June 29 News Items

Aerojet Demonstrates Advances in Controllable Solid Propulsion (Source: GenCorp)
Aerojet, a GenCorp company and a core propulsion provider for NASA's new space exploration vehicle, ORION, as well as several Missile Defense Agency propulsion programs, recently conducted an internally funded test firing of large-scale controllable solid rocket motors. Controllable solid rocket motors are an advanced propulsion capability that combines the simplicity of using solid propellants with the flexibility normally associated with use of liquid propellants. Aerojet is developing an electromechanical valve control system to provide faster responding, smaller and more reliable controllable solids that can be used on larger scale applications, like ORION.

Why Human Psychology Will Make Sending People to Mars Hard (Source: Economist)
One of the two reviews posted on Amazon.com about Valentin Lebedev's “Diary of a Cosmonaut” calls it a “profound” book “about what it's like to be in a flying tin can for more than half a year”. The other reviewer would “not recommend reading its pages to [his] worst enemy”. He thinks Dr Lebedev's account of months of increasingly territorial behaviour and flagging conversation with his lone colleague on the good ship Salyut 7 is a “painfully boring” portrayal of why human space exploration is as pointless as it is frivolous.

Dr Lebedev's mission would, nevertheless, seem entertaining compared with a trip to Mars. The round trip, including a stay on the surface, would take about 17 months. Which is why it is surprising that within a few days of its being advertised, more than 3,000 people have applied to take part in an experiment planned by Russian and European agencies to simulate such an outing. Much like “Big Brother” contestants, the three groups of six who will be locked into simulation modules in Moscow will be ordered to complete tasks while others observe their behaviour. Those tasks have yet to be decided. But a pretend take-off, an exploration of a fake Martian surface and dealing with fictitious media headlines are on the cards. The pretend cosmonauts will have to speak fluent Russian and English and keep track of nearly two years' rations. Visit http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9401568to view the article.

Mars Rover to Make Risky Crater Descent (Source: AP)
NASA's aging but durable Mars rover Opportunity will make what could be a trip of no return into a deep impact crater in an attempt to peer further back than ever before into the geologic history of the Red Planet. The descent into Victoria Crater received the go-ahead because the potential scientific returns are worth the risk that the solar-powered, six-wheel rover might not be able to climb back out and would be forced to end its days there. The rover has been roaming the surface for nearly 3 1/2 Earth years, so scientists want to send it in while it still appears healthy and before the inevitable breakdown of vital parts that would certainly trap it there.

"This crater, Victoria, is a window back into the ancient environment of Mars," said a NASA official. Blasted open by a meteor impact, Victoria Crater is a half-mile across and about 200 to 230 feet deep — far deeper than anything else the rovers have explored. "Because it's deeper it provides us access to just a much longer span of time," said Steve Squyres, the principal investigator of the Mars Exploration Rover mission from Cornell University

NASA Spending Bill Headed for Senate Vote (Source: Space News)
A spending bill including $17.45 billion for NASA cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee June 28.

Lawmakers, NASA Spar over Earth Science Budget (Source: Space News)
A top NASA official told a House panel June 28 that the agency's budget for Earth science is adequate, but another witness, along with a key Democratic lawmaker, begged to differ.

Northrop Grumman Seeks Teacher Applications for Weightless Flights Program (Source: Northrop Grumman)
Northrop Grumman continues to accept applications from math and science teachers at accredited middle schools, as well as college students studying to become teachers, for its foundation-sponsored Weightless Flights of Discovery program. The program includes zero-gravity aircraft flights and hands-on
workshops in eight locations around the country: Baltimore; Bethpage, N.Y.; Colorado Springs; Dallas; Los Angeles; New Orleans; and Washington DC. Flights currently are planned for late summer and autumn this year. To obtain an application visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/community/weightless.html

Aerospace States Support NASA Budget Increase (Source: ASA)
Lieutenant Governors and delegates from states represented in the Aerospace States Association (ASA) earlier this year passed a resolution encouraging Congress to add $1 billion to NASA's budget for FY-08. They also recommended that Congress set NASA's budget at an annual level of not less than one percent of the overall federal budget. Visit http://www.aiaa.org/pdf/public/NASA_Sciences_Funding_Letter_House.pdf to view the resolution.

House Subcommittee Evaluates NASA's Earth Science Programs (Source: House Science Committee)
The Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics heard from a panel of expert witnesses who discussed NASA's FY08 budget request and plans for the agency’s Earth science programs. At the hearing, Space and Aeronautics Ranking Member Tom Feeney (R-FL) made the following statement: “Today’s hearing on NASA’s Earth Sciences and Applications programs, and the FY08 budget request, gives our Committee an opportunity to review NASA’s management of – and rationale for – its current array of Earth-observing missions, and an opportunity to understand how the agency will incorporate the recommendations of the Earth Sciences Decadal Survey into its future plans."

“NASA’s Earth Sciences program is one of that agency’s unsung achievements. When discussing NASA, our nation’s collective attention is often focused on human spaceflight, or stunning images returned from distant planets and orbiting observatories. But rarely does the national press carry front-page stories or images taken from NASA’s Earth-observing satellites, except perhaps, during hurricane season. Having said that, most of the weather and climate prediction tools used daily by forecasters is often a direct product of NASA-sponsored research. And a good portion of climate change research is also made possible by data taken from NASA-developed sensors, satellites, and sophisticated research and analysis products."

Technical Societies Call for Increase to NASA Budget (Source: PRNewswire)
Leaders from 11 professional science and engineering societies called on Congress today to boost NASA's fiscal year 2008 budget or risk losing the nation's scientific and engineering primacy. In a letter, the group asked Congress to support an increase to NASA's FY08 budget of $1.4 billion for aerospace research and technology. The budget is currently under review on Capitol Hill. The signatories represent the thousands of scientists committed to keeping the United States competitive in science and engineering research and development. The letter states, "... we know first-hand that our colleagues continue their work despite the interrelated and disturbing trends of reduced federal research funding, a shrinking workforce in the science and engineering disciplines, and a calamitous decrease in the number of students choosing to carry on this commitment in the future."

The letter agrees with the National Academy of Sciences finding that NASA is "being asked to accomplish too much with too little." NASA does not have the resources to support the space exploration-related programs while maintaining critical space science, earth science, and life and physical science programs. To view a copy of the letter, visit http://www.aiaa.org/pdf/public/NASA_Sciences_Funding_Letter_House.pdf.