February 27 News Items

NASA Awards Contract for Constellation Spacesuit for the Moon (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded an interim letter contract to Oceaneering International Inc. of Houston to begin work on the design, development and production of a new spacesuit system for the Constellation Program. The system will protect astronauts during voyages to the International Space Station and exploration of the moon's surface. The letter contract requires Oceaneering International to begin work on the basic period of performance while NASA and the company negotiate the contract's final terms. The current award amount for the performance of the letter contract is limited to $9.6 million. (2/27)

Goddard's "Science On a Sphere" Movie to Open Nationwide (Source: CSA)
Starting with a brief historical look back at the legacy of human achievement in lunar exploration, the movie presses audiences to take stock in their own relationship to the moon. Then it takes them on a journey. Traveling along with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft, viewers will discover some of the essential scientific subjects that scientists plan to study. There are two California locations: Lawrence Hall of Science at Berkeley and The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose. Click here for information. (2/27)

Delta 4 Rocket Rolls Out for the Launcher's 10th Mission (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
The Delta 4 rocket to launch an advanced U.S. weather satellite was rolled out to the pad at Cape Canaveral's Complex 37 this week. Liftoff of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite O, or GOES O, is scheduled for April 28. The spacecraft is the second in an updated series of weather observatories with sharper vision and extended life. The GOES program has a long history of providing the weather imagery seen daily during news broadcasts. (2/27)

U.S. Satellite Shootdown Debris Said Gone From Space (Source: Reuters)
No debris remains in space from the U.S. destruction a year ago of an errant spy satellite loaded with toxic hydrazine fuel, the head of the Pentagon's Strategic Command said. By contrast, some of the debris caused when China used a ground-based ballistic missile to destroy one of its defunct weather satellites will stay in orbit for another 80 or 90 years, said Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton, the command's chief. "Every bit of debris created by that (U.S.) intercept has de-orbited," Chilton told a symposium on air warfare hosted by the U.S. Air Force Association in Orlando, Florida. (2/27)

Extra Ares Flight-Test Possible (Source: Aviation Week)
Managers at NASA are pulling together options for spending the roughly $400 million in extra funds that have become available for human exploration under the economic stimulus package, and have not ruled out an extra flight-test to hasten development of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. Also on the table is advancing development work on Ares I and the Orion crew exploration vehicle that has slipped beyond fiscal 2010. That would reduce risk and increase efficiency by avoiding potential delays arising from parallel development of components that must work together, according to Doug Cooke, associate administrator for exploration systems. (2/27)

Kepler Launch Moved to Next Friday (Source: Florida Today)
NASA's planet-hunting Kepler telescope will fly at least a day later than planned because of this week's failed rocket launch from California. The spacecraft is now scheduled to blast off no earlier than next Friday from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport's Launch Complex 17-B, aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. Two launch windows run from 10:49 p.m. to 10:52 p.m., and from 11:13 p.m. to 11:16 p.m. (2/27)

Space Dust More Pervasive Than Thought (Source: Space.com)
The vast spaces between galaxies might seem pretty empty. But they are actually littered with clouds of cosmic dust that were likely ejected from the galaxies themselves. And the dust scatters farther into intergalactic space than astronomers expected, a new study finds. The discovery was made by watching subtle shifts in the light emanating from quasars that sit at the hearts of far-away galaxies. On its way to Earth, the light from quasars passes by and through intervening galaxies. Dust grains in the galaxies block the light from the blue end of the spectrum more effectively than red light, causing a quasar to appear redder to viewers on Earth. This same phenomenon can be seen on Earth during a sunset: "Light rays pass through a thicker layer of the atmosphere, absorbing more and more blue light, causing the sun to appear reddened," said Ryan Scranton of the University of California, Davis, who was part of the team that made the dust discovery. (2/27)

Slower Defense Growth Highlights Obama's First Budget (Source: AIA)
President Barack Obama is seeking to boost the Pentagon's 2010 budget -- including war spending -- by a modest 1.4%, signaling a pullback from the big-spending Bush years. Though the budget outline released on Thursday did not include specifics on acquisitions, the president did stipulate that he expects the Pentagon to exercise greater oversight on weapons spending. Analysts said the stern language indicates an emphasis on more affordable contracts and proven technologies. Aerospace Industries Association Vice President Cord Sterling said contractors and the Pentagon would have to work together to meet the president's goals. (2/27)

NextGen Gets $800 Million Funding in Obama Budget (Source: AIA)
President Barack Obama's 2010 budget outline includes $800 million in funding for the satellite-based Next Generation air traffic control system. The money will help build a nationwide network of 794 satellite ground stations due for completion in 2013. (2/27)

U.S. Prepared to Shoot Down Korean Missile If Obama Gives OK (Source: ABC)
Adm. Timothy Keating, head of the U.S. Pacific Commands, said that the military is prepared to shoot down any North Korean ballistic missile -- if President Obama should give the order. "If a missile leaves the launch pad we'll be prepared to respond upon direction of the president," Keating told ABC News. "There's equipment moving [in North Korea] would indicate the preliminary stages of preparation for a launch...Should it look like it's not a satellite launch -- that it's something other than a satellite launch -- we'll be ready to respond."

Intelligence reports suggest that North Korea is preparing a long-range missile test. Earlier this week, North Korea announced its plans to send a satellite into orbit as part of its space program. However, many in the international community assert that North Korea's satellite test is simply a means of concealing a long-range missile test -- a move that would flare existing tension in the region. (2/27)

Obama Backs Bush Plan to Retire Shuttle in 2010 (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
President Barack Obama dashed the hopes of thousands of Kennedy Space Center workers Thursday when he agreed to continue a Bush plan to retire the space shuttle in 2010. That would leave at least 3,500 KSC workers in line to lose their jobs by the end of next year — although there could be thousands more, as the center primarily is responsible for launching NASA spacecraft. Obama reiterated the 2010 end date as part of his first budget proposal, and KSC backers are still going to try to influence the decision during budget negotiations but are privately pessimistic about their chances for success.

Obama's spending plan calls for NASA to get $18.7 billion next year, a slight increase over Bush administration levels. Some of that money, if approved by Congress, could go toward one additional shuttle flight — but only if the mission could be completed "safely and affordably" by the 2010 deadline, according to budget documents. The boost adds to the $1 billion that NASA already has received under Obama's stimulus plan. Combined, these two increases represent slightly better days for NASA officials and space enthusiasts, who have complained for years that NASA doesn't receive the funding it needs.

U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, a fellow Democrat, was not pleased with the shuttle retirement plan. "We cannot fly the shuttle forever, but conducting shuttle launches on an arbitrary deadline is unsafe and unnecessary," said Kosmas, a New Smyrna Beach lawmaker who represents KSC. The Obama plan also puts pressure on NASA to finish its remaining nine shuttle missions by 2010 — not including the additional flight — and complete construction of the space station. Shuttle launches frequently are delayed; the latest by Discovery has been postponed four times. (2/27)

ATK to Lay Off 300 by End of March (Source: Deseret News)
ATK Launch Systems has put its employees on alert, saying it plans to lay off 300 employees from the company's three Utah locations by the end of March. George Torres, vice president of communications for ATK Space Systems, said letters were sent to all ATK employees last week confirming rumors of impending layoffs. One major factor is the pending completion of ATK's Minuteman III contract with the Air Force. ATK was contracted to build 600 missiles, and it is now working on the final 50 pieces. The contract may end outright, or at best, production could slow from 12 per month to six to 12 per year, just for testing or replacement purposes. The most uncertain factors affecting layoffs are pending funds — or the lack thereof — for the space shuttle program and its soon-to-be replacement, the Ares. (2/27)

Wealthier Nations Bid for Branson's Galactic (Source: The Australian)
Australia appears to have been beaten to the punch as a potential base for a space tourism industry by wealthy interests in other countries. Virgin Galactic chairman Richard Branson was touting Australia as a site for a Galactic spaceport as recently as last year. But Sir Richard said that several countries were now bidding for the spaceports as the project moves closer to reality -- and Australia was not among them. "I think we're going to prioritize one or two of the countries that are paying quite considerable sums of money for us to go there first," Branson said. (2/27)

Officials Will Look for Ways to Create Jobs in Shuttle Void (Source: Florida Today)
Though President Barack Obama's budget is generous to NASA, thousands of jobs likely will be lost at KSC after 2010 -- just as the nation is predicted to emerge from the present recession. Additionally, the budget does not close the five-year gap between the end of the shuttle program and the next space vehicle, which will require an estimated 3,500 fewer workers. "There is a jobs gap in there as well as the flight gap," said Dale Ketcham, director of the University of Central Florida's Spaceport Research & Technology Institute at KSC.

Ketcham said Obama delivered the funding he promised -- a total increase of $2.4 billion over the 2008 level -- but Obama called for shuttle flights to end in 2010, rather than be extended simply to preserve jobs. "Given the colossal budget constraints they're under, from an agency perspective, we still have to declare victory," Ketcham said. The timing of the massive layoffs could affect voters' choices in the U.S. Senate and Florida governor races, he added.

As the shuttle program ends, Brevard County officials plan new efforts to mitigate job losses. "That's where the money's targeted, and we're going to ask what can we do to help leverage or exploit it to opportunities that can take place in Florida," said Lynda Weatherman, president and chief executive of the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast. The EDC will look at possible technical programs within the federal government and private industry to bring jobs to Brevard. "We're going to go beyond just NASA," Weatherman said. (2/27)