November 12 News Items

SpaceX Completes Development of Merlin Engine (Source: SpaceX)
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has completed development of its Merlin 1C next generation liquid fueled rocket booster engine. It is among the highest performing gas generator cycle kerosene engines ever built, exceeding the Boeing Delta II main engine, the Lockheed Atlas II main engine, and on par with the Saturn V F-1 engine. The Merlin 1C is an improved version of the Merlin 1A ablatively cooled engine. The regeneratively cooled Merlin 1C uses rocket propellant grade kerosene (RP-1), a refined form of jet fuel, to first cool the combustion chamber and nozzle before being combined with the liquid oxygen to create thrust. This cooling allows for higher performance without significantly increasing engine mass.

The Merlin 1C will power SpaceX’s next Falcon 1 mission, scheduled to lift off in early 2008 from the SpaceX launch complex in the Central Pacific atoll of Kwajalein. SpaceX’s far larger Falcon 9 rocket, now in development, will employ nine Merlin engines on its first stage, and one on the second stage. The Falcon 9 will have over a million pounds of thrust – four times the maximum thrust of a Boeing 747.

Exploding Moon Myths: or Why There's No Race to Our Nearest Neighbor (Source: Space Review)
Recent and upcoming lunar missions, and even announcements of proposed missions, have given the impression to some that there is some kind of new race to the Moon developing. Dwayne Day find the flaws the various explanations given for why these missions are all taking place now. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/999/1 to view the article.

City Braces for Downturn (Source: Florida Today)
As cars zoom along Cheney Highway, one of Titusville's main thoroughfares, there is little sense the economic fortunes of this "space city" will drastically change in the next three years. Take Wendy Dankovchik, a former Boeing Co. employee who operates Bruster's Ice Cream shop on Cheney Highway. "I'm really not too concerned," said Dankovchik, who spent more than 20 years at the Kennedy Space Center, working as a safety and quality control manger. "I really believe that, when one program goes down, one will come up," she said.

But it's unlikely that any program is going to match the nearly 10,000 space shuttle jobs at KSC and the combined $600 million annual payroll. With a sizable percentage of those workers living in Titusville and northern Brevard, it seems overly optimistic to believe that the economic reverberations from the paring of the shuttle program will not rattle the community. "I don't think most people realize how significant these cuts are going to be," said Bob Socks, owner of BS Marketing and Promotion and a longtime member of the Titusville Area Chamber of Commerce. Visit http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071112/NEWS02/711120337/1007/news02 to view the article.

Change is Part of the 'Space' Job (Source: Florida Today)
For David Bethay, the family business is the space business. His father worked with Werner Von Brain's team of German rocket scientists during the development of the Saturn 5 super-booster. His father-in-law is an astrophysicist who developed the control algorithms for the Hubble Space Telescope. His brother-in-law is a rocket scientist. His sister is a NASA safety and reliability engineer and his wife works with an environmental contractor at Kennedy Space Center. Beyond the shuttle, the future for 1,100 people who work for Boeing at KSC is uncertain. "Concerned? We're all concerned about that," Bethay said. "The thing is, most people aren't in this business because they are going to make it rich. They are in this business because they love it."

Challenges Ahead at Space Center (Source: Florida Today)
Sweeping change is under way at Kennedy Space Center as NASA starts to transform its shuttle launch site back into a launching port for lunar missions. Lightning protection towers, 600 feet tall, will sprout around one of two shuttle launch pads. A Firing Room in the famed Launch Control Center already is being renovated, and the 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building will be retrofitted for new rockets that will rival the Apollo-era Saturn 5 in size.

More monumental: Keeping skilled launch workers on board through the final shuttle mission in 2010. "It's the No. 1 thing on my radar screen -- even more than foam coming off the external tank," NASA shuttle program manager Wayne Hale said. "How do we retain our critically important work force -- with these skills and these capabilities -- until the end of our program and make sure that they have a place to go, and are not left out in the cold, when the last shuttle comes to wheels-stop?" Click here to view the article.

Why "Save Mars" is Worth the Effort (Source: Space Review)
Some space advocates have been pressing Congress to drop language in the House version of the NASA budget that would prohibit spending on any project exclusively intended to support human Mars exploration. Chris Carberry explains why what appears to be a minor provision in the overall bill is so critical. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/998/1 to view the article.

Hillary Clinton's Civil Space Policy (Source: Space Review)
As the only presidential candidate of either party to release a detailed science policy, Hillary Clinton's approach to space policy has come under scrutiny. Taylor Dinerman examines what Clinton said -- and did not say -- and its implications for the agency and its exploration plans. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/997/1 to view the article.

NASA and Major Policy Issues (Source: Space Review)
Why did Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton release a space policy proposal more than a year before the general election? Eric Hedman argues that NASA and its contributions to the nation will play a bigger role in the upcoming election than they have in the past. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/993/1 to view the article.

China Launches Remote Sensing Satellite (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A Long March rocket placed a Chinese remote sensing satellite into orbit on Monday. The Long March 4C lifted off from the Taiyuan spaceport and placed the Yaogan-3 satellite into orbit. The spacecraft is the third in a new series of what are believed to be synthetic aperture radar imaging satellites; official Chinese accounts describe the spacecraft as being used for a variety of Earth sciences applications. The Long March 4C that launched the spacecraft is a previously-unannounced variant of the Long March family boosters. Chinese reports offered no details about the rocket.