July 17 News Items

Embry-Riddle Wins ScienceMaster Grant (Source: ERAU)
In partnership with Florida’s Manatee County school district and Nova Southeastern University (NSU), Embry-Riddle has won a new Math & Science Partnership (MSP) grant from the Florida Department of Education to improve K-12 science education. The $2 million ScienceMaster award supports web-based teacher support using the Advanced Learning Environment (ALE), undergraduate single-course scholarships for ERAU and NSU offerings, and 60 full scholarships for teachers to receive Master’s degrees, including a new MS in Space Education degree jointly developed by ERAU and NSU. This award comes on the heels of another multimillion dollar MSP award for Broward County, NSU, and Embry-Riddle to support math instruction for teachers.

SIFT Teacher Presentations Planned July 19 (Source: SIFT)
Teachers participating in the Summer 2007 program of the Summer Industrial Fellowship for Teachers (SIFT) will give presentations on their summer work experiences during a July 19 gathering at the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa. Many of the teachers worked at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport on aerospace projects. They will share at the meeting how they plan to use their experience to enhance their teaching.

China Looking For Military Advantage Over U.S. Space Program (Source: San Francisco Chronicle)
China has traveled light years in its pursuit of the far reaches of space. In recent years, the Chinese National Space Administration has announced bold plans for a permanent space station, moon colony and Mars mission. The nation is rapidly rolling out a massive space-related infrastructure that includes a fourth space launch center, a powerful new line of launch vehicles, a fleet of deepwater space tracking ships, and ground stations established in Chinese client nations across the globe. But as China makes its heavenly ascents, will it be a friend or foe? Premier Wen Jiabao announced in the People's Daily that "we are willing to join hands with people all over the world for peaceful use of space," but the country's actions haven't always reflected that. Visit http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/15/INGU9R0P791.DTL to view the article.

COTS Funds May Shift If RpK Fails (Source: Aerospace Daily)
NASA may shift seed money for private rocket development to another company under its Commercial Orbital Transportation System (COTS) program if Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) can't meet its financial milestones, according to Scott Horowitz, the agency's outgoing exploration systems chief. At a July 13 press conference to discuss his planned Oct. 1 departure from NASA, Horowitz stressed that it is far from certain that RpK won't be able to meet its milestones. The company missed a May 31 deadline to raise $500 million and has asked for more time.

"It's not black and white," Horowitz said. "There are shades of gray -- what if they get 90 percent of the money? What they have to come forward to us with is a viable plan to continue development of the vehicle." RpK's failure could mean shifting it to one or more of the five companies -- Constellation Services International, PlanetSpace Inc., SpaceDev, Spacehab and Transformational Space Corp. -- that have signed unfunded Space Act agreements with NASA to compete for COTS transportation contracts without the benefit of government help in developing their vehicles.

Khrunichev Proposes First Stage Booster Mid-air Recovery (Source: Flight International)
Russia's Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center has developed a system of mid-air retrieval (MAR) for first-stage boosters involving a parafoil with lift devices and a helicopter.The Khrunichev MAR system would be for a 10,000kg (22,000lb) first-stage booster fitted with a parafoil at least 10m (32.7ft) in diameter but no wider than 13m. This is due to aerodynamic needs and mass limitations for the first stage. The parafoil would be fitted with a secondary descent control device that sits in the centre of the canopy, at least a meter above it. The device looks like an enclosed helicopter rotor and provides stability. The MAR helicopter that would retrieve the parafoil and booster would use a three-pronged capture device to connect with the secondary descent control device.

One Giant Leap For Space Fashion - A Skintight Spacesuit (Source: ScientificBlogging.com)
In the 40 years that humans have been traveling into space, the suits they wear have changed very little. The bulky, gas-pressurized outfits give astronauts a bubble of protection, but their significant mass and the pressure itself severely limit mobility. Dava Newman, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics and engineering systems at MIT, wants to change that. Newman is working on a sleek, advanced suit designed to allow superior mobility when humans eventually reach Mars or return to the moon. Her spandex and nylon BioSuit is not your grandfather's spacesuit--think more Spiderman, less John Glenn.

Traditional bulky spacesuits "do not afford the mobility and locomotion capability that astronauts need for partial gravity exploration missions. We really must design for greater mobility and enhanced human and robotic capability," Newman says. The suits could also help astronauts stay fit during the six-month journey to Mars. Studies have shown that astronauts lose up to 40 percent of their muscle strength in space, but the new outfits could be designed to offer varying resistance levels, allowing the astronauts to exercise against the suits during a long flight to Mars. Visit http://www.scientificblogging.com/news/one_giant_leap_for_space_fashion_a_skintight_spacesuit to view the article.

NASA Awards Upper Stage Engine Contract for Ares Rockets (Source: NASA Watch)
NASA has signed a $1.2 billion contract with Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne Inc., of Canoga Park, Calif., for design, development, testing and evaluation of the J-2X engine that will power the upper stages of the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles.