December 8 News Items

Loral Bids for COTS (Source: Space News)
Space Systems/Loral, a major manufacturer of large, commercial communications satellites, hopes to convince NASA to take a chance on its novel idea for delivering cargo to the international space station. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company was one of at least seven companies to submit proposals Nov. 21 for $175 million in Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demonstration money that is back up for grabs following NASA's decision to withdraw support from Rocketplane Kistler's stalled K-1 reusable launcher program.

Thales-Alenia Teams With Russian Satellite Builder (Source: Space News)
Franco-Italian satellite builder Thales Alenia Space is entering into a long-term partnership with Russia's NPO-PM to manufacture higher-power telecommunications satellites for Russia's domestic market and to introduce Russian-built components into Thales Alenia's commercial products.

Lawmakers Push for Launch of Station Payload (Source: Space News)
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) said he is ready to join Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) to introduce legislation that would require NASA to fly an additional space shuttle mission in order to keep a $1.5 billion space station science payload from being left on the ground. NASA dropped the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) from the launch manifest after the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia accident. Mike Griffin said the AMS payload could be modified to launch on an expendable rocket, but that, too, would cost more than NASA can afford.

Around the same time as Griffin's testimony before the Senate Commerce space and aeronautics subcommittee, 32 members of the Texas congressional delegation, led by Democratic Rep. Nick Lampson, wrote President George W. Bush asking him to direct NASA to launch the AMS to the international space station (ISS) even if that requires postponing the shuttle's planned retirement date.

Thruster Glich Takes GOES-12 Out of Action (Source: Space News)
A U.S. geostationary-orbiting satellite responsible for monitoring weather conditions in the eastern part of the country and Atlantic Ocean is out of service after malfunctioning Dec. 4. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-12 (GOES-12), launched in July 2001, lost attitude control after a station-keeping maneuver, according to NOAA's satellite operations Web site. The satellite is in safe mode while engineers troubleshoot the problem, which is attributed to a leaky thruster.

Lawmakers Finalize Defense Authorization Bill (Source: Space News)
U.S. House and Senate armed services conferees have finalized a 2007 defense authorization bill that directs the Pentagon to compare and contrast the Airborne Laser, Kinetic Energy Interceptor and Aegis sea-based interceptor options for boost-phase missile defense. The bill also directs the Pentagon to develop a new strategy for ensuring continuity in space-based missile-warning coverage, and voiced the authors' support for a gap-filler satellite hosting a sensor designed for the elliptical-orbit component of the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS).

Canada's MDA to Acquire U.S. Space Robotics Firm (Source: Space News)
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) of Canada has agreed to acquire Pasadena, Calif.-based Alliance Spacesystems, which specializes in robotic and mechanical structures for space and terrestrial applications. Alliance Spacesystems and its 70 technical employees will become part of MDA Federal, which includes all U.S. businesses in MDA's Information Systems Group.

Nobel Prize Money Will Endow Astronomy Center (Source: Space News)
Astrophysicist George Smoot, who shared the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physics with NASA's John Mather for their groundbreaking discoveries using the Cosmic Background Explorer spacecraft, has used his winnings to endow the newly established Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics. The center was established with a $500,000 endowment from Smoot and additional gifts totaling $8.1 million. Smoot, who will serve as the center's director, plans to work with the University of California, Berkeley, to raise at least an additional $4 million or $5 million to ensure an ongoing center with resident postdoctoral fellows and scholars, a visitors program and educational outreach to K-12 science teachers.

U.S. Space Exports Dip Despite Weak Dollar (Source: Space News)
American space- and missile-related exports dipped slightly in 2007, from $2.19 billion to $2.09 billion, despite the continued weakness of the U.S. dollar, according to figures compiled by the U.S. Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). Meanwhile, U.S. imports of satellite, rocket and missile hardware rose by $62 million on the year, to $946 million. Total U.S. space sector sales increased 1.6 percent, to $39.2 billion, during the year, AIA said. NASA, the Defense Department, other federal agencies and the private sector all contributed to that increase. Overall U.S. aerospace sales also grew in 2007, a trend the AIA expects will continue in 2008.

Mojave Air and Space Port in Danger of Losing FAA Designation (Source: Antelope Valley Press)
The nation's first inland spaceport could lose that designation by the end of the year. The Federal Aviation Administration informed officials at the Mojave Air and Space Port of its intention to suspend or revoke the space launch site operator's license Dec. 31. "I have no reason to be optimistic we're going to keep our spaceport license," said General Manager Stu Witt, reporting on the issue to the East Kern Airport District board of directors Tuesday. The district governs the Mojave Air and Space Port. At issue are questions by the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation regarding the facility's plans for safely storing and handling the energetic chemicals used by rocket companies."

Space Race: Down-To-Earth Opportunities More Likely to Get VC Funding (Source: SiliconValley.com)
Largely the domain of governments and big corporations, space is about to open for business. But investors serious about making money off-planet should probably focus on ideas a little closer to earth, speakers at the Space Investment Summit this week in San Jose told those in attendance. Ideas such as space tourism, launching private rockets and even mining the moon for minerals certainly capture the imagination, the conference made clear. But because such endeavors are inherently risky, costly and challenging, investors have few opportunities to invest in them - and shouldn't expect to see a return anytime soon if they do, said several investment experts who attended the conference.

By contrast, there are plenty of investment opportunities related to space, if not exactly focused on leaving the planet, they say. Such space-related opportunities include solar power generation, special construction materials and even Web 2.0 programs along the lines of Google Earth. "It comes down to your definition of space," said Burton Lee, who recently co-founded Space Angels Network to pair so-called angel investors who are interested in space with entrepreneurs. Visit http://www.siliconvalley.com/news/ci_7669430?nclick_check=1 to view the article.

Best Way to Deflect an Asteroid (Source: New York Times)
In 1908, an asteroid is thought to have entered the earth’s atmosphere and exploded over a Siberian forest, leveling some 800 square miles of trees in what is known as the Tunguska Event. If we knew today that another asteroid were on a path to intersect with our planet, what could we do? Massimiliano Vasile, a lecturer in aerospace engineering at the University of Glasgow, recently concluded a two-year study comparing nine asteroid-deflection methods, rating them for efficiency, complexity and launch readiness.

The best method, called “mirror bees,” entails sending a group of small satellites equipped with mirrors 30 to 100 feet wide into space to “swarm” around an asteroid and trail it, Vasile explains. The mirrors would be tilted to reflect sunlight onto the asteroid, vaporizing one spot and releasing a stream of gases that would slowly move it off course. Vasile says this method is especially appealing because it could be scaled easily: 25 to 5,000 satellites could be used, depending on the size of the rock. Click here to view the article.

Legislation Would Provide for NASA Sponsorship Opportunities (Source: SpaceRef.com)
The legislation would allow the Agency to seek partnership opportunities from corporations, universities, individuals, and other entities and accept money for the Innovation Fund in exchange for appropriate promotional programs. The legislation contains a number of safeguards designed to uphold the high standards of the agency, and preclude the use of corporate logos on NASA launch assets.

NASA Pushes Shuttle Launch to Sunday (Source: SpaceRef.com)
The launch of NASA's space shuttle Atlantis will take place no earlier than Sunday, Dec. 9, at 3:21 pm. The launch was postponed from Thursday due to a problem with a fuel cutoff sensor system inside the shuttle's external fuel tank.