January 6 News Items

KSC Workers Injured in Composite Tank Test (Source: Florida Today)
Investigators are looking into what caused a tank to explode at Kennedy Space Center during a contractor's equipment test on Dec. 23. Seven people were treated for minor injuries after the incident at a KSC cryogenic lab. ASRC Aerospace Corp. conducted the pressurization test on a composite tank for Lockheed Martin - work that was not related to a NASA project. The 54-inch-diameter tank, designed to contain liquid oxygen, was within a metal cage surrounded by a plywood box. The testers expected a leak but not a rupture. Lockheed Martin said the tank is being designed to support future launch vehicles. (1/6)

Arianespace Wins Launch Contract From Intelsat (Source: Arianespace)
Arianespace announced today that it has signed a contract with the international satellite operator Intelsat for the launch of one satellite, with the option to launch four more satellites between 2011 and 2015. (1/6)

Bright Flash in Heavens Has No Earthly Explanation (Source: WIRED)
While conducting a routine search for distant supernovae, astronomers observed a bright burst of light that they can’t account for. On Feb. 21, 2006, the Hubble Space Telescope first imaged the source of light, which continued to brighten over the next 100 days, peaked, and then finally faded to oblivion over another 100 days. The time scale of brightening, as well as the particular characteristics of the colors of light seen, do not match any known astronomical phenomena.

While supernovae normally take three weeks to reach their peak brightness (or at most 70 days), this object, called SCP 06F6, took significantly longer. The scientists can tell very little about the source of the flash — not even how far away it is, or how intrinsically bright. That means it could have come from some event in our own galaxy, or from some distant region of the universe. There is no visible star or galaxy at the site of flash to offer hints of what caused it. (1/6)

University Students Plan Space Welding Project in Microgravity (Source: Missouri University of S&T)
A team of students from Missouri University of Science and Technology is flying high this week, ready to defy gravity while welding. While onboard a NASA microgravity aircraft flight, S&T students will weld aluminum and study its behavior with a goal of improving the speed of space construction.

"The team hopes to collect data that will lead to a better understanding of how to weld in space," says team leader Michelle Rader, a senior in aerospace engineering from Marshfield, Mo. "We have updated our electronics to a computer-based system that will control the robotic system that moves the weld gun across the test strip. Students on the aircraft will start and stop the welding process using a touch-screen monitor." (1/6)

NASA Moves On Ares-5 Moon-Rocket Procurement (Source: Aviation Week)
Potential contractors on NASA's heavy-lift Ares V moon rocket will have until Feb. 9 to submit bids on the first procurement package of the huge launch vehicle, under a request for proposals issued Jan. 5. The RFP came as the 111th Congress prepared to hold its first session today, with President-elect Obama's inauguration still two weeks in the future. Neither of the newly elected branches of the federal government has made its position clear on whether to continue with the Bush administration's "Moon, Mars and Beyond" space program, which will require the Ares V to move humans beyond low-Earth orbit. (1/6)

NASA: Mike Griffin Out, Charlie Bolden In? (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
When Barrack Obama takes the Oath of Office on January 20, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin will be clearing out the last of his possessions from his office and heading off to a new career in either academia or the aerospace business. At least, that’s the word circulating in the halls of power in Washington and among some of the better-connected space industry poobahs. According to these sources, Griffin will be replaced as acting administrator by Chris Scolese, currently NASA's associate administrator and former chief engineer, until a new administrator is named.

Griffin and his supporters have been viewed as lobbying for him to keep his post, but even some of Griffin’s most ardent supporters on the Hill, like Florida’s senior senator, Democrat Bill Nelson, saw the lobbying as craven. There are several potential replacements being discussed, and one stands out above the rest: former astronaut Charlie Bolden. An African American, he is perhaps best known by millions as the virtual host of the Shuttle Launch Experience attraction at Kennedy Space Center.

Other names out there include, Scott Hubbard of Stanford University, a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board and leader of the re-examination of the Vision for Space Exploration; Wesley Huntress at the Geophysical Laboratory at the Carnegie Institute; Dr. Sally Ride, America's first female astronaut; and Dr. Alan Stern, a planetary scientist who once worked at NASA running robotic missions to other planets. The current head of Obama’s transition team, Lori Garver, is hoping to be deputy administrator. (1/6)

Forget the Bungalow, Retire to Mars (Source: Sunday Times)
When someone looks you in the eye and tells you he’s planning a supersonic electric plane and a retirement community on Mars, it can be hard to take him seriously. It gets a little easier when you realise he is worth more than $325m (£223m), owns the world’s most successful electric sports car company, has put a rocket into orbit and was hired by NASA last month to help it keep the International Space Station supplied. Click here to view the article. (1/4)

Spacehab to Support MRM1 for International Space Station (Source: Spacehab)
Spacehab has reached an agreement in principal with RSC Energia, Russia’s largest manufacturer of aerospace and space equipment, to provide facilities and support services for its Mini Research Module (MRM1). The MRM1 will be readied for its journey aboard the U.S. Space Shuttle at the Spacehab Cape Canaveral payload processing location. Manifested to fly on STS-132 during the Space Shuttle’s final mission in April 2010, the MRM1 will act as a docking port extension for the Russian Soyuz and Progress vehicles that have transported astronauts and cosmonauts. (1/5)

Ex-Astronaut Emerges as NASA Prospect (Source: MSNBC)
Former astronaut Charles F. Bolden Jr. is emerging as a lead candidate to head NASA in the Obama administration. If selected for the post, the 62-year-old would be the first African-American appointed to serve as NASA administrator.

Bolden is a veteran of four spaceflights, with more than 680 hours in space, and retired from the Marine Corps in 2003 as a major general. A Naval Academy graduate, Bolden would be at the helm of the space agency for the construction and launches of NASA's new Ares rockets and Orion and Altair spaceships being built to return America to the moon. (1/6)

Launch Prices Still Rising Despite Poor Global Economy (Source: Space News)
Commercial satellite launch prices have continued to rise in recent months despite the excess of launcher capacity worldwide and early signs that the global credit crunch is delaying some satellite programs, Arianespace Chief Executive Jean-Yves Le Gall said Jan. 6. He said a fully loaded Ariane 5 rocket, with two telecommunications satellites weighing a combined 8,500 kilograms, currently is priced at around 160 million euros ($220.1 million). (1/6)

What Would Happen if a Space Elevator Snaps? (Source: Gassend.net)
I have run a few simulations/animations of a space elevator breaking. The elevator that is simulated is an equatorial uniform stress elevator with Brad Edwards' standard parameters. Length is 91000 km, density is 1300 kg/m^3, strength is 130 GPa with a factor of safety of 2, Young's modulus is 1 TPa. The animations do 800 time steps per frame (6 minutes and 40 seconds). The color of the tether indicates the amount of stress. It goes from blue to red to yellow to white to snap! The Earth is in blue, and the red sphere is at the geosynchronous altitude. Click here to view the information and animations. (1/6)

Shuttle License Plate Funds Matched for Tampa Teacher Program (Source: TRDA)
The Helios Education Foundation has pledged $314,000 to extend Florida's Teacher Quest program to the Tampa Bay area for the next three years. Teacher Quest is a multi-week, paid summer professional development program in which K-12 teachers go to work at select science- and technology-based businesses in Florida. Teachers gain valuable industry knowledge and take it back to the classroom to expose students to potential career pathways and to develop lessons that make science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) studies more exciting and challenging for students.

The Tampa Bay partnership will cover the summers of 2009, 2010 and 2011, and will be limited to 6th through 8th grade science, math and technology teachers working in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk and Manatee Counties. Teachers will work for six-week periods and receive additional professional development workshops and competitive mini-grants to enhance their units of study. Visit http://www.trda.org/news/article.asp?articleID=133 for information. (1/6)

SIFT Enlists Aerospace Companies to Host Teacher Summer Jobs (Source: SIFT)
The Summer Industrial Fellowship for Teachers (SIFT), now in its 19th year, is enlisting Central Florida aerospace and technology companies to host summer jobs for local teachers. The program provides highly motivated teachers to serve as temporary employees, giving them "real-world" experience in industry that they can bring back to their classrooms and students. The teachers can win cash awards for developing lesson plans based on their work experience. The program has provided over 750 summer jobs in more than 60 different organizations, including industry, the Air Force and NASA. Visit http://www.floridasift.com for information. (1/6)

City Won't Bail Out of Deal with Rocket Racing (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Rocket Racing League was granted a second extension Monday by the Las Cruces City Council to build hangars on six parcels at Las Cruces International Airport. But in agreeing to the extension, the council made two distinct conditions to Granger Whitelaw, the fledgling league's chief executive officer. First, the league must prepay its six leases with the city within in the next 45 days, and all of the six hangars the league said it wants to build must be finished by Sept. 30.

If those conditions are not met, then the league will default on the leases and those parcels could become available to applicants who appear eager to take them over. The council could have terminated the leases during its Monday meeting at City Hall, and in essence did so. But an alternative lease agreement with the two new conditions was adopted by the council in place of an agreement that was modified June 14. A provision in the old lease stipulated that hangars on two of the six parcels had to be completed by Jan. 15, which Airport Manager Lisa Murphy said was highly unlikely. (1/6)

India to Launch Four Foreign Satellites This Year (Source: PTI)
The Indian Space Research Organization will launch four foreign satellites this year as it seeks to make further inroads into the international satellite-building and launch services market in 2009. The four satellites will be launched for Singapore, the Netherlands, Italy and Algeria. These contracts were won by ISRO independently and not under their partnership with EADS-Astrium. (1/6)

Lunar Rock-Like Material May Someday House Moon Colonies (Source: Virginia Tech)
Dwellings in colonies on the moon one day may be built with new, highly durable bricks developed by students from the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech. Initially designed to construct a dome, the building material is composed of a lunar rock-like material mixed with powdered aluminum that can be molded into any shape. The invention recently won the In-Situ Lunar Resource Utilization materials and construction category award from Hawaii's Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES). The award was one of two prizes given out this year by the research center, which is dedicated to supporting life on the moon and beyond. (1/6)

Milky Way as Massive as 3 Trillion Suns (Source: Science News)
Hey Andromeda, you’d better watch out. Turns out your little brother, the Milky Way galaxy, isn’t so little after all. In fact, the Milky Way is just as massive, weighing in at the new estimate of 3 trillion suns, according to a new study. That means that the two galaxies — the largest members of the Local Group of galaxies — might smash into each other earlier than astronomers had predicted. Findings also suggest Milky Way has four spiral arms. (1/5)

University Students Pioneer Branding Potential of Space Station (Source: American University)
An American University consulting practicum spent the fall investigating whether the U.S. portion of the International Space Station (ISS), set for completion in 2010, might provide branding opportunities. The three second-year MBA students presented their recommendations to NASA on Dec. 11. Their conclusion? An emphatic yes.

"People are interested in buying space technology products," said student Alexis Bawden. "Consumers are very interested in HD footage, clothing, and medicine from space. You're going to give the taxpayers tangible results." NASA already conducted its own brand evaluation, producing a 2002 report that Kogod professor Stephen Day, who led the practicum, said "didn't go anywhere." The agency is reluctant to move forward with a branding campaign for numerous reasons, including its fierce protection of its own NASA brand, Day said. (1/5)