August 29 News Items

For Sale: Moon and Mars (Source: New York Times)
Would you like to buy some real estate on Mars or the Moon? No, this would not be the equivalent of buying the Brooklyn Bridge, at least according to a review of legal precedents and treaties published in the Journal of Air Law and Commerce. The authors, Alan Wasser and Douglas Jobe of the Space Settlement Institute, conclude that while the international Outer Space Treaty prohibits nations from claiming sovereignty over the Moon or Mars, it does not preclude private land claims, and they point to legal precedents establishing the necessary condition for anyone making a land claim: living there.

Now, this might seem like a mere academic exercise for lawyers, given the current shortage of people ready to settle down on the Moon or Mars. But Mr. Wasser and Mr. Jobes argue that a formal recognition of the right to claim Alaska-sized chunks of land is the fastest and most practical way to promote extraterrestrial colonies. For now, they say, real-estate sales are about the only potentially profitable economic activity on the Moon — certainly more practical than trying to make money by mining its minerals. They note that many have already paid $19.95 per acre for “deeds” to lunar land even those these are novelty items that have no binding legal authority.

Presumably, Mr. Wasser and Mr. Jobes write, people would be willing to pay more to speculate in land legally owned by a company established by a small group of settlers who had staked a claim to 384 million acrees — an area the size of Alaska, which was successfully claimed by Russia after a small fur-trading settlement of fewer than 100 people was established in one spot there. If the land went for $100 per acre, that would amount to nearly $40 billion. “Those billions of dollars of potential profits could be a powerful incentive to develop space settlements,” the authors conclude. To reassure investors in those settlements, the authors write, the United States should pass a law recognizing the property rights of future settlers. Visit http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/29/for-sale-moon-and-mars/ to view the article. (8/29)

Storm Closes Michoud Assembly Facility and Stennis Space Center (Source: NASA)
NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and Stennis Space Center in Mississippi will be closed in the days leading up to landfall of tropical storm Gustav, which is expected to strengthen into a hurricane. The public is reminded that Stennis Space Center is a government industrial complex. As such, the facility is not equipped to serve as a storm shelter. (8/29)

"Science" Gets a Mention in Denver (Source: What's New)
As the crisis in science funding grows steadily worse we look for any hint that our leaders are aware. In his inspirational acceptance speech last night Barack Obama mentioned science once. It was at the end of a list of things that government should do because we cannot do them for ourselves: "protect us from harm, and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and science and technology." It should be pointed out that everything on that list is dependent on science. This is not exactly the "Science Debate 2008" scientists hoped to have, but we take what we can get. (8/29)

Titusville Firm Wins Air Force Launch Support Contract (Source: DOD)
The Air Force is a exercising an option with Call Henry, Inc., of Titusville, Florida, for $6,922,868. Call Henry will support management, modification, and modernization for aging facility, property and western range support equipment to ensure successful performance during tests, operations and launch. This is the fourth option to be exercised out of five. The primary location of performance is Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. (8/29)

More on Democrats' Space Talk (Source: NASA Watch)
Despite the occasional, rational reasons for mentioning space in this election, space is getting some play for other reasons: its iconic, inspirational aspects. Hillary Clinton went down the visceral, emotional path when she mentioned the number of female astronauts NASA now has as an indication of how far women had come in our society. And a pre-speech film about Barack Obama showed Apollo footage as he spoke about seeing Apollo astronauts returning home - and his grandfather's suggestion that if Americans can do this - they can do anything. Alas, despite Obama's grandfather's statement, it is apparently going to take longer for NASA to send humans back to the Moon than it did the first time - and the rocket science seems to be harder this time than it was the first time around. (8/29)

NASA Cuts Ribbon on Stennis-Based Shared Services Center (Source: Times Picayune)
Tropical Storm Gustav and his uncertain path did little to dampen the high spirits of the ribbon cutting ceremony of a brand new, state-of-the-art NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) at Stennis on Thursday. State and federal government leaders mentioned the trials and tribulations of winning the contract for the NSSC building. The Stennis facility vied for the contract with six other locations, and then, after the contract was awarded, Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, and the future of NSSC became uncertain again.Barbour and the state of Mississippi were thanked repeatedly by the Stennis representatives. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour’s commitment and dedication to the facility and the funds the state was able to channel towards the building was said to have a lot to do with its success.

“Mississippi has shown we can compete,” said one official, who spoke of the other industry contracts that have been awarded to the area, such as Toyota and G.E. Master of Ceremonies Rick Arbuthnot, executive director of NSSC, in his introduction of Barbour said, “NSSC was kept on his priority list because of his commitment to recovery." Barbour spoke about the $33 million building and the 500 jobs that the facility has brought to the area. (8/29)

Private Equity Deal for Gilat Dissolves (Source: Financial Times)
The deal under which Gilat Satellite Networks would have been acquired for $475m by a private equity consortium led by Gores Group fell apart on Friday with both sides accusing each other of a material breach of the agreement. It is the latest in a string of private-equity-backed transactions to fall apart in the wake of the credit crunch. The Israel-based satellite equipment maker said that it had ended the takeover agreement because the private equity consortium had failed to live up to the conditions of the deal agreed in March under which its shareholders would have received $11.40 a share. (8/29)

Jacksonville Space Tourism Countdown Begins (Source: Jacksonville Business Journal)
Roughly $200,000 could get you to space via Cecil Field if the Jacksonville Aviation Authority succeeds in making the airport a commercial spaceport. The authority expects to receive approval from the Federal Aviation Administration by February 2009 to allow commercial space travel from the airport, said authority official Todd Lindner. Although the final application was turned in Aug. 15, interim drafts have already been approved. Once the operators receive FAA approval to fly out of Cecil, the first launch could be as early as spring 2010. (8/29)

NASA to Study Extending Shuttle Era to 2015 (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin has ordered his suborbinates to study how the agency could fly the space shuttle beyond its planned retirement in 2010, according to an internal e-mail obtained by the Orlando Sentinel. The decision signals what could be a huge change in NASA policy. Griffin repeatedly has rejected the notion of extending the shuttle era beyond its 2010 retirment date, arguing it could cripple the fledgling Constellation program, a system of new rockets and capsules meant to replace the shuttle in 2015.

But Griffin has been under enormous external pressure. Sen. John McCain recently asked the White House to stop dismantling parts of the shuttle program for at least a year. At the same time, eroding relations with Russia have motivated lawmakers to find a way to fill the five-year gap between the shuttle's retirement and the maiden voyage of Constellation in 2015. The current plan calls for NASA to buy Russian spacecraft during the gap. One NASA official said such "what-if studies" represent "prudent planning," especially in light of suggestions made by McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, who would dictate the agency's future if he captures the White House.

But the email, sent on Wednesday, August 27, by John Coggeshall, manager of "Manifest and Schedules" at Johnson Space Center in Houston, suggested that the analysis was more than just a contingency study. "We want to focus on helping bridge the gap of US vehicles traveling to the ISS as efficiently as possible," it said. The upcoming study wouldn’t examine adding flights to the shuttle schedule, but would rather spread them out until 2015. It also raised the idea of retiring one of the three remaining orbiters, possibly for spare parts. "(We) don't necessarily need all 3 orbiters either," said the email."We have been encouraged not to focus on a certain set of assumptions or costs," said the email. (8/29)

Northrop/EADS Eye Substitute Plane for Air Force Tanker Bid (Source: AIA)
Faced with Boeing's demands for a deadline extension on bids for a new refueling tanker, Northrop Grumman and EADS are considering a change of aircraft that could shave both time and money from their proposal. With the bidding extended, Northrop may propose a tanker based on the Airbus A330-200 freighter, a plane that was not available in time for the earlier deadline. Analysts say the move signals a more aggressive stance by EADS, which hopes to win more military contracts while underpricing Boeing on commercial contracts. (8/29)

Raytheon Denied $700,000 Tax Rebate in Massachusetts (Source: AIA)
A state tax board in Massachusetts has denied Raytheon Co. a tax rebate of about $700,000, finding that general overhead expenses are not exempt from state sales taxes in the same way as items purchased specifically to fulfill federal contracts. Raytheon had argued that 81% of its work was performed for the federal government, and therefore 81% of its purchases -- from toilet paper to legal pads -- should be tax exempt. But the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board disagreed. "Aside from the occasion when a paper copy of a report or memorandum was delivered to the federal government, the indirect cost items at issue were generally not delivered to the federal government in connection with the performance of the government contracts," it ruled. (8/29)

Exploring The Future Aerospace Industry in Hawaii (Source: Hawaii Reporter)
Last week, the Senate Economic Development and Taxation Committee and the House Economic Development and Business Concerns Committee convened a one day conference titled "Hawaii's Aerospace Industry: The Next Frontier at the State Capitol." Director Jim Crisafulli of the Office of Aerospace Development was instrumental in securing experts from across the nation and locally to discuss the future of the aerospace industry in our state. At least 250 individuals attended the conference. The intent of the conference was to promote Hawaii's aerospace industry and bring attention to the many initiatives and projects being implemented today.

Wayne Shiroma, Co-Director of the Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory, spoke of the U.H. small satellite program which could begin launching small satellites into space by 2010. We would be the first university in the nation with this capability. Working with our federal government at Kauai's Barking Sands base, this endeavor would propel the U.H. program to the forefront of small satellite launches with our military. Commercial launches would be the natural progression of this program involving university students.

Frank Schowengerdt, Director of the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES), presented a plan to build a lunar training base on the Big Island which would help the United States return to the moon and beyond. NASA will be conducting field tests in Hawaii soon. Chuck Lauer, vice-president of business development for Rocketplane, explained his plans to bring space-tourism to Hawaii by being the first company in the world to fly tourists into space point-to-point from the Big Island to Honolulu. Securing a commercial spaceport license from the FAA is imperative to make this happen. Click here to view the article. (8/29)

Russian Rocket Sends Five "RapidEye" German Satellites Into Orbit (Source: Xinhua)
Russia on Friday launched a Dnepr rocket to put a constellation of five German RapidEye remote sensing satellites into orbit. The rocket was launched from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan. The launch vehicle Dnepr, based on the world's most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile, is designed to put a load of up to 3.7 tons to orbit at an altitude of 300-900 km. The five satellites were developed by the British company Surrey Satellite Technology for the German Space Agency. (8/29)

COTS Rocket Could Launch Plasma Engine to International Space Station (Source: Flight International)
A scale-model plasma rocket engine that is to be tested at the International Space Station could be delivered in 2012 by a NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) programme launch system. Houston-based AdAstraRocket's ISS Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (Vasimir) test article will be a scale-model engine. (8/29)

GeoEye Signs Deal to Provide Imagery to Google (Source: Reuters)
GeoEye Inc (GEOY.O) on Thursday said it will provide imagery from its new $502 million high-resolution GeoEye-1 satellite to Google Earth and Google Maps after the spacecraft is launched on September 4. The Google logo is on the first stage of the Delta II rocket that will launch the new satellite, which will provide the highest resolution commercial color imagery available on the market. (8/29)

SWE Dinner Features Constellation Program Overview (Source: SWE)
The Society of Women Engineers, Space Coast Section, will hold a dinner event on Sep. 9 at the Duran Golf Club in Viera. The featured speaker will be NASA KSC's Scott Colloredo, Integrator for Constellation Ground Systems. He will provide an overview of the Constellation Program. Visit http://www.swe-sc.org/Meetings/Sept08/Sept08Mtg.pdf for information. (8/29)

Air Force and Lockheed Martin Achieve Major SBIRS Milestone (Source: CSA)
Lockheed Martin announced that the Air Force has certified readiness for dedicated operational utility evaluation and trial period operations of the first Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO-1) payload and associated ground system in preparation for use by the warfighter. SBIRS is designed to provide early warning of missile launches, and simultaneously support other missions including missile defense, technical intelligence and battlespace awareness. (8/29)

Lunar Landing Hazard Detection Device Tested at NASA Dryden (Source: CSA)
An experimental lidar device that has the ability to detect potential hazards at a landing site for future autonomous robotic lunar missions was flight-tested Aug. 20-22 at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. Mounted in a gimbaled ball on the nose of a helicopter, the lidar device is designed to automatically recognize the location and topography of the desired landing site during its final descent to the surface, detect hazards such as craters or large boulders at the site, with the data interpreted in real time by a computer that adjusts the lander's trajectory to direct it to a safer landing spot. Click here to view the article. (8/29)

Zero Gravity Flight Provides Weighty Experience (Source: Allan Hancock College)
“It almost feels like being Superman," said Rob Jorstad after his recent Zero-G flight from Titusville, Florida. “It was a very natural feeling, but at the same time, your brain was a little bit confused by it.” Jorstad is a physics instructor at Allan Hancock College. He will use this experience to relate the physics of microgravity to students in his classes, some of whom plan to work in the aerospace industry. Jorstad is all about personal experience.

"I lie on a bed of nails, put another bed of nails on top and have someone smash a cinder block on top," Jorstad said. "I create a volcano with liquid nitrogen in a two-liter bottle, submerse it in a garbage can and water explodes everywhere. I love to do dramatic demonstrations and to have students build their own projects.” Jorstad's flight was sponsored by SpaceTEC®, the National Science Foundation’s Center of Excellence for Aerospace Technical Education. SpaceTEC® was recently awarded a Florida state grant to develop a new microgravity training program through which educators and industry observers would gain first-hand knowledge of spaceflight working conditions. (8/29)