September 28 News Items

NASA Blocks Release Of Galileo Jovian Spacecraft Drawings on ITAR Grounds (Source: NASA Watch)
I give up. We're talking about a 15 year old spacecraft - one which was destroyed years ago - of which high resolution images are readily available - and have been in the public domain for decades. And the drawings are ITAR-controlled? NASA's denial to share the information--requested through a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request sent to NASA JPL--was based on a finding that it might be useful for the the design, development, production, manufacture, assembly, operation, repair, testing, maintenance or modification of defense articles. This includes information in the form of blueprints. drawings, photographs, plans, instructions and documentation.

Space Adventures Announces 1st Second Generation Astronaut (Source: Space Adventures)
Space Adventures announced that famed game developer Richard Garriott, son of former NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, has begun preparations for a "commercially active" mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Mr. Garriott's spaceflight, currently planned for October 2008, will be the first in a series of missions that will accommodate commercial activity aboard the ISS. Involvement from the private sector can include scientific and environmental research and educational outreach programming.

Astronomers Find Mysterious Radio Burst (Source: Space.com)
A new and intense type of radio burst has been discovered in archived views of the cosmos, astronomers revealed today. The single, short-lived blast of radio waves likely occurred some 3 billion light-years from Earth, and it may signal a cosmic car crash of two neutron stars, the death throes of a black hole—or something else. "This is something that's completely unprecedented," said Duncan Lorimer, an astrophysicist at West Virginia University in Morgantown and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory who led the discovery-making team. He noted that radio-emitting pulsars send out similar emissions, but repeat them every few hours. "We're confused and excited, but it could open up a whole new research field," Lorimer said.

Rocketplane in Trouble, Still Forging Ahead (Source: MSNBC)
Rocketplane Global six years ago made a splash in the aerospace market by pledging to offer suborbital flights to anyone who could pay for a $200,000 ticket. Funding and technical problems have dogged the concern, along with its subsidiary Rocketplane Kistler. Still, company officials are confident and forging ahead. "We're doing fine," Rocketplane Chairman and CEO George French Jr. said. "We have not given up, and we are heavily committed."

US Regulations Restrict Space Industry Growth (Source: India PRwire)
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) of the US are a major hurdle in the growth of new space industry actors in the global market, said speakers from emerging space nations at the 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2007). They also made a strong case for change in the rules to facilitate cooperation and healthy competition in the global space industry. The speakers were unanimous that both cooperation and competition were necessary to ensure growth of the space industry, especially among emerging nations and new players.

While China said US policy was the biggest hurdle in growth of new actors, India said there was more risk to non-US players because of ITAR rules, which govern the space industry, among other sectors. 'The US policy is the biggest hurdle and it needs to be changed,' said Hua Changzhi, vice president, China Great Wall Corp. Pointing out that US satellite manufacturers had lost market share in recent years, he remarked, 'This is the price paid by US policy'. 'ITAR is the most challenging and difficult regulation we have to contend with. On the issue of licences, there is more risk to non-US players,' said K.R. Sridhara Murthy, executive director, Antrix Corp., the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

India and China Battle for Launch Market (Source: Wall Street Journal)
The global satellite manufacturing and launch industry is expected to grow to $145 billion for the next decade from $116 billion in the last decade. Demand will come largely from the US, European nations, Russia, Japan, China and India. Asian space rivals India and China are wooing nations in Europe, Asia and Latin America to build and launch satellites aboard their homegrown rockets, as they aim for a larger share of the market. India is offering its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) at nearly 75% of the price charged by companies such as International Launch Services (ILS), which offers Russian Proton rockets.

China Great Wall Industry Group, the marketing arm for China’s space industry, said customers from Africa and Latin America are looking to China to build, launch and operate satellites for up to 15 years. “We are cheaper compared to Europe’s Arianespace,” said Hua Chongzi, Great Wall’s vice-president, but did not divulge financial details. China has launched 33 foreign satellites in 27 rocket missions since 1980.

India to Develop Own Technology for Space Travel (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
India will develop its own technology to launch an astronaut into space rather than rely on outside support, the head of the country's space agency said. India's space program suffered in the past from sanctions imposed by the West, barring access to space material and technology transfers, after the country tested nuclear weapons in 1974 and in 1998. "We have learned the hard way that we should have indigenous capability," said ISRO's chairman. "Only then will anyone respect you."

Japan Plans Two More Moon Missions (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Japan plans to carry out two more missions to the moon and then collaborate internationally to put a man on the lunar surface, a Japanese space scientist said. Asia's biggest economy this month successfully launched Kaguya (or Selene), its first lunar orbiter, in advance of China and India which are planning unmanned missions of their own to the moon. Japan's next mission in 2012 will aim at landing a robot on the moon's surface, followed by one in 2018 that will seek to return successfully to earth. "We are also discussing human exploration but we expect international collaboration" in a manned mission. Human exploration could be followed by human colonies on the moon, he said. Cooperation between nations for lunar exploration should be modelled on the international space station, he said.