July 27 News Items

Spacehab Ready For Last Mission (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Spacehab is preparing to close the hatch on its shuttle research and cargo carrier enterprise fourteen years after its first pressurized module flew into space on an orbiter while the company begins their strategic journey into space-based microgravity processing. The company provided its first space-rated travel trailer of sorts to NASA in 1993. Later, the design would come in especially handy for missions to the Mir space station and during the construction and outfitting of the International Space Station.

NASA could still enlist a pressurized Spacehab module for a shuttle supply run in the future, but the flight manifest currently leaves that task to the Italian-built multi-purpose logistics modules. The modules are built to attach directly to the space station during a shuttle mission, but still come back with the orbiter. A module from Spacehab remains in the cargo bay during the entire flight. For now, Spacehab is keeping its two modules certified for flight until the shuttles retire in 2010.

Raytheon Announces Quarterly Profits (Source: San Diego Union Tribune)
Raytheon reported a sharply higher second-quarter profit on the sale of its aircraft unit as well as streamlined operations, and became the fourth defense contractor this week to raise its earnings expectations for the full year. Raytheon's profit and revenue beat Wall Street expectations even without the company's $986 million gain from the sale of the former Raytheon Aircraft Co. The world's fifth-largest defense contractor earned nearly $1.34 billion, more than four times the net income of $310 million reported in last year's second quarter. Raytheon reported net income of $356 million, a 29 percent increase from Raytheon's continuing operations profit of $276 million in the year-ago quarter. Raytheon's revenue rose 9 percent to $5.42 billion in the latest quarter, up from $4.97 billion a year ago.

E’Primed and Ready to Launch (Source: Satellite Finance)
Following a change of ownership and a subsequent change in strategy, US-based launch provider E’Prime Aerospace is setting its sights on the commercial market and plans to take a significant market share of the launch industry by 2010. Darron Purifoy, vice president Government Affairs, said: “2010 is what we are trying to shoot for, although this is a conservative estimate as we know we can launch before.” Barry McFarland, chief financial officer of E’Prime, added that the company’s business plan was to initially focus on launching lighter weight satellites. E’Prime’s Eagle Series Launch Vehicles can launch both LEO and GEO spacecraft, while the company claims its Eagle S-VII will be the most powerful launch vehicle in the world, with the capability of launching extremely heavy payloads, such as the International Space Station.

Enterprise Florida Invites Florida Companies to Defense Trade Conference (Source: EFI)
Enterprise Florida invites the Florida Defense Community to participate in DSEi , Defence Systems & Equipment International, held September 11-14, 2007 at the ExCeL Centre in London. DSEi is the world’s largest fully integrated international defense exhibition bringing together senior international visitors and VIP military decision makers in an optimal business environment. Please call Ken Cooksey at 850-298-6632 for information. Commitments are required by Aug. 1.

House Approves NASA Budget (Source: SpaceToday.net)
The House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill Thursday that includes $17.6 billion for NASA in fiscal year 2008. The full House passed the Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations bill on Thursday on a 281-142 vote. During the floor debate on the bill the House did not make any changes to funding for NASA, leaving the agency funded at approximately $17.6 billion, about $300 million more than what the Bush Administration requested for the agency. The full Senate has yet to act on its version of the NASA budget; the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill with about $150 million less for NASA, and with a different distribution of funds among various programs.

House Reallocates Air Force Space Budgets (Source: Aviation Week)
The House Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal 2008 defense spending bill July 25 containing cuts for two Air Force space programs - the Alternative Infrared Satellite System (AIRSS) and the Global Positioning System (GPS) III. AIRSS will have its funding reduced to $75 million, a $155 million reduction from the original request. Additionally, the HAC recommended GPS III's budget be reduced by $80 million to $507 million. The Air Force recently released its request for proposals (RFP) for the system, with the selection of a single contractor to be made by the end of this year.

Space Situational Awareness Systems received a $9 million plus-up to $197 million, while Operationally Responsive Space received a $20 million boost, bringing it to $107 million. Additionally, Space Control Technology gains $25 million in funding under the bill, raising its budget to $62 million. The addition of funds to Operationally Responsive Space was due in part to China's recent successful launch of its anti-satellite weapon in January, appropriators said. Six million of the $20 million increase will be devoted to classified programs. The committee provided $186 million to the Air Force for the Space Radar program - the same as its fiscal 2007 spending level - despite the fact that the service requested no FY '08 funding for the program in anticipation of transferring it to the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

House Supports Improvements to Range Technology (Source: Aviation Week)
Faced with what it sees as a lackluster response by the Air Force regarding Ballistic Missile Range Safety Technology (BMRST), the House Appropriations Committee urged the DOD's Executive Agent for Space to continue to "pursue [BMRST] and any other [opportunity] that will provide the Nation with minimal and adaptable launch infrastructure requirements, mobile range options, and launch-on-demand capabilities that fully leverage GPS metric tracking and integrated communications relays." Twenty million dollars will be added to the request for $15 million in PE 605860F, Rocket Systems Launch Program, although funding is not specifically included for the BMRST program.

Iridium Adds Revenues, Subscribers During Second Quarter (Source: Space News)
Satellite-telephone service provider Iridium on July 27 reported an 11 percent increase in subscribers for the three months ending June 30, suggesting that the company has not yet been able to fully capitalize on the perceived weakness of its principal competitor, Globalstar Inc.

Space Shuttle Launch to Go Ahead as Planned (Source: RIA Novosti)
The launch of space shuttle Endeavour to the International Space Station (ISS) will go ahead as scheduled on August 7, and will not be delayed due to earlier reported sabotage. NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier said Thursday an employee from a NASA subcontractor had deliberately cut wires in a computer, which was due to be delivered by Endeavour to the $100 billion ISS. The damaged computer was intended for use in data transmission from various ISS onboard sensors, for instance from solar batteries and accelerometers. An expert said that the damage would not have posed a threat to the ISS crew's safety, adding that he was certain the equipment would be fixed before the scheduled launch of the space shuttle.

Dark Days for NASA (Source: Nature.com)
Space agency hit by claims of theft, sabotage and drunkenness. NASA's reputation took a battering this week as the space agency's staff faced a range of misconduct allegations, including allowing astronauts to fly when drunk, the deliberate sabotage of a computer for a forthcoming shuttle flight, and failing to stop the loss of equipment worth nearly $100 million.

Shuttle Computer System Sabotaged, Mission Launch Not Impacted (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
A computer due to be installed on Endeavour for an August mission was found sabotaged. "One of our subcontractors noticed that a network box for the shuttle had appeared to be tampered with," said a NASA spokeswoman. "It is intentional damage to hardware." Endeavour is due to be launched on August 7. The workers who discovered the damage to the computer equipment intended for Endeavour notified NASA "several days ago. There is an ongoing investigation."

"The tampering occurred at a subcontractor's facility and not while the unit was at the Kennedy Space Center," NASA's Cape Canaveral base, Trinidad said of the damage to the Endeavour equipment. She gave no details of who the subcontractors were nor exactly where the damage was. Visit http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Shuttle_Computer_System_Sabotaged_Mission_Launch_Not_Impacted_999.html to view the article.

Rocket Explosion Kills Three At Mojave In California (Sources: SpaceDaily.com, KNBC)
A rocket exploded Thursday at the Mojave Air and Space Port in the California desert, killing three people and seriously injuring three others, firefighters said. "There are two confirmed fatalities and four seriously injured," said a fire department spokesman...What exploded was a rocket," said a firefighter. The Mojave facility is the site of the aerospace companies like Scaled Composites and XCOR Aerospace.

Wreckage of equipment and vehicles could be seen in a helicopter news broadcast. KNBC reported that the accident involved tanks of nitrous oxide during a rocket test. Scaled Composites uses nitrous oxide as an oxidizer in its rockets, which are tested at the airport. An oxidizer provides the oxygen that rocket fuel needs to burn. Scaled's Web site notes that "temperatures and pressures must be carefully controlled" during oxidizer transfers.

Aerospace and defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. recently agreed to acquire Scaled Composites. The deal is awaiting regulatory approval and should close next month. Scaled Composites has been developing SpaceShipTwo for entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, who plans to offer $200,000 rides into space for tourists.