June 4 News Items

South Korea's Space Program to Blast Off as Space Center Nears Completion (Source: Yonhap News)
South Korea's ambitious space program is expected to receive a critical boost as the country's first space center nears completion. The country is building Naro Space Center on 4.95 million square meters of land on Naro Island in Goheung, about 485 kilometers south of Seoul. The $323 million center, scheduled for completion in 2008, will have a launch pad that can be used to send four rockets a year into space, a main control center, a radar tracking station as well as rocket assembly and booster test facilities. Click here to view a graphic of the facility.

Space Elevator Business Plan Crashes to Earth (Source: The Register)
Today we bring you the surprising news that space elevators are not yet a viable business concern, as the state of Washington issued a cease and desist order against LiftPort. The LiftPort Group (motto: Change the world or go home) was founded in 2003 with the specific goal of building a space elevator; a common piece of equipment in science fiction universes that is proving more difficult to construct in the real world. Such an elevator would lift payloads to space using a long, extremely strong cable suspended from a geostationary satellite. This would be far cheaper than fighting our way into space on rockets, and could potentially transform the way we could explore and exploit our solar system.

But turning the idea into reality is proving tough for LiftPort. The firm's founder, Michael Laine, told The Space Show that he wasn't sure the firm's new venture "Tethered Towers" could survive on its own as a going concern, but that it would be unethical for him to ask for more cash from his investors. Regulators say the company raised at least $117,000 from at least 85 investors, nine of whom are Washington residents, by offering and selling unregistered securities in LiftPort, Inc. The state alleged that the sellers acted as unregistered broker-dealers and/or securities salespersons.

What this all means, according to SpaceElevator.com, is that after four years of research and development, LiftPort and Tethered Towers have until September this year to start generating revenues of $25,000 per month, or it will be time to go home.

Moon and Mars Program Costs Estimated at $500 Billion (Source: Flight International)
A 25-year manned Moon and Mars program could cost around $500 billion, according to the chairman of the European Space Agency exploration directorate's senior advisory committee. Speaking at the third workshop on international cooperation for sustainable exploration, advisory committee chairman Gerhard Haerendel says international cooperation is needed because of the cost. "My personal evaluation of the costs of a combined Moon and Mars exploration program is $540 billion. I got some support for this by an unofficial quotation of a study, supposedly by the Aerospace Corporation, which estimated costs of $500 billion," says Haerendel.

He believes it is not premature to openly discuss such large costs and that, by describing exploration as a global enterprise for all mankind, even an expensive programme could gain support. As part of this joint exploration effort, Haerendel has advocated an international quarantine facility for samples of Mars soil brought back by ESA's proposed international Mars Sample Return mission in the 2020s.

United Space Alliance Statement Regarding IAM Contract Rejection (Source: USA)
According to information received from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, On Saturday, June 2, union members rejected United Space Alliance's final offer for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement. We are surprised and disappointed that IAM members did not ratify the offered contract proposal. The final offer was fair, competitive and responsive in every area. We hope that IAM members will reconsider their position. However, if a strike does occur, USA is prepared to continue activities to safely prepare the Space Shuttle vehicles for upcoming launches by using other experienced and certified employees to perform all necessary tasks.

Take Off and Nuke the Site From Orbit (It's the Only Way To Be Sure...) (Source: Space Review)
At the beginning of the Space Age the US military worked with aerospace companies to study the concept of establishing a lunar base for military purposes. Dwayne Day uses newly-available records to review those efforts and their influence beyond the long-abandoned lunar base concepts. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/882/1 to view the article.

Significance of the ISS National Laboratory Report (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
One major issue with the eventual successful utilization of the ISS is access in a post-Shuttle era. But that is nothing new, and is true irrespective of the National Laboratory designation. That is an issue for another paper, but one of the 'spinoff' benefits of the Laboratory designation is to both underscore the reason that resolving that issue is crucial and to provide additional incentive for the US government (not just NASA) and its potential commercial partners to do so.

So what is new in this report that suggests it is more significant than it may first appear? A) A renewed effort to identify potential end-users in the context of a new operating concept. B) NASA viewing itself as a 'steward' of a national asset. C) Active solicitation and cooperative agreements in work with other agencies to coordinate development - and funding - for ISS-focused research activity. D) Directly - and immediately - implementing a program of educational utilization of the space station. E) Statement of the possibility of using heretofore 'demanifested' hardware and facilities - again assuming transportation can be made available - to be launched to ISS and put to use. F) Stating as an actual objective the use of the four-year period after completion in 2010 to 2014 as a period of time to demonstrate the value of a Service Life Extension of the ISS - beyond 2016!

Ares Spacecraft Contract Propels New Michoud Era (Source: New Orleans City Business)
The countdown is on as two teams compete for a nearly $1 billion contract to build NASA’s new flagship spacecraft — the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle. The teams submitted cost estimates in April and await NASA’s decision in late August. NASA’s Michoud Operations facility in New Orleans is already on board and will play a pivotal role in the Ares I development. “No matter who wins as the prime contractor for the (Ares I Upper Stage) vehicles, (they) will be built at Michoud,” said Michoud Chief Operating Officer Patrick Scheuermann.

Two out-of-state teams, one of which includes Michoud operator Lockheed Martin Corp., are bidding on NASA’s contract for the Ares I Upper Stage, with an estimated worth approaching $900 million. The spinoff economic impact should be significant as both teams will select small, local businesses to supply parts for the vehicle. Team Ares, one team bidding for the contract, consists of Alliant Techsystems, Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. The other team is led by Boeing and its suppliers: Hamilton Sundstrand; Moog Inc.; Northrop Grumman Corp.; Orion Propulsion Inc.; Summa Technology; United Space Alliance, and United Launch Alliance.

Space Mission to Ask: Anybody Out There? (Source: Denver Post)
Scientists have discovered more than 230 planets circling stars other than the sun, but most of those worlds have turned out to be huge gas balls like Jupiter. For those of us living on such a different planet - a small, rocky place, rich in water - it's difficult to imagine life on a hot Jupiter. So, Boulder engineers are building NASA's next-generation planet hunter: a $559 million space observatory that will search 170,000 stars for Earthlike planets - places that might harbor life as we know it. "We'll look for habitable planets, places where liquid water can exist on an Earth-sized planet," said Monte Henderson, Kepler project manager at Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. in Boulder. "I think they're going to see more hits than they're going to be able to count," said Chris McKay, a NASA astrobiologist who specializes in the search for life on other planets.