August 17 News Items

Pentagon Cancels TacSat-1 SpaceX Launch (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon has decided to cancel the launch of its experimental TacSat-1 satellite, which had been slated to lift off this year aboard Space Exploration Technologies Corp.'s Falcon 1 rocket, according to the company's president.

Boeing Wins Air Force Satellite Contract (Source: UPI)
Boeing has won a new $30 million broadband satcom contract with the U.S. Air Force. The $30 million firm-fixed-price contract is for continuation of the Boeing Broadband Satcom Network (BBSN) service to the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command. BBSN provides high-speed Internet communications and direct broadcast satellite TV service for aircraft and airborne customers. Boeing said the total value of the modified contract comes to $53,608,368, with potential options for up to $72 million.

Pentagon Lacks Funds to Complete ORS Satellite Plans (Source: Defense News)
The Pentagon is struggling to find dollars to develop its conceptual Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) satellite fleet, an envisioned constellation of small, quick-launch satellites to support military operations. Though Department of Defense officials have settled on a “desired end state” for the ORS program, its “full scope … exceeds available resources,” an Aug. 9 STRATCOM briefing states. The department also has yet to properly organize to bring the concept to fruition or lay out priorities to guide development of the program, the briefing states.

ORS is envisioned as a constellation of small, tactical satellites that can be launched on short notice — within weeks or months — for communications, surveillance or other military needs. Officials say the smaller orbiters likely would cost from $20 million to $40 million, hundreds of millions of dollars cheaper than larger, more advanced assets. However, some military space analysts have questioned whether developing a cadre of small satellites is the best use of Pentagon and industry treasure and time.

Embry-Riddle Keeps Top Spot in Best College Rankings (Source: US News & World Report)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has once again earned the top ranking in the annual “America’s Best Colleges” guide published by U.S. News & World Report magazine. In the specialty category of “Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering Programs” at schools where the highest degree is a master’s, Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus took first place, followed by the U.S. Air Force Academy in second, and Embry-Riddle’s Prescott, Ariz., campus in third. The university, which has one of the largest aerospace engineering programs in the nation, has won the top spot every year since the category was introduced in 2001.

In the overall category of “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs” where the highest degree is a master’s, both campuses rank in the top 20. Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus is ranked number nine, tied with Villanova University. Embry-Riddle’s Prescott campus is number 20, tied with Baylor University, Bradley University, Santa Clara University, and Valparaiso University. Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus is 13th in the overall category of “Best Universities – Master’s” (South Region).

Editorial: Russia's Space Exploration: Future Lies with Bold New Projects (Source: RIA Novosti)
If we take a look at Russia's space situation, we will see three distinct programs: a manned program, a program for launch vehicles, and a program for unmanned satellites. Current manned systems date from the 1960s. The Soyuz space vehicle, for example, first blasted off in 1967. There were modernizations, of course, but the basic philosophy has remained unchanged. But the worst thing is that this equipment is manufactured by outdated methods and uses old analogue systems. If we want to keep ahead in manned flights, we should adopt new technologies.

As far as rockets are concerned, the situation is no better. The Soyuz and Proton launch vehicles, our pride, were developed in the 1950s and 1960s. The Proton poses an environmental risk. As for the Soyuz, it has a problem of cost. The multiple-stage principle on which it is built requires a large number of engines, which account for most of the price. Here, too, we should move to new technologies. As regards unmanned satellites, things have slightly improved in this field, at least for communications satellites. Two major programs, Yamal and Express, are currently under way. But we have practically no Earth observation or remote-sensing satellites. Nor do we have any research satellite in orbit.

In other words, we are exploiting space equipment manufactured with old technologies. And this has a serious impact on the industry's future. Why? It is not only that we will soon find ourselves non-competitive in performance and cost-benefit characteristics. There is also the problem of personnel. Young workers do not want to produce antiquated models on antiquated equipment. The industry is ageing fast without an injection of fresh blood.

There is another headache. We are lacking a civilian space center of our own. Any country planning to increase its share of the international space market must have its own non-military launching center. Baikonur is, of course, a good facility, but existing legal restrictions stand in the way of investments. Russia and Kazakhstan are on good terms, but there are recurrent bans on Russian rocket launches from Baikonur. Visit http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20070817/72126740.html to view the article.

Bigelow Aerospace Makes Giant Leap Towards Commercial Space Travel (Source:
Bigelow Aerospace already has two spacecraft in orbit, and things have gone so smoothly, the company now wants to speed up its timetable. One of the features aboard the now-orbiting Genesis II is an outside projection system, sort of an orbiting billboard. To test it out, the company has been displaying images of employees who work at its North Las Vegas plant. Eventually, the system could be used for out of this world advertising or special messages that could be downloaded to an earthly web site.

Bigelow's plan was to launch a slightly larger galaxy craft as an interim step toward Sundancer, the inflatable module that would be suitable for human passengers, scheduled for launch in 2010. They will still build Galaxy to test life support systems, but they won't launch it. Instead, they're moving right to Sundancer, which would become a destination point for governments, corporations, and private citizens who want to go into space but don't want to pay for an entire space program of their own. One perk that could eventually be offered is space walks.

U.S. Army System Denies Satellite Capabilities to Adversaries (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Army has deployed a system that is being used today to deny enemy use of commercial space capabilities as part of the Pentagon's war against terrorism, according to a senior service official.

Expert Cautions Against Overconfidence in Missile Defense (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon needs to avoid overconfidence in the ability of the U.S. national missile defense interceptors deployed in Alaska and California to protect against an ICBM launched by North Korea, a retired senior military official warned.

U.S. Expands Access to Spy Satellite Imagery and Data to Border Control, Other Agencies (Source: Space News)
Border control, law enforcement and emergency response agencies have won greater access to U.S. spy satellites and other sensors to monitor U.S. territory.

Florida Companies Have Ties to Moon Launch (Source: St. Petersburg Times)
ALICE, an optical instrument designed by Ocean Optics of Dunedin, will be aboard a NASA spacecraft bound for the moon next year in its search for water beneath the moon's surface. The mission will send a rocket crashing into the moon with an impact expected to generate a 2.2-million pound plume of matter. A second spacecraft carrying ALICE will measure the reflectivity of the plume as it rises into the sunlight, allowing scientists to distinguish between water vapor, water ice and other materials.

In developing ALICE, Ocean Optics has been working with Aurora Design & Technology of Clearwater, the company developing the reflectance viewing optics for the mission. The mission is scheduled to launch in October next year from Kennedy Space Center. This is Ocean Optics' second NASA collaboration. Another of its custom-engineered spectrometers will be part of the 2009 ChemCam Mars mission to study rock and soil composition of the red planet.

China's Lunar Sample Return, Spacewalk and Space Station Docking Concepts (Source: Flight International)
Flightglobal has obtained a promotional video from the Beijing based-China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a prime contractor to China's space program. It shows computer generated video images of a Shenzhou manned spacecraft docking with what could be a space station module, a Chinese astronaut emerging from a Shenzhou's orbital module using a Russian Orlan-DM like spacesuit and a lunar sample return rocket launching from the Moon's surface. Click here to view the article and video.

Authority Opens New Innovation Center (Source: Florida Today)
About 250 people -- including local lawmakers and economic-development officials -- turned out for Thursday's official grand opening of the Technological Research and Development Authority's new Business Innovation Center in Melbourne. Officials estimate the 30,998-square-foot center, located off NASA Boulevard, will serve up to 30 new or expanding technology businesses in the area, and create 70 to 100 jobs in the first four years of operation.

NASA: Shuttle Heat Shield Fine As-Is (Source: Florida Today)
After a five-hour Mission Management Team meeting, NASA officials decided to return shuttle Endeavour unrepaired, leaving a 3-inch gouge in the thermal tile that protects the craft from the heat of re-entry. "It does not constitute a risk to the crew. It isn't expected to cause any damage to the orbiter," deputy shuttle program manager John Shannon said. Shannon said there was zero chance the divot would cause a catastrophe. One engineering team at Johnson Space Center recommended doing the repair, but only to prevent any possible damage to the shuttle. "It was not unanimous, but it was pretty overwhelming," said Shannon.

Burned-Out Star Harbors Signs of Earthlike Planets (Source: Reuters)
Chemical elements observed around a burned-out star known as a white dwarf offer evidence Earth-like planets once orbited it, suggesting that worlds like our own may not be rare in the cosmos. Astronomers at the University of California, Los Angeles and University of Kiel in Germany studied a white dwarf called GD 362 located 150 light-years away in our Milky Way galaxy.

They figured out the chemical composition of a large asteroid that was ripped apart by gravitational forces as it approached GD 362, finding it was similar to the Earth's crust. It was rich in iron and calcium and low in carbon, much like a strong rock, they said. The fact that the asteroid is so similar in make-up to the Earth, as well as the moon, indicates that rocky planets like our own may have orbited the star eons ago.