June 27 News Items

Senate Panel Boosts NASA Funding (Source: Space News)
A U.S. Senate panel has recommended providing $17.45 billion for NASA next year, or about $150 million more than the White House requested.

UF Part of New BioEnergy Research Center (Source: SSTI)
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will invest up to $375 million over five years in three new Bioenergy Research Centers, one of which includes the University of Florida as a partner. The centers' research will emphasize understanding how to reengineer biological processes to develop new, more efficient methods for converting the cellulose in plant material into ethanol or other biofuels that serve as a substitute for gasoline. DOE believes this research is critical because future biofuels production will require the use of feedstocks more diverse than corn, including cellulosic material such as agricultural residues, grasses, poplar trees, inedible plants, and nonedible portions of crops. UF is a partner in the the Wisconsin-based Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center

GenCorp Reports 2007 Second Quarter Results (Source: GenCorp)
GenCorp reported that sales from continuing operations for the second quarter 2007 totaled $192.3 million, 15% above the $167.2 million for the second quarter 2006. Sales for the first half of 2007 were $343.1 million compared to $295.5 million for the first half of 2006, an increase of 16%. Sales increases in 2007 reflect growth in the Company's Aerospace and Defense business. Net income for the second quarter 2007 was $12.5 million, compared to a net loss of $7.3 million for the second quarter 2006.

Russia, China Sign Deal to Jointly Explore Mars, Phobos (Source: RIA Novosti)
The Russian and Chinese space agencies signed a deal in Moscow on joint exploration of Mars and its satellite Phobos. The deal between Russia's Federal Space Agency and Chinese National Space Administration is a follow-up of a general agreement for Sino-Russian space cooperation signed in August 2006. China is expected to contribute several critical parts for the Russian Fobos-Grunt rover, which is currently under construction.

First African-American Spacewalker to Visit UCF Science Camp (Source: UCF)
Bernard Harris, the first African-American to walk in space, will address about 50 middle school students attending a science camp that bears his name Thursday, June 28, at the University of Central Florida. Harris will attend the Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp from 1 to 4 p.m. in room 202 of the Chemistry Building on UCF’s main campus. He will speak with the students and watch as they participate in a raft-building competition. The two-week camp, which concludes Thursday, focuses on forensics. Students are analyzing fingerprints, footprints and DNA and taking classes in chemistry, biology, physics and communication. The classes are taught by middle and high school teachers.

Harris Protests NMT Award to Raytheon (Source: Space News)
Harris Corp. of Melbourne, Florida, has protested the U.S. Navy's award of a billion-dollar contract to Raytheon to build a new line of shipboard satellite communications terminals.

ESA Awards Future Launcher Contracts (Source: Space News)
NGL Prime S.p.A., a joint venture of Astrium Space Transportation and Finmeccanica, has signed contracts with the European Space Agency (ESA) to study next-generation rockets and to design a vehicle for launch in 2010 to test reusable rocket materials, the company announced June 26.

Panel to Guide NM Spaceport Tax Revenues for Schools (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
A panel that will help decide how to spend part of the revenue collected through a Doña Ana County spaceport sales tax will be made up of members from local school districts, New Mexico State University, the aerospace industry, the County Commission and the public, county commissioners decided. An estimated $1.6 million in sales tax revenue will be collected next year to fund spaceport-related projects in area schools. The tax, narrowly approved by voters in April, will also will fund construction of Spaceport America, located about 45 miles north of Las Cruces.

Asteroid Mission Planned for July Launch at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: SpaceToday.net)
NASA is pressing ahead with plans to launch a spacecraft to the asteroid belt next month despite technical problems that could delay the launch until this fall. The Dawn mission is scheduled for launch on July 7 on a Delta 2 rocket. The launch has already been delayed a week because of a faulty crane at the launch site used to assemble the launcher; workers have also encountered mechanical problems with some vehicle components. If NASA can't launch the spacecraft by July 11 the launch would be delayed until September, at a cost of $25 million, to avoid delaying the August launch of the Phoenix mission to Mars. Dawn is a Discovery-class mission that will visit two of the largest asteroids in the main belt, Ceres and Vesta.

NASA Announces Constellation Management Changes in Florida (Source: NASA)
Kennedy Space Center Director Bill Parsons recently announced the appointment of John J. "Tip" Talone Jr. to the new position of associate program manager of the Constellation Program at the center. Philip E. "Pepper" Phillips will replace Talone as the director of the Constellation Project Office. In his new position, Talone will continue reporting directly to the center director and the Constellation Program manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, acting as a liaison between Parsons and the program. Talone will ensure technical and operational issues are identified and resolved, represent the Constellation Program and KSC to external entities, and provide program insight into NASA and contractor activities throughout the development cycle of the program.

Committee Chairmen React to ISS National Laboratory Report (Source: House SCience Committee)
House Science Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) and Space Subcommittee Chairman Mark Udall (D-CO) issued the following reactions to NASA’s Report to Congress on the ISS "National Laboratory" initiative: Chairman Gordon: “The nation has invested a great deal in the development of the International Space Station, and it clearly is in America’s interest that we get a meaningful return on our investment in this unique and potentially highly productive orbital facility. Thus, we need to make sure that NASA commits the resources and attention required to effectively utilize the ISS in the years ahead. Beyond that, I want to encourage NASA to continue to pursue arrangements that will permit other federal agencies, as well as the private sector, to make good use of the ISS. The ISS National Laboratory report delivered to Congress should be considered just the first step in that effort.”

Chairman Udall: “The International Space Station has the potential to benefit both NASA’s future exploration missions as well as to help address terrestrial needs. However, realizing that potential will require NASA’s commitment to ensuring that the ISS is adequately maintained, supported, and utilized once it has been assembled. It will also require NASA to reach out to other potential users and to work with them in ways that enable the public and private sectors to make cost-effective, productive use of the Station. NASA’s ISS National Laboratory report indicates that there are some promising opportunities on the latter front, and we will be following NASA’s progress closely in the months ahead.”

Martinez Pledges to Keep Fighting for Space Program in Congress (Source: Florida Today)
U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) pledged to help minimize the time between the end of NASA's shuttle program and the first flights of new Apollo-style spacecraft. In a news conference after meeting with Kennedy Space Center officials, Martinez said a gap longer than the five-year hiatus now envisioned would be devastating to the state of Florida. "The economic impact that (KSC) has on the region's economy -- ... all of Florida -- would be dramatic. It would be stark," said Martinez, R-Orlando. "And so what we need to do is make sure that we continue to be there and fight for the program...to ensure that the worst-case scenario doesn't happen. We don't want to get there."

RS&H Tapped to Design Emergency Egress System for Orion (Source: Orlando Business Journal)
Reynolds, Smith and Hills (RS&H) has been selected by NASA to design the emergency egress system for the next-generation Orion space exploration vehicle that is expected to launch in 2014 from the Kennedy Space Center. The new escape system will allow astronauts to travel safely across the launch tower and quickly enter into tram cars, then be whisked down a track to safety, much like a souped-up roller coaster. The Jacksonville-based firm -- which has offices near KSC -- already has designed the new lightning protection system for Orion at Launch Pad 39 and is completing the design for its new mobile launcher.