September 15 News Items

Galileo Funding Solution Remains Elusive (Source: Space News)
European government and industry officials have begun to doubt whether a political consensus exists in Europe to complete the Galileo satellite navigation system. In public and private comments, officials said the main government backers - Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain - appear far apart on how best to finance the 30-satellite constellation and the remaining portion of the associated ground network. Decisions at the European Union's executive commission and among EU governments in the coming weeks will determine whether any kind of Galileo network - with or without the special features that had set it apart from GPS - will be built.

Senate Appropriators Direct Air Force to Buy 4th AEHF Satellite (Source: Space News)
The Senate Appropriations Committee's version of the 2008 defense spending bill directs the Air Force to buy a fourth satellite under T-Sat's predecessor program, the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) system, and added $125 million to the AEHF budget for that purpose. Current Air Force plans call for buying three AEHF satellites before moving on to T-Sat. In its version of the defense appropriations bill, the House also added $125 million to the White House's AEHF request and directed that the money go toward a fourth satellite. The Senate committee's action makes it likely that the final version of the 2008 appropriations bill will direct the Air Force to begin procurement of a fourth AEHF satellite.

SAIC Wins Space Command Support Contract (Source: Space News)
Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) has been awarded an initial indefinite quantity/indefinite delivery contract potentially worth $49.5 million to provide systems support to Air Force Space Command. The contract has a base period of four months and four one-year options. SAIC will oversee 14 subcontractors providing technical services for government systems including weapon systems for the Space and Missile Systems Center Space Logistics Group.

Embry-Riddle to Host Antarctic Space Sciences Workshop (Source: ERAU)
The Space Physics Research Laboratory at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will host an Antarctic Space Sciences Workshop Sep. 27-28 in Daytona Beach. The meeting is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The workshop will bring together nationally renowned scientists who conduct space science research at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and other sites in Antarctica. Scientists will review the status of their research, identify scientific criteria for future investigations, and talk about how to increase visibility for space sciences research in Antarctica. Participating will be Augsburg College, Colorado Research Associates, Dartmouth College, Embry-Riddle, National Science Foundation, Oberlin College, Raytheon Polar Services Co., Siena College, and SRI International. Scientists also will attend from Stanford University, University of California Los Angeles, University of Colorado, University of New Hampshire, University of Saskatchewan, Utah State University, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

Teachers Learn Lesson In Weightlessness (Source: NBC4.com)
Levitation has become part of the lesson plan for some area Washington DC area high school teachers. They are shifting their curriculum into high gear, beginning with a zero gravity flight from Dulles International Airport. Many of those participating have been teaching for more than 20 years. But on Friday, they got to revisit the joy of being a student. For nearly an hour, they experienced how exactly how NASA trains its astronauts. Teachers said they were amazed at what it feels like to float. They said they will take a different perspective back to the classrooms now that they have floated above the clouds. The Washington region is one of eight where teachers will get to fly with ZERO-G under a program sponsored by Northrop Grumman.

The Future for XM, With or Without a Sirius Merger (Source: New York Times)
Sirius and XM Satellite Radio, the only satellite radio networks authorized to operate by the FCC, expect to learn by the end of this year whether their request to merge will be successful. The move has been opposed by the National Association of Broadcasters, the group representing traditional television and radio companies, and by some consumer groups as anticompetitive and counter to agreements the companies made when the government approved their requests for operating licenses. XM's top executives discussed the merger and the future of the company if the merger petition is not successful. Visit http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/15/business/15interview.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin to view the interview.

Gentlemen, Start Your Rockets (Source: Business Week)
Out in the Mojave Desert, amid the tumbleweed and dust funnels, a new racing league is taking shape. A sign welcomes visitors to the home of SpaceShipOne—the first privately financed aircraft to leave earth's atmosphere. Here, in a small, bustling hangar, workers are carefully assembling one of the league's first racers, an exotic hybrid that's part experimental airplane and part rocket. If all goes as planned, this aircraft will make its maiden flight in October. And next year a half dozen such planes could fire up with a chest-thumping rumble, blast off vertically, and emit 10-foot yellow plumes as they climb about one mile up. Then they'll hurtle around a giant virtual racetrack in the sky at speeds approaching 320 miles per hour, separated from one another by just a few hundred feet. NASCAR it's not—that's for the timid. Rocket racing could well evolve into America's riskiest, noisiest, and nuttiest new sport.

WorldView-1 Satellite to Launch on Tuesday (Source: AIA)
DigitalGlobe's WorldView-1 satellite, scheduled for launch atop a Boeing Delta II rocket on Tuesday, is the first of three next-generation commercial U.S. satellites that will be placed in orbit over the next few years. The satellites are designed to deliver the clearest photos yet to the government and consumers. "This new generation in its entirety really is going to sharpen the images people see in Google, Microsoft, Yahoo! and MapQuest with about four times the detail," said an analyst.

Japan Successfully Launches Moon Probe (Source: AIA)
Japan's quest to explore the Moon has begun with the launch of its first lunar probe. The spacecraft will orbit the Moon for about a year, collecting data on its origin and evolution. Japanese scientists say it is the most complex lunar mission since NASA's Apollo program, which put astronauts on the Moon's surface.

Council Concerned About Lack of Earth Monitoring Satellites (Source: What's New)
A National Research Council report says global warming's effect on people is the big unanswered question. The report laments that, "The loss of existing and planned satellite sensors is perhaps the greatest single threat" to climate research.

South Korean Spaceport to Launch Satellite Next Year (Source: International Herald Tribune)
South Korea plans to place a satellite into orbit next year from its own space center — the first time the country launches a rocket into space from its territory. Since 1992, South Korea has launched 11 satellites, mostly for space and ocean observation and communication, but all of them were carried aboard foreign-made rockets from space centers in France, the U.S., Russia and other countries. South Korea has been developing a two-stage rocket with Russia, dubbed the Korea Space Launch Vehicle. The launch will be conducted in Goheung, about 465 kilometers (290 miles) south of Seoul, where South Korea has been building its first spaceport. The complex is expected to be operational by the end of next year.

Russian Scientific Satellite Launched from Baikonur Spaceport (Source: International Herald Tribune)
A Russian scientific satellite was launched into orbit aboard a Soyuz rocket Friday, just eight days after another Russian-built rocket crashed destroying a Japanese satellite and spreading toxic chemicals. The Soyuz-U rocket lifted off from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan. During its 12-day mission, the satellite Photon will conduct nearly four dozen experiments set up by European, Russian and Chinese scientists to study bone tissue cells, protein crystals and other areas. Several of the experiments also include measurements on butterfly pupae, snails and geckos.

Shoot for the Moon, Break Even (Source: Marketplace)
Forget cyberspace, Google is now reaching for outer space. Google and the X Prize Foundation have announced a $30 million prize for someone to land a robotic rover on the moon and send back pictures. The reward should just about cover the cost of getting the robot up there. Bretton Alexander of the X Prize Foundation expects that teams will spend anywhere from $10-15 million all the way up to $50 million. The teams can then make money back by selling the intellectual property, selling the system, selling services later. He says there are other economic incentives, such as mineral resources on the moon. Ultimately, the prize founders hope private-sector innovation will lead to cheaper methods for space exploration.

Experts Urge British Manned Space Program (Source: Financial Times)
Britain should set up a manned space exploration program, a government advisory committee says. It recommends British astronauts could travel to the International Space Station by 2014 and walk on the Moon in the 2020s. The UK Space Exploration Working Group was set up by the British National Space Centre in January to look at the role Britain should play in the worldwide plans for future space exploration, laid out in the Global Exploration Strategy. Fourteen national space agencies have signed up to the global strategy that would see humans and robots working in partnership on the surfaces of the Moon and Mars, while fleets of unmanned probes venture out across the far reaches of the solar system.