FLORIDA SPACErePORT

January 29, 2012

2012-01-29T00:52:00.001-05:00

New Mexico Spaceport Board to Meet on Feb. 7 (Source: NMSA)
The New Mexico Spaceport Authority Board of Directors will meet at 10:30 am, on Feb. 7 at the Civic Center, 400 W. Fourth Street, in Truth or Consequences. Agendas may be obtained at least 24 hours before the meeting at the New Mexico Spaceport Authority Office at 901 E. University Ave., 965L, Las Cruces, NM 88001. Click here. (1/28) http://www.spaceportamerica.com/news/press-releases/419-meeting-notice.html

Armadillo Aerospace Launches Suborbital Rocket From Spaceport America (Source: @Jeff_Foust)
According to the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, Armadillo Aerospace launched another STIG-A suborbital rocket from Spaceport America. The mission was not a complete success. After takeoff, the rocket reached an altitude of 137,000 feet, but its recovery system malfunctioned. The vehicle was recovered downrange after a "hard landing". (1/28)

Tea Party Group Rips Griffin Testimony on Delta-4 Versus Chinese Rocket (Source: TPIS)
Tea Party in Space (TPIS), one of multiple groups critical of NASA's planned development of a new heavy-lift rocket, has posted a video where former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin testifies that China's new Long-March-5 could be used for manned lunar missions, while the U.S. would not be able to conduct such missions without a new heavy-lift rocket. Interestingly, in the same testimony he describes that the U.S. Delta-4 has an equivalent lift capability to the Long-March-5, yet never suggests that it could be used for the same type of lunar missions.

TPIS says Dr. Griffin, if given the chance, would "bring back the Big Government NASA Bureaucracy" that wasted billions of dollars on the Constellation program, building new redundant launch capabilities instead of using existing U.S. vehicles. Click here. (1/28)

January 28, 2012

2012-01-28T14:34:00.003-05:00

Ron Paul Voices Little Support for Space (Source: SPACErePORT)
GOP hopeful Ron Paul did not campaign for the Florida Primary, because it is a winner-take-all state and he had little hope of coming out on top. But he did participate in two Florida-based debates and revealed his opinions on space exploration during one of them. Paul indicated support only for military space capabilities, ands was dismissive of Newt Gingrich's ideas. He did, however, suggest that a healthier economy would enable greater commercial investment in space. (1/28)

Editorial: Why I Endorsed Newt Gingrich (Source: Daily Kos)
Gingrich's space vision is one that I share, a message I can believe in despite the messenger. What this is about ultimately, isn’t a moonbase – it’s about space settlement. It’s about using space to help people, help the earth and grow humanity to become better. Yes, believe it – we can use space to help people right now. Now, let me compare it to Romney’s “plan” for space. He said he would’ve fired the person who came to him, suggesting that they spend hundreds of billions of dollars to build a moonbase.

Then, the very next day, THE VERY NEXT DAY, Romney’s campaign announced that the people advising him on space are almost entirely the same people who developed George Bush’s plan to go back to the moon. Just to return – to repeat Apollo – not to build a base. And that would have cost--wait for it--about $200 billion. So Romney has hired people who have done the exact thing he says he’d fire people for (arguably even worse). Yes, the Romney Reversal can be done in 24 hours, and if your head is spinning, don’t worry… you didn’t magically teleport into orbit.

President Obama rightly choose not to retain Dr. Griffin, and his Constellation cronies, despite active lobbying (including an email campaign started by Griffin’s wife) to retain not just Constellation, but Griffin and the core Constellation Team. In effect, President Obama fired the people Romney said he would fire. Now these same people are working for... Mitt Romney. Real progress in space doesn’t require a huge budget increase, despite Romney’s complaint. It requires vision and a willingness to reform NASA. And this is why I’ve endorsed Newt. And, its why, come November, I’ll be voting to re-elect President Obama. Click here. (1/28)

Progress Docks with ISS (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A Progress cargo spacecraft carrying nearly three tons of supplies successfully docked with the International Space Station on Friday evening. The Progress M-14M spacecraft (designated Progress 46 by NASA) docked to the Pirs module of the ISS at 7:09 pm EST Friday, two days after launch from Baikonur. The ship is carrying 2.9 tons of food, water, propellant, and other supplies for the station's six-person crew. (1/28)

Edison Program Will Seek Proposals for Small Satellite Demos (Source: NASA)
The Edison Program plans to release a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) requesting proposals for low-cost, flight demonstrations of small satellite technology on January 23, 2012. The topic areas of interest in this solicitation will be limited to demonstrations of communications systems for small satellites, proximity operations with small satellites and propulsion systems for Cubesat-scale spacecraft. Other technology and application demonstrations will be addressed in future solicitations. Further details will be provided when the solicitation is released. The synopsis of the BAA for Edison Small Satellite Demonstration Missions is posted here. (1/28)

Crashed Ship Was Carrying Atlas-5 Rocket (Source: Space.com)
When it crashed into (and partially tore down) a Kentucky bridge, the Delta Mariner was carrying an Atlas 5 rocket and other components from the ULA factory in Alabama to the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The flight hardware will be used for two upcoming launches from the Cape, including one slated to blast off April 27. The rocket parts seem to have survived the accident intact. "There's no damage to the cargo," said Sam Sacco, spokesman for Foss Marine, the company that owns and operates the Delta Mariner. "Based on what we know right now, there's no real damage to the vessel itself, either." (1/28)

China To See Heavy 2012 Space Activity (Source: Aviation Week)
China’s plan to launch 12 more Compass navigation satellites and inaugurate their operational use this year is only one of several key satellite activities planned for 2012. With eight satellites of the Compass constellation in orbit, the goal is to add a dozen more and then, by year’s end, begin regional service in the Asia-Pacific region, ESA's Karl Bergquist said. Compass is envisioned as 35 spacecraft — 30 in near Earth orbit and five in geosynchronous orbit — around 2020 for global service.

As part of 20 launches expected in 2012 in China, the country will likely orbit a civilian synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing spacecraft. It may become the first opportunity for Western countries to gauge the performance of Chinese SAR spacecraft, since little is known about the six military versions in operation. The spacecraft is being billed as intended for environmental monitoring. Also due this year is the launch of Cbers-3, the latest remote sensing satellite in the partnership with Brazil. Cbers-4 would follow in 2014. Click here. (1/28)

Romney Seeks Space Reboot (Source: SPACErePORT)
To the chagrin of many space advocates who feel the issue has been studied enough, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney pledged to initiate another national discussion to determine NASA's overarching mission. Blaming President Obama for failing to define a national space program, Romney pulled together a somewhat controversial group of space industry experts who endorsed his candidacy and would presumably contribute to the development of a new space vision. One response: "Nothing says 'vision' like geriatric astronauts and the people who gave us the Constellation disaster." (1/28)

Romney Declines to Outline Plan for the Future of the Space Program (Source: ABC News)
Mitt Romney said today that he believes creating a “mission” for the space program is “integral,” but declined to outline any specifics of that mission, saying he rejects the idea of making promises to voters on the so-called Space Coast until he’s studied the program, seeming to make reference to GOP rival Newt Gingrich who did just that earlier this week.

“I’m not going to come here today and tell you precisely what the mission will be,” said Romney, speaking at Astrotech Space Operations, a commercial space company that sends satellites and cargo into space, that is stationed just steps away from the Kennedy Space Center. “I’m going to tell you how I’m going to get there.” (1/28)

Hyperactive Sun Helping to Clear Out Space Junk (Source: National Geographic)
In the latest issue of NASA's Orbital Debris Quarterly News, agency scientist Nicholas Johnson notes that an increased influx of solar heat is causing Earth's upper atmosphere—specifically, a layer known as the thermosphere—to swell. In turn, the puffed-up thermosphere has accelerated the rate at which space debris is being removed from Earth's orbit, Johnson found.

In general, "the increase in solar activity causes more energy to be deposited into the atmosphere, which in turn is heated and expands," explained Johnson, chief scientist of NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. "This increases atmospheric density at a given altitude, thereby increasing drag. This causes [orbiting space junk] to lose energy and fall into a lower orbit," where the debris eventually reenters the atmosphere, Johnson said. (1/28)

The GOP Candidates are Talking About Space (Source: CNN)
Newt Gingrich got a lot of mileage out of his comments on building a moon colony by 2020. Whether you think that should get him a one-way ticket to the moon on the first flight or you believe his vision is an inspiration, he did accomplish one big thing. Gingrich got the conversation started. What kind of space program do we want? What kind can we afford? Had Gingrich not said what he said, the space program might have been totally ignored, as it has been so often in the past.

Folks at NASA say they can’t afford to hit the restart button again. “That’s a very real worry,” says John Matson, associate editor for Scientific American. “If every administration has a different vision and direction then nothing is gonna happen.” That is pretty much exactly what’s happened in recent decades. For a while, both Bush presidents talked of getting humans back to the moon and on to Mars. Of course, that went away, as it was deemed way too costly.

Now, there is a supposed flexible path that this administration is following that maybe sends astronauts to an asteroid and eventually Mars using a new heavy lift rocket yet to be designed or built. So, when you say NASA is “wandering in the desert of space,” as Cernan told me once, it’s not all on the agency. There’s plenty of blame to go around. Matson says that one big criticism of the Obama space plan is “the flexible path doesn’t carry firm timelines. A lot of people worry we’re not gonna get anywhere.” (1/28)

January 27, 2012

2012-01-27T13:44:00.009-05:00

Romney: I Will Restore America's Space Program (Source: Mitt Romney)
"The U.S. space program is a strategic national asset, which makes critical contributions to our scientific knowledge, technological innovation, economic competitiveness, national security, and international leadership. We have watched with dismay as President Obama dismantled the structure that was guiding both the government and commercial space sectors, while providing no purpose or vision or mission. This failure of leadership has thrust the space program into disarray and triggered a dangerous erosion of our technical workforce and capabilities. In short, we have a space program unworthy of a great nation."

"Restoring the U.S. space program to greatness will require the leadership, management skill, and commitment to American exceptionalism possessed by only one candidate in this race: Mitt Romney. We support Mitt’s candidacy and believe that his approach to space policy will produce results instead of empty promises. As his long record of success in both the private and public sectors attests, Mitt will do more than provide our space program with an inspiring vision and mission of exploration. He will also set aggressive yet achievable goals, adhere to realistic budgets, and execute on a carefully drawn plan."

"As president, Mitt Romney will facilitate close collaboration not only within the government’s civil and national security space sectors, but also with the private sector and with research institutions. He will create conditions for a strong and competitive commercial space industry that can contribute greatly to our national capabilities and goals. And he will ensure that NASA returns its focus to the project of manned space exploration that uniquely affirms American strength and values around the globe. Under his leadership, America will once again lead the world in space." Click here. (1/27)

Teens Send Lego Toy Toward Space (Source: MSNBC)
It's very cool that two 17-year-old Canadians sent a flag-toting Lego figurine into the sky on a weather balloon, as part of a weekend project that cost less than $500. It's cooler still that they got back some fantastic video of the toy silhouetted against the backdrop of a curving Earth beneath a black sky. But let's not call it putting a "Lego man in space." Even though the balloon ascended to around 80,000 feet, that's only a quarter of the way to the boundary of outer space. Click here. (1/27)

Former Astronauts and Administrator Endorse Romney (Source: Space Politics)
In advance of his appearance Friday afternoon in Cape Canaveral, the Mitt Romney campaign released a letter from several key figures in the American space community endorsing him, calling him someone who “will restore America’s space program”. They repeat earlier comments by Romney that he would bring together the civil, commercial, and military space sectors to find common ground and perhaps share resources.

Among the letters signatories are former astronauts Bob Crippen and Gene Cernan; the latter has been one the most vocal ex-astronaut critics of the Obama Administration’s space policy. Former NASA administrator Mike Griffin is also a signatory, along with several other former space officials: Scott Pace (now head of George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute), Mark Albrecht, and Peter Marquez. (Albrecht has been critical of NASA’s evolution into a “risk-averse feudal empire”.) The commercial side is represented by Eric Anderson of Space Adventures. (1/27)

Vermont's Reach Into Space (Source: VPR)
On some clear nights, you can step outside, stare into the Vermont sky and catch a glimpse of the International Space Station. There are several Vermonters who are involved with the project. We hear from former NASA Astronaut Colonel Jerry Carr and Jennifer Kimball, who is a Flight Controller for the International Space Station. They provide their perspective on space exploration and look at what future there is for NASA. Click here. (1/27)

Want to Be an Astronaut? Apply Today (Source: ABC News)
Tonight is the deadline for applications for the next astronaut class. It’s a leap of faith because there is no great space race anymore and Newt Gingrich is the only candidate who even mentions a future in space for the U.S. Nevertheless, NASA said that as of midday today, it had received 5,100 applications, more than ever before. Only about a dozen new astronauts will be chosen. (1/27)

Russia Launches Astronaut Recruitment Drive (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia’s state space agency Roscosmos has launched a cosmonaut selection competition. Candidates should apply with the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. A lucky few will be selected for cosmonaut training by a commission made up of representatives of the training center, rocket and space corporation Energia and the Institute of Biomedical Problems. The Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center also held a recruitment contest for potential cosmonauts last year. The contest targeted a broad spectrum of people, but mainly those employed in the rocket and space industry. (1/27)

Ukraine, Russia to Launch Two Dnepr Rockets in 2012 (Source: RIA Novosti)
Ukraine and Russia will carry out two rocket launches under the joint Dnepr space program, head of the National Space Agency of Ukraine Yuri Alekseyev said. Moscow has recently decided to continue the implementation of the joint Russian-Ukrainian program to use decommissioned RS-20 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) in commercial space launches under the Dnepr program. “We are planning to carry out two launches [this year],” Yuri Alekseyev said. “The first, with a Korean KOMPSAT-5 satellite, is tentatively scheduled for April-May…and probably in September or October we will have a launch with a large number of Arab satellites,” he said. (1/27)

Ukraine Delays Launch of First Telecom Satellite Until Next Year (Source: Itar Tass)
Ukraine has once again delayed the launch of its first telecom satellite Lybid until next year, Ukrainian State Space Agency head Yuri Alexeyev said. He said Ukraine failed to confirm the orbital slot of Lybid in due time and a French satellite took that place. “It took us six months to coordinate the new orbital slot. It was previously located at 38 degrees East, now it is 48 degrees East,” he said. “The new orbital slot will broaden the area covered by the Ukrainian satellite. It will fully cover Ukraine, its neighbors, North Africa and some of Asia.” (1/27)

NASA Welcomes Our Surgical Robot Overlords (Source: Discovery)
Near-Earth orbit is packed with satellites, essential to communication and navigation back on Earth. But many of those satellites are aging, so what happens when they break down, or need refueling? Simply ditching the satellites would be wasteful -- it costs many millions of dollars to build and launch a satellite -- and then there's the fact that it's getting pretty crowded up there. The obvious solution is to send astronauts up to make the necessary repairs, thereby extending the lifetime of an ailing satellite, but this is expensive and risky (especially for the astronauts).

In the case of more distant satellites, it might not even be feasible. So NASA is funding research on developing remotely operated robotic systems that might be up to the challenge. Enter the engineers of Johns Hopkins University, who helped pioneer medical robotic surgeries with the invention of the Da Vinci console that enables surgeons to steer surgical robots through complicated surgical procedures. Click here. (1/27)

Gingrich Moon Base: Inspired Idea Would Reverse America's Enfeeblement (Source: Telegraph)
I’m never been sure about Newt Gingrich. He’s giving us Right-wing nuts a bad name. Plus he’s almost certain to lose to Obama, who I wouldn’t say is the worst US president ever, but is certainly in the bottom one. On the other hand Chuck Norris has given his endorsement to Gingrich, and now he’s come out with a genuinely inspiring idea: an American moon base.

The suggestion has been widely ridiculed, and on the face of it there are many problems. But space has that rare ability to inspire; advocates of space travel argue that the Mercury and Apollo missions of the 1960s led to a huge increase in children studying science, with obvious benefits for society as a whole. Sadly, though, like the British before them, Americans have lost interest in doing things and become more interested in being things, and indulging in self-gratification.

Space has a further, very important benefit – the power to unite humanity like nothing else. Our species are, by their very nature, tribalistic and doomed to remain so; yet after the 1969 moon landings, wherever Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins went on earth, they were fêted not as representatives of the United States but of all humanity. (1/27)

Launch Vehicle Competition Increases (Source: Aviation Week)
Launch industry managers worldwide will go after government markets as the industry continues its recovery from a downturn that has brought a reduction in the number of competitors in the market and forced the remaining players to restructure. While the reduction of launch vehicle operators and an increase in launch opportunities is driving recovery for the survivors, an expected decline in satellite purchases and rise in the number of launch vehicle operators down the road could fuel greater competition in coming years.

The downturn meant many players could not afford to stay in business. Forced to restructure under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2009, Sea Launch Co. conducted no launches between April 2009 and mid-2011. Other players, such as the United Launch Alliance (ULA), pulled out of the commercial market to focus almost entirely on government contracts. Launch operators in India, China and Japan, and many in Russia, also rely almost exclusively on government contracts. Click here. (1/27)

Pentagon Recommends More Military Base Closures (Source: FL-DC)
Florida is bracing for another round of military base closures planned as part of a sweeping Pentagon move to cut spending by $487 billion over the next decade. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday the closures are part of the Pentagon’s strategy to reshape its mission to favor quick-strike capabilities over conventional, land-based operations while meeting congressionally mandated spending reductions. Rep. Jeff Miller, a Panhandle Republican and Florida’s most senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, was “disappointed” in the administration plan. (1/27)

Diamandis: Rocket Man (Source: Forbes)
Peter Diamandis' $10 million X Prize bounty sparked a boom in commercial tourism. You won't believe what he wants to do next. According to the fast-talking, hand-chopping impresario of the tech and space worlds: “The system is broken, access to health care is inconvenient, inefficient, bureaucratic—at worst, it’s even inaccurate,” he intones, striding on the stage in the standard tech mogul uniform—white shirt, blue jacket and jeans—as MRI-like images dance behind him on a gigantic screen. Stats roll off his tongue: an average 21-day wait for a doctor’s appointment; the 2-hour delay in the office; a coming shortage of 91,000 doctors. That’s just in America.

The crowd listens keenly, less for Diamandis’ subject matter—a deadly topic, even at an electronics show—or his matter-of-fact style than this track record and his cash. Diamandis is launching his latest payload: a $10 million X Prize, his seventh contest, to whoever develops the first medical tricorder—yes, that all-purpose handheld that was standard equipment among Star Trek medics. Click here. (1/27)

Romney to Moon Base Executive: You're Fired! (Source: Politico)
Gingrich is willing to spend more on certain important priorities, extravagant though they may seem, while Mitt Romney reinforced his conservative bona-fides by arguing that moon travel isn’t worth the cost. “I spent 25 years in business. If I had a business executive come to me and say they wanted to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, I’d say, ‘You’re fired,’” Romney quipped.

“The idea that corporate America wants to go off to the moon and build a colony there, it may be a big idea, but it’s not a good idea,” Romney added. “We’ve seen politicians — and Newt, you’ve been part of this — go from state to state and promise exactly what that state wants to hear. The Speaker comes here to Florida, wants to spend untold amount of money having a colony on the moon. I know it’s very exciting on the Space Coast.”

In a line that got loud applause, he added: “Look, this idea of going state to state and promising what people want to hear, promising billions, hundreds of billions of dollars to make people happy, that’s what got us into the trouble we’re in now. We’ve got to say no to this kind of spending.” Gingrich shot back by arguing that local issues should actually be important to a president. “First, I thought we were a country where one of the purposes of candidates going around was to actually learn about the states they campaigned in and actually be responsive to the needs of the states they campaign in,” he said. (1/27)

Clarification: Will Grandiose-Class Prizes Work? (Source: SPACErePORT)
In response to a question about Newt Gingrich's idea for mega-prizes for mega-space achievements (like a habitable lunar base), I was quoted in the Washington Post saying "Prizes at that scale don't work very well." I was actually recounting to the Post reporter a conversation I had prior to the interview, with someone who was of that opinion. My own opinion is somewhat different. Having been involved in a couple of NASA prize projects, I think they're a great way to stimulate innovation and private sector investment. I'm ambivalent about whether it is prudent to scale them up to the level of a lunar base.

With the other prize projects I've supported, the devil is in the details of how they're structured. Every rule raises a dozen questions and requirements for clarification. Keeping it simple is key, but that isn't always possible when the sponsor wants to truly advance the state-of-the-art. And it can be very difficult to scope a prize purse that is large enough and achievable enough to entice multiple private competitors into a high-risk, high-cost race. If not achievable in a reasonable amount of time, the prize challenge might encumber for years billions of tax dollars that might be more expeditiously invested elsewhere.

So could a "grandiose-class" prize for a habitable lunar base or a private Mars landing work? I think it can, but I'm not sure if it would be good public policy. As was discussed during Thursday's debate, perhaps more private sector money could fund such things. Remember that the Orteig Prize (which Charles Lindbergh won) and those prizes sponsored by the X-Prize Foundation were/are funded by private investors. (1/27)

Titan: Mile-Wide Dunes on Earth's Frozen Twin Intrigue Scientists (Source: CS Monitor)
The discovery of intriguing differences among vast fields of sand dunes on Saturn's moon Titan is opening a window on the haze-shrouded satellite's geology and climate, researchers say. Radar images from NASA's Cassini orbiter reveal that the size and spacing of the dunes change depending on the latitude of the dune fields and the elevation of the land on which they sit. The findings may help uncover the distribution of winds on the moon and yield clues to help resolve a long-standing debate over how and where the sand itself formed. Click here. (1/27)

Raytheon Profit Rises (Source: Bloomberg)
Improved performance at Raytheon Co.'s missile and space units drove a rise in fourth-quarter profits of 9.4%, the company says, although the 2012 outlook fell on lower anticipated sales. CEO Bill Swanson is focusing "on wringing costs out of programs to improve profitability," this feature notes. "We know as a company, if we weren’t taking costs out, somebody would be replacing us," Swanson said. (1/27)

Senate Approves Short-Term FAA Funding Extension (Source: Wall Street Journal)
The Senate again approved a funding extension for the Federal Aviation Administration. The measure will extend funding through Feb. 17. House and Senate negotiators are negotiating a final bill for long-term funding for the FAA. (1/27)

NASA Should Improve Escape Plan from Space Station (Source: Florida Today)
A safety group cautioned that there is a more than 30% chance astronauts will need to abandon the International Space Station by 2020. The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel urged NASA to improve its escape plan. "While this possibility has been known for some time, NASA has not yet shared with the panel an explicit plan to deal with this situation," the panel said. (1/27)

Russian Proton Launch With Dutch Satellite Postponed (Source: RIA Novosti)
The launch of a Russian Proton-M carrier rocket with a Dutch telecommunication satellite onboard scheduled for Friday has been postponed indefinitely for technical reasons, Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Friday. This is the second delay in the rocket’s launch, which was initially scheduled for December 26, but then postponed for technical reasons.

“Today we are planning to carry out operations to dismount the Proton-M rocket from the launch pad…and transport it to the integration building,” a statement on the Roscosmos website said. “The date and time of the launch will be established after all registered problems are fixed and additional tests are held,” the statement read. (1/27)

Delta Mariner Damages Bridge in Kentucky, En Route to Florida Spaceport (Source: WTVF)
State officials have begun inspecting what's left of a southwestern Kentucky bridge that collapsed after being struck by a cargo ship carrying rocket parts to Cape Canaveral. Inspectors began the in-depth review of the Eggner Ferry Bridge at daylight Friday.

The three-story-high Motor Vessel Delta Mariner struck span "E" of the bridge around 8:10 p.m. Thursday. That span of bridge is 322 feet long. Officials with Marshal County said the parts of the bridge collapsed into water and also became attached to the ship. Four vehicles were on the bridge at the time of the collision. No one was hurt. Click here. (1/27)

ULA Statement on Delta Mariner Accident (Source: SpaceRef)
The 312-foot vessel was carrying vehicle components for an upcoming United Launch Alliance launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. There are no injuries on the Mariner or the bridge. Initial inspections have shown that the flight hardware being transported was not damaged. The Coast Guard is conducting an investigation. The Delta Mariner was commissioned in 2002 to transport flight hardware from the United Launch Alliance factory in Decatur, Ala., to launch sites at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. (1/27)

Asteroid Passes Close to Earth (Source: CNN)
An asteroid about the size of a school bus will pass close to Earth today, but it poses no danger to the planet, NASA astronomers say. The huge rock, called Asteroid 2012 BX34, will close to within about 36,750 miles of Earth, or about .17 times the distance between the Earth and the moon, according to Asteroid Watch, which is operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Near Earth Object Office. "It wouldn't get through our atmosphere intact even if it dared to try," an Asteroid Watch tweet says of the 37-foot diameter rock. (1/27)

Russia 'to Postpone Next Manned Space Launches' (Source: AFP)
Russia is set to pospone the next two manned launches for the International Space Station (ISS) for several weeks due to technical problems with the Soyuz spaceship. A source told Interfax that the Soyuz TMA-04M vessel had not withstood tests to its pressure chamber ahead of the planned mission on March 30 and the first flight would be postponed to mid-April or the first half of May.

"This re-entry capsule now cannot be used for manned spaceflight," the source said. That mission would fly with the re-entry capsule that was due to go up on the next mission on May 30 and as a result that mission would also likely be postponed to the middle or end of June. The re-entry capsule goes inside the spacecraft and is the portion that eventually returns the astronauts to Earth when the mission is over. (1/27)

Kepler Scientists Find 26 More Exoplanets (Source: SpaceToday.net)
Scientists analyzing data from NASA's Kepler spacecraft announced Thursday the discovery of 26 more extrasolar planets orbiting 11 stars. None of the planets appear similar to the Earth in size and orbit: their masses range from 1.5 times the Earth to larger than Jupiter, while all orbit closer to their stars than Venus orbits the Earth. One of the systems, Kepler-33, has five planets, while several other stars have pairs if planets in orbital resonances. Scientists said the findings help demonstrate that planets around stars are relatively common in the galaxy. (1/27)

Poll: Who Has the Best Space Plan? (Source: Mashable)
Forget about presidential politics for a moment. Forget left and right, Republican and Democrat. Forget the GOP primaries and the same tired old debates that have filled the opinion pages for the last four years. Instead, to determine the next occupant of the White House, try this question on for size: Would you rather build a moon base or start mining the asteroid belt? Or do you think space exploration should be de-emphasized, and that NASA should be run with the help of the business community? Click here to take the poll. Editor's Note: Here's another poll from Tea Party in Space (TPIS). (1/27)

Third Rock Radio Serves Target Space Audience (Source: Navigator)
Yesterday, Mars moved into its retrograde cycle, and recent solar flares from the sun made the news in what astronomers are calling the biggest space storm in seven years. Such science and tech news is catered toward a niche demographic, and while there’s no shortage of media outlets that realize this, a new Internet radio station has been created for NASA that combines science and space news with an indie, new rock, and alternative music format.

Third Rock Radio: America’s Space Station, has been streaming online for just over a month and has quickly gained a global, targeted audience. “The reception has been everything we hoped for and more,” said Pat Fant, co-founder of Third Rock. “We have listeners in over 40 different countries, and we kind of stopped counting.”

Fant, along with fellow co-founder who simply goes by Cruze, started RFC Media about three years ago and have built radio stations on the Web for brands and businesses. After a number of clients, they were able to start a new project for NASA. “When we first starting talking to NASA about the idea, everybody liked it, but wasn’t sure exactly what sort of form it would take,” Cruze said. (1/27)

NASA Selects 2 Deltona Teachers for Astronomy Research Flights (Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal)
Two Deltona teachers have been selected to participate in research flights aboard NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. Mike Cimino of Heritage Middle School and John Clark of Deltona High School are among 26 educators from around the nation chosen for the program. As Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors, they'll work with professional astronomers for scientific observations this year and next. The observatory is a modified Boeing 747SP jetliner equipped with a 100-inch diameter telescope based in Palmdale, California. (1/27)

January 26, 2012

2012-01-26T09:33:00.016-05:00

Candidates Debate Space Policy on CNN (Source: SPACErePORT)
During Thursday's nationally televised GOP presidential debate, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum all had an opportunity to discuss their vision for space exploration, mostly in response to 'grandiose' comments made Wednesday by Gingrich. Gingrich reiterated his ideas (and hinted at having Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as a running mate), but Paul revealed little interest in space (and none in going to the Moon), aside from for military purposes. Paul suggested a healthier economy would allow very-rich people to invest in space enterprise.

Romney again spoke of bringing expert stakeholders together to set a direction for a "vibrant and strong" space program. He suggested that Gingrich's Moon base idea is unrealistic and expensive. In response to Gingrich comments that a lunar base might largely be privately financed, Romney said that as a business leader, he would have fired any executive who proposed investing billions for a lunar base.

Santorum stressed his pledge to reduce federal spending during every year of his presidency, which would leave little opportunity for non-essential investments in space exploration. He suggested that the other candidates were basically putting irresponsible space ideas forward to get votes. Romney made a similar accusation about Gingrich, but Gingrich countered that all the candidates should be learning and adopting the priorities of the states where they're campaigning. (1/26)

Dream Chaser Making Impressive Progress Ahead of CCDev-3 (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) has provided a positive overview on their progress in readying their Dream Chaser spacecraft for commercial crew operations in 2016. A fan favorite – due to its baby shuttle orbiter appearance – Dream Chaser has been paired with the highly reliable Atlas V launch vehicle as part of their Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) aspirations. Click here. (1/26)

ASAP: Commercial Crew Program at Risk From Inadequate Budget Oversight (Source: Parabolic Arc)
The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) believes that NASA’s commercial crew program is at risk from inadequate funding and the space agency’s decision budget-based decision to use less intrusive Space Act Agreements (SAA) to oversee the work of developing vehicles to replace the retired space shuttle.

“It appears to the ASAP that the FY-2012 funding level approved by Congress, which was less than half of what was requested by the Administration, will not allow commercial crew transportation to the ISS by 2016,” ASAP said in its annual report released this week. “In fact, if the new funding level continues into the future, it is the ASAP’s belief that the program is in jeopardy, thus extending the current lack of a U.S. human spaceflight capability and resulting in no alternative to reliance on Russia to obtain access to the ISS.” (1/26)

Weatherman: Space Coast Votes Are Key to Presidential Hopefuls (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Over the last 20 years, the road to the White House has run through Florida's I-4 Corridor. More late money, attention and campaign resources have been directed to this region than any other part of the country. This area’s importance to the presidential race has intensified now that Florida has 29 Electoral College votes, compared to 27 in 2008. Florida is the largest swing state in the country and, therefore, has never been more important.

As a matter of national security and global competitiveness, the candidates must make space a part of their respective platforms. The space industry was Florida’s first high profile, high-wage industry and launched the high-tech juggernaut that the Space Coast, and much of Florida, is today. Much of America’s technological prowess of the last generation was the product of the space program. To abandon that capability is to condemn this nation to a second class status.

The future of space needs to include a definitive program that we know will succeed. Whether this is the Space Launch System (SLS) or commercial space, we need commitment and sustained appropriation. The Constellation program was cancelled due to inadequate funding. We cannot continue to invest our future in similar programs that we know will suffer the same fate... The candidates want and need our votes, so it is incumbent upon each of them to demonstrate his understanding of the issues surrounding the Space Coast and our high-tech companies, and how this fits into the bigger issues of national security and global leadership. We have the delegates; each candidate needs to demonstrate why he should get them. (1/26)

Zubrin: How Much Is an Astronaut's Life Worth (Source: Reason)
If we could put a man on the Moon, why can’t we put a man on the Moon? Starting with near zero space capability in 1961, NASA put men on our companion world in eight years. Yet despite vastly superior technology and hundreds of billions of dollars in subsequent spending, the agency has been unable to send anyone else farther than low Earth orbit ever since. Why? Because we insist that our astronauts be as safe as possible.

Keeping astronauts safe merits significant expenditure. But how much? There is a potentially unlimited set of testing procedures, precursor missions, technological improvements, and other protective measures that could be implemented before allowing human beings to once again try flying to other worlds. Were we to adopt all of them, we would wind up with a human spaceflight program of infinite cost and zero accomplishment.

In recent years, the trend has moved in precisely that direction, with NASA’s manned spaceflight effort spending more and more to accomplish less and less. If we are to achieve anything going forward, we have to find some way to strike a balance between human life and mission accomplishment. What we need is a quantitative criterion to assess what constitutes a rational expenditure to avert astronaut risk. In plain English, we need to answer a basic question: How much is an astronaut’s life worth? Click here. (1/26)

Pentagon To Buy Less Commercial Satellite Imagery (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Defense Department intends to reduce planned purchases of commercial satellite imagery in 2013 as part of a broader initiative aimed at reducing U.S. military expenditures by $259 billion over the next five years, according to a Pentagon planning document released Jan. 26.

However, the document says the Pentagon will continue to increase its commercial satellite imaging capacity, an indication that planned government-backed investments in new spacecraft will go forward. Commercial imagery was listed among several programs targeted for substantial reductions, the document said, specifying that purchases for imaging capacity that exceeds requirements will be affected. (1/26)

Ginrich Versus Obama: A Perfect Storm for Space Launch Industry? (Source: SPACErePORT)
What if Newt Gingrich wins the GOP nomination to run against President Obama in the General Election? We would have a space-saavy Gingrich basically agreeing with many of President Obama's current space policies, but very critical of his lack of emphasis on space exploration. We would see both Gingrich and Obama looking for ways to streamline the NASA bureaucracy (Gingrich to encourage innovation and Obama to save money). We would see Gingrich calling for an aviation-like approach to space transportation, and Obama supporting a greater role for the FAA.

With the Defense Department now considering base closures, NASA looking at ways to turn KSC into an airport-like facility, and Congress pushing legislation to dispose of unneeded federal facilities, we could see big changes at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. (1/26)

Why Does NASA’s Chief Climate Scientist Keep Getting Arrested? (Source: Gizmodo)
Jim Hansen has been head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies for 31 years. In this time, he's been arrested twice. Why? How? Because, as he tells Scientific American today, he believes the White House is ignoring its own agency's alarming data on the state of the Earth's environment.

Both arrests happened during protests against mountain-top removal coal mining. Above you can watch his speech at the Appalachia Rising in September 2010, where he delivered this bon mot: "We are in danger of becoming the land of the rich and the home of the bribe." After the talk, he was arrested along with 100 others for failing to obey an order to disperse.

Hansen testified before congress twice in the '80s about the implications of global warming. After that, he tells Scientific American, he stayed away from activism so he could concentrate on doing science. By 2004, he had produced so much science that made it clear the environment was in grave danger, and the government was doing so little about it, that he dove back into speaking out. (1/26)

Pentagon Plan Includes Base Closings and Pay Raise Cuts (Source: New York Times)
The Pentagon took the first major step toward shrinking after a decade of war, announcing it wanted to limit pay raises for troops, increase health insurance fees for military retirees and close bases in the U.S. Although the pay-raise limits are modest, and would not start until 2015, the proposed cuts are certain to ignite a political fight in Congress. Increasing health insurance fees for former service members and closing bases are also fraught with political risk, particularly in an election year when Republican candidates are charging that President Obama is decimating the military.

Next year’s Pentagon budget is to be $525 billion, down from $531 billion this year. As the Pentagon is called on to find $259 billion in cuts over the next five years — and $487 billion over the decade — the department’s base budget (not counting war costs) will nonetheless rise to $567 billion by 2017. For comparison, the current Defense Department base budget is $531 billion. Pentagon officials said savings from any future base closings were not factored into the five-year budget that Mr. Panetta was sending to the White House, but one official described the closings as “the right thing to do.” (1/26)

Florida House Budget Skimps on Governor's Incentive Funding Request (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
House budget-writers are proposing to give Gov. Rick Scott more flexibility to dole out tax dollars to companies promising to create jobs — but less than half the $230 million he wanted to award. The House Transportation and Economic Development Committee recommends providing $73 million to Scott’s Department of Economic Opportunity for business incentives. Scott had asked for $125 million for specific types of tax credits and incentives, along with extra flexibility to decide how those dollars would be spent — on tax rebates, brownfield redevelopment credits, up-front cash payments, and the like. (1/26)

LightSquared Files Ethics Complaint (Source: Politico)
Exasperated by a government process that has left them scrambling to avoid bankruptcy, LightSquared filed a complaint with NASA’s inspector general’s office Thursday alleging that a key member of a panel that advises the government on GPS violated ethics laws. Bradford Parkinson, second in command of a federal advisory board that has played an integral role informing the government’s views of the LightSquared-GPS controversy, “appears to have violated a federal conflict of interest statute” as a special government employee, the filing states.

Parkinson serves as vice chairman of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Advisory Board, which advises the Defense Department, the Transportation Department and a host of other federal agencies on GPS policy. Parkinson has a multimillion dollar stake in Trimble, a GPS manufacturing company at the heart of a campaign to derail the broadband company from entering the market. The PNT Advisory Board operates under the auspices of NASA. (1/26)

Threat From Retired Satellite Exceeds NASA Standards (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer, a NASA satellite retired from service Jan. 5, will present a 1-in-1,000 chance of harming someone when it makes an uncontrolled fall from Earth orbit some time after 2014, a level ten times riskier than NASA now requires for re-entering spacecraft, according to an agency spokesperson.

The forecast for the satellite's re-entry calls for a return between 2014 and 2023. Fluctuations in solar activity cause the atmosphere to expand and contract, making it difficult to accurately predict when uncontrolled satellites will re-enter. The satellite, launched in December 1995, was designed before NASA issued standards for public safety from re-entering spacecraft. NASA satellites must now have a probability of striking a person of less than 1-in-10,000. (1/26)

President Obama on NASA's Day of Remembrance (Source: NASA)
On this solemn day (Jan. 26), we join the NASA family and all Americans in honoring the brave men and women who gave their lives in the pursuit of space exploration. It is important to remember that pushing the boundaries of space requires great courage and has come with a steep price three times in our Nation’s history – for the crews of Apollo 1 and the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia. The loss of these pioneers is felt every day by their family, friends, and colleagues, but we take comfort in the knowledge that their spirit will continue to inspire us to new heights.

Today, our Nation is pursuing an ambitious path that honors these heroes, builds on their sacrifices, and promises to expand the limits of innovation as we venture farther into space than we have ever gone before. The men and women who lost their lives in the name of space exploration helped get us to this day, and it is our duty to honor them the way they would have wanted to be honored – by focusing our sights on the next horizon. (1/26)

Lockheed Martin Profit Declines 15% on Weak Electronic, Space-Unit Sales (Source: Bloomberg)
Lockheed Martin's fourth-quarter profit fell 15 percent on weak sales in its electronic and space businesses.
Net income from continuing operations fell to $698 million, from $821 million a year earlier. Lockheed forecast 2012 full-year sales of $45 billion to $46 billion. Space Systems sales declined 7.4 percent to $2.11 billion, Lockheed said. Unit profit declined 7.5 percent to $258 million. (1/26)

Vega's Heavy Burden (Source: Flight Global)
To avoid the prospect of losing a high-value commercial payload on a risky maiden flight, Vega's first mission - VV01 - will carry a basket of scientific spacecraft, including nine so-called "cubesats", the 1kg 10cmx10cm boxes that are increasingly popular with low-budget researches thankful for any lift to orbit.

But while loss of the main payload would also not be a financial disaster, science would be far, far poorer if Vega fails to deliver the Italian space agency's LARES, or Laser Relativity Satellite, which will study the so-called frame dragging prediction of Einstein's theory of general relativity. This asserts that the rotation of a massive object such as the Earth will impose a drag on a smaller object passing nearby. (1/26)

Plasma Cloud Responsible for Phobos Mission Failure? (Source: RIA Novosti)
The answer to the mysterious failure of the Phobos mission may now be close at hand. An inter-departmental commission looking into why the Phobos-Grunt space probe did not make it to Mars has come up with the likely version of events. Scientists say the formation of plasma on the probe whilst inside the Earth's magnetosphere may have caused the device to fail. (1/26)

Tea Party Group Likes Newt's Space Ideas (Source: TPIS)
Mr. Gingrich's bold ideas challenge the status quo that is infecting the 9th floor at NASA Headquarters. Moreover, Newt touched on a theme that we at TEA Party in Space (TPIS) have railed against: the inefficiencies of the government bureaucracies. This is not an attack on the people working at NASA, this is what the system is set up to do. What Mr. Gingrich correctly points out is that the system is broken. We are relying on a system to get astronauts to the ISS that has had three failures in the last six months. We are watching the Chinese lay out plans to overtake us in space and our arrogant politicians simply scoff it aside.

NASA doesn't have a clue on how to achieve Mr. Gingrich's ideas and vision of a moon base, but Bigelow Aerospace does. And this isn't just pie in the sky. We have private entrepreneurs who are investing their fortunes into spaceflight. Hundreds of millions of dollars, of their personal wealth, doing more with less and having better results in the process. This is the model that must be endorsed by NASA and political leaders and then enacted. Mr. Gingrich articulates a vision that TPIS supports entirely.

But now comes the interesting part for Mr. Gingrich. He must articulate his vision in a way that will not only sway NASA leaders but also politicians who "bring home the bacon" to their states and districs. The bacon, of course, is prized NASA dollars that have been flowing to the same districts and same states for decades. It can be done. Mr. Gingrich says his vision will create more jobs in the aerospace sector, we agree Mr. Speaker, but how? (1/26)

TEA Party Endorses Newt Gingrich in Florida Primary (Source: Sunshine State News)
The TEA Party of Florida endorsed Newt Gingrich in the Florida presidential primary, saying the former House speaker has "articulated direct and serious steps designed to reduce spending, cut our deficits, pay down our national debt, and return liberty to our citizens in doing so." Reconstituted from the party whose candidates garnered 310,000 votes in 20 races in 2010, TEA is pursuing a broader outreach strategy this year. (1/26)

GOP Hopeful Rick Santorum Bails on Brevard Visit (Source: Florida Today)
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has canceled plans to speak at Saturday’s Space Coast Tiger Bay luncheon. Barbara Davis, head of the Brevard Republican Executive Committee, said she was notified that Santorum would be out of town an unable to participate in the event. J.B. Kump, Tiger Bay executive director (and former district director for Congressman Dave Weldon), said those who had purchased tickets for the event are being notified of the cancellation and will receive full refunds. (1/26)

General Dynamics Q4 Profit Drops (Source: Wall Street Journal)
General Dynamics reported a 17% drop in profit for the fourth quarter as compared to the same quarter the previous year. The company took a $111 million impairment charge, as well as $78 million in losses, for Jet Aviation in the quarter. However, the defense contractor forecast stronger earnings in 2012. (1/26)

Boeing Profits Rise by 20% in Q4 (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Boeing posted a 20% increase in fourth-quarter profit to $1.39 billion, compared with the same quarter a year earlier. However, the aircraft manufacturer offered a conservative forecast for 2012 with earnings per share of $4.05 to $4.25. "Despite pockets of economic uncertainty and defense-budget pressures, our markets remain large and growing," Boeing CEO Jim McNerney said. (1/26)

Wallops Evolving Into Smallsat Launch Center (Source: Aviation Week)
NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, long a center for sounding rocket science campaigns, is becoming a site for small satellite launches as well, according to NASA’s new chief technologist. Mason Peck, a Cornell professor who assumed a two-year assignment managing NASA’s open-ended technology-development effort Jan. 3, toured the venerable launch site on Virginia’s eastern shore Jan. 24, and found it a promising spot for smallsat work.

The center is developing its own “six-pack” dispenser that would be able to launch the equivalent of six cubesats on a commercial launch vehicle, says Peck, who has been an advocate of cubesat work for students in his academic role. And Wallops has three launch pads for commercial orbital launches, including a new pad nearing certification to loft Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Antares commercial cargo launcher.

The first flight-test of Antares will carry a few cubesats supplied by Ames Research Center that are designed to vet the use of smart-phone hardware as low-cost cubesat avionics. Wallops has launched more than 14,000 rockets since its first lifted off July 4, 1945. Most of those were suborbital sounding rockets, but in addition to the long-standing launch capabilities, the facility has processing and fabrication capabilities that may be useful as NASA looks for low-cost ways to test nascent technologies in space. Those include the six-pack dispenser, which Peck called a “Pez dispenser for cubesats” that can handle a mix of as many as six cubesats. (1/26)

NASA Has Fizzled, But Wernher von Braun’s Exuberant Vision Lives On (Source: Reason)
During World War II, Wernher von Braun had a lot on his mind. The German rocket scientist was busy running Adolf Hitler’s V-1 and V-2 programs, which sent more than 10,000 rockets into England in 1944 and 1945. But beneath Von Braun’s famously exacting manner lurked a dreamer who throughout the conflict obtained a treasured subscription to Astounding Science Fiction by using a false name and a neutral mail drop in Sweden. The magazines made their way to Germany in diplomatic pouches.

When Von Braun immigrated to the U.S., he took to the pages of Collier's magazine to launch one of the most influential popular science writing series of all time. Von Braun sketched out his vision of a manned space program—starting with orbiting and spinning space stations, working through lunar landings, and culminating in a massive expedition to Mars. Illustrated by the great astronomical artist Chesley Bonestell, the series fired the imaginations of a generation of tech lovers; it was science fiction with all the rivets showing. Many cite it as the true beginning of the U.S. space program.

As Von Braun would put it, in an update to the old saw, “Late to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and advertise.” The Collier’s campaign was his way to use science fictional ideas to advertise the future he wanted to create. And it worked: Von Braun went on to run the famous Apollo program, which put a man on the moon... Congress came to see NASA primarily as a jobs program, not an exploratory agency. Slowly, NASA complied with the post-Apollo vision—- safety-obsessed, with few big goals for manned flight beyond low Earth orbit. Very little useful science got done in the space station. NASA never did the experiments needed to develop the technologies required for a genuine interplanetary expedition. Click here. (1/26)

Simberg on Gingrich: Would be Most Space-Conversant President (Source: Reason)
"Had Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX) not switched parties seven years ago while being allowed to keep his seniority, the 88-year-old defender of the status quo would not be the current chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. Instead the chairmanship would have fallen to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), who has defended the administration’s space policy. Rohrabacher will almost certainly take over when Hall retires or is term-limited out in five years. If Newt Gingrich by some miracle wins the GOP presidential nomination and the White House, he would be the most space-conversant commander in chief in American history. So the stars might yet align [to fix our space program]." (1/26)

Gingrich isn't a newcomer to this issue. He has been geeking out on space for a long time. He even founded the congressional Space Caucus. Many of his space speech's explicit points were excellent—-and consistent with the current push for more reliance on the private sector—especially the 10 percent of NASA's budget he proposed setting aside for prizes to encourage private spending and innovation. (1/26)

Santorum: Moon Base Idea is 'Crass Politics' (Source: Politico)
Santorum was asked at Florida State University about whether he'd expand NASA programs after Newt Gingrich's pledge for a new moon base. "I go back to trying to be very up front and honest with the people of Florida, the people of the country," he said. But given a potential explosion of inflation, he said, "the idea that anybody's going out and talking about grand, new, very expensive schemes to spend more money at a time when we do not have our fiscal house in order, in my opinion, is plain, crass politics." (1/26)

Romney Schedules Public Rally Near Spaceport Entrance (Source: Florida Today)
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, canvassing the state this week in hopes of becoming the GOP nominee, will be in Brevard County on Friday at 3:00 p.m. for a rally in Cape Canaveral. He’ll visit Astrotech's former SpaceHab facility, near the South Gate entrance to the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. (1/26)

Loral Selected to Provide High Power Communications Satellite (Source: SpaceRef)
Loral has been awarded a contract to provide a high power communications satellite. Further information on the contract award will be released at a later date. (1/25)

Pluto: A Dwarf Planet with Rings? (Source: National Geographic)
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is currently speeding through the outer solar system toward its July 2015 date with Pluto, when it will take a good close look at the dwarf planet’s mysterious surface, atmosphere, moons, and… rings? Less than three-quarters the size of our moon, Pluto nevertheless has no shortage of fascinating features. It has a curiously mottled coloration that seems to change with its seasons, an atmosphere that expands and falls back onto its surface, a system of four moons in orbit around it — the most recent of which, currently called “P4″, was announced just last summer — and, according to Planetary Science Institute senior scientist Henry Throop, possibly even a system of rings.

Opening of UK Site Producing the Heart of Galileo (Source: ESA)
The first Galileo satellites are already in orbit, with more on the way. Today ESA’s Director General and the UK’s Universities and Science Minister attended the grand opening of the facility where navigation payloads for the next batch of Galileo satellites are being built. UK company Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) in Guildford, Surrey, is assembling the payloads for the next 14 Galileo satellites. These follow on from the initial four, the second pair of which will be launched this autumn. (1/25)

United Technologies Reports 11% Jump in Q4 Profit (Source: Bloomberg)
United Technologies reported an 11% jump in profit for the fourth quarter, to $1.33 billion, compared with $1.2 billion for the same quarter in the previous year. The company's aerospace units posted improved sales for the quarter, while sales dropped at its air-conditioning division. (1/26)

Jeff Greason Talks Florida Space (Source: NPR)
"I think the space industry will continue to be a growing part of both the U.S. and the world economy in the future. I think how much of it is on Florida's coast is going to be tied to the policy choices that we make as a nation in what we do with the federal government's space program, with the NASA space program.... The future of what NASA is a choice that we make, it's not a destiny, and there are multiple things we can do with the nation's space program, and some of them might have a very bright future for Florida."

"The Cape has a natural advantage as a launch site for expendable large boosters, and really the choice that hasn't been clearly brought into focus in national policy is if we wanted to select a policy that was good for Florida, we would select a policy that had a lot of launches. And, you know, the more launches there are, the more activity that there will tend to be at the Cape."

"That's not the only thing that can be done in Florida, but that's an area where Florida has a real advantage over other sites. And it's a challenge, if I may say, in the current posture of our program is that we are, as was discussed earlier, putting our energies towards the development of a larger booster that would fly less often. And that's not necessarily such a great thing for Florida." (1/25)

Starflighters Expands Fleet at KSC (Source: Parabolic Arc)
The final pieces of a unique squadron of supersonic jets arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 19, where they will be reassembled and put to work with a private company aiming to use them for research and microgravity training. The new planes were part of a group of five F-104 fighters bought by Starfighters Inc. from the Italian Air Force. The company already had four of the aircraft, but that wasn’t enough for the company to pursue a number of different opportunities.

Starfighters operates out of a hangar at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy under an agreement with Kennedy. Svetkoff’s main goal is to fly research and development missions, ranging from experiments flown for universities to evaluating rocket and spacecraft components in high-stress environments including high-acceleration and microgravity.

Space Florida and Embry-Riddle University already have partnerships with the company. Because the aircraft can soar to some 70,000 feet and speed past Mach 2, it can be used to launch small satellites into space. The 19-foot-long, 900-pound rocket, about the size of a Sparrow missile, has already been tested in a series of taxi runs hanging from an F-104′s wings. Test flights carrying the rocket but not launching it will be conducted in the next month and the first launch is in works to take place in the summer. Click here. (1/25)

Extraterrestrial Outfitter (Source: Air & Space)
Eric Anderson is clear about his goal. “I’d like to go to space in the next five to 10 years,” he says. “I don’t want to wait.” He sits comfortably on a white leather couch in his office at Space Adventures in Vienna, Virginia, wearing a dark suit and open-collar shirt. A trim, fit man with a closely shaved head, he acts like he’s ready to go tomorrow. But wait he must, until he develops the net worth required to take his dream trip. That may explain why he’s working two high-profile jobs at once: chairman of Space Adventures, and president and CEO of Seattle-based Intentional Software. “Intentional actually could be worth billions and billions of dollars,” he says. “It could be my ticket.”

For the last 10 years, Anderson and Space Adventures have been brokering deals for well-heeled passengers to fly aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station. Now that those trips have become more or less routine, Anderson is primed for his own ride. And he’s ready to take Space Adventures to the next level—to the moon. Click here. (1/25)

How to Make A Giant Telescope Mirror (Source: NPR)
The world's largest mirrors for the world's largest telescopes are made under the football stadium at the University of Arizona. Why there? Why not? "We wanted some space, and it was just used for parking some cars, and this seemed like a good use," says Roger Angel. Angel is the master of making big mirrors for telescopes. For 30 years he has been using a method called spin casting to make the largest solid telescope mirrors in the world. At the moment, he's making the second of seven mirrors, each 27 feet across, that will go into the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), which will be sited on a peak in the Andes Mountains in Chile. Click here. (1/26)

Follow-Through With Congress Key to Gingrich Space Vision (Source: Florida Today)
The vision Gingrich unapologetically called “grandiose” offered few details about how it would be implemented, what budget was needed or whether it could earn support from Congress. But Gingrich said his space program would be “very different” and make some within NASA “uncomfortable,” drawing applause. Next Tuesday’s Republican primary may tell if voters on the Space Coast and across the state find the proposals inspiring or threatening to a space program still adjusting to changes implemented by President Barack Obama.

Mike McCulley, a former shuttle pilot who went on to lead shuttle contractor United Space Alliance, said “consistent, steady leadership” was paramount, noting that little ultimately came from the space exploration vision President George W. Bush introduced in 2004... "President Bush gave a good speech, but nobody followed up on it.” (1/26)

Instrument Glitch Found on Renamed Suomi NPP Satellite (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
With a stunning snapshot of the Earth to share, the United States' freshly launched dual-purpose polar-orbiting weather and climate-tracking observatory has been branded with a new name to honor a pioneer. Launched with the mouthful name National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project, or NPP, on Oct. 28, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the craft originally was conceived as a experimental test-bed for a future era of weather platforms.

While the satellite remains in checkout mode, its instruments have produced a stunning view of the Americas from the Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument as seen above. That testing, however, has uncovered a larger than expected decrease in sensor sensitivity in four of VIIRS's near-infrared and visible channels because of tungsten oxide contamination on the surface of the instrument's mirror during preflight coating, causing it to darken. (1/26)

NASA Says No to Phobos-Grunt Crash Theory Test (Source: RIA Novosti)
NASA has refused to participate in an experiment designed to show if U.S. radars could have had an impact on Russia’s troubled Phobos-Grunt Mars probe, Anatoly Shylov said on Thursday. “Roscosmos filed an official request to the U.S. side to participate in the investigation, but they refused,” Shylov said. The official also said that the government commission inquiry into the cause of the probe’s crash had issued a final report with the results of the investigation. It is expected to be published next week. (1/26)

More Limits on U.S. Space Systems Unacceptable (Source: Heritage Foundation)
The Obama Administration launched a push for an international Code of Conduct pertaining to activities of space-faring nations, but its activities have been cloaked in secrecy. This lack of transparency caused 37 Republican Senators to request more information about the Administration’s negotiations on this issue in February 2011. According to Ellen Tauscher, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control, “We will never do a legally binding agreement because I can't do one. I can't get anything ratified.” It appears that the Administration is trying to circumvent the Senate’s constitutional role in consenting to the ratification of international agreements that should be concluded as treaties. Click here. (1/26)

Spacecom on Verge of Ordering Large Ka-band Satellite (Source: Space News)
Satellite fleet operator Spacecom of Israel, whose planned expansion beyond the Middle East and Europe is starting with the Africa-centered Amos 5 spacecraft that began commercial service on Jan. 25, expects to order a large Amos 6 satellite equipped with Ka-band spot beams in addition to C- and Ku-band transponders within weeks. Tel Aviv-based Spacecom has been discussing Amos 6 for nearly two years but did not issue a formal request for proposals to prospective manufacturers until last summer. A request for final bids is being sent out in the coming days, with a decision on the builder to be made before April. (1/26)

Next Frontier For Florida's Space Coast (Source: NPR)
Can the private space industry ever replace all those jobs along the Space Coast? I'm hearing from some experts that the answer is: eventually, but it will look very different than it has for the last 50 years and some change. There's been one big program, obviously, the space shuttle program. There's been one sort of entity that all of the workers, some 15,000 workers, have worked on. But now you're looking at kind of a new paradigm. Just last week, NASA went to the administration and told them that they had sort of a new way of looking at their culture, much more diversified is what we're looking at.

Kennedy Space Center would be, instead of working on one project, an eclectic mix. NASA will be over here in one area, maybe the Department of Energy is over here in another area working on alternative energy technology, and over here there's the commercial space industry park, and so on. So could we have all of those jobs back? Yes, but it's going to take some five to 10 years, probably at the minimum. In the meantime, there's some work but nowhere near as much. (1/25)

Roskosmos at a Crossroads (Source: Russia BTH)
To mark the 50th anniversary of Yury Gagarin’s first space flight, the year 2011 was declared the Year of Space. It was not the best year for the Russian space industry: There were 32 launches, and four of them failed. This puts the failure rate at 12.5 percent –– only the first years of space exploration in the 1960s saw a higher rate. The accidents suggest a systemic crisis in the Russian space industry. Can it be overcome?

Thirty-two launches are scheduled for 2012, the same as the previous year. Nearly half of them are mixed projects either involving foreign partners or conducted exclusively on behalf of foreign customers. As for ambitious projects such as interplanetary flights, there are none on the list. However, Russia plans two flights to the moon by 2020, while in the long term, Roskosmos intends to establish a manned base on the moon. (1/26)

Vesta Likely Cold and Dark Enough for Ice (Source: Space Daily
Though generally thought to be quite dry, roughly half of the giant asteroid Vesta is expected to be so cold and to receive so little sunlight that water ice could have survived there for billions of years, according to the first published models of Vesta's average global temperatures and illumination by the sun. (1/26)

New Mexico Spaceport Officials to Hear from Virgin Galactic (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
The New Mexico Spaceport Authority will hear an update from Virgin Galactic and discuss a proposed change spaceport officials said is needed to state law when it convenes today in Santa Fe. Spaceport proponents are pushing for a law change in the current legislative session that would restrict lawsuits by passengers against parts suppliers and manufacturers of spacecraft.
The taxpayer-financed, $209 million Spaceport America, located just north of Dona Ana County, is an under-construction launch site for commercial space vehicles. (1/26)

New Mexico Spaceport Lawsuit Protection Bill Moves Forward (Source: AP)
Dona Ana County Commissioners unanimously signed off on a state bill that would restrict a space travelers right to sue Spaceport and Virgin Galactic in most cases of injury or death. A proposal for the 2012 state legislative session would limit lawsuits against manufacturers and suppliers of spacecraft. Backers of the bill argue it's needed to keep the spaceport north of Dona Ana County competitive with three other aerospace-focused states that have already OK'd similar measures. (1/26)

Obama Moved Space Policy in the Right Direction, But Still a Long Way to Go (Source: Reason)
By any reasonably objective measure, U.S. human spaceflight policy is an awful mess. We have spent hundreds of billions of federal taxpayer dollars during the last half-century, with little to show for it in terms of significant human expansion off the planet. In some ways, we have gone backward. There are near-term, cost-effective solutions to our space problems, but the people who guide policy in Congress aren’t interested in them, insisting instead on pouring further tens of billions into a giant rocket that probably will never fly and that internal NASA documents show is unneeded.

After the Obama administration announced its modest policy changes, the space policy establishment disingenuously and often mendaciously sought to preserve its decades-long rent seeking by feeding into national anxieties about American exceptionalism and the president himself. Sadly, the old guard has had some success. Bad policies are perpetuated because most people on Capitol Hill, members and staff alike, are too busy with more important matters than space and tend to defer to colleagues who compete for space-committee assignments so that they can keep the pork coming. The situation has been aggravated by the Obama administration’s political missteps.

Despite adopting the best space policy in years, perhaps ever, it blundered in rolling out the changes and remains inarticulate, confused, and confusing in explaining them, allowing obfuscation by supporters of the status quo to go largely unchecked. It is ironic that an administration otherwise hell-bent on increasing government ownership and control in so many other aspects of American life would be the one that finally came up with a policy designed to privatize a function that has long been performed by a government agency, with the explicit goal of encouraging competition. Click here. (1/26)

January 25, 2012

2012-01-25T08:09:00.005-05:00

How Gingrich Would Colonize the Moon (Source: News OK)
Newt Gingrich has dreamed up a lot of weird ideas, but this one tops them all, according to the former House Speaker.
“At one point early in my career I introduced the Northwest Ordinance in Space,” the Republican presidential candidate told thousands of voters on Florida’s Space Coast. Under Gingrich's proposal, once there were “13,000 Americans living on the moon, they [could] petition to become a state,” he said.

Standing before an adoring crowd of supporters, Gingrich joked that the proposal — which would essentially colonize the moon — was “the weirdest thing I have ever done.” The crowd laughed. But Gingrich grew more serious as he explained the rationale behind his proposal. “I wanted every young American to say to themselves, ‘I could be one of those people,’” he said. All practicalities aside, the idea would inspire young people to dream, he said.

“[That’s] the difference between romantics and so-called practical people,” Gingrich concluded. Gingrich borrowed the term “Northwest Ordinance” from the Second Continental Congress’ establishment of a territory in 1787 that was later used as a model for adopting new states into the Union. (1/25)

Gingrich Wows Space Coast Audience with 'Grandiose' Space Vision (Source: SPACErePORT)
“I am sick of being told we have to be timid and I am sick of being told we have to be limited to technologies that are 50 years old,” Newt Gingrich told a cheering Space Coast audience, unveiling his vision for a permanent lunar base (by the end of his second term) and strenthened U.S. leadership in space. Like President Obama, Gingrich called for increased commercialization in Earth orbit. For Mars exploration he proposed a $10 billion prize and development of new propulsion technologies to shorten the trip. He was highly critical of NASA's bureaucracy, arguing that much progress could be made in space if the agency were not bound by its traditional ways of doing business.

Gingrich repeatedly pointed to the aviation industry for examples of how the space industry should evolve. Rather than launching once per day, which seems to be our current technical limit, Gingrich sees 5-8 launches per day, with airport-like operations. He wants 10% of NASA's budget devoted to prizes (recalling the prize that Lindbergh won to cross the Atlantic). He pointed at the airline industry's evolution in the 1930s as a guide for space transportation. He said if we can change the expectations that come with bureaucracy, and ramp up our sense of urgency, we can accomplish amazing things. (1/25)

Logsdon on Gingrich: Realistic Goals Not His Strong Suit (Source: Space.com)
"When we are not expecting a U.S. crewed launch to the ISS until 2016-2017 and are just getting started on a lunar-class launch vehicle, establishing a lunar outpost by 2020 is a fantasy," space policy expert John Logsdon, professor emeritus at George Washington University, told SPACE.com via email. "It would be much better to set realistic goals, but that is not Mr. Gingrich's strong suit." (1/25)

Beware Campaign Promises: Obama and Space (Source: Space Policy Online)
In August 2008, candidate Barack Obama gave a rousing space speech in Florida. Criticizing the Bush Administration for giving NASA a vision but not the money to achieve it, Obama asserted "We cannot cede our leadership in space." He vowed to "close the gap" between when the space shuttle program ended and a new system was available and ensure the people of Florida who worked in the space industry did not lose their jobs when the shuttle ended. "We need a real vision," Obama proclaimed, and announced he would reestablish a National Space Council to formulate it. "Under my watch, NASA will inspire the world once again," he said then, and "grow the economy" in Florida.

After his election budget realities set in, Ryan Lizza writes, Obama was told by advisers to cancel the Constellation program because it "was behind schedule, over budget, and 'unachievable." Obama agreed as he wrestled with the need to cut other favorite programs as well. This highlighted Obama’s growing realization that the post-partisan political world he believed in as a candidate and his initial months in office bears little resemblance to Washington reality. It is another lesson in the folly of believing what presidential candidates say during campaigns versus what they can deliver if they win. (1/25)

NEC Corp. Tapped To Build Another Asteroid-Bound Hayabusa Probe (Source: Space News)
NEC Corp. of Tokyo said Jan. 25 that it has been selected to start work on designing and building hardware for Japan’s Hayabusa-2 asteroid sample-return mission, which the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) hopes to launch in 2014. Chris Shimizu, an NEC spokesman, said that the selection will allow NEC to start building the probe, which will be similar in design to the original Hayabusa spacecraft that traveled 6 billion kilometers over seven years to collect about 60 particles of the asteroid 25143 Itokawa and return them to Earth in June 2010. (1/25)

Space Station Resupply Ship Successfully Launched (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
A Russian Soyuz booster successfully launched Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and propelled a resupply freighter on its two-day pursuit to rendezvous with the International Space Station. (1/25)

Pentagon Will Announce 2013 Budget This Week (Source: Wall Street Journal)
The Pentagon plans to announce its budget for fiscal year 2013 on Thursday, officials said. The Pentagon will propose spending $525 billion in 2013, which is $6 billion less than its base budget in 2012. The Pentagon plans to cut the number of military personnel on active duty and cancel some programs. (1/25)

Space Florida Seeks OK for Spaceport Projects (Source: Florida Today)
Space Florida seeks approval to spend more than $10 million to renovate a former shuttle hangar at Kennedy Space Center, modernize a Cape Canaveral launch pad and update the state’s space master plan. During a meeting in Tallahassee, board members also will consider a proposal that would give the agency title to a $100 million facility being built to house the retired shuttle orbiter Atlantis at the KSC Visitor Complex, a financing arrangement that helps the complex’s operator. Space Florida says a plan to take over title of the Atlantis exhibit facility repeats the financing structure used in 2005 to support the Visitor Complex’s construction of the $35 million Shuttle Launch Experience attraction.

If approved, $5 million would start work to ready Kennedy’s Orbiter Processing Facility-3 and Processing Control Center for commercial use by Boeing, which plans to assemble commercial crew capsules there. The hangar is expected to be ready to support commercial operations by the first quarter of 2014. Space Florida, the state’s aerospace economic development agency, took over use of the facility last year and will lease it to Boeing.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Space Florida is upgrading Launch Complex-46 for potential launches of Athena or Minotaur rockets. The agency proposes spending up to $5 million to modernize the complex’s communications infrastructure and refurbish mechanical and electrical facilities. An update of the Canaveral Spaceport master plan would spell out how to transform KSC and the Cape into a “cohesive and coordinated commercial, civil and military spaceport." Click here. (1/25)

Embry Riddle and SpaceTEC Sign Agreement to Advance Aerospace Education (Source: ERAU)
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and SpaceTEC have entered into a new partnering agreement allowing SpaceTEC certified students to enter Embry-Riddle's aerospace education programs. Students from the SpaceTEC consortium of community and technical colleges who are enrolled in coursework or who pass Core and/or Concentration Certification Examinations and currently hold the SpaceTEC Certified Aerospace Technician credentials will be eligible to transfer all work toward the A.S. and/or A.A.S. degrees and continue their education toward higher degrees at Embry-Riddle.

SpaceTEC is a National Science Foundation Center for Aerospace Technical Education. Based at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, SpaceTEC is a consortium of leading national institutions, including Brevard Community College (Florida), Calhoun Community College (Alabama), Community College of the Air Force (Alabama), Doña Ana Community College (New Mexico), Edmonds Community College (Washington), Thomas Nelson Community College (Virginia), and Tulsa Technology Center (Oklahoma). These partners serve the aerospace technical education/training needs of U.S. spaceports, NASA centers and military installations, and aerospace industry clusters. (1/23)

'Amazing' Mars Rover Opportunity Begins Ninth Year of Exploration (Source: Space.com)
A NASA rover celebrates eight years on the Martian surface today (Jan. 24), and the long-lived robot is still going strong. The Opportunity rover landed on the Red Planet on this day in 2004, three weeks after its twin, Spirit, touched down. While NASA declared Spirit dead last year, Opportunity continues to gather data, helping scientists understand more and more about Mars' wetter, warmer past. (1/24)

January 24, 2012

2012-01-23T22:06:00.018-05:00

Is Gingrich's Pro-Obama Space Policy Stance About to Flip Flop? (Source: NASA Watch)
From a February 2010 op-ed written by Newt Gingrich and Bob Walker, published in the Washington Times: "Despite the shrieks you might have heard from a few special interests, the Obama administration's budget for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration deserves strong approval from Republicans. The 2011 spending plan for the space agency does what is obvious to anyone who cares about man's future in space and what presidential commissions have been recommending for nearly a decade."

"Bipartisan cooperation has been difficult to achieve in Congress, but here is a chance. By looking forward, NASA has given us a way to move forward. It deserves broad support for daring to challenge the status quo. It has proposed the real change that Americans are seeking." Editor's Note: After essentially endorsing President Obama's approach to establishing a post-Shuttle direction for NASA, one wonders whether Newt Gingrich will change his position as he campaigns for the GOP nomination and the presidency. Click here. (1/24)

TRDA Announces 2012 Clean Tech Venture Initiative (Source: TRDA)
Clean Tech Ventures is a part of the i2 Capital Accelerator, which is a program of the Technological Research and Development Authority (TRDA). The i2 Clean Tech Ventures program consists of four weeks of intense mentoring that kicks off with a two-day business boot camp. The i2 Mentor Network is a statewide network of "been there, done that" technology entrepreneurs that have founded and raised capital for their own companies. Our mentors have collectively raised over $300 million for their own companies, and will work with you to prepare your company for the capital raising process. Click here. (1/24)

A Wolf in Rocket Clothing (Source: NHPR)
The latest twist in the Obama administration’s so-called Asian pivot. The president’s chief science advisor, John Holdren, has said the US would benefit from cooperating with China on future space missions. But federal legislation now prohibits NASA from pursuing such efforts with a little known clause that’s popped up in two pieces of legislation within the past year. Click here to hear an interview with John Matson of Scientific American. (1/24)

Antrix: Ex-ISRO Chief Madhavan Nair Banned from Future Government Job (Source: Indian Express)
In an unprecedented disciplinary action, four of the biggest names in the space community, including former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) G Madhavan Nair, have been barred from occupying any government position — current or in future — for their role in the Antrix-Devas deal, in which a private company was accused to have been wrongfully allotted S-band frequencies for radio waves. (1/24)

Congressman McCarthy Wants to Extend FAA Moratorium on Human Spaceflight Regulation (Source: Ridgecrest Daily Independent)
Eight years ago, I witnessed firsthand the beginning of a new space age right here in Kern County: the era of private spaceflight. The Mojave Air and Space Port has led the way in cutting-edge aerospace innovation, and is home to a thriving private commercial space industry that was born from the Ansari X-Prize. Currently, the Space Port is at 100 percent capacity with a quarter of all jobs there in the private commercial space industry. And this is just the beginning. More jobs are coming. It’s clear that the private sector is ready and willing to step up to keep America at the forefront of space flight.

The business owners and innovators in our community are well aware of the government’s affinity to regulate just for the sake of regulating. Fortunately, in 2004, common sense legislation regarding the regulation of commercial space flight was passed that gave the industry room to innovate and grow while also protecting the safety of crew members and the public. This is an example of government allowing the private sector to do what it does best: innovate and create new technologies.

However, the legislation is slated to expire at the end of this year, and that could mean a whole slew of new regulations on the growing $34 billion commercial space flight industry. There is no question that the safety of crew members and the public is of utmost importance, but unleashing Washington bureaucrats on this industry now could mean the end of private commercial space flight in America before it even gets off the ground. That is why I am fighting to extend the 2004 provisions. The successes witnessed and the jobs already created are just a glimpse into the full economic and technological possibilities of private commercial space flight. (1/24)

Insurance Group Includes Space Tourism Among "Emerging Risks" (Source: Insurance Journal)
The Willis Group identified 18 “emerging risks,” as causing increasing concern among the world’s insurance community. While “headline-grabbing events” – the euro zone crisis, the Arab Spring, natural catastrophes like the Japanese earthquake and Thai floods – have all received extensive exposure and commentary, “new risks are emerging that could blindside business executives,” Wills warns.

The survey focuses on 18 emerging risks facing industries as diverse as Energy, Banking, Captives and Power & Utilities. The blog also polls readers asking them to identify which of the risks listed they think will have the greatest impact in 2012. Number nine on the list is "Space Tourism". Click here. (1/24)

Pentagon Denies Downing Russian Mars Probe (Source: WIRED)
The Russians are pretty sure they know why their Mars moon probe fritzed out. It must have been U.S. radar waves, emanating from a facility named after the hated Ronald Reagan all the way out into the depths of space. And wouldn’t that be just like Reagan? Alas, that’s “utterly impossible,” says Brian Weeden, a former officer with the U.S. Air Force Space Command. Radar just doesn’t work like that. And the Pentagon denies the whole thing, of course. Problem is, Weeden says, “it’s going to be almost impossible to disprove to the believers.” Welcome to another edition of Tinfoil Tuesday, our exploration of the planet’s least likely conspiracy theories. (1/24)

U.S. Air Force Draws Final Curtain on DWSS (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Air Force has officially stopped work on the Defense Weather Satellite System (DWSS), which arose from the ashes of a canceled civil-military program only to be rejected by Congress. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles said it took the action to implement the 2012 defense authorization and appropriations bills, both of which were signed into law late last year.

“Today the Air Force Defense Meteorological System Program constellation of satellites continues to provide high-quality and timely weather data to forecasters with two more satellites yet to be launched,” the service said. The Air Force requested $445 million in 2012 for DWSS, which was under contract to Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems of Redondo Beach, Calif. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012 provided $43 million to terminate DWSS and $125 million for an unspecified follow-on weather satellite program. (1/24)

Russian Space Freighter to be Buried in Pacific (Source: RIA Novosti)
The Progress M-13M cargo spacecraft will be sunk in a remote area in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday after deploying a micro-satellite, a spokesman for the Russian Mission Control said. The space freighter undocked from the Pirs docking module on the International Space Station (ISS) at 02:10 a.m. Moscow time on Tuesday. After two orbit corrections, the Progress was positioned at about 500 km from the orbital station to deploy the Chibis-M micro-satellite, which carries about 12 kg of equipment to study high-altitude powerful pulses of gamma-and X-ray. (1/24)

NASA Langley Reopens Back Gate During Lunch Hours (Source: DailyPress.com)
NASA Langley Research Center employees will once again be able to drive into the Hampton facility's back gate at lunch time, which is a relief to Poquoson business owners. NASA Langley Director Lesa Roe told Poquoson Mayor Gene Hunt about the change Tuesday. Starting Jan. 30 the back gate will be open to incoming traffic again from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

NASA Langley's back gate on Wythe Creek Road used to be open to both incoming and outgoing traffic from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. In October incoming access was changed to 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. only because budget cuts eliminated the gate guard. The new traffic pattern added an additional two-mile drive for employees to get back into work via the front gate. Since then Poquoson businesses, and particularly restaurants, have seen a drop in lunchtime business. (1/24)

Making Space Exploration Come Alive for Young Earthlings (Source: Huffington Post)
According to Virgin Galactic's George Whitesides: "It's important for children today to realize that they are growing up in a world where, if anyone puts their mind to it, they can go to space." He added, "Since the dawn of the space age, only about 525 people have been to space." And as space travel today is made safe and more affordable for the private citizen, "Virgin Galactic is hoping to fly that number of people into space the first year to year-and-a-half of our operation." Click here. (1/24)

Growing Budget Deficits May Have Scuttled an “Inspiring” Obama Space Program (Source: Space Politics)
Tuesday night President Obama will give his State of the Union speech before a joint session of Congress. Some have wondered if he might sneak a brief mention of space into the speech because astronaut Mark Kelly will be at the speech, sitting with the First Lady. Of course, the primary reason why he’ll be there has little to do with his NASA career but instead because of his wife, Gabrielle Giffords.

Another reason why it’s unlikely space would get much a mention in the address is that the administration may have something along the lines of space policy fatigue. This week’s issue of The New Yorker features a long article that takes readers behind the scenes of the Obama Administration, based on hundreds of pages of internal memos obtained by the magazine. The article takes a broad look at the administration acted and reacted to various issues, including, as it turns out, space.

The article notes that as a candidate for president in 2008, Obama “had promised a bold space program”, a reference to his space policy white paper the campaign released in August 2008. However, according to the New Yorker article, those plans foundered on projections of growing budget deficits. “Especially in light of our new fiscal context, it is not possible to achieve the inspiring space program goals discussed during the campaign,” a November 2009 memo (authorship unstated) advised the president. That sentence, the article noted, was in bold and underlined for particular emphasis. (1/23)

SpaceX Offers Interactive Panorama View of Dragon Interior (Source: SpaceX)
In the coming days, we'll take a closer look at some of Dragon's advanced technologies in celebration of the Year of the Dragon and the opening of a new era in space travel. They include a new interactive panorama of the interior of a SpaceX capsule in cargo delivery configuration. Click here. (1/23)

Cabana to Moderate Panel on 50 Years of Spaceflight at KSC (Source: NSCFL)
KSC Director Bob Cabana will moderate a panel of 'KSC Legends' during a Feb. 14 luncheon of the National Space Club (Florida Committee) in Cape Canaveral. The panel will include Steve Francois, JoAnn Morgan, Ike Rigell, Bob Sieck, and Lee Solid, focusing on 50 years of spaceflight at KSC. Click here for information. (1/24)

US Space Industry Losing Competitive Edge Under ITAR (Source: Examiner)
The U.S. space industry is losing its competitive edge and risks falling short of future national security requirements unless the government reforms export control regulations and promotes the international competitiveness of U.S. industry, according to a new report released by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA).

"A strong and globally competitive space industrial and supplier base is a major national security asset," said AIA President and CEO Marion Blakey. "Reforming America's export control system and promoting space exports will better serve our national security and bolster our economy and technological leadership."

The AIA report released on Monday, “Competing for Space: Satellite Export Policy and U.S. National Security,” surveys U.S. satellite systems and component manufacturers about the challenges the space industrial base faces as a result of strict U.S. export policies. Between the adverse impacts on industry is loss of global market share and dampening of satellite component sales opportunities to sustain U.S. space technology leadership. (1/24)

U.S. Should Reform Export Process for Aerospace Industry (Source: AIA)
The Aerospace Industries Association says export controls should be reformed to ease the process for U.S. aerospace companies. "Promotion of satellite and space exports to U.S. allies and partners will help ensure our security and aerospace industrial base remains second to none," said AIA President and CEO Marion Blakey. (1/24)

Editorial: Cut Military Personnel, Not Military Programs (Source: Newark Star-Ledger)
Gen. Ronald Fogleman, a retired Air Force chief of staff, says the Pentagon should focus on reducing military personnel instead of cutting high-tech programs. "Instead of these reckless cuts to research and modernization, we should reduce the active military and expand the National Guard and Reserves -- saving hundreds of billions of dollars," he writes. (1/24)

NASA’s Robotic Satellite Servicing Demo Delayed Until March (Source: Space News)
NASA’s Robotic Refueling Mission, a space station-based demonstration effort caught up in a cascading series of delays following the last summer’s crash of a Russian cargo module, will finally begin its first on-orbit satellite servicing tests in March, the project’s lead said. “We will go through the first tasks from March through June, and then pick it up again with the refueling tasks from July through September [and] October,” said Frank Cepollina. (1/23)

Iran Set to Launch Large New Rocket, Repeat Fatal Monkey Mission (Source: America Space)
Iran is poised to begin a surge in space launch activity that will also include the first test of the large new space booster that could also eventually serve as a nuclear armed ballistic missile. As many as 4 new spacecraft including a radar imaging satellite and two optical imaging spacecraft are to be launched as part of this surge, the Iranian Fars News Agency announced January 22. In addition Iran is also planning a second attempt to launch a monkey 75 mi. into space after its first attempt in mid 2011 failed, killing the primate. (1/23)

Wallops Media Roundtable With NASA's Space Technology Director (Source: NASA)
Journalists are invited to a roundtable discussion at 11 a.m. EST on Tuesday, Jan. 24, with NASA's Chief Technologist Mason Peck during his visit to the agency's Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island, Virginia. Wallops Flight Facility Director Bill Wrobel will join Peck for the event. They will discuss Wallops' important role in the agency's development of cutting-edge technologies and innovations that will enable NASA's future missions in science, exploration and space operations.

Wallops will conduct critical high-altitude balloon and sounding rocket flights for several major space technology projects during the coming years. The center will test inflatable aerodynamic decelerators for safely returning cargo to Earth from the International Space Station and landing large payloads on planetary surfaces. NASA also will launch a small technology secondary payload aboard a commercial rocket from Wallops this year. (1/24)

Discovery Headed to the Smithsonian (Source: AP)
The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum is preparing to welcome the space shuttle Discovery into its collection. The shuttle will be flown to Washington Dulles International Airport on the back of a Boeing 747 in April, including a flyover above the nation's capital. The flyover is planned for April 17. A museum spokeswoman later said the flyover has not been confirmed, and details are still being finalized. A formal welcome ceremony is planned for April 19 at the museum's Udvar-Hazy Center. Shuttle Endeavour will travel to the California Science Center in Los Angeles in the second half of the year. (1/24)

Kelly Will Not Run for Congress (Source: Omaha.com)
Capt. Mark Kelly said Monday that his wife "feels pretty good" about her decision to resign from Congress. Kelly, a retired astronaut, was at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on Monday to deliver a lecture as part of the Peter J. Hoagland Integrity in Public Service Lecture Series. About 500 people attended. "Everyone thought Gabby would run again," Kelly said. "She could've. She could've hung onto her seat and done the politically expedient thing. But she wanted to do the right thing. She wanted to focus on her recovery."

Kelly said he has been asked repeatedly but will not run for Congress. "Right now my goal is to make sure she can get back to where she needs to be so she can go to work," he said. Public service is something with which Kelly, who spent 35 years in the U.S. Navy and with NASA, has experience. His mother, Patricia Kelly, was a police officer. His twin brother, Scott Kelly, is also an astronaut. (1/24)

GOP Wants Private Sector to Rescue Space Program (Source: KHOU)
Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich want to revive Florida's Space Coast. But the Republican presidential contenders, eager to address a key local concern in Monday's debate, say they don't want the federal government to spend too much in the effort. (1/24)

Launch of Research Spaceship to Mars Should be Repeated (Source: Itar-Tass)

The launch of a research spaceship to the Mars should be repeated. This proposal is not only in favour of the interests of science, but also some considerations that failures should be overcome with new deeds and new victories, Director the Institute of Space Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Academician Lev Zeleny said in comments on a new RAS initiative.

RAS sent a letter to the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) that insisted the Phobos-Grunt project is unique. “A major amount of work was done for the project, scientists and designers have done a huge amount of work and introduced innovations. We cannot refuse from all these developments over the Phobos-Grunt failure,” Zeleny commented on the letter. “All space agencies do so. This was and remains our traditions. The failures should be overcome with new ambitious successful undertakings,” he noted. (1/24)

China's SatNav Sector Annual Output Predicted to Reach $35 Billion in 2015 (Source: Xinhua)

The annual output value of China's satellite navigation industry is estimated to reach more than 225 billion yuan ($35.64 billion) in 2015, according to a latest research report on the country's geographic information sector. Compiled by a think-tank under the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation, the report predicted the industry would become the country's third new IT economic growth point, after mobile communication and Internet. (1/24)

Astronauts4Hire Sponsors 2012 Next-generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (Source: A4H)
Tampa-based Astronauts4Hire has become a sponsor of the 2012 Next-generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (NSRC) to be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Resort in Palo Alto, California from February 27-29, 2012. The NSRC will bring together researchers from government, industry, and academia in the largest forum of its kind focused on the research and education capabilities of new suborbital vehicles. (1/24)

Sea Launch Plans Another Intelsat Mission (Source: Sea Launch)
During the third quarter of 2012, Sea Launch will launch the Intelsat 21 satellite aboard a Zenit 3SL rocket aboard the company's Odyssey platform in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. In 2010, Sea Launch and Intelsat signed a multiple-launch agreement for up to five missions. (1/24)

Say So Long to CCDev, Hello to CCiCap (Source: Parabolic Arc)
NASA has done it again. The acronym happy space agency has changed the name of its commercial human spaceflight (CHSF) program. The program formerly known as Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) is being succeeded by Commercial Crew integrated Capability (CCiCap). Try to say that acronym 10 times. Or even thrice. Go ahead. I’ll wait…no, try it again…ah, not even close… See what I mean? Impossible. (1/24)

Boeing GPS IIF Satellites Assembled Using 'Pulse' Manufacturing Line (Source: SpaceRef)
Boeing has accelerated the assembly of its Global Positioning System (GPS IIF) satellites through the use of a pulse-line manufacturing approach adapted from the Boeing 737 airplane production line. "Using this pulse-line approach, we are able to build up to six satellites per year," said Craig Cooning. "This is the highest satellite production rate in Boeing history, and it ensures we will deliver the remaining GPS IIF satellites on schedule."

Boeing is currently under contract for 12 GPS IIF satellites for the U.S. Air Force. Two are in orbit and meeting mission requirements; two have been completed and are being stored until launch; and eight are in various stages of pulse-line production. The next GPS IIF launch is scheduled during the third quarter of 2012. Boeing is prepared to deliver several GPS IIF satellites within the next year. (1/24)

NASA's Ed Mango in Colorado to Help Guide Local Companies' Space Efforts (Source: Denver Post)
With the space shuttle fleet retired, it is up to private spacecraft to ferry astronauts to the international space station and other low-Earth-orbit destinations. It's Ed Mango's job at NASA to help companies — such as Sierra Nevada Space Systems and United Launch Alliance — make those spacecraft and the rockets to launch them.

The goal, said Mango, who manages NASA's commercial crew program, "is to develop the best concepts" in collaboration with private companies with an eye on flying by 2017. The only way to the space station until then is to rely on the Russians at $63 million per seat, raising concerns about the loss of U.S. leadership in space. Click here. (1/24)

Newt Gingrich: Let's Go To The Moon Permanently, Get To Mars ASAP (Source: Huffington Post)
Space travel is an issue that will likely come up in few states besides Florida this primary season, but both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich were quick to recognize the importance of the Space Coast is to this state and agreed that the issue is important for the country. "It should certainly be a priority," said Romney when asked whether, during a time of reduced federal spending, space exploration should be a focus. "What we have now is a president who does not have a vision or a mission for NASA. As a result of that, there are people on the Space Coast that are suffering. Florida itself is suffering as a result," he said.

Gingrich added that he would like to go back to the moon "permanently" and get to Mars "as rapidly as possible, building a series of space stations and developing commercial space." Romney and Gingrich both said that space exploration should be a collaborative effort between the federal government and the private sector. Gingrich was then asked whether he would "put more tax dollars into the space race and commit to putting an American on Mars instead of relying on the private sector." "Well, the two are not incompatible," he replied.

"For example, most of the great breakthroughs in aviation were as a result of prizes. Lindbergh flew to Paris for a $25,000 prize. I would like to see vastly more of the money spent encouraging the private sector into a very aggressive experimentation. I would like a leaner NASA. I don't think building a bigger bureaucracy and having a greater number of people sit in rooms and talk gets you there. But if we had a series of goals that we were prepared to offer prizes for, there is every reason to believe you have folks in this country and around the world who would put up an amazing amount of money and would make the Space Coast literally hum with activity because they'd be drawn to achieve prizes." (1/23)

Romney, Gingrich Respond to Space Question in GOP Debate (Source: SPACErePORT)
During Monday night's GOP debate, both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich responded to questions about the future of our nation's space program, asked in the context of ongoing economic problems on the state's Space Coast. Romney gave the first response, saying space should be a national priority and that it is important for science, commercial, and military development. He said stakeholder groups including NASA, the Air Force, industry, and universities should come together to establish a vision for space exploration, and that funding for space should come from a mix of government and private sources.

Romney said the folks on the Space Coast have technology and vision for supporting the space program. Meanwhile, Gingrich's answer focused on reducing NASA's bureaucracy and establishing a series of space prizes to advance the exploration and development of space. He envisioned a series of space stations, a moon base, and missions to Mars. Gingrich said he wants "vastly more money" to encourage private sector involvement in space.

Alan Boyle of MSNBC tweeted that it "sounds like both Romney and Gingrich would start at square one on NASA vision. Deja vu all over again." Good point. It doesn't seem like either candidate would want to continue down the current path for space exploration, which could lead to familiar inaction and gridlock when one of them attempts to sway Congress as president. (1/23)

Coalition for Space Exploration Appoints New Chairman, Deputy (Source: Parabolic Arc)
The Coalition for Space Exploration announced veteran aerospace communicators Lon Rains of Northrop Grumman and Mary Engola of Ball Aerospace will lead the Coalition in 2012. Rains and Engola will serve as the new chair and deputy chair, respectively. Each will serve a one-year term, effective January through December 2012.

The Coalition for Space Exploration is a group of space industry businesses and organizations collaborating to ensure that the United States remains the leader in space, science and technology. By reinforcing the value and benefits of space exploration with the nation’s leaders, the Coalition intends to build lasting support for a long-term, sustainable, strategic direction for space exploration. Through marketing, communications and outreach efforts, the Coalition highlights the benefits of a robust American space program. (1/23)

Masten Flight Tests GENIE System (Source: Parabolic Arc)
NASA could test its payloads on Earth under realistic flight conditions before sending them into space by using a technology flown by Draper Laboratory last month. Using the GENIE (Guidance Embedded Navigator Integration Environment) System, Draper recently fully controlled the Xombie suborbital rocket built by Masten Space Systems during a closed loop tethered flight at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.

This successful first step brings the NASA Dryden Flight Opportunities Program closer to a new testbed capability that could be used to validate future planetary technology payloads. Aircraft available to test NASA instruments today are unable to fly at the desired trajectories for planetary landings, and computer simulations are used to generate that data. However, a GENIE controlled flight vehicle could mimic a spacecraft’s final approach to the Moon and Mars here on Earth.

Emerging and advancing future space technologies will then have the opportunity to fly their payloads terrestrially to raise their overall Technology Readiness Level and show that they are ready for use in space. Draper plans to conduct a free-flying demonstration with GENIE and the Masten rocket later this winter. The GENIE precision landing GN&C system was developed jointly between Draper and the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) under the Autonomous Landing Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) and Morpheus lander programs. (1/23)

NASA Set To Start Spending for Big Human Spaceflight Programs in 2012 (Source: Space News)
With the space shuttle fleet having retired in July, leaving NASA with no independent means to launch astronauts to the international space station, human spaceflight will be the primary focus of the agency’s 2012 procurement activity. NASA intends to select one or two companies this year to finalize designs for commercially operated vehicles to ferry crews to and from the station starting around 2017.

The agency also intends to competitively award contracts for risk reduction studies for the Space Launch System (SLS), a congressionally mandated heavy-lift rocket that in combination with the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle will support manned missions beyond low Earth orbit starting as soon as 2021. The next phase of the Commercial Crew Program, which was to feature fixed-price contract awards, will now be administered under a Space Act Agreement structure. (1/23)

Russian Scientist's Claim of Life on Venus Proven False (Source: Space.com)
A respected Russian scientist claims to have found signs of life on Venus in photographs taken by a Soviet probe 30 years ago. However, outside analysis suggests he is breathing life into an assortment of camera lens covers and image blurs. Leonid Ksanfomaliti, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences who worked on unmanned Soviet missions to Venus during the 1970s and '80s, has written a new article in the journal Solar System Research.

In the article, he calls attention to several objects photographed by the Venera-13 landing probe, a spacecraft that landed on Venus in 1982. The objects — including features described as a disc and a scorpion — appear to change locations from one photo to the next. "Let's boldly suggest that the objects' morphological features would allow us to say that they are living," Ksanfomaliti stated.

Whether the scientist really has suggested that the old photographs contain living creatures that were somehow overlooked previously, or whether his words have been mistranslated, misconstrued or should have been quietly ignored, the claim has made headlines around the globe. Click here to view the photo. (1/23)

Ariane 5 Upgrade Could End Subsidies (Source: Aviation Week)
European Space Agency subsidies intended to offset high fixed costs incurred by the Arianespace commercial launch consortium could be unnecessary by decade’s end if ESA members agree to invest a little over €1 billion to upgrade the Ariane 5 rocket, according to Astrium Chief Executive Francois Auque. The 19-nation agency is currently providing about €120 million in annual price supports to the European launch services company, which manages missions of the Astrium-built Ariane 5 heavy-lift launch vehicle.

In recent years Arianespace has struggled to break even, though additional product offerings in 2011 and 2012, including Europeanized Soyuz rockets and the new Italian Vega launcher, are expected to offset the company’s high fixed costs. The uptick in launch tempo alone is not likely to alleviate the company’s reliance on continued ESA price supports. But Auque says the need for that particular line of ESA financing could be eliminated by increased lift capacity planned for the Ariane 5 Mid-life Evolution (ME), which would add 20% to the payload capacity of the rocket at no additional cost. (1/23)

Should the U.S. Collaborate with China in Space? (Source: Scientific American)
The next time humans set foot on the moon, they may well plant a five-starred red flag there. The Chinese space program is developing rapidly, and further progress should come this year when taikonauts, a colloquial term for Chinese astronauts, visit the Tiangong-1 space module.

The president’s chief science adviser John Holdren has said the U.S. would benefit from cooperation with China. The two countries could tackle the problem of space debris and, possibly, lay groundwork for a joint mission to Mars. His thinking fits with the Obama administration’s so-called Asian pivot, a shift in focus from the Middle East to China’s growing influence; the idea is that science and technology cooperation could be a useful lever in negotiations.

But federal legislation now prohibits NASA from pursuing any such joint efforts. The relevant clause first popped up last April in a stopgap funding bill, and in November it reappeared in the legislation funding NASA for 2012. The author of the provision is Representative Frank Wolf of Virginia, who cites China’s human-rights record and the threat of espionage. (1/23)

Vega Expected to be Price-competitive With Russian Rockets (Source: Space News)
Europe’s Vega small-satellite launcher, whose inaugural flight is scheduled for mid-February, will be sold commercially for about 32 million euros ($42 million) per launch — a price that can compete with converted Russian ballistic missiles, Vega officials said. Program managers said the rocket’s competitive position is even better than it was at the start of development. (1/23)

Tallahassee Educator Named to National STEM Board (Source: WTXL)
Susan Borland, education manager of the Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee, was selected from the Challenger Learning Center national network to sit on the board of directors for the network headquarters, Challenger Center for Space Science Education. Challenger Center for Space Science Education is a not-for-profit education organization whose mission is to inspire an interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education through exploration and discovery.

Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee is part of a national network of 48 Challenger Learning Centers throughout the US, Canada, United Kingdom and South Korea. Combined, Challenger Centers reach 400,000 students and 15,000 teachers each year through mission-based activities focused on STEM education.

Borland began her career with the Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee in February 1999 and was involved in all aspects of planning the center. As education manager, her duties include standards based curriculum planning, workshop preparation and delivery, camp coordination, grant writing and the management of the education department. She currently serves as a network consultant and mentor for the Challenger Center for Space Science Education network. (1/23)

Satellite Data Track Plants’ Response to Warming Temperatures (Source: Space News)
Warming temperatures are having a significant impact on the distribution and health of plants in arctic and tropical regions, according to recent studies that rely on long-term satellite records to study the changes. Researchers from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center used Landsat Earth imaging satellite data to determine how plants in Northern Quebec were responding to warming temperatures. Click here. (1/23)

Meet the 21st-Century Pioneers Who Want to Take You Into Space (Source: Reason.com)
Lots of kids go through an astronaut phase, usually sometime between fireman and president of the United States. For the last three generations of American children dreaming of slipping the surly bonds of Earth, the only game in the galaxy has been a federal agency: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). But since NASA’s space shuttle program shuddered to a stop in July 2011 with the final flight of the Atlantis, those kids—and the adults they have become—have been forced to look outside of government for liftoff.

As luck would have it, there are quite a few men (and they are virtually all men) who would be more than happy to help. These 21st-century pioneers want to make spaceflight affordable, accessible, and commonplace, making a buck off your childhood fantasies in the process. They can’t offer the moon, yet. But they can supply various modes of travel and ways to achieve the astronaut experience, with or without Tang and freeze-dried ice cream. Click here. (1/23)

NOAA Satellites Aid in the Rescue of 207 People in 2011 (Source: NOAA)
In 2011, NOAA satellites were critical in the rescues of 207 people from life-threatening situations throughout the United States and its surrounding waters. The satellites picked up distress signals from emergency beacons carried by downed pilots, shipwrecked boaters and stranded hikers, and relayed the information about their location to first responders on the ground.

NOAA’s polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites are part of the international Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking System, called COSPAS-SARSAT. This system uses a network of satellites to quickly detect and locate distress signals from emergency beacons onboard aircraft and boats, and from smaller, handheld personal locator beacons called PLBs. (1/23)

January 23, 2012

2012-01-22T23:33:00.010-05:00

Santorum, Romney Talk Space in Central Florida (Source: SPACErePORT)
In one television interview on Monday, after a campaign speech, GOP candidate Rick Santorum was asked about the importance of the space program. He responded that space is important from a national security standpoint, because the U.S. will in the future encounter more international threats from space. Later that night at a candidate debate in Tampa, Mitt Romney also spoke of space in terms of national security. He said "We have control of the commons: space, air, and the sea." Then he mentioned the fact that the "Space Coast is struggling" while President Obama plays golf. (1/23)

One Russian Ship Vacates Station Port for Next Vehicle (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
After 82 days docked to the International Space Station, a Russian Progress resupply freighter pulled away Monday afternoon to fly independently into a higher orbit for deployment of a science satellite and setting the stage for another cargo ship launching to the outpost later this week. The Progress M-13M spacecraft reached the station Nov. 2 to deliver three tons of equipment, food, rocket fuel, air and water. It was marked resumption of the Russian-provided supply chain after the August launch failure of the previous ship. (1/23)

Next Solicitation for Commercial Crew Program Expected Feb. 7 (Source: Space News)
NASA plans to solicit proposals Feb. 7 for the third round of its commercial crew program and award at least two funded Space Act Agreements this summer that will run through 2014 and prepare competing astronaut transportation concepts for production. NASA has rebranded this initiative as the “Commercial Crew integrated Capability” program, according to a procurement notice posted online Jan. 23. It was formerly known as the Commercial Crew Integrated Design Contract. (1/23)

Biggest Solar Storm Since 2005 Underway, Will Peak Tuesday (Source Washington Post)
Fast on the heels of a solar storm that delivered a glancing blow over the weekend — triggering bright auroras in Canada and Scandinavia — the sun released an even more energetic blast of radiation and charged plasma overnight that could disrupt GPS signals and the electrical grid Tuesday, especially at high latitudes, space weather experts warned Monday morning. Already, the storm could be disrupting satellite communications as streams of radiation from the sun bounce across the Earth’s magnetic field, which extends above the surface into space. (1/23)

Gingrich Faces Struggling Space Coast Audience for Space Speech (Source: Huntsville Times)
Newt Gingrich, riding a wave of popularity in the Republican Party after winning the South Carolina primary, will find a Space Coast struggling to re-invent itself after the end of the 30-year-old space shuttle program (which cost thousands of Florida jobs) and a long fight over the future of NASA between Congress and President Barack Obama. That fight is over now, but the compromise solution has left uncertainty in Florida and other space states.

Obama ended NASA's behind-schedule Constellation rocket program in favor of government support for building a U.S. commercial space industry to ferry astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station. His idea was that NASA would spend much of the coming decade preparing for the complex challenges of deep space missions.

Fearing loss of the nation's spaceflight capability, Congress forced the White House to agree to allow NASA to develop a new heavy-lift rocket instead. That rocket will be developed in Huntsville by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. The Huntsville area lost an estimated 1,500-2,000 aerospace jobs in 2010 and 2011 as the Constellation and space shuttle programs wound down. (1/23)

How to Picture a Black Hole (Source: WIRED)
This month, researchers are inaugurating the Event Horizon Telescope, a project that will try to take the first detailed pictures of the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. This observation would be a remarkable achievement, underscoring the progress that has been made in black-hole research in just the last few decades.

As recently as the 1970s, astronomers still argued over whether black holes were theoretical constructs or real physical objects. They now have ample evidence that black holes are not only real, but abundant in the cosmos. Here on Earth, advanced computer simulations have given astronomers a wealth of information, leading theoretical physicist Kip Thorne of Caltech to suggest that black-hole research is entering a new golden age. (1/23)

South Africa Space Agency Looks to Cyberspace for Help with Real Space (Source: Meme Burn)
The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) has put out a call on Facebook and Twitter for the country’s citizens to have a say in the drafting of the National Space Program (NSP). According to agency’s website, the aim of the NSP is to “make South Africa a leading space player by 2030″. The site also invites South Africans to share their “thoughts on ‘Space Vision 2030′ via the face book [sic] or Twitter”.

Speaking to Business Day, a leading South African newspaper, Arthur Goldstuck of internet research firm World Wide Worx said SANSA’s move was something of a first among South African state agencies. “The Presidency is on Twitter, but not the president, and it does not encourage interaction,” he said. He added that the decision to use social media was “forward thinking because it shows they are in tune with where people are going”. It seems that social media is not the only high-tech method SANSA is using to come up with a viable national space program. (1/23)

Law Focused on Space a Growing Speciality (Source: Denver Business Journal)
As humans encroach more and more into the space around Earth, the legal issues surrounding outer space increase at warp speed. Just ask Holland & Hart partner Rachel Yates, who has become one of the nation’s most prominent space law attorneys. Colorado’s growing clout in the space industry and the increasing commercialization of space transportation has meant more business for Yates, who leads Denver-based Holland & Hart LLP’s space law practice. The practice has doubled in the last five years, in terms of time spent on aerospace clients, she said. (1/23)

Mark Kelly to be President Obama's State of the Union Guest (Source: Huffington Post)
The White House says President Barack Obama has invited Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' husband to attend Tuesday's State of the Union address. White House spokesman Jay Carney says the president looks forward to having Mark Kelly, a retired NASA astronaut, as a guest in the first lady's box. Carney says Obama and Kelly spoke Monday morning. He says the president thanked both Giffords and Kelly for their patriotism and dedication to the country. (1/23)

A Bold Plan to Study Dark Energy (Source: Sky & Telescope)
On the afternoon of January 8th, a small group of journalists and scientists headed north from downtown Austin, the venue for 219th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, to the University of Texas campus. There we learned about HETDEX, the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment, which David Lambert, the director of McDonald Observatory, introduced as the first major effort to "map the evolution of dark energy as a function of time."

The universe has been expanding since the Big Bang, but observations in the last couple of decades show that this expansion is accelerating, rather than slowing down. Dark energy was first postulated in 1992 as the hypothetical force that causes this stepped-up expansion. Calculations suggest that it constitutes about three-fourths of the energy in the universe — yet remains one of the least understood scientific phenomena. (1/23)

Hundreds of Meteorites Found in Antarctica (Source: Space.com)
A gang of heavily insulated scientists has wrapped up its Antarctic expedition, with its members thawing out from the experience, but pleased to have bagged more than 300 space rocks. They are participants in the Antarctic Search for Meteorites program, or ANSMET for short. Since 1976, ANSMET researchers have been recovering thousands of

According to the ANSMET website, the specimens are currently the only reliable, continuous source of new, nonmicroscopic extraterrestrial material. Given that there are no active planetary sample-return missions coming or going at the moment, the retrieval of meteorites is the cheapest and only guaranteed way to recover new things from worlds beyond the Earth. (1/23)

Caution and Optimism About the Future of Human Spaceflight (Source: Space Review)
Six months after the Space Shuttle completed its final mission, many are still uneasy about the future of America's human spaceflight efforts. Jeff Foust reports that many in the field see cause for optimism for the future, mixed with a dose of caution about the obstacles in the path ahead. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2011/1 to view the article. (1/23)

A Vision for a New Frontier Purpose for American Spaceflight (Source: Space Review)
Supporters of spaceflight have struggled to find rationales to back continued expenditures on relevant projects. Robert D. Lancaster argues that future spaceflight efforts should be based on planetary defense, access to resources, and settlement. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2010/1 to view the article. (1/23)

The Difficult Road to the Moon (Source: Space Review)
Fifty years ago this week NASA launched the first in a series of Ranger spacecraft to the Moon, with poor results. Drew LePage examines the development of those spacecraft and the unfortunate outcomes of those early missions. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2009/1 to view the article. (1/23)

NASA Seeks Partner to Preserve Shuttle Depot Capabilities (Source: SPACErePORT)
NASA has issued a Request for Information (RFI) inviting non-federal organizations to consider taking temporary stewardship of an impressive array of NASA-owned equipment in the NASA Shuttle Logistics Depot (NSLD). About 25 people from a dozen organizations attended a walk-through of the NSLD on Monday to view the equipment, which includes lathes, fabrication equipment, avionics equipment, autoclaves, vibration testing chambers, etc. Embry-Riddle was the only university represented, and none of the other organizations were what I would consider "new space" companies.

NASA hopes to identify a single organization to take the equipment under a five-year renewable Space Act Agreement. NASA would maintain ownership of the equipment and could take some items back before the five year agreement expires. The suite of equipment represents what could become a state-of-the-art aerospace fabrication enterprise, very well suited for a company developing launch vehicles or payloads.

The NSLD facility is located in the city of Cape Canaveral, not on KSC property. It is a very large facility leased to United Space Alliance. Disposition of the facility is not technically part of the NASA RFI, but some potential users might want to take control of the entire facility, rather than relocate the equipment to another location. (1/23)

Compromise Removes Roadblock for FAA Funding (Source: Reuters)
A compromise reached by Senate and House lawmakers on labor issues removes a major roadblock for long-term funding for the Federal Aviation Administration. The compromise would strengthen the rules that airline and railroad workers must follow to hold union elections. The FAA funding extension expires Jan. 31. The agency has been funded by short-term extensions for more than four years, which has stalled a plan to improve the nation's air traffic control system. (1/23)

Spaceflight Bill On New Mexico County's Agenda (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Doña Ana County commissioners on Tuesday will indicate their support - or lack thereof - for a bill that would restrict a space traveler's right to sue in most cases of injury or death. A proposal for the 2012 state legislative session - which started this week in Santa Fe - would limit lawsuits against manufacturers and suppliers of spacecraft. Virgin Galactic, the company that intends to operate flights from Spaceport America in Sierra County, already has state protection from most lawsuits.

Proponents of the bill argue its needed to keep the spaceport, located just north of Doña Ana County, competitive with three other aerospace-focused states that have already OK'd similar measures. County Commissioner Scott Krahling - also a board member of the state's spaceport authority - is proposing Tuesday's measure, a formal declaration of support for the bill. A draft version of the document points out that Virginia, Florida and Texas have approved their own versions of the legislation and "consequently could be more appealing to spaceport-related operators, manufacturers and suppliers," according to the county's agenda.

The resolution urges the Legislature and Gov. Susana Martinez to pass the proposal, known as the "Spaceflight Informed Consent Act." Spaceport officials have said previously the proposal wouldn't restrict the ability of passengers to sue in cases of extreme negligence or intentional injury. (1/23)

Engineers Removing Shuttle Components for Heavy Lift Rocket (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Kennedy Space Center engineers have begun removing Main Propulsion System (MPS) hardware from the aft of the retired orbiters. The flight-flown hardware – a natural match to the RS-25Ds the SLS will initially fly with – will live on with the monster rocket, as much as some of the orbiter hardware will be focused on the test program side of SLS’ development.

The MPS relates to the powerhouse in the aft compartment of the vehicle, aiding the acceleration from lift-off of an orbiter to Main Engine Cutoff (MECO) – the phase of ascent referred to as “powered flight”. As such, the Integrated MPS consists of the three RS-25Ds, the External Tank (ET), a propellant management system used to transport fuel and oxidizer from the tank to the engines, and a multi-purpose helium system. (1/23)

Does Obama’s Planned NOAA Move Make Sense? (Sources: Space News, Washington Post)
President Obama’s plan to shift NOAA from the Commerce Department to the Interior Department has raised questions about the agency’s role and whether the move would help or hurt its mission. While some believe Interior, which oversees the nation’s parks and other land holdings along with its wildlife, is a better fit for NOAA than Commerce, which is focused on promoting U.S. business, others fear the agency — which manages weather satellites, commercial and recreational fisheries, and a range of coastal, ocean and atmospheric programs — will lose clout in the move.

“NOAA will be less prominent as one small part of Interior than it is in Commerce,” David Goldston of the Natural Resources Defense Council wrote. NOAA’s $4.9 billion budget is about 60 percent of Commerce’s overall funding. Of course, whether it should even be in Commerce is a point of contention. It ended up there because President Richard Nixon was miffed at his interior secretary.

In some ways, NOAA could fit more easily within Interior, with its science-oriented U.S. Geological Survey and the Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees imperiled species and their habitat. Others say that some divisions mesh better with Commerce. The National Weather Service, for instance, provides critical planning information on everything from precipitation to temperature fluctuations for the farming and transportation sectors. (1/23)

A Brazilian Bump in the Road for New Telescope (Source: Sarahaskew.net)
In recent years the E-ELT project, Europe’s flagship next-generation optical observatory, seems to have gone from strength to strength: in 2010-2011, ESO Council officially gave the green light to the baseline technical design of the telescope (with the primary mirror slightly reduced in size), several member countries pledged their support for the project, others announced substantial investments into the development of hardware and instrumentation, and crucially, membership fees from giant new member state Brazil looked set to provide a major boost to the project’s financial coffers.

But apparently the E-ELT has hit a snag. This article in Brazilian publication Veja talks about Brazil’s failure to ratify the accession to ESO and support for the E-ELT project because of financial difficulties in 2011. Although an agreement was signed between ESO and the then science minister of Brazil in December 2010, Brazil’s parliament has yet to give its approval. Since then, Brazil’s been through general elections, and the new science minister hasn’t been forthcoming in continuing this approval process. (1/22)

ATK Advances Liberty Rocket for Commercial Crew Launches (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Alliant Techsystems successfully held a Launch System Initial Systems Design (ISD) Review of its Liberty Transportation System. This is the third milestone to be completed under ATK’s unfunded Space Act Agreement (SAA) with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. ATK has five milestones to meet under the Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) agreement, which enables NASA and ATK teams to exchange technical information related to Liberty during the Preliminary Design Review phase of the program.

During the ISD, Liberty team members from ATK, its European-based partner, Astrium, and their subcontractors presented the status of Liberty’s system level requirements, preliminary design and certification process to representatives from the Commercial Crew Program at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and other NASA centers. The current SAA continues through at least March. The two milestones met earlier include a Requirements Status Briefing and a Technical Interchange Meeting for the Liberty Transportation System. Two additional milestones are scheduled to be completed under this SAA. (1/20)

Russian Scientist Claims Signs of Life Spotted on Venus (Source: Daily Caller)
A Russian scientist has published what he claims is evidence of life on Venus, Earth’s nearest neighbor in the direction of the sun. Leonid Ksanfomaliti, an astronomer based at the Space Research Institute of Russia’s Academy of Sciences, analyzed photographs taken by a Russian landing probe during a 1982 during a mission to explore the heavily acid-clouded planet.

Venus is roughly the same size as Earth, but it has a thick atmosphere dominated by carbon dioxide. With an atmospheric pressure 92 times Earth’s, a waterless and volcano-riddled surface and a surface temperature of 894 degrees, the planet has never been considered a serious target of research into the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

But in his article, published in the magazine Solar System Research, Ksanfomaliti says the Russian photographs depict objects resembling a “disk,” a “black flap” and a “scorpion.” “What if we forget about the current theories about the non-existence of life on Venus?” he wrote. “Let’s boldly suggest that the objects’ morphological features would allow us to say that they are living.” (1/20)

January 22, 2012

2012-01-22T14:19:00.008-05:00

Gingrich To Meet With Florida Space Coast Leaders (Source: SPACErePORT)
The Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast is sponsoring an aerospace/high tech industry roundtable discussion with Newt Gingrich, offering open dialogue directly with Gingrich to discuss current opportunities and challenges and provide critical information that could shape national business policy.

This interactive discussion will take place on January 25 and is by invitation only, but will be open to the media. On the same day, Gingrich plans a public Town Hall rally on the Space Coast at 5:00 p.m. in Cocoa. These events are in advance of the Florida presidential preference primary on January 31. Mitt Romney participated in a similar event in January 2008, and is being invited to do so again this year, as are other candidates. Meanwhile, Rick Santorum will speak at a Space Coast Tiger Bay luncheon on January 28. (1/19)

Gingrich Plans Major Space Speech (Source: CNN)
Riding the momentum of his South Carolina win on Saturday, Newt Gingrich said Sunday he planned a week of big speeches offering “big solutions for a big country.” “I’ll be at the space coast in Florida this week giving a speech — a visionary speech — on the United States going back into space in the John F. Kennedy tradition,” the former House Speaker said on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal.” (1/22)

Florida GOP Primary: Will Space Issues Matter? (Source: SPACErePORT)
Florida could be the deciding battleground for selecting the GOP candidate who will campaign against President Obama. One big question on the state's Space Coast is whether space policy issues will be a factor leading up to the January 31 GOP primary. Back in September, state officials decided to move the "Presidential Preference Primary" up to Jan. 31 (despite objections of the Republican National Committee) to ensure that the state's diverse interests received strong attention among the candidates.

With the Central Florida economy still reeling from the Space Shuttle's retirement last year, space industry advocates are urging elected officials in Washington to support a variety of federal space policy and funding issues. After the GOP nominates its candidate for the presidential race (at a Tampa-based Republican National Convention in August), Florida will remain a battleground state for the general election, and the I-4 Corridor (which includes the Space Coast) is nationally recognized as a must-win region for candidates who must win Florida. (1/22)

Wallops' Limited Launch Capacity Could Expand (Source: SPACErePORT)
Under current environmental regulations, Wallops Island can accommodate about 12 Minotaur-class launches per year from Launch Pad 0-B, and six Antares-class launches from Launch Pad 0-A. This capacity is diminished by limitations of the spaceport's payload processing facility, which is located on the mainland and is designed primarily for small suborbital payloads. The facility can only accommodate two medium-class payloads per year. There are also limitations with the payload fueling facility near the island launch pads.

Expansion of the spaceport's capacity is being considered under an ongoing environmental review/permitting process, including new payload processing and fueling facilities on the island. Wallops advocates have been trying (thus far without success) to obtain $25 million under NASA's 21st Century Launch Complex appropriation, which was nominally intended for improvements at Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Spaceport.

Meanwhile, the possibility of a larger-vehicle Launch Pad 0-C, for Atlas-class rockets, remains part of the environmental permitting process. This could be located on the island's south side, after a proposed relocation of an existing UAV/UAS runway. The new pad would require a vehicle integration building and ancillary facilities, and would need shoreline protection and a dock for offloading rockets. The $200+ million cost for all of this infrastructure makes this an unlikely endeavor. (1/22)

During Slump, Delmarva Businesses Still Expanding (Source: DelMarVaNow.com)
In the midst of an economic slump, businesses throughout Delmarva have begun to hint at an upturn in the economy... With the continued growth of Wallops Island, Steve Adams believes there is a great opportunity for the Lower Shore to grow, especially if local institutions of higher learning launch engineering programs and coordinate with the Goddard Space Flight Center.

"You are talking about something that could attract more and more technical jobs and might mean more people with technical backgrounds might want to stay around and that might influence local universities to learn more in the engineering direction," said Adams. "That could be a huge game changer."

Looking toward the next 10 years in terms of business development and growth throughout Delmarva, Adams believes Wallops is the "wild card," adding, "I don't think a story about the next 10 years of economic development on Delmarva would be complete without reference to that potential." (1/22)

NRC Debates NASA's Plan to Participate in ESA's Euclid (Source: Space Policy Online)
The National Research Council (NRC) is debating the merits of NASA’s current plan for U.S. participation in the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Euclid dark energy mission and there is not much time to deliberate. The NRC Committee on Assessment of a Plan for US Participation in Euclid has been asked by NASA to work at breakneck speed for an NRC study, with its report due on April 30. That deadline is dictated by when ESA needs to know whether NASA wants a piece of the action on Euclid or not. (1/22)

Study Challenges Existence of Arsenic-Based Life (Source: Nature)
A strange bacterium found in California’s Mono Lake cannot replace the phosphorus in its DNA with arsenic, according to researchers who have been trying to reproduce the results of a controversial report published in Science in 20101. A group of scientists, led by microbiologist Rosie Redfield at the University of British Columbia, have posted data that, she says, present a “clear refutation” of key findings from the paper. (1/22)

Gabrielle Giffords Will Step Down From Congress (Sources: New York Times, Politico)
Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona said Sunday that she would step down this week from Congress, an announcement that comes about a year after she shooting attack that left 6 people dead and 13 wounded — including Ms. Giffords. “I have more work to do on my recovery so to do what is best for Arizona I will step down this week,” she said. Her announcement suggested a potential return at some point in the future: “I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country.”

Giffords has served as the ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Space & Aeronautics, so her departure will result in some changes there. Meanwhile, Democratic officials are looking at Mark Kelly, Giffords’ husband and a former astronaut, as a possible replacement for her. Arizona Gov. Janice Brewer (R) has 72 hours from the day the seat is officially vacant to announced a date for a special election to replace Giffords. The party primary must be held 80-90 days from date of vacancy, with a general election 50-60 days after that. (1/22)

Space Debris Cluttering Up Orbit (Source: Adelaide Now)
In 2007, China launched a kill missile to destroy an out-of-date weather satellite being decommissioned. The explosion threw into orbit more than 3000 pieces of space junk that will pose a significant collision threat for decades to come. Was that unneighbourly of China? "Yes, to be honest, yes, quite unneighbourly," said Ray Williamson, senior adviser to US-based scientific space guardian, Secure World Foundation, which is dedicated to keeping space sustainable and available. "But there's no law against it."

China's space littering attracted an international rebuke. It was an even greater problem because it occurred in the same set of polar orbits used by earth-observing satellites. "I don't think they realised how bad the issue was," said Mr Williamson who is in Adelaide this week as part of the International Space University summer space program. The density of space debris is a hot topic for the science-based foundation which advises policymakers on how to keep space sustainable.

Now the US Government issues collision warnings to any entity that operates a satellite in orbit - including China. "We don't co-operate with China but we do let them know if one of their satellites is in danger of being hit," Mr Williamson said. The foundation which has offices in Washington and Brussels is a science-based warning system for space, including the management of approaching asteroids. While most asteroids are small, a larger one could wipe out a city. (1/22)

Editorial: Men, Money and the Moon (Source: Huntsville Times)
Maybe former astronaut James Lovell should be allowed to collect the nearly $400,000 his Apollo 13 checklist brought at auction. Otherwise, he would be penalized because someone at NASA lacked good sense more than 40 years ago. The checklist has become one of the most famous documents in the history of space flight. Lovell did math on it by hand as he and his other two crew members struggled to get back to Earth after an oxygen tank explosion in their spacecraft on their way to the moon in 1970.

Lovell says he thought someone might like the checklist after he found it while going through some files. Someone like the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum? Ah, no. Lovell offered it for sale at an auction house, which estimated it might bring about $25,000. The last bid pushed the price to more than $388,000. That's when NASA showed up to raise questions about ownership and the sale at the same auction of a lunar module identification plate and a command module hand controller from Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart.

But Lovell says NASA knew that Apollo astronauts took "flight manuals and artifacts" and that NASA sometimes gave them items. The you-fly-it, we-buy-it approach to space souvenirs ended with the Apollo 15 "stamp scandal." That's when commemorative postage stamp covers were auctioned privately after a round trip to the moon. That's when NASA tightened its policy about giving government property to astronauts, said Christopher Kraft, NASA's first flight director. "When we began to look into it, we were damned sorry we did," Kraft said. "There was too much there ... so we, NASA, dropped (it)." (1/22)

Studying the Science of Space Junk (Source: LA Times)
Researchers at an El Segundo firm that contracts with NASA and the military don't concern themselves with space junk's artistic or monetary value. They're interested in the science of it — and in safety. "Well, here it is," said aerospace engineer William Ailor as he paused next to the hulking metal shells arrayed along the plaza outside a visitors entrance at Aerospace Corp.'s El Segundo headquarters. The stuff is junk. But, Ailor said, it's no ordinary junk. This garbage has traveled to space and back.

A 150-pound hollow sphere of blackened titanium is all that remains of a motor casing from a Delta II rocket that fell to Earth in 2001, landing in the Saudi Arabian desert west of Riyadh. A 600-pound stainless-steel fuel tank, also from a Delta II rocket, sits nearby, dented, gashed and rusty — scarred by its descent from space to a farm near Georgetown, Texas, in 1997.

The dozen or so researchers at Aerospace Corp.'s Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies, or CORDS, usually don't concern themselves with space trash's artistic or monetary value. They're interested in the science of it — and in safety. Aerospace Corp. is a nonprofit research and development organization that provides technical advice to the military, NASA and other government and commercial customers. The job of Ailor's group is to see how space debris affects satellites and what hazards it poses when it reenters the atmosphere. Click here. (1/22)

It's Time to Stop all the Studies of NASA and Start Doing Stuff (Source: Florida Today)
The federal government is about to spend almost $1 million to study NASA’s purpose, strategy and direction again. This time, Congress has instructed the NASA inspector general to conduct a “comprehensive independent assessment of NASA’s strategic direction and agency management.” That should say “another” comprehensive and independent assessment. The government just finished one of these studies in 2009. President Barack Obama ordered that review, so he could assess whether NASA was on the right track or needed new direction.

That study concluded NASA was, indeed, off course, that the agency’s moon-and-Mars program could not be done with the time and money available. The White House used the report to overhaul national space policy, NASA’s mission and budget, and set a new course. In just the third budget to be written since, Congress is now asking for a review. The review will assess: a) Whether NASA’s current strategic direction remains valid; b) Whether the agency is organized and funded in a way that makes it possible for NASA to achieve the nation’s goals for it; c) Changes in the space agency’s structure that might “improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the agency’s mission activities;” and d) Recommendations about how NASA could set and communicate a “common, unifying vision” for its strategic direction.

The space agency doesn’t so much need a new national space policy. The deficiency right now is there’s not enough movement forward on implementing the existing strategy that the White House and Congress have put in place and not enough communication from NASA on things that have been done or are being done to implement the strategy. (1/22)

Rise of the Super-Earths (Source: Salon)
The trouble with comparing our Solar System's planets to Earth is that it leaves out a crucial class of planets that, purely by happenstance, doesn’t occur in our Solar System. A super-Earth is a planet that is more massive and larger than Earth, although still made of rocks — perhaps with continents and oceans — and an atmosphere. There is no such planet in our Solar System, but we know that they must be common in other planetary systems. Moreover, theory predicts that they might have all the nice attributes of Earth, and, in fact, provide a more stable environment on their surface. True super-Earths. Click here. (1/22)

Astronaut Tells Alabama Troops: NASA Needs Recruits (Source: Montgomery Advertiser)
A veteran of the space shuttle program is telling Army troops in Alabama that NASA needs new astronauts "desperately." Col. Shane Kimbrough made his recruiting pitch Friday to a dozen soldiers at Huntsville's Redstone Arsenal who say they're interested in the space program. NASA is taking applications from potential recruits until next Friday. Kimbrough says the agency's ranks of astronauts have dwindled from 120 to about 50. (1/22)

NASA Searches for Loot That Traveled From Space to Another Void (Source: New York Times)
West Virginia lost one, until it turned up one June day on a bookshelf in the basement of a retired dentist. New York has one in a vault at a museum in Albany, but another one given to the state for safekeeping was not kept very safe, because it appears to be missing, though the attorney general’s office has started looking into the case.

A long-lost one in Colorado resurfaced at the home of a former governor, and another one in Arkansas was found among former President Bill Clinton’s memorabilia. Somebody swiped one from a museum in the island country of Malta, and somebody else who got his hands on one in Honduras tried to sell it in Miami to an undercover federal agent. Rare art? Priceless jewels? Nothing so terrestrial. All of these items were literally out of this world: moon rocks, meteorite samples and other so-called astromaterials that were lent to researchers by NASA or were offered as gifts to American and foreign leaders.

Hundreds of moon rocks and other space objects have been lost, destroyed, stolen or remain unaccounted for, some of which American astronauts and presidents presented to dignitaries around the country and the world decades ago and others that NASA officials lent for education, research and public display. Click here. Editor's Note: I remember years ago when Florida's moon rock used to hang unguarded on the wall in the public reception area of the Governor's office, a small gray stone encased in lucite, attached to a plaque. It has since been moved, probably to a more secure location. (1/22)

January 21, 2012

2012-01-21T12:12:00.005-05:00

Obama Eases Travelers' Paths (to KSC) (Source: Florida Today)
Easing visa restrictions on foreign visitors could lead to a huge increase in travel to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, one of Central Florida’s most popular destinations for international tourists. “We really rely on visitors from South America, from Europe and from Asia,” said John Stine, director of sales and marketing at the Visitor Complex, which broke ground Wednesday on a building to exhibit shuttle Atlantis. “They are critical to our success.”

President Obama ordered the Commerce and Interior departments to develop a national tourism strategy that highlights national parks, and cultural and historic sites. And he's adding business executives to a tourism advisory board. “It is very frustrating to see what some of these countries have had to go through with visas,” Stine said. Half the visitors to the Visitor Complex are international, and that number could be increased greatly. While speaking at Disney, Obama supported bipartisan legislation cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Bill Posey that would streamline travel to the U.S. for international tourists. (1/20)

Virginia: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Stardust (Source: Potomac Local)
Virginia Delegate Terry Kilgore is proposing legislation to provide tax breaks to Virginia residents who send their cremated remains into outer space. Under House Bill 19, Virginians would get an income tax deduction if they entered a prepaid contract with a commercial space flight entity “to place the taxpayer’s human cremated remains into earth or lunar orbit from a spaceport facility operated by the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority.”

The tax break would be in effect from 2013 through 2020. Eligible taxpayers could deduct from their taxable income up to $2,500 in any one year and up to $8,000 total. While the measure may seem a bit out of this world, it has a down-to-earth purpose: economic development. Proponents say incentives like tax breaks for “space burials” will help launch the fledgling industry. It’s an idea both Republicans and Democrats can agree on.

“What I can tell you is, we’re very busy on our end getting our new launch pad complete. I am aware of the market for space burial, and I certainly think it’s a good idea,” said Rick Baldwin, spaceport manager at MARS. Some companies also think space burials are a good idea. Celestis Inc., based in Houston, began offering “memorial spaceflights” to the public in 1997. For $995, the company will launch a canister of remains into space and have it return to Earth. For $2,995, the remains can orbit Earth. Moon orbit is available for $9,995. In 2014, Celestis will begin sending remains into “deep space.” The price: $12,500. (1/21)

Colorado May Become 5th State to Adopt Spaceflight Liability Bill (Sources: Spaceports Blog, Denver Business Journal)
Colorado’s biggest obstacle in becoming a center of commercial space travel is not a lack of infrastructure or marketing, but the threat of injury-related lawsuits, economic development leaders believe. So, the 2012 Colorado General Assembly (state legislature) may join Virginia, Florida, New Mexico and Texas with a liability limit on human space travel - known as the Colorado Space Jobs Act. With the Front Range Airport in Colorado applying for FAA designation to become a commercial spaceport, Colorado state Sen. Mary Hodge has introduced a bill that would limit liability for any space-travel company that gets customers to sign an injury waiver. (1/20)

NASA Debunks Mysterious Triangular 'UFO' (Source: Discovery)
Once again, alien conspiracy theorists have attempted to use publicly available NASA images to prove that the space agency must be engaging in an elaborate UFO cover-up. And, once again, they've been foiled by the laws of physics. This time, they called attention to peculiar new footage captured by a telescope onboard NASA's STEREO-B spacecraft — one of a pair of probes parked on either side of the sun which, together, provide a 360-degree view of the inner solar system. The footage shows Venus, Earth and, on the opposite side of the field-of-view, a mysterious triangular object headed our way. Click here. (1/19)

Virginia, Maryland Call For UAS Test Range Designation (Source: Gov. McDonnell)
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley sent a joint letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood asking him to select the Virginia/Maryland region as host of an Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) test range called for in the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act and FAA Reauthorization Bill. The governors highlighted the region's existing technical expertise in the defense industry, established UAS facilities and appropriate airspace for this type of testing and development.

"The Mid-Atlantic region represents a significant resource to the federal government as they develop a UAS test range," said Governor McDonnell. "Virginia and Maryland already host many companies that provide technical expertise, staffing, and support to the federal government's military and technology programs, and our collection of restricted airspace will provide the perfect training area for this type of testing. Furthermore, the existing DoD, NASA industry and academic institutions in our states can provide the FAA with resources to develop the cutting-edge UAS technology at no additional cost to the taxpayer." (1/20)

Florida Students Participate in NASA Astronomy Program (Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal)
Kaelyn Badura and Colleen Tilley have sky-high career ambitions and now both girls are looking at the sky itself in a new way. The Pine Ridge High School seniors and their teacher, Diane Sartore, just returned from a meeting of the American Astronomical Society, where they helped present results of a research project that documented 27 "young stellar objects" never before identified. Those objects, Colleen said, are stars that are less than 10,000 years old, which is considered "very young" in astronomical circles.

The Pine Ridge group was part of a team that also included high school teachers and students from Minnesota, Oregon and Illinois. Their research project was sponsored by NASA and its Infrared Processing and Analysis Center. By the end of this year, the Pine Ridge group will collaborate with the rest of its research team to write an article for publication in a scientific journal. (1/21)

PWR Ad Calls Out Rocket Propulsion Upstarts (Source: Florida Today)
Thursday night’s successful Delta IV rocket launch could provide the latest highlight for a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne advertising campaign that takes a thinly veiled swipe at SpaceX. The company, whose engines power United Launch Alliance’s Delta and Atlas rockets and propelled space shuttle crews to orbit, touts its record of producing “smoke and fire” in 14 launches last year, rather than “smoke and mirrors.”

“While the other guys launch powerful press conferences, we power launches of people and critical payloads,” an ad reads. The left side of the ad’s split image shows a microphone on a table with the tag, “Others’ idea of making noise.” On the right side, the microphone takes the shape of an Atlas V rocket blasting off, with the retort, “Ours.” Click here. (1/21)

Project Bifrost: Rockets of the Future? (Source: Discovery)
Chances are you own a smart phone or some kind of electronic device with capabilities that would stun even an Apple engineer from ten years ago. We've come to expect that technology advances at a mind-boggling pace, but just how far has rocket technology advanced in say, the past three decades? Not much. The rockets that sent men to the moon were powered by chemical combustion, which in its most powerful form ignites hydrogen with oxygen. The space shuttle main engine, essentially the state of the art for rocket propulsion, uses the same chemicals.

No doubt, these rockets do their job well for what we ask of them. But, suppose we wanted to dream a little bit bigger, and actually explore the rest of the solar system and beyond. How far can these chemical rockets send us? Not very far. Chemical rockets have fundamental energy limits which give them a maximum exhaust velocity that is too low for most piloted missions with destinations further than the moon.

The fission rocket being referred to here is the Nuclear Thermal Rocket, or NTR. An NTR uses nuclear fission as an energy source instead of chemical combustion, and uses just hydrogen as a propellant, allowing it to achieve a very high exhaust velocity and high thrust. That's the kind of mind-boggling technology upgrade that means piloted missions to deep space, which are beyond the pale for chemical rockets, suddenly become very feasible. Click here. (1/21)

Breakthrough on FAA Reauthorization Bill; Will it Extend a CSLAA Provision? (Source: Space Politics)
House and Senate negotiators have reached a compromise on long-delayed reauthorization legislation for the FAA. The compromise involves organized labor provisions in the bill that had forced a long series of short-term extensions. The compromise clears the way for drafting a version that both houses can pass, a task reported to be “manageable” with the labor deal in place.

The relevance to space policy is that the bill could resolve an issue for the commercial human spaceflight community: a provision in the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act (CSLAA) of 2004 that limits the ability of the FAA to pass safety regulations for such vehicles. That provision is set to expire this December, but as noted here last month, some in the industry have been seeking an extension since the industry has built up less experience than expected when the CSLAA passed. The House version of the FAA reauthorization bill does provide an extension, while the Senate version does not.

It’s not clear yet if the final version of the reauthorization bill-—which may take a few weeks to draft-—will include CSLAA language. Discussion at a recent industry meeting revolved around what the FAA would do when its current restriction expires on December 23. Wayne Hale said there was an understanding that the FAA would not immediately promulgate a series of new safety regulations, citing the time it takes to develop and make open for public comment any new rulemaking. “No one at the FAA is working in a back office to deliver a bunch of new proposed regulations on December 24th,” he said. (1/21)

January 20, 2012

2012-01-20T11:50:00.008-05:00

Highlights From Wallops Island Public Meeting (Source: SPACErePORT)
NASA held a public meeting to update Virginia and Maryland residents and public officials near the Wallops Island spaceport on plans for 2012 and beyond. Wallops employs about 1,100 NASA employees and had a 2011 budget of about $200 million. For 2012, NASA plans 35 suborbital rocket launches, 2-3 orbital Antares launches, 13-17 balloon launches, and 7 aircraft science projects.

NASA will extend an existing seawall and add sand to 3.7 miles of shoreline to protect the spaceport's infrastructure. They plan a new badging office and a reconfigured main base entrance. Virginia's governor has requested $4 million to complete the new Antares launch pad, and another $4 million for a new taxiway to connect a Wallops Island runway to a new Wallops Research Park.

NASA is also working closely with state officials in Virginia and Maryland to establish an FAA Test Range for unmanned aerial systems. And NASA says additional launch vehicles are interested in using Wallops, but this would require infrastructure improvements and new support facilities on the north end of the installation. (1/20)

Mystery Surrounds Secretive X-37B Plans (Source: Space.com)
The United States Air Force's secretive X-37B space plane has been circling Earth for more than 10 months, and there's no telling when it might come down. As of Friday (Jan. 20), the mysterious robotic X-37B spacecraft has been aloft for 321 days, significantly outlasting its stated mission design lifetime of 270 days. But it may stay up for even longer yet, experts say, particularly if the military views this space mission — the second ever for the hush-hush vehicle — as something of an endurance test. "Because it is an experimental vehicle, they kind of want to see what its limits are," said Brian Weeden, a technical adviser with the Secure World Foundation and a former orbital analyst with the Air Force. (1/20)

Stratolaunch Systems Breaks Ground on Mojave Production Facility (Source: Stratolaunch)
Stratolaunch Systems announced the ground breaking on a production facility and hangar at the Mojave Air and Space Port. The construction of these facilities will be performed by the Bakersfield-based Wallace and Smith General Contractors. The fabrication facility, an 88,000 square foot building, will be used to manufacture the carrier aircraft wing assemblies and associated parts for the new aircraft. The fabrication facility is projected to be completed in late 2012.

The aircraft hangar, a 92,640 square foot building, will serve as the aircraft assembly and test facility and will encompass 20,250 square foot of office space. The hangar facility has a projected completion of mid 2013. "Today marks the start of an exciting journey for us. Over the next year," said Gary Wentz, CEO and President of Stratolaunch Systems. "We will have a visible presence in the Antelope Valley with two new facilities and a pair of 747-400 aircraft which will undergo salvage to supply parts and subsystems for integration into our carrier aircraft." (1/20)

U.S. Government Looking To Lower Landsat Costs (Source: Space News)
U.S. government agencies are looking together for ways to reduce the cost of future Landsat missions as a result of congressional direction included in the 2012 budget passed in December. “Although Congress has provided $2 million to the U.S. Geological Service for Landsat 9 program development, they have also requested that the Administration re-examine how to proceed with future Landsat missions,” said an Interior Department spokesman.

“Accordingly, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Office of Management and Budget, USGS, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have formed a team to look at all possible options for Landsat missions, addressing performance, cost and risk.” President Obama requested $48 million for USGS to pave the way for development of Landsat 9 and Landsat 10, spacecraft designed to extend the Landsat program’s 40-year record of providing moderate-resolution imagery on global agriculture, land use and natural disasters. (1/20)

Allied Investment in WGS Could Pinch Demand for Commercial Bandwidth (Source: Space News)
Commercial satellite fleet operators hoping future military demand will offset slowing growth in North America and Europe might have heard warning shots the week of Jan. 17 as five new nations joined the U.S. Defense Department’s Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) network as a way to reduce spending on commercial bandwidth.

The agreement of Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and New Zealand to invest a combined $620 million in a ninth WGS satellite over 20 years — the U.S. Air Force will finance the rest of the billion-dollar WGS-9 program — came less than a week before the successful Jan. 19 launch of WGS-4. (1/20)

Catching a Gravity Wave: Canceled Laser Space Antenna May Still Fly (Source: Scientific American)
Ripples in the fabric of spacetime regularly zip across the universe from titanic cosmic events, such as the mergers of supermassive black holes millions to billions of times the mass of the sun. These so-called gravitational waves ought to be ubiquitous but faint, and no experiment has yet registered the disturbance caused by a passing wave.

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) was supposed to do just that. The spaceborne observatory, also known as LISA, was to be a joint mission between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) to detect gravitational waves and give scientists a whole new window through which to look on the universe and understand its underpinnings. Cost overruns concerning the next-generation James Webb Space Telescope apparently helped doom LISA. Reports of its death may have been greatly exaggerated, however, as researchers are still fighting hard toward launch.

Even scaled-back versions of the project might still have a good chance of making revolutionary discoveries, the scientists maintain. As originally planned, LISA would have involved three identical spacecraft trailing Earth in an orbit around the sun. (1/20)

US Military Wants Mobile Telescopes to Spot Dead Satellites (Source: Space.com)
The U.S. military's "Phoenix" project aims to recycle spare parts from old satellites to create new Frankenstein spacecraft in orbit, but it needs faster telescope imaging to find satellites suitable for cannibalization. Now it has called for a swarm of mobile ground telescopes capable of spotting possible space targets from many angles. Such interconnected ground telescopes could measure the light reflections of space objects from different angles — a method that allows them to figure out the position and speed of the objects moving across the sky.

The telescopes would transmit the collected light to one another through fiber-optic cables similar to those that deliver Internet and TV signals to homes. "We know the fiber-optic control community is engaged in precision control of light," said Lt. Col. Travis Blake, an Air Force officer and program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). "If those solutions could be meshed with the unique demands of astronomic imaging, we could develop a new means of better, faster imaging of objects." (1/20)

Weird World! 'Oozing' Alien Planet Is a Super-Earth Wonder (Source: Space.com)
A new look at an alien planet that orbits extremely close to its parent star suggests that the rocky world might not be a scorching hot wasteland, as was thought. In fact, the planet may actually be stranger and wetter than astronomers ever imagined. The exotic planet 55 Cancri e is a relatively close alien planet, just 40 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Cancer (The Crab).

55 Cancri e is 26 times closer to its parent star than Mercury is to the sun, according to NASA officials. 55 Cancri e is part of a multiplanet system that was first detected in 1997. Five planets circle the host star, and 55 Cancri e was discovered in 2004. Originally, estimates of the planet's size and mass indicated that it was an ultra-dense rocky world, but Spitzer's observations suggest that about a fifth of the planet's mass must be made up of light elements and compounds, including water, scientists said. (1/20)

An Evaporating Exoplanet? (Source: Sky & Telescope)
There’s something strange obscuring the light from a cool, low-mass star observed by NASA’s Kepler mission. Every 15.685 Earth days, KIC 12557548’s light dims for about 1.5 hours. The dips in starlight aren’t always the same — some events block more light than others — so the occultations don’t look like the regular blip caused by a planet passing in front of the star. After considering various options, an international team of astronomers reported recently that the signal might be from debris thrown off by a small rocky planet as it disintegrates under the star’s glare. (1/20)

Exede: The Satellite Broadband Service You've Been Waiting For? (Source: cnet)
Buried among the gadgets, superthin screen OLED TVs, and all the other products we saw at CES this year was something not terribly sexy-looking, but something that will potentially affect millions of people living in rural America. It's Exede, a new satellite broadband service from ViaSat that just launched this week. Yes, you heard right, satellite, those contraptions that orbit the earth, and until now a very sluggish way to receive Internet service (satellite has frequently been referred to as the Internet service of "last resort").

However, thanks to the launch of ViaSat-1, a next-generation satellite system that was launched in October of last year, satellite-based Internet service just got a lot more attractive, with ViaSat saying it will offer up to 12Mbps downstream and up to 3Mbps upstream starting at $50 per month with a setup fee of $149.99. Those throughput numbers represent huge speed increases over the previous version of the company's service, which topped out at 1.5Mbps downstream and a mere 256Kbps upstream (the entry-level $50 service only delivered 512Kbps downstream and 128Kbps upstream). (1/20)

Shepard Space Capsule Leaving Naval Academy (Source: WTOP)
The space capsule that carried the first American into space is leaving the Naval Academy. The Freedom 7 capsule carried academy graduate Alan Shepard into space in 1961 in a 15-minute Project Mercury suborbital flight. The capsule is heading to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library in Boston. The academy says the NASA space capsule arrived at the school in 1998 and has been on display since then at its visitor center, where it will be until the end of February. The Naval Academy says it has produced 52 astronauts, more than any other college or university in the nation. (1/20)

KSC Seeks Ideas for Shuttle Logistics Depot (Source: SPACErePORT)
NASA has issued a Request for Information (RFI) aimed at identifying alternative uses and preserving the key capabilities of the NASA Shuttle Logistics Depot (NSLD), located outside of KSC property in the City of Cape Canaveral. KSC is seeking industry interest in the operation and/or maintenance of this NASA property, including a potential loan agreement for this property in which the submitter would, at their own expense, take possession of the equipment and maintain it for the term of the loan.

NASA KSC is seeking suggestions how the equipment would be used and/or maintained in order to make the contemplated loan agreement feasible. Collectively, this equipment supports capabilities like flight hardware fabrication, cable fabrication, reverse engineering and production of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) flight hardware. NASA seeks to keep ownership of all assets in their entirety as part of this loan agreement. To the extent that NASA enters into a loan agreement, it will do so via a Space Act Agreement (SAA). (1/20)

FAA Tech Center Concept Needs Traction (Source: SPACErePORT)
Acknowledging that the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) could have done a better job conveying the need and benefits of the FAA Tech Center proposed by President Obama to be placed at Kennedy Space Center, staffers said the project is basically in limbo as AST is forced to tighten its belt amid agency budget cuts in 2012. President Obama sought $5 million last year to startup the Tech Center, which would have initially been located in the LC-39 Industrial Area on KSC. His current level of support for the project is unknown, but it is among Florida's federal space policy priorities for 2012.

AST continues to operate under a Congressional moratorium on new human spaceflight regulations, which will expire at the end of 2012. Commercial spaceflight proponents are concerned that AST will be underfunded and unprepared to deal with the inevitable increase in commercial spaceflight activities over the next several years. The Tech Center at KSC would not be staffed with regulators, but would conduct applied research for launch safety and standards development...something the industry says is badly needed.

AST confirmed that Virginia has submitted a formal letter to the FAA to express interest in hosting the FAA Tech Center in that state. Meanwhile, KSC planners see the Tech Center as an enabler for restructuring the NASA center as a launch site for multiple commercial users. Members of the Florida Congressional Delegation may soon take-up this issue as deliberations proceed on the FAA's reauthorization. Florida space advocates also hope the issue will gain traction among candidates seeking Florida votes during the elections this year. (1/20)

Glenn, Kelly to be Featured at OSU Event (Source: Columbus Dispatch)
A celebration next month of the 50th anniversary of the Friendship 7 spaceflight is to feature John Glenn and Mark Kelly, Ohio State University plans to announce. The Feb. 20 dinner event at Ohio State will mark the 1962 mission in which Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. Kelly, the NASA astronaut who was commander of the space shuttle Endeavour’s final mission, will deliver the keynote speech. Proceeds from the $1,000-a-ticket dinner will go to the John Glenn School of Public Affairs and the College of Engineering. (1/20)

Florida’s Unemployment Drops 2.1 Percentage Points (Source: Gov. Rick Scott)
Governor Rick Scott announced today that Florida’s unemployment rate went down again in the last month of 2011 to 9.9 percent. A total of 5,100 new private-sector jobs were also added in December, solidifying Florida’s status as one of the nation’s leaders in job creation last year. Since Governor Scott took office, the state’s unemployment rate has dropped 2.1 percentage points, from a high of 12 percent in December 2010, to the first single-digit unemployment rate in more than two-and-a-half years in December 2011. (1/20)

Delay Until March for Space Station's 1st Private Hookup (Source: AP)
The first commercial cargo run to the International Space Station is off until spring. SpaceX planned to launch its unmanned supply ship from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Feb. 7. But the company said more testing was needed with the spacecraft, named Dragon. On Friday, officials confirmed the launch would not occur until late March. (1/20)

Burt Rutan on Designing the World’s Largest Aircraft (Source: Popular Mechanics)
Burt Rutan is best known as the designer of the first privately built craft to send people into space—-SpaceShipOne. Last month, SpaceShipOne’s financier, Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen, announced the formation of a new space project called Stratolaunch. It is planning to build the world’s largest aircraft, a 385-foot-wingspan behemoth that would launch satellites, and eventually astronauts, to orbit aboard modified Falcon 9 rockets.

Although he retired from Scaled early last year, Rutan is a member of the Stratolaunch board of directors, and parts of the Stratolaunch plans are based on his initial concepts and designs. We reached him via email to ask about how the concept evolved, and the future of space travel. Click here. (1/20)

Florida Researchers Theorize on Lack of Intelligent Life in Galaxy (Source: The Economist)
The idea that intelligent life on Earth is a cosmic oddity strikes many as unwarranted terrestrial exceptionalism. Some theorize that although civilizations exist, they are few and slow to expand—and so have yet to reach Earth, or that the galaxy is teeming with intelligent lifeforms, but they are unevenly distributed; Earth just happens to find itself in a bare patch. The latest attempt to calculate whether such scenarios ring true comes from Thomas Hair and Andrew Hedman, of Florida Gulf Coast University. They reckon the odds are rather long. To arrive at their conclusion Dr Hair and Mr Hedman assumed that outer space is dotted with solar systems, about five light years apart.

They then asked how quickly a single civilization armed with the requisite technology would spread its tentacles, depending on the degree of colonizing zeal, expressed as the probability that intelligent beings decide to hop from one planet to the next in 1,000 years (500 years for the trip, at a modest one-tenth of the speed of light, and another 500 years to prepare for the next hop). Their research suggests that humans really do have the Milky Way to themselves. Either that or the neighbours are a particularly timid bunch. Click here. (1/20)

Dollar Appreciation: Buy Me to the Moon (Source: EuroMoney)
How can the dollar rise in value? By sending it to the moon. Rich Jurek has launched a virtual museum of $2 bills that have been flown into space -- with some of those bills valued in the thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars at auction. Astronauts and cosmonauts often took the rare $2 bills on their voyages for good luck. At Jurek's Jefferson Museum, there are eight such bills. The most valuable is one once owned by Gene Cernan. Click here. (1/20)

China: Failure of Mission Hits Mars Research (Source: Xinhua)
The loss of China's first interplanetary probe, attached to an ill-fated Russian spacecraft, has cost scientists the chance to conduct breakthrough research on Mars, a top scientist said. New objectives must now be considered for a Mars exploration mission, probably in 2016, said Wu Ji, director-general of the National Space Science Center under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Yinghuo-1, launched in November two years later than originally planned from Kazakhstan on the Russian Phobos-Grunt spacecraft, crashed into the Pacific Ocean on Monday. (1/20)

Britain's Got Talent Winner Could Go Into Space (Source: Mirror)
Simon Cowell always wanted to rule the Earth – now he has set his sights on space as well. The TV mogul is returning to British screens after a year in exile and he’s come up with an out-of-this-world stunt to announce his comeback. In a telly first, Simon has declared he intends to blast this year’s Britain’s Got Talent winner into orbit. He has teamed up with show’s new sponsor, Virgin’s Richard Branson, to offer the prize of a flight in Virgin Galactic’s 2,500mph spaceship. Editor's Note: Not "into orbit". (1/20)

AIA Chief: Defense Investments Yield More Spinoffs (Source: AIA)
"When we directly compare, buck for buck, research and development and other investments, defense-related investments generate far more groundbreaking advances. They range from the Internet and laser eye surgery technologies to scores of our most significant technological advances like GPS and the breast-cancer vaccine just announced," Marion Blakey writes. (1/20)

Pentagon Puts Missile Program, Satellite on Chopping Block (Source: Bloomberg)
The Pentagon will propose to cut a Joint Air-to-Ground Missile program, a Defense Weather Satellite System and an attack-aircraft program as part of its search for savings due to new budget cuts. The potential $6.8 billion missile program was for a contest between Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Co. The satellite being targeted is already in progress at Northrop Grumman; $445 million for development had been requested in fiscal year 2012. (1/20)

State Tax Incentives May Not Be Main Draw for Aerospace Firms (Source: Bloomberg)
States are struggling to find money for tax and other economic incentives even in a strapped economy to help attract new business and jobs from aerospace and defense companies such as Boeing or Bombardier, even though such incentives do not always pay off or keep companies from relocating. "Big companies make these location decisions on much bigger issues than what most local politicians understand," said Sam Staley of Florida State University.

While incentives don’t hurt, business leaders often put more weight on such things as wage rates and profitability, according to Staley. Boeing's recent decision to close its factory in Kansas, in favor of a new one elsewhere, leaves Wichita with a $43 million tax-funded aerospace training center without an employer where it can send trainees, for example. (1/20)

Bill Making Cecil Eligible for Space-Related Tax Exemptions Advances (Source: Florida Times-Union)
A bill that would make Cecil Airport eligible to offer tax exemptions as a way to attract space-related business passed its third House committee stop Thursday. Cecil was designated a spaceport by the Federal Aviation Authority in 2010. Under the legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Lake Ray, Florida would recognize Cecil as a spaceport. That official designation would allows it to be eligible for a state law that provides a tax exemption for machinery or equipment purchased for a new or expanding business in a spaceport territory.

"As the industry shifts its focus toward space tourism, the Cecil Field Spaceport could become a hub for reusable systems capable of transporting humans and general cargo into space," read a House analysis of the bill. The bill would cost the state $100,000 in revenue, the analysis concludes. Ray's bill would also allow Space Florida, an independent special district that advocates for Florida's space industry, to designate property a spaceport territory that has already been licensed as a spaceport territory by FAA. (1/20)

Iran to Launch New Satellite in February (Source: PressTV)
Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has announced plans for launching a satellite into space as well as kicking off several military projects in February. On November 12, Vahidi announced that Iran is set to launch into space three domestically manufactured satellites dubbed Fajr (Dawn), Navid (Harbinger) and Tolou (Rise) in the course of the current and the next Iranian calendar years. (1/20)

GOP Turns Up Heat on Space Code of Conduct (Source: AOL Defense)
Four senior Republican lawmakers warned the Obama administration to work closely with Congress as it drafts a space code of conduct. Reps. Mike Turner, chair of the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee, and Joe Heck, chair of the House Intelligence subcommittee on technical and tactical intelligence, were joined by Sens. Jeff Sessions, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee, and Jon Kyl, the Senate's Republican Whip, in the Jan. 18 letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and and Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper.

The letter says they are "deeply concerned about the unknown consequences" any limitations inherent in a code of conduct might have on "future military or intelligence programs." Reflecting Kyl's focus on arms control, the letter also takes the stand that the code "could establish the foundation for a future arms control regime that binds the United States without the approval of Congress." Finally, the lawmakers press the administration to share with Congress any "comprehensive analysis of the impact of a code of conduct on our nation's economic and national security." (1/20)

Embry-Riddle Project Would Optimize Space Crew Selection (Source: ERAU)
Three Florida universities, led by a researcher in Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's human factors group, are combining efforts to study the optimal way to select crewmembers for long-duration space missions. In response to a NASA research announcement, Dr. Jason Kring from Embry-Riddle, Dr. John Deaton from Florida Tech, and Dr. Peter Hancock from UCF, propose to investigate the relationship between crew composition and performance.

Building on research conducted by Dr. Deaton in 2011, the team plans to create a diagnostic instrument to quantify the risk of performance decrements due to inadequate crew composition and then test the composition-performance relationship for crews in one or more space analogs. Results will form the basis of a predictive model of crew composition and performance to inform future crew selection decisions.

This model could provide NASA with a structured approach to identifying the optimal combination of task, social, and technical roles within astronaut and mission control support crews needed to sustain high levels of performance and teamwork for long-duration missions. In addition, the team has already convened an advisory board of experts in the behavioral sciences and individuals with flight experience to support the research. (1/20)

January 19, 2012

2012-01-18T19:20:00.018-05:00

Thirty Percent for Science: Planetary Society Calls for Increased Investment (Source: Planetary Society)
The Planetary Society has called on the U.S. Administration to rebalance NASA’s portfolio of programs and missions so that Science is given 30 percent of the agency’s budget. “Science is the best place to invest in NASA,” Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye said, “In this era of constrained budgets, we must invest in areas with the greatest possible returns.” The Society laid out its request in a letter to Jacob Lew, head of the Office of Management and Budget. (The letter was sent to Lew just before he became White House Chief of Staff and Jeffrey D. Zients was tapped to serve as acting director of OMB.) (1/19)

Sun Uncorks Aurora-Burnishing Blast at Earth (Source: USA Today)
The Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), a solar blast of highly-energetic particles, is expected to arrive at Earth on Saturday, likely sparking bright Northern Lights and potentially disrupting some communications. A "Long Duration M3.2 Class Solar Flare" started at 8:42 a.m. ET, on Thursday, according to the space agency and released the blast now traveling towards Earth at 630 miles per second. Click here to see it. (1/19)

Meteorite Possibly Found in Texas (Source: KXII)
A panel of international scientists has confirmed that about 15 pounds of meteorites that fell in Morocco last summer came from Mars. NASA scientists were included in the group that performed extensive tests on the space rocks.Astronomers think that millions of years ago.. something big smashed into Mars that sent fragments flying through the solar system.

Occasionally, some fall to Earth. That leads us to Callisburg, Texas, to a man named Coy Stopall. "I know that that is metal of some type, it screams that it is," Stopall said. "I'm smart enough to know that when there is a piece of big ol' rock there that's not like anything else on your property, and it's got little bitty swirls of melted metal in it, that it's abnormal," Coy explained.

The peculiar looking rock was found in a creek bed, on Stopall's property about two years ago. He said when he came across the rock, it was about 6 feet under the surface. So he dug it up. He has sent a sample to be tested at North Texas University. He has received no report back yet. But he hasn't given up hope. (1/19)

Scientists Win Crafoord Prize in Astronomy (Source: Science)
The Crafoord Prizes in astronomy for 2012 will be awarded to Reinhard Genzel of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany, and Andrea Ghez of UCLA. Genzel and Ghez are like the Coke and Pepsi of research in supermassive black holes. Beginning in 1998, their groups have independently produced compelling evidence for the once controversial notion that our galaxy has at its center a supermassive black hole which is about 4 million times as massive as the sun. (1/19)

ULA Launches Delta IV with the Fourth WGS Spacecraft (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
United Launch Alliance conducted the United States’ first orbital launch of the year on Thursday, when their Delta IV launched with the fourth Wideband Global Satcom spacecraft. Liftoff from SLC-37B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was on schedule for the beginning of a 93-minute launch window. (1/19)

NASA Relents: Apogee of Fear, First Sci-Fi Film Shot in Space, Will Be Released (Source: WIRED)
Good news! Following many reports over the last few days that the first-ever science fiction film to actually be filmed in space was being kept from release by NASA, there is now word that the space agency has relented and that Apogee of Fear will see the light of day after all. The eight-minute film was shot by Richard Garriott aboard the International Space Station on his trip there as a paid civilian in 2008.

Based on a screenplay written for him by Tracy Hickman (best known as co-creator of the Dragonlance shared universe), Garriott made the film with the assistance of two NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut. He had hoped to release it along with the documentary he made about following in his astronaut father Owen Garriott’s footsteps. But NASA put the kibosh on those plans without giving a great many specifics as to reasons, except that it was outside the scope of Garriott’s agreement with them. It seemed as though Apogee of Fear would remain hidden from the public eye.

According to NASA's Bob Jacobs: "NASA is working with Richard Garriott to facilitate the video’s release. While the project was not part of his original Space Act agreement with NASA, everyone involved had the best of intentions. We hope to resolve the remaining issues expeditiously, and we appreciate Richard’s cooperation and his ongoing efforts to get people excited about the future of space exploration." (1/19)

NASA Satellite Witnesses a Comet's Plunge into the Sun (Source: Scientific American)
As dramatic exits go, it's on par with Major T. J. "King" Kong riding a falling nuclear bomb like a rodeo bull at the end of Dr. Strangelove. A NASA spacecraft has documented a comet's demise as it plunged toward the sun at 600 kilometers per second, broke apart and vaporized inside the solar atmosphere.

The comet, known as C/2011 N3 (SOHO), met its fiery fate on July 6. The object's official name designates that it was discovered in early July 2011 by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft. Many comets meet a similar end, but astronomers and solar physicists have never been able to track a comet's trajectory all the way into the depths of the solar corona, the outermost layer of the sun's atmosphere. Click here. (1/19)

NASA Science Chief Seeks a Better Union Between Human Exploration and Science (Source: Nature)
On 4 January, John Grunsfeld, the fix-it-man for the Hubble Space Telescope, became the head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. But the former astronaut is quick to point out that he is an astrophysicist too, having done a cosmic-ray experiment for his doctoral thesis on the space shuttle. More recently, while deputy director of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, Grunsfeld has worked on developing instruments to study the atmospheres of exoplanets. Nature caught up with him in his first week on the job. Click here for a Q&A. (1/19)

USAF, Industry Eye Cost-Savings For GPS III (Source: Aviation Week)
Despite its programmatic progress and status as an acquisition reform program for the U.S. Air Force, GPS III—as with any other Pentagon project—is under the microscope and could be subject to funding cuts. Financial pressure on defense spending has prompted some to question the Air Force’s plan for modernizing the satellite constellation. Late last year, defense officials said some budget drills had examined if the project could be scaled back in scope or delayed.

One reason, say some GPS experts, is that the satellites in orbit are lasting longer than projected, possibly allowing for a delay to the 2014 launch date for the first GPS III satellite without jeopardizing service. A final budget plan will be unveiled by the Pentagon Feb. 6. (1/19)

Why Does Our Universe Have Three Dimensions? (Source: Discovery)
Why does our universe look the way it does? In particular, why do we only experience three spatial dimensions in our universe, when superstring theory, for instance, claims that there are ten dimensions -- nine spatial dimensions and a tenth dimension of time? Japanese scientists think they may have an explanation for how a three-dimensional universe emerged from the original nine dimensions of space. Click here. (1/19)

Seeking Participants for Hawaii Mars Analogue Mission and Food Study (Source: Cornell)
We are seeking participants for a 120 day Mars exploration analogue mission, to take place in early 2013 on the Big Island of Hawaii. The Cornell/Hawaii food study is designed to simulate the living and working experience of astronauts on a real planetary mission and to compare two types of food system – crew-cooked vs. pre-prepared – as thoroughly as possible in the context of a four month Mars analogue mission. We are seeking participants for this study with qualifications similar to those required by NASA for their astronaut applicants. Click here. (1/19)

L.A. Goes in to Space With Spacecraft Technology Expo (Source: SpaceRef)
Smarter Shows (www.smartershows.com) launches Spacecraft Technology Expo 2012 - a new global exhibition dedicated to spacecraft manufacture and operation. The three-day event will feature key players in the industry and offer a unique insight into spaceflight, space tourism and satellites. Visitors to the show will gain a taste of the future by seeing exhibits in its Human Spaceflight Park which include a space suit provided by North Hollywood company Orbital Outfitters, and seen for the first time on US soil, a 1:1 scale model of XCOR Aerospace's Lynx Suborbital vehicle. (1/19)

Here's One Way to Get People to Victory Park (Source: Dallas Observer)
Orion's first orbital test flight is in 2014. Till then, the Orion's on wheels -- on its way from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico (site of its 2010 launch-abort test flight) to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with pit stops along the way in Oklahoma and Alabama. And Dallas: Says NASA, it rolls into Victory Park January 27-29, a weekend stop that make its perfect for the kiddos and those of us for whom The Right Stuff sound track is our constant companion. (1/19)

'Citizen Scientists' Spot New Exoplanet After 100,000 Sign Up to Help (Source: Daily Mail)
An online appeal for ordinary people to help find unknown planets has resulted in the discovery of a new world. Chris Holmes, from Peterborough, and Lee Threapleton both spotted the planet after logging on to Planethunters.org, an Oxford University project that asks the public to sift through images from Nasa's Kepler telescope. The planet, which appears to be circling a star dubbed SPH10066540, is thought to be similar in size to Neptune and circles its parent every 90 days. (1/19)

What Happened Before the Big Bang? The New Philosophy of Cosmology (Source: The Atlantic)
What existed before the big bang? What is the nature of time? Is our universe one of many? On the big questions science cannot (yet?) answer, a new crop of philosophers are trying to provide answers. In December, a group of professors from America's top philosophy departments, including Columbia, Yale, and NYU, set out to establish the philosophy of cosmology as a new field of study within the philosophy of physics.

The group aims to bring a philosophical approach to the basic questions at the heart of physics, including those concerning the nature, age and fate of the universe. This past week, a second group of scholars from Oxford and Cambridge announced their intention to launch a similar project in the United Kingdom. Click here. (1/19)

President Supports Bipartisan Tourism Initiative With Florida Sponsors (Source: Rep. Bill Posey)
While speaking at Disney World, President Obama embraced the provisions of bipartisan legislation introduced this past September by U.S. Representatives Joe Heck (R-NV) and Bill Posey (R-FL) to help attract more international tourists to U.S. travel destinations. The Welcoming Business Travelers and Tourists to America Act (H.R. 3039) currently has 35 cosponsors, including six from Florida.

“Florida has so many wonderful attractions, from family friendly theme parks to beautiful beaches and lot’s of sunshine,” said Representative Posey. “The fact is the United States as a whole has so much to see and our nation, our small businesses, can benefit greatly from streamlining the process for business and tourist visas. I’m glad to hear the President’s onboard with our initiative.” (1/19)

NASA Finds 2011 Ninth Warmest Year on Record (Source: NASA)
The global average surface temperature in 2011 was the ninth warmest since 1880, according to NASA scientists. The finding continues a trend in which nine of the 10 warmest years in the modern meteorological record have occurred since the year 2000. NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) released an updated analysis that shows temperatures around the globe in 2011 compared to the average global temperature from the mid-20th century. The comparison shows how Earth continues to experience warmer temperatures than several decades ago. (1/19)

President Visits Florida to Promote (Space) Tourism (Source: SPACErePORT)
President Obama visited Orlando on Thursday to promote ways to increase international and domestic tourism in the U.S. as a means to improving the economy. Concurrent with his visit, the White House tweeted news of the new Atlantis facility groundbreaking at the KSC Visitor Complex, and asked for input on "cool science/tech places" that would be great tourist destinations.

The KSC Visitor Complex is one of Florida's most visited tourist attractions. Along with Disney-based space-themed rides like Mission: Mars and Space Mountain, KSC helps to make the state a popular "space tourism" destination for millions of people every year. Hopefully it won't be long before tourists are actually flying into space from one of Florida's two FAA-licensed spaceports. (1/19)

Pentagon Faces Host of Budget Cuts (Source: Politico)
Pentagon budget cuts are taking effect sooner than expected due to little-noticed appropriations caps that reset this week because of the deficit supercommittee's failure last fall. The defense cuts are estimated to total as much as $8 billion. It's also expected that President Barack Obama's request for overseas contingencies and war operations will drop from $115 billion for the current fiscal year to $82.5 billion in the 2013 budget. Additional cuts will take place if sequestration measures are not repealed by Congress. (1/19)

Launch is More Than a Satellite Sendoff (Source: Florida Today)
For Jeff Baker, a successful Delta IV rocket launch tonight would mean more than just a good day at the office. The United Launch Alliance employee’s son, Kyle, deployed to Afghanistan on Wednesday, joining U.S. and allied troops that will directly benefit from the next-generation military communications satellite carried by the rocket.

“That’s significant to me, because anything that can help increase the safety of our military is paramount,” said Baker, a 53-year-old Merritt Island resident. After a final readiness review, officials on Wednesday gave a “go” to proceed toward a 7:38 p.m. liftoff from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch window extends to 9:11 p.m. (1/19)

Space Agency Boss Blames Makers for Satellite Crash (Source: RIA Novosti)
A Russian government commission looking into the crash of the Phobos-Grunt Mars probe says engineering flaws were the main cause of its failure, the head of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, Vladimir Popovkin said on Thursday. There was speculation earlier this week that the crash of the 1.2 billion ruble ($400 million) spacecraft could have been caused by a powerful electromagnetic emission from a U.S. radar.

Popovkin however said that the U.S. radar is viewed “only as one of the causes.” “The main causes were the errors during production and test works, as well as the engineering flaws,” Popovkin said. Roscosmos is expected to hold tests to see whether the probe was affected by U.S. radars, which may involve NASA specialists, Popovkin added. (1/19)

Russia Revives Permanent Moon Base Plans (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russian Space Agency Roscosmos is in talks with its European and U.S. partners on the creation of manned research bases on the Moon, the agencies chief, Vladimir Popovkin, said on Thursday. “We don’t want the man to just step on the Moon,” Popovkin said in an interview with Vesti FM radio station. “Today, we know enough about it, we know that there is water in its polar areas," he said, adding "we are now discussing how to begin [the Moon’s] exploration with NASA and the European Space Agency."

There are two options, he said: “either to set up a base on the Moon or to launch a station to orbit around it.” The project of a “prospective manned transportation system” to be sent to the Moon is currently being developed, the Roscosmos chief said. Russia is also planning to send two unmanned missions to the Moon by 2020, the Luna Glob and the Luna Resource, Popovkin added. (1/19)

Clarifying the U.S. Stance on Space Code of Conduct (Source: AOL Defense)
The State and Defense departments scrambled to "correct misperceptions" on Capitol Hill, in foreign capitals and the international space community about U.S. intentions regarding an international space code of conduct. State Udersecretary Ellen Tauscher earlier said the U.S. had rejected the idea of adopting the space code penned by the European Union. The many sentences issued by both the Pentagon and Foggy Bottom yesterday do not contradict Tauscher. They just shout out loud and clear that the U.S. really, really does want a code of conduct of some kind.

Here's the core of what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: "In response to these challenges, the United States has decided to join with the European Union and other nations to develop an International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities. A Code of Conduct will help maintain the long-term sustainability, safety, stability, and security of space by establishing guidelines for the responsible use of space." She does not commit the U.S. to the EU code; but to a code.

Let it be said here that the Bush administration -- not known for its worries about international law or standards -- committed the U.S. to most of the elements that would make up a code of conduct, know collectively in the space policy world as transparency and confidence-building measures (TCBM). The Obama administration came in optimistically talking about using the EU code as the potential basis for an international code of conduct. The Joint Staff recently completed an analysis of the EU code and found it overly restrictive. That is the principal reason the U.S. has decided against using the European effort as is. (1/19)

Space Coast Leaders Pledge to Push Area's Perks (Source: Florida Today)
Leaders of the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast on Wednesday vowed to be stronger advocates for business and industry as the Brevard County economy crawls out of a recession and moves beyond the end of the space shuttle program. A new strategic plan calls for an increased push to educate community leaders about Brevard’s strengths so they can serve as advocates, and a more aggressive pursuit of companies in key industry clusters. Those clusters are: aerospace and aviation; advanced communications; electronics; homeland security and defense; and emerging technologies. (1/19)

Vega Rocket Ready for First Flight (Source: ESA)
Final checkout of Europe’s new Vega launcher was completed last Friday, marking another milestone towards its maiden flight from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The first Vega launch campaign began in November with the installation of the P80 first stage on the launch pad. The two solid-propellant second and third stages were added to the vehicle, followed by the AVUM – Attitude & Vernier Upper Module – liquid-propellant fourth stage.

Vega is designed to cope with a wide range of missions and payload configurations in order to respond to different market opportunities and provide great flexibility. In particular, it offers configurations able to handle payloads ranging from a single satellite up to one main satellite plus six microsatellites. Vega is compatible with payload masses ranging from 300 kg to 2500 kg. (1/19)

French Space Agency Sends Mixed Signals on ExoMars (Source: Space News)
The French space agency, CNES, on Jan. 19 sent mixed signals over whether it still supports a planned European Mars exploration program being planned with the U.S. and Russia for 2016 and 2018, and expressed strong opinions on future use of the international space station. CNES President Yannick d’Escatha said both the ExoMars program and the space station budget will be on the table for European ministers when they meet in November to set multiyear space budget and program priorities. (1/19)

Science & Engineering Festival Offers View of Next Generation Space Travel (Source: Business Wire)
This spring, the USA Science & Engineering Festival, the nation's largest celebration of science and engineering, will take festival-goers behind the scenes as NASA and industry partners forge a bold new era of space exploration. April 28-29, 2012, in Washington, DC, the Lockheed Martin-sponsored Festival will unleash the imaginations of the next generation of discoverers with inside information on what it takes to travel to the moon and Mars, as well as the future of space travel for the masses.

NASA leads space exploration in the United States and the world, with exciting missions in aeronautics, robotic and human exploration, and science. The agency retired the Space Shuttle Program in 2011, and is fostering a new era of spaceflight with breakthroughs in technology and innovation to send humans deeper into space as it inspires the next generation of engineers, scientists and explorers.

Festival-goers will interact with several members of the space community, including people who have traveled into space as private citizens and leaders from companies who hope to make space tourism more broadly available. Richard Garriott, a presenter at the upcoming Festival, became the sixth private citizen to travel to space in October 2008 when he traveled aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft to the International Space Station as a self-funded tourist. (1/19)

Experts Unconvinced By Trailer Claiming Secret U.S.-Yugoslav Space Pact (Source: Radio Free Europe)
"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Those, of course, were the famous words spoken by U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong in 1969 when he first set foot on the moon. But according to a film trailer that has caught fire on the Internet, the declaration may as well have been uttered in Serbo-Croatian, or perhaps Slovene, as well as English.

Uploaded to YouTube on January 9, the trailer previews "Houston, We Have a Problem!," a Slovenian "docudrama" that promises to reveal the truth behind the covert Yugoslav space program and tell how Marshal Josip Tito sold secrets to the United States, fueling its greatest cosmic one-upping of the Soviet Union... "In late 1960s, the CIA discovered that Yugoslavia already had operational space-flight technology. Yugoslavia secretly sold its complete space program to the U.S. in March 1961. In May 1961, Kennedy announced that the U.S. had chosen to go to the moon." (1/19)

Japan Scientists Fear Spacecraft Blueprint Stolen After Computer Virus (Source: Daily Mail)
The Japanese space agency has admitted that a computer virus may have stolen sensitive information from their networks - including blueprints for a spacecraft. Hackers could sell on the information or blackmail the space agency for its return. A terminal connected to networks belonging to the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was infected with a Trojan.

Data that could have been revealed includes email addresses, system log-in information and, crucially, the specification and operation of the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). JAXA's engineers said in a statement they noticed the computer was acting oddly last August and disconnected it from their networks. An investigation found the machine was infected with a virus, which was removed, before the terminal was returned to use. But computer security experts kept it under observation and, at the beginning of January, they discovered evidence that a different virus had collected information from it. (1/19)

Local Research Can Aid Push to Diversify Space Industry (Source: Tallahassee Democrat)
Tallahassee can play a role in the state's ongoing effort to diversify its space business beyond the processing and preparation for launch activities, a senior Space Florida executive said Wednesday. Chris Snow, senior director of government relations for Space Florida, characterized the state's aerospace business development effort as one that is growing to include more fields and types of businesses.

"One of the things we are focused on -- and we've had a working relationship with the EDC for quite a while -- is really working on trying to diversify," Snow said. "One of the areas where we can do that is research and development. We have lost a lot of that and honestly, never had a lot of it. A lot of it went to other states, so trying to grow that is very important with facilities here in Tallahassee."

Research plays a role in many of the 10 market sectors that Space Florida has identified in its diversification initiative. Among them are agriculture and environmental monitoring, human life sciences, communications, robotics, clean energy and advanced materials. Along with that diversification is expanding the supply chain in Florida, specifically adding to the depth and breadth of the in-state providers of space-related services and hardware. Snow said that will keep more of the support functions located here. (1/19)

Air Force Plans More EELV Block Buys in 2012 (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
Nine national security spacecraft have been entrusted to Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets in a $1.5 billion booster purchase through the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program, "There will be [additional] EELV buys in (calendar year) 2012," according to the Space and Missile Systems Center's Launch and Range Systems Directorate. This initial purchase of 9 boosters supports national security space requirements in Fiscal Year 2014, Air Force officials said, and a "second and larger procurement" will be made shortly as a block buy of rockets.

While EELV critics question the costs of Atlas 5 and Delta 4, the Air Force and ULA have been working to reduce pricing by changing the military's purchasing strategy. The new plan would stabilize the situation and cut costs by enabling ULA to order materials and piece-parts in bulk to build rockets in assembly line fashion. ULA has about 3,600 employees spread across the country at its production facilities, engineering headquarters and launch bases.

Editor's Note: Critics (including in Congress) had problems with a planned 40-vehicle block purchase of Atlas and Delta rockets, saying it would shut out potential new low-cost competitors like SpaceX and ATK. Casual observers had expected that the nine-rocket purchase was in response to this concern, but that doesn't now appear to be the case. (1/19)

Black Holes May Turboboost Super-Civilizations (Source: Discovery)
Because our galaxy is teeming with planets it should be home to countless extraterrestrial civilizations. That is unless, through some perverse twist in nature, intelligent life is an evolutionary dead-end. But let's be optimistic and assume that some fraction of far-flung worlds rise to the status of a hosting a super-civilization. This was described in 1964 by Russian astronomer Nikolai Kardashev who hypothesized that a so-called Type III civilization would control the entire energy output of a galaxy.

We don't even reach Type I status because we have failed to harness nuclear fusion or build a constellation of solar power satellites. But why should a super-civilization be so energy voracious? And how in the heavens do they tap the energy of an entire galaxy? First, a far-advanced society would need a lot of energy to support a rapidly growing wave of colonization, ambitious astroengineering projects, and burgeoning populations. Green technology can only go so far.

Secondly, super-smart extraterrestrials have far more than the total stellar energy output of the entire Milky Way at their fingertips. They could tap into the mother of all storage batteries: the supermassive black hole in the core of our galaxy. This gravitational engine is vastly more efficient at converting matter to energy than stellar nuclear fusion. (1/19)

Gas Ring Around Young Star Raises Questions (Source: Space Daily)
Astronomers have detected a mysterious ring of carbon monoxide gas around the young star V1052 Cen, which is about 700 light-years away in the southern constellation Centaurus. The ring is part of the star's planet-forming disk, and it's as far from V1052 Cen as Earth is from the Sun. Discovered with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, its edges are uniquely crisp. (1/18)

NASA Sees Repeating La Nina Hitting its Peak (Source: Space Daily)

La Nina, "the diva of drought," is peaking, increasing the odds that the Pacific Northwest will have more stormy weather this winter and spring, while the southwestern and southern United States will be dry. Sea surface height data from NASA's Jason-1 and -2 satellites show that the milder repeat of last year's strong La Nina has recently intensified. (1/18)

FAA Honors Embry-Riddle’s Jack Haun as Southern Region AMT of the Year (Source: ERAU)

Jack Haun, director of aircraft maintenance at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus, has been honored as the 2012 Southern Region Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year by the National General Aviation Awards Committee. The committee is a partnership of the FAA and numerous general-aviation industry sponsors. The mission of its General Aviation Awards program is to recognize individual aviation professionals on the local, regional, and national levels for their contributions to aviation, education, and flight safety.

Editor's Note: There are a couple of ongoing studies and initiatives aimed at the development of a spacecraft maintenance training regime, similar to the A&P training certification administered by the FAA. The idea is to reduce the likelihood of launch failures and anomalies caused by human error. Check out SpaceTEC here. (1/18)

No Free Launches: Can Commercial Space Bank On NASA Contracts? (Source: Forbes)

Now that the Space Shuttle has been scuttled and the proposed Ares I Constellation program rocket has been cancelled, NASA has little near-term choice but to rely on the private sector for home-grown astronaut launch and return. And although several companies are intent upon providing those services, American crews may continue to depend upon Russian taxi rides for some time to come. There are two principal issues. First, uncertain budgets and launch market commitments make NASA an unreliable customer, causing large R&D investments to be very risky. Second, working with NASA imposes contract complexities, schedule delays and added costs that jeopardize business viability.

This is particularly true in regard to design control over manned mission flight safety provisions. The original premise was that private industry can build and operate space transportation vehicles more rapidly, cheaply and flexibly than can government, opening a new era of spaceflight. But the big rub is that while this may be very true, they cannot do so the “government way”. Accordingly, companies are reportedly pushing back against NASA rules establishing how their vehicles must be designed rather than how they must perform. This is analogous to authorizing the FAA to certify the design of airplanes- not just certifying their airworthiness. Click here. (1/17)

January 18, 2012

2012-01-18T09:08:00.007-05:00

KSC Breaks Ground on Space Shuttle Atlantis Exhibit (Source: WKMG)
Kennedy Space Center held a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday to kick off construction for a $100 million, 65,000 square-foot exhibit featuring retired shuttle orbiter Atlantis. Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll and the last astronaut to command a shuttle mission, Chris Ferguson attended the event. Ferguson said while he misses being up in space, he’s excited how much the shuttle have to offer KSC.

Kennedy Space Center and visitor complex operator Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts conducted the ceremonial groundbreaking in the shuttle plaza area of the complex. Jeremy Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Delaware North, who also owns the Boston Bruins hockey team, brought the Stanley Cup, the NHL championship trophy, with him to the Visitor Complex. (1/18)

NASA to Hand Over Shutte Trainer Keys to Seattle Museum (Source: SpaceRef)
NASA's Johnson Space Center is officially handing over the keys to the Space Shuttle Full Fuselage Trainer to the Seattle Museum of Flight. The handover ceremony includes an official signing of the Space Act Agreement that transfers ownership of the trainer, which includes both a crew cockpit and shuttle cargo bay area, and was used to familiarize astronauts with shuttle cockpit controls and emergency exit procedures over the life of the Space Shuttle Program. (1/18)

NASA Kennedy Space Center's IT Network Reaches New Frontier (Source: SpaceRef)
Ciena Corporation announced a new partnership with Abacus Technology Corp. to upgrade the expansive campus IT network at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The enhanced network, which supports activities that range from managing NASA's space launch program to hosting millions of visitors from around the world, will leverage Optical Transport Network (OTN) technology from Ciena to consolidate the Center's Ethernet, video and legacy ATM and TDM traffic. (1/18)

Satellite Spots Costa Concordia Shipwreck From Space (Source: Space.com)
An Earth-watching satellite has snapped a stark view of the Costa Concordia shipwreck from space, showing the huge ocean liner on its side just days after it tragically ran aground off Italy's Tuscany coast. The new satellite photo was taken Tuesday (Jan. 17) by an Earth-observation satellite operated by DigitalGlobe, a Colorado-based company that uses a constellation of spacecraft to take high-resolution images of Earth. Click here. (1/18)

Tiny Invisible Galaxy May Be Made Completely of Dark Matter (Source: Space.com_
Astronomers have discovered a small galaxy that is invisible to telescopes and may be completely composed of dark matter, which reflects no light. The newfound galaxy is incredibly distant and extremely small. It orbits as a satellite of a larger galaxy. Though telescopes can't spot the dwarf galaxy, scientists detected its presence through the tiny distortions its gravity causes to light that passes it by. (1/18)

Did the US Accidentally Zap Phobos-Grunt (From Kwajelein)? (Source: New Scientist)
First there were cries of sabotage, although there was never a clear motive. Now the bizarre suggestion that the US shot down Russia's Phobos-Grunt space probe has morphed into a slightly less strange claim. A Russian newspaper has reported that radar beamed from a US military base could have accidentally damaged the probe, leading to its demise. How plausible is the suggestion that radar is to blame for the probe's failure?

An unnamed source implicates the US military radar station on Kwajalein atoll in the Pacific Marshall Islands. At the time of Phobos-Grunt's malfunction, the source says that the station was using its radar to bounce signals off asteroids, a standard technique for imaging asteroids and measuring their distances. So any such US-inflicted damage to Phobos-Grunt could have been accidental, not sabotage, as had been darkly hinted earlier by Vladimir Popovkin, head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos. (1/18)

How to Spot a Dark-Matter Galaxy (Source: New Scientist)
If we could don dark matter glasses and look at the universe around us, we might see thousands of miniature galaxies swarming about the luminous spirals that make up the Milky Way and Andromeda. We can't – but we have the next best thing. A technique known as gravitational lensing has allowed one of these dark dwarfs to be glimpsed, suggesting the Milky Way isn't as lonely as it looks to us Earthlings.

Astronomers think that galaxies usually grow by devouring smaller nearby clusters of stars called dwarf galaxies, no bigger than 100 million times the mass of the sun. According to this theory, the Milky Way and all other full-size galaxies should keep company with thousands of dwarfs. However, only 30 such companions have been spotted in our neighbourhood.

Where are all the missing minis hiding? One explanation is that they're mostly made of dark matter, the mysterious, aloof substance thought to make up 83 per cent of the mass in the universe but which is reluctant to interact with regular matter. (1/18)

Air Force Orders 9th WGS Satellite (Source: Florida Today)
The Air Force confirmed it has ordered The Boeing Co. to begin working on a ninth WGS spacecraft, expected to cost $377 million. It will be purchased under a recently-announced international partnership with Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and New Zealand. Air Force officials say plans for a 10th vehicle are also in the works. (1/18)

Any Exoplanet Possible in a 'Compulsive' Universe (Source: Discovery)
The cumulative discoveries reported at the meeting of the American Astronomical Society have taken us higher toward the intellectual summit of thousands of years of speculation as to whether Earth is alone in the universe. We will ultimately reach that summit with the eventual discovery that life is a condition of the universe. In other words, that self-replicating matter is nature's favorite form of self-expression.

Gravitational microlensing surveys have lead us to the conclusion that there are zillions of places for life out there. Planets are everywhere in the universe. They outnumber the stars in our Milky Way galaxy. As the first dedicated exoplanet space missions to seek out Earth-sized planets in stellar habitable zones, Kepler's ongoing discoveries have "overwhelmed the astronomy community" says John Johnson of Caltech. Kepler's jaw-dropping observations show that the types of planets and planetary systems out there are so varied, that just about anything is possible. (1/18)

No Practical Fix For LightSquared GPS Found (Source: Aviation Week)
After a review of the latest round of tests of the GPS interference potential of LightSquared’s proposed wireless network, the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Executive Committee has determined that “both LightSquared’s original and modified [plans] would cause harmful interference to many GPS receivers.”

Further, FAA analysis concludes that LightSquared’s proposals are not compatible with several GPS-dependent aircraft safety-of-flight systems, says a letter to the U.S. Commerce Department signed by committee co-chairs Ashton Carter, deputy secretary of defense, and John Porcari, deputy secretary of transportation. (1/18)

LightSquared Calls for More Testing After 'Rigged' Tests (Source: Reuters)
LightSquared called for new tests of its mobile system to examine interference concerns after it accused the latest government tests of being "rigged." The new tests could take two months, forcing LightSquared to miss a January deadline for government approval of a high-speed wireless network it wants to build. The January deadline was imposed by Sprint Nextel Corp, LightSquared's partner in deploying and operating its planned network. It is unclear whether Sprint would stay on board if LightSquared misses the deadline.

LightSquared contends that any interference is a result of poorly designed GPS receivers that GPS manufacturers should be obliged to fix. LightSquared has teamed up with other companies to design filters that it says would fix the interference issues. LightSquared executives sharply criticized testing that was carried out for the Space-based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Executive Committee (PNT EXCOM).

The company has already asked for an investigation of the PNT advisory board due to a possible conflict of interest as the vice-chairman of the board is also a director for GPS supplier Trimble Navigation Ltd. LightSquared said the test that found harmful interference problems was "rigged" by GPS device makers. It also complained that the test process was "shrouded in secrecy" and deliberately used older GPS devices more prone to interference issues. (1/18)

Australia Backs EU Space Code (Source: Sydney Morning Herald)
Australia has announced it is backing a European Union push for a new international code of conduct for behaviour in space, following a rise in space junk and the clandestine development of satellite-destroying weapons. The Foreign Minister, Kevin Rudd, made the announcement yesterday, on the same day the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, declared humankind's involvement in space was at risk from ''irresponsible actors''.

While neither Australia nor the US named those actors, secret US diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks reveal a half-decade war of words between Beijing and Washington over what the US describes as China's "anti-satellite weapons testing program". The US has also conducted similar weapons tests during the Cold War, though the last known test was in 1985. (1/18)

Is United Space Alliance About to Disappear? (Source: Popular Mechanics)
For a decade and a half, Boeing and Lockheed Martin have been joined at the hip through United Space Alliance, the partnership that was responsible for launching the space shuttle. But with the shuttle era over, these two aerospace giants are disbanding USA, reports say. When the shuttle program retired last year, much of the reason for the company’s existence has disappeared, and it looks like the parent companies are pulling the plug on it.

A dirty little not-so-secret of the aerospace industry is that, in a sense, it employs well-educated migrant workers. Some people manage to spend an entire career at a single company, but many, perhaps most, tend to follow the big contracts. If the company they’re working for loses a bid, they often switch badges and go to work for the winner. But in lean times, such as the period of the early 1970s when Apollo ended and the Vietnam War sapped space budgets, there often is no new program to jump to. The demise of USA would suggest that we’re entering another such era.

So what will happen to the USA refugees? In more flush times, they might move to other companies and space and defense contracts, but today is similar to the early seventies, with the recent announcement of big upcoming cuts in defense. Editor's Note: Word is that USA will survive in some form if it wins one of the large contracts it is now pursuing. If it doesn't win, then the company goes away. USA used to be Florida's largest space industry employer. (1/18)

Here’s a Stat to Embolden NASA Cynics (Source: Houston Chronicle)
It’s now been nearly four decades since Americans flew beyond low-Earth orbit. It’s never happened in my lifetime. The question is when we’ll do so again. I’m beginning to think it may never happen during my lifetime. Anyhow, while working on a story about this topic, and the varying opinions of NASA’s present approach, I came across the following fact: Since 1969, 24 blue-ribbon panels have (re)assessed human spaceflight strategy, and exploration concepts and technologies and national priorities have continued to evolve.

What does this tell us about NASA and human spaceflight? It tells me that absent a strong mandate, clear goal and adequate funds, flying beyond Earth’s orbit just isn’t possible. And all the hand-wringing and studying and powerpoints in the world — not to mention two dozen well-meaning blue-ribbon panels — probably aren’t going to change that. (1/18)

Satellite’s Solar Array Problem Results in $132.7M Insurance Payment (Source: Space News)
Satellite fleet operator Telesat of Canada has received a $132.7 million payment from insurance underwriters to cover a partial-loss claim filed following the Telstar 14R/Estrela do Sul-2 satellite’s solar array deployment failure in May, according to Telesat’s owner Loral.

Telesat had said following the May launch that the partial nondeployment of one of two solar arrays aboard Telstar 14R/Estrela do Sul-2 would force the company to reduce the satellite’s broadcast output to 60 percent of what was expected. In addition, because the deployment glitch left one of the solar arrays in a state that will make it more difficult to fly the spacecraft, Telstar 14R/Estrela do Sul-2 is expected to operate for just 12 years in orbit before running out of fuel, as compared with the expected service life of 15 years or more. (1/18)

New Zealand Investment in WGS Boosts Broadband Access, Saves Money (Source: Space News)
New Zealand’s investment in the U.S. Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) military broadband communications satellite system will be far less costly than continued spending on commercial satellite bandwidth. In a statement issued the day after Canada announced its stake in WGS, New Zealand Defense Minister said their stake in WGS “will increase our access to satellite broadband more than twenty-fold, with guaranteed access and at a fixed price, ensuring better value for money. This gives a significant boost to our forces’ capacity both at home and abroad.” (1/18)

Plasma Thruster Could Replace Chemical Rockets for Satellite and Deep-Space Propulsion (Source: Flight Global)
Snecma and French national scientific research agency CNRS have claimed a European first in successfully testing a 20kW electric plasma thruster for spacecraft. The thruster, 13 times as powerful as the 1.5kW version Snecma already supplies for spacecraft orientation control, matches power outputs already achieved by Russian and US prototypes and helps open the way for the replacement of normal chemical rockets in propulsion during deep-space exploration missions. (1/18)

Existing Stage Needed To Meet SLS Schedule (Source: Aviation Week)
Tight budgets and a tight schedule mean NASA will use an existing upper stage for the first two tests of its Space Launch System (SLS) human-exploration rocket, instead of flying the Orion multi-purpose crew vehicle (MPCV) with the human-rated J-2X engine already in full-scale ground test. Engineers developing the heavy-lift SLS are polling the worldwide launch industry in search of an upper stage they can use to kick the Orion MPCV on two test flights around the Moon.

Under pressure from Congress to build and fly the big new rocket quickly, the U.S. space agency has scheduled an unmanned lunar flyby late in 2017, followed by a lunar-orbital mission with a four-person crew in 2021. Because of the relatively low performance requirements for those missions, an upper stage already in use probably can fulfill them, says Garry Lyles, NASA’s SLS chief engineer. (1/18)

SpaceX Safety VP Quit Late Last Year (Source: Space News)
Ken Bowersox, the former NASA astronaut and space station commander who joined SpaceX in 2009, has quit the company. “Ken Bowersox left SpaceX at the end of last year,” SpaceX spokeswoman Kirstin Grantham wrote in a Jan. 17 email. “His responsibilities were split up among a few different people. Hans Koenigsmann was named SpaceX vice president of mission assurance.”

Bowersox, who was SpaceX’s vice president of astronaut safety and mission assurance, could not immediately be reached for comment. A Jan. 17 Space News query addressed to Bowersox’s SpaceX email account produced an automated reply notifying the sender that “this mailbox is no longer being actively monitored by the user.”

Editor's Note: Elon Musk is having similar issues at Tesla. Tesla's chief engineer and another key engineering supervisor left the company earlier this month. Their departures were uncovered by the news media, and Musk apologized for not making them public at the time they occured. Click here. (1/18)

EADS Sees U.S. as 'Lucrative Market' Amid Cuts (Source: Defense News)
EADS sees the U.S. as a rich pool of business opportunity despite the Obama administration’s announced plan to cut $480 billion from defense spending in the next 10 years, Chief Executive Sean O’Keefe of EADS North America said. "We continue to see the U.S. as a very lucrative market,” O’Keefe said, with space launch a promising area within the broad needs of the U.S. government.

There is “an intensity of interest in competitive alternatives” at the U.S. Air Force and NASA, particularly in launch capabilities for resupply of the International Space Station, O’Keefe said on the sidelines of the EADS New Year’s press conference, hosted jointly here by Airbus and EADS. Astrium, the EADS space division, provides an alternative to United Launch Alliance, the Boeing-Lockheed joint venture, he said. (1/18)

Lost in Simulated Space (Source: China Daily)
China's Wang Yue was one of astronauts in the Mars-500 project to discover the effects of prolonged space flight on the body and mind. Wang Ru reports. Wang Yue, who is still recovering from 520 days of isolation while simulating a manned space flight to Mars, was given an award to honor his achievement at the Astronaut Center of China (ACC) in Beijing on Monday. The 29-year-old was one of six astronauts in the Mars-500 project, conducted by the Institute for Bio-Medical Problems (IBMP) at the Russian Academy of Sciences, in cooperation with The European Space Agency and ACC. (1/18)

Teen’s Idea to Make Snowflakes in Space Wins Contest (Source: Boston Globe)
Emerald Bresnahan is 17 years old, lives in Plainville and thinks she may help find the answer to how the galaxy began -- by making a snowflake in outer space. “I learned galaxy formation is similar to how snowflakes grow: The inside forms before the rest,” Bresnahan said. So she designed an experiment designed to tackle that complex scientific question, an experiment that may be conducted later this year by an astronaut on the International Space Station, which is orbiting 250 miles above the Earth.

Bresnahan is one of 60 students between the ages of 14 and 18 whose ideas were chosen yesterday to be finalists in the YouTube Space Lab competition. Bresnahan’s proposal was selected by a panel of scientific experts, including cosmologist Stephen Hawking, from more than 2,000 submitted to the international competition. Next month, the experts will winnow the list further to six students -- two from the Americas, two from Europe, and Two from Pacific Asia -- whose ideas will be the semi-finalists. People can vote for their choice on YouTube, but the views of the experts will have greater weight in the final decision, organizers said. (1/17)

UF Astronomer on Kepler Research Team Helps Discover Planets (Source: UF Independent Alligator)
A UF astronomer was involved with the recent discovery of two planets that helps give substance to a new astronomical theory. NASA's Kepler research team, which includes UF associate professor of astronomy Eric Ford, discovered Kepler-34b and Kepler-35b, which both orbit two stars. The results will be published today in the online edition of Nature, a scientific journal. This discovery was groundbreaking in the sense that it helps support a new astronomical theory about binary star, or double-star, systems, Ford said. (1/17)

China Plans to Launch 30 Satellites in 2012 (Source: RIA Novosti)
China is planning to launch 21 carrier rockets with 30 satellites in 2012, the China Aerospace and Technology Corporation (CASC) said. The country’s ambitious space program will see a steady increase in the number of space launches in the near future. Last year, China launched 20 rockets with 25 satellites to become the world’s second country after Russia in terms of the amount of space launches. As part of the 2012 schedule, China will launch six more geostationary satellites of the Beidou-2 (Compass) system to expand its own global positioning network to 16 satellites.

Another key event on the Chinese space industry calendar is the launch of Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 spacecraft to rendezvous and dock with the currently orbiting Tiangong-1 vessel as part of an ambitious project to start building a 60-ton space station by about 2020. (1/18)

Aerospace Industry is TalTech's Luncheon Topic (Source: Tallahassee Democrat)
Chris Snow, senior director of government relations for Space Florida, will be the keynote speaker today at the January luncheon of the Tallahassee Technology Alliance. The meeting starts at 11:30 a.m. at the Capital City Country Club. Snow will be discussing the status of Florida's aerospace industry -- including its legislative agenda and economic development plans -- now that NASA's shuttle program has ended. Space Florida was created as a special district that is the contact for all space-related functions in Florida. It serves the civilian, military and commercial sectors of the industry. (1/18)

January 17, 2012

2012-01-17T11:09:00.008-05:00

Embry-Riddle Sponsors Suborbital Research Conference (Source: SPACErePORT)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has signed on as a sponsor of the 2102 Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference. The event will be held on Feb. 27-29 in Palo Alto, California. Click here for details. I'll be there representing both Embry-Riddle and the FLORIDA SPACErePORT. (1/17)

Clinton Commits U.S. to Work on Space Code of Conduct (Source: Space Policy Online)
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton issued a statement committing the United States to working with the European Union and other countries to develop a "code of conduct" to ensure the long term sustainability of the space environment. Secretary Clinton cautioned that "the United States has made clear to our partners that we will not enter into a code of conduct that in any way constrains our national security-related activities in space or our ability to protect the United States and our allies."

Nonetheless, the United States wants to work with other countries to "reverse the troubling trends that are damaging our space environment and to preserve the limitless benefits and promise of space for future generations." Click here to see the one-page fact sheet from the Department of State. Editor's Note: This "code of conduct" thing doesn't quite seem like an "arms control" initiative, as is being reported by some of the more hawkish news outlets. (1/17)

We Need an Edge From Space (Source: Huffington Post)
When asked this question some might answer with the traditional "Because it's there." Fine for a mountain, insufficient for a frontier. There are as many reasons to open the space frontier as there will be humans to go there, and if history is our guide, although at first it will be only a few, the numbers will grow enormously. But the real reason, the one necessary and sufficient reason we are called to the space frontier, is buried deep within us.

It is a feeling, a knowing in our hearts when we look starward on a clear night. The same feeling that some of our earliest ancestors had as they looked across a new valley, or stood upon the shores of unsailed oceans. First fear, then curiosity, and then, for some, a calling. A calling which pulls us to go, to see, to do, to be there. It has created us and we have always responded to it.

In space we will continue to redefine ourselves, as hundreds, then thousands, then millions of us take our places at the edge of the human realm. The value of what it means to be human will increase, as the lives of individuals, settlements and towns remain under constant threat of death by the harsh forces we find there. (1/17)

Test of Orbital’s Antares Rocket Slips to April as Pad Work Continues (Source: Space News)
A hold-down test of Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Antares rocket, a prerequisite for the launch vehicle’s maiden flight, likely will not be completed before April because of ongoing tests and certification work on the vehicle’s launch pad at Wallops Island. “It’s really an integrated form of testing that's going on now, as we speak, and we're looking at completing that, hopefully, by the first of April,” said Billie Reed, director of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.

Reed said that the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority, the state entity that manages operations at the spaceport from which Orbital will launch, is still completing certification of individual systems. These include more than 130 pressurized vessels needed to support the launch of the liquid-fueled Antares. The authority is also working on what Reed called “integrated system performance and functional testing,” the purpose of which is to ensure that the various launch support systems and software at Orbital’s pad are working harmoniously. (1/17)

Will 2012 Finally Be NewSpace’s Year to Shine? (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Successful Virgin Galactic powered flights using a full engine would be a major milestone in a development effort that began almost 7.5 years ago. Virgin Galactic could put to rest persistent stories that engineers are still experiencing difficulty scaling up the hybrid propulsion system from SpaceShipOne for use on its much larger successor. And the missions would pave the way for commercial flights of the six passenger vehicles to begin.

Just next door to SpaceShipOne’s hangar in Mojave, XCOR is gearing up to build the Lynx Mark 1, the company’s high-altitude prototype. Flight ready hardware is already filling the 1940’s era hangar. The big event will be the arrival of the composite fuselage in a few week’s time. Can they fly by the end of this year? Probably, but it could be tight. There’s a lot of work ahead. And XCOR is an engine company that’s now building a spaceship, which could be a significant learning curve.

Three other American companies — Armadillo, Blue Origin and Masten — are continuing development of their reusable suborbital vehicles this year. We can expect all three firms to push their vehicles to ever higher altitudes as the year goes along. With the exception of Masten’s vehicles, these spaceships will first fly experiments and eventually people on suborbital flights. If things go well, 2012 will be the year that suborbital space market will begin to come into its own. Click here. (1/16)

Manned Russian Rocket Launches from South America Look Doubtful (Source: Space.com)
The European Space Agency has long harbored hopes that it could launch humans aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft from its French Guiana spaceport, but this is likely impossible, SPACE.com has learned. The agency has claimed in the past that such future manned Soyuz TMA flights need only infrastructure changes at the launch site to be realized, yet ESA has known since 2004 that the spacecraft can't be launched from the South American territory.

An ESA study conducted between 2002 and 2004 found that because the Soyuz has not been designed to land in the sea, a French Guiana launch that had to be aborted would endanger the spacecraft and its crew as it would likely have to ditch in the Atlantic Ocean. The Soyuz spacecraft have always landed on land in the former Soviet territory of Kazakhstan.

Editor's Note: The Soyuz launch pad at French Guiana is designed to facilitate human missions. And even though the Soyuz capsule may not be compatible with an ocean-abort landing, I guess the rocket remains "human rated" and could possibly carry other crew-carrying capsules, maybe from U.S. providers. (1/17)

China Aiming to Push Forward with Ambitious Near-Term Schedule (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
With two successful launches already under their belts for 2012, the Chinese are aiming to advance on their record-breaking 2011 with an ambitious schedule which includes two milestone crewed space missions – the first of which is expected to launch in March. A total of 24 launches may take place this year, further laying the foundations for the rest of the decade. Click here. (1/17)

"Sophisticated" 4th Graders Choose Ebb & Flow as GRAIL Names (Source: Space Policy Online)
A fourth grade class in Bozeman, MT won the competition to name NASA's two GRAIL spacecraft. The GRAIL mission is mapping the Moon's gravity field. The winning names are Ebb & Flow, a reference to the tides here on Earth that are caused by gravitational interaction between the Moon and Earth. (1/17)

NASA Langley Gate Closing Hurts Area Businesses (Source: Daily Press)
A change to employee access at NASA Langley Research Center is having a negative impact on local businesses. NASA Langley's back gate on Wythe Creek Road used to be open to both incoming and outgoing traffic from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. In October incoming access was changed to 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. because budget cuts eliminated the gate guard. This added an additional two-mile drive for employees to get back into work via the front gate. Since then local businesses, and particularly restaurants, have seen a drop in lunchtime business. (1/16)

NASA is Still a Go (Source: Yale Daily News)
My friends and family keep throwing cold water on my passion for space exploration. They believe news reports that President Obama cancelled the human spaceflight program, dooming NASA to slowly wither and die, and they try to nudge me away from denial. Fortunately, their narrative is wildly inaccurate; space exploration is poised for an exciting future.

The national media confuses the deserved cancellation of the space shuttle program with the death of space exploration. In reality, commercial companies will soon replace the outdated space shuttle to launch cargo and crew into orbit around Earth. NASA will no longer focus on providing taxi service to the International Space Station. Rather, a quest to explore the uncharted cosmos with both robots and humans will exploit the imaginative possibility of space. In short, NASA is recapturing the excitement of the Space Race — without the fear of the Cold War. (1/17)

Russia to Test if US Radar Caused Failed Space Probe (Source: Voice of America)
Russia says the failure of its space probe that was intended to travel to a moon of Mars could have been caused by radiation from U.S. radars. Space official Yuri Koptev said Tuesday he will head a government commission that will test whether the Phobos-Grunt probe was affected by U.S. radars. He says an experiment will be done where a model Phobos is subjected to radiation similar to that from U.S. radars. (1/17)

Professor's Aim: Avert Asteroid Hit (Source: DesMoines Register)
Iowa State University professor Bong Wie stood in Hungary’s gilded parliament building in May with a modest plan that might one day save the planet. His idea: avert a catastrophic asteroid strike on Earth by launching a nuclear weapon to intercept the object, a difficult engineering problem that carries enormous legal, political and ethical hurdles. The notion of launching a nuclear strike against an asteroid, while not new, gained momentum after Wie created the Asteroid Deflection Research Center at ISU in 2008 — the first of its kind at a U.S. university. Click here. (1/17)

Forget Space Beer, Order Meteorite Wine Instead (Source: Discovery)
Chances are, when you pop open a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, you expect to savor certain aromatic flavors, or "notes", depending on the wine: fruit forward, perhaps, with hints of pepper and leathery tannins, and just the faintest whiff of... meteorite???

At least that's what you'd savor if you were drinking a bottle of Meteorite, possibly the very first wine on the market aged with a meteorite that fell to Earth from space. It's the brainchild of Ian Hutcheon, an Englishman now working in Chile, who thinks the infusion of a bit of meteorite gives his wine a "livelier taste." What would possess a man to make wine with meteorites? For Hutchinson, it's a natural dovetailing of interests. He owns a local vineyard in Chile's Cachapoal Valley, and has a longstanding interest in astronomy. (1/17)

Forecast Fine for Year's First Cape Launch (Source: Florida Today)
There's little chance weather will stall the first launch of 2012 from Cape Canaveral Spaceport, a planned 7:38 p.m. EST Thursday blastoff of a Delta IV rocket carrying a next-generation military communications satellite from Launch Complex 37 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The most recent forecast from the Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron shows only a 10 percent chance that strong ground winds could become a factor during the window that extends to 9:11 p.m. (1/17)

A Sea of Spacetime Foam? (Source: Scientific American)
“Is space digital?” We often speak of the fabric of space, as if it were continuous, but is it instead a kind of patchwork of jittering, foamy quantized bits? Craig Hogan, a physicist at the University of Chicago and director of the Fermilab Particle Astrophysics Center, is hoping to find out. He and his colleagues plan an experiment that will attempt to measure how information, matter and spacetime behave at the tiniest of scales—-the Planck scale. If the experiment succeeds, it will change what we currently think we know about the nature of space and time, suggesting a new architecture of physics. Click here. (1/17)

More Water Than Ever Found on Moon (Source: TIME)
There are a whole lot of forbidding places in the solar system, but the permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) of the moon have to be near the top of the list. Found in the northern and southern lunar poles, the PSRs are low-lying spots — often deep in the bowls of craters — that never receive so much as a breath of warmth or a flicker of light from the sun. As a result, they don't go through the same heating and cooling cycle as the rest of the moon, where temperatures soar to 200°F during lunar daylight and plunge to –200°F at night. Instead, the PSRs remain in an unending deep freeze.

That ought to make those areas unlikely places for astronauts ever to visit, much less settle — except for one little wrinkle: if there happened to be water ice nearly anywhere on the surface of the moon, it would boil away the instant it felt the solar fires; at the poles it would last forever. In 2010, scientists discovered that even at lower latitudes, the moon is not entirely dry, with faint traces of ice surviving beneath the surface, making lunar soil about twice as wet as the sands of the Sahara — which by moon standards is practically drenched.

Now, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has found that the PSRs indeed have a whole lot more water than that, with up to 2% of the surface in those blacked-out regions consisting of ice crystals. Water ice was likely imported to the moon by incoming comets, a bombardment similar to the one that many astronomers believe helped fill the earth's oceans. (1/17)

Who Owns Space History, the Public or the Astronauts? (Source: Universe Today)
Former NASA astronaut Jim Lovell came under fire last week when he sold a personal memento from his tenure with space agency at an auction – the 70-page checklist from the famous Apollo 13 mission that didn’t land on the Moon. The sale has reopened the ongoing debate over who owns NASA artifacts and photographs, the astronauts or the public. In Lovell’s case, the checklist is so valuable because it contains Lovell’s hand written calculations he used to navigate the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft after its oxygen tank exploded.

That’s a pretty important piece of history for many collectors. Bids on the historic item surpassed $388,000. But now NASA is questioning whether Lovell had the right to sell the item and profit from its sale. For now, the checklist – along with a lunar module identification plate and a hand controller from Apollo 9 sold by former astronaut Rusty Schweickart and a glove Al Shepard wore on the Moon on Apollo 14 sold at the same auction – is locked in an Heritage Auctions vault until the issue is resolved.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said that there have been “fundamental misunderstandings and unclear policies” regarding items astronauts took home from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Skylab mission. These “misunderstandings and unclear policies” aren’t new. Last summer, NASA filed a lawsuit against Apollo 14 astronaut Ed Mitchell after he tried to sell a 16mm video camera he used on the Moon. Mitchell the camera would have been left on the Moon had he not brought it home. It’s been sitting in his personal safe since 1971. Click here. (1/17)

Programming Error May Have Doomed Russian Phobos-Grunt Probe (Source: Space Policy Online)
Russia's Phobos-Grunt Mars mission may have failed because of a computer programming error according to unofficial Russian sources. Officially, a special Russian commission headed by former Russian space agency director Yuri Koptev continues to investigate what led to the failure. However, other news reports postulate that "the most likely culprit ... was a programming error in the flight control system."

According to one, post-failure tests showed the processor on the main flight control computer would overload in 90 percent of cases. "Following the initial failure, as ground controllers apparently succeeded in activating the X-band transmitter onboard the spacecraft, new problems arose" because the transmitter was not deactivated when the spacecraft was "flying in the shadow of the Earth for prolonged periods of time." Consequently, "the probe slowly drained its rechargeable power batteries and then its emergency power source... leading to a complete deactivation..." (1/17)

Space on Earth (Source: Reason)
At the Mojave Spaceport, I’m a guest of Michael Massee of Mojave Spaceport tenant XCOR, a 30-employee company founded in 1999 to help build an active space transport and exploration industry. XCOR has already built two successful rocket powered airplanes, the EZ-Rocket and the X-Racer. The company’s EZ-Rocket sits in one corner of the hangar, showing none of the strains one might expect of a homebuilt airplane shot around by rocket power.

Massee shows me the toggles that activated the rocket, the fire suppression switch, even the fuel dump. XCOR has launched dozens of rocket plane flights and thousands of rocket engine firings without once experiencing a “hard start” (rocketeer euphemism for “explosion”) or other serious harm. XCOR investor Lee Valentine, also chairman of the board for the Space Studies Institute (an exploration advocacy group), boasts to me of XCOR’s rocket engines’ unusual longevity and reusability.

XCOR’s main goal now is building and flying the Lynx, a suborbital vehicle to take tourists, experiments, and small satellite payloads out of this world. The company is also developing a new fuel pump, which will also be used by United Launch Alliance, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture that does most of the heavy private rocket-launch service these days. Click here. (1/17)

Wallops Island May Become Premier Tourist Attraction (Source: DelMarVaNow.com)
Though it's still in the planning stages, tourism officials around Delmarva have been taking one small step toward positioning Wallops Island as a premier tourism destination for space launch enthusiasts. They're even brainstorming slogans like "The Rocket Riviera."

Susan Jones, executive director of the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association, mentioned at Monday's meeting of the Greater Ocean City Economic Development Committee that marketing Wallops as "America's first space coast" has been an ongoing effort. Jones said area tourism officials got interested when Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) got involved with bringing more NASA jobs to Wallops Island Flight Facility and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.

Tourism experts and business leaders from Maryland, Delaware and Virginia have been brainstorming how to market space tourism since mid-2010, when Wallops hosted a retreat on the topic. A main goal is to create a sort of booster rocket for the local economy by marketing the region for space tourism, and luring more off-season visitors. (1/17)

Editorial: Spaceport America's Southern Road Key to Success (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
The recent announcement that a full environmental impact study will not be needed for construction of a proposed southern road to Spaceport America was great news for businesses in Doña Ana County looking to take advantage of the influx of well-heeled space tourists expected by next year. Without a southern road, those traveling to and from Spaceport America would need to turn off Interstate 25 at Truth or Consequences, making it more likely visitors would spend their lodging and dining dollars in communities north of Las Cruces.

If all goes well and the county is able to begin construction by the end of the year, it is expected that work can be completed and the road ready to go by the end of next year. While the county is managing the project, Spaceport America will cover the $10 million to $11 million for materials and labor to build the road. Virgin Galactic, the anchor tenant for Spaceport America, hopes to begin blasting space tourists into sub-orbit by next year, but that timeline is dependent on safety tests taking place now in California for the spacecraft that will be used at Spaceport America.

In the meantime, Mark Butler, a senior program manager with Virgin Galactic, has moved from the United Kingdom and has set up office in Las Cruces to oversee operations at the spaceport. Construction of the main terminal building is wrapping up, and Virgin Galactic expects to move in and begin paying rent in the next couple of months. It has taken longer than expected, but things are starting to come together. A paved southern road to the spaceport is a key part to the puzzle. (1/17)

Russian Scientists Mock U.S. Radar Theory on Mars Probe (Source: RIA Novosti)
The theory that Russia’s Mars mission failed due to a U.S. radar is extremely “exotic,” Russian scientists said on Tuesday. Phobos-Grunt, Russia's most ambitious planetary mission in decades, was launched on November 9 but it was lost due to a propulsion failure and fell back to Earth on Sunday. The crash could have been caused by a powerful electromagnetic emission from a U.S. radar in the Pacific Ocean, the Kommersant daily reported. The source stressed that it was more likely an accident rather than an act of sabotage.

“Consider the power of the impact. I don’t think the Americans have radars capable of ensuring such power at such an altitude [about 200 kilometers],” said Alexander Zakharov of the Russian Academy of Sciences Space Research Institute, where the Phobos equipment and research program were developed. He suggested the theory was just a blind to cover up some people’s mistakes. (1/17)

U.S. to Launch Space Arms-Control Initiative (Source: RIA Novosti)
The United States is launching a new space arms-control initiative, as a Russian official accuses a U.S. radar of being behind the failure of Russia’s Mars probe. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to announce the initiative later on Tuesday. The plan will draw on a 2008 European Union draft code of conduct for space, an unnamed administration official told the paper.

“The United States has decided to enter into formal consultations and negotiations with the European Union and other spacefaring nations to develop an International Code of Conduct,” the official said. “We believe the European Union’s draft Code of Conduct is a solid foundation for future negotiations on reaching a consensus international code,” the official said, adding negotiations to sign the code may stretch well into next year.

In 2008, Washington rejected an international treaty proposed by Russia and China to ban the use of weapons in outer space. John R. Bolton, a former US. ambassador to the United Nations, dismissed the initiative as “mindless.” “The last thing the United States needs is a space code of conduct,” he told the Washington Times in e-mailed comments. “The ideology of arms control has already failed in the Russian 'reset' policy, and it is sure to fail here as well.” (1/17)

Regulating the Final Frontier (Source: The Lawyer)
New arbitration rules for outer space disputes have been launched recently by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague. This is part of a growing trend by arbitration institutions to establish rules tailored to the needs of particular sectors in an increasingly competitive market for arbitration services. The PCA’s optional rules for the arbitration of disputes relating to outer space activities were drafted by an advisory group of leading space law experts, based on the widely used and respected UN Commission on International Trade Law rules.

The new rules recognise the importance and growth of the global space industry. With growth comes potential new entrants and increased competition, which will inevitably lead to disputes. Engaging in space activities involves substantial investment and a complex network of contracts. Constructing and launching a communications satellite typically requires an investment of hundreds of millions of pounds, so it is important for parties to have the protection of an effective dispute resolution mechanism should things go wrong. (1/17)

New Space-Arms Control Initiative Draws Concern (Source: Washington Times)
The Obama administration is launching a new space arms-control initiative that critics say will lead to restrictions on U.S. military activities in space, a key U.S. strategic war-fighting advantage. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to announce the initiative as early as Tuesday. The plan will be built on work contained in a European Union draft code of conduct for space that the Pentagon and State Department have criticized as too restrictive.

“The United States has decided to enter into formal consultations and negotiations with the European Union and other spacefaring nations to develop an International Code of Conduct,” said an administration official familiar with the announcement. The U.S. government has rejected space-arms talks promoted by Russia and China at the United Nations as a covert attempt to limit U.S. military space operations, but the administration official called the EU draft code an improvement. (1/17)

January 16, 2012

2012-01-16T10:56:00.006-05:00

Stuck in a High-Priced Box (Source: OpenMarket.org)
ULA just got an Air Force contract for nine launches, which I guess means they didn’t get the 40-launch block buy they were hoping for, and that SpaceX (and the GAO) has been fighting against. The price? One and a half billion bucks. That's about $170 million per launch. Their problem is a classic one of the launch industry — fixed costs too high, and flight rate too low, resulting in high cost per flight, which in turn makes it harder to get more business to increase the flight rate to bring down their prices.

The only thing keeping them alive is that, for now, they have a monopoly sustained by the government because it can’t afford to lose the capability for satellite delivery. But if Falcon Heavy becomes reality, and builds up a reliability record at a price of $120 million a flight, ULA will be in a world of hurt. They aren’t helped by the fact that Congress refuses to consider allowing NASA to use them for its human exploration activities, instead insisting that the agency build its own ridiculously large rocket and expensive for which no one else will have a use.

ULA has two options: continue to lobby the government to subsidize them, or to use some of the money they’re getting for this purchase to invest in reducing their costs to compete. Presumably, as one example, that’s why they’ve been working with XCOR to develop a replacement for the RL-10 upper-stage engine (which if they succeed will in turn put a lot of pressure on another high-cost aerospace company, Pratt & Whitney-Rocketdyne). But ultimately, real competition is the only way that we’re going to reduce the costs to the levels we need to do useful things in space. (1/16)

A Step Closer to Mapping the Earth in 3D (Source: Space Daily)
After a year in service, the German Earth observation satellite TanDEM-X, together with its twin satellite, TerraSAR-X, have completely mapped the entire land surface of Earth for the first time. The data is being used to create the world's first single-source, high-precision, 3D digital elevation model of Earth. (1/16)

Florida Lunar X-Prize Team Adds New Partner (Source: Omega Envoy)
Omega Envoy, the Floridian team that is competing in the Google Lunar X PRIZE (GLXP) is proud to announce that they have gained another high-quality partner – Workforce Central Florida. Workforce Central Florida (WCF) is the region’s workforce expert, an authority for workforce planning, programs, and the labor market. WCF connects employers to the largest pool of talent in the area and provides worker resources and training. (1/16)

LightSquared Claims Bias in GPS Interference Testing (Source: Space News)
LightSquared is charging “bias and inappropriate collusion” following the latest round of U.S. government testing that showed the company’s revised operating plan for its hybrid satellite-terrestrial broadband network serving North America will cause harmful interference to GPS applications.

LightSquared, backed by hedge fund billionaire Philip Falcone, also said it filed a complaint with NASA’s inspector general Jan. 12 claiming the process by which the government evaluated its network was compromised by a conflict of interest. One of the government’s key advisers on the matter, the company said, is a board member of Trimble, a major manufacturer of the GPS receiver equipment affected by the interference issue. (1/16)

Kepler Space Telescope Could Find Exomoons (Source: Physics World)
NASA's Kepler space telescope could be used to find exomoons, which are the moons of planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. That is the claim of an international team of astronomers, which says that careful analysis of data collected by Kepler could reveal if such exoplanets are circled by moons. The results could have major implications for astronomers' understanding of how moons form. It could even provide important information about the probability of there being life elsewhere in the universe. (1/16)

Russians on ISS Drill Manual Docking Operation (Source: Itar-Tass)
Russians of the International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 30 crew are improving their manual docking skills ahead of the arrival of the first this year Progress cargo spacecraft, which will be blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on January 26. “Today, flight engineers Anton Shkaplerov and Oleg Kononenko have a three-hour training session on the TORU (Teleoperated Mode of Control) subsystem, the Mission Control Centre (MCC) outside Moscow told Itar-Tass on Monday. (1/16)

Florida Aims to Draw Unmanned Aircraft Industry (Source: Destin Log)
The president and CEO of Enterprise Florida, the agency responsible for attracting new businesses, says Florida lags behind other states but is catching up. Gray Swoope was the keynote speaker Friday at the Okaloosa County Economic Development Council’s roundtable symposium at Ramada Plaza Beach Resort. The session’s theme was “A New Perspective of Economic Development in Florida.”

One of the fastest growing industries in the country — which Florida and Northwest Florida are both targeting — is the development and operation of unmanned vehicles. Mark Bontrager, vice president of Space Florida, also spoke at Friday’s breakfast. The main goal of Space Florida is to position the state as a global leader in the space and aerospace industries.

The federal government soon will designate six specific areas around the country for unmanned air flights. Bontrager hopes one or more of them will be in Florida. “We want to help position Florida as the place to test, manufacture and develop applications for these very, very important systems,” Bontrager said. The EDC already has made unmanned vehicles a priority and created a group last year focused on bringing more development to the area. Click here. (1/16)

NSSFL Introduces "Space Locals" Lecture Series (Source: NSSFL)
The Central Florida chapter of the National Space Society introduces an exciting new venture for our members: Space Locals. This monthly series will feature space professionals who work locally for the benefit of space science or the space industry. Unlike a traditional lecture series, these talks will be part lecture and part group discussion. All attendees are welcome and encouraged to participate regardless of training or background. This will be an opportunity for anyone in our community to learn about and express opinions on the topic of the month.

Our inaugural event on Feb. 4 will feature Dr. Philip Metzger on the topic of using robotics and space resources. The event is free and open to the public. It will be held at 2:00 p.m. at the Cypriana Restaurant on East Colonial Drive. Click here for details. (1/16)

Virginia Governor Touts Commercial Space Growth at Wallops Island (Source: Spaceports Blog)
"Growing commercial space industry at Wallops Island on the Eastern Shore" of Virgina were amoung the remarks of Virginia's Governor Robert F. McDonnell in his 2012 State of the Commonwealth address to state legislators and the citizens of the state. McDonnell has been a strong supporter of the ongoing commercial spaceport infrastructure development at the Virginia-based commercial Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.

He suported a nearly $3-million state revenue operating boost in the last two-years and he has proposed $4-million in the next two-year state budget for the spaceport. The Virginia governor is leading a strong reorganizational effort of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, in keeping with his gubernatorial campaign promise to do so. State Delegate Joe May is leading the administration's legislative effort in the House while Sen. Mark Herring offers the bill in the Senate. (1/16)

SpaceX Postpones Station-bound Dragon Launch (Source: Space News)
SpaceX has postponed the scheduled Feb. 7 launch of its Dragon logistics capsule to the international space station for unspecified reasons. “We believe there are a few areas that will benefit from additional work and will optimize the safety and success of the mission,” SpaceX spokeswoman Kirstin Brost Grantham said. “We are now working with NASA to establish a new target launch date, but note that we will continue to test and review data. We will launch when the vehicle is ready.” (1/16)

ULA Names Mike Leinbach Director of Human Spaceflight Operations (Source: SpaceRef.com)
United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced today that Mike Leinbach has joined the company as the Director of Human Spaceflight Operations. "We are fortunate to have Mike with his wealth of human spaceflight experience join the ULA team," said George Sowers, ULA's vice president of Business Development.

"His background in leading overall space shuttle launch activities for more than a decade, executing 37 space shuttle launches, will be invaluable as we develop human spaceflight capabilities for our Atlas and Delta systems." Prior to joining ULA, Leinbach had a distinguished 27-year career with NASA at Kennedy Space Center. Beginning in 2000, he led the launch team for all space shuttle missions. (1/16)

Big Science in an Era of Tight Budgets (Source: Space Review)
Advances in astronomy are dependent in part on the development of new large -- and expensive -- observatories on the ground and in space. Jeff Foust reports on the concerns raised by astronomers and other scientists that constrained budgets could threaten to put advances in astronomy on hold. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2007/1 to view the article. (1/16)

US Rebuffs Draft EU Code of Conduct: Is Something Waiting in the Wings? (Source: Space Review)
Last week a top State Department official announced that the US had decided not sign on the European Union's proposed space Code of Conduct. Michael Listner examines the reasons for that move and if the administration has an alternative approach in the works. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2006/1 to view the article. (1/16)

Mystery Persists Over Russian Spacecraft Fall Site (Source: AP)
Russian officials say they still have no firm information where a failed Mars moon probe plummeted to Earth, the day after it went down. News agencies had cited Defense Ministry spokesman Alexei Zolotukhin as saying Sunday that fragments of the craft fell in the Pacific Ocean off Chile's coast. But Zolotukhin told The Associated Press Monday that estimate was based on calculations, and no witness reports had been received. The deputy head of Russia's space agency, Anatoly Shilov, told state news channel Vesti that agency data assumed the craft broke up somewhere over Brazil. (1/16)

Volunteers Wanted for Planet Hunt (Source: BBC)
Members of the public are being asked to join the hunt for nearby planets that could support life. Volunteers can go to the Planethunters website to see time-lapsed images of 150,000 stars, taken by the Kepler space telescope. They will be advised on the signs that indicate the presence of a planet and how to alert experts if they spot them. "We know that people will find planets that are missed by the computer," said Chris Lintott from Oxford University. (1/15)

Climate Cycle Reveals Titan as Earth-Like (Source: Cosmos)
Saturn's moon Titan is more Earth-like than thought, with two distinct layers in the lower atmosphere that affect the moon's wind patterns, dune spacing and cloud formation. Researchers used a three-dimensional climate model of Titan's atmosphere together with an analysis of dune locations and measurements from the Voyager 1 spacecraft, the Cassini orbiter and the Huygens probe to discover how the moon's lowermost atmosphere interacts with its surface. (1/16)

ISRO Declines to Disclose Probe Report on Antrix-Devas Deal (Source: Economic Times)
India's premier space agency ISRO has declined to make public the report by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointed high-level committee, which went into alleged irregularities in the controversial S-Band spectrum deal between Devas Multimedia and its commercial arm Antrix Corporation. While hearing an appeal filed under the Right to Information Act, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said the disclosure of information would impede the process of investigation and declined the copies of the report. (1/16)

Pentagon Interest in Cybersecurity, Space May Ease Contractors’ Pain from Cuts (Source: Washington Post)
Plans by the Pentagon to invest more in cybersecurity and space-based capabilities may ease the blow for defense contractors such as Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin that are facing cuts in other programs. The Defense Department intends to beef up spending on computer network protections and satellite intelligence systems while targeting troops for cuts under a global strategy released last week. Funding levels, which were not specified, will be detailed in next month’s federal budget proposal. (1/16)

January 15, 2012

2012-01-15T12:53:00.004-05:00

Did the Tardigrades Survive Re-Entry? (Source: PloS Blogs)
Ten species were being sent to the Martian moon Phobos to learn if living organisms could survive the 3-year, out-and-back journey. The Planetary Society very carefully selected the remarkable tardigrade. These are unusual microscopic multicellular invertebrates that can survive being dried out (dessication) and revived as long as a year later. Their ability to survive hostile conditions where any self-respecting organism would die is the reason they are called extremophiles.

K. Ingemar Jonsson in Sweden has been running the Tardigrades in Space (TARDIS) program since 2007 when several species of organisms were successfully returned to Earth from the FOTON-M3 mission and survived exposure to both space vacuum and solar radiation. But I doubt very much that they will be able to survive directly burning up, sans spacecraft, as Phobos-Grunt disintegrates over the Pacific Ocean within minutes. (1/15)

Space Debris: Controlling the Growth (Source: All Things Nuclear)
Destruction of a single 10-ton satellite could double or triple the amount of large debris (greater than 1 centimeter) in low Earth orbit. Such an event could therefore swamp all the efforts being made to mitigate debris production. NASA’s Standard Breakup Model is the best model around for estimating the number and size distribution of debris from a satellite breakup, and is based on past observed breakups. It gives 263,000 as the number of debris particles larger than 1 cm that would result from the complete fragmentation of a 10-ton satellite. The breakup of the Fengyun 3C satellite due to China’s anti-satellite test, however, produced more than three times the amount of debris estimated by the NASA model. (1/15)

Space Probe Crashes Into Pacific, Russians Say (Source: MSNBC)
A failed probe that was designed to travel to a moon of Mars but got stuck in Earth orbit has crashed into the Pacific Ocean, Russian officials said Sunday. The unmanned Phobos-Grunt probe was one of the heaviest and most toxic space derelicts ever to crash to Earth, but there were no reports of injury or damage. There's a good chance that no one saw the spacecraft's fiery plunge. "The point of impact for fragments of the Phobos apparatus was in the waters of the Pacific Ocean," military spokesman Alexei Zolotukhin said. The debris zone was said to be 775 miles (1,250 kilometers) west of Wellington Island in the South Pacific. (1/15)

NASA to Mothball Langley Wind Tunnels (Source: DailyPress.com)
NASA will mothball two wind tunnels, one that is still in use, at Langley Research Center in Hampton by Oct. 1. The plan, which could result in a relatively small number of contractor layoffs, is part of an effort to reduce operating costs. The 20-Inch Mach 6 CF4 Tunnel, built to test the thermodynamics of gases, has not been used regularly since 2003. The two NASA employees that maintain the facility will be reassigned. (1/14)

Air Force, Coast Guard Team Up in Sea Turtle Rescue Operation (Source: USAF)
The U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Coast Guard teamed up Jan. 6 to rescue 29 Green sea turtle hatchlings and give them a little help in their migration to the open ocean. The turtles, hatchlings from the last of 110 active Green sea turtle nests on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, may not have made it out of the nest without intervention by the Cape Canaveral AFS biologists who administer the installation's sea turtle conservation project. (1/13)

Gingrich Calls for 'Bold' Space Program, Opens Orlando Campaign Office (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said Friday he wants a "bold" space program, and he called for NASA to accept more risk and offer tax-free cash prizes for private space enterprise. The former U.S. House speaker told the Orlando Sentinel editorial board he wants America to "reclaim [the] vision" expressed in President John F. Kennedy's 1961 call for the United States to lead exploration of space.

"I love the romance of space," Gingrich said. "I love the idea of going out there. I love the idea of [following] John F. Kennedy's speech on why we should go to the moon. Given the retirement of the space shuttle and a delay in the next U.S. rocket capable of taking humans into space until at least 2018, the space issue could have significant resonance on Florida's Space Coast, as the Republican presidential field approaches the Jan. 31 primary. (1/13)

KSC Seen as a True Spaceport of Future (Source: Florida Today)
An update is expected early next week on the timing of SpaceX‘s launch of a Dragon capsule on a demonstration flight to the International Space Station. The launch from Cape Canaveral had been targeted for Feb. 7. NASA is entertaining a major change in the way Kennedy Space Center is run as the agency transitions from the shuttle era to one more dependent on commercial spaceflight.

Kennedy could one day operate more like an airport, with NASA and private space companies each paying for facilities and services governed by an independent authority. The idea was one of several discussed during workshops NASA and state officials hosted last fall to imagine the center’s post-shuttle future. Those workshops have informed early work to revise the center’s master plan, which will be presented to NASA headquarters next week.

But state officials assisting KSC’s planning effort say the potential for an airport-like authority is real, and they’ll help study the options. “A spaceport authority by definition has an incentive to maximize access to infrastructure for as many users as possible,” said Edward Ellegood, a policy analyst at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University . “In a lot of cases, NASA and the Air Force don’t have those kinds of responsibilities within their core mission." Click here. (1/14)

Gingrich Talks Up Prizes in Florida (Source: Space Politics)
"You know, I was very surprised when Governor Romney twice recently sort of poked fun at ideas I’ve had about space. I thought it showed a total lack of vision on his part, Gingrich said. "So I want to start with the idea that I believe we need to reclaim John F. Kennedy’s vision and we need to decide to go boldly out into space. I think that I’d like to set at least five, and maybe ten, percent of the NASA budget aside for prizes. Because if you go back and look at the history of aviation in the twenties and thirties, prize money got huge multipliers of effort."

Editor's Note: Space Florida was recently selected by NASA to manage the Nano-Satellite Launch Challenge, including a multi-million dollar prize for launching small satellites into orbit twice within a one-week period. Click here. (1/13)

Is it Really NASA's Purpose to Send People Into Space? (Source: Florida Today)
“I think we need to start with the basics. What is ‘the space program’? I would say it’s as defined in the National Aeronautics and Space Act... Nothing in the Act requires NASA to fly people in space, to explore other worlds or even to own its rockets,” said Stephen C. Smith. The law, he goes on, “lists a number of objectives to which NASA is permitted to ‘contribute materially.’ They are not requirements, and the language only requires NASA to ‘contribute materially’ to ‘one or more.’"

“Somewhere along the line, we lost track of NASA’s intended purpose as defined in the law. In my opinion, it was in 1961 when JFK challenged us to go to the moon by the end of the 1960s. It was inspirational, but it also morphed NASA into an agency it wasn’t intended to be," he said. “NASA was created in 1958 to separate civilian space research from military activities. That’s why Section 102(b) spells out what is in NASA’s purview, and what remains with the Defense Department.

The concern at the time was that our activities might give the Soviet Union an excuse to militarize space. “But it was never intended to be Starfleet... How to solve it? The only way is to take routine space access out of the hands of politicians, which is what the Obama administration is doing. Commercial cargo and commercial crew are giving us next-generation spacecraft at a much lower cost than if developed by NASA." Click here. (1/15)

Editorial: When Will We Go Back? SEI, VSE and Hope for the Future (Source: America Space)
Whenever expensive new missions are unveiled, the same dreary proclamations arise: spend the money on the poor, spend the money on developing nations, spend the money on eradicating disease or even don’t spend the money at all. When Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, journalists questioned why such a venture was permitted, when rats infested Harlem apartments. A few years ago, during his election campaign, Barack Obama asked why people should fly into space, when there remained children in the United States who were illiterate.

These are all valid points, of course, but blame for them can hardly be laid at the feet of the space program. Today, there are still rats in apartments and one must wonder if, four decades hence, there will still be illiterate children in the United States, but the suggestion that the dream of progressing into space should suffer as a result is unconscionable. Editor's Note: Early in his 2008 campaign, President Obama suggested shifting some NASA money to education, but this notion didn't last long and he never suggested ending human spaceflight. (1/15)

Small Canadian Firms Land $500K Space Contracts (Source: Ottawa Business Journal)
Two small Ottawa companies will each receive nearly $500,000 from the Canadian Space Agency for water monitoring. Noetix Research Inc. and Kepler Space Inc. were among about seven Canadian firms that will use Radarsat-2 information to track bodies of water around the world. In Noetix's case, their "pretty significant" contract to monitor Lake Winnipeg's declining water levels – which builds on existing work the company is doing – is leading to hiring a project manager to add to their current roster of about six employees.

For Kepler Space, its CSA contract is the biggest one the four-year-old firm has ever received, said founder Valentin Pocnos. His two-person company will use Radarsat-2's data to measure water level changes in various global wetlands, and the effect on the environment surrounding them. (1/13)

January 13, 2012

2012-01-12T23:55:00.009-05:00

Space Coast Teacher-Turned-Astronaut Ready for Station Tour (Source: Florida Today)
A former Melbourne High science teacher is poised to make his second flight into orbit, and he’s looking forward to a six-month tour of duty on the International Space Station. “I think I’m definitely ready for this mission. We’ve spent a little over two years preparing, so now I’m at the point where the fine-tuning is almost done,” U.S. astronaut Joe Acaba said. “I’m ready to get on that Soyuz and get to the space station.” (1/13)

Conflicting Predictions for Phobos-Grunt (Source: Aviation Week)
The Russian space agency Roscosmos says its moribund Phobos-Grunt spacecraft could reenter Earth’s atmosphere over the southern Atlantic Ocean Jan. 15, raining down 20-30 chunks of heat-resistant debris off the coast of Argentina. But the agency’s forecast differs wildly from those published online by satellite-tracking enthusiasts and professional orbital analysts in the U.S. using the same publicly available data to predict points of entry that are literally all over the map. (1/13)

Five More Nations To Join WGS Program (Source: Aviation Week)
The U.S. Air Force is finalizing a deal with five nations to buy into the Wideband Global Satellite (WGS) wideband communications constellation as it prepares for the launch of the fourth satellite on Jan. 19. A memorandum of agreement among five nations in addition to the U.S. should be signed by Jan. 17, says Dave Madden, who oversees the Air Force’s military satellite communications program office at Los Angeles AFB. (1/13)

Space Station Dodges Satellite Debris (Source: Florida Today)
Engines successfully fired this morning to maneuver the International Space Station out of the way of debris that threatened to collide with the outpost housing six astronauts and cosmonauts. Ground controllers fired engines on the Russian segment's Zvezda Service Module for 54 seconds at 11:10 a.m. EST while the station crew, including Americans Dan Burbank and Don Pettit, went about its daily work undisturbed. (1/13)

Astronomer’s Death Shocks Colleagues (Source: Nature)
Friends and colleagues have paid tribute to astrophysicist Steven Rawlings of the University of Oxford, UK, who died in mysterious circumstances on Wednesday 11 January. Rawlings, 50, was a key figure in the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) Telescope Project. Rawlings’ body was found at a bungalow in a small town on the outskirts of Oxford. A 49-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder, and has now been released on bail. (1/13)

Globalstar Chief: Arbitration Decision Expected by Mid-March (Source: Space News)
Mobile satellite services provider Globalstar expects an arbitration panel to rule by mid-March on whether the company is within its rights in demanding six new satellites from its prime contractor at prices the contractor says are no longer valid, Globalstar Chief Executive Jay Monroe said.

Monroe said the three-judge panel, which is expected to hear arguments in the case Jan. 24, is likely to decide the issue one way or another within four to six weeks of the hearing. Globalstar and the prime contractor for its second-generation satellite constellation, Thales Alenia Space of France and Italy, disagree on whether Thales is obligated to build six more satellites with prices agreed to several years ago. Thales says the contract terms expired; Globalstar disagrees. (1/13)

Orion Test Launch Opens the Door for Alternative Human-rated Upper Stage (Source: Space News)
NASA’s quest for a rocket upper stage to boost its Orion deep-space capsule beyond low Earth orbit in test flights opens the door for an alternative human space launch capability that could impact the fledgling efforts to develop commercial passenger spaceships. The agency issued a Jan. 9 call for sources of an Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) to be used during two demonstration flights of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. (1/13)

Revised LightSquared Plan Still Interferes with GPS (Source: Space News)
An expert panel tasked by the U.S. government to test the revised plans of a company hoping to deploy a hybrid satellite-terrestrial mobile broadband network serving North America has concluded that the revised operating scheme will still cause harmful interference to GPS satellite-based navigation applications, including aviation safety.

The finding by the nine U.S. federal agencies comprising the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Executive Committee (EXCOM) is a major blow to LightSquared, which has invested $3 billion in its proposed L-band network and launched one large satellite. The Reston, Va.-based company, backed by hedge fund billionaire Philip Falcone, is planning to augment that satellite with a nationwide network of ground-based signal repeaters. (1/13)

1st Science Fiction Movie Filmed in Space Stays Underground (Source: Space.com)
A new documentary about space tourist Richard Garriott's flight to the International Space Station is hitting theaters now, but the sci-fi movie he made aboard the orbiting lab remains under wraps. While up there, the video-game designer made a playful eight-minute film called "Apogee of Fear," with some standout acting assistance from a Russian cosmonaut and two NASA astronauts.

"Apogee of Fear" is the first science-fiction movie ever made in space, Garriott said, and he would like to let the public see it. There has been some demand, with the Smithsonian Institution even asking to put the film in its permanent archives because of its historical value. But NASA hasn't given the necessary go-ahead, according to Garriott. Garriott earlier said the film shows a more light-hearted side of astronauts and life aboard the space station, so it could serve as something of an education and outreach tool. (1/13)

Why Did So Much High-Profile Junk Fall from Space Last Year? (Source: Scientific American)
Two well-publicized satellite falls a month apart got me wondering: Is this the new normal? After all, there is plenty of junk in orbit, and it can’t stay up there forever. And NASA, along with many other space agencies, now requires that satellites tumble back to Earth sooner rather than later once their useful lifetimes have ended so as to limit collisions in orbit.

So how often are we going to be hearing about inbound satellites—-and worrying about the ever so slim chance that they might kill us? A call to NASA’s top orbital debris scientist clarified the issue and reassured me that we are not now witnessing the leading edge of a debris storm. Nicholas Johnson and his colleagues keep a list of all NASA objects in orbit, including an estimate of when those objects will make the fiery plunge into the atmosphere. Two huge ones on the books are the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station. The plan with both is to use thrusters to drive the craft into the ocean when their time comes. (1/13)

NASA Awards $42m for New Langley Facilities (Source: DailyPress.com)
NASA awarded a $42 million contract to a Maryland company to build a new cafeteria and conference center at Langley Research Center in Hampton. Construction of the facilities, which will be under the same roof, is expected to start this spring. NASA hopes to finish work in December 2013. It is the second phase of New Town, NASA's $330 million plan to modernize Langley. "It's NASA's oldest center," Langley spokesman Rob Wyman said. "While it has done amazing work, we've got to continue to lean forward." (1/13)

Com Dev To Focus on Increasing Profitability, Not Revenue, for 2012 (Source: Space News)
Satellite component manufacturer Com Dev International on Jan. 12 reported lower revenue but higher profitability for the year ending Oct. 31 and said its new maritime surveillance subsidiary should double its revenue in 2012. Com Dev, which for two years has been struggling with five government space programs on which the company is losing money or making almost no profit, said four of the five have now been completed. The fifth will be finished in mid-2012. (1/13)

Obama Wants to Move NOAA to the Interior Department (Source: Space Policy Online)
President Obama plans to reorganize part of the U.S. government that could have a significant impact on the U.S. civil weather satellite program. The focal point of the plan, which requires congressional approval, is to merge five business- and trade-related agencies with some elements of the Department of Commerce. The Commerce Department itself would be abolished. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which manages the nation's civil weather satellites, is currently part of the Commerce Department, but under the Obama plan would be transferred to the Department of the Interior. (1/13)

Florida Senators Launch Space-Related Bills to Entice Industry (Source: Avionics Intelligence)
Creating a healthy atmosphere for aerospace-related businesses, whether private spaceflight or research-and-development companies, adds to Florida’s current job-creation efforts, recognizes Senate Majority Leader Andy Gardiner (R-Orlando). Senate Bill 110 by Sen. Steve Wise (R-Jacksonville) seeks to update the inventory of existing spaceport territories in the state by designating the property Cecil Field Spaceport in Jacksonville as a “spaceport territory.” It also permits the board of directors of Space Florida to designate real property within the state as a spaceport territory if the property has been licensed by the FAA as a spaceport.

Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto (R-Ft. Myers) is the sponsor of a bill aimed at allowing spaceport facilities to more appropriately utilize funding due to the changing needs of Florida’s aerospace industry. Passing the Senate unanimously Tuesday, SB 634 provides the framework for infrastructure funds to be spent on applicable space projects in its master plan.

SB 934, a bill relating to Space Florida by Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff (R-Palm Beach), exempts Space Florida from a law which limits advance payments received by an agency. This bill would allow Space Florida to receive advanced payments for infrastructure improvements to current infrastructure projects. Sen. Thad Altman (R-Rockledge) is the sponsor of SB 1110, which would remove the maximum amount of tax refunds a recipient of either the Qualified Defense Contractor and Spaceflight Business tax refund program or the Qualified Target Industry tax refund program may receive. (1/13)

MDA, Intelsat Terminate Satellite Servicing Plan (Source: Parabolic Arc)
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) has announced that an agreement with Intelsat to provide on-orbit servicing to the company’s communications satellites has been terminated. Intelsat had served as an anchor tenant for the Canadian company’s Space Infrastructure Servicing (SIS) initiative. MDA said it has not made a decision on whether to proceed with SIS, but that it was exploring options.

“MDA is continuing to pursue opportunities in this area and is currently focused on bidding a space servicing Broad Agency Announcement from a U.S. Government agency, which is due in February,” the company said in a press release. Both NASA and DARPA are looking at satellite servicing. Under the $280 million Intelsat deal, which was announced last March, the two companies worked together to finalize specifications and requirements for a servicing satellite that could refuel, maintain and repair Intelsat’s orbiting spacecraft. (1/13)

Computer Virus Infection at JAXA (Source: JAXA)
On January 6, 2012, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) found that a computer terminal used by one of our employees was infected with a computer virus, and information stored in the computer as well as system information that is accessible by the employee have been leaking outside. We are now confirming the leaked information and investigating the cause.

As the computer was used by an employee who is involved in the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV, a cargo transporter to the International Space Station,) the following information was potentially compromised: stored mail addresses; specification and operation information of the HTV; and system log-in information accessed from the computer. (1/13)

NASA Plans Public Meeting on Wallops Projects (Source: Virginian-Pilot)
A community meeting is being hosted next week by NASA about future projects at the Wallops Flight Facility. The Thursday meeting will include information about a mission in March that will include five sounding rockets being launched at night within five minutes, the first launch of the Orbital Sciences Antares launch vehicle and a hurricane research program that will use two Global Hawk UAVs. Additional topics will include expansion opportunities in the areas of aircraft fleet, UAV-based research, support of Navy landing practice for turboprop aircraft and development of the Wallops Research Park. (1/13)

Barcelona Moon Team (BMT) Explores a Dnepr Flight (Source: Google Lunar X-Prize)
The launch is one of the critical points on the BMT team’s plan and intensive efforts are being made to have a final selected launcher in the next weeks. The BMT is considering the European new small launcher VEGA as one of the feasible options, and also the Dnepr launch vehicle. The Dnepr is a ICBM converted to launch satellites into orbit. (1/13)

Space Beagle — Exhibit Explores Snoopy's NASA Role (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Charlie Brown's beloved beagle Snoopy moves beyond his fabled cartoon adventures as a World War I Flying Ace to take his flying doghouse into outer space in a new exhibit at the Las Cruces Museum of Natural History. "To the Moon: Snoopy Soars with NASA," focuses on the Silver Snoopy Award program, instituted to improve the safety record of NASA employees and contractors that resulted when 'Peanuts' cartoonist Charles Schultz was approached by NASA in 1968 with a request to use Snoopy as their safety mascot. (1/13)

2012 a Time of Technical, Financial Challenges for European Space Agency (Source: Flight Global)
Europe's next push into space gets off to a slightly anxious start this year with a tight window for the maiden launch of the all-new light rocket, Vega. Twelve months ago, when European Space Agency director general Jean-Jacques Dordain proclaimed 2011 to be ESA's "year of launchers", he had hoped to close the year with three launcher options. But while ESA and Arianespace, successfully inaugurated medium-lift Soyuz at Kourou, readiness considerations pushed Vega into 2012.

There will only be a couple of days grace period to get Vega off the pad on Feb. 9 or scrub the launch and move it to a later date, because it cannot be allowed to interfere with preparations for the next Ariane 5 mission, carrying an ATV to the Internatiotinal Space Station. As Dordain puts it, for the first time ever ESA has a launch manifest to help plan missions so as to avoid interference: "We can no longer choose the dates for a mission in splendid isolation." (1/13)

Spotlight Shines on JWST After 'Near Death Experience' (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
Entering the new year with solidified political support and renewed scientific potential, some work on the James Webb Space Telescope will be accelerated this year to keep the $8.8 billion observatory on track for launch in late 2018. But there is still concern among senior officials that major tests in the next few years could uncover hidden problems that could drive the mission's cost up even more. (1/12)

Grunsfeld Charts Course for NASA Science Through Tight Budgets (Sources: Space Politics, Space News)
John Grunsfeld, NASA’s new associate administrator for science, says he will look to leverage capabilities elsewhere in the agency in order to get the most of out the directorate’s budget, citing as an example the potential use of the Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket for large science missions.

He acknowledged that NASA’s science programs are facing a “constrained” budget environment but warned against battles in the science community or between the science and human spaceflight directorates. “We are only as strong as our whole, and if we pit community against community, everybody loses,” he said. (1/13)

Commercial Space Industry Attracts More Internet Millionaires (Source: Investor's Business Daily)
The list of wealthy Internet entrepreneurs sending their money into outer space is getting longer and their ideas bigger. These space cowboys are pushing the envelope, looking to the stars and seeing money to be made sending people, products and scientific instruments into space. "There's an expectation that the world's first trillionaires will have made their fortune from space," said Bob Richardson, CEO of Moon Express, a developer of lunar landing technology.

Lead investors in Moon Express are Barney Pell and Naveen Jain. Pell, a former manager at NASA, sold his Internet search company Powerset to Microsoft (MSFT) for about $100 million in 2008. Jain is CEO of Intellius, an Internet provider of background reports. He also founded Internet search firm Infospace, which raised $75 million in a 1998 IPO. Click here. (1/12)

Super-Cool Planck Mission Begins to Warm (Source: BBC)
The Planck telescope, put in space to map the oldest light in the Universe, has run out of the helium coolant that keeps it in full working order. Engineers expect the observatory's systems to start to warm from their ultra-frigid state in the coming days, blinding one of its two instruments. Nonetheless, Planck has gathered more than enough data since its launch in 2009 to complete its mission goals. "We have had a flood of data - much more data than originally anticipated," said an ESA scientist. (1/13)

Musk: Can the U.S. Reclaim Its Market Share in Space Launch? (Source: SpaceX)
During remarks at the National Press Club in Washington DC, SpaceX's Elon Musk gives his thoughts on whether the U.S. can reclaim some share of the international commercial launch market from competitors in Russia, Europe, and other countries. Click here. (1/12)

"Man On A Mission" Poorly Reviewed (Source: New York Post)
Richard Garriott wanted to be a NASA astronaut just like his father, Owen, but vision problems prevented him. So the younger Garriott, who became a millionaire as the inventor of the Ultima video game, paid $30 million for a 10-day journey aboard a Russian Soyuz spaceship, which included a stopover at the International Space Station. The experience is documented in “Man on a Mission,’’ a super-dull documentary by Mike Woolf. Completely lacking in imagination and purpose, this vanity project might suffice as a home movie, but it’s hardly worth the expense and bother of seeing it in a theater. (1/13)

Blasting Off as a Space Tourist (Source: New York Times)
“Man on a Mission,” the most expensive home movie ever made, is one man’s genial account of his trip into outer space. What’s odd about it is that while you can certainly sense the joy that this fellow, Richard Garriott, feels in achieving a lifelong dream, you’re unlikely to be interested in imitating him. Cramped quarters, bulky wardrobe, unappetizing-looking food: it seems like a Worst Vacation Ever candidate.

Mr. Garriott is the son of an astronaut, Owen K. Garriott, who flew two missions for NASA. His hopes of following his father into space were dealt an early setback by bad eyesight; instead he made a fortune as a video-game designer. In 2008 he used $30 million of that fortune to buy himself a space-tourist seat on a Russian flight. “Man on a Mission” tells the story of that trip.

Because we’ve seen images from space before, the parts of the film that depict Mr. Garriott’s intensive training are more interesting than the flight itself. But he’s a personable host throughout, and the images of his father watching him blast off and return lend the proceedings real poignancy. (1/13)

Targets For Orion Visits (In Space) Remain To Be Set (Source: Aviation Week)
Applications close at the end of the month for a new group of astronauts to fly the Orion capsule beyond the space station to the Moon, Mars and points in between. So far more than 1,300 would-be space travelers have applied for the job, hoping that Orion will become the ultimate enabling technology for deep-space human exploration. The figure is comparable to the response NASA received from its calls for space shuttle crews.

Like everyone who has flown in space, the Orion applicants are risk-takers, willing to gamble their lives for a plunge into the unknown. And at this point, the unknown includes specific target destinations for the craft that NASA engineers call the “multi-purpose crew vehicle, or MPCV.” While President Barack Obama has set a goal of sending humans to an asteroid by 2025, that is only one possible destination for Orion. (1/12)

Abertis To Sell Half its Eutelsat Stake (Source: Space News)
Eutelsat’s biggest shareholder, Spanish telecommunications infrastructure provider Abertis Telecom, on Jan. 12 announced it is selling half its stake in the satellite fleet operator in a transaction valued at about 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion). (1/12)

January 12, 2012

2012-01-12T09:56:00.010-05:00

China Launches Again, Second of 2012 (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
For their second launch of 2012, the Chinese have launched the FengYun-2F geostationary meteorological satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center using their Long March 3A (Chang Zheng-3A-Y22) rocket from pad LC3. Developed by the Shanghai Academy of Space Flight Technology (SAST) and China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), this meteorological satellite series had already seen the launch of four operational satellites, with two more scheduled before the new FengYun-4 satellites enters service. (1/12)

NASA: New Aircraft Technologies Can Increase Energy Efficiency Nearly 50% (Source: Flight Global)
A suite of technologies now in development can deliver a new airliner by 2025 that is 40-50% more energy efficient and generates 30-40dB less noise, according to results of a NASA study. NASA last year funded three contractors - Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman - to each develop new airliner concepts that could enter service around 2025 specifically designed to meet a set of ambitious targets for emissions reductions.

If current budget plans survive, NASA's aeronautics branch hopes to select one of the designs to produce a 737-sized subscale test vehicle in 2016, with the ultimate goal of proving the technologies required for a new, 767-sized cargo or passenger aircraft as early as nine years later. (1/12)

NASA'S Orion Spacecraft to Land in Oklahoma, Texas and Alabama (Source: NASA)
A test version of NASA's Orion spacecraft will make a cross-country journey, giving residents in three states the chance to see a full scale test version of the vehicle that will take humans into deep space. Orion will make stops during a trip from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to Kennedy Space Center. The stops include Jan. 23-25 at Science Museum Oklahoma in Oklahoma City; Jan. 27-29 at Victory Park and the American Airlines Center in Dallas; and, Jan. 31-Feb. 2 at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. Engineers, program officials, astronauts and NASA spokespeople will be available to speak with the media and the public. (1/12)

Cape Gets Six Of Nine Launches In $1.5B Pact (Source: Florida Today)
Six of nine critical national security missions to be launched by United Launch Alliance under a $1.5 billion Pentagon contract will blast off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in the 2014 timeframe, from Launch Complexes 37 and 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. They include three Delta-4 missions (AFSPC-4 and two GPS) and three Atlas-5 missions (MUOS-3, NROL-33, and NROL-67). (1/12)

Don’t Pass the Buck, Roskosmos! (Source: RIA Novosti)
The head of Roskomos, Vladimir Popovkin, has insinuated that the embarrassing failure of Phobos-Grunt could be attributed to a shadowy plot of some kind. To back up this claim, Popovkin pointed out that there is something “inexplicable about the problems with our spacecraft when they’re [on the other side of the planet and can’t be monitored properly].” Vague insinuations of sabotage are a dogwhistle for those who are more than eager to write off any such failure on the work of Russia’s enemies abroad.

Unfortunately for Popovkin, any thinking person will immediately see his words for what they are – without a concrete theory as to how and why Phobos-Grunt may have been sabotaged, this looks to be a classic means of passing the buck. Admitting a technical failure makes an agency look way, way better than hinting at the possibility of sabotage. The fact that Popovkin merely hinted is what makes it look particularly bad – a bolder claim would at least make Roskmos look as though it’s willing to put its reputation on the line. (1/12)

Shuttle Main Engines Leaving KSC (Source: Florida Today)
A Kennedy Space Center team this morning packed up a space shuttle main engine to be trucked to Stennis Space Center in Mississippi next week, as NASA transfers the engines from the shuttle program to the agency's new heavy-lift rocket. The engine will be the third shipped from KSC, the second that has flown in space. Twelve more will follow, with the last expected to leave Florida around April. (1/12)

First Ringed Planet Beyond Solar System Possibly Found (Source: Space.com)
An enigmatic object detected five years ago in space may be a ringed alien world comparable to Saturn, the first such world discovered outside our solar system, scientists now say. The finding, announced here yesterday (Jan. 11) at the 219th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, came from studying an unsteady eclipse of light from a star near the mysterious body. (1/12)

Commander Emphasizes Foundational Space Capabilities (Source: AFSPC)
Space efficiencies and effectiveness, the importance of STEM education and foundational levels of space capabilities were highlighted by the Air Force Space Command commander. General William Shelton said the future of space transportation in the U.S. is completely dependent on more efficient and much less expensive space launch and that launch underpins much of the command's business.

General Shelton discussed cost-savings initiatives like the command's block buy strategy for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles and multiple launch capabilities. "I can see multiple launch concepts becoming much more prevalent in these times of decreasing budgets, proving once again that necessity is truly the mother of invention," he said. Aging infrastructure was also on the general's mind and he noted the facilities at both Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Vandenberg AFB are 50 to 60 years old. Additionally, the two launch locations aren't standardized.

In addition to tackling development, standardization and budgetary challenges, the general also discussed the importance of technical education to the future of space. General Shelton said the lack of technology-focused graduates in America could constitute a national security issue in the broadest sense. "Over 30 percent of the people in the aerospace industry nationwide will be eligible to retire next year, and that number grows to 40 percent by 2014," he explained. He called for partnership between industry and academic institutions to encourage STEM education and careers. (1/12)

U.S. Won’t Adopt EU Code of Conduct for Space (Source: Space News)
“It’s been clear from the very beginning that we’re not going along with the code of conduct,” Ellen Tauscher, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, said. Asked why the U.S. government would not sign the document, Tauscher said, “It’s too restrictive.” The European Union has been working the voluntary code of conduct for several years, laying out rules of the road for operating satellites and other space vehicles as space becomes increasingly congested. The idea is to minimize the chances of collisions or misunderstandings that could escalate, and to minimize or mitigate space debris.

“We made it very definitive that we were not going to go ahead with the European Code of Conduct; what we haven’t announced is what we’re going to do, but we will be doing that soon,” Tauscher said. Some U.S. lawmakers have raised concerns that the nonbinding agreement would tie the U.S. military’s hands in space. “We’ve advanced further technologically in development and actual deployment of these systems than anyone else, and ... codes of conduct tend to ... constrain our military,” Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) said. Hinting at new U.S.-written rules of the road for space, Taushcer said, “You wouldn’t be surprised to find out that we’ve found a nice sweet spot.”

The Pentagon had concerns with the European strategy for space traffic management, but there are also “ways to deal with it,” according to Michael Krepon. “If [a] satellite is stealthy, or we want it to be stealthy, how does that fit into a traffic management system?” he said. "If you want to move [such] an object in space do you provide advance notice of this or how do you handle that?” If the Obama administration is going ahead with a new strategy, then the Pentagon’s concerns have likely been addressed, Krepon said. (1/12)

Lockheed Wins Orders for Two More GPS 3 Satellites (Source: Space News)
Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Denver will build the third and fourth satellites in the next-generation GPS 3 navigation constellation under a $238 million contract modification awarded by the U.S. Air Force. By ordering two satellites at once, the Air Force will benefit from production efficiencies at Lockheed Martin, the company said. (1/12)

Boeing Begins NASA Solar Electric Propulsion Study (Source: Space Daily)
Boeing has begun work on a four-month NASA contract to develop a mission concept study for solar electric propulsion technologies. Under the $600,000 firm, fixed-price contract, Boeing will evaluate concepts that combine high-power solar arrays with advanced electric thrusters to power spacecraft and payloads to high Earth orbit and deep space destinations. (1/12)

Lockheed Wins Contract for GPS III Launch and Checkout Capability (Source: Space Daily)
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a $21.5 million contract to provide a Launch and Checkout Capability (LCC) to command and control all GPS III satellites from launch through early on-orbit testing. (1/12)

Re-Entry Imminent for Russian Mars Probe (Source: Space News)
Roscosmos said its large Phobos-Grunt spacecraft likely will re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere on Jan. 15-16. With an estimated weight of more than 13,000 kilograms including fuel, Phobos-Grunt will mostly burn up as it plummets through the atmosphere, but 20-30 pieces weighing a total of no more than 200 kilograms are likely to hit the Earth’s surface. The pieces that survive, notably the small lander that was designed to bring back samples from Mars' moon Phobos, could come down off the east coast of southern Africa. (1/12)

2011 International Launch Tally Shows U.S. Failure to Gain Market Share (Source: Moon and Back)
Eighty-four orbital launches were conducted in 2011. Nineteen of these were internationally competed commercial launches. Six of the 84 were unsuccessful flights involving a Russian Rockot, a Russian Proton, two Russian Soyuz vehicles, a U.S. Taurus XL vehicle, and a Chinese Long March 2C. One of those flights, the Proton, was a commercial mission carrying an Express AM4 communication satellite.

For the United States, a commercial launch is considered one that has been procured through a competitive bidding process or has been licensed by the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation. In 2011, out of 18 total launches conducted by the U.S. none were commercial. However, the FAA did license one launch, that of a Sea Launch mission carrying Eutelsat’s Atlantic Bird 7. Sea Launch missions are licensed by the FAA because operations are partly conducted on U.S. territory.

Russia continues to dominate in total number of launches (32). China surpassed the number of orbital launches conducted by the United States (18) for the first time in history. In terms of commercial flights, a trend continues: Russia and Europe lead the way with commercial launches, usually in that order. China conducted two commercial launches and there was only a single Sea Launch mission. The U.S. conducted no commercial launches in 2011. (1/12)

A Look Ahead at 2012 Launch Plans (Source: Moon and Back)
SpaceX's first of 12 contracted Dragon cargo flights to ISS is tentatively scheduled for February. The company no longer markets the Falcon 1, and payloads for this vehicle have since been reassigned to Falcon 9. SpaceX may have its busiest year yet with five Falcon 9 missions planned, including two destined for ISS. ULA expects about 14 flights of the Atlas V and Delta IV from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport and Vandenberg in California, none will be commercial.

Orbital Sciences Corp. will introduce its Antares vehicle early in 2012, from Virginia’s spaceport. The first Antares flight will carry a test version of the Cygnus cargo vehicle. Orbital is contracted to provide eight Cygnus flights to ISS through 2017. Orbital expects in 2012 to launch two Antares flights, two Pegasus XL flights, and a few Minotaur flights for the Air Force.

Russia will likely launch about 30-35 flights, probably 40 percent commercial. Arianespace is expected to launch more than its average of about 6-7 flights, including Ariane, Soyuz and Vega vehicles. China is expected to launch between 10-15 vehicles in 2012, including a crewed Shenzhou 9. India will likely launch about 4-5 PSLV vehicles, and maybe one GSLV. Japan will launch an HTV to ISS and two H-IIAs carrying a variety of science payloads. Finally, Iran may launch more than one payload into orbit aboard its Safir 2 vehicle. (1/12)

Singers Beyonce and Jay-Z May Shoot Music Video with Virgin Galactic (Source: The Sun)
Record execs are inquiring behind the scenes about filming on one of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic craft. Flights on the six-seater ships, due to launch later this year, will cost £780,000 each and blast passengers 70,000ft into Earth's atmosphere. The video would be shot when passengers experience six minutes of weightlessness. (1/12)

ESA Chief Threatens To Cancel Launch of Sentinel Satellites (Source: Space News)
The European Space Agency (ESA) is maintaining its position that it will cancel the planned 2013 launching of a series of Earth observation satellites co-financed with the European Commission unless the commission commits to financing their operation beyond 2014, ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain said Jan. 9. Dordain said the agency has retained legal ownership of the Sentinel 1A, Sentinel 2A and Sentinel 3A satellites until they are in their operating orbits. As the sole owner, he said, ESA has no need to seek European Commission approval to leave the spacecraft on the ground. (1/12)

Florida Students Launch Balloon to View Edge of Space (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Twenty-eight members of the Astronomy Club at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland worked for several months to prepare a giant latex weather balloon bearing a box of cameras and data-collecting equipment. They sent the probe aloft last weekend, with the aim of reaching 100,000 feet — high enough to peer across the threshold of the universe. The students' balloon may well have attained its lofty goal, but mechanical mishaps caused it to become lost upon re-entry and not all its cameras functioned properly.

The students were attempting to replicate the success of a similar launch last year which produced startlingly clear photos of a blue earth and black space. With grants totaling $1,200 from NASA and the Toshiba America Foundation, the students bought three video cameras, a still camera, GPS devices, a cell phone and a $100 weather balloon big enough for a man to stand inside. Also aboard was the project's mascot, a stuffed animal in an astronaut suit named Space Bear.

The students secured the equipment in a simple styrofoam cooler wrapped in a gold foil NASA space blanket designed to provide insulation and act as a radar reflector should aircraft draw near. The team launched the balloon Saturday. Hours ticked past, but no signal was heard from the GPS indicating where the balloon had landed. But the next day someone spotted the rig on a dirt road near the Kissimmee River, about 70 miles east of its launch point. (1/12)

Appraiser Looks for Space Memorabilia in Huntsville (Source: WAFF)
Regency Superior will hold a free appraisal clinic this weekend in Huntsville. The clinic is an effort to find items related to space exploration that the company can put up for auction this summer. Regency Superior Appraiser Alan Lipkin says now is the time to sell memorabilia since prices are at an all-time high.

Lipkin said space memorabilia prices have been rising at a rate of 5-to-10% a year for the last 20 years. "It is a great way to increase your wealth," said Lipkin. Lipkin has visited Huntsville half-a-dozen times in recent years and said he likes to see items related to Dr. Werner Von Braun. Lipkin is looking for items such as autographed documents and other scientific materials. (1/12)

The High Cost of Government Waste (Source: The American)
Many promising space exploration proposals have been abandoned over the years in the name of more pressing social priorities. There are many ways to measure the cost of wasteful spending in the decades since the Apollo moon landings-—the size of the current national budget deficit, surveys showing Americans’ growing mistrust of government, or the number of duplicative and inefficient federal programs.

Yet perhaps the most disheartening metric is the number of promising space exploration proposals that have been abandoned in the name of “more pressing social priorities.” Only now, as the nation finally comes to terms with the very overspending that was supposedly being avoided, does the price of undisciplined domestic spending, combined with a failure of technological nerve, begin to become painfully clear. Multiple polls have documented the public’s increasing disappointment and even anger over their country’s lack of progress in space, feelings that in retrospect are clearly justified. Click here. (1/12)

Editorial: Cutbacks in Space, Military Spending Could Undermine U.S. (Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
The Chinese initiative in space is an important element of its overall plans to continue to build its economy, and more importantly, modernize and place its military might on parity with the U.S. This push for dominance in space exploration by the Chinese government comes at a time when both the U.S. and Russian space programs are conversely forsaking their space programs and erasing expectations for future manned space flight.

Meanwhile, President Obama now seeks significant cuts in defense spending. Defense and space exploration are inter-related not only in terms of scientific achievement, but national security. The continued buildup of Chinese military and now space program makes the new Obama cutbacks in military spending and continued defunding of NASA imprudent in these terms and carries significant implications for our long term security and competitive economic abilities that could haunt us decades from now. (1/12)

An Indian Perspective on China's Space Progress (Source: IDSA)
It is important for India to realize the relevance of Chinese achievements in space technologies. But at the same time India need not get into the competitive mode. It is necessary to critically view and analyse Chinese achievements in the area of manned space missions. China’s ambitions of a manned lunar landing should not unnerve India, and it should avoid getting carried away by news of such Chinese missions. These technologies were developed by the US and the former Soviet Union almost four decades ago and China is not breaking any new ground.

It must also be kept in mind that China’s manned space mission has no direct social or strategic significance. Further, a costly and technologically challenging experiment like the International Space Station (ISS) has achieved limited success in terms of offering path breaking benefits to humanity. China’s space station program is definitely a demonstration of its technological prowess. However, it would take decades to understand the actual, tangible benefits of such program. Nevertheless, such programs could help the space industry grow further and facilitate the development of new technologies with uses in other fields, including the military.

As a result, there is significant discussion and concerns about China overtaking India in the space arena. However, in order to understand the edge China has achieved over India, it is important to go beyond blind comparisons. This is particularly so with regard to programs like manned space flights and the Space Station. It is important for India to contextualize the relevance of these from the point of view of social, technological, commercial, and strategic benefits to itself. (1/12)

SpaceX to Begin Testing on Reusable Falcon 9 Technology This Year (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) will begin testing on a vertical propulsion landing system later this year, part of a long-term project to evaluate the potential of creating a fully-reusable version of their Falcon 9 launch vehicle. SpaceX believe a fully and rapidly reusable orbital class rocket would provide a critical breakthrough for the human race’s ambition of becoming a multi-planetary species.

These plans were unveiled by SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk back in September of last year, plans which called for an improved Falcon 9, featuring first and second stages that would fly back to the launch site under their own power – something no other aerospace company has achieved. Mr Musk had previously hinted at such an ambition in 2009. (1/12)

US Natural Resources Alternative: To the Moon for Magnesium? (Source: Resource Investing News)
As the US presidential election heats up in coming months, how the nation addresses its natural resource needs is likely to come up in debates between the Republican Party candidate and President Barack Obama. Questions regarding energy security have certainly been politically charged in past elections, but this year, the dominance of China in the metals market and what alternatives there are to breaking the status quo is likely to be raised by the candidates.

Newt Gingrich, for instance, has already outlined his hopes for mining the moon not only for rare earths, but also for minor metals including magnesium. While Gingrich’s bid for the White House still remains up in the air, his comments at a public debate in Des Moines, Iowa last month have given traction to the idea that the moon is indeed a possible source of resources critical for industrial as well as military expansion. (1/12)

The U.S. Didn’t Shoot Down Russia’s Mars Probe, But It Could Have (Source: Slate)
Sometime this weekend, Phobos-Grunt will crash into the Indian Ocean. It took more than a decade and some $163 million to build Phobos-Grunt, so it its inexplicable failure was understandably frustrating for the Russians. But in a bizarre interview, Vladimir Popovkin, the head of Russia's space agency, alluded to foul play: "We don’t want to accuse anybody, but there are very powerful devices that can influence spacecraft now. The possibility they were used cannot be ruled out," he said.

He insinuated that the United States was to blame: "the frequent failure of our space launches, which occur at a time when they are flying over the part of Earth not visible from Russia, where we do not see the spacecraft and do not receive telemetric information, are not clear to us." The claim that Phobos-Grunt was shot down is absurd.

But that's not because it would be hard to do. It's easy—if you can launch satellites—to destroy them, and to do so with deniability isn't much harder. Had the United States wanted to destroy Phobos-Grunt, it could have. But it’s hard to fathom why—not least of all because doing so would have messed with a couple of scientific missions piggy-backed onto the Russian probe: a Chinese Mars orbiter and an experiment run by the Planetary Society. (1/12)

January 11, 2012

2012-01-11T11:17:00.007-05:00

India Developing Space Shuttle (Source: Parabolic Arc)
The design of the winged vehicle by Indian Space Research Organization, the Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD), has been approved by the National Review Committee. An ISRO official said design-related issues have been addressed and presented to the National Review Committee and clearance obtained to go ahead to build the RLV-TD. The RLV-TD is a first step towards realizing a Two-Stage To Orbit (TSTO) re-usable launch vehicle. The RLV-TD will act as a flying test-bed to evaluate various technologies — hypersonic flight, autonomous landing, powered cruise flight and hypersonic flight using air breathing propulsion. (1/11)

XCOR Reveals Lynx Test Schedule (Source: Flight Global)
Spacecraft designer XCOR has revealed details of a plan to achieve first flight of the Lynx Mk1 later this year and to expand the suborbital market far beyond space tourism. First flight for the Lynx already has been delayed by two years after XCOR discovered a deep stall problem with the original Lynx design. That issue has now been overcome through design changes to the wing, allowing XCOR to begin final assembly within a few weeks.

The first major piece of structure - the fuselage of the Mk1 version -- will be delivered to XCOR the week of 16 January, said Andrew Nelson. Next month, XCOR will tender work packages for building the cockpit pressure vessel and strakes in February, with delivery of the two subassemblies scheduled in April in May. Taxi tests are scheduled to begin in October or November, which will be quickly followed by a short hop and finally a brief first flight by the end of the year. (1/11)

Challenges Face U.S. Military Launch Ability (Source: Aviation Week)
The U.S. must overcome the growing challenges of rising launch costs and aging propulsion systems if it is to gain much needed efficiencies and maintain its global lead, warns Gen. William Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command. Making the case for urgent action in the face of severe budget cuts, Shelton argues strongly in favor of the development of new main and upper-stage engines, which he believes are pivotal to the future of U.S launch capability.

Shelton says “to get better in space launch we need newer, more efficient engines to enable much more robust access to space.” Although the past 81 consecutive national security launches mark “an unprecedented record” for U.S. space launch, Shelton says “we pay a huge financial premium for that success.” Alternatives must be found to offset these costs, he adds. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting we want to do launch on the cheap, but there are places we can look to reduce costs without affecting our sterling record of success,” he says.

Although engine performance is currently adequate, Shelton believes the real benefits could be found in improving manufacturing processes, which he adds “leave a lot to be desired.” Citing the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL10, he says each engine “requires more than 8,000 man touch hours — more than a hand-built Lamborghini if you can believe that.” (1/11)

First Space Bill Passes Senate Floor Vote in Tallahassee (Source: SPACErePORT)
The Florida Legislative Session began on Tuesday and by the end of the day the first space-related bill was passed by the full Senate. The bill cleared several committee votes prior to the annual Session, during pre-Session hearings late in 2011, allowing the bill to go directly to the Senate floor so early in the Session. The bill, SB634, focuses on defining "launch support facilities" to allow future spaceport infrastructure projects to be funded by the Florida Department of Transportation. A companion bill must now be passed by the House of Representatives, and then signed by Governor Scott. (1/11)

NASA Launches Suborbital Research Rocket from Virginia Spaceport (Source: WUSA)
NASA says it has successfully launched a suborbital sounding rocket from the Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore. The federal space agency says the launch of the NASA Terrier-Improved Malemute rocket occurred Wednesday morning. The vehicle is under development to support NASA science missions. NASA says the next rocket launch from the Virginia facility is scheduled for no earlier than March 15. (1/11)

Galaxy Hosts 100 Billion Planets, in New Estimate (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Astronomers said Wednesday that each of the 100 billion stars in the Milky Way probably has at least one companion planet, adding credence to the notion that planets are as common in the cosmos as grains of sand on the beach. "Planets are the rule rather than the exception," said lead astronomer Arnaud Cassan at the Institute of Astrophysics in Paris. He led an international team of 42 scientists who spent six years surveying millions of stars at the heart of the Milky Way in the most comprehensive effort yet to gauge the prevalence of planets in the galaxy. (1/11)

NASA's Kepler Mission Finds Three Smallest Exoplanets (Source: NASA JPL)
Astronomers using data from NASA's Kepler mission have discovered the three smallest planets yet detected orbiting a star beyond our sun. The planets orbit a single star, called KOI-961, and are 0.78, 0.73 and 0.57 times the radius of Earth. The smallest is about the size of Mars. All three planets are thought to be rocky like Earth but orbit close to their star, making them too hot to be in the habitable zone, which is the region where liquid water could exist. Click here for a graphic comparison. (1/11)

Two Planets With Twin Stars Found (Source: Discovery)
Fresh on the heels of the discovery of a planet orbiting two parent stars comes the finding that far from being a fluke, such systems are common throughout the galaxy. Until four months ago, the idea of a planet with two suns in its sky was relegated to the realm of science fiction, such as Tatooine, the home world of Star Wars’ hero Luke Skywalker. But new observations from NASA’s Kepler planet-hunting space telescope shows it's not fiction, after all.

The surprising find from a team of scientists using the Kepler telescope of a planet called Kepler-16 b, a Saturn-sized gas giant orbiting a pair of stars about 200 light years from Earth. Now, two more planets circling pairs of stars have been found, a discovery that indicates such systems are not only possible, but highly probable throughout the galaxy. (1/11)

SAIC Wins NASA Contract (Source: SAIC)
SAIC was awarded a prime contract by NASA to provide construction phase services, value engineering and total building commissioning services in support of the Marshall Space Flight Center, Facilities Management Office. The follow-on contract has a one-year base period of performance, four one-year options, and a contract value of more than $11 million if all options are exercised. Work will be performed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. and NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. (1/11)

ULA Gets $1.5 Billion Air Force Contract for Nine Launches (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Air Force has awarded United Launch Alliance (ULA) of Denver a $1.5 billion firm, fixed-price contract that runs through June 2014 and covers a total of nine launches. The Air Force purchased five Atlas 5 launches and four Delta 4 launches. Atlas 5 will launch the Air Force’s Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-19, Mobile User Objective System-3 and three National Reconnaissance Office missions. Delta 4 will launch a mission known as Air Force Space Command-4, two GPS satellites, and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-20. (1/11)

Space Florida Announces Sub-Orbital Flight Incentive Program (Source: Space Florida)
Space Florida will sponsor a sub-orbital flight program intended to stimulate market interest in microgravity research via sub-orbital and parabolic flights from Florida. The Space Florida Sub-Orbital Flight Incentive Program will provide a partial reimbursement for customers to fly research payloads from Florida, equal to one-third of the published list price of an approved flight provider, up to a maximum of $10,000.

It is anticipated that a wide variety of flight providers will participate in the program. At this time, Masten Space Systems, Starfighters/StarLab and Zero G Corporation have shown interest, and it is probable that the number of participating flight providers will increase as the program grows.

"I believe this is a step in the right direction to facilitate additional job creation and university research in Florida," said Senator Thad Altman, chairman of the Florida Senate Subcommittee on Military Affairs, Space and Domestic Security. "As pointed out by the subcommittee, Florida needs to make advances in space-related university research and this incentive will facilitate that movement." (1/11)

European Space Agency Members Approve Flat 2012 Budget (Source: Space News)
The European Space Agency (ESA) will have 4 billion euros ($5.2 billion) to spend in 2012, essentially flat from 2011 as a decline in contributions from its member governments is offset by increased payments from the European Union’s executive commission, ESA officials announced Jan. 10. In what may be an unprecedented development, it is Germany, and not France, that will be ESA’s biggest investor in 2012. (1/11)

European Space Agency Lets Struggling Members Pay Slowly (Source: BusinessWeek)
The European Space Agency says it is allowing some member-states that are struggling with heavy debts and big deficits to pay their contributions more slowly. Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain would not name the countries that asked for "payment plans" but he said they were all small and their contributions account for about euro12 million ($15 million). The agency's total budget for 2012 is euro4.02 billion ($5.12 billion). (1/11)

U.S Air Force Now Expects To Order 10th Wideband Global Satellite (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Air Force constellation of satellites designed to transmit high-resolution imagery and videos continues to expand as U.S. allies appear ready to pledge financial support for one spacecraft and the U.S. Congress provides funding for another. As a result of steadily rising demand for global satellite communications services, the Air Force’s Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) fleet of X- and Ka-band satellites, which originally was expected to include six satellites, now is likely to include 10 spacecraft. (1/11)

Critical-Skills Bonus to Expire for Shuttle Workers (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
When the next big group of space-shuttle contractors is laid off in April, it will be the last time some depart with a special bonus rewarding them for skills that were deemed essential to flying the final missions safely. NASA and lead contractor United Space Alliance introduced the $100 million "critical skills" bonus in 2008, concerned about being able to retain the right personnel as shuttle program wound down. Both say the added incentive to stay on the job — which offered eligible USA employees between 15 and 26 weeks of pay on top of their standard severance package — was a success. (1/11)

Space Club Presents National Defense Award to GPS Leader at Cape (Source: Florida Today)
Air Force Capt. Steven Nielson, chief of the GPS division at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, received the Florida National Defense Space Award from the National Space Club Florida Committee. Created in 2005, the award recognizes significant achievements and contributions made by Department of Defense personnel while on duty in the state of Florida. Nielson is responsible for overseeing the launch of Global Positioning System satellites at the Cape. (1/11)

2012 a Busy Year for Rocket Launches on Space Coast (Source: Florida Today)
Citing a busy 2012 launch schedule, the director of Florida’s storied rocket range said Tuesday that’s proof there is life after NASA’s shuttle program. “We are alive and well, and we are in business here in Central Florida,” said Brig. Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander of the Air Force 45th Space Wing and director of the Eastern Range, the nation’s prime rocket-launching region.

A dozen launches are scheduled from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the coming months, including missions that are critical to the International Space Station as well as U.S. troops operating in theaters around the world. “So folks, we are busy,” Cotton told members of the National Space Club Florida Committee at a luncheon in Cape Canaveral. “With the exception of the month of March, there is something going on at the Cape throughout the year.” (1/11)

Florida Space Day Focuses on New Plans (Source: Florida Today)
Space industry advocates visited the state Capitol for Florida Space Day, an annual blitz of lobbying and public outreach convening in Tallahassee for the first time in the post-shuttle era. Legislators who opened the 2012 session Tuesday will hear from the leaders of Space Florida, Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, plus major contractors and workforce and economic development officials about plans to reshape the state’s $8 billion industry.

The advocates’ legislative agenda includes support for three bills that would continue efforts to attract commercial space activity to replace some of the work lost with the shuttle’s retirement last July. “It’s clearly a critical time in the industry, and we need to maintain the momentum that we started with the support we received from the Legislature in the past two years,” said Space Florida President Frank DiBello. (1/11)

NASA in Huntsville Seeks Interim Engines for First Heavy-Lift Rockets (Source: Huntsville Times)
NASA turned to the aerospace industry this week seeking two interim engines to boost the upper stages of its first new heavy-lift rockets. NASA is racing to develop its new heavy-lift rocket system in time to meet a congressional deadline of a first flight in 2017. Published reports say that Marshall doesn't leave time to fully develop the J-2X engine planned as the eventual upper stage booster. The J-2X will be used in later versions of the new rocket system.

Instead, NASA will use the temporary fix of purchased engines to lift the upper stages on the first two launches of the new system into lunar trajectory. The new rocket system, known as the Space Launch System (SLS), includes a big booster and an upper stage containing an Orion capsule. The first booster will be able to lift 70 metric tons, and the first launch in 2017 aims to send an unmanned Orion capsule to the moon and back. The second SLS flight in 2021 will send a manned capsule on the same journey. (1/11)

No Need to Panic Over Chinese Space Plans (Source: Pajamas Media)
So, China released a paper outlining its space plans the other day, and it’s apparently driven some pundits loony. In a post titled “The Obama Legacy: Ceding Earth To Islamists And The Moon To China,” Tammy Bruce was quick to bash the Obama administration over what she perceives as its feckless space policy. Over at IBD, Andrew Malcolm similarly blames the Obama administration for what he declares a “crippling” of the U.S. space program (apparently unaware that the real culprit is Congress, on a bi-partisan basis, in its pursuit of pork).

But the latest and most egregious comes from conservative commentator Cal Thomas, who manages to get at least two things wrong in his opening paragraph. While the original Vision for Space Exploration had a goal of a lunar return by 2020, one had to be delusional to believe that Constellation, as it was being implemented, had a prayer of doing so. In 2009, the Augustine Panel essentially said as much, which is why the administration came up with a new policy that, while not explicitly declaring a lunar return as a goal, would have made it possible sooner in a much more affordable way.

Also, the notion that the Chinese are doing this only because we don’t seem to be makes no sense. Does Thomas really think that these plans only arose from an absence of our own, and that they wouldn’t be pursuing the moon if we were? He implies that the Chinese will be sending men to the moon within five years, but that’s not what the white paper says. China said it will “conduct studies on the preliminary plan.” Or perhaps it will contemplate the possibility of conducting such studies. Either way, no taikonauts are going to be making footprints on the moon any time soon. (1/11)

Editorial: The Free Market’s New Frontier (Source: Washington Times)
America’s adventuresome spirit is not dead yet. President Obama, the naysayer in chief, may have grounded NASA’s government-issued astronauts, but space entrepreneurs are making plans to tank up and take off on their own. Meanwhile, thanks to Mr. Obama’s disinterest, NASA has been left behind to watch from the ground as the future of manned space flight unfolds. In 2010, the president terminated the Constellation program, the successor to the now-mothballed space shuttle. (1/11)

Flashback: Gingrich/Walker Washington Times Editorial: Obama's Brave Reboot for NASA (Source: Washington Times)
Despite the shrieks you might have heard from a few special interests, the Obama administration’s budget for NASA deserves strong approval from Republicans. The 2011 spending plan for the space agency does what is obvious to anyone who cares about man’s future in space and what presidential commissions have been recommending for nearly a decade.

The Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry in 2002 suggested that greater commercial activity in space was the proper way forward. The Aldridge Commission of 2004, headed by former Secretary of the Air Force Edward C. “Pete” Aldridge, made clear that the only way NASA could achieve success with President George W. Bush’s Vision for Space Exploration was to expand the space enterprise with greater use of commercial assets. Most recently, the Augustine Panel made clear that commercial providers of space-launch services were a necessary part of maintaining space leadership for the United States. (2/12/2010)

NASA Funds Balloon-Borne X-ray Telescope (Source: Astronomy Now)
A new X-ray telescope developed by an international team of scientists will float within the Earth’s atmosphere on a one-day mission to calculate how fast black holes spin. A professor at Washington University has received NASA funding to explore some of the most exciting X-ray sources in space, namely black holes. The balloon-borne telescope X-Calibur, which will be flown in spring 2013 or autumn 2014, will float 40 kilometers above the Earth in the stratosphere.

It will detect "hard" X-rays with energies between 20 - 60 kilo electron volts (keV), which have a higher penetrating energy than “soft” X-rays, which have energies less than 12 keV. The GEMS satellite (Gravity and Extreme Magnetism) lead by Dr Jean Swank of the Goddard Space Flight Center, with which Krawczynski is also working, will be flown at roughly the same time as X-Calibur and will be sensitive to soft X-rays. (1/11)

New ERAU Building to be Finished in July (Source: Daytona Beach News Journal)
Plenty of activity and machinery can be seen at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach as construction continues on several projects. Construction of the new Jim W. Henderson Administration and Welcome Center at the university's main entrance off Clyde Morris Boulevard is expected to be completed by the end of July.

The $12 million, 35,000-square-foot building replaces the one destroyed by the 2006 Christmas tornado. In other Embry-Riddle news, Fitch Ratings affirmed its "BBB+" rating on Embry-Riddle's $164.6 million in revenue and refunding bonds issued through the Volusia County Educational Facilities Authority. The outlook was upgraded from stable to positive. The outlooks states that the university's "steady operating surpluses and a growing balance sheet cushion reflect an improved credit profile."

Fitch anticipates Embry-Riddle will have continued surpluses and states the university expects to spend $100 million to $110 million of cash through fiscal 2014 for capital projects. "Through careful financial management, ERAU has been able to generate consistent operating surpluses and grow its available funds," the ratings state. (1/11)

Why ET Isn't Phoning Us (Source: Everett WA Herald)
The discovery of exoplanets has sparked discussion about other life in the universe. Columnist Charles Krauthammer addressed the topic, saying the news comes at the right time: "As the romance of manned space exploration has waned, the drive today is to find our living, thinking counterparts in the universe. For all the excitement, however, the search betrays a profound melancholy -- a lonely species in a merciless universe anxiously awaits an answering voice amid utter silence."

Whoa. "A lonely species in a merciless universe anxiously awaits an answering voice amid utter silence?" Really? Is that what really causes anxiety among humans? Krauthammer says it makes no sense that we haven't heard from our counterparts out there somewhere. "As we inevitably find more and more exo-planets where intelligent life can exist, why have we found no evidence -- no signals, no radio waves -- that intelligent life does exist?"

Some scientists suggest we haven't heard anything because "advanced" civilizations have an unfortunate way of destroying themselves. (So much for "intelligent life.") On Sunday, renowned physicist Stephen Hawking marked his 70th birthday. He was unable to attend a conference in his honor, but sent a recorded message, in which he repeated his call for humans to colonize other worlds. (1/11)

January 10, 2012

2012-01-10T13:39:00.005-05:00

NASA Awards Launch Services Program Support Contract (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected a.i. solutions Inc. to receive a contract award that will enable the agency's Launch Services Program (LSP) to provide integrated services for the preparation and launch of NASA's next generation of scientific and exploration spacecraft. The Expendable Launch Vehicle Integrated Support 2 (ELVIS 2) contract has a potential maximum value of $138.1 million. This new contract resulted from a competitive, small business set-aside.

The contract has a two-month phase-in period that begins February 2012, followed by a one-and-a-half-year base period extending from April 1, 2012, through Sept. 30, 2013. Two option periods are available that would bring the total period of performance to five years. The ELVIS 2 contract supports LSP and LSP-sponsored missions, activities and strategic initiatives for multiple NASA programs, the Defense Department and other government agencies and commercial launch activities.

The contract will provide LSP with program management support; vehicle engineering and analysis; launch site support engineering; communications and telemetry; technical integration services; LSP programmatic safety, reliability and quality support; support at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California; information technology support; and special studies. (1/10)

Stolen New Mexico Meteorite Worth $20K-$40K Found (Source: AP)
A meteorite that landed in Russia in the 1940s and was recently stolen from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque has been located. Authorities found the rock after a man in Missouri bought it for $1,700. It's worth between $20,000 to $40,000. The Meteorite Museum at UNM flew an employee to retrieve the nearly 21-pound chunk of space — and lug it through security.

School police believe someone stole the meteorite from the display case and walked out the front door. Investigators have a suspect but no one has been arrested. The meteorite was once part of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and crashed in Siberia. It was a gift from a Soviet scientist. The Meteorite Museum is closed for a security review. (1/10)

2012: A Stepping Stone to the Future (Source: America Space)
When André Kuipers boarded the International Space Station, two days before Christmas, not even his years of training could have fully prepared him for the size, grandeur and beauty of the complex in its finished state. In fact, the last time the Amsterdam-born physician flew into orbit in April 2004 was in the dark period after the loss of Columbia, a time when the future of the ISS and its completion hung very much in the balance.

Today, nine years since Columbia, the station is for all intents and purposes complete – a bright star, visible with the naked eye from the ground, bristling with golden solar arrays and sprouting silvery modules from Russia, the United States, Europe and Japan – and the mission of Kuipers and his crewmates on Expedition 30 is to put it all to work in the post-Shuttle era. Click here. (1/10)

New Telescope Captures Supermassive Black Hole (Source: Science)
The supermassive black hole in the core of a distant galaxy known as Cygnus A spews jets of gas into space over distances of more than 200,000 light-years. The jets (orange) were imaged by the new International Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) Telescope in Europe. The picture shows how the jets slam into the hot gas surrounding the galaxy. Click here. (1/10)

Galaxy-Wide Race Ends in a Tie (Source: Nature)
A race between two energetic photons that began more than 7 billion years ago and spanned half the galaxy has ended in a virtual dead heat. The result, if it stands up to scrutiny, would tighten the limits, suggested by some theories, on how ‘lumpy’ space-time can be. Click here. (1/10)

$10 Million X Prize Aims to Realize 'Star Trek' Medical Tricorder (Source
Handheld "Star Trek" technology capable of instantly diagnosing people's medical conditions need not wait until the 23rd century to become a reality. The X Prize Foundation teamed up with wireless-technology giant Qualcomm to officially announce a new $10 million prize for anyone who can create the 21st century version of the futuristic device.

The $10 million Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize — named after Star Trek's medical tricorder — looks to find a winning device capable of collecting key health information about individual patients and diagnosing a set of 15 diseases. The prize announcement at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas emphasized technologies that could put the state of a person's health into the palm of his or her hands. (1/10)

ISS Performs Upgrades to Support Inaugural Dragon Visit (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
The six-member crew of the International Space Station (ISS) have been hard at work over the past few weeks, performing multiple hardware and software upgrades in order to ready the station to support the new fleet of commercial resupply vehicles, ahead of next month’s inaugural visit of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to the orbital outpost. Click here. (1/10)

How to NOT Get Funded in the Astronomy World (Source: Space.com)
In an increasingly competitive environment for research grants from dwindling federal budgets, many scientists are eager for clues on how to secure funding. The National Science Foundation has humorously shared a series of tongue-in-cheek tips on "How Not to Get Funded*" Click here. (1/10)

The Challenges of Building A House on Mars (Source: Space Daily)
Going to Mars? Expect to stay a while. Because of the relative motions of Earth and Mars, the pioneering astronauts who touch down on the Martian surface will have to remain there for a year and a half. For this reason, NASA has already started experimenting with a habitat fit for the long-term exploration of Mars.

Last year, students at the University of Wisconsin won the XHab competition to design and build an inflatable loft addition to a habitat shell that NASA had already constructed. The final structure now serves as a working model that is being tested in the Arizona desert. (1/10)

Defense Firms Reach Out to Republican Candidates (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Defense firms are reaching out to Republican presidential candidates in a bid to prevent further defense cuts. "At this point we see all of the oxygen in the room being absorbed by the presidential debates," said Marion Blakey, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association. "We want to be part of that oxygen, if you will." (1/10)

Congress Dithers on FAA Reauthorization (Source: AIN Online)
After months of talks between House and Senate negotiators over FAA reauthorization, a compromise agreement remains stalled, primarily because of a labor dispute between the major airlines and organized labor. Although both chambers in Congress profess the need for long-term legislation to set the course for agency programs and funding, at press time the issue appeared to be headed into the New Year without resolution.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said the House Republicans inserted a provision in their reauthorization bill that would overturn a recent National Mediation Board rule that makes it easier for labor unions to organize airline workers.

The FAA has been operating without a new long-term bill since 2007, when the previous multi-year FAA authorization expired. According to Rockefeller, “there is no movement, no give” in the GOP-controlled House. But Rep. John Mica (R-FL), chairman of the House Transportation Committee, maintains he has been and continues to be willing to reach a compromise on every single issue in the bill. (1/10)

The Perils of Big Science (Source: Space Politics)
Pushing the boundaries of scientific knowledge has become increasingly expensive. In astronomy, that has meant larger telescopes, both on the ground and in space (in addition to increasingly complex planetary probes). In particle physics, it involves a series of larger and more powerful accelerators. However, one Nobel laureate fears that governments’ willingness to fund such ventures may have reached its limit.

Steven Weinberg said he is pessimistic that governments would fund the next step in particle accelerators beyond Europe’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), regardless of the scientific case for it. “It’s going to be a very hard sell, and it may be impossible to get the next accelerator built,” he said. “Whatever else it is, a large scientific lab is a public works project,” Weinberg said. “It, therefore, will always get enthusiastic support from local politicians... and hostility, or at best apathy, from legislators from other parts of the country.”

Weinberg, who has long been a strident critic of human spaceflight, said: “All of the great discoveries that have made such great progress in cosmology in particular have been from unmanned observatories... The International Space Station was sold as a scientific laboratory, but nothing interesting has come from it.” Editor's Note: How about corporate sponsorship? In China, it seems a beer company has signed on to sponsor that nation's lunar exploration program. (1/10)

Spaceport Facilities Bill Heads to Senate Floor (Source: Capital Soup)
A bill by Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto (R-Ft. Myers) is one step closer to allowing spaceport facilities to more appropriately utilize funding due to the changing needs of Florida’s aerospace industry. Senate Bill 634 passed unanimously in the Senate Military Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security Committee this week and will be considered next on the Senate floor.

“Florida’s aerospace industry is recognized as an important part of the state’s long-term success plan to build a knowledge-based economy that supports and creates high-value-added businesses and jobs,” said Benacquisto. “This bill will help Space Florida deliver on its goals by providing the framework for infrastructure funds to be spent on applicable space projects in its master plan.” (12/7)

Private Spacecraft Are Your Transportation, Scientists, and Real Estate Brokers (Source: Fast Company)
In the absence of NASA's Space Shuttle Program, private companies are left to fill the black hole of space exploration. Now, 50 years after John Glenn orbited the Earth, some very different kinds of explorers are leading the way. Click here. (1/10)

Fourth Wideband Global SATCOM Set to Launch at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: SpaceRef)
The Air Force scheduled the launch of the fourth Wideband Global SATCOM satellite aboard a Delta IV launch vehicle January 19 from Pad 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. This is the fourth launch for the WGS constellation and the second WGS launch on the Delta IV launch vehicle. The WGS-4 satellite will provide the warfighter with enhanced communication capabilities while extending global coverage. (1/9)

Florida Legislative Session Kicks Off with State of the State Address (Source: SPACErePORT)
Governor Rick Scott mentioned the state's space heritage in his annual State of the State address, which tradionally kicks off the state's annual Legislative Session. “From our shores, we have launched men to the moon. And with this same brave spirit, millions have come to plant their flag in Florida soil to build something new and better,” he said. The Legislature will consider multiple aerospace-focused bills and budget items over the next several weeks. Here's a list of Space Florida's priorities. (1/10)

Aerospace, Defense Shares Show Mixed Results for 2011 (Source: Aviation Daily)
Some aerospace stocks performed well in 2011. Shares of suppliers such as Hexcel, TransDigm Group and Triumph Group posted gains of more than 30% for the year. Shares of aircraft manufacturers and defense contractors posted mixed results in 2011. (1/9)

Jim McCarthy: State Must Embrace Space Opportunities (Source: Tallahassee Democrat)
Many challenges and exciting changes are ramping up for the space industry in Florida as work continues on the future of space exploration. More than ever, the state needs to be aggressive in creating a robust atmosphere for space business. Florida has the third-largest space industry in the United States and ranks fourth in the nation for space-based employment.

The aerospace industry impacts almost every county. Preserving and fostering this high-tech industry requires unified action by industry and local, state and federal government officials. Future business and employment opportunities must be generated to ensure we hold and leverage a world-class workforce. In addition, the space business brings in cutting-edge research and development of global significance inspiring Florida's future scientists and engineers.

It is critical that Florida's legislators, local elected officials and the business community work together to lead America's next chapter in space exploration; attract new business by offering incentives to create a vibrant 21st century aerospace community; and position Florida to capture innovative national and international space-related business to stimulate the economy. Failure to act now will mean missed opportunities to grow the state's high tech economy. (1/10)

Russia Hints at Foul Play in its Space Failures (Source: AFP)
The head of Russia's beleaguered space program hinted on Tuesday that foreign powers may be behind the string of failures that struck his agency in the past year. Roskosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin said he could not understand why several launches went awry at precisely the moment the spacecraft were traveling through areas invisible to Russian radar.

"It is unclear why our setbacks often occur when the vessels are traveling through what for Russia is the 'dark' side of the Earth -- in areas where we do not see the craft and do not receive its telemetry readings," he said. "I do not want to blame anyone, but today there are some very powerful countermeasures that can be used against spacecraft whose use we cannot exclude," Popovkin said. (1/10)

Europe's EADS to Resume Management Reshuffle Talks (Source: Reuters)
Airbus parent EADS will make a new effort to push through carefully scripted management changes by the end of the month after postponing a decision in December at the request of the French government. Chief Executive Louis Gallois, who is expected to be awarded a British honorary knighthood as he nears retirement, has told employees he is "fully committed" to running EADS until his successor is appointed in "mid-2012," according to a company memo. (1/10)

How to Get a Cosmos From Nothing (Source: MSNBC)
OK, so how can you get a cosmos from nothing? Lawrence Krauss traces a series of discoveries building up from Einstein's general theory of relativity to the latest studies of dark energy, explaining how scientists have determined that empty space is seething with energy in the form of virtual particles. From the perspective of quantum physics, particles are popping into and out of existence all the time. The way Krauss and many other theorists see it, nothingness is so unstable that it has to give rise to something ... in our case, the universe as we know it. (1/10)

Canada Keeps Eye on the Sky with its Taste for Space (Source: Financial Post)
In space, no one can hear you invest — but Canadians are doing it anyway. Take Urthecast, a Vancouver-based firm with a taste for space: It’s betting $10 million on two cameras that are being built by a British partner. Late next year, a Russian mission will fly them to the International Space Station, where they will be installed to beam pictures and constant, near-live video to Earth. The revenue model? Data sales and advertising.

Space has played a large part in Canada’s history. When the country launched the Anik A1 communications satellite in 1972, it became the first nation to have a communication satellite in geostationary orbit. “It was the thread that brought this country together as much as the railroad,” says Mark Burbidge, head of industrial policy at the Canadian Space Agency.

He contends government influence is waning. “People in the private sector can get things done cheaper, better and quicker,” he says. “Whether it’s for tourism, cargo or Earth observation, there is the mindset in the space industry that we don’t need massive budgets,” says Mr. Burbidge. (1/10)

January 9, 2012

2012-01-09T10:10:00.006-05:00

Colorado: Buzz Aldrin's Son on How a Spaceport Would Change State's Economy (Source: Westword)
Colorado currently hosts the number two space economy in the country, but the possibility of adding a spaceport on the Front Range could raise our rank while raising the industry's stakes. Whether you plan to see the moon in your lifetime or not, the issue is a hot topic for business and aerospace officials alike. We spoke to Dr. Andrew Aldrin, director of business development at United Launch Alliance, about Colorado's future in the industry.

Aldrin will present his thoughts at the DaVinci Institute's monthly Night with a Futurist, where he is scheduled to speak along with four other experts on the industry. "The night will discuss what the possibilities are, what the feasibility is for Colorado specifically and what our future opportunities are to step into space," says Andrew Frey." With NASA's uncertain future, the roles individual states are playing in policies and creation are becoming more interesting and more important. (1/9)

How Brain Scans Can Help Astronomers Understand Stars (Source: Scientific American)
They may come from completely different fields of study, but brain scans and supernovae have more in common than you would think. An astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics had eight years worth of data from the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. She wanted to use the data to understand the remnant’s structure so she could work out how the star exploded. But she had no good way to look at the data.

Luckily, Michelle Borkin did, and suggested that the astronomer try using 3D slicer software, originally developed in a hospital in Boston for looking at brain scans. It worked beautifully. It is not just data analysis in these two fields that uses the same tools. The way data is collected from brain scans and radio telescopes is similar too. Even images in the fields of medicine and astronomy are alike: a confocal microscopy image of a human cornea looks much like a radio telescope image of star forming region NGC1333, despite the difference in scale.

This collaboration between astronomy and medicine is not the only example of an interdisciplinary connection in science – a lot of interesting science is now happening at the interface between two or more fields of study. Scientists working in all areas are looking outside their own lab in search of new ideas and methods, and more could benefit from joining them. (1/9)

Popovkin Questions Permanently Occupied Stations, Phobos-Grunt Failure (Source: Space Policy Online)
Russian space agency (Roscosmos) director Vladimir Popovkin suggested in a wide-ranging interview with a Russian newspaper today that small, single-purpose space stations with visiting crews may be preferable to the multi-purpose, permanently occupied International Space Station (ISS). He also said that the Phobos-Grunt failure remains unexplained and hinted that foreign sabotage might have been responsible.

He said Roscosmos still does not know why an upper stage failed to fire for the Phobos-Grunt mission. He noted that “frequent failures” of spacecraft occur when they are out of range of Russian tracking stations and stated that “I do not want to accuse anyone, but today there is a very powerful impact on the spacecraft, possible applications that cannot be ruled out.” Russian space expert Anatoly Zak of RussianSpaceWeb.com interpreted that statement as Popovkin suggesting that a foreign power sabotaged the mission.

In November, a retired Russian lieutenant general, Nikolai Rodionov, asserted that an American radar in Alaska might have disabled the spacecraft, an accusation that U.S. space expert James Oberg labeled “moronic” since the ground track of Phobos-Grunt did not pass over the radar site. (1/9)

Creating Electricity in Space (Source: Forbes)
The idea of beaming solar power down to Earth from space was popularized in a 1941 Isaac Asimov short story in which the machinery was controlled by a robot called Cutie. Today, solar space stations still sound far-fetched, but scientists in the U.S. and Japan are pursuing modern versions of the system, which are becoming more feasible as space flight and solar panels promise to become more affordable.

How would it work? The panels would orbit in space -- immune from rain, clouds, and nighttime --gathering solar energy 24/7. The panels would be 43 times more efficient than land-based ones, says Col. M.V. "Coyote" Smith, who has studied the concept for NASA. The satellites would then beam the energy to Earth in the form of microwave radiation. Implausible? John Mankins, the former head of advanced concept studies at NASA, has conducted successful tests in Hawaii, sending wireless electricity between two islands.

The hang-up is cost. Building a big space solar operation would cost billions, Mankins says. While a couple of universities are working on it, skeptics abound. "If a potential investor sat down and penciled out the costs, they would stop returning your phone calls," says Seth Masia, editor of Solar Today magazine. Still, new projects like Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder Paul Allen's aircraft, which one day could affordably launch satellites, and the fact that solar panels are getting cheaper, are making this technology suddenly seem more science than fiction. (1/5)

Florida Space Industry to Visit Capitol on Jan. 11 for Space Day (Source: Space Florida)
Representatives from Florida’s aerospace industry will visit Tallahassee on January 11, 2012, to participate in Florida Space Day and share with legislators the challenges facing this important business sector as the nation’s space program evolves. During Space Day, industry leaders and other aerospace supporters will meet with House and Senate members, as well Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll, to discuss the status of the industry, which is worth about $8 billion and impacts every county in the state. (1/9)

German Hackers Propose DIY Program to Put Uncensored Internet Into Space (Source: Popular Science)
There’s more than one way to stick it to The Man. There’s civil disobedience, subversive propaganda, political art, outright violent revolt--each possessing its own degree of difficulty and consequence. In a decidedly 21st-century twist, team of German hackers bent on fighting the powers that be has chosen a rather ambitious means of taking the power back: building a hacker-owned and -operated space program, complete with a constellation of communications satellites beaming uncensored Internet to users on the ground.

The Hackerspace Global Grid was borne out of a call to action at the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin, where hackers of all stripes gather to mull the issues of the day as they relate to their craft. Hacker activist Nick Farr--motivated by legislation like the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S.--called on the community to contribute to a project that would remove the power of censorship from governments and corporations by creating an uncensored Internet in the free frontier of space. (1/5)

To Preserve History on the Moon, Visitors Are Asked to Tread Lightly (Source: New York Times)
California’s catalog of historic artifacts includes two pairs of boots, an American flag, empty food bags, a pair of tongs and more than a hundred other items left behind at a place called Tranquillity Base. That might be surprising, since Tranquillity Base is not in New Mexico or California but a quarter of a million miles away, in the spot where Neil A. Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the moon in 1969. Click here. (1/9)

Big Funding Cuts Loom for Astronomy Projects (Source: Space.com)
Astronomers might do well to prepare themselves for disappointment, as the tightening federal budget looks to deal a weighty blow to funding for astronomy research this year. The National Science Foundation expects to significantly decrease the number of astronomy and astrophysics grants it awards in 2012 compared to 2011, an agency official said at the 219th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

The National Science Foundation is the U.S. government agency that funds basic research into non-medical science fields. In 2011, the agency awarded money to about 20 percent of all proposals submitted to its astronomy and astrophysics grant program. In 2012, only about 16 to 18 percent of proposals will likely be funded, said James Ulvestad, the director of the National Science Foundation's Division of Astronomical Sciences. (1/9)

SETI Targets Known Alien Planets (Source: Space.com)
Until recently, astronomers searching for signals from intelligent aliens have had to scan the heavens blindly. But now that's starting to change, as scientists are targeting newly discovered exoplanets beyond the solar system for their search. Now scientists involved in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) have analyzed their first data from radio telescope observations of Kepler planets. The researchers are searching for radio signals that aren't likely to be caused by natural phenomena, and thus could represent an extraterrestrial message.

Such signals are likely to be narrow in frequency, as known astrophysical phenomena such as black holes and exploding stars tend to release radio waves across a wider range of frequencies. These signals will also probably show a gradual drift in frequency over time, which would be expected because of the Doppler effect caused by the relative motion between the planet broadcasting a signal and us here on Earth. (1/9)

Vast Web of Dark Matter Mapped (Source: Discovery)
Astronomers have created a vast cosmic map revealing an intricate web of dark matter and galaxies spanning a distance of one billion light-years. This unprecedented task was achieved not by observing dark matter directly, but by observing its gravitational effects on ancient light traveling from galaxies that existed when the Universe was half the age it is now. This is the largest dark matter map ever built and took five years to complete. Click here. (1/9)

ORBCOMM Announces Successful Launch of VesselSat2 (Source: MarketWatch)
ORBCOMM announced the successful launch of VesselSat2, an Automatic Identification Service (AIS) enabled satellite built by LuxSpace Sarl (LuxSpace), an affiliate of OHB System AG. VesselSat2 was launched by the China Great Wall Industry Corporation from the Tiayuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC) on Jan. 8. The satellite was successfully deployed from the Long March launch vehicle into its proper polar orbit. AIS data is used for ship tracking and other maritime navigational and safety efforts. (1/9)

Space Florida Realigns (Source: Space Florida)
Space Florida has hired Jim Kuzma as Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer (COO). Kuzma was formerly the commander of the Naval Ordnance Test Unit at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. Kuzma’s hiring is one of several organizational changes, including Howard Haug's realignment as Treasurer and Executive Vice President with a greater focus on investment and financing. Haug will also focus on new leads and business development initiatives. Denise Swanson has been named Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Vice President of Administration, a promotion from her previous post as Controller. (1/9)

Lt. Col. Paul Damphousse USMC (Ret) Named NSS Executive Director (Source: NSS)
The National Space Society (NSS) is proud to announce that LtCol Paul E. Damphousse USMC (Ret) has been named Executive Director effective January 1, 2012. The appointment of LtCol Damphousse coincides with the 25th anniversary of the 1987 merger of the National Space Institute (NSI) and the L5 Society to form the National Space Society. Damphousse was previously with the National Security Space Office, and served as a fellow for space policy in the office of Florida Senator Bill Nelson. (1/9)

NASA Will Work Cooperatively to Resolve Artifact Ownership Issues (Source: SpaceRef)
The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden regarding the ownership of early space exploration mementos and artifacts: "Earlier today, I had a good meeting with former Apollo astronauts Jim Lovell, Gene Cernan, Charlie Duke, Rusty Schweickart and other representatives of former astronauts and agency personnel, where we discussed how to resolve the misunderstandings and ownership questions regarding flight mementos and other artifacts. "We have committed to work together to find the right policy and legal paths forward to address outstanding ownership questions." (1/9)

NASA To Add $375M to Orion Contract for Delta 4 Test Launch (Source: Space News)
NASA intends to add $375 million to Lockheed Martin Space Systems’ $6.4 billion Orion space capsule contract so that the company can procure a Delta 4 rocket to power a 2014 test flight of the next-generation crew vehicle. In a procurement notice posted online Jan. 6, NASA said it intends to make a sole source award to Lockheed Martin for Exploration Flight Test (EFT)-1 by modifying the existing contract to build Orion.

Boeing and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) also expressed interest in Exploration Test Flight-1, according to NASA’s notice, but both companies were turned down. Boeing and SpaceX, NASA wrote, “proposed capabilities which focused primarily on meeting one aspect of the requirement of NASA’s EFT-1 effort … a launch vehicle. However, neither company addressed the complete requirements for the end-to-end EFT-1 effort.” (1/9)

NASA Issues Call for Visionary Advanced Technology Concepts (Source: NASA)
NASA's Space Technology Program is looking for far-out ideas. The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts, or NIAC, program is seeking proposals for revolutionary concepts with the potential to transform future aerospace missions. Proposed concepts should enable new capabilities or significantly alter current approaches to launching, building and operating space systems.

NIAC projects are chosen for their innovative and visionary characteristics, technical substance, and early development stage -- ten years or more from use on a mission. NIAC's current portfolio of diverse and innovative ideas represents multiple technology areas, including power, propulsion, structures and avionics. NIAC will accept short proposals, limited to two pages in length, until Feb. 9. After review, NASA will invite those whose concepts are of interest to the agency to submit a full proposal of no more than ten pages. Full proposals will be due April 16. (1/9)

Curiosity Rover Adjusts Flight Toward Mars (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
The Curiosity rover will begin its trajectory toward Mars on Wednesday. "After this trajectory-correction maneuver, we expect to be very close to where we ultimately need to be for our entry point at the top of the Martian atmosphere," said Arthur Amador, cruise mission manager. The rover is scheduled to land on the Gale Crater in August. (1/7)

Central Florida Braces for DOD Spending Cuts (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Already nicked by the military-budget cuts of recent years, Central Florida's defense industry is bracing for what could be the mother of all cutbacks in 2012. Industry experts have long said that the region's diversified and high-tech defense work — led by the country's biggest cluster of training-simulation companies and agencies — is well-positioned to weather reductions in military spending. Still, historic developments during the past year threaten massive cuts in Pentagon spending that could affect all sectors of the industry to some extent.

The end of the U.S. war in Iraq and the scaling back of the war in Afghanistan have greatly diminished the demand for arms, bombs, tanks, aircraft and other military gear — a demand that resulted in a doubling of the nation's military budget over an eight-year period. Combine that with growing pressure on Congress to shrink the federal budget deficit, and you have the makings of a very sharp drop in defense spending. (1/8)

Exoplanet Explorers (Source: Space Review)
While scientists ultimately hope to launch large, dedicated space telescopes to directly image Earth-like extrasolar planets, such missions are expensive and likely far in the future. Jeff Foust reports on some efforts to fly less expensive space missions in the coming years to expand the horizons of exoplanet science and lay the groundwork for more ambitious missions. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2003/1 to view the article. (1/9)

A New Paradigm for Arbitrating Disputes in Outer Space (Source: Space Review)
There are few mechanisms today for arbitrating disputes on space-related issues, particularly those where non-governmental organizations are involved. Michael Listner describes a newly-adopted approach that could make it easier to resolve issues without the need for diplomatic maneuvering. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2002/1 to view the article. (1/9)

Reporting Kepler 20e and 20f (Source: Space Review)
Last month NASA scientists announced the discovery of the first planets similar in size to the Earth orbiting a Sun-like star, a finding that got considerable media attention. John Hickman examines what the media got right and wrong in their reporting of the discovery. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2001/1 to view the article. (1/9)

America’s Space Vision: Settlement of Moon and Mars Versus Asteroid Visits (Source: Heartland Institute)
America’s eroding geopolitical stature, highlighted by the July 21, 2011, end to flights of the United States Space Shuttle, has reached crisis proportions. Obama Administration officials now spin the nebulous thought of Astronauts flying many months to an undetermined asteroid in 2025 as an actual “National Space Policy”. On the other hand, Republican candidates for President have not yet recognized the importance of international civil space competition in the federal government’s constitutional function to provide for the nation’s “common defence”.

Candidates appear to be uninterested in having the U.S. lead deep space exploration, including the establishment of American settlements on the Moon; or may actually consider Obama’s unfocused proposals as being credible rather than realizing that those proposals would transfer geopolitical dominance to China and control of American space transport to Russia.

Although the Bush Administration and Congress did not follow through with adequate funding, at least the 2004 Vision for Space Exploration put forth by President Bush and approved by Congress was a legitimate formulation of a National Space Policy. It implicitly recognized that America’s best security interests would not be served by being dependent on Russia for access to space or by ceding to China both deep space exploration and access to space resources. Click here. Editor's Note: When President Bush ended the Shuttle program, it explicitly included a multi-year reliance on Russia for access to space. (1/7)

Environmental Impact Study Not Needed for Road to Spaceport America (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
An in-depth environmental review of a proposed southern road to Spaceport America won't be required after all - a decision that has spaceport backers breathing sighs of relief. Had the environmental impact study been required by the federal government, it would have boosted the expense of the road construction and left the project with an indefinite timeline, something that especially worried Las Cruces spaceport backers - who stand to benefit the most from a shorter, faster drive to the remote spaceport.

Spaceport and county officials were notified about the decision not to require the in-depth review just before the Christmas holiday, they said. What will be required is an "environmental assessment," a less-intensive study, said New Mexico Spaceport Authority Chairman Rick Holdridge. "The EA is not trivial; it's just not a multi-year process like the EIS," he said. "That was a good-news story for us." (1/9)

India: First Full-Fledged Test of Space Launchers Soon (Source: Deccan Herald)
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has achieved a major breakthrough to calibrate and test its launchers, those meant to help escape the earth’s atmosphere and those which help re-enter it. This would mean India does not have to depend on Russia for the launchers like it did all these years, thereby reducing loss of time considerably.

ISRO sources said the first (cold) test, with the wind at room temperature, was conducted about three months ago and the system’s performance was alright. The hot test, with temperatures going all the way up to 1,000 degree Celsius, they said, was pending. “It should be conducted in the next four-six months,” a source said.

The system will be used to test models of the re-usable launch vehicle, which is key to India’s proposed manned mission to space. ISRO has already begun work on a 9x9 meter winged rocket prototype - Re-usable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD). The prototype, considered a critical breakthrough, once completed, will allow the space agency to assess how close it is to developing a fully re-usable Two Stage To Orbit vehicle. (1/8)

Indian Scientists Propose 10 Experiments For 2013 Mission To Mars (Source: Asian Scientist)
An Indian mission to Mars is taking shape with space scientists proposing 10 experiments, mostly related to the study of the Red Planet’s atmosphere. Proof that this challenging mission is no longer a dream is amply evident in a report of the Planetary Sciences and Exploration conference, organized by the Ahmedabad-based Planex group of the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), an affiliate of ISRO, between December 12 and 14, 2011. (1/8)

Hell on Earth: NASA’s Toxic Venus Test Chamber (Source: WIRED)
In a bare concrete room at NASA Glenn Research Center, pieces of a 12-ton toxic oven patiently wait to be assembled. When engineers finish bolting the compact car-sized device together in May, it will scorch anything put in it at 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, crush it under pressures nearly 100 times that of Earth’s and choke it with carbon dioxide, sulfuric acid and a cocktail of other noxious fumes.

The hellish conditions should emulate the surface of Venus, a planet baked of its water and suffocated by greenhouse gases. “Venus used to be like Earth. There’s a lot of lessons for us to learn from it,” said NASA Glenn engineer Rodger Dyson, leader of the Extreme Environment Test Chamber. The problem with Venusian spacecraft is that they melt in an hour — two if they’re lucky. (1/9)

Underfunding Doomed Russian Mars Probe, Lawyer Says (Source: USA Today)
Mars has claimed many a spacecraft as victim, and the latest one, a Russian space probe, looks likely to tumble to Earth very soon. Russia's Phobos-Grunt ("grunt" is Russian for ground or soil) mission aimed for a first landing of a probe on the Martian moon Phobos. Launched Nov. 8, the spacecraft reached Earth orbit but failed to fire the rocket that would send it on an eight-month interplanetary trip to Mars.

"Way too ambitious and way too underfunded to reach its goal," space law attorney Michael Listner says. The $163 million spacecraft carried a piggybacked Chinese Mars orbiter added late to the mission. Mars has claimed overly thrifty probes before. NASA's Mars Polar Lander, a $120 million spacecraft, was judged about 30% underfunded by an accident panel after its calamitous crash in 1999. Testing shortfalls probably played a role in the craft's landing rockets malfunctioning. (1/9)

Mundane Dark Matter May Lurk in Starry Clusters (Source: New Scientist)
Dark matter - the mysterious substance thought to make up about 80 per cent of the universe's matter - could be more mundane than thought. Inside balls of stars known as globular clusters, at least. Unless we have misunderstood gravity, dark matter must be there - holding rotating galaxies together. But we don't know what it is. Initially, it was thought to be planets and stars too dim to be seen directly. Such objects would reveal themselves when they pass in front of bright stars, distorting the image with their gravity, but the objects turned up by such "microlensing" searches in our galaxy have not revealed nearly enough matter.

So it is assumed that dark matter is something more exotic, such as novel theoretical particles. Now, researchers have spotted a tiny star in the globular cluster M22 acting as a lens for a background star. At just 0.18 times the sun's mass, it is the smallest star ever seen in a globular cluster. Because its effects on the larger star were seen after just 10 weeks of observations, the team says there are probably many more like it in the cluster, perhaps even enough to account for all the dark matter needed to hold the cluster together. (1/9)

Last of Shuttle Layoffs Loom for USA Workers (Source: Florida Today)
When the next big group of shuttle contractors is laid off in April, it will be the last time some depart with a special bonus rewarding skills that were deemed essential to flying the final missions safely. NASA and lead contractor United Space Alliance implemented the $100 million “critical skills” bonus in 2008, concerned about retaining the right personnel as the 30-year shuttle program wound down.

Both say the added incentive to stay on the job, which offered eligible USA employees between 15 and 26 weeks of pay on top of their standard severance package, was a success. But with the bonus program set to expire in April, some employees now face a difficult decision: Should they volunteer to be let go to bank the bonus, or try to hang on with a company whose future is highly uncertain? (1/9)

Is There Profit in Outer Space? (Source: Yale Qn)
For years, the bulk of Orbital Sciences Corporation's work has been designing, building, and launching commercial, scientific, and defense satellites—probably the closest thing there is to a reliable, profitable niche in the space business. Now the company is trying something new. In 2012, this silver and gold puck bristling with guidance sensors and wing-like solar arrays—Orbital's cargo-carrying Cygnus Advanced Maneuvering Spacecraft—is scheduled to navigate itself to a rendezvous with the International Space Station.

Any company in the business of space must be prepared for extreme complexity, as technical, logistical, regulatory, political, operational, and management challenges collide. The up-front costs are tremendous; the returns are uncertain. Tolerance for error is close to zero, yet the materials and engineering must push the bounds of what is currently possible. And though they seem innumerable, every contingency must be planned for. This isn't just rocket science; it's the business of rocket science. Click here. (1/9)

January 8, 2012

2012-01-08T20:51:00.003-05:00

China Opens 2012 with ZiYuan-3 Launch (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
China launched a new high-resolution remote sensing satellite on Monday using the Long March 4B (Chang Zheng-4B -Y26) launch vehicle from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. According to the official Xinhua News Agency, the ZiYuan-3 its first high-resolution geological mapping satellite, to be used for civil purposes. The ZiYuan-3 (ZY-3) is the first of a new series of high-resolution civilian remote sensing satellites, grown from a project that was initiated in March 2008. (1/8)

U.S., Thales at Odds Over Request for ITAR-Free Satellite Design Info (Source: Space News)
A U.S. State Department investigation of whether European satellite manufacturer Thales Alenia Space has illegally included sensitive U.S.-built satellite parts in spacecraft launched aboard Chinese rockets has remained open for more than three years because of a dispute over what information Thales should be required to submit, according to a company official and State Department documents. U.S. government policy bars the shipment of ITAR-controlled technology for launch aboard Chinese rockets.

But after receiving documentation showing the disposition of the ITAR-controlled hardware that Thales had received — documentation Thales said proved it had not been sent to China — the State Department broadened the inquiry to include every component on the Thales satellites. Thales has refused to provide these data on the grounds that doing so would violate French law and contravene contract agreements with its satellite customers. (1/6)

Some Guys: Obama Teleported to Mars With Us (Source: Wonkette)
According to two guys named Andrew D. Basiago and William Stillings, Obama, then known as one “Barry Soetoro,” joined them and seven other young Americans, including the current director of DARPA, in a project that involved teleporting to the Red Planet through a so-called “jump room.” The claim is apparently serious enough that the White House has taken the time to deny it ever happened to Wired magazine’s Spencer Ackerman. Click here. (1/3)

Reader Blames Leaders for Floundering NASA (Source: Florida Today)
David Brown sees the lack of clear purpose in our space program as a lack of leadership. "It both confuses me and breaks my heart that NASA continues to operate like a government bureaucracy without direction," Brown said, noting that NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden not long ago had his leadership team watch a video about the importance of having a sense of purpose.

"In conjunction with the many passionate and skilled people who work at NASA, I was hopeful that they would get back to their roots and put forth a vision that moved both the workers and the public. That lack of clarity about their mission is no small thing and as with many things, politics and self-interests continue to trump a unified sense of purpose for our greater good.

"I should add that it's unfair to single out NASA in this regard, as our political system continues to undermine many a government agency that hasn't lost its way as much as had it yanked from them. I know for a fact that there are many exceptional people at NASA who signed on because they cared about what NASA stood for. I am fortunate to have met a number of leaders at NASA who do care and are trying to make a difference where they can." (1/7)

Editorial: Virgin Galactic's Moving Workers is a Good Sign (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
The countdown continues as Virgin Galactic preps for space tourism flights from Spaceport America that could possibly begin in 2013. The latest positive step has Virgin Galactic relocating some staffers — formerly based in the United Kingdom — to an office off Roadrunner Parkway. While that might not seem like much in the cosmic — dare we say "galactic" — scheme of things, it is an affirmation, if one were still needed, that Virgin Galactic is seriously pressing onward and upward with its plans.

That's important for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that Doña Ana County residents have been supporting the spaceport project through a sales tax. Back in 2007, some people were reluctant to support what they saw as a flight of fancy through sales tax money. But now that possibilities are becoming realities, some are even thinking that progress is too slow. One of them is space enthusiast State Rep. Andy Nuñez, I-Hatch. He said that the state needs to get "going and moving" on the spaceport operations. "I think eventually it will pay off," he said, "but I think things are moving a little (slower) than I want them to be."

We share his eagerness and enthusiasm, but at the same time, enough time must be taken to ensure the spaceport project's safety and success. This is a long-term project that should be around for a long time, evolving and progressing as space-travel technology is refined, improved and expanded. Again, the important point here is that Virgin Galactic is committed to the project. (1/7)

Wanted: Hatch Design for Tycho Space Capsule (Source: WIRED)
I would like to present an opportunity for you all with an open assignment for the Tycho Deep Space capsule hatch. We are currently at a development stage where this hatch design must be decided soon for prototype production the next couple of months. So, if you believe you are up for the task please join the development process of this DIY project. E-mail me your ideas as 2D, 3D, hand sketches (well, anything) using the address in the header. Click here. (1/6)

Sources: United Space Alliance Directed To Stop Pursuing New Business (Source: Space News)
United Space Alliance (USA), the Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture created in 1995 to operate NASA’s now-retired space shuttle, has been barred by its corporate parents from pursuing any new business, according to industry sources. The move raises new questions about the future of the Houston-based company, a major NASA contractor that has struggled to carve out a prominent new role for itself in the post-shuttle era. USA’s current shuttle operations contract is set to expire in September.

“I have been told by folks who work at senior levels directly at USA that they have been told they can’t go after any new [contracts] — that they are basically standing down,” one industry source said. “Does that mean Boeing and Lockheed plan to totally dismantle the company? I can’t go that far, but if you are not allowed to go after any new work, that certainly says something.”

Another industry source said USA was notified of the Boeing-Lockheed Martin decision during a Dec. 6 meeting of the USA advisory board. “If they are in a proposal and a down-select hasn’t occurred, they would be able to fulfill that, if they won, but they couldn’t bid future contract obligations,” this source said. USA was not represented at a twice-yearly chief executive roundtable with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, held Dec. 6 at agency headquarters here, according to attendees. (1/6)

Space a Priority in Leaner U.S. Military (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon will continue to invest in space capabilities even as it pares down its force structure in response to massive budget pressures, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Jan. 5. “As we reduce the overall defense budget, we will protect and in some cases increase our investments in special operations forces, in new technologies like [Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance] and unmanned systems, in space,” Panetta said during a press conference at the Pentagon.

Panetta appeared with President Obama and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to unveil a new strategy under which the nation will rely on a smaller, leaner force structure. The defense budget had grown at “an extraordinary pace” after 2001, Obama said during the press conference. Being able to effectively operate in space was listed among the Defense Department’s priorities in the strategy. (1/6)

Key Chinese Lunar Landing System Good (Source: Aviation Week)
Testing has proved the effectiveness of crucial landing technology for China’s third lunar exploration mission, due to be launched in 2013, says national space contractor CAST. The mission, to be called Chang’e 3, is aimed at making advances in a wide range of technologies, CAST says. It lists them as soft landing, surveying the surface by rover, “survival on the lunar surface,” communications for long-distance monitoring and control, and direct injection into a lunar transfer orbit.

The landing systems that have lately completed their tests have functions such as braking and obstacle avoidance, the manufacturer says. The Chang’e 2 spacecraft, built as a spare for the pioneering Chang’e 1 lunar orbiter but sent on its own mission to the Moon in 2010, is now at the second Lagrangian point conducting observations. CAST’s full name is China Science Aerospace & Technology Corp. It has separate units that build spacecraft and rockets. (1/6)

'No Chance' Secret X-37B Space Plane Spying on China Module (Source: Space.com)
Contrary to rampant speculation, the United States military's secretive X-37B space plane is most likely not spying on a prototype Chinese space module, experts say. A BBC article suggests that the robotic X-37B space plane might be surveilling China's recently launched space laboratory Tiangong 1. As evidence, the article notes apparently striking similarities in the orbits of the two spacecraft.

But in reality, these orbits are quite different, other analysts contend, making it extremely unlikely that the X-37B is keeping an eye on Tiangong 1. "I would go as far as to say, 'no chance,'" said Brian Weeden, a technical adviser with the Secure World Foundation and a former orbital analyst with the U.S. Air Force. "It's not practical." (1/6)

Arianespace Expands, Struggles For Profit (Source: Aviation Week)
Years have ticked by since European launch consortium Arianespace turned a profit. Despite Europe’s economic crisis, the market for commercial satellite communications is strong and conditions for launch providers are generally favorable. Yet the Evry, France-based launch services company continues to rely on government subsidies.

Despite the success of its Ariane 5 rocket, which has not seen a launch failure since 2002, a second consecutive year of losses in 2010 led Arianespace’s government backers to question how a reliable, high-performing rocket could be so costly to build, operate and maintain. The answer, according to a 2011 audit that put the entire Ariane 5 system under a microscope, is politics.

“Building rockets in Europe is more expensive than building them in Russia or China,” says Jean-Yves Le Gall, a reference to the premium European governments pay to ensure geographic return on their investment in the Ariane 5. With the politics of European launch unlikely to change, Le Gall is moving the company in a new direction, diversifying the product line in an effort to yield efficiencies and tripling the number of vehicles available to commercial and government customers. (1/6)

Vega Maiden Launch Could Slip Into February (Source: Flight Global)
European Space Agency launch operator Arianespace plans a busy 2012, with seven Ariane 5 heavy-lift missions and three medium-lift Soyuz flights from ESA's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, along with two Soyuz launches at Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome. The highlight of the year, though, will arguably be the maiden flight of ESA's new light launcher, Vega, but the 26 January launch date set late last year now looks to be uncertain.

Arianespace chief executive Jean-Yves Le Gall said Arianespace and ESA were making ready for the flight, which is now listed on Arianespace's launch planner as "late January-early February". ESA director general Jean Jacques Dordain is likely to announce a flight date as early as Monday 9 January, when he will detail the agency's agenda for the coming year. Dordain will be pressed hard on this point, as Vega cannot move too far beyond 26 January in order to complete the Kourou launch before preparations begin for the next Ariane 5 flight on 9 March. (1/6)

45th Space Wing: Looking Back at 2011 and Forward to 2012 (Source: USAF)
During 2011, we participated in 11 launches off the Eastern Range that not only contributed to our national defense, but also research and space exploration... We also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the launch of the first free human into space, Alan Shepherd, which happened at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on 5 May 1961. One of those who served proudly in space is our 14th Air Force Commander, Lieutenant General Helms. She was acknowledged for her achievements and inducted into the NASA Astronaut Hall of Fame in May.

There are 12 launches scheduled for 2012 on the Eastern Range. Some key missions are the Wideband Global SATCOM satellite (WGS-4) this month, SpaceX's mission to the International Space Station and the first satellite of the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), both in February. Later in the year we'll have the next Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-2) launch as well as two NRO launches (NROL-38 and NROL-15) this summer. We'll also have the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP), GPS IIF-4, OTV-3 and the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-K) later in the year. And folks wonder if the Florida space coast is still in business?! (1/6)

SLS Capability Touted for Europa Lander Capability, Enceladus Sample Return (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
As the Space Launch System (SLS) teams head into their first full year since the vehicle was finally announced, fascinating – albeit well into the future – Exploration Systems Development (ESD) Design Reference Mission (DRM) options for deep space have been outlined in the SLS Concept Of Operations (Con Ops), options which include ambitious missions to the moons of Jupiter and Saturn.

A solidified version of the roadmap for the SLS is expected this year, as much as there had been hoped the details would be forthcoming in the last few months. One of the main challenges is believed to be the long-term funding situation for NASA, which is – as always – under pressure. Such funding constraints on the Agency may even impact on the very configuration of the SLS, although seasoned NASA teams are understood to be providing a level of mitigation by working flexible options on the launch infrastructure. (1/6)

Orbital Continues Preps for Cygnus Flight This Year (Source: Florida Today)
Orbital Sciences Corp. this week released images showing technicians working on the command modules of spacecraft being readied to fly cargo to the Space Station this year. Orbital says it will update the anticipated timing of those flights early next month when it announces quarterly financial results. The most recent schedule shows a maiden flight of the company's Antares rocket (formerly called Taurus II) in the first quarter of this year, followed by a Cygnus demonstration flight to the Space Station in the next quarter.

However, work continues to ready a new launch pad for the missions at Wallops Island, Virginia. Meanwhile, NASA's other commercial cargo partner, SpaceX, is preparing for a Feb. 7 launch from Cape Canaveral of its Dragon spacecraft to the space station. If the demonstration is successful, the first commercial resupply mission could follow within a few months. (1/6)

Editorial: Just One More Special Favor for the New Mexico Spaceport (Source: D Chieftain)
According to Christine Armstrong, executive director of the Spaceport Authority, 500 people are already signed up to fly into space with Virgin Galactic, at a ticket price of $200,000 apiece. A grand visitor center is scheduled to open in 2013. Since the spaceport is several miles from I-25, two welcome centers will be constructed convenient to the highway, and shuttle buses will take visitors from those centers to the spaceport itself. After the current bond issues expire, the facility has a plan to be self-supporting.

New Mexico has to do just one more little thing for the space industry. It’s not quite enough that we built them a spaceport with taxpayer money. The state has to guarantee that their passengers won’t sue them. Or, I should say, their passengers’ heirs, if the passengers — since we’re speaking plainly — get killed on the trip, whether vaporized by a collision with an asteroid or whatever. It’s not the spaceship operators we have to protect. New Mexico has already done that. This next one is for the suppliers to the spaceship operators. (1/7)

New York Lawyer Finally Gets His Space Wish (Source: NY Daily News)
More than 57 years after Peter Schroth wrote to the American Museum of Natural History to reserve a spot on a future space trip, he finally got his wish. Sort of. Schroth's letter was dug up from the institution’s archives. It’s one of hundreds that were rediscovered, scanned and put up online to complement the museum's new space exhibit.

Schroth was living near Buffalo when he wrote the letter just before his eighth birthday in 1954. It was a response to an ad the museum placed in several papers and magazines, asking interested readers to sign up for a trip to the moon, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn with its “interplanetary tour reservation desk.” The museum promised to turn over the submitted names to the first organization planning public trips. Click here. (1/8)

Commercial Space Travel: To Infinity and Beyond, For a Price (Source: Afro)
Imagine out of a tiny porthole in one glance being able to see the continents of Africa, Europe, and North America--at the same time. Imagine being able to cover your eye’s view of the planet Earth with one finger. Imagine being able to see the sun rise 15 times in one day, while completely circling the globe every 80 minutes.

Well, for all those who have been patiently praying to soar through the solar system, 2012 might bring an end to the wait with the first flights for tourists to the International Space Station (ISS). Going for an easy $200,000 a seat, Virgin Galactic, the same company that provides mobile phone service to millions, has already booked over 450 guests who have paid in full to explore the lower portions of the galaxy.

While no official date has been set for the first tourist flight to space, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic have made test flights to space, and are in the final stages of safety reviews. To date, seven civilian non-scientists have visited the suborbital space, all of them, such as American Microsoft software developer Charles Simonyi, paying $20 million dollars to catch flights on Russian crafts. Editor's Note: Way too many errors here. (1/7)

Orion Starts From the Ground Up in Brevard (Source: Florida Today)
NASA will ramp up production at its Orion spacecraft factory at Kennedy Space Center this year, expanding the spaceport's role beyond launch operations to manufacturing vehicles that will carry astronauts into space. In a renovated high bay first erected for the Apollo moon-landing project, the tooling required to build Orion spacecraft is being put in place.

A crew module, other structural elements, and all critical systems will be delivered in the next several months, and the first Orion spacecraft destined for orbit will electrically come to life. “There’s a lot of work to be done over the next year to really put the vehicle together, to get it to that first power-up, and to make sure it’s ready to go,” Scott Wilson, NASA Orion Production Manager at KSC, said Friday. “It’s going to be an exciting year.”

The effort marks a huge first for Florida’s Space Coast. It will be the first time a NASA spacecraft production operation takes place at the launch site rather than a factory elsewhere. NASA spacecraft always have been built in other states; then the finished product would make its way to the Cape for launch. (1/7)

Next Ice Age Delayed For Thousands Of Years Warn Scientists (Source: Space Daily)
Unprecedented levels of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are disrupting normal patterns of glaciation, according to a study co-authored by a University of Florida researcher. The Earth's current warm period that began about 11,000 years ago should give way to another ice age within about 1,500 years, according to accepted astronomical models.

However, current levels of carbon dioxide are trapping too much heat in the atmosphere to allow the Earth to cool as it has in its prehistoric past in response to changes in Earth's orbital pattern. The research team, a collaboration among University College London, University of Cambridge and UF, said their data indicate that the next ice age will likely be delayed by tens of thousands of years. That may sound like good news, but it probably isn't, said Jim Channell, distinguished professor of geology at UF and co-author. (1/9)

SpaceX To Be First To Use Solar Panels On A Manned US Spacecraft (Source: Space Daily)
For its first mission to the International Space Station, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft will use deployable solar arrays as its primary power source for running sensors, driving heating and cooling systems, and communicating with SpaceX's Mission Control Center and the Space Station. Dragon's solar arrays generate up to 5,000 watts of power - enough to power over 80 standard light bulbs.

Past American spacecraft like Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle used fuel cells or battery packs. Fuel cells are limited by the amount of chemical reactants (typically oxygen and hydrogen) that the vehicle can carry. Batteries alone are limiting due to their mass and the amount of power they can carry. Past American spacecraft like Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle used fuel cells or battery packs. Fuel cells are limited by the amount of chemical reactants (typically oxygen and hydrogen) that the vehicle can carry. Batteries alone are limiting due to their mass and the amount of power they can carry. (1/9)

Homans Tapped to Lead Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development (Source: Tampa Bay Business Journal)
Rick Homans, a former New Mexico state government economic development official, is the new chief executive officer and president of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. Homan’s salary is being kept private. Over the past couple months, the EDC has hired project managers in life sciences, business outreach and investor relations.
Homans was New Mexico’s secretary of economic development from 2003 to 2007. In that position he also served as chairman of the New Mexico Space Authority, which oversees a commercial space business project called Spaceport America. (1/6)

XCOR Expects to Fly in 2012 (Source: Parabolic Arc)
By the end of this year, XCOR expects to have a full-scale Lynx assembled and flying. The first flight will be extremely brief, a short hop off the runway, but it will be more than enough. XCOR officials remain optimistic about meeting the deadline of flying this year, although they admit there is a large amount of work to do between now and then. We’ll see. Whenever it takes off, it will be a pretty awesome thing to see. (1/7)

What's Next For Deep Space Crew Vehicle (Source: Aviation Week)
Developing the Orion multi-purpose crew vehicle will generate some smoke and fire fairly soon, even as the work is deliberately slowed to avoid the “unsustainable” cost growth that scuttled NASA’s plans to use it to send astronauts to an outpost on the Moon. Orion is now recast as a multi-destination deep-space crew vehicle with an asteroid tentatively tapped as its first target. The U.S. space agency already has spent more than $5 billion on the capsule, and is on track to run its first orbital flight test early in 2014.

If all goes as planned, a Delta IV heavy rocket will send a high-fidelity test article on a two-orbit mission designed to simulate loads the capsule will encounter returning from the Moon or points beyond, and to exercise techniques for recovering it at sea. That first “Exploration Flight Test” (EFT-1) will be followed by an ascent-abort test similar to the Little Joe tests of the Mercury and Apollo capsules.

Left for a later date will be detailed development of the service module that will fly behind the capsule until shortly before reentry, a task that may see the European Space Agency getting involved (see p. 42). Also on hold are the life-support systems for the crew who will spend up to three weeks in the capsule’s cramped interior on early missions beyond low Earth orbit. (1/6)

Tumlinson: Why Space? (Source: Huffington Post)
As a spokesperson for the Frontier movement, I am often asked: "Why space?" A time back I decided to write the answer in a series of short essays to be filed onto the net as a means of perhaps explaining the somewhat unexplainable -- "Why?" You see, to those of us who see the expansion of humanity and life into space as the next obvious action for our species, answering this one question actually involves answering the biggest question of all: "Why are we here?" Click here. (1/6)

Realistic Expectations for 2012 (Source: Tea Party in Space)
America does not have a sound space policy right now. It doesn't matter what the politicans, ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE, or the Adminstrator say, we are floundering. There is no clear direction from the White House. For the first time since the late 90s we will not be sending missions to Mars in 2016 or 2018 when we have the chance. We are spending more money for projects that have zero chance of coming in on time and on budget while NASA budget is shrunk. It looks kind of gloomy. Click here. (1/7)