May 19 News Items

Another E'Prime Lawsuit (Source: SPACErePORT)
James Oldham, the Tennessee-based investor who purchased a controlling interest in E'Prime Aerospace from Titusville-based Bobby Davis, has filed a legal malpractice suit against Hartke & Hartke and Grover Moscowitz PA. The lawsuit, filed in Brevard County, alleges that "Plaintiffs received communication, legal advice and/or legal services from Defendants, which were relied upon to the Plaintiffs to their detriment and which caused Plaintiff's severe damages." Their services were provided in support of a separate lawsuit, filed in Orlando, that alleged various by Bobby Davis, the founder of E'Prime. (5/19)

Russian Rockets To Increase Launch Market Share (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia must strengthen its competitive positions on the global commercial space launch market by expanding its launch facilities and developing new types of carrier rockets, the prime minister said on Monday. "We should not simply maintain but significantly strengthen our competitive edge in the space sector, not least by developing the Plesetsk and Vostochny space centers, and producing advanced rockets and a new-generation spaceship," Vladimir Putin said.

He said this would enable Russia to provide high-quality, low-cost launch services on the international market. "I believe that in the foreseeable future we'll have the ability to increase Russia's share of the international launch market by another 8-10%," Putin said. The increase would give Russia around 50% of the global commercial space launch market. (5/18)

World's Largest Commercial Satellite Arrives at Kourou Spaceport (Source: Loral)
The Loral-built TerreStar-1 satellite has arrived on schedule in Kourou, French Guiana where it is scheduled to launch on June 24 aboard the Ariane 5 heavy lift launch vehicle. TerreStar-1 will be the largest commercial satellite ever launched and is designed to provide integrated satellite and terrestrial mobile services for critical communications using conventionally-sized dual mode handsets. (5/19)

Virgin Galactic: 'Getting Into Space has a Very Low Environmental Impact' (Source: Guardian)
Let's put science ahead of emotion in discussing Virgin Galactic's environmental impacts. The company is developing a 21st-century space launch system based on the principles of an entirely carbon composite construction, a unique benign hybrid rocket motor, biofuels where permissible and very high-altitude air launch and firing of the benign rocket rather than launching it from the ground. The air launch negates the need to use dirty carbon-intensive solid chemical fueled rocket boosters. The result is a very low-energy and low environmental impact approach to getting humans, scientific payload and eventually even small satellites into space. (5/19)

Editorial: Keep moving on Spaceport Sheboygan (Source: Sheboygan Press)
Another successful Rockets for Schools event is in the books and we hope that many of the nearly 450 students who took part will see that the study of space is a future worth pursuing. Hopefully, those who choose this career path will be able to come back and be part of Spaceport Sheboygan, a Midwest location that will serve as a true launching pad for space exploration.

Though still in the conceptual stages, Sheboygan, because of a "no-fly zone" along Lake Michigan, is one of several locations where rockets could be launched into space for scientific or commercial purposes. This is a pretty heady idea, but with the creation of the Wisconsin Aerospace Authority a couple of years back, the effort is well on its way. Though many would say that organizers have their heads in the clouds, we think that they are on the right course. (5/19)

Tiny, DIY Satellites Get NASA Boost (Source: WIRED)
We’ve known that the DIY ethic is good for modding your Roomba or building a beer bong, but groups of college students have taken the movement to the next level: space. Working on shoestring budgets and short timelines, duct tape and tape measures, CubeSat enthusiasts build 4-inch square satellites and then piggyback their dreams on bigger missions’ rockets. They do it dirty and cheap, but their results are competitive with their spendier counterparts. What was just a concept 10 years ago is now a thriving way of accessing space at very low cost. Now, even NASA is giving the idea the thumbs up. Tuesday, a new nanosatellite will take a ride into orbit on a Minotaur 1 rocket. Click here to view the article and video. (5/19)

Lost in Space (Source: New York Post)
Apollo was a strategic program. And, if we wish to return to global space leadership, then we need to return to strategic thinking. Apollo came to symbolize American global leadership, and the strength of the nation's capitalist economy and technical prowess. Cast in terms of a peaceful quest for scientific and engineering excellence, it was a powerful foreign policy tool. Nations that may have differed with the US international policies, our presence in Vietnam and even our Cold War adversaries, admired America for the boldness and openness of its lunar exploration program.

While NASA went to the moon, it did so with the hopes, dreams, and the admiration of the people of Earth, who embraced the journey as an endeavor for humankind. We went to the moon, but it was a journey shared, and embraced by all. New global partnerships were formed and cultural exchanges made. It became a shining symbol of all that America aspired to be, and why we sought to be the world's leader in science and technological progress.

Today, however, the space program's most successful recent achievement -- the building of the International Space Station -- has yet to realize its full potential as a truly international endeavor for space faring nations across the globe. While many international partners helped create this incredible engineering achievement, they are not always treated as true "partners." Click here to view the article. (5/19)

Editorial: Orion & Ares - The Future of NASA (Source: New York Post)
The technological momentum built by Apollo, and sustained for forty years by the shuttle and space station programs, is nearly exhausted. The shuttle's successor, Orion, won't fly until at least 2015. Some critics have called for NASA to scrap Orion's new booster and go back to the drawing board. More worrisome, President Obama proposes over the next four years to cut $3.1 billion from the Constellation program designed to develop Orion and its new Ares I booster. It's hard to see how either approach will reduce the four-year "gap" between 2011 and 2015, when America will have no human launch capability, forcing our astronauts to ride Russian rockets to the space station.

Here's how the President can ensure America will continue to lead in space: Restore funding to keep Orion and Ares on track. Make the science and technology investments that will keep the space station's laboratories humming. Send our explorers not just to the moon, but far beyond. Orion astronauts can explore nearby asteroids, where they will collect samples from the dawn of the solar system, tap valuable space resources, gain the engineering skills to guard our planet against a cosmic impact, and inspire us with views of a breathtakingly distant Earth, five million miles away. (5/19)