February 9 News Items

Virginia Upbeat About Spaceport (Source: Spaceports Blog)
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport [MARS] continues with launch pad infrastructure improvement plans for the Orbital Sciences Corporation launch of the Taurus-II booster rocket to service the International Space Station in 2011. In the past week, Maryland provided $150,000 to the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority for operational funding. Meanwhile, the Virginia General Assembly continues to advance an additional $10-million in bond authorization for the spaceport atop of the $16-million approved in 2008.

Virginia remains upbeat about the future; and those associated with the campaign for the next orbital launch expected in the summer [TacSat-3] payload are pumped as well. No one really expects PlanetSpace to derail the Virginia longer-term Virginia launch pad plans to service the ISS. Moreover, Virginia expects more commercial space firms to come to view the business advantages of Virginia's Eastern Shore launch pads and runways. (2/8)

NASA Awards Launch Contract to Orbital for NUSTAR Mission (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected Orbital Sciences Corp. to launch the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, high energy X-ray telescope. The spacecraft will fly in 2011 aboard a Pegasus XL rocket from the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site located at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll. The total cost of the NuSTAR launch services is approximately $36 million dollars. This estimated cost includes the task ordered launch service for a Pegasus XL rocket, plus additional services under other contracts for payload processing, launch vehicle integration, and tracking, data and telemetry support. (2/9)

India to Develop 3-Seater Spacecraft (Source: Live Mint)
India plans to develop a space vehicle that can carry up to three astronauts in the seven-day manned mission to space. ISRO is looking at developing a capsule (spacecraft) with service module which can accommodate three astronauts and take it to low earth orbit using the indigenous GSLV (Geo-Synchronous Launch Vehicle) in the year 2015. Mission duration is seven days. There would also be emergency mission abort and crew rescue provisions in case of necessity. The crew module would be designed for re-entry and service module for mission management, Nair said. Editor's Note: how about a design requirement for docking with the International Space Station? (2/9)

As One Russian Cargo Ship Burns Up, Replacement Prepares to Fly (Source: Space.com)
Debris of the Russian space freighter Progress M-01M plunged into the Pacific Ocean following the ship's fiery reentry, according to Mission Control in Russia. Those parts of the space freighter which had not been burnt on reentry dropped into the Pacific Ocean," a Mission Control spokesman said. "The time and the place where the debris dived into the water cannot be exactly given, since there are no Russian observation means in that pat of the world. But the data are not expected to differ seriously from an earlier estimate, provided by Mission Control's ballistic service with an experience of nearly 50 years of doing this job, he said.

The area where the debris dropped safely into the ocean is some 3,000 kilometers east of the capital of New Zealand, Wellington. It is at a long distance from navigation routes. Only heat-resistant parts of the spaceship reached the water. A Progress M-66, also known as Progress 32, a previous-series space freighter, will fly to the ISS on February 13. Its launch from the Baikonur is scheduled for 8:49 a.m., Moscow time, February 10. (2/9)

Satellite Malfunction Halts Chinese TV Programs (Source: Xinhua)
Transmission of 150 satellite TV channels in China was interrupted Monday morning by satellite problems, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) said. A 47-minute malfunction of the Zhongxing 6B satellite began at 10:59 a.m., affecting TV channels of the China Central Television (CCTV), China Education Television and 23 provincial satellite TVs, SARFT said. As central radio and TV programs were transmitted through the Xinnuo 3 Satellite and the administration's special network, these programs were not affected, it said. (2/9)

Satellite Broadband Start-Up Targets Pacific Islands (Source: Space News)
Start-up satellite broadband provider O3b Networks expects to present an initial megabit-per-second pricing scheme to Pacific Island nations during a Feb. 17-20 meeting of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Tonga. O3b CEO Gregory Wyler said the company's preliminary assessment is that an island would pay around $600 per megabit per second of throughput, plus an initial activation fee for the ground equipment of about $350,000, for orders placed by May 2009. O3b, based in the British tax haven Jersey Channel Islands, has contracted with Thales Alenia to build an initial eight 700-kilogram O3b satellites to be launched together in late 2010 by Sea Launch Co. (2/9)

Mars Craters Tell Story of Water and Ice (Source: Space.com)
Water and ice have left their marks on the Martian surface, from pits and ridges to winding channels and gullies. Evidence for past water or water ice on Mars has accumulated rapidly in the past decade. A new study, which will be published in the journal Icarus, paints a scientific picture of flowing rivers and glaciers that likely shaped the topography of the planet's large craters. "If you look at all of these [features] individually, it's not necessarily strong evidence that there was ice and/or water flowing on the surface," said a researcher. "But if you look at this suite of features you see throughout these regions, what you have is a story of the deposition of a fair quantity of ice most likely during this period of high obliquity, several million years ago, which has subsequently begun to melt and flow down the crater walls and across their floors." (2/9)

India Not Looking at Arianespace as a Competitor (Source: The Hindu)
Indian Space Research Organization Chairman G Madhavan Nair on Monday said that European space consortium Arianespace would market the home-grown rocket PSLV in Europe and maintained that ISRO does not see the latter as a long-term competitor. "ISRO does not want to be a competitor of Arianespace. ISRO is looking for cooperation and collaboration with the European space community to evolve next generation of GSLV-Mk III," he said. "Similarly (in addition to marketing PSLV), some payloads which do not rightly suit their launcher, they (Arianespace) will deflect to us," Nair said. (2/9)

Space Station Will Need Shuttle Water (Source: Aviation Week)
Continuing problems with the environmental control and life support system (ECLSS) on the International Space Station (ISS) mean the orbiting facility must rely on water from visiting space shuttles to support the planned crew of six arriving in May. Mike Suffredini, NASA's ISS program manager, said the station can handle six crew members as long as shuttles keep arriving within a month or two of the current schedule, regardless of the ECLSS status.

As the orbiting facility nears completion, engineers also are calculating the long-term effects of a software error that sent out-of-spec vibrations through the floating structure during a reboost last month. Suffredini said the anomaly does not appear to have eaten into the 15-year ISS design life. But it remains to be seen how much the anticipated service life beyond that was limited by structural fatigue that resulted from the shaking, which Expedition 18 commander Mike Fincke said exceeded anything he had experienced in his two tours on the station. (2/9)

Nelson: Extremely Unlikely Congress Would Try to Ban Suyuz Purchases (Source: Interfax)
U.S. Senator Bill Nelson from Florida gave an interview to the Interfax correspondent in Washington on some aspects of Russian-American cooperation and on further use of the Space Shuttle fleet. Question: How big is a chance that U.S. Senate and the Congress will introduce the ban on the contract between NASA and Russian Space Agency about the buying of the slots at the Russian "Soyuz" ships for the flights of US astronauts to the space station? Can you forecast the consequences? Answer: "It is extremely unlikely that Congress would try to ban the purchase of Soyuz flights. As much as we dislike being dependent on another nation for access to the International Space Station (ISS), the unfortunate reality is that the Soyuz is the only vehicle that can serve as a "life boat" on the ISS for the immediate future. I expect that once a U.S. alternative to the Soyuz becomes available we will stop buying Soyuz services, but that will not require a change in U.S. law." Click here to read the interview. (2/9)

Branson Likes US Airways Hero Pilot for Spaceliner (Sources: LA Times, Parabolic Arc)
Never one to miss a PR opportunity, Virgin Galactic head honcho Richard Branson has offered to make the Hero of the Hudson - US Airways Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger - an astronaut. “I’d like him to come fly for us,” Branson said in an interview. “We’ll make him the best-paid pilot at Virgin — we’ll give him double [the salary of] anybody else. He also can become one of the astronauts in my intergalactic spaceship company. The man can write his own ticket with me.” Sullenberger, who saved the lives of 155 passengers when he landed his crippled jet on the Hudson River last month, called the offer “amazing.” He said he would entertain any offers that came his way. (2/9)

Stage Recontact is Ares-1 Biggest Performance Threat (Source: Flight Global)
NASA has concluded that the first and upper stages of its Ares I crew launch vehicle could collide after separation and this problem’s impact on the Ares’ development has been given the highest risk rating by the US space agency. This so-called recontact problem could end an Ares I mission - possibly catastrophically - during ascent. Failure could come seconds after firing of the separation pyrotechnics, if the upper stage’s J-2X engine does not provide enough power fast enough to stop it from slowing down and colliding with the first stage and its motor, which would still be providing residual thrust. (2/9)

Can NewSpace Survive European Politics? (Sources: Jeff Krukin, Parabolic Arc)
EADS Astrium which expressed its NewSpace intent at the Paris 2007 Airshow when announcing its spaceplane design. How is this coming along? As I wrote last June, the company was unable to generate sufficient interest among potential partners. Even worse, the views expressed by European Commission Vice President Guenter Verheugen speak volumes about the attitudes of the European political establishment toward entrepreneurial space activity (NewSpace). Referring to public remarks by Guenter, Astrium Chief Executive Francois Auque said, “I was even told that this project was morally blameworthy because it targets an audience of the rich people.” (2/9)

Iran's New Satellite Challenges China (Source: Asia Times)
A provocative new satellite named Omid (Hope), which was launched by Iran last week, has certainly made its mark in space. For China, Omid represents an unusual opportunity, indeed a gift from Iran. The longstanding debate about China's role with Iran in space has suddenly changed. Now China has a chance to step onto the world stage as the world evaluates what Iran is doing, and whether or not China is true to its word when it talks about its peaceful activities in space - which definitely involves its longstanding relationship with Iran.

Unfortunately, China often does a poor job of getting its message out, and Beijing is not getting the job done here either. In other words, China can see the opportunity straight ahead, but for a variety of reasons, it risks dropping the ball altogether. Before Omid, China's ongoing and often covert support of Iran's development of ballistic missile technology was always a hot topic whenever Iranian missile and space programs were on the table. Now, China's behind-the-scenes role has been almost forgotten entirely. With its new satellite in orbit, the focus is both on the state of Iran's ballistic missile systems, and on how soon Israel will wipe out all of Iran's space facilities along with all of its nuclear facilities. Click here to view the article. (2/9)

Defense-Industry Stimulus is Good Policy, Experts Argue (Source: AIA)
In an op-ed for the Washington Post, two analysts from the American Enterprise Institute argue that $20 billion to $25 billion of defense-industry stimulus "would be both smart politics and sound policy." Defense dollars create jobs quickly, are easy to track and can be quickly re-directed when the need for stimulus passes, according to Tom Donnelly and Gary Schmitt. "This is spending that won't embarrass moderate Democrats and would appeal to conservative Republicans," they write. (2/9)

Sirius XM Got, and Rebuffed, Bid (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Satellite mogul Charles Ergen made an unsolicited offer late last year to take control of Sirius XM Radio Inc., and was rebuffed, according to people familiar with the situation. Mr. Ergen proposed for one of his satellite companies -- EchoStar Corp. or Dish Network Corp. -- to inject enough capital into Sirius for it to meet its debt obligations and avoid a bankruptcy filing, these people said. Despite the rejection, Mr. Ergen has recently reiterated his interest in taking control of Sirius. According to the paper, Mr. Ergen isn't seeking to force Sirius into bankruptcy proceedings in order to acquire its assets more cheaply. (2/9)

Virgin Looks Beyond Space Tourism (Source: Space Review)
Virgin Galactic’s original plan back in 2004 was effectively to develop a commercial version of SpaceShipOne that would have entered service as early as 2008. However, customer feedback forced them to move directly ahead to a much larger spacecraft and aircraft, providing sufficient volume to enable people to move around the cabin, and thus also a larger aircraft—something that they had wanted to do all along but not as soon as originally foreseen. Scaling up to a larger vehicle allows Virgin to address markets beyond space tourism, including suborbital scientific research. A market study found that there is over $300 million a year in NASA funding alone dedicated to sounding rocket research, space life sciences work, education, and aeronautics that could be addressed by SpaceShipTwo (SS2).

Two other markets the company is looking at are astronaut training and technology testing and demonstration. The astronaut training could be done using either WK2 or SS2: in addition to flying parabolic arcs to provide brief periods of microgravity, the aircraft can also create up to 6 Gs of acceleration to simulate the forces of launch and reentry. The last, and perhaps most intriguing, market Virgin is examining is low-cost launches of small satellites, using WK2 to carry an air-launch orbital rocket. (2/9)

Lincoln and Railroads, Obama and RLVs? (Source: Space Review)
In the years before the Civil War politicians in Washington fought a series of bitter battles over the Transcontinental Railroad. The Southerners fought for a southern route that would enrich and further empower their slave-based economy and the North rejected this. The war settled the question and the Pacific Railroad Act was signed by President Lincoln on July 1, 1862. Six years later the job was finished and California was connected to the East Coast. The nation was now an economic as well as a political whole.

Since the late 1980s the US government has been unable to find a way to develop a new low-cost vehicle that will put payloads into orbit. The travails of the DC-X, the X-33, the X-37, the Orbital Space Plane, and other programs have been as frustrating to serious advocates of space exploration and settlement as the congressional battles of the 1850s must have been to the Californians of that age. No one really knows how much investment a successful RLV will require. Unlike the railroads of the 1860s there is no real body of data on which to base a reliable estimate. (2/9)

Space as Frontier (Source: Space Review)
Many space advocates have linked space to previous frontiers on Earth as analogies for the eventual migration of people into the solar system. Nader Elhefnawy explains why this explanation may be a poor fit given the challenges of space and the advancement of other technologies. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1301/1 to view the article. (2/9)

Darwin and Evolutionary Progress to the Stars (Source: Space Review)
This week marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. Stephen Ashworth examines how evolutionary theory might apply to humanity's transition to a spacefaring species. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1300/1 to view the article. (2/9)

Astronauts From the Past Weigh In on NASA's Future (Source: Houston Chronicle)
A new report by Rice University’s James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy on NASA’s future has stirred some surprising reactions by several former astronauts from the Mercury, Apollo and shuttle eras. Some applaud the study’s recommendation that the space agency scrap plans to return to the moon and focus on environmental and energy problems. Others believe the agency should fly deeper into space. And still others think NASA has not been given adequate resources for the present, much less the future. Click here to view the article. (2/9)

Florida's Grayson Raises Voice, Hackles in D.C. (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
In just a few short weeks, freshman U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, has delivered more memorable quotes than some members of Congress do in an entire career. He has fired up the liberal base by picking a fight with Rush Limbaugh, calling the conservative radio host a "has-been hypocrite loser." He has grilled a Federal Reserve official at a House Financial Affairs Committee meeting about why the Fed had not yet fully disclosed which banks got hundreds of billions in bailout dollars. "We're talking about secret payments of $1.2 trillion. I think you need to rethink your approach," Grayson lectured. A video of the exchange has gotten more than 64,000 YouTube hits, helped by Grayson staffer Matt Stoller, a former political consultant and left-wing blogger.

To the lawyer-turned-congressman's Republican detractors -- who've termed him abrasive, naive and too liberal for his Central Florida constituents -- the remarks are typical hyperbole. But to Grayson, it's about more than being colorful. He and his staff have vowed to make oversight -- of everything from NASA to the financial markets -- a foundation of his term. "Everybody runs with something in mind. And he was running on [reducing] waste, fraud and abuse," said Greg Schuckman, a lobbyist for the University of Central Florida.

In interviews, the 6-foot-5-inch Grayson downplays his combative approach, bridling at a reporter's use of the "abrasive" label and saying that he would not have been assigned to the House Science Committee -- the "most bipartisan committee in Congress," he said -- if he wasn't collegial. Still, it's clear that Grayson, 50, has kept the edge that characterized him in his pre-congressional days, when he was an attorney who made a name for himself by suing war profiteers. He might bring that zeal to pursuing malfeasance at NASA -- Democratic leaders have tasked him with oversight of science agencies. (2/9)

Asteroid Bound for Earth! Warn Your Grandchildren (Source: New Scientist)
An asteroid that had initially been deemed harmless has turned out to have a slim chance of hitting Earth in 160 years. While that might seem a distant threat, there's far less time available to deflect it off course. Asteroid 1999 RQ36 was discovered a decade ago, but it was not considered particularly worrisome. Now, new calculations show a 1 in 1400 chance that it will strike Earth between 2169 and 2199. With an estimated diameter of 560 metres, 1999 RQ36 is more than twice the size of the better-known asteroid Apophis, which has a 1 in 45,000 chance of hitting Earth in 2036. Both are large enough to unleash devastating tsunamis if they were to smash into the ocean. Although 1999 RQ36's potential collision is late in the next century, the window of opportunity to deflect it comes much sooner, prior to a series of close approaches to Earth that the asteroid will make between 2060 and 2080. (2/9)

North Korea Pursuing Space Program (Source: AFP)
North Korea on Saturday said it was actively pursuing a space program, amid reports from US and South Korean officials that Pyongyang is preparing to test fire a long-range missile. Rodong Sinmun, the official daily of the ruling communist party, said the North had every right to develop a space program, as a member of the international community. "The DPRK's (North Korea) policy of advancing to space for peaceful purposes is a justifiable aim that fits the global trend of the times. There is no power in the world that can stop it," the newspaper said in an editorial. "As long as developing and using space are aimed at peaceful purposes and such efforts contribute to enhancing human beings' happiness, no one in the world can find fault with them," the paper said. The country's Taepodong-2 missile, which has a range of 6,700 kilometers (4,100 miles), could theoretically reach Alaska. (2/9)