How to Build a Shuttle-Derived Heavy-Lift Program (Source: Space Review)
A regional alliance may be the key to winning support for a Shuttle-derived heavy-lift launcher. In late October, elected officials from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi joined together to establish the Aerospace Alliance, described as a “private/public organization that will establish the Gulf Coast and surrounding region as a world class aerospace, space and aviation corridor.”
Despite its broadly described mission, the Alliance was formed first and foremost to support Northrop Grumman’s pursuit of the Air Force’s multi-billion-dollar KC-45 aerial tanker program, which would spread high-paying manufacturing jobs among the participating states. The need for a Shuttle-derived heavy-lift rocket can give this Alliance an additional high-profile purpose, and an opportunity to establish a powerful voting bloc in support of a single common-interest issue. Click here to view the article. (1/31)
Nelson: Build a Heavy-Lift Rocket (Source: Florida Today)
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a close adviser to President Obama, predicts the administration will direct NASA on Monday to develop a super-sized rocket to send astronauts on missions beyond Earth orbit. The Central Florida Democrat and former astronaut also says Obama shouldn't pump all of a $6 billion NASA budget increase into the development of commercial crew transportation services. Some of the increase should be put toward building a new heavy-lift launch vehicle.
"My concern is that if all that $6 billion goes just to commercial rockets, then that's going to push the development of (a new NASA heavy-lift) rocket well into the next decade, and that just means we get behind China and Russia," Nelson said. "I think they will announce on Monday (a research-and-development) program to develop the new (heavy-lift) rocket. I just hope that it is not a puny R&D development that will push us off well into the next decade before we have the new rocket." (1/30)
Texas Lawmakers Balk at Cutting Human Spaceflight (Source: Dallas News)
Everyone in Washington wants fiscal restraint these days – except when it comes to their priorities. Case in point: NASA. Texas lawmakers in both parties are girding for battle with the Obama administration over the future of human spaceflight. Many of the same lawmakers routinely accuse the president of sending deficits into the stratosphere.
"It's a matter of priorities," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. "We can find that money in other parts of the budget." Reports last week indicated that President Obama wants to abandon the Constellation program that George W. Bush launched in 2004, effectively ending the human spaceflight effort.
In the current fiscal climate, with the national debt topping $13 trillion, the White House doesn't see that as a high enough priority. Others disagree. "I do believe that we need to cut spending [but] ... we should focus on things that are important and cut in areas that are less so," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, the top Republican on the committee that oversees NASA. She called it "very short-sighted. ... We've already made such an investment." (1/31)
Who to Watch in Private Space Taxi Field (Source: AP)
Here are some leading companies that are or could be developing a private space taxi system to take astronauts to the International Space Station. More firms may join in. Click here for info on SpaceX, Orbital Sciences, Sierra Nevada Corp., Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Bigelow Aerospace. (1/31)
Change in Space for NASA: Renting the Right Stuff (Source: AP)
Getting to space is about to be outsourced. The Obama administration on Monday will propose in its new budget spending billions of dollars to encourage private companies to build, launch and operate spacecraft for NASA and others. Uncle Sam would buy its astronauts a ride into space just like hopping in a taxi. The idea is that getting astronauts into orbit, which NASA has been doing for 49 years, is getting to be so old hat that someone other than the government can do it. It's no longer really the Right Stuff. Going private would free the space agency to do other things, such as explore beyond Earth's orbit, do more research and study the Earth with better satellites. And it would spur a new generation of private companies — even some with Internet roots — to innovate. (1/31)
Ben Bova: Politcs In Space (Source: Naples News)
It’s bitterly true that the exploration of the universe depends on down and dirty politics here on Earth. Former President John F. Kennedy pushed the Apollo program to upstage Soviet Russia’s space endeavors — and to make Americans forget about the Bay of Pigs fiasco in Cuba. Kennedy placed major NASA facilities in southern states such as Florida, Mississippi and Texas to win political support from those states. The Manned Space Flight Center was sited near Houston, of course, to keep former Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson happy.
But NASA’s Ares I launcher is woefully over budget and facing a host of technical problems. To his credit, Obama is heeding the advice of the Augustine panel. The president wants to turn to private companies to provide transportation to and from the ISS. This is the kind of assured market that entrepreneurs need to build new launch vehicles and create a profitable space industry. But pork-barrel politics still bedevils the space program. NASA is not happy with having its Ares I program scrapped, even though Obama has directed the agency to develop a simpler but vitally necessary heavy-lift booster.
Several senators, led by Richard Shelby, R-Ala., fear that canceling the Ares I program will cause layoffs in their states. Shelby inserted language into the 2010 NASA funding authorization that requires the agency to get congressional approval before changing the program. In the meantime, the Obama White House is moving to increase NASA’s budget by about $1 billion this year, short of the $3 billion recommended by the Augustine commission, but a step in the right direction. On to the stars! But only if we can get past the pork barrels. (1/31)
Editorial: Congress Must Show NASA its Backbone (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Sadly, for the future of our children, grandchildren and the security and prosperity of our nation, it's now official: President Barack Obama has killed our human-spaceflight program. This should come as no surprise to anyone who listens to President Obama. He signaled his intentions loud and clear when he was Sen. Obama and still on the campaign trail. In late 2007, candidate Obama went on record as saying he planned to pay for his $18 billion education plan by taking it out of the hide of NASA.
For those who still strongly believe it's imperative that the United States human-spaceflight program remain pre-eminent, they need to face this cold, hard fact. The president thinks it's a complete waste of time and money. Period. In the president's new budget, there is no money for the Constellation program. This is the next-generation human-launch system replacing the all-but-retired space-shuttle fleet, which was being developed to return our astronauts to the moon.
So, no money for Ares I, no money for the Ares V cargo rockets, and no money for our astronauts to get themselves into space. No. For at least the next decade or more, that critically important arena will be left to the People's Republic of China with its military-run space program, Russia, India and the European Union. For politically correct reasons, Obama has unilaterally and quite irresponsibly and dangerously decided that the United States is out of the human-spaceflight business. (1/31)
Destination Phobos: Humanity's Next Giant Leap (Source: New Scientist)
Phobos is a name you are going to hear a lot in the coming years. It may be little more than an asteroid - just two-billionths of the mass of our planet, with no atmosphere and hardly any gravity - yet the largest of Mars's two moons is poised to become our next outpost in space, our second home. Although our own moon is enticingly close, its gravity means that relatively large rockets are needed to get astronauts to and from the surface. The same goes for Mars, making it expensive to launch missions there too - perhaps even prohibitively expensive. But that doesn't mean that humans have nowhere to go.
One option the Augustine report suggested would take NASA crews to nearby asteroids and to the moons of Mars. "The bulk of the cost of a Mars mission is getting people to the surface and back again," says Pascal Lee, chairman of the Mars Institute. "If you wait for everything to be ready, it will be decades. Phobos offers us a way to get to the very doorstep of Mars." Because Phobos is so small, the gravitational field it generates is weak, so much so that once you have established yourself in Martian orbit, landing and take-off from Phobos needs only the smallest of impulses. That means it is cheaper and easier to send spacecraft to distant Phobos than to send them to the surface of our own moon. (1/31)
January 30, 2010
Canada Supports Lunar Power Development (Source: Parabolic Arc)
The Canadian Space Agency has entered into a contract with Hydrogenics Corporation, a leading developer and manufacturer of hydrogen generation and fuel cell products, for the development of a next generation power system to be used for surface mobility applications on the moon. The scope of the contract includes an electrolyzer that produces both hydrogen and oxygen using solar power and a fuel cell system to be used for mobility, auxiliary, and life support systems. (1/30)
NTSB Seeks Authority To Probe Commercial Space Accidents (Source: Wall Street Journal)
The National Transportation Safety Board, which currently probes plane, train, ship and highway crashes, wants to expand its purview to cover the final frontier: investigating commercial spacecraft mishaps and accidents. This week, the safety board for the first time asked Congress to explicitly give it primary investigative authority over accidents involving commercial space vehicles.
As part of the request submitted to the House Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation, Deborah Hersman, the board’s chairman, also reiterated that lawmakers should clarify that the board is authorized to investigate incidents involving civilian unmanned aircraft. But to avoid the prospect of signing separate agreements with each company or commercial entity that might launch humans into space, the board wants Congress, from the beginning, to designate it as the lead agency responsible for accident investigations in this arena. (1/30)
Rocket May Not Find Space in Budget (Source: Marketplace)
The White House is set to release its FY 2011 budget plan bright and early Monday morning. Obviously, various and sundry government agencies are hoping to protect their particular piece of turf. NASA is worried about the skies. The president is expected to kill the plan his predecessor came up with to put Americans back on the moon. Thousands of high-tech jobs hang in the balance, as does the business model for U.S. space policy. So far, NASA has sunk about $3.5 billion into Ares. Thousands of NASA employees and private contractors work on the rocket in states like Florida, Ohio and California.
Commenting on a proposed shift to commercial launch services, Jeff Greason said: "When NASA tries to be an operator of transportation services, they're not playing to their strengths. We are opening up or should be opening up new frontiers for humanity. And you don't do that going around and around in lower orbit. That's not the same as exploration." Utah Congressman Rob Bishop hopes Obama's budget doesn't signal the final frontier just yet. Any shift in NASA's mission is likely to face stiff opposition from Congress. Click here to hear the radio story. (1/30)
To California, Moon Junk Is State Treasure (Source: New York Times)
In one small step for preservation and one giant leap of logic, the official historical commission of California voted Friday to protect two small urine collection devices, four space-sickness bags and dozens of other pieces of detritus, all currently residing nearly a quarter of a million miles from the state. Saying it wanted to raise awareness of both the state’s cosmic contribution to the Apollo 11 moon mission and the potential threats from lunar interlopers, the California State Historical Resources Commission voted unanimously to designate more than 100 pieces of space trash, scientific apparatus and commemorative tokens to its list of protected resources.
Milford Wayne Donaldson, the state historic preservation officer, said the reasoning behind the first-of-its-kind designation was simple: Scores of California companies worked on the Apollo mission, and much of their handiwork remains of major historical value to the state, regardless of where it is now or what it was for used for then. There is also a collection of artifacts of historical note and emotion: Mr. Armstrong’s footprint, for example, and an American flag. Apollo 11 also left behind a mission patch from Apollo 1, in which three astronauts died in a fire, and a message from world leaders.
And while some of the garbage might seem like, well, garbage, California is just one of several states seeking protection for the items in the face of possible lunar missions by other nations as well as a budding space tourism industry. In New Mexico, home to early Apollo test sites like the White Sands Missile Range, a similar measure is expected to be considered by the state’s cultural properties review committee in April. Click here to view the article. (1/30)
Apollo Astronaut Slams Obama Space Shift at IHMC Opening (Source: Ocala Star Banner)
The day after the White House leaked plans to cancel NASA's return mission to the moon, the last man to step foot on the moon called the decision "a colossal mistake." Harrison Schmitt, who was the lunar module pilot for the Apollo 17 mission, said the moon holds the keys to understanding Earth's origins, and it is the logical place to prepare for any future manned mission to Mars. "I think it is extremely important, for geopolitical reasons, that the U.S. be the leader in manned space exploration," Schmitt said at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in Ocala.
Schmitt was in town to help christen IHMC, a research center that delves deeply into the science of artificial intelligence and counts NASA among its clients. The dedication drew more than 100 local, state and federal dignitaries, including representatives from Enterprise Florida and the U.S. Economic Development Administration. (1/30)
Keep Humans Out of Space (Source: Institute for Policy Studies)
President Obama deserves credit for ordering a new study of NASA. The findings of his Augustine Panel review of human spaceflight are impressive as well. We needed to seriously question our financial will to send humans to Mars. The title of the panel’s report: “Seeking a Human Spaceflight Program Worthy of a Great Nation,” suggests the dilemma. With our sundry wars, economic meltdown, health-care woes, and rogue banking system, Americans are already concerned that we may not be quite as great a nation as we once thought. Larding onto those self-doubts, a pullback in human space exploration might be too big a pill for our national psyche to swallow.
Unfortunately the facts are stark. We’ve been in space a long time now, on both manned and unmanned missions, but the results have been slim. The dollar costs, conversely, have been enormous. Meanwhile, heroes and heroines have emerged, martyrs have died, and thousand of PR flacks have made a comfortable living. In addition, the Smithsonian has gained splendid exhibits while tens of thousands of young people have been inspired to achieve. These are indeed major successes. And now there’s a good new niche business of carting very rich people into orbit and back.
The problem is that all this investment and hype has produced bupkis, in terms of return on investment. No minerals are flowing in from the moon, no resorts have blossomed, and the Augustine Commission seems pretty well agreed that Mars is out of reach for any amount of money that we seem likely to spend. True, the booming satellite industry has exploded at the same time, but that was all done from Earth. We didn’t need to send up warm bodies to create it. (1/30)
Michoud Ready for Shuttle-Derived Heavy-Lift Support (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
The Michoud Assembly Facility has confirmed they have almost enough External Tank resources to allow for one ET-sized “In Line” Shuttle Derived Heavy Launch Vehicle (SD HLV) test flight and up to three Block I SD HLVs. The news comes as NASA managers insist the workforce should wait for official news, and not to be distracted by reports on Ares’ demise. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will make the most important speech of his short tenure thus far on Monday, with the first clues on what will be a new direction for the Agency set to be revealed – based on the agency’s fiscal year 2011 budget.
Ares I and Ares V’s battle to cling on to life – an uphill battle since 2008, when the internal schedules started to dramatically slip via funding and technical issues – was coming to an end, along with an obvious omission of a lunar program in NASA’s own interpretations of the Augustine Committee-driven Flexible Path plan. A few days later, some of the mass media – led by the Orlando Sentinel – took the news a stage further, citing “insiders” as claiming the aforementioned were being officially cut from NASA’s future. The media reports caused Constellation managers to act, informing the workforce on their official position. (1/30)
The Canadian Space Agency has entered into a contract with Hydrogenics Corporation, a leading developer and manufacturer of hydrogen generation and fuel cell products, for the development of a next generation power system to be used for surface mobility applications on the moon. The scope of the contract includes an electrolyzer that produces both hydrogen and oxygen using solar power and a fuel cell system to be used for mobility, auxiliary, and life support systems. (1/30)
NTSB Seeks Authority To Probe Commercial Space Accidents (Source: Wall Street Journal)
The National Transportation Safety Board, which currently probes plane, train, ship and highway crashes, wants to expand its purview to cover the final frontier: investigating commercial spacecraft mishaps and accidents. This week, the safety board for the first time asked Congress to explicitly give it primary investigative authority over accidents involving commercial space vehicles.
As part of the request submitted to the House Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation, Deborah Hersman, the board’s chairman, also reiterated that lawmakers should clarify that the board is authorized to investigate incidents involving civilian unmanned aircraft. But to avoid the prospect of signing separate agreements with each company or commercial entity that might launch humans into space, the board wants Congress, from the beginning, to designate it as the lead agency responsible for accident investigations in this arena. (1/30)
Rocket May Not Find Space in Budget (Source: Marketplace)
The White House is set to release its FY 2011 budget plan bright and early Monday morning. Obviously, various and sundry government agencies are hoping to protect their particular piece of turf. NASA is worried about the skies. The president is expected to kill the plan his predecessor came up with to put Americans back on the moon. Thousands of high-tech jobs hang in the balance, as does the business model for U.S. space policy. So far, NASA has sunk about $3.5 billion into Ares. Thousands of NASA employees and private contractors work on the rocket in states like Florida, Ohio and California.
Commenting on a proposed shift to commercial launch services, Jeff Greason said: "When NASA tries to be an operator of transportation services, they're not playing to their strengths. We are opening up or should be opening up new frontiers for humanity. And you don't do that going around and around in lower orbit. That's not the same as exploration." Utah Congressman Rob Bishop hopes Obama's budget doesn't signal the final frontier just yet. Any shift in NASA's mission is likely to face stiff opposition from Congress. Click here to hear the radio story. (1/30)
To California, Moon Junk Is State Treasure (Source: New York Times)
In one small step for preservation and one giant leap of logic, the official historical commission of California voted Friday to protect two small urine collection devices, four space-sickness bags and dozens of other pieces of detritus, all currently residing nearly a quarter of a million miles from the state. Saying it wanted to raise awareness of both the state’s cosmic contribution to the Apollo 11 moon mission and the potential threats from lunar interlopers, the California State Historical Resources Commission voted unanimously to designate more than 100 pieces of space trash, scientific apparatus and commemorative tokens to its list of protected resources.
Milford Wayne Donaldson, the state historic preservation officer, said the reasoning behind the first-of-its-kind designation was simple: Scores of California companies worked on the Apollo mission, and much of their handiwork remains of major historical value to the state, regardless of where it is now or what it was for used for then. There is also a collection of artifacts of historical note and emotion: Mr. Armstrong’s footprint, for example, and an American flag. Apollo 11 also left behind a mission patch from Apollo 1, in which three astronauts died in a fire, and a message from world leaders.
And while some of the garbage might seem like, well, garbage, California is just one of several states seeking protection for the items in the face of possible lunar missions by other nations as well as a budding space tourism industry. In New Mexico, home to early Apollo test sites like the White Sands Missile Range, a similar measure is expected to be considered by the state’s cultural properties review committee in April. Click here to view the article. (1/30)
Apollo Astronaut Slams Obama Space Shift at IHMC Opening (Source: Ocala Star Banner)
The day after the White House leaked plans to cancel NASA's return mission to the moon, the last man to step foot on the moon called the decision "a colossal mistake." Harrison Schmitt, who was the lunar module pilot for the Apollo 17 mission, said the moon holds the keys to understanding Earth's origins, and it is the logical place to prepare for any future manned mission to Mars. "I think it is extremely important, for geopolitical reasons, that the U.S. be the leader in manned space exploration," Schmitt said at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in Ocala.
Schmitt was in town to help christen IHMC, a research center that delves deeply into the science of artificial intelligence and counts NASA among its clients. The dedication drew more than 100 local, state and federal dignitaries, including representatives from Enterprise Florida and the U.S. Economic Development Administration. (1/30)
Keep Humans Out of Space (Source: Institute for Policy Studies)
President Obama deserves credit for ordering a new study of NASA. The findings of his Augustine Panel review of human spaceflight are impressive as well. We needed to seriously question our financial will to send humans to Mars. The title of the panel’s report: “Seeking a Human Spaceflight Program Worthy of a Great Nation,” suggests the dilemma. With our sundry wars, economic meltdown, health-care woes, and rogue banking system, Americans are already concerned that we may not be quite as great a nation as we once thought. Larding onto those self-doubts, a pullback in human space exploration might be too big a pill for our national psyche to swallow.
Unfortunately the facts are stark. We’ve been in space a long time now, on both manned and unmanned missions, but the results have been slim. The dollar costs, conversely, have been enormous. Meanwhile, heroes and heroines have emerged, martyrs have died, and thousand of PR flacks have made a comfortable living. In addition, the Smithsonian has gained splendid exhibits while tens of thousands of young people have been inspired to achieve. These are indeed major successes. And now there’s a good new niche business of carting very rich people into orbit and back.
The problem is that all this investment and hype has produced bupkis, in terms of return on investment. No minerals are flowing in from the moon, no resorts have blossomed, and the Augustine Commission seems pretty well agreed that Mars is out of reach for any amount of money that we seem likely to spend. True, the booming satellite industry has exploded at the same time, but that was all done from Earth. We didn’t need to send up warm bodies to create it. (1/30)
Michoud Ready for Shuttle-Derived Heavy-Lift Support (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
The Michoud Assembly Facility has confirmed they have almost enough External Tank resources to allow for one ET-sized “In Line” Shuttle Derived Heavy Launch Vehicle (SD HLV) test flight and up to three Block I SD HLVs. The news comes as NASA managers insist the workforce should wait for official news, and not to be distracted by reports on Ares’ demise. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will make the most important speech of his short tenure thus far on Monday, with the first clues on what will be a new direction for the Agency set to be revealed – based on the agency’s fiscal year 2011 budget.
Ares I and Ares V’s battle to cling on to life – an uphill battle since 2008, when the internal schedules started to dramatically slip via funding and technical issues – was coming to an end, along with an obvious omission of a lunar program in NASA’s own interpretations of the Augustine Committee-driven Flexible Path plan. A few days later, some of the mass media – led by the Orlando Sentinel – took the news a stage further, citing “insiders” as claiming the aforementioned were being officially cut from NASA’s future. The media reports caused Constellation managers to act, informing the workforce on their official position. (1/30)
January 29, 2010
First Falcon 9 Rocket Coming Together at the Cape (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
All the pieces of the first Falcon 9 rocket due to launch between March and May have been trucked into Cape Canaveral, leaving just a handful of final tasks and closeouts before the booster is lifted atop the pad for tanking and engine tests. The Falcon 9 rocket sits inside a hangar at Complex 40. The rocket's second stage arrived at the Cape earlier this week after finishing acceptance testing in Texas, filling the shiny new SpaceX hangar at Complex 40 with rocket hardware for the first time.
The nine-engine first stage and the first launch's rudimentary Dragon capsule arrived in Florida late last year. Those components are nearly ready for launch, said Tim Buzza, SpaceX's vice president of launch operations. Technicians are finishing closeouts and working with the first stage destruct system as engineers put the second stage through a slate of propulsion systems tests. The avionics system and Merlin engine nozzle will also be installed on the upper stage in the coming days. (1/29)
Space, Cyberspace Viewed as Likely Battlegrounds for U.S. in 21st Century (Source: Space News)
The United States faces an evolving list of potential adversaries in the 21st century that not only continue to seek weapons of mass destruction, but are honing the skills necessary to wage battle in cyberspace as well as outer space, a panel of national security experts said. The nature of warfare has changed significantly since the end of the 20th century, with new technologies and threats emerging faster than ever, U.S. Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, commander of Air Force Space Command, said.
“If you think about what has happened over the last century with air power changing our conception of time and distance, I believe that that advent of the military use of real-time space power has changed our views of time and distance again,” Kehler said. “And I think cyberspace will do that again.” In addition to its responsibility to field and maintain space capabilities for the Air Force, Air Force Space Command recently took on the service’s responsibility for the cyber domain, while responsibility for the nation’s ICBM fleet was transferred to Air Force Global Strike Command. The 24th Air Force was established last year at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, to handle the new cyber mission, and Kehler certified its initial operational capability on Jan. 22. (1/29)
Obama Is No JFK (Source: National Review)
Yesterday’s announcement that the Obama administration plans to scrap funding for voyages to the moon and to Mars, shows how low President Obama’s horizons truly are. As Charles Krauthammer wrote ten years ago this week: It took 100,000 years for humans to get inches off the ground. Then, astonishingly, it took only 66 to get from Kitty Hawk to the moon. And then, still more astonishingly, we lost interest, spending the remaining 30 years of the 20th century going around in circles in low earth orbit, i.e., going nowhere. It’s been ten more years of going nowhere since Krauthammer wrote these words. Obama now proposes another ten to come.
As Krauthammer has rightly noted elsewhere, the most dangerous part of space exploration is leaving and entering the Earth’s atmosphere. The most interesting and exciting part is getting as far away as possible. So, what does President Obama propose? That we stay close to home. As Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D., Fla.) puts it, “The president's proposal would leave NASA with essentially no program and no timeline for exploration beyond Earth's orbit.” (1/29)
Rebel Engineers Sit With NASA to Chart Future of Heavy Lift (Source: Popular Mechanics)
When the e-mail from Doug Cooke, head of NASA's Constellation program, blinked onto Ross Tierney's computer screen a few weeks ago, he bolted upright. The two men sit on opposite ends of the debate over the future of NASA's human spaceflight program, and the outreach signaled that something peculiar was happening in Washington, D.C. Tierney is an advocate for Jupiter Direct, a rocket designed to replace NASA's Ares 1 and Ares V, the two launch vehicles at the heart of NASA's Constellation program. Cooke's e-mail invited Tierney to make a presentation about the Direct rocket, which was developed by a rebel group of moonlighting NASA engineers disgruntled with the Ares 1.
The Jan. 19 meeting, which also included NASA human spaceflight boss Bill Gerstenmaier, was ordered by NASA administrator Charles Bolden. "The meeting went very well," Tierney says. "They seemed quite receptive to our ideas." Little more than a week later, anonymous Obama administration officials told reporters that NASA is set to ditch the Ares 1 and V by cutting all funding for the program from the budget. Insiders now say that the two launch systems will eventually be replaced by a single shuttle-stack heavy-lift rocket that could be similar to the Direct proposal. Click here to view the article. (1/29)
Utah Congressman Raps Obama Space Plan (Source: Standard.net)
Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, whose district covers most of ATK's Utah employees, said Thursday that he hasn't seen Obama's budget yet to confirm the reported elimination of Constellation, "but I have seen three very credible sources" that said the same thing. "With this administration, their specific effort is to cut the crap out of the defense program, and what we're hearing from Florida is that (the NASA cut) will be an item in Monday's budget," Bishop said. "Obviously, I don't agree this is the right direction. They'll basically be gutting our space program and coming up with a commercial alternative. It will be devastating."
ATK spokesman George Torres said Congressional representatives in Texas, Alabama, Florida and Utah are already organizing to fight. Hearings will be held in Congress beginning in March, and "you'll see in these letters (from congresspeople) I send you, there's folks drawing the line in the sand. One calls it (the cuts) 'bizarre.' " He was referring to a statement by Rep. Bill Posey, (R-Fla.) who said Obama campaigned in Florida on a promise of maintaining the U.S. lead in outer space. (1/29)
Spaceflight Federation Supports Reported $6 Billion for Commercial Crew (Source: CSF)
“NASA investment in the commercial spaceflight industry is a win-win decision: commercial crew will create thousands of high-tech jobs in the United States, especially in Florida, while reducing the spaceflight gap and preventing us from sending billions to Russia. This is on par with the early days of aviation and the U.S. Airmail Act, which spurred the growth of an entire new industry that now adds billions to the US economy every year.” (1/29)
Obama Repeats Call for Export Control Reform (Source: Space News)
U.S. President Barack Obama said during his Jan. 27 State of the Union address his administration would embark on a new National Export Initiative that would make reform of the U.S. export control system a high priority. “We will double our exports over the next five years, an increase that will support two million jobs in America,” the president said in his annual address to a joint session of Congress outlining top priorities for the nation. “To help meet this goal, we’re launching a National Export Initiative that will help farmers and small businesses increase their exports, and reform export controls consistent with national security. ” (1/29)
Angst Greets Obama Space Plan (Source: Space News)
President Obama’s plan to scrap NASA’s Moon-bound Constellation program and turn to private companies for launching astronauts into space provoked a strong bipartisan rebuke from the Alabama, Florida and Texas congressional delegations several days before the president was slated to deliver his annual budget request to Congress. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee panel that oversees NASA, said in a Jan. 29 statement that if reports of the White House plan are accurate, “then the president’s green-eyeshade-wearing advisors are dead wrong.” Nelson said he would “fight for NASA, and for the thousands of people who stand to lose their jobs.”
Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) called Obama’s plan “a giant leap backwards” and Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D-Fla.) said it was “simply unacceptable” and vowed to “fight back” to preserve Kennedy contractor jobs that stand to be lost when shuttle flights end. Texas lawmakers were similarly disgruntled about the plan and what it might mean for NASA’s Johnson Space Center, which has been in charge of the Constellation program since its 2005 inception. Republican Reps. Ralph Hall, Pete Olson, and Michael McCaul and Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee all issued testy press releases in the wake of media reports about the president’s NASA plans.
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said she would try to shield work at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans from any job losses associated with the Constellation program’s cancellation. Michoud workers have been counting on Ares and Orion to make up for the loss of the space shuttle external tank work done there. Sen. Richard Shelby (Ala.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations commerce, justice, science subcommittee, said canceling Constellation and turning over crew transportation to the private sector threatens to make the astronauts launched on NASA’s final shuttle mission in September the last Americans sent into space from U.S. soil until well after 2020. (1/29)
Globalstar’s 2nd-Generation System Slated To Begin Launching This Fall (Source: Space News)
Mobile satellite services provider Globalstar expects its first six second-generation satellites to be launched aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket in September, with a second six-satellite launch to occur in December or early in 2011, officials from Globalstar and its satellite and rocket providers said here Jan. 27. Milpitas, Calif.-based Globalstar, whose current 46-satellite constellation is suffering from suspected radiation-caused degradation to its two-way voice service, said two more six-satellite launches of Soyuz rockets from Russia’s Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan are scheduled for 2011.
These four launches will complete the set of 24 second-generation satellites for which Globalstar has secured financing. Officials said the company’s banking consortium will await initial revenue results from these spacecraft before agreeing to finance construction of the remaining 24 satellites. Globalstar and its satellite prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space of France and Italy, have negotiated contract terms for the full 48-satellite constellation. (1/29)
ESA and Arianespace Sign Vega Contracts Totaling $103M (Source: Spacce News)
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Arianespace launch consortium have signed a series of contracts totaling 73.6 million euros ($103 million) related to initial government-backed launches of ESA’s Vega small-satellite launcher. The Vega rocket, being built by prime contractor ELV of Italy, is scheduled to make its inaugural flight in late 2010 or early 2011 under current planning. Arianespace will operate Vega alongside the Ariane 5 heavy-lift rocket and Russia’s medium-lift Soyuz vehicle at Europe’s Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. (1/29)
Addicted to Satellites? Air Force Seeks Alternatives to GPS (Source: Popular Mechanics)
Last week, the Air Force's Chief of Staff, Gen. Norton Schwartz, gave voice to a chink in the U.S. military's armor, one that many know about but few like to discuss in public: Without satellites, modern militaries lose most of their edge. "It seemed critical to me that the joint force reduce its dependence on GPS (Global Positioning System)," he told attendees at a national security conference. There are two main reasons why a GPS system might fail: spoofing and jamming. Spoofing can trick the GPS system into showing a false location. This is especially dangerous with bombs, unmanned aircraft and missiles that use GPS for guidance. Enemies on the ground can also jam signals from the satellite, while more technologically-advanced foes can fire kamikaze space vehicles that could disable a satellite at a critical moment. Schwartz assured the audience that Air Force researchers are busy designing backups to GPS. (1/29)
Aerospace Contributes to Q4 Decline at Honeywell (Source: AIA)
A weak aerospace market continued to be a drag on earnings at Honeywell International, with fourth-quarter earnings slipping 1.3%. Honeywell said aerospace sales fell 18% and earnings slipped 20%. Military, commercial and business aviation sales all suffered, the company said. (1/29)
NASA Sends Radar Over Haiti to Create 3-D Imaging of Faults (Source: AIA)
NASA says it will send a radar-equipped jet to Haiti to get images of deformations to the Earth's surface caused by the recent earthquake and aftershocks. The radar, which has been mapping the San Andreas fault and other faults in California, was already on its way to South America to study volcanoes, forests and Mayan ruins. (1/29)
New Mexico Space Day at Capitol (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
New Mexico Spaceport Authority Executive Director Steve Landeene will host a public forum Sunday at the Capitol Rotunda to discuss progress at Spaceport America and current legislative issues related to the project. The forum will start at 1 p.m. and will also include Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces. The public will have an opportunity to ask questions about the progress of Spaceport America, now under construction in southern Sierra County. (1/29)
NASA's Course Raises Concerns (Source: Tallahassee Democrat)
Lawmakers from states and districts where NASA is an important presence voiced concern Thursday about the changes that President Barack Obama's proposed budget is expected to recommend in the agency's course. Administration officials say the proposed fiscal 2011 budget will call for a $6 billion increase in NASA's budget over five years at the same time Obama wants to freeze the overall domestic budget for three years. Under Obama's plan for NASA, the agency would shift focus from sending astronauts back to the moon to expanding research at the International Space Station and encouraging commercial crew launches.
Those priorities would come at the expense of the Constellation program for human spaceflight, which a presidential commission warned in October has been underfunded for decades. Lawmakers said they will review Obama's recommendations but make their own spending decisions. Congress included language in the most recent spending bill for NASA that bars the administration from changing the agency's course without congressional review. (1/29)
Will a Space Cannon Fuel the Next Moon Landing? (Source: FOXNews)
It was at a cocktail party that Dr. John Hopkins, a fast-talking 54-year-old physicist who once worked at Lawrence Livermore National Lab, had a crazy idea.
As sometimes happens over a third martini, a colleague suggested that gas-powered guns are much more powerful than conventional guns: When ignited, a gas gun can shoot a projectile at insane speeds of over 11 kilometers per second -- or roughly 25,000 miles per hour. And that got Hopkins to thinking... What if he could build a massive, 1-kilometer-long cannon powered by hydrogen that could be housed below the surface of the ocean? The sort of device Jules Verne wrote about in 1865 in his novel "From the Earth to the Moon"?
Such a cannon could solve a nagging problem at NASA: how to send manned missions to the moon and Mars at a lower fuel price. Currently, it costs thousands of dollars per pound of fuel to launch stuff into space. Hopkins' cannon could reduce that price to a few hundred dollars per pound. And that savings could be very lucrative to the person who made it happen, which is why Hopkins created and is drumming up support for Quicklaunch Inc., which he hopes will launch payloads into space within the next five years. (1/29)
ATK Lays Off 380 Utah Employees (Source: KSL.com)
Hundreds of Utah employees at ATK received termination notices Thursday as part of a previously-announced reduction of workforce. A spokesperson for ATK said the number of employees laid off -- 380 -- is actually fewer than what was originally projected, which was 500. She noted that an additional 50 employees voluntarily left as part of the layoff. Executives first announced the layoffs in December. They're due to the completion of contracts connected to NASA's space shuttle program, which is ending this year. (1/29)
Senator: NASA Glenn to Get New Assignments, Money (Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer)
President Barack Obama's decision to scuttle plans to return astronauts to the moon will impact Cleveland's NASA Glenn Research Center, but the losses will be more than offset by an expansion of Glenn's roles in other aerospace work, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown said Thursday. The Glenn center has a significant share of Constellation work, which has pumped an average of $93 million per year into the Cleveland facility's budget. Sen. Sherrod Brown said a senior NASA official he would not name assured him that the president's budget, which will be released Monday, will contain good news for the Cleveland center and its more than 3,400 employees and contractors.
"We don't have precise numbers, but a generally good idea that the appropriation to Glenn will more than compensate for the loss of Constellation," Brown told The Plain Dealer. "I'm confident there will be a significant increase in budget and jobs for NASA Glenn," Brown said. "It is a gain. I can't say for sure that all the same job skills of people working in Constellation will translate to the new jobs. But without equivocation, NASA Glenn's budget is going to be better for Cleveland." The center's 2010 budget is $639 million. (1/29)
Editorial: NASA Policy Shift Needs Tough Congressional Review (Source: Florida Today)
The wait is over. Brevard County finally knows President Obama’s plan for NASA’s future and with it what our community is facing in adapting to a space mission radically different from anything we’ve known in the past. But adapt we must because the policy will help shape the Space Coast and its economy for at least a generation and determine whether the U.S. retains its historic leadership role in exploring the cosmos. On that point, serious questions remain and Congress should rigorously review the strategy, asking hard questions and filling in big blanks in the plan that are very troubling.
The central matter of whether the president supports NASA is no longer in doubt — he does. That’s evident in the administration asking $6 billion more in agency spending over the next five years, bringing its allocation during the period to $100 billion. Obama’s doing it despite his freeze on discretionary spending to attack record federal budget deficits, showing his belief in NASA’s ability to spur technological development, advance science and create jobs. The importance of that cannot be overstated with the White House saying it wants NASA to be an “engine for innovation” and Kennedy Space Center a “launch complex of the future.”
However, the road to reach that destination is unlike any NASA has traveled and is causing a mixture of hope and major concern among space advocates that we share. A major element of the plan — which will be formally unveiled Monday in the administration fiscal year 2010-11 budget — is extending the life of the International Space Station until at least 2020. That’s a wise move that can result in more Brevard jobs to process payloads and experiments heading to the outpost. And, perhaps, jump-starting research and development that could lure businesses here that require highly skilled workers. (1/29)
All the pieces of the first Falcon 9 rocket due to launch between March and May have been trucked into Cape Canaveral, leaving just a handful of final tasks and closeouts before the booster is lifted atop the pad for tanking and engine tests. The Falcon 9 rocket sits inside a hangar at Complex 40. The rocket's second stage arrived at the Cape earlier this week after finishing acceptance testing in Texas, filling the shiny new SpaceX hangar at Complex 40 with rocket hardware for the first time.
The nine-engine first stage and the first launch's rudimentary Dragon capsule arrived in Florida late last year. Those components are nearly ready for launch, said Tim Buzza, SpaceX's vice president of launch operations. Technicians are finishing closeouts and working with the first stage destruct system as engineers put the second stage through a slate of propulsion systems tests. The avionics system and Merlin engine nozzle will also be installed on the upper stage in the coming days. (1/29)
Space, Cyberspace Viewed as Likely Battlegrounds for U.S. in 21st Century (Source: Space News)
The United States faces an evolving list of potential adversaries in the 21st century that not only continue to seek weapons of mass destruction, but are honing the skills necessary to wage battle in cyberspace as well as outer space, a panel of national security experts said. The nature of warfare has changed significantly since the end of the 20th century, with new technologies and threats emerging faster than ever, U.S. Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, commander of Air Force Space Command, said.
“If you think about what has happened over the last century with air power changing our conception of time and distance, I believe that that advent of the military use of real-time space power has changed our views of time and distance again,” Kehler said. “And I think cyberspace will do that again.” In addition to its responsibility to field and maintain space capabilities for the Air Force, Air Force Space Command recently took on the service’s responsibility for the cyber domain, while responsibility for the nation’s ICBM fleet was transferred to Air Force Global Strike Command. The 24th Air Force was established last year at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, to handle the new cyber mission, and Kehler certified its initial operational capability on Jan. 22. (1/29)
Obama Is No JFK (Source: National Review)
Yesterday’s announcement that the Obama administration plans to scrap funding for voyages to the moon and to Mars, shows how low President Obama’s horizons truly are. As Charles Krauthammer wrote ten years ago this week: It took 100,000 years for humans to get inches off the ground. Then, astonishingly, it took only 66 to get from Kitty Hawk to the moon. And then, still more astonishingly, we lost interest, spending the remaining 30 years of the 20th century going around in circles in low earth orbit, i.e., going nowhere. It’s been ten more years of going nowhere since Krauthammer wrote these words. Obama now proposes another ten to come.
As Krauthammer has rightly noted elsewhere, the most dangerous part of space exploration is leaving and entering the Earth’s atmosphere. The most interesting and exciting part is getting as far away as possible. So, what does President Obama propose? That we stay close to home. As Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D., Fla.) puts it, “The president's proposal would leave NASA with essentially no program and no timeline for exploration beyond Earth's orbit.” (1/29)
Rebel Engineers Sit With NASA to Chart Future of Heavy Lift (Source: Popular Mechanics)
When the e-mail from Doug Cooke, head of NASA's Constellation program, blinked onto Ross Tierney's computer screen a few weeks ago, he bolted upright. The two men sit on opposite ends of the debate over the future of NASA's human spaceflight program, and the outreach signaled that something peculiar was happening in Washington, D.C. Tierney is an advocate for Jupiter Direct, a rocket designed to replace NASA's Ares 1 and Ares V, the two launch vehicles at the heart of NASA's Constellation program. Cooke's e-mail invited Tierney to make a presentation about the Direct rocket, which was developed by a rebel group of moonlighting NASA engineers disgruntled with the Ares 1.
The Jan. 19 meeting, which also included NASA human spaceflight boss Bill Gerstenmaier, was ordered by NASA administrator Charles Bolden. "The meeting went very well," Tierney says. "They seemed quite receptive to our ideas." Little more than a week later, anonymous Obama administration officials told reporters that NASA is set to ditch the Ares 1 and V by cutting all funding for the program from the budget. Insiders now say that the two launch systems will eventually be replaced by a single shuttle-stack heavy-lift rocket that could be similar to the Direct proposal. Click here to view the article. (1/29)
Utah Congressman Raps Obama Space Plan (Source: Standard.net)
Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, whose district covers most of ATK's Utah employees, said Thursday that he hasn't seen Obama's budget yet to confirm the reported elimination of Constellation, "but I have seen three very credible sources" that said the same thing. "With this administration, their specific effort is to cut the crap out of the defense program, and what we're hearing from Florida is that (the NASA cut) will be an item in Monday's budget," Bishop said. "Obviously, I don't agree this is the right direction. They'll basically be gutting our space program and coming up with a commercial alternative. It will be devastating."
ATK spokesman George Torres said Congressional representatives in Texas, Alabama, Florida and Utah are already organizing to fight. Hearings will be held in Congress beginning in March, and "you'll see in these letters (from congresspeople) I send you, there's folks drawing the line in the sand. One calls it (the cuts) 'bizarre.' " He was referring to a statement by Rep. Bill Posey, (R-Fla.) who said Obama campaigned in Florida on a promise of maintaining the U.S. lead in outer space. (1/29)
Spaceflight Federation Supports Reported $6 Billion for Commercial Crew (Source: CSF)
“NASA investment in the commercial spaceflight industry is a win-win decision: commercial crew will create thousands of high-tech jobs in the United States, especially in Florida, while reducing the spaceflight gap and preventing us from sending billions to Russia. This is on par with the early days of aviation and the U.S. Airmail Act, which spurred the growth of an entire new industry that now adds billions to the US economy every year.” (1/29)
Obama Repeats Call for Export Control Reform (Source: Space News)
U.S. President Barack Obama said during his Jan. 27 State of the Union address his administration would embark on a new National Export Initiative that would make reform of the U.S. export control system a high priority. “We will double our exports over the next five years, an increase that will support two million jobs in America,” the president said in his annual address to a joint session of Congress outlining top priorities for the nation. “To help meet this goal, we’re launching a National Export Initiative that will help farmers and small businesses increase their exports, and reform export controls consistent with national security. ” (1/29)
Angst Greets Obama Space Plan (Source: Space News)
President Obama’s plan to scrap NASA’s Moon-bound Constellation program and turn to private companies for launching astronauts into space provoked a strong bipartisan rebuke from the Alabama, Florida and Texas congressional delegations several days before the president was slated to deliver his annual budget request to Congress. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee panel that oversees NASA, said in a Jan. 29 statement that if reports of the White House plan are accurate, “then the president’s green-eyeshade-wearing advisors are dead wrong.” Nelson said he would “fight for NASA, and for the thousands of people who stand to lose their jobs.”
Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) called Obama’s plan “a giant leap backwards” and Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D-Fla.) said it was “simply unacceptable” and vowed to “fight back” to preserve Kennedy contractor jobs that stand to be lost when shuttle flights end. Texas lawmakers were similarly disgruntled about the plan and what it might mean for NASA’s Johnson Space Center, which has been in charge of the Constellation program since its 2005 inception. Republican Reps. Ralph Hall, Pete Olson, and Michael McCaul and Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee all issued testy press releases in the wake of media reports about the president’s NASA plans.
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said she would try to shield work at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans from any job losses associated with the Constellation program’s cancellation. Michoud workers have been counting on Ares and Orion to make up for the loss of the space shuttle external tank work done there. Sen. Richard Shelby (Ala.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations commerce, justice, science subcommittee, said canceling Constellation and turning over crew transportation to the private sector threatens to make the astronauts launched on NASA’s final shuttle mission in September the last Americans sent into space from U.S. soil until well after 2020. (1/29)
Globalstar’s 2nd-Generation System Slated To Begin Launching This Fall (Source: Space News)
Mobile satellite services provider Globalstar expects its first six second-generation satellites to be launched aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket in September, with a second six-satellite launch to occur in December or early in 2011, officials from Globalstar and its satellite and rocket providers said here Jan. 27. Milpitas, Calif.-based Globalstar, whose current 46-satellite constellation is suffering from suspected radiation-caused degradation to its two-way voice service, said two more six-satellite launches of Soyuz rockets from Russia’s Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan are scheduled for 2011.
These four launches will complete the set of 24 second-generation satellites for which Globalstar has secured financing. Officials said the company’s banking consortium will await initial revenue results from these spacecraft before agreeing to finance construction of the remaining 24 satellites. Globalstar and its satellite prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space of France and Italy, have negotiated contract terms for the full 48-satellite constellation. (1/29)
ESA and Arianespace Sign Vega Contracts Totaling $103M (Source: Spacce News)
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Arianespace launch consortium have signed a series of contracts totaling 73.6 million euros ($103 million) related to initial government-backed launches of ESA’s Vega small-satellite launcher. The Vega rocket, being built by prime contractor ELV of Italy, is scheduled to make its inaugural flight in late 2010 or early 2011 under current planning. Arianespace will operate Vega alongside the Ariane 5 heavy-lift rocket and Russia’s medium-lift Soyuz vehicle at Europe’s Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. (1/29)
Addicted to Satellites? Air Force Seeks Alternatives to GPS (Source: Popular Mechanics)
Last week, the Air Force's Chief of Staff, Gen. Norton Schwartz, gave voice to a chink in the U.S. military's armor, one that many know about but few like to discuss in public: Without satellites, modern militaries lose most of their edge. "It seemed critical to me that the joint force reduce its dependence on GPS (Global Positioning System)," he told attendees at a national security conference. There are two main reasons why a GPS system might fail: spoofing and jamming. Spoofing can trick the GPS system into showing a false location. This is especially dangerous with bombs, unmanned aircraft and missiles that use GPS for guidance. Enemies on the ground can also jam signals from the satellite, while more technologically-advanced foes can fire kamikaze space vehicles that could disable a satellite at a critical moment. Schwartz assured the audience that Air Force researchers are busy designing backups to GPS. (1/29)
Aerospace Contributes to Q4 Decline at Honeywell (Source: AIA)
A weak aerospace market continued to be a drag on earnings at Honeywell International, with fourth-quarter earnings slipping 1.3%. Honeywell said aerospace sales fell 18% and earnings slipped 20%. Military, commercial and business aviation sales all suffered, the company said. (1/29)
NASA Sends Radar Over Haiti to Create 3-D Imaging of Faults (Source: AIA)
NASA says it will send a radar-equipped jet to Haiti to get images of deformations to the Earth's surface caused by the recent earthquake and aftershocks. The radar, which has been mapping the San Andreas fault and other faults in California, was already on its way to South America to study volcanoes, forests and Mayan ruins. (1/29)
New Mexico Space Day at Capitol (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
New Mexico Spaceport Authority Executive Director Steve Landeene will host a public forum Sunday at the Capitol Rotunda to discuss progress at Spaceport America and current legislative issues related to the project. The forum will start at 1 p.m. and will also include Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces. The public will have an opportunity to ask questions about the progress of Spaceport America, now under construction in southern Sierra County. (1/29)
NASA's Course Raises Concerns (Source: Tallahassee Democrat)
Lawmakers from states and districts where NASA is an important presence voiced concern Thursday about the changes that President Barack Obama's proposed budget is expected to recommend in the agency's course. Administration officials say the proposed fiscal 2011 budget will call for a $6 billion increase in NASA's budget over five years at the same time Obama wants to freeze the overall domestic budget for three years. Under Obama's plan for NASA, the agency would shift focus from sending astronauts back to the moon to expanding research at the International Space Station and encouraging commercial crew launches.
Those priorities would come at the expense of the Constellation program for human spaceflight, which a presidential commission warned in October has been underfunded for decades. Lawmakers said they will review Obama's recommendations but make their own spending decisions. Congress included language in the most recent spending bill for NASA that bars the administration from changing the agency's course without congressional review. (1/29)
Will a Space Cannon Fuel the Next Moon Landing? (Source: FOXNews)
It was at a cocktail party that Dr. John Hopkins, a fast-talking 54-year-old physicist who once worked at Lawrence Livermore National Lab, had a crazy idea.
As sometimes happens over a third martini, a colleague suggested that gas-powered guns are much more powerful than conventional guns: When ignited, a gas gun can shoot a projectile at insane speeds of over 11 kilometers per second -- or roughly 25,000 miles per hour. And that got Hopkins to thinking... What if he could build a massive, 1-kilometer-long cannon powered by hydrogen that could be housed below the surface of the ocean? The sort of device Jules Verne wrote about in 1865 in his novel "From the Earth to the Moon"?
Such a cannon could solve a nagging problem at NASA: how to send manned missions to the moon and Mars at a lower fuel price. Currently, it costs thousands of dollars per pound of fuel to launch stuff into space. Hopkins' cannon could reduce that price to a few hundred dollars per pound. And that savings could be very lucrative to the person who made it happen, which is why Hopkins created and is drumming up support for Quicklaunch Inc., which he hopes will launch payloads into space within the next five years. (1/29)
ATK Lays Off 380 Utah Employees (Source: KSL.com)
Hundreds of Utah employees at ATK received termination notices Thursday as part of a previously-announced reduction of workforce. A spokesperson for ATK said the number of employees laid off -- 380 -- is actually fewer than what was originally projected, which was 500. She noted that an additional 50 employees voluntarily left as part of the layoff. Executives first announced the layoffs in December. They're due to the completion of contracts connected to NASA's space shuttle program, which is ending this year. (1/29)
Senator: NASA Glenn to Get New Assignments, Money (Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer)
President Barack Obama's decision to scuttle plans to return astronauts to the moon will impact Cleveland's NASA Glenn Research Center, but the losses will be more than offset by an expansion of Glenn's roles in other aerospace work, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown said Thursday. The Glenn center has a significant share of Constellation work, which has pumped an average of $93 million per year into the Cleveland facility's budget. Sen. Sherrod Brown said a senior NASA official he would not name assured him that the president's budget, which will be released Monday, will contain good news for the Cleveland center and its more than 3,400 employees and contractors.
"We don't have precise numbers, but a generally good idea that the appropriation to Glenn will more than compensate for the loss of Constellation," Brown told The Plain Dealer. "I'm confident there will be a significant increase in budget and jobs for NASA Glenn," Brown said. "It is a gain. I can't say for sure that all the same job skills of people working in Constellation will translate to the new jobs. But without equivocation, NASA Glenn's budget is going to be better for Cleveland." The center's 2010 budget is $639 million. (1/29)
Editorial: NASA Policy Shift Needs Tough Congressional Review (Source: Florida Today)
The wait is over. Brevard County finally knows President Obama’s plan for NASA’s future and with it what our community is facing in adapting to a space mission radically different from anything we’ve known in the past. But adapt we must because the policy will help shape the Space Coast and its economy for at least a generation and determine whether the U.S. retains its historic leadership role in exploring the cosmos. On that point, serious questions remain and Congress should rigorously review the strategy, asking hard questions and filling in big blanks in the plan that are very troubling.
The central matter of whether the president supports NASA is no longer in doubt — he does. That’s evident in the administration asking $6 billion more in agency spending over the next five years, bringing its allocation during the period to $100 billion. Obama’s doing it despite his freeze on discretionary spending to attack record federal budget deficits, showing his belief in NASA’s ability to spur technological development, advance science and create jobs. The importance of that cannot be overstated with the White House saying it wants NASA to be an “engine for innovation” and Kennedy Space Center a “launch complex of the future.”
However, the road to reach that destination is unlike any NASA has traveled and is causing a mixture of hope and major concern among space advocates that we share. A major element of the plan — which will be formally unveiled Monday in the administration fiscal year 2010-11 budget — is extending the life of the International Space Station until at least 2020. That’s a wise move that can result in more Brevard jobs to process payloads and experiments heading to the outpost. And, perhaps, jump-starting research and development that could lure businesses here that require highly skilled workers. (1/29)
January 28, 2010
Crist Seeks $32.6 Million for Commercial Space Business (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
In what could be a big boost to Brevard County in the wake of President Obama decision to kill NASA’s moon plans and outsource launches to the International Space Station to private companies, Gov. Charlie Crist announced that he would ask the Legislature for $32.6 million to help build the commercial space business in Florida. The $32.6 million includes $20 million for the state’s aerospace development body, Space Florida, to fund business recruitment activities.
Crist recommended that the remaining $12.6 million be provided to assist in the development and management of state-of-the-art facilities for space businesses that will create high-tech, high-wage jobs. “This funding will enable Space Florida to invest in a technology and commerce park that utilizes Florida’s space assets, refurbish Launch Complex 46 to promote commercial use, and renovate facilities to attract businesses and foster the growth of a sustainable and world-class aerospace industry in Florida,” Crist said in the statement.
The development is a personal victory for Space Florida’s President Frank DiBello, who has been pushing for the creation of a fund that can help him create new jobs and space-related business in Brevard County and elsewhere in the state. (1/28)
Virginia Spaceflight Legislation Advances (Source: Spaceports Blog)
State Delegate Terry G. Kilgore (R-Scott County) has obtained House passage of a measure removing the sunset clause on the Spaceflight Liability and Immunity Act passed first by Virginia in 2007 and signed into state law. State Senator Ralph S. Northam has obtained Senate passage of a similar measure. Passage of both bills now assure removal of the sunset clause. Virginia elected officials discussed a recent Orlando Sentinel op-ed during their deliberations. Click here to view a video of the remarks. (1/28)
Glitch Takes Eutelsat W2 Out of Action (Source: Space News)
Eutelsat’s W2 telecommunications satellite, which operates at one of the company’s fastest-growing orbital slots, suffered an unexplained on-board failure and placed itself into sun-pointing safe mode late Jan. 27, forcing Eutelsat to begin off-loading customers to three satellites at the same location, including two that just recently arrived there, Eutelsat said Jan. 28. (1/28)
Human Flight To Mars Will Be A Global Mission (Source: Space Daily)
As a leading space-faring nation, India with its low-cost but high-end launch vehicle technology will be a part of the international consortium for the manned mission to Mars. The maiden human space flight to Mars would be a global mission through a consortium by 2030, a top Indian space official said. 'Manned mission to Mars will be a global effort and will be undertaken by a consortium of space-faring nations,' Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) chairman K. Radhakrishnan told reporters. Radhakrishnan said the global endeavour would be to put a man on the red planet by 2030. (1/28)
SpaceX Wins Spacecom Launch Contract (Source: Space Daily)
SpaceX and Space Communication Ltd. (Spacecom) of Ramat-Gan Israel, operator of the AMOS satellite fleet, have signed an agreement for launch of a communication satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 as early as December 2012. Falcon 9 will insert the satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO), adding to Spacecom's existing satellite fleet. Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) is also involved in the transaction. This latest deal supports company plans to launch at least four additional satellites in the coming years to multiple orbital positions. "As a highly competitive solution for in-orbit delivery, Falcon 9 supports us as we transition into a leading global satellite services provider," said David Pollack, president and CEO of Spacecom. (1/28)
Kosmas: Obama’s NASA Proposal ‘Unacceptable’ (Source: CFNews13)
The Space Coast’s congresswoman said she was concerned over President Barack Obama’s proposal for NASA. There has been anticipation over the president possibly cutting funding for the Constellation program, the replacement for the retiring shuttle fleet. NASA is getting more than $18 billion for next year’s budget already, but had requested an additional $1 billion, but sources said it looks unlikely the agency will get it. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach, said she did not agree with relying on commercial spaceflight alone.
“Though we are still awaiting the full budget details scheduled to be released next week, I am deeply concerned by what Administration officials have said about the President’s proposal for NASA. I agree with extending use of the International Space Station and I am a strong supporter of commercial spaceflight, but I do not think we can rely on commercial flights alone for access to space and the ISS. If we are not moving forward with a specific vision for a next generation vehicle, then we need to take steps to safely extend the Shuttle program in order to fully support the Space Station." (1/28)
Ten Minutes That Mattered: Sally Ride (Source: Forbes)
Often in business and life, an important conversation, a made or missed connection, or even an intrusion of pure fate redirects our thinking and actions for years afterward. Sally Ride was finishing a graduate physics degree at the University of California at San Diego in 1978 when she got the call that would change her life--news that she had been selected to be among the new class of astronauts. She went on to become the first U.S. female astronaut. Today she runs Sally Ride Science, a company that develops science programs for K-12 teachers and students.
"When I got the phone call from NASA, it probably was the most important 10 minutes of my life, because it totally changed my entire career path. I was just finishing graduate school in physics. I was planning to get a post-doc in physics, and go on and be a physics professor or a researcher at some university. In those 10 minutes I went from being possibly a future physics professor to an astronaut, and not only an astronaut but also one of the group that included the first female astronauts ever from the United States. First of all, it was so cool, because it was just something that I had always dreamed of doing, and never thought I would." (1/28)
NASA Glenn Outreach Initiatives to Focus on Community (Source: NASA)
NASA's Glenn Research Center is stepping up its public outreach activities and taking information out into the community about NASA, science and the benefits of careers in math, science and engineering that will inform and inspire the public. In naming the Great Lakes Science Center as Glenn's official Visitor Center, officials at Glenn have decided that the last day of operation of its on-site Visitor Center will be Feb. 6. In the coming weeks, many of NASA's exhibits will be transported to the Science Center for public display. Glenn will continue to operate a robust Speakers Bureau Program, traveling exhibits, public inquiry services and public tours of select research facilities, all of which have benefited the region for years. (1/28)
And Now Sen. Bill Nelson Blasts Space Plan (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Considering that until now Nelson has been a fierce defender of Obama’s space policy, this criticism will be viewed by many as especially harsh. “Based on initial reports about the administration’s plan for NASA, they are replacing lost shuttle jobs in Florida too slowly, risking U.S. leadership in space to China and Russia, and relying too heavily on unproven commercial companies. “If the $6 billion in extra funding is for a commercial rocket, then the bigger rocket for human exploration will be delayed well into the next decade. That is unacceptable. We need a plan that provides America with uninterrupted access to space while also funding exploration to expand the boundaries of our knowledge.” (1/28)
Space Frontier Foundation Hails Ares’ “Death Sentence” (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The Space Frontier Foundation praised the White House’s decision to cancel NASA’s failed Ares rocket programs and instead invest in private enterprise systems. "The reforms announced yesterday fix some of the worst errors of the Bush Vision of Space Exploration,” said Foundation chairman Bob Werb. “More than that, they make NASA exciting and relevant again. Canceling the expensive, ill-fated Ares 1 rocket opens the door for private enterprise to create a safe, reliable and low-cost commercial spaceflight industry, with government as a customer and partner instead of a competitor.”
The Space Frontier Foundation has been fighting to kill Ares I for years. We predicted this disaster in 2006, put out press releases, op-eds and worked with our many friends inside NASA, Congress, and both large and small NewSpace companies. “Finally, America’s space agency is starting to behave like it belongs in a capitalist country,” Werb added. “Charlie Bolden and Lori Garver are showing faith in free enterprise and we will not disappoint them.” (1/28)
NASA Tops Off new Ares Launch Tower at the Cape (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
Workers added the final piece of a 390-foot-tall Ares 1 mobile launch tower at KSC on Thursday, topping off a new member of the Cape Canaveral skyline as questions swirl on whether the eye-catching structure will ever be used. A giant crane slowly lifted the tenth and final section of the ironwork structure Thursday morning. The tower is mounted atop a square platform built to haul Ares 1 rockets from the spaceport's massive Vehicle Assembly Building to seaside launch pad 39B. The tower contract is valued at nearly $264 million, if NASA exercises an option for a second platform and tower. The total cost of the mobile launcher project is estimated at around $500 million, according to NASA. (1/28)
Burt Rutan: The Maverick of Mojave (Source: New Scientist)
Burt Rutan is one of the US's leading aeronautical engineers, noted for his innovative designs and light, energy-efficient air and spacecraft, including Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo. In a rare interview, he talks to David Cohen about his work, conspiracy theories and the explosion that claimed the lives of three engineers. "We call it Mojavewood - have you seen the movie?" asks Burt Rutan sardonically as we drive away from a glitzy ceremony and towards the legendary aircraft designer's office, tucked away in a hangar at Mojave airport, California. Suddenly he bursts into song "Oh Mojaaavewood, tada tada tada Mojaaaveewooood..." Click here to view the article. (1/28)
Lockheed Sees Higher Revenue, Profit in Q4 (Source: AIA)
Lockheed Martin Corp. earned $827 million, or $2.17 per share, in the fourth quarter, beating analysts' expectations of $1.99 per share. Stronger sales of fighter aircraft and transports helped boost revenue by 13%, and three of the company's four divisions showed profit gains. For 2010, Lockheed raised its profit forecast by 10 cents a share, less than some analysts had expected. (1/28)
Raytheon Beats the Street with Q4 Profit Jump (Source: AIA)
Raytheon Co. exceeded Wall Street's expectations with fourth-quarter net income of $504 million, an increase of about 17% compared to year-earlier levels. The company left its forecast for 2010 unchanged, with earnings expected to fall in the $4.75 to $4.90 range. (1/28)
ORBITEC Working With Bigelow on Life Support Systems (Source: ORBITEC)
Orbital Technologies Corp. (ORBITEC) has been working with Bigelow Aerospace to provide environmental control and life support systems for human space flight. ORBITEC is partnering with Bigelow Aerospace’s technical staff to develop systems for pressure control, oxygen production and supply, hydrogen supply, temperature and humidity control, ventilation, thermal transport, water processing, gas contaminant removal, carbon dioxide removal, and atmospheric composition monitoring. and system impacts resulting from exposure to lunar dust. (1/28)
Russia Launches Military Satellite (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia on Thursday put a new military satellite into orbit. The Raduga-series satellite was launched with a Proton-M rocket from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan. Space Forces Commander Maj. Gen. Oleg Ostapenko said the satellite "is a new project that will help significantly increase the capabilities of the space communication system." Russia reportedly operates a constellation of 60-70 military satellites with reconnaissance, missile early warning and other capabilities. (1/28)
Michoud Might be Cut out of Obama's Budget (Source: Times-Picayune)
Louisiana's two U.S. senators are expressing concern about reports that President Barack Obama is planning to provide the space agency with no money in his 2011 budget for a NASA rocket program to replace the aging space shuttle. The sprawling Michoud facility in eastern New Orleans produces the space shuttle's external fuel tanks. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said Congress "should look very closely at any proposal that may set back the important work under way at NASA."
"As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will review and analyze the president's budget in detail and ensure that the Michoud facility in New Orleans east remains a viable player within NASA, whatever its future holds," Landrieu said. She said Michoud "is essential to sustaining good-paying jobs, growing the region's economy and the continuing recovery of Southeast Louisiana." Sen. David Vitter, R-La., also expressed concern about the president's budget request, due out Monday, and how it might affect Michoud. (1/28)
India Plans First Manned Space Flight in 2016 (Source: SiFy)
India's space agency is planning the nation's first manned space flight for 2016, if it gets government approval of the project budget, an official said Thursday. The Indian Space Research Organization has sought 120 billion rupees ($2.6 billion) to put two astronauts in space for a week. The government has already provided a pre-project fund of about four billion rupees ($87 million) allowing the agency to do some initial research on the space flight, he said, adding that ISRO is "hopeful" of getting the entire project approved soon so it can start making full-scale preparations. (1/28)
Israel's IAF Seeks Mission-Specific Micro-Satellites (Source: Jerusalem Post)
Micro-satellites would provide Israel's military with a new level of versatility and enable it to launch satellites for specific missions. Israel is interested in acquiring micro-satellites, OC Air Force Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan said. Rafael Defense Systems Ltd. and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) teamed up in 2005 to develop lightweight micro-satellites that could be launched aboard a missile from an F-15 fighter jet and orbit the earth. Israel already conducts missile defense interception tests with Rafael's Blue Sparrow missile that is fired from an F-15 into space and then reenters the atmosphere, impersonating a ballistic missile. (1/28)
In what could be a big boost to Brevard County in the wake of President Obama decision to kill NASA’s moon plans and outsource launches to the International Space Station to private companies, Gov. Charlie Crist announced that he would ask the Legislature for $32.6 million to help build the commercial space business in Florida. The $32.6 million includes $20 million for the state’s aerospace development body, Space Florida, to fund business recruitment activities.
Crist recommended that the remaining $12.6 million be provided to assist in the development and management of state-of-the-art facilities for space businesses that will create high-tech, high-wage jobs. “This funding will enable Space Florida to invest in a technology and commerce park that utilizes Florida’s space assets, refurbish Launch Complex 46 to promote commercial use, and renovate facilities to attract businesses and foster the growth of a sustainable and world-class aerospace industry in Florida,” Crist said in the statement.
The development is a personal victory for Space Florida’s President Frank DiBello, who has been pushing for the creation of a fund that can help him create new jobs and space-related business in Brevard County and elsewhere in the state. (1/28)
Virginia Spaceflight Legislation Advances (Source: Spaceports Blog)
State Delegate Terry G. Kilgore (R-Scott County) has obtained House passage of a measure removing the sunset clause on the Spaceflight Liability and Immunity Act passed first by Virginia in 2007 and signed into state law. State Senator Ralph S. Northam has obtained Senate passage of a similar measure. Passage of both bills now assure removal of the sunset clause. Virginia elected officials discussed a recent Orlando Sentinel op-ed during their deliberations. Click here to view a video of the remarks. (1/28)
Glitch Takes Eutelsat W2 Out of Action (Source: Space News)
Eutelsat’s W2 telecommunications satellite, which operates at one of the company’s fastest-growing orbital slots, suffered an unexplained on-board failure and placed itself into sun-pointing safe mode late Jan. 27, forcing Eutelsat to begin off-loading customers to three satellites at the same location, including two that just recently arrived there, Eutelsat said Jan. 28. (1/28)
Human Flight To Mars Will Be A Global Mission (Source: Space Daily)
As a leading space-faring nation, India with its low-cost but high-end launch vehicle technology will be a part of the international consortium for the manned mission to Mars. The maiden human space flight to Mars would be a global mission through a consortium by 2030, a top Indian space official said. 'Manned mission to Mars will be a global effort and will be undertaken by a consortium of space-faring nations,' Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) chairman K. Radhakrishnan told reporters. Radhakrishnan said the global endeavour would be to put a man on the red planet by 2030. (1/28)
SpaceX Wins Spacecom Launch Contract (Source: Space Daily)
SpaceX and Space Communication Ltd. (Spacecom) of Ramat-Gan Israel, operator of the AMOS satellite fleet, have signed an agreement for launch of a communication satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 as early as December 2012. Falcon 9 will insert the satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO), adding to Spacecom's existing satellite fleet. Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) is also involved in the transaction. This latest deal supports company plans to launch at least four additional satellites in the coming years to multiple orbital positions. "As a highly competitive solution for in-orbit delivery, Falcon 9 supports us as we transition into a leading global satellite services provider," said David Pollack, president and CEO of Spacecom. (1/28)
Kosmas: Obama’s NASA Proposal ‘Unacceptable’ (Source: CFNews13)
The Space Coast’s congresswoman said she was concerned over President Barack Obama’s proposal for NASA. There has been anticipation over the president possibly cutting funding for the Constellation program, the replacement for the retiring shuttle fleet. NASA is getting more than $18 billion for next year’s budget already, but had requested an additional $1 billion, but sources said it looks unlikely the agency will get it. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach, said she did not agree with relying on commercial spaceflight alone.
“Though we are still awaiting the full budget details scheduled to be released next week, I am deeply concerned by what Administration officials have said about the President’s proposal for NASA. I agree with extending use of the International Space Station and I am a strong supporter of commercial spaceflight, but I do not think we can rely on commercial flights alone for access to space and the ISS. If we are not moving forward with a specific vision for a next generation vehicle, then we need to take steps to safely extend the Shuttle program in order to fully support the Space Station." (1/28)
Ten Minutes That Mattered: Sally Ride (Source: Forbes)
Often in business and life, an important conversation, a made or missed connection, or even an intrusion of pure fate redirects our thinking and actions for years afterward. Sally Ride was finishing a graduate physics degree at the University of California at San Diego in 1978 when she got the call that would change her life--news that she had been selected to be among the new class of astronauts. She went on to become the first U.S. female astronaut. Today she runs Sally Ride Science, a company that develops science programs for K-12 teachers and students.
"When I got the phone call from NASA, it probably was the most important 10 minutes of my life, because it totally changed my entire career path. I was just finishing graduate school in physics. I was planning to get a post-doc in physics, and go on and be a physics professor or a researcher at some university. In those 10 minutes I went from being possibly a future physics professor to an astronaut, and not only an astronaut but also one of the group that included the first female astronauts ever from the United States. First of all, it was so cool, because it was just something that I had always dreamed of doing, and never thought I would." (1/28)
NASA Glenn Outreach Initiatives to Focus on Community (Source: NASA)
NASA's Glenn Research Center is stepping up its public outreach activities and taking information out into the community about NASA, science and the benefits of careers in math, science and engineering that will inform and inspire the public. In naming the Great Lakes Science Center as Glenn's official Visitor Center, officials at Glenn have decided that the last day of operation of its on-site Visitor Center will be Feb. 6. In the coming weeks, many of NASA's exhibits will be transported to the Science Center for public display. Glenn will continue to operate a robust Speakers Bureau Program, traveling exhibits, public inquiry services and public tours of select research facilities, all of which have benefited the region for years. (1/28)
And Now Sen. Bill Nelson Blasts Space Plan (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Considering that until now Nelson has been a fierce defender of Obama’s space policy, this criticism will be viewed by many as especially harsh. “Based on initial reports about the administration’s plan for NASA, they are replacing lost shuttle jobs in Florida too slowly, risking U.S. leadership in space to China and Russia, and relying too heavily on unproven commercial companies. “If the $6 billion in extra funding is for a commercial rocket, then the bigger rocket for human exploration will be delayed well into the next decade. That is unacceptable. We need a plan that provides America with uninterrupted access to space while also funding exploration to expand the boundaries of our knowledge.” (1/28)
Space Frontier Foundation Hails Ares’ “Death Sentence” (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The Space Frontier Foundation praised the White House’s decision to cancel NASA’s failed Ares rocket programs and instead invest in private enterprise systems. "The reforms announced yesterday fix some of the worst errors of the Bush Vision of Space Exploration,” said Foundation chairman Bob Werb. “More than that, they make NASA exciting and relevant again. Canceling the expensive, ill-fated Ares 1 rocket opens the door for private enterprise to create a safe, reliable and low-cost commercial spaceflight industry, with government as a customer and partner instead of a competitor.”
The Space Frontier Foundation has been fighting to kill Ares I for years. We predicted this disaster in 2006, put out press releases, op-eds and worked with our many friends inside NASA, Congress, and both large and small NewSpace companies. “Finally, America’s space agency is starting to behave like it belongs in a capitalist country,” Werb added. “Charlie Bolden and Lori Garver are showing faith in free enterprise and we will not disappoint them.” (1/28)
NASA Tops Off new Ares Launch Tower at the Cape (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
Workers added the final piece of a 390-foot-tall Ares 1 mobile launch tower at KSC on Thursday, topping off a new member of the Cape Canaveral skyline as questions swirl on whether the eye-catching structure will ever be used. A giant crane slowly lifted the tenth and final section of the ironwork structure Thursday morning. The tower is mounted atop a square platform built to haul Ares 1 rockets from the spaceport's massive Vehicle Assembly Building to seaside launch pad 39B. The tower contract is valued at nearly $264 million, if NASA exercises an option for a second platform and tower. The total cost of the mobile launcher project is estimated at around $500 million, according to NASA. (1/28)
Burt Rutan: The Maverick of Mojave (Source: New Scientist)
Burt Rutan is one of the US's leading aeronautical engineers, noted for his innovative designs and light, energy-efficient air and spacecraft, including Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo. In a rare interview, he talks to David Cohen about his work, conspiracy theories and the explosion that claimed the lives of three engineers. "We call it Mojavewood - have you seen the movie?" asks Burt Rutan sardonically as we drive away from a glitzy ceremony and towards the legendary aircraft designer's office, tucked away in a hangar at Mojave airport, California. Suddenly he bursts into song "Oh Mojaaavewood, tada tada tada Mojaaaveewooood..." Click here to view the article. (1/28)
Lockheed Sees Higher Revenue, Profit in Q4 (Source: AIA)
Lockheed Martin Corp. earned $827 million, or $2.17 per share, in the fourth quarter, beating analysts' expectations of $1.99 per share. Stronger sales of fighter aircraft and transports helped boost revenue by 13%, and three of the company's four divisions showed profit gains. For 2010, Lockheed raised its profit forecast by 10 cents a share, less than some analysts had expected. (1/28)
Raytheon Beats the Street with Q4 Profit Jump (Source: AIA)
Raytheon Co. exceeded Wall Street's expectations with fourth-quarter net income of $504 million, an increase of about 17% compared to year-earlier levels. The company left its forecast for 2010 unchanged, with earnings expected to fall in the $4.75 to $4.90 range. (1/28)
ORBITEC Working With Bigelow on Life Support Systems (Source: ORBITEC)
Orbital Technologies Corp. (ORBITEC) has been working with Bigelow Aerospace to provide environmental control and life support systems for human space flight. ORBITEC is partnering with Bigelow Aerospace’s technical staff to develop systems for pressure control, oxygen production and supply, hydrogen supply, temperature and humidity control, ventilation, thermal transport, water processing, gas contaminant removal, carbon dioxide removal, and atmospheric composition monitoring. and system impacts resulting from exposure to lunar dust. (1/28)
Russia Launches Military Satellite (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia on Thursday put a new military satellite into orbit. The Raduga-series satellite was launched with a Proton-M rocket from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan. Space Forces Commander Maj. Gen. Oleg Ostapenko said the satellite "is a new project that will help significantly increase the capabilities of the space communication system." Russia reportedly operates a constellation of 60-70 military satellites with reconnaissance, missile early warning and other capabilities. (1/28)
Michoud Might be Cut out of Obama's Budget (Source: Times-Picayune)
Louisiana's two U.S. senators are expressing concern about reports that President Barack Obama is planning to provide the space agency with no money in his 2011 budget for a NASA rocket program to replace the aging space shuttle. The sprawling Michoud facility in eastern New Orleans produces the space shuttle's external fuel tanks. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said Congress "should look very closely at any proposal that may set back the important work under way at NASA."
"As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will review and analyze the president's budget in detail and ensure that the Michoud facility in New Orleans east remains a viable player within NASA, whatever its future holds," Landrieu said. She said Michoud "is essential to sustaining good-paying jobs, growing the region's economy and the continuing recovery of Southeast Louisiana." Sen. David Vitter, R-La., also expressed concern about the president's budget request, due out Monday, and how it might affect Michoud. (1/28)
India Plans First Manned Space Flight in 2016 (Source: SiFy)
India's space agency is planning the nation's first manned space flight for 2016, if it gets government approval of the project budget, an official said Thursday. The Indian Space Research Organization has sought 120 billion rupees ($2.6 billion) to put two astronauts in space for a week. The government has already provided a pre-project fund of about four billion rupees ($87 million) allowing the agency to do some initial research on the space flight, he said, adding that ISRO is "hopeful" of getting the entire project approved soon so it can start making full-scale preparations. (1/28)
Israel's IAF Seeks Mission-Specific Micro-Satellites (Source: Jerusalem Post)
Micro-satellites would provide Israel's military with a new level of versatility and enable it to launch satellites for specific missions. Israel is interested in acquiring micro-satellites, OC Air Force Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan said. Rafael Defense Systems Ltd. and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) teamed up in 2005 to develop lightweight micro-satellites that could be launched aboard a missile from an F-15 fighter jet and orbit the earth. Israel already conducts missile defense interception tests with Rafael's Blue Sparrow missile that is fired from an F-15 into space and then reenters the atmosphere, impersonating a ballistic missile. (1/28)
January 27, 2010
NASA Shuttles Too Pricey for New Mexico (Source: UPI)
Officials at New Mexico space museums said two NASA space shuttle orbiters are too expensive for their facilities, despite a drop in price to $28.8 million. Monte Marlin, spokeswoman for the White Sands Missile Range, said the facility would welcome space shuttle orbiters Endeavour and Atlantis, but the reduction in price from $42 million to $28.8 million isn't steep enough of a discount to make them affordable. "I'm sure people would love to have it here, but all of our dollars should go toward taking care of all of our soldiers here," Marlin said. "There's a lot of things we could do with that $29 million they're asking for." (1/27)
Texas Gubernatorial Candidates Comment on NASA Shift's Impact on JSC (Source: KTRK)
The president is expected to submit his budget to congress next week and we're getting an early idea of what's in store for NASA. The news is not what the NASA community was hoping for. This is just a proposal that the president would float in his budget. Because it is not a done deal, NASA is not issuing any official statements as to what it might mean. Governor Rick Perry was asked about massive cutbacks and an indefinite end to NASA-run human space flight... "I'm not gonna say NASA needs to be a sacred cow and hands off, but I could probably find a lot of earmarks where billions of dollars were spent in special interest that didn't do a cotton picking thing to help Texas' economy," Gov. Perry said.
Perry's opponent in the GOP gubernatorial primary, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, released a statement saying in part, "I am very concerned by reports NASA's human space flight programs might become even more severely constrained. I would strongly oppose any further cuts to human space flight funding that would make the United States dependent on foreign nations for manned space access." We talked with people who work at NASA both at JSC and in Florida, and the thought is the end of the constellation program would not impact JSC. The primary impact here would be in training astronauts for future manned missions to the moon and mars and other places. Regardless, the impact would be felt in the local economy. (1/27)
Obama Officials: Ares Dead and $6 Billion Destined for Commercial Rockets (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Administration officials and a former astronaut on Wednesday called President Barack Obama’s plans for NASA “exciting” and “bold”, saying that he was replacing a failed moon program with a new $6 billion project to develop commercial rockets capable of taking astronauts into orbit. They said it was all part of a broader plan to hike NASA’s budget by an average of $1.3 billion annually over the next five years. Part of that increase would cover a new R&D program, extension of the life of the International Space Station from 2015 to 2020, and investments in infrastructure at KSC to modernize the facility to maintain it as America’s premier spaceport.
Conspicuous by its absence was any mention of a commitment to develop a new government owned and operated “heavy-lift” rocket capable of taking humans beyond the low Earth orbit. The news teleconference was organized for a few select Florida reporters in response to the Orlando Sentinel’s report on Tuesday which said that the White House budget next week would kill NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the moon and scrap the rockets being developed to take them there. On the teleconference was an administration official, a NASA official and Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.
“As you know the current program of record did not hold water,” said the NASA official. “The fact that we would have had a program where the space station didn’t ever again have any humans launching from the United States to it until it was driven into the Pacific Ocean…we felt very, very strongly that this was not a program to be adopted.” But the NASA official stressed that the end of Ares I and Ares V rockets did not mean that the Obama administration was abandoning exploration and human spaceflight. Both officials said there would be “a very significant program,” the most important part of which was the effort to develop private space taxis to take crew back and forth to the space station. (1/27)
Officials Believe New Plan Would Shorten Gap, Benefit Florida (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
“We do believe it is time for American companies to come into this program,” a NASA official told Florida reporters, pointing out that for decades private companies have been launching precious satellites into space. “The investment in that will be $6 billion over five years, this is serious, serious investment that we believe will reduce that gap [in human spaceflight] from what it would have been with the program of record between shuttle retirement and the Ares I and Orion [capsule] coming on line.”
Sally Ride, who recently served on the Augustine Panel, said that she thought safety concerns would be allayed by NASA’s involvement in the design of the spaceships and the safety procedures the companies would have to follow. “NASA considers astronaut safety to be very important,” said Ride. The officials stressed that Florida in particular would benefit from investments in commercial rockets and infrastructure at Kennedy Space Center that would help offset expected 7,000 job losses when the shuttle program ends either later this year or early next.
However, none of the officials would be drawn on how much money or what plans existed for creating a new NASA spaceship capable of launching humans beyond the space station. When asked officials repeatedly dodged the question of what plans the administration had for a heavy-lift rocket. Already lawmakers are preparing to fight Obama’s NASA plan. On Wednesday, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said she would introduce a bill that would force NASA to fly additional shuttle flights beyond the final five now scheduled while NASA worked on developing the next generation space vehicle. (1/27)
Is Constellation Now "Flexible Path"? (Source: SPACErePORT)
Reported plans for the cancellation of Constellation seem to suggest that there will be no space exploration effort to follow the Space Shuttle program. That doesn't make sense. If, as also reported, the Space Station will continue operating through 2020, a new heavy-lift vehicle will be developed, and commercial rockets will provide crew transport, it seems the only missing pieces are specific plans for beyond-LEO missions, and a technology development program (as urged by the Augustine Panel). Add these and you'll have the "Flexible Path" program identified as a preferred option by the Augustine Panel. These missing pieces could be revealed in the upcoming news conferences planned by NASA and OSTP. (1/27)
Astrium Positioned for Substantial Galileo Work (Source: Space News)
OHB Technology on Jan. 26 signed an $800 million contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to build 14 Galileo navigation and timing satellites and said the company it bested in the competition, Astrium, is still likely to get about 50 percent of the contract’s value in the form of subcontracting work for Astrium affiliates. OHB will be hiring extra staff to handle the Galileo work but will not need to incur any major capital expense in plant or equipment. “The satellite bus we are using for Galileo is a derivative of the platform we used for the German SAR-Lupe [radar] constellation,” said an official. “The AIT [assembly, integration and testing] facility was built for SAR-Lupe and has been pretty much empty since that program was completed. So we will not have to add new facilities for Galileo.” (1/27)
Rep. Posey: Obama’s Reported Space Plan is “Ill-Advised” (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) released the following statement in reaction to the Orlando Sentinel’s report that the Obama Administration proposes cutting NASA’s moon program and next generation space vehicle to invest in earth sciences, technology development and commercial space taxis... “Although Congress awaits the President’s official budget request next week, I am deeply concerned over news reports citing Administration officials that the President seems determined to abdicate America’s leadership in human space exploration. Just weeks before the 2008 election, then-Senator Obama came though Central Florida promising the nation and the residents of Brevard County that if elected President, he would close the space gap and keep America first in space. If this news report is even half right, this plan, if you can call it a plan, would be a devastating reversal of that commitment." (1/27)
NASA Gives "Go" for Feb. 7 as Final Shuttle Night Launch (Source: NASA)
Space shuttle Endeavour is set to begin a 13-day flight to the International Space Station with a Feb. 7 launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is planned for 4:39 a.m. EST, making this the final scheduled space shuttle night launch. (1/27)
U.S. General Urges World War on Space Debris (Source: Reuters)
World powers must find ways to reduce the amount of debris in orbit, as the collision risk it poses to spacecraft is increasing, the head of the U.S. Strategic Command said. Air Force General Kevin Chilton, a former astronaut, told an Israeli audience that the United States has catalogued more than 15,000 items such as jettisoned rockets, shuttle detritus, and bits of destroyed satellites currently floating in space. "The estimation is that these numbers could grow upward of 50,000 in total numbers in the not-too-distant future," he said, adding that this could make low-earth orbit "uninhabitable to man or machine."
Chilton said the increasing clutter raised the specter of a "cascade" whereby debris causes collisions, which in turn creates more debris. He suggested that major powers should agree on a "responsible space operation," improve their spacecraft to keep debris to a minimum, and share data on possible risks. He made clear that, for now, containment was the only option, in the absence of a means of elimination. (1/27)
New Mexico's Big Investment (Spaceport America) Should Pay Out (Source: KFOX)
Construction of Spaceport America is under way and is expected to be complete within a year. But at this point, many people, especially taxpayers in the state of New Mexico, want to know if the Spaceport will pay out. Well, according to Spaceport America, there has already been over 300 flights sold and at $200,000 a piece, there’s been at least $42 million shelled out in deposits and some full-paid flights. “The Spaceport should be in the black from day one,” said technical and business development director for Spaceport America, Aaron Prescott. While those in orbit will be considered brave and wealthy commercial space travelers, they are also tourists who will be pumping money into the state.
“It's going to allow people to stop and spend a few more days in New Mexico whether they're traveling through Albuquerque or through El Paso,” said president and CEO of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance, Davin Lopez. Even with the bulk of tourists a year away, the economic impact can be felt right now with the people at the construction site. “The taxpayers of Dona Ana County will see a reinvestment of their dollars come forward and that reinvestment will really be in form of jobs and opportunity,” said Lopez. (1/27)
Obama Aims to Ax Moon Mission (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
NASA's plans to return astronauts to the moon are dead. So are the rockets being designed to take them there — that is, if President Barack Obama gets his way. When the White House releases his budget proposal Monday, there will be no money for the Constellation program that was supposed to return humans to the moon by 2020. The troubled and expensive Ares I rocket that was to replace the space shuttle to ferry humans to space will be gone, along with money for its bigger brother, the Ares V cargo rocket that was to launch the fuel and supplies needed to take humans back to the moon. There will be no lunar landers, no moon bases, no Constellation program at all.
In their place, according to White House insiders, agency officials, industry executives and congressional sources familiar with Obama's long-awaited plans for the space agency, NASA will look at developing a new "heavy-lift" rocket that one day will take humans and robots to explore beyond low Earth orbit. But that day will be years — possibly even a decade or more — away. In the meantime, the White House will direct NASA to concentrate on Earth-science projects — principally, researching and monitoring climate change — and on a new technology research and development program that will one day make human exploration of asteroids and the inner solar system possible.
There will also be funding for private companies to develop capsules and rockets that can be used as space taxis to take astronauts on fixed-price contracts to and from the International Space Station — a major change in the way the agency has done business for the past 50 years. Click here to read the article. (1/27)
After Q4 Profit, Boeing Lowers Expectations for 2010 (Source: AIA)
Boeing swung to a $1.27 billion profit in the 2009 fourth quarter, reversing a loss in the year-earlier period caused mainly by strike-related expenses. But despite a 42% jump in quarterly revenue, Boeing said its profit this year will likely not exceed $4 a share, falling short of the $4.26 analysts had anticipated. (1/27)
United Technologies Sees 6% Profit Dip in Q4 (Source: AIA)
United Technologies Corp. earned $1.07 billion in the fourth quarter, as downturns in aviation and housing cut profit by 6% compared to the same period last year. Of the company's aviation businesses, only Sikorsky Aircraft showed improved profits, while Pratt & Whitney and Hamilton Sundstrand both suffered declines. For 2010, UTX reaffirmed its earnings target of $4.40 to $4.65 per share. (1/27)
Fiscal Situation Likely to Affect Pentagon Spending (Source: AIA)
The Pentagon's budget request, due to be released on Feb. 1, likely won't have any significant cuts, but the county's fiscal situation is highly likely to affect Pentagon spending, experts say. President Barack Obama is expected to exclude the Pentagon from a three-year discretionary spending freeze. (1/27)
Obama's Budget Proposal Provides No Funds for Constellation (Source: AIA)
President Barack Obama's budget proposal will include no money for the NASA Constellation program, designed to return humans to the moon by 2020, officials say. The proposal provides no funds for the Ares I rocket that was to transport humans into space, nor will funds be made available for the Ares V cargo rocket, intended to launch fuel and supplies needed to return to the moon. The White House is expected to instead instruct NASA to focus on Earth science projects, such as monitoring climate change. (1/27)
NASA Adds Israeli Technical Expertise to Lunar Science at Ames (Source: NASA)
NASA and the Israel Space Agency have signed a joint statement that recognizes the Israel Network for Lunar Science and Exploration, or INLSE, as an affiliate partner with the NASA Lunar Science Institute at the agency's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. (1/27)
Officials at New Mexico space museums said two NASA space shuttle orbiters are too expensive for their facilities, despite a drop in price to $28.8 million. Monte Marlin, spokeswoman for the White Sands Missile Range, said the facility would welcome space shuttle orbiters Endeavour and Atlantis, but the reduction in price from $42 million to $28.8 million isn't steep enough of a discount to make them affordable. "I'm sure people would love to have it here, but all of our dollars should go toward taking care of all of our soldiers here," Marlin said. "There's a lot of things we could do with that $29 million they're asking for." (1/27)
Texas Gubernatorial Candidates Comment on NASA Shift's Impact on JSC (Source: KTRK)
The president is expected to submit his budget to congress next week and we're getting an early idea of what's in store for NASA. The news is not what the NASA community was hoping for. This is just a proposal that the president would float in his budget. Because it is not a done deal, NASA is not issuing any official statements as to what it might mean. Governor Rick Perry was asked about massive cutbacks and an indefinite end to NASA-run human space flight... "I'm not gonna say NASA needs to be a sacred cow and hands off, but I could probably find a lot of earmarks where billions of dollars were spent in special interest that didn't do a cotton picking thing to help Texas' economy," Gov. Perry said.
Perry's opponent in the GOP gubernatorial primary, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, released a statement saying in part, "I am very concerned by reports NASA's human space flight programs might become even more severely constrained. I would strongly oppose any further cuts to human space flight funding that would make the United States dependent on foreign nations for manned space access." We talked with people who work at NASA both at JSC and in Florida, and the thought is the end of the constellation program would not impact JSC. The primary impact here would be in training astronauts for future manned missions to the moon and mars and other places. Regardless, the impact would be felt in the local economy. (1/27)
Obama Officials: Ares Dead and $6 Billion Destined for Commercial Rockets (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Administration officials and a former astronaut on Wednesday called President Barack Obama’s plans for NASA “exciting” and “bold”, saying that he was replacing a failed moon program with a new $6 billion project to develop commercial rockets capable of taking astronauts into orbit. They said it was all part of a broader plan to hike NASA’s budget by an average of $1.3 billion annually over the next five years. Part of that increase would cover a new R&D program, extension of the life of the International Space Station from 2015 to 2020, and investments in infrastructure at KSC to modernize the facility to maintain it as America’s premier spaceport.
Conspicuous by its absence was any mention of a commitment to develop a new government owned and operated “heavy-lift” rocket capable of taking humans beyond the low Earth orbit. The news teleconference was organized for a few select Florida reporters in response to the Orlando Sentinel’s report on Tuesday which said that the White House budget next week would kill NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the moon and scrap the rockets being developed to take them there. On the teleconference was an administration official, a NASA official and Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.
“As you know the current program of record did not hold water,” said the NASA official. “The fact that we would have had a program where the space station didn’t ever again have any humans launching from the United States to it until it was driven into the Pacific Ocean…we felt very, very strongly that this was not a program to be adopted.” But the NASA official stressed that the end of Ares I and Ares V rockets did not mean that the Obama administration was abandoning exploration and human spaceflight. Both officials said there would be “a very significant program,” the most important part of which was the effort to develop private space taxis to take crew back and forth to the space station. (1/27)
Officials Believe New Plan Would Shorten Gap, Benefit Florida (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
“We do believe it is time for American companies to come into this program,” a NASA official told Florida reporters, pointing out that for decades private companies have been launching precious satellites into space. “The investment in that will be $6 billion over five years, this is serious, serious investment that we believe will reduce that gap [in human spaceflight] from what it would have been with the program of record between shuttle retirement and the Ares I and Orion [capsule] coming on line.”
Sally Ride, who recently served on the Augustine Panel, said that she thought safety concerns would be allayed by NASA’s involvement in the design of the spaceships and the safety procedures the companies would have to follow. “NASA considers astronaut safety to be very important,” said Ride. The officials stressed that Florida in particular would benefit from investments in commercial rockets and infrastructure at Kennedy Space Center that would help offset expected 7,000 job losses when the shuttle program ends either later this year or early next.
However, none of the officials would be drawn on how much money or what plans existed for creating a new NASA spaceship capable of launching humans beyond the space station. When asked officials repeatedly dodged the question of what plans the administration had for a heavy-lift rocket. Already lawmakers are preparing to fight Obama’s NASA plan. On Wednesday, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said she would introduce a bill that would force NASA to fly additional shuttle flights beyond the final five now scheduled while NASA worked on developing the next generation space vehicle. (1/27)
Is Constellation Now "Flexible Path"? (Source: SPACErePORT)
Reported plans for the cancellation of Constellation seem to suggest that there will be no space exploration effort to follow the Space Shuttle program. That doesn't make sense. If, as also reported, the Space Station will continue operating through 2020, a new heavy-lift vehicle will be developed, and commercial rockets will provide crew transport, it seems the only missing pieces are specific plans for beyond-LEO missions, and a technology development program (as urged by the Augustine Panel). Add these and you'll have the "Flexible Path" program identified as a preferred option by the Augustine Panel. These missing pieces could be revealed in the upcoming news conferences planned by NASA and OSTP. (1/27)
Astrium Positioned for Substantial Galileo Work (Source: Space News)
OHB Technology on Jan. 26 signed an $800 million contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to build 14 Galileo navigation and timing satellites and said the company it bested in the competition, Astrium, is still likely to get about 50 percent of the contract’s value in the form of subcontracting work for Astrium affiliates. OHB will be hiring extra staff to handle the Galileo work but will not need to incur any major capital expense in plant or equipment. “The satellite bus we are using for Galileo is a derivative of the platform we used for the German SAR-Lupe [radar] constellation,” said an official. “The AIT [assembly, integration and testing] facility was built for SAR-Lupe and has been pretty much empty since that program was completed. So we will not have to add new facilities for Galileo.” (1/27)
Rep. Posey: Obama’s Reported Space Plan is “Ill-Advised” (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) released the following statement in reaction to the Orlando Sentinel’s report that the Obama Administration proposes cutting NASA’s moon program and next generation space vehicle to invest in earth sciences, technology development and commercial space taxis... “Although Congress awaits the President’s official budget request next week, I am deeply concerned over news reports citing Administration officials that the President seems determined to abdicate America’s leadership in human space exploration. Just weeks before the 2008 election, then-Senator Obama came though Central Florida promising the nation and the residents of Brevard County that if elected President, he would close the space gap and keep America first in space. If this news report is even half right, this plan, if you can call it a plan, would be a devastating reversal of that commitment." (1/27)
NASA Gives "Go" for Feb. 7 as Final Shuttle Night Launch (Source: NASA)
Space shuttle Endeavour is set to begin a 13-day flight to the International Space Station with a Feb. 7 launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is planned for 4:39 a.m. EST, making this the final scheduled space shuttle night launch. (1/27)
U.S. General Urges World War on Space Debris (Source: Reuters)
World powers must find ways to reduce the amount of debris in orbit, as the collision risk it poses to spacecraft is increasing, the head of the U.S. Strategic Command said. Air Force General Kevin Chilton, a former astronaut, told an Israeli audience that the United States has catalogued more than 15,000 items such as jettisoned rockets, shuttle detritus, and bits of destroyed satellites currently floating in space. "The estimation is that these numbers could grow upward of 50,000 in total numbers in the not-too-distant future," he said, adding that this could make low-earth orbit "uninhabitable to man or machine."
Chilton said the increasing clutter raised the specter of a "cascade" whereby debris causes collisions, which in turn creates more debris. He suggested that major powers should agree on a "responsible space operation," improve their spacecraft to keep debris to a minimum, and share data on possible risks. He made clear that, for now, containment was the only option, in the absence of a means of elimination. (1/27)
New Mexico's Big Investment (Spaceport America) Should Pay Out (Source: KFOX)
Construction of Spaceport America is under way and is expected to be complete within a year. But at this point, many people, especially taxpayers in the state of New Mexico, want to know if the Spaceport will pay out. Well, according to Spaceport America, there has already been over 300 flights sold and at $200,000 a piece, there’s been at least $42 million shelled out in deposits and some full-paid flights. “The Spaceport should be in the black from day one,” said technical and business development director for Spaceport America, Aaron Prescott. While those in orbit will be considered brave and wealthy commercial space travelers, they are also tourists who will be pumping money into the state.
“It's going to allow people to stop and spend a few more days in New Mexico whether they're traveling through Albuquerque or through El Paso,” said president and CEO of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance, Davin Lopez. Even with the bulk of tourists a year away, the economic impact can be felt right now with the people at the construction site. “The taxpayers of Dona Ana County will see a reinvestment of their dollars come forward and that reinvestment will really be in form of jobs and opportunity,” said Lopez. (1/27)
Obama Aims to Ax Moon Mission (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
NASA's plans to return astronauts to the moon are dead. So are the rockets being designed to take them there — that is, if President Barack Obama gets his way. When the White House releases his budget proposal Monday, there will be no money for the Constellation program that was supposed to return humans to the moon by 2020. The troubled and expensive Ares I rocket that was to replace the space shuttle to ferry humans to space will be gone, along with money for its bigger brother, the Ares V cargo rocket that was to launch the fuel and supplies needed to take humans back to the moon. There will be no lunar landers, no moon bases, no Constellation program at all.
In their place, according to White House insiders, agency officials, industry executives and congressional sources familiar with Obama's long-awaited plans for the space agency, NASA will look at developing a new "heavy-lift" rocket that one day will take humans and robots to explore beyond low Earth orbit. But that day will be years — possibly even a decade or more — away. In the meantime, the White House will direct NASA to concentrate on Earth-science projects — principally, researching and monitoring climate change — and on a new technology research and development program that will one day make human exploration of asteroids and the inner solar system possible.
There will also be funding for private companies to develop capsules and rockets that can be used as space taxis to take astronauts on fixed-price contracts to and from the International Space Station — a major change in the way the agency has done business for the past 50 years. Click here to read the article. (1/27)
After Q4 Profit, Boeing Lowers Expectations for 2010 (Source: AIA)
Boeing swung to a $1.27 billion profit in the 2009 fourth quarter, reversing a loss in the year-earlier period caused mainly by strike-related expenses. But despite a 42% jump in quarterly revenue, Boeing said its profit this year will likely not exceed $4 a share, falling short of the $4.26 analysts had anticipated. (1/27)
United Technologies Sees 6% Profit Dip in Q4 (Source: AIA)
United Technologies Corp. earned $1.07 billion in the fourth quarter, as downturns in aviation and housing cut profit by 6% compared to the same period last year. Of the company's aviation businesses, only Sikorsky Aircraft showed improved profits, while Pratt & Whitney and Hamilton Sundstrand both suffered declines. For 2010, UTX reaffirmed its earnings target of $4.40 to $4.65 per share. (1/27)
Fiscal Situation Likely to Affect Pentagon Spending (Source: AIA)
The Pentagon's budget request, due to be released on Feb. 1, likely won't have any significant cuts, but the county's fiscal situation is highly likely to affect Pentagon spending, experts say. President Barack Obama is expected to exclude the Pentagon from a three-year discretionary spending freeze. (1/27)
Obama's Budget Proposal Provides No Funds for Constellation (Source: AIA)
President Barack Obama's budget proposal will include no money for the NASA Constellation program, designed to return humans to the moon by 2020, officials say. The proposal provides no funds for the Ares I rocket that was to transport humans into space, nor will funds be made available for the Ares V cargo rocket, intended to launch fuel and supplies needed to return to the moon. The White House is expected to instead instruct NASA to focus on Earth science projects, such as monitoring climate change. (1/27)
NASA Adds Israeli Technical Expertise to Lunar Science at Ames (Source: NASA)
NASA and the Israel Space Agency have signed a joint statement that recognizes the Israel Network for Lunar Science and Exploration, or INLSE, as an affiliate partner with the NASA Lunar Science Institute at the agency's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. (1/27)
January 26, 2010
NASA Day of Remembrance at Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 29 (Source: NASA)
NASA's Kennedy Space Center will pay tribute to the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other NASA colleagues, during the agency's Day of Remembrance observance on Friday, Jan. 29. Media and the general public are invited to a wreath-laying at 11 a.m. EST at the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Kennedy Center Director and former astronaut Bob Cabana will take part in the ceremony. (1/26)
India Beginning Process Soon for Human Spaceflight (Source: The Hindu)
ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) in Sriharikota will soon initiate the process of creating a Third Launch Pad for human transportation into space. The work may start in six months with an estimated cost of Rs. 12,000 crore. The Third Launch Pad is required for the 2015 Human Space Flight Mission and beyond, a senior Official of ISRO said adding the launch pad would be designed to accommodate the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV), ISRO’s dream space shuttle. (1/26)
South Korean Space Program Faces Crucial Test This Year (Source: Korea Times)
A space race has been underway in Asia. So far all the talk has been about China, Japan and India, but this will be the year that South Korea manifests itself as the definite fourth Asian player, according to the chief of the country's space agency. South Korea managed to put its space aspirations on the map last year with the completion of its first launch site, the Naro Space Center, at the southwestern tip of the peninsula, and witnessed its first rocket launch there in August.
The country is preparing three major satellite launches for this year, one involving the second trial of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV-1) at the Naro spaceport, and is expecting a number of achievements in aerospace technology, including full-scale flight tests for KARI's "smart" unmanned aerial vehicles. This will also be the year when the development of Korea's next-generation space rocket, the KSLV-II, is put on track. (1/26)
Tweeting From Space: 100 Radiation-Resistant Laptops, Wi-Fi, Help from Earth (Source: Smart Planet)
Last Friday, astronaut Timothy Creamer was the first human to use the Twitter service live from space. Seems easy enough, but it actually takes a lot of hard work, hardware and logistics to get Internet service in Low Earth Orbit — much less while traveling at 17,300 miles per hour. According to the space station’s IT staff, the ISS is equipped with 100 laptops — 68 IBM ThinkPad A31 laptops and 32 ThinkPad T61p notebooks — all connected using Wi-Fi. Those models were deemed among the best to withstand radiation and off-gassing, to prevent chemical fumes in the station. Inside, there’s also a dedicated IP phone for calls, as well as videoconferencing capability, to allow astronauts chat face-to-face with family back on Earth. The station’s astronauts enjoy connection speeds comparable to home DSL, with 3Mbps up and 10Mbps down. (1/26)
Augustine Likes Space Debris Treaty (Source: DOD Buzz)
Norm Augustine is about as close as you get these days to the giants of the aerospace business like Curtiss, Hughes, Tripp and the guys who used their initials to start a cool company called TRW. When he says a treaty on space debris is a good idea and that we have a “window” in which he thinks one can be cobbled together, it’s worth listening. He remarked on the possibility of a space debris treaty today during a panel organized by the Center for a New American Security. Currently,the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee tries to encourage its members to limit the amount of debris they create. Also, the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space keeps an eye on the issue. Neither one has much clout beyond moral suasion. (1/26)
NASA Abandons Escape Attempts for Stuck Mars Rover (Source: Space.com)
The roving days are over for NASA's Mars rover Spirit after more than six years rolling across the Martian surface, the space agency announced. NASA engineers have decided to abandon efforts to rescue the Spirit rover from the deep Martian sand that snared it in May 2009. Instead, they are trying to prepare the rover to survive the harsh winter ahead in Mars' southern hemisphere. If the rover survives, it will serve as a fixed science outpost, mission managers said. (1/26)
NASA to Review Human Spaceflight (Source: New York Times)
NASA is preparing for a major evaluation of its human spaceflight program, even as many who will conduct the survey have yet to be informed of the agency’s revised mission. The expansive, multimonth technical study, still in the preliminary stages, might be similar to the Exploration Systems Architecture Study that in 2005 settled on the design of the agency’s program to return astronauts to the Moon by 2020. Given a possible shift in goals and budgets, the study is to survey the variety of available rockets and spacecraft, consider different strategies for reaching future destinations and recommend a framework of how to proceed.
“They’re going to be putting meat on the bones” of options proposed last fall by a blue-ribbon panel that reviewed NASA’s human spaceflight program, said a person involved with the preparations, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the study. But the people who will be working on the study had not, at least as of Friday, been told what the destination, budget and timeline would be. Click here to view the article. (1/26)
Alternate Space Capsule Concept Passes Tests (Source: Space Daily)
A NASA team looking into design concepts for future space capsules has successfully demonstrated that an all-composite structure is a feasible alternative to traditional metal capsules for carrying astronauts into space and returning them safely to Earth. The composite materials that make up the structure are basically the same as the tough, lightweight laminates used today for race cars, business jets and high-end sports equipment. In combination with new space-age fabrication techniques, these advanced composite materials promise potential benefits over traditional metal structures. Among them is that they can easily be formed into complex shapes that may be more structurally efficient - a desirable trait for future generations of spacecraft. (1/26)
NASA Cues Up University CubeSats for Glory Launch (Source: NASA)
NASA will launch small "CubeSat" research satellites for several universities as part of the agency's Educational Launch of Nanosatellite, or ELaNA, mission. The satellites are manifested as an auxiliary payload on the Taurus XL launch vehicle for NASA's Glory mission, planned for liftoff in late November. The satellites come from Montana State University, the University of Colorado and Kentucky Space, a consortium of state universities. The University of Florida was selected as an alternate in case one of the three primary spacecraft cannot fly. (1/26)
Russia Plans New Manned Spacecraft Debut in 2017 (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia intends to keep up with the U.S. in the space race and launch a new manned spacecraft by 2017, a senior Russian space official said. "We plan to enter the market in 2015 with an unmanned spacecraft and are likely to launch it from the new Vostochny space center. In 2017, a piloted spacecraft should also be developed," Vitaly Lopota, the head of Russia's Energia space corporation, said. Russia will start building its new space center, Vostochny, in the country's Far East in 2011 and should complete it in 2018. (1/26)
Parker Griffith Can’t Lose? (Source: Space Politics)
Congressman Parker Griffith’s switch to the Republican Party switch was blamed on a lack of “enthusiasm” from the Obama Administration on human spaceflight. “Missile defense has been on the back burner; there is no enthusiasm in the White House for manned spaceflight,” Griffith told the Times. “Over time, I was (convinced) [to switch parties] because it was Republicans who came to my aid on these issues.”
However, during the switch Griffith lost his seat on the House Science and Technology Committee and has not gotten it back yet. Griffith told the paper on Friday that he finally expected to get committee assignments in five to ten days, although those assignments had been expected earlier in the month. (1/26)
Budget Freeze May Not Chill NASA (Source: Space Politics)
As expected, the FY2011 budget proposal for NASA will be released next Monday, with a press conference planned for Monday morning, according to Space News. That may be followed by a separate press conference the next day at the National Press Club; what the difference in topics between the two press conferences isn’t clear. OSTP is planning its own press conference Monday at AAAS headquarters about the administration’s R&D priorities, including NASA.
While it appears that NASA may not get the billion-dollar increase previously anticipated, any increase may put it in better condition than many other government agencies, because the White House is planning a three-year freeze on discretionary “non-security” spending. However, the report adds that there is some flexibility in at least the FY11 request: “One-time costs, like the 2010 Census, will also be coming down, and this could help pay for more money for NASA, for example.” (1/26)
Planet Definition Doesn't Apply Beyond Solar System (Source: Discovery)
Imagine living on a South Pacific island and naming all aquatic life in your lagoon “fish.” But your definition was so specific it didn’t apply to whatever creatures lived in the rest of the ocean. This is what the International Astronomical Union (IAU) did in 2006 when they passed a new definition for “planet” that demoted Pluto to a “ dwarf planet” (later dubbed “plutoid”) in a highly publicized public relations SNAFU.
According to a strict interpretation of the IAU definition of a planet we’re stuck with eight major planets in the entire galaxy. No, wait, the entire freaking universe! Why? Because the IAU definition ignores the over 400 planets to date that have been found orbiting other stars. The Pluto-antagonists needed the vote of the exoplanet research community to pass their Pluto-is-not-a-planet resolution. Therefore they steered clear of making any judgments whatsoever about anything dealing with the practical infinity of worlds around the 100 million other stars in our galaxy. (1/26)
Space Station to Fly Till 2020 (Source: Russia Today)
Partner space agencies in the International Space Station project have agreed to keep the orbital outpost running till at least 2020, according to a Russian spacecraft producer. “Assembly of the ISS will continue until 2015. The partners have already agreed to continue its maintenance till 2020. The agreement will be signed in a matter of months,” Vitaly Lopota, president and chief designer of Energia, producer of the Russian space workhorse Soyuz, said. He added that NASA has suggested an even greater extension of the station’s lifetime till 2028. (1/26)
Russian Company Eyes Offensive Military Satellite (Source: Russia Today)
Leading Russian spacecraft producer Energia has presented a concept of a universal military satellite with offensive capabilities. The 20-ton orbiter with a life expectancy of 10 to 15 years would be powered by a 150 to 500 kilowatt nuclear reactor and will be able to “monitor territories and airspace, provide informational superiority – including in armed conflicts – and perform target designation and traffic control. It will also be offensive-capable,” said Energia head Vitaly Lopota, as cited by ITAR-TASS news agency.
He did not specify what offensive capabilities the satellite would have; whether it will be able to target other spacecraft, ground targets, or both. The concept goes against Russia’s voiced intention to keep space an arms-free zone. However, with several nations believed to be actively pursuing space-based or anti-satellite weapons, Energia’s design may find support among the country’s leadership. (1/26)
India, South Korea Sign Accords on Space and IT Cooperation (Source: Thaindian News)
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak witnessed the signing of four pacts to enhance co-operation in various programs related to science and technology along with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Both leaders recognised the importance of strengthening co-operation in science and in the peaceful use of outer space. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further peaceful uses of space. (1/26)
NASA's Kennedy Space Center will pay tribute to the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other NASA colleagues, during the agency's Day of Remembrance observance on Friday, Jan. 29. Media and the general public are invited to a wreath-laying at 11 a.m. EST at the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Kennedy Center Director and former astronaut Bob Cabana will take part in the ceremony. (1/26)
India Beginning Process Soon for Human Spaceflight (Source: The Hindu)
ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) in Sriharikota will soon initiate the process of creating a Third Launch Pad for human transportation into space. The work may start in six months with an estimated cost of Rs. 12,000 crore. The Third Launch Pad is required for the 2015 Human Space Flight Mission and beyond, a senior Official of ISRO said adding the launch pad would be designed to accommodate the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV), ISRO’s dream space shuttle. (1/26)
South Korean Space Program Faces Crucial Test This Year (Source: Korea Times)
A space race has been underway in Asia. So far all the talk has been about China, Japan and India, but this will be the year that South Korea manifests itself as the definite fourth Asian player, according to the chief of the country's space agency. South Korea managed to put its space aspirations on the map last year with the completion of its first launch site, the Naro Space Center, at the southwestern tip of the peninsula, and witnessed its first rocket launch there in August.
The country is preparing three major satellite launches for this year, one involving the second trial of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV-1) at the Naro spaceport, and is expecting a number of achievements in aerospace technology, including full-scale flight tests for KARI's "smart" unmanned aerial vehicles. This will also be the year when the development of Korea's next-generation space rocket, the KSLV-II, is put on track. (1/26)
Tweeting From Space: 100 Radiation-Resistant Laptops, Wi-Fi, Help from Earth (Source: Smart Planet)
Last Friday, astronaut Timothy Creamer was the first human to use the Twitter service live from space. Seems easy enough, but it actually takes a lot of hard work, hardware and logistics to get Internet service in Low Earth Orbit — much less while traveling at 17,300 miles per hour. According to the space station’s IT staff, the ISS is equipped with 100 laptops — 68 IBM ThinkPad A31 laptops and 32 ThinkPad T61p notebooks — all connected using Wi-Fi. Those models were deemed among the best to withstand radiation and off-gassing, to prevent chemical fumes in the station. Inside, there’s also a dedicated IP phone for calls, as well as videoconferencing capability, to allow astronauts chat face-to-face with family back on Earth. The station’s astronauts enjoy connection speeds comparable to home DSL, with 3Mbps up and 10Mbps down. (1/26)
Augustine Likes Space Debris Treaty (Source: DOD Buzz)
Norm Augustine is about as close as you get these days to the giants of the aerospace business like Curtiss, Hughes, Tripp and the guys who used their initials to start a cool company called TRW. When he says a treaty on space debris is a good idea and that we have a “window” in which he thinks one can be cobbled together, it’s worth listening. He remarked on the possibility of a space debris treaty today during a panel organized by the Center for a New American Security. Currently,the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee tries to encourage its members to limit the amount of debris they create. Also, the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space keeps an eye on the issue. Neither one has much clout beyond moral suasion. (1/26)
NASA Abandons Escape Attempts for Stuck Mars Rover (Source: Space.com)
The roving days are over for NASA's Mars rover Spirit after more than six years rolling across the Martian surface, the space agency announced. NASA engineers have decided to abandon efforts to rescue the Spirit rover from the deep Martian sand that snared it in May 2009. Instead, they are trying to prepare the rover to survive the harsh winter ahead in Mars' southern hemisphere. If the rover survives, it will serve as a fixed science outpost, mission managers said. (1/26)
NASA to Review Human Spaceflight (Source: New York Times)
NASA is preparing for a major evaluation of its human spaceflight program, even as many who will conduct the survey have yet to be informed of the agency’s revised mission. The expansive, multimonth technical study, still in the preliminary stages, might be similar to the Exploration Systems Architecture Study that in 2005 settled on the design of the agency’s program to return astronauts to the Moon by 2020. Given a possible shift in goals and budgets, the study is to survey the variety of available rockets and spacecraft, consider different strategies for reaching future destinations and recommend a framework of how to proceed.
“They’re going to be putting meat on the bones” of options proposed last fall by a blue-ribbon panel that reviewed NASA’s human spaceflight program, said a person involved with the preparations, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the study. But the people who will be working on the study had not, at least as of Friday, been told what the destination, budget and timeline would be. Click here to view the article. (1/26)
Alternate Space Capsule Concept Passes Tests (Source: Space Daily)
A NASA team looking into design concepts for future space capsules has successfully demonstrated that an all-composite structure is a feasible alternative to traditional metal capsules for carrying astronauts into space and returning them safely to Earth. The composite materials that make up the structure are basically the same as the tough, lightweight laminates used today for race cars, business jets and high-end sports equipment. In combination with new space-age fabrication techniques, these advanced composite materials promise potential benefits over traditional metal structures. Among them is that they can easily be formed into complex shapes that may be more structurally efficient - a desirable trait for future generations of spacecraft. (1/26)
NASA Cues Up University CubeSats for Glory Launch (Source: NASA)
NASA will launch small "CubeSat" research satellites for several universities as part of the agency's Educational Launch of Nanosatellite, or ELaNA, mission. The satellites are manifested as an auxiliary payload on the Taurus XL launch vehicle for NASA's Glory mission, planned for liftoff in late November. The satellites come from Montana State University, the University of Colorado and Kentucky Space, a consortium of state universities. The University of Florida was selected as an alternate in case one of the three primary spacecraft cannot fly. (1/26)
Russia Plans New Manned Spacecraft Debut in 2017 (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia intends to keep up with the U.S. in the space race and launch a new manned spacecraft by 2017, a senior Russian space official said. "We plan to enter the market in 2015 with an unmanned spacecraft and are likely to launch it from the new Vostochny space center. In 2017, a piloted spacecraft should also be developed," Vitaly Lopota, the head of Russia's Energia space corporation, said. Russia will start building its new space center, Vostochny, in the country's Far East in 2011 and should complete it in 2018. (1/26)
Parker Griffith Can’t Lose? (Source: Space Politics)
Congressman Parker Griffith’s switch to the Republican Party switch was blamed on a lack of “enthusiasm” from the Obama Administration on human spaceflight. “Missile defense has been on the back burner; there is no enthusiasm in the White House for manned spaceflight,” Griffith told the Times. “Over time, I was (convinced) [to switch parties] because it was Republicans who came to my aid on these issues.”
However, during the switch Griffith lost his seat on the House Science and Technology Committee and has not gotten it back yet. Griffith told the paper on Friday that he finally expected to get committee assignments in five to ten days, although those assignments had been expected earlier in the month. (1/26)
Budget Freeze May Not Chill NASA (Source: Space Politics)
As expected, the FY2011 budget proposal for NASA will be released next Monday, with a press conference planned for Monday morning, according to Space News. That may be followed by a separate press conference the next day at the National Press Club; what the difference in topics between the two press conferences isn’t clear. OSTP is planning its own press conference Monday at AAAS headquarters about the administration’s R&D priorities, including NASA.
While it appears that NASA may not get the billion-dollar increase previously anticipated, any increase may put it in better condition than many other government agencies, because the White House is planning a three-year freeze on discretionary “non-security” spending. However, the report adds that there is some flexibility in at least the FY11 request: “One-time costs, like the 2010 Census, will also be coming down, and this could help pay for more money for NASA, for example.” (1/26)
Planet Definition Doesn't Apply Beyond Solar System (Source: Discovery)
Imagine living on a South Pacific island and naming all aquatic life in your lagoon “fish.” But your definition was so specific it didn’t apply to whatever creatures lived in the rest of the ocean. This is what the International Astronomical Union (IAU) did in 2006 when they passed a new definition for “planet” that demoted Pluto to a “ dwarf planet” (later dubbed “plutoid”) in a highly publicized public relations SNAFU.
According to a strict interpretation of the IAU definition of a planet we’re stuck with eight major planets in the entire galaxy. No, wait, the entire freaking universe! Why? Because the IAU definition ignores the over 400 planets to date that have been found orbiting other stars. The Pluto-antagonists needed the vote of the exoplanet research community to pass their Pluto-is-not-a-planet resolution. Therefore they steered clear of making any judgments whatsoever about anything dealing with the practical infinity of worlds around the 100 million other stars in our galaxy. (1/26)
Space Station to Fly Till 2020 (Source: Russia Today)
Partner space agencies in the International Space Station project have agreed to keep the orbital outpost running till at least 2020, according to a Russian spacecraft producer. “Assembly of the ISS will continue until 2015. The partners have already agreed to continue its maintenance till 2020. The agreement will be signed in a matter of months,” Vitaly Lopota, president and chief designer of Energia, producer of the Russian space workhorse Soyuz, said. He added that NASA has suggested an even greater extension of the station’s lifetime till 2028. (1/26)
Russian Company Eyes Offensive Military Satellite (Source: Russia Today)
Leading Russian spacecraft producer Energia has presented a concept of a universal military satellite with offensive capabilities. The 20-ton orbiter with a life expectancy of 10 to 15 years would be powered by a 150 to 500 kilowatt nuclear reactor and will be able to “monitor territories and airspace, provide informational superiority – including in armed conflicts – and perform target designation and traffic control. It will also be offensive-capable,” said Energia head Vitaly Lopota, as cited by ITAR-TASS news agency.
He did not specify what offensive capabilities the satellite would have; whether it will be able to target other spacecraft, ground targets, or both. The concept goes against Russia’s voiced intention to keep space an arms-free zone. However, with several nations believed to be actively pursuing space-based or anti-satellite weapons, Energia’s design may find support among the country’s leadership. (1/26)
India, South Korea Sign Accords on Space and IT Cooperation (Source: Thaindian News)
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak witnessed the signing of four pacts to enhance co-operation in various programs related to science and technology along with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Both leaders recognised the importance of strengthening co-operation in science and in the peaceful use of outer space. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further peaceful uses of space. (1/26)
January 25, 2010
Ariane 6 Won't Replace Ariane 5 (Source: Hyperbola)
Media coverage of a new European rocket increasingly referred to as Ariane 6 is slowly building momentum. Much of this slow burn excitement is due to the belief that the new launcher will replace the continent's workhorse, Ariane 5. But it is likely it won't. The European Space Agency's effort to develop the Next Generation Launcher (NGL)--to give Ariane 6 its official name--is the Future Launcher Preparatory Program.
Rather than replace the Ariane 5, this blog thinks that the reality is somewhat different. NGL/Ariane 6 will in fact replace the Samara Space Center Soyuz-2 booster. Why replace Soyuz 2? Russia is not doing it self any favors by asking for a lot more rubles, almost twice more according to some sources, for Sinnamary Soyuz than it charges for the same rocket to be launched from its own territory. There is also the little matter of the European policy of guaranteed access to space
So why do it in the first place and have Soyuz in French Guiana? It is an interesting question and maybe linked to wider geopolitical assumptions dating back to the 1990s and a differing expectation of Euro-Russian relations. Or even Russian needs to keep the population of Samara employed. (1/25)
Congress Wastes No Time Tackling NASA Issues (Source: Space Policy Online)
The House Science and Technology Committee has a hearing scheduled for Feb. 3 on "Key Issues and Challenges Facing NASA: Views of the Agency's Watchdogs." The NASA Inspector General, the top Government Accountability Office (GAO) staff person on NASA issues, and the chairman of NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel are the witnesses. Although changes are expected, many members of the House S&T Committee expressed strong support for the Constellation program during hearings last year, so this could be shaping up to be a contentious year between Congress and the White House on space issues. (1/25)
NASA Outlines Flexible Path Precursor to Man on Mars (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
With the official opening statements on the overhaul of NASA’s future expected “soon”, the realignment of NASA’s future goals will create a Human Space Flight path that will likely stretch out for decades. The end goal remains footsteps on Mars, but the approach may involve the use of deep space and Phobos as the precursor for a manned mission to the Red Planet.
It is still uncertain as to how much of the future plan will be outlined by – or via – President Obama, with some media noting the possibility of some form of a public announcement as soon as next week, or as late as the summer. However, it is known what some selected NASA managers are working on, which in turn is providing some level of information on what NASA will be undertaking in the coming years – pending the big question of NASA’s future budget support.
Despite what can only be described as politically-driven armwaving from the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), very few people of power are taking any stock in their recommendations, notably to continue to focus on the Program Of Record (POR) based around Ares I, and their continued disdain at the evaluations to extend the shuttle program past 2010. (1/25)
NASA Budget Rollout Plans Taking Shape (Source: Space News)
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will unveil the U.S.space agency’s spending priorities for 2011 during a Feb. 1 press conference at NASA headquarters here, according to administration officials. President Barack Obama’s 2011 budget request is expected to realign NASA’s human spaceflight activities and investments to foster development of commercial systems capable of ferrying astronauts to the international space station.
Bolden is expected to discuss long-awaited details of the president’s funding proposal in the morning, followed by a press conference hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to rollout Obama’s research and development priorities — including those that affect NASA goals and funding — for the coming budget year, these sources said.The OSTP press conference is slated for 12:30 p.m. at the American Association for the Advancement of Science here. (1/25)
Sun's Appetite for Dark Matter May Affect Earth's Orbit (Source: Physics World)
Calculations made by a physicist in Italy suggest that the Sun is sucking up significant quantities of dark matter and this is causing observable changes to Earth's orbit. This latest research predicts that over the next few billion years the orbits of the planets should shrink considerably, with the Earth to Sun distance halving over this timescale.
Physicists believe that some 23% of the mass-energy content of the universe is made up of dark matter, a non-luminous substance that interacts gravitationally with ordinary matter. This dark matter is spread throughout the universe but clumps together at higher densities in the vicinity of visible bodies, thereby forming a "halo" around the Milky Way. Some researchers also believe that the solar system is home to an especially dense lump of dark matter. (1/25)
Deal Reached Between Kucinich, Science Center for NASA Glenn Admission (Source: WKYC)
The proposed move of the NASA Glenn Visitors Center from Brook Park to the Great Lakes Science Center in downtown Cleveland is a big step closer to reality now. Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and the Great Lakes Science Center have resolved an issue involving free admission for young people to the NASA Glenn Visitors Center if it relocates downtown.
Kucinich argued that it's taxpayer-funded exhibits that make up the NASA Glenn Visitor Center. The visitors center had free admission for everyone at all times. The Great Lakes Science Center charges admission for everyone and those 2 years to 17 years of age must pay $7.95 admission. The agreement gives free admission every Tuesday to young people 18 years of age (or a student in kindergarten through 12th grade) and under to the Science Center and the NASA Glenn Visitors Center combined facility. (1/25)
First Space Hotel Under Construction (Source: WJLA)
Many people are thinking of going on vacation to someplace warm this winter. But soon you could be dreaming of an out this world vacation -- in space. The first space hotel is now under construction. Designed by architects, the three-bedroom, $3 billion Galactic Suite is set to lift off -- hotel guests and all -- in just two years.
Before the trip, guests will train for two months on an island, learning to live in confined spaces and how to function in zero gravity. Aerospace engineers are working on a prototype where guests could Velcro themselves to the walls, work out in a space spa, and take a shower using bubbles. Skeptics say space travel is more complicated and too dangerous for just anyone to try. Cost will be limiting as well. A three-day adventure will set you back $4 million. (1/25)
Lockheed Martin Supports Space Florida Undergraduate Academy (Source: Space Florida)
Lockheed Martin will support a spring 2010 Space Florida Academy for undergraduate students. The 5-day Academy will include students from several Florida universities and colleges. Space Florida conducts these STEM education events with the Florida Space Grant Consortium and NASA-KSC. “Lockheed Martin is proud to support the Space Florida Academy and endorses its strong commitment to the study of STEM,” said Mr. Adrian Laffitte, Director of Florida Government Relations at Lockheed Martin. Applications are now being accepted at http://www.spaceflorida.gov/undergrad.php. (1/25)
Death from the Skies? Ho-Hum (Source: Space Review)
A new report last week suggested that near Earth object survey efforts require significant additional funding. Jeff Foust examines why the relative lack of money so far may in fact be a rational decision, and what could be done to improve their funding prospects. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1550/1 to view the article. (1/25)
Prospects for Commercial Crew Growing (Source: Space Politics)
A couple of recent reports suggest that it’s increasingly likely that the new space exploration policy to be released in the near future by the White House will include a provision for funding a commercial crew development program. Space News reported Friday that the FY2011 budget proposal “would fund a multibillion-dollar effort to foster development of commercial systems” for transporting crews to and from the ISS. On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal said its own sources indicated a commercial crew transportation program would be in the budget proposal. The Journal, though, describes the administration’s support for the initiative as “murky” based on its sources, who claim that “the budget isn’t expected to outline a clear, long-term funding plan.” (1/25)
Aliens Might Not Be Friendly, Warns Astronomer (Source: Telegraph)
Scientists searching for alien life should get governments and the UN involved lest we unwittingly contact hostile extraterrestrials, a British astronomer has warned. Mr Marek Kukula, public astronomer at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, said: "Part of me is with the enthusiasts and I would like us to try to make proactive contact with a wiser, more peaceful civilization." But he warned: "We might like to assume that if there is intelligent life out there it is wise and benevolent, but of course we have no evidence for this. (1/25)
Search for Aliens Should Start on Earth, Not Outer Space (Source: Telegraph)
The search for alien life forms should be conducted here on Earth rather than in outer space, scientists have claimed. Professor Paul Davies, a physicist at Arizona University will tell a meeting at the Royal Society that the best way of proving that extra-terrestrial life exists elsewhere in the universe is to use evidence from earth.
Davies suggested that the search could focus on deserts, volcanic vents, salt-saturated lakes and the dry valleys of Antarctica - places where ordinary life struggles to survive - to find "weird" microbes that belong to a "shadow biosphere". (1/25)
Aliens Visiting Earth Will Be Just Like humans, Scientist Claims (Source: Guardian)
Governments should prepare for the worst if aliens visit Earth because beings from outer space are likely to be just like humans, a leading scientist is claiming. Extra-terrestrials might not only resemble us but have our foibles, such as greed, violence and a tendency to exploit others' resources, says Simon Conway Morris, professor of evolutionary paleobiology at Cambridge University.
And while aliens could come in peace they are quite as likely to be searching for somewhere to live, and to help themselves to water, minerals and fuel, says Conway Morris. NASA's search for alien life is based upon the mantra "follow the water", a strategy reflecting the fact that, on Earth, where there's water there's life. (1/25)
Editorial: Space Race - Florida vs. Virginia (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Ever heard of Wallops Island? This small barrier island off Virginia's coast has the potential to threaten Florida's position as a leader in space flight. The island's primary resident is NASA, and it is prepped to become the 21st century's capital for manned space flight. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has pledged to make Wallops Island the best spaceport in America with annual state funding for the facility. Additionally, U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., has secured more than $35 million in NASA and other federal dollars for critical infrastructure upgrades.
If Florida does not retain its position as a leader in space innovation, businesses and employers statewide will lose billions of dollars generated by space-related activities. Florida is at a crossroads. Despite strong efforts by Space Florida and the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, Florida continues to neglect needed infrastructure investments to keep Cape Canaveral on the cutting edge.
For Florida to once again become competitive and maintain the Cape's as America's primary spaceport, steps must be immediately taken. First and foremost, Florida's congressional delegation must work together to reinstate federal space dollars to our state. We also need the governor's focus and leadership to make the space program a top budget priority. With thousands of jobs at stake, Space Florida's strategic plan must be fully funded and supported by the state Legislature. (1/25)
'Flat' Budget Likely for NASA (Source: Huntsville Times)
Over the next seven days, President Barack Obama will deliver his first State of the Union address and send a federal budget recommendation to Congress. The State of the Union is scheduled for Wednesday, and the federal budget rolls out Feb. 1. Don't expect a lot for NASA in either, space and military experts say. But Huntsville-based military programs should remain stable in Obama's budget request, they added.
"It's unlikely the president will say much about NASA in his State of the Union speech," said Huntsville lawyer Mark McDaniel, who advises members of Congress on aerospace issues. The White House, more than likely, will recommend that NASA receive about $20 billion for fiscal 2011. "That's about flat," McDaniel said. "It doesn't really keep up with inflation."
The Augustine Commission - Obama's NASA review board that weighed in on the space agency's future last year - suggested that the White House increase the NASA budget by at least $3 billion over the next five years, and then add another $1 billion each year after that. (1/25)
Media coverage of a new European rocket increasingly referred to as Ariane 6 is slowly building momentum. Much of this slow burn excitement is due to the belief that the new launcher will replace the continent's workhorse, Ariane 5. But it is likely it won't. The European Space Agency's effort to develop the Next Generation Launcher (NGL)--to give Ariane 6 its official name--is the Future Launcher Preparatory Program.
Rather than replace the Ariane 5, this blog thinks that the reality is somewhat different. NGL/Ariane 6 will in fact replace the Samara Space Center Soyuz-2 booster. Why replace Soyuz 2? Russia is not doing it self any favors by asking for a lot more rubles, almost twice more according to some sources, for Sinnamary Soyuz than it charges for the same rocket to be launched from its own territory. There is also the little matter of the European policy of guaranteed access to space
So why do it in the first place and have Soyuz in French Guiana? It is an interesting question and maybe linked to wider geopolitical assumptions dating back to the 1990s and a differing expectation of Euro-Russian relations. Or even Russian needs to keep the population of Samara employed. (1/25)
Congress Wastes No Time Tackling NASA Issues (Source: Space Policy Online)
The House Science and Technology Committee has a hearing scheduled for Feb. 3 on "Key Issues and Challenges Facing NASA: Views of the Agency's Watchdogs." The NASA Inspector General, the top Government Accountability Office (GAO) staff person on NASA issues, and the chairman of NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel are the witnesses. Although changes are expected, many members of the House S&T Committee expressed strong support for the Constellation program during hearings last year, so this could be shaping up to be a contentious year between Congress and the White House on space issues. (1/25)
NASA Outlines Flexible Path Precursor to Man on Mars (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
With the official opening statements on the overhaul of NASA’s future expected “soon”, the realignment of NASA’s future goals will create a Human Space Flight path that will likely stretch out for decades. The end goal remains footsteps on Mars, but the approach may involve the use of deep space and Phobos as the precursor for a manned mission to the Red Planet.
It is still uncertain as to how much of the future plan will be outlined by – or via – President Obama, with some media noting the possibility of some form of a public announcement as soon as next week, or as late as the summer. However, it is known what some selected NASA managers are working on, which in turn is providing some level of information on what NASA will be undertaking in the coming years – pending the big question of NASA’s future budget support.
Despite what can only be described as politically-driven armwaving from the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), very few people of power are taking any stock in their recommendations, notably to continue to focus on the Program Of Record (POR) based around Ares I, and their continued disdain at the evaluations to extend the shuttle program past 2010. (1/25)
NASA Budget Rollout Plans Taking Shape (Source: Space News)
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will unveil the U.S.space agency’s spending priorities for 2011 during a Feb. 1 press conference at NASA headquarters here, according to administration officials. President Barack Obama’s 2011 budget request is expected to realign NASA’s human spaceflight activities and investments to foster development of commercial systems capable of ferrying astronauts to the international space station.
Bolden is expected to discuss long-awaited details of the president’s funding proposal in the morning, followed by a press conference hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to rollout Obama’s research and development priorities — including those that affect NASA goals and funding — for the coming budget year, these sources said.The OSTP press conference is slated for 12:30 p.m. at the American Association for the Advancement of Science here. (1/25)
Sun's Appetite for Dark Matter May Affect Earth's Orbit (Source: Physics World)
Calculations made by a physicist in Italy suggest that the Sun is sucking up significant quantities of dark matter and this is causing observable changes to Earth's orbit. This latest research predicts that over the next few billion years the orbits of the planets should shrink considerably, with the Earth to Sun distance halving over this timescale.
Physicists believe that some 23% of the mass-energy content of the universe is made up of dark matter, a non-luminous substance that interacts gravitationally with ordinary matter. This dark matter is spread throughout the universe but clumps together at higher densities in the vicinity of visible bodies, thereby forming a "halo" around the Milky Way. Some researchers also believe that the solar system is home to an especially dense lump of dark matter. (1/25)
Deal Reached Between Kucinich, Science Center for NASA Glenn Admission (Source: WKYC)
The proposed move of the NASA Glenn Visitors Center from Brook Park to the Great Lakes Science Center in downtown Cleveland is a big step closer to reality now. Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and the Great Lakes Science Center have resolved an issue involving free admission for young people to the NASA Glenn Visitors Center if it relocates downtown.
Kucinich argued that it's taxpayer-funded exhibits that make up the NASA Glenn Visitor Center. The visitors center had free admission for everyone at all times. The Great Lakes Science Center charges admission for everyone and those 2 years to 17 years of age must pay $7.95 admission. The agreement gives free admission every Tuesday to young people 18 years of age (or a student in kindergarten through 12th grade) and under to the Science Center and the NASA Glenn Visitors Center combined facility. (1/25)
First Space Hotel Under Construction (Source: WJLA)
Many people are thinking of going on vacation to someplace warm this winter. But soon you could be dreaming of an out this world vacation -- in space. The first space hotel is now under construction. Designed by architects, the three-bedroom, $3 billion Galactic Suite is set to lift off -- hotel guests and all -- in just two years.
Before the trip, guests will train for two months on an island, learning to live in confined spaces and how to function in zero gravity. Aerospace engineers are working on a prototype where guests could Velcro themselves to the walls, work out in a space spa, and take a shower using bubbles. Skeptics say space travel is more complicated and too dangerous for just anyone to try. Cost will be limiting as well. A three-day adventure will set you back $4 million. (1/25)
Lockheed Martin Supports Space Florida Undergraduate Academy (Source: Space Florida)
Lockheed Martin will support a spring 2010 Space Florida Academy for undergraduate students. The 5-day Academy will include students from several Florida universities and colleges. Space Florida conducts these STEM education events with the Florida Space Grant Consortium and NASA-KSC. “Lockheed Martin is proud to support the Space Florida Academy and endorses its strong commitment to the study of STEM,” said Mr. Adrian Laffitte, Director of Florida Government Relations at Lockheed Martin. Applications are now being accepted at http://www.spaceflorida.gov/undergrad.php. (1/25)
Death from the Skies? Ho-Hum (Source: Space Review)
A new report last week suggested that near Earth object survey efforts require significant additional funding. Jeff Foust examines why the relative lack of money so far may in fact be a rational decision, and what could be done to improve their funding prospects. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1550/1 to view the article. (1/25)
Prospects for Commercial Crew Growing (Source: Space Politics)
A couple of recent reports suggest that it’s increasingly likely that the new space exploration policy to be released in the near future by the White House will include a provision for funding a commercial crew development program. Space News reported Friday that the FY2011 budget proposal “would fund a multibillion-dollar effort to foster development of commercial systems” for transporting crews to and from the ISS. On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal said its own sources indicated a commercial crew transportation program would be in the budget proposal. The Journal, though, describes the administration’s support for the initiative as “murky” based on its sources, who claim that “the budget isn’t expected to outline a clear, long-term funding plan.” (1/25)
Aliens Might Not Be Friendly, Warns Astronomer (Source: Telegraph)
Scientists searching for alien life should get governments and the UN involved lest we unwittingly contact hostile extraterrestrials, a British astronomer has warned. Mr Marek Kukula, public astronomer at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, said: "Part of me is with the enthusiasts and I would like us to try to make proactive contact with a wiser, more peaceful civilization." But he warned: "We might like to assume that if there is intelligent life out there it is wise and benevolent, but of course we have no evidence for this. (1/25)
Search for Aliens Should Start on Earth, Not Outer Space (Source: Telegraph)
The search for alien life forms should be conducted here on Earth rather than in outer space, scientists have claimed. Professor Paul Davies, a physicist at Arizona University will tell a meeting at the Royal Society that the best way of proving that extra-terrestrial life exists elsewhere in the universe is to use evidence from earth.
Davies suggested that the search could focus on deserts, volcanic vents, salt-saturated lakes and the dry valleys of Antarctica - places where ordinary life struggles to survive - to find "weird" microbes that belong to a "shadow biosphere". (1/25)
Aliens Visiting Earth Will Be Just Like humans, Scientist Claims (Source: Guardian)
Governments should prepare for the worst if aliens visit Earth because beings from outer space are likely to be just like humans, a leading scientist is claiming. Extra-terrestrials might not only resemble us but have our foibles, such as greed, violence and a tendency to exploit others' resources, says Simon Conway Morris, professor of evolutionary paleobiology at Cambridge University.
And while aliens could come in peace they are quite as likely to be searching for somewhere to live, and to help themselves to water, minerals and fuel, says Conway Morris. NASA's search for alien life is based upon the mantra "follow the water", a strategy reflecting the fact that, on Earth, where there's water there's life. (1/25)
Editorial: Space Race - Florida vs. Virginia (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Ever heard of Wallops Island? This small barrier island off Virginia's coast has the potential to threaten Florida's position as a leader in space flight. The island's primary resident is NASA, and it is prepped to become the 21st century's capital for manned space flight. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has pledged to make Wallops Island the best spaceport in America with annual state funding for the facility. Additionally, U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., has secured more than $35 million in NASA and other federal dollars for critical infrastructure upgrades.
If Florida does not retain its position as a leader in space innovation, businesses and employers statewide will lose billions of dollars generated by space-related activities. Florida is at a crossroads. Despite strong efforts by Space Florida and the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, Florida continues to neglect needed infrastructure investments to keep Cape Canaveral on the cutting edge.
For Florida to once again become competitive and maintain the Cape's as America's primary spaceport, steps must be immediately taken. First and foremost, Florida's congressional delegation must work together to reinstate federal space dollars to our state. We also need the governor's focus and leadership to make the space program a top budget priority. With thousands of jobs at stake, Space Florida's strategic plan must be fully funded and supported by the state Legislature. (1/25)
'Flat' Budget Likely for NASA (Source: Huntsville Times)
Over the next seven days, President Barack Obama will deliver his first State of the Union address and send a federal budget recommendation to Congress. The State of the Union is scheduled for Wednesday, and the federal budget rolls out Feb. 1. Don't expect a lot for NASA in either, space and military experts say. But Huntsville-based military programs should remain stable in Obama's budget request, they added.
"It's unlikely the president will say much about NASA in his State of the Union speech," said Huntsville lawyer Mark McDaniel, who advises members of Congress on aerospace issues. The White House, more than likely, will recommend that NASA receive about $20 billion for fiscal 2011. "That's about flat," McDaniel said. "It doesn't really keep up with inflation."
The Augustine Commission - Obama's NASA review board that weighed in on the space agency's future last year - suggested that the White House increase the NASA budget by at least $3 billion over the next five years, and then add another $1 billion each year after that. (1/25)
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