November 3 News Items

Space Contractor Makes New Offer to End Strike (Source: Florida Today)
NASA contractor United Space Alliance, after four days of talks with representatives for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 2061 in Cape Canaveral, has a new contract offer on the table for the striking workers. The union membership will hear details on the contract offer on Sunday. The contract standoff between the Machinists union and United Space Alliance has turned into the union's longest strike ever at Kennedy Space Center, with about 440 members participating.

KSC Involved in New NASA R&D Projects (Source: NASA)
NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program (IPP) Seed Fund will support 38 R&D partnerships to meet critical needs for NASA's mission. Seven of these projects will include Kennedy Space Center in leadership or supporting roles, including: 1) Addition Of Electrodynamic & Mechanical Forces To Dem Software (KSC lead); 2) Development Of A Deployable Sun Shield To Support Long Duration In-Space Cryogenic Propellant Storage (KSC lead); 3) Liquid To Gaseous Helium Pump Skid (KSC lead); 4) Lunar Analog Field Demonstration Of In-Situ Resource Utilization & HRS (KSC lead); 5) Development And Rapid Assessment Of A Smart, Environmentally Friendly Coating (KSC lead); 6) Multi-Terrain Loader Remotely Supervised Leveling For Lunar Construction Development (KSC support); 7) Glass Bubble Insulation For Cryogenic Tanks: A Field Demonstration (KSC support). Visit http://www.ipp.nasa.gov/news.htm for information.

NASA Data May Help Improve Estimates Of A Hurricane's Punch (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
As Tropical Storm Noel churns off Florida's east coast, NASA and university scientists have announced they have developed a promising new technique for estimating the intensity of tropical cyclones from space. The method could one day supplement existing techniques, assist in designing future tropical cyclone satellite observing systems, and improve disaster preparedness and recovery efforts. The technique uses NASA satellite data, including simultaneous, accurate measurements of cloud-top temperatures from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA's Aqua satellite, and cloud-top height and cloud profiling information from NASA's CloudSat satellite. Click here to view the article.

Outside View: Row over Baikonur (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
The recent unsuccessful launch of the most reliable Russian rocket, the Proton, came as a blow to the national space program and jeopardized the vital Global Navigation Satellite -- GLONASS -- program because GLONASS spacecraft can only lift off of Proton vehicles, and six satellites in this series have to be placed in orbit by late 2007. A later Oct. 26 launch was a success and another one is scheduled for December.

To be frank, Kazakh authorities made everyone nervous because they agreed to lift the ban on Proton launches only on the eve of Oct. 26. It became obvious that the concerned Russian and Kazakh commissions would have to negotiate damage payments and that precisely this issue would be the key to subsequent launches. Russian concerns mounted Oct. 9, when Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov said he would not visit Baikonur the next day. Previously, Roskosmos said Masimov had planned to visit the Proton launch facility and to make sure that everything was being done to prevent future accidents.

Iridium Reports Exceptional Growth in Military Sector (Source: Iridium)
Iridium Satellite is pleased to announce that its military sector business continues to show outstanding growth with cumulative Department of Defense (DoD) subscribers reaching 31,000. Military traffic through Iridium's satellite network is up more than nine percent (an increase of almost ten percent over last year). This growth is 300 percent more than what Iridium planned for this market segment at the outset of the year.

Spacewalker Repairs ISS Solar Panel (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A NASA astronaut successfully repaired a torn solar panel on the International Space Station during a daring spacewalk on Saturday. Scott Parazynski, stationed on the end of a boom attached to the station's robotic arm, threaded five makeshift hinge supports, dubbed "cufflinks", to shore up a portion of a solar panel. The cufflinks held in place and prevented the panel from suffering any additional repairs when the panel was extended to its full length later in the Saturday morning spacewalk. Engineers on the ground had worked for several days to design the cufflinks and choreograph the unplanned spacewalk, mindful of the risk of electrocution Parazynski faced if he touched any live wires on the panel.

Diapers, Statements Disposable, Judge Rules in Nowak Case (Source: Florida Today)
Orange County Circuit Judge Marc Lubet on Friday threw out the statement given to police by former astronaut Lisa Nowak after she allegedly attacked a love rival in February. Gone are Nowak's admissions that she drove from Houston to Orlando International Airport to "talk" with Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman and that pepper-spraying Shipman in a parking lot in the early morning hours of Feb. 5 "was stupid."

In addition, evidence found in Nowak's car, including three used diapers and maps from Houston to Orlando, will not be allowed at her trial, scheduled to begin in April. Nowak is accused of attacking Shipman over their mutual love interest, Navy Cmdr. Bill Oefelein. She faces charges of attempted kidnapping, battery and attempted vehicle burglary with a battery.

Entrepreneurs Upbeat on the Race to Space (Source: New Mexico Business Weekly)
The space industry's top movers and shakers say they are firmly committed to building the rockets and technology needed to ferry tourists and cargo to space. "We're in a transition phase that could last about five years," said Peter Diamandis, CEO of the X-Prize Foundation and co-founder of the Rocket Racing League. "It's a critical time for us to push forward. There is business to be had in space. We're not the year yet, but once we are, it will be unstoppable."

Alex Tai, chief operating officer for Virgin Galactic, said his company is in the race for the long haul. That firm, headed by British tycoon Richard Branson, is working with California-based Scaled Composites to build a six-passenger spacecraft to fly tourists to suborbit. "We are absolutely determined to make this happen," Tai said. "There will be setbacks along the way, but we're determined to get there." In fact, Virgin Galactic has pre-sold $31 million in tickets to passengers who paid $200,000 each to fly to space.

NASA Selects USRA to Lead National Education Internship Project (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected the Universities Space Research Association to lead the agency's Undergraduate Student Research Project (USRP). The project is a national comprehensive educational initiative designed to provide real-world experience to science, technology, engineering and math students across all 50 states and U.S. territories. The cooperative agreement will have a maximum value of $17 million over five years. The USRP will provide hands-on internships to undergraduates pursuing academic degrees that align with NASA's critical workforce competency needs. The internships will include mentors who are NASA scientists and engineers.

New Satellite Surveillance System Was Key Israeli Tool In Syria Raid (Source: Aviation Week)
Israel pulled out all the stops technologically in its recent raid on Syria, employing several new intelligence-gathering and strike systems in a chain of events stretching from satellite observations to precision bombing of a target thought to be a nuclear facility. Syria's internal politics might have contributed to the apparent success of the Sept. 6 mission. The target was so highly classified in Damascus that the military wasn't briefed and, therefore, air defenses were unprepared, says an Israeli official.

The first piece of the puzzle is linked to the launch of a new reconnaissance satellite this summer. It allowed the integration of several advanced technologies, including electro-optical imaging from space, image enhancing algorithms, scene-matching guidance for precision weapons, and the use of advanced targeting pods carried by the Israeli air force's two-man F-16Is, which are not yet available on its F-15Is.

Conference Attracts Space Entrepreneurs (Source: Florida Today)
A year after its creation, Space Florida stepped up a coordinated effort to attract the commercial space industry to Brevard County by hosting a commercial space conference. The event introduced four space industry pioneers to about 50 state officials and space industry insiders. These entrepreneurs have attracted millions in investment, said Frank A. DiBello, chairman and CEO of ITV Group Inc. "These guys are all very real because money's following them," he said.

Patti Grace Smith, associate administrator for commercial space transportation with the Federal Aviation Administration, said Florida should hurry its efforts to help space entrepreneurs. "Step it up," Smith said. "The competition is getting stiffer." Click here to view the article.