubs, the handful of people who have flown to the moon and looked back to see the Earth in all its fullness and fragility. More than 650 people gathered to meet Cernan and fellow astronaut Tom Stafford, his commander aboard Apollo 10, at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa on Saturday. They were there to touch greatness and to reach back through history. “It’s almost beyond words to describe it,” a beaming Erich Reinstadler, 35, a space exploration buff from Petaluma, said after shaking hands with the two astronauts. “Just a huge honor.” (2/1)
SpaceX Gets Environmental OK for Falcon Launches in Florida (Source: Parabolic Arc)
The FAA has given its OK for SpaceX to launch Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. According to the FAA document, SpaceX is proposing to launch Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 vehicles and the Dragon reentry capsule from the spaceport. Locations in the Atlantic Ocean (off the east coast of Florida), the Pacific Ocean (off the coast of California), and the equatorial Pacific (near the Marshall Islands) are being considered as Dragon capsule recovery zones. Click here to view the article and to read the FAA Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). Editor's Note: SpaceX has not publicly revealed any plans to launch the Falcon 1 from Florida. (2/1)
January 31 News Items
Virginia Spaceport Facelift Underway (Source: DelMarVaNow.com)
Infrastructure improvements are under way at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in preparation for Orbital Sciences Corp.'s planned demonstration flight in late 2010 of a new rocket system designed to supply cargo to the International Space Station. "We're beginning the process of developing the infrastructure at the launch site," said an Orbital Sciences official. The project is still in its early stages, but with a launch set for late 2010, it is anticipated all improvements should be in place by early fall that year.
A gantry at the launch site has been torn down to make way for a new launch pad, NASA officials said. Work is nearing completion on the design of the launch pad, which must accommodate liquid fueled rockets as opposed to the solid fueled rockets previously launched there. Designs for a new horizontal integration facility and for a road to connect the facility to the launch pad are also nearing completion, NASA officials said. The building is where the stages of the new rocket, which will use a combination of four different fuels, will be put together horizontally. Previous rockets launched from the spaceport have been stacked vertically. (1/31)
Is There a Planet X in Our Solar System? (Source: New Scientist)
Lurking in the solar system's dark recesses, rumour has it, is an unsighted world - Planet X, a frozen body perhaps as large as Mars, or even Earth. Studies of the Kuiper belt have suggested the planet's existence. Some Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) travel in extremely elongated orbits around the sun. Others have steep orbits almost at right angles to the orbits of all the major planets. "Those could be signs of perturbation from a massive distant object," says Robert Jedicke, a solar system scientist at the University of Hawaii.
Over the past 20 years, huge swaths of the sky have been searched for slowly moving bodies, and well over 1000 KBOs found. But these wide-area surveys can spot only large, bright objects; longer-exposure surveys that can find smaller, dimmer objects cover only small areas of the sky. A Mars-sized object at a distance of, say, 100 Astronomical Units (AU) would be so faint that it could easily have escaped detection. One AU represents the distance between the Earth an the Sun.
That could soon change. In December 2008, the first prototype of the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) was brought into service in Hawaii. Soon, four telescopes - equipped with the world's largest digital cameras, at 1.4 billion pixels apiece - will search the skies for anything that blinks or moves. Its main purpose is to look out for potentially hazardous asteroids bound for Earth, but inhabitants of the outer solar system will not escape its all-seeing eyes. (1/31)
New Mexico 'Chileworks' To Focus on Operationally Responsive Satellites (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon's Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) office is seeking to set up a permanent workshop and warehouse in New Mexico where it can rapidly assemble satellites in response to urgent needs. The ORS office's Rapid Small Satellite Assembly Facility, nicknamed Chileworks, will be focused on building spacecraft in a matter of days, ORS Director Peter Wegner said in an interview. Wegner described his vision for Chileworks as analogous to a U-2 reconnaissance wing, where dedicated professionals are trained and ready to assemble the appropriate platforms and payloads to meet specific needs. The office hopes to award one overarching systems engineering and integration contract this year. (1/31)
U.S. Firm Has Big Plans for Selling Radar Imagery Abroad (Source: Space News)
A U.S.-based start-up company that claims to have major, unidentified investors in the Middle East and North Africa has contracted to spend more than $200 million over 10 years to access Italy's civil-military Cosmo-SkyMed radar satellite constellation before it buys two radar satellites of its own. The company, 4C Controls Inc. of New Jersey, expects to use the Cosmo-SkyMed imagery to serve its customers immediately before purchasing two high-resolution X-band radar spacecraft from Thales Alenia Space of France and Italy. (1/31)
Firm Seeks Payout for Payload That Survived Columbia (Source: Space News)
Six years after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, a commercial space company is fighting NASA for $8 million in compensation for a biomedical experiment that crash-landed in a Texas parking lot. Without that compensation the company, Instrumentation Technology Associates (ITA), will be forced to give up promising cancer research, according to ITA's president. ITA's shuttle payload was experimental hardware designed to grow high-quality urokinase crystals. ITA had been studying urokinase, an enzyme that plays a key role in cancer metastasis, for 14 years through ground-based studies and research in space.
After analyzing the results of previous experiments, ITA officials determined that a longer period in microgravity and an extremely pure protein solution were needed to achieve the goal of growing crystals so large that scientists would be able to create a 3-D model of the molecule. In addition to the $8 million claim related to Columbia, ITA claims NASA owes the company approximately $12 million because the space agency failed to honor a 1996 agreement to carry ITA payloads on multiple shuttle flights. Spacehab, another company that lost equipment on the Columbia flight, received $8.2 million in compensation from NASA for the loss of a pressurized research module destroyed in the accident. (1/31)
Navy Solicits Bids for Payload to Fill Potential UHF Gap (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Navy has issued a final request for proposals to build an Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) communications payload that will launch aboard a commercial communications satellite around 2012 to mitigate a potential gap in coverage. Meanwhile, the Australian military is pursuing a similar procurement, according to industry sources. The Navy is concerned its current UHF satellite communications capabilities — primarily the UHF Follow-On constellation — are deteriorating and may not provide adequate service until the next-generation Mobile User Objective System constellation is operational. (1/31)
Europe Renews Interest in Microgravity Research (Source: Space News)
With fresh money from its member governments and an apparently renewed enthusiasm among Europe's microgravity scientists, the European Space Agency (ESA) expects to send out requests for ideas by midyear on how to use Europe's Columbus laboratory module in the coming years. The arrival of Columbus to the international space station in February 2008, and the successful docking and undocking of Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) cargo carrier, have rekindled enthusiasm for microgravity experiments. "What we have seen is a rapid increase in the number of experiment proposals compared to several years ago," said an ESA official.
ESA governments in November agreed to spend 285 million euros ($370.3 million) on microgravity missions between 2009 and 2011. In addition to funding hardware to be sent to the space station, the money will pay for parabolic flights of candidate experiments aboard Europe's Airbus 300 Zero-G jet aircraft, and for other ground-based experiment settings. (1/31)
Infrastructure improvements are under way at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in preparation for Orbital Sciences Corp.'s planned demonstration flight in late 2010 of a new rocket system designed to supply cargo to the International Space Station. "We're beginning the process of developing the infrastructure at the launch site," said an Orbital Sciences official. The project is still in its early stages, but with a launch set for late 2010, it is anticipated all improvements should be in place by early fall that year.
A gantry at the launch site has been torn down to make way for a new launch pad, NASA officials said. Work is nearing completion on the design of the launch pad, which must accommodate liquid fueled rockets as opposed to the solid fueled rockets previously launched there. Designs for a new horizontal integration facility and for a road to connect the facility to the launch pad are also nearing completion, NASA officials said. The building is where the stages of the new rocket, which will use a combination of four different fuels, will be put together horizontally. Previous rockets launched from the spaceport have been stacked vertically. (1/31)
Is There a Planet X in Our Solar System? (Source: New Scientist)
Lurking in the solar system's dark recesses, rumour has it, is an unsighted world - Planet X, a frozen body perhaps as large as Mars, or even Earth. Studies of the Kuiper belt have suggested the planet's existence. Some Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) travel in extremely elongated orbits around the sun. Others have steep orbits almost at right angles to the orbits of all the major planets. "Those could be signs of perturbation from a massive distant object," says Robert Jedicke, a solar system scientist at the University of Hawaii.
Over the past 20 years, huge swaths of the sky have been searched for slowly moving bodies, and well over 1000 KBOs found. But these wide-area surveys can spot only large, bright objects; longer-exposure surveys that can find smaller, dimmer objects cover only small areas of the sky. A Mars-sized object at a distance of, say, 100 Astronomical Units (AU) would be so faint that it could easily have escaped detection. One AU represents the distance between the Earth an the Sun.
That could soon change. In December 2008, the first prototype of the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) was brought into service in Hawaii. Soon, four telescopes - equipped with the world's largest digital cameras, at 1.4 billion pixels apiece - will search the skies for anything that blinks or moves. Its main purpose is to look out for potentially hazardous asteroids bound for Earth, but inhabitants of the outer solar system will not escape its all-seeing eyes. (1/31)
New Mexico 'Chileworks' To Focus on Operationally Responsive Satellites (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon's Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) office is seeking to set up a permanent workshop and warehouse in New Mexico where it can rapidly assemble satellites in response to urgent needs. The ORS office's Rapid Small Satellite Assembly Facility, nicknamed Chileworks, will be focused on building spacecraft in a matter of days, ORS Director Peter Wegner said in an interview. Wegner described his vision for Chileworks as analogous to a U-2 reconnaissance wing, where dedicated professionals are trained and ready to assemble the appropriate platforms and payloads to meet specific needs. The office hopes to award one overarching systems engineering and integration contract this year. (1/31)
U.S. Firm Has Big Plans for Selling Radar Imagery Abroad (Source: Space News)
A U.S.-based start-up company that claims to have major, unidentified investors in the Middle East and North Africa has contracted to spend more than $200 million over 10 years to access Italy's civil-military Cosmo-SkyMed radar satellite constellation before it buys two radar satellites of its own. The company, 4C Controls Inc. of New Jersey, expects to use the Cosmo-SkyMed imagery to serve its customers immediately before purchasing two high-resolution X-band radar spacecraft from Thales Alenia Space of France and Italy. (1/31)
Firm Seeks Payout for Payload That Survived Columbia (Source: Space News)
Six years after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, a commercial space company is fighting NASA for $8 million in compensation for a biomedical experiment that crash-landed in a Texas parking lot. Without that compensation the company, Instrumentation Technology Associates (ITA), will be forced to give up promising cancer research, according to ITA's president. ITA's shuttle payload was experimental hardware designed to grow high-quality urokinase crystals. ITA had been studying urokinase, an enzyme that plays a key role in cancer metastasis, for 14 years through ground-based studies and research in space.
After analyzing the results of previous experiments, ITA officials determined that a longer period in microgravity and an extremely pure protein solution were needed to achieve the goal of growing crystals so large that scientists would be able to create a 3-D model of the molecule. In addition to the $8 million claim related to Columbia, ITA claims NASA owes the company approximately $12 million because the space agency failed to honor a 1996 agreement to carry ITA payloads on multiple shuttle flights. Spacehab, another company that lost equipment on the Columbia flight, received $8.2 million in compensation from NASA for the loss of a pressurized research module destroyed in the accident. (1/31)
Navy Solicits Bids for Payload to Fill Potential UHF Gap (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Navy has issued a final request for proposals to build an Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) communications payload that will launch aboard a commercial communications satellite around 2012 to mitigate a potential gap in coverage. Meanwhile, the Australian military is pursuing a similar procurement, according to industry sources. The Navy is concerned its current UHF satellite communications capabilities — primarily the UHF Follow-On constellation — are deteriorating and may not provide adequate service until the next-generation Mobile User Objective System constellation is operational. (1/31)
Europe Renews Interest in Microgravity Research (Source: Space News)
With fresh money from its member governments and an apparently renewed enthusiasm among Europe's microgravity scientists, the European Space Agency (ESA) expects to send out requests for ideas by midyear on how to use Europe's Columbus laboratory module in the coming years. The arrival of Columbus to the international space station in February 2008, and the successful docking and undocking of Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) cargo carrier, have rekindled enthusiasm for microgravity experiments. "What we have seen is a rapid increase in the number of experiment proposals compared to several years ago," said an ESA official.
ESA governments in November agreed to spend 285 million euros ($370.3 million) on microgravity missions between 2009 and 2011. In addition to funding hardware to be sent to the space station, the money will pay for parabolic flights of candidate experiments aboard Europe's Airbus 300 Zero-G jet aircraft, and for other ground-based experiment settings. (1/31)
January 30 News Items
International Space Conference in Orlando on May 28-31 (Source: ERAU)
The 2009 International Space Development Conference, the annual conference of the National Space Society, will be held in Orlando on May 28-31. Thanks to an amazing effort from friends and members of the three Florida-based NSS chapters, the NSS Board of Directors chose Orlando over a fantastic rival bid from Toronto, Canada. The location will be the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate. Mark your calendars, and visit http://nssflorida.org/isdc-2009/ for information. (1/30)
Another Retired General Named as Possible NASA Administrator (Source: NASA Watch)
I keep hearing the name Lester Lyles mentioned as a possible choice for NASA Administrator. He was a senior Obama campaign advisor, served on the President's Commission on U.S. Space Policy, has extensive space experience from his days in the USAF, is participating in the ongoing NAS study "Rationale and Goals of the U.S. Civil Space Program", and is also a member of the NASA Advisory Council. Unlike Scott Gration, Lyles has obvious space creds. His bio is posted at http://www.af.mil/bios/bio.asp?bioID=6259 (1/30)
California Rocket Club Offers Mini Grants for Payloads (Source: SEF SpaceWorks)
The Aeropac Rocket Club of northern California (Aeropac.org) is providing mini grants to education organizations to build and deliver payloads for their ARLISS events (ARLISS.org) for launches in June and September of this year. These $2,500 mini grants are given directly to the supporting faculty member to encourage the development of payloads by students and to fly them on the rockets they launch in the Black Rock desert in the north east corner of Nevada. These grants will not pay the total cost of the mission. There are travel expenses and the cost of the motors for the rocket flight. The motor costs are $145-$400. If you are interested, please send an email to mailto:Bob.Twiggs@SEFSpaceworks.com. We would hope that there would be other interested donors out there that would provide additional grants or sponsor their favorite education group. (1/29)
California Aerospace History Project Launched (Source: CSA)
Southern California as we know it would not exist without aerospace. For much of the twentieth century aerospace was the primary economic driver of Southern California’s growth, transforming southern California from sunbelt orange groves to high-tech metropolis. The Aerospace History Project is actively pursuing archival material and oral histories to create a center for aerospace history in Southern California, and promote research into this vital aspect of history. The project is a major initiative of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West (ICW). Please see the ICW website (www.usc.edu/icw) for announcements of new acquisitions, or contact Peter Westwick (mailto:westwick@history.ucsb.edu) for more information. (1/30)
Securing Space - Opportunities for President Obama on Space Security (Source: Weekly Standard)
As Washington remains engulfed in discussion over expected foreign policy shifts on hot-button issues like Iran and Afghanistan, one critical policy area that is primed for far-reaching modifications, yet receiving little attention, is the future of U.S. space security. Critics of the Bush administration charge that his approach was as unproductive as it was controversial. The U.S. National Space Policy of 2006, including its dismissal of any legal regime to limit U.S. action in space contributed to an unnecessarily hostile approach to space security that has only served to make us less safe.
Thus, it's likely that the Obama administration will make a significant departure from the policies the Bush administration pursued. While recognizing the strategic importance of space, President Obama has chosen to offer the solution of an international treaty banning space weapons, or at the very least a discussion of "rules of the road" for space, as the solution for securing the nation's space assets. The feasibility of this policy and its desirability for U.S. interests has been widely questioned. (1/30)
Russia Makes First Space Launch of 2009 (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia has successfully launched its first carrier rocket of 2009, putting a Coronas-Photon research satellite into orbit. The launch of the Cyclone-3 rocket from the Plesetsk spaceport in northwest Russia had been scheduled for Thursday, but was delayed by a day for technical reasons. The Coronas-Photon satellite, designed to study solar processes, is the third of three to study the Sun from near-Earth orbit. It will investigate the processes of free energy accumulation in the sun's atmosphere, accelerated particle phenomena and solar flares, and the correlation between solar activity and magnetic storms on Earth. (1/30)
Honeywell Profit Rises on Lower Costs (Source: AP)
Honeywell's quarterly earnings rose 2.6 percent, helped by lower costs that offset weaker sales in most of its divisions. Fourth-quarter net income totaled $707 million. A year earlier, it earned $689 million. Revenue dropped 6 percent to $8.7 billion down in all but one of the company's four segments. (1/30)
‘De-Stalinizing’ NASA? (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
For months we have reported that there was dissent being stifled inside NASA, particularly when it comes to the new Constellation Program that is supposed to return astronauts to the moon. NASA and former Administrator Mike Griffin staunchly denied the reports, saying that employees had ways to direct their complaints or ideas, and that there was no such effort to muzzle criticism. Well, Mike is gone now and a reassessment appears to be taking place.
Take a look at the latest blog by Wayne Hale, an associate administrator. The point of his post is that despite NASA's efforts to create an open environment, the culture of suppression continues. He posted this video dramatizing how NASA managers squash ideas that run counter to prevailing policy decisions. Interesting that the subject the actors are wrestling with involves a flawed space ship and ways to improve it. Where will this lead? A rethink of Ares I? An extreme agency makeover? It will be interesting to see who is watching and what they do about it. (1/30)
University Payloads Launched Through Alaskan Aurora (Source: UAF
After days of waiting for precise aurora conditions, a team from the University of Iowa finally saw the launch of its two scientific sounding rockets from Poker Flat Research Range. The NASA rockets launched Jan. 29 and flew through an auroral curtain, collecting data throughout their flights. Scientists aim to gain a clearer picture of aurora structure by simultaneously collecting data from both the top and bottom edges of an auroral arc. To get the data, two rockets were launched. A two-stage Black Brant IX launched at 12:49 a.m. and reached an altitude of more than 226 miles. The rocket flew for just under 10 minutes. At 12:50 a.m., a single-stage Black Brant V launched, reaching an altitude of nearly 83 vertical miles, flying for roughly eight minutes. (1/30)
Embry-Riddle Supports Aviation Merit Badge at Orlando Science Center on May 9 (Source: ERAU)
Boy Scout Days at the Orlando Science Center are designed to assist Scouts in fulfilling recognition requirements. Each day includes full admission to the Science Center, reserved seating for a giant-screen film in the Dr. Phillips CineDome and a workshop. Workshops usually run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and more complicated subjects may extend workshop time. Embry-Riddle is supporting a May 9 event where scouts can earn their Aviation Merit Badge. Click here for information. (1/30)
Florida's Aerospace Agency Flounders (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Florida legislative auditors said Space Florida has yet to spell out what it wants to do -- and how it intends to accomplish its mission -- and recommended that lawmakers freeze spending until the agency does so. The report, written in typical low-key auditor style, added, "In the absence of a spaceport master plan, it is difficult for the Legislature to assess how Space Florida's efforts to improve various launch facilities will be expected to contribute to its overall mission of retaining and expanding Florida's space industry."
But several legislators saw the report as damning -- and an indication that the $14.5 million they appropriated to rebuild Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was in danger of being wasted. "It's essential that we get to the bottom of this," said Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Indialantic, a budget writer who is in line to be Senate president in 2010. "If they can't improve it, we need to figure out some way to do it better." Money for a rebuilt launchpad, intended to lure commercial ventures, has failed to attract a company willing to launch there. And the study found "there is some disagreement over the feasibility" of plans to have one pad serve different rockets.
Many engineers consider a common launchpad a bad idea. Configuration of service towers, fueling systems and pad clearances vary depending on the size and type of fuel used by a rocket, they say. Rocket-company executives also worry about potential conflicts with other users of a shared pad. That's one reason that Space X, the largest new commercial spaceflight company launching in Florida, uses a pad it leases directly from the Air Force. Click here to view the article. (1/30)
Group Wants Retired Orbiter in Brevard (Source: Florida Today)
A grass-roots group has launched a bid to make certain that either Atlantis, Discovery or Endeavour roosts in retirement at Kennedy Space Center. Museums nationwide are aiming to display one of the agency's three spaceships. The Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C., likely will have first dibs. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, is expected to compete, too. So is The Museum of Flight in Seattle and perhaps NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and Marshall Space Flight Center in Hunstville, not to mention the city of Palmdale, Calif., where the orbiters were built.
"It's clear that everyone thinks it would be an absolute sin if we did not have a space shuttle here for display," said Jim Banke, who is organizing the local effort. "And we absolutely cannot take for granted that we are going to get one. We can't just assume that one of them is automatically ours." Former KSC directors Jay Honeycutt, Jim Kennedy and Bob Crippen -- the latter a former astronaut who piloted Columbia on its maiden voyage in 1981 -- are involved in the bid to bring one of the birds to a final perch at KSC.
NASA officials at KSC will submit a proposal by March 17, and the group will meet in mid-February to form a publicity campaign. The idea is to display an orbiter at the KSC Visitor Complex, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Florida. "We think that we've got a nice place to display the shuttle and to tell the story of the shuttle program," said Lisa Malone, director of external relations at KSC. "It's an important story to tell, and it makes sense to have one of the orbiters at the launch site." (1/30)
Embry-Riddle Space Activities Hightlight National Engineers Week Feb. 16-21 (Source: ERAU)
National Engineers Week at Embry-Riddle will include the author of SpaceShipOne, Dan Linehan; an Embry-Riddle alumna and current NASA Astronaut, Nicole Stott; a student poster session; and a water rocket competition. Linehan will speak on Feb. 17 at 6:45 pm, and Stott will speak on Feb. 20 at 6:00 pm. The water rocket competition will be held on Feb. 21. All events are open to the public and all events except a Saturday banquet are free. Contact Lisa Davids at mailto:lisa.davids@erau.edu for information. (1/30)
Economics of the California Space Center (Source: Santa Maria Times)
As the news of the recession continues to fill the pages of this newspaper, we were pleased about the recent announcement by Col. David Buck, 30th Space Wing Commander, that he will work toward completion of the negotiations for the lease of land by the California Space Center (CSC) from the Air Force. The CSC is a large project that includes a Visitor Center, a Mission Support Complex, Adult Education and Conference Center and a Youth Education Center. The economic impact to the North County is far-reaching. After the lease is granted, construction of the center will begin in three phases. The center is expected to be completed within 10 years, at a total cost of $174.9 million.
Direct jobs created by the project are estimated at 1,713, along with another 1,281 indirect jobs. During the construction phase — 2009-17 — the total impact is projected to hit nearly $320 million. Ongoing economic impacts from the operations are in the neighborhood of $2 billion annually. All of this money is going to help our depleting tax coffers, too. Federal, state and local tax revenues are projected at $235 million. (1/30)
The 2009 International Space Development Conference, the annual conference of the National Space Society, will be held in Orlando on May 28-31. Thanks to an amazing effort from friends and members of the three Florida-based NSS chapters, the NSS Board of Directors chose Orlando over a fantastic rival bid from Toronto, Canada. The location will be the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate. Mark your calendars, and visit http://nssflorida.org/isdc-2009/ for information. (1/30)
Another Retired General Named as Possible NASA Administrator (Source: NASA Watch)
I keep hearing the name Lester Lyles mentioned as a possible choice for NASA Administrator. He was a senior Obama campaign advisor, served on the President's Commission on U.S. Space Policy, has extensive space experience from his days in the USAF, is participating in the ongoing NAS study "Rationale and Goals of the U.S. Civil Space Program", and is also a member of the NASA Advisory Council. Unlike Scott Gration, Lyles has obvious space creds. His bio is posted at http://www.af.mil/bios/bio.asp?bioID=6259 (1/30)
California Rocket Club Offers Mini Grants for Payloads (Source: SEF SpaceWorks)
The Aeropac Rocket Club of northern California (Aeropac.org) is providing mini grants to education organizations to build and deliver payloads for their ARLISS events (ARLISS.org) for launches in June and September of this year. These $2,500 mini grants are given directly to the supporting faculty member to encourage the development of payloads by students and to fly them on the rockets they launch in the Black Rock desert in the north east corner of Nevada. These grants will not pay the total cost of the mission. There are travel expenses and the cost of the motors for the rocket flight. The motor costs are $145-$400. If you are interested, please send an email to mailto:Bob.Twiggs@SEFSpaceworks.com. We would hope that there would be other interested donors out there that would provide additional grants or sponsor their favorite education group. (1/29)
California Aerospace History Project Launched (Source: CSA)
Southern California as we know it would not exist without aerospace. For much of the twentieth century aerospace was the primary economic driver of Southern California’s growth, transforming southern California from sunbelt orange groves to high-tech metropolis. The Aerospace History Project is actively pursuing archival material and oral histories to create a center for aerospace history in Southern California, and promote research into this vital aspect of history. The project is a major initiative of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West (ICW). Please see the ICW website (www.usc.edu/icw) for announcements of new acquisitions, or contact Peter Westwick (mailto:westwick@history.ucsb.edu) for more information. (1/30)
Securing Space - Opportunities for President Obama on Space Security (Source: Weekly Standard)
As Washington remains engulfed in discussion over expected foreign policy shifts on hot-button issues like Iran and Afghanistan, one critical policy area that is primed for far-reaching modifications, yet receiving little attention, is the future of U.S. space security. Critics of the Bush administration charge that his approach was as unproductive as it was controversial. The U.S. National Space Policy of 2006, including its dismissal of any legal regime to limit U.S. action in space contributed to an unnecessarily hostile approach to space security that has only served to make us less safe.
Thus, it's likely that the Obama administration will make a significant departure from the policies the Bush administration pursued. While recognizing the strategic importance of space, President Obama has chosen to offer the solution of an international treaty banning space weapons, or at the very least a discussion of "rules of the road" for space, as the solution for securing the nation's space assets. The feasibility of this policy and its desirability for U.S. interests has been widely questioned. (1/30)
Russia Makes First Space Launch of 2009 (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia has successfully launched its first carrier rocket of 2009, putting a Coronas-Photon research satellite into orbit. The launch of the Cyclone-3 rocket from the Plesetsk spaceport in northwest Russia had been scheduled for Thursday, but was delayed by a day for technical reasons. The Coronas-Photon satellite, designed to study solar processes, is the third of three to study the Sun from near-Earth orbit. It will investigate the processes of free energy accumulation in the sun's atmosphere, accelerated particle phenomena and solar flares, and the correlation between solar activity and magnetic storms on Earth. (1/30)
Honeywell Profit Rises on Lower Costs (Source: AP)
Honeywell's quarterly earnings rose 2.6 percent, helped by lower costs that offset weaker sales in most of its divisions. Fourth-quarter net income totaled $707 million. A year earlier, it earned $689 million. Revenue dropped 6 percent to $8.7 billion down in all but one of the company's four segments. (1/30)
‘De-Stalinizing’ NASA? (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
For months we have reported that there was dissent being stifled inside NASA, particularly when it comes to the new Constellation Program that is supposed to return astronauts to the moon. NASA and former Administrator Mike Griffin staunchly denied the reports, saying that employees had ways to direct their complaints or ideas, and that there was no such effort to muzzle criticism. Well, Mike is gone now and a reassessment appears to be taking place.
Take a look at the latest blog by Wayne Hale, an associate administrator. The point of his post is that despite NASA's efforts to create an open environment, the culture of suppression continues. He posted this video dramatizing how NASA managers squash ideas that run counter to prevailing policy decisions. Interesting that the subject the actors are wrestling with involves a flawed space ship and ways to improve it. Where will this lead? A rethink of Ares I? An extreme agency makeover? It will be interesting to see who is watching and what they do about it. (1/30)
University Payloads Launched Through Alaskan Aurora (Source: UAF
After days of waiting for precise aurora conditions, a team from the University of Iowa finally saw the launch of its two scientific sounding rockets from Poker Flat Research Range. The NASA rockets launched Jan. 29 and flew through an auroral curtain, collecting data throughout their flights. Scientists aim to gain a clearer picture of aurora structure by simultaneously collecting data from both the top and bottom edges of an auroral arc. To get the data, two rockets were launched. A two-stage Black Brant IX launched at 12:49 a.m. and reached an altitude of more than 226 miles. The rocket flew for just under 10 minutes. At 12:50 a.m., a single-stage Black Brant V launched, reaching an altitude of nearly 83 vertical miles, flying for roughly eight minutes. (1/30)
Embry-Riddle Supports Aviation Merit Badge at Orlando Science Center on May 9 (Source: ERAU)
Boy Scout Days at the Orlando Science Center are designed to assist Scouts in fulfilling recognition requirements. Each day includes full admission to the Science Center, reserved seating for a giant-screen film in the Dr. Phillips CineDome and a workshop. Workshops usually run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and more complicated subjects may extend workshop time. Embry-Riddle is supporting a May 9 event where scouts can earn their Aviation Merit Badge. Click here for information. (1/30)
Florida's Aerospace Agency Flounders (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Florida legislative auditors said Space Florida has yet to spell out what it wants to do -- and how it intends to accomplish its mission -- and recommended that lawmakers freeze spending until the agency does so. The report, written in typical low-key auditor style, added, "In the absence of a spaceport master plan, it is difficult for the Legislature to assess how Space Florida's efforts to improve various launch facilities will be expected to contribute to its overall mission of retaining and expanding Florida's space industry."
But several legislators saw the report as damning -- and an indication that the $14.5 million they appropriated to rebuild Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was in danger of being wasted. "It's essential that we get to the bottom of this," said Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Indialantic, a budget writer who is in line to be Senate president in 2010. "If they can't improve it, we need to figure out some way to do it better." Money for a rebuilt launchpad, intended to lure commercial ventures, has failed to attract a company willing to launch there. And the study found "there is some disagreement over the feasibility" of plans to have one pad serve different rockets.
Many engineers consider a common launchpad a bad idea. Configuration of service towers, fueling systems and pad clearances vary depending on the size and type of fuel used by a rocket, they say. Rocket-company executives also worry about potential conflicts with other users of a shared pad. That's one reason that Space X, the largest new commercial spaceflight company launching in Florida, uses a pad it leases directly from the Air Force. Click here to view the article. (1/30)
Group Wants Retired Orbiter in Brevard (Source: Florida Today)
A grass-roots group has launched a bid to make certain that either Atlantis, Discovery or Endeavour roosts in retirement at Kennedy Space Center. Museums nationwide are aiming to display one of the agency's three spaceships. The Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C., likely will have first dibs. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, is expected to compete, too. So is The Museum of Flight in Seattle and perhaps NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and Marshall Space Flight Center in Hunstville, not to mention the city of Palmdale, Calif., where the orbiters were built.
"It's clear that everyone thinks it would be an absolute sin if we did not have a space shuttle here for display," said Jim Banke, who is organizing the local effort. "And we absolutely cannot take for granted that we are going to get one. We can't just assume that one of them is automatically ours." Former KSC directors Jay Honeycutt, Jim Kennedy and Bob Crippen -- the latter a former astronaut who piloted Columbia on its maiden voyage in 1981 -- are involved in the bid to bring one of the birds to a final perch at KSC.
NASA officials at KSC will submit a proposal by March 17, and the group will meet in mid-February to form a publicity campaign. The idea is to display an orbiter at the KSC Visitor Complex, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Florida. "We think that we've got a nice place to display the shuttle and to tell the story of the shuttle program," said Lisa Malone, director of external relations at KSC. "It's an important story to tell, and it makes sense to have one of the orbiters at the launch site." (1/30)
Embry-Riddle Space Activities Hightlight National Engineers Week Feb. 16-21 (Source: ERAU)
National Engineers Week at Embry-Riddle will include the author of SpaceShipOne, Dan Linehan; an Embry-Riddle alumna and current NASA Astronaut, Nicole Stott; a student poster session; and a water rocket competition. Linehan will speak on Feb. 17 at 6:45 pm, and Stott will speak on Feb. 20 at 6:00 pm. The water rocket competition will be held on Feb. 21. All events are open to the public and all events except a Saturday banquet are free. Contact Lisa Davids at mailto:lisa.davids@erau.edu for information. (1/30)
Economics of the California Space Center (Source: Santa Maria Times)
As the news of the recession continues to fill the pages of this newspaper, we were pleased about the recent announcement by Col. David Buck, 30th Space Wing Commander, that he will work toward completion of the negotiations for the lease of land by the California Space Center (CSC) from the Air Force. The CSC is a large project that includes a Visitor Center, a Mission Support Complex, Adult Education and Conference Center and a Youth Education Center. The economic impact to the North County is far-reaching. After the lease is granted, construction of the center will begin in three phases. The center is expected to be completed within 10 years, at a total cost of $174.9 million.
Direct jobs created by the project are estimated at 1,713, along with another 1,281 indirect jobs. During the construction phase — 2009-17 — the total impact is projected to hit nearly $320 million. Ongoing economic impacts from the operations are in the neighborhood of $2 billion annually. All of this money is going to help our depleting tax coffers, too. Federal, state and local tax revenues are projected at $235 million. (1/30)
January 29 News Items
Florida Space Day 2009 Planned on March 4 in Tallahassee (Source: ERAU)
On March 4, 2009, key representatives from Florida’s space industry will visit Tallahassee to participate in Florida Space Day. Participants will include private companies, local, state and federal agencies, and academic institutions. The goal of Florida Space Day is meet with legislators and discuss the challenges faced in ensuring Florida remains at the forefront of the nation’s space program. Click here for information. (1/29)
Legislative Auditors Say Space Agency Lacks Plan, Standards for Spaceport (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Gov. Charlie Crist, military brass and political elites came to Cape Canaveral last October to dedicate the signature achievement of the state’s fledgling aerospace development agency, Space Florida – a future commercial launch pad they hoped would grow into an international hub of private space flight. But now legislative auditors have found such lax financial oversight by Space Florida they’ve recommended lawmakers freeze spending for the spaceport until the agency develops a plan for how to build it -- and what it expects to accomplish.
“Its efforts to promote Florida’s space industry are hindered by its failure to develop a comprehensive master plan,” according to the report from the Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, which concluded Space Florida had finished only one-quarter of the economic development tasks lawmakers gave it to do when they created the agency in 2006. The report is the latest fissure running through Florida’s space community, raising questions of whether the two-year-old agency is up to the task of pushing the state back to the fore of commercial spaceflight.
The Legislature devoted $14.5 million in this year’s budget to begin work retrofitting the decommissioned Launch Complex 36 at the Cape. But the agency has no guarantee private companies will want to launch from the facility once it's complete. Private sector backers say the project is likely to need another $43 million infusion from the Legislature over the next three years to get finished, while the OPPAGA report found “there is some disagreement over the feasibility” of designing such a multi-use facility. Click here to view the report. (1/29)
Embry-Riddle Attends FAA Space Transportation Conference (ERAU)
Representatives of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will attend the 12th annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference on Feb. 5-6 in Washington DC. Embry-Riddle is expanding its involvement in space transportation research, technology and policy development. Visit http://www.aiaa.org/content.cfm?pageid=230&lumeetingid=2178 for information on the event. (1/29)
Early March Deadlines for NASA 2009 Internships (Source: NASA)
Undergraduate and graduate students are invited to apply for summer 2009 internships with NASA. The NASA History Division is seeking undergraduate and graduate students. This division's Intern projects are flexible. Typical projects include handling a wide variety of information requests, editing historical manuscripts, doing research and writing biographical sketches, updating and creating Web pages, and identifying and captioning photos. Visit http://history.nasa.gov/interncall.htm
The NASA Planetary Biology Internship Program provides graduate-level opportunities each year for nine or 10 interns to undertake research at NASA research centers, NASA-sponsored laboratories, and academic institutions. The pursuit of such studies is expected to broaden the base of this new science by encouraging people in many different fields to take part. Students will be expected to carry out research with a NASA-sponsored investigator for eight weeks, potentially involving global ecology and remote sensing; microbial ecology and bio-mineralization; advanced life support; and origin and early evolution of life. Visit http://www.mbl.edu/education/courses/other_programs/pbi.html
NASA's Undergraduate Student Research Project is accepting applications for 15-week fall 2009 internships. These internships offer students the opportunity to work alongside NASA scientists and engineers at NASA's field centers, laboratories and test facilities. Participants work on practical problems that will be applied in aerospace or on future NASA missions. Visit http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/postsecondary/programs/Undergraduate_Student_Research_Project.html
New Mexico Spaceport Partners with Swedish Spaceport (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Spaceport America has entered into an agreement with a Swedish spaceport to collaborate in developing the commercial space industry, New Mexico officials said. The nonbinding agreement calls for the two spaceports to "increase global cooperation" in the industry and "promote cultural understanding and stimulate local economic development, tourism and education." Spaceport Sweden, located in Kiruna, Sweden, is that nation's first purpose-built spaceport. Virgin Galactic, New Mexico's spaceport anchor tenant company, also has plans to launch flights from the Sweden facility. (1/29)
Launch of Tsiklon-3 Rocket Postponed (Source: Itar-Tass)
The launch of a Tsiklon-3 rocket with a Koronas Foton satellite has had to be postponed indefinitely, accordint to Mission Control near Moscow. The causes of the postponement were being investigated. (1/29)
Raytheon Income Off Compared with Last Year (Source: AP)
Raytheon's quarterly net income fell sharply from a year earlier, when a big one-time gain lifted profits for the defense contractor. Still, fourth-quarter earnings from its core operations got a boost from the unit that makes Patriot missile systems. Raytheon reported net income of $421 million in the quarter. It earned $598 million a year earlier. Revenue was nearly flat at $6.1 billion. The latest results were weighed down by $45 million in charges from pension adjustments. Earnings rose 17 percent to $466 million on revenue of $6.2 billion. (1/29)
CSULB - Lifting Off in the Name of Aerospace (Source: Daily 49er)
Inspiring students to fulfill their goals and achieve wind efficiency -- while blasting rockets into the air -- was why Eric Besnard, a Cal State Long Beach aeronautics and aerospace professor, received the 2009 Faculty Adviser Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Besnard was presented the award at the 47th annual AIAA Aerospace Science Meeting Award Banquet in Florida, and was recognized for his hands-on work as head of an on-campus rocket program called the California Launch Vehicle Education Initiative. (1/29)
ATK Reports Strong FY09 Third Quarter (Source: ATK)
Alliant Techsystems reported that earnings per share (EPS) in the third quarter of fiscal year 2009, which ended on December 28, 2008, rose 19 percent from the prior-year quarter. Sales for the quarter were $1.1 billion, a five percent increase over the prior-year quarter. The company reported net income for the quarter of $65 million, up 12 percent from the prior-year quarter. Margins in the quarter improved to 10.8 percent, up from 10.5 percent in the prior-year period. Orders for the quarter increased 99 percent to more than $1.3 billion, up substantially from the prior-year quarter of $670 million. (1/29)
New Mexico Tech Plays with Big Boys on Lunar Project (Source: KDBC)
New Mexico Tech's Magdalena Ridge Observatory is 1 of 11 telescopes that will help NASA monitor a lunar impact later this year. The telescope science director for Tech's 2.4-meter optical telescope, Eileen Ryan, says Tech has the smallest telescopes on the project. She says Tech feels like it's playing with the big boys. The Socorro school received $30,000 to collect, analyze and interpret data. Apache Point Observatory near Cloudcroft also will monitor the impacts. Other observatories include five in Hawaii, one in Arizona and three telescopes in orbit. The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite spacecraft will send a 2,000-pound projectile into a moon crater. The spacecraft will impact afterward, with the impacts creating plumes of lunar materials. (1/29)
Chinese Threat to Indian Space Assets (Source: Domain-B)
Chinese attempts to militarize space are being taken note of by an alarmed Indian defense establishment. With all the three wings of the Chinese defense establishment going through a process of massive modernization and augmentation, India has every reason to get worried over the possibility of a "Chinese threat" to the territorial integrity of the country. Against this backdrop, Indian defense minister AK Antony was frank enough to drive home the threat faced by "Indian space assets" from the growing Chinese prowess in the area of "space militarization". India, which is now a major space-faring nation, has a substantial number of satellites for communications, weather watch and earth observation in orbit. (1/29)
CNES Officials Say Mars Mission Should Be Scaled Back (Source: Space News)
Europe's planned lander and rover mission to Mars in 2016 should be substantially cut back to fit within its likely budget constraints, and the downsizing should occur as soon as possible, officials from the French space agency, CNES, said Jan. 28. (1/29)
Stimulus Bill Leaves NASA with Less than Requested (Source: Houston Chronicle)
President Obama has said repeatedly that the $819 billion economic plan approved Wednesday night by the House is just a first step along the road to the final stimulus package. NASA and its supporters certainly hope so. The House on Wednesday rejected pleas from pro-NASA lawmakers to include up to $2 billion for space exploration and accelerated construction of the next generation of manned spacecraft. The measure, approved by a vote of 244 to 188, allotted just $50 million to NASA to repair Houston-area facilities damaged by Hurricane Ike, along with a half-billion dollars for non-space activities. NASA’s prospects seem much brighter in the Senate, where astronaut-senator Bill Nelson, D-Fla., succeeded in inserting $1.5 billion in the Senate’s version of the measure, including $500 million for the manned space program to shorten the five-year gap between the shuttle’s retirement and the initial flight of its successor.
Other sections of the bill for NASA include $500 million for non-space activities, $250 million for aeronautical research and $250 million for repair of facilities worldwide, including those damaged by Ike. Nelson, chairman of Senate panel that oversees NASA policy and a 1986 passenger aboard a space shuttle, is looking for “additional actions he can take to get more funds for NASA, particularly to reduce the gap in manned U.S. space operations,” an aide said. The Senate is expected to act on the economic stimulus package next week, and NASA’s supporters think they have the votes to carry the day. “I am not going to give up,” said freshman Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-Fla., who led the fight for NASA.“I will keep fighting to fully fund NASA’s human spaceflight program.” (1/29)
Europe's Past Space Tourism Studies (Source: Flight Global)
Rob Coppinger provides a summary list of European government funded studies and design efforts in support of space tourism and advanced space transport systems. Click here to view the article. (1/29)
Early Attempts to Contact Aliens (Source: AstroBio)
The desire to contact intelligent life on other planets is much older than the UFO craze and the SETI movement. Several 19th century scientists contemplated how we might communicate with possible Martians and Venusians. These early proposals - which predate by 150 years the first extraterrestrial message that was sent in 1974 - were based on visual signals, as the invention of radio was still decades away. In fact, as history shows, ideas for interplanetary communication have largely been driven by whatever the current technology allowed - be it lamps, radios or lasers. "You go with what you know," said Steven Dick, NASA Chief Historian. Click here to view the article. (1/29)
Russia's Space Agency Plans to Build Own Orbital Station (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) will propose to the government the construction of a low-orbit space station to support future exploration of the Moon and Mars, an agency official said Thursday. Alexei Krasnov said that Russia, as well as other countries, "is looking at the Moon in a mid-term perspective, and would want not only to go there and come back, but to establish a lunar base, which would allow us to start exploring Mars in the future."
"These are our intentions, but we are working hard to ensure that these plans get adequate financial and legislative support from the government," the official said. Krasnov also said Roscosmos would propose extending the use of the International Space Station (ISS) until 2020. The orbital assembly of the ISS began with the launch of the U.S.-funded and Russian-built Zarya module from Kazakhstan in 1998. The project has taken longer than the planned five years, and as of July 2008 the station was approximately 76% complete. "We are considering the extension of ISS service life at least until 2020, but this decision must be adopted by the governments of all 15 countries participating in the project," Krasnov said. (1/29)
26 Florida High School Teams Registered for National Rocketry Challenge (Source: AIA)
Student rocket teams are preparing their launch vehicles for qualification flights in the opening round of the world's largest rocket contest. A total of 653 teams from 45 states (including 26 from Florida) have registered for the 2009 Team America Rocketry Challenge - the seventh installment of the annual competition. The contest challenges 3- to 10-member teams to design and build model rockets by hand, then successfully launch them and return a raw-egg payload to the ground unbroken. This year's contest goals are an altitude of 750 feet and a flight time of 45 seconds. The rockets must transport one egg laid horizontally to mimic the position of an astronaut.
The 100 teams with the best qualifying scores make it to the final round fly-off at Great Meadow in The Plains, Va., (near Washington, D.C.) on May 16. The teams registered for the contest in December and have until April 6 to submit a qualifying score. AIA sponsors the annual contest, along with the National Association of Rocketry and several partners: NASA, the Defense Department, the American Association of Physics Teachers and three dozen AIA member companies. Click here for more information, including a list of teams from different states. (1-29)
On March 4, 2009, key representatives from Florida’s space industry will visit Tallahassee to participate in Florida Space Day. Participants will include private companies, local, state and federal agencies, and academic institutions. The goal of Florida Space Day is meet with legislators and discuss the challenges faced in ensuring Florida remains at the forefront of the nation’s space program. Click here for information. (1/29)
Legislative Auditors Say Space Agency Lacks Plan, Standards for Spaceport (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Gov. Charlie Crist, military brass and political elites came to Cape Canaveral last October to dedicate the signature achievement of the state’s fledgling aerospace development agency, Space Florida – a future commercial launch pad they hoped would grow into an international hub of private space flight. But now legislative auditors have found such lax financial oversight by Space Florida they’ve recommended lawmakers freeze spending for the spaceport until the agency develops a plan for how to build it -- and what it expects to accomplish.
“Its efforts to promote Florida’s space industry are hindered by its failure to develop a comprehensive master plan,” according to the report from the Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, which concluded Space Florida had finished only one-quarter of the economic development tasks lawmakers gave it to do when they created the agency in 2006. The report is the latest fissure running through Florida’s space community, raising questions of whether the two-year-old agency is up to the task of pushing the state back to the fore of commercial spaceflight.
The Legislature devoted $14.5 million in this year’s budget to begin work retrofitting the decommissioned Launch Complex 36 at the Cape. But the agency has no guarantee private companies will want to launch from the facility once it's complete. Private sector backers say the project is likely to need another $43 million infusion from the Legislature over the next three years to get finished, while the OPPAGA report found “there is some disagreement over the feasibility” of designing such a multi-use facility. Click here to view the report. (1/29)
Embry-Riddle Attends FAA Space Transportation Conference (ERAU)
Representatives of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will attend the 12th annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference on Feb. 5-6 in Washington DC. Embry-Riddle is expanding its involvement in space transportation research, technology and policy development. Visit http://www.aiaa.org/content.cfm?pageid=230&lumeetingid=2178 for information on the event. (1/29)
Early March Deadlines for NASA 2009 Internships (Source: NASA)
Undergraduate and graduate students are invited to apply for summer 2009 internships with NASA. The NASA History Division is seeking undergraduate and graduate students. This division's Intern projects are flexible. Typical projects include handling a wide variety of information requests, editing historical manuscripts, doing research and writing biographical sketches, updating and creating Web pages, and identifying and captioning photos. Visit http://history.nasa.gov/interncall.htm
The NASA Planetary Biology Internship Program provides graduate-level opportunities each year for nine or 10 interns to undertake research at NASA research centers, NASA-sponsored laboratories, and academic institutions. The pursuit of such studies is expected to broaden the base of this new science by encouraging people in many different fields to take part. Students will be expected to carry out research with a NASA-sponsored investigator for eight weeks, potentially involving global ecology and remote sensing; microbial ecology and bio-mineralization; advanced life support; and origin and early evolution of life. Visit http://www.mbl.edu/education/courses/other_programs/pbi.html
NASA's Undergraduate Student Research Project is accepting applications for 15-week fall 2009 internships. These internships offer students the opportunity to work alongside NASA scientists and engineers at NASA's field centers, laboratories and test facilities. Participants work on practical problems that will be applied in aerospace or on future NASA missions. Visit http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/postsecondary/programs/Undergraduate_Student_Research_Project.html
New Mexico Spaceport Partners with Swedish Spaceport (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Spaceport America has entered into an agreement with a Swedish spaceport to collaborate in developing the commercial space industry, New Mexico officials said. The nonbinding agreement calls for the two spaceports to "increase global cooperation" in the industry and "promote cultural understanding and stimulate local economic development, tourism and education." Spaceport Sweden, located in Kiruna, Sweden, is that nation's first purpose-built spaceport. Virgin Galactic, New Mexico's spaceport anchor tenant company, also has plans to launch flights from the Sweden facility. (1/29)
Launch of Tsiklon-3 Rocket Postponed (Source: Itar-Tass)
The launch of a Tsiklon-3 rocket with a Koronas Foton satellite has had to be postponed indefinitely, accordint to Mission Control near Moscow. The causes of the postponement were being investigated. (1/29)
Raytheon Income Off Compared with Last Year (Source: AP)
Raytheon's quarterly net income fell sharply from a year earlier, when a big one-time gain lifted profits for the defense contractor. Still, fourth-quarter earnings from its core operations got a boost from the unit that makes Patriot missile systems. Raytheon reported net income of $421 million in the quarter. It earned $598 million a year earlier. Revenue was nearly flat at $6.1 billion. The latest results were weighed down by $45 million in charges from pension adjustments. Earnings rose 17 percent to $466 million on revenue of $6.2 billion. (1/29)
CSULB - Lifting Off in the Name of Aerospace (Source: Daily 49er)
Inspiring students to fulfill their goals and achieve wind efficiency -- while blasting rockets into the air -- was why Eric Besnard, a Cal State Long Beach aeronautics and aerospace professor, received the 2009 Faculty Adviser Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Besnard was presented the award at the 47th annual AIAA Aerospace Science Meeting Award Banquet in Florida, and was recognized for his hands-on work as head of an on-campus rocket program called the California Launch Vehicle Education Initiative. (1/29)
ATK Reports Strong FY09 Third Quarter (Source: ATK)
Alliant Techsystems reported that earnings per share (EPS) in the third quarter of fiscal year 2009, which ended on December 28, 2008, rose 19 percent from the prior-year quarter. Sales for the quarter were $1.1 billion, a five percent increase over the prior-year quarter. The company reported net income for the quarter of $65 million, up 12 percent from the prior-year quarter. Margins in the quarter improved to 10.8 percent, up from 10.5 percent in the prior-year period. Orders for the quarter increased 99 percent to more than $1.3 billion, up substantially from the prior-year quarter of $670 million. (1/29)
New Mexico Tech Plays with Big Boys on Lunar Project (Source: KDBC)
New Mexico Tech's Magdalena Ridge Observatory is 1 of 11 telescopes that will help NASA monitor a lunar impact later this year. The telescope science director for Tech's 2.4-meter optical telescope, Eileen Ryan, says Tech has the smallest telescopes on the project. She says Tech feels like it's playing with the big boys. The Socorro school received $30,000 to collect, analyze and interpret data. Apache Point Observatory near Cloudcroft also will monitor the impacts. Other observatories include five in Hawaii, one in Arizona and three telescopes in orbit. The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite spacecraft will send a 2,000-pound projectile into a moon crater. The spacecraft will impact afterward, with the impacts creating plumes of lunar materials. (1/29)
Chinese Threat to Indian Space Assets (Source: Domain-B)
Chinese attempts to militarize space are being taken note of by an alarmed Indian defense establishment. With all the three wings of the Chinese defense establishment going through a process of massive modernization and augmentation, India has every reason to get worried over the possibility of a "Chinese threat" to the territorial integrity of the country. Against this backdrop, Indian defense minister AK Antony was frank enough to drive home the threat faced by "Indian space assets" from the growing Chinese prowess in the area of "space militarization". India, which is now a major space-faring nation, has a substantial number of satellites for communications, weather watch and earth observation in orbit. (1/29)
CNES Officials Say Mars Mission Should Be Scaled Back (Source: Space News)
Europe's planned lander and rover mission to Mars in 2016 should be substantially cut back to fit within its likely budget constraints, and the downsizing should occur as soon as possible, officials from the French space agency, CNES, said Jan. 28. (1/29)
Stimulus Bill Leaves NASA with Less than Requested (Source: Houston Chronicle)
President Obama has said repeatedly that the $819 billion economic plan approved Wednesday night by the House is just a first step along the road to the final stimulus package. NASA and its supporters certainly hope so. The House on Wednesday rejected pleas from pro-NASA lawmakers to include up to $2 billion for space exploration and accelerated construction of the next generation of manned spacecraft. The measure, approved by a vote of 244 to 188, allotted just $50 million to NASA to repair Houston-area facilities damaged by Hurricane Ike, along with a half-billion dollars for non-space activities. NASA’s prospects seem much brighter in the Senate, where astronaut-senator Bill Nelson, D-Fla., succeeded in inserting $1.5 billion in the Senate’s version of the measure, including $500 million for the manned space program to shorten the five-year gap between the shuttle’s retirement and the initial flight of its successor.
Other sections of the bill for NASA include $500 million for non-space activities, $250 million for aeronautical research and $250 million for repair of facilities worldwide, including those damaged by Ike. Nelson, chairman of Senate panel that oversees NASA policy and a 1986 passenger aboard a space shuttle, is looking for “additional actions he can take to get more funds for NASA, particularly to reduce the gap in manned U.S. space operations,” an aide said. The Senate is expected to act on the economic stimulus package next week, and NASA’s supporters think they have the votes to carry the day. “I am not going to give up,” said freshman Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-Fla., who led the fight for NASA.“I will keep fighting to fully fund NASA’s human spaceflight program.” (1/29)
Europe's Past Space Tourism Studies (Source: Flight Global)
Rob Coppinger provides a summary list of European government funded studies and design efforts in support of space tourism and advanced space transport systems. Click here to view the article. (1/29)
Early Attempts to Contact Aliens (Source: AstroBio)
The desire to contact intelligent life on other planets is much older than the UFO craze and the SETI movement. Several 19th century scientists contemplated how we might communicate with possible Martians and Venusians. These early proposals - which predate by 150 years the first extraterrestrial message that was sent in 1974 - were based on visual signals, as the invention of radio was still decades away. In fact, as history shows, ideas for interplanetary communication have largely been driven by whatever the current technology allowed - be it lamps, radios or lasers. "You go with what you know," said Steven Dick, NASA Chief Historian. Click here to view the article. (1/29)
Russia's Space Agency Plans to Build Own Orbital Station (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) will propose to the government the construction of a low-orbit space station to support future exploration of the Moon and Mars, an agency official said Thursday. Alexei Krasnov said that Russia, as well as other countries, "is looking at the Moon in a mid-term perspective, and would want not only to go there and come back, but to establish a lunar base, which would allow us to start exploring Mars in the future."
"These are our intentions, but we are working hard to ensure that these plans get adequate financial and legislative support from the government," the official said. Krasnov also said Roscosmos would propose extending the use of the International Space Station (ISS) until 2020. The orbital assembly of the ISS began with the launch of the U.S.-funded and Russian-built Zarya module from Kazakhstan in 1998. The project has taken longer than the planned five years, and as of July 2008 the station was approximately 76% complete. "We are considering the extension of ISS service life at least until 2020, but this decision must be adopted by the governments of all 15 countries participating in the project," Krasnov said. (1/29)
26 Florida High School Teams Registered for National Rocketry Challenge (Source: AIA)
Student rocket teams are preparing their launch vehicles for qualification flights in the opening round of the world's largest rocket contest. A total of 653 teams from 45 states (including 26 from Florida) have registered for the 2009 Team America Rocketry Challenge - the seventh installment of the annual competition. The contest challenges 3- to 10-member teams to design and build model rockets by hand, then successfully launch them and return a raw-egg payload to the ground unbroken. This year's contest goals are an altitude of 750 feet and a flight time of 45 seconds. The rockets must transport one egg laid horizontally to mimic the position of an astronaut.
The 100 teams with the best qualifying scores make it to the final round fly-off at Great Meadow in The Plains, Va., (near Washington, D.C.) on May 16. The teams registered for the contest in December and have until April 6 to submit a qualifying score. AIA sponsors the annual contest, along with the National Association of Rocketry and several partners: NASA, the Defense Department, the American Association of Physics Teachers and three dozen AIA member companies. Click here for more information, including a list of teams from different states. (1-29)
January 28 News Items
Iran Set To Launch First Domestic Satellite By March 20 (Source: RIA Novosti)
Iran plans to put its first domestically made communication satellite into orbit by March 19-20, the head of the Iranian space agency has said. "If we do not run into problems, the first domestic satellite will be put in orbit by the end of this [Iranian solar calendar] year," Reza Taqipour said. He said that technical experts were working to complete the preparations, adding that the precise launch date for the Omid (Hope) satellite would be announced as it drew nearer. In November, Iran launched a carrier space rocket, Kavoshgar 2 (Explorer 2), which returned to earth after completing its mission. (1/28)
Six Biggest Mysteries of Our Solar System (Source: New Scientist)
From a thin disc of stuff left over from our sun's birth, eight planets formed, trapped in orbit by its gravity. One of those planets settled into a peculiarly tranquil relationship with its star and its fellow planets. Eventually, creatures emerged on it that began to wonder how their neighborhood came to be as it is - and could formulate the following six enduring mysteries of our familiar, and yet deeply mysterious, solar system. Click here to view the article. (1/28)
Distant Planet is an Orbiting Hell (Source: AFP)
Astronomers have observed a planet some 200 light years from Earth that, for a few hours, becomes 700 degrees Celsius (1,300 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter every time its elliptical orbit brings it close to its sun. The scientists say they have generated the most realistic images ever captured of an exoplanet. Known as HD80606b, the planet is a giant ball of gas that has four times the mass of Jupiter, the biggest planet of our system. Researchers led by Gregory Laughlin of the University of California at Santa Cruz analysed data collected during and after HD80606b's closest approach to its star. It was an unexpected stroke of luck, making it possible to measure the exact temperatures of the star and the planet separately. (1/28)
Mars Rover's Unexpected Behavior Puzzles NASA (Source: Space.com)
NASA engineers are scratching their heads over some unexpected behavior from the long-lived Spirit rover, which began its sixth year exploring Mars this month. Spirit failed to report in mission managers last weekend, prompting a series of diagnostic tests this week to hunt the glitch's source. The aging Mars rover did not beam home a record of its weekend activities and, more puzzlingly, apparently failed to even record any of its actions on Sunday. (1/28)
Boeing Posts Loss, Announces 10,000 Job Cuts (Source: AP)
Boeing swung to a surprise fourth-quarter loss, hurt by a labor strike that disrupted deliveries. It also announced job cuts totaling 10,000 and forecast lower-than-expected 2009 earnings. The news comes on top of waning demand for the company's commercial jets. Airlines are cutting spending and air travel has declined amid the global economic slowdown. Boeing recently said it plans to eliminate about 4,500 positions from its commercial aircraft business as a result of the worsening market conditions. An additional 5,500 positions will be cut this year from other parts of the company, including its defense division. The planned cuts will total more than 6 percent of Boeing's work force and will occur through attrition, retirements, reduction in some contract labor and layoffs, he said. (1/28)
Europe Aims for 2015 SpaceShipTwo Competitor (Source: Flight Global)
The prospect of an all-European competitor to US suborbital tourism projects has become stronger with the $9.68 million funding of the Future High-Altitude High-Speed Transport (FAST) 20XX project that will focus on two concepts, one suborbital, the other a hypersonic point-to-point transport system. With its "kick-off" meeting taking place in either April or May, depending on contractual negotiations, FAST20XX will design, develop and experimentally validate hybrid propulsion engines, other technologies and make a recommendation on safe air-launch separation from a carrier aircraft.
The hybrid propulsion would be for the suborbital vehicle, which is based on the unmanned automatic glide-and-landing Phoenix test vehicle developed by Germany's DLR aerospace centre and EADS Astrium. The vehicle would have six passengers and one pilot. The hypersonic point-to-point transport system is the DLR space launcher systems analysis group's liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen-propelled concept vehicle called SpaceLiner. (1/28)
Eutelsat Statement on the W2M Satellite (Source: SpaceRef.com)
Eutelsat says the performance of the W2M satellite, which was launched on Dec. 20, does not comply with the requirements set with the spacecraft's manufacturer, EADS Astrium/ISRO Antrix, following a major anomaly affecting the satellite's power subsystem. This anomaly occurred during the satellite's transfer from the location used for in-orbit tests to its operating position at 16 degrees East. In the interests of protecting continuity of service for clients leasing capacity at the 16 degrees East position, Eutelsat has consequently taken the decision that in the current circumstances W2M will not be integrated into Eutelsat's satellite fleet. Currently under the control of ISRO, the satellite is undergoing a full technical investigation by ISRO and EADS. (1/28)
Defense Lobbying Soars as Budgets Come Under Pressure (Source: AIA)
With a weak economy putting pressure on the Pentagon, major U.S. defense contractors are spending more on lobbying to secure their slice of a shrinking pie. In 2008, both Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. saw lobbying expenditures rise by 50% or more, while Northrop Grumman Corp. nearly doubled its lobbying budget to $20.6 million. Lobbying activity could rise again this year after Defense Secretary Robert Gates testified Tuesday on Capitol Hill that major weapons programs are under review by the Obama administration. "One thing we have known for many months is that the spigot of defense spending that opened on 9/11 is closing," he said. (1/28)
General Dynamics Reports 5.7% Profit Increase for Q4 (Source: AIA)
Higher aerospace sales helped boost fourth-quarter profits by 5.7%, General Dynamics Corp. reported Wednesday. Quarterly earnings were $612 million on sales of $7.85 billion, beating the average estimate of Wall Street analysts. "For the full year of 2008, all four business groups generated increased sales, operating earnings grew significantly faster than revenue and free cash flow from operations totaled 106% of net earnings," said CEO Nick Chabraja. (1/28)
Union Favorite Might be Slipping in Bid to Lead FAA (Source: AIA)
Aviation unions are battling with congressional leadership over the next head of the Federal Aviation Administration. Former Air Line Pilots Association president Duane Woerth was seen as a front-runner to lead the agency, but lately, Robert T. Herbert, a longtime aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has made a serious push for the job. Woerth is heavily favored by union leaders who long have struggled with the FAA over pay and work rules. (1/28)
Virginia Universities Support Scramjet Technology with Gift Grant (Source: Collegiate Times)
Aeronautic research conducted by a Virginia Tech and University of Virginia team hopes to lead to a more dependable, efficient and faster operation of aircraft with the help of a recent $50,000 gift from Tech alumni through the Aerojet Corporation. The members of the Hy-V Program (named for its operation at hypersonic speed, and the state of Virginia) have been using prototypes to collect data in wind-tunnel simulations.
Their goal is to advance the development of a new type of propulsion system operated at hypersonic speed, known as a scramjet. Unlike the propulsion systems of most current turbine jet aircraft, a scramjet engine (or supersonic combustion ramjet), uses almost no moving parts. It instead uses high velocity to compress air for combustion via a tapered inlet. This type of engine would allow more dependable, efficient, and faster operation of aircraft. "In the future," said Jack Kennedy, a Gov. Tim Kaine-appointed member of the Virginia Aerospace Advisory Council, "a scramjet could be used in many applications, both commercial and military." (1/28)
Thales Alenia Space Has Banner Year (Source: Aviation Week)
Thales Alenia Space says it finished 2008 with 23 percent of the geostationary communications satellite market. The Thales-Finmeccanica joint venture says it landed five awards last year out of 26 worldwide orders, along with four commercial communication payloads and the Redsat payload for the Hispasat AG1 demonstration satellite, co-funded by the European Space Agency (ESA). It also won a contract to build a 15-satellite low Earth orbit constellation for O3b Networks. This compares with six satellites in 2007 and five in 2006. In addition, Thales Alenia was selected to build the Sentinel-3 observation satellite for ESA, and to supply optical electronics for Spain's Ingenio surveillance spacecraft.
The company is predicting a bumper crop this year too. In its sights are Iridium's next-generation telecom constellation, for which it was short-listed in 2008; an optical surveillance satellite system for Europe's Musis program; and up to 26 Galileo Full Operating Capability spacecraft. It has already been picked to supply a surveillance satellite to Turkey with Finmeccanica-Thales sister venture Telespazio, as well as a pair of telecom satellites to Russia's Gazprom and a payload for an Indonesian telecom satellite, associated with Reshetnev ISS of Russia. (1/28)
Super-Rich Still Want to Boldly Go Into Space (Source: Reuters)
The economic downturn has not dampened rich people's enthusiasm for space tourism, the world's first commercial space flight company says. "Business is good," Eric Anderson, chief executive of privately owned Space Adventures, said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. The U.S. company has sold seats worth about $175 million on Russian rockets to the International Space Station and is preparing to send Hungarian computer software executive Charles Simonyi into space for the second time in March. His $35-million trip will be the seventh arranged by Space Adventures since U.S. multimillionaire Dennis Tito paid for a trip into space in 2001. (1/28)
Just-Launched Telecom Satellite Suffers On Orbit Failure (Source: Space News)
The Eutelsat W2M telecommunications satellite — the inaugural product of a Euro-Indian commercial joint venture — has failed in orbit just five weeks after launch and is likely a total loss, industry officials said. (1/28)
Debt-Laden Satmex Unable to Finance Crucial Replacement Satellite (Source: Space News)
Satellite-fleet operator Satmex of Mexico, unable to finance its planned Satmex 7 satellite and boxed in by payment obligations to the Mexican government and restrictive post-bankruptcy debt covenants, faces the risk that customers will quit the company if it cannot replace a satellite already past its planned retirement date, Satmex Chief Executive Patricio E. Northland said. (1/28)
A Canadian Space Stimulus (Source: Space Politics)
While the US Congress debates how much NASA should get in the proposed stimulus package, and for what programs, the Canadian government is proposing a budget increase for its own space agency. The Budget 2009 Plan, released Tuesday, proposes to add C$110 million (US$90 million) to the Canadian Space Agency’s budget over the next three years, specifically for space robotics. (1/28)
Embry-Riddle Student Named FAA Student Researcher of the Year in General Aviation (1/28)
The FAA's Center of Excellence for General Education has named an Embry-Riddle student as its Student Researcher of hte Year. Dan Halperin competed against students from the other COE for General Aviation member schools – Florida A&M University, University of Alaska, University of North Dakota, and Wichita State University. Halperin assisted an FAA-funded research project titled “Development of an Aviation Weather Database Highlighting Weather Encounters (Phase I).” This ongoing project meshes the talents of researchers from Embry-Riddle, Clemson University, and the FAA’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute. Embry-Riddle is the lead university in the FAA Center of Excellence. (1/28)
Crist: Ex-Aide's Job May Flunk 'Smell Test' (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Gov. Charlie Crist said Tuesday that a former staffer in his office might have violated state ethics laws when he shepherded a $500,000 grant to a Panhandle sports-medicine clinic -- and then went to work for the clinic to administer the grant. The grant was to train so-called "space tourists" for the rigors of suborbital spaceflight. It included $250,000 from the governor's Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development (OTTED) and $250,000 from Space Florida, the Brevard-based public-private agency set up to encourage the aerospace industry.
State ethics laws bar government employees from taking a job with a company if they were "substantially" involved with overseeing or negotiating a contract with that company, or even if the contract was "within the employee's responsibility." However, an Andrews official said both OTTED and Space Florida recommended Harris as "the best candidate to run this program." She added that Harris had met with Crist's deputy general counsel, Jerry Curington, to discuss the job before he took it. "He was assured that due to the fact that he was only a staff member ... and was not involved in the procurement process and did not substantially participate in the approval of the award, the possibility of his being found in violation of ethics regulations was quite small," Troxclair wrote in an e-mail. (1/28)
Sky's the Limit for Space Tourism in China (Source: Asia Times)
Chinese newspapers first began reporting about five years ago that wealthy Chinese were purchasing tickets well in advance for sub-orbital flights from companies like the Virginia-based Space Adventures. Besides a few ticket sales, however, the dawn of Chinese space tourism has yet to appear. "It is difficult [for U.S. companies] to promote space tourism in China, and, since these same [export] controls would likely prevent a domestic space tourism company from carrying Chinese passengers, there would be little point to doing so," said Michael Gold of Bigelow Aerospace and new chair of an FAA Export Control Working Group. "Given the size of China and its wealth, I would expect a strong market to exist, however, for the private sector to explore such opportunities we need to gain support from the [US] Government," he said.
Gold views Virginia-based Space Adventures, which sells tickets to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Russian Soyuz rocket, as being well-positioned to make inroads in China today. Russia has just announced that they are completely phasing out this ISS service for affluent tourists by the end of this year. Another prominent space tourism company, Virgin Galactic, has no Chinese customers yet. "There are a number of countries on the US defense trade embargo list and we need to be careful about accepting nationals of these countries to fly with [VG]. China is one of the countries who are currently on this list and therefore we have no Chinese customers or Accredited Space Agents because of this," said VG spokeswoman Susan Newsam. "Work within China or contracts to Chinese companies would be very difficult at this point." (1/28)
Iran plans to put its first domestically made communication satellite into orbit by March 19-20, the head of the Iranian space agency has said. "If we do not run into problems, the first domestic satellite will be put in orbit by the end of this [Iranian solar calendar] year," Reza Taqipour said. He said that technical experts were working to complete the preparations, adding that the precise launch date for the Omid (Hope) satellite would be announced as it drew nearer. In November, Iran launched a carrier space rocket, Kavoshgar 2 (Explorer 2), which returned to earth after completing its mission. (1/28)
Six Biggest Mysteries of Our Solar System (Source: New Scientist)
From a thin disc of stuff left over from our sun's birth, eight planets formed, trapped in orbit by its gravity. One of those planets settled into a peculiarly tranquil relationship with its star and its fellow planets. Eventually, creatures emerged on it that began to wonder how their neighborhood came to be as it is - and could formulate the following six enduring mysteries of our familiar, and yet deeply mysterious, solar system. Click here to view the article. (1/28)
Distant Planet is an Orbiting Hell (Source: AFP)
Astronomers have observed a planet some 200 light years from Earth that, for a few hours, becomes 700 degrees Celsius (1,300 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter every time its elliptical orbit brings it close to its sun. The scientists say they have generated the most realistic images ever captured of an exoplanet. Known as HD80606b, the planet is a giant ball of gas that has four times the mass of Jupiter, the biggest planet of our system. Researchers led by Gregory Laughlin of the University of California at Santa Cruz analysed data collected during and after HD80606b's closest approach to its star. It was an unexpected stroke of luck, making it possible to measure the exact temperatures of the star and the planet separately. (1/28)
Mars Rover's Unexpected Behavior Puzzles NASA (Source: Space.com)
NASA engineers are scratching their heads over some unexpected behavior from the long-lived Spirit rover, which began its sixth year exploring Mars this month. Spirit failed to report in mission managers last weekend, prompting a series of diagnostic tests this week to hunt the glitch's source. The aging Mars rover did not beam home a record of its weekend activities and, more puzzlingly, apparently failed to even record any of its actions on Sunday. (1/28)
Boeing Posts Loss, Announces 10,000 Job Cuts (Source: AP)
Boeing swung to a surprise fourth-quarter loss, hurt by a labor strike that disrupted deliveries. It also announced job cuts totaling 10,000 and forecast lower-than-expected 2009 earnings. The news comes on top of waning demand for the company's commercial jets. Airlines are cutting spending and air travel has declined amid the global economic slowdown. Boeing recently said it plans to eliminate about 4,500 positions from its commercial aircraft business as a result of the worsening market conditions. An additional 5,500 positions will be cut this year from other parts of the company, including its defense division. The planned cuts will total more than 6 percent of Boeing's work force and will occur through attrition, retirements, reduction in some contract labor and layoffs, he said. (1/28)
Europe Aims for 2015 SpaceShipTwo Competitor (Source: Flight Global)
The prospect of an all-European competitor to US suborbital tourism projects has become stronger with the $9.68 million funding of the Future High-Altitude High-Speed Transport (FAST) 20XX project that will focus on two concepts, one suborbital, the other a hypersonic point-to-point transport system. With its "kick-off" meeting taking place in either April or May, depending on contractual negotiations, FAST20XX will design, develop and experimentally validate hybrid propulsion engines, other technologies and make a recommendation on safe air-launch separation from a carrier aircraft.
The hybrid propulsion would be for the suborbital vehicle, which is based on the unmanned automatic glide-and-landing Phoenix test vehicle developed by Germany's DLR aerospace centre and EADS Astrium. The vehicle would have six passengers and one pilot. The hypersonic point-to-point transport system is the DLR space launcher systems analysis group's liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen-propelled concept vehicle called SpaceLiner. (1/28)
Eutelsat Statement on the W2M Satellite (Source: SpaceRef.com)
Eutelsat says the performance of the W2M satellite, which was launched on Dec. 20, does not comply with the requirements set with the spacecraft's manufacturer, EADS Astrium/ISRO Antrix, following a major anomaly affecting the satellite's power subsystem. This anomaly occurred during the satellite's transfer from the location used for in-orbit tests to its operating position at 16 degrees East. In the interests of protecting continuity of service for clients leasing capacity at the 16 degrees East position, Eutelsat has consequently taken the decision that in the current circumstances W2M will not be integrated into Eutelsat's satellite fleet. Currently under the control of ISRO, the satellite is undergoing a full technical investigation by ISRO and EADS. (1/28)
Defense Lobbying Soars as Budgets Come Under Pressure (Source: AIA)
With a weak economy putting pressure on the Pentagon, major U.S. defense contractors are spending more on lobbying to secure their slice of a shrinking pie. In 2008, both Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. saw lobbying expenditures rise by 50% or more, while Northrop Grumman Corp. nearly doubled its lobbying budget to $20.6 million. Lobbying activity could rise again this year after Defense Secretary Robert Gates testified Tuesday on Capitol Hill that major weapons programs are under review by the Obama administration. "One thing we have known for many months is that the spigot of defense spending that opened on 9/11 is closing," he said. (1/28)
General Dynamics Reports 5.7% Profit Increase for Q4 (Source: AIA)
Higher aerospace sales helped boost fourth-quarter profits by 5.7%, General Dynamics Corp. reported Wednesday. Quarterly earnings were $612 million on sales of $7.85 billion, beating the average estimate of Wall Street analysts. "For the full year of 2008, all four business groups generated increased sales, operating earnings grew significantly faster than revenue and free cash flow from operations totaled 106% of net earnings," said CEO Nick Chabraja. (1/28)
Union Favorite Might be Slipping in Bid to Lead FAA (Source: AIA)
Aviation unions are battling with congressional leadership over the next head of the Federal Aviation Administration. Former Air Line Pilots Association president Duane Woerth was seen as a front-runner to lead the agency, but lately, Robert T. Herbert, a longtime aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has made a serious push for the job. Woerth is heavily favored by union leaders who long have struggled with the FAA over pay and work rules. (1/28)
Virginia Universities Support Scramjet Technology with Gift Grant (Source: Collegiate Times)
Aeronautic research conducted by a Virginia Tech and University of Virginia team hopes to lead to a more dependable, efficient and faster operation of aircraft with the help of a recent $50,000 gift from Tech alumni through the Aerojet Corporation. The members of the Hy-V Program (named for its operation at hypersonic speed, and the state of Virginia) have been using prototypes to collect data in wind-tunnel simulations.
Their goal is to advance the development of a new type of propulsion system operated at hypersonic speed, known as a scramjet. Unlike the propulsion systems of most current turbine jet aircraft, a scramjet engine (or supersonic combustion ramjet), uses almost no moving parts. It instead uses high velocity to compress air for combustion via a tapered inlet. This type of engine would allow more dependable, efficient, and faster operation of aircraft. "In the future," said Jack Kennedy, a Gov. Tim Kaine-appointed member of the Virginia Aerospace Advisory Council, "a scramjet could be used in many applications, both commercial and military." (1/28)
Thales Alenia Space Has Banner Year (Source: Aviation Week)
Thales Alenia Space says it finished 2008 with 23 percent of the geostationary communications satellite market. The Thales-Finmeccanica joint venture says it landed five awards last year out of 26 worldwide orders, along with four commercial communication payloads and the Redsat payload for the Hispasat AG1 demonstration satellite, co-funded by the European Space Agency (ESA). It also won a contract to build a 15-satellite low Earth orbit constellation for O3b Networks. This compares with six satellites in 2007 and five in 2006. In addition, Thales Alenia was selected to build the Sentinel-3 observation satellite for ESA, and to supply optical electronics for Spain's Ingenio surveillance spacecraft.
The company is predicting a bumper crop this year too. In its sights are Iridium's next-generation telecom constellation, for which it was short-listed in 2008; an optical surveillance satellite system for Europe's Musis program; and up to 26 Galileo Full Operating Capability spacecraft. It has already been picked to supply a surveillance satellite to Turkey with Finmeccanica-Thales sister venture Telespazio, as well as a pair of telecom satellites to Russia's Gazprom and a payload for an Indonesian telecom satellite, associated with Reshetnev ISS of Russia. (1/28)
Super-Rich Still Want to Boldly Go Into Space (Source: Reuters)
The economic downturn has not dampened rich people's enthusiasm for space tourism, the world's first commercial space flight company says. "Business is good," Eric Anderson, chief executive of privately owned Space Adventures, said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. The U.S. company has sold seats worth about $175 million on Russian rockets to the International Space Station and is preparing to send Hungarian computer software executive Charles Simonyi into space for the second time in March. His $35-million trip will be the seventh arranged by Space Adventures since U.S. multimillionaire Dennis Tito paid for a trip into space in 2001. (1/28)
Just-Launched Telecom Satellite Suffers On Orbit Failure (Source: Space News)
The Eutelsat W2M telecommunications satellite — the inaugural product of a Euro-Indian commercial joint venture — has failed in orbit just five weeks after launch and is likely a total loss, industry officials said. (1/28)
Debt-Laden Satmex Unable to Finance Crucial Replacement Satellite (Source: Space News)
Satellite-fleet operator Satmex of Mexico, unable to finance its planned Satmex 7 satellite and boxed in by payment obligations to the Mexican government and restrictive post-bankruptcy debt covenants, faces the risk that customers will quit the company if it cannot replace a satellite already past its planned retirement date, Satmex Chief Executive Patricio E. Northland said. (1/28)
A Canadian Space Stimulus (Source: Space Politics)
While the US Congress debates how much NASA should get in the proposed stimulus package, and for what programs, the Canadian government is proposing a budget increase for its own space agency. The Budget 2009 Plan, released Tuesday, proposes to add C$110 million (US$90 million) to the Canadian Space Agency’s budget over the next three years, specifically for space robotics. (1/28)
Embry-Riddle Student Named FAA Student Researcher of the Year in General Aviation (1/28)
The FAA's Center of Excellence for General Education has named an Embry-Riddle student as its Student Researcher of hte Year. Dan Halperin competed against students from the other COE for General Aviation member schools – Florida A&M University, University of Alaska, University of North Dakota, and Wichita State University. Halperin assisted an FAA-funded research project titled “Development of an Aviation Weather Database Highlighting Weather Encounters (Phase I).” This ongoing project meshes the talents of researchers from Embry-Riddle, Clemson University, and the FAA’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute. Embry-Riddle is the lead university in the FAA Center of Excellence. (1/28)
Crist: Ex-Aide's Job May Flunk 'Smell Test' (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Gov. Charlie Crist said Tuesday that a former staffer in his office might have violated state ethics laws when he shepherded a $500,000 grant to a Panhandle sports-medicine clinic -- and then went to work for the clinic to administer the grant. The grant was to train so-called "space tourists" for the rigors of suborbital spaceflight. It included $250,000 from the governor's Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development (OTTED) and $250,000 from Space Florida, the Brevard-based public-private agency set up to encourage the aerospace industry.
State ethics laws bar government employees from taking a job with a company if they were "substantially" involved with overseeing or negotiating a contract with that company, or even if the contract was "within the employee's responsibility." However, an Andrews official said both OTTED and Space Florida recommended Harris as "the best candidate to run this program." She added that Harris had met with Crist's deputy general counsel, Jerry Curington, to discuss the job before he took it. "He was assured that due to the fact that he was only a staff member ... and was not involved in the procurement process and did not substantially participate in the approval of the award, the possibility of his being found in violation of ethics regulations was quite small," Troxclair wrote in an e-mail. (1/28)
Sky's the Limit for Space Tourism in China (Source: Asia Times)
Chinese newspapers first began reporting about five years ago that wealthy Chinese were purchasing tickets well in advance for sub-orbital flights from companies like the Virginia-based Space Adventures. Besides a few ticket sales, however, the dawn of Chinese space tourism has yet to appear. "It is difficult [for U.S. companies] to promote space tourism in China, and, since these same [export] controls would likely prevent a domestic space tourism company from carrying Chinese passengers, there would be little point to doing so," said Michael Gold of Bigelow Aerospace and new chair of an FAA Export Control Working Group. "Given the size of China and its wealth, I would expect a strong market to exist, however, for the private sector to explore such opportunities we need to gain support from the [US] Government," he said.
Gold views Virginia-based Space Adventures, which sells tickets to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Russian Soyuz rocket, as being well-positioned to make inroads in China today. Russia has just announced that they are completely phasing out this ISS service for affluent tourists by the end of this year. Another prominent space tourism company, Virgin Galactic, has no Chinese customers yet. "There are a number of countries on the US defense trade embargo list and we need to be careful about accepting nationals of these countries to fly with [VG]. China is one of the countries who are currently on this list and therefore we have no Chinese customers or Accredited Space Agents because of this," said VG spokeswoman Susan Newsam. "Work within China or contracts to Chinese companies would be very difficult at this point." (1/28)
January 27 News Items
Russia to Proceed Solo With Soyuz Successor; ESA Human Spacecraft Going Nowhere (Source: Parabolic Arc)
It looks as if Russia will develop a replacement for the Soyuz on its own rather than cooperating with the Europeans. Meanwhile, ESA’s effort to develop its own vehicle is stalled for lack of money. Roskosmos head Anatoly Perminov said: “In November 2008, ESA Ministerial Counsel approved ATV-based cargo return capsule project, with possible further step forward to the crew vehicle design. We have completed preliminary studies of the advanced crew transportation system for LEO and lunar missions. Most likely, Russia will develop the new crew vehicle autonomously.”
According to Rob Coppinger: The new Russian vehicle is set to fly in 2016. Roskosmos and ESA had been studying a joint program, but that effort apparently stalled. Tensions arose over ESA’s interest in capsule technologies. And Russia’s insistence that it only wanted western European electronics for the vehicle. The Russian demand that only a new Russian rocket launch ACTS/CSTS was apparently another stumbling block.” Meanwhile, Coppinger reports that ESA’s efforts to upgrade its Automated Transfer Vehicle took a major hit in November when European space ministers failed to adequately fund the efforts. Plans call to upgrade the throw-away freighter so it can carry cargo back from the station with eventual plans to use it for crew transfers.
Sources close to the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV)/Advanced Reentry Vehicle (ARV) team are telling Hyperbola that the November 2008 ESA ministerial meeting outcome was seen as catastrophic for the agency’s hopes for ARV operating before the International Space Station (ISS) is de-orbited, even with a 2020 end of life target, and a follow-on manned version of ARV. With an original proposal for a €300 million ($380 million) study budget for an ARV that could bring back experiments and other cargo from the ISS the actual outcome, funding of €21 million is less than 10%.” (1/26)
Embry-Riddle and Florida Tech Participate in NASA Student Launch Initiative (Source: NASA)
Twenty student teams selected by NASA from colleges and universities around the country are spending the winter building sophisticated rockets they will launch high over Alabama during NASA's 2008-2009 University Student Launch Initiative in April. The annual rocketry challenge will be held April 18 at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. The two Florida university teams are from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the Florida Institute of Technology. (1/27)
Industry Group Opposes Protectionist Rule in Stimulus Plan (Source: AIA)
Big U.S. exporters are opposing a "Buy America" clause in President Barack Obama's $825 billion stimulus package, due to concerns that the protectionist legislation could spark a trade war with Europe. The American Steel First Act, approved last week by the House Appropriations Committee, stipulates that only U.S.-made steel may be used in infrastructure projects financed under the stimulus plan. In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the Aerospace Industries Association and other trade groups warned that the law would result in "shutting U.S. exporters and their workers out of hundreds of billions of dollars of new business" as foreign governments respond with protections of their own. (1/27)
Why We Shouldn’t End Our Manned Space Program (Source: Esquire)
One night last fall, as the nation's economy rapidly unspooled, America did something big that we barely notice anymore but that no one else can match. We can't stop now, can we? ... Three miles away, over the Florida creeks and swamps, Endeavour was bathed in white light from all angles. Nobody in the bleachers talked about the price of gas, or the crisis on Wall Street, or war, or politics, or race, or impossibility. Everybody talked about how far we might go. Everybody watched the giant countdown clock and the little TVs that had been set up on tables. Everybody watched Don Pettit being strapped into his seat, and they talked about his magic powers and his six-year-old’s heart, about how he had never stopped believing in the things we used to believe in. Click here to view the article. (1/27)
Stimulus Bill Includes Millions for Satellite Program (Source: Washington Post)
Here's a troubling one from Taxpayer's For Common Sense: Spending on the National Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite System, a program to generate weather and climate data, has doubled over the last 14 years to $12.5 billion -- even though none of the satellites have been launched. The taxpayer group is highlighting the program as part of its oversight of the Obama administration's stimulus package. Here's what they had to say in a recent blog:
"Despite energetic lobbying by the defense industry (and some lawmakers) the $825 billion stimulus bill now emerging ... seems free of handouts for Air Force jets and other military hardware. But DOD will benefit from hundreds of millions going to NASA and [NOAA] for a fancy satellite program called the National Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). Unfortunately, construction and testing bungles slowed things down so that 14 years later, the cost of the Raytheon/Lockheed Martin program has doubled from $6.5 to $12.5 billion for four instead of six satellites. And the first bird has yet to make its maiden voyage." (1/27)
China to Grant Remote Sensing Satellite to Indonesia (Source: Antara News)
The Chinese government will grant Indonesia a remote sensing satellite to help monitor and provide early detections on events taking place in the sea. Indonesia welcomed the Chinese grant because Indonesia had a vast sea while its sensing capability was still limited. Many government agencies are conducting activities at sea such as the Customs and Excise office, the Maritime and Fisheries Ministry, and the Navy. (1/27)
Boeing Receives Contract Extension for Transformational Satellite System (Source: Boeing)
Boeing has received a $75 million contract extension from the Air Force to continue risk reduction and system definition for the Transformational Satellite Communications System (TSAT). The six-month contract extension began on Jan. 7, 2009. This additional award brings Boeing's total TSAT contract funding to $793 million. (1/27)
Date Set for South African Satellite Launch (Source: BUA News)
The date for the launch of the much-anticipated SumbandilaSat science satellite has been set for 25 March by the Department of Science and Technology. The Sumbandila, a low-orbit satellite which will collect data to be used to monitor and manage disasters such as floods, oil spills and fires within Southern Africa, will be launched into space from a submarine in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Editor's Note: Submarine at Baikonur? (1/27)
Kosmas Wants to Add $2 Billion for NASA (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The Florida lawmaker who represents Kennedy Space Center plans to file an amendment to the economic stimulus plan on Tuesday that would add $2 billion to NASA's budget so that NASA can extend the shuttle era and more quickly build its new moon rocket. U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach, aims to broadly write the amendment so that the next NASA administrator can have flexibility in spending the money, either to extend the shuttle era past its retirement date in 2010 or to speed up construction of Constellation, a system of new rockets and capsules meant to return astronauts to the moon by 2020. It also could be used for both purposes. Already, Congress has proposed dueling plans to give either $600 million or $1.5 billion to NASA. Her amendment would add to both proposals. (2/27)
Speed Demon: the Scramjet (Source: Cosmos)
With continuing tests planned for the Australian outback, the 8,000 km/h scramjet is edging towards reality. In the future – sooner than you might think – it could be possible to climb aboard a craft that takes off from Sydney and touches down in London with barely enough time in between for a beverage and an afternoon nap. It will soar above the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds of Mach 8, or about 8,300 km/h, arcing across the globe in a parabolic flight path, then gliding gently down to the ground: the whole trip taking less than three hours.
Kevin Bowcutt, the chief scientist for hypersonics with Boeing Phantom Works, based in California, USA, says that flight could be a reality within 10 to 20 years. "There are no miracles, no major technological breakthroughs that we need to get from here to there," says Bowcutt. "But it won't be easy, quick, or cheap. It will take a lot of investment and years of hard engineering and development work." (1/27)
It looks as if Russia will develop a replacement for the Soyuz on its own rather than cooperating with the Europeans. Meanwhile, ESA’s effort to develop its own vehicle is stalled for lack of money. Roskosmos head Anatoly Perminov said: “In November 2008, ESA Ministerial Counsel approved ATV-based cargo return capsule project, with possible further step forward to the crew vehicle design. We have completed preliminary studies of the advanced crew transportation system for LEO and lunar missions. Most likely, Russia will develop the new crew vehicle autonomously.”
According to Rob Coppinger: The new Russian vehicle is set to fly in 2016. Roskosmos and ESA had been studying a joint program, but that effort apparently stalled. Tensions arose over ESA’s interest in capsule technologies. And Russia’s insistence that it only wanted western European electronics for the vehicle. The Russian demand that only a new Russian rocket launch ACTS/CSTS was apparently another stumbling block.” Meanwhile, Coppinger reports that ESA’s efforts to upgrade its Automated Transfer Vehicle took a major hit in November when European space ministers failed to adequately fund the efforts. Plans call to upgrade the throw-away freighter so it can carry cargo back from the station with eventual plans to use it for crew transfers.
Sources close to the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV)/Advanced Reentry Vehicle (ARV) team are telling Hyperbola that the November 2008 ESA ministerial meeting outcome was seen as catastrophic for the agency’s hopes for ARV operating before the International Space Station (ISS) is de-orbited, even with a 2020 end of life target, and a follow-on manned version of ARV. With an original proposal for a €300 million ($380 million) study budget for an ARV that could bring back experiments and other cargo from the ISS the actual outcome, funding of €21 million is less than 10%.” (1/26)
Embry-Riddle and Florida Tech Participate in NASA Student Launch Initiative (Source: NASA)
Twenty student teams selected by NASA from colleges and universities around the country are spending the winter building sophisticated rockets they will launch high over Alabama during NASA's 2008-2009 University Student Launch Initiative in April. The annual rocketry challenge will be held April 18 at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. The two Florida university teams are from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the Florida Institute of Technology. (1/27)
Industry Group Opposes Protectionist Rule in Stimulus Plan (Source: AIA)
Big U.S. exporters are opposing a "Buy America" clause in President Barack Obama's $825 billion stimulus package, due to concerns that the protectionist legislation could spark a trade war with Europe. The American Steel First Act, approved last week by the House Appropriations Committee, stipulates that only U.S.-made steel may be used in infrastructure projects financed under the stimulus plan. In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the Aerospace Industries Association and other trade groups warned that the law would result in "shutting U.S. exporters and their workers out of hundreds of billions of dollars of new business" as foreign governments respond with protections of their own. (1/27)
Why We Shouldn’t End Our Manned Space Program (Source: Esquire)
One night last fall, as the nation's economy rapidly unspooled, America did something big that we barely notice anymore but that no one else can match. We can't stop now, can we? ... Three miles away, over the Florida creeks and swamps, Endeavour was bathed in white light from all angles. Nobody in the bleachers talked about the price of gas, or the crisis on Wall Street, or war, or politics, or race, or impossibility. Everybody talked about how far we might go. Everybody watched the giant countdown clock and the little TVs that had been set up on tables. Everybody watched Don Pettit being strapped into his seat, and they talked about his magic powers and his six-year-old’s heart, about how he had never stopped believing in the things we used to believe in. Click here to view the article. (1/27)
Stimulus Bill Includes Millions for Satellite Program (Source: Washington Post)
Here's a troubling one from Taxpayer's For Common Sense: Spending on the National Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite System, a program to generate weather and climate data, has doubled over the last 14 years to $12.5 billion -- even though none of the satellites have been launched. The taxpayer group is highlighting the program as part of its oversight of the Obama administration's stimulus package. Here's what they had to say in a recent blog:
"Despite energetic lobbying by the defense industry (and some lawmakers) the $825 billion stimulus bill now emerging ... seems free of handouts for Air Force jets and other military hardware. But DOD will benefit from hundreds of millions going to NASA and [NOAA] for a fancy satellite program called the National Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). Unfortunately, construction and testing bungles slowed things down so that 14 years later, the cost of the Raytheon/Lockheed Martin program has doubled from $6.5 to $12.5 billion for four instead of six satellites. And the first bird has yet to make its maiden voyage." (1/27)
China to Grant Remote Sensing Satellite to Indonesia (Source: Antara News)
The Chinese government will grant Indonesia a remote sensing satellite to help monitor and provide early detections on events taking place in the sea. Indonesia welcomed the Chinese grant because Indonesia had a vast sea while its sensing capability was still limited. Many government agencies are conducting activities at sea such as the Customs and Excise office, the Maritime and Fisheries Ministry, and the Navy. (1/27)
Boeing Receives Contract Extension for Transformational Satellite System (Source: Boeing)
Boeing has received a $75 million contract extension from the Air Force to continue risk reduction and system definition for the Transformational Satellite Communications System (TSAT). The six-month contract extension began on Jan. 7, 2009. This additional award brings Boeing's total TSAT contract funding to $793 million. (1/27)
Date Set for South African Satellite Launch (Source: BUA News)
The date for the launch of the much-anticipated SumbandilaSat science satellite has been set for 25 March by the Department of Science and Technology. The Sumbandila, a low-orbit satellite which will collect data to be used to monitor and manage disasters such as floods, oil spills and fires within Southern Africa, will be launched into space from a submarine in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Editor's Note: Submarine at Baikonur? (1/27)
Kosmas Wants to Add $2 Billion for NASA (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The Florida lawmaker who represents Kennedy Space Center plans to file an amendment to the economic stimulus plan on Tuesday that would add $2 billion to NASA's budget so that NASA can extend the shuttle era and more quickly build its new moon rocket. U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach, aims to broadly write the amendment so that the next NASA administrator can have flexibility in spending the money, either to extend the shuttle era past its retirement date in 2010 or to speed up construction of Constellation, a system of new rockets and capsules meant to return astronauts to the moon by 2020. It also could be used for both purposes. Already, Congress has proposed dueling plans to give either $600 million or $1.5 billion to NASA. Her amendment would add to both proposals. (2/27)
Speed Demon: the Scramjet (Source: Cosmos)
With continuing tests planned for the Australian outback, the 8,000 km/h scramjet is edging towards reality. In the future – sooner than you might think – it could be possible to climb aboard a craft that takes off from Sydney and touches down in London with barely enough time in between for a beverage and an afternoon nap. It will soar above the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds of Mach 8, or about 8,300 km/h, arcing across the globe in a parabolic flight path, then gliding gently down to the ground: the whole trip taking less than three hours.
Kevin Bowcutt, the chief scientist for hypersonics with Boeing Phantom Works, based in California, USA, says that flight could be a reality within 10 to 20 years. "There are no miracles, no major technological breakthroughs that we need to get from here to there," says Bowcutt. "But it won't be easy, quick, or cheap. It will take a lot of investment and years of hard engineering and development work." (1/27)
January 26 News Items
ULA Layoff Plan Shrinks (Source: Florida Today)
United Launch Alliance has reduced the number of layoffs planned at facilities in Alabama, California, Colorado and Florida. In November the company predicted it would lay off about 350 of its 4,200 workers nationwide. Initiatives, such as cutting travel expenses helped cut the number to 172 in December. Including 26 ULA employees approved for a "voluntary reduction in force," the final number is now 63 company wide. The majority of cuts will be in Alabama and Colorado (46), while nine jobs will be lost in California and eight will be lost at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida.
"While several factors contributed to the reduction in RIF numbers, the main reason for the Launch Ops reduction was an increase in government funding for the acceleration of East Coast Atlas V launch processing," said Mike Rein. "This will allow for at least one more Atlas V launch from the Cape in both 2009 and 2010." (1/26)
KSC Facility Now Ready for Orion Spacecraft (Source: Lockheed Martin)
After a two-year, top to bottom renovation, the High Bay Facility of the Operations & Checkout (O&C) Building at NASA'S Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is now ready to begin preparations to build the new Orion crew exploration vehicle -- the flagship of NASA's Constellation Program. Built in 1964, the O&C facility was used for similar work on Apollo capsules and other hardware. The State of Florida, Lockheed Martin and NASA committed to invest more than $55 million to create a state-of-the-art facility to support NASA's future endeavors. (1/26)
Space Station Astronauts Lose Bone Strength Fast (Source: Space.com)
Astronauts that spend long months aboard the International Space Station lose bone strength faster than previously thought and have a higher risk of breaking their hips later in life, a new study reports. A survey of 13 space station astronauts found that their bone strength dipped by at least 14 percent on the average during their half-year stays aboard the orbiting laboratory. Three of the astronauts lost up to 30 percent of their bone strength during their long-duration spaceflights, putting them on par with the bone strength of older women with osteoporosis on Earth, the study reported. (1/26)
NASA Has More Friends in the US Senate than House (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
NASA would get $1.5 billion, including $500 million for Earth science missions, under an economic stimulus package proposed by Senate Democrats. The plan ups the ante on the House, whose version only allotted $600 million for the space agency. It is unclear how NASA could spend the additional $1 billion in the Senate plan, although Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida and others have pushed for help in the manned spaceflight program.
The difference between bills is not surprising. The chairman of the House appropriations committee, U.S. Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wisconsin, frequently has opposed increased NASA spending. Meanwhile, Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, a member of the Senate appropriations team, has pushed for more NASA dollars, as her state includes a NASA center. (1/26)
Discovery A Testbed For Future Spacecraft (Source: Aviation Week)
NASA managers plan to use the space shuttle Discovery as a testbed during the up STS-119/15A mission, using the unique capabilities of the shuttle flight envelope to gather data that NASA's Constellation Program will use to design the vehicles that will succeed the shuttle fleet after the three orbiters are retired by the end of next year. Pressure transducers in the four-segment solid-fuel rocket motors that boost the shuttle stack off the launch pad will collect data on the thrust oscillation phenomenon that is driving the design of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. (1/26)
Conrad Foundation and National Space Society Announce Collaboration (Source: NSS)
Officials with The Conrad Foundation announced the National Space Society (NSS) as its newest partner to support the upcoming Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation Awards, the Foundation’s annual education competition. The contest challenges teams of high school students to create innovative products for use in various fields of science and technology. Teams vie for $120,000 in prize money and the opportunity to commercialize their products for general market use.
The NSS will counsel student teams in the space categories and provide access to educational information, where needed. In addition, NSS representatives will serve as judges in the lunar exploration and personal spaceflight categories. Team finalists will also have the opportunity to present their product concepts at the NSS’ 2009 International Space Development Conference, taking place in Orlando from May 28-31, 2009. (1/26)
Senate Releases Highlights of $365 Billion Stimulus Package (Source: U.S. Senate)
NASA would receive $1.5 billion, including including $500 million for Earth science missions to provide critical data about the Earth’s resources and climate. (1/26)
White House Waiver Clears Way for Pentagon Nominee (Source: AIA)
The White House has issued a waiver exempting President Barack Obama's nominee for deputy defense secretary from new, stricter rules that prohibit lobbyists from working on matters for which they've lobbied the government in the past two years. Raytheon executive William Lynn, whose appointment was requested by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, agreed to sell his company stock and will be held to pre-existing ethics rules. (1/26)
University of Colorado and SpaceDev Launch Center for Space Entrepreneurship (Source: CU Boulder)
The University of Colorado at Boulder, a national leader in aerospace engineering, and SpaceDev Inc. have partnered to create eSpace: The Center for Space Entrepreneurship. eSpace is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating new entrepreneurial space companies, commercializing aerospace technologies created within these companies and developing the aerospace workforce to support them.
eSpace is unique in its approach to supporting the creation of these companies by lowering the barriers for entry to an absolute minimum, according to Tibbitts. More than $1 million has been provided to support the launch of the center. Its primary funding is provided by a grant from the Metro Denver WIRED initiative, or Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development, with additional funding provided by the Colorado Office of Economic Development, CU-Boulder, SpaceDev and the Air Force Research Laboratory. (1/26)
Russia to Use Two Launch Pads at Baikonur for ISS Missions (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia will use two launch pads at the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan to send four manned missions to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2009. Four Soyuz manned spacecraft and five Progress freighters will be launched from Baikonur to the orbital station in 2009. The ISS crew is to be increased from three to six. The main launch pad at Baikonur was not enough to carry out this task and Roscosmos had modernized the launch pad No. 31 to allow additional launches. (1/26)
SIFT Donation Supports Space Coast Teacher Certifications (Source: SIFT)
The Summer Industrial Fellowships for Teachers (SIFT) donated $6,250 to support Brevard Public Schools’ National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) candidates. The donation will provide scholarships of $1,250 each to five Brevard teachers who are NBCT candidates for the 2008-09 school year and work at a school that is not eligible for the Florida Department of Education’s $1,250 scholarship. SIFT supports teacher summer jobs with aerospace employers. Visit http://www.floridasift.com for information. (1/26)
Needed at Obama's New NASA: the Right Team at the Top (Source: Space Review)
For weeks the space community has engaged in a guessing game on who will replace Mike Griffin as NASA administrator. Dave Huntsman argues that what is really important is not just who gets the top job, but the team of top officials needed to effectively run the agency. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1294/1 to view the article. (1/26)
A Rough Honeymoon Does Not Doom a Marriage (Source: Space Review)
President Obama has a lot of issues to deal with in his first 100 days, and is bound to stumble in one area or another. Stokes McMillan hopes that Obama, like Kennedy before him, will use setbacks as an opportunity to seek a new legacy in space. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1293/1 to view the article. (1/26)
India's Missile Defense: Changing the Nature of the Indo-Pakistani Conflict (Source: Space Review)
India is considering developing a comprehensive missile defense system to protect itself from Pakistan. Taylor Dinerman describes the rationale behind that system and the role satellites might play. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1292/1 to view the article. (1/26)
Russian Official: GLONASS Management Still Ineffective (Source: Itar-Tass)
The management of the GLONASS satellite navigation system has been ineffective so far, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said at a meeting of senior officials of the Roskosmos Federal Aerospace Agency. "You have to honestly admit that the management of the program and coordination of the activities of state customers in its implementation is not very effective as of today," Ivanov said. He recalled that a special department with 22 personnel has been set up for these purposes in accordance with government decision.
"The development of the orbiting cluster of spacecraft and the ground control center, and reequipping of consumers with navigation equipment have not been completely balanced. Commercial opportunities of GLONASS are not being realized. Today, we can offer little to the domestic or foreign market of navigation services," the deputy prime minister stated. "We must not put up with this situation. It should be rectified, and that quickly," he underlined. (1/26)
Russia to Launch Over 39 Space Missions in 2009 (Source: Interfax)
New satellites, among them defense and dual-use spacecraft, will be added to the Russian orbiting cluster in 2009. "Enlargement and better quality of the Russian orbiting cluster are the priorities of 2009. In all, over 39 rocket launches are planned for 2009, among them 19 will be commercial. Eleven launches will be done to order of the Defense Ministry. (1/26)
United Launch Alliance has reduced the number of layoffs planned at facilities in Alabama, California, Colorado and Florida. In November the company predicted it would lay off about 350 of its 4,200 workers nationwide. Initiatives, such as cutting travel expenses helped cut the number to 172 in December. Including 26 ULA employees approved for a "voluntary reduction in force," the final number is now 63 company wide. The majority of cuts will be in Alabama and Colorado (46), while nine jobs will be lost in California and eight will be lost at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida.
"While several factors contributed to the reduction in RIF numbers, the main reason for the Launch Ops reduction was an increase in government funding for the acceleration of East Coast Atlas V launch processing," said Mike Rein. "This will allow for at least one more Atlas V launch from the Cape in both 2009 and 2010." (1/26)
KSC Facility Now Ready for Orion Spacecraft (Source: Lockheed Martin)
After a two-year, top to bottom renovation, the High Bay Facility of the Operations & Checkout (O&C) Building at NASA'S Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is now ready to begin preparations to build the new Orion crew exploration vehicle -- the flagship of NASA's Constellation Program. Built in 1964, the O&C facility was used for similar work on Apollo capsules and other hardware. The State of Florida, Lockheed Martin and NASA committed to invest more than $55 million to create a state-of-the-art facility to support NASA's future endeavors. (1/26)
Space Station Astronauts Lose Bone Strength Fast (Source: Space.com)
Astronauts that spend long months aboard the International Space Station lose bone strength faster than previously thought and have a higher risk of breaking their hips later in life, a new study reports. A survey of 13 space station astronauts found that their bone strength dipped by at least 14 percent on the average during their half-year stays aboard the orbiting laboratory. Three of the astronauts lost up to 30 percent of their bone strength during their long-duration spaceflights, putting them on par with the bone strength of older women with osteoporosis on Earth, the study reported. (1/26)
NASA Has More Friends in the US Senate than House (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
NASA would get $1.5 billion, including $500 million for Earth science missions, under an economic stimulus package proposed by Senate Democrats. The plan ups the ante on the House, whose version only allotted $600 million for the space agency. It is unclear how NASA could spend the additional $1 billion in the Senate plan, although Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida and others have pushed for help in the manned spaceflight program.
The difference between bills is not surprising. The chairman of the House appropriations committee, U.S. Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wisconsin, frequently has opposed increased NASA spending. Meanwhile, Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, a member of the Senate appropriations team, has pushed for more NASA dollars, as her state includes a NASA center. (1/26)
Discovery A Testbed For Future Spacecraft (Source: Aviation Week)
NASA managers plan to use the space shuttle Discovery as a testbed during the up STS-119/15A mission, using the unique capabilities of the shuttle flight envelope to gather data that NASA's Constellation Program will use to design the vehicles that will succeed the shuttle fleet after the three orbiters are retired by the end of next year. Pressure transducers in the four-segment solid-fuel rocket motors that boost the shuttle stack off the launch pad will collect data on the thrust oscillation phenomenon that is driving the design of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. (1/26)
Conrad Foundation and National Space Society Announce Collaboration (Source: NSS)
Officials with The Conrad Foundation announced the National Space Society (NSS) as its newest partner to support the upcoming Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation Awards, the Foundation’s annual education competition. The contest challenges teams of high school students to create innovative products for use in various fields of science and technology. Teams vie for $120,000 in prize money and the opportunity to commercialize their products for general market use.
The NSS will counsel student teams in the space categories and provide access to educational information, where needed. In addition, NSS representatives will serve as judges in the lunar exploration and personal spaceflight categories. Team finalists will also have the opportunity to present their product concepts at the NSS’ 2009 International Space Development Conference, taking place in Orlando from May 28-31, 2009. (1/26)
Senate Releases Highlights of $365 Billion Stimulus Package (Source: U.S. Senate)
NASA would receive $1.5 billion, including including $500 million for Earth science missions to provide critical data about the Earth’s resources and climate. (1/26)
White House Waiver Clears Way for Pentagon Nominee (Source: AIA)
The White House has issued a waiver exempting President Barack Obama's nominee for deputy defense secretary from new, stricter rules that prohibit lobbyists from working on matters for which they've lobbied the government in the past two years. Raytheon executive William Lynn, whose appointment was requested by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, agreed to sell his company stock and will be held to pre-existing ethics rules. (1/26)
University of Colorado and SpaceDev Launch Center for Space Entrepreneurship (Source: CU Boulder)
The University of Colorado at Boulder, a national leader in aerospace engineering, and SpaceDev Inc. have partnered to create eSpace: The Center for Space Entrepreneurship. eSpace is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating new entrepreneurial space companies, commercializing aerospace technologies created within these companies and developing the aerospace workforce to support them.
eSpace is unique in its approach to supporting the creation of these companies by lowering the barriers for entry to an absolute minimum, according to Tibbitts. More than $1 million has been provided to support the launch of the center. Its primary funding is provided by a grant from the Metro Denver WIRED initiative, or Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development, with additional funding provided by the Colorado Office of Economic Development, CU-Boulder, SpaceDev and the Air Force Research Laboratory. (1/26)
Russia to Use Two Launch Pads at Baikonur for ISS Missions (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia will use two launch pads at the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan to send four manned missions to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2009. Four Soyuz manned spacecraft and five Progress freighters will be launched from Baikonur to the orbital station in 2009. The ISS crew is to be increased from three to six. The main launch pad at Baikonur was not enough to carry out this task and Roscosmos had modernized the launch pad No. 31 to allow additional launches. (1/26)
SIFT Donation Supports Space Coast Teacher Certifications (Source: SIFT)
The Summer Industrial Fellowships for Teachers (SIFT) donated $6,250 to support Brevard Public Schools’ National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) candidates. The donation will provide scholarships of $1,250 each to five Brevard teachers who are NBCT candidates for the 2008-09 school year and work at a school that is not eligible for the Florida Department of Education’s $1,250 scholarship. SIFT supports teacher summer jobs with aerospace employers. Visit http://www.floridasift.com for information. (1/26)
Needed at Obama's New NASA: the Right Team at the Top (Source: Space Review)
For weeks the space community has engaged in a guessing game on who will replace Mike Griffin as NASA administrator. Dave Huntsman argues that what is really important is not just who gets the top job, but the team of top officials needed to effectively run the agency. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1294/1 to view the article. (1/26)
A Rough Honeymoon Does Not Doom a Marriage (Source: Space Review)
President Obama has a lot of issues to deal with in his first 100 days, and is bound to stumble in one area or another. Stokes McMillan hopes that Obama, like Kennedy before him, will use setbacks as an opportunity to seek a new legacy in space. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1293/1 to view the article. (1/26)
India's Missile Defense: Changing the Nature of the Indo-Pakistani Conflict (Source: Space Review)
India is considering developing a comprehensive missile defense system to protect itself from Pakistan. Taylor Dinerman describes the rationale behind that system and the role satellites might play. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1292/1 to view the article. (1/26)
Russian Official: GLONASS Management Still Ineffective (Source: Itar-Tass)
The management of the GLONASS satellite navigation system has been ineffective so far, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said at a meeting of senior officials of the Roskosmos Federal Aerospace Agency. "You have to honestly admit that the management of the program and coordination of the activities of state customers in its implementation is not very effective as of today," Ivanov said. He recalled that a special department with 22 personnel has been set up for these purposes in accordance with government decision.
"The development of the orbiting cluster of spacecraft and the ground control center, and reequipping of consumers with navigation equipment have not been completely balanced. Commercial opportunities of GLONASS are not being realized. Today, we can offer little to the domestic or foreign market of navigation services," the deputy prime minister stated. "We must not put up with this situation. It should be rectified, and that quickly," he underlined. (1/26)
Russia to Launch Over 39 Space Missions in 2009 (Source: Interfax)
New satellites, among them defense and dual-use spacecraft, will be added to the Russian orbiting cluster in 2009. "Enlargement and better quality of the Russian orbiting cluster are the priorities of 2009. In all, over 39 rocket launches are planned for 2009, among them 19 will be commercial. Eleven launches will be done to order of the Defense Ministry. (1/26)
January 25 News Items
Japan to Develop Air-Launch System (Source: Yomiuri Shimbun)
Japan's government has launched a project to develop a midair rocket-launching system that can place satellites in orbit. The project is aimed at meeting the global demand for low-cost, small satellites that can be developed and produced relatively quickly. Observers say the project, if successful, would help Japan maintain its international competitiveness in the rocket-launching business. The midair firing system does not require large launch facilities on the ground and therefore allows for greater flexibility of launches by reducing the impact of restricting factors such as negotiating with local fishery cooperatives on the timing of a launch. (1/25)
Challenges Loom as Obama Seeks Space Weapons Ban (Source: Reuters)
President Barack Obama's pledge to seek a worldwide ban on weapons in space marks a dramatic shift in U.S. policy while posing the tricky issue of defining whether a satellite can be a weapon. Moments after Obama's inauguration last week, the White House website was updated to include policy statements on a range of issues, including a pledge to restore U.S. leadership on space issues and seek a worldwide ban on weapons that interfere with military and commercial satellites.
It also promised to look at threats to U.S. satellites, contingency plans to keep information flowing from them, and what steps are needed to protect spacecraft against attack. The issue is being closely watched by Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman Corp, the biggest U.S. defense contractors, and other companies involved in military and civilian space contracts. Watchdog groups and even some defense officials welcomed the statement, which echoed Obama's campaign promises, but said it would take time to hammer out a comprehensive new strategy.
Enacting a global ban on space weapons could prove even harder. For instance, it was difficult to define exactly what constituted a "weapon" because even seemingly harmless weather tracking satellites could be used to slam into and disable other satellites, said two U.S. officials involved in the area who were not authorized to speak publicly. Click here to view the article. (1/25)
Central Florida Freshmen Join Space Subcommittee (Source: Florida Today)
A press release from the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology confirmed the appointment of Suzanne Kosmas (D-New Smyrna) and Alan Grayson (D-Orlando) to the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. (1/24)
Posey Retains Weldon's Space-Saavy Staff (Source: ERAU)
Although he may not serve on the House Science Committee, newly elected Space Coast Congressman Bill Posey has retained key staff members from his predecessor, former Congressman Dave Weldon, who had become an important voice on space policy issues in the U.S. House of Representatives. Posey (R-Rockledge) was recently appointed to the influential House Financial Services Committee. (1-25)
NASA To Test New-Generation Space Rocket (Source: NPR)
Back when he was a high school student, in April 1981, Robert Ess says he was absolutely transfixed by NASA's very first flight of its new space shuttle. "I was obsessed with it," he says. The aging shuttle fleet is scheduled to be mothballed next year, after construction of the international space station is complete. Now Ess is obsessed with the first test flight of the shuttle's replacement. This time around, though, it's his job. Ess works at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., where he's in charge of the Ares I-X mission, an unmanned test flight scheduled for July.
NASA's plan is that the rocket will ultimately carry up a crew capsule similar to the one that took astronauts up during the Apollo era. The experimental version of the rocket, during its first test flight, will be capped by a carefully engineered dummy version of the crew capsule. The mock-up is exactly the right size, shape and weight, but "the only passengers are sensors." A military plane will take the capsule down to Florida on Thursday. There it will join other pieces of hardware, some real, some just fake stand-ins. If all goes well, workers will stack them all up this spring to create a rocket that stands more than 320 feet tall. (1/25)
Spy Satellites Turn Their Gaze Onto Each Other (Source: New Scientist)
Spy satellites have a new role: as well as watching us they are now spying on each other. The Pentagon admitted last week that it is using two covert inspection satellites developed for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to assess damage to a failed geostationary satellite - something no one suspected the US could do. If such satellites can get that close to a target, they could probably attack it. DOD says its Mitex micro-satellites, launched in 2006, have been jetting around the geostationary ring and have jointly inspected DSP 23, which was designed to pinpoint clandestine missile launches and nuclear tests, but which stopped working a year after its Nov. 2007 launch. The micro-satellites are trying to nail the problem. (1/25)
NASA, Neighbors Plan to Pause on Accident Anniversaries (Source: Florida Today)
NASA and the city of Titusville will pay tribute this week to American astronauts who lost their lives in the line of duty. With the anniversaries of the 1967 Apollo 1 launch pad fire, the 1986 Challenger explosion and the 2003 Columbia accident all in the next eight days, NASA will stage a Day of Remembrance ceremony on Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. (1/25)
NASA Safety Probe Shared with Other Space Agencies (Source: Houston Chronicle)
After Columbia's loss, a study team analyzed every aspect of the mission's failure. Some, like Kandy Jarvis, a Lockheed Martin astronomer turned imagery analyst, examined videos of the Columbia that were shot from the ground as it broke apart. Others analyzed the wreckage. Still others reviewed medical studies. All worked on the inquiry while continuing at their daily jobs. The recommendations included calls for safer spacesuits and helmets, stronger restraints, and air systems and parachutes that would activate automatically. They have been, or are being, implemented, NASA officials said.
When the experts were finished gathering the data and conducting tests, they set about producing a narrative. The writing itself, Melroy said, took a year, chiefly to achieve the clarity and voice that was acceptable to everyone. The result was a compelling account of failing metal and materials under conditions too extreme for men and women to survive. Next, the team wanted every national space program — and every private spacefaring company, as well — aware of its findings and recommendations.
“We want this to be a go-to document,” said Nigel Packham, a NASA safety specialist and team leader. “It may not guarantee absolute survivability, but our hope is the findings and the implementation of what we recommend will improve the chances of crew survival.” NASA is sending copies of the 440-page report to 18 state-run space agencies. “That’s how strongly we feel about this,” Melroy said. “NASA is sending them a hard copy with a note that says, 'Please look at this.’ ” (1/25)
NOAA-N Prime Atop Delta II Rocket Ready For Feb. 4 Launch in California (Source: NASA)
The launch of the NOAA-N Prime polar-orbiting weather satellite for NASA and NOAA, aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 4. Liftoff will be from Space Launch Complex 2, SLC-2, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The 10-minute launch window extends from 2:22:01 - 2:32:01 a.m. PST. The NOAA-N Prime satellite, built for NASA by Lockheed Martin, will improve weather forecasting and monitor environmental events around the world. NOAA-N Prime is the fifth and last in the current series of five polar-orbiting satellites with improved imaging and sounding capabilities. (1/25)
Obama Transition Officials Join NASA as Advisers (Source: Space News)
Two members of U.S. President Barack Obama's NASA transition team have accepted political appointments at the U.S. space agency's Washington headquarters. Alan Ladwig and George Whitesides began work Jan. 21 as senior advisers to the NASA administrator, who the Obama administration has yet to name. Ladwig, a space consultant who resigned his position with Whitney, Bradley & Brown in November, was NASA's associate administrator for policy and plans during the 1990s. Prior to joining the NASA transition team, Whitesides took a leave of absence from the National Space Society, where he was executive director since 2004. (1/23)
NASA Schedule Problem with Back-To-Back Interplanetary Atlas Launches (Source: Space News)
NASA officials announced in December that they had given up trying to finish the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover in time to make its long-planned October 2009 launch window. Because Earth and Mars are in favorable alignment for launch every two years, forfeiting the window meant postponing liftoff of the $1.9 billion mission to 2011.
The ideal 2011 launch window for MSL, however, comes just two months after the roughly $1 billion Jupiter-bound Juno mission is scheduled to lift off from the same launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The two-month separation between launches normally would not pose a problem, but it falls short of the 90 days the U.S. government's launch provider, Denver-based United Launch Alliance (ULA), currently requires to complete launch integration for a nuclear-powered spacecraft like MSL.
Nuclear-powered spacecraft are shipped without their power supply, making for additional work once the hardware reaches the launch site, said Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science division. At the request of NASA and the U.S. Air Force, ULA has examined what it would take to shorten the ground processing time for launches of nuclear-powered spacecraft from 90 days to 75, and for non-nuclear-powered spacecraft from 60 days to 45. (1/23)
Tourist Trips to Space Station May Continue (Source: New Scientist)
It's getting crowded up there. The International Space Station is set to double the size of its crew this year, and news reports this week suggest the Russian space agency Roscosmos plans to stop launching space tourists because of the added traffic. Some have speculated this decision could throw a wrench in the plans of Space Adventures, a firm that has made a brisk business of selling seats on Russian Soyuz missions. The last flight the firm has announced will take place on 25 March, when software executive Charles Simonyi will return to the station for a second stay.
Rented seats may no longer be available. But Space Adventures says it has been in contact with the Russian Federal Space Agency since the news broke, and it still plans on going forward with a trip aboard its own Soyuz capsule as early as 2011. The fully commercial mission, announced in 2008, would rent pilot services to take two passengers into space aboard a purchased capsule. The "news has no impact on our plans for a dedicated Space Adventures Soyuz mission," the company's president, Eric Anderson, wrote in an e-mail.
That seems like good news for investors like Google's Sergey Brin, who has made a $5 million down payment for a seat on a future flight. But will there be a place for Brin to stay? Flight Global's Rob Coppinger speculates a tourist-only Soyuz might have trouble finding room to dock with the space station and notes a commercial Soyuz mission would require the blessing (and likely the paid services) of both NASA and Roscosmos. (1/23)
University of Delaware Plans Center for the Study of Space Radiation Effects (Source: U of D)
Researchers in the University of Delaware's Department of Physics and Astronomy have been awarded $750,000 by NASA to develop a Delaware Center for the Study of Space Radiation Effects. The NASA provides funding to strengthen research programs in states seeking to become more competitive in their aerospace and aerospace-related research activities. Science Principal Investigator Bill Matthaeus and Delaware's NASA EPSCoR Director Dermott Mullan, professors in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, designed the project to build on existing Delaware expertise in space radiation and develop new multidisciplinary connections. (1/23)
Indian Rocket Launches Paralyze Fishermen (Source: Express Buzz)
As India reached for the skies and the moon, the fishermen in Palaverkadu region (Pulicut lake) kept their fingers crossed, not for the success of the space missions but for the authorities to let them earn their livelihood. For, they were barred from going to the sea. Now, they are saying enough is enough and demanding a compensation of Rs 200 per day for each fisherman who was prevented from putting out to the sea in view of the various rocket launches from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota. The ban temporarily puts 15,000 fishermen in Palaverkadu taluk - who go out to the sea each day - out of business. In all, 40,000 people are affected by the ban. (1/23)
Japan's government has launched a project to develop a midair rocket-launching system that can place satellites in orbit. The project is aimed at meeting the global demand for low-cost, small satellites that can be developed and produced relatively quickly. Observers say the project, if successful, would help Japan maintain its international competitiveness in the rocket-launching business. The midair firing system does not require large launch facilities on the ground and therefore allows for greater flexibility of launches by reducing the impact of restricting factors such as negotiating with local fishery cooperatives on the timing of a launch. (1/25)
Challenges Loom as Obama Seeks Space Weapons Ban (Source: Reuters)
President Barack Obama's pledge to seek a worldwide ban on weapons in space marks a dramatic shift in U.S. policy while posing the tricky issue of defining whether a satellite can be a weapon. Moments after Obama's inauguration last week, the White House website was updated to include policy statements on a range of issues, including a pledge to restore U.S. leadership on space issues and seek a worldwide ban on weapons that interfere with military and commercial satellites.
It also promised to look at threats to U.S. satellites, contingency plans to keep information flowing from them, and what steps are needed to protect spacecraft against attack. The issue is being closely watched by Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman Corp, the biggest U.S. defense contractors, and other companies involved in military and civilian space contracts. Watchdog groups and even some defense officials welcomed the statement, which echoed Obama's campaign promises, but said it would take time to hammer out a comprehensive new strategy.
Enacting a global ban on space weapons could prove even harder. For instance, it was difficult to define exactly what constituted a "weapon" because even seemingly harmless weather tracking satellites could be used to slam into and disable other satellites, said two U.S. officials involved in the area who were not authorized to speak publicly. Click here to view the article. (1/25)
Central Florida Freshmen Join Space Subcommittee (Source: Florida Today)
A press release from the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology confirmed the appointment of Suzanne Kosmas (D-New Smyrna) and Alan Grayson (D-Orlando) to the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. (1/24)
Posey Retains Weldon's Space-Saavy Staff (Source: ERAU)
Although he may not serve on the House Science Committee, newly elected Space Coast Congressman Bill Posey has retained key staff members from his predecessor, former Congressman Dave Weldon, who had become an important voice on space policy issues in the U.S. House of Representatives. Posey (R-Rockledge) was recently appointed to the influential House Financial Services Committee. (1-25)
NASA To Test New-Generation Space Rocket (Source: NPR)
Back when he was a high school student, in April 1981, Robert Ess says he was absolutely transfixed by NASA's very first flight of its new space shuttle. "I was obsessed with it," he says. The aging shuttle fleet is scheduled to be mothballed next year, after construction of the international space station is complete. Now Ess is obsessed with the first test flight of the shuttle's replacement. This time around, though, it's his job. Ess works at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., where he's in charge of the Ares I-X mission, an unmanned test flight scheduled for July.
NASA's plan is that the rocket will ultimately carry up a crew capsule similar to the one that took astronauts up during the Apollo era. The experimental version of the rocket, during its first test flight, will be capped by a carefully engineered dummy version of the crew capsule. The mock-up is exactly the right size, shape and weight, but "the only passengers are sensors." A military plane will take the capsule down to Florida on Thursday. There it will join other pieces of hardware, some real, some just fake stand-ins. If all goes well, workers will stack them all up this spring to create a rocket that stands more than 320 feet tall. (1/25)
Spy Satellites Turn Their Gaze Onto Each Other (Source: New Scientist)
Spy satellites have a new role: as well as watching us they are now spying on each other. The Pentagon admitted last week that it is using two covert inspection satellites developed for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to assess damage to a failed geostationary satellite - something no one suspected the US could do. If such satellites can get that close to a target, they could probably attack it. DOD says its Mitex micro-satellites, launched in 2006, have been jetting around the geostationary ring and have jointly inspected DSP 23, which was designed to pinpoint clandestine missile launches and nuclear tests, but which stopped working a year after its Nov. 2007 launch. The micro-satellites are trying to nail the problem. (1/25)
NASA, Neighbors Plan to Pause on Accident Anniversaries (Source: Florida Today)
NASA and the city of Titusville will pay tribute this week to American astronauts who lost their lives in the line of duty. With the anniversaries of the 1967 Apollo 1 launch pad fire, the 1986 Challenger explosion and the 2003 Columbia accident all in the next eight days, NASA will stage a Day of Remembrance ceremony on Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. (1/25)
NASA Safety Probe Shared with Other Space Agencies (Source: Houston Chronicle)
After Columbia's loss, a study team analyzed every aspect of the mission's failure. Some, like Kandy Jarvis, a Lockheed Martin astronomer turned imagery analyst, examined videos of the Columbia that were shot from the ground as it broke apart. Others analyzed the wreckage. Still others reviewed medical studies. All worked on the inquiry while continuing at their daily jobs. The recommendations included calls for safer spacesuits and helmets, stronger restraints, and air systems and parachutes that would activate automatically. They have been, or are being, implemented, NASA officials said.
When the experts were finished gathering the data and conducting tests, they set about producing a narrative. The writing itself, Melroy said, took a year, chiefly to achieve the clarity and voice that was acceptable to everyone. The result was a compelling account of failing metal and materials under conditions too extreme for men and women to survive. Next, the team wanted every national space program — and every private spacefaring company, as well — aware of its findings and recommendations.
“We want this to be a go-to document,” said Nigel Packham, a NASA safety specialist and team leader. “It may not guarantee absolute survivability, but our hope is the findings and the implementation of what we recommend will improve the chances of crew survival.” NASA is sending copies of the 440-page report to 18 state-run space agencies. “That’s how strongly we feel about this,” Melroy said. “NASA is sending them a hard copy with a note that says, 'Please look at this.’ ” (1/25)
NOAA-N Prime Atop Delta II Rocket Ready For Feb. 4 Launch in California (Source: NASA)
The launch of the NOAA-N Prime polar-orbiting weather satellite for NASA and NOAA, aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 4. Liftoff will be from Space Launch Complex 2, SLC-2, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The 10-minute launch window extends from 2:22:01 - 2:32:01 a.m. PST. The NOAA-N Prime satellite, built for NASA by Lockheed Martin, will improve weather forecasting and monitor environmental events around the world. NOAA-N Prime is the fifth and last in the current series of five polar-orbiting satellites with improved imaging and sounding capabilities. (1/25)
Obama Transition Officials Join NASA as Advisers (Source: Space News)
Two members of U.S. President Barack Obama's NASA transition team have accepted political appointments at the U.S. space agency's Washington headquarters. Alan Ladwig and George Whitesides began work Jan. 21 as senior advisers to the NASA administrator, who the Obama administration has yet to name. Ladwig, a space consultant who resigned his position with Whitney, Bradley & Brown in November, was NASA's associate administrator for policy and plans during the 1990s. Prior to joining the NASA transition team, Whitesides took a leave of absence from the National Space Society, where he was executive director since 2004. (1/23)
NASA Schedule Problem with Back-To-Back Interplanetary Atlas Launches (Source: Space News)
NASA officials announced in December that they had given up trying to finish the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover in time to make its long-planned October 2009 launch window. Because Earth and Mars are in favorable alignment for launch every two years, forfeiting the window meant postponing liftoff of the $1.9 billion mission to 2011.
The ideal 2011 launch window for MSL, however, comes just two months after the roughly $1 billion Jupiter-bound Juno mission is scheduled to lift off from the same launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The two-month separation between launches normally would not pose a problem, but it falls short of the 90 days the U.S. government's launch provider, Denver-based United Launch Alliance (ULA), currently requires to complete launch integration for a nuclear-powered spacecraft like MSL.
Nuclear-powered spacecraft are shipped without their power supply, making for additional work once the hardware reaches the launch site, said Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science division. At the request of NASA and the U.S. Air Force, ULA has examined what it would take to shorten the ground processing time for launches of nuclear-powered spacecraft from 90 days to 75, and for non-nuclear-powered spacecraft from 60 days to 45. (1/23)
Tourist Trips to Space Station May Continue (Source: New Scientist)
It's getting crowded up there. The International Space Station is set to double the size of its crew this year, and news reports this week suggest the Russian space agency Roscosmos plans to stop launching space tourists because of the added traffic. Some have speculated this decision could throw a wrench in the plans of Space Adventures, a firm that has made a brisk business of selling seats on Russian Soyuz missions. The last flight the firm has announced will take place on 25 March, when software executive Charles Simonyi will return to the station for a second stay.
Rented seats may no longer be available. But Space Adventures says it has been in contact with the Russian Federal Space Agency since the news broke, and it still plans on going forward with a trip aboard its own Soyuz capsule as early as 2011. The fully commercial mission, announced in 2008, would rent pilot services to take two passengers into space aboard a purchased capsule. The "news has no impact on our plans for a dedicated Space Adventures Soyuz mission," the company's president, Eric Anderson, wrote in an e-mail.
That seems like good news for investors like Google's Sergey Brin, who has made a $5 million down payment for a seat on a future flight. But will there be a place for Brin to stay? Flight Global's Rob Coppinger speculates a tourist-only Soyuz might have trouble finding room to dock with the space station and notes a commercial Soyuz mission would require the blessing (and likely the paid services) of both NASA and Roscosmos. (1/23)
University of Delaware Plans Center for the Study of Space Radiation Effects (Source: U of D)
Researchers in the University of Delaware's Department of Physics and Astronomy have been awarded $750,000 by NASA to develop a Delaware Center for the Study of Space Radiation Effects. The NASA provides funding to strengthen research programs in states seeking to become more competitive in their aerospace and aerospace-related research activities. Science Principal Investigator Bill Matthaeus and Delaware's NASA EPSCoR Director Dermott Mullan, professors in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, designed the project to build on existing Delaware expertise in space radiation and develop new multidisciplinary connections. (1/23)
Indian Rocket Launches Paralyze Fishermen (Source: Express Buzz)
As India reached for the skies and the moon, the fishermen in Palaverkadu region (Pulicut lake) kept their fingers crossed, not for the success of the space missions but for the authorities to let them earn their livelihood. For, they were barred from going to the sea. Now, they are saying enough is enough and demanding a compensation of Rs 200 per day for each fisherman who was prevented from putting out to the sea in view of the various rocket launches from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota. The ban temporarily puts 15,000 fishermen in Palaverkadu taluk - who go out to the sea each day - out of business. In all, 40,000 people are affected by the ban. (1/23)
January 24 News Items
Editorial: We Aimed for The Stars...Until We Stopped (Source: Space News)
If you were alive and aware 40 years ago, you will likely never forget the Christmas of 1968. We had lived through a year of epic tragedy — a war going badly, mass protests, political assassinations and deadly race riots in the streets of many of our cities. But this calamitous year ended in a way that few would have dared to predict: a remarkable worldwide television broadcast of three men taking turns reading the biblical account of creation as they orbited another world. In an instant we had created a new world for ourselves — and a year of sadness ended with a moment of great joy and inspiration.
Our country has been pulling the rug out from under NASA ever since Apollo. Really, the agency is running on fumes from rocket fuel that was purchased (on a credit card no doubt) in 1961. Click here to view the article. (1/24)
Space-Tourism Deal Spurs State Investigation (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Last year, Brice Harris, an employee in Gov. Charlie Crist's tourism and economic-development office, shepherded a deal to give a Panhandle sports-medicine clinic a $500,000 contract to train tourists for the rigors of spaceflight... Then in August, shortly after the project had been provisionally approved by agencies that included Brevard-based Space Florida, Harris resigned his $70,000-a-year state job -- to take a job overseeing the project for the company he had helped get it.
State ethics laws prohibit government employees from taking a job with a company if they were involved in any way with negotiating a contract with the company. After Harris quit, a high-ranking member of the governor's staff wrote that his involvement with the company would lead to a "disaster" if exposed... The investigation is almost certain to bring greater scrutiny to Space Florida, the state's 2-year-old aerospace development body that kicked off the deal. Click here to view the article. (1/24)
Race To Orbit Gets Underway With Ares-1-X Tests (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
NASA is using powerful computers and software programs to design the rocket that will carry crew and cargo to space after the space shuttle retires. But those computers will have their work checked the old-fashioned way with the first of several uncrewed demonstration launches beginning in 2009. Ares I-X, the first Ares I test rocket, will lift off from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. in the summer of 2009. It will climb about 25 miles (40.2 km) in a two-minute powered test of Ares I first stage performance and its first stage separation and parachute recovery system. A less obvious - but no less critical - test will be of overall vehicle aerodynamics. Is the design safe and stable in flight? This is a question that must be answered before astronauts begin traveling into orbit and beyond. (1/23)
Huntsville Attorney Retains Role as Congressional Adviser on Space (Source: Huntsville Times)
A local lawyer and space expert has been reappointed to a key role advising Congress on science issues. Mark McDaniel was reappointed as an adviser on space by Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., to the House Committee on Science and Technology, which Gordon chairs. McDaniel has advised Gordon for the past four years. He also served on the NASA Advisory Council from 2000-2005.
"As NASA once again works to put a man on the moon, people with the background such as (McDaniel) are able to offer sound counsel to me and my staff," Gordon wrote in the appointment letter. "Your experience with the NASA Advisory Council as well as your continued relationship with the leadership of Marshall Space Flight Center will provide insight ..." McDaniel said he looked forward to working on space and science issues related "to not only Huntsville but agency-wide." (1/24)
If you were alive and aware 40 years ago, you will likely never forget the Christmas of 1968. We had lived through a year of epic tragedy — a war going badly, mass protests, political assassinations and deadly race riots in the streets of many of our cities. But this calamitous year ended in a way that few would have dared to predict: a remarkable worldwide television broadcast of three men taking turns reading the biblical account of creation as they orbited another world. In an instant we had created a new world for ourselves — and a year of sadness ended with a moment of great joy and inspiration.
Our country has been pulling the rug out from under NASA ever since Apollo. Really, the agency is running on fumes from rocket fuel that was purchased (on a credit card no doubt) in 1961. Click here to view the article. (1/24)
Space-Tourism Deal Spurs State Investigation (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Last year, Brice Harris, an employee in Gov. Charlie Crist's tourism and economic-development office, shepherded a deal to give a Panhandle sports-medicine clinic a $500,000 contract to train tourists for the rigors of spaceflight... Then in August, shortly after the project had been provisionally approved by agencies that included Brevard-based Space Florida, Harris resigned his $70,000-a-year state job -- to take a job overseeing the project for the company he had helped get it.
State ethics laws prohibit government employees from taking a job with a company if they were involved in any way with negotiating a contract with the company. After Harris quit, a high-ranking member of the governor's staff wrote that his involvement with the company would lead to a "disaster" if exposed... The investigation is almost certain to bring greater scrutiny to Space Florida, the state's 2-year-old aerospace development body that kicked off the deal. Click here to view the article. (1/24)
Race To Orbit Gets Underway With Ares-1-X Tests (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
NASA is using powerful computers and software programs to design the rocket that will carry crew and cargo to space after the space shuttle retires. But those computers will have their work checked the old-fashioned way with the first of several uncrewed demonstration launches beginning in 2009. Ares I-X, the first Ares I test rocket, will lift off from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. in the summer of 2009. It will climb about 25 miles (40.2 km) in a two-minute powered test of Ares I first stage performance and its first stage separation and parachute recovery system. A less obvious - but no less critical - test will be of overall vehicle aerodynamics. Is the design safe and stable in flight? This is a question that must be answered before astronauts begin traveling into orbit and beyond. (1/23)
Huntsville Attorney Retains Role as Congressional Adviser on Space (Source: Huntsville Times)
A local lawyer and space expert has been reappointed to a key role advising Congress on science issues. Mark McDaniel was reappointed as an adviser on space by Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., to the House Committee on Science and Technology, which Gordon chairs. McDaniel has advised Gordon for the past four years. He also served on the NASA Advisory Council from 2000-2005.
"As NASA once again works to put a man on the moon, people with the background such as (McDaniel) are able to offer sound counsel to me and my staff," Gordon wrote in the appointment letter. "Your experience with the NASA Advisory Council as well as your continued relationship with the leadership of Marshall Space Flight Center will provide insight ..." McDaniel said he looked forward to working on space and science issues related "to not only Huntsville but agency-wide." (1/24)
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