October 29, 2010

Florida 2010 Launch Manifest Shrinks (Source: SPACErePORT)
At the beginning of 2010, Florida’s launch schedule for the year included 14 missions for Atlas, Delta, Falcon, and Space Shuttle vehicles. We’re now on track for completing only 12 missions before the end of 2010. Thus far, the Cape Canaveral Spaceport has hosted nine launches (three Atlas, two Delta, one Falcon, three Space Shuttles). Missions that have formally slipped beyond 2010 include a Space Shuttle mission and an Atlas GPS mission. The remaining 2010 missions include three in November (a Delta-4, Falcon-9, and Space Shuttle). No launches are scheduled for January. (10/29)

New Yorker Wants Vote on Big Apple ET Affairs Commission (Source: AOL News)
New York City is home to practically every ethnic group under the sun, and if one UFO researcher gets his way, it will soon be host to every extraterrestrial species in the universe. Michael Luckman has crafted a ballot initiative that, if passed, would create an ET Affairs Commission. The panel would consist of seven volunteers who would meet twice a year to gather the most compelling evidence regarding the existence of extraterrestrials and UFOs and post it on the city's website.

The initiative is almost identical to one being considered by Denver voters, but while that city's altitude makes it closer to outer space than New York, Luckman believes there's no contest as to which burg ETs should visit first. Getting signatures for any ballot initiative isn't easy, but Luckman believes New York's large size will actually make it easier to collect enough to make an impact.

One of the commission's first duties will be considering sites where alien spacecraft might land. Luckman says another duty of the proposed commission would be appointing a liaison to act as go-between for the city and visitors from other worlds. Click here to read the article. (10/28)

Astronauts: Asteroid Threat Calls for Teamwork (Source: AP)
Space scientists and former astronauts from across the globe are calling for increased international cooperation to help ward off the threat of an asteroid slamming into Earth. Former NASA astronaut Thomas D. Jones says scientists now have the technology to prevent an asteroid, a giant speeding rock, from hitting our planet but implementing it requires all nations working together.

Jones was part of a group that met Friday at the European Space Agency's operational center in Darmstadt, Germany, to push for space agencies from across that globe to form a group to address the issue within the U.N. NASA has tracked nearly 7,000 near-Earth objects that are bigger than several feet across. Of those, 1,111 are "potentially hazardous asteroids." (10/29)

Is NASA Covering Up the 100-Year Starship? (Source: FOX News)
A NASA official may have made a 35-million-mile slip of the tongue. The director of NASA's Ames Research Center in California casually let slip mention of the 100-Year Starship recently, a new program funded by the super-secret government agency, DARPA. In a talk at San Francisco's Long Conversation conference, Simon “Pete” Worden said DARPA has $1M to spend, plus another $100,000 from NASA itself, for the program, which will initially develop a new kind of propulsion engine that will take us to Mars or beyond.

Since that revelation, hundreds of news reports have theorized that the substantial budget indicates the Hundred Year Starship is a dramatic shift for the stalled space program, not just a research project; others suggest it is a serious attempt to find a way to Mars. And NASA? The space agency seems to be dodging all questions. There is now wild speculation about the program. Worden mentioned the idea of working with third-parties to help fund future missions. He said Larry Page, the Google founder, asked how much it would cost to fund the mission (the answer: about $10 billion). This begs the question: is NASA ready to leverage its work by enlisting private enterprises? (10/29)

The Psychology of Leaving Earth Behind Forever (Source: FOX News)
The idea of astronauts volunteering for a one-way mission brings up many psychological questions. What are the characteristics of a person willing to cut ties—forever—with touching the faces of those they love, attending (in person) the events that are meaningful to them and touching the possessions they hold dear? What psychological challenges should we anticipate in those who volunteer in good faith and with great courage, yet find themselves confronting misgivings or loneliness or feelings of rage or beset with mental illness?

From a psychological standpoint, I believe there will be many volunteers for a one-way mission. After all, courage and patriotism and a love of invention and adventure are not in short supply in America. Soldiers have stormed beaches knowing full well that they were facing mortality.

Patriots like Senator John McCain have elected to stay in foreign prisons, risking death every day, to honor this country and their countrymen. It will be harder to ferret out those who are volunteering, but too vulnerable, to go. And it will be essential to weed out those who are hoping to escape the earth and the complexities of their relationships, rather than to embrace the future and its possibilities. (10/29)

Shuttle Liftoff Delayed as Engineers Troubleshoot Helium, Nitrogen Leaks (Source: CBS)
NASA managers decided to delay launch of the shuttle Discovery from Monday to at least Tuesday -- election day in the United States -- because of work to fix two leaks, one helium and one nitrogen, in the plumbing of the orbiter's right-side orbital maneuvering system rocket pod. The start of Discovery's countdown will slip one day to 2 p.m. EDT (18:00 GMT) Saturday. Assuming the repair work goes smoothly, the shuttle could be ready for launch by Tuesday, at 4:17:56 p.m., but that remains to be seen. The current launch window extends through Nov. 7.

Editor's Note: Discovery will carry two Embry-Riddle alumni onboard – mission specialists Al Drew and Nicole Stott. Al is an aerospace science graduate and Nicole is an aerospace engineering graduate. (10/29)

UCF Alum to Return to Space (Source: UCF)
University of Central Florida alumna Nicole P. Stott will journey into space for a second time aboard space shuttle Discovery. Stott has credited her UCF master’s degree in Engineering Management and the support of her professors with helping her gain the confidence to apply for a highly coveted spot as an astronaut. She took all of her UCF courses at Kennedy Space Center in a special program offered at the time for NASA engineers, and she graduated in 1992. (10/29)

Eutelsat Loses Satellite After Launch (Source: Business Week)
Eutelsat Communications stock price declined the most in almost two years in Paris trading after reporting the loss of its W3B satellite following “an anomaly” detected on the propulsion subsystem. The world’s third-largest satellite company fell as much as 6.1 percent, the biggest intraday drop since Dec. 5, 2008, and traded 4 percent lower at 26.35 euros as of 1:38 p.m. Eutelsat will also immediately start a new satellite program, called W3D, to “compensate for this loss,” for a planned launch in the first quarter of 2013. (10/29)

Ariane Rocket Completes Flawless Satellite Launch (Source: BBC)
Europe's workhorse rocket, the Ariane 5, has placed another two commercial satellites in orbit. The vehicle lifted off from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, taking 38 minutes to complete its mission. The 8.2-tonne payload included the W3B spacecraft, which will provide TV, radio, internet and other data services for the Paris-based operator Eutelsat. Riding as a co-passenger was BSat-3b, a platform owned by Tokyo's B-Sat Corporation. (10/28)

U.S. Drifting from China in Space - Opportunity Lost? (Source: Asia Times)
During his presidential campaign, President Barack Obama pledged that he would improve relations in general between the US and China with respect to outer space. Thus far this objective has not been achieved. Now that Obama's opponents who reject the soundness of many of Obama's plans and policies - and strongly distrust China as well - are poised to take control of the US House of Representatives, Obama will find this objective even more difficult to accomplish.

In light of this space-related gridlock involving the US and China, Joan Johnson-Freese at the US Naval War College labeled Bolden's trip as little more than a gesture. "The good news is that Bolden went to China and the Obama administration is far more open to working with China than the [George W] Bush administration was; the bad news is that I do not think the US is any closer to substantively working with China on space than it was during the Bush administration," she said.

"The problems are twofold: the entire US civil space program is still in an upheaval since [the Constellation program] was canceled - a cancellation likely inevitable due to the goals-resources mismatch - and there are still a large number of legislators who do not want to work with China on much of anything." Meanwhile, Bernard Foing, a European Space Agency (ESA) scientist who serves as executive director of the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) said that other countries are very eager to work with China. The ILEWG is promoting inter-agency coordination, while informing - and even recruiting - commercial firms and entrepreneurs about various space projects. (10/29)

Orbital Paths of U.S., China Diverge (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Growing voices on Capitol Hill against space partnership come as Beijing presses ahead, expands ties with others. President Obama's early initiative to explore joint manned space missions with China appears to have been stalled by the changing political winds on Capitol Hill—even as Beijing details ambitious plans to complete its first manned space station within the decade.

An apparent lack of concrete progress in talks on the subject last week suggests the U.S. could miss out on potential benefits, such as cheaper flights to the International Space Station, while China presses ahead with its space program and expands cooperation with Europe, Russia and others to get the technology and experience it needs. (10/28)

Budget Cuts May Doom Extra Shuttle Launch (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Just weeks after President Obama signed into law a new blueprint for NASA -- one that was supposed to add another space shuttle launch next year -- the compromise is in danger of coming undone by a lack of money. The latest NASA plan calls for $19 billion in spending next year to fund several costly initiatives, including beginning work on a new "heavy lift" rocket capable of one day taking humans to an asteroid and paying commercial rocket companies to gear up to take crew and cargo to the International Space Station.

Also included are plans to modernize Kennedy Space Center and launch an additional shuttle in mid-2011. But with GOP gains likely on Election Day, congressional Republicans are expected to have the muscle to block increases in the federal budget -- including a $300 million uptick for NASA -- during this year's lame duck session.

Space supporters worry that NASA's 2011 budget could be reduced below its 2010 level of $18.7 billion as Congress looks to cut the deficit and government spending. Congress has yet to pass a budget for the 2011 fiscal year. "There are senators, namely Sen. [Jim] DeMint of South Carolina and Sen. [Tom] Coburn of Oklahoma, that are insisting that all appropriations go back to the 2008 level. That, of course, would be devastating to NASA," said Sen. Bill Nelson, noting NASA's 2008 budget was about $17.3 billion. (10/28)

Investigation: Government Waste At KSC (Source: WFTV)
WFTV investigates a massive case of government waste at Kennedy Space Center. NASA could have added another shuttle mission or it could have hired more than 1,000 scientists on six-figure salaries for the next five years. NASA managers instead committed a half-billion dollars to building a 345-foot tower, and now they don't know what to do with it. Critics call it the ultimate monument to government waste. The launch tower was designed to support moon missions, but with those plans now scrapped, NASA moved it to a parking space where it's still collecting dust.

The GAO has blasted NASA projects for running over budget and behind schedule for the past 20 years. This time, managers were determined to change that. So they built the launch pad before they had a functional rocket. Critics blame NASA managers in Huntsville, Alabama for making decisions without enough input from the experts at KSC. NASA says the structure will still work for just about any type of rocket that might be developed in the future.

"The structure was built, so now we can look at what rockets come out here to launch, whether it be commercial or a heavy lift rocket, and then we can outfit it to fit the rocket so we can use it," a KSC spokesman said. The problem is, NASA has no plans to build or test rockets for another six years and there are no guarantees they would work with the tower. NASA also spent $13 million, modifying a shuttle launch pad for the Ares one-and-only test flight. Now it's being torn down, but the $28 million lightning towers will be left behind for whichever rocket might someday be launched there. (10/28)

NASA: Lost in Space (Source: Business Week)
It's 9 a.m., and 100 employees at KSC are lining up for the chance to do some freelance work. Director Michael Bay will use the famed NASA facility as a backdrop for Transformers 3, the finale of his alien robot war trilogy, a Hollywood tip-of-the-hat to a place that once launched the future. Bay needs extras—and KSC has no shortage. The facility's main mission, launching Space Shuttles, is about to end. Eight thousand engineers, technicians, and other employees are losing their jobs. Nearby towns like Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, and Titusville are already in a defensive crouch, like wobbly boxers waiting for a knockout punch.

NASA management is holding "morale events" to elevate spirits. A few days before the casting call, agency officials eased security rules to allow employees' families to witness what is expected to be the final "rollout" of the orbiter Discovery. Click here to read the article. (10/28)

Icy Red Objects at Solar System's Edge May Point to Life's Building Blocks (Source: Space.com)
The reddish hue of many objects in our solar system's frigid outer reaches may be evidence of complex organic molecules, perhaps even the building blocks of life, new research suggests. Scientists have come up with a computer model to explain the many colors — the reds, whites and blues— found in the Kuiper Belt, the swath of icy bodies circling the sun with Pluto. The model suggests that Kuiper Belt objects have many layers, and that the reds could come from organic materials in a layer near the surface. If the model is correct, it would support current theories that organic materials might be common in the universe, researchers said. (10/29)

No Lack of Exo-Earths Out There (Source: Science)
A new study estimates that in the coming months, NASA's Kepler planet-hunter should find a few hundred Earth-sized exoplanets orbiting uncomfortably close to their stars. As many or more should turn up in the next year or two, farther from their stars where life could thrive. To get a handle on the challenge, astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley, selected 166 stars similar to the sun and within 80 light-years of Earth, though not Kepler targets. For 5 years, they monitored the frequency of light from those stars for signs that orbiting planets.

the group predicted that 23% of sunlike stars have Earth-sized planets in close orbits. Applying these statistics to Kepler's search, the group estimates that Kepler will find 120 to 260 planets orbiting close in to sunlike stars. Although the new survey strictly applies only to close-in and therefore lethally hot exoplanets, Earth-sized bodies probably also abound at orbital distances where life would be comfortable, says Boss. "Earth-like planets are probably going to be common," he says. "Kepler will give us that number." (10/28)

New AIAA Guide to Reference and Atmosphere Models (Source: AIAA)
This standard provides guidelines for selected reference and standard atmospheric models for use in engineering design or scientific research. It describes the content of the models, uncertainties and limitations, technical basis, databases from which the models are formed, publication references, and sources of computer code where available for over 70 Earth and planetary atmospheric models, for altitudes from surface to 4000 kilometers. It is intended to assist aircraft and space vehicle designers and developers, geophysicists, meteorologists, and climatologists in understanding available models, comparing sources of data, and interpreting engineering and scientific results. Visit http://www.aiaa.org/ to download a copy. (10/26)

Raytheon, L-3 Communications Post Healthy Q3 Profits (Source: AIA)
Raytheon and L-3 Communications Holdings reported third-quarter profits that were higher than expected. Both companies said they had positive outlooks, with sales in 2011 expected to outpace those of 2010, but mounting budget pressures in the U.S. and Europe will likely lead to defense spending cuts and tougher times for defense companies. (10/29)

US Military Beats Disney as Happy Place to Work (Source: Business News Daily)
Disney owns the “Happiest Place on Earth,” but it doesn’t employ the happiest workers in the US, according to a new survey that identified the most "blissful places to work." The list reveals all four major branches of the military and the National Guard rank higher than Disney and other well-known companies, such as Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson.

Despite lengthy deployments and lower salaries, for example, the Army and National Guard ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the career advancement category, beating out Google for the top spots. The military also ranked high in growth opportunity, benefits and job security. The Army ranked No. 11, ahead of Johnson & Johnson (16), Cisco Systems (21), General Electric (30), Microsoft (39) and Disney (41). (10/28)

O.C. Poet to Blog Final Discovery Launch (Source: Orange County Register)
As the shuttle Discovery soars into space on its final flight, Chapman University associate professor Anna Leahy will have one of the best seats in the house. As the shuttle Discovery soars into space on its final flight Tuesday, Chapman University associate professor Anna Leahy will have one of the best seats in the house. Leahy, an award-winning poet, along with her husband, Chapman associate librarian Douglas Dechow, will fulfill a lifelong ambition when they travel to Cape Canaveral, Florida, to see the launch of a manned spaceship.

It is also likely to be the second to last launch of any shuttle. The shuttle fleet is expected to be retired after the final flight by Endeavor in February, although more flights remain a possibility. While Dechow will be watching from a beach nearby, Leahy's press credential will get her into the Kennedy Space Center. She'll be covering the flight for Chapman Magazine. (10/29)