November 29 News Items

Space Question Addressed in Republican Debate (Source: SpaceRef.com)
Gov. Huckabee and Rep. Tancredo were given the opportunity to respond to a question about their support for space exploration during the Nov. 28 debate in Florida. Huckabee recognized the space program's importance to Florida's economy and said he would "want to make sure that we expand the space program, because every one of us who are sitting here tonight have our lives dramatically improved because there was a space program -- whether it's these screens that we see or the incredible electronics that we use, including the GPS systems that got many of you to this arena tonight...Now, whether we need to send somebody to Mars, I don't know. But I'll tell you what: If we do, I've got a few suggestions, and maybe Hillary could be on the first rocket to Mars."

Tancredo's response was less positive on space. "How many questions have dealt with the issue of deficit spending, the debt out of control? And yet, we have somebody saying, 'But would you spend more money on going to Mars?' And the suggestion that we need to spend more money on space exploration. This is it, folks. That's why we have such incredible problems with our debt, because everybody's trying to be everything to all people. We can't afford some things, and by the way, going to Mars is one of them."

GAO: Ares 1 Faces Cost, Schedule, Tech Gaps (Source: Florida Today)
NASA has taken steps in building a good business plan around the development of the Ares I launch vehicle, but the agency has yet to come up with "the knowledge needed to make sound investment decisions" for the program, according to a government audit. "Principally, there are gaps in knowledge about requirements, costs, schedule, technology, design and production feasibility," the Government Accountability Office told House lawmakers in its report. NASA still has 10 months left under its own schedule to close technology, cost and other gaps, but the GAO described those holes as "fairly significant and challenging given the complexity and interdependencies" in the program.

Auditors recommended that NASA establish "a sound business case" for Ares I before going forward on its preliminary design review, currently set for next July. It also suggested delaying that review "until the project's readiness to move forward is demonstrated." Rep. Bart Gordon, the Tennessee Democrat who heads the House Science and Technology Committee, had asked for the audit as part of the panel's oversight of NASA's Exploration plan to return humans to the moon and prepare for eventual human space flight to Mars.

European Ministers Work to Overcome New Galileo Spat (Source: Earth Times)
European Union transport ministers were meeting in Brussels Thursday and Friday to try and overcome a new split over the bloc's troubled Galileo satellite-navigation system project. The latest spat involves a ground-control station, which both Spain and Italy claim should be based in their territory, according to reports. Lack of agreement threatens to further delay the project, which is due to become operational by 2013.

STSS To Launch Next Summer (Source: Aerospace Daily)
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) completed thermal vacuum testing on the second of its two Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) satellites, which are expected to launch from Cape Canaveral in July. Both of the satellites, designed to track ballistic missiles in their midcourse phase of flight, have completed acceptance testing and will be receiving final tweaks for launch configuration and acoustic testing. STSS, together with ground-based radars and other space-based constellations, eventually will cue interceptors against hostile long-range ballistic missiles.

NASA: Possible Air Leak Found in Harmony Module Link (Source: Houston Chronicle)
Engineers have detected what may be a small air leak between the new gateway module delivered to the space station by shuttle astronauts in late October and the rest of the orbital base. More measurements were planned on Friday at the port where the new school bus-sized Harmony module is parked against the station's U.S.-provided science compartment. "At this point, we are not sure if this is truly a leak or not," said a NASA spokeswoman.

Today, Countries Battle for a Piece of the Arctic. Tomorrow? The Moon (Source: WIRED)
In 2005, the Canadian military launched Exercise Frozen Beaver. Eleven soldiers flew in helicopters to Hans Island, a hunk of rock off the coast of Greenland that's long been claimed by both Denmark and Canada. When they landed on the half-square-mile outcropping, the troops planted a Canadian flag, ripping down the Danish colors that had been flying there since 1984. It was the opening shot in what has become a fusillade of bizarre military posturing over the Arctic. More recently, Russian scientist Artur Chilingarov used a small submersible to plant a Russian flag encased in a titanium capsule on the Arctic seafloor some 13,000 feet under the North Pole. "If someone doesn't like this, let them go down themselves," he said. "The Arctic has always been Russian."

Global warming has opened the fabled Northwest Passage for the first time in recorded history. The melt also made the billions of barrels of oil thought to be under the Arctic suddenly seem within our grasp. Some are calling it the Cold Rush. This Arctic battle has implications that reach far beyond the top of Earth. The squabbling will set the tone for eventual sovereignty claims on the moon. At the same time that it was making Arctic claims, Russia announced plans for manned lunar missions by 2025 and a permanent base there by 2032. Japan might beat them to the punch with a 2030 base. Both will be able to stop over and share a glass of Tang with US astronauts, who are supposed to start setting up shop in 2020. China also has lunar aspirations, though officials will say only that they plan to get to the moon sometime after 2020.

"The seabed, high seas, Antarctica, and space are, as a matter of law, global commons. What happens in one can be argued to be legal precedent in the others," says Joanne Gabrynowicz, an international space law expert. Since 2002, China's chief lunar scientist has made his country's intentions clear: "Our long-term goal is to set up a base on the moon and mine its riches for the benefit of humanity." But by far the moon's biggest asset is its primal cachet. Lunar settlers could brandish their nationalism over all of Earth every night. Add to that the fact that the moon is perfect practice for conquest of Mars, the Asteroid Belt, and moons of Jupiter, Saturn, and beyond. In human history, anywhere there's value, there are eventually property rights. Visit http://www.wired.com/science/space/magazine/15-12/st_essay to view the article.

Plan to Send People Into Space from Cecil Field Not Dead Yet (Source: Florida Times-Union)
An environmental study is the latest step in Jacksonville Aviation Authority's plans to begin using the 12,500-foot runway at the former Naval air base for horizontal spacecraft launches. Although the base closed in 1993, 50 years worth of spilled fuels, oils, solvents, paints and pesticides made Cecil Field one of the most notoriously polluted areas in Jacksonville. Cecil Field was listed as an EPA Superfund site in 1989. Cleanup efforts are ongoing. Neighboring resident Raymond Richard, 60, said he was concerned what spacecraft fuel could do if it got into nearby Yellow Water Creek. Overall, he supports the spaceport idea.

The authority is paying Reynolds Smith & Hills Inc. roughly $130,000 for a study. The authority agreed to keep its projects away from Navy cleanup work, and spaceport, at least at first, would open without any new infrastructure. The spaceport would serve as a small component to an overall rebuilding of Cecil into a logistics and distribution hub. The authority sees space tourism as a fledgling business that could boost Jacksonville's economy while making Northeast Florida a major technology hub. "It's going to bring research and development you otherwise might not get," said an official.

Retiree: U.S. Lacks Passion for Space (Source: Florida Today)
The scramble to find new work will not wait for the last shuttle mission. Retirements and voluntary career changes will begin soon, even though the shuttle fleet is scheduled to keep flying through 2010, said one retired space industry worker who lived through the slowdown after the Apollo program, which ended after the last moon mission in 1972. A more diverse economy will provide more opportunities than were available to the men and women who were suddenly unemployed when the U.S. shut down Apollo early. However, he fears that the future health of the space program could be threatened more by the diminished interest of the public and Congress in space exploration. That could translate into less money flowing into NASA and KSC. "We need to get back to that passion we had. I think with the new vehicle you'll have passion because everybody (will be) down here wanting to watch the first or second launch."