June 16 News Items

Jules Verne ATV Reveals Unexpected Capabilities (Source: ESA)
Eleven weeks into its integrated service to the International Space Station, Jules Verne ATV has followed up its successful automatic docking on 3 April 2008 by achieving all its scheduled objectives - and much more. ATV is providing capabilities never planned for before its mission. Jules Verne will soon transfer its entire 856 kg of refueling propellant to the Space Station and reboost the 300-ton Station to a higher orbit for the second time since its arrival. Crewmembers meanwhile are using the European space supply vessel as a new area to sleep and wash. One of its empty tanks has successfully stored 110 liters of condensation water from the ISS. And, last but not least, the ATV’s mission in orbit has been extended from August to September, in order to take advantage of its powerful ISS reboost capabilities. (6/16)

Indo-China Warzone Shifts to Space (Source: NDTV)
India's Army chief spelt it out on Monday that China is a threat to India from a new frontier, space. Exactly a week after Defense Minister A K Antony announced the creation of an Integrated Space Cell to protect India's space assets, the Indian Army went public on Monday with its vision for military application of space. The message is clear. India is alive to China's efforts in militarizing space. India's space cell in the Indian Army has been operational for some time but this is for the first time that the Indian Army top brass has gone public with what is considered a rather hush-hush project. (6/16)

Russia Starts Equipment Delivery for Kourou Spaceport on July 10 (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia has started preparing the equipment to be sent to the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. "The first vessel will set out from Vyborg [near St. Petersburg] with 105 containers of equipment provided by 18 Russian enterprises. All the equipment has been adapted to meet European standards," said a spokesman. He said the vessel is due to leave port on July 10 and arrive by the end of the month. "Installation work at the Kourou space center will start in August and is to be completed by the end of 2008. The first two Soyuz ST rockets are to be launched in January 2009," he said. (6/16)

NASA Extends Expendable Launch Vehicles Support Contract (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded Analex Corp. an option for the Expendable Launch Vehicles Integrated Support, or ELVIS, contract. This second option period award is a hybrid performance-based, cost-plus-award-fee, fixed-price-award-fee, and fixed-price indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract. It extends ELVIS through Sept. 30, 2011. The award has a potential value of approximately $90 million. If all options are exercised, the nine-year and three-month contract would have approximate value of $258 million.

The contract provides integrated support services in the areas of business and administration, safety and mission assurance, engineering, and technical, facility, and launch operations. Launch vehicles include the Atlas, Delta, Pegasus, Taurus, and Falcon rockets. The contract specifically provides engineering services and analyses, communications, telemetry, special studies, and technical services for ground and flight expendable launch vehicle systems and payloads. (6/16)

Three Super-Earths Found Orbiting One Star (Source: Space.com)
A trio of planets called super-Earths has been spotted orbiting a sun-like star, astrophysicists announced today at an international conference in France. Super-Earths are more massive than Earth but less massive than Uranus and Neptune. Spotting true Earth-sized planets is challenging with current technology, but the presence of super-Earths suggests finding a world like ours is just a matter of time, researchers say. (6/16)

NASA Plans Launch Pad Repairs Before August Atlantis Rollout (Source: Florida Today)
NASA engineers are guaranteeing that damage to the flame trench will be fixed before the August rollout of Atlantis for an early October launch. "We'll be fixed and ready to go by that point," STS-124 assistant launch director Ed Mango said. A repair plan will be presented for approval by the end of the month. Becker said the three-foot concrete wall behind the bricks is solid and the launch pad is structurally sound. (6/16)

5 Reasons a Merger Won't Save XM and Sirius (Source: US News & World Report)
The Federal Communications Commission is likely to let satellite radio pioneers XM and Sirius come together. The companies say they need to merge to keep their business thriving in the face of growing competition. Ha. If they thought they had problems, it's gotten worse in the 16 months that their merger proposal has languished in Washington bureaucracy. Click here to view the article. (6/16)

Space Exploration and the Retirement of the Baby Boomers (Source: Space Review)
Everyone agrees on the importance of low-cost space access, but previous efforts to achieve it, from the space shuttle to the X-33, have failed. Charles Miller and Jeff Foust argue that the right approach is to focus on the broader industry, not a specific program. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1152/1 to view the article. (6/16)

Financial Risk Analysis for the Space Industry (Source: Space Review)
Parts of the space industry are mature enough that investors and insurers know what they're getting into. However, as Taylor Dinerman notes, new ventures and new markets are much harder to understand, requiring a different kind of risk mindset. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1151/1 to view the article. (6/16)

Approval of Sirius - XM Deal Includes Caveats (Source: Reuters)
Sirius Satellite Radio's planned acquisition of XM Satellite Radio appeared on Monday to draw closer to consummation after a key U.S. regulator expressed support for the deal. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin confirmed published reports that he would support the transaction, with the companies agreeing to a series of conditions. Those conditions include a pledge to make 24 radio channels available for noncommercial and minority programming, according to FCC sources. In addition, the companies would agree to cap prices, provide interoperable radios and offer programming on an "a la carte" basis. (6/16)

Editorial: Asteroids Better NASA Target Than Moon (Source: Corvallis Gazette)
Gregg Easterbrook suggests that NASA's planned moon base is not the right goal for NASA. NASA likes it because the project is astronaut-intensive. Congress likes it because it has the potential to ladle plenty of federal pork on certain congressional districts. The problem, as Easterbrook explains, is that such a plan sucks money away from an effort that could have a much better return on our investment: Identifying asteroids and comets — space rocks — that could strike the Earth and figuring out ways to change the courses of those objects. (6/16)

Sole Kazakh Satellite Fails (Source: AFP)
Kazakhstan's only telecommunications satellite, designed by Russia, has broken down after just two years and may be lost irretrievably, the head of the Kazakh space agency said. At a news conference in Almaty, space agency chief Talgat Musayev said the satellite, named KazSat, was failing to respond to commands and there was a "very high" chance it could not be recovered. (6/16)

Boeing to Bid for Galileo Navigation Contracts (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Boeing plans to compete for contracts connected with the European satellite navigation system Galileo. "Boeing is taking part in discussions with a view towards eventually participating in the Galileo project," a spokeswoman said. The Galileo project, worth about 3.4 billion euros ($5.2 billion) between now and 2013, is to be broken down into six sectors: Satellites, launch vehicles, softwear, ground relay stations, control centres, and overall managment. (6/16)