Australia Launches Scramjet Consortium (Source: Space Daily)
The University of Queensland will lead a $14 million international consortium to help develop scramjet-based access-to-space systems, flying an autonomous scramjet vehicle at eight times the speed of sound - Mach 8, or 8600 km/h. In parallel, scramjet concepts will be tested at even greater speeds, up to Mach 14, in UQ's world class hypersonic ground-test facilities. (2/28)
Astrotech Chief Featured at Space Club Luncheon on Mar. 9 (Source: NSCFC)
The National Space Club's Florida Committee will host their March 9 luncheon with Gen. Lance Lord (Ret.) as the event's guest speaker. Lord is now the CEO of Astrotech Space Operations and will discuss "End-to-End Mission Assurance". The event will be held at the Radisson Resort in Cape Canaveral. Register online at www.nscfl.org. or email: ladonna.j.neterer@boeing.com. (2/28)
Lovell Meets Students in Naples (Source: Naples News)
The news was literally too good to be true. That’s how 10-year-old Chase Bigham described how his mother told him that for his birthday he would get to meet Capt. James A. Lovell Jr., commander of the Apollo 13 mission that was famously made into a film starring Tom Hanks. However, Chase’s dream and that of 15-year-old Ryan Ferguson came true Saturday night at the Neighborhood Health Clinic’s Block Party 2010 “A Space Odyssey,” where Lovell was the special guest. For Ryan, an avid space exploration fan, getting to meet Lovell was a last-minute surprise by his parents after he helped set up for the event Saturday morning. (2/28)
Soviet Space Secrets for Sale (Source: The Star)
Need a zero-gravity toilet? A spare key for your Soyuz? Declassified, decommissioned, the Soviet Union's space heritage is on the market. Soviet space memorabilia will be auctioned in Toronto on March 31. Some items: an autographed photograph of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in orbit; a "flown" Soyuz TM-33 Descent Module Polarized Observation Porthole (exceptionally beautiful and undoubtedly handy for viewing Earth); and a "flown" Sokol KV-2 space suit worn by cosmonaut Anatoli Pavlovich Artsebarsky. (2/28)
New Mexico Governor Signs Spaceport Bill (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Governor Bill Richardson visited Las Cruces to sign into law a bill requiring launch passengers at Spaceport America to consent to waive liability. Growth in economic development is expected to come from the spaceport liability bill, said Richardson. That means more jobs, said New Mexico Spaceport Authority Executive Director Steve Landeene. (2/28)
Space Law in Spotlight (Source: Clarion Ledger)
With China joining Russia and the U.S. as the only nations that have sent humans into space, international legal issues continue to emerge. Scholars from two of those nations are slated to address some of the issues - security, satellite communications, insurance, environmental monitoring, space debris and even space tourism - at the University of Mississippi as part of the U.S.-China Student Space Law Research Symposium. (2/28)
"Interspace" Mars-Themed Attraction Planned Near KSC (Source: Florida Today)
Want to visit Mars? You might not have to go any farther than Titusville. A New Port Richey company has submitted site plans for a 75-acre plot of land on State Road 407 to build Interspace, a space-themed entertainment and research facility that would include the world's largest simulated Mars surface environment. The company, NewSpace Center LLC, said it could break ground as early as September and open in August 2012
Titusville city officials, eager to bring space tourists and jobs to the city, are working with the company to help that happen. Tuesday, city council unanimously voted to waive $2,100 of costs associated with the project- the latest gesture to secure the company. The city and county have already approved tax breaks for the project and the Space Coast Executive Airport has agreed not to charge a leasing fee for the 75-acre site until construction officially begins.
In addition to Interspace, site plans include multiple hotels, a conference center, space-themed restaurants and a college branch campus. "Certainly the attraction can stand on it's own and be quite profitable, but there's a much broader opportunity," said Newspace manager Joseph Palaia, who envisions eventually partnering with NASA and schools for an education component. (2/28)
Faulty Valve Pushes Delta IV Rocket Launch To Wednesday (Source: Florida Today)
The planned launch next week of a Delta IV rocket and a new national weather satellite is being pushed back to Wednesday to allow technicians to replace a faulty steering valve on one of the rocket's solid-fueled boosters. The 24-story United Launch Alliance rocket now is targeted to blast off from Launch Complex 37B at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport during an hour-long window that will open at 6:18 p.m. (2/28)
Florida Space Workers Looking for New Work (Source: Florida Today)
Pat White lost her job at KSC in 1986 after the Challenger disaster, but it wasn't so bad for the then-new mother. White, now 57, was able to stay at home with her 1-month-old daughter, while her husband, Terry, continued working at KSC.
Now, with the shuttle program ending and no replacement program following it, White is applying for jobs for the first time in two decades. "We need an income, or we need (health) insurance," she said. Relocating would be difficult because the couple would have to sell the seven acres they own on north Merritt Island. "Everything we worked for, we'd lose," she said. (2/28)
'Devastating,' Not Just for Florida Space Workers (Source: Florida Today)
Salandra Benton doesn't work at Kennedy Space Center. Neither does anyone in her family. But the 45-year-old Titusville woman said she will undoubtedly be affected by the job losses there. "Churches, day cares. Every aspect of the community will be impacted by the decisions made by D.C.," she said.
Benton works for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers, a union that represents government employees. She predicts that she'll see an even larger number of people seeking welfare benefits because of layoffs. And she expects her property values to drop as her neighbors leave the community for jobs elsewhere. (2/28)
Official: Kazakhstan Hindering Russian Space Missions (Source: AFP)
Kazakhstan, home of the space base used to launch rockets to the International Space Station (ISS), is interfering with Russian space missions, the head of Russia's space agency said Saturday. "Kazakhstan's position on various matters regarding the use of the Baikonur cosmodrome is complicating the execution of tasks in Russian space exploration," Anatoly Perminov was quoted as saying.
Kazakhstan has moved in recent years to assert greater control over Baikonur and over activities at the space base, which include supply missions to the ISS and launches of commercial satellites. In 2007 Kazakhstan banned launches of rockets that would pass over provinces being visited by its President Nursultan Nazarbayev after a rocket carrying a Japanese satellite crashed into the steppe upon take-off. (2/28)
What of Chile's Telescopes? (Source: Discovery)
There are many international telescopes in Chile making use of the low humidity conditions in the Chilean mountains and high-altitude deserts. But as one of the most seismically active countries in the world, many of these observatories are built on shaky ground. In the wake of the deadly 8.8 magnitude Chilean earthquake that hit the South American nation on Saturday, how are these sensitive observatories protected from damage?
There's little doubt that the Chile-based observatories would have felt it. This isn't the first major earthquake that would have shaken these observatories. According to one official, observatories such as these have some novel anti-earthquake safety measures in place. Gemini South's servers are back online, but other observatories in the area have experienced power cuts, taking their servers offline. It seems unlikely these observatories will have suffered any serious damage. (2/28)
Do the Meek Inherit the Galaxy? (Source: Discovery)
At last week's meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in San Diego, California's top SETI scientists were asked how long will it be before we receive an interstellar greeting from an extraterrestrial civilization. Their estimates range from "minus 10 years" (it should have happened by now!) to 250 years into the future.
The most balanced guess in my opinion came from Seth Shostak: 25 years. This is based on the fact that the number of stars being reached in SETI optical and radio searches is growing exponentially with improved telescopes, signal processing, and detection strategies. This means that within the next two years as many stars will have been surveyed as have been in the past 50 years since the birth of modern SETI observations. (2/28)
No Damage to Chilean Observatories (Source: ESO)
A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck central Chile on Feb. 27 February 2010. No casualties among ESO staff have been reported. At present, power cuts and network interruptions mean that communication may be limited. Disruption to staff travel plans within, to, and from Chile should be expected. We urge Visiting Astronomers with observations planned at ESO observatories to put their trips to Chile on hold until further notice.
International flights to and from Santiago International Airport are currently either canceled or diverted. Information about observing programs will be provided at a later date. Despite being the 7th strongest earthquake ever recorded worldwide, the ESO observatory sites did not suffer any damage, partly as they are engineered to withstand seismic activity and partly due to their distances from the epicenter. (2/28)
February 27, 2010
California Space Day Sacramento Planned for May 25 (Source: CSA)
Members of the California Space Authority will meet and discuss space policy and regulatory issues with state legislators and key executive branch officials in Sacramento on May 25. The goal will be to ensure a greater awareness of the impact of space enterprise on the every-day lives of ordinary Californians, advocate a positive, supportive business climate, and promote science, math and hands-on, contextual learning in our public schools. Participants will assemble for orientation in the morning, be placed into teams for appointed meetings throughout the day, lunch with members of the Governor's Administration and enjoy an evening reception with members of the Legislature and their staffs. Click here for information and registration. (2/26)
New Non-Profit to Focus on Mars Exploration (Source: Parabolic Arc)
We are pleased to announce the formation of Explore Mars, Inc. (www.exploremars.org). Explore Mars is a project oriented group that was created to promote science and technology innovation and education with a use for Mars Exploration. Through a series of technology innovation awards, scientific symposiums and workshops, Mars analog work, technology demonstrations, and other programs, we provide a platform for scientists and “citizen scientists” to engage in meaningful space exploration research and development in the private sector. (2/25)
Wallops Adds $43 Million Contract (Source: DelMarVaNow.com)
NASA announced it has increased its support contract to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island to provide launch services for rockets going into space from there. The addition to the contract has a potential value of about $43 million through May 2014, according to NASA.
Improvements are under way at Wallops to provide enhanced launch services for small- and medium-class orbital missions for NASA as well as for other federal entities, including the Air Force and for commercial companies. "We are very pleased to be partnered with NASA to provide launch services for NASA launch missions over the next several years," Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority Executive Director Billie Reed said. (2/27)
India Space Budget Rises, Including Human Spaceflight (Source: Business Standard)
India's human space flight program got a major boost as the General Budget on Friday proposed a significant allocation to it and also sought increase in funds for setting up an indigenous global positioning system. The budget includes Rs 150 crore for the human spaceflight program under which the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) plans to develop a space vehicle to put a two-member crew in space and get them back safely. (2/27)
Astronauts Face New Frontier: Unemployment (Source: AOL News)
For 40 years, the American astronaut has been an icon of bravery and derring-do. But could these elite fliers be about to get their pink slips? The White House wants crews to get to and from the station on spaceships that would be built and operated by private companies -- and perhaps flown by private employees.
In the face of that proposal, the space agency will soon ask an independent panel to assess how big the astronaut corps should be, what role it should play and how to run a "cost-effective" space-exploration program, according to NASA budget documents released Monday. NASA chief Charles Bolden, himself a former shuttle astronaut, has made it clear that nothing is sacred. (2/27)
Scientist Eyes 39-Day Voyage to Mars (Source: AFP)
A journey from Earth to Mars could eventually take just 39 days -- cutting current travel time nearly six times -- according to a rocket scientist who has the ear of NASA. Franklin Chang-Diaz, a former astronaut and a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), says reaching the Red Planet could be dramatically quicker using his high-tech VASIMR rocket, now on track for liftoff after decades of development.
The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket -- to give its full name -- is quick becoming a centerpiece of NASA's future strategy as it looks to private firms to help meet the astronomical costs of space exploration. Hopes are now pinned on firms like Chang-Diaz's Texas-based Ad Astra Rocket Company. (2/27)
Kehler Praises Successful 2009 For Air Force Space Command (Source: USAF)
Gen. C. Robert Kehler said in a year defined by mission shifts, the more than 46,000 people of Air Force Space Command chose to thrive, allowing joint forces to navigate with accuracy, see with clarity, communicate with certainty, strike with precision and operate with assurance.
"I credit the sharp and steadfast men and women of Air Force Space Command with our unprecedented success in 2009," General Kehler said. "We provided space, missile and cyberspace capabilities with an unwavering commitment and focus on mission success." (2/27)
NASA Propulsion Plans Resonate with Some in Rocket Industry (Source: Space News)
NASA’s plan to devote significant funding beginning next year to develop a new main-stage rocket engine following the cancellation of the agency’s Ares 1 and Ares 5 launcher programs is in line with what some industry officials have called for in recent months as a way to maintain U.S. core competencies in propulsion.
NASA is considering using some of the $3.1 billion it is requesting for heavy-lift and in-space propulsion research over the next five years to develop a U.S. counterpart to the Russian-built RD-180 engine that powers United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket. While NASA announced Feb. 1 that its 2011 budget proposal included nearly $560 million next year for a heavy-lift and propulsion R&D program, agency officials provided few details on how they intend to spend the money. (2/27)
Project M: Robonaut to the Moon (Source: Spaceports Blog)
Johnson Space Center has an innovative solution to returning to the Moon but this time with a Robonaut or R2. A Robonaut-based, tele-operated mission to the Moon could be accomplished within 1,000 days of the go-ahead, NASA claims. With the NewSpaceEra coming with the American civil space program, the R2 may be a path into exploring the Moon to find economic viability for humans. (2/27)
Virginia Proposal Supports NASA FY11 Budget (Source: Spaceports Blog)
The Virginia House of Delegates is expected to take-up House Resolution No. 21 this week commending the NASA and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) for fostering greater development of commercial space launch services and particularly supporting fiscal policies that serve to enable the Virginia spaceport to maximize its commercial space launch potential.
The measure offered in the state legislature comes immediately after the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority passed an almost identical resolution February 23, 2010 at a meeting in Richmond. A July 1, 2013 "sunset clause" for the Virginia Space Flight Liability and Immunity Act is also on the verge of being removed by the Virginia legislature next week. An identical bill is offered by State Senator Ralph Northam. (2/26)
Rutan’s Clarifies His Thoughts on NASA's Commercial Shift (Source: Space Politics)
Some people were surprised when the Wall Street Journal reported that Burt Rutan submitted a letter to Congress critical of the administration’s move to commercialize human spaceflight. “That would be a very big mistake for America to make,” according to a brief excerpt of the letter quoted by the Journal.
However, Rutan has since issued a statement claiming that the newspaper “chose to cherry-pick and miss-quote” his comments. His statement made clear he is not opposed to NASA supporting commercial human spaceflight. “In short, it is a good idea indeed for the commercial community to compete to re-supply the ISS and to bring about space access for the public to enjoy. I applaud the efforts of SpaceX, Virgin and Orbital in that regard and feel these activities should have been done at least two decades ago,” he writes.
He is concerned about “a surrender of our preeminence in human spaceflight”, but is not a supporter of Constellation because of its lack of “technical breakthroughs”. “I do not think that NASA should ‘give up’ on manned spaceflight, just that they should be doing it while meeting” two criteria: achieving technical breakthroughs through basic research, and providing inspiration for students to pursue careers in science and engineering. (2/26)
Armadillo Supports NASA Commercial Shift (Source: Space Politics)
Another supporter of NASA's commercial shift is John Carmack, the founder of Armadillo Aerospace. Regarding Constellation, he said “...honestly, I thought the program was going to drag on for another half decade and piss away several more tens of billions of dollars before being re-scoped due to failure to deliver." Turning to the commercial sector for transportation to LEO of cargo and crews “may be the most beneficial thing NASA has ever done”. (2/26)
Meek Hopes NASA Can Do Both (Source: Space Politics)
Congressman Kendrick Meek, a Democratic candidate for the Senate in Florida, wrote “Establishing commercial spaceflights is critical to maintaining our nation’s leadership in space, but we cannot rely on private expeditions to take the place of NASA-administered spaceflights just yet...It will take decades to build a safe and functioning commercial program.” He adds that the thousands of jobs expected to be lost in Florida with the retirement of the shuttle is “simply unacceptable”. (2/26)
Nelson Likes Elements of NASA Budget Proposal (Source: Space Politics)
During last week's Senate subcommittee hearing on NASA's future direction, Chairman Bill Nelson said... "There’s a lot that’s good in this budget from this senator’s perspective,” citing increased funding for aeronautics and science as well as the extension of the ISS beyond 2015 and new technology development efforts. The key problem, he said, is that the way the budget was rolled out gave the perception that the administration was killing the human spaceflight program.
Among other things, he wanted a clear statement of the long-term destination of human space exploration (which, as he’s stated previously, he believes should be Mars), and “continued testing of a booster as a technology testbed, a robust heavy-lift vehicle program, and the continued development of a spacecraft for the missions beyond low Earth orbit”, which Nelson later called “Rocket X”. (2/26)
Mystery Group Invests More in Bankrupt Sea Launch (Source: Space News)
Commercial launch-services provider Sea Launch Co., which has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings since June, on Feb. 25 received $3 million in cash from the same group of investors that provided initial financing to keep the company in operation. Further payments totaling $9 million will be distributed in three monthly increments starting in March on condition that Long Beach, Calif.-based Sea Launch begins to secure commercial launch contracts.
Sea Launch’s current financial backers have set specific requirements that the company sign up to six launch contracts in order to receive the full $12 million, according to court documents. A group identifying itself as Space Launch Services LLC and the Heinlein Prize Trust, apparently consisting of the same people, has been paying Sea Launch’s currently minimal operating expenses since the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. This group is presumed to be among those who will take Sea Launch out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, perhaps as soon as this summer.
Editor's Note: The investors have separately been reported to be backers of the Excalibur Almaz commercial space station initiative. This blogger has advocated that the investors should take advantage of Florida's launch infrastructure funding and other incentives to move their Zenit launch system onto Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. Removing the high-cost ocean platform and ship from their operation would save billions (and raise money by their sale to other non-space users). (2/27)
Virginia Tax Measure for Space Not in Budget (Source: Spaceports Blog)
Virginia state legislators are having the toughest legislative session in decades with the state budget cuts amounting to over $4 billion over the next two years and creating at atmosphere that led to the defeat of measures in the Senate and House of budget amendments to divert sales taxes and/or state income tax earnings from human spaceflight to the operational budget of the state's commercial spaceport.
Since the measures lacked "revenue specific" numbers, the money committees of the legislature took the safe approach and did not include the measures in the state budget for the next two years, according to a Senate spokesperson.
It is safe to expect an effort to get Wampler budget language into a bill in 2011 as opposed to inclusion into the state budget. The measure is only expected to generate revenue for Virginia's commercial spaceport operations if commercial human spaceflight income or sales taxes with a nexus to state jurisdiction. (2/27)
Fate of a Temecula Spaceflight Venture is Unknown (Source: Press-Enterprise)
By 2006, a Temecula company had vowed to launch test flights of a vehicle that would one day allow civilians to fly into space. Four years later, Sprague Astronautics' Web site is the only thing to get off the ground -- and it hasn't been updated in years.
Company President and CEO Bill Sprague can't be reached and a board member said he hasn't heard from Sprague in a year. His Temecula office is closed, the phone number has been disconnected and e-mails to him went unreturned. The Temecula business license listed under Sprague Astronautics' old name, AERA Corp., is expired, as are Sprague Astronautics' incorporation papers in Nevada.
In 2008, Sprague said his company was still active. "We've kind of gone into a hiccup," he said. "We're going to make personal spaceflight happen." Editor's Note: Remember all those companies that were pursuing the Ansari X-Prize? Only Scaled Composites remains viable. The X-Prize Cup was supposed to become an annual fly-off for these companies, but it's doubtful that the event will happen again. (2/27)
Florida Legislature Kicks Off Session With Key Space Issues (Source: SPACErePORT)
Florida lawmakers face a $3.2 billion budget shortage as the 60-day Legislative Session kicks off on Tuesday. The shortage is smaller than in previous years, but after recent program/spending cuts and the depletion of federal assistance funding, this year will be a particularly difficult one.
As part of a "reprioritization of needs" for a budget of over $60 billion, lawmakers will consider requests for several tens of millions of dollars to mitigate job losses resulting from the Space Shuttle's retirement and the proposed cancellation of Constellation. They also will consider bills to establish incentives within a Space Florida Commercial Launch Zone, and divert space-related tax revenues for reinvestment by Space Florida.
Other bills could change the makeup of Space Florida's board, expand aerospace workforce development programs, and enable investments in space-related R&D to diversify the space industry beyond its limited role in launch operations. (2/27)
Florida Space Day Planned (Source: SPACErePORT)
Florida space industry leaders will gather in Tallahassee on March 3 for "Space Day" events and visits with the Governor's Office and legislators, as they kick off this year's Legislative Session. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will participate. (2/27)
ATK's Astronaut Fights Obama's Space Plan (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
ATK's Charlie Precourt, a former astronaut who is in charge of the company's Ares-1 program, is accusing nameless NASA political appointees of disenfranchising “the ENTIRE leadership team in the agency who are our nation’s brain trust on how to execute our space program.” It’s a charge that almost begs to followed by a clap of thunder and a scream, as the implication is that rockets could soon be falling from the skies along with astronauts, satellites, telescopes and space stations because NASA is being run by hobbyists.
Some folks inside NASA and in Congress say ATK has been behind the sniping at NASA’s deputy administrator Lori Garver. The not so-thinly veiled broadside against her in Precourt’s email appears to lend further credence to the charges. It’s hard to understand how this will help ATK going forward as some could see it as a declaration of war on NASA’s political leadership and is almost certain to strengthen Garver’s hand. (2/27)
Suborbital Safety: Will Commercial Spaceflight Ramp Up the Risk? (Source: Popular Mechanics)
Ever since the loss of the space shuttle Challenger, almost a quarter of a century ago, the watchword above all others at NASA has been "safety." Unfortunately, watchwords don't necessarily create actual safety, as we learned a little over seven years ago, with the loss of her sister ship Columbia.
Despite NASA's own checkered safety record, the last refuge of those defending Ares I, which the Obama administration has proposed canceling in the new budget request, is that it will somehow be safer than the commercial vehicles proposed to replace it. Also, some of the proposed replacements, such as the existing Atlas V and Delta IV, have excellent reliability records. But now safety has come up in another context of the new space policy—suborbital flight.
Last week, officials from both NASA and the FAA addressed the issue of the circumstances under which the new commercial suborbital vehicles, such as those under production by Virgin Galactic, XCOR Aerospace and Blue Origin, will be used to carry NASA-sponsored payloads and personnel. Click here to read the article. (2/27)
FAA and NASA Join Efforts for Space Tourism (Source: Federal News Radio)
The 2011 budget request for NASA has the agency using commercial space launch companies taking astronauts to the International Space Station. How safe would that be? Commercial space launches come under the jurisdiction of the Federal Aviation Administration. FAA's Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation Dr. George Nield explains how this will work. Click here to listen to an interview with FAA AST Director George Nield. (2/27)
How Will We Insure Space Travelers? (Source: Smart Planet)
No question about it, we’re on the verge of an era of commercial space travel. And there are a number of private-sector companies ready to launch, including Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX), Virgin Galactic, United Launch Alliance (a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin), Alliant Techsystems Inc., Orbital Sciences, EADS Astrium, XCOR Aerospace, Rocketplane Limited, Space Adventures, Blue Origin, and Armadillo Aerospace. Virgin Galactic.
So now we would have a completely new kind of vehicle that would transport humans through extremely dangerous and lethal environments. How do we deal with such new and uncharted risks from an insurance point of view? To be sure, we could certainly draw on aviation insurance as a start, but zipping around outside the Earth’s atmosphere is another kettle of fish altogether. One would assume that commercial space flight could involve trips to the moon, perhaps to develop and tap into the natural resources there.
While I have no actuarial tables on this, I would suggest that the chances of being killed on such a flight are much greater than, say, being in a plane crash. Insuring the hardware and spacecraft are another area to consider. Space travel insurance… Perhaps we’ll see the birth of a new industry sector in the near future. (2/27)
Members of the California Space Authority will meet and discuss space policy and regulatory issues with state legislators and key executive branch officials in Sacramento on May 25. The goal will be to ensure a greater awareness of the impact of space enterprise on the every-day lives of ordinary Californians, advocate a positive, supportive business climate, and promote science, math and hands-on, contextual learning in our public schools. Participants will assemble for orientation in the morning, be placed into teams for appointed meetings throughout the day, lunch with members of the Governor's Administration and enjoy an evening reception with members of the Legislature and their staffs. Click here for information and registration. (2/26)
New Non-Profit to Focus on Mars Exploration (Source: Parabolic Arc)
We are pleased to announce the formation of Explore Mars, Inc. (www.exploremars.org). Explore Mars is a project oriented group that was created to promote science and technology innovation and education with a use for Mars Exploration. Through a series of technology innovation awards, scientific symposiums and workshops, Mars analog work, technology demonstrations, and other programs, we provide a platform for scientists and “citizen scientists” to engage in meaningful space exploration research and development in the private sector. (2/25)
Wallops Adds $43 Million Contract (Source: DelMarVaNow.com)
NASA announced it has increased its support contract to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island to provide launch services for rockets going into space from there. The addition to the contract has a potential value of about $43 million through May 2014, according to NASA.
Improvements are under way at Wallops to provide enhanced launch services for small- and medium-class orbital missions for NASA as well as for other federal entities, including the Air Force and for commercial companies. "We are very pleased to be partnered with NASA to provide launch services for NASA launch missions over the next several years," Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority Executive Director Billie Reed said. (2/27)
India Space Budget Rises, Including Human Spaceflight (Source: Business Standard)
India's human space flight program got a major boost as the General Budget on Friday proposed a significant allocation to it and also sought increase in funds for setting up an indigenous global positioning system. The budget includes Rs 150 crore for the human spaceflight program under which the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) plans to develop a space vehicle to put a two-member crew in space and get them back safely. (2/27)
Astronauts Face New Frontier: Unemployment (Source: AOL News)
For 40 years, the American astronaut has been an icon of bravery and derring-do. But could these elite fliers be about to get their pink slips? The White House wants crews to get to and from the station on spaceships that would be built and operated by private companies -- and perhaps flown by private employees.
In the face of that proposal, the space agency will soon ask an independent panel to assess how big the astronaut corps should be, what role it should play and how to run a "cost-effective" space-exploration program, according to NASA budget documents released Monday. NASA chief Charles Bolden, himself a former shuttle astronaut, has made it clear that nothing is sacred. (2/27)
Scientist Eyes 39-Day Voyage to Mars (Source: AFP)
A journey from Earth to Mars could eventually take just 39 days -- cutting current travel time nearly six times -- according to a rocket scientist who has the ear of NASA. Franklin Chang-Diaz, a former astronaut and a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), says reaching the Red Planet could be dramatically quicker using his high-tech VASIMR rocket, now on track for liftoff after decades of development.
The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket -- to give its full name -- is quick becoming a centerpiece of NASA's future strategy as it looks to private firms to help meet the astronomical costs of space exploration. Hopes are now pinned on firms like Chang-Diaz's Texas-based Ad Astra Rocket Company. (2/27)
Kehler Praises Successful 2009 For Air Force Space Command (Source: USAF)
Gen. C. Robert Kehler said in a year defined by mission shifts, the more than 46,000 people of Air Force Space Command chose to thrive, allowing joint forces to navigate with accuracy, see with clarity, communicate with certainty, strike with precision and operate with assurance.
"I credit the sharp and steadfast men and women of Air Force Space Command with our unprecedented success in 2009," General Kehler said. "We provided space, missile and cyberspace capabilities with an unwavering commitment and focus on mission success." (2/27)
NASA Propulsion Plans Resonate with Some in Rocket Industry (Source: Space News)
NASA’s plan to devote significant funding beginning next year to develop a new main-stage rocket engine following the cancellation of the agency’s Ares 1 and Ares 5 launcher programs is in line with what some industry officials have called for in recent months as a way to maintain U.S. core competencies in propulsion.
NASA is considering using some of the $3.1 billion it is requesting for heavy-lift and in-space propulsion research over the next five years to develop a U.S. counterpart to the Russian-built RD-180 engine that powers United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket. While NASA announced Feb. 1 that its 2011 budget proposal included nearly $560 million next year for a heavy-lift and propulsion R&D program, agency officials provided few details on how they intend to spend the money. (2/27)
Project M: Robonaut to the Moon (Source: Spaceports Blog)
Johnson Space Center has an innovative solution to returning to the Moon but this time with a Robonaut or R2. A Robonaut-based, tele-operated mission to the Moon could be accomplished within 1,000 days of the go-ahead, NASA claims. With the NewSpaceEra coming with the American civil space program, the R2 may be a path into exploring the Moon to find economic viability for humans. (2/27)
Virginia Proposal Supports NASA FY11 Budget (Source: Spaceports Blog)
The Virginia House of Delegates is expected to take-up House Resolution No. 21 this week commending the NASA and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) for fostering greater development of commercial space launch services and particularly supporting fiscal policies that serve to enable the Virginia spaceport to maximize its commercial space launch potential.
The measure offered in the state legislature comes immediately after the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority passed an almost identical resolution February 23, 2010 at a meeting in Richmond. A July 1, 2013 "sunset clause" for the Virginia Space Flight Liability and Immunity Act is also on the verge of being removed by the Virginia legislature next week. An identical bill is offered by State Senator Ralph Northam. (2/26)
Rutan’s Clarifies His Thoughts on NASA's Commercial Shift (Source: Space Politics)
Some people were surprised when the Wall Street Journal reported that Burt Rutan submitted a letter to Congress critical of the administration’s move to commercialize human spaceflight. “That would be a very big mistake for America to make,” according to a brief excerpt of the letter quoted by the Journal.
However, Rutan has since issued a statement claiming that the newspaper “chose to cherry-pick and miss-quote” his comments. His statement made clear he is not opposed to NASA supporting commercial human spaceflight. “In short, it is a good idea indeed for the commercial community to compete to re-supply the ISS and to bring about space access for the public to enjoy. I applaud the efforts of SpaceX, Virgin and Orbital in that regard and feel these activities should have been done at least two decades ago,” he writes.
He is concerned about “a surrender of our preeminence in human spaceflight”, but is not a supporter of Constellation because of its lack of “technical breakthroughs”. “I do not think that NASA should ‘give up’ on manned spaceflight, just that they should be doing it while meeting” two criteria: achieving technical breakthroughs through basic research, and providing inspiration for students to pursue careers in science and engineering. (2/26)
Armadillo Supports NASA Commercial Shift (Source: Space Politics)
Another supporter of NASA's commercial shift is John Carmack, the founder of Armadillo Aerospace. Regarding Constellation, he said “...honestly, I thought the program was going to drag on for another half decade and piss away several more tens of billions of dollars before being re-scoped due to failure to deliver." Turning to the commercial sector for transportation to LEO of cargo and crews “may be the most beneficial thing NASA has ever done”. (2/26)
Meek Hopes NASA Can Do Both (Source: Space Politics)
Congressman Kendrick Meek, a Democratic candidate for the Senate in Florida, wrote “Establishing commercial spaceflights is critical to maintaining our nation’s leadership in space, but we cannot rely on private expeditions to take the place of NASA-administered spaceflights just yet...It will take decades to build a safe and functioning commercial program.” He adds that the thousands of jobs expected to be lost in Florida with the retirement of the shuttle is “simply unacceptable”. (2/26)
Nelson Likes Elements of NASA Budget Proposal (Source: Space Politics)
During last week's Senate subcommittee hearing on NASA's future direction, Chairman Bill Nelson said... "There’s a lot that’s good in this budget from this senator’s perspective,” citing increased funding for aeronautics and science as well as the extension of the ISS beyond 2015 and new technology development efforts. The key problem, he said, is that the way the budget was rolled out gave the perception that the administration was killing the human spaceflight program.
Among other things, he wanted a clear statement of the long-term destination of human space exploration (which, as he’s stated previously, he believes should be Mars), and “continued testing of a booster as a technology testbed, a robust heavy-lift vehicle program, and the continued development of a spacecraft for the missions beyond low Earth orbit”, which Nelson later called “Rocket X”. (2/26)
Mystery Group Invests More in Bankrupt Sea Launch (Source: Space News)
Commercial launch-services provider Sea Launch Co., which has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings since June, on Feb. 25 received $3 million in cash from the same group of investors that provided initial financing to keep the company in operation. Further payments totaling $9 million will be distributed in three monthly increments starting in March on condition that Long Beach, Calif.-based Sea Launch begins to secure commercial launch contracts.
Sea Launch’s current financial backers have set specific requirements that the company sign up to six launch contracts in order to receive the full $12 million, according to court documents. A group identifying itself as Space Launch Services LLC and the Heinlein Prize Trust, apparently consisting of the same people, has been paying Sea Launch’s currently minimal operating expenses since the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. This group is presumed to be among those who will take Sea Launch out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, perhaps as soon as this summer.
Editor's Note: The investors have separately been reported to be backers of the Excalibur Almaz commercial space station initiative. This blogger has advocated that the investors should take advantage of Florida's launch infrastructure funding and other incentives to move their Zenit launch system onto Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. Removing the high-cost ocean platform and ship from their operation would save billions (and raise money by their sale to other non-space users). (2/27)
Virginia Tax Measure for Space Not in Budget (Source: Spaceports Blog)
Virginia state legislators are having the toughest legislative session in decades with the state budget cuts amounting to over $4 billion over the next two years and creating at atmosphere that led to the defeat of measures in the Senate and House of budget amendments to divert sales taxes and/or state income tax earnings from human spaceflight to the operational budget of the state's commercial spaceport.
Since the measures lacked "revenue specific" numbers, the money committees of the legislature took the safe approach and did not include the measures in the state budget for the next two years, according to a Senate spokesperson.
It is safe to expect an effort to get Wampler budget language into a bill in 2011 as opposed to inclusion into the state budget. The measure is only expected to generate revenue for Virginia's commercial spaceport operations if commercial human spaceflight income or sales taxes with a nexus to state jurisdiction. (2/27)
Fate of a Temecula Spaceflight Venture is Unknown (Source: Press-Enterprise)
By 2006, a Temecula company had vowed to launch test flights of a vehicle that would one day allow civilians to fly into space. Four years later, Sprague Astronautics' Web site is the only thing to get off the ground -- and it hasn't been updated in years.
Company President and CEO Bill Sprague can't be reached and a board member said he hasn't heard from Sprague in a year. His Temecula office is closed, the phone number has been disconnected and e-mails to him went unreturned. The Temecula business license listed under Sprague Astronautics' old name, AERA Corp., is expired, as are Sprague Astronautics' incorporation papers in Nevada.
In 2008, Sprague said his company was still active. "We've kind of gone into a hiccup," he said. "We're going to make personal spaceflight happen." Editor's Note: Remember all those companies that were pursuing the Ansari X-Prize? Only Scaled Composites remains viable. The X-Prize Cup was supposed to become an annual fly-off for these companies, but it's doubtful that the event will happen again. (2/27)
Florida Legislature Kicks Off Session With Key Space Issues (Source: SPACErePORT)
Florida lawmakers face a $3.2 billion budget shortage as the 60-day Legislative Session kicks off on Tuesday. The shortage is smaller than in previous years, but after recent program/spending cuts and the depletion of federal assistance funding, this year will be a particularly difficult one.
As part of a "reprioritization of needs" for a budget of over $60 billion, lawmakers will consider requests for several tens of millions of dollars to mitigate job losses resulting from the Space Shuttle's retirement and the proposed cancellation of Constellation. They also will consider bills to establish incentives within a Space Florida Commercial Launch Zone, and divert space-related tax revenues for reinvestment by Space Florida.
Other bills could change the makeup of Space Florida's board, expand aerospace workforce development programs, and enable investments in space-related R&D to diversify the space industry beyond its limited role in launch operations. (2/27)
Florida Space Day Planned (Source: SPACErePORT)
Florida space industry leaders will gather in Tallahassee on March 3 for "Space Day" events and visits with the Governor's Office and legislators, as they kick off this year's Legislative Session. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will participate. (2/27)
ATK's Astronaut Fights Obama's Space Plan (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
ATK's Charlie Precourt, a former astronaut who is in charge of the company's Ares-1 program, is accusing nameless NASA political appointees of disenfranchising “the ENTIRE leadership team in the agency who are our nation’s brain trust on how to execute our space program.” It’s a charge that almost begs to followed by a clap of thunder and a scream, as the implication is that rockets could soon be falling from the skies along with astronauts, satellites, telescopes and space stations because NASA is being run by hobbyists.
Some folks inside NASA and in Congress say ATK has been behind the sniping at NASA’s deputy administrator Lori Garver. The not so-thinly veiled broadside against her in Precourt’s email appears to lend further credence to the charges. It’s hard to understand how this will help ATK going forward as some could see it as a declaration of war on NASA’s political leadership and is almost certain to strengthen Garver’s hand. (2/27)
Suborbital Safety: Will Commercial Spaceflight Ramp Up the Risk? (Source: Popular Mechanics)
Ever since the loss of the space shuttle Challenger, almost a quarter of a century ago, the watchword above all others at NASA has been "safety." Unfortunately, watchwords don't necessarily create actual safety, as we learned a little over seven years ago, with the loss of her sister ship Columbia.
Despite NASA's own checkered safety record, the last refuge of those defending Ares I, which the Obama administration has proposed canceling in the new budget request, is that it will somehow be safer than the commercial vehicles proposed to replace it. Also, some of the proposed replacements, such as the existing Atlas V and Delta IV, have excellent reliability records. But now safety has come up in another context of the new space policy—suborbital flight.
Last week, officials from both NASA and the FAA addressed the issue of the circumstances under which the new commercial suborbital vehicles, such as those under production by Virgin Galactic, XCOR Aerospace and Blue Origin, will be used to carry NASA-sponsored payloads and personnel. Click here to read the article. (2/27)
FAA and NASA Join Efforts for Space Tourism (Source: Federal News Radio)
The 2011 budget request for NASA has the agency using commercial space launch companies taking astronauts to the International Space Station. How safe would that be? Commercial space launches come under the jurisdiction of the Federal Aviation Administration. FAA's Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation Dr. George Nield explains how this will work. Click here to listen to an interview with FAA AST Director George Nield. (2/27)
How Will We Insure Space Travelers? (Source: Smart Planet)
No question about it, we’re on the verge of an era of commercial space travel. And there are a number of private-sector companies ready to launch, including Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX), Virgin Galactic, United Launch Alliance (a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin), Alliant Techsystems Inc., Orbital Sciences, EADS Astrium, XCOR Aerospace, Rocketplane Limited, Space Adventures, Blue Origin, and Armadillo Aerospace. Virgin Galactic.
So now we would have a completely new kind of vehicle that would transport humans through extremely dangerous and lethal environments. How do we deal with such new and uncharted risks from an insurance point of view? To be sure, we could certainly draw on aviation insurance as a start, but zipping around outside the Earth’s atmosphere is another kettle of fish altogether. One would assume that commercial space flight could involve trips to the moon, perhaps to develop and tap into the natural resources there.
While I have no actuarial tables on this, I would suggest that the chances of being killed on such a flight are much greater than, say, being in a plane crash. Insuring the hardware and spacecraft are another area to consider. Space travel insurance… Perhaps we’ll see the birth of a new industry sector in the near future. (2/27)
February 26, 2010
Aldrin: With Mars as a Goal, Obama's NASA Plan Should Be Embraced (Source: AIA)
Despite negative headlines blasting President Barack Obama's plan to end funding for NASA's moon missions, his budget proposal for the agency would bring new missions in near-Earth orbit and empower the private sector to make breakthroughs in human space travel, writes former astronaut Buzz Aldrin in this editorial. Mars is the long-range objective of the program, and Aldrin writes: "The new direction that Mr. Obama has set in this budget is the kind of bold initiative we have needed for many years." (2/26)
Raytheon Wins $886 Million GPS Contract; Most Work Will Be in Colorado (Source: Denver Business Journal)
Raytheon Co. has won an $886 million U.S. Air Force contract for work on a major upgrade of the Global Positioning System (GPS), with a major part of the work to be done at the company's Colorado facilities. The contract could grow to $1.5 billion. The contract is for work on a portion of the GPS "advance control segment" (or OCX) project. The six-year contract has "option years for sustainment" that could bring its total worth to $1.535 billion, the Air Force said. (2/26)
Lockheed’s 2009 Space Revenue Boosted by Orion, Classified Work (Source: Space News)
Delivery of a classified satellite valued at nearly $400 million late in the year helped increase Lockheed Martin’s satellite revenue by nearly 14 percent, to $5.8 billion, in 2009 despite a drop in commercial satellite revenue.
Lockheed's Space Transportation business also increased in 2009, rising by $21 million, to $1.38 billion. Revenue from the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle — now slated for cancellation under NASA’s 2011 budget proposal — offset a decline in business for the Lockheed Martin-built external fuel tank for the U.S. space shuttle. (2/26)
A Quiet Sun Won't Save Us From Global Warming (Source: New Scientist)
Even if the sun were to quieten down appreciably for the rest of this century, it would still be business as usual for global warming. The sun goes through an 11-year solar cycle during which its luminosity varies according to the number of sunspots appearing on its face. The normal cycle has a small effect on Earth's weather. But sometimes lulls in sunspot activity can last several decades, driving down the sun's luminosity to a "grand minimum". The Maunder minimum lasted from 1645 to 1715 and may have contributed to the little ice age. (2/26)
23,000 Now Expected to Lose Jobs After Shuttle Retirement (Source: Florida Today)
The local economic forecast tied to President Obama's proposed NASA budget keeps growing bleaker. Revised projections now show that about 23,000 workers at and around the Cape Canaveral Spaceport will lose their jobs because of the shuttles' retirement and the proposal to cancel Constellation.
That sum includes 9,000 "direct" space jobs and -- conservatively speaking -- 14,000 "indirect" jobs at hotels, restaurants, retail stores and others that depend on activity at the space center, said Lisa Rice, Brevard Workforce president. (2/26)
Air Force X-37B Spaceplane Arrives in Florida for Launch (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
A secretive military spacecraft resembling a small space shuttle orbiter flew to Florida in the belly of a cargo plane this week to undergo final processing for launch on April 19.
The Air Force confirmed the critical preflight milestone in a response to written questions on Thursday. The 29-foot-long, 15-foot-wide Orbital Test Vehicle arrived at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport on Monday. The OTV spaceplane was built at a Boeing Phantom Works facility in Southern California. (2/26)
Delta Rocket Team Stages Rehearsal For Launch on Tuesday (Source: Florida Today)
A countdown dress rehearsal at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport is allowing United Launch Alliance and NASA step through preparations for the planned launch next Tuesday of a new national weather satellite.
The weather forecast, however, is far from favorable. Meteorologists say there is an 80 percent chance conditions will be unacceptable for flight. A cold front is expected to sweep into the area on Tuesday, bringing with it strong surface winds, rain showers and a chance of thunderstorms in the area. (2/26)
NASA Budget Plan May Not Pass Committee As Is (Source: Florida Today)
President Obama's NASA budget proposal, including cancellation of the Project Constellation program to field new rockets and spacecraft, might not have enough votes to pass an important House oversight committee without changes.
A second day of Congressional hearings revealed broad opposition to the White House's budget proposal, even from lawmakers whose districts would be spared from job cuts caused by shutdown of the shuttle program and cancellation of a program to develop new rockets and spaceships.
Congressional hostility toward the administration's plans for NASA was so great that three lawmakers who don't serve on the science committee attended Thursday's hearing just to give Bolden a piece of their mind. "This is a giant step from greatness to mediocrity," said Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, who is among those proposing delaying the retirement of the shuttle fleet. "It's a sad day for America." (2/26)
Editorial: Congress Should Keep Pressure on NASA for Details on New Policy (Source: Florida Today)
How would you like your NASA boss, fried or grilled? Congress served him up both ways the past two days as members from NASA oversight committees gave agency Administrator Charlie Bolden the third degree on the White House’s landmark shift in space policy.
Members were expecting more from Bolden — so were we — but didn’t get it as he failed to flesh out important aspects in the Obama administration’s plan. Among them was the biggest missing detail of all — the ultimate goal and vision that goes with it.
Bolden said Mars is that destination, an objective the White House backs. But he wouldn’t set a timeline, saying that NASA has to complete research funded in the new budget to find faster propulsion systems to shorten the long trip. (2/26)
Despite negative headlines blasting President Barack Obama's plan to end funding for NASA's moon missions, his budget proposal for the agency would bring new missions in near-Earth orbit and empower the private sector to make breakthroughs in human space travel, writes former astronaut Buzz Aldrin in this editorial. Mars is the long-range objective of the program, and Aldrin writes: "The new direction that Mr. Obama has set in this budget is the kind of bold initiative we have needed for many years." (2/26)
Raytheon Wins $886 Million GPS Contract; Most Work Will Be in Colorado (Source: Denver Business Journal)
Raytheon Co. has won an $886 million U.S. Air Force contract for work on a major upgrade of the Global Positioning System (GPS), with a major part of the work to be done at the company's Colorado facilities. The contract could grow to $1.5 billion. The contract is for work on a portion of the GPS "advance control segment" (or OCX) project. The six-year contract has "option years for sustainment" that could bring its total worth to $1.535 billion, the Air Force said. (2/26)
Lockheed’s 2009 Space Revenue Boosted by Orion, Classified Work (Source: Space News)
Delivery of a classified satellite valued at nearly $400 million late in the year helped increase Lockheed Martin’s satellite revenue by nearly 14 percent, to $5.8 billion, in 2009 despite a drop in commercial satellite revenue.
Lockheed's Space Transportation business also increased in 2009, rising by $21 million, to $1.38 billion. Revenue from the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle — now slated for cancellation under NASA’s 2011 budget proposal — offset a decline in business for the Lockheed Martin-built external fuel tank for the U.S. space shuttle. (2/26)
A Quiet Sun Won't Save Us From Global Warming (Source: New Scientist)
Even if the sun were to quieten down appreciably for the rest of this century, it would still be business as usual for global warming. The sun goes through an 11-year solar cycle during which its luminosity varies according to the number of sunspots appearing on its face. The normal cycle has a small effect on Earth's weather. But sometimes lulls in sunspot activity can last several decades, driving down the sun's luminosity to a "grand minimum". The Maunder minimum lasted from 1645 to 1715 and may have contributed to the little ice age. (2/26)
23,000 Now Expected to Lose Jobs After Shuttle Retirement (Source: Florida Today)
The local economic forecast tied to President Obama's proposed NASA budget keeps growing bleaker. Revised projections now show that about 23,000 workers at and around the Cape Canaveral Spaceport will lose their jobs because of the shuttles' retirement and the proposal to cancel Constellation.
That sum includes 9,000 "direct" space jobs and -- conservatively speaking -- 14,000 "indirect" jobs at hotels, restaurants, retail stores and others that depend on activity at the space center, said Lisa Rice, Brevard Workforce president. (2/26)
Air Force X-37B Spaceplane Arrives in Florida for Launch (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
A secretive military spacecraft resembling a small space shuttle orbiter flew to Florida in the belly of a cargo plane this week to undergo final processing for launch on April 19.
The Air Force confirmed the critical preflight milestone in a response to written questions on Thursday. The 29-foot-long, 15-foot-wide Orbital Test Vehicle arrived at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport on Monday. The OTV spaceplane was built at a Boeing Phantom Works facility in Southern California. (2/26)
Delta Rocket Team Stages Rehearsal For Launch on Tuesday (Source: Florida Today)
A countdown dress rehearsal at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport is allowing United Launch Alliance and NASA step through preparations for the planned launch next Tuesday of a new national weather satellite.
The weather forecast, however, is far from favorable. Meteorologists say there is an 80 percent chance conditions will be unacceptable for flight. A cold front is expected to sweep into the area on Tuesday, bringing with it strong surface winds, rain showers and a chance of thunderstorms in the area. (2/26)
NASA Budget Plan May Not Pass Committee As Is (Source: Florida Today)
President Obama's NASA budget proposal, including cancellation of the Project Constellation program to field new rockets and spacecraft, might not have enough votes to pass an important House oversight committee without changes.
A second day of Congressional hearings revealed broad opposition to the White House's budget proposal, even from lawmakers whose districts would be spared from job cuts caused by shutdown of the shuttle program and cancellation of a program to develop new rockets and spaceships.
Congressional hostility toward the administration's plans for NASA was so great that three lawmakers who don't serve on the science committee attended Thursday's hearing just to give Bolden a piece of their mind. "This is a giant step from greatness to mediocrity," said Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, who is among those proposing delaying the retirement of the shuttle fleet. "It's a sad day for America." (2/26)
Editorial: Congress Should Keep Pressure on NASA for Details on New Policy (Source: Florida Today)
How would you like your NASA boss, fried or grilled? Congress served him up both ways the past two days as members from NASA oversight committees gave agency Administrator Charlie Bolden the third degree on the White House’s landmark shift in space policy.
Members were expecting more from Bolden — so were we — but didn’t get it as he failed to flesh out important aspects in the Obama administration’s plan. Among them was the biggest missing detail of all — the ultimate goal and vision that goes with it.
Bolden said Mars is that destination, an objective the White House backs. But he wouldn’t set a timeline, saying that NASA has to complete research funded in the new budget to find faster propulsion systems to shorten the long trip. (2/26)
February 25, 2010
Bolden Pleads for Patience as Senators Demand Answers (Source: Florida Today)
In the first congressional hearing on the White House's 2011 budget, senators grilled NASA Administrator Charles Bolden about worse-than-expected job losses in states such as Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas. They also urged the White House to clearly set landing humans on Mars as NASA's top goal.
Bolden, a former astronaut who flew in space with subcommittee Chairman Bill Nelson and got NASA's top job in part because of strong lobbying from the Orlando Democrat, said he agreed that Mars ought to be the space program's "ultimate destination." (2/25)
Space Shuttle Program Successfully Conducts Final Motor Test in Utah (Source: NASA)
NASA's Space Shuttle Program conducted the final test firing of a reusable solid rocket motor Feb. 25 in Promontory, Utah. The flight support motor, or FSM-17, burned for approximately 123 seconds -- the same time each reusable solid rocket motor burns during an actual space shuttle launch. Preliminary indications show all test objectives were met. After final test data are analyzed, results for each objective will be published in a NASA report. (2/25)
Congress Fires Opening Salvo in NASA Budget Cycle (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida lawmaker and former space shuttle flier, renewed a call for President Obama to set clear priorities for NASA on Wednesday as members of a Senate subcommittee sounded off on the space agency's controversial new budget.
Nelson said the president needs to make a statement on NASA and accused White House budgeteers in the Office of Management and Budget of controlling space policy. "I think OMB is running the space program," Nelson said. "This is where I think the president has to step out and take control and exert and offer the leadership on the goal that has now been articulated by the administrator...which is Mars."
The Florida Democrat also recommended Obama make a statement on NASA before the budget was released Feb. 1. "If you leave it to OMB, if we get there, it's going to be long time coming," Nelson said. "But if you have a presidential decision...then things can start popping." (2/25)
New Marshall Building Planned (Source: Huntsville Times)
NASA's proposed 2011 budget calls for a new office building for Marshall Space Flight Center, but in order to build it, another building in the campus made famous by Dr. Wernher von Braun must be torn down. It won't be Building 4200, von Braun's main headquarters, but another of the 1964 main "4200 campus" buildings - Building 4202.
Included in the proposed 2011 NASA budget is a $40 million plan to tear down Building 4202. Building 4202 costs about $225,000 in energy usage alone, Corn said, and maintenance projects that have been deferred, like upgrading heating and air-conditioning systems, come to more than $4 million. (2/25)
NASA JPL to Host California’s Climate Educator Conference, May 1-2 (Source: NASA)
NASA'’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Pasadena, Calif., is hosting an educator conference, May 1-2, 2010, on the unique climate of the state of California. California contains most climate zones and almost all types of weather. These phenomena are in response to local and global forces including atmospheric circulation, the Pacific Ocean and the state's unique and varied topography. Human factors play a role as well, from global impact to local decisions on urban growth, fire and water resources. For more information, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/index.cfm?page=130. (2/25)
Brevard Commission Holds Space Future Workshop (Source: Florida Today)
It’s time to move past the shuttle program’s looming retirement and devise strategies to invest $6 billion from President Barack Obama’s proposed budget, Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana believes. “Commercial space and low-Earth orbit is our future. It’s time to transition,” Cabana told the Brevard County Commission. “And we can say, ‘That’s not what I wanted. It’s not where I want to go’ — and we’re going to get left behind.
“Or, we can say, ‘This is the future. How do we capitalize on this? How do we make KSC the best-positioned possible for bringing that work in?’ ” Cabana asked. The commissioners conducted a workshop discussing Obama’s budget, NASA’s revised mission and the future of KSC. (2/25)
Floridians Still Waiting for Bio Investments to Pay Off (Source: SSTI)
Florida's efforts to boost it's biotechnology sector may not be paying off as quickly as originally hoped. A recent report finds that the $449 million invested through the Innovation Incentive Program has yet to result in industry growth in counties where the program's grantees have their facilities. The report, published by the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), suggests that the state's lack of early-stage capital for biotech startups may be contributing to the sluggish pace of development. (2/25)
Virginia $50 Million Economic Development Increase Requested (Source: SSTI)
Nearly all components of a comprehensive legislative package set forth by Gov. Bob McDonnell that would provide tax credits for green jobs, invest in renewable energy R&D, and support the biotechnology and life sciences industries have passed at least one chamber in the legislature at this point. The governor also introduced amendments to the 2010-12 budget proposed by former Gov. Tim Kaine that would provide an additional $50 million for economic development initiatives. (2/25)
Senator’s Attack on NASA Deputy Chief Lori Garver Backfires (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The attacks on NASA deputy administrator Lori Garver spearheaded by Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter during a hearing on Wednesday have badly backfired, according to a range of sources. Vitter accused Garver — who was not present — of orchestrating the cancellation of Constellation. He also seemed to suggest that Garver was running the agency, and not Administrator Charlie Bolden.
Not only were administration outraged by Vitter’s remarks but several female civil servants and women executives in aerospace companies who have known Garver for years felt compelled to send their complaints to senate staff. Several sources on the Hill, in industry and inside the Obama administration blame rocket maker ATK, the developer of the Ares I rocket first stage, for putting Vitter up to the attack. Sources say that complaints have been sent to ATK and so far there has been no response. (2/25)
Senate Prepares to Debate FAA Reauthorization (Source: AIA)
Senate leaders promised Wednesday that FAA reauthorization will be debated in the next five weeks, setting up a showdown over controversial issues including pilot background checks, tarmac delays and deadlines for equipping aircraft with NextGen avionics. Funding for the agency remains vague, because the Senate Commerce Committee, which originated the reauthorization bill, deferred to the Finance Committee on the proper mix of aviation taxes and fees. The Finance Committee is expected to take up the issue soon and attach its funding provisions to the bill in time for the floor debate. (2/25)
NASA Begins Antenna Development in Australia (Source: NASA)
NASA officials broke ground near Canberra, Australia on Wednesday, beginning a new antenna-building campaign to improve Deep Space Network communications. Following the recommendations of an independent study, NASA embarked on an ambitious project to replace its aging fleet of 70-meter-wide (230-foot-wide) dishes with a new generation of 34-meter (112-foot) antennas by 2025. (2/25)
With U.S. Contracts Delayed, DigitalGlobe Looks Elsewhere (Source: Space News)
Earth-observation services provider DigitalGlobe said delays in new contracts with the U.S. government — the customer responsible for 75 percent of its revenue — likely will limit the company’s growth in 2010 but that a recovering global economy should boost non-U.S. government business. DigitalGlobe forecasts that a 15 percent increase in revenue from commercial customers in 2010, combined with contracts with military customers outside the United States, will grow the company’s revenue by 22 percent in 2010 even if its U.S. government business remains stuck at 2009 levels. (2/25)
NASA Chief Vows Help for Florida Workers (Source: Houston Chronicle)
NASA chief Charles Bolden outlined plans to help KSC and Florida's aerospace workers through the cancellation of the back-to-the-moon program — without mentioning comparable assistance for Houston's Johnson Space Center. The NASA administrator sketched the assistance in 19 pages of prepared testimony to the Senate subcommittee with jurisdiction over NASA that is led by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and includes Sen. George LeMieux, R-Fla.
Bolden described an investment of $1.9 billion over five years to modernize the Cape Canaveral Spaceport to handle the projected increase in commercial space launches. Florida, facing the loss of some 14,000 direct jobs from retirement of the shuttle and the proposed cancellation of the Constellation program, is widely expected to be an electoral battleground in the 2012 presidential campaign.
Bolden described broader efforts that could help NASA employees and contractors elsewhere in response to questions by senators. The greater Houston area could lose an estimated 10,000 direct and indirect jobs from the loss of the Constellation program and the retirement of the shuttle, programs that rely upon the Johnson Space Center. (2/25)
House Appropriators Grill Obama’s Science Adviser on NASA Plan (Source: Space News)
President Obama’s 2011 NASA budget request was greeted by skeptical and at times angry House appropriators during a hearing in which at least one member vowed to obstruct the White House plan to scrap NASA’s Constellation program. White House science adviser John Holdren was called to testify before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Obama’s $147 billion R&D budget request for 2011, but spent the bulk of the two-hour hearing answering tough questions about the Space Shuttle and Constellation. (2/25)
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), the subcommittee’s ranking member, took issue with the Obama administration’s handling of the NASA proposal and accused the White House of secrecy and hubris. Members on both sides of the aisle were unimpressed with the lack of detail evident in Obama’s $19 billion funding request for NASA. Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) accused Holdren of not consulting senior NASA personnel on the decision to terminate the Constellation program.
Tensions mounted near the end of the hearing when Wolf accused three White House staff members seated behind Holdren of wearing smug facial expressions during Culberson’s final round of questioning. “I don’t care who you work for,” he said. “I think you really bring a degree of arrogance here that is just almost offensive.” (2/25)
In the first congressional hearing on the White House's 2011 budget, senators grilled NASA Administrator Charles Bolden about worse-than-expected job losses in states such as Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas. They also urged the White House to clearly set landing humans on Mars as NASA's top goal.
Bolden, a former astronaut who flew in space with subcommittee Chairman Bill Nelson and got NASA's top job in part because of strong lobbying from the Orlando Democrat, said he agreed that Mars ought to be the space program's "ultimate destination." (2/25)
Space Shuttle Program Successfully Conducts Final Motor Test in Utah (Source: NASA)
NASA's Space Shuttle Program conducted the final test firing of a reusable solid rocket motor Feb. 25 in Promontory, Utah. The flight support motor, or FSM-17, burned for approximately 123 seconds -- the same time each reusable solid rocket motor burns during an actual space shuttle launch. Preliminary indications show all test objectives were met. After final test data are analyzed, results for each objective will be published in a NASA report. (2/25)
Congress Fires Opening Salvo in NASA Budget Cycle (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida lawmaker and former space shuttle flier, renewed a call for President Obama to set clear priorities for NASA on Wednesday as members of a Senate subcommittee sounded off on the space agency's controversial new budget.
Nelson said the president needs to make a statement on NASA and accused White House budgeteers in the Office of Management and Budget of controlling space policy. "I think OMB is running the space program," Nelson said. "This is where I think the president has to step out and take control and exert and offer the leadership on the goal that has now been articulated by the administrator...which is Mars."
The Florida Democrat also recommended Obama make a statement on NASA before the budget was released Feb. 1. "If you leave it to OMB, if we get there, it's going to be long time coming," Nelson said. "But if you have a presidential decision...then things can start popping." (2/25)
New Marshall Building Planned (Source: Huntsville Times)
NASA's proposed 2011 budget calls for a new office building for Marshall Space Flight Center, but in order to build it, another building in the campus made famous by Dr. Wernher von Braun must be torn down. It won't be Building 4200, von Braun's main headquarters, but another of the 1964 main "4200 campus" buildings - Building 4202.
Included in the proposed 2011 NASA budget is a $40 million plan to tear down Building 4202. Building 4202 costs about $225,000 in energy usage alone, Corn said, and maintenance projects that have been deferred, like upgrading heating and air-conditioning systems, come to more than $4 million. (2/25)
NASA JPL to Host California’s Climate Educator Conference, May 1-2 (Source: NASA)
NASA'’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Pasadena, Calif., is hosting an educator conference, May 1-2, 2010, on the unique climate of the state of California. California contains most climate zones and almost all types of weather. These phenomena are in response to local and global forces including atmospheric circulation, the Pacific Ocean and the state's unique and varied topography. Human factors play a role as well, from global impact to local decisions on urban growth, fire and water resources. For more information, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/index.cfm?page=130. (2/25)
Brevard Commission Holds Space Future Workshop (Source: Florida Today)
It’s time to move past the shuttle program’s looming retirement and devise strategies to invest $6 billion from President Barack Obama’s proposed budget, Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana believes. “Commercial space and low-Earth orbit is our future. It’s time to transition,” Cabana told the Brevard County Commission. “And we can say, ‘That’s not what I wanted. It’s not where I want to go’ — and we’re going to get left behind.
“Or, we can say, ‘This is the future. How do we capitalize on this? How do we make KSC the best-positioned possible for bringing that work in?’ ” Cabana asked. The commissioners conducted a workshop discussing Obama’s budget, NASA’s revised mission and the future of KSC. (2/25)
Floridians Still Waiting for Bio Investments to Pay Off (Source: SSTI)
Florida's efforts to boost it's biotechnology sector may not be paying off as quickly as originally hoped. A recent report finds that the $449 million invested through the Innovation Incentive Program has yet to result in industry growth in counties where the program's grantees have their facilities. The report, published by the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), suggests that the state's lack of early-stage capital for biotech startups may be contributing to the sluggish pace of development. (2/25)
Virginia $50 Million Economic Development Increase Requested (Source: SSTI)
Nearly all components of a comprehensive legislative package set forth by Gov. Bob McDonnell that would provide tax credits for green jobs, invest in renewable energy R&D, and support the biotechnology and life sciences industries have passed at least one chamber in the legislature at this point. The governor also introduced amendments to the 2010-12 budget proposed by former Gov. Tim Kaine that would provide an additional $50 million for economic development initiatives. (2/25)
Senator’s Attack on NASA Deputy Chief Lori Garver Backfires (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The attacks on NASA deputy administrator Lori Garver spearheaded by Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter during a hearing on Wednesday have badly backfired, according to a range of sources. Vitter accused Garver — who was not present — of orchestrating the cancellation of Constellation. He also seemed to suggest that Garver was running the agency, and not Administrator Charlie Bolden.
Not only were administration outraged by Vitter’s remarks but several female civil servants and women executives in aerospace companies who have known Garver for years felt compelled to send their complaints to senate staff. Several sources on the Hill, in industry and inside the Obama administration blame rocket maker ATK, the developer of the Ares I rocket first stage, for putting Vitter up to the attack. Sources say that complaints have been sent to ATK and so far there has been no response. (2/25)
Senate Prepares to Debate FAA Reauthorization (Source: AIA)
Senate leaders promised Wednesday that FAA reauthorization will be debated in the next five weeks, setting up a showdown over controversial issues including pilot background checks, tarmac delays and deadlines for equipping aircraft with NextGen avionics. Funding for the agency remains vague, because the Senate Commerce Committee, which originated the reauthorization bill, deferred to the Finance Committee on the proper mix of aviation taxes and fees. The Finance Committee is expected to take up the issue soon and attach its funding provisions to the bill in time for the floor debate. (2/25)
NASA Begins Antenna Development in Australia (Source: NASA)
NASA officials broke ground near Canberra, Australia on Wednesday, beginning a new antenna-building campaign to improve Deep Space Network communications. Following the recommendations of an independent study, NASA embarked on an ambitious project to replace its aging fleet of 70-meter-wide (230-foot-wide) dishes with a new generation of 34-meter (112-foot) antennas by 2025. (2/25)
With U.S. Contracts Delayed, DigitalGlobe Looks Elsewhere (Source: Space News)
Earth-observation services provider DigitalGlobe said delays in new contracts with the U.S. government — the customer responsible for 75 percent of its revenue — likely will limit the company’s growth in 2010 but that a recovering global economy should boost non-U.S. government business. DigitalGlobe forecasts that a 15 percent increase in revenue from commercial customers in 2010, combined with contracts with military customers outside the United States, will grow the company’s revenue by 22 percent in 2010 even if its U.S. government business remains stuck at 2009 levels. (2/25)
NASA Chief Vows Help for Florida Workers (Source: Houston Chronicle)
NASA chief Charles Bolden outlined plans to help KSC and Florida's aerospace workers through the cancellation of the back-to-the-moon program — without mentioning comparable assistance for Houston's Johnson Space Center. The NASA administrator sketched the assistance in 19 pages of prepared testimony to the Senate subcommittee with jurisdiction over NASA that is led by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and includes Sen. George LeMieux, R-Fla.
Bolden described an investment of $1.9 billion over five years to modernize the Cape Canaveral Spaceport to handle the projected increase in commercial space launches. Florida, facing the loss of some 14,000 direct jobs from retirement of the shuttle and the proposed cancellation of the Constellation program, is widely expected to be an electoral battleground in the 2012 presidential campaign.
Bolden described broader efforts that could help NASA employees and contractors elsewhere in response to questions by senators. The greater Houston area could lose an estimated 10,000 direct and indirect jobs from the loss of the Constellation program and the retirement of the shuttle, programs that rely upon the Johnson Space Center. (2/25)
House Appropriators Grill Obama’s Science Adviser on NASA Plan (Source: Space News)
President Obama’s 2011 NASA budget request was greeted by skeptical and at times angry House appropriators during a hearing in which at least one member vowed to obstruct the White House plan to scrap NASA’s Constellation program. White House science adviser John Holdren was called to testify before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Obama’s $147 billion R&D budget request for 2011, but spent the bulk of the two-hour hearing answering tough questions about the Space Shuttle and Constellation. (2/25)
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), the subcommittee’s ranking member, took issue with the Obama administration’s handling of the NASA proposal and accused the White House of secrecy and hubris. Members on both sides of the aisle were unimpressed with the lack of detail evident in Obama’s $19 billion funding request for NASA. Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) accused Holdren of not consulting senior NASA personnel on the decision to terminate the Constellation program.
Tensions mounted near the end of the hearing when Wolf accused three White House staff members seated behind Holdren of wearing smug facial expressions during Culberson’s final round of questioning. “I don’t care who you work for,” he said. “I think you really bring a degree of arrogance here that is just almost offensive.” (2/25)
February 24, 2010
Huntsville Mayor Tweets Live Updates from Senate Hearing (Source: Huntsville Times)
Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle is providing live updates via Twitter on a U.S. Senate subcommittee meeting that could determine the future of the Constellation program and work at Marshall Space Flight Center. Today's hearing takes a closer look at NASA's 2011 budget, which scraps the Huntsville-developed Ares rockets to make way for a new investment in commercial rockets. (2/24)
Senators Vow to Fight NASA Outsource Plan (Source; Wall Street Journal)
Members of a Senate science subcommittee vowed to fight the Obama administration's plan to outsource transportation of NASA astronauts to private firms. Calling the plans a "radical" departure from past NASA budgets, lawmakers expressed bipartisan opposition to the White House initiative.
They also complained that NASA and the White House failed to lay out clear-cut goals for the agency and that the U.S. was in danger of losing its leadership in space exploration. "You don't accomplish great things without a clearly defined mission, and this budget has no clearly defined mission," said Republican Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana. (2/24)
Bringing Back Mars Life (Source: MSNBC)
Fifty years after NASA began grappling with the idea of life beyond our planet, it's in the midst of planning missions to bring potential traces of Martian life back to Earth ... again. NASA's goal of looking for extraterrestrial life is almost as old as the space agency itself: In 1960, a bioscience advisory committee recommended that NASA should get involved in exobiology as well as space medicine, and in that same year the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was authorized to start figuring out what kind of spacecraft would be needed to search for life on Mars.
Over the past couple of years, scientists have been closing in on a new Mars sample return concept - and the radical shift in NASA's space vision, announced just this month, could conceivably bring the plan for bringing back Mars life into sharp focus. (2/24)
Senators Grill NASA Chief on Moon Shift, Mars (Source: Florida Today)
Sen. Bill Nelson urged President Obama and NASA to set a goal of getting to Mars as senators lashed the agency chief for proposing to end the Constellation program that aimed to return to the moon. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told Senators that he and the White House agreed that Mars is “the ultimate destination.” But Bolden said he couldn’t set a date for that goal because research funded in the budget needs to find better propulsion and research longer-term space travel on people. "We want to go to Mars," Bolden said. "We can't get there because we don’t have the technology." (2/24)
Germany Takes Step Toward In-Orbit Servicing Demo (Source: Space News)
OHB Technology will be system prime contractor for a German government program to demonstrate in-orbit servicing and de-orbiting of satellites and other hardware. The German space agency, DLR, has awarded contracts for five components of its DEOS system, an acronym for German Orbital Servicing Mission, which is expected to cost up to 200 million euros ($272 million) once the decision is made to build a flight demonstrator. (2/24)
Space Pioneer Burt Rutan Blasts NASA Plan (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Commercial space pioneer Burt Rutan has sharply criticized Obama administration proposals to outsource key portions of NASA's manned space program to private firms. In a letter addressed to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, says he is "fearful that the commercial guys will fail" to deliver on the promises to get beyond low earth orbit, and that the policy risks setting back the nation's space program.
"That would be a very big mistake for America to make," according to the letter sent to lawmakers that is expected to be released Wednesday during a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing on the future of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Such comments are unexpected from a maverick engineer long identified with pushing the boundaries of commercial space projects, and the man who designed the first commercial suborbital rocketship.
"From my past comments on NASA's" lack of direction and success, "an observer might think that I would applaud the decision to turn this important responsibility over to commercial developers," the letter says. However, he adds, that's "wrong." (2/24)
Editorial: A Better Way to Go Where No One Has Gone Before (Source: San Francisco Chronicle)
Skeptics say that commercial vehicles will be less safe, more costly or slower to develop than Ares. Such statements are grossly misleading. The new Ares vehicles have yet to fly even once, while one of the potential commercial rockets, the Atlas V, has flown 19 times with a near 100 percent success rate. Entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, with SpaceX, have energized the launch industry.
Some complain that the plan concedes the moon to the Chinese. This is nonsense. The United States landed on the moon six times more than 40 years ago. As Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, has pointed out, it is far more logical to partner with the Chinese on the exceedingly expensive trip to the moon. In the meantime, many of us have identified the "flexible path" as a way of moving human exploration ever more deeply into space beyond low-Earth orbit, while keeping Mars as the ultimate goal. (2/24)
Editorial: Obama Budget Restores Bush Cuts (Source: San Francisco Chronicle)
Part of the Bush-era cost-cutting strategy to pay for Constellation was: Removing $3 billion over five years from the NASA science budget; Reducing NASA's technology program to near zero; Eliminating most of the U.S. use of the International Space Station; and Cutting the aeronautics budget to bare bones.
The Obama budget reverses virtually all of these cuts and replaces them with an exciting science and technology program that will put NASA back in the front ranks of innovation. As a card-carrying member of Silicon Valley society, I firmly believe that it is innovation that will lead America out of our current financial and political malaise. (2/24)
Spaceport America Progressing Quickly (Source: KFOX)
About 40 mile north of Las Cruces is a runway 24 inches above the ground, 200 feet wide and 10,000 feet long that is soon to be complete. “We're building a city essentially out here in the middle of the desert,” said Chad Rabon of Spaceport America. Tuesday dust was everywhere, but even in the high winds there's no day off at Spaceport America. The first thing that will be complete is the runway. (2/24)
Safety Approvals Holding Up Falcon-9 Debut (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
Before a new launch vehicle is cleared for liftoff from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, federal regulators and Air Force officials meticulously go over the rocket's safety systems to verify the mission will pose no danger to the public. The process is in motion again as SpaceX prepares to launch its first Falcon-9 rocket, a thoroughly-tested but unproven launcher that could blast off as early as next month.
The Air Force 45th Space Wing and the FAA are still reviewing paperwork on the new rocket, which is currently on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral for several days of ground tests. Because of the continuing safety checks, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk says the earliest launch could occur is around March 22, although the 154-foot-tall rocket could be ready before then. (2/24)
Can Life Exist in Alternate Universes? (Source: Discovery)
Although it's pure speculation, there's something appealing about considering multiple universes (a scenario known as the "multiverse") where anything -- and I mean anything -- is possible. But just because an alternate universe is possible, it doesn't mean life can exist there.
Now scientists from MIT -- obviously not content with searching for life within our own cosmos -- have shown that alternate universes could nurture life even if the fundamental nature of these universes is totally different from our own. Click here to view the article. (2/24)
Obama Space Plan Burns Powerful Aerospace Workers' Union (Source: Florida Today)
A major union that endorsed and campaigned for President Obama here in Florida apparently has turned on him, blasting his plans (or lack thereof) for U.S. space exploration. In a letter dated Feb. 4, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers -- a strong group on the Space Coast -- criticized Obama's scrapping of the shuttle and Constellation programs, with only vague plans to privatize rocket launches.
The letter signed by international union President R. Thomas Buffenbarger begins: "At a time when the U.S. economy is mired in the worst recession in 70 years and is in desperate need of a jobs creation program your Administration's proposal to have NASA rely on the private sector to develop and operate manned space craft will contribute to the loss of several thousand well paid domestics jobs." (2/24)
SLC-6 Houses Monstrous Delta-4 (Source: Lompoc Record)
Space Launch Complex-6, a pad with a huge history at Vandenberg Air Force Base, now has a monstrous resident to match its behemoth background. The site of two canceled manned flight programs is now housing the Delta 4-Heavy rocket after another round of modifications to the storied facility.
“To actually see the rocket out here, the excitement level has dramatically increased for the team, both on the 30th Space Wing side as well as on United Launch Alliance,” said Lt. Col. Brady Hauboldt, 4th Space Launch Squadron commander. The excitement about the unmanned rocket’s arrival has made SLC-6 a popular stop for select military and government groups, prompting a joke that it’s become “Tours R Us.” Tours soon will end as the classified spy satellite moves to SLC-6 for its scheduled Dec. 1 blastoff. (2/24)
NASA Changes Could Impact New Mexico (Source: KFOX)
Under the Obama administration, NASA will be shifting its strategy for human space flight. The old strategy was to set a destination to explore and then build the technology needed for NASA to get there. The new strategy would spend billions on technology that would be beneficial to the country’s goal of space exploration and the commercial industry, as well.
“NASA's new approach is really going to pay tribute to the commercial space and these new folks like Virgin Galactic,” said Steve Landeene, the executive director of Spaceport America. "It's dramatically going to lower the cost in the future from scientific experimentation to new medicines and national security,” said Landeene. (2/24)
Nelson Leads New Look Deeper Into Obama’s NASA Plan (Source: CFL13)
News 13 sat down with Nelson last week to talk about space, the future of manned exploration and the Obama plan. "The question is what to do now, and NASA is in a period of uncertainty,” Nelson said. “I think the Obama administration has laid out a good plan, but they sold it in the worst PR job I’ve ever seen. They have given the impression that they are killing the manned space program.” Nelson said that is not the case, but perception has a way of becoming reality in Washington. (2/24)
Thales Alenia Picked to Build Jason-3 Oceanographic Satellite (Source: Thales)
Thales Alenia Space announced to have signed with French Space Agency (CNES), the contract to build the Jason-3 satellite. The Jason-3 operational oceanographic mission involves a quadripartite collaboration between the two meteorological organizations Eumetsat and NOAA, acting as the leaders of the program, and CNES and its American counterpart NASA. (2/24)
Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle is providing live updates via Twitter on a U.S. Senate subcommittee meeting that could determine the future of the Constellation program and work at Marshall Space Flight Center. Today's hearing takes a closer look at NASA's 2011 budget, which scraps the Huntsville-developed Ares rockets to make way for a new investment in commercial rockets. (2/24)
Senators Vow to Fight NASA Outsource Plan (Source; Wall Street Journal)
Members of a Senate science subcommittee vowed to fight the Obama administration's plan to outsource transportation of NASA astronauts to private firms. Calling the plans a "radical" departure from past NASA budgets, lawmakers expressed bipartisan opposition to the White House initiative.
They also complained that NASA and the White House failed to lay out clear-cut goals for the agency and that the U.S. was in danger of losing its leadership in space exploration. "You don't accomplish great things without a clearly defined mission, and this budget has no clearly defined mission," said Republican Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana. (2/24)
Bringing Back Mars Life (Source: MSNBC)
Fifty years after NASA began grappling with the idea of life beyond our planet, it's in the midst of planning missions to bring potential traces of Martian life back to Earth ... again. NASA's goal of looking for extraterrestrial life is almost as old as the space agency itself: In 1960, a bioscience advisory committee recommended that NASA should get involved in exobiology as well as space medicine, and in that same year the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was authorized to start figuring out what kind of spacecraft would be needed to search for life on Mars.
Over the past couple of years, scientists have been closing in on a new Mars sample return concept - and the radical shift in NASA's space vision, announced just this month, could conceivably bring the plan for bringing back Mars life into sharp focus. (2/24)
Senators Grill NASA Chief on Moon Shift, Mars (Source: Florida Today)
Sen. Bill Nelson urged President Obama and NASA to set a goal of getting to Mars as senators lashed the agency chief for proposing to end the Constellation program that aimed to return to the moon. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told Senators that he and the White House agreed that Mars is “the ultimate destination.” But Bolden said he couldn’t set a date for that goal because research funded in the budget needs to find better propulsion and research longer-term space travel on people. "We want to go to Mars," Bolden said. "We can't get there because we don’t have the technology." (2/24)
Germany Takes Step Toward In-Orbit Servicing Demo (Source: Space News)
OHB Technology will be system prime contractor for a German government program to demonstrate in-orbit servicing and de-orbiting of satellites and other hardware. The German space agency, DLR, has awarded contracts for five components of its DEOS system, an acronym for German Orbital Servicing Mission, which is expected to cost up to 200 million euros ($272 million) once the decision is made to build a flight demonstrator. (2/24)
Space Pioneer Burt Rutan Blasts NASA Plan (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Commercial space pioneer Burt Rutan has sharply criticized Obama administration proposals to outsource key portions of NASA's manned space program to private firms. In a letter addressed to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, says he is "fearful that the commercial guys will fail" to deliver on the promises to get beyond low earth orbit, and that the policy risks setting back the nation's space program.
"That would be a very big mistake for America to make," according to the letter sent to lawmakers that is expected to be released Wednesday during a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing on the future of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Such comments are unexpected from a maverick engineer long identified with pushing the boundaries of commercial space projects, and the man who designed the first commercial suborbital rocketship.
"From my past comments on NASA's" lack of direction and success, "an observer might think that I would applaud the decision to turn this important responsibility over to commercial developers," the letter says. However, he adds, that's "wrong." (2/24)
Editorial: A Better Way to Go Where No One Has Gone Before (Source: San Francisco Chronicle)
Skeptics say that commercial vehicles will be less safe, more costly or slower to develop than Ares. Such statements are grossly misleading. The new Ares vehicles have yet to fly even once, while one of the potential commercial rockets, the Atlas V, has flown 19 times with a near 100 percent success rate. Entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, with SpaceX, have energized the launch industry.
Some complain that the plan concedes the moon to the Chinese. This is nonsense. The United States landed on the moon six times more than 40 years ago. As Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, has pointed out, it is far more logical to partner with the Chinese on the exceedingly expensive trip to the moon. In the meantime, many of us have identified the "flexible path" as a way of moving human exploration ever more deeply into space beyond low-Earth orbit, while keeping Mars as the ultimate goal. (2/24)
Editorial: Obama Budget Restores Bush Cuts (Source: San Francisco Chronicle)
Part of the Bush-era cost-cutting strategy to pay for Constellation was: Removing $3 billion over five years from the NASA science budget; Reducing NASA's technology program to near zero; Eliminating most of the U.S. use of the International Space Station; and Cutting the aeronautics budget to bare bones.
The Obama budget reverses virtually all of these cuts and replaces them with an exciting science and technology program that will put NASA back in the front ranks of innovation. As a card-carrying member of Silicon Valley society, I firmly believe that it is innovation that will lead America out of our current financial and political malaise. (2/24)
Spaceport America Progressing Quickly (Source: KFOX)
About 40 mile north of Las Cruces is a runway 24 inches above the ground, 200 feet wide and 10,000 feet long that is soon to be complete. “We're building a city essentially out here in the middle of the desert,” said Chad Rabon of Spaceport America. Tuesday dust was everywhere, but even in the high winds there's no day off at Spaceport America. The first thing that will be complete is the runway. (2/24)
Safety Approvals Holding Up Falcon-9 Debut (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
Before a new launch vehicle is cleared for liftoff from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, federal regulators and Air Force officials meticulously go over the rocket's safety systems to verify the mission will pose no danger to the public. The process is in motion again as SpaceX prepares to launch its first Falcon-9 rocket, a thoroughly-tested but unproven launcher that could blast off as early as next month.
The Air Force 45th Space Wing and the FAA are still reviewing paperwork on the new rocket, which is currently on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral for several days of ground tests. Because of the continuing safety checks, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk says the earliest launch could occur is around March 22, although the 154-foot-tall rocket could be ready before then. (2/24)
Can Life Exist in Alternate Universes? (Source: Discovery)
Although it's pure speculation, there's something appealing about considering multiple universes (a scenario known as the "multiverse") where anything -- and I mean anything -- is possible. But just because an alternate universe is possible, it doesn't mean life can exist there.
Now scientists from MIT -- obviously not content with searching for life within our own cosmos -- have shown that alternate universes could nurture life even if the fundamental nature of these universes is totally different from our own. Click here to view the article. (2/24)
Obama Space Plan Burns Powerful Aerospace Workers' Union (Source: Florida Today)
A major union that endorsed and campaigned for President Obama here in Florida apparently has turned on him, blasting his plans (or lack thereof) for U.S. space exploration. In a letter dated Feb. 4, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers -- a strong group on the Space Coast -- criticized Obama's scrapping of the shuttle and Constellation programs, with only vague plans to privatize rocket launches.
The letter signed by international union President R. Thomas Buffenbarger begins: "At a time when the U.S. economy is mired in the worst recession in 70 years and is in desperate need of a jobs creation program your Administration's proposal to have NASA rely on the private sector to develop and operate manned space craft will contribute to the loss of several thousand well paid domestics jobs." (2/24)
SLC-6 Houses Monstrous Delta-4 (Source: Lompoc Record)
Space Launch Complex-6, a pad with a huge history at Vandenberg Air Force Base, now has a monstrous resident to match its behemoth background. The site of two canceled manned flight programs is now housing the Delta 4-Heavy rocket after another round of modifications to the storied facility.
“To actually see the rocket out here, the excitement level has dramatically increased for the team, both on the 30th Space Wing side as well as on United Launch Alliance,” said Lt. Col. Brady Hauboldt, 4th Space Launch Squadron commander. The excitement about the unmanned rocket’s arrival has made SLC-6 a popular stop for select military and government groups, prompting a joke that it’s become “Tours R Us.” Tours soon will end as the classified spy satellite moves to SLC-6 for its scheduled Dec. 1 blastoff. (2/24)
NASA Changes Could Impact New Mexico (Source: KFOX)
Under the Obama administration, NASA will be shifting its strategy for human space flight. The old strategy was to set a destination to explore and then build the technology needed for NASA to get there. The new strategy would spend billions on technology that would be beneficial to the country’s goal of space exploration and the commercial industry, as well.
“NASA's new approach is really going to pay tribute to the commercial space and these new folks like Virgin Galactic,” said Steve Landeene, the executive director of Spaceport America. "It's dramatically going to lower the cost in the future from scientific experimentation to new medicines and national security,” said Landeene. (2/24)
Nelson Leads New Look Deeper Into Obama’s NASA Plan (Source: CFL13)
News 13 sat down with Nelson last week to talk about space, the future of manned exploration and the Obama plan. "The question is what to do now, and NASA is in a period of uncertainty,” Nelson said. “I think the Obama administration has laid out a good plan, but they sold it in the worst PR job I’ve ever seen. They have given the impression that they are killing the manned space program.” Nelson said that is not the case, but perception has a way of becoming reality in Washington. (2/24)
Thales Alenia Picked to Build Jason-3 Oceanographic Satellite (Source: Thales)
Thales Alenia Space announced to have signed with French Space Agency (CNES), the contract to build the Jason-3 satellite. The Jason-3 operational oceanographic mission involves a quadripartite collaboration between the two meteorological organizations Eumetsat and NOAA, acting as the leaders of the program, and CNES and its American counterpart NASA. (2/24)
February 23, 2010
USAF Chief of Staff Highlights Importance of Space to Air Force (Source: AFSC)
The Air Force's highest ranking uniformed officer spoke on the value of space and the emerging medium of cyberspace on Feb. 18 in Orlando. "Virtually all aspects of military operations are affected in some way by the capabilities provided from (space and cyberspace), and it's difficult to overstate their importance to the success of our Armed Forces," said Gen. Norton Schwartz, the Air Force chief of staff.
"From precision navigation and timing, to global satellite communications, to space-based surveillance and missile warning, our space assets provide us with an unparalleled degree of accuracy, connectivity and situation awareness," the general said. "Our exploitation of cyberspace and advanced information technologies enable us and the Joint team to properly command and control our forces - binding virtually all of our advanced capabilities together into precise, increasingly networked, and better synchronized operations." (2/23)
Bolden Overhauls NASA Organization (Source: Space News)
NASA field center directors and mission directorate chiefs will report directly to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden under organizational changes Bolden announced Feb. 23. The heads of NASA’s 10 regional field centers and four headquarters-based mission directorates currently report to NASA Associate Administrator Chris Scolese, the agency’s third-highest-ranking official. That reporting structure was put in place by Bolden’s predecessor, Mike Griffin.
Scolese will continue to be responsible for “integrating the technical and programmatic elements” of the agency, but NASA center directors and mission directorate chiefs “will report directly to the Administrator rather than through the Associate Administrator,” said Bolden’s memo. (2/23)
Space Junk Mess Getting Messier in Orbit (Source: Space.com)
The already untidy mass of orbital debris that litters low Earth orbit nearly got nastier last month. A head-on collision was averted between a spent upper stage from a Chinese rocket and the European Space Agency's (ESA) huge Envisat Earth remote-sensing spacecraft.
Space junk tracking information supplied by the U.S. military, as well as confirming German radar data, showed that the two space objects would speed by each other at a nail-biting distance of roughly 160 feet (50 meters). ESA's Envisat tips the scales at 8 tons, with China's discarded rocket body weighing some 3.8 tons. A couple of tweaks of maneuvering propellant were used to nudge the large ESA spacecraft to a more comfortable miss distance. (2/23)
Survey: Space Agencies, Spending Grew in Last Decade (Source: Space News)
The number of nations with national space agencies has continued a sharp climb after a pause in the 1990s, rising from 40 in 2000 to about 55 in 2009, according Euroconsult. Some of these nations’ space endeavors remain fragile, one or two projects often focused on small Earth-observation satellites. Euroconsult suggests it is too early to determine whether these new organizations will receive the government funding needed to establish themselves permanently.
In its survey “Profiles of Government Space Programs: Analysis of 60 Countries & Agencies,” Euroconsult says that globally, civil government space s pending increased by 9 percent in 2009 in U.S. dollar terms, reaching $36 billion. Growth was faster for the military space sector, with governments in 2009 increasing their spending to $32 billion, a 12 percent increase over 2008. (2/23)
No Easy Answer for Next Space Destination (Source: AP)
Where to next? It's a simple question that NASA can't answer so easily anymore. The veteran space shuttle fleet is months from being mothballed and the White House has nixed a previous plan to fly to the moon. For the first time in decades, NASA has no specific space destination for its next stop, although it has lots of places it wants to go. Future space flight, NASA officials say, now depends on new rocket science and where it can take us. (2/23)
Richardson: Commercial Spaceflight: Creating 21st Century Jobs (Source: Huffington Post)
Picture how different your life would be if commercial air travel didn't exist -- and imagine the millions of jobs that would vanish. Fortunately, commercial passenger aviation does exist and it exists because the U.S. government in the 1920s wisely decided to begin flying "air mail" on commercial airplanes, accelerating the growth of the entire passenger airline industry.
President Obama's bold, new plan for NASA, announced earlier this month, makes an equally wise decision by promoting the growth of commercial spaceflight. This is a win-win decision; creating thousands of new high-tech jobs and helping America retain its leadership role in science and technology. It comes at a perfect time. Entrepreneurial companies like Virgin Galactic, Scaled Composites, SpaceX, Sierra Nevada Space Systems, Masten Space Systems, Armadillo Aerospace, XCOR Aerospace, and Blue Origin are investing their own money, right now, to create new jobs across the nation, including my home state of New Mexico. (2/23)
Aldrin: Spaceships Worthy of the Name (Source: Huffington Post)
In this blog I'm going to talk about what NASA needs to do once Congress has passed President Obama's new budget that starts on October 1st. Although I spent most of last year speaking about these concepts, they may be new to some readers - and they have even greater significance now that the space program is poised to make a great, and I believe necessary, transition. My ideas, if followed, would assure America of global space leadership for many years to come. And equally cool is the fact that to develop them won't break the already near-empty national budget.
First, is the idea of what type of commercial crew-carrying vehicle should follow the Space Shuttle. Next is why we should extend the life of the Shuttle program for a small number of additional flights. And last, what those Shuttles should carry up to the International Space Station - a true spacecraft that would live only in space. Click here to read the article. (2/23)
Bolden: NASA Legit as it Readies to End Moon Program (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden bluntly told Congress in a letter sent Friday that the agency has kept within the law as it prepares to dismantle the Constellation moon rocket program — despite accusations to the contrary from nearly 30 U.S. House members. His letter was in response to warning sent by the lawmakers on Feb. 12 that reminded the new NASA chief that he could not shut down Constellation this year without prior approval from Congress. They said NASA has begun pulling the plug in violation of a law passed last year.
Bolden disagreed. He said NASA has started studying what it would take to cancel the $9 billion Constellation program but has not actually killed anything. And Bolden vehemently denied claims that NASA leaders were given verbal instructions to immediately axe pieces of Constellation. (2/23)
NASA Sets Sights on Inflatable Space Stations (Source: New Scientist)
Astronauts may one day orbit the Earth in roomy balloons instead of cramped tin cans, now that NASA has made inflatable space habitats a priority. The White House announced a change in direction for NASA on 1 February. Instead of the planned crewed missions to the moon, the agency intends to pour money into research and development.
The outline listed technologies on NASA's wish list but provided few details. Now NASA has fleshed out its plans in a detailed budget proposal posted on its website on 22 February. One section notes that balloon-like habitats "can be larger, lighter, and potentially less expensive" than traditional ones made of rigid metal walls. They could be used as space stations, or eventually as moon bases. NASA may send inflatable structures to the International Space Station to test their mettle – including their ability to shield against space radiation.
The document also reveals that the agency plans to restart the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. Until it was closed by budget cutbacks in 2007, the institute funded research into potentially revolutionary technologies, including space elevators and antimatter harvesting. "Its cancellation was very short-sighted," says John Cramer of the University of Washington in Seattle. (2/23)
South Africa to Return to Space (Source: Defence Web)
Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor says her department is looking at the possibility of reactivating and re-establishing space rocket launch facilities in South Africa, confirming a statement by an official in Parliament last year.
Nomfuneko Majaja, the government`s Chief Director Advanced Manufacturing Space Affairs at the Department of Trade and Industry told the National Assembly last July that "it was hoped that SA would be in a position to be a launching state in five to ten years time." (2/23)
Mining Mars? Where's the Ore? (Source: Discovery)
Future Mars prospectors will likely find mineral riches in some unusual settings, say planetary scientists studying the different ways valuable metals might have been concentrated on the red planet. On Earth, surface waters, ground waters and even chemicals left by living things play major roles in leaching, concentrating and depositing valuable metals and minerals like iron, gold, silver, nickel, copper and many more.
But on Mars there are no oceans or surface waters; no microorganisms either. What's more, the planet is so cold that even groundwater is frozen as permafrost and functions as little more than another mineral in the ground. So where does a starving miner look on Mars for usable quantities of ore? Try the volcanoes and impact craters, says planetary scientist Michael West of Australian National University in Canberra and the Mars Institute. (2/23)
Wallops Winning More NASA Support (Source: Daily Press)
NASA is increasing its support of the Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore. The space agency said the support contract with the Virginia Space Flight Authority has a potential value of approximately $43 million through May 2014. The investment is part of an effort to enhance the Atlantic center to successfully launch small and medium class orbital missions for NASA, as well as other federal organizations and commercial launch providers. (2/23)
NASA Releases New Details of Commercial Crew Program (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
NASA will attempt to stimulate a portfolio of private transportation providers in its commercial crew program, striking a balance between emerging and established space companies. The space agency also plans to finish a draft of human-rating standards for commercial vehicles by the end of 2010.
In a fiscal year 2011 budget estimate posted Monday, NASA unveiled several details of the commercial crew initiative, but offered no specific timetable for when the agency will begin selecting providers. NASA officials previously stated they hoped to start operational commercial flights as early as 2014, but those schedules may be optimistic. (2/23)
Falcon-9 Readies for Launch (Source: Florida Today)
California-based SpaceX plans a fueling test of the 180-foot tall Falcon-9 rocket this week. Soon thereafter, the launch team plans a test-firing of the rocket's nine engines while Falcon-9 remains secured to the ground. The timing of the two critical tests is still being worked out. Company officials say the rocket could be ready for launch by early April.
"The schedule is intentionally fluid," SpaceX spokeswoman Emily Shanklin said after the rocket was moved out to its oceanside launch pad, the complex from which Titan 4 rockets used to blast off. "Falcon 9 is undergoing a checkout of the critical flight connections including fuel, liquid oxygen and gas pressure systems," according to a written statement from the company. "Once all system interfaces are verified, the SpaceX launch team will execute a full tanking test of both first and second stages followed by a brief static fire of the first stage." (2/23)
Future Capabilities for an Ambitious Civil Space Program (Source: Space Review)
The proposed 2011 budget for NASA begins an ambitious series of technology development efforts designed to enable future human exploration beyond Earth orbit. John Mankins identifies what he believes to be the critical technologies needed to enable cost-effective exploration. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1572/1 to view the article. (2/22)
A Better Plan (Source: Space Review)
The current debate about NASA's future revolves around whether to continue Constellation or scrap it in favor of technology development and commercial crew efforts. Stephen Metschan argues for a third path that may avoid the disadvantages of those two alternatives. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1571/1 to view the article. (2/22)
Blue is a Little less Black (Source: Space Review)
One of the most intriguing -- and secretive -- companies in the NewSpace field is Blue Origin. Jeff Foust reports that while the company is still reticent to share information about its plans, a few more details about its efforts are now known. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1570/1 to view the article. (2/22)
Space Policy Versus Space Politics: Lessons for the Future (Source: Space Review)
NASA's new approach to human spaceflight is likely to come under scrutiny this week in congressional hearings. Taylor Dinerman offers some advice from history on more effective ways to roll out new plans for the agency. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1568/1 to view the article. (2/22)
Mercury Astronaut Signs Memorabilia for Charity (Source: ASF)
Now’s your chance to own a piece of history; for the first time ever the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) is hosting a special mail-in signing with one of only two surviving Mercury Seven astronauts, Scott Carpenter, now through Mar 15. Space enthusiasts are invited to send in artifacts, baseballs, covers, flown items, models, and photos – just about anything desired – or choose from one of the many popular photos of Carpenter featured in ASF’s Online Store at www.astronautstore.org for the space hero to sign. Items can be personalized and/or accompanied by a photo of Carpenter signing them for a Certificate of Authenticity. (2/23)
India Plans To Send Two Astronauts Into Space (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) plans to send two astronauts to space within six to seven years, ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan said. He said India was among the leading countries in the world in space research, designing the most modern satellites in keeping with latest advances in technology. (2/23)
Starfighters Completes First Commercial Spaceflight Training at KSC (Source: Space Florida)
Two Florida residents, have become the first to complete a new commercial space flight training program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Terence Witt, founder of Witt Biomedical, and his wife Virginia trained for space in the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, the same supersonic plane used to prepare Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts for space travel. Husband and wife team completed their training with Starfighters, Inc, a privately-owned company operating under a formal Space Act Agreement allowing them full utilization of KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF). (2/23)
NASA Supports Univision Hispanic Education Effort (Source: NASA)
NASA is working with Univision Communications Inc. to develop a partnership in support of the Spanish-language media outlet's initiative to improve high school graduation rates, prepare Hispanic students for college, and encourage them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines. (2/23)
NASA Budget Includes Funds for Counterpart to RD-180 Engine (Source: AIA)
NASA is considering building a U.S. counterpart to the Russian-built RD-180 engine with part of the $3.1 billion the agency is requesting in its budget proposal. Part of the budget proposal included $560 million next year for a heavy lift and propulsion technology research and development program, and according to the documents, the first-stage launch proposal work would focus on the development of a U.S. core stage hydrocarbon engine with levels of thrust that would be equal to or exceed the RD-180 engine. (2/23)
The Air Force's highest ranking uniformed officer spoke on the value of space and the emerging medium of cyberspace on Feb. 18 in Orlando. "Virtually all aspects of military operations are affected in some way by the capabilities provided from (space and cyberspace), and it's difficult to overstate their importance to the success of our Armed Forces," said Gen. Norton Schwartz, the Air Force chief of staff.
"From precision navigation and timing, to global satellite communications, to space-based surveillance and missile warning, our space assets provide us with an unparalleled degree of accuracy, connectivity and situation awareness," the general said. "Our exploitation of cyberspace and advanced information technologies enable us and the Joint team to properly command and control our forces - binding virtually all of our advanced capabilities together into precise, increasingly networked, and better synchronized operations." (2/23)
Bolden Overhauls NASA Organization (Source: Space News)
NASA field center directors and mission directorate chiefs will report directly to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden under organizational changes Bolden announced Feb. 23. The heads of NASA’s 10 regional field centers and four headquarters-based mission directorates currently report to NASA Associate Administrator Chris Scolese, the agency’s third-highest-ranking official. That reporting structure was put in place by Bolden’s predecessor, Mike Griffin.
Scolese will continue to be responsible for “integrating the technical and programmatic elements” of the agency, but NASA center directors and mission directorate chiefs “will report directly to the Administrator rather than through the Associate Administrator,” said Bolden’s memo. (2/23)
Space Junk Mess Getting Messier in Orbit (Source: Space.com)
The already untidy mass of orbital debris that litters low Earth orbit nearly got nastier last month. A head-on collision was averted between a spent upper stage from a Chinese rocket and the European Space Agency's (ESA) huge Envisat Earth remote-sensing spacecraft.
Space junk tracking information supplied by the U.S. military, as well as confirming German radar data, showed that the two space objects would speed by each other at a nail-biting distance of roughly 160 feet (50 meters). ESA's Envisat tips the scales at 8 tons, with China's discarded rocket body weighing some 3.8 tons. A couple of tweaks of maneuvering propellant were used to nudge the large ESA spacecraft to a more comfortable miss distance. (2/23)
Survey: Space Agencies, Spending Grew in Last Decade (Source: Space News)
The number of nations with national space agencies has continued a sharp climb after a pause in the 1990s, rising from 40 in 2000 to about 55 in 2009, according Euroconsult. Some of these nations’ space endeavors remain fragile, one or two projects often focused on small Earth-observation satellites. Euroconsult suggests it is too early to determine whether these new organizations will receive the government funding needed to establish themselves permanently.
In its survey “Profiles of Government Space Programs: Analysis of 60 Countries & Agencies,” Euroconsult says that globally, civil government space s pending increased by 9 percent in 2009 in U.S. dollar terms, reaching $36 billion. Growth was faster for the military space sector, with governments in 2009 increasing their spending to $32 billion, a 12 percent increase over 2008. (2/23)
No Easy Answer for Next Space Destination (Source: AP)
Where to next? It's a simple question that NASA can't answer so easily anymore. The veteran space shuttle fleet is months from being mothballed and the White House has nixed a previous plan to fly to the moon. For the first time in decades, NASA has no specific space destination for its next stop, although it has lots of places it wants to go. Future space flight, NASA officials say, now depends on new rocket science and where it can take us. (2/23)
Richardson: Commercial Spaceflight: Creating 21st Century Jobs (Source: Huffington Post)
Picture how different your life would be if commercial air travel didn't exist -- and imagine the millions of jobs that would vanish. Fortunately, commercial passenger aviation does exist and it exists because the U.S. government in the 1920s wisely decided to begin flying "air mail" on commercial airplanes, accelerating the growth of the entire passenger airline industry.
President Obama's bold, new plan for NASA, announced earlier this month, makes an equally wise decision by promoting the growth of commercial spaceflight. This is a win-win decision; creating thousands of new high-tech jobs and helping America retain its leadership role in science and technology. It comes at a perfect time. Entrepreneurial companies like Virgin Galactic, Scaled Composites, SpaceX, Sierra Nevada Space Systems, Masten Space Systems, Armadillo Aerospace, XCOR Aerospace, and Blue Origin are investing their own money, right now, to create new jobs across the nation, including my home state of New Mexico. (2/23)
Aldrin: Spaceships Worthy of the Name (Source: Huffington Post)
In this blog I'm going to talk about what NASA needs to do once Congress has passed President Obama's new budget that starts on October 1st. Although I spent most of last year speaking about these concepts, they may be new to some readers - and they have even greater significance now that the space program is poised to make a great, and I believe necessary, transition. My ideas, if followed, would assure America of global space leadership for many years to come. And equally cool is the fact that to develop them won't break the already near-empty national budget.
First, is the idea of what type of commercial crew-carrying vehicle should follow the Space Shuttle. Next is why we should extend the life of the Shuttle program for a small number of additional flights. And last, what those Shuttles should carry up to the International Space Station - a true spacecraft that would live only in space. Click here to read the article. (2/23)
Bolden: NASA Legit as it Readies to End Moon Program (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden bluntly told Congress in a letter sent Friday that the agency has kept within the law as it prepares to dismantle the Constellation moon rocket program — despite accusations to the contrary from nearly 30 U.S. House members. His letter was in response to warning sent by the lawmakers on Feb. 12 that reminded the new NASA chief that he could not shut down Constellation this year without prior approval from Congress. They said NASA has begun pulling the plug in violation of a law passed last year.
Bolden disagreed. He said NASA has started studying what it would take to cancel the $9 billion Constellation program but has not actually killed anything. And Bolden vehemently denied claims that NASA leaders were given verbal instructions to immediately axe pieces of Constellation. (2/23)
NASA Sets Sights on Inflatable Space Stations (Source: New Scientist)
Astronauts may one day orbit the Earth in roomy balloons instead of cramped tin cans, now that NASA has made inflatable space habitats a priority. The White House announced a change in direction for NASA on 1 February. Instead of the planned crewed missions to the moon, the agency intends to pour money into research and development.
The outline listed technologies on NASA's wish list but provided few details. Now NASA has fleshed out its plans in a detailed budget proposal posted on its website on 22 February. One section notes that balloon-like habitats "can be larger, lighter, and potentially less expensive" than traditional ones made of rigid metal walls. They could be used as space stations, or eventually as moon bases. NASA may send inflatable structures to the International Space Station to test their mettle – including their ability to shield against space radiation.
The document also reveals that the agency plans to restart the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. Until it was closed by budget cutbacks in 2007, the institute funded research into potentially revolutionary technologies, including space elevators and antimatter harvesting. "Its cancellation was very short-sighted," says John Cramer of the University of Washington in Seattle. (2/23)
South Africa to Return to Space (Source: Defence Web)
Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor says her department is looking at the possibility of reactivating and re-establishing space rocket launch facilities in South Africa, confirming a statement by an official in Parliament last year.
Nomfuneko Majaja, the government`s Chief Director Advanced Manufacturing Space Affairs at the Department of Trade and Industry told the National Assembly last July that "it was hoped that SA would be in a position to be a launching state in five to ten years time." (2/23)
Mining Mars? Where's the Ore? (Source: Discovery)
Future Mars prospectors will likely find mineral riches in some unusual settings, say planetary scientists studying the different ways valuable metals might have been concentrated on the red planet. On Earth, surface waters, ground waters and even chemicals left by living things play major roles in leaching, concentrating and depositing valuable metals and minerals like iron, gold, silver, nickel, copper and many more.
But on Mars there are no oceans or surface waters; no microorganisms either. What's more, the planet is so cold that even groundwater is frozen as permafrost and functions as little more than another mineral in the ground. So where does a starving miner look on Mars for usable quantities of ore? Try the volcanoes and impact craters, says planetary scientist Michael West of Australian National University in Canberra and the Mars Institute. (2/23)
Wallops Winning More NASA Support (Source: Daily Press)
NASA is increasing its support of the Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore. The space agency said the support contract with the Virginia Space Flight Authority has a potential value of approximately $43 million through May 2014. The investment is part of an effort to enhance the Atlantic center to successfully launch small and medium class orbital missions for NASA, as well as other federal organizations and commercial launch providers. (2/23)
NASA Releases New Details of Commercial Crew Program (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
NASA will attempt to stimulate a portfolio of private transportation providers in its commercial crew program, striking a balance between emerging and established space companies. The space agency also plans to finish a draft of human-rating standards for commercial vehicles by the end of 2010.
In a fiscal year 2011 budget estimate posted Monday, NASA unveiled several details of the commercial crew initiative, but offered no specific timetable for when the agency will begin selecting providers. NASA officials previously stated they hoped to start operational commercial flights as early as 2014, but those schedules may be optimistic. (2/23)
Falcon-9 Readies for Launch (Source: Florida Today)
California-based SpaceX plans a fueling test of the 180-foot tall Falcon-9 rocket this week. Soon thereafter, the launch team plans a test-firing of the rocket's nine engines while Falcon-9 remains secured to the ground. The timing of the two critical tests is still being worked out. Company officials say the rocket could be ready for launch by early April.
"The schedule is intentionally fluid," SpaceX spokeswoman Emily Shanklin said after the rocket was moved out to its oceanside launch pad, the complex from which Titan 4 rockets used to blast off. "Falcon 9 is undergoing a checkout of the critical flight connections including fuel, liquid oxygen and gas pressure systems," according to a written statement from the company. "Once all system interfaces are verified, the SpaceX launch team will execute a full tanking test of both first and second stages followed by a brief static fire of the first stage." (2/23)
Future Capabilities for an Ambitious Civil Space Program (Source: Space Review)
The proposed 2011 budget for NASA begins an ambitious series of technology development efforts designed to enable future human exploration beyond Earth orbit. John Mankins identifies what he believes to be the critical technologies needed to enable cost-effective exploration. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1572/1 to view the article. (2/22)
A Better Plan (Source: Space Review)
The current debate about NASA's future revolves around whether to continue Constellation or scrap it in favor of technology development and commercial crew efforts. Stephen Metschan argues for a third path that may avoid the disadvantages of those two alternatives. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1571/1 to view the article. (2/22)
Blue is a Little less Black (Source: Space Review)
One of the most intriguing -- and secretive -- companies in the NewSpace field is Blue Origin. Jeff Foust reports that while the company is still reticent to share information about its plans, a few more details about its efforts are now known. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1570/1 to view the article. (2/22)
Space Policy Versus Space Politics: Lessons for the Future (Source: Space Review)
NASA's new approach to human spaceflight is likely to come under scrutiny this week in congressional hearings. Taylor Dinerman offers some advice from history on more effective ways to roll out new plans for the agency. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1568/1 to view the article. (2/22)
Mercury Astronaut Signs Memorabilia for Charity (Source: ASF)
Now’s your chance to own a piece of history; for the first time ever the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) is hosting a special mail-in signing with one of only two surviving Mercury Seven astronauts, Scott Carpenter, now through Mar 15. Space enthusiasts are invited to send in artifacts, baseballs, covers, flown items, models, and photos – just about anything desired – or choose from one of the many popular photos of Carpenter featured in ASF’s Online Store at www.astronautstore.org for the space hero to sign. Items can be personalized and/or accompanied by a photo of Carpenter signing them for a Certificate of Authenticity. (2/23)
India Plans To Send Two Astronauts Into Space (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) plans to send two astronauts to space within six to seven years, ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan said. He said India was among the leading countries in the world in space research, designing the most modern satellites in keeping with latest advances in technology. (2/23)
Starfighters Completes First Commercial Spaceflight Training at KSC (Source: Space Florida)
Two Florida residents, have become the first to complete a new commercial space flight training program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Terence Witt, founder of Witt Biomedical, and his wife Virginia trained for space in the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, the same supersonic plane used to prepare Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts for space travel. Husband and wife team completed their training with Starfighters, Inc, a privately-owned company operating under a formal Space Act Agreement allowing them full utilization of KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF). (2/23)
NASA Supports Univision Hispanic Education Effort (Source: NASA)
NASA is working with Univision Communications Inc. to develop a partnership in support of the Spanish-language media outlet's initiative to improve high school graduation rates, prepare Hispanic students for college, and encourage them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines. (2/23)
NASA Budget Includes Funds for Counterpart to RD-180 Engine (Source: AIA)
NASA is considering building a U.S. counterpart to the Russian-built RD-180 engine with part of the $3.1 billion the agency is requesting in its budget proposal. Part of the budget proposal included $560 million next year for a heavy lift and propulsion technology research and development program, and according to the documents, the first-stage launch proposal work would focus on the development of a U.S. core stage hydrocarbon engine with levels of thrust that would be equal to or exceed the RD-180 engine. (2/23)
February 22, 2010
NASA Increases Support Contract to Virginia Spaceport Authority (Source: NASA)
NASA has increased the support contract to the Virginia Space Flight Authority/Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility to provide launch services for expendable launch vehicles. The indefinite delivery, indefinite-quantity, with fixed price and cost reimbursable task orders contract addition has a potential value of approximately $43 million through May 3, 2014. (2/22)
Most NASA Projects Over Budget (Source: Florida Today)
Year after year, NASA's biggest projects are way over budget and way behind schedule. They're not a little over budget or slightly behind schedule either. When NASA blows a budget or deadline, the space agency does it with gusto. Every year, internal and external auditors issue reports showing that almost every single NASA mission -- human or robotic -- will cost more money and take more time to finish than government managers and private contractors originally estimated.
Every year, the reasons cited in those audits are the same: overly ambitious project specifications and overly optimistic cost assumptions. Additional reasons are cited. The audit reports are sadly predictable in listing the problems, the causes and that NASA and its contractors are "making progress" on reform. (2/22)
A New Exit to Space Readies for Business (Source: New York Times)
Take Highway 51 east out of Truth or Consequences, a small city that years ago assumed the name of a game show on a dare. Drive through miles and miles of desert, then turn right at an old train depot whose bustle has long since pulled out. Keep going. After eight miles, turn left on a dirt road that leads deeper into the sage and yucca vastness of New Mexico, past a ranch that used to be a stage stop on an ancient trade route called El Camino Real. Soon after, you will come to your destination: the future.
Here, where rattlesnakes hibernate and rabbits scurry, there unfolds a two-mile runway designed to accommodate spaceships. And right beside it, past those giant rumbling tractors of sci-fi design, the groundwork is being laid for a hangar large enough to store spaceships between launchings. This is not a secret government project, or some NASA reception hall for alien dignitaries.
This is Spaceport America, a $198 million endeavor by the State of New Mexico to plumb the commercial potential of the suborbital heavens — a place once known only to astronauts, dreamers and the occasional chimp. Space tourism. Scientific research. Satellite deliveries. Who knows? One day you might decide to skip another two-week vacation in the Wisconsin Dells for a two-hour trip into space. Fly Virgin Galactic. See the sights from as high as 80 miles up. Five minutes of weightlessness guaranteed. Just $200,000. (2/22)
Virginia Spaceport Budget Increased (Source: Spaceports Blog)
The proposed $1.3 million dollar annual influx of Virginia funds for the operation of the state's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport was reduced by the Senate Finance Committee to $1.05 million in the FY 10/11 proposed budget. The House Appropriations Committee reduced the $1.3 million gubernatorial request to $291,220 for FY 2010/11 leaving the two budget figures to be reconciled in a joint House-Senate Conference Committee on the state budget. One thing is now certain, Virginia will dedicate tax revenues to assist in the commercial spaceport operations. Spaceport advocates will push for the larger figure, of course.
Virginia faces up to a $4 billion state budget shortfall in anticipated revenue over the next two-years in one of the toughest budget sessions in decades. The spaceport operating fund of $1.3 billion enjoyed the support of both former governor Tim Kaine and the new governor Robert F. McDonnell.
Virginia Space Legislation Advances (Source: Spaceports Blog)
With Virginia's Senate and House now at a mid-point in the 2010 session it appears the July 1, 2013 sunset clause removal on the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Liability and Immunity Act will be passed and placed on Governor McDonnell's desk for signature. The state also appears on the cusp of extending the Virginia Aerospace Advisory Council despite the lack of adequate state staffing resources to build a strategic plan for industry and workforce. (2/22)
Virginia Orbital Launch Manifest Turned Up to 11 (Source: Spaceports Blog)
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport now boasts a manifest of 11 orbital launches through 2015, including nine COTS/CRS space station cargo missions aboard Taurus-2 rockets, one military "Operationally Responsive Space" mission aboard a Minotaur rocket, and one NASA lunar probe mission aboard a Minotaur rocket. The rockets will all be launched by Orbital Sciences Corp. (2/22)
Shuttle Lands Safely at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: SPACErePORT)
Weather conditions turned favorable despite a sour forecast on Sunday night, allowing Endeavour to take advantage of a 10:20 p.m. landing opportunity at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. Twin sonic booms rattled windows near the spaceport as the spaceplane glided safely to its home base at Kennedy Space Center, ending a mission that began on Feb. 8. (2/21)
NASA has increased the support contract to the Virginia Space Flight Authority/Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility to provide launch services for expendable launch vehicles. The indefinite delivery, indefinite-quantity, with fixed price and cost reimbursable task orders contract addition has a potential value of approximately $43 million through May 3, 2014. (2/22)
Most NASA Projects Over Budget (Source: Florida Today)
Year after year, NASA's biggest projects are way over budget and way behind schedule. They're not a little over budget or slightly behind schedule either. When NASA blows a budget or deadline, the space agency does it with gusto. Every year, internal and external auditors issue reports showing that almost every single NASA mission -- human or robotic -- will cost more money and take more time to finish than government managers and private contractors originally estimated.
Every year, the reasons cited in those audits are the same: overly ambitious project specifications and overly optimistic cost assumptions. Additional reasons are cited. The audit reports are sadly predictable in listing the problems, the causes and that NASA and its contractors are "making progress" on reform. (2/22)
A New Exit to Space Readies for Business (Source: New York Times)
Take Highway 51 east out of Truth or Consequences, a small city that years ago assumed the name of a game show on a dare. Drive through miles and miles of desert, then turn right at an old train depot whose bustle has long since pulled out. Keep going. After eight miles, turn left on a dirt road that leads deeper into the sage and yucca vastness of New Mexico, past a ranch that used to be a stage stop on an ancient trade route called El Camino Real. Soon after, you will come to your destination: the future.
Here, where rattlesnakes hibernate and rabbits scurry, there unfolds a two-mile runway designed to accommodate spaceships. And right beside it, past those giant rumbling tractors of sci-fi design, the groundwork is being laid for a hangar large enough to store spaceships between launchings. This is not a secret government project, or some NASA reception hall for alien dignitaries.
This is Spaceport America, a $198 million endeavor by the State of New Mexico to plumb the commercial potential of the suborbital heavens — a place once known only to astronauts, dreamers and the occasional chimp. Space tourism. Scientific research. Satellite deliveries. Who knows? One day you might decide to skip another two-week vacation in the Wisconsin Dells for a two-hour trip into space. Fly Virgin Galactic. See the sights from as high as 80 miles up. Five minutes of weightlessness guaranteed. Just $200,000. (2/22)
Virginia Spaceport Budget Increased (Source: Spaceports Blog)
The proposed $1.3 million dollar annual influx of Virginia funds for the operation of the state's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport was reduced by the Senate Finance Committee to $1.05 million in the FY 10/11 proposed budget. The House Appropriations Committee reduced the $1.3 million gubernatorial request to $291,220 for FY 2010/11 leaving the two budget figures to be reconciled in a joint House-Senate Conference Committee on the state budget. One thing is now certain, Virginia will dedicate tax revenues to assist in the commercial spaceport operations. Spaceport advocates will push for the larger figure, of course.
Virginia faces up to a $4 billion state budget shortfall in anticipated revenue over the next two-years in one of the toughest budget sessions in decades. The spaceport operating fund of $1.3 billion enjoyed the support of both former governor Tim Kaine and the new governor Robert F. McDonnell.
Virginia Space Legislation Advances (Source: Spaceports Blog)
With Virginia's Senate and House now at a mid-point in the 2010 session it appears the July 1, 2013 sunset clause removal on the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Liability and Immunity Act will be passed and placed on Governor McDonnell's desk for signature. The state also appears on the cusp of extending the Virginia Aerospace Advisory Council despite the lack of adequate state staffing resources to build a strategic plan for industry and workforce. (2/22)
Virginia Orbital Launch Manifest Turned Up to 11 (Source: Spaceports Blog)
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport now boasts a manifest of 11 orbital launches through 2015, including nine COTS/CRS space station cargo missions aboard Taurus-2 rockets, one military "Operationally Responsive Space" mission aboard a Minotaur rocket, and one NASA lunar probe mission aboard a Minotaur rocket. The rockets will all be launched by Orbital Sciences Corp. (2/22)
Shuttle Lands Safely at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: SPACErePORT)
Weather conditions turned favorable despite a sour forecast on Sunday night, allowing Endeavour to take advantage of a 10:20 p.m. landing opportunity at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. Twin sonic booms rattled windows near the spaceport as the spaceplane glided safely to its home base at Kennedy Space Center, ending a mission that began on Feb. 8. (2/21)
February 21, 2010
Russians Close to Reaching Lake Vostok (Source: St. Petersburg Times)
Russian scientists have 100 meters of ice left to drill in order to reach the waters of the unique subglacial Lake Vostok in Antarctica. The scientists expect to reach the lake in 2010-2011. To make future research more effective, they have made a three-dimensional map of the shore and bottom of the lake, said Valery Lukin, head of the Russian Antarctic Expedition.
The scientists have also developed new equipment to ensure that their entrance into the lake’s sterile waters will not result in external contamination, which has been a source of concern among the international scientific society, Lukin said. “The new borehole is currently 3,650 meters deep, and the total depth of ice above the lake is 3,750 meters,” Lukin said.
Lukin said the scientists hope to find live organisms in the waters of the lake, particularly near to the bottom. “It’s very possible that we could find microorganisms that we’ve never known existed, those that lived in the waters of the lake millions of years ago,” he said. Scientists say the lake may turn out to be similar to the subglacial water reservoirs on Jupiter’s satellite Europa. (2/21)
Shuttle's Extension in Works (Source: Florida Today)
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas said a bipartisan plan is in the works in Congress that would call for extending the shuttle program another five years. The plan would require adding another $200 million to the NASA budget for 2010 and $1.5 billion to $2 billion a year starting in the 2011-12 budget year. The goal would be one to two shuttle flights a year through 2015, if it could be done safely. (2/19)
Ben Bova: With Private Sector Push, Space Tourism Will Come (Source: Naples News)
There is opposition, both in NASA and Congress, to the “outsourcing” of launch services. NASA is a government agency and, like all government agencies, it automatically moves to protect its turf. Politicians worry that lucrative NASA contracts will be canceled, causing unemployment in their states.
I’m sure that canal men and stagecoach operators opposed the coming of the railroads, and farsighted railroad magnates dreaded the development of commercial airlines, too. But as Mark Twain famously said, “When it’s steamboat time, you steam.”
As the fledgling space-tourism companies begin to prove their vehicles are safe and reliable, more customers will come. Profits will grow. Those tickets won’t always cost $200,000 apiece. Space tourism is on the way. (2/21)
Don't Be Blinded by the Moon (Source: Tampa Tribune)
The silvery lure of the moon and the golden wages of thousands of research jobs are strong motivators to support NASA's space-exploration program and its significant annual investment in Florida. Yet seen from a national perspective, it is hard to justify the price. President Obama plans to junk the moon project and focus instead on other missions, research, and partnerships with private spaceflight companies.
It's a more conservative approach with the potential to prove more productive. The challenge for Florida is that many space jobs will be up for grabs. Gov. Charlie Crist is smart to begin positioning the state to win a big share. Throwing vast amounts of federal tax money at space is no guarantee this frontier will ever open in a profitable way. But tapping deeper into the profit motive, as Obama proposes, could inspire entrepreneurial imaginations.
Jobs will be created, but they will be different jobs, possibly in different places. Crist has gone to work exploring ways to keep Florida a leader in the aerospace industry. Chancellor Frank T. Brogan is urging the university system to form partnerships with space companies and to coordinate research. That sort of leadership and welcoming attitude, along with flight-friendly sunshine, will help Florida remain America's primary launch pad to other worlds. (2/21)
Space Station Hit by Multiple Computer Glitches (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
Multiple computer glitches aboard the International Space Station triggered intermittent communications blackouts early Sunday, and while the three command and control computers seem to be working, engineers do not yet understand what has caused the machines to repeatedly transition from one to the other. The station's command and control software was updated before the shuttle Endeavour's flight to account for the new Tranquility module and it's possible the computer failures, or transitions, are software related. (2/21)
Shuttle Landing Forecast No-Go (Source: Florida Today)
Endeavour's astronauts face a daunting weather forecast for a planned landing at Kennedy Space Center tonight. The shuttle and its six astronauts remain scheduled to land at KSC at 10:20 p.m. tonight and would have a second opportunity at 11:55 p.m. NASA is staffing a back-up site at Edwards Air Force Base in California and there are two opportunities to land at the Mojave desert military base: 1:25 a.m. EST and 3 a.m. EST. (2/21)
Editorial: Florida Summit Just What the Doctor Ordered (Source: Florida Today)
The summit was a blunt, no-holds-barred discussion on the uncertain future of space in Florida. There were entrepreneurs who said President Obama’s plan to shift manned launches to commercial rockets was correct, and Florida had to pull itself out of denial fast and get with the new program or be left in the dust.
There also were state officials and members of Congress who offered proposals on what might be done in Tallahassee and Washington to mitigate the coming loss of about 7,000 jobs at Kennedy Space Center. Gov. Crist deserves credit for calling the session and starting the search for solutions that can be implemented quickly.
He threw his support behind two we believe are essential: Increasing funds for Space Florida, the state’s space recruiting arm, to nearly $33 million to help attract business; and Spending as much as another $25 million a year to help new or expanding aerospace business in a bill that state Sen. Thad Altman, R-Viera, and state Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, are sponsoring. (2/21)
US Lunar Pull-Out Leaves China Shooting for Moon (Source: AFP)
China aims to land its first astronauts on the moon within a decade at the dawn of a new era of manned space exploration -- a race it now leads thanks to the US decision to drop its lunar program. China has a fast-growing human spaceflight project that has notched one success after another, including a spacewalk by astronauts in 2008, with plans for a manned lunar mission by around 2020.
"The real concern is the trend: China's capacities are increasing while the US, despite spending billions of dollars, appears to be stuck in a rut." China also has pursued its space ambitions efficiently. NASA's Constellation program had already cost 10 billion dollars, or nearly 10 times more than the entire Chinese space program, according to official data. (2/21)
Russian scientists have 100 meters of ice left to drill in order to reach the waters of the unique subglacial Lake Vostok in Antarctica. The scientists expect to reach the lake in 2010-2011. To make future research more effective, they have made a three-dimensional map of the shore and bottom of the lake, said Valery Lukin, head of the Russian Antarctic Expedition.
The scientists have also developed new equipment to ensure that their entrance into the lake’s sterile waters will not result in external contamination, which has been a source of concern among the international scientific society, Lukin said. “The new borehole is currently 3,650 meters deep, and the total depth of ice above the lake is 3,750 meters,” Lukin said.
Lukin said the scientists hope to find live organisms in the waters of the lake, particularly near to the bottom. “It’s very possible that we could find microorganisms that we’ve never known existed, those that lived in the waters of the lake millions of years ago,” he said. Scientists say the lake may turn out to be similar to the subglacial water reservoirs on Jupiter’s satellite Europa. (2/21)
Shuttle's Extension in Works (Source: Florida Today)
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas said a bipartisan plan is in the works in Congress that would call for extending the shuttle program another five years. The plan would require adding another $200 million to the NASA budget for 2010 and $1.5 billion to $2 billion a year starting in the 2011-12 budget year. The goal would be one to two shuttle flights a year through 2015, if it could be done safely. (2/19)
Ben Bova: With Private Sector Push, Space Tourism Will Come (Source: Naples News)
There is opposition, both in NASA and Congress, to the “outsourcing” of launch services. NASA is a government agency and, like all government agencies, it automatically moves to protect its turf. Politicians worry that lucrative NASA contracts will be canceled, causing unemployment in their states.
I’m sure that canal men and stagecoach operators opposed the coming of the railroads, and farsighted railroad magnates dreaded the development of commercial airlines, too. But as Mark Twain famously said, “When it’s steamboat time, you steam.”
As the fledgling space-tourism companies begin to prove their vehicles are safe and reliable, more customers will come. Profits will grow. Those tickets won’t always cost $200,000 apiece. Space tourism is on the way. (2/21)
Don't Be Blinded by the Moon (Source: Tampa Tribune)
The silvery lure of the moon and the golden wages of thousands of research jobs are strong motivators to support NASA's space-exploration program and its significant annual investment in Florida. Yet seen from a national perspective, it is hard to justify the price. President Obama plans to junk the moon project and focus instead on other missions, research, and partnerships with private spaceflight companies.
It's a more conservative approach with the potential to prove more productive. The challenge for Florida is that many space jobs will be up for grabs. Gov. Charlie Crist is smart to begin positioning the state to win a big share. Throwing vast amounts of federal tax money at space is no guarantee this frontier will ever open in a profitable way. But tapping deeper into the profit motive, as Obama proposes, could inspire entrepreneurial imaginations.
Jobs will be created, but they will be different jobs, possibly in different places. Crist has gone to work exploring ways to keep Florida a leader in the aerospace industry. Chancellor Frank T. Brogan is urging the university system to form partnerships with space companies and to coordinate research. That sort of leadership and welcoming attitude, along with flight-friendly sunshine, will help Florida remain America's primary launch pad to other worlds. (2/21)
Space Station Hit by Multiple Computer Glitches (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
Multiple computer glitches aboard the International Space Station triggered intermittent communications blackouts early Sunday, and while the three command and control computers seem to be working, engineers do not yet understand what has caused the machines to repeatedly transition from one to the other. The station's command and control software was updated before the shuttle Endeavour's flight to account for the new Tranquility module and it's possible the computer failures, or transitions, are software related. (2/21)
Shuttle Landing Forecast No-Go (Source: Florida Today)
Endeavour's astronauts face a daunting weather forecast for a planned landing at Kennedy Space Center tonight. The shuttle and its six astronauts remain scheduled to land at KSC at 10:20 p.m. tonight and would have a second opportunity at 11:55 p.m. NASA is staffing a back-up site at Edwards Air Force Base in California and there are two opportunities to land at the Mojave desert military base: 1:25 a.m. EST and 3 a.m. EST. (2/21)
Editorial: Florida Summit Just What the Doctor Ordered (Source: Florida Today)
The summit was a blunt, no-holds-barred discussion on the uncertain future of space in Florida. There were entrepreneurs who said President Obama’s plan to shift manned launches to commercial rockets was correct, and Florida had to pull itself out of denial fast and get with the new program or be left in the dust.
There also were state officials and members of Congress who offered proposals on what might be done in Tallahassee and Washington to mitigate the coming loss of about 7,000 jobs at Kennedy Space Center. Gov. Crist deserves credit for calling the session and starting the search for solutions that can be implemented quickly.
He threw his support behind two we believe are essential: Increasing funds for Space Florida, the state’s space recruiting arm, to nearly $33 million to help attract business; and Spending as much as another $25 million a year to help new or expanding aerospace business in a bill that state Sen. Thad Altman, R-Viera, and state Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, are sponsoring. (2/21)
US Lunar Pull-Out Leaves China Shooting for Moon (Source: AFP)
China aims to land its first astronauts on the moon within a decade at the dawn of a new era of manned space exploration -- a race it now leads thanks to the US decision to drop its lunar program. China has a fast-growing human spaceflight project that has notched one success after another, including a spacewalk by astronauts in 2008, with plans for a manned lunar mission by around 2020.
"The real concern is the trend: China's capacities are increasing while the US, despite spending billions of dollars, appears to be stuck in a rut." China also has pursued its space ambitions efficiently. NASA's Constellation program had already cost 10 billion dollars, or nearly 10 times more than the entire Chinese space program, according to official data. (2/21)
February 20, 2010
Florida's Third Spaceport Briefed at Space Florida Meeting (Source: SPACErePORT)
Advocates for a new spaceport proposed at the Dade-Collier Airport in South Florida discussed their project with Space Florida's board of directors during a public meeting on Friday. Like the newly licensed Cecil Field Spaceport in Jacksonville, the Dade-Collier spaceport would be limited to horizontal-launch and -landing space vehicles. An FAA spaceport license application may be developed soon. With three spaceports in relative proximity to each other (each in a different temperate zone and served by two FAA airspace management centers), Florida could become an ideal site for point-to-point suborbital flight demonstrations. (2/20)
Falcon 9 Erected at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
SpaceX hoisted the first Falcon 9 rocket atop its Cape Canaveral launch pad on Saturday, beginning several days of compatibility checks to be punctuated by a dramatic ground-shaking engine test next week. Pulled by an aircraft tug normally found on airport tarmacs, the rocket and its transporter rolled 600 feet along rail tracks from the steel assembly hangar to the launch pad at Complex 40 on Friday.
After emerging from the hangar Friday, the 15-story rocket was rotated vertical around midday Saturday. A small team of technicians began methodically hooking up the transporter to the launch pad. The transporter also functions as the mechanism to lift the rocket vertical and service the Falcon 9 and payload. (2/20)
Shelby Seeks Support From Other States to Save Constellation (Source: Space Politics)
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) continues to express his concerns about the cancellation of Constellation, according to the Birmingham Business Journal: "Shelby wants help from senators in Florida, California and Texas to protect the NASA programs that provide jobs in those states. He challenged Obama to find other projects to cut from if NASA is to lose funding." Of course, NASA, at the topline level, isn’t losing funding: its budget is growing to $19 billion in the FY11 request and up to $21 billion by FY15. (The same article also mentions Shelby’s concerns about deficit spending, while noting the earmarks he secured for Alabama colleges.)
Editor's Note: Shelby might find allies among other states (and probably also within NASA) on the issue of developing a Shuttle-derived heavy-lift rocket and identifying a beyond-LEO destination for it. But as long as Ares-1 is among his demands, there will not be a unified multi-state effort. (2/20)
Shelby: Government Spending 'Out of Control' (Sources: Birmingham Business Journal, NASA Watch)
Alabama's senior senator said the Obama administration is on pace to turn a $10 trillion deficit into $20 trillion during a recent speech, going on to remind the audience he led the charge against federal bank and automaker bailouts. Shelby warned federal entitlements and deficit spending will ultimately hurt the nation's economy.
During the question and answer portion of the speech, the four-term senator said he will fight to keep funding for NASA's Constellation program that the Obama administration has cut in its proposed 2011 budget. Huntsville is home to the project that Shelby helped save $600 million for last year. Editor's Note: One reader's comment - "Devoid of ideas, full of contradictions, and fighting hard everyday to maintain the status quo." (2/20)
NASA Managers Assess Weather, Landing Options (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
With Endeavour safely away from the International Space Station, flight controllers are looking ahead to the crew's planned landing Sunday night, assessing threatening weather in Florida and California and evaluating a variety of landing options. Endeavour's crew has two Florida landing opportunities Sunday evening, the first at 10:16 p.m. EST and the second, one orbit later, at 11:51 p.m. Two opportunities also are available at Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave Desert at 1:20 a.m. EST Monday and 2:55 a.m. EST. (2/20)
NASA Ponies Up for Commercial Suborbital Space Rides (Source: Discovery)
Even at $200,000 a ticket, the lines for a suborbital ride into space may soon be growing longer. The U.S. government is proposing to spend $75 million over the next five years to send science experiments -- and presumably scientists -- into space. NASA’s deputy administrator Lori Garver this week outlined plans for a $15-million-per-year program to pay for dozens of science and educational experiments to fly on commercial suborbital vehicles.
Also at the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference in Boulder, Colo., which Garver announced the NASA initiative, Virgin Galactic said its passenger list for suborbital flights has now reached 300 people. Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif., which is building Virgin’s spaceships, is expected to begin test flights of the first vehicle, named Enterprise, soon. (2/20)
World Starting New Era of Space Station Research (Source: Houston Chronicle)
Maybe the glowing plants (courtesy of the University of Florida) will alert you that our space garden is not garden variety. Not that long ago, the idea of an orbiting laboratory that would circle the Earth every 90 minutes and carry hundreds of multidisciplinary experiments impossible to perform in gravity was pure science fiction.
But after a tremendous global effort, the International Space Station is now 90 percent complete and has just been given a tremendous boost. Just as the station is coming into its full potential, with construction nearly complete and a full crew complement of six, we'll be able to open its doors to becoming the true orbiting laboratory we've dreamed about. Scientists from all over the world are using station facilities, putting their talents to work in almost all areas of science and technology. They're sharing this knowledge to make life on Earth better for people of all nations and expanding the horizons of our exploration capabilities. (2/20)
Advocates for a new spaceport proposed at the Dade-Collier Airport in South Florida discussed their project with Space Florida's board of directors during a public meeting on Friday. Like the newly licensed Cecil Field Spaceport in Jacksonville, the Dade-Collier spaceport would be limited to horizontal-launch and -landing space vehicles. An FAA spaceport license application may be developed soon. With three spaceports in relative proximity to each other (each in a different temperate zone and served by two FAA airspace management centers), Florida could become an ideal site for point-to-point suborbital flight demonstrations. (2/20)
Falcon 9 Erected at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
SpaceX hoisted the first Falcon 9 rocket atop its Cape Canaveral launch pad on Saturday, beginning several days of compatibility checks to be punctuated by a dramatic ground-shaking engine test next week. Pulled by an aircraft tug normally found on airport tarmacs, the rocket and its transporter rolled 600 feet along rail tracks from the steel assembly hangar to the launch pad at Complex 40 on Friday.
After emerging from the hangar Friday, the 15-story rocket was rotated vertical around midday Saturday. A small team of technicians began methodically hooking up the transporter to the launch pad. The transporter also functions as the mechanism to lift the rocket vertical and service the Falcon 9 and payload. (2/20)
Shelby Seeks Support From Other States to Save Constellation (Source: Space Politics)
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) continues to express his concerns about the cancellation of Constellation, according to the Birmingham Business Journal: "Shelby wants help from senators in Florida, California and Texas to protect the NASA programs that provide jobs in those states. He challenged Obama to find other projects to cut from if NASA is to lose funding." Of course, NASA, at the topline level, isn’t losing funding: its budget is growing to $19 billion in the FY11 request and up to $21 billion by FY15. (The same article also mentions Shelby’s concerns about deficit spending, while noting the earmarks he secured for Alabama colleges.)
Editor's Note: Shelby might find allies among other states (and probably also within NASA) on the issue of developing a Shuttle-derived heavy-lift rocket and identifying a beyond-LEO destination for it. But as long as Ares-1 is among his demands, there will not be a unified multi-state effort. (2/20)
Shelby: Government Spending 'Out of Control' (Sources: Birmingham Business Journal, NASA Watch)
Alabama's senior senator said the Obama administration is on pace to turn a $10 trillion deficit into $20 trillion during a recent speech, going on to remind the audience he led the charge against federal bank and automaker bailouts. Shelby warned federal entitlements and deficit spending will ultimately hurt the nation's economy.
During the question and answer portion of the speech, the four-term senator said he will fight to keep funding for NASA's Constellation program that the Obama administration has cut in its proposed 2011 budget. Huntsville is home to the project that Shelby helped save $600 million for last year. Editor's Note: One reader's comment - "Devoid of ideas, full of contradictions, and fighting hard everyday to maintain the status quo." (2/20)
NASA Managers Assess Weather, Landing Options (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
With Endeavour safely away from the International Space Station, flight controllers are looking ahead to the crew's planned landing Sunday night, assessing threatening weather in Florida and California and evaluating a variety of landing options. Endeavour's crew has two Florida landing opportunities Sunday evening, the first at 10:16 p.m. EST and the second, one orbit later, at 11:51 p.m. Two opportunities also are available at Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave Desert at 1:20 a.m. EST Monday and 2:55 a.m. EST. (2/20)
NASA Ponies Up for Commercial Suborbital Space Rides (Source: Discovery)
Even at $200,000 a ticket, the lines for a suborbital ride into space may soon be growing longer. The U.S. government is proposing to spend $75 million over the next five years to send science experiments -- and presumably scientists -- into space. NASA’s deputy administrator Lori Garver this week outlined plans for a $15-million-per-year program to pay for dozens of science and educational experiments to fly on commercial suborbital vehicles.
Also at the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference in Boulder, Colo., which Garver announced the NASA initiative, Virgin Galactic said its passenger list for suborbital flights has now reached 300 people. Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif., which is building Virgin’s spaceships, is expected to begin test flights of the first vehicle, named Enterprise, soon. (2/20)
World Starting New Era of Space Station Research (Source: Houston Chronicle)
Maybe the glowing plants (courtesy of the University of Florida) will alert you that our space garden is not garden variety. Not that long ago, the idea of an orbiting laboratory that would circle the Earth every 90 minutes and carry hundreds of multidisciplinary experiments impossible to perform in gravity was pure science fiction.
But after a tremendous global effort, the International Space Station is now 90 percent complete and has just been given a tremendous boost. Just as the station is coming into its full potential, with construction nearly complete and a full crew complement of six, we'll be able to open its doors to becoming the true orbiting laboratory we've dreamed about. Scientists from all over the world are using station facilities, putting their talents to work in almost all areas of science and technology. They're sharing this knowledge to make life on Earth better for people of all nations and expanding the horizons of our exploration capabilities. (2/20)
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