August 10 News Items

Spacehab Announces Receipt of NASDAQ Deficiency Letter (Source: Spacehab)
As a result of the resignation of Dr. Edward E. David Jr. as a director of Spacehab, Inc. effective July 31, 2007, the Company received a letter from The NASDAQ Stock Market notifying the Company that it no longer complies with the NASDAQ independent director requirements. Consistent with Marketplace Rule 4350(c)(1), which requires that a majority of the board of directors consist of independent directors, NASDAQ will provide the Company a cure period in order to regain compliance until the earlier of the Company's next annual shareholder's meeting, or July 31, 2008; or if the next annual shareholder's meeting is held before January 28, 2008, then the Company must evidence compliance no later than January 28, 2008.

Experts Upbeat About Brevard's Economic Future (Source: Florida Today)
Kennedy Space Center will have fewer jobs after the shuttle's planned retirement in 2010, but the economic consequences for Brevard County aren't entirely bleak. The county has several factors working in its favor, local and outside experts told the Brevard County Commission. First is a partnership between the space industry and local officials, who have pledged to work together to avoid a potential $1.5 billion hit to the local economy.

Factors working in Brevard's favor include: infrastructure and a skilled workforce capable of transitioning to new opportunities in space and technology, such as commercial space flight and space tourism and renewable energy research, officials said. "The opportunity, quite frankly, is there, we just need to get ourselves organized," added Steve Kohler, executive director of Space Florida. About 3,500 shuttle program jobs are expected to be lost, some through retirements, but the new Constellation program will add hundreds of jobs.

One recommended strategy was unified lobbying of state and federal elected officials, and partnering with local universities and community colleges on retraining programs and research opportunities. Brevard officials said they were pleased that most of the strategies already are being employed here, in part because of partnerships formed previously to defend Patrick Air Force Base from closure. "Basically what we have to do is continue on what we have been doing," said Jackie Colon, the commission's chairwoman. "All the players are there."

KSC Cafeteria Lawsuit Settled (Source: Florida Today)
A federal lawsuit that made unappetizing allegations about rancid chicken, poor hygiene and a worker derisively nicknamed "Dirty Finger Al" in space-center cafeterias has been quietly settled. Carolyn Vargas, a former culinary worker who says she was fired after she reported problems with spoiled meat and other food being served to workers at Kennedy Space Center, reached a settlement with Lackmann Culinary Services, a Woodbury, N.Y.-based contractor that operates seven KSC cafeterias. The case was dismissed on June 26 in Orlando after Vargas and Lackmann reached a settlement. Neither party announced the settlement or would discuss the terms.

Editorial: Russia's Space Program - Time for a Change (Source: RIA Novosti)
Two years ago trade show visitors admired a mock-up of Russia's Kliper reusable spacecraft developed by Energia, the flagship corporation of the Russian aerospace industry. The Russian Space Agency (Roskosmos) announced that the craft would open up a new chapter in space exploration. A year later, in Farnborough, the Space Agency declared that the Kliper project was as good as finished and announced a marathon program to upgrade the Soyuz craft, which has been around for 50 years. Some attempts were made to reconcile the conflicting plans concerning manned flights to the Moon and Mars, but the situation was not made any clearer.

Now seems to be the time for a showdown, especially since the agency's head Anatoly Perminov will have an excellent opportunity to explain a lot of things. One is, what kind of space program does Russia have? Six months ago, no one questioned that it did indeed have one. There was the Federal Space Program for 2006-2015. Later the Space Agency began talking about prospects for the period until 2040. Are these just sketches of plans that do not call for any great human effort or financing?

Very recently, Space Agency deputy head Vitaly Davydov said that no Moon expeditions were planned until 2015. The Space Agency has given a sober assessment of its possibilities for the period concerned, limiting the lunar program to three research satellites. According to Vitaly Lopota, the newly elected Energia president, the corporation has no money for the Moon program. He thinks, however, that funding will become available if the agency approves an appropriate program. This is a faint hope. But if such a program should see the light of day, how can it be smoothly incorporated into the plans that are already funded?

Companies Line Up to Bid on New GPS (Source: AP)
Defense contractors have lined up to bid on the U.S. Air Force's multibillion-dollar upgrade plan for the Global Positioning System, a satellite network widely used by civilian and military users. Lockheed Martin and Boeing will square off over building the next generation of GPS satellites. The competition formally began last month when the Air Force released its final request for proposals; bids are due Aug. 27. The plan calls for buying an initial installment of eight GPS III satellites, with launches starting in 2013. The goal is a reliable and more accurate GPS system that can keep up with heavy demand from the military and industry.

Japanese Researchers Cook up Martian Menu for Astronauts (Source: Asahi Shimbun)
Brown fried rice, tofu hamburgers, a vegetable-tofu mixture known as shira-ae, miso soup, rice crackers--about 20 food items line the table. Nothing exotic, nothing you wouldn't find in any Japanese kitchen. But the woman presiding here is not a chef--at least not an ordinary one. She's Nagoya Women's University lecturer Naomi Katayama, and the question she's considering is: What will astronauts eat when the time comes for them to live for extended periods on Mars?

Both NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are seriously considering the possibility of manned exploration of the Red Planet. Astronauts housed at a base on Mars would not be able to bring all their food with them. They would have to supply their own. Though Japan currently has no plans to independently send people to Mars, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) professor Masamichi Yamashita, along with Katayama and others, are looking into what kind of environment humans can create on Mars, what crops will thrive there, what animals can be raised. Visit http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200708100103.html to view the article.

China to Map "Every Inch" of Moon Surface (Source: Reuters)
China aims to chart every inch of the moon's surface, the chief scientist of the country's first lunar exploration program said. China, which plans to launch a lunar orbiter called "Chang'e One" in the second half of 2007 to take 3D images, would aim to land an unmanned vehicle on its surface by 2010. "Currently, our country's lunar exploration program is divided into three phases -- orbiting the moon, landing on the moon and returning back to Earth," Ouyang said.

Boeing, Local Union Reach Agreement (Source: Florida Today)
Machinist union workers in the space shuttle payload processing program have reached a new contract with Boeing. The three-year agreement affects 92 workers in the Checkout, Assembly and Payload Processing program at Kennedy Space Center. Meanwhile, roughly 500 workers in the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 2061 are still on strike against United Space Alliance, NASA's main shuttle contractor. The company is a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp.