November 30 News Items

EU Agrees to Fully Fund Galileo After Addressing Spain's Concerns (Source: Intl. Herald Tribune)
European Union governments agreed Friday to jointly complete the development of the much-delayed Galileo satellite navigation project after mollifying Spain, which had demanded a bigger stake in the venture. At an EU meeting, Spain was the lone holdout in a 26-1 vote on moving ahead with the €3.4 billion (US$5 billion) undertaking. In seeking unanimity, the EU later won Spain's approval with a deal that said a secondary ground station — planned for Spain to monitor emergency services on Galileo channels — may one day be a full-blown ground control station if Spain pays for that upgrade.

Campaigns Should Support Space Exploration (Source: AIA)
Presidential campaigns should publicly express their support of NASA's Constellation Program to ensure America's leadership in space exploration as well as boost education, AIA President and CEO Marion Blakey said. The exploration program, which will return astronauts to the moon and explore Mars and beyond, should not be delayed under any circumstances since there is already a manned spaceflight gap looming.

"Space exploration brings enormous national security, economic and scientific benefits to our nation and should be a win-win issue for all the candidates to endorse," Blakey said. "Presidential hopefuls should make their support of Constellation clear and make it an integral part of their campaigns." Constellation will have a powerful effect in attracting students to science, technology, engineering and mathematics studies, disciplines in which the nation is lacking, Blakey said.

Editorial: Space as a Campaign Issue (Source: Space News)
The pledge by Barack Obama to increase education funding in part by delaying NASA's Constellation program could thrust space exploration to the issues forefront as the race for the party's nomination heats up. Delaying Constellation and delaying retirement of the Space Shuttle would not save money, given the multibillion-dollar annual cost of flying and updating the shuttle fleet. It would be interesting to see how American voters, particularly in key swing states such as Florida, react to the prospect of abandoning U.S. leadership in space exploration.

Cargo Ship Could Deliver Jobs to KSC (Source: Florida Today)
Spacehab is developing a cargo ship to deliver supplies to the International Space Station after NASA's shuttles retire. The Houston company said Thursday that it has submitted a proposal to NASA outlining its plan for an unmanned craft that could carry between 2 and 5 tons to low-Earth orbit. Final assembly, integration and checkout work would be done at the company's facilities in Titusville and Cape Canaveral. If successful, Spacehab's ARCTUS spacecraft would launch on United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 or Delta 4 rockets from Cape Canaveral, possibly protecting or even creating hundreds of space jobs just as NASA is cutting several thousand people from its work force at Kennedy Space Center.

Government Auditors Say NASA's Not Ready for Moon Launch (Source: Houston Chronicle)
Congressional auditors on Thursday challenged NASA's readiness to move ahead with development of the Ares I rocket that will propel the new Orion moonship into Earth orbit with astronauts. The $14.4 billion that NASA plans to spend on the craft's development may be inadequate based on the space agency's aggressive development schedule and technical risks, said a report by the General Accountability Office. The agency's auditors urged the space agency to postpone plans for a key July 2008 design review of the rocket, if necessary, to remedy a list of 51 unknowns, including 31 issues considered high risk to the success of the program.