May 26 News Items

U.S. Scraps Missile-Defense Test as Target Misfires (Source: Reuters)
The U.S. scrapped on Friday a key test of an emerging missile-defense shield after a dummy missile that was to have been the system's target went astray over the Pacific. "The target did not reach sufficient altitude to be deemed a threat, and so the ballistic missile defense system did not engage it, as designed," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering. The event was officially designated a "no test" when the target, launched from Alaska's Kodiak Island, failed to reach the defended zone. It was a blow to President Bush's multibillion-dollar drive for a layered shield to thwart ballistic missiles from countries like North Korea and Iran that could be tipped with chemical, germ or nuclear warheads.

NASA Done with Oefelein (Source: Florida Today)
The male astronaut involved in the Lisa Nowak love triangle will be shipped back to the Navy, NASA officials said Friday. Shuttle pilot William Oefelein was told Wednesday that his temporary assignment to the space agency ends June 1. "The Navy and NASA mutually agreed to end his detail to NASA," said Kylie Clem, a spokeswoman at Johnson Space Center in Houston. "NASA has determined that his detail is no longer required for the purposes for which it was originally granted."

NASA Looks to Private Sector to Help it Go Lunar (Source: Reuters)
NASA is in the market for commercial relationships and private capital as it gears up for its next manned missions to the moon. "If somebody says 'I have this really great way to be able to extract water ice from lunar regolith (lunar rocks) that I've developed on my own dime' we would be interested," said a NASA official. "If we could be in a commercial relationship with somebody who has the capability that's fine because in many cases they can do it for less money than we can...Maybe at that point there will be commercial exploitation and we won't be sending missions there but some of the commercial companies here will start sending people there," he said.

Armadillo, Orbital Outfitters Could Fly "Spacedivers" from Rocket (Source: MSNBC)
Next year, a modular rocket system developed by Armadillo Aerospace could be used to fly a skydiver, equipped with a parachute as well as an Orbital Outfitters spacesuit, up to an altitude high enough to challenge a 47-year-old skydiving record. Such a feat could usher in a new breed of adventure dubbed spacediving, Armadillo's John Carmack said. Orbital Outfitters' Rick Tumlinson said the spacediving venture would send "adrenaline junkies" up to an altitude of about 120,000 feet, so they can jump into a freefall like no other. "We're going to be there before anybody else goes up into that domain," Tumlinson said. Expect to hear more in the weeks to come.

Armadillo Wins SBIR Award (Source: Armadillo Aerospace)
Armadillo was awarded an Air Force SBIR phase one contract for the design of a modular space launch system. Two SBIR awards were made for similar work, with the other going to XCOR Aerospace. While phase I awards are really just for studies, Armadillo will be generating a lot of flight and operational data from the module work they were already doing. If a phase II contract is awarded, Armadillo would plan to deliver some actual flight vehicles. Experimental flight permits are being sought for launches from Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Astronauts, VIPs Gather at Cape for Shuttle Simulation Ride Debut (Source: ERAU)
KSC's new Shuttle Launch Experience simulator was a huge hit during its grand opening last week, with dozens of current and former astronauts giving their thumbs-up for the realistic ride. The attraction is expected to boost Florida's space tourism industry by thousands of visitors each year.