March 2 News Items

Will New Mexico Spaceport Lead to More Business, Jobs? (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Momentum continues to build for Spaceport America. Construction at the commercial space flight facility is expected to start this year. So what does that mean for the business climate in southern New Mexico? "We're going to start to see more activity because the general contractor will start building facilities out there," said a Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce official. "As that happens, we'll see more and more subcontractors, and they'll need employees." Richard Wagner, area director for the Las Cruces office of the Department of Work Force Solutions, said he expects to place more workers in the upcoming year.

Spaceport Director Steve Landeene said a New Mexico State University study projected the spaceport could generate 2,250 jobs within the first five years. But he said he has spoken to a company, which he would not name, that is interested in moving to southern New Mexico to be near the spaceport that could increase that number. "If they move here, from what I've been told, that would be approximately 2,000 jobs," he said. (3/2)

China Readies Military Space Station – Coincides with Shuttle Phaseout (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
China is aggressively accelerating the pace of its manned space program by developing a 17,000 lb. man-tended military space laboratory planned for launch by late 2010. The mission will coincide with a halt in U.S. manned flight with phase-out of the shuttle. The project is being led by the General Armaments Department of the People's Liberation Army, and gives the Chinese two separate station development programs. Importantly, China is openly acknowledging that the new Tiangong outpost will involve military space operations and technology development. (3/2)

Tunguska-Sized Space Rock Buzzes Earth (Source: New Scientist)
An asteroid about the size of the one that leveled the forest in Tunguska, Siberia, a century ago flew past Earth on Monday - well within the Moon's orbit. The risk of a future impact with the object is not yet known. The asteroid, dubbed 2008 DD45, whizzed just 72,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface. That is less than a fifth of the distance to the Moon and just twice the distance to geosynchronous satellites. The asteroid seems to be between 20 and 50 meters across. That rivals the size of the asteroid, estimated to be as small as 30 meters, that slammed into Tunguska, Siberia in 1908, creating a powerful blast that leveled 2000 square kilometers of forest. (3/2)

NASA Successfully Tests Ares Parachute (Source: NASA)
NASA and industry engineers successfully completed the second drop test of a drogue parachute for the Ares I rocket. The test took place Feb. 28 at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. The Ares I, the first launch vehicle in NASA's Constellation Program, will send explorers to the International Space Station, the moon and beyond in coming decades. The drogue parachute is a vital element of the rocket's deceleration system; it is designed to slow the rapid descent of the spent first-stage motor that will be jettisoned by the Ares I during its climb to space. The parachute will permit recovery of the reusable first-stage motor for use on future Ares I flights. The first-stage solid rocket motor will power the Ares I rocket for the first two minutes of launch. (3/2)

GAO: NASA's Big Projects Take Too Long, Cost Too Much (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
A majority of NASA’s most expensive projects either miss their target cost or deadline, according to a new watchdog report. According to the Government Accountability Office, 10 of 13 NASA projects that cost more than $250 million overshoot their initial launch date by an average of 11 months and break their budget by 13 percent -- costing taxpayers millions of dollars more than expected.

Among them: The Orbiting Carbon Observatory, a $273 million experiment that failed to reach orbit last month. Even before the unsuccessful launch, the GAO found that the climate probe was five months late and cost $38 million more than expected. NASA officials blamed the overrun on the project’s contractors, who underestimated the cost to develop a science instrument aboard the craft. This isn’t the first time that the agency has laid the blame at the feet of its contract workforce. Today’s report, however, is only the latest evidence of NASA’s inability to keep its missions in line. But to the space agency’s credit, the GAO said NASA has improved its ability to manage and estimate the cost of its major projects. But it still needs to make improvements. (3/2)

Indian Cosmonauts in Russian Spaceships (Source: Russia Today)
Russia and India are expected to collaborate on launch vehicles for future manned space missions. India plans to use Russian experience and equipment in its space program to send a man into orbit, informed Madhavan Nair, the Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). “We are considering a manned space flight of our own. Russia has vast experience in man-controlled spaceflight which we hope it will share with us to help the Indian space program. We plan to perform the first Indian space flight on a Russian space vessel,” said Nair. (3/2)

Launch Group At KSC Tallies Remarkable Record (Source: Florida Today)
The failed launch last week of a Taurus rocket was a first for NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP), which has chalked up a remarkable record of successful launches in the past decade. Formed in 1998 as part of an agency-wide consolidation, the group tallied an admirable 56 consecutive successful launches between its inaugural launch of Deep Space-1 in October 1998 and the Feb. 9 launch of a national polar-orbiting weather satellite for NOAA. The LSP is based at Kennedy Space Center and manages launches from Florida, California, and other spaceport locations. (3/2)

Space Weapons: Soft Power Versus Soft Politics (Source: Space Review)
Does the perception, real or otherwise, that the US is interested in developing space weapons damage American "soft power" in world affairs? Taylor Dinerman argues that the topic is more complex than some believe. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1317/1 to view the article. (3/2)

Defense Companies See Growth in "Soft Power" (Source: AIA)
As the Obama administration pledges a new focus on "soft power," defense contractors are expected to pick up the pace on diversifying beyond airplanes and satellites. Soft power, defined as "getting what you want through attraction," requires new approaches to foreign policy, and defense companies are rushing to adapt. "We recognized five or so years ago that the industry was changing and that the government was looking at more than just hard power," says an executive at Lockheed Martin Corp., which is currently training African peacekeepers along with rival Northrop Grumman Corp. (3/2)

World Space Experts Critical of U.S. Role in Satellite Monitoring (Source: AIA)
Last month's collision between a U.S. and a Russian satellite has renewed international calls for better tracking and wider dissemination of information regarding satellites and debris in low-Earth orbit. Currently, the U.S. Air Force publishes two-line data on some 18,000 orbiting objects, but that information is deemed only partly reliable, and each satellite owner has different standards for interpreting and reacting to the data. The Air Force maintains another, more reliable database that is classified because it is considered militarily sensitive. Commercial satellite companies may request specific threat analyses, but the results may not be available in time to prevent collisions. (3/2)