August 16 News Items

Personal Spaceflight Symposium Planned in October (Source: ISPS)
Veteran space travelers and leaders of the emerging commercial spaceflight industry will gather in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on Oct. 24 and 25 for the third annual International Symposium for Personal Spaceflight (ISPS 2007). Two days of presentations, panel discussions and interview sessions will cover topics ranging from vehicles and launch systems to space tourism and spaceports. The theme of the symposium, presented by New Mexico State University and the X PRIZE Foundation, is "Our Next Giant Leap: Progress and Next Steps."

Robert A. Dickman, executive director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), will serve as master of ceremonies for the event. Confirmed participants include Anousheh Ansari, Elon Musk of SpaceX, Clayton Mowry, president of Arianespace Inc. (USA), the world's leading satellite launch company; and Alex Tai, vice president for operations for Virgin Galactic, which will use New Mexico's Spaceport America as a base for space tourism flights. Early registration through Sept. 1 is $285, after which the fee goes to $325. Meals are included. Registration information is on the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium Web site at http://spacegrant.nmsu.edu/isps/.

Astronomers Call for Arab Space Agency (Source: Arabian Business)
Bahraini astronomers have called for the establishment of an Arab space agency. An international astronomy forum in Alexandria, Egypt will discuss the issue in October. Astronomers say the creation of an agency would involve the region in the industry and assist Arab scientists to research and promote exploration. Vice-president of the Arab Union on Astronomy and Space Science Dr Shawqi Al Dallal told Gulf Daily News “We have to convince the Arab League to discuss this matter.”

Wow! Mystery Turns 30 (Source: MSNBC)
Thirty years ago, astronomer Jerry Ehman was looking over a printout of radio data from Ohio State University's Big Ear Radio Observatory when he saw a string of code so remarkable that he had to circle it and scribble "Wow!" in the margin. The printout recorded an anomalous signal so strong that it had to come from an extraordinary source. Was it a burst of human-made interference? Or an alien broadcast from the stars? No one knows. The source of the "Wow" signal has never been heard from again - even though astronomers have looked for it dozens of times. Now the SETI Institute is gearing up to look for it one more time, using the latest tool for seeking signals from extraterrestrial civilizations: the Allen Telescope Array in California.

From Space to Earth, Class is in Session (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
It was show-and-tell time in space Tuesday -- with a few modifications. In this scripted version, it was teacher-astronaut Barbara Morgan doing the telling, as 18 students in Idaho learned how she is spending her summer vacation on a floating laboratory thousands of miles above Earth. Brooke Thomas of McCall, Idaho, wanted to know: "What types of exercise equipment and regimen are you using to prevent bone loss?" That is when Morgan lifted two bulky crewmates, Alvin Drew and Dafydd "Dave" Williams, making it look as if she were straining as the two men floated in zero gravity.

NASA May Partner with Rocketplane on Microgravity Racks (Source: Journal Record)
NASA may work with Rocketplane Kistler to conduct experiments in zero gravity, if all goes as planned. NASA is looking for a partner to design and build specialized racks to hold the equipment used in zero-gravity experiments, said Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority Executive Director Bill Khourie. The Authority voted in support of the suborbital experiment platform project. Members of the authority said their support could boost Rocketplane’s efforts to secure the deal with NASA, which would provide a grant and personnel to assist with the project. NASA may conduct test launches from the Oklahoma Spaceport using its own vehicles as well as making use of Rocketplane’s vehicle. The project will also lead to further development at the Spaceport, as NASA requires the equipment used to be developed and stored under environmentally controlled conditions, maintaining certain climate specifications.

Red Tape Delaying Announcement of Canadian Spaceport (Source: Canadian Press)
Government red tape seems to be the only thing stopping an American-Canadian aeronautics company from making an official announcement on where it plans to build a commercial spaceport in Cape Breton. Chirinjeev Kathuria, chairman of PlanetSpace, said the company is on course with the project but is awaiting for regulatory approval from the provincial and federal governments before announcing a site location.

Costly Redesign Only Cure for Shuttle's Debris Woes (Source: USA Today)
NASA continued to struggle with debris damage to space shuttle Endeavour, after deciding long ago not to completely redesign the spacecraft's fuel tank, which has been the source of similar problems for two decades. Three of the six shuttle flights since the Columbia accident have been dogged by tank debris. Until Columbia was lost, NASA regarded tank debris as a nuisance, not a safety threat. The agency made no plans for a radical tank overhaul. After the 2003 accident, NASA opted to fix the tank's problem areas rather than replace it. A complete redesign would have been costly, especially for a spacecraft due to retire in 2010.

The fuel tank "is basically not fixable," said John Logsdon, a member of the panel that investigated the Columbia accident. "NASA is doing … its best to address this problem, but it's an almost totally intractable problem." Deputy shuttle program manager John Shannon has defended NASA's efforts to minimize the foam and other debris that breaks off from the fuel tank. "The tank is going to shed some foam," he said. "It's our challenge to understand why and go fix that."

Schedule for Ares/Orion Launch Tests (Source: Florida Today)
The Ares 1 rocket will be used to launch Orion spacecraft -- Apollo-style capsules that will propel astronauts on moon missions. The Ares 5 rocket will launch propulsion modules and lunar landers that will dock with Orion spacecraft in low-Earth orbit. The first stage of both will use more powerful versions of the solid-rocket boosters that Alliant Techsystems builds for NASA's shuttle program.

The first Ares 1 test flight with a four-segment booster, a dummy upper stage and an Orion capsule mock-up is scheduled for April 2009. A suborbital test flight is scheduled for September 2012. An unpiloted test flight of the Orion spacecraft is scheduled for March 2013, and a piloted, two-week shakedown of the ship is planned for September 2013.

White House Calls for Sustained Landsat Program (Source: Space News)
The White House released a plan Aug. 14 that recommends putting the U.S. Department of Interior in charge of future satellite programs to collect moderate-resolution land imagery for civilian purposes.

Valve in Atlas Failure Replaced in All EELVs (Source: Florida Today)
A valve that prompted a fuel leak during the failed launch of an Atlas 5 rocket in June has been replaced in both the Atlas 5 and Delta 4 fleets. The valve is being replaced with one that the U.S. Air Force and United Launch Alliance are confident will work properly. The replacement decision shows progress in the Air Force's investigation of the Atlas 5 launch of a pair of ocean surveillance craft for the National Reconnaissance Office. The top-secret spy satellites were dropped off miles short of orbit after the upper-stage engine cut off seconds too soon. The cause: a fuel leak prompted by a liquid hydrogen valve that didn't close properly in extreme cold temperatures experienced during the Atlas flight. The valve is part of the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL10 engine and is common to both of the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELVs): the Atlas 5 and Delta 4. The Air Force statement indicates the issue is solved and launches of U.S. military and intelligence spacecraft will resume next month.

Fall Marks Flurry of Launches (Source: Florida Today)
Mark your calendars: the stars are aligning for a lengthy string of autumn rocket launches at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. First up will be a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket on Sept. 13. An 8:16 p.m. liftoff from Launch Complex 41 is planned. The rocket will carry the first of a $1.8 billion series of advanced military communications satellites. NASA's Dawn spacecraft now is scheduled for launch Sept. 26 on a $450 million mission to the asteroid belt. The return-to-flight of the United Launch Alliance Delta 4 Heavy rocket, carrying the 23rd and final Defense Support Program missile warning satellite, now is tapped for 12:50 a.m. Oct. 4 -- the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Russian Sputnik spacecraft. The nation's next Global Positioning System satellite will be launched Oct. 17 on a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket. Liftoff from Complex 17 is scheduled at 8:23 a.m.

What's the Outlook for the ISS? (Source: RIA Novosti)
In all probability, the question in the headline should be rephrased and run like this: who will man the International Space Station (ISS) next? The very future of this unique international orbital complex depends on the answer. The prospects for keeping the present crew are small, in fact, non existent. The main ISS users - the Russians and the Americans - are not interested in exploiting the common orbital home, each for their own reasons, and this is no cause for rejoicing either. Visit http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20070814/71466776.htmlto view the article.

Bizarre Star Has A Tail 13 Light-Years Long! (Source: CBS)
An amazingly long, comet-like tail found trailing a giant red star named "Mira" was being closely examined by the JPL-managed space-based Galaxy Evolution Explorer. Nothing like the plume blowing off "Mira" has ever been seen coming from a star, officials said. The plume forms a wake 13 light-years long, or about 20,000 times the average distance of Pluto from the sun. The material has been released from the older star continuously over the past 30,000 years.