November 6 News Items

UK To Consider Funding Launchers (Source: Flight International)
The UK government is ready to provide seed-corn funding for indigenous launch vehicle development, for the first time since its Blue Streak ballistic missile program was cancelled in April 1960. The new funding could come from the UK's Ministry of Defense and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), if the two government branches' joint consideration of rocket proposals approves anything and if the money is available. The prospect of UK funding for a small satellite launcher is the result of the nation's ongoing review of government policy, which will see a new space strategy up to 2010 announced by year's end.

Space Exploration: A Measure of American Competitiveness (Source: NASA Watch)
In a recent speech, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin said: "It is my goal to get these critics to recognize that the development of space is a strategic capability for our nation, a view completely in keeping with the founding principles of the American nation - pushing back the frontier. There was a time when the land upon which we stand here in Chicago lay far beyond our western frontier. Today, that frontier lies in space. We've sent out the first few explorers, and they returned with wondrous tales. In President Kennedy's famous words, "Now is the time to take longer strides". The geography of our solar system dictates that these next strides will again be to Earth's moon - three days journey away. But this time, a lunar outpost will follow soon afterward, allowing us to exploit its resources and its vantage point."

Malaysia Weighs Buying Russian Spacecraft (Source: AP)
Malaysia is thinking of buying the Russian craft that carried the first Malaysian into space and putting it on exhibit to stimulate scientific interest among the country's youths. Science Minister Jamaludin Jarjis said Russia's space agency offered to sell the Soyuz TMA-11 craft to Malaysia and that negotiations were under way. There was no mention of any possible price.

Record 5th Planet Found Around Nearby Star (Source: UCBerkeley)
A team of American astronomers announced the discovery of a record-breaking fifth planet around the nearby star 55 Cancri, making it the only star aside from the sun known to have five planets. The discovery comes after 19 years of observations of 55 Cancri and represents a milestone for the California and Carnegie Planet Search team, which this year celebrates the 20th anniversary of its first attempts to find extrasolar planets by analyzing the wobbles they cause in their host star.

ISS Ready For Columbus (Source: Aerospace Daily)
The International Space Station (ISS) is ready to provide power to Europe's Columbus laboratory module, thanks to some spectacular space surgery on its torn solar array. But it will be a race against the clock to get the station ready for the shuttle Atlantis to dock with Columbus before the final launch window of the year slams shut. ISS Expedition 16 crew members went to work immediately after shuttle Discovery undocked early Nov. 5, preparing the newly delivered Harmony pressurized node to be moved to its permanent station at the front of the U.S. Destiny laboratory module. The move will require three spacewalks and two days of robotic activity before Atlantis can dock and plug the Columbus lab into the side of the new Italian-built node.

A New Space Order (Source: Spero News)
The launch by Japan and China of their first lunar orbiter rekindles a scramble for space not seen since the launch of Sputnik 50 years ago. Successful space programs have become an essential element of great power status. The launch of China's first lunar orbiter, Chang’e, at the end of October and Japan's blasting off of the Kaguya lunar probe a month before reflect the increasing interest of the great powers in projecting their influence above the skies. Alongside the traditional space powers of the Cold War era - the US and Russia - a new host of actors is joining this exclusive club: China, Japan, India and the EU now have the independent capability to place satellites into orbit, including the indigenous production of the necessary launch vehicles. Their space programs are increasingly geared toward the moon and Mars.

Several other countries - including Israel, South Korea, Brazil, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Turkey and Taiwan - are at various stages of development of their own satellite production and launcher capabilities, striving to gain acceptance in the uppermost club. Space exploration produces significant commercial and scientific spin-offs, which in turn play an important role in the lives of millions of people: satellite communications for global coverage, earth observations for weather forecasts, monitoring natural disasters, reconnaissance for better utilization of natural resources as well as exploitation of materials from the solar system. A comprehensive space policy has thus become of paramount importance to furthering national objectives and improving the quality of life of people worldwide. Successful space missions also boost patriotic sentiments at home and prowess abroad. They have now become an integral part of a great power's foreign policy toolbox.

NASA Leader Comments on KSC Business Expo Event (Source: NASA Watch)
NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale's comments on the recent business expo at Cape Canaveral: "At Business Opportunity Expos, small businesses have the opportunity to present their capabilities to NASA small business specialists and procurement and technical personnel from throughout the Agency and communicate with large businesses that support NASA. The 17th annual NASA Business Opportunities Expo was held on October 16 near Kennedy Space Center and was attended by approximately 900 people and featured 175 exhibitors. These expos also are a means for small businesses to network with each other and develop long lasting business relationships."

Astronauts Check Wings Ahead of Reentry (Source: AP)
Shuttle Discovery's astronauts surveyed the wings of their ship Monday to ensure a safe descent over the American heartland after leaving the space station. On the ride home Wednesday, the space shuttle will make the first coast-to-coast re-entry since Columbia shattered in the sky over Texas in 2003 and sent tens of thousands of pounds of wreckage raining down on at least two states. Discovery was not supposed to re-enter over the entire United States — just Florida after zooming up from the southwest over Central America and the Caribbean. But that original plan would have entailed a pre-dawn landing, and shuttle commander Pamela Melroy preferred a safer, easier touchdown in daylight.