January 1 News Items

Falcon 9 Assembled at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Florida Today)
SpaceX workers have completed assembling all sections of the Falcon 9 rocket, which is scheduled to fly early in 2009 from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral. On Tuesday, crews mated the 5.2-meter payload fairing to the Falcon 9 first stage. This final step came a day ahead of schedule, according to a SpaceX statement. Workers now will focus on the launch mount and erector. "All the pieces have been delivered, and the coming days will see a tremendous amount of welding to join them all together," said a SpaceX statement. The company expects to raise the rocket to vertical early in 2009. Click here to view a photo. (1/1)

Obama Moves to Counter China in Space With Pentagon-NASA Link (Source: Bloomberg)
President-elect Barack Obama will probably tear down long-standing barriers between the U.S.’s civilian and military space programs to speed up a mission to the moon amid the prospect of a new space race with China. Obama’s transition team is considering a collaboration between DOD and NASA because DOD-sponsored expendable rockets may be cheaper and ready sooner than the space agency’s planned launch vehicle, which isn’t slated to fly until 2015, according to people who’ve discussed the idea with the Obama team. The potential change comes as Pentagon concerns are rising over China’s space ambitions because of what is perceived as an eventual threat to U.S. defense satellites, the lofty battlefield eyes of the military. (1/1)

Loral Gets Satellite Contract (Source: MSNBC)
Loral has received a contract from Intelsat Ltd. to replace an existing satellite. The company did not disclose the value of the contract but said it finalized a previously announced award for a new satellite. To be known as Intelsat 17, the spacecraft will be the 45th satellite provided by Loral to Intelsat. It will replace Intelsat 704 and be launched in 2010 to an altitude of about 20,000 miles at a stationary point over the Indian Ocean. (1/1)

NASA chief's Wife: Don't Fire My Husband (Source: AP)
Late on Christmas Eve, one last wish was sent, by e-mail: Please let NASA Administrator Michael Griffin keep his job. It was from his wife. Rebecca Griffin, who works in marketing, sent her message with the subject line "Campaign for Mike" to friends and family. It asked them to sign an online petition to President-elect Barack Obama "to consider keeping Mike Griffin on as NASA Administrator." (12/31)

NM Spaceport, Virgin Galactic Sign 20-Year Lease (Source: New Mexico Business Weekly)
Virgin Galactic signed a 20-year lease Wednesday to operate out of Spaceport America in southern New Mexico. The lease agreement marks a major turning point in efforts to get the spaceport up and running, said Gov. Bill Richardson in a news release. “The signing of this agreement is a momentous day for our state and has cemented New Mexico as the home of commercial space travel,” Richardson said. (12/31)