August 5 News Items

Website Opens the Door on Brevard County Space Heritage (Source: Florida today)
Space buffs hungry for knowledge of local space history have a new portal to explore. A Website developed by students and faculty at the University of Central Florida (http://132.170.190.41/cchp/index.html) takes online viewers back to the earliest days of the space industry in Brevard, starting in the 1950s, and features historical documents, photos and links to video clips. The site was funded by a $25,000 grant from the Florida Bureau of Historical Preservation -- which rightly recognized the incalculable value of chronicling the Space Coast's unique heritage. Project leader Lori Walters is looking for volunteers to contribute oral histories. Walters is also interested in borrowing digital documents or photos to be scanned into the site.

House Approves NASA Anniversary Coins (Source: CollectSpace.com)
The House of Representatives voted to authorize the U.S. Mint to strike coins in 2008 honoring the 50th anniversary of NASA. The bill specifically requires the theme of four of the nine silver coins. The "Earth" coin would depict the Mercury, Gemini and Space Shuttle missions and other manned Earth-orbiting missions, and the Apollo missions to the Moon. The "Jupiter" coin would include images of both a past and future mission to Europa as well as a scientifically accurate depiction of the Galilean moon. The "Saturn" coin will honor past and future missions to one of its moons, Titan. The "Pluto and other dwarf planets" coin would include a design emblematic of telescopic exploration of deep space. The bill further calls for proceeds from the public sale of the coins to go to organizations that encourage science literacy, preserve space history, and that provide for the families of fallen NASA personnel.

Why America Needs to Explore Space (Source: Parade)
For millennia, people have looked up to the night sky and wondered about our place in the universe. But not until the 17th century was any serious thought given to the prospect of traveling there. John Wilkins, speculated in 1638 that the moon would be habitable one day and imagined “a flying chariot in which a man may sit.” Three hundred thirty-one years later, humans did indeed land on the moon, aboard a chariot called Apollo 11. That enterprise drove a half-century of unprecedented wealth and prosperity that today we take for granted. Now, as our interest in science wanes, America is poised to fall behind the rest of the industrialized world in every measure of technological proficiency.

For the last 30 years, more and more students in America’s science and engineering graduate schools have been foreign-born. They would come to the U.S., earn their degrees and stay, directly entering the high-tech workforce. Today, with emerging economic opportunities back in India, China and Eastern Europe, many graduates simply return home. Visit http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2007/edition_08-05-2007/Space to view the article.

New Energia Chief Vows to Stabilize Company Finances (Source: Space News)
The newly elected president of Rocket Space Corporation Energia, Russia's lead contractor on the international space station, has vowed emergency measures to avert a financial meltdown that he said was looming due to the practices of his now-deposed predecessor.

Radyne Closes AeroAstro Deal, But Still Open to Takeover Bids (Source: Space News)
Satellite ground equipment manufacturer Radyne Corp. completed Aug. 2 its acquisition of small-satellite builder AeroAstro, a purchase that Radyne managers say is part of a broader growth strategy that is superior to any takeover offer they have received. Phoenix-based Radyne remains open to takeover proposals but has not seen any credible offers similar to what its largest shareholder insists are available to Radyne if the company would only look for them.

FAA Defers to California Authority in Spaceport Mishap Inquiry (Source: Space News)
The July 26 test stand accident that killed three Scaled Composites employees on a propulsion system for Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo is expected to be no more than a temporary setback for the emerging personal space flight industry. The FAA office in charge of licensing private space flight operators, including New Mexico-based Virgin Galactic, is treating the test stand mishap as an industrial accident, leaving the ongoing investigation to Scaled Composites and California's workplace safety authorities. The incident did not involve any activities regulated by the FAA, according to Patricia Grace Smith of the FAA's commercial space transportation office.

NRO Contractor Penalized for Failed Program (Source: Space News)
The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has put one of its contractors on probationary status following its failure to execute on a program. In order to protect its investment, the NRO has continued work on some of the technologies that were part of the program, the agency's director told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Intelligence committee member Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) said there have been two cancellations of "huge" programs that were "touted by the NRO as examples of excellence and industry ingenuity."

USAF Undersecretary Ron Sega to Retire in August (Source: Space News)
U.S. Air Force Undersecretary Ron Sega is expected to leave his post by the end of August. Sega, a former astronaut, has served as undersecretary of the Air Force since August 2005, and has championed a back-to-basics acquisition strategy for space programs. He previously served as the Pentagon's director of defense research and engineering.