October 14 News Items

Florida Space Workforce, Advocacy Groups Meet This Week (Source: ERAU)
An advisory board for the SpaceTEC aerospace technician certification/training program at Brevard Community College will meet on Monday morning to discuss the program's progress and future plans as the Space Shuttle's retirement approaches. Also meeting later in the week will be a task force assembled to develop statewide space-related policy and funding recommendations to mitigate the Shuttle retirement impacts.

Asia Ripe for Satellite TV (Source: Space News)
Asian satellite operators expressed optimism about the near-term growth of direct-broadcast television as regional economic growth and lower-cost satellite receivers make the service more affordable, and techniques to minimize signal degradation from heavy rains improve reliability. These companies said the growth prospects help explain why new satellite operators were appearing on the scene despite concerns that the market already is overcrowded. Protostar Ltd. of Bermuda, Asia Broadcast Satellite of Hong Kong and Vietnam Telecom International — three new operators with spacecraft in orbit or expected to be in 2008 — are entering a market that still suffers from occasional below-cost pricing practices.

Space Sick: Are our Astronauts Safe? (Source: ABC News)
When astronaut Peggy Whitson moves into the orbiting laboratory today for a six-month stay, she'll have two human roommates — as well as countless ones invisible to the naked eye, from microbes that can corrode metal to germs that can cause serious infections in people. Outer space is a cold and sterile place, but spaceships are not. As the 9-year-old space station ages, it's likely to grow more micro-organisms that could pose a risk to its human residents and the station itself. Adding an extra worry, scientists have seen signs that the human immune system weakens during space trips. "Wherever man goes, microbes go," says Cheryl Nickerson of Arizona State University, who studies disease-causing micro-organisms. Most of the bugs in orbit aren't dangerous, she says, but "there's absolutely a risk … to the crew."

GPS Launch Planned Wednesday from Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Florida Today)
A Delta 2 rocket carrying a Global Positioning Satellite is on schedule for liftoff Wednesday in a launch window between 8:23 and 8:38 a.m. EDT. Riding a Delta 2 rocket with nine strap-on solid rocket boosters, the satellite will enter an orbit 11,000 miles above the Earth. This could be the 77th consecutive Delta 2 rocket to deliver its payload safely. In 130 Delta flights since 1989, 128 have been successful. The last failure was January 1997, when a Delta II rocket exploded shortly after launch from Cape Canaveral, due to a cracked solid rocket motor. At least 25 Delta 2 rockets are scheduled to fly during the next several years before the vehicle is retired.

ISRO Staff Demands Probe Into Land Scam (Source: India World)
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) staff association Saturday demanded a probe into the controversial land purchase by the organization, saying its credibility was at stake. Addressing the annual meeting of the association here, general secretary D. Murugan said: 'Of late ISRO's credibility is at stake on account of several unhealthy practices. The top officials of the organization are giving out contracts to make money. Also, reappointment of certain officials after their superannuation is a cause of concern.' ISRO purchased 82 acres of land in Ponmudi, 75 km from here, from businessman Savy Mano Mathew in March. The opposition alleges that the land belongs to the forest department and was sold in connivance with state Forest Minister Binoy Viswom who belongs to the Communist Party of India (CPI).

Rocket-Maker SpaceX Makes Some Noise in Texas Town (Source: Waco Tribune)
SpaceX knows how to shake things up in McGregor. Founded by billionaire Elon Musk, SpaceX has been making a racket in McGregor’s industrial park since January 2003. It leases nearly 300 acres there and test-fires engines for its Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets. Company spokeswoman Lauren Dreyer said SpaceX, headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., has averaged one test-firing a day since it began operating in McGregor, “for a total of 1,800 hot-fire tests.” The company knows it has piqued the interest of its neighbors, so it hosted a community picnic on Saturday that got hundreds of reservations.

Virgin Galactic Woos Indian Space Tourists (Source: Economic Times)
So you own a yacht, drive a Ferrari and spend your weekends on the most exotic locales. Its time to move on... If you haven’t yet donned a spacesuit, you are way behind your global peers. Space tourism is a reality which is all set to make its presence felt in India. And spending a cool Rs 80 lakh can put you into the leagues of Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, Gregory Olsen, Anousheh Ansari and Charles Simonyi — all non-professional astronauts. Richard Branson’s, Virgin Galactic, the world’s first spaceline will be soon opening its India office in collaboration with Deluxe Travel and GD Goenka World Travel. The first office in India will be located in New Delhi.

Chinese Move From AsiaSat Over Signal Piracy Concerns (Source: Space News)
Chinese television broadcasters have pulled all their programming from Asiasat's satellites in favor of the Sinosat-3 and Chinasat 6B spacecraft, which both carry anti-jamming technologies. Jackson said the move, which was expected, reflects the determination of Chinese authorities to avoid a repeat of the signal piracy that in the past has disturbed Chinese television broadcasts on behalf of groups protesting Chinese government policy. He said the Chinese had no programming-control or other reasons beyond signal-piracy and jamming for switching satellites.