November 14 News Items

Military Refurb Work Could Save 300-400 KSC Jobs (Source: Florida Today)
Work refurbishing military hardware returning from Iraq could keep several hundred shuttle workers employed, local officials hope. At 8 a.m. Monday, hours before the planned launch of shuttle Atlantis, officials from Space Florida and other economic development agencies, together with state and federal elected officials, plan to meet with a Department of Defense-led team to discuss the opportunity, estimated to be worth $25 billion nationally. "This is a real opportunity to keep 300 to 400 people employed who otherwise are going to be out of work when the shuttle retires," said Dale Ketcham, director of the Spaceport Research and Technology Institute at KSC. "This might not work, but it certainly seems like it ought to and should, so we're pursuing it," Ketcham said. (11/14)

Atlantis "Go" for Monday Liftoff (Source: Florida Today)
NASA mission managers gave a unanimous "go" to continue counting down toward a 2:28 p.m. Monday launch of space shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station. "Atlantis is ready to go, in really great shape," said Mike Moses, shuttle program launch integration manager and chair of the Mission Management Team. Atlantis and six astronauts are set to haul nearly 30,000 pounds of hardware to station, much of it large spares that will be stowed outside, during an 11-day flight that includes three spacewalks. (11/14)

Huntsville Space Center Wants Help Telling 'Rocket City' Story (Source: Huntsville Times)
From the early 1940s into the early '60s, Huntsville went through an extreme makeover. Especially in the years after World War II, as Redstone Arsenal became home to the Army's missile programs and Dr. Wernher von Braun's team of German scientists, the community's identity changed from watercress, cotton and mills to engineering, rocket engines and orbit. "We're going to try to really show Huntsville transforming from a cotton town to the Rocket City," said Jennifer Crozier, executive director of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Foundation. The center already has plenty of photographs, old films and interviews for the exhibit, which she said will be prominent in the northeast corner of the Davidson Center for Space Exploration. (11/14)

Atlas Slips Beyond Shuttle Launch (Source: Florida Today)
An Atlas rocket will be rolled back to its assembly building so technicians can resolve a problem with a signal relayer, and the move will force United Launch Alliance to slip its commercial satellite-delivery mission until after the planned launch Monday of shuttle Atlantis. Early morning Saturday's launch attempt was thwarted when an electronic assembly that routes signals to stage separation detonators suffered a momentary power glitch -- a 50-millisecond power cycle. Engineers could not determine the cause of the glitch and recommended canceling the today's attempt. Launch managers concurred. (11/14)

Enterprise Florida Invites Companies to Exhibit at International Aerospace Events (Source: EFI)
Enterprise Florida's 2010-11 Aviation/Aerospace & Defense Industry calendar includes state participation in major events like the Farnborough International Air Show, Singapore Air Show, FIDAE 2010 (Chile), DEFENDORY 2010 (Greece), and possibly others. Your company can gain international exposure and pursue import/export market opportunities as part of Florida's impressive multi-company exhibit at these events. Grants are available to assist companies with participation costs. Call Ken Cooksey at 850-298-6632 for information. (11/13)

Obama Eyes Domestic Spending Freeze (Source: AP)
The Obama administration has alerted domestic agencies to plan for a freeze or even a 5 percent cut in their budgets, part of an election-year push to rein in record deficits that threaten the economy and Democrats' political prospects next fall. White House budget director Peter Orszag said Friday that it is imperative to start curbing the flow of red ink in coming years so as not to erode the fledgling economic recovery and raise interest rates. But he called it a balancing act and said acting too fast could undercut the recovery. (11/14)

Russia Goes All Out to Develop Nuclear-Powered Spacecraft (Source: Xinhua)
President Dmitry Medvedev says Russia will prioritize the development of nuclear energy, especially the use of nuclear technology in spacecraft. He made the announcement during his annual address to the Federal Assembly. Anatoly Perminov, the head of Federal Space Agency Roscosmos, said last month that the agency has planned to develop spacecraft with a megawatt-class nuclear power set. He said the project would advance Russia's astronautic technology to a world-leading level. The project, he said, also would greatly reinforce the performance of Russia's new manned spacecraft while decreasing energy consumption. Perminov said the draft design of the spacecraft would be finished by 2012, and at least 17 billion rubles (more than 580 million U.S. dollars) were needed for further development over the next nine years. (11/13)