August 9 News Items

Rockets, Satellites Push Arizona's Economy (Source: Arizona Republic)
A ramp-up in government spending on space exploration and high-tech missile-defense systems is turning space into the next frontier for Arizona companies looking for a lucrative source of new business during these challenging economic times. Space programs already fuel thousands of jobs and generate billions of dollars for Arizona businesses, and they promise to provide even more as the Arizona Department of Commerce has made expanding the state's aerospace industry a top priority.

The space programs also have become an important source of general-fund revenue for the state's universities, which are facing budget cutbacks. NASA funding for the University of Arizona-led Phoenix Mars Mission provided more than $17 million to the school's general fund. Equipment made by Honeywell Aerospace in Phoenix helped guide Phoenix Mars Lander. And satellites made in Gilbert by General Dynamics are peering into deep space looking for clues about the origins of universe. Eventually, equipment made in Arizona could help carry astronauts to the moon and then on to Mars and other reaches of the galaxy.

The state has all the components in place to become a leader in planetary exploration. Indeed, companies in Arizona now build rockets and satellites used in space exploration in addition to the systems that guide the spacecraft and the instruments that help glean scientific information from the missions. Lauretta would like the state to become supportive of its space industry and help fund research, much the same way it does for the biosciences. "Once the Mars mission ends, our funding declines," he said. "State support could help us get through the slow time, so we don't lose the expertise." (8/9)

Sportsmen Dispute Results of New Mexico Spaceport Impact Study (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Sportsmen in Doña Ana County said a draft environmental study for a proposed spaceport is problematic because it fails to adequately consider impacts to wildlife. Members of four sportsmen and wildlife groups spoke up at public hearing hosted by the FAA. The session was meant to solicit feedback on a draft environmental study completed last month by the agency.

"The big disagreement is they find there's no significant impact," said Angel Montoya, representing the Doña Ana County Associated Sportsmen. "I'd like to see a plan of mitigation for wildlife, and there is no plan of mitigation there." (8/9)

Ohio Group Fights Razing of Historic Spacesuit Lab (Source: Guardian)
Preservationists are squaring off with the Air Force over the fate of a World War II-era building where researchers developed the first antigravity suits for pilots and early NASA spacesuits. The Air Force is moving to demolish Building 55 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base because it cannot find a use for it, doesn't have the money to maintain it and needs to remove contaminated soil under it. But the Ohio Historic Preservation Office feels the building is worth listing in the National Register of Historic Places. (8/9)

United Launch Alliance Gets $1.1 Billion Deal (Source: Rocky Mountain News)
The Air Force allocated $1.1 billion to extend a support and maintenance contract for Colorado-based United Launch Alliance through at least fiscal year 2009. The contract involves ULA's Delta IV booster rocket. The rocket is used under the Air Force's "Evolved Expendable Launch Capability" rocket- launch program. The work involves maintaining launch pads, personnel, program management and other duties linked to launching rockets that ferry government satellites into space. (8/9)

Hughes Preparing to Order New Satellite (Source: Space News)
Satellite broadband service provider Hughes Communications expects to order a large, all-Ka-band satellite by September to complement capacity on the company's Spaceway 3 satellite serving consumers in the United States. The new satellite will take about 3.5 years to build and will not feature Spaceway 3's elaborate on-board processing technology. (8/9)

OHB Joins Competition for Galileo Satellite Contract (Source: Space News)
OHB Technology has entered the competitive bidding to build all 26 Galileo navigation and positioning satellites in direct competition with a consortium of Europe's two largest satellite prime contractors, Astrium Satellites and Thales Alenia Space. (8/9)

European Commission Soliciting Bids for S-Band Mobile Satellite Services (Source: Space News)
The European Commission Aug. 7 launched a competition to provide S-band mobile satellite services in Europe and set an Oct. 7 deadline for bids from industry. (8/9)

SES Predicts 5% Annual Revenue Growth Through 2010 (Source: Space News)
While the growth of satellite demand in North America may be slowing with the economic downturn, satellite fleet operator SES is telling investors the company's businesses in Europe, Africa and South Asia are in robust health and will assure the company overall revenue growth of 5 percent or more through 2010. The Luxembourg-based company, which is the world's largest commercial satellite operator by revenue, also reiterated to investors that while the decline of the U.S. dollar is a drag on SES's top-line revenue, it has almost no effect on bottom-line profit. (8/9)

EchoStar Faces Challenge of Unused Satellite Capacity (Source: Space News)
EchoStar Corp. warned investors that it may be forced to write down the value of its satellite assets if it is unable to sell unused capacity in the open market. The Colorado-based company, which was separated from satellite-television provider Dish Network early this year, also said it views the advent of the MPEG-4 digital-compression technology as a two-edged sword for satellite-fleet operators like EchoStar.

MPEG-4, which Dish and other satellite-television broadcasters are adopting, permits more data to be beamed from a given amount of satellite transponder capacity, in principle reducing demand for transponders. But EchoStar Chief Executive Charlie Ergen said MPEG-4, by freeing up capacity on satellites, could reduce the price of transponders and thus increase demand for satellite services from broadcasters who now view satellites as beyond their financial reach. (8/9)

Next Falcon 1 Rocket Could Launch as Early as September (Source: Space News)
SpaceX expects to have another Falcon 1 rocket on the launch pad within weeks of a disappointing third flight attempt Aug. 2, which ended in failure when the rocket's first stage re-contacted the second stage after separation. The California-based rocket start-up says avoiding a repeat of that scenario should be as easy as inserting an extra couple of seconds between main engine cut off and stage separation. "We have quite a definitive understanding of what went wrong on the last flight," SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said.

Malaysia's ATSB — whose RazakSat satellite is next in line on the Falcon 1 manifest — wants to see at least one successful launch before entrusting the vehicle with its payload, so SpaceX is approaching flight four as a demonstration. Although he did not rule out having a paying customer aboard the next flight, Musk said SpaceX previously promised ATSB, which is wholly owned by Malaysia's Ministry of Finance, that it would prove Falcon 1's ability to reach orbit before launching RazakSat. (8/9)

Lockheed Ships Tank for Standby Rescue Shuttle (Source: Space News)
A space shuttle external tank bound for NASA's Kennedy Space Center shipped out Aug. 6 from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans via an enclosed barge. The tank, ET-129, was expected to reach Kennedy around Aug. 11 and be mated with the Space Shuttle Endeavour, which will be on standby to rescue the crew of Space Shuttle Atlantis should they become stranded on orbit during the upcoming Hubble Space Telescope repair mission scheduled to launch Oct. 8. Assuming no rescue is needed, Endeavour will be readied to launch on a mission to the international space station Nov. 10. (8/9)