August 13 News Items

Aerospace Needs New Wave of Recruits for Industry's Future (Source: AIA)
AIA President and CEO Marion Blakey underscores the need for a concerted effort on the part of the aerospace industry to address a looming workforce shortage. Insufficient numbers of college students are studying engineering and related fields, and too few high-school graduates are adequately prepared for aerospace-related degrees. Industry leaders are taking steps to address the issue, including such efforts as the AIA-sponsored Team America Rocketry Challenge. Read Blakey's comments here. (8/13)

2008 Future Aerospace Congress Planned in Florida on September 21-23 (Source: Virtus)
The Future Aerospace Congress, planned in St. Petersburg on Sep. 21-23, will be attended by senior management overseeing the operations, engineering and research of their respective organizations. The event is by invitation only and is limited to 100 attendees, to ensure the quality of the program and networking opportunities. The event is designed to help manufacturers overcome today's challenges and work toward tomorrow's solutions by bringing together some of the industry's top minds and innovators for three days of think tanks, panel discussions, case studies and keynote presentations. Visit http://virtusinternational.com/fac2008/index.html for information. (8/13)

US, Allies Weigh Punishment for Russia (Sources: AP, NASA Watch)
"Scrambling to find ways to punish Russia for its invasion of pro-Western Georgia, the United States and its allies are considering expelling Moscow from an exclusive club of wealthy nations and canceling an upcoming joint NATO-Russia military exercise, Bush administration officials said Tuesday." (8/13)

Russian Invasion Threatens the Space Station (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., acknowledged Tuesday that Russia’s five-day invasion of the Georgian province of South Ossetia makes it extremely unlikely that Congress will vote to exempt the Russian-built Soyuz capsule from a law that bans trade with nations that sell nuclear material to Iran. NASA had been counting on the waiver to enable it to continue carrying people and cargo to the space station after the space shuttle is retired in 2010. The Soyuz is NASA’s only proven alternative to get to the station. (8/13)

McCain Releases Space Policy Document (Sources: SpaceRef.com, McCain Campaign)
In addition to featuring space images and references on his Florida campaign website Senator John McCain has issued a space policy document on his national campaign website. According to the document, as President, John McCain will: ensure that space exploration is top priority and that the U.S. remains a leader; commit to funding the NASA Constellation program to ensure it has the resources it needs to begin a new era of human space exploration; and review and explore all options to ensure U.S. access to space by minimizing the gap between the termination of the Space Shuttle and the availability of its replacement vehicle.

The policy document further commits that McCain would: ensure the national space workforce is maintained and fully utilized; Complete construction of the ISS National Laboratory; seek to maximize the research capability and commercialization possibilities of the ISS National Laboratory; maintain infrastructure investments in Earth-monitoring satellites and support systems; seek to maintain the nation's space infrastructure; prevent wasteful earmarks from diverting precious resources from critical scientific research; and ensure adequate investments in aeronautics research. Click here to view the policy document. (8/13)

Measat, GeoEye Launches Delayed (Source: SpaceToday.net)
Two launches of commercial satellites planned for later this month were delayed Tuesday, and in one case could be postponed for months. The Measat 3a communications satellite was scheduled for launch on August 21 on a Land Launch Zenit-3SLB from Baikonur, but over the weekend the spacecraft was damaged by a crane at the launch processing facility. Separately, the August 22 launch of the GeoEye-1 commercial remote sensing satellite from Vandenberg has been pushed back to September 4. A telemetry aircraft normally used to support launches is unavailable, and range officials will instead use a ship located in the Pacific well downrange of the launch site to relay data from the launch, hence the delay. (8/13)

Interorbital Prepares for Test Flights (Source: Flight Global)
A final series of rocket engine test firings that could lead to low-altitude flights are being prepared by Mojave air and spaceport-based Interorbital Systems (IOS) for its SeaStar launch vehicle. A cluster of four and then eight 3,000lb-thrust (13.5kN) engines will be fired together at the IOS Mojave engine test stand over the next couple of months. The SeaStar flight-test vehicle is nearly complete and the first low-altitude launches could take place by year-end off the coast of southern California. The SeaStar is fired from a canister floating upright in the sea, eliminating the need for land-based infrastructure.

Because the hypergolic fuels are storable at room temperature, IOS expects its SeaStar to be stored fully fuelled enabling a rapid-response launch capability. IOS chief executive Randa Milliron says: "You can let it sit there for six years and it's ready to go by opening a valve." The company is working with the FAA's commercial space transport office for launch licences. (8/12)

Boeing Opens New Pulse Line for Satellite Assembly (Source: Boeing)
Boeing is ready to use a new "pulse line" process for assembling satellites in El Segundo, Calif. The new process is expected to shorten the time needed to build a satellite. The first satellites to be manufactured on the pulse line will be the Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF satellites Boeing is building for the Air Force. All Boeing's satellite production lines will adopt the new process over time.

The new process will move parts through 13 pulse positions. New work cells, new tooling, standard work-planning packages and Lean manufacturing processes will reduce the total build time per satellite and increase the number of vehicles moving through the line at one time. The line is intended to eliminate rework, allowing parts to flow continuously and smoothly through the process. (8/12)

Delta 2 Rocket Launch of GeoEye Craft Postponed (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
Launch of a commercial Earth-imaging satellite aboard a Delta 2 rocket originally scheduled to occur next week from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California will be pushed into early September. Liftoff of the GeoEye 1 satellite had been targeted for August 22. But difficulties arranging a critical downrange tracking asset prompted launch managers to postpone the flight until September 4. (8/12)

Up Aerospace, Lockheed Martin Launch from New Mexico Spaceport (Source: NMSA)
New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) announced a successful launch of a test flight vehicle for Lockheed Martin by UP Aerospace from Spaceport America on August 12. The brief test flight was a non-public, unpublished event at the request of Lockheed Martin, who is testing proprietary advanced launch technologies. “Today’s launch successfully lifted off at 7 a.m. local time at the beginning of our three-hour launch window. We are very pleased to be a small business partner with Lockheed Martin on their research and development technology programs by supplying low-cost, fast turnaround launch operation,“ said UP Aerospace President Jerry Larson. (8/13)

Russia's Actions Spark Nelson Fears for Space Program (Source: Florida Today)
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said he fears Russia's aggressive action against Georgia may have some serious consequences on the American space program. If Russia fails to hold back military action in the former Soviet republic, it could hurt U.S. chances of accessing the International Space Station once NASA retires the space shuttles in 2010, he said. Nelson blamed the Bush administration for making the nation so reliant on Russia by failing to devote more money to the space program.

"If I were president I'd be pulling out all the stops to get Russia to understand the consequences of continued bad behavior," said Nelson, who just returned from a trip to Afghanistan with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other lawmakers. The Russian incursion had just begun as the delegation was leaving central Asia, Nelson said. "We actually flew over Georgia coming out of Kazakhstan because the Russians would not give us diplomatic overflight," Nelson said. (8/13)

Florida Space Reps. Meet Obama Policy Director (Source: Florida Today)
About two dozen space industry officials met with a policy director for Sen. Barack Obama in Cocoa Beach. "The job concern is obviously big," said Ian Bassin, Obama's Florida policy director. He said Obama is open to increasing NASA's budget and finds losing 6,400 jobs at Kennedy Space Center is not acceptable. Obama's fledging space policy includes: a new vision for space exploration; one more shuttle mission; closing the gap and accelerating the next vehicle; saving jobs; and maintaining leadership in space

Bassin said Obama is committed to the U.S. space program, as evidenced by his visit to Titusville two weeks ago. "He knows how important it is in Florida and for the nation," said Bassin. "We seem to be on the same page, that we need to have a strong space program." Republican candidate John McCain has not appeared in Brevard County. "We've had discussions with the McCain campaign," said Lynda Weatherman, president of the Economic Development Commission. (8/13)

MEASAT Damaged by Crane at Baikonur Spaceport (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Orbital Sciences is helping to support its customer, MEASAT Satellite Systems in replanning the MEASAT 3a satellite mission following an accident that occurred over the weekend that damaged the spacecraft. While at the Baikonour spaceport in Kazakhstan, an overhead crane operated by MEASAT's launch service provider accidentally impacted the MEASAT 3a satellite. A team of MEASAT and Orbital engineers are currently assessing the extent of the damage to determine the next course of action, which may result in the satellite being returned to Orbital's satellite manufacturing facility for repair and retesting. (8/13)

PSI Director Promotes 13-Planet Solar System (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Mark Sykes says that if a non-stellar object is massive enough to be round and orbits a star, it ought to be a planet. The key here is that once an object gets that big, important geophysical processes begin. Under this scenario, the smallest known planet in the solar system would be Ceres, the largest and most massive object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. (8/13)