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)