January 28 News Items

Iran Set To Launch First Domestic Satellite By March 20 (Source: RIA Novosti)
Iran plans to put its first domestically made communication satellite into orbit by March 19-20, the head of the Iranian space agency has said. "If we do not run into problems, the first domestic satellite will be put in orbit by the end of this [Iranian solar calendar] year," Reza Taqipour said. He said that technical experts were working to complete the preparations, adding that the precise launch date for the Omid (Hope) satellite would be announced as it drew nearer. In November, Iran launched a carrier space rocket, Kavoshgar 2 (Explorer 2), which returned to earth after completing its mission. (1/28)

Six Biggest Mysteries of Our Solar System (Source: New Scientist)
From a thin disc of stuff left over from our sun's birth, eight planets formed, trapped in orbit by its gravity. One of those planets settled into a peculiarly tranquil relationship with its star and its fellow planets. Eventually, creatures emerged on it that began to wonder how their neighborhood came to be as it is - and could formulate the following six enduring mysteries of our familiar, and yet deeply mysterious, solar system. Click here to view the article. (1/28)

Distant Planet is an Orbiting Hell (Source: AFP)
Astronomers have observed a planet some 200 light years from Earth that, for a few hours, becomes 700 degrees Celsius (1,300 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter every time its elliptical orbit brings it close to its sun. The scientists say they have generated the most realistic images ever captured of an exoplanet. Known as HD80606b, the planet is a giant ball of gas that has four times the mass of Jupiter, the biggest planet of our system. Researchers led by Gregory Laughlin of the University of California at Santa Cruz analysed data collected during and after HD80606b's closest approach to its star. It was an unexpected stroke of luck, making it possible to measure the exact temperatures of the star and the planet separately. (1/28)

Mars Rover's Unexpected Behavior Puzzles NASA (Source: Space.com)
NASA engineers are scratching their heads over some unexpected behavior from the long-lived Spirit rover, which began its sixth year exploring Mars this month. Spirit failed to report in mission managers last weekend, prompting a series of diagnostic tests this week to hunt the glitch's source. The aging Mars rover did not beam home a record of its weekend activities and, more puzzlingly, apparently failed to even record any of its actions on Sunday. (1/28)

Boeing Posts Loss, Announces 10,000 Job Cuts (Source: AP)
Boeing swung to a surprise fourth-quarter loss, hurt by a labor strike that disrupted deliveries. It also announced job cuts totaling 10,000 and forecast lower-than-expected 2009 earnings. The news comes on top of waning demand for the company's commercial jets. Airlines are cutting spending and air travel has declined amid the global economic slowdown. Boeing recently said it plans to eliminate about 4,500 positions from its commercial aircraft business as a result of the worsening market conditions. An additional 5,500 positions will be cut this year from other parts of the company, including its defense division. The planned cuts will total more than 6 percent of Boeing's work force and will occur through attrition, retirements, reduction in some contract labor and layoffs, he said. (1/28)

Europe Aims for 2015 SpaceShipTwo Competitor (Source: Flight Global)
The prospect of an all-European competitor to US suborbital tourism projects has become stronger with the $9.68 million funding of the Future High-Altitude High-Speed Transport (FAST) 20XX project that will focus on two concepts, one suborbital, the other a hypersonic point-to-point transport system. With its "kick-off" meeting taking place in either April or May, depending on contractual negotiations, FAST20XX will design, develop and experimentally validate hybrid propulsion engines, other technologies and make a recommendation on safe air-launch separation from a carrier aircraft.

The hybrid propulsion would be for the suborbital vehicle, which is based on the unmanned automatic glide-and-landing Phoenix test vehicle developed by Germany's DLR aerospace centre and EADS Astrium. The vehicle would have six passengers and one pilot. The hypersonic point-to-point transport system is the DLR space launcher systems analysis group's liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen-propelled concept vehicle called SpaceLiner. (1/28)

Eutelsat Statement on the W2M Satellite (Source: SpaceRef.com)
Eutelsat says the performance of the W2M satellite, which was launched on Dec. 20, does not comply with the requirements set with the spacecraft's manufacturer, EADS Astrium/ISRO Antrix, following a major anomaly affecting the satellite's power subsystem. This anomaly occurred during the satellite's transfer from the location used for in-orbit tests to its operating position at 16 degrees East. In the interests of protecting continuity of service for clients leasing capacity at the 16 degrees East position, Eutelsat has consequently taken the decision that in the current circumstances W2M will not be integrated into Eutelsat's satellite fleet. Currently under the control of ISRO, the satellite is undergoing a full technical investigation by ISRO and EADS. (1/28)

Defense Lobbying Soars as Budgets Come Under Pressure (Source: AIA)
With a weak economy putting pressure on the Pentagon, major U.S. defense contractors are spending more on lobbying to secure their slice of a shrinking pie. In 2008, both Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. saw lobbying expenditures rise by 50% or more, while Northrop Grumman Corp. nearly doubled its lobbying budget to $20.6 million. Lobbying activity could rise again this year after Defense Secretary Robert Gates testified Tuesday on Capitol Hill that major weapons programs are under review by the Obama administration. "One thing we have known for many months is that the spigot of defense spending that opened on 9/11 is closing," he said. (1/28)

General Dynamics Reports 5.7% Profit Increase for Q4 (Source: AIA)
Higher aerospace sales helped boost fourth-quarter profits by 5.7%, General Dynamics Corp. reported Wednesday. Quarterly earnings were $612 million on sales of $7.85 billion, beating the average estimate of Wall Street analysts. "For the full year of 2008, all four business groups generated increased sales, operating earnings grew significantly faster than revenue and free cash flow from operations totaled 106% of net earnings," said CEO Nick Chabraja. (1/28)

Union Favorite Might be Slipping in Bid to Lead FAA (Source: AIA)
Aviation unions are battling with congressional leadership over the next head of the Federal Aviation Administration. Former Air Line Pilots Association president Duane Woerth was seen as a front-runner to lead the agency, but lately, Robert T. Herbert, a longtime aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has made a serious push for the job. Woerth is heavily favored by union leaders who long have struggled with the FAA over pay and work rules. (1/28)

Virginia Universities Support Scramjet Technology with Gift Grant (Source: Collegiate Times)
Aeronautic research conducted by a Virginia Tech and University of Virginia team hopes to lead to a more dependable, efficient and faster operation of aircraft with the help of a recent $50,000 gift from Tech alumni through the Aerojet Corporation. The members of the Hy-V Program (named for its operation at hypersonic speed, and the state of Virginia) have been using prototypes to collect data in wind-tunnel simulations.

Their goal is to advance the development of a new type of propulsion system operated at hypersonic speed, known as a scramjet. Unlike the propulsion systems of most current turbine jet aircraft, a scramjet engine (or supersonic combustion ramjet), uses almost no moving parts. It instead uses high velocity to compress air for combustion via a tapered inlet. This type of engine would allow more dependable, efficient, and faster operation of aircraft. "In the future," said Jack Kennedy, a Gov. Tim Kaine-appointed member of the Virginia Aerospace Advisory Council, "a scramjet could be used in many applications, both commercial and military." (1/28)

Thales Alenia Space Has Banner Year (Source: Aviation Week)
Thales Alenia Space says it finished 2008 with 23 percent of the geostationary communications satellite market. The Thales-Finmeccanica joint venture says it landed five awards last year out of 26 worldwide orders, along with four commercial communication payloads and the Redsat payload for the Hispasat AG1 demonstration satellite, co-funded by the European Space Agency (ESA). It also won a contract to build a 15-satellite low Earth orbit constellation for O3b Networks. This compares with six satellites in 2007 and five in 2006. In addition, Thales Alenia was selected to build the Sentinel-3 observation satellite for ESA, and to supply optical electronics for Spain's Ingenio surveillance spacecraft.

The company is predicting a bumper crop this year too. In its sights are Iridium's next-generation telecom constellation, for which it was short-listed in 2008; an optical surveillance satellite system for Europe's Musis program; and up to 26 Galileo Full Operating Capability spacecraft. It has already been picked to supply a surveillance satellite to Turkey with Finmeccanica-Thales sister venture Telespazio, as well as a pair of telecom satellites to Russia's Gazprom and a payload for an Indonesian telecom satellite, associated with Reshetnev ISS of Russia. (1/28)

Super-Rich Still Want to Boldly Go Into Space (Source: Reuters)
The economic downturn has not dampened rich people's enthusiasm for space tourism, the world's first commercial space flight company says. "Business is good," Eric Anderson, chief executive of privately owned Space Adventures, said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. The U.S. company has sold seats worth about $175 million on Russian rockets to the International Space Station and is preparing to send Hungarian computer software executive Charles Simonyi into space for the second time in March. His $35-million trip will be the seventh arranged by Space Adventures since U.S. multimillionaire Dennis Tito paid for a trip into space in 2001. (1/28)

Just-Launched Telecom Satellite Suffers On Orbit Failure (Source: Space News)
The Eutelsat W2M telecommunications satellite — the inaugural product of a Euro-Indian commercial joint venture — has failed in orbit just five weeks after launch and is likely a total loss, industry officials said. (1/28)

Debt-Laden Satmex Unable to Finance Crucial Replacement Satellite (Source: Space News)
Satellite-fleet operator Satmex of Mexico, unable to finance its planned Satmex 7 satellite and boxed in by payment obligations to the Mexican government and restrictive post-bankruptcy debt covenants, faces the risk that customers will quit the company if it cannot replace a satellite already past its planned retirement date, Satmex Chief Executive Patricio E. Northland said. (1/28)

A Canadian Space Stimulus (Source: Space Politics)
While the US Congress debates how much NASA should get in the proposed stimulus package, and for what programs, the Canadian government is proposing a budget increase for its own space agency. The Budget 2009 Plan, released Tuesday, proposes to add C$110 million (US$90 million) to the Canadian Space Agency’s budget over the next three years, specifically for space robotics. (1/28)

Embry-Riddle Student Named FAA Student Researcher of the Year in General Aviation (1/28)
The FAA's Center of Excellence for General Education has named an Embry-Riddle student as its Student Researcher of hte Year. Dan Halperin competed against students from the other COE for General Aviation member schools – Florida A&M University, University of Alaska, University of North Dakota, and Wichita State University. Halperin assisted an FAA-funded research project titled “Development of an Aviation Weather Database Highlighting Weather Encounters (Phase I).” This ongoing project meshes the talents of researchers from Embry-Riddle, Clemson University, and the FAA’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute. Embry-Riddle is the lead university in the FAA Center of Excellence. (1/28)

Crist: Ex-Aide's Job May Flunk 'Smell Test' (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Gov. Charlie Crist said Tuesday that a former staffer in his office might have violated state ethics laws when he shepherded a $500,000 grant to a Panhandle sports-medicine clinic -- and then went to work for the clinic to administer the grant. The grant was to train so-called "space tourists" for the rigors of suborbital spaceflight. It included $250,000 from the governor's Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development (OTTED) and $250,000 from Space Florida, the Brevard-based public-private agency set up to encourage the aerospace industry.

State ethics laws bar government employees from taking a job with a company if they were "substantially" involved with overseeing or negotiating a contract with that company, or even if the contract was "within the employee's responsibility." However, an Andrews official said both OTTED and Space Florida recommended Harris as "the best candidate to run this program." She added that Harris had met with Crist's deputy general counsel, Jerry Curington, to discuss the job before he took it. "He was assured that due to the fact that he was only a staff member ... and was not involved in the procurement process and did not substantially participate in the approval of the award, the possibility of his being found in violation of ethics regulations was quite small," Troxclair wrote in an e-mail. (1/28)

Sky's the Limit for Space Tourism in China (Source: Asia Times)
Chinese newspapers first began reporting about five years ago that wealthy Chinese were purchasing tickets well in advance for sub-orbital flights from companies like the Virginia-based Space Adventures. Besides a few ticket sales, however, the dawn of Chinese space tourism has yet to appear. "It is difficult [for U.S. companies] to promote space tourism in China, and, since these same [export] controls would likely prevent a domestic space tourism company from carrying Chinese passengers, there would be little point to doing so," said Michael Gold of Bigelow Aerospace and new chair of an FAA Export Control Working Group. "Given the size of China and its wealth, I would expect a strong market to exist, however, for the private sector to explore such opportunities we need to gain support from the [US] Government," he said.

Gold views Virginia-based Space Adventures, which sells tickets to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Russian Soyuz rocket, as being well-positioned to make inroads in China today. Russia has just announced that they are completely phasing out this ISS service for affluent tourists by the end of this year. Another prominent space tourism company, Virgin Galactic, has no Chinese customers yet. "There are a number of countries on the US defense trade embargo list and we need to be careful about accepting nationals of these countries to fly with [VG]. China is one of the countries who are currently on this list and therefore we have no Chinese customers or Accredited Space Agents because of this," said VG spokeswoman Susan Newsam. "Work within China or contracts to Chinese companies would be very difficult at this point." (1/28)