NORAD Ready to Track Santa (Source: NORAD)
In advance of its 51st season of tracking Santa Claus on his annual journey around the world, the North American Aerospace Defense Command has activated its “NORAD Tracks Santa” Web site. The program began in 1955 when an errant phone call was made to NORAD’s predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center by a local child who dialed a misprinted telephone number in a local newspaper advertisement. The commander who answered the phone that night gave the youngster the information he requested – the whereabouts of Santa Claus – and thus the tradition of NORAD tracking Santa began. Visit http://www.noradsanta.org to follow Santa.
Uncrewed Orion Could Find Astronauts Lost in Space (Source: New Scientist)
NASA's Orion spacecraft could fly unpiloted to rescue astronauts stuck in orbit around the Moon, using sensors and smart navigation software the space agency is currently developing. The agency plans to carry astronauts to the Moon from 2020 aboard the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), also dubbed Orion. Once in lunar orbit, the crew will climb into an attached Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM), which will take them onto the Moon's surface. The LSAM will later return to orbit and rejoin Orion for the trip home. But unlike the Apollo missions, the orbiting craft will have no humans on board after the lander has started its mission. If the lander malfunctions and strands astronauts in the wrong orbit, Orion will have to rescue them on its own.
NASA Will Abide by New COTS Restrictions (Source: Space.com)
NASA Administrator Mike Griffin said his agency would abide by the restrictions the U.S. Congress has imposed on the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, a $500 million demonstration project aimed at fostering private-sector solutions to NASA's space station re-supply quandary. "We will, of course, comply with the laws that are passed, but we certainly will redress this issue with Congress," Griffin said. "NASA will fight for this program, which is critically important to America's future as a space-faring nation."
A $555 billion domestic spending bill that cleared Congress Dec. 19 and now heads to the White House where President George W. Bush is expected to sign it into law includes the $17.3 billion Bush requested for NASA. But the bill also cuts about a third of the $236 million NASA had requested for the COTS program for 2008 and bars the space agency from making a new COTS award until it resolves its dispute with one of the two original COTS awardees, Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) of Oklahoma City.
"[T]he Appropriations Committees note that one of the two COTS contracts is currently in dispute, and are concerned by NASA's recent decision to re-compete the disputed contract before all challenges have been resolved," the bill's provision states. "In doing so, NASA could potentially create a liability to fund three proposals instead of two as originally envisioned, increasing the costs of this program to the taxpayers." Eight companies submitted bids to NASA by Nov. 21 for the $175 million that was freed up after the agency terminated RpK's COTS award.
International Group Plans Strategy for Mars Sample Return Mission (Source: ESA)
ESA, NASA and an international team are developing plans and seeking recommendations to launch the first Mars mission to bring soil samples back to Earth. The ability to study soil from Mars here on Earth will contribute significantly to answering questions about the possibility of life on the Red Planet. Returned samples also will increase understanding of the useful or harmful properties of Martian soil, which will support planning for the eventual human exploration of Mars.
A task force named the International Mars Architecture for Return of Samples, or IMARS, recently met in Washington to lay the foundation for an international collaboration to return samples from Mars. NASA hosted the meeting. IMARS meeting participants included representatives from more than half a dozen countries and ESA, NASA, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Bill Cuts NASA Exploration (Source: Aerospace Daily)
The fiscal 2008 omnibus spending bill Congress plans to send to the White House for final approval by President Bush contains a modest cut to NASA's request for exploration funds, but a slight boost to overall science programs. Exploration - which includes development of the new Orion and Ares vehicles that will replace the space shuttle and eventually send astronauts back to the moon - would receive $3.8 billion under the bill, which is $270 million more than was enacted in 2007 but roughly $124 million below the request.
Science programs would receive $5.577 billion, or $61 million above NASA's request. Space shuttle operations would receive $4 billion, and $2.22 billion would be allotted for the International Space Station. The bill also includes $556 million for cross-agency support programs. NASA's aeronautics directorate would receive $625 million, $81 million above the request, to fund aeronautical research, including work on fuel efficiency, air traffic patterns and emissions reduction.
Space Access Plans Space Tourism Event in Key Largo (Source: Space Access)
Space Access, a Miami-based company, will host a limited number of guests for "SpaceGateWay Experiences" at an exclusive private resort in Key Largo, Florida. The company will expose the guests to its advanced enabling technologies for commercial space flight. In 2011, suborbital flights are planned to take customers to the edge of space, from spaceports in Texas and South Florida. Space Access will begin development of an even more capable vehicle designed to carry passengers all the way to orbit by 2014. Visit http://www.spaceaccess.com for information.
Boeing to Build a Sixth Wideband Global SATCOM Satellite (Source: Boeing)
The Air Force has exercised an option for a sixth Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite and has authorized Boeing to begin construction. The Commonwealth of Australia is funding the procurement as part of a cooperative agreement between the U.S. and Australian governments. The satellite is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2012. The sixth WGS satellite, a Block II version, will carry the radio frequency (RF) bypass capability designed to support airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms requiring additional bandwidth. The RF bypass supports data rates of up to 311 Megabits per second, more than 200 times faster than most cable or DSL connections. Boeing will design and manufacture the 702 model spacecraft at its satellite factory in El Segundo, Calif.
Mojave Air, Space Port Gets Reprieve (Source: Antelope Valley Press)
The Mojave Air and Space Port received an amendment to its spaceport license from the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday, averting a possible loss of the license. "This came as a pleasant surprise," General Manager Stu Witt told the East Kern Airport District directors during a special meeting Thursday. The district governs the Mojave Air and Space Port. Airport officials still need to analyze the document to determine the full effect on operations at the nation's first inland spaceport. "Some of the terms and conditions have far-reaching operational implications and require mathematical analysis," Witt said.
Russia Launches Cargo Spacecraft to ISS (Source: SpaceToday.net)
A Soyuz rocket launched a Progress spacecraft carrying cargo for the International Space Station. The Soyuz lifted off from the Baikonur spaceport Sunday and placed the Progress M-62 spacecraft into low Earth orbit. The spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the ISS Wednesday. On board the spacecraft is a typical assortment of food, water, and other supplies, as well as Christmas presents for the three-person crew. the launch comes one day after an older spacecraft, Progress M-61, undocked from the station; it will remain in orbit for several weeks performing unspecified experiments before it reenters.
Japan's Plan for Midsize Rocket System Faces Problems (Source: International Herald Tribune)
Japan's plan to introduce a midsize space rocket in the next five years is under review and could be delayed because of ballooning costs, a news report said Sunday. The new GX rocket to launch satellites is being developed jointly by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and a group of companies including IHI Corp. The first launch is planned for 2011. The government has begun a review of the project, which is already six years behind schedule.
Unknown Object Hits Satellite in Space (Source: DailyPress.com)
In the eternity of space, the chance of a meeting between two free-floating objects would probably not produce odds you'd want to bet on. But in the ever-more-crowded arena of low-Earth orbit, the area up to about 1,200 miles above the surface, those odds might be improving. An unknown object apparently collided with a satellite with NASA Langley Research Center connections in November, sending several broken pieces flying into orbit. The satellite was decommissioned in December 2005, but was one of NASA's largest and brightest in low-Earth orbit, and popular among amateur sky watchers. Called UARS, Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, it was launched in 1991 and carried a NASA Langley instrument called HALOE that captured data about the chemistry of the atmosphere.
Conflict of Interest Delays 2011 NASA Mars Mission (Source: SpaceToday.net)
NASA will skip a 2011 opportunity to launch a Mars orbiter after the agency discovered a conflict of interest when reviewing two mission proposals. Agency officials provided few details about the conflict, discovered after the agency had received detailed proposals from two finalists for the 2001 Mars Scout mission opportunity, other than that the conflict was severe enough that its only recourse was to reconstitute the review panel that would judge the proposals. The delay would have created too much schedule and cost pressure to meet a 2011 launch, so NASA decided instead to slip the mission to 2013. The slip is expected to cost NASA $40 million. The two finalists, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) and The Great Escape, are both designed to study the Martian upper atmosphere.
Asteroid on Track for Possible Mars Hit (Source: LA Times)
An asteroid similar to the one that flattened forests in Siberia in 1908 could plow into Mars next month, scientists said today. Researchers attached to NASA's Near-Earth Objects Program, who sometimes jokingly call themselves the Solar System Defense Team, have been tracking the asteroid since its discovery in late November. The scientists, based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, put the chances that it will hit the Red Planet on Jan. 30 at about 1 in 75.
Space Station Astronaut's Mom Dies in Car Wreck (Source: Houston Chronicle)
The 90-year-old mother of an astronaut aboard the international space station was killed Wednesday when her car was struck by a freight train in a Chicago suburb. A NASA flight surgeon in Mission Control informed astronaut Dan Tani of the death of his mother, Rose Tani, while he was orbiting about 220 miles above the Earth.
Space Access Plans Out-of-This-World Coastal Bend Theme Community (Source: KRIS)
A company from Indiana plans to offer what it calls an "experience of a lifetime" vacation package that includes a bird's eye view of North America from space. Space Access founder Steve Wurst said he worked with President Bush when he was governor and with and Gov. Rick Perry to make the dream of a space community a reality in Texas. Wurst has been in talks with the Kennedy Memorial Foundation for about a decade to build a spaceport and city of the future on Kennedy Ranch. Developers would build an economically-friendly community on roughly 25,000 acres of land there something similar to Disney's celebration in Central Florida.
"But instead of amusement related to animated characters," Wurst said, "the main draw would be the space tourism theme." Wurst said the community would help support a spaceport on Kennedy Ranch, where up to 15 sub-orbital flights would be offered daily starting in 2011. After eight minutes of space travel, Wurst said, travelers would fly over South Florida coast where Space Access looks to build another space port. The company plans to offer one-way or round-trip packages back to Corpus Christi at a cost comparable to an ocean cruise. The space port project on Kennedy Ranch is being unveiled during an expo in Key Largo, Fla., on Jan. 6.
Sixth Successful Arianespace Mission in 2007 (Source: Arianespace)
On Friday evening, December 21, Arianespace boosted two communications satellites into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO): RASCOM-QAF1, built by Thales Alenia Space for pan-African operator RASCOMSTAR-QAF, and Horizons-2, built by Orbital Sciences Corporation for the operator Horizons 2 Satellite LLC, a joint venture of Intelsat and JSAT. The latest successful launch of an Ariane 5, its sixth in 2007, confirms that Arianespace's launch Service & Solutions continues to set the standard for all telecom operators worldwide. Ariane 5 is the only commercial launcher in service today capable of simultaneously launching two payloads, and gives Arianespace customers unrivaled performance, flexibility and competitiveness.
In 2007, Ariane 5 missions performed by Arianespace orbited 12 of the 15 commercial communications satellites that were successfully launched into geostationary orbit. Starsem, an Arianespace subsidiary, carried out three Soyuz launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, orbiting eight satellites for the Globalstar constellation and RADARSAT-2 for the Canadian Space Agency.
NASA Maintenance Group Votes to Go on Strike (Source: Daily Times)
Nearly 75 facilities and maintenance workers who operate the NASA Wallops Flight Facility voted Monday to go on strike Jan. 1. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 2552, based out of Wallops Island, held a vote Monday to go on strike after the workers rejected the last offer from their Georgia-based employer, VT Griffin Services. The workers, who handle heating, electrical and wastewater services for the facility, are demanding their employer up the health insurance contribution they offer to cover increasing costs.
Astronaut Tapes Message for Mother's Funeral (Source: WLS-TV)
The brother and sister of astronaut Dan Tani talked publicly for the first time Thursday about the death of their mother. Ninety-year old Rose Tani was killed when her car was hit by a freight train in Lombard on Wednesday. Dan Tani is on the International Space Station. He has recorded a message that will be played at his mother's funeral this weekend. Rose Tani's children are remembering a remarkable woman who survived the internment camps during World War II and raised five successful children, including her best known son, astronaut Dan Tani.
UCF Star Graduate to Lend a Hand to the Vatican's Labs (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Nate Lust is going to Rome to do what the Romans couldn't do. The recent University of Central Florida astronomy graduate has been hired to modernize old telescopes for the Vatican Observatory at Castel Gandolfo, the pope's summer palace. Astronomers have been trying to do that for years without much success. Even though the observatory is outside of Rome, the Eternal City's bright lights make it hard for the Vatican's telescopes to see the stars, and that's hard on astronomers doing research, said Guy Consolmagno, the observatory's director. But Lust has found a way for UCF's telescope to electronically filter out Orlando's light pollution. His efforts are part of the reason the new 20-inch telescope at UCF's Robinson Observatory is one of the best in the state, scientists say. The Vatican hopes Lust can do the same for its optics.
Delta II with GPS Payload Launches from Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Air Force)
Air Force space technicians successfully launched a United Launch Alliance Delta II booster Dec. 21 carrying the fifth modernized NAVSTAR Global Positioning System satellite into space. The satellite will join the constellation of on-orbit satellites providing global coverage and increased performance of the GPS services to users worldwide. The modernized series delivers increased signal power to receivers on the ground, two new military signals for improved accuracy, enhanced encryption and anti-jamming capabilities for the military, and a second civil signal to provide users with an open access signal on a different frequency.
Shuttle Boss Hopes for Quick Fix to Fuel Sensor Woes (Source: SpaceFligtNow.com)
Engineers have been provisionally cleared to remove a suspect feed-through plug and an external connector from the shuttle Atlantis' external fuel tank for laboratory testing and a possible fix to eliminate intermittent electrical glitches with low-level engine-cutoff sensors. No final decisions have been made, but one leading candidate for a near-term repair is to possibly solder the external socket to the male pins in the pass-through connector to eliminate any open circuits in that part of the system when it is chilled to cryogenic temperatuures. This scenario assumes the internal connector is sound and is not contributing to the problem. The internal connector cannot be modified unless repair crews enter the external tank, work that likely would require a roll back to the Vehicle Assembly Building.
NASA's Moon Mission Could See Major Change in Concept of Operations (Source: Flight International)
NASA is studying a major change to its Moon mission plan to cut the time its spacecraft have to wait in low Earth orbit before setting off. Loitering in LEO presents challenges for cryogenic propellant storage and spacecraft energy budget. A revised mission plan could see the Ares I launcher, carrying the Orion crew exploration vehicle, lift off before an Ares V cargo launcher takes the Earth departure stage and Altair lunar lander into space. Under the current concept of operations, which involves launching the unmanned Ares V first, the EDS and Altair would loiter in LEO for up to 14 days. Launching the manned Ares I first could reduce the loiter time to four days.
2008 Forecast: The Year Progress Must Be Made in Space (Source: Flight International)
The year ahead is set to either be a record breaker or will see major programs unravel, with the European Space Agency, NASA, California based-Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and UK space tourism company Virgin Galactic all facing key tests. ESA's ATV, Virgin Galactic and Falcon have already been delayed from 2007 and it will not be long into 2008 before its known whether these programs face more delays. Click here to view the article.
MIT, Harvard Offer Solution to Mars Enigma (Source: MIT)
Planetary scientists have puzzled for years over an apparent contradiction on Mars. Abundant evidence points to an early warm, wet climate on the red planet, but there’s no sign of the widespread carbonate rocks, such as limestone, that should have formed in such a climate. Now, a detailed analysis by MIT’s Maria T. Zuber and Itay Halevy and Daniel P. Schrag of Harvard University provides a possible answer to the mystery. In addition to being warmed by a greenhouse effect caused by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as on Earth, the early Mars may have had the greenhouse gas sulfur dioxide in its atmosphere. That would have interfered with the formation of carbonates, explaining their absence today.
It's Official: 2009 Is the Year of Astronomy (Source: Sky & Telescope)
In a triumph for everyone who looks up in wonder at the starry sky, the United Nations' General Assembly has formally proclaimed 2009 the International Year of Astronomy. IYA 2009 celebrates the 400th anniversary of Galileo's introduction of the telescope to astronomy. The UN's declaration culminates nearly five years of effort by the government of Italy (where Galileo lived and worked in the late 16th and early 17th centuries), the International Astronomical Union (IAU), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Is Time Slowing Down? (Source: New Scientist)
It can drag or it can race, but what if time stopped altogether? It now seems that time could disappear from our universe - and we may already have found evidence of its forthcoming demise. When astronomers observed a decade ago that supernovae are apparently spreading apart faster as the universe ages, they assumed that something must be causing the expansion of the universe to speed up. But so far, nobody has been able to explain where the "dark energy" causing this acceleration comes from. Now José Senovilla at the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, Spain, and his colleagues have a radical answer - we are fooled into thinking that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, because time itself is slowing down.
Rocket Launch Part of New Biz for UP Aerospace (Source: NM Business Weekly)
UP Aerospace quietly launched a low-altitude rocket from Spaceport America on Dec. 19. The launch remained confidential until after it was over because the client that hired UP to test new rocket technology requested that it remain private, said UP President Jerry Larson. "All the test objectives were met in the launch." The rocket reached an altitude of 2,700 feet -- far short of space, which begins at 328,000 feet. That was deliberate, Larson said. The company was only testing launch capabilities. This is UP's third launch from Spaceport America, located in the desert near Upham in southern New Mexico.
UP's first launch to suborbit in September 2006 failed at about 40,000 feet, but its second launch last April successfully reached space. Those earlier launches contained commercial, academic and personal payloads from customers who paid to send things like photos, cremated remains of loved ones, and scientific experiments to space. Visit http://albuquerque.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2007/12/17/daily26.html?jst=b_ln_hl to view the article.
Boeing to Build NASA Tracking, Data Relay Satellites (Source: Reuters)
Boeing has been awarded a NASA contract to develop two Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS) at a value of $695 million, or $1.2 billion if all options are exercised. The contract increases Boeing's satellite backlog to 27 aircraft, the company said in a statement. While one satellite would be ready for launch in 2012, the other would be ready in 2013, Boeing said. The satellites will replenish NASA's communication relay network that provides telecommunication links between low orbiting spacecraft and the ground, NASA said in a separate statement.
10,000 Earths' Worth of Fresh Dust Found Near Star Explosion (Source: NASA)
Astronomers have at last found definitive evidence that the universe's first dust – the celestial stuff that seeded future generations of stars and planets – was forged in the explosions of massive stars. The findings, made with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, are the most significant clue yet in the longstanding mystery of where the dust in our very young universe came from. Scientists had suspected that exploding stars, or supernovae, were the primary source, but nobody had been able to demonstrate that they can create copious amounts of dust – until now. Spitzer's sensitive infrared detectors have found 10,000 Earth masses worth of dust in the blown-out remains of the well-known supernova remnant Cassiopeia A.
'I Blasted My Husband's Ashes Into Outer Space' (Source: The Independent)
After Naomi Mihara's husband Alan died of a brain haemorrhage three weeks short of his 44th birthday, she cast around for ways to celebrate his life. They had been schoolfriends and grown up together in Japan, before relocating to the UK, where they set up their own business. They had been married for 20 years. "He left us very suddenly. In the morning, he took our five-year-old daughter to school. By lunch he was gone," she says. The high cost of space travel means sending all of someone's ashes into space is out of the reach of all but the super-rich, but Celestis offers several options for those who want to launch a symbolic portion of cremated remains – or "cremains" as they call them.
The idea is taking off: the first memorial flight lifted off a decade ago and carried the ashes of 27 people. Now, says Schonfeld, Celestis is looking to get numbers up to 1,000 per rocket. "Space is becoming very busy," she adds. "There are plenty of flights." Packages range in price from $495 to $67,500 depending on how many ashes are sent, and how far they go. And couples who want to share their final journey can mix their ashes in one container; one half's ashes can be stored in a bank vault in Houston, Texas, until their partner dies.
"Earth Rise" is Celestis' cheapest option, sending remains on a 15-minute round-trip on a rocket launched into space, before engraved capsules and modules parachute back to earth and are returned to loved ones as a keepsake. The "Earth Orbit" package, meanwhile, involves taking cremains on a mission, alongside a commercial or scientific satellite. They stay in orbit for the duration of the mission, and are completely consumed by the earth's atmosphere on re-entry.
By Edward Ellegood
LinkedIn Group
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