December 3 News Items

Strange Space Bedfellows (Source: MSNBC)
The competition to build spaceships for NASA can lead to strange alliances, as illustrated by PlanetSpace's new partnership with Lockheed Martin and ATK. Lockheed and ATK are the leading players in NASA's effort to build the successor to the space shuttle - but at the same time, they're the junior partners in a bid to build a low-cost alternative to that successor, taking directions from a prime contractor that's never launched anything into outer space. The consortium is one of several that is going after $174.7 million in NASA backing for the development of private-sector spaceships capable of resupplying the space station. That money was left over from an initial round of budgeting for NASA's $500 million COTS program. NASA has until next February to decide who will get the money. If the program is successful, NASA might stick with private companies for space station resupply, and save the expensive Orion missions for its back-to-the-moon effort.

PlanetSpace has been working with NASA on a concept that involves a hypersonic glider called the Silver Dart and a booster equipped with Alchemy rocket engines based on the tried and true V-2 design. "They're going to be used for suborbital, which is cargo express, point-to-point travel and space tourism," Kathuria said. But the Silver Dart won't be used for the orbital project, he said. Instead, the plan calls for ATK to develop the launch vehicle and ground processing systems for the COTS project. "What we're doing is taking products that we already produce and combining them," said an ATK spokesman. Lockheed Martin would develop the cargo capsule.

PlanetSpace would take on the role of prime contractor, including rounding up funding for the venture. BMO Capital Markets would assist as financial adviser. Spporting players would include Space Florida, United Launch Alliance, Wyle Laboratories, Paragon Space and MEHTA Engineering (a Florida company represented on Space Florida's board of directors). If the consortium wins COTS funding, the first demonstration launch would lift off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in late 2010. Some of PlanetSpace's employees would be based in Ohio, home of a multimillion-dollar development deal involving Rickenbacker International Airport. But the bulk of the orbital work would be in Florida, with an average of 300 or more high-tech aerospace jobs on an annual basis. A multiuse facility would provide space for business offices as well as clean-room assembly and testing. Longer-term, orbital launches could continue from Florida - or shift to the Nova Scotia facility, which would become Canada's first orbital spaceport.

Mr. B’s Big Plan (Source: Air&Space)
The city where Robert T. Bigelow—owner of the first privately held real estate in space—lives and works is itself a kind of satellite outpost, surrounded by harsh, empty desert. It’s a fitting spot from which to control a pair of mini-space stations, Genesis I and II, launched in July 2006 and June 2007. The van-size modules are currently orbiting Earth, with daily operations run out of Bigelow Aerospace’s mission control in north Las Vegas. Cost so far: under $100 million. Having pledged five times that much—-more than half his net worth-—to build inflatable space habitats using technology pioneered, then abandoned, by NASA, Bigelow, with a company of roughly 125 employees, is aiming even higher. His goal is to send people to a larger, habitable module called Sundancer by 2010. By 2012, he hopes to place a full-size, 330-cubic-meter (11,700-cubic-foot) module, the BA 330, in orbit, with more to follow later. Visit http://www.airspacemag.com/issues/2008/december-january/bigelow.php?page=1 to view the article.

US Plans New Spy Satellite Program (Source: Washington Post)
The U.S. is pursuing a multibillion-dollar program to develop the next generation of spy satellites, the first major effort of its kind since the Pentagon canceled the ambitious and costly Future Imagery Architecture system two years ago, The new system, known as BASIC, would be launched by 2011 and is expected to cost $2 billion to $4 billion, according to U.S. officials familiar with the program. They discussed details on condition of anonymity because the information is classified. The new start comes as many U.S. officials, lawmakers and defense experts question the high costs of satellite programs, particularly after the demise of the previous program that wasted time and money. The National Reconnaissance Office spent six years and billions of dollars on Future Imagery Architecture, or FIA, before deciding in September 2005 to scrap a major component of the program.

Russian Space Company Chief Convicted of Spying (Source: AP)
A Russian court convicted the head of a rocket and space technology company Monday on charges of leaking sensitive technology to China — the latest case involving a Russian scientist who was prosecuted despite claims the sensitive materials were in the public domain. Igor Reshetin, the head of the company TsNIIMASH-Export, was sentenced to 11 1/2 years in prison. Reshetin, whose company does substantial business with Russia's federal space agency, has been in custody since his arrest in Nov. 2005 by the Federal Security Service or FSB, the main KGB successor agency. He dismissed official charges and said the information his company had transferred to China wasn't classified.

Were The First Stars Dark? Study: Dark Matter Doused Earliest Stars (Source: SpaceRef.com)
Perhaps the first stars in the newborn universe did not shine, but instead were invisible "dark stars" 400 to 200,000 times wider than the sun and powered by the annihilation of mysterious dark matter, a University of Utah study concludes. The study calculated how the birth of the first stars almost 13 billion years ago might have been influenced by the presence of dark matter - the unseen, yet-unidentified stuff that scientists believe makes up most matter in the universe. The findings "drastically alter the current theoretical framework for the formation of the first stars," says study author and astrophysicist Paolo Gondolo, associate professor of physics at the University of Utah.

China Denies Lunar Probe Photos Were Faked (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
China has denied allegations by Internet users that a photo taken by its first lunar probe was copied from previous images taken by NASA. China last week published the first photo of the moon taken by the Chang'e I orbiter, which was launched on October 24, with Premier Wen Jiabao hailing the image as evidence of the nation's rise as a space and technological power. However, some Chinese Web users have suggested the photo, showing a crater-pocked section of the lunar surface, was strikingly similar to one taken in 2005 by the US space agency. But a paper quoted Ouyang Ziyuan, one of the chief scientists for the mission, as dismissing the claims. "China's first moon photo is absolutely not a fake," he said.

Aerospaceplanes and Space Solar Power (Source: Space Review)
The basic technology exists today to develop aerospaceplanes capable of aircraft-like operations needed to make projects like space-based solar power (SBSP) a reality. Supplying a substantial percentage of America’s future electrical power supply from space using SBSP systems can only be expressed as a giant leap forward in space operations. Each of the hundreds of solar power satellites needed would require 10,000–20,000 tons of components transported to orbit, assembled in orbit, and then moved to geostationary orbit for operations. The scale of logistics operations required is substantially greater than what we have previously undertaken. Without the ability to practically reach space with high flight rates and without substantial in-space operational capabilities, SBSP will remain a “wouldn’t it be great” proposition. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1016/1 to view the article.

Thrill of Space is Never Gone (Source: Santa Maria Times)
Ten years and multiple missions later, Pace Hartmann still exudes enthusiasm for his job at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The 36-year-old man from Lompoc works for United Launch Alliance, preparing Delta 2 rockets for blastoff from Space Launch Complex-2. “I have a lot invested in each launch, so I like to watch it go,” he said. “You still get that adrenaline, where you can't breathe and you're very nervous and excited at the same time. Every time. It doesn't go away.” The flame of liftoff and rumble of departure signal the culmination of weeks of work for technicians such as Hartmann who spend hours assembling rocket parts in preparation for liftoff.

NASA Site Seeks to Draw the MySpace Crowd (Source: New York Times)
NASA, concerned that people in the social networking generation have not shown enough interest in its work, has renovated its Web site to appeal more to the 18- to 25-year-old set. The site, introduced over the weekend, has new blogs and widgets and more ways for people to view and manipulate content. A MyNASA feature has a “top playlist” that lets people watch clips of the space shuttle Discovery’s return to Florida or the California wildfires viewed from orbit.

The site, which has not had major overhaul since early 2003, still has information for policy makers and the media, but also more diversions. It is meant to compete with sites like Space.com and CNN, both of which have had more sophisticated presentations on space exploration. “Younger folks look at the Web a different way,” said Brian Dunbar, Internet services manager for NASA. “They want to be able to pick and choose.” He estimates that the NASA site gets about a million unique visitors a month.

Invisible Matter Loses Cosmic Battle (Source: Space.com)
In a cosmic battle of sorts taking place in the centers of galaxies, stellar forces muscle up and kick out brewing invisible matter. The result, finds a new study, evens out the amount of invisible matter held in galactic cores, resolving a cosmological puzzle. The invisible stuff, called dark matter, is thought to make up as much as 90 percent of the universe's mass. Astronomers have never directly observed this mysterious matter, as it doesn't emit or reflect visible light or other electromagnetic radiation. Instead, they infer its existence based on its gravitational effects on visible matter like stars and galaxies. (For instance, dark matter makes galaxies spin faster than otherwise expected.)

Data From Chinese Lunar Orbiter Available to All (Source: Xinhua)
Scientists and astronomy enthusiasts all over the country all have access to data sent back from China's first lunar orbiter Chang'e-I, a leading scientist in the program said. Ouyang Ziyuan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and chief scientist of the lunar exploration program, said at present the scientific instruments on board Chang'e-1 have all gone into operation and the satellite is sending back data. The total data volume will reach 28 T (1 T is equivalent to 1,000 G) next year. He also refuted rumors spread by some Chinese netizens that the first image sent back by Chang'e-I "copied the picture from the United States". "Because China and the United States took the images in the same region, it's natural the two pictures look alike. But through careful observation you will see there are some nuances," he said.

Russian Cosmonaut Casts Vote While Flying Over Far East (Source: Interfax)
Russian cosmonaut Yury Malenchenko, who is on board the International Space Station, has cast his vote at the elections for the State Duma as he was flying over Russia's Far East. "The cosmonaut radioed his choice through a closed communication channel to his attorney, Dmitry Zhukov, who was in the conference room at Mission Control Center. Zhukov marked the ballot and sealed it in an envelope. The envelope will be sent to the respective election commission.

Arianespace Warns US Over Chinese Space 'Dumping' (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
The head of the European satellite launch group Arianespace, Jean-Yves Le Gall, warned the United States Friday against Chinese "dumping" in the market and suggested Washington should improve its oversight. "Today, we see China has re-entered the market for commercial launches, using so-called 'ITAR-Free' satellites designed and built without US technology," Le Gall said. "Coupled with cut-rate launch prices, China is working to flood the market with such satellites and I really think Europe and the US must rise together to address these issues which are very, very important."

"Everyone is suffering from the practices of the Chinese, who are dumping. One must call things as they are," Le Gall told AFP on the sidelines of the luncheon. The Chinese "are doing more than that because they are circumventing the rules the Americans have made, thus attention must be paid." The Arianespace leader said that "between Americans and Europeans, I think things are fine, but the question is to know how one manages this will -- that I can understand on the part of the Chinese -- to penetrate the commercial market."