September 12 News Items

Johnson Space Center Shut Down for Ike (Source: AIA)
With Hurricane Ike bearing down on the Texas coast, NASA closed the Johnson Space Center in Houston and set up a temporary command center in a hotel near Austin. The team in Austin will maintain communications with the one American and two Russians aboard the international space station, though Friday's planned docking of a Russian cargo capsule at the space station has been postponed until after the storm. (9/12)

Obama and McCain Swept Up in a Surprising Space Race (Source: Science)
Stem cells, climate change, energy research, the teaching of evolution--these are today's hot-button science and technology issues. But in the contentious U.S. presidential race, the human space exploration program stole the limelight last month. A savvy group of business boosters in electoral-vote-rich Florida and a small band of determined space advocates have convinced the Republican contender, Arizona Senator John McCain, and his Democratic rival, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, that NASA's fortunes are intertwined with their quest for the Oval Office. Vying last month to prove their space-friendly credentials, the two men visited the area around KSC, issued dueling policy statements, and insisted that they were eager to boldly go where humans have not been since geologist Harrison Schmitt closed the hatch on the lunar module in 1972.

The impetus for the debate is the job losses connected to a 2010 phaseout of the aging space shuttle. Both candidates say they will consider postponing that retirement date while pushing for a new launcher that could speed humans to the moon by 2020. Both also want to bolster scientific research aboard the international space station still under construction--and question the Bush Administration's decision to mothball it in 2016. Unlike in past campaigns, space has even become part of each party's platform, a nonbinding compilation of positions. There's mention in the Democratic version of a "strong and inspirational vision" for space, and a sentence in the Republican document declaring that "we look toward our country's return to the moon." That's nice, say the Florida Space Coasters, but it's not enough. "Now we need specifics." (9/12)

Space Club Accepting Kolcum Award Nominations (Source: NSCFL)
The National Space Club's Florida Committee is soliciting nominations for this year's Harry Kolcum award. Two people will be selected for the award, which typically recognizes excellent support to space-related journalism or public relations. The first recipient will be either a government or contractor PAO/Communications rep/marketing person/community relations specialist, government relations specialist, etc., who resides in Florida, who did the most to promote space during fiscal year 2008. The second recipient will be a member of the news media whose coverage during the year has done the most to promote the space industry. Please provide a short bio on the person and a 2-3 paragraph nominee summary to Mike Rein at mailto:michael.j.rein@boeing.com by COB Oct. 3. (9/11)

Cape Canaveral Firm Supports Navy Training Contract (Source: Craig)
Cape Canaveral-based Craig Technologies is supporting Raytheon Technical Services for education/training products and support services managed by the Naval Education and Training Professional Development and Technology Center (NETPDTC) in Pensacola. The Navy selected the Raytheon-led team for the multiple award indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity contract, which has a ceiling valued at $43 million earlier this month. (9/12)

NASA: Shuttle Won't Solve Space Station Problem, Russia Will (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Even before NASA finishes its study into the possibility of flying the space shuttle beyond its scheduled retirement in 2010, top agency officials have concluded that extending the life of the orbiter fleet won't solve the problem of keeping the international space station operable for U.S. astronauts. Instead, NASA officials have decided that they must convince Congress to allow the agency to buy Russian Soyuz spacecraft to serve as transport vehicles and lifeboats for U.S. space farers and their international partners.

Without the Soyuz, NASA says in a paper to congress, it will have to abandon the station when the current contract with Russia ends in October 2011 and cede control of the $100-billion facility to Moscow. "Continuing to fly the space shuttle past 2010 is not the answer to this situation," the paper says. "The Soyuz option is simply the only sure solution -- or else the U.S. has no choice but to de-crew all U.S. astronauts (and de-facto the Canadian, European and Japanese astronauts) from the International Space Station in 2011." The paper is part of a last-ditch effort by the agency to overcome congressional resistance to waiving a law banning high-tech purchases from Russia because of Moscow's nuclear dealings with Iran. (9/12)

Hurricane Ike Impact Felt in Space (Source: NASA)
Hurricane Ike has delayed the scheduled Friday arrival of a Russian Progress cargo ship at the International Space Station 220 miles above Earth. The Progress docking was postponed when the space station's control room at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston was closed Thursday because of the approaching storm. Control of the space station was handed to flight controllers at backup facilities near Austin, Texas, and Huntsville, Ala. Because the Mission Control Center in Houston is responsible for commanding many of the station's systems, U.S. and Russian officials agreed to delay the docking. (9/11)

NASA Conducts First Test on New Ares I Rocket Motor (Source: NASA)
Engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center have completed first-round testing of a critical motor for NASA's new Ares I rocket. The ullage settling motor is a small, solid rocket motor that serves two key roles during the launch of the Ares I rocket. During first stage separation, which occurs 125.8 seconds into flight, the motor will fire for four seconds, producing the forward thrust needed to push the second, or upper, stage away from the first stage. This forward thrust also ensures the rocket's liquid fuel is properly pushed to the bottom of the upper stage fuel tank prior to ignition of the J-2X engine that powers the upper stage. (9/11)

NASA Awards Contract for Ames Information Technology Support (Source: NASA)
NASA's Ames Research Center awarded a bridge contract for information technology support to Perot Systems Government Services Inc. of Fairfax, Va. The Ames Consolidated Information Technology Services 2 contract has a potential value of $77 million. The contract will have a 13 month base period followed by three one-month options. (9/11)

NASA Developing Fission Power Technology for Surface Exploration (Source: NASA)
NASA astronauts will need power sources when they return to the moon and establish a lunar outpost. NASA engineers are exploring the possibility of nuclear fission to provide the necessary power and taking initial steps toward a non-nuclear technology demonstration of this type of system. A fission surface power system on the moon has the potential to generate a steady 40 kilowatts of electric power, enough for about eight houses on Earth. It works by splitting uranium atoms in a reactor to generate heat that then is converted into electric power. (9/11)

"Naked-Eye" Gamma-Ray Burst Was Aimed Squarely at Earth (Source: NASA)
Data from satellites and observatories around the globe show a jet from a powerful stellar explosion witnessed March 19 was aimed almost directly at Earth. NASA's Swift satellite detected the explosion - formally named GRB 080319B - at 2:13 a.m. EDT that morning and pinpointed its position in the constellation Bootes. The event, called a gamma-ray burst, became bright enough for human eyes to see. Observations of the event are giving astronomers the most detailed portrait of a burst ever recorded. (9/10)

Pentagon Cancels Competition for Airborne Tanker Contract (Source: AIA)
The Pentagon began notifying lawmakers on Wednesday that it was calling off bidding for a $40 billion fleet of aerial tankers because a winner could not be selected before the start of a new presidential administration. Defense Secretary Robert Gates reportedly viewed the cancellation as providing a much-needed "cooling off" period. With the current fleet approaching an average age of 50 years, the Air Force has made the acquisition of 179 new tankers a top priority. Officials contend, however, that the current fleet of Boeing-made KC-135 tankers can continue flying for the near future. (9/10)

Lockheed Sees No Major Changes with New Administration (Source: AIA)
The Pentagon's biggest supplier doesn't expect major changes to its business next year, regardless of which party wins the White House. Lockheed Martin CFO Bruce Tanner said defense spending has not emerged as a major issue in the presidential campaign, and either candidate will have to work with much the same leadership that controls the current Congress. Tanner said the Littoral Combat Ship is performing well in tests, and the C-130J Super Hercules continues to find new customers, but "There's literally nothing in our portfolio as significant as the F-35." (9/10)

SpaceX Receives License for Cape Canaveral Launch Site (Source: SpaceRef.com)
SpaceX has been granted an Operational License by the US Air Force for the use of Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. Receipt of the license, in conjunction with the approved Site Plan, paves the way for SpaceX to initiate Falcon 9 launch operations later this year. "We are developing Falcon 9 to be a valuable asset to the American space launch fleet," said Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX. "The support we received from General Helms and the US Air Force has been immensely helpful in developing the pathfinder processes necessary for SpaceX to realize commercial space flights from the Cape." (9/10)

AIAA Dinner Meeting on Space Coast Features X-35 Test Pilot (Source: AIAA)
Thomas Morgenfeld a Test Pilot Instructor at the National Test Pilot School, will be the featured speaker at an October 2 dinner meeting of the AIAA's Space Coast chapter. The event is open to non-members and will be held at the Cocoa Beach Oceanfront Resort in Cocoa Beach, beginning at 6:00 p.m. Visit http://www.aiaa.org/canaveral for information and reservations. (9/9)