September 13 News Items

Colorado Project Assembles Suite of Space-Tech Business Services (Source: SSTI)
While dozens of states have instituted clean-tech strategies in order to cash in on the high-tech wave of the future, some are looking even further ahead. In several western states, private space travel and companies are drawing the attention of political leaders, researchers and investors eager to pioneer an industry that may still be many years away from creating dividends. California has long been involved in promoting space technology companies through the California Space Authority. In New Mexico, Virgin Galactic plans to begin construction on Spaceport America next year with $67 million in state funds.

Colorado also has entered the arena with the launch of the Eighth Continent Project, hosted at the Colorado School of Mines Center for Space Resources. The project has assembled an array of services, including a trade association, workshops, a planned incubator and venture fund, and a collaborative research program for private space enterprises. Project Director Burke Forke believes the program will help position Colorado as a leader in 'Space 2.0' in which the industry will be dominated by venture-backed entrepreneurs instead of large government projects.

The Eighth Continent Project differs from other state and university initiatives because of its focus on the private space flight industry and its commercialization services. The nation's 52 space grant consortia, based at universities around the country and administered by NASA, promote space research and education, but few of these offer services tailored to the needs of space entrepreneurs. Partners in the program include Colorado's CTEK, the Governor's Office of Economic Development, the Colorado School of Mines, the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business Deming Center, the Keirestu Forum, and several existing space businesses. Find out more about the Eighth Continent Project at: http://www.8cproject.com.

NASA and NIH Plan Space Station Research (Source: SpaceRef.com)
A Sept. 12 signing of a memorandum of understanding between NASA and the National Institutes of Health will help American scientists use the International Space Station to answer questions about human health and diseases. The pact signals to researchers the availability of a remarkable platform on which to conduct experiments. "The congressional designation as a national laboratory underscores the significance the American people place on the scientific potential of the space station," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin explained. "Not only will the station help in our efforts to explore the moon, Mars and beyond, its resources also can be applied for a much broader purpose - improving human health."

Embry-Riddle and SpaceTEC Plan Events Around Expo (Source: ERAU)
Embry-Riddle and SpaceTEC will sponsor a two-day aerospace-focused teacher workshop during the week leading up to the World Space Expo at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The workshop is being sponsored by the Florida Space Grant Consortium and Space Florida under the Florida/NASA Matching Grant Program. Meanwhile, SpaceTEC is planning its next Co-Investigator meeting during the Expo, with representatives from colleges nationwide meeting to discuss future plans for the aerospace training and certification program.

Commentary: Why Not Just Sell all of NASA to Google? (Source: MarketWatch)
Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have apparently made their Silicon Valley neighbors jealous with the disclosure that they get to park their private jets at a NASA facility just 10 minutes from their offices. Community activists are perturbed. Executives are even madder because they have to drive up and down crowded freeways to San Francisco or San Jose to get to their planes. Page and Brin apparently can get away with the perk by paying a trivial -- to them -- parking fee and fitting their aircraft -- widebody jet and a couple of Gulfstreams -- with measuring instruments so NASA can claim the flights out of Moffett Field serve some kind of scientific purpose.

But as long as the guys are so scientifically inclined, why not just unload all of NASA on them? It's only got a budget of $16 billion a year. The way things are going, that'll soon be just a couple of quarter's profit to Google. And NASA's going to out of the manned launch business for the foreseeable future anyway in 2010, once the remaining space shuttles are retired. Actually, Page and Brin are late to the space game. PayPal founder Elon Musk is already running SpaceX. That's the first private rocket development venture with a decent shot at getting satellites into orbit. As clever as doing a deal for access to a NASA airstrip may be, it's just not worthy of the world's new media titans. They won't really have made it big until they get their own private parking spot at the space station.

New Mexico Spaceport Officials Ask for $1.5M (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
New Mexico Spaceport Authority officials told lawmakers Wednesday they'll need more staff and a larger budget next year to handle key steps in the construction of a spaceport. Spaceport Authority Chairwoman Kelly O'Donnell, also deputy secretary for the state's Economic Development Department, said the authority will need some $1.5 million next year, mostly to hire additional staff. The authority's budget this year was about $365,000. O'Donnell said the Spaceport Authority is relying heavily on contractors to carry out its work, a fact that has concerned entities that deal with the agency — including the FAA and Virgin Galactic, the spaceport's major tenant company.

"We really need to get that staff support," she said. O'Donnell told the New Mexico legislative Finance Authority Oversight Committee that the additional staff is needed to keep construction costs for Spaceport America within a $198 million budget and keep the project on schedule. The Spaceport Authority's proposal would add six employee positions, including an attorney and a marketing director. A technical director, someone who would create flight safety policies, is another position that's needed, O'Donnell said.

Arianespace to Launch French Military Satellites (Source: SpaceToday.net)
Arianespace has won a contract from the French military to launch four small experimental reconnaissance satellites on a Soyuz, the company announced this week. Arianespace will launch the for ELISA (ELectronic Intelligence by SAtellite), each weighing about 135 kg, for the French Ministry of Defence on a Soyuz from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana in late 2009. The four spacecraft, operating from Sun-synchronous orbit, will be equipped with radar transmitters "to map the entire globe", according to the press release. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Opportunity Rover Dives Into Mars Crater (Source: SpaceRef.com)
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity entered Victoria Crater for the first time. It radioed home information via a relay by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, reporting its activities for the day. Opportunity drove far enough in -- about four meters (13 feet) -- to get all six wheels past the crater rim.

World Space Expo Celebrates 50 Years in Space (Source: WSE)
Kennedy Space Center plays host to the inaugural World Space Expo, celebrating NASA's 50 years in space exploration. World Space Expo will take place from Nov. 1-4, 2007. "Working with NASA, we are gathering together some of the most exciting efforts in space exploration into a comprehensive space exposition, World Space Expo. The event will give all who attend a glimpse of mankind's space achievements from the place that sends people into space," said Daniel LeBlanc, Chief Operating Officer, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. "The Aerial Salute to 50 Years in Space featuring the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will mark only the second time an air show has been held at Kennedy Space Center, with special viewing from the NASA Causeway."

NASA Extends Support Contract for Johnson Space Center (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded five one-month extensions of the Center Operations Support Services contract for Johnson Space Center to Computer Sciences Corp. The contract's base period began April 1, 2002. A series of options and extensions, including these five one-month extensions, continue the contract through Feb. 29, 2008. The five one-month options together are valued at $25 million, bringing the total value of the contract to $342.9 million.

Space Entrepreneurs Making Tracks to Las Cruces (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Adventure-seeking, risk-taking entrepreneurs are driving the new space race, but government partnerships are critical to the success of the emerging commercial spaceflight industry, says Patricia Hynes, chair of the upcoming International Symposium for Personal Spaceflight. ISPS 2007 will be held at the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces Oct. 24-25. Key players from both the public and private sectors will participate in the symposium — along with experts on marketing, tourism and other aspects of the industry.

Falling Satellites as Bargaining Chips (Source: Moscow Times)
Kazakhstan's emergency situations minister said levels of contaminants contained in rocket fuel at the Proton crash site were from 1,100 to 5,200 times higher than normal, and that the full damage from the mishap had yet to be determined. Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov pointed indignantly to the fact that the launch occurred at the same time that Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev was visiting Dzhezkazgan. The Kazakhs have subsequently prohibited any launch when the president is in an area falling under a rocket's planned trajectory. These announcements look like they were made as a signal that the Kazakh government is getting ready to lodge some serious complaints with Moscow. The complaints will undoubtedly come with a price tag.

NASA Refines Lunar Architecture (Source: Aviation Week)
Future lunar explorers may set out from their base at one of the moon's poles for long-distance surface sorties in pressurized rovers hardened against the galactic cosmic radiation that makes extravehicular activity (EVA) dangerous to their health in the long run. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin has given his OK to refinements in his agency's lunar-surface architecture. The needs of scientists drove some of the work, since scientific interest in the moon will extend beyond the fixed base NASA plans to build at one of the lunar poles. To get there, four-member lunar-surface teams would take two pressurized rovers dubbed "Freds," for Flexible Roving Exploration Devices.

Also under study are plug-in appliances for the rovers, such as backhoes or robotic arms, and perhaps having the rovers dock directly to the pressurized habitats of the lunar base. Those habitats would be larger than originally planned, landed early in the base-assembly sequence to minimize assembly time later. Inflatable structures remain a possibility for habitats. Click here to view the article.

Senate Appropriators Recommend Slowing T-Sat, GPS 3 (Source: Space News)
The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up a 2008 defense spending bill that applies the brakes to two of the Air Force's biggest satellite procurement programs, the Transformational Satellite Communications system (T-Sat) and the GPS 3 satellite navigation system.

Selection of GPS 3 Contractor Likely Delayed Until 2008 (Source: Space News)
The Air Force has decided to wait until at least January 2008 to select the company that will build the military's next generation of GPS navigation and timing satellites, according to a service spokeswoman. The selection of a prime contractor for the GPS 3 satellites had been expected this month.

Globalstar To Pay $210 Million to Launch 24 Satellites on Four Soyuz Rockets (Source: Space News)
Globalstar has agreed to pay $210 million to launch 24 second-generation mobile-communications satellites aboard four Arianespace Soyuz vehicles in 2009 and 2010.

Telenor Says Launch Delay Needs To Be Less than Six Months (Source: Space News)
Officials at Norwegian satellite-fleet operator Telenor Satellite Broadcasting say they can absorb a six-month delay in the launch of their Thor 2R spacecraft resulting from the grounding of the commercial Proton-M launch vehicle. However, a delay much longer than that would have a measurable impact on Telenor's planned expansion, the company's chief executive said.