January 7, 2010

Crist Supports $3.2 Million Request to Retrain Aerospace Workers (Source: Florida Today)
At a roundtable meeting of space industry leaders, Gov. Charlie Crist promised to support a $3.2 million request from the Brevard legislative delegation for Brevard Workforce to retrain aerospace workers. The governor also announced a Space Summit in Brevard County on Feb. 18 before the next legislative session begins in March. About 50 public officials and space industry representatives waited to meet with the governor at the Canaveral Port Authority building in Cape Canaveral. Crist showed up 30 minutes late, he had been delayed after seeing off a group of Florida National Guardsmen bound for the Middle East. (1/7)

An Island in the Sky (Source: The Economist)
The Isle of Man, a British dependency in the Irish Sea, is a haven for the thrill-seeker. Every year the TT motorcycle race unites man and machine in a week-long carnival of speed and danger. On “Mad Sunday” the terrifying course is opened up to all-comers. Fatalities are common—over 200 since 1907—yet the glamour still lures hopeful amateurs to try their luck. It’s an analogy that can be stretched to another of the island’s interests: space. The Isle of Man has long-aspired to become a leading space jurisdiction, investing in infrastructure and offered tax breaks. It also persuaded the International Space University (ISU) to set up a research center at the island’s International Business School. In December the first cohort of the ISU’s Space MBA program passed through, responding, it says, to a demand to produce more executives for an industry in which management skills have traditionally been valued lower than technical know-how.

Indeed, it is an interesting time for the sector. In space, projects tend to be long-term; sales often go ahead on projects launched five or ten years previously. Thus, while in most other industries companies are implementing strategies to exit the recession, the space sector is only just bracing itself for the shockwaves. As Walter Peeters, the dean of the ISU, puts it: "We know there is a financial crisis. We know we haven't been hit yet. But we know we will be." (1/7)

Export Controls Conference Planned in Orlando on Feb. 17-19 (Source: Partnerships Intl.)
The 9th Annual 3-day "Partnering for Compliance" East Coast 'one-stop-shop' U.S. Export/Import Controls training and education program will be held at the University of Central Florida in Orlando on Feb. 17-19. Spaces are still available. Confirmed federal agency participants include: DoS (Licensing & Enforcement), DoC (Anti-Boycott & OEE), DoD (DTSA), Treasury (OFAC), DHS (CBP & ICE), U.S. Census Bureau; AND E.U. and U.K. Export Controls expert, Baker & McKenzie, Barumiller Schults (Imports), and U.S. Trade. The Commerce Department (Licensing) has also been invited. Click here for info. (1/7)

Anti-Matter Production Triggers Supernova (Source: Astronomy Now)
As part of the ESSENCE supernova search, astronomers have discovered a distant star that exploded when its center became so hot that matter and anti-matter particle pairs were created. The star, known as Y-155, was once a magnificent 200 times the mass of our Sun, but around seven billion years ago it became unstable, forcing a runaway thermonuclear reaction that ended in a cataclysmic explosion visible halfway across the Universe. Massive stars like these are thought to form in pristine gas not polluted with elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. Small galaxies tend to have a low abundance of heavy atoms, and imaging with the Large Binocular Telescope shows that Y-155 originates from a very low mass host galaxy. (1/7)

SSTL Wins Key Role in Europe’s Galileo Program (Source: SSTL)
SSTL has been selected by ESA to supply 14 navigation payloads for the deployment phase of the Galileo satellite navigation system which was announced by the European Commission (EC) today, 7th January. SSTL is teamed with OHB–System of Bremen, Germany for the provision of these fully operational Galileo satellites. The two companies agreed to work together as a “core team” on Galileo at the end of 2007, with OHB taking the role of prime contractor and builder of the spacecraft “bus” and SSTL taking full responsibility for the navigation payloads onboard the satellite that will form the heart of the Galileo navigation system.

Each satellite will carry two different types of highly accurate atomic clocks which are used to generate navigation messages that are broadcast by the satellites directly to the users’ Galileo receivers. Under the contract, SSTL will be responsible for the design, manufacture and test of these navigation payloads using equipment procured mainly from European suppliers. SSTL will also manufacture some of the electronics to interface the satellite bus built by OHB-System and the navigation payload. (1/7)

EU's Delayed Navigation System to Take Off in 2014 (Source: Business Week)
The European Union executive on Thursday gave Germany's OHB System AG a $810 million contract to build the first 14 satellites for the EU's new space-based navigation system Galileo. The executive said that means the much-delayed rival to GPS should begin operating in 2014. The EU has claimed Galileo will be technologically superior to the U.S. Global Positioning System because it will provide more accurate locations for cars, ships and people using navigation devices. The EU's transport commissioner also said that Italy's ThalesAleniaSpace has won a contract to supply system support to the project and that Arianespace of France will launch the satellites into space. (1/7)

UAE Order for Six C-17s Will Keep Boeing Production Going in California (Source: AIA)
The United Arab Emirates' increase of its order from four to six C-17 airlifter aircraft from Boeing gives hope of helping to keep the program running, at least through 2012. Boeing will provide support for the C-17s under the C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership, and -- on top of 10 additional C-17s for the U.S. Air Force that have been approved and recent orders from the U.K. -- production can be sustained at 15 for 2010. (1/7)

NASA to Spearhead White House Education Effort (Source: Huntsville Times)
NASA has launched an initiative to use its out-of-this-world missions and technology programs to boost summer learning, particularly for underrepresented students across the nation. NASA's Summer of Innovation supports President Obama's Educate to Innovate campaign for excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education. The Summer of Innovation program will work with thousands of middle school teachers and students during multi-week programs in the summer of 2010 to engage students in stimulating math and science-based education programs. NASA's goal is to increase the number of future scientists, mathematicians, and engineers, with an emphasis on broadening participation of low-income, minority students. (1/7)

EU Admits No Date for Worldwide Galileo Service and Spiralling Costs (Source: Flight Global)
The European Union’s Galileo satellite navigation system will not provide a worldwide service by 2014 despite this week's European Commission announcement, there is no date for its full operation and the EC has abandoned the project’s original €3.4 billion ($4.87 billion) price tag. EC transport commissioner Antonio Tajani declined to give a final price tag citing rocket launch costs as a major cost growth factor. He had announced a €397 million contract for Arianespace to launch ten spacecraft with five rockets. No date was given either for when the full 32 spacecraft constellation would be in-orbit or when the minimum 24 spacecraft needed for worldwide operation would enter service. The new Galileo contracts make it clear that only 18 spacecraft will be ready by 2014 (EADS Astrium is already building four Galileo spacecraft).

The EC told Flight International that negotiations would begin this year for the next batch of spacecraft but no number of satellites could be given. Neither could the EC say when those spacecraft would be launched. This means only a partial constellation can be ready in 2014 six years after it was to be fully operational. Astrium, OHB’s competitor, now has the chance to win future contracts however at the Paris air show it warned of a 40% cost hike for Galileo if the space segement is not awarded to just one company. (1/7)

Private Space on Pace to Run NASA's Space Supply (Source: Popular Mechanics)
Last week, engineers at SpaceX ignited a rocket engine that sometime later this year will launch an unmanned capsule into space and rendezvous with the International Space Station. The successful test by SpaceX—-and recent advances by Orbital Sciences, the other private space company NASA contracted to ferry equipment to astronauts in orbit-—represents a shift away from government-run space hardware toward rockets and spaceships designed and operated by the private sector. After all, once the Space Shuttle retires in 2011, the United States will have no other way into orbit. The question becomes, would the government rather rent trips from the Russians or from U.S.-based companies? The answer will depend on the success of private space launches this year: They must go well to keep alive the trailblazing change in NASA operations. (1/7)

Editorial: The Bully Pulpit (Source: Florida Today)
It was 1984, and the nation was struggling to recover from a deep recession that pushed unemployment over 10 percent and dampened Americans hopes for the future. But President Ronald Reagan would have none of it. Ever the optimist, he used his State of the Union address in late January to say the economy was turning around, the nation remained a beacon to the world and that its best days were ahead. Then he did something unexpected — he talked about space.

Fast-forward to 2010, and the parallels are obvious. The nation is again struggling to recover from a deep recession, unemployment is over 10 percent and many Americans have lost hope in the future. President Obama faces the difficult task in his State of the Union address later this month to advance his plans for economic recovery and job creation, and should use that bully pulpit to announce a bold new course for NASA that can contribute to those goals.

To that end, Gov. Charlie Crist will gather today at Port Canaveral with space officials in a meeting that must produce more than a sound bite for his GOP Senate campaign. Crist’s support for space — and the difficult work of creating new high-technology jobs to replace those lost at KSC — has been mixed. The governor and lawmakers also should approve a package of economic incentives to help lure commercial space, technology and research and development firms to Florida and Brevard. The next few months will set the stage for NASA’s future and with it, Florida’s future in space for at least a generation. (1/7)

Lockheed Martin to Cut 1,200 US Jobs (Source: Space Daily)
Lockheed Martin said Wednesday it will cut approximately 1,200 US jobs as part of a restructuring within its electronics systems business. Lockheed Martin announced the job reductions as it unveiled the name and senior-level organizational structure for a new business created in a realignment of two prior stand-alone businesses. Mission Systems & Sensors, abbreviated by the company as MS2, was launched on January 1 and combines the former Maritime Systems & Sensors, supporting maritime forces, with Systems Integration. (1/6)

Congressional Earmarks Down by a Third in 2010 (Source: AIA)
The dollar value of earmarks listed in federal spending bills for congressional pet projects is down by nearly a third in 2010 from the 2008 figure, analysts say. The 9,297 earmarks total $10.2 billion, down from the 11,282 earmarks worth $14.3 billion in 2009. (1/6)

NASA Prepares for Last Space Shuttle Missions in 2010 (Source: AIA)
After nearly 29 years of space shuttle flight, NASA is at a turning point and is down to its last five missions this year before the fleet retires in the fall. The last shuttle flight, the STS-133 mission, is due to launch in September, but President Barack Obama could make the decision to extend the program. (1/6)

Apollo 13 Crew Returning to KSC on Apr. 9 (Source: ASF)
The crew of Apollo 13 will be coming to Kennedy Space Center on April 9 to participate in a fun-filled night of celebrating their 40th anniversary and your company can be a part of this thrilling event! Hosted by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, the evening will begin with a guided drive-by of the launch-pad as you listen to the crew’s commentary on what it was like to launch from that very pad 40 years ago; the drive-by will be followed by a behind-the-scenes briefing by Apollo 13 Flight Director Gene Kranz in a mock firing room at the Apollo Saturn V Center; then your guests will enjoy a fun-flared dinner as they dine under a Saturn V rocket in ring-side seats, topped off with a captivating in-depth look of the mission by the crew themselves. Visit http://www.astronautscholarship.org/2010_apollo13.html for information. (1/6)