April 25, 2019

Acting Defense Secretary Cleared of Wrongdoing in Probe of His Ties to Boeing (Source: Washington Post)
The Pentagon’s watchdog office has cleared acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan of wrongdoing in an investigation examining whether he used his influence in the Defense Department to favor Boeing, his former employer. The results, which were released Thursday, seemingly clear the way for President Trump to nominate Shanahan to take over as Pentagon chief. Shanahan, who had served as deputy defense secretary, was thrust into the role on an acting basis Jan. 1, after Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned in protest of Trump’s policies. (4/25)

Life May Have Evolved Before Earth Finished Forming (Source: Space.com)
Life may have arisen in our solar system before Earth even finished forming. Planetesimals, the rocky building blocks of planets, likely had all the ingredients necessary for life as we know it way back at the dawn of the solar system, said Lindy Elkins-Tanton, a planetary scientist. And clement conditions may have persisted inside some planetesimals for tens of millions of years — perhaps long enough for life to emerge, said Elkins-Tanton, the director of ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration and the principal investigator of NASA's upcoming mission to the odd metallic asteroid Psyche. (4/25)

There's Basically 'No Chance' for Earth-Like Planets to Form an Atmosphere Around Hot Young Stars (Source: Live Science)
Recent exoplanet surveys suggest that there might be thousands of Earth-like worlds in other solar systems, just waiting to be discovered. It's too bad that their atmospheres — and, with them, any hope of sustaining life — were probably obliterated by their local stars. That's the ruthless takeaway of a new study using a computer model to simulate atmosphere formation on Earth-like planets orbiting around hot, young stars.

Because young suns tend to emit extremely high amounts of X-rays and ultraviolet (UV) radiation, most potentially habitable exoplanets would likely see their atmospheres obliterated within 1 million years of the planet's birth. "An Earth-like atmosphere cannot form when the planet is orbiting within the habitable zone of a very active star," the researchers wrote in the study. "Instead, such an atmosphere can only form after the activity of the star has decreased to a much lower level." (4/25)

NASA Safety Panel Offers More Detail on Dragon Anomaly, Urges Patience (Source: Ars Technica)
Since issuing a brief statement Saturday after a test of its Crew Dragon vehicle resulted in an "anomaly," SpaceX has not offered additional comment about its ongoing investigation. NASA has not said much, either, outside of stating that it's assisting the investigation and that the agency has "full confidence in SpaceX" to understand and address the problem which appears to have destroyed the crew capsule. Patricia Sanders is chairwoman of the panel charged with ensuring that NASA has a healthy safety culture and mitigates risks where possible during spaceflight.

Sanders noted that SpaceX followed all safety protocols for the test and that no one was injured. But SpaceX and NASA should be afforded more time to investigate the accident, Magnus said. "We know that there’s a lot of interest regarding the recent SpaceX mishap," she said. "We are patient." At present, the investigation remains in the phase of securing the accident site, collecting data, and developing a timeline for the anomaly to begin the process of pinning down a root cause. (4/25)

US Navy Introducing Guidelines for Pilots to Report UFO Sightings (Source: CNN)
Navy pilots who think they may have seen unidentified flying objects will now have a detailed means of reporting unexplainable events so the military can keep track of what may, or may not, be happening. "The Navy is updating and formalizing the process by which reports of any such suspected incursions can be made to the cognizant authorities," they said in a statement. "A new message to the fleet that will detail the steps for reporting is in draft," the statement added.

The Navy does not think that aliens have been flying in US airspace, one Navy official told CNN. But there have been "a number of reports of unauthorized and/or unidentified aircraft entering various military-controlled ranges and designated air space in recent years," according to the statement. "These kinds on incursions can be both a security risk and pose a safety hazard for both Navy and Air Force aviation. For safety and security concerns, the Navy and the USAF takes these reports very seriously and investigates each and every report." (4/24)

RIP Pikachu: Ashes of Beloved Cat Will Launch to Space in Cosmic Burial (Source: Space.com)
A cat lover and space fan is about to make history by launching the remains of a cat named Pikachu into orbit around the Earth. "Pikachu will have a final send-off like no cat has ever had before," Steve Munt, Pikachu's owner, wrote on a GoFundMe page dedicated to raising funds for Pikachu's space memorial. Thanks to a company called Celestis — which also offers memorial spaceflights for humans — the orange tabby's cremated remains will hitch a ride to space as a small secondary payload on a satellite launch sometime in the next 18 months, Munt told Space.com. (4/25)

Chao Announces USDOT Space Plans with KSC Visit (Source: Florida Today)
U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, a Trump administration cabinet member who also is the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, visited Kennedy Space Center on April 24 to announce some space-focused changes at USDOT. She introduced a new leader for the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation, Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, a former commander of the Air Force 45th Space Wing. The DOT has also created the nation's first Office of Spaceports. "It will seek to remove barriers to competitiveness and help ensure that the U.S. leads the world in space infrastructure," Chao said.

She announced a new research domain within the DOT's Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation to advance research in areas of safety and innovation. The Center's new activities will involve Florida universities including Florida Tech, the University of Central Florida, and Embry-Riddle. The restructured FAA space office will also work with the Department of Defense on the DARPA Launch Challenge that will demonstrate launch capabilities of smaller rockets. (4/24)

UCF Engineering Students Take On Rocketry with Projects (Source: UCF)
It took Tyler Knowles and his team of fellow UCF students a few tries to figure out how to design something that would help hobbyists land their rockets more efficiently. He tried wings. He tried reverse propulsion. “We didn’t want to be shooting a flame toward the ground,” said Knowles, a 23-year-old aerospace engineering student from Riverview near Tampa. So the group decided to embed a GPS-guided system within a parachute-like glider that deploys when the rocket hits peak altitude.

The project was one of 130 shown off by students in the school’s engineering programs Friday. Large tech companies such as Lockheed Martin, Siemens and Duke Energy set out specific challenges for teams of students to tackle. Contractors in the defense industry, including Lockheed Martin, Harris Corp. and Northrop Grumman, have bolstered education programs at UCF to try to stave off a shortage of technical workers in the region. It creates a favorable job market for those who can build projects like those UCF students showed off. (4/19)

Arianespace to Launch "SAR" Satellite StriX-a Aboard Vega for Japanese Startup Synspective (Source: Space Daily)
Synspective and Arianespace have signed a contract to launch the satellite StriX-a, Synspective's first SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) demonstrator satellite. On April 18, 2019, Arianespace announced the signing of a launch service contract with Synspective for the launch of the satellite StriX-a (with a liftoff mass of approximately 150 kg.) into a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) in 2020.

This will be the inaugural mission for a Synspective customer spacecraft on an Arianespace vehicle. The launch will take place from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana using a Vega launcher. Synspective is a Japanese startup company that will establish a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation of about 25 satellites and provide geospatial solutions. (4/23)

Greek Researchers Enlist EU Satellite Against Aegean Sea Litter (Source: Space Daily)
Knee-deep in water on a picture-postcard Lesbos island beach, a team of Greek university students gently deposits a wall-sized PVC frame on the surface before divers moor it at sea. Holding in plastic bags and bottles, four of the 5 meter-by-5-meter frames are part of an experiment to determine if seaborne litter can be detected with EU satellites and drones. The project acts as a calibration and validation exercise on the detection capabilities of the satellites. But even if relatively small patches of plastic garbage can be spotted from orbiting satellites, the problem of how to remove it from the sea remains. (4/22)

How NASA Earth Data Aids America, State by State (Source: Space Daily)
For six decades, NASA has used the vantage point of space to better understand our home planet and improve lives. A new interactive website called Space for U.S. highlights some of the many ways that NASA's Earth observations help people strengthen communities across the United States and make informed decisions about public health, disaster response and recovery, and environmental protection.

"Space for U.S." features 56 stories illustrating how NASA science has made an impact in every state in the nation as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and regions along the Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes. You can browse stories by state or by topics such as animals, disasters, energy, health, land and water. Click here. (4/23)

After Accident, NASA Says it Has 'Full Confidence' in SpaceX Ahead of ISS Resupply Mission (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
NASA reinforced its confidence in SpaceX on Wednesday as the company moved ahead with a planned resupply mission to the International Space Station despite an apparent explosion over the weekend during testing of its astronaut capsule. A Crew Dragon vehicle, which SpaceX is developing for NASA to take humans to the ISS, sent up a cloud of smoke over Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Landing Zone 1 Saturday when an issue occurred while testing the spacecraft’s SuperDraco abort thrusters.

The thrusters help move the craft away from the rocket in the case of an emergency and are not found on the cargo version of Dragon, which is scheduled to carry supplies to the ISS on Tuesday. SpaceX has not yet released more information on the extent of the damage or how it may affect the future of the crew program. In a statement Wednesday, NASA spokesperson Stephanie Martin said the agency and SpaceX “are just beginning the mishap investigation process.”

In the meantime, the Elon Musk-led company is moving ahead with its 17th resupply mission to the space station, but with new plans. It will land its booster on a drone ship offshore instead of the landing zone, as is typically the case for these kinds of missions. The launch is scheduled for 4:22 a.m. Tuesday from launch complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Spaceport. (4/24)

Northrop Grumman Seeing Payoff From Orbital ATK Acquisition (Source: Space News)
Northrop Grumman says it's getting the payoff it expected from its acquisition of Orbital ATK. In an earnings call Wednesday, Northrop executives said they're seeing benefits like cost savings and new revenue opportunities from what is now called Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. The company also highlighted the growing role of space in its overall portfolio in the call. Northrop reported net earnings of $863 million on total sales of $8.19 billion in the first quarter, both higher than in the same quarter last year. (4/24)

Boeing Sees Revenue Increase in Space Unit (Source: Boeing)
Boeing also saw an increase in revenue and earnings from the business unit that includes space. Boeing Defense, Space and Security reported a two percent increase in revenues for the first quarter, to $6.61 billion, and a 12 percent increase in earnings, to $847 million. The company cited high volume in satellite work as one reason for the increase, but offered few other details about its space business in the report and subsequent earnings call, which focused primarily on the status of the 737 MAX jetliner. (4/24)

China Uses US-Made Satellites for Internal Security (Source: Wall Street Journal)
AsiaSat is being criticized for using its fleet of communications satellites to support Chinese military activities. The operator, based in Hong Kong, is owned in part by Chinese conglomerate Citic Group and American private equity firm Carlyle Group, and operates a number of satellites built by American manufacturers. Capacity on those satellites, an investigation showed, are being used by Chinese government agencies, including the Ministry of State Security. AsiaSat executives said they don't have control over how the the satellite capacity is used once it is sold, and argued that the company is a "success story in how two superpowers should work together." (4/25)

Should There Be a Space Guard Too? (Source: Space News)
If there's a Space Force, some argue, there should also be a Space National Guard. The administration's proposal for a Space Force makes no mention of reserve or National Guard units that would support it, an issue raised by some senators at a hearing earlier this month. In a white paper circulated on Capitol Hill, the National Guard Bureau calls for the establishment of a Space National Guard as a reserve component to the Space Force. In meetings with defense committees in recent weeks, Pentagon officials were insistent that the Guard would be an important piece of the military's space organization but they have been reluctant to commit to standing up a Space National Guard to limit the growth of bureaucracy. (4/24)

Portland Company Implicated in Multiple Taurus Launch Failures (Source: Space News)
The Justice Department has reached a settlement with a company implicated in two Taurus launch failures. The department said that Hydro Extrusion Portland, Inc., formerly known as Sapa Profiles Inc., and its parent company agreed to plead guilty to one count of mail fraud and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement on another charge for falsifying test data for aluminum extrusions it produced. That scheme made it appear that components passed materials testing when in fact they failed those tests. NASA alleges that frangible joints that used those aluminum extrusions caused failures of two Taurus launches in 2009 and 2011 of NASA satellites when the payload fairings failed to separate. The companies will pay more than $45 million to government agencies, including NASA, as part of the agreement. (4/24)

Momentus Seeks $25M for In-Space Propulsion (Source: TechCrunch)
Momentus is seeking to raise $25 million to develop its in-space transportation technology. The company has agreements with Exolaunch and Deimos Space to use Momentus systems to move their spacecraft to their final orbits after deployment by launch vehicles. The company, which raised more than $8 million in seed funding last year, didn't disclose when it expected to close this round or how the funding would be used. (4/24)

Colorado Spaceport Signs Agreement with Japanese Suborbital Spaceplane Venture (Source: CBS4 Denver)
A Colorado spaceport has an agreement with a potential Japanese user of the facility. Colorado Air and Space Port signed a letter of intent with PD Aerospace to study potential flights of that company's proposed spaceplane from the spaceport, the former Front Range Airport east of Denver. PD Aerospace has plans to develop a suborbital spaceplane capable of carrying several people, but doesn't expect to have the vehicle flying until some time in the 2020s at the earliest. (4/24)

Auroras Can Impact LEO Satellites With Increased Atmospheric Drag (Source: Space.com)
An aurora can look pretty from the ground, but it can be a "speed bump" for satellites. A new study found that auroras can act as upwellings, transporting pockets of air into the far upper atmosphere. Satellites that encounter these events suffer additional drag which can cause their orbits to degrade. (4/24)

Canadian Space Agency WildFireSat Satellite Would Monitor Wildfires (Source: SpaceQ)
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is looking into the feasibility of building a small satellite called WildFireSat with the purpose of monitoring wildfires. Yesterday the CSA issued a Phase A request for proposals that would award up to two contracts for studies to determine the feasibility of developing a forest fire monitoring satellite dubbed WildFireSat (WFS). With wildfires seemingly increasing as an issue, this idea makes sense. However, WFS is just the initial idea of what could someday lead to a constellation of space-based sensors that would provide a service of real-time coverage for Canadian or global wildfire monitoring. (4/25)

“Paradoxical, Intriguing, Frightening” –The Black Hole Bigger Than Our Solar System (Source: Daily Galaxy)
Harvard history of science professor Peter L. Galison, a collaborator on Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), said that scientists proposed theoretical arguments for black holes as early as 1916. It was not until the 1970s, however, that researchers substantiated the theory by observing extremely dense areas of matter. Scientists announced in 2016 that, for the first time, they had detected gravitational waves — which many argued were produced by black holes merging, and therefore were evidence that black holes exist.

The image marked the culmination of years of work undertaken by a team of 200 scientists in 59 institutes across 18 countries. The project, to which other scientists at Harvard’s Black Hole Institute also contributed, drew on data collected by eight telescopes whose locations range from Hawaii to the South Pole. In order to construct this image digitally, the team of astronomers at EHT created the equivalent of a lens the size of planet Earth by integrating data from all the telescopes that were part of the project that’s 4,000 times more powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope.

Astronomers have theorized that the M87 black hole grew to its massive size by merging with several other black holes. M87 is the largest, most massive galaxy in the nearby universe, and is thought to have been formed by the merging of 100 or so smaller galaxies. The M87 black hole’s large size and relative proximity, led astronomers to think that it could be the first black hole that they could actually “see.” (4/24)

Meet OSCaR: Tiny Cubesat Would Clean Up Space Junk (Source: Space.com)
A little spacecraft could soon make a big contribution in the fight against space junk. Researchers are developing a cleanup cubesat called OSCaR (Obsolete Spacecraft Capture and Removal), which would hunt down and de-orbit debris on the cheap using onboard nets and tethers. And OSCaR would do so relatively autonomously, with little guidance from controllers on the ground.

"We tell OSCaR what to do and then we have to trust it," project leader Kurt Anderson, a professor of mechanical, aerospace and nuclear engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, said in a statement. "That’s why this problem actually gets very hard, because we are doing things that a big, expensive satellite would do, but in a cubesat platform," Anderson added. (4/24)

Dark Matter Hunters Observe 'Rarest Event Ever' (Source: Newsweek)
Researchers have measured a process that takes more than one trillion times the age of the universe to complete, using an instrument built to search for dark matter—the most elusive particle known to man. An international team from the XENON Collaboration announced it has observed the radioactive decay of a substance called xenon-124, a form, or isotope, of the element xenon—a colorless, dense, odorless noble gas found in trace amounts in Earth’s atmosphere.

Experts have previously predicted that xenon-124’s half-life—the time it takes, on average, for half a radioactive substance’s material to decay—would be around 160 trillion years. However, no evidence of this process has appeared until now. The scientists show that the true figure is far higher. In fact, they determined that xenon-124’s half-life is a staggering 18 sextillion years, or 18,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years—far surpassing the age of the universe at around 13.8 billion years old.

To make their observation, the researchers used an advanced detector known as XENON1T—a 2,900-pound vat of super-pure liquid xenon shielded from cosmic rays in a cool chamber that's submerged in water around 5,000 feet beneath Italy's Gran Sasso mountain. “This experiment is so sensitive to very rare events that we can make all kinds of other rare physics measurements. One of those is this decay of xenon-124. Although our primary goal was always the discovery of dark matter, we knew there was a good chance we could see this rare decay, so we set out to do so.” (4/24)

Lessons of Apollo Can Help NASA Ace Return to the Moon (Source: Space.com)
As NASA prepares for the ambitious goal of landing a person on the moon within five years, a conference from the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) discussed how the past will inform future lunar plans. Christine Darden received a standing ovation after narrating her journey from Monroe, North Carolina (a small town that had little mathematics instruction for students) to NASA's Langley Research Center for a job in 1967, as Apollo was beginning. She began at NASA as one of a number of black women working as human computers, one of the few jobs open to people of color at the time.

The key to a successful lunar return will be thinking smartly and building a sustainable architecture, he added. One step would be to create an orbiting fuel depot — a possible function for NASA's planned Gateway space station — for missions to the moon and Mars. What 's needed is a network of private entrepreneurs, universities and governments working collectively, each contributing via its own field of expertise. Click here. (4/24)

Barfing Neutron Stars Reveal Their Inner Guts (Source: Universe Today)
We don’t really understand neutron stars. Oh, we know that they are – they’re the leftover remnants of some of the most massive stars in the universe – but revealing their inner workings is a little bit tricky, because the physics keeping them alive is only poorly understood. But every once in a while two neutron stars smash together, and when they do they tend to blow up, spewing their quantum guts all over space. Depending on the internal structure and composition of the neutron stars, the “ejecta” (the polite scientific term for astronomical projectile vomit) will look different to us Earth-bound observers, giving us a gross but potentially powerful way to understand these exotic creatures. Click here. (4/24)

NASA and FEMA are Contingency Planning for a Potential Asteroid Armageddon (Source: Tech Crunch)
When it comes to planning for a potential asteroid strike on planet Earth, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Federal Emergency Management Agency don’t want to miss a thing. Alongside international partners like ESA’s Space Situational Awareness-NEO Segment and the International Asteroid  Warning Network (IAWN), NASA’s  Planetary Defense Coordination Office will participate in a “tabletop exercise” that will simulate a scenario for how to respond to an asteroid on an impact trajectory with the Earth.

NASA and its partners have actually been on the lookout for potentially calamitous near-Earth objects (which are asteroids, comets or unidentified objects that come within 30 million miles of Earth) for more than 20 years. The tabletop exercise is a simulation used in disaster management planning to help inform organizations that would be relevant to mobilization and response of important aspects of a possible disaster and identify ways to respond. (4/24)

Atlas Upper Stage Breaks to Pieces in Orbit (Source: Inside Outer Space)
The upper stage of an Atlas 5 rocket left in space broke apart nearly 10 years after launching. Ground-based observatories in Switzerland and Spain spotted debris from the event, with the Spanish Deimos Sky Survey observatory identifying 40 to 60 fragments bigger than 30 centimeters. Objects in orbit that break up or collide with each other are top causes of space debris. The reason for the Atlas 5 upper stage break up, believed to have occurred between March 23 and March 25, is not yet known. (4/24)

Viasat to Provide Aircraft WiFi to Chinese Carriers (Source: Viasat)
Viasat has formed a partnership with China Satcom to provide Wi-Fi to aircraft in China. The partnership includes a roaming agreement whereby Viasat customers can stay connected in China through China Satcom, and Chinese airlines can roam onto Viasat's service outside of the country. China Satcom has one Ka-band satellite, ChinaSat-16, in orbit, and a second, ChinaSat-18, launching later this year. Viasat said it will provide in-flight connectivity equipment to airlines optimized for China Satcom's network. Though focused on aviation, Viasat said the partnership could expand to other markets in China. (4/24)

Iridium Seeks Renewal of DoD Contract (Source: Space News)
Iridium is close to finalizing a new contract with the Defense Department for use of the company's satellite constellation. Iridium CEO Matt Desch said April 23 that the company expects to finalize a multiyear renewal of its Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services contract with the Defense Department in the next 30 days. That contract provides unlimited voice and data services to military users. A five-year contract signed in 2013 was valued at $400 million, and the company has agreed to two short-term extensions since then while negotiating a long-term deal. Desch said he expects increased revenues from the new deal. (4/24)

Growing the Heartland’s Aerospace and Defense Industries (Source: The Oklahoman)
With international business giants Boeing, Dassault Falcon Jet, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and others, it’s no wonder the U.S. is the world’s largest aerospace and defense exporter. Each year, more than 2.4 million American workers help design, manufacture and service A&D products — from military aircraft to complex space systems — for a combined $865 billion annual economic impact. Importantly, the aerospace and defense sector is contributing to this economic benefit all with a positive trade balance of $8.6 billion. Every day, these numbers are only increasing.

With the right agenda in place, there are even more opportunities for our nation’s aerospace and defense industries to liftoff in 2019, particularly in the Heartland. Around the globe, the South and Midwest are already recognized as hotbeds for aerospace and defense innovation and growth. Take states like Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma as an example. According to the Aerospace Industries Association, in our four-state region alone, these industries are responsible for nearly $6.5 billion in exports and more than 200,000 good-paying jobs. Combined with state sales revenue and taxes, this accounts for nearly $22 billion in added value to the regional economy, and these industries are expanding here.

As federal officials, we are focused on supporting our states as they lay the foundation for success — in our aerospace and defense industries, as well as the region’s economy as a whole. As any state knows, an educated, highly skilled workforce is critical to attracting world-class companies. That’s why our states are expanding science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) funding and opportunities, as well as career and technical education programs for students at state educational institutions. Through the implementation of pro-growth tax codes, we are helping provide small- and large-business owners alike with the financial certainty they need to invest in new workers, infrastructure or equipment. (4/23)

Clyde Space Developing AIS Cubesats (Source: Space News)
Clyde Space will build and operate two cubesats equipped with Automatic Identification System (AIS) receivers for Orbcomm. Under the $5.9 million contract announced this month, Clyde Space will build and launch the cubesats in 2020 and provide the AIS data they collect to Orbcomm under an exclusive license. The deal is a major step in the strategy of Clyde Space's parent company, ÅAC Microtec, to expand its business by both building and operating spacecraft for customers. Orbcomm says the satellites will enhance the AIS service it currently provides with its own satellites. Clyde Space also won a separate contract from Polish space industry startup KP Labs to provide a satellite platform and launch for the Intuition-1 hyperspectral imaging cubesat, scheduled for launch in 2023. [SpaceNews]

Why Point-To-Point Rocket Travel Will Take Longer Than You Think (Source: Forbes)
Some people believe that before too long, flying passengers might choose space instead of flying by air to get to faraway destinations on Earth. SpaceX founder Elon Musk and investment banking company UBS have made enthusiastic predictions about this, including a recent report from UBS saying that the space tourism market will triple to $805 billion by 2030.

While UBS does not provide an exact date for point-to-point travel in spaceflight, a chart in the report shows potential "long-haul travel" starting anywhere between the late 2020s and the late 2030s. The company assumes the annual revenue opportunity would be more than $20 billion, based on calculations from current long-haul flights.

Despite the enthusiasm, it will likely take more than 10 years to become a reality, and here’s why. While spaceflight for long-distance flights could happen in the future, IEEE senior member Ella Atkins argues that more infrastructure is needed -- and the attitudes toward safety need to be critically examined -- before the market can really take off. (3/29)