October 10 News Items

Charity Auction Offers Out-Of-This-World Experiences (Source: ASF)
Imagine dining with legendary astronaut John Glenn, hitting the slopes with moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, or viewing a Space Shuttle launch with the very first space shuttle pilot Robert Crippen! The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) is offering these experiences and many more during its 6th Annual Online Auction of Astronaut Experiences and Memorabilia at http://astronautscholarship.org/2008_auction.pl. The online catalog debuts today and features astronauts such as Scott Carpenter, Jim Lovell and John Young who have delved into their personal collections to provide artifacts, autographed items, and once-in-a-lifetime astronaut experiences. Unique items from every era of the American space programs are also up for grabs, from Lovell’s flown Gemini 12 medallion, to an Apollo 13 flown food container belonging to Fred Haise. (10/10)

Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge – Back On (Source: ISPCS)
The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Centennial Challenge is planned in New Mexico on Oct. 24-25. The event will be held at the Las Cruces International Airport. The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge is a two-level, two million dollar competition requiring a vehicle to simulate trips between the moon’s surface and lunar orbit. The State of New Mexico is the event sponsor; the Challenge is hosted by the X PRIZE Foundation with additional financial support from Northrop Grumman. The Centennial Challenge Prize of two million dollars is provided by NASA. (10/10)

Embry-Riddle and NASTAR Team on FAA "Upset Recovery" Flight Research (Source: NASTAR)
The National AeroSpace Training and Research (NASTAR) Center and Aircrew Training Systems (ATS) have been involved in an ongoing research project under contract from the FAA and in conjunction with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) to ascertain the effectiveness of various methods of Upset Recovery Training (URT). Several groups of students from ERAU will be visiting NASTAR Center in the coming months for upset recovery training in NASTAR's GYROLAB GL-2000 G-motion platform. After completing their training at NASTAR Center, the students will be evaluated using their newly learned techniques in ERAU's ACA Decathlon. Visit http://www.nastarcenter.com/newsletter/issue11/article4.html to view the article. (10/10)

NASTAR Offers Two-Day Space Training Program on Feb. 5-6 (Source: NASTAR)
The National AeroSpace Training and Research (NASTAR), the firm selected by Virgin Galactic to train its spaceflight passengers and crew, is offering a new two-day space training program on Feb. 5-6 at their Pennsylvania facility. The experience will give prospective private space travelers the thrill of launching into space while not actually leaving the ground, and will help them decide whether or not they are prepared for and truly interested in a suborbital flight. NASTAR markets these experiences through Incredible Adventures of Sarasota, Florida. Visit http://www.incredible-adventures.com/space-on-earth.html for information. (10/10)

NASA Keeps Costly Mars Mission Alive (Source: Florida Today)
NASA is keeping its most ambitious -- and one of its most expensive -- mission to Mars alive, but it will take more money to finish a roving science laboratory if the agency maintains plans to launch during windows in 2009 or 2011. The decision to proceed with the Mars Science Laboratory mission -- which has cost NASA $1.9 million to date -- was made after a review by NASA Administrator Mike Griffin today. The $1.9 billion respresents a $300 million cost overrun. But agency officials say the mission is so important to NASA's science objectives that the best decision is to keep the mission alive. (10/10)

Spacehab Subject to NASDAQ Delisting (Source: Spacehab)
Spacehab has received a NASDAQ Staff Determination letter indicating that the Company has failed to regain compliance with NASDAQ Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(4), and that its securities are, therefore, subject to delisting from The NASDAQ Capital Market. The Company plans to request a hearing before a NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Panel to present its plan of compliance and request continued listing pending the completion of the plan.(10/10)

Space Station Toilet Breaks Again (Source: Space.com)
The master bathroom for three astronauts aboard the International Space Station is on the fritz again just days before a trio of new spaceflyers are due to launch toward the orbiting lab. A temporary telemetry glitch also sent the space station into a so-called survival mode earlier this morning, changing the outpost's attitude and leading to system power downs for several hours. That issue was quickly tracked to an electronics box aboard the station, but the balky space toilet in the Russian Zvezda service module continues to plague astronauts and flight controllers. (10/10)

Chinese Subsat Orbiting Empty Module (Source: Aerospace Daily)
A small Chinese subsatellite released from the nose of the manned Shenzhou 7 spacecraft two hours after China's first extravehicular activity (EVA) on Sept. 30 continues to circle the Shenzhou unmanned orbital module that was left in orbit. Except for their gloves, the crew's Chinese and Russian spacesuits used during the EVA remain onboard the orbital module because they were too heavy for return in the descent module. The BX-1 subsatellite, weighing 77 pounds and equipped with a maneuvering system as well as two cameras, shows the growing maturity of Chinese small satellite development. It is also giving Chinese ground controllers experience in maneuvering robotic spacecraft in close proximity to each other, much like DARPA's Orbital Express satellites demonstrated in mid-2007. That flight was one of the more complex satellite missions ever flown by the Pentagon. (10/10)

SES Orders New SIRIUS 5 Satellite From Loral (Source: SES)
SES has ordered a new multi-mission satellite, Sirius 5, from Loral. The satellite is scheduled for launch in the second half of 2011. Sirius 5 will have 36 Ku-band transponders serving Northern Europe and the Baltic region as well as the African markets with Direct-to-Home (DTH) services. The Ku-band transponders will be commercialised by SES ASTRA in the African DTH market and by SES SIRIUS in the Nordic markets, whereas the C-band transponders will become part of the SES NEW SKIES offering. (10/10)

Pegasus Rocket Headed to Pacific Isle for NASA Launch (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
An Orbital Sciences Pegasus rocket with a NASA satellite nestled in its nose cone will fly away from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base on Saturday, but the winged booster won't be soaring into space. Slung beneath an L-1011 carrier aircraft, the fully assembled rocket will leave its home port destined for the Kwajalein Atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, part of the U.S. Army's vast missile range, where the launch will occur on October 19. It will carry NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer spacecraft into an extraordinarily high orbit. (10/10)

Blending Safety with Sexy: Space Fashion is Here (Source: CNN)
You can almost picture it now: Paris Hilton swallowed up by a tight-fitting futuristic designer space suit -- one hand waving at the on-flight camera, the other clasping a Dior "space traveler" handbag. Oh yes, with the age of space tourism upon us, space fashion looks set to become the next step into this infinite world of adventure. One factor certain to drive the fashion-crazy towards space concepts is the super-wealthy space tourists (reportedly paying a minimum price of $200,000 per seat) who are set to make trips into orbit an everyday occurrence for those with deep pockets.

And space-inspired fashion is already making cosmic waves in the design world. Earlier this year a space fashion show was held in Yokohama, Japan and featured at the Japan Aerospace 2008 exhibition. Last year Louis Vuitton held an exhibition at the Espace Louis Vuitton in Paris titled "The Temptation of Space" which included an installation by legendary French designer Philippe Starck. (10/10)

No Insurance Coverage for Chandrayaan-1 (Source: Economic Times)
India’s most ambitious space progra, the Chandrayaan-1 project, which aims to send a spacecraft to moon, will lift off on October 22 without any insurance cover. The cost of India’s first unmanned mission to the moon is Rs 386 crore, including Rs 100 crore for establishing Indian Deep Space Network near Bangalore that would receive the signals from the satellites. An Indian Space Research Organization official said Chandrayaan-1 is a scientific project and would not require any insurance cover. A crash landing of a lunar vehicle on the moon's surface is also planned. (10/10)

The Plan to Revive Hubble (Source: MSNBC)
Engineers have a devised a plan to switch Hubble's data-handling functions from the primary system, known as Side A, to the Side B backup system. Side B hasn't been put to the test since Hubble went into orbit in 1990. Two of Hubble's science instruments, the Advanced Camera for Surveys and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, are currently out of commission and have been slated for repair during Atlantis' visit. Two more instruments, the Wide Field Camera 3 and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, are ready for installation.

NASA was already planning to have Atlantis' astronauts do all those upgrades, and change out Hubble's worn-out batteries and gyroscopes as well. Now more complications lie ahead. Will Hubble's handlers go through with the temporary data-handling switchover? How will they adjust the spacewalk schedule and the cargo manifest to accommodate the definitive fix for the data-handling system? Stay tuned for next week's episode of "Hubble's Troubles." (10/10)

NASA Policy/Planning Meetings Planned in Florida (Source: ERAU)
The NASA Advisory Council will meet on Oct. 16 at the Cocoa Beach Hilton. The meeting is open to the public. Click here to view the agenda. Also, the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG)--a group that provides input to the NASA Advisory Council--will meet at the Cape Canaveral Radisson on Oct. 28-31. This LEAG meeting is being held in cooperation with the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG). Visit http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/leagilewg2008/ for information. (10/10)

Obama Targets Florida, Dominates Space News Cycle (Sources: ERAU, Sarasota Herald Tribune)
Barack Obama has moved Florida to the forefront of his battleground states. Signs are everywhere that Obama is making a serious play for a state that most experts believed would back Republican presidential candidate John McCain in the end. On the ground, the Obama campaign has assembled what experts say is the largest army of paid and volunteer staff for a Democratic campaign in the state's history. "There is no math that gets the Republican nominee into the White House without Florida; it cannot happen," Democratic Strategist Karl Koch said.

Given the importance of space industry issues in Central Florida, Obama's campaign has aggressively exploited his support for space exploration and technology issues in recent weeks, garnering dozens of positive news articles. This is in contrast to a scarcity of news articles referencing McCain's support for space issues, despite the fact that the candidates' stated plans on the Space Shuttle and lunar/Mars exploration (both of particular interest in Florida) are not hugely different. (10/10)

McCain Statement on World Space Week (Source: NASA Watch)
This week marks World Space Week. Celebrated across the US and in over 50 nations, World Space Week is another great example of international cooperation for a common cause. Participants include NASA, aerospace companies, planetariums, museums, schools, and others around the world. "I'm glad to see this annual public and student focus on space. Indeed, for Americans to excel in the world marketplace, our young people must excel in math, science and engineering. The U.S. government and commercial space sector provides many opportunities for students with an exciting and long-term vision for the future by developing the technologies that will take us beyond low-Earth orbit," said McCain. (10/10)

Pentagon's 2010 Budget to be Squeezed by Financial Bailouts (Source: AIA)
Lawmakers in search of cash to bail out the financial industry could look for deep cuts in defense budgets, industry leaders fear. "No one really yet knows when or to what extent defense spending could be affected, but it's unrealistic to think there won't be some measure of impact," said Boeing Co. CEO Jim McNerney in a note to employees last week. Though budgets for fiscal 2009 are set, the Pentagon is planning its priorities for 2010, and at least one influential congressman has warned that cuts are coming. "No matter who wins the White House, the next president is going to be forced to decrease defense spending in order to respond to neglected domestic priorities," said Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., the House's defense appropriations chief. "Because of this, the Defense Department is going to have to make tough budget decisions involving trade-offs between personnel, procurement and future weapons spending." (10/10)

NASA Says More Shuttle Workers Will Find Constellation Jobs (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
NASA officials told lawmakers Wednesday that the end of the space shuttle program will cost 4,500 jobs at Kennedy Space Center -- not 6,400, as originally feared. The agency says more workers than expected will find jobs with Constellation, the next major space program, though some analysts call the new projections overly optimistic. The five-year lag between the last shuttle mission and the first Orion launch is expected to cause deep economic pain in Central Florida. (10/10)