Advocates Assess Legislative Setback for Commercial Space (Source: Space News)
Recent moves by House and Senate lawmakers to scale back NASA’s commercial crew transportation initiative will slow the momentum that has been propelling entrepreneurial space activities forward, but will not stall those activities, according to government and industry officials attending the Space Frontier Foundation’s annual conference. “If the president’s budget does not pass, commercial space will prevail anyway, it just will be much more difficult,” said Esther Dyson, an entrepreneur and investor with holdings in several space companies including Space Adventures of Vienna, Va., and XCOR Aerospace of Mojave, Calif.
Editor's Note: Is there a sufficient near-term market to develop and sustain a commercial orbital human spaceflight industry without NASA's proposed investments? Probably not. Is a NASA-only market sufficient to support one or two companies at a cost lower than a government-operated launch program? Maybe. In addition to supporting NASA's needs, would a modest non-NASA market for orbital human spaceflight ensure the success of the industry? Probably. Is such a non-NASA market likely to emerge in the near term? Hopefully. (7/31)
Satellite Operators See Divergent Paths to Greater Profits (Source: Space News)
Satellite fleet operator SES on July 30 said it is weighing expansion in Latin America, Asia and even Canada and has not ruled out using its huge cash flow starting in 2012 to purchase growth, whether by acquisition or by securing new orbital slots. SES reconfirmed that its spending on new satellites, which is peaking this year at $1.07 billion, will start to fall in 2011 and then drop sharply in the following years. (7/31)
Scott Wins Seat on ETC Board (Source: Philadelphia Inquirer)
Environmental Tectonics Corp., Pennsylvania-based maker of spaceflight, flight and driving simulators and other devices, is expanding its board with the addition of a sixth member. Winston E. Scott, a retired U.S. Navy captain living in Florida , was named to the board. Scott, who is dean of the Florida Institute of Technology's College of Aeronautics, was a mission specialist on two NASA shuttle flights, in 1996 and in 1997. He is also a former president of the Florida Space Authority. ETC owns the National Aero Space Training and Research (NASTAR) Center, which is considering an expansion facility in Central Florida to support commercial spaceflight training. (7/31)
A Plan for California Space Leadership (Source: CSA)
The California Space Authority Unveils new Space Enterprise Strategic Plan for 2010 thru 2012. The plan reflects the collaboration of more than 200 key space stakeholders representing almost 100 industry, government, academic and non-profit organizations throughout California. Click here for more. (7/30)
NASA Bill Stays Grounded (Source: Politico)
The already delicate effort to overhaul NASA’s funding and mission enters August in political jeopardy, thanks in part to House Democrats’ inability to get on the same page. Despite the best attempts of Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee, to bring the three-year funding plan to a vote this week, a coalition of members frustrated by his haste protested to the majority leader, ultimately forcing the chamber to punt until September. (7/31)
Satellite Operators Team To Avoid Collisions (Source: Aviation Week)
A new cooperative data tool will help keep geostationary commercial communications satellites from colliding or causing signal interference, a service its initiators hope to extend to government spacecraft and satellites in low Earth orbit as well. Spurred in part by the February 2009 collision between an active Iridium spacecraft and a defunct Russian military-communications satellite, the new Space Data Center automatically plots conjunctions in the orbits of satellites owned by participating operators and alerts their control centers to the problem. (7/31)
DOD Work for Scaled Composites? (Source: SPACErePORT)
After Northrop Grumman bought Scaled Composites at the Mojave Air and Space Port in 2007, there was much speculation about what kinds of new work might be assigned to the suborbital spaceship and aircraft builder. Earlier this month Northrop Grumman won a $42 million contract from the Naval Air Systems Command to develop a next-generation radar jamming system. The system to be replaced flies in a pod underneath various military aircraft. Some of the Northrop Grumman work is slated to take place at Mojave, which could mean the new jammer will be tested aboard a Scaled Composites aircraft. (7/31)
New Space Exploration Robot Takes First Steps (Source: La Canada Valley Sun)
Hikers in the upper Arroyo Seco may have felt like they stumbled onto the set of a science-fiction movie this week when they crossed paths with ATHLETE, a new robotic-vehicle designed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for use in space exploration. The ATHLETE — short for All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer — is a joint project between NASA's JPL, Stanford University and Boeing, and could one day be used to transport cargo on the surface of Mars or the moon. JPL engineers took the rover-type vehicle out for trial runs in the upper Arroyo Seco on Tuesday and Thursday, and about eight more test runs in coming weeks. (7/31)
Katy Perry Sending Russell Brand to Outer Space (Source: E! Online)
Now here's a present that's really out of this world! Katy Perry bought hubby-to-be Russell Brand a trip to outer space for his 35th birthday, via Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space venture. "It is true," Virgin Galactic rep Louella Faria tells E! News. "We are very excited to have him on board." (7/31)
Honeywell Provides Guidance System For Atlas V Rocket (Source: Honeywell)
Honeywell has been selected by United Launch Alliance to provide primary avionics components for guidance and navigation of the Atlas V rocket in a follow-on contract worth up to $90 million over the life of the long-term contract. Honeywell will provide the Fault Tolerant Inertial Navigation Unit (FTINU) and the Redundant Rate Gyro Unit (RRGU). (7/31)
McCollum's Space Coast Visit Ends with Space Briefing (Source: Florida Today)
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum ended a day of campaigning on the Space Coast with a briefing from local space industry leaders. "There's no place I will turn more attention to immediately than bringing businesses and jobs and opportunities to the Space Coast," promised McCollum, Florida's attorney general. "There just won't be."
McCollum spent part of the day talking to Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana and visiting the center's Space Station Processing Facility, where payloads are prepared for shuttle missions. At the round table discussion in Cape Canaveral organized by the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, about a dozen the local space leaders explained the opportunity for KSC to diversify beyond launch operations, to not just fly payloads but to design and manage them and service the space station as a National Lab. (7/31)
Dark Matter Eldorado (Source: Science News)
Darth Vader and other rulers of the dark side have reason to celebrate. Observations confirm that a faint group of stars in the Milky Way’s backyard has the highest density of dark matter — the invisible material thought to account for 83 percent of the mass of the universe — of any galaxy known. The findings provide a bonanza for astronomers trying to unveil the nature of dark matter. (7/31)
Wallops Research, NASA Taxiway Decision Delayed (Source: DelMarVaNow.com)
Accomack County's nine supervisors have the weekend to mull over whether to borrow up to $9 million to pay for a taxiway connecting the Wallops Research Park and a NASA runway. The amount would be $233 for every man, woman and child in the county, according to the 2009 U.S. Census population estimate of 38,462 residents. The taxiway at least initially would benefit one company, BaySys Technologies. The company specializes in installing luxury interiors in airplanes. (7/31)
Sierra Nevada Space Exec: Let Orion be Orion (Source: Denver Business Journal)
Count Mark Sirangelo, head of Sierra Nevada Corp.’s space division, among the people who’d like to see NASA fund the Orion capsule to go to the moon and pioneer flying astronauts deeper into space. But Sirangelo means really funding Orion for those missions, not as a rescue space ship serving the International Space Station. Already, $4 billion has been spent on Orion. It’s expected to take another $4 billion to $5 billion to have Orion ready to fly to the ISS.
“And that’s just for a capsule that has no way to get there,” Sirangelo said. Orion’s ISS rescue mission is less ambitious than the moon and Mars landings NASA originally intended for Orion under the Constellation human space flight program. Budget difficulties and doubts about the Constellation program’s new Ares rockets prompted NASA to cut its funding from future budgets. Barring some surprise in Congress, the Constellation program is dead. (7/31)
July 30, 2010
Richard Shelby Accused of Steering Earmarks to Former Aides (Source: AL.com)
Since 2008, Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby has steered more than $250 million in earmarks to entities represented by former staffers, according to Politico. The sum includes $175 million for the University of Alabama System, which employs to Ray Cole, a former Shelby campaign manager, as a lobbyist. The website reports the beneficiaries of Shelby's earmarking have given nearly $1 million to his campaign committees. The earmarks do not appear break Senate rules or ethics laws.
The Washington Post reports that Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has rejected Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions' call for hearings into the New Black Panther Party. Sessions wanted a hearing on alleged voter intimidation by the group in 2008, but in a sharply-worded letter, Leahy notes the Bush administration sought civil and not criminal penalties against the group, and called the "partisan focus" of the charge "a product of the election year calendar more than credible evidence of wrongdoing." (7/30)
Lockheed Martin Commends Bi-Partisan Support For NASA FY 2011 Budget (Source: Lockheed Martin)
Lockheed Martin applauded the recent actions taken by House and Senate NASA oversight committees as Congress moves forward on a bi-partisan spending plan for NASA. This important legislation provides an achievable path forward for a robust human space flight program that continues the Orion crew exploration vehicle to help achieve that goal and includes funding for advancements in technology that will ensure U.S. leadership in space. "We commend the cooperation between Congress and the Administration in achieving this important step to assure continued U.S. leadership in space.”
The Orion team has completed ground testing for major subsystems and is expected to complete the critical design review next year that will finalize 90 percent of the design. A test of the Orion Launch Abort System was successfully conducted in May 2010 and the NASA and industry team completed a rigorous Phase 1 safety review in early July 2010, assuring that mission critical safety requirements have been met. (7/30)
Vote on NASA Bill Appears Unlikely Before September (Source: Space News)
With little time remaining in the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, House Science and Technology Committee Chairman Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) sought to bring the measure to the House floor under suspension of the rules -- a move that prevents amendments to a bill and requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass. But Gordon encountered resistance from House members hoping to weigh in on the measure during floor debate. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and other House Democrats met with Gordon early July 29 to address concerns with key elements of the legislation. (7/30)
Raytheon Wins NASA Neutral Buoyancy Lab Contract (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded a contract to Raytheon Technical Services to operate, maintain and provide sustaining engineering at the Johnson Space Center's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory and Space Vehicle Mockup Facility in Houston. The contract has a maximum value of $119.9 million. The Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, or NBL, includes a large pool where astronauts use pressurized spacesuits to train for spacewalks. (7/30)
NASA Rocket Launch Scheduled August 4 (Source: NASA)
A three-stage Black Brant X suborbital sounding rocket is schedule for launch August 4 from NASA’s launch range at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The purpose of the mission is to test the performance of the vehicle’s third stage Nihka motor. A Black Brant X sits on the pad. Based on the approved range schedule, the rocket is set for launch between 4:30 and 6:30 a.m. EDT. The backup launch days are August 5 and 6. (7/30)
Russia: China Leads in Outer Space Pollution (Source: RIA Novosti)
China has topped the list of the world's major polluters of the near-Earth space environment, followed by the United States and Russia, the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said. All together, the three main space powers produce 93% of space debris, according to a statement published on the agency's website. "According to estimates, 40% of space debris is produced by China. The U.S.'s share accounts for 27.5%, and Russia's [share] for 25.5%, with 7% falling on other countries involved in space exploration," the statement said.
The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office has named Russia and CIS countries as the main polluters of outer space. According to the organization, Russia and its former Soviet allies disposed of a total of 5,833 spacecraft or their parts, including 1,402 satellites and 4,431 parts of carrier rockets, by ejecting them into near-Earth space. Some 15,550 "dead" spacecraft, rocket stages, upper-stage rockets and their parts are orbiting around Earth, according to the U.S. space agency.
NASA also named France, Japan and India as major polluters of the near-Earth space environment, with the figures standing at 472, 190 and 170, respectively. Russian scientists have proposed the creation of an international airspace system for monitoring the near-Earth space environment. The idea has already been supported by the international community, Roscosmos said. (7/30)
Russia's Defense Spending to Rise by 60% by 2013 (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russian defense spending will increase by 60 percent, to more than 2 trillion rubles ($66.3 million) by 2013 from 1.264 trillion ($42 million) in 2010, a leading Russian business daily said on Friday. The Russian government made the relevant decision during a meeting on Thursday. The largest growth is planned for 2013, when the figure will rise by 0.5 trillion rubles ($16.6 million), Vedomosti reported. (7/30)
MDA Struggling to Find Customer for Satellite Servicing Business (Source: Space News)
Canada’s MDA Corp. is ready to scrap its attempt to create a commercial business from servicing in-orbit satellites if an inaugural customer does not materialize within the next couple of months, MDA Chief Executive Daniel E. Friedmann said July 29. In a conference call with investors, Friedmann said Richmond, B.C.-based MDA appears to have cleared most technical hurdles confronting the service, which would be a first for the space industry. But substantial financial and liability-related questions remain, he said. (7/30)
Wyle Scientist to Participate in NASA Mars Study (Source: Daily Breeze)
Valerie Meyers, a scientist with El Segundo-based engineering and health sciences firm Wyle, will participate in a NASA study on how a manned trip to Mars would affect astronauts. Meyers will serve as principal investigator for the NASA research as well as one of the subjects in the six-week study. Meyers will study how the stress of human isolation affects the immune system. The research will occur at the Haughton-Mars Project Research Station on Devon Island, above the Arctic Circle. (7/30)
This Isn't Rocket Science (Source: Houston Chronicle)
April Evans resigned from her position as leader of a team of aerospace engineers at NASA after her concerns about radiation experiments on monkeys went largely ignored. Now she's working to halt the tests while trying to get by without an income. Growing up in Lake Jackson, April Jean Evans recalls sitting on her grandfather's lap, watching space shuttle missions on TV and going outside to look up at the stars with him. There was never any doubt, she says, that she wanted to work for NASA. Evans, 32, reached that goal after graduating from Texas A&M University, and her career remained ascendant until she learned of the space agency's plan to irradiate monkeys as part of a $1.75 million experiment. Scientists want to assess health risks astronauts will face from radiation when flying beyond Earth's orbit. (7/30)
Japanese Spaceports to Open for Year-Round Rocket Launches (Source: Mainichi)
Year-round rocket launches at two space centers in Kagoshima Prefecture will become possible from the next fiscal year as local fishermen's associations have agreed to lift a 190-day limit, the science ministry and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Thursday. The agreement is "highly appreciated," according to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., which markets commercial rocket launches, said in a statement.
Rocket launches at the Tanegashima Space Center and the Uchinoura Space Center, operated by the agency known as JAXA, are currently limited to the periods from June to September and November to February. The 190-day limit is aimed at avoiding disruption to fishing during high seasons as fishing boats are banned from entering local waters just before and after rocket launches. (7/30)
NASA Glenn Research Center Bringing Research 'Down to Earth' (Source: WKYC)
Big changes could be coming to NASA's budget next year but the folks at NASA Glenn Research Center say they are not focusing on that. They are looking at what they have and will continue to accomplish. The goal is to be responsible and innovative stewards of taxpayer dollars. Over the last 25 years, $87 million has gone to Ohio businesses. Side-by-side they work to create technology that can work in space and in the lives of regular people. Two examples of that private public partnership are Goodyear in Akron and Zin Technologies in Cleveland. At Goodyear, they've worked to create a tire made of springs that could navigate the rocky surface of the moon. (7/30)
Musk: Support U.S. Space Builders (Source: Florida Today)
A NASA spending plan approved by a U.S. House committee would delay commercial crew launches at Cape Canaveral and instead funnel money to Russia while American jobs are being lost, the founder of SpaceX said Thursday. Elon Musk said the development of U.S. commercial space vehicles offers "the only hope for the average citizen to one day travel in space." He urged people to encourage congressional opposition of the House NASA authorization bill.
Separately, Musk said reducing investment in U.S. commercial spaceships would only increase reliance on Russia to fly America astronauts to the International Space Station. "It seems like just a basic rule of thumb -- maybe you want to spend as much on the American team as you do on the Russians," Musk said in a meeting with Florida Today's editorial board at Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Musk said the House bill authorizes "five times as many taxpayer dollars to fly NASA astronauts on the Russian Soyuz than it invests in developing an American commercial alternative, moreover at a time when jobs are sorely needed in the United States... Quite simply, the bill represents the sort of senseless pork politics that has driven our national debt to the point where our economy can barely service it." (7/30)
Florida Teacher Spaces Out (Source: TBO)
As a child, science and engineering - as well as watching the Apollo space missions - all fascinated Mary Vaughn. That interest eventually led her into teaching the gifted math and science programs at FishHawk Creek Elementary School, which in turn, led her into space - well, almost. Vaughn was one of seven teachers from Hillsborough County and 220 worldwide to attend Honeywell's "Educators at Space Academy," held June 11 to 23 at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, near the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, where camp classes were held. Vaughn, 46, said the experience of learning what it takes to become an astronaut or ground-control crewperson was "pretty real" and the hands-on aspect of the instruction was sometimes almost too realistic. (7/30)
Since 2008, Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby has steered more than $250 million in earmarks to entities represented by former staffers, according to Politico. The sum includes $175 million for the University of Alabama System, which employs to Ray Cole, a former Shelby campaign manager, as a lobbyist. The website reports the beneficiaries of Shelby's earmarking have given nearly $1 million to his campaign committees. The earmarks do not appear break Senate rules or ethics laws.
The Washington Post reports that Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has rejected Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions' call for hearings into the New Black Panther Party. Sessions wanted a hearing on alleged voter intimidation by the group in 2008, but in a sharply-worded letter, Leahy notes the Bush administration sought civil and not criminal penalties against the group, and called the "partisan focus" of the charge "a product of the election year calendar more than credible evidence of wrongdoing." (7/30)
Lockheed Martin Commends Bi-Partisan Support For NASA FY 2011 Budget (Source: Lockheed Martin)
Lockheed Martin applauded the recent actions taken by House and Senate NASA oversight committees as Congress moves forward on a bi-partisan spending plan for NASA. This important legislation provides an achievable path forward for a robust human space flight program that continues the Orion crew exploration vehicle to help achieve that goal and includes funding for advancements in technology that will ensure U.S. leadership in space. "We commend the cooperation between Congress and the Administration in achieving this important step to assure continued U.S. leadership in space.”
The Orion team has completed ground testing for major subsystems and is expected to complete the critical design review next year that will finalize 90 percent of the design. A test of the Orion Launch Abort System was successfully conducted in May 2010 and the NASA and industry team completed a rigorous Phase 1 safety review in early July 2010, assuring that mission critical safety requirements have been met. (7/30)
Vote on NASA Bill Appears Unlikely Before September (Source: Space News)
With little time remaining in the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, House Science and Technology Committee Chairman Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) sought to bring the measure to the House floor under suspension of the rules -- a move that prevents amendments to a bill and requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass. But Gordon encountered resistance from House members hoping to weigh in on the measure during floor debate. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and other House Democrats met with Gordon early July 29 to address concerns with key elements of the legislation. (7/30)
Raytheon Wins NASA Neutral Buoyancy Lab Contract (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded a contract to Raytheon Technical Services to operate, maintain and provide sustaining engineering at the Johnson Space Center's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory and Space Vehicle Mockup Facility in Houston. The contract has a maximum value of $119.9 million. The Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, or NBL, includes a large pool where astronauts use pressurized spacesuits to train for spacewalks. (7/30)
NASA Rocket Launch Scheduled August 4 (Source: NASA)
A three-stage Black Brant X suborbital sounding rocket is schedule for launch August 4 from NASA’s launch range at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The purpose of the mission is to test the performance of the vehicle’s third stage Nihka motor. A Black Brant X sits on the pad. Based on the approved range schedule, the rocket is set for launch between 4:30 and 6:30 a.m. EDT. The backup launch days are August 5 and 6. (7/30)
Russia: China Leads in Outer Space Pollution (Source: RIA Novosti)
China has topped the list of the world's major polluters of the near-Earth space environment, followed by the United States and Russia, the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said. All together, the three main space powers produce 93% of space debris, according to a statement published on the agency's website. "According to estimates, 40% of space debris is produced by China. The U.S.'s share accounts for 27.5%, and Russia's [share] for 25.5%, with 7% falling on other countries involved in space exploration," the statement said.
The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office has named Russia and CIS countries as the main polluters of outer space. According to the organization, Russia and its former Soviet allies disposed of a total of 5,833 spacecraft or their parts, including 1,402 satellites and 4,431 parts of carrier rockets, by ejecting them into near-Earth space. Some 15,550 "dead" spacecraft, rocket stages, upper-stage rockets and their parts are orbiting around Earth, according to the U.S. space agency.
NASA also named France, Japan and India as major polluters of the near-Earth space environment, with the figures standing at 472, 190 and 170, respectively. Russian scientists have proposed the creation of an international airspace system for monitoring the near-Earth space environment. The idea has already been supported by the international community, Roscosmos said. (7/30)
Russia's Defense Spending to Rise by 60% by 2013 (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russian defense spending will increase by 60 percent, to more than 2 trillion rubles ($66.3 million) by 2013 from 1.264 trillion ($42 million) in 2010, a leading Russian business daily said on Friday. The Russian government made the relevant decision during a meeting on Thursday. The largest growth is planned for 2013, when the figure will rise by 0.5 trillion rubles ($16.6 million), Vedomosti reported. (7/30)
MDA Struggling to Find Customer for Satellite Servicing Business (Source: Space News)
Canada’s MDA Corp. is ready to scrap its attempt to create a commercial business from servicing in-orbit satellites if an inaugural customer does not materialize within the next couple of months, MDA Chief Executive Daniel E. Friedmann said July 29. In a conference call with investors, Friedmann said Richmond, B.C.-based MDA appears to have cleared most technical hurdles confronting the service, which would be a first for the space industry. But substantial financial and liability-related questions remain, he said. (7/30)
Wyle Scientist to Participate in NASA Mars Study (Source: Daily Breeze)
Valerie Meyers, a scientist with El Segundo-based engineering and health sciences firm Wyle, will participate in a NASA study on how a manned trip to Mars would affect astronauts. Meyers will serve as principal investigator for the NASA research as well as one of the subjects in the six-week study. Meyers will study how the stress of human isolation affects the immune system. The research will occur at the Haughton-Mars Project Research Station on Devon Island, above the Arctic Circle. (7/30)
This Isn't Rocket Science (Source: Houston Chronicle)
April Evans resigned from her position as leader of a team of aerospace engineers at NASA after her concerns about radiation experiments on monkeys went largely ignored. Now she's working to halt the tests while trying to get by without an income. Growing up in Lake Jackson, April Jean Evans recalls sitting on her grandfather's lap, watching space shuttle missions on TV and going outside to look up at the stars with him. There was never any doubt, she says, that she wanted to work for NASA. Evans, 32, reached that goal after graduating from Texas A&M University, and her career remained ascendant until she learned of the space agency's plan to irradiate monkeys as part of a $1.75 million experiment. Scientists want to assess health risks astronauts will face from radiation when flying beyond Earth's orbit. (7/30)
Japanese Spaceports to Open for Year-Round Rocket Launches (Source: Mainichi)
Year-round rocket launches at two space centers in Kagoshima Prefecture will become possible from the next fiscal year as local fishermen's associations have agreed to lift a 190-day limit, the science ministry and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Thursday. The agreement is "highly appreciated," according to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., which markets commercial rocket launches, said in a statement.
Rocket launches at the Tanegashima Space Center and the Uchinoura Space Center, operated by the agency known as JAXA, are currently limited to the periods from June to September and November to February. The 190-day limit is aimed at avoiding disruption to fishing during high seasons as fishing boats are banned from entering local waters just before and after rocket launches. (7/30)
NASA Glenn Research Center Bringing Research 'Down to Earth' (Source: WKYC)
Big changes could be coming to NASA's budget next year but the folks at NASA Glenn Research Center say they are not focusing on that. They are looking at what they have and will continue to accomplish. The goal is to be responsible and innovative stewards of taxpayer dollars. Over the last 25 years, $87 million has gone to Ohio businesses. Side-by-side they work to create technology that can work in space and in the lives of regular people. Two examples of that private public partnership are Goodyear in Akron and Zin Technologies in Cleveland. At Goodyear, they've worked to create a tire made of springs that could navigate the rocky surface of the moon. (7/30)
Musk: Support U.S. Space Builders (Source: Florida Today)
A NASA spending plan approved by a U.S. House committee would delay commercial crew launches at Cape Canaveral and instead funnel money to Russia while American jobs are being lost, the founder of SpaceX said Thursday. Elon Musk said the development of U.S. commercial space vehicles offers "the only hope for the average citizen to one day travel in space." He urged people to encourage congressional opposition of the House NASA authorization bill.
Separately, Musk said reducing investment in U.S. commercial spaceships would only increase reliance on Russia to fly America astronauts to the International Space Station. "It seems like just a basic rule of thumb -- maybe you want to spend as much on the American team as you do on the Russians," Musk said in a meeting with Florida Today's editorial board at Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Musk said the House bill authorizes "five times as many taxpayer dollars to fly NASA astronauts on the Russian Soyuz than it invests in developing an American commercial alternative, moreover at a time when jobs are sorely needed in the United States... Quite simply, the bill represents the sort of senseless pork politics that has driven our national debt to the point where our economy can barely service it." (7/30)
Florida Teacher Spaces Out (Source: TBO)
As a child, science and engineering - as well as watching the Apollo space missions - all fascinated Mary Vaughn. That interest eventually led her into teaching the gifted math and science programs at FishHawk Creek Elementary School, which in turn, led her into space - well, almost. Vaughn was one of seven teachers from Hillsborough County and 220 worldwide to attend Honeywell's "Educators at Space Academy," held June 11 to 23 at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, near the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, where camp classes were held. Vaughn, 46, said the experience of learning what it takes to become an astronaut or ground-control crewperson was "pretty real" and the hands-on aspect of the instruction was sometimes almost too realistic. (7/30)
July 29, 2010
Showdown Over Space Policy (Source: MSNBC)
Rocketeers ranging from SpaceX's millionaire founder to the maverick engineers behind the DIRECT heavy-lift design effort are sounding the alarm over a space spending bill due for consideration by the House on Friday. Their bottom line: Support the Senate version of the bill instead. H.R. 5781, the House's version of the $19 billion NASA authorization bill for fiscal 2011, lops off most of $6 billion being sought by the Obama administration for boosting the development of commercial spaceships capable of bringing astronauts to the International Space Station over the next five years.
Instead, it would put more money into the internal NASA rocket development program - although not as much as previously budgeted under a plan that an independent panel said was "not viable." Many folks on the entrepreneurial space frontier say the House spending plan is so deficient that the Senate version must prevail, even though it also short-changes commercial space development. They say the alternative could be an extended period of dependence on the Russians for crew transport. (7/29)
NASA Bill Headed for Vote in House (Source: Space News)
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on a NASA authorization bill as early as July 29 that would set funding levels and provide policy guidance to the space agency over the next three years, according to House aides. The bill (H.R. 5781), approved by the House Science and Technology Committee July 22, fully funds NASA’s $19 billion request for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, but guts a White House proposal to spend $5.9 billion over the next five years fostering development of commercial vehicles to ferry astronauts to and from Earth orbit.
Although the measure includes $150 million for privately developed space taxis through 2013 and another $300 million in the form of government-backed loans or loan guarantees, it would also continue much of the work being done under NASA’s Constellation program, a 5-year-old effort to build new rockets and spacecraft optimized for lunar missions that the White House has targeted for termination.
Congressional aides said the measure is expected to be brought to the House floor under a suspension of the rules, a procedural move that limits amendments to a bill during floor debate but which requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass. Senior Democratic and Republican members of the House Science and Technology Committee, which drafted the bill, have met with House leaders to discuss the bill, according to a House aide, who said the members were “reasonably confident” of obtaining the two-thirds majority vote needed to pass it. (7/29)
Stealth Funding for NASA's Constellation (Source: Discovery)
A provision in a bill passed by Congress this week that allots $59 billion to amp-up the war in Afghanistan contains orders for NASA to not cancel any contracts in its embattled Constellation moon program. An independent review board convened by the White House determined the program, which aimed to land astronauts on the moon by 2020, had no chance of reaching its goal because the government failed to fund it properly.
The Obama administration wants to end the program and invest in new technologies and commercial spaceflight instead. Bills pending in the House and Senate kill Constellation in name, but keep some of its programs, including a capsule known as Orion. The United States has spent about $9 billion on Constellation so far, with total program costs estimated at more than $110 billion.
Buried in 92 pages of Senate amendments to the war bill, however, is a paragraph about NASA stating that funds previously appropriated for Constellation should remain available for Constellation contracts and that “performance of such Constellation contracts may not be terminated for convenience by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in fiscal year 2010." (7/29)
Measat Shareholder Bids for All of Company (Source: Space News)
A Malaysian billionaire is bidding to purchase the portion of satellite fleet operator Measat that he does not already own in an offer that has received preliminary approval from the company’s board of directors and values its equity at more than $500 million. Ananda Krishnan and his Measat Global Network Systems Sdn. Bhd. (MGNS) are offering 4.20 Malaysian ringgits per share for 159 million shares, or 667 million ringgits ($209.1 million) for the 40.4 percent of Measat that MGNS does not own. The price represents a 10 percent premium over where Measat was trading on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange. The MGNS offer gives an implied value of Measat’s equity of some $513 million. (7/29)
France Rethinking Investment in Megasat Satellite (Source: Space News)
A French government bond issue that had set aside $325 million for satellite broadband technologies, including a small Ka-band satellite, may be redirected toward locally managed subsidies for consumer broadband satellite terminals. Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, France’s state secretary for development of the digital economy, said it has proved difficult to win government consensus to spend the bond issue’s proceeds on a couple of large infrastructure projects such as the construction of a satellite. (7/29)
UF Scientist: Space Farms Could Mine Minerals From Moon Dirt (Source: Space.com)
Future manned missions to the moon or Mars could use plants as bio-harvesters to extract valuable elements from the alien soils, researchers say. Now they hope to launch new experiments to follow up on tests done with plants and lunar regolith during NASA's Apollo program that landed men on the moon.
"In spite of the fact that we absolutely admire the innovative science done in the Apollo era, the question of whether a plant could grow if you plop a seed in lunar regolith hasn't been answered," said Robert Ferl, a geneticist at the University of Florida. Ferl and Anna-Lisa Paul, another geneticist at UF, hope to pick up where the Apollo-era experiments left off. Renewed research could take advantage of the powerful tools developed in the past several decades for studying molecular biology and genetics, and see how plants react on a molecular level by turning on or off their genes in response to regolith. (7/29)
Aerospace Machinists Support H.R. 5781 (Source: AmericaSpace.org)
Life just got a bit tougher for those in Congress, especially on the Democratic side, thinking of opposing H.R. 5781. Today, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers wrote of support for H.R. 5781. As noted in the IAM’s letter: "We believe that this bipartisan effort by the House Science and Technology Committee represents a viable way forward for NASA and America’s human space flight program."
"H.R. 5781 provides for an additional Space Shuttle launch, dependent upon a thorough safety review; supports the continuation of the International Space Station until 2020; continues development of the safest and most advanced manned space vehicle, the Orion spacecraft; accelerates the development of a new heavy lift launch system that will enable missions beyond low earth orbit; makes a significant investment in space research; and, rebuilds the long neglected infrastructure of Kennedy Space Center." (7/29)
Musk Talks SpaceX with Stephen Colbert (Source: Comedy Central)
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk appeared on the Colbert Report where he discussed his plans for SpaceX with host Stephen Colbert. See the interview at http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/341483/july-28-2010/elon-musk. (7/29)
House Approves Constellation Language, But Does it Still Matter? (Source: Space Politics)
The House approved the Senate version of an FY10 supplemental appropriations bill that includes a provision regarding NASA. That provision, which the Senate added in May, requires that FY10 Constellation funds “shall be available to fund continued performance of Constellation contracts, and performance of such Constellation contracts may not be terminated for convenience.” The language was designed to reinforce a provision in the original FY10 bill that prevented NASA from terminating Constellation programs without Congressional approval.
Editor's Note: Based on language in House and Senate authorization bills for NASA, the agency will probably be able to restructure, rather than cancel, current Constellation contracts so the companies can proceed with similar work on what will likely be a Shuttle-derived heavy lift rocket, the Orion capsule, and other activities. Ares-1 will likely be the big loser in this restructuring. (7/29)
Cabana: KSC Future Will be Bright – Eventually (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
As Congress fights with itself and the White House over the future direction of the U.S. human spaceflight program, the top NASA official in Florida told local leaders Thursday that the Kennedy Space Center faced a challenging but ultimately bright future. "I see a great future for KSC," center director Robert Cabana told several hundred community boosters, elected officials, union members and industry executives gathered for the annual "Community Leaders Briefing." But short-term challenges – including mass layoffs – are looming, he added.
Unlike previous briefings, this year's gathering resembled a pep rally for a high school football team after a losing season rather than the traditional "state of Kennedy Space Center" update. Cabana said everybody on the Space Coast has finally accepted or needed to accept that the space shuttle program – with only two planned missions remaining – was coming to a close and that its replacement, the Constellation moon program, was dead, killed by Congress and the White House for being too expensive and behind schedule. (7/29)
Harris Corp. Lands NASA Program Contract (Source: Orlando Business Journal)
Harris Corp. was awarded a contract for NASA’s Crew, Robotics, Avionics and Vehicle Equipment (CRAVE) program as part of a team led by Oceaneering Space Systems Inc. The team is working under a five-year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract with a ceiling value of $70 million. CRAVE contracts cover a wide range of tasks for human spaceflight programs supported by Johnson Space Center’s engineering directorate in Houston, including the space shuttle, space station and exploration. Contracts may include communications, avionics and ventilation systems, space suit modifications and new hand tools for astronauts. (7/29)
Japan's Space Exploration Plan Takes Off (Source: VOA News)
An expert advisory panel is urging the Japanese government to move forward with its $2-billion moon exploration program. The plan includes sending wheeled robots to the moon within the next five years and creating an unmanned space station on the moon by 2020. The robots would have solar panels, an observation device and be able to gather geological samples. The materials would then be sent back to Earth by rocket. The robots would work from the lunar base, which will be located at the moon's south pole. (7/29)
Planetary Society Urges Debate on NASA Authorization Bill (Source: Planetary Society)
The Planetary Society issued a statement about the request that the U.S. House of Representatives suspend the rules when voting on the NASA Authorization bill: "The U.S. House of Representatives is being asked today to bring a highly controversial NASA Authorization bill (H.R. 5781) to the floor for a quick vote before Congress heads out of town for its summer break. The NASA bill would be taken up under procedures to "suspend the rules" that limit debate and do not allow amendments or changes to the bill. The future of the space program is too important to rush through a controversial change in policy."
They are concerned that the bill abandons any significant investment in exploration technology, effectively eliminates the Administration's approach for engaging the commercial sector, establishes a program of loan guarantees that the Administration did not request, and seeks to reinstate programs that have been determined to be unsustainable. It also proposed no specific exploration goals for U.S. human spaceflight, a serious omission that was recognized after the tragic loss of life on the shuttle Columbia. Human space flight should be worth its cost and risk, and, as the Augustine Committee stated after an independent review of the U.S. human spaceflight program, "worthy of a great nation." (7/29)
Mars Site May Hold 'Buried Life' (Source: BBC)
Researchers have identified rocks that they say could contain the fossilised remains of life on early Mars. The team made their discovery in the ancient rocks of Nili Fossae. Their work has revealed that this trench on the dark side of Mars is a "dead ringer" for a region in Australia where some of the earliest evidence of life on Earth has been buried and preserved in mineral form. The team, led by a scientist from the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute (SETI) in California, believes that the same "hydrothermal" processes that preserved these markers of life on Earth could have taken place on Mars at Nili Fossae. (7/29)
Air Force Will Streamline Launch Manifest Strategy (Source: SpaceFlightNow)
Future U.S. military satellites will be matched to Atlas and Delta launch vehicles as late as six months before launch, a new strategy the Air Force hopes will limit cascading delays stemming from late payload deliveries. The new slot manifest concept will begin in early 2011, when three Air Force payloads are candidates to launch on two Atlas 5 rocket flight opportunities.
Instead of pairing a payload with a launch slot up to two years in advance, rocket assignments will remain fluid until a point between six and 12 months before liftoff. At that time, Air Force officials will select a primary and backup payload for a single launch slot. The decision will be based on spacecraft readiness and mission priority, according to the Air Force. Editor's Note: The new manifesting approach should provide more flexibility for additional commercial and NASA launches to be added. (7/29)
Raytheon Beats Street Despite U.K. Contract Dispute (Source: AIA)
Raytheon Co. reported lower second-quarter profit after taking a $274 million charge related to a canceled contract in the U.K. Minus the special charge, operating income was $1.27 a share, topping Wall Street estimates. The company said the cancellation of its contract with the U.K. Border Agency was unjustified, and it plans to pursue unpaid bills through litigation. (7/29)
Northrop Grumman Raises Full-Year Forecast on Strong Q2 Profit (Source: AIA)
Boosted by increases in sales and a tax benefit, Northrop Grumman exceeded Wall Street expectations on its second quarter profit -- and improved its forecast for the year. The defense giant reported net earnings of $711 million, or $2.34 a share for the second quarter, compared with $394 million, or $1.21 a share a year earlier. Profit amounted to $2.58 a share, adjusted for items. Analysts predicted $2.19 a share. (7/29)
Gates, Pentagon Officials to Meet with defense Execs on Cutting Costs (Source: AIA)
Today, Defense Secretary Robert Gates will meet with Pentagon officials and 15 top executives in the U.S. defense industry. On the agenda are the Pentagon's cost-cutting efforts and its push for better deals when it buys weapons and services from the industry. An official said the meeting was designed to create a dialogue with the industry, and the efforts come as the Pentagon works to eliminate excess from its annual budget and free up $101 billion over five years to use for modernization accounts. (7/29)
Is NASA Being Set Up To Fail (Again)? Analysis (Source: Popular Mechanics)
In all of the furor over the president's new space policy, announced in February with the release of its planned NASA budget, and with all of the hyperbolic commentary about how commercial space isn't ready to take on the tasks of delivering astronauts to orbit, one stark fact has received far too little attention. Simply put, NASA has not successfully developed a new launch system in three decades. The last one was the Space Shuttle, and it was successful only by the minimal criteria that it eventually flew.
It has not been for lack of trying. The history of the agency over the past quarter of a century is littered with failed attempts to build a new system to replace it. This extends from the X-30 Orient Express of the late eighties and the X-33/VentureStar program of the late nineties, through the Space Launch Initiative early in this decade, to the recently canceled Ares program.
Unfortunately, the White House and the space agency didn't adequately coordinate with Congress before it rolled out its new plan, and it ran into a buzz saw on the Hill, because for most of those overseeing the NASA budget there, the primary purpose of the agency is not to accomplish useful things in space, but to ensure continued jobs in the states and congressional districts of its overseers. Over the past two weeks, the empire has struck back. Click here to read the article. (7/29)
Xtraordinary Adventures Announces Suborbital Space Thrill Rides on XCOR’s LYNX (Source: StreetInsider)
Xtraordinary Adventures, in conjunction with RocketShip Tours, is taking reservations on The Lynx, XCOR Aerospace's newest fully reusable rocket powered suborbital vehicle, to reward Corporate Executives worthy of the prize. Xtraordinary Adventures and RocketShip Tours offer a complete package of training, medical screening and suborbital flight for $95,000, less than half the price of Virgin Galactic at $200,000, and $7000 less than Space Adventures’ $102,000 price tag making the LYNX the best value in the space tourism industry. Current plans call for first civilian liftoff to begin in early 2012 after a thorough and successful flight test campaign. (7/29)
Marveling at Wonders Out of This World (Source: New York Times)
When I was very young, I cherished a collection of “space cards” — trading cards that accompanied packs of bubble gum — offering exotic visions that supposedly would soon be within reach: space ships gliding through Saturn’s rings; explorers enduring a Venus dust storm; loopy Technicolor Martians making their first contact with visiting Earthlings. Some of those half-century-old imaginings may have been outlandish, but the cards left their mark, assisted by decades of science fiction that confidently assumed we were on the brink of an era of pioneering exploration. In a way, we were, though not quite as those cards suggested. But the appetite they whetted remained.
The images on view at a remarkable exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum here could well serve as inspirational space cards for this century. But they possess far greater power than those old naïve fantasies. They are vividly, compellingly real; they astonish and bewilder, luring the viewer into a state of wonder. Click here to view the article. (7/29)
Engineer Launches Bid to Land Shuttle in Aggieland (Source: Houston Chronicle)
A surprise bidder has emerged for a space shuttle once the vehicles are retired: College Station. The Aggie engineer championing his alma mater says the coastal location of Space Center Houston, which has run a more public bid, would put an irreplaceable shuttle at too great a risk from hurricanes.
"None of us involved in this want to see the shuttle on the nightly news with a bunch of debris floating around it," said Zachary Cummings, an ocean engineer and entrepreneur. The logical conclusion, he reasons, is to display the shuttle on the Texas A&M University campus, which is centrally located to Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. (7/29)
Hints of Earth Splash a Saturnian Moon Landscape (Source: New York Times)
The level of Ontario Lacus, a lake on Titan, has fallen 15 feet in the last four years, according to measurements by the Cassini spacecraft. The level of Ontario Lacus, the largest lake in the southern hemisphere of this Saturnian moon, has fallen by some 15 feet over the last four years, causing its shore to recede by as much as 6 miles in some places. Other lakes nearby have similarly receded, according to radar measurements made by the Cassini spacecraft.
However, if prolonged spells of 90-degree temperatures have you yearning for a refreshing icy dip, there are still plenty of bathing opportunities on Titan. Of course the lakes there are made of liquid methane — and the 90 degrees of temperature are on the Kelvin scale, near enough to absolute zero to challenge even the most cosmically adept polar bear. The atmosphere is nitrogen and methane. (7/29)
Rocketeers ranging from SpaceX's millionaire founder to the maverick engineers behind the DIRECT heavy-lift design effort are sounding the alarm over a space spending bill due for consideration by the House on Friday. Their bottom line: Support the Senate version of the bill instead. H.R. 5781, the House's version of the $19 billion NASA authorization bill for fiscal 2011, lops off most of $6 billion being sought by the Obama administration for boosting the development of commercial spaceships capable of bringing astronauts to the International Space Station over the next five years.
Instead, it would put more money into the internal NASA rocket development program - although not as much as previously budgeted under a plan that an independent panel said was "not viable." Many folks on the entrepreneurial space frontier say the House spending plan is so deficient that the Senate version must prevail, even though it also short-changes commercial space development. They say the alternative could be an extended period of dependence on the Russians for crew transport. (7/29)
NASA Bill Headed for Vote in House (Source: Space News)
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on a NASA authorization bill as early as July 29 that would set funding levels and provide policy guidance to the space agency over the next three years, according to House aides. The bill (H.R. 5781), approved by the House Science and Technology Committee July 22, fully funds NASA’s $19 billion request for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, but guts a White House proposal to spend $5.9 billion over the next five years fostering development of commercial vehicles to ferry astronauts to and from Earth orbit.
Although the measure includes $150 million for privately developed space taxis through 2013 and another $300 million in the form of government-backed loans or loan guarantees, it would also continue much of the work being done under NASA’s Constellation program, a 5-year-old effort to build new rockets and spacecraft optimized for lunar missions that the White House has targeted for termination.
Congressional aides said the measure is expected to be brought to the House floor under a suspension of the rules, a procedural move that limits amendments to a bill during floor debate but which requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass. Senior Democratic and Republican members of the House Science and Technology Committee, which drafted the bill, have met with House leaders to discuss the bill, according to a House aide, who said the members were “reasonably confident” of obtaining the two-thirds majority vote needed to pass it. (7/29)
Stealth Funding for NASA's Constellation (Source: Discovery)
A provision in a bill passed by Congress this week that allots $59 billion to amp-up the war in Afghanistan contains orders for NASA to not cancel any contracts in its embattled Constellation moon program. An independent review board convened by the White House determined the program, which aimed to land astronauts on the moon by 2020, had no chance of reaching its goal because the government failed to fund it properly.
The Obama administration wants to end the program and invest in new technologies and commercial spaceflight instead. Bills pending in the House and Senate kill Constellation in name, but keep some of its programs, including a capsule known as Orion. The United States has spent about $9 billion on Constellation so far, with total program costs estimated at more than $110 billion.
Buried in 92 pages of Senate amendments to the war bill, however, is a paragraph about NASA stating that funds previously appropriated for Constellation should remain available for Constellation contracts and that “performance of such Constellation contracts may not be terminated for convenience by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in fiscal year 2010." (7/29)
Measat Shareholder Bids for All of Company (Source: Space News)
A Malaysian billionaire is bidding to purchase the portion of satellite fleet operator Measat that he does not already own in an offer that has received preliminary approval from the company’s board of directors and values its equity at more than $500 million. Ananda Krishnan and his Measat Global Network Systems Sdn. Bhd. (MGNS) are offering 4.20 Malaysian ringgits per share for 159 million shares, or 667 million ringgits ($209.1 million) for the 40.4 percent of Measat that MGNS does not own. The price represents a 10 percent premium over where Measat was trading on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange. The MGNS offer gives an implied value of Measat’s equity of some $513 million. (7/29)
France Rethinking Investment in Megasat Satellite (Source: Space News)
A French government bond issue that had set aside $325 million for satellite broadband technologies, including a small Ka-band satellite, may be redirected toward locally managed subsidies for consumer broadband satellite terminals. Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, France’s state secretary for development of the digital economy, said it has proved difficult to win government consensus to spend the bond issue’s proceeds on a couple of large infrastructure projects such as the construction of a satellite. (7/29)
UF Scientist: Space Farms Could Mine Minerals From Moon Dirt (Source: Space.com)
Future manned missions to the moon or Mars could use plants as bio-harvesters to extract valuable elements from the alien soils, researchers say. Now they hope to launch new experiments to follow up on tests done with plants and lunar regolith during NASA's Apollo program that landed men on the moon.
"In spite of the fact that we absolutely admire the innovative science done in the Apollo era, the question of whether a plant could grow if you plop a seed in lunar regolith hasn't been answered," said Robert Ferl, a geneticist at the University of Florida. Ferl and Anna-Lisa Paul, another geneticist at UF, hope to pick up where the Apollo-era experiments left off. Renewed research could take advantage of the powerful tools developed in the past several decades for studying molecular biology and genetics, and see how plants react on a molecular level by turning on or off their genes in response to regolith. (7/29)
Aerospace Machinists Support H.R. 5781 (Source: AmericaSpace.org)
Life just got a bit tougher for those in Congress, especially on the Democratic side, thinking of opposing H.R. 5781. Today, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers wrote of support for H.R. 5781. As noted in the IAM’s letter: "We believe that this bipartisan effort by the House Science and Technology Committee represents a viable way forward for NASA and America’s human space flight program."
"H.R. 5781 provides for an additional Space Shuttle launch, dependent upon a thorough safety review; supports the continuation of the International Space Station until 2020; continues development of the safest and most advanced manned space vehicle, the Orion spacecraft; accelerates the development of a new heavy lift launch system that will enable missions beyond low earth orbit; makes a significant investment in space research; and, rebuilds the long neglected infrastructure of Kennedy Space Center." (7/29)
Musk Talks SpaceX with Stephen Colbert (Source: Comedy Central)
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk appeared on the Colbert Report where he discussed his plans for SpaceX with host Stephen Colbert. See the interview at http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/341483/july-28-2010/elon-musk. (7/29)
House Approves Constellation Language, But Does it Still Matter? (Source: Space Politics)
The House approved the Senate version of an FY10 supplemental appropriations bill that includes a provision regarding NASA. That provision, which the Senate added in May, requires that FY10 Constellation funds “shall be available to fund continued performance of Constellation contracts, and performance of such Constellation contracts may not be terminated for convenience.” The language was designed to reinforce a provision in the original FY10 bill that prevented NASA from terminating Constellation programs without Congressional approval.
Editor's Note: Based on language in House and Senate authorization bills for NASA, the agency will probably be able to restructure, rather than cancel, current Constellation contracts so the companies can proceed with similar work on what will likely be a Shuttle-derived heavy lift rocket, the Orion capsule, and other activities. Ares-1 will likely be the big loser in this restructuring. (7/29)
Cabana: KSC Future Will be Bright – Eventually (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
As Congress fights with itself and the White House over the future direction of the U.S. human spaceflight program, the top NASA official in Florida told local leaders Thursday that the Kennedy Space Center faced a challenging but ultimately bright future. "I see a great future for KSC," center director Robert Cabana told several hundred community boosters, elected officials, union members and industry executives gathered for the annual "Community Leaders Briefing." But short-term challenges – including mass layoffs – are looming, he added.
Unlike previous briefings, this year's gathering resembled a pep rally for a high school football team after a losing season rather than the traditional "state of Kennedy Space Center" update. Cabana said everybody on the Space Coast has finally accepted or needed to accept that the space shuttle program – with only two planned missions remaining – was coming to a close and that its replacement, the Constellation moon program, was dead, killed by Congress and the White House for being too expensive and behind schedule. (7/29)
Harris Corp. Lands NASA Program Contract (Source: Orlando Business Journal)
Harris Corp. was awarded a contract for NASA’s Crew, Robotics, Avionics and Vehicle Equipment (CRAVE) program as part of a team led by Oceaneering Space Systems Inc. The team is working under a five-year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract with a ceiling value of $70 million. CRAVE contracts cover a wide range of tasks for human spaceflight programs supported by Johnson Space Center’s engineering directorate in Houston, including the space shuttle, space station and exploration. Contracts may include communications, avionics and ventilation systems, space suit modifications and new hand tools for astronauts. (7/29)
Japan's Space Exploration Plan Takes Off (Source: VOA News)
An expert advisory panel is urging the Japanese government to move forward with its $2-billion moon exploration program. The plan includes sending wheeled robots to the moon within the next five years and creating an unmanned space station on the moon by 2020. The robots would have solar panels, an observation device and be able to gather geological samples. The materials would then be sent back to Earth by rocket. The robots would work from the lunar base, which will be located at the moon's south pole. (7/29)
Planetary Society Urges Debate on NASA Authorization Bill (Source: Planetary Society)
The Planetary Society issued a statement about the request that the U.S. House of Representatives suspend the rules when voting on the NASA Authorization bill: "The U.S. House of Representatives is being asked today to bring a highly controversial NASA Authorization bill (H.R. 5781) to the floor for a quick vote before Congress heads out of town for its summer break. The NASA bill would be taken up under procedures to "suspend the rules" that limit debate and do not allow amendments or changes to the bill. The future of the space program is too important to rush through a controversial change in policy."
They are concerned that the bill abandons any significant investment in exploration technology, effectively eliminates the Administration's approach for engaging the commercial sector, establishes a program of loan guarantees that the Administration did not request, and seeks to reinstate programs that have been determined to be unsustainable. It also proposed no specific exploration goals for U.S. human spaceflight, a serious omission that was recognized after the tragic loss of life on the shuttle Columbia. Human space flight should be worth its cost and risk, and, as the Augustine Committee stated after an independent review of the U.S. human spaceflight program, "worthy of a great nation." (7/29)
Mars Site May Hold 'Buried Life' (Source: BBC)
Researchers have identified rocks that they say could contain the fossilised remains of life on early Mars. The team made their discovery in the ancient rocks of Nili Fossae. Their work has revealed that this trench on the dark side of Mars is a "dead ringer" for a region in Australia where some of the earliest evidence of life on Earth has been buried and preserved in mineral form. The team, led by a scientist from the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute (SETI) in California, believes that the same "hydrothermal" processes that preserved these markers of life on Earth could have taken place on Mars at Nili Fossae. (7/29)
Air Force Will Streamline Launch Manifest Strategy (Source: SpaceFlightNow)
Future U.S. military satellites will be matched to Atlas and Delta launch vehicles as late as six months before launch, a new strategy the Air Force hopes will limit cascading delays stemming from late payload deliveries. The new slot manifest concept will begin in early 2011, when three Air Force payloads are candidates to launch on two Atlas 5 rocket flight opportunities.
Instead of pairing a payload with a launch slot up to two years in advance, rocket assignments will remain fluid until a point between six and 12 months before liftoff. At that time, Air Force officials will select a primary and backup payload for a single launch slot. The decision will be based on spacecraft readiness and mission priority, according to the Air Force. Editor's Note: The new manifesting approach should provide more flexibility for additional commercial and NASA launches to be added. (7/29)
Raytheon Beats Street Despite U.K. Contract Dispute (Source: AIA)
Raytheon Co. reported lower second-quarter profit after taking a $274 million charge related to a canceled contract in the U.K. Minus the special charge, operating income was $1.27 a share, topping Wall Street estimates. The company said the cancellation of its contract with the U.K. Border Agency was unjustified, and it plans to pursue unpaid bills through litigation. (7/29)
Northrop Grumman Raises Full-Year Forecast on Strong Q2 Profit (Source: AIA)
Boosted by increases in sales and a tax benefit, Northrop Grumman exceeded Wall Street expectations on its second quarter profit -- and improved its forecast for the year. The defense giant reported net earnings of $711 million, or $2.34 a share for the second quarter, compared with $394 million, or $1.21 a share a year earlier. Profit amounted to $2.58 a share, adjusted for items. Analysts predicted $2.19 a share. (7/29)
Gates, Pentagon Officials to Meet with defense Execs on Cutting Costs (Source: AIA)
Today, Defense Secretary Robert Gates will meet with Pentagon officials and 15 top executives in the U.S. defense industry. On the agenda are the Pentagon's cost-cutting efforts and its push for better deals when it buys weapons and services from the industry. An official said the meeting was designed to create a dialogue with the industry, and the efforts come as the Pentagon works to eliminate excess from its annual budget and free up $101 billion over five years to use for modernization accounts. (7/29)
Is NASA Being Set Up To Fail (Again)? Analysis (Source: Popular Mechanics)
In all of the furor over the president's new space policy, announced in February with the release of its planned NASA budget, and with all of the hyperbolic commentary about how commercial space isn't ready to take on the tasks of delivering astronauts to orbit, one stark fact has received far too little attention. Simply put, NASA has not successfully developed a new launch system in three decades. The last one was the Space Shuttle, and it was successful only by the minimal criteria that it eventually flew.
It has not been for lack of trying. The history of the agency over the past quarter of a century is littered with failed attempts to build a new system to replace it. This extends from the X-30 Orient Express of the late eighties and the X-33/VentureStar program of the late nineties, through the Space Launch Initiative early in this decade, to the recently canceled Ares program.
Unfortunately, the White House and the space agency didn't adequately coordinate with Congress before it rolled out its new plan, and it ran into a buzz saw on the Hill, because for most of those overseeing the NASA budget there, the primary purpose of the agency is not to accomplish useful things in space, but to ensure continued jobs in the states and congressional districts of its overseers. Over the past two weeks, the empire has struck back. Click here to read the article. (7/29)
Xtraordinary Adventures Announces Suborbital Space Thrill Rides on XCOR’s LYNX (Source: StreetInsider)
Xtraordinary Adventures, in conjunction with RocketShip Tours, is taking reservations on The Lynx, XCOR Aerospace's newest fully reusable rocket powered suborbital vehicle, to reward Corporate Executives worthy of the prize. Xtraordinary Adventures and RocketShip Tours offer a complete package of training, medical screening and suborbital flight for $95,000, less than half the price of Virgin Galactic at $200,000, and $7000 less than Space Adventures’ $102,000 price tag making the LYNX the best value in the space tourism industry. Current plans call for first civilian liftoff to begin in early 2012 after a thorough and successful flight test campaign. (7/29)
Marveling at Wonders Out of This World (Source: New York Times)
When I was very young, I cherished a collection of “space cards” — trading cards that accompanied packs of bubble gum — offering exotic visions that supposedly would soon be within reach: space ships gliding through Saturn’s rings; explorers enduring a Venus dust storm; loopy Technicolor Martians making their first contact with visiting Earthlings. Some of those half-century-old imaginings may have been outlandish, but the cards left their mark, assisted by decades of science fiction that confidently assumed we were on the brink of an era of pioneering exploration. In a way, we were, though not quite as those cards suggested. But the appetite they whetted remained.
The images on view at a remarkable exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum here could well serve as inspirational space cards for this century. But they possess far greater power than those old naïve fantasies. They are vividly, compellingly real; they astonish and bewilder, luring the viewer into a state of wonder. Click here to view the article. (7/29)
Engineer Launches Bid to Land Shuttle in Aggieland (Source: Houston Chronicle)
A surprise bidder has emerged for a space shuttle once the vehicles are retired: College Station. The Aggie engineer championing his alma mater says the coastal location of Space Center Houston, which has run a more public bid, would put an irreplaceable shuttle at too great a risk from hurricanes.
"None of us involved in this want to see the shuttle on the nightly news with a bunch of debris floating around it," said Zachary Cummings, an ocean engineer and entrepreneur. The logical conclusion, he reasons, is to display the shuttle on the Texas A&M University campus, which is centrally located to Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. (7/29)
Hints of Earth Splash a Saturnian Moon Landscape (Source: New York Times)
The level of Ontario Lacus, a lake on Titan, has fallen 15 feet in the last four years, according to measurements by the Cassini spacecraft. The level of Ontario Lacus, the largest lake in the southern hemisphere of this Saturnian moon, has fallen by some 15 feet over the last four years, causing its shore to recede by as much as 6 miles in some places. Other lakes nearby have similarly receded, according to radar measurements made by the Cassini spacecraft.
However, if prolonged spells of 90-degree temperatures have you yearning for a refreshing icy dip, there are still plenty of bathing opportunities on Titan. Of course the lakes there are made of liquid methane — and the 90 degrees of temperature are on the Kelvin scale, near enough to absolute zero to challenge even the most cosmically adept polar bear. The atmosphere is nitrogen and methane. (7/29)
July 28, 2010
Meet Google’s Space Commander (Source: New York Times)
Google, as you may know, runs a search engine and sells ads. How odd then that Tiffany Montague works at the company. Ms. Montague is the manager of Google’s space initiatives –- overseeing things like sending robots to the moon and ogling Mars. It’s not exactly the stuff that keeps the lights on at the Googleplex, but this type of work seems to make Sergey Brin and Larry Page happy. Unlike many Google employees, Ms. Montague is not an engineer by trade. Rather, she arrived at Google about five years ago, after serving as an officer for the Air Force and working at the National Reconnaissance Office. Ms. Montague’s specialty centered on flying high altitude aircraft and snooping on stuff.
Google first hired Ms. Montague as a project manager in the engineering group only to see her aim her “20 percent time” at the nearby NASA Ames Research Center, and for that 20 percent time to turn into her full-time job. It turns out that Pete Worden, the head of NASA Ames, used to mentor Ms. Montague during her days with the Air Force. And the two have rekindled their relationship. Click here to view the article. (7/27)
Lockheed Martin Honors Onizuka Air Force Station for Space Contributions (Source: Lockheed Martin)
Lockheed Martin joined in ceremonies honoring Onizuka Air Force Station (OAFS) for its 50 years of service to the nation's government space program as part of a U.S. Air Force event marking the contributions OAFS made to aerospace history and the official closure of the station. Lockheed Martin has worked with Onizuka AFS since it was established in 1960 and provided the core of the Mission Control team for a variety of programs in partnership with the Air Force. Together, Lockheed Martin and Air Force personnel monitored and controlled the nation's first spacecraft from Onizuka AFS, including spacecraft for remote sensing, missile warning, navigation, meteorological and communications missions. Onizuka served as the U.S.'s sole satellite tracking station until the mid-1980s. (7/28)
Space Foundation Provides Comparison of House, Senate NASA Bills (Source: SPACErePORT)
Confused about differences between the House and Senate versions of NASA's FY-2011 reauthorization bill, and President Obama's proposed NASA plan? Click here for a comparison developed by the Space Foundation. (7/28)
Orbital Wins NASA Suborbital Launch Support Contract (Source: NASA)
NASA selected Orbital Sciences Corp.'s, Technical Services Division for the agency's Sounding Rockets Operations contract. The total value of this contract is $310 million. The period of performance is five years. Orbital's services will include designing, fabricating, integrating, and performing flight qualification testing of sub-orbital payloads; providing launch vehicles and associated hardware; and conducting various activities associated with subsequent mission launch operations. Additional services may include education and outreach activities, and environmental studies. The majority of the work will be done at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. (7/28)
Japanese Study Looks at Improving the Quality of Life in Space (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Misuzu Onuki is doing some interesting work for JAXA in a sometimes overlooked area of space travel. The JAXA-funded Quality of Life in Space project is looking at the essential elements that can make all the difference between a good stay in space and a bad one. How comfortable are the accommodations? What amusements exist? How good is the food? What does a traveler smell? Are amenities offered? The study’s ultimate aim is to produce new products and services that can be used in space and on Earth. Improving the quality of space flight will be extremely important as private space stations are launched and more people spend time in orbit.
"For example, color effects both our perception and emotion which are related to our behavior psychologically. Also, color effect sour physical condition and physiology functions such as appetite and blood pressure. It is one of the ways to make improve comfort by the best use of color power both psychological and physiological aspects for living. This will improve work performance, maintain body conditions, control emotion, decrease stress and tiredness and increase overall comfort and enjoyment of space." (7/28)
Images Appear To Show Water Ice On Moon (Source: Aviation Week)
Radar images collected by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) probably pinpoint thick deposits of water ice in a small crater near the Moon’s north pole. Work with the Mini-RF synthetic aperture radar (SAR) on LRO follows up findings by a similar instrument called the Mini-SAR on India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter, which used the polarity of radar returns from the Moon’s north polar region to identify more than 40 small craters displaying the signatures of ice. If that is what it is — and measures with some of LRO’s other instruments may confirm it — there could be at least 1.6 trillion lb. of water ice in the craters that future human explorers could use for life support and rocket fuel. (7/28)
Sea Launch Signs Agreement with EchoStar (Source: Sea Launch)
Sea Launch has signed an agreement with EchoStar, providing the ability to launch up to three satellites on the Sea Launch system. Sea Launch expects to launch the satellites using the reliable Zenit-3SL launch vehicle from its equatorial launch site at 154 degrees West Longitude, in international waters of the Pacific Ocean. Sea Launch has successfully launched previous EchoStar satellites, including EchoStar IX in 2003. (7/28)
Mexican Space Agency to Have Its Spaceport in Caribbean State (Source: Latin American Herald Tribune)
The headquarters of the Mexican Space Agency will be built in the Caribbean state of Quintana Roo thanks to an investment of $120 million made public on Tuesday by Gov. Felix Gonzalez Canto. The Space Center will be built in Chetumal, the state capital, on the border with Belize and Guatemala. At the site will be a launch pad, a runway, an underwater training unit and the space museum. (7/28)
Optimism Permeates Career Fair Sponsored by Huntsville Space Professionals (Source: Huntsville Times)
The scene at the University Center on the campus of the University of Alabama in Huntsville was surreal. Mostly older, experienced members of the work force wore suits and popped breath mints as they carried copies of their résumés - passing them out to anyone who was interested. They stood in lines to speak with representatives of companies promising to have jobs available.
About 300 people seeking jobs showed up in the first hour of the three-hour career fair, Sutinen said. He expected more than 600 would ultimately be in attendance. Thirty-three companies - such as Colsa, United Space Alliance and Cummings Aerospace - had confirmed they would attend the career fair. The Spaceship Company, founded by Virgin Group and Scaled Composites and based in Mojave, Calif., came to the fair looking to hire 160 engineers to build a fleet of commercial spaceships. (7/28)
Planets Found Around Dying Star (Source: Astronomy Now)
Two pairs of gas giants locked in unusually tight orbital dances have been discovered around old, dying stars. The four gas giants were discovered via the Doppler shift method, that is, by detecting the wobble in the light emitted by their host stars as the planets track around them. The systems are part of the Keck Subgiants Planet Survey, which searches for planets around stars 40 to 100 percent times larger than our Sun. When the subgiant stars like HD 200964 and 24 Sextanis eventually become red giants they will likely engulf their planets or even fling them out of the systems completely. Image: NASA, ESA & G Bacon (STScI).
In the case of HD 200964, located 223 light years from Earth, and 24 Sextanis, 244 light years away, the planets were found to be locked in a tight orbital embrace such that HD 200964's planets are separated by just 0.35 AU – comparable to the distance between Earth and Mars – while 24 Sextanis' brood are separated by 0.75 AU. “A planetary system with such closely spaced giant planets would be destroyed quickly if the planets weren’t doing such a well synchronized dance,” says Eric Ford of the University of Florida. “This makes it a real puzzle how the planets could have found their rhythm.” (7/28)
Lockheed Hints a Classified Satellite Order is in the Offing for 2012 (Source: Space News)
Lockheed Martin expects a multibillion-dollar production order from the U.S. government in 2012 for a next-generation satellite system following the completion of early development on the contract, which began in early 2009, the company’s chief financial officer said July 27. Bruce Tanner did not identify the program in question. But the dates and contract volume point to the next-generation optical Earth observation satellite system that the U.S. government wants to operate alongside less-precise satellites built by commercial companies. (7/28)
How Much Would You Pay to Become an Astronaut? (Source: Houston Chronicle)
The first space tourists paid something on the order of $20 million for their ride into, and stay in space. Clearly such a price is beyond the reach of all but a few on Earth. But prices may be coming down during the next few years. Various private spaceflight executives have estimated the price of a suborbital flight by 2014. Their estimates ranged from $50,000 to $100,000. That's less than half the price of a suborbital trip being offered by Virgin Galactic, and while expensive, it's not exorbitant. Luxury cruises can easily run as high as $15,000 per person. (7/28)
Chamber Members Tour MARS (Source: DelMarVaNow.com)
Chamber members from Salisbury, Md., and the Eastern Shore of Virginia toured the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport recently to view the progress of a $90 million construction project in preparation for the 2011 launch of Orbital Sciences' Taurus II rocket. After receiving a tour of the mission control headquarters at NASA Wallops Flight Facility, the Chamber members toured by bus the construction at Wallops Island, where Dr. Billie M. Reed, executive director of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, provided an update on construction progress. (7/28)
General Dynamics Sees Profit Climb on Steady Sales (Source: AIA)
General Dynamics Corp. earned $648 million in the second quarter, a gain of $30 million over the same period last year. Revenues were nearly flat, falling short of analysts' expectations. The company said it was raising full-year guidance and now expects to earn between $6.60 and $6.65 per share. (7/28)
Boeing Reports Across-the-Board Revenue Decline in Q2 (Source: AIA)
Even with fewer deliveries and lower profits than last year, Boeing beat Wall Street expectations in the second quarter, reporting a net profit of $787 million, or $1.06 per share. The company's commercial airplane and defense units both saw lower revenue, declining 12% and 8% respectively. Boeing said its backlog for commercial jets stood at 3,304 aircraft with a value of $252 billion. (7/28)
Lawmakers Eye Separate Passage of Aviation Safety Rules (Source: AIA)
Unable to pass a long-term FAA reauthorization bill, lawmakers may strip out key aviation safety regulations and attach them to another bill designed to keep the agency running for a few more months. The safety measures, drafted in response to last year's crash of a Colgan Air commuter flight, enjoy broad support on Capitol Hill, but the larger bill has been weighed down by a controversial labor provision. While separate passage of the safety rules would be politically popular, it "may lessen some of the pressure to get the rest" of the FAA bill done, warns Rep. John Mica, R-Fla. (7/28)
Google, as you may know, runs a search engine and sells ads. How odd then that Tiffany Montague works at the company. Ms. Montague is the manager of Google’s space initiatives –- overseeing things like sending robots to the moon and ogling Mars. It’s not exactly the stuff that keeps the lights on at the Googleplex, but this type of work seems to make Sergey Brin and Larry Page happy. Unlike many Google employees, Ms. Montague is not an engineer by trade. Rather, she arrived at Google about five years ago, after serving as an officer for the Air Force and working at the National Reconnaissance Office. Ms. Montague’s specialty centered on flying high altitude aircraft and snooping on stuff.
Google first hired Ms. Montague as a project manager in the engineering group only to see her aim her “20 percent time” at the nearby NASA Ames Research Center, and for that 20 percent time to turn into her full-time job. It turns out that Pete Worden, the head of NASA Ames, used to mentor Ms. Montague during her days with the Air Force. And the two have rekindled their relationship. Click here to view the article. (7/27)
Lockheed Martin Honors Onizuka Air Force Station for Space Contributions (Source: Lockheed Martin)
Lockheed Martin joined in ceremonies honoring Onizuka Air Force Station (OAFS) for its 50 years of service to the nation's government space program as part of a U.S. Air Force event marking the contributions OAFS made to aerospace history and the official closure of the station. Lockheed Martin has worked with Onizuka AFS since it was established in 1960 and provided the core of the Mission Control team for a variety of programs in partnership with the Air Force. Together, Lockheed Martin and Air Force personnel monitored and controlled the nation's first spacecraft from Onizuka AFS, including spacecraft for remote sensing, missile warning, navigation, meteorological and communications missions. Onizuka served as the U.S.'s sole satellite tracking station until the mid-1980s. (7/28)
Space Foundation Provides Comparison of House, Senate NASA Bills (Source: SPACErePORT)
Confused about differences between the House and Senate versions of NASA's FY-2011 reauthorization bill, and President Obama's proposed NASA plan? Click here for a comparison developed by the Space Foundation. (7/28)
Orbital Wins NASA Suborbital Launch Support Contract (Source: NASA)
NASA selected Orbital Sciences Corp.'s, Technical Services Division for the agency's Sounding Rockets Operations contract. The total value of this contract is $310 million. The period of performance is five years. Orbital's services will include designing, fabricating, integrating, and performing flight qualification testing of sub-orbital payloads; providing launch vehicles and associated hardware; and conducting various activities associated with subsequent mission launch operations. Additional services may include education and outreach activities, and environmental studies. The majority of the work will be done at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. (7/28)
Japanese Study Looks at Improving the Quality of Life in Space (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Misuzu Onuki is doing some interesting work for JAXA in a sometimes overlooked area of space travel. The JAXA-funded Quality of Life in Space project is looking at the essential elements that can make all the difference between a good stay in space and a bad one. How comfortable are the accommodations? What amusements exist? How good is the food? What does a traveler smell? Are amenities offered? The study’s ultimate aim is to produce new products and services that can be used in space and on Earth. Improving the quality of space flight will be extremely important as private space stations are launched and more people spend time in orbit.
"For example, color effects both our perception and emotion which are related to our behavior psychologically. Also, color effect sour physical condition and physiology functions such as appetite and blood pressure. It is one of the ways to make improve comfort by the best use of color power both psychological and physiological aspects for living. This will improve work performance, maintain body conditions, control emotion, decrease stress and tiredness and increase overall comfort and enjoyment of space." (7/28)
Images Appear To Show Water Ice On Moon (Source: Aviation Week)
Radar images collected by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) probably pinpoint thick deposits of water ice in a small crater near the Moon’s north pole. Work with the Mini-RF synthetic aperture radar (SAR) on LRO follows up findings by a similar instrument called the Mini-SAR on India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter, which used the polarity of radar returns from the Moon’s north polar region to identify more than 40 small craters displaying the signatures of ice. If that is what it is — and measures with some of LRO’s other instruments may confirm it — there could be at least 1.6 trillion lb. of water ice in the craters that future human explorers could use for life support and rocket fuel. (7/28)
Sea Launch Signs Agreement with EchoStar (Source: Sea Launch)
Sea Launch has signed an agreement with EchoStar, providing the ability to launch up to three satellites on the Sea Launch system. Sea Launch expects to launch the satellites using the reliable Zenit-3SL launch vehicle from its equatorial launch site at 154 degrees West Longitude, in international waters of the Pacific Ocean. Sea Launch has successfully launched previous EchoStar satellites, including EchoStar IX in 2003. (7/28)
Mexican Space Agency to Have Its Spaceport in Caribbean State (Source: Latin American Herald Tribune)
The headquarters of the Mexican Space Agency will be built in the Caribbean state of Quintana Roo thanks to an investment of $120 million made public on Tuesday by Gov. Felix Gonzalez Canto. The Space Center will be built in Chetumal, the state capital, on the border with Belize and Guatemala. At the site will be a launch pad, a runway, an underwater training unit and the space museum. (7/28)
Optimism Permeates Career Fair Sponsored by Huntsville Space Professionals (Source: Huntsville Times)
The scene at the University Center on the campus of the University of Alabama in Huntsville was surreal. Mostly older, experienced members of the work force wore suits and popped breath mints as they carried copies of their résumés - passing them out to anyone who was interested. They stood in lines to speak with representatives of companies promising to have jobs available.
About 300 people seeking jobs showed up in the first hour of the three-hour career fair, Sutinen said. He expected more than 600 would ultimately be in attendance. Thirty-three companies - such as Colsa, United Space Alliance and Cummings Aerospace - had confirmed they would attend the career fair. The Spaceship Company, founded by Virgin Group and Scaled Composites and based in Mojave, Calif., came to the fair looking to hire 160 engineers to build a fleet of commercial spaceships. (7/28)
Planets Found Around Dying Star (Source: Astronomy Now)
Two pairs of gas giants locked in unusually tight orbital dances have been discovered around old, dying stars. The four gas giants were discovered via the Doppler shift method, that is, by detecting the wobble in the light emitted by their host stars as the planets track around them. The systems are part of the Keck Subgiants Planet Survey, which searches for planets around stars 40 to 100 percent times larger than our Sun. When the subgiant stars like HD 200964 and 24 Sextanis eventually become red giants they will likely engulf their planets or even fling them out of the systems completely. Image: NASA, ESA & G Bacon (STScI).
In the case of HD 200964, located 223 light years from Earth, and 24 Sextanis, 244 light years away, the planets were found to be locked in a tight orbital embrace such that HD 200964's planets are separated by just 0.35 AU – comparable to the distance between Earth and Mars – while 24 Sextanis' brood are separated by 0.75 AU. “A planetary system with such closely spaced giant planets would be destroyed quickly if the planets weren’t doing such a well synchronized dance,” says Eric Ford of the University of Florida. “This makes it a real puzzle how the planets could have found their rhythm.” (7/28)
Lockheed Hints a Classified Satellite Order is in the Offing for 2012 (Source: Space News)
Lockheed Martin expects a multibillion-dollar production order from the U.S. government in 2012 for a next-generation satellite system following the completion of early development on the contract, which began in early 2009, the company’s chief financial officer said July 27. Bruce Tanner did not identify the program in question. But the dates and contract volume point to the next-generation optical Earth observation satellite system that the U.S. government wants to operate alongside less-precise satellites built by commercial companies. (7/28)
How Much Would You Pay to Become an Astronaut? (Source: Houston Chronicle)
The first space tourists paid something on the order of $20 million for their ride into, and stay in space. Clearly such a price is beyond the reach of all but a few on Earth. But prices may be coming down during the next few years. Various private spaceflight executives have estimated the price of a suborbital flight by 2014. Their estimates ranged from $50,000 to $100,000. That's less than half the price of a suborbital trip being offered by Virgin Galactic, and while expensive, it's not exorbitant. Luxury cruises can easily run as high as $15,000 per person. (7/28)
Chamber Members Tour MARS (Source: DelMarVaNow.com)
Chamber members from Salisbury, Md., and the Eastern Shore of Virginia toured the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport recently to view the progress of a $90 million construction project in preparation for the 2011 launch of Orbital Sciences' Taurus II rocket. After receiving a tour of the mission control headquarters at NASA Wallops Flight Facility, the Chamber members toured by bus the construction at Wallops Island, where Dr. Billie M. Reed, executive director of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, provided an update on construction progress. (7/28)
General Dynamics Sees Profit Climb on Steady Sales (Source: AIA)
General Dynamics Corp. earned $648 million in the second quarter, a gain of $30 million over the same period last year. Revenues were nearly flat, falling short of analysts' expectations. The company said it was raising full-year guidance and now expects to earn between $6.60 and $6.65 per share. (7/28)
Boeing Reports Across-the-Board Revenue Decline in Q2 (Source: AIA)
Even with fewer deliveries and lower profits than last year, Boeing beat Wall Street expectations in the second quarter, reporting a net profit of $787 million, or $1.06 per share. The company's commercial airplane and defense units both saw lower revenue, declining 12% and 8% respectively. Boeing said its backlog for commercial jets stood at 3,304 aircraft with a value of $252 billion. (7/28)
Lawmakers Eye Separate Passage of Aviation Safety Rules (Source: AIA)
Unable to pass a long-term FAA reauthorization bill, lawmakers may strip out key aviation safety regulations and attach them to another bill designed to keep the agency running for a few more months. The safety measures, drafted in response to last year's crash of a Colgan Air commuter flight, enjoy broad support on Capitol Hill, but the larger bill has been weighed down by a controversial labor provision. While separate passage of the safety rules would be politically popular, it "may lessen some of the pressure to get the rest" of the FAA bill done, warns Rep. John Mica, R-Fla. (7/28)
July 27, 2010
Sea Launch Post-Bankruptcy Plan Wins Court Approval (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
A Delaware bankruptcy court confirmed Sea Launch's plan to reorganize under majority Russian ownership Tuesday, clearing a key hurdle on the firm's path to emerge from bankruptcy later this year. The milestone ruling came 13 months after Sea Launch filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2009. The plan calls for Energia Overseas Ltd., a subsidiary of the Russian aerospace giant Energia, to purchase 85 percent of the stock in Sea Launch for $140 million in cash. The unsecured creditors, or firms that acquired a stake in Sea Launch in exchange for owed debts, will collectively hold 15 percent ownership in the reorganized launch business. (7/27)
Stanford Scientists Transform Raw Sewage Into Eco Rocket Fuel (Source: Inhabitat)
Here’s a pretty elaborate way to process sewage waste: Stanford researchers propose using anaerobic bacteria to break it down, producing nitrous oxide or laughing gas. Then, use the nitrous oxide as rocket fuel, of course, which burns leaving only harmless oxygen and nitrogen as byproducts. Rather than running needless rockets round the globe, the researchers propose that we use rocket-thruster technology to power sewage processing plants, creating a closed loop. (7/27)
NASA Did Not Illegally Try to Kill Constellation, Watchdog Finds (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
One front in the months-long battle over NASA’s future is whether agency leaders — acting on behalf of the White House — illegally tried to shut down the Constellation program in violation of law passed last year by supporters of the moon rocket project. Acrimony over the issue reached such a boiling point that Congress asked its watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, to investigate. Last week, the GAO released a 13-page report that concludes NASA acted within the law. (7/27)
Food for Mars a Daunting Challenge, NASA Says (Source: Science News)
Most people find the palatability of in-flight entrees an oxymoron. But even frequent fliers seldom encounter more than a few such meals per week. Astronauts, in contrast, may have to survive months in orbit dining on a really limited menu of processed foods and reconstituted beverages served from oh-so-glamorous plastic pouches. Luckily, even the International Space Station can restock its pantry several times a year because these foods are relatively perishable. Which explains the problem NASA faces in planning for really long missions — like a trip to Mars. Click here to read the article. (7/27)
Potentially Hazardous Asteroid Might Collide with the Earth in 2182 (Source: FECYT)
"The total impact probability of asteroid '(101955) 1999 RQ36' can be estimated in 0.00092 –approximately one-in-a-thousand chance-, but what is most surprising is that over half of this chance (0.00054) corresponds to 2182," explains a researcher from Spain. The research also involved scientists Italy and the USA. Scientists have estimated and monitored the potential impacts for this asteroid through 2200 by means of two mathematical models.
Thus, the so called Virtual Impactors (VIs) have been searched. VIs are sets of statistical uncertainty leading to collisions with the Earth on different dates of the XXII century. Two VIs appear in 2182 with more than half the chance of impact. Asteroid '(101955) 1999 RQ36' is part of the Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHA), which have the possibility of hitting the Earth due to the closeness of their orbits, and they may cause damages. This PHA was discovered in 1999 and has around 560 meters in diameter. (7/27)
New Mexico Spaceport Paving Project Gains Ground (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
The route will be crucial to Las Cruces companies and workers who want to travel to Spaceport America. After years of talking about paving the dirt stretch, officials said last week momentum is finally building to carry out the project. The spaceport authority, Dona Ana County and Sierra County are working out an agreement for paving the road, said spaceport executive director Rick Homans last week. (7/27)
New Mexico Governor Announces Spaceport Board Changes (Source: AP)
Gov. Bill Richardson has appointed Benjamin Woods of Las Cruces as chairman of the board of directors of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority. Woods has served on the board since 2005. He works as an administrator at New Mexico State University. Richardson also announced Monday that he has appointed Patrick Beckett of Las Cruces to the spaceport authority board. Beckett fills a vacancy on the board created by Woods becoming chairman. Beckett is an archaeologist and owns a book store in Las Cruces. (7/27)
Sleep: Lost in Space? (Source: Psychology Today)
At a recent conference, Melchor Antunano presented one of the most interesting topics. He is with the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute and the UN International Academy of Astronautics. He discussed medical issues with regard to commercial space flight, including space tourism. It was striking to realize how many companies and how many countries are now pursuing commercial space business and space tourism.
Getting good sleep in outer space is very challenging. Suborbital and orbital flights for non-specialists certainly present significant medical challenges. Long duration flights, say to Mars or on the space station, pose challenges for professional astronauts. What do you do if a crewmember has a heart attack? How do you cope with exposure to galactic cosmic radiation? What about having sex on long duration flights to Mars? What if a passenger has an undisclosed medical problem that becomes an issue on a flight? How will non-professionals cope with the very common problem of space motion sickness?
The list of issues considered was interesting- but sleep was not mentioned during the presentation. Sleep is, however, a very real concern to NASA. And while sleep issues may be relatively less important for sub-orbital space tourism, it will be more significant for those planning on orbital or lunar fly-by flights, both of which are currently being planned by existing space travel companies. Previous research indicates that sleep duration on missions may be short - about 6.5 hours per day with reduced subjective quality of sleep. Long duration flights of more than three months are especially challenging. Click here to read the article. (7/27)
Wolf: Prospects Bleak for Timely Passage of NASA Spending Bill (Source: Space News)
With less than five legislative weeks remaining in the 111th U.S. Congress, it is possible that lawmakers will not approve a 2011 NASA spending bill until January, more than three months into the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, the senior Republican on the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the space agency said July 27. Although Congress is officially in session at least for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, lawmakers are expected to recess for six weeks beginning Aug. 9 to campaign in their districts in advance of the November mid-term elections. (7/27)
Children Fly for Half Price on Zero-G (Source: Zero-G)
Children aged 8 through 13 receive a 50% discount on their ZERO-G Experience, with the purchase of a seat at retail price. This offer is valid for any currently scheduled ZERO-G flight before December 31, 2010 and is subject to availability. Click here for info. (7/27)
1,300 Shuttle Workers Get Layoff Notices (Source: CFL-13)
Layoff notices were distributed Tuesday to 1,394 shuttle program employees. Officials said 902 of those jobs are being cut from Florida. United Space Alliance announced the layoffs earlier this month because of long-range plans to reduce the workforce as the shuttle program nears retirement next year. Up to 8,000 KSC workers could lose jobs by the time the shuttle program ends. (7/27)
U.S. Missile-Tracking Satellites Pass Test with Flying Colors (Source: AIA)
Two experimental U.S. satellites that are part of the Space Tracking and Surveillance System passed several important tests last month, successfully detecting three missile launches and relaying data about their trajectories to Earth. The satellites were built by Northrop Grumman and Raytheon for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency They are equipped with sensors that pick up a signal when a missile fires its boosters and then they track the infrared signature of the missile through its flight. (7/27)
Senate: Long-term FAA Bill Still Possible This Week (Source: AIA)
The House Transportation Committee is already preparing a temporary extension for the FAA, even as Senate leaders insist they may be able to complete a long-term reauthorization bill this week. Among the contentious issues yet to be worked out: allowing airports to charge higher passenger facility charges and raising the limits on long-range flights from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. (7/27)
NASA Panel: Asteroid-Defense Office Should be Top Priority (Source: AIA)
NASA should make the establishment of a defense office dedicated to protecting Earth from asteroids a top-level goal, according to a task force in the agency. The NASA Advisory Council's Ad-Hoc Task Force on Planetary Defense called for the new office after a meeting this month in which ideas for detecting, characterizing and deflecting threatening near-Earth objects were discussed, in addition to ideas for international cooperation on the issue. (7/27)
Recasting the Debate About Commercial Crew (Source: Space Review)
One of the most controversial elements of the White House's plan for NASA, commercial crew, has suffered setbacks in Congress in recent weeks. Jeff Foust reports on how proponents of commercial crew believe that the effort's long-term success may hinge on resetting the terms of the debate about it. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1671/1 to view the article. (7/27)
USA Giving Notice To Employees Losing Jobs This Fall (Source: Florida Today)
United Space Alliance is giving notice to roughly 1,000 shuttle program employees at Kennedy Space Center who will be laid off later this year. The company announced the layoffs earlier this month, citing long-standing plans to reduce the workforce as the shuttle program nears retirement next year. In total, the Houston-based company said it planned to reduce its staff by about 15 percent in Florida, Texas and Alabama by Oct. 1. (7/27)
$150 Million Overhaul at Plum Brook Readies Ohio to Lead Space Testing (Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer)
The Space Power Facility at NASA's Plum Brook Station near Sandusky contains the world's largest vacuum chamber, as well as new facilities for vibration and acoustic testing of spacecraft. The new "horn room" at NASA's Plum Brook testing facility has 36 nitrogen-powered loudspeakers to simulate the rumble of a rocket launch. Next door, at the bottom of a concrete-lined crypt big enough to hold a house, they're preparing to install a massive "shaker table." Its hydraulic rams will rock and roll a 38-ton space capsule like a pebble atop a clothes dryer, to mimic the buffeting of a ride into space.
If all this equipment sounds like a 21st Century torture chamber, well, that's the point. Plum Brook Station, operated by Cleveland's NASA Glenn Research Center, is a proving ground for spacecraft. It's where prototype space capsules, satellites, landing vehicles and rocket components can be exposed to the harsh condition they'll encounter aloft, from searing heat and sub-zero cold to the absence of air pressure.
Now, with $150 million in new facilities and upgrades nearing completion, this 6,400-acre former World War II explosives plant south of Sandusky is poised to make Ohio an international leader in "space environment testing." The vibration and acoustic chambers to be finished in 2011, coupled with other ongoing and planned improvements, are meant to make Plum Brook a "one-stop shop," providing a unique suite of cutting-edge tests in one location. (7/27)
LaBarge Receives $4.9 Million Contract for Atlas V Launch Program (Source: LaBarge Inc.)
LaBarge, Inc. has received a $4.9 million contract from United Launch Alliance (ULA) to continue to produce complex wiring harnesses for the Atlas V launch vehicle. (7/27)
Listening for Aliens: What Would E.T. Do? (Source: TIME)
What would E.T. do? It's an improbable question, but it's one Gregory Benford has been thinking about a lot lately. The SETI project is, as its name suggests, a continuous hunt for sentient, otherworldly life. It involves pointing a radio receiver at a candidate star (one that is sunlike and not too far away) and listening for some sort of steady signal — an alien radio broadcast, on all the time. Like Jodie Foster in the movie Contact (vaguely like that, anyway), SETI searchers would tune in for a while, and if they got nothing, they'd move on. "We've now looked out to about 500 light-years or so," says Gregory Benford, "and found no such transmissions." Click here to read the article. (7/27)
Commercial Spaceflight, We Have a Problem (Source: MIT Technology Review)
A key element of the White House's revised direction for NASA is turning over the transportation of astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit to the private sector. Recent funding moves by Congress could sharply restrict the ability of companies to provide those services. The Obama administration's original budget proposal for NASA, released almost six months ago, included $6 billion over the next five years to help fund the development of such systems.
Proposed revisions to the proposal could cut this figure dramatically, to as little as $150 million over three years. NASA would use the vehicles developed by private companies to get crews to and from the International Space Station. The companies operating such spacecraft could also use them to serve other customers as well. But the high cost of developing such systems--in the hundreds of millions to billions of dollars--means that NASA would have to help fund their development. Click here to read the article. (7/27)
Lockheed Posts Profit (Source: Reuters)
Lockheed Martin, the world's largest defense contractor, posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday as revenue rose and margins improved. Net earnings in the second quarter rose to $825 million, from $734 million a year earlier. Quarterly sales rose 3 percent to $11.44 billion. (7/27)
Solar Sail Experiment Could Prove Space-Time Theory (Source: Space.com)
Solar sails that use sunlight pressure instead of fuel to fly through space have long been touted by space exploration advocates, but the novel space travel method could also be tapped to settle an unproven theory by famed scientist Albert Einstein. A gossamer solar sail would be a prime platform for an experiment that would test the so-called frame-dragging hypothesis in Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, said Roman Kezerashvili, a professor of physics at New York City College of Technology. He presented the experiment concept during the International Symposium on Solar Sailing held here July 21 at the college. (7/27)
Despite Losing Tools, Cosmonauts Complete Spacewalk (Source: Space.com)
A lost tool and washer marred an otherwise routine spacewalk by two Russian cosmonauts outside the International Space Station Tuesday. Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Mikhail Kornienko spent six hours and forty-two minutes outside the orbiting lab replacing a broken camera and installing cables on a Russian room to help outfit it as a new docking port. The lost tools will temporarily become new pieces of space junk floating in Earth orbit, and should eventually be destroyed as they burn up in Earth's atmosphere. (7/27)
Students, CubeSats and the Importance of a Space Education (Source: Discovery)
Last month, I joined a team of space engineering students from the University of Michigan in an hour and a half-long flight aboard the famous Weightless Wonder aircraft to document the group's participation in NASA's Reduced Gravity Flight Education Program in Houston, Texas. Flying at 30,000 feet in a state of simulated weightlessness is an outer-worldly experience was the icing on the cake for the young engineers.
They used the flight time to test their nanosatellite experiment, the eXtendable Solar Array System (XSAS), which has been in development since September 2009. The students were able to collect data for this project about 20 times during the 30 parabolas our aircraft executed. (7/27)
New Report Urges U.S. To Overhaul Launch Policies (Source: Space News)
The U.S. government should permit China to launch U.S.-built commercial satellites and force an overhaul of the U.S. Air Force’s relationship with its principal launch-services provider, United Launch Alliance (ULA), as part of a strategy to assure long-term access to commercial satellite bandwidth, a U.S. think tank has concluded.
The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) says the U.S. policy of guaranteeing “assured access to space,” which has been interpreted to mean access for government-owned spacecraft, should be extended to commercial satellites. U.S. government policies should all move in the direction of ensuring maximum availability of commercial satellite launch capacity, which exists today but could be curtailed in the future.
The CSIS report, “National Security and the Commercial Space Sector,” stops short of offering clear policy proposals and for the most part is a synthesis of often differing opinions from the U.S. Defense Department, commercial launch-service providers and commercial satellite operators. (7/27)
CSIS: Obama Space Policy Falls Short (Source: Aviation Week)
Problems identified earlier with government support for the commercial space launch industry that provides major support for U.S. national security interests have not been addressed in the Obama administration’s new National Space Policy, and threaten future military operations if they are not addressed, suggests the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The final draft of the CSIS report “National Security and the Commercial Space Sector,” released here this morning, finds the space policy issued last month fails to back up laudable goals with a way to reach them. Instead, the policy adopted by President Barack Obama “remains largely consistent with that of previous administration,” the independent think tank reports. (7/27)
China Considers Big Rocket Power (Source: BBC)
Chinese engineers are considering a new super-powerful engine for the next generation of space rockets, say officials. According to Li Tongyu at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), engineers are currently studying a rocket engine capable of generating thrust of 600 tons. If China succeeds in the development of such power, it would increase the nation's capabilities in space by orders of magnitude.
For comparison, China is currently well in the development of its most powerful rocket to date - Long March-5 - that would sport engines with the thrust of 120 tons. "Rockets (with 600-tonne thrust engines) would only be justified for things like sending humans to the Moon, if such projects are approved," Li Tongyu said.
In March, the official China Daily newspaper disclosed that CALT was studying a super-heavy launch vehicle, which could be used to mount lunar expeditions.
Although the expected payload of the future heavy lifter had not been disclosed, available details allow placing it close to the same category with that of the Saturn-5 rocket, which carried US astronauts to the Moon. (7/27)
Solar Probes Dispatched to Moon (Source: Discovery)
A pair of NASA science satellites that have been studying how solar geomagnetic storms impact Earth are being dispatched to the moon for a new mission. The probes are part of a constellation of five satellites collectively known as THEMIS, an acronym for Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms, which was launched in February 2007.
The spacecraft, which were carefully positioned in orbit for coordinated measurements downstream of Earth, surpassed their two-year design life and remain operational. But over time, the two outer satellites' orbits would have been in Earth's shadow for prolonged periods, leading to cold temperatures that likely would have been fatal. (7/27)
Editorial: General Wilson's Tough Job (Source: Florida Today)
Brig. Gen. Burke Wilson officially gained his first star last week, which was pinned on his shoulders at Patrick Air Force Base, where he serves as commander and boss of the 45th Space Wing. Wilson has a tough job at a pivotal moment for the Space Coast and Florida — indeed, the nation — as he helps steer America’s space program through the post-shuttle era and initiate what portends to be a major shift in U.S. space policy.
His first responsibility remains helping ensure national security with most of the Pentagon’s network of spy, communication and navigation satellites launched from the Cape. But he’ll also need to display deft leadership in working closely with NASA, state officials and commercial rocket companies that would use the military-run launch pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to send astronauts into space under President Obama’s plan for NASA. So far, he’s proving up to the task. (7/27)
A Delaware bankruptcy court confirmed Sea Launch's plan to reorganize under majority Russian ownership Tuesday, clearing a key hurdle on the firm's path to emerge from bankruptcy later this year. The milestone ruling came 13 months after Sea Launch filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2009. The plan calls for Energia Overseas Ltd., a subsidiary of the Russian aerospace giant Energia, to purchase 85 percent of the stock in Sea Launch for $140 million in cash. The unsecured creditors, or firms that acquired a stake in Sea Launch in exchange for owed debts, will collectively hold 15 percent ownership in the reorganized launch business. (7/27)
Stanford Scientists Transform Raw Sewage Into Eco Rocket Fuel (Source: Inhabitat)
Here’s a pretty elaborate way to process sewage waste: Stanford researchers propose using anaerobic bacteria to break it down, producing nitrous oxide or laughing gas. Then, use the nitrous oxide as rocket fuel, of course, which burns leaving only harmless oxygen and nitrogen as byproducts. Rather than running needless rockets round the globe, the researchers propose that we use rocket-thruster technology to power sewage processing plants, creating a closed loop. (7/27)
NASA Did Not Illegally Try to Kill Constellation, Watchdog Finds (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
One front in the months-long battle over NASA’s future is whether agency leaders — acting on behalf of the White House — illegally tried to shut down the Constellation program in violation of law passed last year by supporters of the moon rocket project. Acrimony over the issue reached such a boiling point that Congress asked its watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, to investigate. Last week, the GAO released a 13-page report that concludes NASA acted within the law. (7/27)
Food for Mars a Daunting Challenge, NASA Says (Source: Science News)
Most people find the palatability of in-flight entrees an oxymoron. But even frequent fliers seldom encounter more than a few such meals per week. Astronauts, in contrast, may have to survive months in orbit dining on a really limited menu of processed foods and reconstituted beverages served from oh-so-glamorous plastic pouches. Luckily, even the International Space Station can restock its pantry several times a year because these foods are relatively perishable. Which explains the problem NASA faces in planning for really long missions — like a trip to Mars. Click here to read the article. (7/27)
Potentially Hazardous Asteroid Might Collide with the Earth in 2182 (Source: FECYT)
"The total impact probability of asteroid '(101955) 1999 RQ36' can be estimated in 0.00092 –approximately one-in-a-thousand chance-, but what is most surprising is that over half of this chance (0.00054) corresponds to 2182," explains a researcher from Spain. The research also involved scientists Italy and the USA. Scientists have estimated and monitored the potential impacts for this asteroid through 2200 by means of two mathematical models.
Thus, the so called Virtual Impactors (VIs) have been searched. VIs are sets of statistical uncertainty leading to collisions with the Earth on different dates of the XXII century. Two VIs appear in 2182 with more than half the chance of impact. Asteroid '(101955) 1999 RQ36' is part of the Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHA), which have the possibility of hitting the Earth due to the closeness of their orbits, and they may cause damages. This PHA was discovered in 1999 and has around 560 meters in diameter. (7/27)
New Mexico Spaceport Paving Project Gains Ground (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
The route will be crucial to Las Cruces companies and workers who want to travel to Spaceport America. After years of talking about paving the dirt stretch, officials said last week momentum is finally building to carry out the project. The spaceport authority, Dona Ana County and Sierra County are working out an agreement for paving the road, said spaceport executive director Rick Homans last week. (7/27)
New Mexico Governor Announces Spaceport Board Changes (Source: AP)
Gov. Bill Richardson has appointed Benjamin Woods of Las Cruces as chairman of the board of directors of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority. Woods has served on the board since 2005. He works as an administrator at New Mexico State University. Richardson also announced Monday that he has appointed Patrick Beckett of Las Cruces to the spaceport authority board. Beckett fills a vacancy on the board created by Woods becoming chairman. Beckett is an archaeologist and owns a book store in Las Cruces. (7/27)
Sleep: Lost in Space? (Source: Psychology Today)
At a recent conference, Melchor Antunano presented one of the most interesting topics. He is with the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute and the UN International Academy of Astronautics. He discussed medical issues with regard to commercial space flight, including space tourism. It was striking to realize how many companies and how many countries are now pursuing commercial space business and space tourism.
Getting good sleep in outer space is very challenging. Suborbital and orbital flights for non-specialists certainly present significant medical challenges. Long duration flights, say to Mars or on the space station, pose challenges for professional astronauts. What do you do if a crewmember has a heart attack? How do you cope with exposure to galactic cosmic radiation? What about having sex on long duration flights to Mars? What if a passenger has an undisclosed medical problem that becomes an issue on a flight? How will non-professionals cope with the very common problem of space motion sickness?
The list of issues considered was interesting- but sleep was not mentioned during the presentation. Sleep is, however, a very real concern to NASA. And while sleep issues may be relatively less important for sub-orbital space tourism, it will be more significant for those planning on orbital or lunar fly-by flights, both of which are currently being planned by existing space travel companies. Previous research indicates that sleep duration on missions may be short - about 6.5 hours per day with reduced subjective quality of sleep. Long duration flights of more than three months are especially challenging. Click here to read the article. (7/27)
Wolf: Prospects Bleak for Timely Passage of NASA Spending Bill (Source: Space News)
With less than five legislative weeks remaining in the 111th U.S. Congress, it is possible that lawmakers will not approve a 2011 NASA spending bill until January, more than three months into the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, the senior Republican on the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the space agency said July 27. Although Congress is officially in session at least for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, lawmakers are expected to recess for six weeks beginning Aug. 9 to campaign in their districts in advance of the November mid-term elections. (7/27)
Children Fly for Half Price on Zero-G (Source: Zero-G)
Children aged 8 through 13 receive a 50% discount on their ZERO-G Experience, with the purchase of a seat at retail price. This offer is valid for any currently scheduled ZERO-G flight before December 31, 2010 and is subject to availability. Click here for info. (7/27)
1,300 Shuttle Workers Get Layoff Notices (Source: CFL-13)
Layoff notices were distributed Tuesday to 1,394 shuttle program employees. Officials said 902 of those jobs are being cut from Florida. United Space Alliance announced the layoffs earlier this month because of long-range plans to reduce the workforce as the shuttle program nears retirement next year. Up to 8,000 KSC workers could lose jobs by the time the shuttle program ends. (7/27)
U.S. Missile-Tracking Satellites Pass Test with Flying Colors (Source: AIA)
Two experimental U.S. satellites that are part of the Space Tracking and Surveillance System passed several important tests last month, successfully detecting three missile launches and relaying data about their trajectories to Earth. The satellites were built by Northrop Grumman and Raytheon for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency They are equipped with sensors that pick up a signal when a missile fires its boosters and then they track the infrared signature of the missile through its flight. (7/27)
Senate: Long-term FAA Bill Still Possible This Week (Source: AIA)
The House Transportation Committee is already preparing a temporary extension for the FAA, even as Senate leaders insist they may be able to complete a long-term reauthorization bill this week. Among the contentious issues yet to be worked out: allowing airports to charge higher passenger facility charges and raising the limits on long-range flights from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. (7/27)
NASA Panel: Asteroid-Defense Office Should be Top Priority (Source: AIA)
NASA should make the establishment of a defense office dedicated to protecting Earth from asteroids a top-level goal, according to a task force in the agency. The NASA Advisory Council's Ad-Hoc Task Force on Planetary Defense called for the new office after a meeting this month in which ideas for detecting, characterizing and deflecting threatening near-Earth objects were discussed, in addition to ideas for international cooperation on the issue. (7/27)
Recasting the Debate About Commercial Crew (Source: Space Review)
One of the most controversial elements of the White House's plan for NASA, commercial crew, has suffered setbacks in Congress in recent weeks. Jeff Foust reports on how proponents of commercial crew believe that the effort's long-term success may hinge on resetting the terms of the debate about it. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1671/1 to view the article. (7/27)
USA Giving Notice To Employees Losing Jobs This Fall (Source: Florida Today)
United Space Alliance is giving notice to roughly 1,000 shuttle program employees at Kennedy Space Center who will be laid off later this year. The company announced the layoffs earlier this month, citing long-standing plans to reduce the workforce as the shuttle program nears retirement next year. In total, the Houston-based company said it planned to reduce its staff by about 15 percent in Florida, Texas and Alabama by Oct. 1. (7/27)
$150 Million Overhaul at Plum Brook Readies Ohio to Lead Space Testing (Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer)
The Space Power Facility at NASA's Plum Brook Station near Sandusky contains the world's largest vacuum chamber, as well as new facilities for vibration and acoustic testing of spacecraft. The new "horn room" at NASA's Plum Brook testing facility has 36 nitrogen-powered loudspeakers to simulate the rumble of a rocket launch. Next door, at the bottom of a concrete-lined crypt big enough to hold a house, they're preparing to install a massive "shaker table." Its hydraulic rams will rock and roll a 38-ton space capsule like a pebble atop a clothes dryer, to mimic the buffeting of a ride into space.
If all this equipment sounds like a 21st Century torture chamber, well, that's the point. Plum Brook Station, operated by Cleveland's NASA Glenn Research Center, is a proving ground for spacecraft. It's where prototype space capsules, satellites, landing vehicles and rocket components can be exposed to the harsh condition they'll encounter aloft, from searing heat and sub-zero cold to the absence of air pressure.
Now, with $150 million in new facilities and upgrades nearing completion, this 6,400-acre former World War II explosives plant south of Sandusky is poised to make Ohio an international leader in "space environment testing." The vibration and acoustic chambers to be finished in 2011, coupled with other ongoing and planned improvements, are meant to make Plum Brook a "one-stop shop," providing a unique suite of cutting-edge tests in one location. (7/27)
LaBarge Receives $4.9 Million Contract for Atlas V Launch Program (Source: LaBarge Inc.)
LaBarge, Inc. has received a $4.9 million contract from United Launch Alliance (ULA) to continue to produce complex wiring harnesses for the Atlas V launch vehicle. (7/27)
Listening for Aliens: What Would E.T. Do? (Source: TIME)
What would E.T. do? It's an improbable question, but it's one Gregory Benford has been thinking about a lot lately. The SETI project is, as its name suggests, a continuous hunt for sentient, otherworldly life. It involves pointing a radio receiver at a candidate star (one that is sunlike and not too far away) and listening for some sort of steady signal — an alien radio broadcast, on all the time. Like Jodie Foster in the movie Contact (vaguely like that, anyway), SETI searchers would tune in for a while, and if they got nothing, they'd move on. "We've now looked out to about 500 light-years or so," says Gregory Benford, "and found no such transmissions." Click here to read the article. (7/27)
Commercial Spaceflight, We Have a Problem (Source: MIT Technology Review)
A key element of the White House's revised direction for NASA is turning over the transportation of astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit to the private sector. Recent funding moves by Congress could sharply restrict the ability of companies to provide those services. The Obama administration's original budget proposal for NASA, released almost six months ago, included $6 billion over the next five years to help fund the development of such systems.
Proposed revisions to the proposal could cut this figure dramatically, to as little as $150 million over three years. NASA would use the vehicles developed by private companies to get crews to and from the International Space Station. The companies operating such spacecraft could also use them to serve other customers as well. But the high cost of developing such systems--in the hundreds of millions to billions of dollars--means that NASA would have to help fund their development. Click here to read the article. (7/27)
Lockheed Posts Profit (Source: Reuters)
Lockheed Martin, the world's largest defense contractor, posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday as revenue rose and margins improved. Net earnings in the second quarter rose to $825 million, from $734 million a year earlier. Quarterly sales rose 3 percent to $11.44 billion. (7/27)
Solar Sail Experiment Could Prove Space-Time Theory (Source: Space.com)
Solar sails that use sunlight pressure instead of fuel to fly through space have long been touted by space exploration advocates, but the novel space travel method could also be tapped to settle an unproven theory by famed scientist Albert Einstein. A gossamer solar sail would be a prime platform for an experiment that would test the so-called frame-dragging hypothesis in Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, said Roman Kezerashvili, a professor of physics at New York City College of Technology. He presented the experiment concept during the International Symposium on Solar Sailing held here July 21 at the college. (7/27)
Despite Losing Tools, Cosmonauts Complete Spacewalk (Source: Space.com)
A lost tool and washer marred an otherwise routine spacewalk by two Russian cosmonauts outside the International Space Station Tuesday. Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Mikhail Kornienko spent six hours and forty-two minutes outside the orbiting lab replacing a broken camera and installing cables on a Russian room to help outfit it as a new docking port. The lost tools will temporarily become new pieces of space junk floating in Earth orbit, and should eventually be destroyed as they burn up in Earth's atmosphere. (7/27)
Students, CubeSats and the Importance of a Space Education (Source: Discovery)
Last month, I joined a team of space engineering students from the University of Michigan in an hour and a half-long flight aboard the famous Weightless Wonder aircraft to document the group's participation in NASA's Reduced Gravity Flight Education Program in Houston, Texas. Flying at 30,000 feet in a state of simulated weightlessness is an outer-worldly experience was the icing on the cake for the young engineers.
They used the flight time to test their nanosatellite experiment, the eXtendable Solar Array System (XSAS), which has been in development since September 2009. The students were able to collect data for this project about 20 times during the 30 parabolas our aircraft executed. (7/27)
New Report Urges U.S. To Overhaul Launch Policies (Source: Space News)
The U.S. government should permit China to launch U.S.-built commercial satellites and force an overhaul of the U.S. Air Force’s relationship with its principal launch-services provider, United Launch Alliance (ULA), as part of a strategy to assure long-term access to commercial satellite bandwidth, a U.S. think tank has concluded.
The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) says the U.S. policy of guaranteeing “assured access to space,” which has been interpreted to mean access for government-owned spacecraft, should be extended to commercial satellites. U.S. government policies should all move in the direction of ensuring maximum availability of commercial satellite launch capacity, which exists today but could be curtailed in the future.
The CSIS report, “National Security and the Commercial Space Sector,” stops short of offering clear policy proposals and for the most part is a synthesis of often differing opinions from the U.S. Defense Department, commercial launch-service providers and commercial satellite operators. (7/27)
CSIS: Obama Space Policy Falls Short (Source: Aviation Week)
Problems identified earlier with government support for the commercial space launch industry that provides major support for U.S. national security interests have not been addressed in the Obama administration’s new National Space Policy, and threaten future military operations if they are not addressed, suggests the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The final draft of the CSIS report “National Security and the Commercial Space Sector,” released here this morning, finds the space policy issued last month fails to back up laudable goals with a way to reach them. Instead, the policy adopted by President Barack Obama “remains largely consistent with that of previous administration,” the independent think tank reports. (7/27)
China Considers Big Rocket Power (Source: BBC)
Chinese engineers are considering a new super-powerful engine for the next generation of space rockets, say officials. According to Li Tongyu at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), engineers are currently studying a rocket engine capable of generating thrust of 600 tons. If China succeeds in the development of such power, it would increase the nation's capabilities in space by orders of magnitude.
For comparison, China is currently well in the development of its most powerful rocket to date - Long March-5 - that would sport engines with the thrust of 120 tons. "Rockets (with 600-tonne thrust engines) would only be justified for things like sending humans to the Moon, if such projects are approved," Li Tongyu said.
In March, the official China Daily newspaper disclosed that CALT was studying a super-heavy launch vehicle, which could be used to mount lunar expeditions.
Although the expected payload of the future heavy lifter had not been disclosed, available details allow placing it close to the same category with that of the Saturn-5 rocket, which carried US astronauts to the Moon. (7/27)
Solar Probes Dispatched to Moon (Source: Discovery)
A pair of NASA science satellites that have been studying how solar geomagnetic storms impact Earth are being dispatched to the moon for a new mission. The probes are part of a constellation of five satellites collectively known as THEMIS, an acronym for Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms, which was launched in February 2007.
The spacecraft, which were carefully positioned in orbit for coordinated measurements downstream of Earth, surpassed their two-year design life and remain operational. But over time, the two outer satellites' orbits would have been in Earth's shadow for prolonged periods, leading to cold temperatures that likely would have been fatal. (7/27)
Editorial: General Wilson's Tough Job (Source: Florida Today)
Brig. Gen. Burke Wilson officially gained his first star last week, which was pinned on his shoulders at Patrick Air Force Base, where he serves as commander and boss of the 45th Space Wing. Wilson has a tough job at a pivotal moment for the Space Coast and Florida — indeed, the nation — as he helps steer America’s space program through the post-shuttle era and initiate what portends to be a major shift in U.S. space policy.
His first responsibility remains helping ensure national security with most of the Pentagon’s network of spy, communication and navigation satellites launched from the Cape. But he’ll also need to display deft leadership in working closely with NASA, state officials and commercial rocket companies that would use the military-run launch pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to send astronauts into space under President Obama’s plan for NASA. So far, he’s proving up to the task. (7/27)
July 26, 2010
GAO: NASA's Constellation Plans Didn't Violate Law (Source: Florida Today)
NASA has not violated federal law or congressional guidance by taking actions to prematurely shut down the Constellation program, according to a legal opinion released today by the government's watchdog agency. NASA is spending as much money as ever on the human spaceflight program that President Obama wants to cancel, Government Accountability Office attorneys found. And its assertion that contractors must set aside money to pay for the potential termination of contracts -- a cost recently estimated at nearly $1 billion -- does not violate federal law. (7/26)
Iran Has Human Spaceflight Ambitions (Source: BBC)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has told state media outlets that the Islamic Republic intends to put a man into space by 2019, the BBC News reports. "Mr Ahmadinejad said he had brought the date forward in response to pressure from Western powers over Iran's nuclear program." Iran has demonstrated a space launch capability and claims to have placed small animals into orbit, but astronauts are a different story. Then again, Amadinejad apparently didn't say anything about bringing them home safely. (7/26)
Organizations Respond to Proposed Conflict-of-Interest Rules (Source: AIA)
Organizations affected by new draft rules from the Defense Department that govern organizational conflicts of interest say the rules have various flaws. The Council of Defense and Space Industry Associations believes the rules are too broad and lay the burden of identifying conflict on contractors, while TASC, the systems engineering firm that Northrop Grumman divested last year because of concerns about conflict of interest, says the rules should be more strict. (7/26)
GPS Infrastructure to be Complete by 2012, ITT Says (Source: AIA)
The firm responsible for building out a GPS-based aircraft tracking system says the infrastructure will be in place by 2012, though individual airplanes may not be plugged into the system until 2020. "The roll-out of the system and the capability which ITT Corporation is responsible for will occur between now and early 2012," ITT senior vice president David Melcher said at last week's Farnborough International Airshow. (7/26)
Rep. Gordon Takes One Last Crack At Molding NASA’s Future (Source: WPLN)
Lawmakers are saying “no” to President Obama’s plans for NASA and the future of human space flight. And one of the many lawmakers standing in the President’s way is Tennessee Democrat Bart Gordon. Gordon chairs the House Science and Technology Committee. That means any NASA plan has to go through him. The President said NASA was on a flawed path, especially in tough economic times. Gordon says the President’s plan is flawed too.
Gordon hasn’t gotten his way yet. The Senate Commerce and Science Committee came up with a compromise of its own brokered by the likes of Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas. Either way, his footprint will likely end up in the development of American space exploration for years to come. (7/26)
No Need for Manned Spaceflight, Says Astronomer Royal Martin Rees (Source: Guardian)
Forget manned moon bases, forget a Mars colony – most future space travellers will be robots, according to astronomer royal Martin Rees. Rees, professor of cosmology and astrophysics at Cambridge University, thinks sending people into space is a waste of money, given recent advances in unmanned space technology. He said European space scientists should focus on miniaturization and robotics to remain competitive in a space sector dominated by Russia and the US. (7/26)
Kepler Likely to Confirm Milky Way Hosts 100 Million Habitable Planets (Source: News.com.au)
Scientists are celebrating the discovery of more than 700 suspected new planets - including up to 140 similar in size to Earth - in just six weeks of using a powerful new space observatory. Early results from NASA’s Kepler Mission, a small satellite observing deep space, suggested planets like Earth were far more common than previously thought.
Past discoveries suggested most planets outside our solar system were gas giants such as Jupiter and Saturn - but the new evidence tipped the balance in favour of solid worlds. Astronomers said the discovery meant the chances of eventually finding truly Earth-like planets capable of sustaining life rose sharply. (7/26)
SAIC Awarded $80 Million Subcontract to Support Goddard Space Flight Center (Source: SAIC)
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has been awarded a subcontract by Primus Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of ASRC Federal Holding Company, to support the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) with information technology (IT) services. The five-year subcontract is valued at more than $80 million. Work will be performed at the GSFC in Greenbelt, Md. (7/26)
Astrotech Shares Up on NASA Contract (Source: Houston Business Journal)
Astrotech Corp. shares shot up as high as 43 percent in early Monday on the news that the commercial aerospace company inked a NASA contract valued at $9.5 million. Shares of Houston-based Astrotech went as high as $1.93 per share, up from its open at $1.39, before settling down to the $1.80-range for much of the day. The company’s space operations business unit secured a new contract for payload processing services for expendable launch vehicles and evolved expendable launch vehicles from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. As part of the contract, the multi-mission contract services are targeted to begin in fiscal year 2011 running through 2013. (7/26)
Zombiesat has Three More Satellites in its Crosshairs (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
The out-of-control Galaxy 15 spacecraft will pass near three more orbiting broadcast platforms before it loses power in late August or early September, putting an end to the zombie satellite's menacing tour of the geostationary arc. Galaxy 15 stopped responding to commands from ground controllers in April, most likely due to a solar flare that zapped the satellite's electronics. But engineers are still analyzing the cause. (7/26)
Should Environmental Protection Extend to the Planets? (Source: Discovery)
Is the solar system a frontier to conquer or a wilderness to preserve? This question really hit the fan last October. NASA crashed an empty rocket booster into the moon to see if water-ice crystals were at the south pole. Water on the moon would make establishing human bases more feasible. What really hit the fan was the public outcry that the LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) experiment was despoiling the pristine lunar environment. Never mind that the moon gets hammered with space junk all the time. This was a direct attack from Earth.
One indignant English teacher e-mailed me with a simple one-liner: “Stop ******* with the moon!” In a subsequent e-mail he went on to explain, “I found the standard, mundane argument [for LCROSS] in favor of arrogant disrespect of the universe, ... Such logic has brought our world to the brink of nuclear and environmental holocaust. Who gave you or anyone else the privilege to intentionally inflict damage upon anything?” This episode addresses a looming challenge our civilization faces when boldly going out to other worlds. Do we have an ethical duty to respect and preserve the natural environments of neighboring planets and their moons?
Some scientists have proposed that we should establish “conservation parks” on worlds like Mars where geologically awesome regions (like the giant volcano Olympus Mons) would be treated with the sanctity of earthly wonders like the Grand Canyon. Others have said that all of Mars should be protected as a wildlife preserve where we do everything possible to avoid contamination; on the assumption Martian microbes could exist. (7/26)
Debate Heats Up Over Meteor's Role in Ice Age (Source: Space.com)
Some scientists have thought that the Earth's Ice Age conditions 12,900 years ago were triggered by a meteor or comet. But a recent study suggests that the evidence pointing to the ancient impact is nothing more than fungus and other matter. According to the impact theory, the event could have caused the extinction of North American mammoths and other species, and killed the early human hunters that occupied North America at the time. Yet the new study concludes that sediment samples taken as evidence of the impact are nothing more than common fossilized balls of fungus and fecal matter - not exactly signs of a space rock crashing into Earth. (7/26)
NASA has not violated federal law or congressional guidance by taking actions to prematurely shut down the Constellation program, according to a legal opinion released today by the government's watchdog agency. NASA is spending as much money as ever on the human spaceflight program that President Obama wants to cancel, Government Accountability Office attorneys found. And its assertion that contractors must set aside money to pay for the potential termination of contracts -- a cost recently estimated at nearly $1 billion -- does not violate federal law. (7/26)
Iran Has Human Spaceflight Ambitions (Source: BBC)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has told state media outlets that the Islamic Republic intends to put a man into space by 2019, the BBC News reports. "Mr Ahmadinejad said he had brought the date forward in response to pressure from Western powers over Iran's nuclear program." Iran has demonstrated a space launch capability and claims to have placed small animals into orbit, but astronauts are a different story. Then again, Amadinejad apparently didn't say anything about bringing them home safely. (7/26)
Organizations Respond to Proposed Conflict-of-Interest Rules (Source: AIA)
Organizations affected by new draft rules from the Defense Department that govern organizational conflicts of interest say the rules have various flaws. The Council of Defense and Space Industry Associations believes the rules are too broad and lay the burden of identifying conflict on contractors, while TASC, the systems engineering firm that Northrop Grumman divested last year because of concerns about conflict of interest, says the rules should be more strict. (7/26)
GPS Infrastructure to be Complete by 2012, ITT Says (Source: AIA)
The firm responsible for building out a GPS-based aircraft tracking system says the infrastructure will be in place by 2012, though individual airplanes may not be plugged into the system until 2020. "The roll-out of the system and the capability which ITT Corporation is responsible for will occur between now and early 2012," ITT senior vice president David Melcher said at last week's Farnborough International Airshow. (7/26)
Rep. Gordon Takes One Last Crack At Molding NASA’s Future (Source: WPLN)
Lawmakers are saying “no” to President Obama’s plans for NASA and the future of human space flight. And one of the many lawmakers standing in the President’s way is Tennessee Democrat Bart Gordon. Gordon chairs the House Science and Technology Committee. That means any NASA plan has to go through him. The President said NASA was on a flawed path, especially in tough economic times. Gordon says the President’s plan is flawed too.
Gordon hasn’t gotten his way yet. The Senate Commerce and Science Committee came up with a compromise of its own brokered by the likes of Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas. Either way, his footprint will likely end up in the development of American space exploration for years to come. (7/26)
No Need for Manned Spaceflight, Says Astronomer Royal Martin Rees (Source: Guardian)
Forget manned moon bases, forget a Mars colony – most future space travellers will be robots, according to astronomer royal Martin Rees. Rees, professor of cosmology and astrophysics at Cambridge University, thinks sending people into space is a waste of money, given recent advances in unmanned space technology. He said European space scientists should focus on miniaturization and robotics to remain competitive in a space sector dominated by Russia and the US. (7/26)
Kepler Likely to Confirm Milky Way Hosts 100 Million Habitable Planets (Source: News.com.au)
Scientists are celebrating the discovery of more than 700 suspected new planets - including up to 140 similar in size to Earth - in just six weeks of using a powerful new space observatory. Early results from NASA’s Kepler Mission, a small satellite observing deep space, suggested planets like Earth were far more common than previously thought.
Past discoveries suggested most planets outside our solar system were gas giants such as Jupiter and Saturn - but the new evidence tipped the balance in favour of solid worlds. Astronomers said the discovery meant the chances of eventually finding truly Earth-like planets capable of sustaining life rose sharply. (7/26)
SAIC Awarded $80 Million Subcontract to Support Goddard Space Flight Center (Source: SAIC)
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has been awarded a subcontract by Primus Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of ASRC Federal Holding Company, to support the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) with information technology (IT) services. The five-year subcontract is valued at more than $80 million. Work will be performed at the GSFC in Greenbelt, Md. (7/26)
Astrotech Shares Up on NASA Contract (Source: Houston Business Journal)
Astrotech Corp. shares shot up as high as 43 percent in early Monday on the news that the commercial aerospace company inked a NASA contract valued at $9.5 million. Shares of Houston-based Astrotech went as high as $1.93 per share, up from its open at $1.39, before settling down to the $1.80-range for much of the day. The company’s space operations business unit secured a new contract for payload processing services for expendable launch vehicles and evolved expendable launch vehicles from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. As part of the contract, the multi-mission contract services are targeted to begin in fiscal year 2011 running through 2013. (7/26)
Zombiesat has Three More Satellites in its Crosshairs (Source: SpaceFlightNow.com)
The out-of-control Galaxy 15 spacecraft will pass near three more orbiting broadcast platforms before it loses power in late August or early September, putting an end to the zombie satellite's menacing tour of the geostationary arc. Galaxy 15 stopped responding to commands from ground controllers in April, most likely due to a solar flare that zapped the satellite's electronics. But engineers are still analyzing the cause. (7/26)
Should Environmental Protection Extend to the Planets? (Source: Discovery)
Is the solar system a frontier to conquer or a wilderness to preserve? This question really hit the fan last October. NASA crashed an empty rocket booster into the moon to see if water-ice crystals were at the south pole. Water on the moon would make establishing human bases more feasible. What really hit the fan was the public outcry that the LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) experiment was despoiling the pristine lunar environment. Never mind that the moon gets hammered with space junk all the time. This was a direct attack from Earth.
One indignant English teacher e-mailed me with a simple one-liner: “Stop ******* with the moon!” In a subsequent e-mail he went on to explain, “I found the standard, mundane argument [for LCROSS] in favor of arrogant disrespect of the universe, ... Such logic has brought our world to the brink of nuclear and environmental holocaust. Who gave you or anyone else the privilege to intentionally inflict damage upon anything?” This episode addresses a looming challenge our civilization faces when boldly going out to other worlds. Do we have an ethical duty to respect and preserve the natural environments of neighboring planets and their moons?
Some scientists have proposed that we should establish “conservation parks” on worlds like Mars where geologically awesome regions (like the giant volcano Olympus Mons) would be treated with the sanctity of earthly wonders like the Grand Canyon. Others have said that all of Mars should be protected as a wildlife preserve where we do everything possible to avoid contamination; on the assumption Martian microbes could exist. (7/26)
Debate Heats Up Over Meteor's Role in Ice Age (Source: Space.com)
Some scientists have thought that the Earth's Ice Age conditions 12,900 years ago were triggered by a meteor or comet. But a recent study suggests that the evidence pointing to the ancient impact is nothing more than fungus and other matter. According to the impact theory, the event could have caused the extinction of North American mammoths and other species, and killed the early human hunters that occupied North America at the time. Yet the new study concludes that sediment samples taken as evidence of the impact are nothing more than common fossilized balls of fungus and fecal matter - not exactly signs of a space rock crashing into Earth. (7/26)
July 25, 2010
China Builds Hypersonic Wind Tunnel to Develop Spaceplane (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Chinese Inner Mongolia North Heavy Industries Group recently announced that the group has successfully provided the key element of “JF12 Shockwave Hypersonic wind tunnel”, which is the most advanced and creative project in world Hypersonic research area. “JF12 Shockwave Hypersonic wind tunnel” is being constructed for the initiation of China’s future spaceplane project. JF12 Windtunnel is mainly designed by the Institute of Mechanics, CAS (Chinese Academy of Science). (7/25)
Race for New Space Taxi Intensifies - Good for Florida! (Source: Florida Today)
SpaceX is not the only company working on a private space taxi to deliver astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Other companies, including some of the traditional behemoths of the aerospace industry, are not ceding the competition for billions of dollars worth of NASA contracts. Boeing is working with upstart Bigelow Aerospace on a simple Apollo-like space capsule capable of ferrying people to the government-run space station as well as a planned private station called the Orbital Space Complex. Up to seven people could fly in the new craft.
Boeing's spacecraft, so far blandly named CST-100, will be able to be launched on Atlas V, Delta IV, or the SpaceX Falcon 9--all from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. Boeing's goal is to do final assembly and flight preparations at the spaceport. Bigelow says it would need about five launches a year to deliver crew and cargo to and from its Orbital Space Complex. The company's most aggressive plans call for a bigger inflatable space station later, requiring up to 25 flights a year.
Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin's work on NASA's Orion spacecraft could continue as a government project or be modified to compete for the private taxi contracts. And Orbital says it could launch astronauts aboard its Taurus-2 rocket from the Cape. The point: the government's seed money appears to be doing as planned. Companies aim to develop spacecraft that could satisfy the government's needs but also be sold to private operators. (7/25)
Florida Gubernatorial Hopefuls Visit Space Coast (Sources: Florida Today, SPACErePORT)
On a six-day bus tour of Florida, Republican candidate for governor Rick Scott stopped at Brevard Community College to discuss the space industry's needs with local officials. "Clearly the (industrial) talent here is unbelievable," said the multimillionaire businessman from Naples and first-time office seeker. "We need a team to coordinate their talent with more entrepreneurial spirit.
Another GOP gubernatorial candidate, former Cogressman Bill McCollum, will visit with space industry leaders on July 30, at a gathering sponsored by the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast. The EDC also sponsored a recent visit by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink. (7/25)
From Here to Infinity: WSMR History Spans Centuries (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
It has been 65 years since the first atomic bomb fused the desert sand into a bowl of green glass on the other side of the Organ Mountains. The Trinity Site where Dr. Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project scientists detonated "the gadget" is part of White Sands Missile Range, and is one of many historic firsts that occurred there, said Darren Court, director and curator of the WSMR Museum.
White Sands is also the site of the first American test flight of the V-2 rocket. The V-2 rocket was developed by German rocket scientists and used against civilians in London during World War II. After the end of World War II, captured V-2 rockets were brought to White Sands along with dozens of the German rocket scientists who developed it, including the famous Dr. Wernher Von Braun.
White Sands was also the site of the first firing of a surface-to-air missile that took out a plane, the Nike Ajax, and the first test of a ground-to-ground artillery weapon capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. The Redstone Rocket, which was used to put the first astronauts in space as part of the Gemini program, was also developed at White Sands. (7/25)
Rocket Piece Finds a Home (Source: The Sun News)
The chunk of an Air Force rocket that washed ashore on Hilton Head Island in May was headed for the scrap heap until a Beaufort County sheriff's captain suggested a new home: the Coastal Discovery Museum. Capt. Toby McSwain helped retrieve the 12-foot by 20-foot piece of rocket fairing. He then called museum president and CEO Michael Marks with the idea that local schoolchildren might want to see it. (7/25)
Shuttle Shutdown Could Launch Sales of Collectibles (Source: Florida Today)
After a lot of trickling, the economic impact of the shuttle program on Brevard County arrives at the Titusville Sunrise Rotary Club. For the last two decades, club members have sold shuttle stuff. It started with shuttle certificates commemorating the launch sold to folks gathered to watch the lift-offs, and as the shuttle program evolved, so did the goods for sale. They grew to include hats, pins, mouse pads and T-shirts, lots and lots of T-shirts.
But the shuttle era is ending, and it's taking the club's T-shirt business with it. Up next on the tables at the Rotary fundraiser: bags of Titusville Sunrise Rotary Coffee -- served with a side of uncertainty. "I don't know what's going to happen," he said. "We're going to have to maximize our opportunities." (7/25)
Texas Group Supports Workforce Transition (Source: Galveston Daily News)
Shane Richardson had worked for the contractor only 11 months when he faced a bleak conversation. “They walked in and said, ‘We’re going to have to let you go,’” Richardson said. “They escorted me out and that was it.” With no money for the program in President Obama’s plan, many contractors expected thousands of layoffs in the Houston area. Richardson said he had no clue his job was in jeopardy.
Amid a national economic recession and competing for positions in a highly specialized industry, Richardson knew finding a new job would be difficult. He turned to Workforce Solutions, which opened the Aerospace Transition Center, 16921 El Camino Real, to prepare aerospace contractors for imminent layoffs. The center offers job assistance for aerospace contractors, focusing on interview skills, résumé revamping, federal job application help, stress management and financial management.
The center also sponsors job training sessions at the Johnson Space Center, United Space Alliance, Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s offices in Clear Lake. More than 100 people visit the center every week, manager Veronica Reyes said. Recruiters at the center rework the language of contractors’ résumés to apply their skills to those needed in other industries. Health care, energy, gas, oil and commercial aerospace companies have sought former NASA contractors through the center’s virtual job fairs. The center’s last job fair presented more than 500 job openings. (7/25)
This Week in Space History: Kincheloe Was World's First Spaceman (Source: Alamogordo Daily News)
Five years before NASA launched Alan Shepard into space, another American beat him there. On Sept. 7, 1956, Air Force Capt. Iven Carl Kincheloe Jr. "piloted a supersonic plane to a record height of 126,200 feet above the surface of the earth." Kincheloe "took the X-2 to its record altitude," earning him "the title 'First of the Spacemen,'" said the Web site nasa.gov. Two years later, on July 26, 1958, Kincheloe died when his F-104 crashed at Edwards Air Force Base. (7/25)
European Space Agency Head Addresses Space Junk Threat (Source: Wall Street Journal)
The head of the European Space Agency urged swift government action to counter escalating hazards satellites face from space debris in orbit. Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA's director general, said threats of collisions with space junk require his agency to slightly shift the orbit of a satellite roughly every two weeks. (7/25)
Spacecraft Orbiting Mars Suffers Malfunction (Source: Space.com)
NASA engineers are working to revive the space agency's oldest spacecraft in orbit around Mars from an unexpected malfunction that stalled its observations of the red planet. The Mars Odyssey spacecraft entered a hibernation-like "safe mode" on July 14 due to a glitch with the 9-year-old probe's electronic encoder, mission managers said in an update. The encoder is used to control a device that moves the Odyssey spacecraft's solar arrays and the orbiter has already switched a backup unit, they added. (7/25)
The Search for Dark Energy has a New Weapon (Source: Discovery)
The nature of dark energy is one of the outstanding problems in cosmology today. Something is causing the universe's expansion to accelerate, but what? Numerous techniques are being developed to attack this problem, and astronomers have demonstrated such a technique with the largest fully-steerable radio telescope.
Theories predict that acoustic, or sound waves, from the very early universe should have left their mark in a detectable way. (What if you could hear these sounds?) By measuring the large-scale structures left behind by the sound waves, astronomers may be able to make precise measurements of some of the parameters of dark energy, thus getting one step closer to determining its nature. (7/25)
Station Supply Module Reinforced for Extended Stay in Space (Source: Florida Today)
Before its final trip into space, the cargo module known as Leonardo is being fitted with a bulletproof vest. The extra protection from micrometeoroids and space debris wouldn't be needed during a typical International Space Station visit lasting a week or two. But the next shuttle mission plans to drop off the cylindrical "moving van" and return home without it, leaving it exposed to high-speed collisions as long as the station remains in orbit. (7/25)
Chinese Inner Mongolia North Heavy Industries Group recently announced that the group has successfully provided the key element of “JF12 Shockwave Hypersonic wind tunnel”, which is the most advanced and creative project in world Hypersonic research area. “JF12 Shockwave Hypersonic wind tunnel” is being constructed for the initiation of China’s future spaceplane project. JF12 Windtunnel is mainly designed by the Institute of Mechanics, CAS (Chinese Academy of Science). (7/25)
Race for New Space Taxi Intensifies - Good for Florida! (Source: Florida Today)
SpaceX is not the only company working on a private space taxi to deliver astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Other companies, including some of the traditional behemoths of the aerospace industry, are not ceding the competition for billions of dollars worth of NASA contracts. Boeing is working with upstart Bigelow Aerospace on a simple Apollo-like space capsule capable of ferrying people to the government-run space station as well as a planned private station called the Orbital Space Complex. Up to seven people could fly in the new craft.
Boeing's spacecraft, so far blandly named CST-100, will be able to be launched on Atlas V, Delta IV, or the SpaceX Falcon 9--all from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. Boeing's goal is to do final assembly and flight preparations at the spaceport. Bigelow says it would need about five launches a year to deliver crew and cargo to and from its Orbital Space Complex. The company's most aggressive plans call for a bigger inflatable space station later, requiring up to 25 flights a year.
Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin's work on NASA's Orion spacecraft could continue as a government project or be modified to compete for the private taxi contracts. And Orbital says it could launch astronauts aboard its Taurus-2 rocket from the Cape. The point: the government's seed money appears to be doing as planned. Companies aim to develop spacecraft that could satisfy the government's needs but also be sold to private operators. (7/25)
Florida Gubernatorial Hopefuls Visit Space Coast (Sources: Florida Today, SPACErePORT)
On a six-day bus tour of Florida, Republican candidate for governor Rick Scott stopped at Brevard Community College to discuss the space industry's needs with local officials. "Clearly the (industrial) talent here is unbelievable," said the multimillionaire businessman from Naples and first-time office seeker. "We need a team to coordinate their talent with more entrepreneurial spirit.
Another GOP gubernatorial candidate, former Cogressman Bill McCollum, will visit with space industry leaders on July 30, at a gathering sponsored by the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast. The EDC also sponsored a recent visit by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink. (7/25)
From Here to Infinity: WSMR History Spans Centuries (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
It has been 65 years since the first atomic bomb fused the desert sand into a bowl of green glass on the other side of the Organ Mountains. The Trinity Site where Dr. Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project scientists detonated "the gadget" is part of White Sands Missile Range, and is one of many historic firsts that occurred there, said Darren Court, director and curator of the WSMR Museum.
White Sands is also the site of the first American test flight of the V-2 rocket. The V-2 rocket was developed by German rocket scientists and used against civilians in London during World War II. After the end of World War II, captured V-2 rockets were brought to White Sands along with dozens of the German rocket scientists who developed it, including the famous Dr. Wernher Von Braun.
White Sands was also the site of the first firing of a surface-to-air missile that took out a plane, the Nike Ajax, and the first test of a ground-to-ground artillery weapon capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. The Redstone Rocket, which was used to put the first astronauts in space as part of the Gemini program, was also developed at White Sands. (7/25)
Rocket Piece Finds a Home (Source: The Sun News)
The chunk of an Air Force rocket that washed ashore on Hilton Head Island in May was headed for the scrap heap until a Beaufort County sheriff's captain suggested a new home: the Coastal Discovery Museum. Capt. Toby McSwain helped retrieve the 12-foot by 20-foot piece of rocket fairing. He then called museum president and CEO Michael Marks with the idea that local schoolchildren might want to see it. (7/25)
Shuttle Shutdown Could Launch Sales of Collectibles (Source: Florida Today)
After a lot of trickling, the economic impact of the shuttle program on Brevard County arrives at the Titusville Sunrise Rotary Club. For the last two decades, club members have sold shuttle stuff. It started with shuttle certificates commemorating the launch sold to folks gathered to watch the lift-offs, and as the shuttle program evolved, so did the goods for sale. They grew to include hats, pins, mouse pads and T-shirts, lots and lots of T-shirts.
But the shuttle era is ending, and it's taking the club's T-shirt business with it. Up next on the tables at the Rotary fundraiser: bags of Titusville Sunrise Rotary Coffee -- served with a side of uncertainty. "I don't know what's going to happen," he said. "We're going to have to maximize our opportunities." (7/25)
Texas Group Supports Workforce Transition (Source: Galveston Daily News)
Shane Richardson had worked for the contractor only 11 months when he faced a bleak conversation. “They walked in and said, ‘We’re going to have to let you go,’” Richardson said. “They escorted me out and that was it.” With no money for the program in President Obama’s plan, many contractors expected thousands of layoffs in the Houston area. Richardson said he had no clue his job was in jeopardy.
Amid a national economic recession and competing for positions in a highly specialized industry, Richardson knew finding a new job would be difficult. He turned to Workforce Solutions, which opened the Aerospace Transition Center, 16921 El Camino Real, to prepare aerospace contractors for imminent layoffs. The center offers job assistance for aerospace contractors, focusing on interview skills, résumé revamping, federal job application help, stress management and financial management.
The center also sponsors job training sessions at the Johnson Space Center, United Space Alliance, Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s offices in Clear Lake. More than 100 people visit the center every week, manager Veronica Reyes said. Recruiters at the center rework the language of contractors’ résumés to apply their skills to those needed in other industries. Health care, energy, gas, oil and commercial aerospace companies have sought former NASA contractors through the center’s virtual job fairs. The center’s last job fair presented more than 500 job openings. (7/25)
This Week in Space History: Kincheloe Was World's First Spaceman (Source: Alamogordo Daily News)
Five years before NASA launched Alan Shepard into space, another American beat him there. On Sept. 7, 1956, Air Force Capt. Iven Carl Kincheloe Jr. "piloted a supersonic plane to a record height of 126,200 feet above the surface of the earth." Kincheloe "took the X-2 to its record altitude," earning him "the title 'First of the Spacemen,'" said the Web site nasa.gov. Two years later, on July 26, 1958, Kincheloe died when his F-104 crashed at Edwards Air Force Base. (7/25)
European Space Agency Head Addresses Space Junk Threat (Source: Wall Street Journal)
The head of the European Space Agency urged swift government action to counter escalating hazards satellites face from space debris in orbit. Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA's director general, said threats of collisions with space junk require his agency to slightly shift the orbit of a satellite roughly every two weeks. (7/25)
Spacecraft Orbiting Mars Suffers Malfunction (Source: Space.com)
NASA engineers are working to revive the space agency's oldest spacecraft in orbit around Mars from an unexpected malfunction that stalled its observations of the red planet. The Mars Odyssey spacecraft entered a hibernation-like "safe mode" on July 14 due to a glitch with the 9-year-old probe's electronic encoder, mission managers said in an update. The encoder is used to control a device that moves the Odyssey spacecraft's solar arrays and the orbiter has already switched a backup unit, they added. (7/25)
The Search for Dark Energy has a New Weapon (Source: Discovery)
The nature of dark energy is one of the outstanding problems in cosmology today. Something is causing the universe's expansion to accelerate, but what? Numerous techniques are being developed to attack this problem, and astronomers have demonstrated such a technique with the largest fully-steerable radio telescope.
Theories predict that acoustic, or sound waves, from the very early universe should have left their mark in a detectable way. (What if you could hear these sounds?) By measuring the large-scale structures left behind by the sound waves, astronomers may be able to make precise measurements of some of the parameters of dark energy, thus getting one step closer to determining its nature. (7/25)
Station Supply Module Reinforced for Extended Stay in Space (Source: Florida Today)
Before its final trip into space, the cargo module known as Leonardo is being fitted with a bulletproof vest. The extra protection from micrometeoroids and space debris wouldn't be needed during a typical International Space Station visit lasting a week or two. But the next shuttle mission plans to drop off the cylindrical "moving van" and return home without it, leaving it exposed to high-speed collisions as long as the station remains in orbit. (7/25)
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