July 9 News Items

SpaceX Dragon Demonstration Development Vehicle Nears Completion (Source: Flight International)
Development work for Space Exploration Technologies' first Dragon flight vehicle should be completed by the end of the year. The vehicle will be used for SpaceX's first of three demonstration flights of its Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon spacecraft launch system for NASA's commercial orbital transport services program. The 5h flight will take place in 2009 and will be one of the first four launches for Falcon 9. (7/9)

U.S. Dominance in Space Slips as Other Nations Step Up Efforts (Source: Washington Post)
Space, like Earth below, is globalizing. And as it does, America's long-held superiority in exploring, exploiting and commercializing "the final frontier" is slipping away, many experts believe. Although the United States remains dominant in most space-related fields -- and owns half the military satellites currently orbiting Earth -- experts say the nation's superiority is diminishing, and many other nations are expanding their civilian and commercial space capabilities at a far faster pace. Visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/08/AR2008070803185.html to view the article. (7/9)

Sea Launch Follows a Unique but Successful Path to Space (Source: Spaceflight Now)
Sea Launch engineers say the three-week round-trip journey across the Pacific Ocean is the most rewarding part of their jobs. The cruise is the culmination of nearly two months of work preparing the rocket, payload and launch teams for the mission. Prior to operations at Home Port, about 18 months goes into the planning, flight design and logistics. Visit http://www.spaceflightnow.com/sealaunch/echostar11/tour/ to view the article. (7/9)

UT Studies in Zero-Gravity (Source: Daily Texan)
A group of aerospace engineering students will float in an aircraft 30,000 feet in the air, experiencing a zero-gravity environment, to conduct experiments over the Gulf of Mexico. The seven-member UT Microgravity Team will travel to Johnson Space Center's Ellington Field, about 15 miles outside of Houston, on Thursday to undergo training and simulation before boarding NASA's "Weightless Wonder" aircraft. Some members of the team will board the aircraft on July 17 and 18, where they will test the behavior of nanosatellites - smaller satellites that perform the same functions as their full-sized counterparts. (7/9)