July 19 News Items

Congressman Weighing Legislation for NASA Overhaul (Source: Houston Chronicle)
Two days after telling an online town hall meeting that NASA had "failed us miserably" and "wastes a vast amount of money," Houston Rep. John Culberson said Thursday he was weighing legislation to overhaul the structure of the space agency responsible for about 20,000 Houston-area jobs. Culberson, a blunt-spoken conservative from a heavily Republican westside district, said his proposal would slash NASA headquarter's bureaucracy and enable scientists and engineers to rekindle visionary space exploration. (7/18)

Report Warns of Space Vulnerability (Source: Sydney Morning Herald)
Relying too heavily on the United States for space-based systems could make Australia increasingly vulnerable, a new study warns. In a report released by the strategic think-tank the Kokoda Foundation, space analyst Brett Biddington said the Australian Defense Force (ADF) was making space an essential component of its fighting capability. He said next-generation systems, including warships and aircraft, would not work well without access to space communications and satellite-derived data, almost all of which came from US satellites. (7/19)

'Duck!' Won't Save the Day (Source: Baltimore Sun)
An asteroid hurtles toward Earth, threatening devastation. A team of attractive young scientists and engineers launches a rocket that crashes into the asteroid and knocks it off course - just in the nick of time. But wait. The crash pushes the giant space rock toward a "keyhole" in space: a tiny window that guarantees that the asteroid will come back and obliterate some hapless city in the future. What to do? A scruffy grad student raises his hand. How about a "gravity tractor" to tow it off course? Visit http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.asteroid19jul19,0,201389.story to view the article. (7/19)

Going Up: Slow Progress on 'space Elevator' (Source: PC World)
Disney World, Epcot, Universal Studios and ... Space Orlando. In the future, Florida could be the site of a simulated "elevator" that allows people to check out life on a space station, virtually. That's one dream of Bradley Edwards, president of Black Line Ascension and one of the leading proponents of space elevators. The center, which would be a combined entertainment and research facility, could help solve one of the many critical issues plaguing the concept of a simulated space elevator, namely a lack of funding.

At the first space elevator conference in four years, Edwards announced that he is investigating the feasibility of a combined entertainment and research center, to be called Space Orlando, designed to help fund the building of a space elevator. The cluster of buildings would comprise 2 million square feet (929,030 square meters) and a 10-story-high structure that visitors could enter as if they were walking into a terminal for a real space elevator. They'd buy a ticket, enter the climber vehicle and feel like they're ascending into space, thanks to virtual reality technologies. Click here to view the article. (7/19)

Otero County Sets Date for Spaceport Tax Hearing (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Otero County residents will have a chance next month to discuss a proposed gross receipts tax to help pay for the state's spaceport. The Otero County Commission set an Aug. 21 public hearing on the tax. The $200 million Spaceport America received a major boost in April when voters in Sierra County approved a tax levy to help pay to build the project. Dona Ana County residents narrowly approved the tax last year. The state expects the spaceport to go into operation in 2010. (7/19)

Funding Biggest ISS Obstacle (Source: Aviation Week)
The five partner agencies that jointly operate the International Space Station (ISS) say they are eager to use the facility as a stepping stone for lunar and Martian exploration, but they first must find a way to sustain operations beyond the present partnership agreement. Agency heads meeting at European Space Agency (ESA) headquarters in Paris July 17 agreed to utilize the ISS to its full capacity "for a period meaningful for stakeholders and users," and affirmed that continuation of operations beyond 2015 - the end of the period covered by ISS intergovernmental agreements - "would not be precluded by any significant technical challenges." They also agreed that the newly expanded capability of the ISS will make it an ideal "test bed for flight systems and operations critical to future space exploration initiatives." (7/18)

Europeans Explore Expanding Their Own Efforts in Space (Source: Wall Street Journal)
European space programs are enjoying a striking resurgence, with politicians and industry officials stressing the importance of pursuing their own scientific and military efforts, independent of the U.S., Russia and China. The European Union already has made the first moves to support this ambitious undertaking, for the first time explicitly linking space endeavors to broader diplomatic and foreign-policy goals. But coming months will indicate how much support there is for taking the next big step: funding technology aimed at possible European manned missions. (7/19)

Spaceland Dealing with Weighty Matters (Source: Flight International)
Want to lose weight without dieting? Spaceland might have the answer. The Italian-based company specialises in research into weightlessness (zero gravity) and reduced gravity, such as found on the Moon and Mars. Spaceland also offers the public the chance to experience zero G flights for themselves using a NASA-authorized aircraft based at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The aircraft performs between 18-40 parabolic maneuvers each flight, offering up 26 minutes of weightlessness.

It also plans to start up weightless operations in Europe with flights from Kiruna in Lapland, and possibly Rome, Italy, from Spring 2009. It isn't all just for fun either. The company undertakes research into developments like Bluetooth-equipped biomonitors, such as those worn by one 93-year-old passenger – the oldest person ever to fly in zero G. (7/19)

Alliant Tech Says Major Acquisitions Not Attractive (Source: Reuters)
U.S. rocket maker Alliant Techsystems aims to expand in space systems, advanced weapons and electronics but is shunning big acquisitions after its bid for a Canadian defense business failed. Chairman and Chief Executive Daniel Murphy said he was disappointed by Canada's decision in April to block the purchase, but ruled out a major alternative deal amid what he saw as bloated valuations sought by rival defense companies. "I was very disappointed by the politically charged atmosphere in Canada." (7/19)

Will the Space Elevator Rise? (Source: MSNBC)
If space elevators work out the way the idea's advocates hope, sending payloads into orbit would become as routine as, say, sending a shipment on a freight train - except that the train would travel straight up for hundreds or thousands of miles, powered by laser beams. But will such a "railroad to the sky" ever be built? That's the big question hanging over the 2008 Space Elevator Conference, taking place this weekend on Microsoft's Seattle-area campus. And considering that this is an event primarily attended by elevator enthusiasts, you may find some of the answers surprising. Visit http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/07/18/1206845.aspx to view the article. (7/19)

NASA Announces Competitive Grant Programs (Source: NASA)
NASA's Office of Education at headquarters in Washington has announced three new extramural funding opportunities that could result in the award of grants or cooperative agreements. One of the three funding opportunities is the K-12 Competitive Grants Opportunity, a competitive education grant program targeting secondary school level teaching and learning, with grants being awarded to U.S. public schools and non-profit organizations. The goal of the opportunity is to seek out and support new, innovative, and replicable approaches to improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning and instruction. This will leverage NASA's unique contributions to STEM fields. (7/18)