September 16 News Items

Booster Sensor Suspect on Atlantis (Source: Florida Today)
NASA engineers are determining whether a pressure sensor on the righthand solid rocket booster of shuttle Atlantis will have to be replaced, but officials say a change-out could be done without impacting an Oct. 10 target launch date. The chamber pressure sensor produced electrical readings outside the expected range during a test earlier this month. The readings were within allowable ranges, but engineers nonetheless have been troubleshooting the problem. (9/16)

The Future of America's Space Corps (Source: Space.com)
NASA’s astronaut corps has long been a symbol of American exploration and drive, but as the agency turns 50 the cadre of U.S. space explorers faces some difficult challenges in the years to come. Astronauts today are looking ahead at the looming 2010 retirement of the agency’s aging space shuttle fleet and at least a four-year gap before the replacement spaceship - the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle - takes flight with spaceflyers aboard. There is even worry that NASA astronauts won’t have rides to the International Space Station during the hiatus. It’s enough to give some veteran astronauts food for thought on what the future holds for them beyond the shuttle, while others remain committed to the long-duration missions that will be the only available rides until NASA renews manned lunar treks by 2020. (9/16)

Sirius XM Sends Signals of Change (Source: Wall Street Journal)
With satellite radio's growth slowing and Wall Street rattled, Sirius XM Radio Inc. Chief Executive Mel Karmazin last week joked at an investor conference about how difficult it is to refinance some of the company's debt on reasonable terms. "Am I going to lend the company the money?" Mr. Karmazin asked. "I hope not. I hope we don't get to that."

Sirius XM shareholders weren't in the mood for wisecracks. Since the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. in late July, the company's stock has fallen about 40%, and now trades at less than a dollar. The downward trajectory accelerated last week after the company issued subscriber forecasts that fell below analysts' expectations and failed to reassure investors about looming debt payments. (9/16)

NASA Awards $485M University of Colorado Mars Project Delayed by Conflict (Source: SpaceRef.com)
NASA chose a University of Colorado proposal for a $485 million Mars mission on Monday after a nine-month delay caused by a conflict of interest in the selection process. The delay cost the space agency time, money and science. The price of the probe increased by $10 million, its launch was postponed by two years, and the science-gathering mission will be cut in half to one year, an official said. (9/16)

U.K. Report Finds Emerging Threats In Space (Source: Aviation Week)
Disruptive technologies such as directed energy weapons and the use of electro-magnetic pulse are being identified as "emerging issues" for space security in a key U.K. industry report. British space industry lobby group U.K. Space will formally launch its "Space Secures Prosperity" report Sept. 16. The study is intended to highlight the extent to which the U.K. is dependent on space systems to support its military and security capabilities. Many of these systems, the report stresses, are foreign. U.K. industry wants to see the government step up its investment in military space.

In examining potential emerging threats to space infrastructure the report notes: "Disruptive technologies -- including electromagnetic pulse and directed energy weapons -- will continue to be developed and proliferate, with implications for the protection of vehicles, ground stations, and data-streams." It goes on to add: "It is feasible that illegal organizations will seek to disrupt the states ability to exploit the use of space by threatening not only the ground stations themselves, but also the communications links between them and their satellites." (9/15)

NASA Uses Commercial Microgravity Flight Services for First Time (Source: NASA)
NASA for the first time last week used microgravity research flights aboard commercially-owned aircraft to test hardware and technologies. These flights, on an airplane operated by the Zero Gravity Corp., simulated the weightless conditions of space. In addition to numerous NASA experiments, five companies sponsored by the agency's Innovative Partnerships Program flew experiments aboard the reduced-gravity aircraft flights from Ellington Field in Houston. The flights were the first in NASA's Facilitated Access to the Space Environment for Technology Development and Training program, called FAST. A call for new proposals for FAST program flights in 2009 will be issued later this month. It will be open to any companies or organizations working on technologies of value to NASA. Visit http://www.ipp.nasa.gov/ii_fast.htm for information. (9/16)