October 11 News Items

Moon Spacecraft Being Designed At KSC (Source: WESH)
Central Floridians are getting a hands-on chance to help design a spacecraft that will go to the moon. Working on the cutting-edge project, United Space Alliance workers dress in outlandish garb appear to step right into a computer screen. Little dots represent the real people who, one day, will prepare a real spacecraft to go to the moon. But right now, the models look a bit strange -- wearing funny suits and bathed in the red lights of 16 cameras tied into the computer system. The models are mimicking the movements future United Space Alliance workers will make during Project Constellation, the effort to return to the moon. The information goes into the design of the spacecraft: a rare chance for Central Floridians to get in on work that's usually done out of state. The models are space shuttle workers, moving on -- at least part-time -- to help make the shuttle's replacement. (10/11)

Curious Indonauts of Future (Source: Express Buzz)
An American space-traveler is an astronaut, a Russian one a cosmonaut and a Chinese spaceman a Taikonaut; so what name will that future Indian space-traveler go by? An Indonaut? Perhaps. But ISRO Chairman G.Madhavan Nair would rather let a competition decide that. The question was put to him at an interaction with schoolchildren held here to mark the conclusion of the Space Week Celebrations. The hour-long session, attended by students from city schools, was peppered with queries ranging from the insightful to the cheeky. (10/11)

New Mexico Spaceport Board Authorizes Taxing District (Source: Alamogordo Daily News)
A handful of people filled a room at the New Mexico Museum of Space History Thursday morning as the state's spaceport authority officially formed a district able to collect taxes in Sierra and Doña Ana counties beginning Jan. 1. The New Mexico Spaceport Authority hopes to add Otero County to the regional spaceport district -- and its tax rolls -- when county voters cast ballots for the Nov. 4 election. A question on the ballot asks voters if the county should add a gross receipts tax of one-eighth of 1 percent for spaceport district operations for the next 10 years, with one fourth of collections earmarked for local education. (10/11)

Space Exploration Deserves Constant Role in U.S. Plans (Source: The Tennessean)
With a presidential campaign at a fever pitch, a financial crisis reaching dramatic heights by the day and a deadly war against terrorists seeing no end, the nation's space program has quietly been making news. Unfortunately, most of that news has flown under the radar of public attention. But especially at a time when the nation is about to gain new leadership, it's worth taking a look at some of the recent developments in space, because they may hold answers to many questions and may foretell who might have the upper hand among nations in the space race overall. NASA has been a priority in the nation's past. It should be one for many years to come. (10/11)

McCain Leaves Room for Space Spending? (Source: Space Politics)
In last week’s debate, Sen. John McCain reiterated his campaign’s stance on reducing spending through a (nearly) across-the-board budget freeze: "So we’re going to have to tell the American people that spending is going to have to be cut in America. And I recommend a spending freeze that — except for defense, Veterans Affairs, and some other vital programs, we’ll just have to have across-the-board freeze." Sen. McCain's exemptions on the freeze have until now been limited to defense and veterans spending. Adding the “other vital programs” phrase keeps the door open for space advocates to hope that NASA will be exempt from the freeze, although his campaign has not delineated exactly what those “other vital programs” are. (10/8)

McCain’s World Space Week Statement (Source: Space Politics)
World Space Week is a relatively obscure observance, virtually unknown outside the space community and not universally known inside it. Yet the event prompted statements from both presidential candidates. While the McCain statement is longer, it’s full primarily of generalities, expressing overall support for space exploration and promising that, as president, McCain would “ensure that America continues its leadership in space”. Those who hoped that McCain would use the opportunity to refine or expand his space policy, or address continued Democratic claims that he would jeopardize NASA’s future by freezing its budget along with other discretionary programs, will be disappointed. (10/10)

Millionaire Space Tourist, and Stephen Colbert's DNA, Set for Liftoff (Source: Scientific American)
A civilian American astronaut is a step closer to becoming the latest space tourist, after the rocket he'll travel in was transported to a launch pad in Kazakhstan today ahead of its weekend blastoff. The Soyuz TMA-13 is scheduled to take off Sunday at 3:01 a.m. ET. On board will be Richard Garriott of Austin, Texas, a millionaire video game designer and son of astronaut Owen Garriott. Garriott, 47, will serve as a guinea pig of sorts for scientists checking out how space travel affects his eyes, after having had laser vision surgery. Stephen Colbert, anchor of Comedy Central's satirical late-night The Colbert Report will also be on board — well, part of him, anyway. Colbert's digitized DNA (we're not sure of its origins) will travel to the space station as part of Operation Immortality, a project of Garriott's intended to preserve, as Colbert likes to remind viewers, the best of humanity in space. (10/11)

NASA Sticks with 2009 for Mars Science Lab Launch (Source: Space News)
NASA will push ahead with its plan for an October 2009 launch of the already over-budget Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) despite ongoing technical and schedule difficulties all but certain to push the cost of the mission past $2 billion. Officials in charge of NASA's Mars program made the announcement Oct. 10 following a meeting with NASA Administrator Mike Griffin to discuss what to do about the mission in light of continued cost growth. MSL's price tag has risen $300 million since mid-2006 topping $1.9 billion in NASA's latest public estimate. (10/11)

U.S. Air Force Shelves Plan for Cyber Command (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Air Force leadership has decided to place responsibility for cyberspace operations under Air Force Space Command rather than stand up a new command for that activity, an Oct. 7 Air Force press release said. An Air Force Cyber Command previously was to be established Oct. 1 and initially led by Maj. Gen. William Lord, but Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and his chief of staff now are focused on shoring up the service's nuclear responsibilities, the release said. A nuclear command will be created to handle those responsibilities. (10/11)

Payload Shuffling Trims Ariane 5's 2008 Manifest (Source: Space News)
The Arianespace commercial launch consortium will be limited to six Ariane 5 rocket launches this year instead of the planned seven following one satellite's late arrival and another's switch to competitor International Launch Services (ILS), according to industry officials. (10/11)

Russian Space Chief Doubts Expansion of ISS Crew in 2009 (Source: RIA Novosti)
Plans to increase the crew of the International Space Station from three to six astronauts in 2009 may be delayed, the head of the Russian space agency said Saturday. "I doubt that the ISS crew will be increased to six people from next year because the final decision has not been taken yet," Roscosmos head Anatoly Perminov said. "All countries participating in the ISS program have to decide it." He said he would be discussing the issue next week at a meeting with the head of the European Space Agency, Jean-Jacques Dordain. (10/11)

Mars Rover Jam Requires More Money (Source: Florida Today)
NASA officials said Friday it will take more money to finish a mobile science laboratory in time to meet launch windows in 2009 or 2011. NASA's Mars Science Laboratory so far has cost $1.9 billion -- a dollar figure that represents a $300 million cost overrun. Saying Congress and the White House must be informed first, agency officials would not release estimates for completing the robotic rover in time to launch during time-critical opportunities in 2009 and 2011. But they did say the high-priority mission is so important to NASA science objectives that killing the project was out of the question. (10/11)

Russia: Soyuz Landings Will Be Safe (Source: Reuters)
Russian space authorities said on Saturday they had improved safety measures for spaceships returning to Earth from the International Space Station after a series of rough landings. The Soyuz re-entry vehicle has malfunctioned twice in the past year, raising concerns about its reliability. A South Korean astronaut said she feared death during a landing in April. Speaking a day before a U.S.-Russian team blasts off from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan, the head of Russia's space agency, Anatoly Perminov, said all potential glitches have been removed. (10/11)

California-Based ATK Group Has Their Sights Set On The Moon (Source: KEYT)
ATK is playing a key role in NASA's quest to return a human to the moon by the year 2020. Ultra flex solar arrays, a technology developed in ATK laboratories, is considered a high priority in NASA's New Millennium program to promote space travel. These solar arrays collect sun rays and provide power for spacecraft. Most recently, ATK's technology helped power NASA's Phoenix Lander that has been on Mars since May 25th. But now, ATK has taken solar arrays to another level with an ultra lightweight version. On Thursday, the company performed a ground deployment of the solar arrays that measures 17 feet in diameter but are much lighter than the smaller arrays in use today. (10/11)

$1 Billion Multi-University Campus Planned on NASA Research Park (Source: San Jose Business Journal)
A 70-acre education and research campus run by a consortium of universities may neighbor a 40-acre office and R&D project by Google Inc. at NASA Research Park in Mountain View. A group of higher education institutions led by the University of California, Santa Cruz is negotiating to build a $1 billion campus with nearly 3 million square feet at NASA Research Park at Moffett Field. The group, calling itself University Associates LLC, expects to sign a 99-year ground lease for 70 acres at the park before the end of the year. It plans to hire a master developer to build more than 2.5 million square feet of offices, laboratories and other research and development space and about 1,900 housing units. The master developer is expected to earn from 10 percent to 20 percent return on investment. (10/11)

Saturn's Rings May be Remains of Ancient Moon (Source: New Scientist)
Why are Saturn's rings so spectacular? It could be that the planet managed to cling onto a moon when all the other gas giants in our solar system had already lost theirs. Today's rings formed when the moon was smashed up. Researchers suggest it was during the "late heavy bombardment", 700 million years after Saturn formed, that a chunk of debris collided with one of the planet's moons. Because the moon was orbiting at just the right distance from Saturn when it shattered - within the so-called Roche limit - the tiny pieces formed the rings instead of dispersing. (10/11)