August 27 News Items

Deadline Slipping Away for $35B Tanker Contract (Source: AIA)
The Defense Department is slipping further behind its own tight schedule for awarding a $35 billion contract for new refueling tankers before the year is out. The Pentagon's final request for bids could be delayed until September, making it difficult to award the massive contract in the waning days of the Bush administration. Analysts say any delay would help Boeing Co., which has sought more time in assembling its bid following an appeal that forced a new competition with Northrop Grumman Corp. and its partner, EADS. (8/27)

Globalstar Starts Second-Generation Satellite Production (Source: Globalstar)
Globalstar and satellite manufacturer Thales Alenia have begun production assembly, integration and testing of the first Globalstar second-generation flight model satellites. The new satellites, scheduled for delivery beginning in less than a year, will be used to provide Globalstar's next-generation of advanced mobile satellite voice and data services. In November of 2006 Globalstar signed a contract with Thales Alenia Space for the design, manufacture and delivery of 48 second-generation satellites. In September of 2007 Globalstar signed a contract with launch provider Arianespace to launch the second-generation satellites beginning in the second half of next year. Globalstar will once again use the highly reliable human-rated Soyuz launch vehicle. (8/27)

Stuck Pin Delays Shuttle's Trek to Launch Pad (Source: Space.com)
NASA engineers successfully freed a stuck metal pin on the space shuttle Atlantis late Tuesday, but the work delayed plans to roll the spacecraft out to its Florida launch pad this week. Atlantis was slated to move out its seaside Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Saturday, but a metal guide pin that jammed while engineers attempted to route a liquid hydrogen fuel line between the shuttle and its external fuel tank set the process back a few days. (8/27)

Rocket Racer Remade (Source: MSNBC)
Less than a month after its public debut, the Rocket Racing League is putting a bigger, more powerful prototype plane through its first flight tests - and the results are so impressive that the craft's rocket engine will be adopted as the standard for another five racers, the league's chief executive officer says. "Everything was exactly as we had drawn it out," CEO and league co-founder Granger Whitelaw reported from Burns Flat, Okla., where the second-generation plane had its first outing on Monday. (8/27)

Alabama's Congressman Aderholt Talks Election, Space Exploration (Source: WHNT)
Since 1998, employees at United Launch Alliance in Decatur have been building rockets for space exploration. Congressman Robert Aderholt says it's important employees continue to get to do so. "What they do on a day to day basis has impact not only in this community but really around the world and for our protection," says Aderholt. (8/27)

NSF Taps Tiny CubeSats for Big Space Science (Source: Space.com)
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has launched a program to use tiny CubeSats for science missions dedicated to space weather and atmospheric research. The Arlington, Va.-based NSF's interest in CubeSats stems from a recommendation in the June 2006 "Report of the Assessment Committee for the National Space Weather Program — an interagency initiative to speed improvement of space weather services." (8/27)

Aldrin-Endorsed Candidate Fails in Democratic Primary Race (Source: Space Politics)
Even in Florida, in one of the most space-savvy districts in the nation, a candidate who talks about three ways to shorten the gap, promotes space-based solar power, and has the endorsements of both a major newspaper and Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin can get trounced in a primary election by someone who thinks the Chandra X-Ray Observatory is a radio telescope and spells Mars with a lower-case “m”. Paul Racantore was hoping to take Congressman Dave Weldon's seat in Congress. Perhaps he can use his new free time offer to sharpen the space policy of Democratic nominee Steve Blythe. Not that it necessarily matters, though, as Tuesday’s primary results showed. (8/27)

Posey Wins Republican Primary for Weldon Congressional Seat (Sources: ERAU, Space Politics)
State Senator Bill Posey easily won the Republican primary race for Congressman Dave Weldon's seat (Weldon is retiring), with over 78% of the vote. Posey is a longtime supporter of space issues in Tallahassee and has served for years on the board of Space Florida and its successor organizations. Posey will face Democrat Steve Blythe, whose website, according to SpacePolitics.com, includes a detailed space policy statement. "It’s something of a rambling statement, that could use some copyediting as well (it’s “Mars”, Dr. Blythe, not “mars”; and Chandra is an x-ray telescope, not a radio telescope.)" (8/27)

Local Student Studies At NASA Over Break (Source: Tampa Tribune)
Elisa Berson spent a week at the Kennedy Space Center this summer working alongside NASA engineers and talking to astronauts about lunar exploration, but that's where her interest in space travel ends. The Freedom High School 10th-grader, who participated in a Governor's School pilot program for gifted students, said a career as an astronaut is not in her future. She plans to leave space exploration for those with a need for speed. She, instead, would prefer to focus on math and science. "It's not for me," Elisa said. "I think there are other kids who attended the Governor's School who would be interested in being astronauts, but I would rather be doing the math and science part on Earth."

She was one of 35 high school students selected to take part in the a pilot summer academy for a proposed Florida Governor's School for Space Science and Technology. NASA hosted the student groups and organized research projects. The students took part in hands-on activities and scientific experiments based on high-level science and math.

The Florida Legislature approved $500,000 in 2007 to fund the pilot program through the Florida Department of Education. Florida State University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the Florida Institute of Technology entered a partnership to plan and test the program. Michael Berson, Elisa's father, said he hopes state legislators will see fit to extend the program and fund it for future generations. (8/27)

Kosmas Will Challenge Feeney in Space Coast Congressional Race (Source: ERAU)
Democrat Suzanne Kosmas won the her primary race to challenge incumbent Republican Tom Feeney for his District 24 seat in Congress. Feeney is the ranking Republican on the House Space Subcommittee and his district includes Kennedy Space Center. Kosmas is a former state legislator who has criticized Feeney for his positions on space. (8/26)