February 4 News Items

Powerful New Technique To Measure Asteroids' Sizes And Shapes (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
A team of French and Italian astronomers have devised a new method for measuring the size and shape of asteroids that are too small or too far away for traditional techniques, increasing the number of asteroids that can be measured by a factor of several hundred. This method takes advantage of the unique capabilities of ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI).

Direct imaging, even with adaptive optics, is generally limited to the one hundred largest asteroids of the main belt, while radar measurements are mostly constrained to observations of near-Earth asteroids that experience close encounters with our planet. The astronomers have devised a new method that uses interferometry to resolve asteroids as small as about 15 km in diameter located in the main asteroid belt, 200 million kilometers away. This is equivalent to being able to measure the size of a tennis ball a distance of a thousand kilometers. (2/4)

Obama's Proposed Space Weapon Ban Draws Mixed Response (Source: Space News)
President Barack Obama's recent pledge to seek a ban on space weapons drew a mixed reaction from experts in the field, with some saying the president might be better off pursuing something more modest and less complex, such as a set of international rules governing space operations. Arms control advocates nonetheless applauded the statement as a welcome departure from the space policy stance of former President Bush, who rejected the notion of banning or limiting space weapons via treaty arrangements.

Experts generally agreed that Obama's statement signals a new direction in space diplomacy, but some said it does not carry much meaning in the absence of key details, beginning with a good definition of the term space weapon. Coming up with such a definition is complicated by the fact that any number of conventional military and even commercial capabilities can be used to disrupt or damage satellites. (2/4)

Sri Lankan Space Agency Soon (Source: Daily Mirror)
Plans are afoot to set up a space agency in Sri Lanka and ready to launch its first satellite soon. “This would be similar to NASA in the US and ISRO in India” an official said. It has been planned to launch two satellites, namely a GEO satellites used for communication and a LEO satellite. The TRC is to announce the launch dates of the satellites in March this year to coincide with the first death anniversary of Sir Arthur C. Clarke after whom the satellites will be named. Sri Lanka is reported to be one of the few nations in Asia, which does not have a satellite of its own. (2/4)

Harris Corp. Second Quarter Revenue Increases 16% (Source: Florida Today)
Harris Corp. reported revenue of $1.52 billion in its second quarter of fiscal 2009, an increase of 16 percent compared to $1.32 billion in the prior-year quarter. GAAP et income decreased from $114.3 million in the prior-year quarter to a net loss of $38.6 million in the second quarter. (2/4)

Space Florida Official Speaks at FAA Conference (Source: Space Florida)
Mark Bontrager, Space Florida's vice president of spaceport operations, will participate on an executive panel to discuss the steps to developing successful spaceports at this week’s 12th Annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference.

Specific elements of Bontrager’s presentation will include Space Florida’s spaceport development successes to date, a discussion of the Commercial Launch Zone (CLZ) concept – bringing the benefits of a free trade zone to the Florida space industry, and Space Florida’s 2009 Legislative Agenda. (2/4)

Arianespace to Launch Two Satellites for Arabsat (Source: Arianespace)
Saudi-Arabia based operator Arabsat has selected Arianespace to launch the Arabsat 5C and Arabsat 6B satellites. The Arabsat 5C satellite is scheduled for a launch in the third quarter of 2011 aboard an Ariane 5 ECA from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The launch of Arabsat 6B is scheduled from the second half of 2012. These two contracts are the 14th and 15th launch Service & Solutions contracts that Arianespace has signed in the Middle East. (2/4)

March Launch Planned for ESA's Gravity Mission (Source: ESA)
ESA is now gearing up to return to Russia to oversee preparations for the launch of its GOCE satellite – now envisaged for launch on 16 March 2009. This follows implementation of the corrective measures after the anomaly with the Rockot launcher that delayed the launch of GOCE by Eurockot Launch Services last October. An advance party from ESA has just arrived at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia to arrange logistical matters while the team of engineers will arrive in mid-February. (2/4)

Inside NASA's New Moon Rover (Source: OnOrbit.com)
If you were watching the Inaugural Parade on TV several weeks ago hoping to see a NASA rover - only to miss it - don't feel bad. You were not alone. The rover was placed at the end of the parade so as to highlight it. Alas, due to lagging schedules that day, by the time the rover finally made its way to the Presidential reviewing stand, nearly all TV networks had already gone to commercials or cut to local news. I watched the faces of President Obama and his wife. There was a noticeable widening of their smiles as it approached and went through its routine.

While this rover does score high on the geeky SciFi scale, there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. The folks at NASA have managed to come up with a good guess at how such a rover might work - and have created something that you can drive. More importantly you can use it to perform meaningful work. Click here to view the article. (2/4)

Editorial: Weldon’s Alaska Post Could Cost Brevard County More Jobs (Source: Florida Today)
So much for loyalty to the Space Coast. Former Congressman Dave Weldon, who retired last year after serving 14 years representing the area that includes Kennedy Space Center, has switched teams. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin named him Monday to serve on the Alaska Aerospace Development Corp.’s board of directors, the agency that runs the state’s Kodiak Launch Complex.

That puts the Indialantic Republican in direct competition with Florida to turn Cape Canaveral into a center for commercial launch business. Palin cited Weldon’s experience on the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics for the appointment. But what she didn’t say undoubtedly played a part in the decision: His insider knowledge of Florida’s plans to utilize Cape Canaveral Air Force Station — which also was in his district — to lure private rocket and satellite companies.

Editor's Note: Alaska does not compete against Florida's spaceport. The Kodiak Island spaceport primarily supports military missile-defense launches. Even if it did capture commercial launch business, the launches would be of a polar-orbit variety that cannot be accommodated from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. (2/4)

Israel Urges Tighter Sanctions After Iran Satellite Launch (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday urged the international community to apply tougher sanctions against Tehran following its launch of a low Earth orbit satellite. The launch "constitutes an additional reason for the international community to strengthen its sanctions against Iran...The Iranian satellite launch constitutes a technological success for Tehran" which is boosting "its military potential in the intelligence sector," he added. (2/4)

Iran Insists Satellite Launch has No Military Aim (Source: 2/4)
Iran insisted on Wednesday that the launch of its first home-built satellite has no military aims, despite deep concerns in the West about the development. "This is a scientific and technical achievement and has no military aims," foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi told reporters. Iran's launch of the Omid (Hope) satellite carried by the home-built Safir-2 rocket on Monday has set alarm bells ringing among Western powers already at loggerheads with Tehran over its nuclear program. But hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the move signalled Tehran's technological achievement and was an attempt to break the Western world's monopoly on science. (2/4)

Editorial: Legislature Should Require Space Florida to Finish Master Plan (Source: Florida Today)
Things have been looking up the past few months for Space Florida, the state’s space recruiting arm charged with helping to bring more commercial launches to Cape Canaveral. First, the agency cut a deal with the Air Force to rebuild an abandoned launch complex as the heart of a commercial launch zone to provide companies with tariff and tax relief, much like a duty-free foreign trade zone. The move could give Florida an edge in the global launch market.

But a new state watchdog report raises troubling questions about the direction of the initiatives and whether Space Florida is charting the right course. Or whether it’s flying by the seat of its pants. It’s difficult to know the long-term costs, benefits and feasibility of the launch pad project and if it can serve the different families of rockets required, the report says.

We’ve supported Space Florida in this venture, but the project must have rock-solid accountability to make certain the funds are properly spent to achieve their purpose. That’s why we back the report’s recommendations that call for the Legislature to establish firm deadlines for a master plan completion, require Space Florida to improve its business plan and not allow the agency to spend more money on the pad until the mandate has been met. Click here to view the editorial. (2/4)

Is the Space Tourism Bubble Popping? (Source: Parabolic Arc)
As I watch companies lay off tens of thousands of employees every week (and sometimes every day), I’m beginning to wonder if we’re watching another space bubble burst. Here we are in the midst of another economic bubble popping just as the nascent space tourism industry seems ready to take off. Can the industry weather such a downturn? Will the money from investors and customers suddenly dry up? It’s very difficult to say, not knowing the extent of the downturn or the true state of the companies involved.

Make no mistake, these companies are vulnerable. Eric Anderson can talk about how good business is for Space Adventures’ orbital joyrides. But, his company’s efforts at building a suborbital tourism vehicle are reportedly floundering. It must be a bit more difficult these days for the firm’s subsidiary, Zero G, to continue selling parabolic flights at more than $5,000 apiece. Virgin Galactic likes to talk about the hundreds of customers it has signed up, but how many of these flights are fully paid? My guess is not many.

By the time your flight is scheduled, who knows where a typical millionaut will be by then? You may not have the money. The flights may look riskier than you first thought. Or maybe you’ve had a child in the meantime, and the prospect of never seeing little Johnny Jr.’s adorable face again is too frightening to contemplate. The emerging space tourism industry may weather the downtown quite well. There may be enough people out there with enough money to sustain the effort. But, if things keep getting worse, we could see the industry whither. (2/3)

Will We Get Our First Space Policy Hint From the FAA? (Source: DailyKos)
There has been extensive speculation about the direction that President Obama will take space policy. A lot of it has been centered around who he might appoint as NASA administrator. But there might be another hint coming, and from another direction - FAA administrator. Particularly if he appoints Robert (Bob) Herbert as head of the FAA. The reason that this is important to space and space development is that all commercial space launches are regulated by the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation (often referred to, for reasons that are beyond me, as AST).

Now, Colonel Herbert is a senior adviser to Senator Harry Reid. And Senator Reid proved very important to the passage of the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004. Given this, and given Colonel Herbert's area of expertise, it seems very likely that he agrees with his boss about the potential of NewSpace. And its not like Colonel Herbet is an unqualified lackey. He has over 7,000 hours in multiple aircraft (fixed wing, rotary, military, civilian, commercial). As a colonel in the Air National Guard, his current assignment is Deputy Commander for the Army Nevada National Guard, and he oversees Nevada's Command Inspection Program. Prior to this, for 6 years he was Director of Aviation for the state of Nevada. (2/3)