February 15 News Items

Space Club Seeks Lifetime Achievement Award Nominations (Source: NSCFL)
The National Space Club's Florida Committee invites nominations for its 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award. To be eligible a candidate must meet the following criteria: a) be a long-term contributor to our nation’s space program, either at Kennedy Space Center or at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station; have been in civil service or served with a contractor in operations associated with launch vehicles, spacecraft, ground systems, the range, or related involvement; be either employed or retired from active involvement in the aerospace industry; be a resident of the Florida Space Coast. For information contact LaDonna at mailto:ladonna.j.neterer@boeing.com (2/15)

Debris Falling in Texas, Possibly from Satellites (Source: AP)
The FAA has received numerous reports of falling debris across Texas, which could be related to a recent satellite collision. Some of the callers around midmorning Sunday reported what looked like a fireball in the sky. FAA spokesman Roland Herwig said officials suspect the debris could be related to the collision, but he said that had not been confirmed. The FAA notified pilots on Saturday to be aware of possible debris after a collision Tuesday between U.S. and Russian communication satellites. (2/15)

Iran To Launch First Manned Spaceflight By 2021 (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Iran will send its first man into space on board its own spacecraft by 2021, the head of Iran's Aerospace Agency announced on Thursday. "Scientific research has already begun in Iran," Reza Tagipur was quoted by Iranian media as saying. "According to our plans, a successful Iranian manned spaceflight will be carried out before 2021...India and China were able to send their astronauts into space after 15 years of research and preparations. We will also go the same route, but believe we will achieve our goal in a shorter period," he said.

Iran's Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technologies Mohammad Soltani told journalists on Thursday that "another seven satellites are being developed in Iran." According to the minister, four of the satellites have a payload of up to 100 kilograms (220 lbs) and are meant for a low-Earth orbit. "Iran's young scientists are working shoulder to shoulder to conquer space, that is why they are now building seven more satellites," Soltani said. The United States, France, Israel and Britain have already expressed concern over the launch, voicing suspicions that Tehran may be developing long-range ballistic missile technology that could be used to launch nuclear weapons. Iran insists that its space program is of an entirely peaceful nature. (2/15)

DoD, Intel Mull Higher Rez Sat Shots (Source: DOD Buzz)
The debate is in the very early stages but the intelligence community and the Commerce and Defense departments are considering whether to increase the resolution of electro-optical satellite imagery that can be sold commercially, sparking a complex discussion about whether this may provide enemies with substantially improved intelligence or actually boost US control over the best commercial imagery. Several sources in government and industry confirmed the basic facts of the policy debate. All asked for anonymity.

The Commerce Department has already completed one study of the impact of dropping the current restriction on commercial sale of anything better than .5 meter imagery. Currently, the US controls the best resolution commercial imagery and restricts what can be sold commercially to .5 meter resolution. GeoEye, one of the two commercial imagery companies in the US, is capable of providing imagery as accurate as .41 according to several sources, but only to the US government. “If you are going to have increased resolution by the commercial guys then they can provide the government with less costly images because, if the images they are taking can’t be sold commercially, then they are worth more because the market for them is smaller,” a congressional aide said.

Another issue in favor of allowing improved resolution is that helping to guarantee the US commercial monopoly on the sale of high resolution imagery, which this would do, means the US intelligence community would maintain what is called shutter control over the sale of such images during times of high international tension. One country, Japan, is already planning to build and launch by 2014 a satellite capable of producing .5 meter resolution photos. (2/15)

Galaxy has 'Billions of Earths' (Source: BBc)
There could be one hundred billion Earth-like planets in our galaxy, a US conference has heard. Dr Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution of Science said many of these worlds could be inhabited by simple lifeforms. So far, telescopes have been able to detect just over 300 planets outside our Solar System. Very few of these would be capable of supporting life, however. But, based on the limited numbers of planets found so far, Dr Boss has estimated that each Sun-like star has on average one "Earth-like" planet. This simple calculation means there would be huge numbers capable of supporting life. (2/15)

Florida's Space Boosters Failed to Launch, Critics Say (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Tallahassee lawmakers created Space Florida in May 2006 to rescue Florida's languishing aerospace industry from new competition in other countries and elsewhere in the United States. Hopes for the agency were as big as space itself. It promised to bring new commercial-launch opportunities to a state already jittery at the upcoming retirement of the space shuttle and the thousands of job losses that will go with it.

Now, nearly three years and $50 million later, the agency is becoming known more for generating controversy and critics than jobs and new business. A review of thousands of documents and e-mails obtained by the Orlando Sentinel shows that, in recent months, Space Florida was accused by a local university of giving a competitor the school's idea for a training facility for space tourists. Another company accused Space Florida of stiffing it for $250,000 in a publicity deal. A contract to use airplane flights that mimic the microgravity of space to help teachers prepare lessons about space flew just 92 teachers — at a cost of $1 million. Click here to view the article. (2/15)

Editorial: Lawmakers Should Demand More From Florida's Space Effort (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Twenty years ago this month, hopes were soaring among officials on Florida's Space Coast. The state Department of Commerce had just released a plan to turn the area into a commercial space hub. "Welcome to the 21st century," gushed then-Volusia County Council Chairman Clay Henderson in 1989. "This is a tremendous opportunity, and we're a part of it." Nearly a decade into the new century, a succession of state agencies has spent millions of tax dollars, and still the industry hasn't lifted off.

Florida has misjudged the commercial space market in some instances, and has been outflanked by the competition in others. This star-crossed legacy should serve as a cautionary tale for Florida lawmakers as they decide how much more money they should be pumping into the state's latest effort to attract space-related investments and jobs... Lawmakers found $14.5 million for Space Florida last year to begin a launch pad conversion project, despite a tight budget. The total cost is expected to top $50 million by the time the pad is ready for launches in late 2010 or early 2011.

While Space Florida hopes to make up the difference from private sources or bonds, key lawmakers are assuming the agency will be back for a lot more public money, even as the overall budget gets worse. But the case for putting more money into the agency's new launchpad is missing a critical element: commitments from companies to use it. Click here to view the editorial. (2/15)

New Artificial DNA Points to Alien Life (Source: LiveScience.com)
A strange, new genetic code a lot like that found in all terrestrial life is sitting in a beaker full of oily water in a laboratory in Florida, a scientist said today, calling it the first example of an artificial chemical system that is capable of Darwinian evolution. The system is made of the four molecules that are the basic building blocks of our DNA along with eight synthetic modifications of them, said biochemist Steven A. Benner of the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Gainesville.

The main difference between the synthetic molecules and those that make up conventional DNA is that Benner's molecules cannot make copies of themselves, although that is just "a couple of years" away, he said. The wild biochemistry finding, described to a small group of reporters today at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, offers ideas about new types of life for scientists to look for beyond our planet, or even possibly hidden on our planet. (2/15)

NASA Development Money Could Go Toward Alabama and Ares Rocket (Source: Huntsville Times)
The economic stimulus bill that cleared Congress Friday includes almost $2 billion for NASA and Army work that might affect North Alabama projects like the Ares rockets managed by Marshall Space Flight Center. Although there are no line-by-line details on where the $787 billion would go, the bill includes about $1 billion for NASA. This includes $400 million for climate and Earth science research and another $400 million for space exploration. The bill also sets aside $647 million for Army military construction projects. (2/15)

Earth-Like Planet Could be Discovered Within Three Years (Source: Guardian)
A planet similar to Earth could be discovered in a distant solar system within three years, according to a leading astronomer. NASA is due to launch a space telescope, called Kepler, dedicated to searching for planets that are similar to, or smaller than Earth. It will join the European Space Agency's Corot telescope, which spotted a large "super Earth" earlier this month. The Kepler telescope will gaze continuously at 100,000 stars in two constellations known as Cygnus and Lyra for more than three years. "Within three to four years from now, these telescopes will tell us just how frequently Earths occur. It's an exciting time to be alive." (2/15)

India to Send Man to Moon by 2020 (Source: Times of India)
ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair in a recent presentation informed that the launch of India's next satellite, Chandrayaan II, is expected by the year 2012. "We plan to send humans to the moon by the year 2020", Nair added. (2/15)

Aussie Know-How 'Could Have Prevented Space Collision' (Source: The Australian)
The recent mid-orbit crash between satellites could have been prevented using technology developed by a Canberra-based aerospace company. Electro Optic Systems head Ben Greene said his company had been warning about the possibility of a space collision for years. He said the company had developed specialised laser tracking technology capable of predicting with much more precision the possibility of space collisions. Dr Greene said EOS's Australian-patented technology could predict the probability of a crash to within meters, not kilometers as is the case with current warning systems.

Growing international interest in the technology had accelerated its roll-out date. "It's quite mature, it's developing quite quickly and while I would think we will be operational in about three years, this might bring us forward because there are a lot of people more concerned today than they were last week," he said. (2/15)