November 11 News Items

ESA to Ask Members for Huge Investment (Source: Space News)
The European Space Agency (ESA), struggling to reconcile strategic autonomy with small budgets, is preparing to ask its member governments for a huge increase in spending authority for space exploration, ESA officials said. Against a backdrop of increased space-exploration investment in China, India, South Korea and Russia, in addition to the money already spent by the United States and Japan, ESA officials say they are preparing a go-for-broke series of proposals to keep Europe among the world's top space powers. An official aid the agency's previously estimated budget of 700 million euros ($1.02 billion) per year for space exploration will be nowhere near enough if the new proposals are accepted. "I'm afraid it will double in 2011," he said Nov. 9 during a space exploration conference in Berlin.

Ariane 5 Launch Rescheduled for Monday (Source: Arianespace)
The Ariane 5 launch with Skynet 5B and Star One C1 satellites is set for Monday, November 12. Following the testing and replacement of an equipment component on the launch vehicle, Arianespace has authorized a restart of the final countdown for its mission, with a launch windows of 5:06 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.., EST.

NASA Restores Two Instruments Aboard Mars Science Laboratory (Source: Space News)
Two instruments that were cast off NASA's Mars Science Laboratory for being over budget have earned their way back onto the mission, which is scheduled for an August 2009 launch. NASA announced in September that it was scaling back some of Mars Science Laboratory's capabilities in order to keep the $1.7 billion rover mission on track. Seeking to avoid writing another $75 million check for the already over-budget mission, NASA scuttled a descent camera designed to capture color video of the approaching martian surface and refused to provide any money beyond 2007 for Chem-Cam, a laser instrument that has exceeded its budget by 70 percent.

Loral Committed to Boosting Satellite Production Capacity (Source: Space News)
Loral Space and Communications will expand its satellite-production capacity by using unnamed third-party capacity and optimizing its existing facilities with a capital expense of $40 million over two years instead of the $150 million estimated previously. Loral remains committed to expanding Space Systems/Loral's satellite-building capacity to handle nine spacecraft per year. California-based Loral has won four commercial telecommunications satellite orders so far in 2007, but the commercial market is strong enough to give Loral confidence in reaching a nine-per-year target.

NASA Presses On With COTS Despite Kistler's Legal Challenge (Source: Space News)
NASA says it is pushing ahead with the competition for $175 million in unspent Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demonstration money despite Rocketplane Kistler's formal protest of the agency's current bid solicitation. NASA's Johnson Space Center notified prospective bidders Nov. 6 that a protest of the solicitation for space station logistics demonstrations, dubbed JSC-COTS-2, had been filed Oct. 30. NASA did not identify the party behind the appeal. "NASA will continue the evaluation process pending resolution of the protest," NASA wrote in a COTS update posted on its procurement Web site. "Proposal delivery date does not change. Proposals continue to be due on Nov. 21."

Lawmakers Irked Over Surrey-Mississippi State University Contract (Source: Space News)
Two U.S. lawmakers are citing Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd.'s ties to China in urging NASA to cancel an agency-funded small-satellite research and education partnership between the British company and Mississippi State University. Surrey Satellite announced in August that it had been awarded a contract by the university to study a potential U.S.-U.K. lunar orbiter mission to be called Magnolia. The first nine-month phase of the contract would culminate in a preliminary mission design and include training for the school and for NASA's Stennis Space Center on the small satellite know-how Surrey has accrued over the last 25 years, Surrey's press release said. The second phase of the contract, Surrey said, would start in 2008 and could lead to the launch of the Magnolia mission in 2010.

Delta 4 Heavy Launches Missile Warning Satellite (Source: SpaceToday.net)
Making only its second launch, and the the first in nearly three years, a Delta 4 Heavy successfully launched the last in a series of missile warning satellites on Saturday. The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 Heavy lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The launch was the first operational mission for the Delta 4 Heavy, the most powerful member of the EELV family with three common core boosters as its first stage.

Amazon Chief Shoots for Stars (Source: Times Online)
Jeff Bezos has proved the doubters wrong and turned his online store into a booming business. So why does he want to invest the money he’s made into space travel? The founder of Amazon, a button-bright bald geek with a Gatling gun laugh and easy sense of humor, is virtually the last of the 1990s tech pioneers still at the helm of his ship and probably the funniest billionaire you could ever hang out with. He is one of the most successful businessmen on the planet, with an estimated personal wealth of $9 billion – so wealthy that he is pouring money into his own space project, Blue Origin, one of a number racing to take tourists further than they have ever been before.

“I am just very interested in it. You don’t choose your passions, they choose you, and I have been passionate about space since I was a five-year-old, when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.” The company is building “a vertical take-off and landing suborbital vehicle” that will take passengers into space to experience weightlessness. Flights may begin in 2010. And then? Bezos is cagey about future plans, other than affirming that he has a “brilliant team of engineers.” How much money has he spent? “We don’t say.” Then he laughs, “Hey, you didn’t expect to catch me with that one. I’m not that jet-lagged, hahaha.” Rivals estimate Blue Origin has gobbled up at least $500m so far. And it may not all be about boyhood dreams. Getting satellites into space, and using satellites for a variety of purposes, is increasingly vital for business. Bezos may be in there early.

Orbital Tourism Industry Holds Spacewear Fashion Show (Source: The Register)
In the airless vacuum of space, fashion choices are limited. But the California Space Authority - an industry body - was having none of that this week, as it hosted a fashion show at its annual conference. Many of the outfits modeled seemed more suitable for somewhere more hospitable than actual space, though perhaps quite warm. “We believe that the question ‘What do I wear in space?’ will be a very real issue in the extremely near future,” said show organizer Randa Milliron, CEO of a Mojave rocket company. The event was dubbed "Space Style 2007: A Giant Leap for Couture" and the Space Authority set the scene with a suitably torrid press release:

"Aerospace engineers and scientists in their suits, winged-tipped shoes and white lab coats mixed with fashion aficionados in their stylistic garments and pastel-colored hair. The punker-set with lip-piercings and black nail polish toasted cocktails with straight-laced rocket scientists in white-collared shirts. Young and old swayed to the psi-trance/industrial music that pulsated through the venue and together they gazed upon the colorfully lit runway flanked by big screens with flashing images of deep space and Mars-like terrains."

Space Outlook Doesn't Faze Newlyweds (Source: Florida Today)
Patrick Layton and his wife, Amanda, both work for Boeing at Kennedy Space Center. The company that prepares pieces of the International Space Station for launch on NASA's shuttles. NASA aims to complete the outpost and retire its shuttles by 2010, but neither Patrick nor Amanda is overwrought with worry. "I think our prospects are very good," said Amanda, 25, a graduate of Stetson University. "I know the shuttle program is winding down, but at the same time, the Constellation program is ramping up." Patrick, 26, a graduate of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, is a fluid systems engineer who worked on the Harmony module recently delivered to the ISS.

Boeing, which employs about 1,100 people at KSC, won a $1.1 billion contract to build the upper stage of NASA's Ares 1 rocket, which will carry astronauts on the first leg of missions to the moon. The Laytons would love to work on that program. If that doesn't work out, they think there will be other openings at Boeing. "I would hate to leave the Space Coast," Amanda said, "but I think one way or another, I think that we'll be okay."

After the Shuttle on Space Coast (Source: Florida Today)
The Space Coast is three years and counting from the end of NASA's shuttle program. At most, the winged spaceships will blast off from Kennedy Space Center 13 more times on a quest to build the International Space Station. Even if the job is not done, NASA vows to retire the three orbiters in September 2010. The next time astronauts will launch from KSC: 2013. That's a best-case scenario. The schedule assumes NASA stays on track with a complex program to build new Ares rockets and Orion spaceships to replace the shuttle. "The gap is going to be tough to weather. Let's just be straight about that," KSC Director Bill Parsons said.

A six-month Florida Today investigation identified serious problems space workers -- and the entire community -- can expect from life after the shuttle, including the loss of at least 2,500 high-paying jobs. But the newspaper also found reasons for hope that Brevard County can weather the shutdown if leaders act now to take advantage of many opportunities to bring in new jobs for ex-shuttle workers. "This isn't a doomsday scenario we're looking at here," said Gina Piek, a legislative assistant to Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Orlando. "This really can be a great opportunity for the state to really establish itself as the high-tech center of the nation."

Added Elliot Pulham, president and chief executive officer of The Space Foundation: "There is a way forward that creates opportunities if we can get past some of our fears and worries." Public and private meetings have been held the last few months, as leaders fine-tune their strategy. So much is happening so fast that some say action needs to come soon to influence events years off. "Time is critical when you look at federal budget cycle," said Roy Tharpe, a longtime space project manager who also serves on the board of the county's economic development commission. "You have 12 to 18 months to set a plan in place and do something about this."

Atlantis Moves to Pad (Source: Space Florida)
With Discovery barely back on the ground from the last mission to the Space Station, shuttle Atlantis rolled to launch pad 39A on Saturday morning. NASA is shooting for a Dec. 6 launch for an 11-day STS-122 mission to continue assembly of the space station. That launch date, however, depends heavily on an ambitious schedule of construction and preparation work being done by the space station crew on orbit. The practice countdown and safety drills with the STS-122 astronauts are scheduled for Nov. 18 to 20 at KSC.

Editorial: Why on Earth Would Bush Turn His Back on Space? (Source: Houston Chronicle)
What if there was an administration, desperately in search of a legacy, that was finally able to attach itself to one that holds the promise of tomorrow? But then what if, inexplicably, that same administration decided to fiscally starve its legacy to death, thereby killing its only realistic chance of bequeathing something to posterity? On Jan. 14, 2004, President Bush boldly redirected our nation's space program back toward the moon and beyond: "America is proud of our space program. ... Today we set a new course. ... We will build new ships to carry man forward into the universe, to gain a new foothold on the moon, and to prepare for new journeys to worlds beyond our own. ... Today I announce a new plan to explore space and extend a human presence across our solar system. ... Achieving these goals requires a long-term commitment." Whoops. Looks like time's up.

In a bipartisan move, with a large assist from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, the U.S. Senate recently voted to give NASA an additional $1 billion in funding to assure the development of the next generation spacecraft slated to replace the aging space shuttle fleet. With that increase, NASA's budget for the next fiscal year would be $18.5 billion. Then, to the disbelief of many senators and the space community, the Bush White House let it be known that the president would likely veto such an increase. Excuse me? Did Rod Serling from The Twilight Zone suddenly come back to run the White House? I do believe that he has the best interests of the nation at heart. But that does not mean that he or this White House can't make mistakes. They'll be making a huge one if they follow through on the threat of a presidential veto of NASA funding.

Politics Make Space Plans Uncertain (Source: Florida Today)
Congress is not going to keep funding the space program at current levels or increase its funding in order to help the economy of Brevard County or even all of Central Florida. "There are 433 Congressman in Congress who do not care about job loss in Brevard County," said U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, whose district includes KSC. No, Feeney and other members of Congress argue that a different case needs to be made in Washington regarding a healthy space program.

It's the same nationalist message that worked back in the 1960s and 1970s. The gap in our ability to launch people to space is a national security and prestige issue. The message is the same from U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Indialantic, the other member of the House of Representatives with a large number of KSC workers living in his district, and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Orlando, the only current member of Congress to have flown on the space shuttle and a longtime NASA booster in Washington. Already, NASA officials are catching on too -- with NASA Administrator Mike Griffin and KSC Director Bill Parsons giving speeches in recent months speculating that China might get to the moon before the United States returns humans there.

Any action by the Congress to tighten NASA's already fragile development program for new rockets and spacecraft could add years to the gap between the last flight of the shuttles in 2010 and the scheduled first flight of the Orion between 2013 and 2015. And lengthening that gap could make the economic impact more harsh than the $1.5 billion a year hit already forecast. Some observers suggest that there are some political points to be earned from the fact that Central Florida is predicted by many to play a critical role in the election of the next president, and that could help boost the space program's importance to candidates. Click here to view the article.

Experts Discuss Engineering Feats, Like Space Mirrors, to Slow Climate Change (Source: New York Times)
There is now “no doubt” that some of the effects of human-induced climate change could be offset with engineering fixes, according to David Keith, an expert on climate and energy. But what action should be taken, based on this knowledge? At one time he thought scientists should not talk in public about “geoengineering” remedies for global warming — like injecting chemicals into the upper atmosphere to cool the poles, or blocking sunlight by making clouds more reflective or stationing mirrors in space. Like many other researchers, he worried that the potential for a climate fix, even an imperfect one, would only encourage people to continue the profligate burning of fossil fuels that got the planet into trouble in the first place. Click here to view the article.

Death of Spy Satellite Program (Source: New York Times)
By May 2002, the government’s effort to build a technologically audacious new generation of spy satellites was foundering. The contractor building the satellites, Boeing, was still giving Washington reassuring progress reports. But the program was threatening to outstrip its $5 billion budget, and pivotal parts of the design seemed increasingly unworkable. Peter B. Teets, the new head of the nation’s spy satellite agency, appointed a panel of experts to examine the secret project, telling them, according to one member, “Find out what’s going on, find the terrible truth I suspect is out there.” The panel reported that the project, called Future Imagery Architecture, was far behind schedule and would most likely cost $2-3 billion more than planned.

Even so, the experts recommended pressing on. Just months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and with the new satellites promising improved, more frequent images of foreign threats like terrorist training camps, nuclear weapons plants and enemy military maneuvers, they advised Mr. Teets to seek an infusion of $700 million. It took two more years, several more review panels and billions more dollars before the government finally killed the project — perhaps the most spectacular and expensive failure in the 50-year history of American spy satellite projects. Visit http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/washington/11satellite.html?_r=1&ref=science&oref=slogin#step1 to view the article.

Ariz. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Set to Marry NASA Astronaut (Source: AP)
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is set to exchange wedding vows Saturday night with NASA astronaut Mark E. Kelly in a ceremony at a southern Arizona organic farm. More than 350 guests from several countries are expected to attend the wedding of the first-term Democrat who represents southeastern Arizona and the space shuttle pilot, who have managed to build a romance over the past three years despite the long distances between them.

Giffords, 37, represents Arizona's 8th Congressional District, spending the week in Washington and flying home to Tucson most weekends. Kelly, who has piloted space shuttles Endeavour and Discovery and is set to fly as commander of STS-124 next April, spends his weeks training in Houston or Florida. The couple see each other "at least every other weekend," said Kelly, 43. As might be expected when a politician marries an astronaut, the guest list is a little more eclectic than that of other southern Arizona weddings.

ISS to Have 3 New Modules of Russia by 2011 (Source: Kommersant)
The International Space Station will have three Russia’s modules by 2011, and Russia’s crew will grow to three members by 2009. One of them will be a researcher. The U.S. Shuttles are due to retire in 2010. Russia will have to handle all transport support, as the successor to Shuttles, Orion, is scheduled to fly its first missions to the space station only in 2014. As a result, the ISS transformation into research laboratory won’t be so fast as expected. ISS crew will grow to six members in 2009, and the crew of Russia will step up to three, including a researcher.

EchoStar's Net Jumps But Dish TV Growth Slows (Source: Wall Street Journal)
EchoStar's third-quarter net income surged 43% on healthy revenue gains per subscriber, but the satellite-television broadcaster warned that heightened competition, continued theft of its signals and general economic conditions are likely to depress future results. The Colorado-based company posted net income of $199.7 million, up from $139.6 million a year earlier, while keeping a lid on subscriber acquisition costs.

Rocket Launch in French Guiana Postponed over Unspecified Problem (Source: International Herald Tribune)
The launch of a European rocket carrying two telecommunication satellites was postponed Friday after engineers detected a problem in its booster. Arianespace, the commercial arm of the 13-country European Space Agency, said the electrical problem was discovered on one of the rocket's two boosters several hours before the scheduled liftoff. It did not announce a new launch date, although officials said they would replace the booster.

Funding Lures Top Students to Space (Source: Huntsville Times)
These college students are just the kind Marshall Space Flight Center wants. They study math, physics and various fields in engineering - subjects that will shape Marshall's high-tech work force as NASA strives for another moon landing. To encourage their learning, the Alabama Space Grant Consortium doled out more than $300,000 in scholarships Friday to about 40 students at the NASA Educator Resource Center at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. Two-thirds of the scholarship money comes from NASA and the other third from the affiliated universities.

NASA Parties in Florida, At Taxpayer Expense (Source: CBS)
Everyone knows exploring space is dangerous, and the costs are astronomical. Which is why, just last month, NASA was able to squeeze $1 billion extra from the Senate. That very same day, NASA also posted an online notice few people saw - seeking four-star hotel bids for its December awards. The awards are to honor workers who've contributed to flight safety. But it's not just a low-key dinner for a handful of the best and brightest. Try five days and four nights at a luxury Florida hotel for 300 honorees and their guest. Fancy receptions and front-row tickets to the most exciting show in the space business, the shuttle launch. All paid for by your tax dollars.

“I think it’s kind of ironic that they’re gonna be extravagant at how they spend money and they’re coming to us saying they want more money,” Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said. And most of the honorees? They're not NASA employees. They're from Boeing and other billion-dollar contractors that aren’t picking up the tab. Visit http://cbs2.com/topstories/topstories_story_313204019.html to view the article.

SpaceDev Reports Fiscal Results (Source: SpaceDev)
SpaceDev reported its financial results for the nine and three months ended September 30, 2007 with revenue over $25.3 million and $7.6 million for the two periods, respectively, as well as net income of over $214,000 and $57,000 for the nine and three month periods ended September 30, 2007, respectively. SpaceDev reported revenue of approximately $25.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2007, an increase of approximately $2.5 million, or 11%, from the approximately $22.8 million in revenue reported for the same period in 2006. The Company reported revenue of approximately $7.6 million and $7.0 million in the three months ended September 30, 2007 and 2006, respectively, an increase of approximately $600,000, or 9%.

Russia to Build New Space Center in Far East (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia is to build a new space center in the Far East, but will continue to use Kazakhstan's Baikonur launch site until at least 2020, Roskosmos said on Friday. "We are currently considering the Amur Region in the Far East as the main location for a new launch site," Anatoly Perminov said. Perminov had previously said that construction of a new launch facility would only begin after a new type of spacecraft had been built. The Federal Space Program for 2006-2015 stipulates the joint construction with European partners of a reusable "Clipper" spacecraft, as well as two carrier rockets, the Angara and the Soyuz-2.

While the family of Soyuz-2 launch vehicles is already operational, Russia is still developing its entire range of Angara boosters. Perminov said Russia was still in the process of holding a tender for the development of the Clipper reusable spacecraft. Russia's two leading space companies, the Energia Corporation and the Khrunichev State Research and Production Center, are participating in the tender. The Clipper, a six-person spacecraft similar to the U.S. Space Shuttle, is designed to replace the Soyuz and Progress carrier rockets in making regular flights to the ISS, and, eventually, the Moon and Mars. It will carry two professional astronauts and up to four passengers.

Russia to Offer Partners to Increase ISS Lifespan (Source: Interfax)
The lifespan of the International Space Station (ISS) could be extended up to 2020, head of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) Anatoly Perminov said. "The issue was addressed at a meeting of the board. The majority of speakers advocated extending the station's lifespan up to 2020. We will propose this to our partners, because we cannot solve the issue independently," Perminov said after the meeting of the board of the Russian Federal Space Agency.

NASA Blasted for Ignoring Smaller Asteroids (Source: New Scientist)
NASA is being slammed for sacrificing public safety by resisting calls to enlarge its search for potentially dangerous asteroids which might strike the Earth. "NASA cannot place a new NEO [near-earth object] program above current scientific and exploration missions," maintained Scott Pace, associate administrator for program analysis and evaluation at the US space agency. He spoke at a US congressional hearing on Thursday. The hearing of the Committee on Science and Technology opened with NASA receiving a scolding from Mark Udall, chair of the subcommittee on space and aeronautics. NASA has failed to heed a directive Congress passed two years ago to plan and budget for a program identifying threatening near-Earth objects as small as 140 meters, and to devise ways to avoid potential impacts, he said.

NASA says it will continue its current Spaceguard project, which expects to find nearly 90% of potentially hazardous asteroids larger than 1 kilometre by the end of 2008. The Congress wants the space agency to run its own program to search for smaller asteroids which might collide catastrophically with the Earth. But the space agency is looking instead at working with other surveys.