February 14 News Items

NewSpace Angel Investors Remain Engaged Amid Economic Crisis (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Ken Murphy at Out of the Cradle has an interesting Q&A interview with attorney James E. Dunstan, who is a partner with Garvey, Schubert and Barer in Washington D.C. Dunstan, whose practice focuses on space law and entrepreneurial companies, had some interesting things to say about angel investors who fund start-ups: "Here’s the funny thing about Angels: The very best ones stay way below the radar, otherwise they’re swamped with more requests for funding than they can possibly wade through. And the space community is really hard on Angels, I’ve found. Once someone finds an Angel, and the Angel’s identity gets out, it’s like chum to the sharks."

"I’ve talked to several Angels over the years who stopped associating with the space community because they felt abused by the community and their demands for funding based on (largely) amateurish business plans. There are several Angel Funds of which I’m aware, Space Angels Network being the newest, where the Angels are being protected by intermediaries. I’ve got contacts and relations with a couple VC groups, but getting VC funding into space is very difficult, as you well know."

"Some of that MAY be changing with the economy, however. In discussions with several of my contacts, they are saying that there is plenty of investment money available. A lot of the smart money got out of stocks early, and had to land somewhere (other than in someone’s mattress). So, several VC funds have cropped up over the last few months." Click here to view the article. (2/14)

Virginia Spaceport Auto Tag Bill Advances (Source: Spaceports Blog)
The Virginia State Senate has advanced the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport special auto license plate authorization measure as part of Senate Bill 817. A scramble is on to get the minimum required 350 advance tag registrations. The measure will be referred to the House of Delegates Transportation Committee for further consideration. (2/14)

NASA Slips Discovery Launch To Feb. 27 (Source: Florida Today)
NASA has decided to push the planned launch of Discovery back to Feb. 27 to give engineers more time to carry out tests aimed at making sure critical valve trouble doesn't endanger its seven-member astronaut crew. Another consideration: Making certain engineering teams do not work too many consecutive weekends prior to a long Space Station assembly mission. Saturday is Valentine's Day and Monday is a federal holiday -- President's Day. Liftoff time of Feb. 27 would be 1:32 a.m. EST. Landing would be on March 13. (2/14)

NASA Ames Director Named Federal Laboratory Director of 2009 (Source: NASA)
Pete Worden, director of NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., has been named the 2009 Federal Laboratory Consortium Laboratory Director of the Year. The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) is a nationwide network of federal laboratories that provides the forum to develop strategies and opportunities for linking laboratory mission technologies and expertise with the marketplace. Organized in 1974, and formally chartered by the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986, this laboratory consortium, which consists of more than 250 federal laboratories and centers, was established to promote and strengthen technology transfer nationwide. (2/9)

NASA Carbon Observatory to Launch From Vandenberg on Feb. 23 (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
An Orbital Sciences Taurus XL rocket will launch NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory on Feb. 23 from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The Orbital Sciences-built satellite will measure atmospheric carbon dioxide. The launch window extends from 1:50 - 1:57 a.m. (2/13)

Satellite Collision 'More Powerful Than China's ASAT Test' (Source: New Scientist)
Space weapons are dangerous - but out-of-control, defunct satellites can do just as much damage, if not more. So says a leading space scientist who has calculated that Tuesday's collision between an Iridium communications satellite and the defunct Soviet-era Cosmos 2251 spacecraft expended a great deal more destructive energy than China's infamous anti-satellite missile test did in January 2007. (2/13)

NASA Considers Altair Descent Stage Cargo Return Role (Source: Flight Global)
NASA is considering launching Moon rock samples into low lunar orbit using refuelled Altair lunar lander descent stages to overcome the cargo return limitations of its Constellation program vehicles. After each of the lunar missions, expected to start in 2020, scientists want hundreds of kilograms of lunar rock brought back for analysis. But the space agency’s transportation system can only deliver 100kg (242lb) while the Apollo program could bring back 110kg. The 100kg limit is due to the Altair lunar lander and Orion crew exploration vehicle’s capabilities. So NASA has set a goal of increasing its sample return capabilty to 250kg. Conceivably, once in orbit the reused descent stage would be met by Orion and its rock samples transferred by astronaut extra-vehicular activity. (2/13)

Satellite Collision Reflects Necessity for International Laws (Source: Xinhua)
The collision between a Russian satellite and a U.S. satellite highlights the growing importance of making international laws to monitor human activities in space, a Russian military expert said Friday. The root cause of the Russia-U.S. satellite collision is the lack of international rules on space activities, said Leonid Ivashov, the president of Russia's Academy on Geopolitical Affairs. No matter whether Tuesday's collision is intentional or not, it would further strain the tensions in the space situation, and even lead to the use of force, whose consequences will be very grave, Ivashov said. (2/13)