July 6 News Items

Radyne to Acquire AeroAstro (Source: Radyne)
Radyne Corp. will acquire AeroAstro, Inc., for approximately $17.25 million in cash, $750,000 in stock, and assumption of $500,000 in AeroAstro debt. AeroAstro develops satellites and related technologies. Most recently, an AeroAstro's STPSat-1 satellite was launched as a secondary payload onboard an Atlas V rocket. AeroAstro also developed and operates the Sensor Enabled Notification System (SENS), which provides satellite-based low data rate communications and asset tracking. Virginia-based AeroAstro had 2006 revenues of about $12.4 million. Radyne intends to operate AeroAstro as a subsidiary with its existing management and infrastructure.

NASA's Terra Satellite Moved to Avoid Chinese A-Sat Debris (Source: Space News)
Flight controllers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., had to maneuver the Terra environmental spacecraft in late June to avoid orbital debris created by a Chinese anti-satellite (A-Sat) weapon test early this year.

Woman Makes Safe Launches Her Mission (Source: Florida Today)
A tightly knit team of engineers aims to fuel up a Delta 2 rocket this weekend and loft a NASA spacecraft to the asteroid belt. With countdown clocks ticking, they will march crisply through a detailed script that serves as a step-by-step instruction book on how to safely launch a potentially explosive rocket. The author? Merritt Island grandmother Rosie Carver, 60, a steely-eyed missile worker with 42 years experience at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. Carver develops the strict procedures engineers must follow from the time Delta stages arrive at the Cape until after liftoff.

Russians Still Troubleshooting ISS Computers - Other Issues Identified (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Russian engineers are continuing to troubleshoot their computer systems onboard the International Space Station (ISS), and they discovered a new issue, this time with the KURS system. A KURS/thruster test has now been added to the ISS schedule for July 21. Also now confirmed is the jettison of the Early Ammonia Servicer (EAS) tank - which now won't be returned to Earth for re-fuelling. The EAS consists of two nitrogen tanks that provide compressed gaseous nitrogen to pressurize the ammonia tank and replenish it, as needed, in the thermal control subsystems of the Station.

'07 Space Trips Off to Slow Start (Source: Florida Today)
A lower-than-expected number of rockets and shuttles flew from the spaceport the first half of 2007. When the year began, planners penciled in 20 launches from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. So far, four of the eight missions slated have blasted off. The other four are waiting. At least 10 total launches remain on the 2007 calendar. There's no single reason for the fewer launches: Varying, unrelated woes -- most outside launch teams' control -- conspired to keep rockets on the ground. Thursday provided an example. Lightning stopped work at the Delta 2 complex, forcing NASA to delay from Saturday to Sunday the launch of a mission to an asteroid belt.

Melnick - Flying in Space to Fly Fishing (Source: St. Petersburg Times)
Former shuttle astronaut and world-class angler Bruce Melnick remembers the good old days when he used to work as a deckhand on charter boats that ran out of Clearwater. "Back then, we could run out to 45 feet of water and fill the coolers full of grouper, " he said. "The fishing was that good." But now, 50 years later, Melnick has noticed a sea change when it comes to Florida's fisheries.

"I think there are too many people catching too many fish, " he said. "For years now, I have been a big proponent of catch and release, especially when it comes to tournaments. I think that is the only way our kids are going to have fish to catch tomorrow." This weekend, the 57-year-old from Inglis will be one of 28 fly- and light-tackle anglers coming from as far away as Africa and Australia to fish in the seventh annual International Game Fish Association Inshore World Championship at Islamorada.

NASA Signs $46 Million ISS Deal with Russia’s Energia (Source: Itar-Tass)
NASA signed a new contract with the Russian Energia Space Corporation worth $46 million for the supply of various equipment to the International Space Station. NASA said the contract is valid up to December 2011. Among other things, Energia will produce a new toilet to be installed in Zvezda module by 2009 when the ISS crew is to increase from three to six people. It will also make a stand-by pump to preserve air onboard the station while the crew walks in space, as well as other equipment.