NASA Extends USA Contract (Source: NASA)
NASA has extended the Space Program Operations Contract with United Space Alliance to March 31, 2011. The $909,593,590 contract extension supports flight operations for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs. The contract provides mission design and planning, astronaut and flight controller training, system integration, flight operations, vehicle processing, launch and recovery, vehicle sustaining engineering, and flight crew equipment processing. This is a cost reimbursement contract with award and performance fees. (8/31)
Grounded Space Station Test Module Could Expand ISS Capabilities (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
Engineers at the Kennedy Space Center are cleaning and studying a grounded space station module that could be launched in a few years as a hub for inflatable habitats and technology demonstrations. Kirk Shireman, NASA's deputy International Space Station program manager, said plans to launch the new component will depend on the outcome of space budget and policy debates among Congress and the White House.
Right now, the outpost has enough docking and berthing ports to receive all the visiting cargo freighters planned over the next few years, including Japan's H-2 Transfer Vehicle and commercial automated vehicles being developed by SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp. The station also has room to receive a future U.S. rescue capsule or crew transportation system, according to Shireman. But if NASA, an international partner, or commercial firm wants to add new pieces to the station, there could be a shortage of docking and berthing ports on the modules already in space. (8/31)
Lockheed Martin to Unveil Asteroid Mission Proposal (Source: AIA)
Lockheed Martin was to unveil a proposal this week for a mission with two astronauts to reach a Near Earth Asteroid using two Orion capsules and a dual-launch strategy as soon as 2016. The "Plymouth Rock" mission would take place nearly a decade ahead of the asteroid goal outlined by President Barack Obama in April, and Lockheed Martin officials said they have found the mission would not be as difficult as expected, with the design requirements for the lunar mission similar to those for an asteroid mission. (8/31)
Ball Aerospace, ITT in Deal to Build DigitalGlobe Earth Imaging Satellite (Source: AIA)
Earth imaging company DigitalGlobe Inc., based in Longmont, Co., has recruited Ball Aerospace & Technologies and ITT to build and integrate the company's WorldView-3 satellite. Under the deal, Ball Aerospace will be paid up to $180.6 million if it meets deadlines and technology milestones, and ITT will be paid up to $120.5 million. (8/31)
AIA: Export Reforms Will Aid National Security, Help Small Businesses (Source: AIA)
Under sweeping reforms of the U.S. export system proposed by President Barack Obama, technology exports will be assigned the appropriate level of protection across all levels of risk, allowing thousands of products that otherwise would have faced lengthy review to be downgraded or removed from the lists altogether. Some opposition to the reforms are expected from members of both parties, but the Aerospace Industries Association praised the reforms as being important to national security and particularly helpful to small businesses. (8/31)
Intrepid Museum Tries to Land Shuttle (Source: WNYC)
The Intrepid's executive director, Susan Marenoff, believes her museum has everything NASA will be looking for in an adoptive institution. It has plans to build a new structure to house the shuttle on Pier 86. Marenoff also says her museum has proven fundraising strategies. And, since the museum is located in New York City, it may be able to bring the most visitors of any U.S. museum.
"If in fact, NASA wants the most eyeballs to see this shuttle and have the most, as many people as possible, benefit from being able to experience viewing it," Marenoff says, "then we think that there's not even a second thought other than New York City." (8/31)
NASA Sends Experts to Help Chile Miners (Source: AFP)
A team of NASA doctors and scientists will travel to Chile this week to lend its expertise to efforts to keep 33 trapped miners fit and healthy. The Chilean government had asked NASA to provide technical advice that might assist the trapped miners at the San Jose gold and copper mine near the town of Copiapo.
NASA's expert knowledge of how astronauts deal mentally and physically with arduous space journeys could help the miners cope for months in their dark, cramped underground world. "The environment may be different, but the human response in physiology, behavior, responses to emergencies is quite similar," said NASA deputy chief medical officer Michael Duncan, one of the four-strong team. (8/31)
Recess Holding Up Action on NASA Bill (Source: Bay Area Citizen)
“Currently, House members are taking their summer break and won’t return until Sept. 15,” Congressman Pete Olson said. “We almost got [the NASA bill] to a vote before we left,” he said, explaining that the California delegation had a problem with an insurance item in the legislation, which has been passed by the House Committee on Science and Technology and now goes before the full House. Once it is passed by the House, then a compromise will have to be worked out between the House and Senate, which has already passed the measure. (8/31)
NASA & ATK Successfully Test Five-Segment Solid Rocket Motor (Source: NASA)
With a loud roar and mighty column of flame, NASA and ATK successfully completed a two-minute, full-scale test of the largest and most powerful solid rocket motor designed for flight. The motor is potentially transferable to future heavy-lift launch vehicle designs. The stationary firing of the first-stage development solid rocket motor, dubbed DM-2, was the most heavily instrumented solid rocket motor test in NASA history. More than 760 instruments measured 53 test objectives. (8/31)
ATK Crew Dreaming of Launch Assistance Role (Source: Standard-Examiner)
The Kennedy Space Center in Florida may be a home to space rocket launches, but a technical crew shadowing the blastoff could one day sit in Davis County. A backup technical crew with real-time monitoring of any NASA launch site is just one element in the works at ATK's new Engineering Development Lab, which was opened by the company in the last year.
Sitting at consoles in a Clearfield lab will be technicians capable of helping the Florida crew, or any other, should problems arise with the hardware that boosts the rockets into Earth's orbit or space. Developing the expertise to troubleshoot the avionics system is part of the mission for the lab's engineers, who are already testing the vital systems being built for the next generation of NASA rockets. (8/31)
Space Spin-Offs Could Help the Elderly (Source: Public Service UK)
Future spin-off benefits from the work of the UK Space Agency could help government to tackle social problems including elderly care. Over the last 50 years, Britain has been involved in a number of cutting edge projects alongside partners in the European Space Agency – producing valuable societal benefits such as improved telecoms, climate change monitoring and satellite navigation in vehicles. But looking ahead, he pinpointed advanced telecare as an area that would benefit from space research and could aid government "to ensure older people live a full life without necessarily going into homes". (8/31)
First Black Man in Space Down to Earth About Career Moves (Source: San Francisco Examiner)
Physician Bernard Harris was the first black man to walk in space. He has since left NASA and established a successful venture capital firm, along with a foundation aimed at promoting science education for disadvantaged youth. He will speak to 950 students at Marina Middle School on Friday. Click here to read an interview with Dr. Harris. (8/31) http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/First-black-man-in-space-down-to-earth-about-career-moves-101856713.html#ixzz0yBk64RQv
Ares (or Something Else) Rocket Motor Test (Source: CFNews13)
ATK, the NASA contractor that builds the solid rocket boosters for the space shuttle, is testing a larger version of the solid rocket motor in Utah today. The motor, called DM-2 for Demonstration Motor 2, is bolted down on a base, and the plan is to fire it for about 2 minutes while recording data from hundreds of instruments. Last September, they did the same thing with DM-1, but this time, they are going to cool the motor to 40 degrees before firing it.
These motors are derived from the shuttle solid rocket boosters, but where the SRBs are composed of four segments bolted together in line, the new motor will have five segments, creating greater thrust. It was developed as part of the Constellation program, to be used on the Ares I rockets, and later on the heavy lift Ares V. Bills currently making their way through Congress call for using current technology on future rockets. So even if it isn’t called Ares, ATK figures the motor may well be used on some other vehicle. (8/31)
Firm Eyes Space Workers for Medical Tech (Source: Florida Today)
Three friends founded a company in 2004 to staff medical clinics for the government. They named their Merritt Island-based business after a famous physician, the apostle Luke. In 2009, Luke & Associates posted revenues of $37.5 million, and the company has now hired 1,100 medical workers at 68 bases in 36 states. Next year, it could double that number of employees, to 2,200, including some possibly hired from the ranks of unemployed space industry workers. The company, with 44 workers in the Merritt Island office, expects sales of more than $100 million in 2010. (8/31)
Heat Shield Job Vital to Slowing Space Shuttles (Source: Florida Today)
Shuttle Discovery took on a holiday flair after its April return to Kennedy Space Center. Following post-flight inspections, thousands of green tags sprouted from the spacecraft like pine needles. "It looked like a Christmas tree," said Richard McGehee, a United Space Alliance technician who works on the orbiter's heat shields. But the scene, which unfolds after every mission, was not festive.
Each tag indicated a "discrepancy," a place where one of the more than 24,000 delicate tiles lining the vehicle's underside or one of its roughly 1,470 insulating "blankets" needed repair before the next mission -- the last planned for Discovery -- in November. (8/31)
Satellite-Watchers Worry About China (Source: MSNBC)
Strange maneuvers involving two Chinese satellites have some space-watchers worried. The worriers are concerned that the orbital shifts involving two Shijian ("Practice") research satellites were aimed at practicing techniques for disrupting other governments' satellites in the event of an international crisis. The nightmare scenario would involve a fleet of spacecraft that went after America's telecom and Earth-watching satellites, cutting off military communications and orbital surveillance capabilities. (8/31)
Putin Rules Out Lease of Vostochny Spaceport (Source: Itar-Tass)
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has ruled out a possibility of leasing the Vostochny spaceport. "Russia ranks first in the world in space rocket launchings; therefore, we do not have to lease. We will fulfill our obligations that exist today and the obligations that will arise tomorrow. We have contracts in space activities; intergovernmental agreements scheduled for several years had been concluded and will be concluded in future. Moreover, today we cannot satisfy all the requests," Putin said. (8/31)
Russia to Mothball Historic Sputnik Launch Site (Source: AOL News)
The Russian government announced that the historic Baikonur Cosmodrome, where the space race began with the 1957 launch of Sputnik, will be replaced within the decade by a new facility in Siberia. The world's oldest and largest space center, Baikonur has the disadvantage of being in Kazakhstan rather than in the Russian Federation, the heir to the Soviet space program. Putin noted that while the agreement between Russia and Kazakhstan on the use of Baikonur runs until 2050, the new facility would begin launching unmanned spacecraft by 2015 and will take on all of Baikonur's functions by 2018. (8/31)
Venus Crater Debate Heats Up (Source: Nature)
A tortured, volcanic wasteland, baked by a runaway greenhouse effect, the surface of Venus has clearly had an unpleasant history. But just how unpleasant has become the subject of renewed debate among planetary scientists trying to understand the planet's enigmatic topography. Ever since NASA's Magellan spacecraft radar-mapped Venus twenty years ago, researchers have been struck by the relative sparseness and random distribution of its impact craters. The pattern, completely unlike that found on other terrestrial planets, suggests a surface that is uniformly young. (8/31)
O'Keefe, Son Recovering From Alaska Plane Crash (Source: US News)
Sean O'Keefe, the Washington-based CEO of EADS North America who survived the August 9 Alaska plane crash that killed former Sen. Ted Stevens, is expected to leave intensive care in the next several days, according to a family spokesman. O'Keefe, a former Navy secretary and NASA administrator, returned to Washington from Anchorage last week and underwent some minor surgery on a fracture in his lower left leg. "This appears to be the only surgery that Sean will require," family spokesman Paul Pastorek said on a web page created to keep friends and family updated. (8/31)
August 30, 2010
NASA Selects Two Firms for Experimental Space Vehicle Test Flights (Source: NASA)
NASA's Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research Program (CRuSR) has awarded a total of approximately $475,000 to Armadillo Aerospace of Rockwall, Texas and Masten Space Systems of Mojave, Calif. The awards will allow the two companies to perform test flights of their experimental vehicles near the edge of space.
The flights will demonstrate the capabilities of new vehicles to provide recoverable launch and testing of small payloads going to "near-space," the region of Earth's atmosphere between 65,000 and 350,000 feet. The CRuSR program fosters the development of commercial reusable transportation to near space. The overall goal of the program is regular, frequent and predictable access to near-space at a reasonable cost with easy recovery of intact payloads. (8/30)
Embry-Riddle Launches New Ph.D. in Space-Focused Engineering Physics (Source: ERAU)
A unique new Ph.D. program in Engineering Physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University lifts off this week with a group of students taking courses in space physics, planetary orbits, solar wind, remote sensing, spacecraft dynamics, and more. “This degree is a blend of physics and engineering and its focus on the space program is a rare combination,” said John Olivero, professor and chair of the physical sciences department at the university’s Daytona Beach, Fla., campus, where it is offered. (8/30)
Space Coast Firm Grows with Langley Subcontract Work (Source: Craig Technologies)
Woman-Owned engineering and technical services firm Craig Technologies has earned work share at their fifth NASA project site--Langley Research Center (LaRC)--as part of the LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES) contract award. As subcontractor to SGT, Inc. Craig Technologies will provide technical support for high-end systems used by Mission and Mission-support staff at LaRC, necessary for such operations as high performance computing, geometry modeling, grid generation, data visualization, image processing, computational analysis, and airspace and traffic operations simulation. (8/30)
India Announces Instrument Suite for Chandrayaan–2 Moon Orbiter, Lander and Rover (Source: SpaceRef)
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced the suite of instruments for its second mission to the moon after it's first orbiter Chandrayaan–1 was successful in its mission. The second mission is scheduled to be launched on India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota in 2013. India will build the orbiter and rover and Russia will build the lander. Click here to see the list of instruments to be included. (8/30)
Japanese Radar Satellite Shuts Down (Source: Space News)
A Japanese spy satellite launched in February 2007 to keep an eye on North Korea has shut down and prospects for reviving it are "extremely grim," the Daily Yomiuiri and other Japanese media outlets reported over the weekend. Japan's Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center said the nation's lone radar-imaging satellite experienced a battery-related glitch Aug. 23 that took the spacecraft out of service. Owing to a November 2003 launch failure that destroyed two spy satellites, Japan has just four spy satellites in orbit, including the balky radar craft. (8/30)
SpaceX Asks For Oct. 23 Dragon Launch Slot (Source: Aviation Week)
SpaceX has requested Oct. 23 on the 45th Space Wing’s calendar for launch of its second Falcon 9 rocket, which will aim to place a Dragon cargo capsule into orbit. The flight is the first of up to three launches planned under SpaceX’s $278-million Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contract with NASA, which is intended to help pay for the rocket and capsule’s design, development and flight testing.
In addition to a second flight test for the Falcon 9, which had a successful debut on June 4, the COTS-1 mission will test Dragon’s avionics, flight computers, guidance, navigation and control systems, back-shell heat shield, reentry and recovery systems. The Dragon vehicle is expected to be recovered in the Pacific test range close to the southern California coast after three orbits. A second operational Dragon that will maneuver to within 6 mi. of the ISS is targeted for launch early next year, while a provisional third test would have the Dragon actually dock at the station. (8/30)
Wallops Island Could Host Human Space Flights (Source: Parabolic Arc)
According to Virginia Business: "Virginia is hoping the Taurus project is a sign of things to come... Another company looking at Wallops is Nevada-based Bigelow Aerospace. It’s designing the first privately owned space station that it hopes to launch four years from now. Customers most likely would be nations without space programs. Michael Gold, director of the company’s Washington office, has been to Wallops to explore the idea of using the Atlas V launch system — co-owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin... 'Potentially bringing human space flight to Virginia would be frankly the largest economic impact to hit the state in a generation,' said a Bigelow official. 'We have a very strong interest in Wallops and utilizing it ... and avoiding the red tape you might face in Florida.' ”
Bigelow hopes to launch its first space station in 2014, followed by a second in two years later. By the end of the decade, the number of support launches for these facilities would reach into the high 20s. This number would probably be more than Cape Canaveral could handle given its other launches. Bigelow, which wants to launch from the United States, is looking at flying on multiple vehicles from different launch sites. (8/30)
Danish Amateurs Aim to Rocket Themselves Into Space (Source: Discovery)
Kristian von Bengtson and Peter Madsen of Denmark don't have a death wish, or even a mid-life crisis. Yet they're the first to admit that their efforts to put themselves in space on home-built rockets certainly begs the question. A major milestone is set for as early as this week when the men launch for the first time their suborbital rocket, a solid-propellant, liquid oxidizer affair called HEAT-1X Tycho Brahe (named after a 16th century Danish discoverer of a supernova).
Von Bengtson says he won't be disappointed if the rocket fails. "There's a good chance of that," he said. "Basically we're just going to go out there and push the button and build a new rocket -- no matter what happens." Additional test flights will follow over the next three to 10 years, von Bengtson says, before he and Madsen, 39, take turns trapping themselves inside the one-person capsule and blasting off for a suborbital ride to space. (8/30)
NASA, Internet Archive and Flickr Launch Historic Image Collection (Source: NASA)
Three compilations of images from more than half a century of NASA history are available for comment on a section of the photo-sharing site Flickr known as The Commons. Visitors to NASA on The Commons can help tell the photos' story by adding tags, or keywords, to the images to identify objects and people. In addition, viewers can communicate with other visitors by sharing comments. These contributions will help make the images easier to find online and add insight about NASA's history.
The capability to interact with these already-public photos is the result of a partnership between NASA, Flickr from Yahoo! in Sunnyvale, Calif., and Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library based in San Francisco. Three sets of photos share a common theme of NASA beginnings. The "Launch and Takeoff" set captures iconic spacecraft and aircraft taking flight. "Building NASA" spotlights ground-breaking events and the construction of some of NASA's one-of-a-kind facilities. The "Center Namesakes" set features photos of the founders and figureheads of NASA's 10 field centers. To view NASA on The Commons images, visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons. (8/30)
Some Restrictions on Exports to be Eased Following Complaints (Source: AIA)
President Barack Obama was expected to announce today a lifting of some restrictions on the sale of products with military applications to foreign buyers, following complaints from companies that the export rules were too burdensome. The rules were intended largely to keep dual-use technology out of the hands of military adversaries, but businesses said the list of prohibited parts was too long and out of date. The changes are expected to affect companies such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Microsoft. (8/30)
Troop Drawdown Likely to Step Up Pressure for Defense Spending Cuts (Source: AIA)
As concern over the U.S. budget deficit grows, the end of the country's combat mission in Iraq and plans to begin withdrawing U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2011 may put increased pressure on the Pentagon to reduce spending. The drawdowns will likely boost the political arguments for those urging defense cuts, after years of having their arguments dismissed following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. (8/30)
Dancing in the Dark: The Orbital Rendezvous of SJ-12 and SJ-06F (Source: Space Review)
Earlier this month two Chinese satellites made a close approach to, and perhaps even made contact with, each other. Brian Weeden examines the facts about this event and its implications for space security. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1689/1 to view the article. (8/30)
DM-2 and the Future of SRBs (Source: Space Review)
This week NASA and ATK are scheduled to perform the second test-firing of a five-segment solid rocket motor originally developed for the Ares 1. Jeff Foust describes the planning for the test and its significance given the uncertain future of NASA's human spaceflight plans. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1688/1 to view the article. (8/30)
Harkness Screens Lift Off at Kennedy Space Center (Source: Govt. Video)
NASA's latest attraction at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, "Exploration Space: Explorers Wanted," incorporates live theatre, interactive experiences and large-scale multimedia presentations to display what the future of space travel may look like. BRC Imagination Arts, designer and producer of immersive experiences, needed screens and frames to match the awesome project; it turned to Harkness Screens.
With four custom-shaped trapezoidal Harkness Contrast Grey front projection screens flying above the stage and two large main stage rear projection screens, the viewer is completely engulfed. The main stage 16:9 Harkness Translite Super Grey 14x7.8-feet rear projection screen was also custom designed to fit into a scenic LED bezel. (8/30)
Satellite Antennas Made by Harris Crucial to Military (Source: Florida Today)
Satellite antennas made by Harris Corp. in Palm Bay are a crucial part of a data transfer system that allows soldiers on the battlefield in Afghanistan and other locations to transmit and gather video information. In December, United Launch Alliance orbited the last of three satellites from Cape Canaveral, completing the Wideband Global SATCOM constellation, helping soldiers transmit video to and from the battlefield and allowing video to be transmitted from unmanned drones.
Three additional satellites are scheduled for launch beginning no earlier than December 2011. Each $300 million, 7,600-pound, Boeing-built satellite carries 10 Harris phased array antennas that can be pointed at specific parts of the battlefield. (8/30)
Mesmerizing Time-Lapse Shows Every Asteroid Discovered Since 1980 (Source: Huffington Post)
A new video using data from the Asteroid Orbital Elements Database presents a visual history of the asteroids discovered since 1980. In 1980, according to the video, there were only 8,954 known asteroids. By 1990, that number had grown to over 14,000. As the video moves into the mid 1990's we see much higher discovery rates as automated sky scanning systems come online. Most of the surveys are imaging the sky directly opposite the sun and you'll see a region of high discovery rates aligned in this manner. When the video ends in 2010, the solar system looks positively packed. Click here to watch. (8/30)
Wallops Island Could Benefit from a Private-Sector Space Race (Source: Virginia Business)
When the Taurus II rocket soars into space next year from a launch pad at NASA’s Wallops Island just a few hundred feet from the Atlantic Ocean, it’s going to be a show unlike any that Virginia’s Eastern Shore has ever seen. At 131 feet and 320 tons, the Taurus II is bigger by far than any of the thousands of smaller unmanned rockets launched from Wallops since its creation in 1945.
Construction began last year on a new concrete launch pad that’s connected to what looks like a highway on-ramp. It will be used to roll the rocket into place. A few hundred yards away is a new building for assembling the rocket pieces now being built and tested at other sites. The entire rocket will be put together while lying on its side and then raised upright on the pad.
Then, if all goes as planned, it will lift off in a dramatic trail of fire as it soars toward the International Space Station, which orbits the Earth about 200 miles above the planet’s surface. The rocket will bring as much as 7,000 kilograms (15,400 pounds) of supplies, such as food and oxygen and equipment for maintenance or new experiments. (8/30)
Astrotech Reports Results for Fourth Quarter and FY-2010 (Source: Astrotech)
Astrotech posted a fourth quarter FY-2010 net loss of $1.6 million, compared with a fourth quarter FY-2009 net income of $2.6 million, on revenue of $10.4 million. Astrotech's net income for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010 was $0.3 million on revenue of $28.0 million compared to net income of $4.7 million on revenue of $32.0 million for the prior fiscal year. (8/30)
James Cameron Hosts The ZERO-G Experience (Source: X PRIZE Foundation)
Helping to raise funds for the X PRIZE Foundation, "Avatar" Producer/Director, James Cameron, will participate as the honored guest aboard an extraordinary ZERO-G Experience taking off from Van Nuys Airport (VNY) in Los Angeles on Oct. 9. Additional X PRIZE Board Members and special guests have purchased seats to participate in this special event. Three available seats for this once-in-a-lifetime adventure will be auctioned on eBay to the general public beginning Aug. 31 and endingSep. 3. To find out more information about the auction and to bid on seats, visit http://eBay.com/cameron. (8/30)
Space Foundation Seeks 'Space Heroes' (Source: Florida Today)
Buzz Lightyear? Capt. Kirk? Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana? Story Musgrave? John Glenn? Former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin? Or maybe famed NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz because failure was not an option. Who is your Space Hero? The Space Foundation wants to know.
Begun earlier this month, the foundation's "Space Heroes" survey simply asks who rocks your universe and why. The aim is to determine who inspires people to support and promote space exploration. Take the survey at www.spacefoundation.org. (8/30)
NASA's Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research Program (CRuSR) has awarded a total of approximately $475,000 to Armadillo Aerospace of Rockwall, Texas and Masten Space Systems of Mojave, Calif. The awards will allow the two companies to perform test flights of their experimental vehicles near the edge of space.
The flights will demonstrate the capabilities of new vehicles to provide recoverable launch and testing of small payloads going to "near-space," the region of Earth's atmosphere between 65,000 and 350,000 feet. The CRuSR program fosters the development of commercial reusable transportation to near space. The overall goal of the program is regular, frequent and predictable access to near-space at a reasonable cost with easy recovery of intact payloads. (8/30)
Embry-Riddle Launches New Ph.D. in Space-Focused Engineering Physics (Source: ERAU)
A unique new Ph.D. program in Engineering Physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University lifts off this week with a group of students taking courses in space physics, planetary orbits, solar wind, remote sensing, spacecraft dynamics, and more. “This degree is a blend of physics and engineering and its focus on the space program is a rare combination,” said John Olivero, professor and chair of the physical sciences department at the university’s Daytona Beach, Fla., campus, where it is offered. (8/30)
Space Coast Firm Grows with Langley Subcontract Work (Source: Craig Technologies)
Woman-Owned engineering and technical services firm Craig Technologies has earned work share at their fifth NASA project site--Langley Research Center (LaRC)--as part of the LaRC Information Technology Enhanced Services (LITES) contract award. As subcontractor to SGT, Inc. Craig Technologies will provide technical support for high-end systems used by Mission and Mission-support staff at LaRC, necessary for such operations as high performance computing, geometry modeling, grid generation, data visualization, image processing, computational analysis, and airspace and traffic operations simulation. (8/30)
India Announces Instrument Suite for Chandrayaan–2 Moon Orbiter, Lander and Rover (Source: SpaceRef)
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced the suite of instruments for its second mission to the moon after it's first orbiter Chandrayaan–1 was successful in its mission. The second mission is scheduled to be launched on India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota in 2013. India will build the orbiter and rover and Russia will build the lander. Click here to see the list of instruments to be included. (8/30)
Japanese Radar Satellite Shuts Down (Source: Space News)
A Japanese spy satellite launched in February 2007 to keep an eye on North Korea has shut down and prospects for reviving it are "extremely grim," the Daily Yomiuiri and other Japanese media outlets reported over the weekend. Japan's Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center said the nation's lone radar-imaging satellite experienced a battery-related glitch Aug. 23 that took the spacecraft out of service. Owing to a November 2003 launch failure that destroyed two spy satellites, Japan has just four spy satellites in orbit, including the balky radar craft. (8/30)
SpaceX Asks For Oct. 23 Dragon Launch Slot (Source: Aviation Week)
SpaceX has requested Oct. 23 on the 45th Space Wing’s calendar for launch of its second Falcon 9 rocket, which will aim to place a Dragon cargo capsule into orbit. The flight is the first of up to three launches planned under SpaceX’s $278-million Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contract with NASA, which is intended to help pay for the rocket and capsule’s design, development and flight testing.
In addition to a second flight test for the Falcon 9, which had a successful debut on June 4, the COTS-1 mission will test Dragon’s avionics, flight computers, guidance, navigation and control systems, back-shell heat shield, reentry and recovery systems. The Dragon vehicle is expected to be recovered in the Pacific test range close to the southern California coast after three orbits. A second operational Dragon that will maneuver to within 6 mi. of the ISS is targeted for launch early next year, while a provisional third test would have the Dragon actually dock at the station. (8/30)
Wallops Island Could Host Human Space Flights (Source: Parabolic Arc)
According to Virginia Business: "Virginia is hoping the Taurus project is a sign of things to come... Another company looking at Wallops is Nevada-based Bigelow Aerospace. It’s designing the first privately owned space station that it hopes to launch four years from now. Customers most likely would be nations without space programs. Michael Gold, director of the company’s Washington office, has been to Wallops to explore the idea of using the Atlas V launch system — co-owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin... 'Potentially bringing human space flight to Virginia would be frankly the largest economic impact to hit the state in a generation,' said a Bigelow official. 'We have a very strong interest in Wallops and utilizing it ... and avoiding the red tape you might face in Florida.' ”
Bigelow hopes to launch its first space station in 2014, followed by a second in two years later. By the end of the decade, the number of support launches for these facilities would reach into the high 20s. This number would probably be more than Cape Canaveral could handle given its other launches. Bigelow, which wants to launch from the United States, is looking at flying on multiple vehicles from different launch sites. (8/30)
Danish Amateurs Aim to Rocket Themselves Into Space (Source: Discovery)
Kristian von Bengtson and Peter Madsen of Denmark don't have a death wish, or even a mid-life crisis. Yet they're the first to admit that their efforts to put themselves in space on home-built rockets certainly begs the question. A major milestone is set for as early as this week when the men launch for the first time their suborbital rocket, a solid-propellant, liquid oxidizer affair called HEAT-1X Tycho Brahe (named after a 16th century Danish discoverer of a supernova).
Von Bengtson says he won't be disappointed if the rocket fails. "There's a good chance of that," he said. "Basically we're just going to go out there and push the button and build a new rocket -- no matter what happens." Additional test flights will follow over the next three to 10 years, von Bengtson says, before he and Madsen, 39, take turns trapping themselves inside the one-person capsule and blasting off for a suborbital ride to space. (8/30)
NASA, Internet Archive and Flickr Launch Historic Image Collection (Source: NASA)
Three compilations of images from more than half a century of NASA history are available for comment on a section of the photo-sharing site Flickr known as The Commons. Visitors to NASA on The Commons can help tell the photos' story by adding tags, or keywords, to the images to identify objects and people. In addition, viewers can communicate with other visitors by sharing comments. These contributions will help make the images easier to find online and add insight about NASA's history.
The capability to interact with these already-public photos is the result of a partnership between NASA, Flickr from Yahoo! in Sunnyvale, Calif., and Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library based in San Francisco. Three sets of photos share a common theme of NASA beginnings. The "Launch and Takeoff" set captures iconic spacecraft and aircraft taking flight. "Building NASA" spotlights ground-breaking events and the construction of some of NASA's one-of-a-kind facilities. The "Center Namesakes" set features photos of the founders and figureheads of NASA's 10 field centers. To view NASA on The Commons images, visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons. (8/30)
Some Restrictions on Exports to be Eased Following Complaints (Source: AIA)
President Barack Obama was expected to announce today a lifting of some restrictions on the sale of products with military applications to foreign buyers, following complaints from companies that the export rules were too burdensome. The rules were intended largely to keep dual-use technology out of the hands of military adversaries, but businesses said the list of prohibited parts was too long and out of date. The changes are expected to affect companies such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Microsoft. (8/30)
Troop Drawdown Likely to Step Up Pressure for Defense Spending Cuts (Source: AIA)
As concern over the U.S. budget deficit grows, the end of the country's combat mission in Iraq and plans to begin withdrawing U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2011 may put increased pressure on the Pentagon to reduce spending. The drawdowns will likely boost the political arguments for those urging defense cuts, after years of having their arguments dismissed following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. (8/30)
Dancing in the Dark: The Orbital Rendezvous of SJ-12 and SJ-06F (Source: Space Review)
Earlier this month two Chinese satellites made a close approach to, and perhaps even made contact with, each other. Brian Weeden examines the facts about this event and its implications for space security. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1689/1 to view the article. (8/30)
DM-2 and the Future of SRBs (Source: Space Review)
This week NASA and ATK are scheduled to perform the second test-firing of a five-segment solid rocket motor originally developed for the Ares 1. Jeff Foust describes the planning for the test and its significance given the uncertain future of NASA's human spaceflight plans. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1688/1 to view the article. (8/30)
Harkness Screens Lift Off at Kennedy Space Center (Source: Govt. Video)
NASA's latest attraction at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, "Exploration Space: Explorers Wanted," incorporates live theatre, interactive experiences and large-scale multimedia presentations to display what the future of space travel may look like. BRC Imagination Arts, designer and producer of immersive experiences, needed screens and frames to match the awesome project; it turned to Harkness Screens.
With four custom-shaped trapezoidal Harkness Contrast Grey front projection screens flying above the stage and two large main stage rear projection screens, the viewer is completely engulfed. The main stage 16:9 Harkness Translite Super Grey 14x7.8-feet rear projection screen was also custom designed to fit into a scenic LED bezel. (8/30)
Satellite Antennas Made by Harris Crucial to Military (Source: Florida Today)
Satellite antennas made by Harris Corp. in Palm Bay are a crucial part of a data transfer system that allows soldiers on the battlefield in Afghanistan and other locations to transmit and gather video information. In December, United Launch Alliance orbited the last of three satellites from Cape Canaveral, completing the Wideband Global SATCOM constellation, helping soldiers transmit video to and from the battlefield and allowing video to be transmitted from unmanned drones.
Three additional satellites are scheduled for launch beginning no earlier than December 2011. Each $300 million, 7,600-pound, Boeing-built satellite carries 10 Harris phased array antennas that can be pointed at specific parts of the battlefield. (8/30)
Mesmerizing Time-Lapse Shows Every Asteroid Discovered Since 1980 (Source: Huffington Post)
A new video using data from the Asteroid Orbital Elements Database presents a visual history of the asteroids discovered since 1980. In 1980, according to the video, there were only 8,954 known asteroids. By 1990, that number had grown to over 14,000. As the video moves into the mid 1990's we see much higher discovery rates as automated sky scanning systems come online. Most of the surveys are imaging the sky directly opposite the sun and you'll see a region of high discovery rates aligned in this manner. When the video ends in 2010, the solar system looks positively packed. Click here to watch. (8/30)
Wallops Island Could Benefit from a Private-Sector Space Race (Source: Virginia Business)
When the Taurus II rocket soars into space next year from a launch pad at NASA’s Wallops Island just a few hundred feet from the Atlantic Ocean, it’s going to be a show unlike any that Virginia’s Eastern Shore has ever seen. At 131 feet and 320 tons, the Taurus II is bigger by far than any of the thousands of smaller unmanned rockets launched from Wallops since its creation in 1945.
Construction began last year on a new concrete launch pad that’s connected to what looks like a highway on-ramp. It will be used to roll the rocket into place. A few hundred yards away is a new building for assembling the rocket pieces now being built and tested at other sites. The entire rocket will be put together while lying on its side and then raised upright on the pad.
Then, if all goes as planned, it will lift off in a dramatic trail of fire as it soars toward the International Space Station, which orbits the Earth about 200 miles above the planet’s surface. The rocket will bring as much as 7,000 kilograms (15,400 pounds) of supplies, such as food and oxygen and equipment for maintenance or new experiments. (8/30)
Astrotech Reports Results for Fourth Quarter and FY-2010 (Source: Astrotech)
Astrotech posted a fourth quarter FY-2010 net loss of $1.6 million, compared with a fourth quarter FY-2009 net income of $2.6 million, on revenue of $10.4 million. Astrotech's net income for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010 was $0.3 million on revenue of $28.0 million compared to net income of $4.7 million on revenue of $32.0 million for the prior fiscal year. (8/30)
James Cameron Hosts The ZERO-G Experience (Source: X PRIZE Foundation)
Helping to raise funds for the X PRIZE Foundation, "Avatar" Producer/Director, James Cameron, will participate as the honored guest aboard an extraordinary ZERO-G Experience taking off from Van Nuys Airport (VNY) in Los Angeles on Oct. 9. Additional X PRIZE Board Members and special guests have purchased seats to participate in this special event. Three available seats for this once-in-a-lifetime adventure will be auctioned on eBay to the general public beginning Aug. 31 and endingSep. 3. To find out more information about the auction and to bid on seats, visit http://eBay.com/cameron. (8/30)
Space Foundation Seeks 'Space Heroes' (Source: Florida Today)
Buzz Lightyear? Capt. Kirk? Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana? Story Musgrave? John Glenn? Former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin? Or maybe famed NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz because failure was not an option. Who is your Space Hero? The Space Foundation wants to know.
Begun earlier this month, the foundation's "Space Heroes" survey simply asks who rocks your universe and why. The aim is to determine who inspires people to support and promote space exploration. Take the survey at www.spacefoundation.org. (8/30)
August 29, 2010
Putin: Manned Space Flights From New Spaceport in 2018 (Source: Space Daily)
Russia aims to begin launching manned rockets from its new Vostochny cosmodrome located in the far east of the country as early as 2018, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said. Russia has been leasing the Baikonur cosmodrome from Kazakhstan for launching manned and unmanned rockets since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but in 2007 announced plans for the Vostochny complex to have its own launch site. (8/29)
Moon Rock Now Tethered to Mines School (Source: Daily Sentinel)
The travels of Colorado’s wayward moon rock reached an end last week at the Colorado School of Mines, where it was locked away behind steel and glass. There are no immediate plans for the rock to be taken to the highways and back roads of Colorado to be seen elsewhere, a spokeswoman said. “In the near term, because of all the recent publicity, people will expect to see the moon rock when they come to the Geology Museum, and we are pleased to display it for them,” Mines spokeswoman Marsha Williams said. “In the longer term, if there is a lot of interest, we may consider allowing the rock to travel to other secure public areas.” (8/29)
Burt Rutan May Be Retiring and Leaving Mojave (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Reports out of Mojave, Calif. indicate that famed aircraft designer Burt Rutan is looking to retire from the company he founded, Scaled Composites, and move away from the desert town where he designed and built groundbreaking aircraft and spacecraft for 36 years. Rutan is putting his Mojave home on the market and plans to move to a spread in Idaho with his wife, Tonya, according to several reliable sources. Rutan has lived in the Mojave area almost continuously since 1965, when he went to work for the U.S. Air Force as a flight test project engineer at Edwards Air Force Base. (8/29)
India to Focus on Satellite-GPS (Source: Deccan Chronicle)
The Indian Space Research Organization will shortly launch a series of satellites to improve basic services in the country and also to augment technological development. The organization will launch microwave RISAT-1 next year that has all-weather imaging capabilities. INSAT-3D with imager and sounder for retrieving water vapour, wind and temperature, SARAL for sea surface altimetry and small satellites for measuring aerosols and trace gases. (8/29)
India Develops Space Food for Astronauts (Source: sify News)
India's Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has developed dried and packaged food for astronauts. "This mainly includes some freeze dehydrated items that is some juice products, mango juice products, pineapple juice products, grape juice products and some rice based and chicken based items," said an official. The food laboratory has developed around 70 varieties of dehydrated and processed food items that have undergone strict procedures to zero-in on micro bacterial and macro bacterial nutrients. (8/29)
Moon Capital: A Commercial Gateway to the Moon (Source: Commercial Space Gateway)
On September 21, the Moon Capital Competition will accept entries for the architectural design of an international and commercial lunar habitation. Sponsors of the competition include the Boston Society of Architects; AIAA; Draper Laboratory; Google Lunar X Prize; and Boston Center for the Arts.
The competition is open to all comers, although its slant is largely toward space architects and architects who may become inspired to design in space. The website is at: http://www.shiftboston.org/competitions.html and contains rich background content. Under Documents, the Category 1 Architectural Design Program describes the commercial dimension of the Moon Capital. A novel aspect of this competition is that it has two submission categories one called "Let's Get Serious" and the other "Let's Have Fun". click here for more. (8/29)
Editorial: Museum in Seattle Good Match for Shuttle (Source: Spokesman-Review)
NASA’s future is up in the air. Its history, or at least a significant part of it, may land in Seattle. It’s a way-cool opportunity, and Seattle’s nonprofit Museum of Flight is enthusiastically offering itself as a home for the Enterprise, the Atlantis or the Endeavour. Being a government operation, the decision is going to be tied up in political considerations. In an election year.
But on the merits, the Seattle institution has a compelling case to make, especially when it comes to addressing NASA’s – as well as the country’s – high-priority interest in promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (the so-called STEM courses) among America’s middle school students. (8/29)
Planning Proceeds for Space Film Fest on Space Coast (Source: Florida Today)
Local film buffs are planning what they call one of the most unique film festivals to date in the area. Although only in its initial planning stages, the International Space Film Festival could be a big hit and a way to celebrate the space program, according to space enthusiast Bill Larson, who sits on the planning committee. “We’re losing our race for space, and somebody needed to do something to bring the space program back to the American public,” said the former broadcast journalist.
The Space Film Festival is being scheduled for April 2012, soon after the 50th anniversary of John Glenn’s historic Mercury flight, Larson said. Organizers aren’t sure how many people the festival will attract, but they are hoping for 10,000 to 15,000 during the first year. They also are planning for a three- to four-day event to be held in the northern part of the county. (8/29)
AEHF Thruster Failure Stalls Trip To Orbit (Source: Aviation Week)
In the latest delay to the decade-long effort to field a replacement for the Milstar protected communications constellation, Air Force officials are still assessing how best to transfer the $2 billion Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite into geosynchronous orbit after a disappointing problem with its liquid apogee engine. Program officials say the separation of the Atlas V solid rocket motors was nominal, as was the functioning of the payload fairing.
The liquid apogee engine, one of three onboard propulsion systems on the Lockheed-built satellite, failed to start, program officials say. The other onboard propulsion systems, which include a hydrazine-fueled thruster and an ion thruster, were designed for in-orbit stationkeeping. These maneuvers are needed during a satellite’s life to maintain the proper position and downlink to ground stations.
It is unclear whether the Air Force will be able to return the liquid apogee engine to service or be forced to use one of these other two thruster systems for the remainder of the journey 22,000 mi. into geosynchronous orbit. If so, the trip will consume precious onboard fuel and it will affect the life expectation for this spacecraft. Failure to reach orbit is a major disappointment for the Air Force, which has been plagued with management problems of its space programs in the past decade. (8/29)
Russia aims to begin launching manned rockets from its new Vostochny cosmodrome located in the far east of the country as early as 2018, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said. Russia has been leasing the Baikonur cosmodrome from Kazakhstan for launching manned and unmanned rockets since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but in 2007 announced plans for the Vostochny complex to have its own launch site. (8/29)
Moon Rock Now Tethered to Mines School (Source: Daily Sentinel)
The travels of Colorado’s wayward moon rock reached an end last week at the Colorado School of Mines, where it was locked away behind steel and glass. There are no immediate plans for the rock to be taken to the highways and back roads of Colorado to be seen elsewhere, a spokeswoman said. “In the near term, because of all the recent publicity, people will expect to see the moon rock when they come to the Geology Museum, and we are pleased to display it for them,” Mines spokeswoman Marsha Williams said. “In the longer term, if there is a lot of interest, we may consider allowing the rock to travel to other secure public areas.” (8/29)
Burt Rutan May Be Retiring and Leaving Mojave (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Reports out of Mojave, Calif. indicate that famed aircraft designer Burt Rutan is looking to retire from the company he founded, Scaled Composites, and move away from the desert town where he designed and built groundbreaking aircraft and spacecraft for 36 years. Rutan is putting his Mojave home on the market and plans to move to a spread in Idaho with his wife, Tonya, according to several reliable sources. Rutan has lived in the Mojave area almost continuously since 1965, when he went to work for the U.S. Air Force as a flight test project engineer at Edwards Air Force Base. (8/29)
India to Focus on Satellite-GPS (Source: Deccan Chronicle)
The Indian Space Research Organization will shortly launch a series of satellites to improve basic services in the country and also to augment technological development. The organization will launch microwave RISAT-1 next year that has all-weather imaging capabilities. INSAT-3D with imager and sounder for retrieving water vapour, wind and temperature, SARAL for sea surface altimetry and small satellites for measuring aerosols and trace gases. (8/29)
India Develops Space Food for Astronauts (Source: sify News)
India's Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has developed dried and packaged food for astronauts. "This mainly includes some freeze dehydrated items that is some juice products, mango juice products, pineapple juice products, grape juice products and some rice based and chicken based items," said an official. The food laboratory has developed around 70 varieties of dehydrated and processed food items that have undergone strict procedures to zero-in on micro bacterial and macro bacterial nutrients. (8/29)
Moon Capital: A Commercial Gateway to the Moon (Source: Commercial Space Gateway)
On September 21, the Moon Capital Competition will accept entries for the architectural design of an international and commercial lunar habitation. Sponsors of the competition include the Boston Society of Architects; AIAA; Draper Laboratory; Google Lunar X Prize; and Boston Center for the Arts.
The competition is open to all comers, although its slant is largely toward space architects and architects who may become inspired to design in space. The website is at: http://www.shiftboston.org/competitions.html and contains rich background content. Under Documents, the Category 1 Architectural Design Program describes the commercial dimension of the Moon Capital. A novel aspect of this competition is that it has two submission categories one called "Let's Get Serious" and the other "Let's Have Fun". click here for more. (8/29)
Editorial: Museum in Seattle Good Match for Shuttle (Source: Spokesman-Review)
NASA’s future is up in the air. Its history, or at least a significant part of it, may land in Seattle. It’s a way-cool opportunity, and Seattle’s nonprofit Museum of Flight is enthusiastically offering itself as a home for the Enterprise, the Atlantis or the Endeavour. Being a government operation, the decision is going to be tied up in political considerations. In an election year.
But on the merits, the Seattle institution has a compelling case to make, especially when it comes to addressing NASA’s – as well as the country’s – high-priority interest in promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (the so-called STEM courses) among America’s middle school students. (8/29)
Planning Proceeds for Space Film Fest on Space Coast (Source: Florida Today)
Local film buffs are planning what they call one of the most unique film festivals to date in the area. Although only in its initial planning stages, the International Space Film Festival could be a big hit and a way to celebrate the space program, according to space enthusiast Bill Larson, who sits on the planning committee. “We’re losing our race for space, and somebody needed to do something to bring the space program back to the American public,” said the former broadcast journalist.
The Space Film Festival is being scheduled for April 2012, soon after the 50th anniversary of John Glenn’s historic Mercury flight, Larson said. Organizers aren’t sure how many people the festival will attract, but they are hoping for 10,000 to 15,000 during the first year. They also are planning for a three- to four-day event to be held in the northern part of the county. (8/29)
AEHF Thruster Failure Stalls Trip To Orbit (Source: Aviation Week)
In the latest delay to the decade-long effort to field a replacement for the Milstar protected communications constellation, Air Force officials are still assessing how best to transfer the $2 billion Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite into geosynchronous orbit after a disappointing problem with its liquid apogee engine. Program officials say the separation of the Atlas V solid rocket motors was nominal, as was the functioning of the payload fairing.
The liquid apogee engine, one of three onboard propulsion systems on the Lockheed-built satellite, failed to start, program officials say. The other onboard propulsion systems, which include a hydrazine-fueled thruster and an ion thruster, were designed for in-orbit stationkeeping. These maneuvers are needed during a satellite’s life to maintain the proper position and downlink to ground stations.
It is unclear whether the Air Force will be able to return the liquid apogee engine to service or be forced to use one of these other two thruster systems for the remainder of the journey 22,000 mi. into geosynchronous orbit. If so, the trip will consume precious onboard fuel and it will affect the life expectation for this spacecraft. Failure to reach orbit is a major disappointment for the Air Force, which has been plagued with management problems of its space programs in the past decade. (8/29)
August 28, 2010
Companies to Raise Orbit of Satellite (Source: Florida Today)
The Air Force and Lockheed Martin Corp. plan to raise the orbit of a recently launched military communications satellite without the aid of its primary thrusters, which shut down prematurely, according to the Air Force. The liquid apogee engine system, or LAE, is one of three propulsion systems on the first satellite launched by the Advanced Extremely High Frequency program, which intends to provide highly secure communications channels even during nuclear war. (8/28)
New Day Dawns for Shuttle Technician (Source: Florida Today)
The sun is setting on the shuttle program, and on Jen Scheer's career as a shuttle technician. But for the near future, the 35-year-old Merritt Island resident's focus is on sunrises. Each morning before work at Kennedy Space Center, Scheer snaps pictures of day breaking and posts a favorite on Twitter and other sites. The ritual has won an international following and become a book project, one that demonstrates the power of online social networking and symbolizes the promise of a fresh start after so much uncertainty about the space program. (8/28)
Katrina-Damaged Tank Expected Ahead of Schedule (Source: Florida Today)
As the nation marks the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's Gulf Coast landfall on Aug. 29, 2005, a storm-damaged piece of shuttle hardware is making a comeback. Refurbishment of a damaged external tank is nearly complete at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans, and it could be delivered to Kennedy Space Center within a month. The tank had been expected to arrive on Oct. 6, but is now expected to arrive a week or two ahead of schedule. (8/28)
Boeing Capsule Moves Forward With Innovative "Pusher" Escape System (Source: Space.com)
With the impending retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet, aerospace juggernaut Boeing is hard at work developing a new capsule-based spaceship that could be ready for its first commercial spaceflight by 2015. Boeing's new Crew Space Transportation-100 spacecraft is designed to fly astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS), as well as future private space stations.
The spacecraft will be equipped with a unique pusher abort system in case the crew encounters an emergency during launch. "This is the first time anyone has proposed or succeeded with a pusher design," Keith Reiley said. "The pusher appears, to us, to be simpler, less expensive and just as safe."
If necessary, the launch abort system would fire pressurized propellant for three seconds to quickly push the vehicle away from the rocket. A parachute would then be deployed to assist with the landing. One of the advantages of the pusher design is that in the event of a smooth launch, the same propellant can also be used on orbit, either in guiding the CST-100 to dock with a space station, or to boost stations themselves, whose orbits slowly decay over time. (8/28)
Loral Improves Profit Margins as It Prepares Stock Offering (Source: Space News)
Loral is planning a stock introduction for up to 19.9 percent of its equity and has increased its profitability in 2010 as a result of higher throughput in its factory and reduced operating costs. The company believes its satellite-building division can maintain a gross profit margin of between 8.5 percent and 9.5 percent over the long term, on condition that it continues to win at least five satellite orders annually. (8/28)
Europe, Japan Weigh Cargo Return from Space Station (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
The European and Japanese space agencies are considering upgrades to outfit their robotic space station servicing spacecraft to return cargo to Earth, potentially laying the groundwork for crewed capsules by the 2020s. Officials expect decisions on the new spacecraft by next year.
Neither space agency has started development of a piloted spaceship, but both organizations have started designing re-entry vehicles that would bring supplies back to Earth. The ability to return cargo from the space station -- down-mass in space-speak -- will be severely curtailed once the space shuttle is retired next year. (8/28)
Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos Licked by James Lick in Space Race (Source: Forbes)
The list of rich men obsessed with space exploration is as long as an Apollo rocket. The sums spent are long, too. Musk has put up an estimated $100M, Bezos is into the millions likely, Paul Allen spent $100M. Robert Bigelow, a budget hotel-chain mogul, built a life-size space station in his well-guarded Bigelow Aerospace factory in Nevada.
But Musk and Bigelow look like pikers next to James Lick. The wealthiest man in California (150 years ago), Lick spent more on a single telescope (in today’s dollars) than all of their investments combined. Lick made his fortune in real estate after the Gold Rush. He built most of downtown San Jose, Calif. and late in his life was moved to spend $700,000 on the Lick Observatory, finished in 1876 in San Jose at a cost of what would now be the equivalent of $1.2 billion (in 2008 dollars). (8/28)
Space Tourism Sector a Good Opportunity for Insurance Firms (Source: Economic Times)
As space tourism matures, it holds tremendous opportunity for insurance companies to offer risk coverage to those on-board, similar to what they do for passengers of airlines, industry officials said. At an international conference on space business, organized as part of Bengaluru Space Expo 2010, speakers noted that since Yuri Gagarin's flight in 1961, citizens of 38 countries have flown in space.
To date,most individuals have been astronauts/cosmonauts, military personnel and scientists who have been extensively and expensively trained, they said, adding, while this would continue, one would see the emergence of "space tourism" with access to space for private individuals. Speaking on risk and insurance solutions for space ventures in the 21st century, Executive Vice-President of ISB, Tim Wakeman said within India, the space industry is thriving, contributing around Rs 10,000 crore per annum to the Indian economy.
He said it's good time to buy insurance for spacecraft as market conditions are favourable with premium rates on the decline and availability of insurance capacity is three-four times the demand. (8/28)
NASTAR Center and Special Aerospace Services Test Atlas-5 Human Spaceflight Scenarios (Source: NASTAR)
The NASTAR Center has completed the initial phase of a research effort focused on commercial human spaceflight and systems development related to emergency detection and response using an Atlas V flight profile, under a contract with Special Aerospace Service (SAS). Nominal scenarios were performed with three subjects in order to understand crew reaction times. Subjects are medically monitored and tested at NASTAR Center. One subject, Jeff Ashby, is a former NASA Space Shuttle commander.
Under current funded efforts with NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program, SAS is supporting United Launch Alliance's Emergency Detection System (EDS) development program. EDS is the key technology to enable use of the flight-proven Atlas V and Delta IV fleet as part of a potential 'crewed' launch system for commercial spaceflight. The Emergency Detection System monitors key systems parameters and provides warnings and crew instructions on failures. Several potential crewed space craft providers are interested in using the Atlas V with their spacecraft. (8/28)
Space 2010 Conference & Exposition kicks off in Anaheim (Source: OC Metro)
The nation’s brightest in the aerospace industry will descend upon Orange County on Monday to discuss the future of space exploration and technology. The four-day AIAA Space 2010 Conference & Exposition, which will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center and Hilton Anaheim, is slated to draw in about 1,200 attendees. With the theme of Space: Imagine, Innovate, Collaborate, SPACE 2010 will cover three matters: developing technologies that will aid future exploration of the solar system and the universe, creating more affordable ways to launch spacecraft, and promoting opportunities for the government and industry to build future systems. (8/28)
Japan to Stay in ISS Project Past 2016, Launch Hayabusa 2 Probe in 2014 (Source: Mainichi Daily News)
The Strategic Headquarters for Space Policy, headed by Prime Minister Naoto Kan, has decided Japan will continue to participate in the International Space Station (ISS) project through 2016 and beyond. The government will officially communicate its decision, made Aug. 27, to other participating countries in the near future. Meanwhile, the headquarters also decided to move ahead with a fiscal 2014 launch timetable for the Hayabusa 2 -- the successor to the Hayabusa probe mission to a near Earth asteroid. (8/28)
The Air Force and Lockheed Martin Corp. plan to raise the orbit of a recently launched military communications satellite without the aid of its primary thrusters, which shut down prematurely, according to the Air Force. The liquid apogee engine system, or LAE, is one of three propulsion systems on the first satellite launched by the Advanced Extremely High Frequency program, which intends to provide highly secure communications channels even during nuclear war. (8/28)
New Day Dawns for Shuttle Technician (Source: Florida Today)
The sun is setting on the shuttle program, and on Jen Scheer's career as a shuttle technician. But for the near future, the 35-year-old Merritt Island resident's focus is on sunrises. Each morning before work at Kennedy Space Center, Scheer snaps pictures of day breaking and posts a favorite on Twitter and other sites. The ritual has won an international following and become a book project, one that demonstrates the power of online social networking and symbolizes the promise of a fresh start after so much uncertainty about the space program. (8/28)
Katrina-Damaged Tank Expected Ahead of Schedule (Source: Florida Today)
As the nation marks the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's Gulf Coast landfall on Aug. 29, 2005, a storm-damaged piece of shuttle hardware is making a comeback. Refurbishment of a damaged external tank is nearly complete at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans, and it could be delivered to Kennedy Space Center within a month. The tank had been expected to arrive on Oct. 6, but is now expected to arrive a week or two ahead of schedule. (8/28)
Boeing Capsule Moves Forward With Innovative "Pusher" Escape System (Source: Space.com)
With the impending retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet, aerospace juggernaut Boeing is hard at work developing a new capsule-based spaceship that could be ready for its first commercial spaceflight by 2015. Boeing's new Crew Space Transportation-100 spacecraft is designed to fly astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS), as well as future private space stations.
The spacecraft will be equipped with a unique pusher abort system in case the crew encounters an emergency during launch. "This is the first time anyone has proposed or succeeded with a pusher design," Keith Reiley said. "The pusher appears, to us, to be simpler, less expensive and just as safe."
If necessary, the launch abort system would fire pressurized propellant for three seconds to quickly push the vehicle away from the rocket. A parachute would then be deployed to assist with the landing. One of the advantages of the pusher design is that in the event of a smooth launch, the same propellant can also be used on orbit, either in guiding the CST-100 to dock with a space station, or to boost stations themselves, whose orbits slowly decay over time. (8/28)
Loral Improves Profit Margins as It Prepares Stock Offering (Source: Space News)
Loral is planning a stock introduction for up to 19.9 percent of its equity and has increased its profitability in 2010 as a result of higher throughput in its factory and reduced operating costs. The company believes its satellite-building division can maintain a gross profit margin of between 8.5 percent and 9.5 percent over the long term, on condition that it continues to win at least five satellite orders annually. (8/28)
Europe, Japan Weigh Cargo Return from Space Station (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
The European and Japanese space agencies are considering upgrades to outfit their robotic space station servicing spacecraft to return cargo to Earth, potentially laying the groundwork for crewed capsules by the 2020s. Officials expect decisions on the new spacecraft by next year.
Neither space agency has started development of a piloted spaceship, but both organizations have started designing re-entry vehicles that would bring supplies back to Earth. The ability to return cargo from the space station -- down-mass in space-speak -- will be severely curtailed once the space shuttle is retired next year. (8/28)
Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos Licked by James Lick in Space Race (Source: Forbes)
The list of rich men obsessed with space exploration is as long as an Apollo rocket. The sums spent are long, too. Musk has put up an estimated $100M, Bezos is into the millions likely, Paul Allen spent $100M. Robert Bigelow, a budget hotel-chain mogul, built a life-size space station in his well-guarded Bigelow Aerospace factory in Nevada.
But Musk and Bigelow look like pikers next to James Lick. The wealthiest man in California (150 years ago), Lick spent more on a single telescope (in today’s dollars) than all of their investments combined. Lick made his fortune in real estate after the Gold Rush. He built most of downtown San Jose, Calif. and late in his life was moved to spend $700,000 on the Lick Observatory, finished in 1876 in San Jose at a cost of what would now be the equivalent of $1.2 billion (in 2008 dollars). (8/28)
Space Tourism Sector a Good Opportunity for Insurance Firms (Source: Economic Times)
As space tourism matures, it holds tremendous opportunity for insurance companies to offer risk coverage to those on-board, similar to what they do for passengers of airlines, industry officials said. At an international conference on space business, organized as part of Bengaluru Space Expo 2010, speakers noted that since Yuri Gagarin's flight in 1961, citizens of 38 countries have flown in space.
To date,most individuals have been astronauts/cosmonauts, military personnel and scientists who have been extensively and expensively trained, they said, adding, while this would continue, one would see the emergence of "space tourism" with access to space for private individuals. Speaking on risk and insurance solutions for space ventures in the 21st century, Executive Vice-President of ISB, Tim Wakeman said within India, the space industry is thriving, contributing around Rs 10,000 crore per annum to the Indian economy.
He said it's good time to buy insurance for spacecraft as market conditions are favourable with premium rates on the decline and availability of insurance capacity is three-four times the demand. (8/28)
NASTAR Center and Special Aerospace Services Test Atlas-5 Human Spaceflight Scenarios (Source: NASTAR)
The NASTAR Center has completed the initial phase of a research effort focused on commercial human spaceflight and systems development related to emergency detection and response using an Atlas V flight profile, under a contract with Special Aerospace Service (SAS). Nominal scenarios were performed with three subjects in order to understand crew reaction times. Subjects are medically monitored and tested at NASTAR Center. One subject, Jeff Ashby, is a former NASA Space Shuttle commander.
Under current funded efforts with NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program, SAS is supporting United Launch Alliance's Emergency Detection System (EDS) development program. EDS is the key technology to enable use of the flight-proven Atlas V and Delta IV fleet as part of a potential 'crewed' launch system for commercial spaceflight. The Emergency Detection System monitors key systems parameters and provides warnings and crew instructions on failures. Several potential crewed space craft providers are interested in using the Atlas V with their spacecraft. (8/28)
Space 2010 Conference & Exposition kicks off in Anaheim (Source: OC Metro)
The nation’s brightest in the aerospace industry will descend upon Orange County on Monday to discuss the future of space exploration and technology. The four-day AIAA Space 2010 Conference & Exposition, which will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center and Hilton Anaheim, is slated to draw in about 1,200 attendees. With the theme of Space: Imagine, Innovate, Collaborate, SPACE 2010 will cover three matters: developing technologies that will aid future exploration of the solar system and the universe, creating more affordable ways to launch spacecraft, and promoting opportunities for the government and industry to build future systems. (8/28)
Japan to Stay in ISS Project Past 2016, Launch Hayabusa 2 Probe in 2014 (Source: Mainichi Daily News)
The Strategic Headquarters for Space Policy, headed by Prime Minister Naoto Kan, has decided Japan will continue to participate in the International Space Station (ISS) project through 2016 and beyond. The government will officially communicate its decision, made Aug. 27, to other participating countries in the near future. Meanwhile, the headquarters also decided to move ahead with a fiscal 2014 launch timetable for the Hayabusa 2 -- the successor to the Hayabusa probe mission to a near Earth asteroid. (8/28)
August 27, 2010
Hero Astronauts Honor Elite Students with $200,000 in Scholarship Awards (Source: ASF)
Signed, sealed and delivered! The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) has awarded 20 exceptional college students around the country with a total of $200,000 in scholarships for the 2010-2011 school year. ASF bestows the largest monetary award given in the U.S. to engineering and science undergraduates and postgraduate students based solely on merit. The ASF Scholarship Committee, comprised of Academia, Astronauts and Astronaut Scholar alumni, reviewed the applicants and chose the top students from each institution to become Astronaut Scholars. Click here to see the list of winners. (8/17)
FAA Center: One For the Price of Two (Source: Lurio Report)
In awarding its new Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation R&D, the FAA forced a marriage of two competing teams, led by New Mexico State University (NMSU) and Stanford, into a single Center led by NMSU. The FAA intended to allocate $1 million per year to the new Center. Evidently as a consequence of adding the Stanford team, the latter will itself receive $1 million at least in the first year; i.e. the Center--as a whole--will get a ‘double-barreled’ $2 million in FAA funds for the first year. For the following four years it will be funded to at least $1 million, possibly more. Of course, all funding is contingent upon the Center providing at least matching dollars.
Editor's Note: Unlike other FAA Centers of Excellence, which are very narrowly focused on specific (aviation) technology challenges, the new Space Transportation center has a very broad focus, so $1 million per year may be a little too small an investment to address all of the challenges faced by the FAA as it works to regulate and enable the growing industry. (8/27)
Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser Reports Progress Using Stimulus Funding (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Sierra Nevada Corp. says it is making “excellent progress” on efforts to develop its Dream Chaser orbital vehicle, according to a report on the Recovery.gov website. The Nevada-based company received $20 million from NASA earlier this year to fund work on the spacecraft, which would be used to ferry crew to and from the International Space Station. The grant was one of five awards made under NASA’s Commercial Crew Development program. NASA has not committed to any one technology.
An interesting aspect of this grant is that it funds propulsion module test firings. Sierra Nevada is using the same propulsion system for Dream Chaser as it is for the SpaceShipTwo suborbital tourism vehicle, which is being built by Scaled Composites for Virgin Galactic. Development of the hybrid propulsion engine for SSTwo has been reportedly slow and problem plagued, so the NASA funding probably helps a lot. If they do get it to work, Richard Branson can credit NASA with an assist. (8/27)
Com Dev Struggles with Cost Growth on Government Programs (Source: Space News)
Canadian satellite component builder Com Dev International on Aug. 26 warned investors that it faces continued cost-growth problems on several U.S. and Canadian government satellite programs and that it is further reducing its revenue and profit forecast for the year. It will be the fourth consecutive quarter that Com Dev has had to confront unexpected cost growth in contracts for government customers. Com Dev Chief Executive John Keating said he is confident the company has taken “appropriate steps to fully address the expected costs on these five programs, so they won’t continue to generate negative gross margins.” (8/27)
NASA Ames Stimulates California's Economy (Source: CSA)
NASA’s Ames Research Center generated 5,300 jobs and $877 million in total annual economic activity in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area in 2009, according to a new economic benefits study. Click here for more. (8/27)
NASA's 2nd Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge (Source: CSA)
NASA is inviting students in grades 5-8 to participate in the 2nd Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge. The challenge uses real-world scenarios that meet science and mathematics content standards. Students can participate in a formal, informal or home-school setting. Teams of up to six students will design a water recycling system for the unique environment of the moon. Teams will then test their system on a simulated wastewater stream. Proposals and results are due Feb. 28, 2011. Visit http://wlmr.nasa.gov/ for information. (8/27)
NASA Space Settlement Design Contest (Source: CSA)
Design a space colony! Space colonies are permanent communities in orbit, as opposed to being on the moon or other planets. Designing a space colony involves physics, mathematics, space science, environmental science and many other disciplines. The NASA Space Settlement Design Contest is for 11-18-year-old students from anywhere in the world. Individuals or teams may enter. Grades 6-8, 9-10 and 11-12 are judged separately, except for the grand prize. All participants will receive a certificate. Visit http://settlement.arc.nasa.gov/Contest/ for information (8/27)
Hall of Fame Selects California Space Industry Leader (Source: CSA)
SAIC's Tom "Tav" Taverney was one of 10 individuals who served at Onizuka Air Force Station in Sunnyvale, Calif., to be inducted into the Space Operations Hall of Fame on July 28 by the Air Force Association (AFA) Tennessee Ernie Ford Chapter. Taverney, honored for his "unique spacecraft control software," was the only recipient in the technical category. In the nomination, he was praised "for supporting two major potential satellite failures and getting the satellite back into operation." Click here for information. (8/27)
Full-Scale NASA and ATK Solid Rocket Motor Test Set for Aug. 31 (Source: CSA)
NASA and ATK will conduct a full-scale test of a five-segment, first-stage solid rocket motor at 11:05 a.m. EDT on Aug. 31. The test at the ATK Aerospace Systems test facility in Promontory, Utah will assess motor performance at low temperatures. Visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv. (8/27)
Boeing Wins USAF Contract to Begin Work on Seventh Phase of Satellite (Source: CSA)
The U.S. Air Force has approved a contract extension to pay Boeing $182 million to begin work on a seventh installment of a military communications satellite. The contract builds on earlier work in which Boeing is building three Wideband Global SATCOM, or WGS, satellites, and the extension could bring Boeing as much as $2 billion in new work. (8/27)
Board Appointment Delays for Space Florida May Impact Workforce Support (Source: SPACErePORT)
Space Florida's Board of Directors was dissolved last week by legislation that was passed earlier this year in Tallahassee. Governor Charlie Crist was expected to name a new slate of board members last week to replace the old ones, but the selection/vetting process is still underway. Without a board in place, Space Florida is unable to enter into agreements valued at over $100,000. Some local officials are concerned a prolonged delay could prevent the timely distribution of over $3 million appropriated by the Florida Legislature for aerospace workforce assistance. The workforce funds will flow through Space Florida to a local workforce agency to assist displaced Space Shuttle workers. (8/27)
California Space Authority Seeks Board Nominations (Source: CSA)
Nomination requests for candidates for the California Space Authority Board of Directors will open September 1, 2010 and close on September 30, 2010. Additional information and nomination forms will be available September 1, 2010 on the California Space Authority website at www.californiaspaceauthority.org. (8/27)
NASA and U2 Create Video to Celebrate Collaboration (Source: NASA)
NASA and U2 released a commemorative video highlighting a year's worth of collaboration in space and on the Irish rock band's 360 Degree tour. U2 approached NASA in 2009 with an idea to include a dialogue between the band and the crew of the International Space Station during U2's world tour. The astronauts of Expedition 20, the crew then living aboard the space station, agreed to participate and spoke with U2 several times before recording a video segment the band incorporated into its concerts. (8/27)
Measuring The NASA Stimulus (Source: National Journal)
There's no doubt that NASA spending -- as with the spending of any government agency -- can benefit the economy directly through the purchase of goods and services, and indirectly by inspiring industries that spin off from its technologies. But how much of a benefit is an open question -- one that most researchers have given up trying to resolve. This question becomes more pertinent than ever as NASA proposes to issue a series of technological challenges through its $572.2 million Space Technology Program.
Perhaps partly due to the experimental nature of the program, which makes it difficult to predict what technologies would make the cut for development and who would use them, deriving a specific return on investment isn't included in the agency's FY11 budget proposal. Instead, it promises Congress that the program will help build a "more robust national capability for space activities that will improve our competitive posture in the international marketplace, enable new industries and contribute to economic growth."
Most of the academic and NASA-related studies published between the mid-1960s and 1980s agree that NASA benefits the economy, but "economists are not in agreement in finding a clear and best approach to measurement," wrote Henry R. Hertzfeld, research professor for George Washington University's Space Policy Institute, in a 1998 compilation of economic studies focused on NASA. "It is also clear that no one measure is a comprehensive indicator of NASA impacts and benefits," he added. (8/27)
Online Job Fair Now Open to KSC Employees (Source: KSC)
An online job fair is now open to all KSC employees through Aug. 30. In order to participate, job seekers must be registered with Brevard Workforce. This fair provides the opportunity to preview employers who may participate in an on-site job fair Wednesday, Sept.15. Some participating employers may use this virtual event to pre-screen and set up interviews during that job fair, as well as the one on Thursday, Sept. 16. To register, visit www.virtualjobfairfl.com. (8/27)
Pentagon: White House to Seek Modest Defense Budget Growth (Source: AIA)
The Obama administration will likely seek only a modest increase of 1% over inflation in its next defense budget request for fiscal year 2012, says the Pentagon's chief financial officer, Robert Hale. The figure suggests slower growth for the defense budget, but Hale said he hopes the military will avoid more substantial cuts due to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' substantial cost-saving efforts. (8/27)
Aerospace Suppliers Worry Over Industry's Future in Washington State (Source: AIA)
The future of the aerospace industry in the Everett, Wash., region appears uncertain after Boeing chose South Carolina over Washington when selecting a site for a second 787 production line. The decision came only after Boeing met secretly with the company's machinists union to try to negotiate a long-term labor contract, and officials in Everett, the site of the first production line, say the company sent a huge statement in moving its second production line elsewhere. (8/27)
KSC Commercial Space Forum Planned on Sep. 7-8 (Source: SPACErePORT)
Join senior commercial space experts, executives and entrepreneurs for a commercial space market overview of emerging markets, facilities and drivers, sponsored by the Center Planning and Development Office. The evemt will be held on Sep. 7-8 at the KSC Training Auditorium and is intended for KSC civil servants and contractor personnel. The discussions will center on commercial space markets, trade and export controls, and other topics. (8/27)
Whither NSSO? (Source: Space Politics)
On Thursday the Pentagon released a memo from Secretary the Air Force Michael Donley discussing changes to the Air Force’s space management and organization. The changes were designed to address a “confusing” structure for the service’s space organization. As DOD Buzz notes, perhaps the biggest changes are making the Under Secretary of the Air Force “the focal point for space” at Air Force headquarters and giving the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition the responsibility for space acquisition.
Another aspect is the uncertain, but not particularly promising, future of the National Security Space Office (NSSO), originally a joint office between the Defense Department and NRO. While Air Force staff currently assigned to NSSO will now fall under the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for Space, decisions about NSSO staff associated with the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) will be deferred until after a roles and responsibilities discussion is completed. (8/27)
Arianespace to Market India Rocket (Source: Deccan Chronicle)
With global major Arianespace offering to promote indigenous rockets in the multi-billion-dollar satellite-launch market, the coffers of the Indian Space Research Organization could soon be filled with lots of moolah. The European firm plans to market Isro’s workhorse rocket, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, for commercial launch of satellites as part of its partnership with the Indian space agency.
The launch of each of these one-ton remote sensing satellites would fetch ISRO about $20 million to $40 million, while those weighing less than a ton but designed for scientific missions would bring in lesser revenues. “We are working on marketing the PSLV as we are not involved in launch of smaller satellites. I’m sure India will become a major player in the global market,” Mr Jean-Yves Le Gall, Chairman & CEO, Arianespace, told Deccan Chronicle. He said the market for hoisting remote sensing satellites is set to grow. (8/27)
How to Create Space Vomit (Source: MSNBC)
NASA is famous for taking advantage of the best innovations this country can offer: Tang ... Teflon ... space pens ... and, um, artificial vomit? The space agency's latest "Behind the Scenes" video, narrated by spacewalker/comedian Mike Massimino, focuses on research being conducted on space trash bags at Johnson Space Center's Advanced Water Recovery Systems Development Facility. These bags have to stand up to everything that astronauts on future space missions need to get rid of. That includes food scraps, dirty astronaut diapers ... and the occasional outcome of space sickness. (8/27)
Buzz Aldrin Among Panelists at Space Center (Source: Downy Patriot)
Monday’s AIAA gathering at the Columbia Space Learning Center included panelists representing different professional engineering/science-oriented groups but which have somehow cast their lot in a common cause—U.S. human space exploration—was anything but dull. The National Space Society’s Mark Hopkins, at one time ostensibly with the Rand Corporation, and Boeing’s Dean Davis, who acted as panel chairman, both spoke of the huge resource potential of space (“potentially very rich for humans”), exploration as a prelude to economic development, the technological innovation this will demand, and the likely stance Congress usually takes when weighing such weighty matters: how to maximize their chances for re-election (“A program involving such things should be politically saleable”).
In the panel also were Jeff Greason, member of the Augustine Commission and president and co-founder of XCOR Aerospace, and Robert Zubrin, president and founder of the Mars Society and Pioneer Astronautics, and an author as well. Completing the high-caliber panel of doctorate-degreed speakers was Buzz Aldrin, who was the featured panelist and practically needs no introduction. Also slated to talk but unable to make it were Rep. Jane Harman and other elected officials, as well as representatives from Scaled Composites and SpaceX. (8/27)
Former NASA Head Back in DC Area After Plane Crash (Source: CNN)
Former NASA chief Sean O'Keefe and his son, Kevin, have returned to the Washington, DC area after recovering from a plane crash in Alask. The August 9 plane crash on a mountainside killed five people, including former Sen.Ted Stevens. O'Keefe was recuperating at an Alaska hospital, but had recovered enough to be released from that hospital and moved to another hospital, the O'Keefe family spokesman said Thursday. (8/27)
Museums Fight to Get Retired Space Shuttles (Source: ABC)
A new space race is on and the competition is vicious. We're not talking about putting a man or woman on the moon or Mars but museums duking it out over which one gets to house the retiring space shuttles. Millions of dollars are at stake and the battle is shaping up to be one of the fiercest in museum history. The problem is that 21 institutions across the nation are seeking the three spacecraft. (8/27)
Space Coast Vying for Retired Shuttle (Source: FOX)
One of most popular exhibits at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is this full size mock-up of the space shuttle, and it's partly why top brass here are refining their sales pitch amidst stiff competition to receive one of the orbiters which will be retired with the program. "It's appropriate, since we are here at Kennedy Space Center said Andrea Farmer," spokesperson for the Delaware North owned Visitor Complex. "This is where every space shuttle is launched from, more than half of them have landed here, and they've been cared for here."
Vacuum Lab to Grow Space Crystals May be Added to ISS (Source: BBC)
Scientists are planning to use the space station to grow a new kind of crystal for use in solar cells by 2013. They say the vacuum conditions in space improve the quality of thin film crystals, giving them properties that are unachievable on Earth. The technique, called Molecular Beam Epitaxy, could improve electronics, in particular raising the efficiency of solar cells as much as 60%.
Scientists behind the proposed move call it "an industrial evolution". "The unique vacuum environment of space allows us to move forward in terms of computers, solar cells, high speed transistors, high power transistors, energy - all these areas would benefit from advancing materials in space," Professor Alex Ignatiev from the University of Houston in Texas told BBC News. (8/27)
Earth's Upper Atmosphere Shrinking, Scientists Say (Source: AFP)
The upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere are unexpectedly shrinking and cooling due to lower ultraviolet radiation from the sun, US scientists said. The sun's energy output dropped to unusually low levels from 2007 to 2009, a significantly long spell with virtually no sunspots or solar storms, according to scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research. During that period, the thermosphere, whose altitude ranges from about 55 to 300 miles (90 to 500 kilometers), shrank and contracted from the sharp drop in ultraviolet radiation. (8/27)
Tracing the Big Picture of Mars' Atmosphere (Source: JPL)
One of the instruments on a 2016 mission to orbit Mars will provide daily maps of global, pole-to-pole, vertical distributions of the temperature, dust, water vapor and ice clouds in the Martian atmosphere. The joint European-American mission, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, will seek faint gaseous clues about possible life on Mars. This instrument, called the ExoMars Climate Sounder, will supply crucial context with its daily profiling of the atmosphere's changing structure.
The European Space Agency and NASA have selected five instruments for ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. The European Space Agency will provide one instrument and the spacecraft. NASA will provide four instruments, including ExoMars Climate Sounder, which is coming from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Two of the other selected instruments are spectrometers -- one each from Europe and the United States -- designed to detect very low concentrations of methane and other important trace gases in the Martian atmosphere. (8/27)
Mars’s Mysterious Elongated Crater (Source: ESA)
Orcus Patera is an enigmatic elliptical depression near Mars’s equator, in the eastern hemisphere of the planet. Located between the volcanoes of Elysium Mons and Olympus Mons, its formation remains a mystery. Often overlooked, this well-defined depression extends approximately 380 km by 140 km in a NNE–SSW direction. It has a rim that rises up to 1800 m above the surrounding plains, while the floor of the depression lies 400–600 m below the surroundings.
The term ‘patera’ is used for deep, complex or irregularly shaped volcanic craters such as the Hadriaca Patera and Tyrrhena Patera at the north-eastern margin of the Hellas impact basin. However, despite its name and the fact that it is positioned near volcanoes, the actual origin of Orcus Patera remains unclear. (8/27)
The Moon: Creating Capability in Space and Getting Value for our Money (Source: Air & Space)
Of all the possible destinations in space, the Moon offers the proximity, accessibility, and materials necessary to learn how to use what we find in space to create new capabilities. Harvesting the resources of the Moon will allow us to make what we need in space, rather than carrying it with us from the Earth's surface. The model currently used to pursue our national interests in space - design-launch-use-discard - restrains opportunity, affordability and capability. We can break the limits imposed on all of these factors by learning how to use the resources of space. Click here to read the article. (8/27)
Signed, sealed and delivered! The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) has awarded 20 exceptional college students around the country with a total of $200,000 in scholarships for the 2010-2011 school year. ASF bestows the largest monetary award given in the U.S. to engineering and science undergraduates and postgraduate students based solely on merit. The ASF Scholarship Committee, comprised of Academia, Astronauts and Astronaut Scholar alumni, reviewed the applicants and chose the top students from each institution to become Astronaut Scholars. Click here to see the list of winners. (8/17)
FAA Center: One For the Price of Two (Source: Lurio Report)
In awarding its new Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation R&D, the FAA forced a marriage of two competing teams, led by New Mexico State University (NMSU) and Stanford, into a single Center led by NMSU. The FAA intended to allocate $1 million per year to the new Center. Evidently as a consequence of adding the Stanford team, the latter will itself receive $1 million at least in the first year; i.e. the Center--as a whole--will get a ‘double-barreled’ $2 million in FAA funds for the first year. For the following four years it will be funded to at least $1 million, possibly more. Of course, all funding is contingent upon the Center providing at least matching dollars.
Editor's Note: Unlike other FAA Centers of Excellence, which are very narrowly focused on specific (aviation) technology challenges, the new Space Transportation center has a very broad focus, so $1 million per year may be a little too small an investment to address all of the challenges faced by the FAA as it works to regulate and enable the growing industry. (8/27)
Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser Reports Progress Using Stimulus Funding (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Sierra Nevada Corp. says it is making “excellent progress” on efforts to develop its Dream Chaser orbital vehicle, according to a report on the Recovery.gov website. The Nevada-based company received $20 million from NASA earlier this year to fund work on the spacecraft, which would be used to ferry crew to and from the International Space Station. The grant was one of five awards made under NASA’s Commercial Crew Development program. NASA has not committed to any one technology.
An interesting aspect of this grant is that it funds propulsion module test firings. Sierra Nevada is using the same propulsion system for Dream Chaser as it is for the SpaceShipTwo suborbital tourism vehicle, which is being built by Scaled Composites for Virgin Galactic. Development of the hybrid propulsion engine for SSTwo has been reportedly slow and problem plagued, so the NASA funding probably helps a lot. If they do get it to work, Richard Branson can credit NASA with an assist. (8/27)
Com Dev Struggles with Cost Growth on Government Programs (Source: Space News)
Canadian satellite component builder Com Dev International on Aug. 26 warned investors that it faces continued cost-growth problems on several U.S. and Canadian government satellite programs and that it is further reducing its revenue and profit forecast for the year. It will be the fourth consecutive quarter that Com Dev has had to confront unexpected cost growth in contracts for government customers. Com Dev Chief Executive John Keating said he is confident the company has taken “appropriate steps to fully address the expected costs on these five programs, so they won’t continue to generate negative gross margins.” (8/27)
NASA Ames Stimulates California's Economy (Source: CSA)
NASA’s Ames Research Center generated 5,300 jobs and $877 million in total annual economic activity in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area in 2009, according to a new economic benefits study. Click here for more. (8/27)
NASA's 2nd Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge (Source: CSA)
NASA is inviting students in grades 5-8 to participate in the 2nd Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge. The challenge uses real-world scenarios that meet science and mathematics content standards. Students can participate in a formal, informal or home-school setting. Teams of up to six students will design a water recycling system for the unique environment of the moon. Teams will then test their system on a simulated wastewater stream. Proposals and results are due Feb. 28, 2011. Visit http://wlmr.nasa.gov/ for information. (8/27)
NASA Space Settlement Design Contest (Source: CSA)
Design a space colony! Space colonies are permanent communities in orbit, as opposed to being on the moon or other planets. Designing a space colony involves physics, mathematics, space science, environmental science and many other disciplines. The NASA Space Settlement Design Contest is for 11-18-year-old students from anywhere in the world. Individuals or teams may enter. Grades 6-8, 9-10 and 11-12 are judged separately, except for the grand prize. All participants will receive a certificate. Visit http://settlement.arc.nasa.gov/Contest/ for information (8/27)
Hall of Fame Selects California Space Industry Leader (Source: CSA)
SAIC's Tom "Tav" Taverney was one of 10 individuals who served at Onizuka Air Force Station in Sunnyvale, Calif., to be inducted into the Space Operations Hall of Fame on July 28 by the Air Force Association (AFA) Tennessee Ernie Ford Chapter. Taverney, honored for his "unique spacecraft control software," was the only recipient in the technical category. In the nomination, he was praised "for supporting two major potential satellite failures and getting the satellite back into operation." Click here for information. (8/27)
Full-Scale NASA and ATK Solid Rocket Motor Test Set for Aug. 31 (Source: CSA)
NASA and ATK will conduct a full-scale test of a five-segment, first-stage solid rocket motor at 11:05 a.m. EDT on Aug. 31. The test at the ATK Aerospace Systems test facility in Promontory, Utah will assess motor performance at low temperatures. Visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv. (8/27)
Boeing Wins USAF Contract to Begin Work on Seventh Phase of Satellite (Source: CSA)
The U.S. Air Force has approved a contract extension to pay Boeing $182 million to begin work on a seventh installment of a military communications satellite. The contract builds on earlier work in which Boeing is building three Wideband Global SATCOM, or WGS, satellites, and the extension could bring Boeing as much as $2 billion in new work. (8/27)
Board Appointment Delays for Space Florida May Impact Workforce Support (Source: SPACErePORT)
Space Florida's Board of Directors was dissolved last week by legislation that was passed earlier this year in Tallahassee. Governor Charlie Crist was expected to name a new slate of board members last week to replace the old ones, but the selection/vetting process is still underway. Without a board in place, Space Florida is unable to enter into agreements valued at over $100,000. Some local officials are concerned a prolonged delay could prevent the timely distribution of over $3 million appropriated by the Florida Legislature for aerospace workforce assistance. The workforce funds will flow through Space Florida to a local workforce agency to assist displaced Space Shuttle workers. (8/27)
California Space Authority Seeks Board Nominations (Source: CSA)
Nomination requests for candidates for the California Space Authority Board of Directors will open September 1, 2010 and close on September 30, 2010. Additional information and nomination forms will be available September 1, 2010 on the California Space Authority website at www.californiaspaceauthority.org. (8/27)
NASA and U2 Create Video to Celebrate Collaboration (Source: NASA)
NASA and U2 released a commemorative video highlighting a year's worth of collaboration in space and on the Irish rock band's 360 Degree tour. U2 approached NASA in 2009 with an idea to include a dialogue between the band and the crew of the International Space Station during U2's world tour. The astronauts of Expedition 20, the crew then living aboard the space station, agreed to participate and spoke with U2 several times before recording a video segment the band incorporated into its concerts. (8/27)
Measuring The NASA Stimulus (Source: National Journal)
There's no doubt that NASA spending -- as with the spending of any government agency -- can benefit the economy directly through the purchase of goods and services, and indirectly by inspiring industries that spin off from its technologies. But how much of a benefit is an open question -- one that most researchers have given up trying to resolve. This question becomes more pertinent than ever as NASA proposes to issue a series of technological challenges through its $572.2 million Space Technology Program.
Perhaps partly due to the experimental nature of the program, which makes it difficult to predict what technologies would make the cut for development and who would use them, deriving a specific return on investment isn't included in the agency's FY11 budget proposal. Instead, it promises Congress that the program will help build a "more robust national capability for space activities that will improve our competitive posture in the international marketplace, enable new industries and contribute to economic growth."
Most of the academic and NASA-related studies published between the mid-1960s and 1980s agree that NASA benefits the economy, but "economists are not in agreement in finding a clear and best approach to measurement," wrote Henry R. Hertzfeld, research professor for George Washington University's Space Policy Institute, in a 1998 compilation of economic studies focused on NASA. "It is also clear that no one measure is a comprehensive indicator of NASA impacts and benefits," he added. (8/27)
Online Job Fair Now Open to KSC Employees (Source: KSC)
An online job fair is now open to all KSC employees through Aug. 30. In order to participate, job seekers must be registered with Brevard Workforce. This fair provides the opportunity to preview employers who may participate in an on-site job fair Wednesday, Sept.15. Some participating employers may use this virtual event to pre-screen and set up interviews during that job fair, as well as the one on Thursday, Sept. 16. To register, visit www.virtualjobfairfl.com. (8/27)
Pentagon: White House to Seek Modest Defense Budget Growth (Source: AIA)
The Obama administration will likely seek only a modest increase of 1% over inflation in its next defense budget request for fiscal year 2012, says the Pentagon's chief financial officer, Robert Hale. The figure suggests slower growth for the defense budget, but Hale said he hopes the military will avoid more substantial cuts due to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' substantial cost-saving efforts. (8/27)
Aerospace Suppliers Worry Over Industry's Future in Washington State (Source: AIA)
The future of the aerospace industry in the Everett, Wash., region appears uncertain after Boeing chose South Carolina over Washington when selecting a site for a second 787 production line. The decision came only after Boeing met secretly with the company's machinists union to try to negotiate a long-term labor contract, and officials in Everett, the site of the first production line, say the company sent a huge statement in moving its second production line elsewhere. (8/27)
KSC Commercial Space Forum Planned on Sep. 7-8 (Source: SPACErePORT)
Join senior commercial space experts, executives and entrepreneurs for a commercial space market overview of emerging markets, facilities and drivers, sponsored by the Center Planning and Development Office. The evemt will be held on Sep. 7-8 at the KSC Training Auditorium and is intended for KSC civil servants and contractor personnel. The discussions will center on commercial space markets, trade and export controls, and other topics. (8/27)
Whither NSSO? (Source: Space Politics)
On Thursday the Pentagon released a memo from Secretary the Air Force Michael Donley discussing changes to the Air Force’s space management and organization. The changes were designed to address a “confusing” structure for the service’s space organization. As DOD Buzz notes, perhaps the biggest changes are making the Under Secretary of the Air Force “the focal point for space” at Air Force headquarters and giving the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition the responsibility for space acquisition.
Another aspect is the uncertain, but not particularly promising, future of the National Security Space Office (NSSO), originally a joint office between the Defense Department and NRO. While Air Force staff currently assigned to NSSO will now fall under the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for Space, decisions about NSSO staff associated with the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) will be deferred until after a roles and responsibilities discussion is completed. (8/27)
Arianespace to Market India Rocket (Source: Deccan Chronicle)
With global major Arianespace offering to promote indigenous rockets in the multi-billion-dollar satellite-launch market, the coffers of the Indian Space Research Organization could soon be filled with lots of moolah. The European firm plans to market Isro’s workhorse rocket, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, for commercial launch of satellites as part of its partnership with the Indian space agency.
The launch of each of these one-ton remote sensing satellites would fetch ISRO about $20 million to $40 million, while those weighing less than a ton but designed for scientific missions would bring in lesser revenues. “We are working on marketing the PSLV as we are not involved in launch of smaller satellites. I’m sure India will become a major player in the global market,” Mr Jean-Yves Le Gall, Chairman & CEO, Arianespace, told Deccan Chronicle. He said the market for hoisting remote sensing satellites is set to grow. (8/27)
How to Create Space Vomit (Source: MSNBC)
NASA is famous for taking advantage of the best innovations this country can offer: Tang ... Teflon ... space pens ... and, um, artificial vomit? The space agency's latest "Behind the Scenes" video, narrated by spacewalker/comedian Mike Massimino, focuses on research being conducted on space trash bags at Johnson Space Center's Advanced Water Recovery Systems Development Facility. These bags have to stand up to everything that astronauts on future space missions need to get rid of. That includes food scraps, dirty astronaut diapers ... and the occasional outcome of space sickness. (8/27)
Buzz Aldrin Among Panelists at Space Center (Source: Downy Patriot)
Monday’s AIAA gathering at the Columbia Space Learning Center included panelists representing different professional engineering/science-oriented groups but which have somehow cast their lot in a common cause—U.S. human space exploration—was anything but dull. The National Space Society’s Mark Hopkins, at one time ostensibly with the Rand Corporation, and Boeing’s Dean Davis, who acted as panel chairman, both spoke of the huge resource potential of space (“potentially very rich for humans”), exploration as a prelude to economic development, the technological innovation this will demand, and the likely stance Congress usually takes when weighing such weighty matters: how to maximize their chances for re-election (“A program involving such things should be politically saleable”).
In the panel also were Jeff Greason, member of the Augustine Commission and president and co-founder of XCOR Aerospace, and Robert Zubrin, president and founder of the Mars Society and Pioneer Astronautics, and an author as well. Completing the high-caliber panel of doctorate-degreed speakers was Buzz Aldrin, who was the featured panelist and practically needs no introduction. Also slated to talk but unable to make it were Rep. Jane Harman and other elected officials, as well as representatives from Scaled Composites and SpaceX. (8/27)
Former NASA Head Back in DC Area After Plane Crash (Source: CNN)
Former NASA chief Sean O'Keefe and his son, Kevin, have returned to the Washington, DC area after recovering from a plane crash in Alask. The August 9 plane crash on a mountainside killed five people, including former Sen.Ted Stevens. O'Keefe was recuperating at an Alaska hospital, but had recovered enough to be released from that hospital and moved to another hospital, the O'Keefe family spokesman said Thursday. (8/27)
Museums Fight to Get Retired Space Shuttles (Source: ABC)
A new space race is on and the competition is vicious. We're not talking about putting a man or woman on the moon or Mars but museums duking it out over which one gets to house the retiring space shuttles. Millions of dollars are at stake and the battle is shaping up to be one of the fiercest in museum history. The problem is that 21 institutions across the nation are seeking the three spacecraft. (8/27)
Space Coast Vying for Retired Shuttle (Source: FOX)
One of most popular exhibits at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is this full size mock-up of the space shuttle, and it's partly why top brass here are refining their sales pitch amidst stiff competition to receive one of the orbiters which will be retired with the program. "It's appropriate, since we are here at Kennedy Space Center said Andrea Farmer," spokesperson for the Delaware North owned Visitor Complex. "This is where every space shuttle is launched from, more than half of them have landed here, and they've been cared for here."
Vacuum Lab to Grow Space Crystals May be Added to ISS (Source: BBC)
Scientists are planning to use the space station to grow a new kind of crystal for use in solar cells by 2013. They say the vacuum conditions in space improve the quality of thin film crystals, giving them properties that are unachievable on Earth. The technique, called Molecular Beam Epitaxy, could improve electronics, in particular raising the efficiency of solar cells as much as 60%.
Scientists behind the proposed move call it "an industrial evolution". "The unique vacuum environment of space allows us to move forward in terms of computers, solar cells, high speed transistors, high power transistors, energy - all these areas would benefit from advancing materials in space," Professor Alex Ignatiev from the University of Houston in Texas told BBC News. (8/27)
Earth's Upper Atmosphere Shrinking, Scientists Say (Source: AFP)
The upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere are unexpectedly shrinking and cooling due to lower ultraviolet radiation from the sun, US scientists said. The sun's energy output dropped to unusually low levels from 2007 to 2009, a significantly long spell with virtually no sunspots or solar storms, according to scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research. During that period, the thermosphere, whose altitude ranges from about 55 to 300 miles (90 to 500 kilometers), shrank and contracted from the sharp drop in ultraviolet radiation. (8/27)
Tracing the Big Picture of Mars' Atmosphere (Source: JPL)
One of the instruments on a 2016 mission to orbit Mars will provide daily maps of global, pole-to-pole, vertical distributions of the temperature, dust, water vapor and ice clouds in the Martian atmosphere. The joint European-American mission, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, will seek faint gaseous clues about possible life on Mars. This instrument, called the ExoMars Climate Sounder, will supply crucial context with its daily profiling of the atmosphere's changing structure.
The European Space Agency and NASA have selected five instruments for ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. The European Space Agency will provide one instrument and the spacecraft. NASA will provide four instruments, including ExoMars Climate Sounder, which is coming from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Two of the other selected instruments are spectrometers -- one each from Europe and the United States -- designed to detect very low concentrations of methane and other important trace gases in the Martian atmosphere. (8/27)
Mars’s Mysterious Elongated Crater (Source: ESA)
Orcus Patera is an enigmatic elliptical depression near Mars’s equator, in the eastern hemisphere of the planet. Located between the volcanoes of Elysium Mons and Olympus Mons, its formation remains a mystery. Often overlooked, this well-defined depression extends approximately 380 km by 140 km in a NNE–SSW direction. It has a rim that rises up to 1800 m above the surrounding plains, while the floor of the depression lies 400–600 m below the surroundings.
The term ‘patera’ is used for deep, complex or irregularly shaped volcanic craters such as the Hadriaca Patera and Tyrrhena Patera at the north-eastern margin of the Hellas impact basin. However, despite its name and the fact that it is positioned near volcanoes, the actual origin of Orcus Patera remains unclear. (8/27)
The Moon: Creating Capability in Space and Getting Value for our Money (Source: Air & Space)
Of all the possible destinations in space, the Moon offers the proximity, accessibility, and materials necessary to learn how to use what we find in space to create new capabilities. Harvesting the resources of the Moon will allow us to make what we need in space, rather than carrying it with us from the Earth's surface. The model currently used to pursue our national interests in space - design-launch-use-discard - restrains opportunity, affordability and capability. We can break the limits imposed on all of these factors by learning how to use the resources of space. Click here to read the article. (8/27)
August 26, 2010
The Audacity of Space-Based Solar Power - Japan Sees Opportunity to Lead (Sources: JAXA)
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is now supporting basic technology research into Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP). "To address energy problems on the ground, research and development is being conducted on the Space Solar Power System that will transmit power using microwaves or lasers. The transmitted power is converted to terrestrial electricity and hydrogen for use on the ground." Click here for more on JAXA's efforts, and here for a JAXA video.
Editor's Note: SBSP is a concept hailed as feasible and attractive after U.S. military-sponsored studies only a few years ago, but it has failed to catch-on as a priority for NASA, DOD or the U.S. Department of Energy, despite a growing national emphasis on energy independence. Multiple U.S. companies are attempting to establish SBSP programs, but they require major capital investments and would benefit from a federal push to develop and demonstrate key technologies. Perhaps a U.S./Japan collaboration would make sense. (8/26)
Kepler Discovers Multi-Planet Star System (Source: NASA)
NASA's Kepler spacecraft has discovered the first confirmed planetary system with more than one planet crossing in front of, or transiting, the same star. The transit signatures of two distinct planets were seen in the data for the sun-like star designated Kepler-9. The planets were named Kepler-9b and 9c. The discovery incorporates seven months of observations of more than 156,000 stars as part of an ongoing search for Earth-sized planets outside our solar system. Kepler's ultra-precise camera measures tiny decreases in the stars' brightness that occur when a planet transits them. The size of the planet can be derived from these temporary dips. (8/26)
Blue Origin Plans Novel Escape System on Orbital Vehicle (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Two enabling technologies for Blue Origin's orbital Space Vehicle are a Pusher Escape System (PES) and a composite pressure vessel cabin. Blue Origin proposes to use NASA co-funding to develop these technologies. The PES is reusable with a full-envelope crew escape capability. Rather than an expendable tower over the capsule, PES uses an engine mounted at the rear of the capsule in a ‘pusher’ configuration. It will remain with the vehicle, avoiding the flight-safety risk of the jettison event.
The second risk mitigation activity for the orbital Space Vehicle is to conduct assembly and testing of a composite pressure vessel cabin, which will use composite panels bonded together. No such structure has ever flown in a similar space application. Blue Origin will evaluate the strength and leak-rate of the structure, as well as manufacturing challenge in the joint assembly. Following completion of the NASA-supported CCDev activity, Blue Origin plans a suborbital flight test at private expense. (8/26)
Exploding the Myth of Popular Support for Apollo (Sources: Roger Launius' Blog, HobbySpace)
Because of the on-going dispute over the future of human space exploration, I have been reminded of the longstanding perception that in the 1960s NASA’s Apollo program enjoyed great public support. That is a misconception. The belief that Apollo enjoyed enthusiastic support during the 1960s and that somehow NASA has lost its compass thereafter still enjoys broad appeal. This is an important conception, for without the active agreement of political leaders and at least public acquiescence no exploration effort may be sustained for any length of time.
The level of popular support that most people believe the public held for the Kennedy decision to undertake the Moon landings are, therefore, perceived as something that must be gained for the present space exploration agenda to succeed. Repeatedly a chorus of remorse for the lukewarm popular support enjoyed by specific space exploration activities is followed with a heavy sigh and the conclusion, “if only our current efforts had the same level of commitment enjoyed by Apollo, all would be well.”
The public’s support for space funding has remained remarkably stable at approximately 80 percent in favor of the status quo since 1965, with only one significant dip in support in the early 1970s. However, responses to funding questions on public opinion polls are extremely sensitive to question wording and must be used cautiously. For example, in the summer of 1965 one third of the nation favored cutting the space budget, while only 16 percent wanted to increase it. (8/25)
KSC to Host Second Lunabotics Mining Competition, May 23-28 (Source: NASA)
The Lunabotics Mining Competition is a university-level competition designed to engage and retain students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). NASA will directly benefit from the competition by encouraging the development of innovative lunar excavation concepts from universities which may result in clever ideas and solutions which could be applied to an actual lunar excavation device or payload. The challenge is for students to design and build a remote controlled or autonomous excavator, called a lunabot, that can collect and deposit a minimum of 10 kilograms of lunar simulant within 15 minutes. The complexities of the challenge include the abrasive characteristics of the lunar simulant, the weight and size limitations of the lunabot, and the ability to control the lunabot from a remote control center. (8/26)
GE Aviation Will Build an Engine-Manufacturing Plant in Alabama (Source: AIA)
General Electric Aviation plans to build a facility in Alabama to manufacture coatings for engine components of military jets. It is considering where in the state to build the 200,000-square-foot factory, which is expected to generate as many as 400 jobs. Production is scheduled to begin in 2013. (8/26)
Kansas Airports Contribute $10B to State Economy (Source: AIA)
Kansas airports contribute $10.4 billion each year to the state's economy, according to a report. "Whether moving goods, providing emergency assistance or connecting our communities, airports play a critical role in the Kansas economy," said Lt. Gov. Troy Findley. Eight commercial airports and 132 general aviation airports operate in Kansas. (8/26)
NASA Tech Chief: Budget Would be a Boon for Ohio Research Center (Source: AIA)
Robert Braun, the new chief technologist for NASA, visited the NASA Glenn Research Center in Brook Park, Ohio, this week to discuss how the billions of dollars that would be part of President Barack Obama's budget proposal would be used to promote cutting-edge technologies in space travel. The funds would come under Obama's controversial plan to shift NASA's direction from a back-to-the-moon focus to more research and development, and Braun said that if Congress approves the budget, NASA Glenn will likely have "more work than they know what to do with." (8/26)
Residents Near Spaceport America Still Having Water Problems (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
It's not yet known how severely water levels in Cutter have been impacted by pumping that's tied to the construction of Spaceport America, an official said Wednesday. "It's showing all the right signs of recharge," said Spaceport America Director Rick Homans. "Clearly, this has been a big hit to the water source, but they're just not sure how quickly or how much will come back. That's what we're watching." Officials from the spaceport, the state engineer's office and FNF Construction of Albuquerque met Wednesday with a group of residents in Engle, another small town between Truth or Consequences and the spaceport, to give an update about the situation. (8/26)
Raytheon to Lay Off 82 Workers at NASA Langley (Source: Virginian-Pilot)
Raytheon Co. confirmed Wednesday that it plans to lay off 82 employees at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton. The workers will be laid off Oct. 27, according to a notice Raytheon filed with the state under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. "This is the direct result of a recompeted contract," said Jon Kasle, a spokesman for the company based in Waltham, Mass. (8/26)
Talking and Looking: Iridium's 'Next' Big Idea (Source: BBC)
Their job is to provide communications anytime, anywhere. And it's been a busy summer for the companies that provide satellite phone and data services. Earlier this month, we saw UK-based Inmarsat announce a $1.2bn project to launch three huge broadband satellites. The US Globalstar concern was also making news, taking delivery of the first of its next-generation spacecraft. Now Virginia-based Iridium, like Globastar, is having to upgrade its current network and has contracted Franco-Italian manufacturer Thales Alenia Space to build 81 spacecraft for the purpose.
Sixty-six satellites will be put in six planes some 780km above the Earth (the remainder will be held on the ground as spares) over the course of 2015-2017. On every one of the new spacecraft, Iridium is making available a 30-by-40-by-70cm volume that can be filled with third-party "hosted payloads" for Earth or space observation, up to a mass of 50kg. Iridium likes to describe its Next project as the biggest private space venture in the world today. Certainly, if a lot of these hosted payload opportunities are taken up then Next would also become the largest privately operated Earth observation program as well. (8/26)
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is now supporting basic technology research into Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP). "To address energy problems on the ground, research and development is being conducted on the Space Solar Power System that will transmit power using microwaves or lasers. The transmitted power is converted to terrestrial electricity and hydrogen for use on the ground." Click here for more on JAXA's efforts, and here for a JAXA video.
Editor's Note: SBSP is a concept hailed as feasible and attractive after U.S. military-sponsored studies only a few years ago, but it has failed to catch-on as a priority for NASA, DOD or the U.S. Department of Energy, despite a growing national emphasis on energy independence. Multiple U.S. companies are attempting to establish SBSP programs, but they require major capital investments and would benefit from a federal push to develop and demonstrate key technologies. Perhaps a U.S./Japan collaboration would make sense. (8/26)
Kepler Discovers Multi-Planet Star System (Source: NASA)
NASA's Kepler spacecraft has discovered the first confirmed planetary system with more than one planet crossing in front of, or transiting, the same star. The transit signatures of two distinct planets were seen in the data for the sun-like star designated Kepler-9. The planets were named Kepler-9b and 9c. The discovery incorporates seven months of observations of more than 156,000 stars as part of an ongoing search for Earth-sized planets outside our solar system. Kepler's ultra-precise camera measures tiny decreases in the stars' brightness that occur when a planet transits them. The size of the planet can be derived from these temporary dips. (8/26)
Blue Origin Plans Novel Escape System on Orbital Vehicle (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Two enabling technologies for Blue Origin's orbital Space Vehicle are a Pusher Escape System (PES) and a composite pressure vessel cabin. Blue Origin proposes to use NASA co-funding to develop these technologies. The PES is reusable with a full-envelope crew escape capability. Rather than an expendable tower over the capsule, PES uses an engine mounted at the rear of the capsule in a ‘pusher’ configuration. It will remain with the vehicle, avoiding the flight-safety risk of the jettison event.
The second risk mitigation activity for the orbital Space Vehicle is to conduct assembly and testing of a composite pressure vessel cabin, which will use composite panels bonded together. No such structure has ever flown in a similar space application. Blue Origin will evaluate the strength and leak-rate of the structure, as well as manufacturing challenge in the joint assembly. Following completion of the NASA-supported CCDev activity, Blue Origin plans a suborbital flight test at private expense. (8/26)
Exploding the Myth of Popular Support for Apollo (Sources: Roger Launius' Blog, HobbySpace)
Because of the on-going dispute over the future of human space exploration, I have been reminded of the longstanding perception that in the 1960s NASA’s Apollo program enjoyed great public support. That is a misconception. The belief that Apollo enjoyed enthusiastic support during the 1960s and that somehow NASA has lost its compass thereafter still enjoys broad appeal. This is an important conception, for without the active agreement of political leaders and at least public acquiescence no exploration effort may be sustained for any length of time.
The level of popular support that most people believe the public held for the Kennedy decision to undertake the Moon landings are, therefore, perceived as something that must be gained for the present space exploration agenda to succeed. Repeatedly a chorus of remorse for the lukewarm popular support enjoyed by specific space exploration activities is followed with a heavy sigh and the conclusion, “if only our current efforts had the same level of commitment enjoyed by Apollo, all would be well.”
The public’s support for space funding has remained remarkably stable at approximately 80 percent in favor of the status quo since 1965, with only one significant dip in support in the early 1970s. However, responses to funding questions on public opinion polls are extremely sensitive to question wording and must be used cautiously. For example, in the summer of 1965 one third of the nation favored cutting the space budget, while only 16 percent wanted to increase it. (8/25)
KSC to Host Second Lunabotics Mining Competition, May 23-28 (Source: NASA)
The Lunabotics Mining Competition is a university-level competition designed to engage and retain students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). NASA will directly benefit from the competition by encouraging the development of innovative lunar excavation concepts from universities which may result in clever ideas and solutions which could be applied to an actual lunar excavation device or payload. The challenge is for students to design and build a remote controlled or autonomous excavator, called a lunabot, that can collect and deposit a minimum of 10 kilograms of lunar simulant within 15 minutes. The complexities of the challenge include the abrasive characteristics of the lunar simulant, the weight and size limitations of the lunabot, and the ability to control the lunabot from a remote control center. (8/26)
GE Aviation Will Build an Engine-Manufacturing Plant in Alabama (Source: AIA)
General Electric Aviation plans to build a facility in Alabama to manufacture coatings for engine components of military jets. It is considering where in the state to build the 200,000-square-foot factory, which is expected to generate as many as 400 jobs. Production is scheduled to begin in 2013. (8/26)
Kansas Airports Contribute $10B to State Economy (Source: AIA)
Kansas airports contribute $10.4 billion each year to the state's economy, according to a report. "Whether moving goods, providing emergency assistance or connecting our communities, airports play a critical role in the Kansas economy," said Lt. Gov. Troy Findley. Eight commercial airports and 132 general aviation airports operate in Kansas. (8/26)
NASA Tech Chief: Budget Would be a Boon for Ohio Research Center (Source: AIA)
Robert Braun, the new chief technologist for NASA, visited the NASA Glenn Research Center in Brook Park, Ohio, this week to discuss how the billions of dollars that would be part of President Barack Obama's budget proposal would be used to promote cutting-edge technologies in space travel. The funds would come under Obama's controversial plan to shift NASA's direction from a back-to-the-moon focus to more research and development, and Braun said that if Congress approves the budget, NASA Glenn will likely have "more work than they know what to do with." (8/26)
Residents Near Spaceport America Still Having Water Problems (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
It's not yet known how severely water levels in Cutter have been impacted by pumping that's tied to the construction of Spaceport America, an official said Wednesday. "It's showing all the right signs of recharge," said Spaceport America Director Rick Homans. "Clearly, this has been a big hit to the water source, but they're just not sure how quickly or how much will come back. That's what we're watching." Officials from the spaceport, the state engineer's office and FNF Construction of Albuquerque met Wednesday with a group of residents in Engle, another small town between Truth or Consequences and the spaceport, to give an update about the situation. (8/26)
Raytheon to Lay Off 82 Workers at NASA Langley (Source: Virginian-Pilot)
Raytheon Co. confirmed Wednesday that it plans to lay off 82 employees at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton. The workers will be laid off Oct. 27, according to a notice Raytheon filed with the state under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. "This is the direct result of a recompeted contract," said Jon Kasle, a spokesman for the company based in Waltham, Mass. (8/26)
Talking and Looking: Iridium's 'Next' Big Idea (Source: BBC)
Their job is to provide communications anytime, anywhere. And it's been a busy summer for the companies that provide satellite phone and data services. Earlier this month, we saw UK-based Inmarsat announce a $1.2bn project to launch three huge broadband satellites. The US Globalstar concern was also making news, taking delivery of the first of its next-generation spacecraft. Now Virginia-based Iridium, like Globastar, is having to upgrade its current network and has contracted Franco-Italian manufacturer Thales Alenia Space to build 81 spacecraft for the purpose.
Sixty-six satellites will be put in six planes some 780km above the Earth (the remainder will be held on the ground as spares) over the course of 2015-2017. On every one of the new spacecraft, Iridium is making available a 30-by-40-by-70cm volume that can be filled with third-party "hosted payloads" for Earth or space observation, up to a mass of 50kg. Iridium likes to describe its Next project as the biggest private space venture in the world today. Certainly, if a lot of these hosted payload opportunities are taken up then Next would also become the largest privately operated Earth observation program as well. (8/26)
August 25, 2010
Commercial Crew Life-Support Unit Passes (Source: Aviation Week)
A modular air revitalization system for future human spacecraft bound for the International Space Station and other low-Earth-orbit (LEO) destinations has completed preliminary design review, clearing the way for work to begin on a ground-test unit. Working with federal economic stimulus funds under NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) project, Paragon Space Development Corp. of Tucson, Ariz., passed the milestone with its Commercial Crew Transport Air Revitalization System.
By the end of the year, the small company — which added its own funds to $1.4 million in federal money provided under a Space Act Agreement with NASA — expects to finish building an engineering development unit and complete initial integrated ground tests to pass its final two CCDev milestones. (8/25)
Prime Minister Touts Canadian Satellites (Source: Toronto Sun)
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the government is ready to proceed with the design and construction phase of Canada’s next generation of the cutting-edge Radarsat satellite system, a technology that he said will help Canada guard its northern borders. “With this Canadian technology, you can spot a spill as small as a five-gallon pail of engine oil,” Harper said. “Radarsat is already helping us police our environment.” (8/25)
Paul McCartney Joins PETA in Asking NASA to Halt Monkey Experiments (Source: Houston Chronicle)
There's a new twist in the campaign by several animal rights groups to pressure NASA, as singer Paul McCartney has joined the fray. NASA wants to expose 30 squirrel monkeys to radiation to better understand the effect of cosmic rays on human health. It's an essential test, NASA says, to safely send astronauts beyond Earth orbit for long-duration trips. Locally the story took a more poignant turn when a rising engineer, April Evans, resigned from her dream job because she was morally opposed to the tests. (8/25)
How to Survive the Long Haul in Space (Source: New Scientist)
From blackout-inducing g forces to withered muscles and bones, there aren't many tougher physical challenges than going into space. This has been highlighted by the release of medical records from astronauts who worked on board the Russian space station Mir, which detail the gruelling effects space travel has on human health before, during and after a mission.
Along with research on muscle wastage in astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS), the records demonstrate the need for better countermeasures against the hazards of living in space before any interplanetary missions are attempted. Click here to read the article. (8/25)
Florida Ranks #6 in Graduate Student Enrollment in Science & Engineering (Source: SSTI)
U.S. graduate enrollment in science and engineering increased by 3.3 percent in 2007 over comparable data from the previous year, according to the National Science Foundation. This marks the largest increase since 2002 and follows several years of stagnant enrollment. Female enrollment grew by 3.4 percent, slightly more than the 3.2 percent growth for men. Florida was ranked #6 nationwide, with 21,766 students (4.22% of the national total). (8/25)
Airlines May One Day Have NASA to Thank for Genetically Altered Biofuel (Source: AIA)
Scientists at the University of Florida hope that jatropha genes altered in space might yield a more commercially viable source of jet fuel. Researchers sent hundreds of jatropha samples to the International Space Station, where microgravity will alter their genes -- though just how the plants will change remains unknown. A commercial developer in South Florida wants to develop a genetically altered strain that will grow to a uniform size and be more resistant to drought, making harvesting easier. (8/25)
Former Air Force Officer Named to Head Ohio Aerospace Hub (Source: AIA)
Retired Air Force intelligence officer Kerry Taylor has been hired to serve as the first director of the aerospace hub of innovation in Dayton, Ohio. The state-established hub's partners include the University of Dayton, the city of Dayton, Montgomery County and other local entities. A committee for the hub chose Taylor from among 50 applicants. (8/25)
Cameron Teams With NASA to Promote Earth Science (Source: NASA)
James Cameron, director of "Avatar," the most successful film ever released, is featured in a series of new NASA public service announcements that describe the many contributions of the agency's Earth science program to environmental awareness and exploration of our home planet. (8/24)
State Legislator Becomes Kosmas Challenger (Source: Space Politics)
In a hotly-contested Republican primary for the 24th Congressional District in Florida, state representative Sandy Adams declared victory and will face Suzanne Kosmas in her bid for reelection to the district that includes KSC. In a recent statement, Adams expressed general support for NASA, calling the space program “both an economic and homeland security issue” but offering few specifics other than an apparent rejection of the administration’s human space exploration plans (“It is not reasonable to believe we will maintain our leadership, brain trust, equipment and expertise until 2025, when this administration decides to return to manned space flight.” Evidently sending crews to and from the ISS doesn’t count as “manned space flight”.)
In a statement on her web site, though, she said she would work to keep the shuttle program “solvent” until a replacement is ready and “be a strong, vocal advocate for the increased Research & Development funding” needed for the “next generation of ‘miracle’ products” spun off from NASA technology development. (8/25)
All Decisions Made to Start Work on Vostochny Spaceport (Source: Itar-Tass)
All necessary decisions are in place for launching the construction of the spaceport Vostochny in the Amur region in 2011, the head of the federal space agency (Roscosmos), Anatoly Perminov, said at a meeting of the Scientific and Technical Council devoted to the sketch of a future high-capacity next-generation space rocket complex of middle-class for the spaceport Vostochny.
The Roscosmos chief recalled that "the Russian federal space program for 2006-2015 provides for the implementation of priority guidelines for space activities and the creation in the Amur Region of a spaceport for research, social, economic, and commercial dual-purpose tasks, preparations for and launches of space vehicles, cargo spacecraft and modules of orbital stations, manned space missions and future space programs for the study and exploration of celestial bodies, as well as the implementation of international cooperation in this sphere.” (8/25)
Become Risk-Sharing Partners with Us, India Tells Industry (Source: The Hindu)
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) wants the industry, which already accounts for 60 percent of its budget, to become a risk-sharing partner as the country’s space program gets bigger and into the fast-track. ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan urged the industry to become a risk-sharing partner in the coming years, which he said, would add strength to both parties. The idea is to leverage each other’s strengths, with the industry even providing sub-assemblies and very large systems for rockets, other space programs and ground segment. (8/25)
India To Launch GSAT-5P In October (Source: Aviation Week)
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is gearing up to launch the 2,000-kg. GSAT-5P communication satellite in October using a Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). The satellite is expected to expand existing telecommunication and television bandwidth. A Russian cryogenic engine will be powering the GSLV-F06; ISRO plans to launch a GSLV with an Indian-made cryogenic engine within a year. Meanwhile, former ISRO chief Madhavan Nair said in Bengaluru Aug. 22 that through combined efforts, India might launch a manned mission to the Moon by 2021. (8/25)
Bud Cramer Won't Lobby for SpaceX (Source: Birmingham News)
Former U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, a prominent advocate for Huntsville's effort to save local NASA jobs, is no longer a lobbyist for a commercial space firm that could benefit as NASA prepares to move certain human space flight missions to the private sector. Cramer, the congressman who represented the Huntsville area for 18 years, joined a lobbying firm after he left office and registration forms showed one of his first clients was Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX. (8/25)
What Lift-off: Should Congress Design the Next Big Booster? (Source: SpaceRef.com)
Consider how many space initiatives the United States didn't pursue in the past half century. A fully reusable launch vehicle. A 20-person expendable space station. New heavy lift boosters. A permanent lunar colony. The Orbital Space Plane. NERVA and Prometheus. An outpost on Mars. In fact, there have been more false starts and failed approaches than those that worked. By setting budget limits, the hand of the Congress can be seen in all of these programs, but the "failure to launch" can be squarely placed on the Defense Department, the Air Force, and of course NASA.
Consider this history as the House and Senate move, albeit slowly, to finalize a NASA FY 2011 spending bill that could wind up as guidance in a Continuing Resolution to allow Uncle Sam to keep the doors open past October 1st. Thus far, common to both bills are a virtual rejection of the space plan submitted by President Barack Obama last February and a resurrection of key elements of the Constellation program, only without the name. (8/25)
NASA Official: Commercial Space companies Will cut Costs (Source: Wichita Eagle)
The U.S.'s new national space policy views the use of commercial space companies as a vital component, a NASA Ames Research Center official said Tuesday. "Why are we pursuing commercial space?" said Alan Weston, the NASA official. "In a single word, it's cost." The government isn't as motivated as the commercial sector to be cost-E he said. (8/25)
Dark Matter Experiment is Space Shuttle's 'Last Hurrah' (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
After a late magnet switch forced NASA to order a six-month deferment of the final planned space shuttle flight, the Kennedy Space Center is preparing to receive a $1.5 billion physics experiment Thursday to seek out the cosmic signature of enigmatic, ubiquitous dark matter. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer will soak up cosmic rays to detect nearly indistinguishable aberrations originating in the deep universe, potentially uncovering the origin of dark matter. (8/25)
"Keep A Shuttle In Florida" On Facebook, Internet Petition Site (Source: Florida Today)
A local bid to land one of two shuttle orbiters up for grabs after fleet retirement next year is gaining a few extra campaigners. A Facebook site called "Keep A Shuttle In Florida" popped up in late July and already has more than 6,300 fans. Separately, a group called the National Air, Sea and Space Foundation has set up a "Keep A Shuttle In Florida Petition. (8/25)
Danish Amateur Rocket Designed to Send Humans to Space (Source: Daily Mail)
It might not look like much. In fact, it looks practically suicidal. But two Danish inventors hope to launch the world’s first amateur-built rocket for human space travel. It is due to launch from a submarine in the Baltic Sea on August 30th and, if successful, they will repeat it with a human passenger on board as soon as possible. Denmark would become only the fourth nation to send a human into space. Click here to view the article. (8/25)
Group Calls Out Obama on Lack of Support for Space-Based Solar Power (Source: Space Energy)
"Your words are visionary but they are not being followed with action by the agencies in your administration. Three agencies in your administration are unwilling to even acknowledge a promising alternative energy source, Space Based Solar Power... Space Based Solar Power has only gotten a total of $80 million of funding from the US government since the 1970's, none of it in the last decade. The Europeans and Japanese are working on Space Based Solar Power. The Japanese are committing $21 billion to the technology. The Russians, Chinese, and Arabs are also interested in Space Based Solar Power...."
"Mr. President, please direct your agencies to hold the interagency conference on Space Based Solar Power, proclaim that one agency is responsible for developing Space Based Solar Power, and direct funds for Space Based Solar Power research and development, such as, an end to end systems study, lab work, flight tests and tests from the International Space Station, followed by a Space Based Solar Power pilot plan able to generate power in the megawatt range. Now is the time for the United States to seize the day and develop Space Based Solar Power and secure our future freedom and prosperity." Click here for more. (8/25)
Space Initiatives Featured at Next-Gen Expo in West Palm Beach, Oct. 15-17 (Source: SPACErePORT)
The NEXT-GEN-EXPO, planned on Oct. 15-17 in West Palm Beach, will unite global visionary leaders committed to developing the Next Generation products, companies, strategies And cities for a better world. Featured presenters include Neil deGrasse Tyson, Robert Zubrin, John Mankins (Space-Based Solar Power), Terence Martin (Space Island Project), Martha Catalina (Astronaut Teachers Alliance), and others. Click here for information. (8/25)
Space Artifacts Auction to Help Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (Source: Florida Today)
A flag flown to the moon, an autographed transcript of the Mercury Seven's first news conference and a piece of a space shuttle tire are among artifacts up for auction to raise money for college scholarships. Registration for the Titusville-based Astronaut Scholarship Foundation's semi-annual auction of artifacts and astronaut experiences opened Tuesday. Bids begin online Sept. 16 and culminate Sept. 25 at the Autographica show in England. (8/25)
Melbourne Board Backs Aerospace Jobs Potential (Source: Florida Today)
An advisory committee threw its support behind an unidentified aerospace company that could bring up to 200 jobs to Melbourne International Airport and said the City Council should do the same. The board that oversees the Melbourne Economic Enhancement District unanimously recommended that city leaders approve a resolution supporting Project Trident's pursuit of state job creation tax credits. The resolution would be on Melbourne City Council's meeting agenda for Sept. 7.
No one at the Tuesday morning meeting said who Project Trident is, but the airport's land development director Larry Wuensch, who also is an advisory committee member, said it is a publicly traded firm. The firm is looking to relocate one of its divisions, not the entire company, he said. (8/25)
Trapped Miners In Chile to Get NASA Help (Source: Space.com)
With 33 miners trapped deep underground, Chile is seeking advice from NASA on how to keep the miners mentally and physically fit as they wait for a complicated rescue mission that could take months to complete. "We received a request from the Chilean government about advice related to our life science research," John Yembrick, a NASA spokesman, told SPACE.com.
NASA, which routinely trains astronauts to cope with the isolation of months-long International Space Station missions, is providing survival tips to the miners, who could be trapped 2,300 feet (700 meters) below the Earth's surface for up to four months, according to press reports. (8/25)
A modular air revitalization system for future human spacecraft bound for the International Space Station and other low-Earth-orbit (LEO) destinations has completed preliminary design review, clearing the way for work to begin on a ground-test unit. Working with federal economic stimulus funds under NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) project, Paragon Space Development Corp. of Tucson, Ariz., passed the milestone with its Commercial Crew Transport Air Revitalization System.
By the end of the year, the small company — which added its own funds to $1.4 million in federal money provided under a Space Act Agreement with NASA — expects to finish building an engineering development unit and complete initial integrated ground tests to pass its final two CCDev milestones. (8/25)
Prime Minister Touts Canadian Satellites (Source: Toronto Sun)
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the government is ready to proceed with the design and construction phase of Canada’s next generation of the cutting-edge Radarsat satellite system, a technology that he said will help Canada guard its northern borders. “With this Canadian technology, you can spot a spill as small as a five-gallon pail of engine oil,” Harper said. “Radarsat is already helping us police our environment.” (8/25)
Paul McCartney Joins PETA in Asking NASA to Halt Monkey Experiments (Source: Houston Chronicle)
There's a new twist in the campaign by several animal rights groups to pressure NASA, as singer Paul McCartney has joined the fray. NASA wants to expose 30 squirrel monkeys to radiation to better understand the effect of cosmic rays on human health. It's an essential test, NASA says, to safely send astronauts beyond Earth orbit for long-duration trips. Locally the story took a more poignant turn when a rising engineer, April Evans, resigned from her dream job because she was morally opposed to the tests. (8/25)
How to Survive the Long Haul in Space (Source: New Scientist)
From blackout-inducing g forces to withered muscles and bones, there aren't many tougher physical challenges than going into space. This has been highlighted by the release of medical records from astronauts who worked on board the Russian space station Mir, which detail the gruelling effects space travel has on human health before, during and after a mission.
Along with research on muscle wastage in astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS), the records demonstrate the need for better countermeasures against the hazards of living in space before any interplanetary missions are attempted. Click here to read the article. (8/25)
Florida Ranks #6 in Graduate Student Enrollment in Science & Engineering (Source: SSTI)
U.S. graduate enrollment in science and engineering increased by 3.3 percent in 2007 over comparable data from the previous year, according to the National Science Foundation. This marks the largest increase since 2002 and follows several years of stagnant enrollment. Female enrollment grew by 3.4 percent, slightly more than the 3.2 percent growth for men. Florida was ranked #6 nationwide, with 21,766 students (4.22% of the national total). (8/25)
Airlines May One Day Have NASA to Thank for Genetically Altered Biofuel (Source: AIA)
Scientists at the University of Florida hope that jatropha genes altered in space might yield a more commercially viable source of jet fuel. Researchers sent hundreds of jatropha samples to the International Space Station, where microgravity will alter their genes -- though just how the plants will change remains unknown. A commercial developer in South Florida wants to develop a genetically altered strain that will grow to a uniform size and be more resistant to drought, making harvesting easier. (8/25)
Former Air Force Officer Named to Head Ohio Aerospace Hub (Source: AIA)
Retired Air Force intelligence officer Kerry Taylor has been hired to serve as the first director of the aerospace hub of innovation in Dayton, Ohio. The state-established hub's partners include the University of Dayton, the city of Dayton, Montgomery County and other local entities. A committee for the hub chose Taylor from among 50 applicants. (8/25)
Cameron Teams With NASA to Promote Earth Science (Source: NASA)
James Cameron, director of "Avatar," the most successful film ever released, is featured in a series of new NASA public service announcements that describe the many contributions of the agency's Earth science program to environmental awareness and exploration of our home planet. (8/24)
State Legislator Becomes Kosmas Challenger (Source: Space Politics)
In a hotly-contested Republican primary for the 24th Congressional District in Florida, state representative Sandy Adams declared victory and will face Suzanne Kosmas in her bid for reelection to the district that includes KSC. In a recent statement, Adams expressed general support for NASA, calling the space program “both an economic and homeland security issue” but offering few specifics other than an apparent rejection of the administration’s human space exploration plans (“It is not reasonable to believe we will maintain our leadership, brain trust, equipment and expertise until 2025, when this administration decides to return to manned space flight.” Evidently sending crews to and from the ISS doesn’t count as “manned space flight”.)
In a statement on her web site, though, she said she would work to keep the shuttle program “solvent” until a replacement is ready and “be a strong, vocal advocate for the increased Research & Development funding” needed for the “next generation of ‘miracle’ products” spun off from NASA technology development. (8/25)
All Decisions Made to Start Work on Vostochny Spaceport (Source: Itar-Tass)
All necessary decisions are in place for launching the construction of the spaceport Vostochny in the Amur region in 2011, the head of the federal space agency (Roscosmos), Anatoly Perminov, said at a meeting of the Scientific and Technical Council devoted to the sketch of a future high-capacity next-generation space rocket complex of middle-class for the spaceport Vostochny.
The Roscosmos chief recalled that "the Russian federal space program for 2006-2015 provides for the implementation of priority guidelines for space activities and the creation in the Amur Region of a spaceport for research, social, economic, and commercial dual-purpose tasks, preparations for and launches of space vehicles, cargo spacecraft and modules of orbital stations, manned space missions and future space programs for the study and exploration of celestial bodies, as well as the implementation of international cooperation in this sphere.” (8/25)
Become Risk-Sharing Partners with Us, India Tells Industry (Source: The Hindu)
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) wants the industry, which already accounts for 60 percent of its budget, to become a risk-sharing partner as the country’s space program gets bigger and into the fast-track. ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan urged the industry to become a risk-sharing partner in the coming years, which he said, would add strength to both parties. The idea is to leverage each other’s strengths, with the industry even providing sub-assemblies and very large systems for rockets, other space programs and ground segment. (8/25)
India To Launch GSAT-5P In October (Source: Aviation Week)
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is gearing up to launch the 2,000-kg. GSAT-5P communication satellite in October using a Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). The satellite is expected to expand existing telecommunication and television bandwidth. A Russian cryogenic engine will be powering the GSLV-F06; ISRO plans to launch a GSLV with an Indian-made cryogenic engine within a year. Meanwhile, former ISRO chief Madhavan Nair said in Bengaluru Aug. 22 that through combined efforts, India might launch a manned mission to the Moon by 2021. (8/25)
Bud Cramer Won't Lobby for SpaceX (Source: Birmingham News)
Former U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, a prominent advocate for Huntsville's effort to save local NASA jobs, is no longer a lobbyist for a commercial space firm that could benefit as NASA prepares to move certain human space flight missions to the private sector. Cramer, the congressman who represented the Huntsville area for 18 years, joined a lobbying firm after he left office and registration forms showed one of his first clients was Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX. (8/25)
What Lift-off: Should Congress Design the Next Big Booster? (Source: SpaceRef.com)
Consider how many space initiatives the United States didn't pursue in the past half century. A fully reusable launch vehicle. A 20-person expendable space station. New heavy lift boosters. A permanent lunar colony. The Orbital Space Plane. NERVA and Prometheus. An outpost on Mars. In fact, there have been more false starts and failed approaches than those that worked. By setting budget limits, the hand of the Congress can be seen in all of these programs, but the "failure to launch" can be squarely placed on the Defense Department, the Air Force, and of course NASA.
Consider this history as the House and Senate move, albeit slowly, to finalize a NASA FY 2011 spending bill that could wind up as guidance in a Continuing Resolution to allow Uncle Sam to keep the doors open past October 1st. Thus far, common to both bills are a virtual rejection of the space plan submitted by President Barack Obama last February and a resurrection of key elements of the Constellation program, only without the name. (8/25)
NASA Official: Commercial Space companies Will cut Costs (Source: Wichita Eagle)
The U.S.'s new national space policy views the use of commercial space companies as a vital component, a NASA Ames Research Center official said Tuesday. "Why are we pursuing commercial space?" said Alan Weston, the NASA official. "In a single word, it's cost." The government isn't as motivated as the commercial sector to be cost-E he said. (8/25)
Dark Matter Experiment is Space Shuttle's 'Last Hurrah' (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
After a late magnet switch forced NASA to order a six-month deferment of the final planned space shuttle flight, the Kennedy Space Center is preparing to receive a $1.5 billion physics experiment Thursday to seek out the cosmic signature of enigmatic, ubiquitous dark matter. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer will soak up cosmic rays to detect nearly indistinguishable aberrations originating in the deep universe, potentially uncovering the origin of dark matter. (8/25)
"Keep A Shuttle In Florida" On Facebook, Internet Petition Site (Source: Florida Today)
A local bid to land one of two shuttle orbiters up for grabs after fleet retirement next year is gaining a few extra campaigners. A Facebook site called "Keep A Shuttle In Florida" popped up in late July and already has more than 6,300 fans. Separately, a group called the National Air, Sea and Space Foundation has set up a "Keep A Shuttle In Florida Petition. (8/25)
Danish Amateur Rocket Designed to Send Humans to Space (Source: Daily Mail)
It might not look like much. In fact, it looks practically suicidal. But two Danish inventors hope to launch the world’s first amateur-built rocket for human space travel. It is due to launch from a submarine in the Baltic Sea on August 30th and, if successful, they will repeat it with a human passenger on board as soon as possible. Denmark would become only the fourth nation to send a human into space. Click here to view the article. (8/25)
Group Calls Out Obama on Lack of Support for Space-Based Solar Power (Source: Space Energy)
"Your words are visionary but they are not being followed with action by the agencies in your administration. Three agencies in your administration are unwilling to even acknowledge a promising alternative energy source, Space Based Solar Power... Space Based Solar Power has only gotten a total of $80 million of funding from the US government since the 1970's, none of it in the last decade. The Europeans and Japanese are working on Space Based Solar Power. The Japanese are committing $21 billion to the technology. The Russians, Chinese, and Arabs are also interested in Space Based Solar Power...."
"Mr. President, please direct your agencies to hold the interagency conference on Space Based Solar Power, proclaim that one agency is responsible for developing Space Based Solar Power, and direct funds for Space Based Solar Power research and development, such as, an end to end systems study, lab work, flight tests and tests from the International Space Station, followed by a Space Based Solar Power pilot plan able to generate power in the megawatt range. Now is the time for the United States to seize the day and develop Space Based Solar Power and secure our future freedom and prosperity." Click here for more. (8/25)
Space Initiatives Featured at Next-Gen Expo in West Palm Beach, Oct. 15-17 (Source: SPACErePORT)
The NEXT-GEN-EXPO, planned on Oct. 15-17 in West Palm Beach, will unite global visionary leaders committed to developing the Next Generation products, companies, strategies And cities for a better world. Featured presenters include Neil deGrasse Tyson, Robert Zubrin, John Mankins (Space-Based Solar Power), Terence Martin (Space Island Project), Martha Catalina (Astronaut Teachers Alliance), and others. Click here for information. (8/25)
Space Artifacts Auction to Help Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (Source: Florida Today)
A flag flown to the moon, an autographed transcript of the Mercury Seven's first news conference and a piece of a space shuttle tire are among artifacts up for auction to raise money for college scholarships. Registration for the Titusville-based Astronaut Scholarship Foundation's semi-annual auction of artifacts and astronaut experiences opened Tuesday. Bids begin online Sept. 16 and culminate Sept. 25 at the Autographica show in England. (8/25)
Melbourne Board Backs Aerospace Jobs Potential (Source: Florida Today)
An advisory committee threw its support behind an unidentified aerospace company that could bring up to 200 jobs to Melbourne International Airport and said the City Council should do the same. The board that oversees the Melbourne Economic Enhancement District unanimously recommended that city leaders approve a resolution supporting Project Trident's pursuit of state job creation tax credits. The resolution would be on Melbourne City Council's meeting agenda for Sept. 7.
No one at the Tuesday morning meeting said who Project Trident is, but the airport's land development director Larry Wuensch, who also is an advisory committee member, said it is a publicly traded firm. The firm is looking to relocate one of its divisions, not the entire company, he said. (8/25)
Trapped Miners In Chile to Get NASA Help (Source: Space.com)
With 33 miners trapped deep underground, Chile is seeking advice from NASA on how to keep the miners mentally and physically fit as they wait for a complicated rescue mission that could take months to complete. "We received a request from the Chilean government about advice related to our life science research," John Yembrick, a NASA spokesman, told SPACE.com.
NASA, which routinely trains astronauts to cope with the isolation of months-long International Space Station missions, is providing survival tips to the miners, who could be trapped 2,300 feet (700 meters) below the Earth's surface for up to four months, according to press reports. (8/25)
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