May 29 News Items

Delta II's Fate Worries Nonmilitary Users (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Uncertainty over the fate of Boeing Co.'s Delta II rocket has some satellite operators and research scientists increasingly worried about losing an affordable and dependable means of launching their hardware into space. The Delta II has been a workhorse of the U.S. space program, which has depended on the rocket and its forerunners since 1960. But military brass, confronting mounting war expenses and cuts in space budgets, have decided they can't afford to continue to help underwrite three Delta II launch pads, associated personnel and other fixed costs. NASA also seems unable to shoulder the costs as it focuses on larger vehicles required for Moon and Mars missions, and new commercial vehicles that have been proposed for commercial transport to the Space Station.

Cracked Launch Pad on the Mend (Source: Florida Today)
The 23rd and last defense satellite of its kind is back on schedule for a mid-August launch, after damage to Launch Complex 37 delayed the launch. Carried to a 23,000-mile orbit on a Delta IV Heavy rocket, DSP-23 will be the last of a series of spacecraft first launched in 1970. The DSP satellites help detect missile or spacecraft launches and nuclear explosions using sensors that record infrared emissions from these intense sources of heat. During Desert Storm, the satellite system marked the launches of Iraqi Scud missiles and provided warnings to civilians and military forces in Israel and Saudi Arabia. The launch, originally scheduled for March, was delayed when two structural cracks were found on the pad after a liquid oxygen leak during a countdown test.

Final Push to Launch Countdown Under Way (Source: Florida Today)
NASA is stepping through final launch countdown prepartions at Kennedy Space Center this week as the agency positions itself for the planned launch next week of shuttle Atlantis on an International Space Station assembly mission. Technicians with United Space Alliance are finishing up work in the shuttle's rear engine compartment at launch pad 39A, where Atlantis is being readied for a 7:38 p.m. June 8 liftoff.

28 Newfound Planets in Milky Way Spur Hunt for Earth Look-Alikes (Source: SFgate.com)
All of a sudden the Milky Way is filling up with far-off solar systems never seen before -- more and more planets of all shapes and sizes, wheeling in orbits around their own sunlike stars. Astronomers on teams from UC Berkeley and Australia reported the discovery of 28 new planets all at once on Monday, and their leader -- working through the night all this week at the world's biggest telescope in Hawaii -- is now on the hunt for rocky planets that might resemble Earth.

"An overarching question now is whether our own solar system is really alone," said Geoffrey Marcy, the Berkeley astronomer whose team has led in the discovery of what are now widely known as "exoplanets." Marcy and many of his colleagues are in Honolulu for a meeting of the American Astronomical Society, and in telephone interviews and e-mails he said he and Katie Peek, 26, a Berkeley graduate student, are scanning 70 more stars right now to seek still more of the increasingly common objects.

Norway's Hybrid Test Rocket Takes to Skies (Source: Flight International)
Norwegian company Nammo Raufoss has launched a 10m (33ft)-long hybrid test rocket from the Andoya range in Norway. The launch is the outcome of a research program undertaken in conjunction with Lockheed Martin, which produced the solid rocket motor. The solid fuel was burned with a liquid oxygen in the hybrid rocket. The company's hybrid sounding rocket work has links with the European Space Agency, but there is also Norwegian government involvement in the project.

Red Dwarf Systems Could Harbour Life (Source: Nature)
The most common type of star in the Galaxy may be more hospitable to life than was previously believed, say astronomers who have calculated how much radiation planets orbiting such stars would receive. Red dwarfs — cool, low-mass stars — make up more than 75% of the stars in the Milky Way. So far, ten planets have been found around red dwarfs, including one announced on 24 April that appears to be on the edge of a 'habitable zone', the region around a star thought to be capable of supporting life. Many astronomers are skeptical that life could survive around red dwarfs. Because the stars are cooler than, say, our Sun, their habitable zones lie much closer to the star. That means that planets in the zone could be exposed to damaging levels of ultraviolet and X-ray radiation. But life might be able to stand the radiation — if the planet was like Earth.

When Courting Capital, New Space Companies Should Stress Competence Over Coolness (Source: Ad Astra)
As the International Space Development Conference (ISDC) wound down Sunday, business practices were on the mind of many speakers. "There's too much reliance on the 'coolness factor'," according to a firm that specializes in due-diligence investigations for venture capitalists. Instead, entrepreneurs need to concentrate on knowing what they are trying to do and solve specific problems, from providing lunar oxygen to future exploration missions to building solar power satellites to approaching venture capitalists.

One of the biggest challenges for due diligence investigators is the lies people tell in their business plans, from claiming that a larger company is about to make a purchase to "Some other group is interested in us." Space businesses can kill deals with venture capitalists in other ways, like using bogus or questionable market studies, claiming one's management team is experienced despite lack of past performance, or assuming that one's company position is unassailable because it has patented intellectual property. "Mention patents once, and leave it alone. If there's a dispute with a larger company, they have deeper pockets," meaning they can fight legal battles longer. Visit http://www.space.com/adastra/070529_isdc_business.html to view the article.

Bratwurst and Cheeseheads and… Rocket Ships? (Source: Space Review)
For people familiar with Sheboygan, Wisconsin, space launches are not the first thing that comes to mind. In America’s Dairyland, the Sheboygan area is known for great bratwurst, quality plumbing fixtures, world-class golf courses, and a beautiful shoreline and harbor on Lake Michigan. Neither the city of Sheboygan nor the state of Wisconsin, with the possible exception of the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh, are known for being a hotbed of aerospace activity. So why would Sheboygan become a site for suborbital tourist flights? Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/876/1 to view the article.