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June
9, 2008
How to Become a Presidential Hero (Source: Space Review)
Representatives of the three major presidential candidates participated
on a panel at the International Space Development Conference (ISDC)
last week, to present candidates’ views. There were no revelations:
lots of replies amounted to little more than “we’ll have to study
that.” Taking a vocal stance on NASA and exploration that is visionary
yet fiscally responsible might play very well to a populace weary of
issues that deal only with negatives, such as war and the economy.
Coming away from these remarks, as well as Stephen Metschan’s talk on
the DIRECT alternative to Ares-1 and Ares-5, I’ve begun to think that a
presidential candidate could make a real splash if he or she cast
themselves as a reformer of NASA.
Taking a vocal stance on NASA and exploration that is visionary yet
fiscally responsible might play very well to a populace weary of issues
that deal only with negatives, such as war and the economy. We really
need a hero these days, and spaceflight is one of those few areas
Americans can point to with ready, justifiable pride. At the same time,
this is hardly the point at which a battle cry of “Mars or bust, damn
the cost!” can be made. This is not about the merits or demerits of the
specific shuttle-derived vehicles that the DIRECT team advocates.
Overall, they make several excellent general points. If we’re truly
trying to build a robust family of launch vehicles that will take us
into the next 30 or 40 years of spaceflight, the Ares 1/5 route doesn’t
make much sense.
A far more reasonable approach would leave the vast majority of our
unique launch facilities, experience, and workforce in place. The
overriding principle would be to use whatever immediate technology we
have at hand, and rigorously keep new development work and
“requirements creep” at a minimum. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1141/1 to view the article. (6/2)
NASA'S Griffin: Space is Not an Election Issue (Source:
Orlando Sentinel)
In a quick interview before Discovery was set for liftoff on Saturday,
NASA Chief Mike Griffin dismissed the notion promoted by many political
strategists in Florida that space was an election issue. He also said
he was confident that the successor to the shuttle program would
survive the change of administration next year. "Space is not an
election issue," Griffin said. "Iraq is an election issue. The
economy is an election issue. The deficit is an election issue. But
space is not an election issue and they [the candidates] are not
focused on it, and I don't expect them to be."
His blunt assessment runs contrary to efforts being made by space
supporters on Capitol Hill to make NASA and money for human space
flight an election issue, especially in Florida. Leading the charge is Florida's democratic senator Bill
Nelson, who earlier this week told the Washington Space Business
Roundtable that space will be critical to winning Florida, and thus the White
House. Click here to view the article. (6/2)
McCain Would Like to See a Man on Mars (Source: AFP)
Presumptive Republican White House nominee John McCain said Thursday he
would like to see a manned mission to Mars as part of a "better set of
priorities" for NASA that would better engage the public. When asked
about funding for the US space agency's shuttle program, which is due
to end in 2010, he said he "would be willing to spend more taxpayers'
dollars" to continue the program but argued that NASA must do a better
job of inspiring the American public, as when it sent a man to the moon
in 1969. (6/6)
McCain Space Comments Scrutinized (Source: Space Politics)
According to an article on McCain's space comments, McCain would
“support continuing space shuttle missions” beyond 2010 and that he
wants the US to have “a better set of
priorities” for the space program. That last point sounds a little bit
like what Barack Obama has been saying about reviewing the agency’s
direction. Florida Today's editor asked if McCain would spend taxpayer
money to extend shuttle missions another year or two, noting the U.S. will have to rely on Russia to maintain the
International Space Station. McCain said yes. McCain also said, “I’d be
willing to spend more taxpayers dollars” on NASA. How much more money,
he doesn’t say, nor how that would fit into his plans for a
discretionary spending freeze if elected. (6/6)
Alabama Congressman Pulses Obama on Space (Source:
Birmingham News)
U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, said he's been talking to both the
Clinton and Obama campaigns about missile defense and space exploration
-- two critical economic issues for the Huntsville area. "I had a terrific
meeting with Barack Obama a few weeks ago," Cramer said. "I was very
impressed with Barack Obama ... I think he's likely to be the nominee
and I want to continue to be a voice to his campaign about space and
missile defense."
Cramer said Obama had positions about space exploration and how far
along the space agency was in funding a return trip to the Moon and on
to Mars. He said Obama made it clear that the exploration program was
not just a signature of the Bush Administration, but one that many
congressmen had wanted for years. "I wanted them to look at the issues
more thoroughly ... I just got a commitment that they would," he said.
(6/3)
House Committee Votes to Extend Shuttles' Life (Source:
Florida Today)
A bill that would allow NASA to add a new shuttle mission and eliminate
President Bush's 2010 deadline for retiring the fleet won approval
Wednesday from a key House committee, sending the measure to the full
chamber. The House Science and Technology Committee unanimously
approved the bill. The bipartisan support sends "a strong message to
the next administration...that Congress believes that NASA is important
and worthy of the nation's support," said Rep. Bart Gordon, the
Tennessee Democrat who heads the panel. NASA would gain a mission to
deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space
Station. The agency canceled that mission after the 2003 Columbia disaster. (6/5)
Extending Shuttles' Life Would Delay Moon Mission Without New
Funding (Source: Florida Today)
A bill that would allow NASA to add a new shuttle mission and eliminate
President Bush's 2010 deadline for retiring the fleet won approval
Wednesday from a key House committee. NASA would gain a mission to
deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space
Station. The bill backs two shuttle trips now considered optional among
the 10 remaining flights left before the shuttles' scheduled retirement
in 2010. The legislation would eliminate the deadline to finish those
flights. The bill could get a vote in the full House before the end of
the month. A Senate version is scheduled for a June 19 vote.
Richard Gilbrech, NASA's associate administrator for exploration
systems, said extending the shuttle's life would delay the return to
the moon and cost at least $3 billion a year. Without commenting
directly on the bill, Gilbrech said "that would be a threat to our
program and potentially lengthen the gap." (6/5)
Senate Hearing Will Focus on Loss of Space Jobs (Source:
Florida Today)
Sen. Bill Nelson plans to hold a congressional hearing at Kennedy Space
Center later this month to discuss the fate of thousands of Brevard
County workers who will lose their jobs after the space shuttles are
retired. "The community has asked me to do this," said Nelson, the
Orlando Democrat who chairs the Senate panel that oversees NASA.
"People are petrified at the Kennedy Space Center," he said. A spokesman
for NASA said the agency has informally agreed to participate, although
it has not received an official invitation from the committee.
Local and state leaders gathered Thursday morning to discuss strategy,
aiming to try to influence the senators while they are here. A public
rally is planned during the hearing to show support for the state's
space industry. The agreed-upon local message: The leaders of Florida and the Space Coast understand that space
exploration is critical to national security, culture and economic
competitiveness. (6/6)
NASA Internal Investigation Slams Political Influence in
Public Affairs (Source: NASA Watch)
"Relations between NASA's climate change science community and the NASA
Headquarters Office of Public Affairs had somehow deteriorated into
acrimony, non-transparency, and fear that science was being
politicized--attributes that are wholly inconsistent with effective and
efficient Government. The investigation also uncovered that one of the
underlying contributing factors of these problems may have, in fact,
been in the very structure of the NASA Headquarters Office of Public
Affairs, where political appointees were placed in the seemingly
contradictory position of ensuring the "widest practicable"
dissemination of NASA research results that were arguably inconsistent
with the Administration's policies, such as the "Vision for Space
Exploration." (6/2)
Editorial: Forget about Building a Moon Base (Source:
Florida Today)
As a physician and a trained scientist with a degree in biology from
the MIT, I support and deeply appreciate the very important ongoing
research at NASA. That includes the life science research utilizing the
International Space Station, the deep-space research with the Hubble
Space Telescope, Chandra Radio Telescope, and soon the Gamma Ray Large
Area Space Telescope. In addition, NASA's role in studying Earth
sciences is vitally important in the understanding of global climate
change. NASA will continue to play a vital role in launching weather,
navigation, communication, and intelligence-gathering satellites.
NASA needs a long-term budget and commitment from Congress to carry out
these vital roles. I am as concerned as anyone about loss of good local
jobs with the end of the shuttle program, yet I have not seen any
rationale or cost-benefit justification for the pursuit of a manned
moon base. The suggested functions of this base, whether mining,
refining, packaging and returning to Earth some mysterious resource, or
a base for assembling and launching deep space missions, make little
sense. Do we have no recent memory of how expensive and difficult it
has been to develop, construct, and maintain a manned station in a
relatively "simple" low Earth orbit?
In regards to manned trips to Mars, it is premature to plan dangerous,
long, round-trip missions given the capabilities of our developing
robotics technology as amazingly demonstrated by the Mars Rovers still
operating long after their designed lifetime. Can we afford the
extravagance of these new space goals? Click here to view the editorial.
(6/4)
China Likely to Beat U.S. to Moon (Source: Lexington
Herald-Leader)
Chinese astronauts are on schedule to beat the United States back to
the moon by two or three years, the head of NASA's lunar exploration
program said. "If they keep on the path they're on, they can" land
before Americans do, said Rick Gilbreth, NASA's associate administrator
for exploration systems. The goal of NASA's Constellation program is to
return astronauts to the moon by 2020, as proposed in President Bush's
Vision for Space Exploration. Gilbreth said the Chinese could
accomplish that by 2017 or 2018. The Chinese lead will be even longer
if the U.S. schedule slips, as some
space experts predict. (6/5)
NASA Seeks Proposals for Lunar Research (Source: NASA)
NASA's Science Mission Directorate, in cooperation with the agency's
Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, recently issued a Cooperative
Agreement Notice seeking research projects for the NASA Lunar Science
Institute. The institute is located at NASA's Ames Research Center in California. Proposals must include
an innovative, interdisciplinary lunar research program that aligns
with the institute's goals and objectives. Proposals may address
science of the moon, on the moon and from the moon, including
objectives that meet NASA's future lunar exploration needs. NASA
expects to make $8 million to $10 million available for the research,
and anticipates making five to seven awards, including one focused on
exploration objectives. (6/6)
University Team: Moon Dust Could Be Used to Build Lunar
Lodgings (Source: Space.com)
A team of astronomers has cooked up an out-of-this-world recipe for
lunar concrete that could be used to build homes on the moon. The
innovative recipe of carbon, glue and moon dust could also be helpful
in building other structures on the moon, including giant telescopes
and solar power arrays, according to a researcher at the Catholic
University of America in Washington, D.C. To arrive at the concrete
recipe, the team mixed small amounts of carbon nanotubes and epoxies
(glue-like materials) with simulated lunar dust, or crushed rock that
has the same composition and grain size as dust on the moon. (6/5)
North Carolina University Professors Shoot For The Moon
(Source: WNCN)
Almost four decades after man first landed on the moon, there’s a
chance the North Carolina State University Wolfpack could be next. Some
triangle business leaders have teamed up with NCSU professors in a
worldwide competition to land a vehicle on the moon. The contest is
sponsored by Google and the X PRIZE Foundation, a California-based
group that offers huge prizes to spur innovation in a variety of
fields. The prize is $30 million and the landing must happen by 2012.
Teams can hire a company to launch the vehicle, but they’re on their
own figuring out how to get the vehicle to the moon. (6/5)
Glitch Delays First Scoop of Mars Soil by Phoenix Lander
(Source: Tucson Citizen)
The planned Thursday delivery of the Phoenix Mars Lander mission's
first scoop of Martian soil to a scientific instrument for analysis has
been delayed at least a day by a communications glitch. Phoenix scientists Wednesday had
ordered the craft's robotic arm to scoop a sample of surface soil, move
the arm's scoop to a position poised above the Thermal and Evolved-Gas
Analyzer, or TEGA, and take images of the arm scoop's contents. The Phoenix team learned Wednesday
afternoon that NASA's Odyssey orbiter, which relays mission data 170
million miles back and forth between the Lander and Earth, had entered
a "safe mode" that prevented Wednesday's instructions from reaching the
Lander. (6/4)
Mars Lander Poised to Bake Soil, Then Test It (Source: AP)
The Phoenix lander is getting ready to sniff the Martian soil for signs
of life-friendly elements after scooping up a handful of dirt near the
north pole, researchers said Friday. New photos sent back by the
spacecraft show its 8-foot-long robotic arm hovering over a miniature
oven, ready to dump seven tablespoons inside where the soil sample will
be heated and studied for its chemistry. (6/6)
Mars Lander's 1st Soil Sample May Not Be Analyzed (Source:
Reuters)
Dirt that the Phoenix Mars Lander scooped recently from the planet's
surface may be too clumpy to be analyzed by the machine's onboard
system, NASA reported on Saturday. A robotic arm retrieved a cup-sized
sample of Martian dirt on Friday and placed it on the lander's Thermal
and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA, which was scheduled to spend about a
week determining the soil's water and mineral content.
The TEGA features a screened opening that prevents large particles from
clogging it. Only those thinner than 1 mm (0.04 of an inch) can pass
through, and an infrared beam verifies whether they have entered the
instrument. The beam has not yet confirmed any activity and researchers
are not sure why, NASA said in a statement. Scientists suspect the soil
may be clumped together too tightly, NASA said. (6/7)
2008 University Rover
Challenge Results (Source: Mars Society)
After two days of intense competition and hard work, Oregon State
University captured first place in the 2008 University Rover Challenge
at the Mars Desert Research Station. They narrowly beat out the
defending champions from the University of Nevada Reno. Following hot on their
heels in third place was first-time entrant from the York University of
Toronto, Canada. Georgia Tech and Iowa State University both turned in rousing
performances in that challenge, and finished second and third in that
event, respectively. The BYU team, which was unable to compete in
yesterday's contests due to problems booting their rover's operating
system, fixed those problems overnight and brought their rover to the
soil analysis task, where they impressed the judges. (6/8)
NASA Awards 13 University
Research Grants (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded more than $8.5 million to colleges and universities
nationwide to conduct research and technology development in areas of
importance to NASA's mission. Recipients are from Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wyoming. Winning proposals were
selected through a merit-based, peer-reviewed competition. The average
award is $750,000 for a 3-year period. The selections are part of
NASA's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, or
EPSCoR. The program is designed to assist states in developing
partnerships between NASA research assets, academic institutions and
industry. Enhancing the nation's academic research enterprise benefits
states' economic viability and development, and contributes to the
agency's research priorities. (6/5)
NASA Awards USRA Contract for Science and Technology Support
(Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded a contract to the Universities Space Research
Association, or USRA, of Columbia, Md., to advance understanding of the
effects of the space environment on the functioning of space
exploration systems. The association will perform research, analysis
and testing for technology and system development in fire prevention,
detection and suppression, and other technologies necessary to sustain
human life in the harsh environment of space. Other areas of research
will include power, environmental control and life support systems,
resource utilization and crew health.
The indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity cost plus fixed fee
contract's two-year base period begins June
6, 2008, and has a maximum value
of $14 million. The contract has three one-year options with a
potential estimated value of $35 million, if all options are exercised.
(6/6)
University of Colorado Locks Into Two Long-Term NASA Contracts
(Source: Colorado Daily)
Current and prospective CU students looking to broaden their horizons
in the fields of earth science and aerospace engineering can look
forward to reaping the benefits of two recently-finalized agreements
between the university and the NASA. One project offers the promise of
integrating CU-Boulder payloads as part of the cargo "on every shuttle
mission to the International Space Station until the program is retired
in 2010." The agreement between NASA and CU-based BioServe is part of a
new NASA initiative to use the space station as a national laboratory
for research not directly applicable to NASA's stated mission. For
those with a more down-to-earth field of study, a different CU-NASA
contract might be more significant as a grant renewal for the National
Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) re-establishes the organization as a
Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) for the next five years. (6/2)
University of Mississippi Law Program is Unique (Source:
Daily Mississippian)
The University of Mississippi School of Law will offer space law
through the National Center for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law, the
only aerospace law curriculum in the nation since 2002. During the
upcoming academic year, the University of Nebraska's Space and
Telecommunications program will begin, thereby creating the second
space law program in the U.S. Internationally, one program exists in
each of Holland, Germany, Canada and Lapland. Students interested in
the law program should be aware of scholarships available to
applicants. In 2007, the center awarded three scholarships to first
year students upon submission and approval of the student's proposals
of future legal research in space law. The scholarships are for one
year of in-state tuition. (6/4)
Vanderbilt University Astronomers Getting Into
Planet-Finding Game (Source: VU Cast)
Vanderbilt astronomers have constructed a special-purpose telescope
that will allow them to participate in one of the hottest areas in
astronomy – the hunt for earthlike planets circling other stars. The
instrument, called the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT),
has been assembled and is being tested at Vanderbilt’s Dyer
Observatory. Shortly, it will be shipped to South Africa where it will become only
the second dedicated planet-finder scanning the stars in the southern
sky. (6/6)
NASA Selects MIT-Led Team to Develop Planet-Searching Satellite
(Source: MIT)
A planet-searching satellite planned by scientists from MIT, the
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and NASA-Ames is one of six
proposed spacecraft concepts that NASA has picked for further study as
part of its Small Explorer (SMEX) satellite program. The
planet-searching satellite would have the potential to discover
hundreds of "super-Earth" planets, ranging from one to two times
Earth's diameter, orbiting other stars. The proposed satellite, called
the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), would use a set of
six wide-angle cameras with large, high-resolution electronic detectors
(CCDs) being developed in cooperation with MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, to
provide the first-ever spaceborne all-sky survey of transiting planets
around the closest and brightest stars. (6/3)
Astronomers Suggest Looking for Aliens That Have Already Found
Us (Source: WIRED)
Just as human astronomers can only find planets that are lined up
just-so with our telescopes, prospective aliens from across the galaxy
would have the same problem. By searching the thin elliptical slice of
the sky where hypothetical alien astronomers could have easily detected
earth and its habitability, a Johns Hopkins astronomer argues that
we're more likely to find signals from alien civilizations.
"...those civilizations ... that inhabit star systems that lie close to
the plane of the Earth's orbit around the sun will be the most
motivated to send communications signals toward Earth because those
civilizations will surely have detected our annual transit across the
face of the sun, telling them that Earth lies in a habitable zone,
where liquid water is stable. Through spectroscopic analysis of our
atmosphere, they will know that Earth likely bears life."
Applying the empathetic approach to the search for alien life could
focus human efforts on a mere 3 percent of the sky. Working with this
smaller set of targets, Henry, with colleagues at SETI, hope to use the
new Allen Telescope Array to search more effectively for signals beamed
across the universe by civilizations that stumbled upon the earth and
realized our potential. (6/5)
University Researchers: ET
Phoning Sooner Than We Think? (Source: Newsweek)
Maybe it’s time to put some new numbers into the Drake Equation. That’s
the formula, developed by astronomer Frank Drake in 1961, that
estimates the number of civilizations in the galaxy which are
sufficiently advanced to have harnessed the electromagnetic spectrum—a
fancy way of saying they have radio waves, TV and other components of
technology that we could detect even from here. Not only does the
number of planets outside our own solar system continue to
increase—it’s now up to 294 —but the range of stars that have planets
and the range of sizes of the planets themselves also keep expanding.
Today, for instance, astronomers are reporting the discovery of the
smallest extrasolar planet yet (only three times more massive than
Earth), orbiting a star only one-twentieth the mass of our Sun. That
suggests that even stellar lightweights, which are relatively common,
can have a retinue of earthlike planets. “No planets have previously
been found to orbit stars with masses less than about 20 percent that
of the Sun,” said David Bennett of the University of Notre Dame, who
led the study. “But this finding indicates that even the smallest stars
can host planets.” Click here to view the article.
(6/3)
Lockheed Martin and NASA Ames Team Selected to Design New
Solar Mission (Source: CSA)
Lockheed Martin, NASA Ames Research Center, and a national and
international team of co-investigators have been selected by NASA to
undertake a $750,000 six-month study to design a new NASA Small
Explorer Mission called the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph
(IRIS). IRIS fills a crucial gap in our ability to advance Sun-Earth
connection studies by tracing the flow of energy and plasma through a
dynamic interface region between the solar corona and heliosphere,
where all but a few percent of the non-radiative energy leaving the Sun
is converted to heat and radiation. (6/3)
Embry-Riddle Honored for Implementing Satellite-Based Aircraft
Traffic System (Source: ERAU)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is among the winners of the 2007
Collier Trophy, awarded to a team of organizations that collaborated to
develop the automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) system,
a new satellite-based technology that promises to greatly improve the
safety, capacity and efficiency of the national airspace system.
Embry-Riddle pioneered the implementation and testing of ADS-B in its
aircraft. The flight training fleets at its campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., are fully equipped with
the new technology. Past recipients have included Orville Wright, Chuck
Yeager, the Apollo 11 crew, Burt Rutan, and the developers of GPS. (6/4)
Rocket Challenge Inspires
Students' Interest in Aerospace (Source: AIA)
The aerospace industry is facing a looming shortage of workers, so
companies are trying to inspire high-school and middle-school students
to enter the field. Students from around the country recently
participated in the Team America Rocketry Challenge, which has proved
to be an excellent program for inspiring students. Visit http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4143134n to view a CBS News video
on the program. (6/3)
Google to Pay $3.66M Yearly for High-Tech Campus on NASA
Property (Source: San Jose Business Journal)
Google Inc. and NASA plan to develop a new high-technology campus at NASA Ames Research Center. Under the terms of the
40-year agreement, Mountain View-based Google will pay NASA an initial
base rent of $3.66 million per year and will lease 42.2 acres of
unimproved land in NASA Research Park at Ames to construct up to 1.2
million square feet of offices and research and development facilities.
Google also plans to construct company housing and amenities for
dining, sports, fitness, child care, conference and parking for its
employees, as well as recreation and parking facilities and
infrastructure improvements for NASA's use.
NASA will use the rent payments from Google to cover the full cost of
the lease and the balance for maintenance, capital revitalization, and
improvements of the real property assets at Ames. The 40-year lease
provides for periodic escalations and adjustments of rent. Google may
extend the lease for three 10-year terms. After that, NASA and Google
may agree to extend the lease two additional 10-year terms. If all
extensions are exercised, the lease term will be a total of 90 years.
(6/4)
SpaceX and NASA to Improve Mission Critical Software Systems
(Source: SpaceX)
SpaceX and NASA’s Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V)
Facility haved signed an agreement to advance the state of the art in
mission- and safety-critical software that will be used for sending
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS).
Specifically, NASA’s IV&V Facility will provide an additional layer
of assessment and mission assurance, including a full analysis of the
system software for a SpaceX-developed UHF communications unit. The
system provides low-cost, high reliability space-to-space
communications directly between Dragon and ISS. The Dragon spacecraft
also utilizes NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS),
the Global Positioning System (GPS), and the Iridium commercial
satellite telephone system for maximum flexibility and performance.
(6/5)
NASA Weighs Design Changes to Ares 5 Launcher (Source:
Space News)
Although work has yet to begin in earnest on NASA's proposed Ares 5
heavy-lift launcher, the U.S. space agency's rocket designers are
preparing to brief top brass on a batch of changes intended to boost
the vehicle's performance. Adding a sixth RS-68 engine to the Ares 5
main stage, increasing the use of weight-saving composite materials
throughout the vehicle, and making major modifications to the pair of
solid-rocket boosters (SRBs) strapped to the side of the vehicle are
among the changes under consideration, according to senior NASA
officials and other experts. (6/8)
Space Shuttle Blastoff Damaged Launch Pad (Source: AFP)
Bricks and mortar blew off the US space shuttle's launch pad during its
weekend liftoff, without damaging the orbiter but causing concern for
future missions. An investigative team was formed to look into the
damage and come up with options for the shuttle's next mission in
October. The shuttle has two launch pads at the Kennedy Space Center, but only one is
currently in use while the other is being retrofitted for the
next-generation spacecraft under development. Damage is not uncommon at
the launch pad, but never of his magnitude, said a NASA official. NASA
pictures show a big gap in a brick wall of the flame trench on launch
pad A following Discovery's liftoff on Saturday, while pieces of debris
were scattered all the way to the facility's perimeter fence. (6/2)
Asbestos Slows Shuttle-Pad Inspection (Source: Florida
Today)
Crews inspecting post-launch damage to Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy
Space Center were forced to don hazmat gear after asbestos padding was
found behind masonry in the Apollo-vintage flame trench under the pad,
but space shuttle managers don't expect a delay in their launch
schedule as a result of the incident. The shuttle Discovery's May 31
launch blasted hundreds of fire bricks out of the flame trench, most
likely with the supersonic force of the shuttle's solid rocket booster
exhaust. The launch blew two huge holes in the side of the trench,
exposing the reinforcing steel beneath.
The perimeter fence 1,500 feet away - ironically marked with large
signs cautioning against FOD (foreign object debris) - was severely
damaged by the flying masonry, and launch photography showed debris
splashing down into a retaining pond outside the fence several seconds
after Discovery had roared aloft. Early indications show no evidence
any of the flying brick and mortar hit Discovery, but NASA managers say
the possibility it could have will be studied carefully. (6/7)
New External Shuttle Tank Performs Well (Source: Aviation
Week)
Space shuttle mission managers are pleased with the performance of the
big external tank that carried liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen
propellants for Sunday's launch of the shuttle Discovery. The tank --
designated ET-128 - was the first built from the ground up with
modifications added for safety in the wake of the Columbia accident. Photos taken by
Discovery's crew as the tank fell away from the orbiter show it
generally intact, with none of the white spots seen on past tanks where
pieces of insulating foam have fallen away. (6/2)
Astronauts Attach Japanese Lab to Space Station (Source:
AIA)
Astronauts on Wednesday secured Japan's Kibo laboratory module
to the International Space Station. The process took more than six
hours. Also, NASA said experts have decided that no additional
inspections are needed for four spots on the shuttle that were dinged
during an earlier shuttle maneuver. (6/5)
Astronauts Continue Work on Lab, New Maintenance Concerns
Raised (Source: AIA)
Astronauts at the International Space Station continued to work on the
Japanese Kibo laboratory on Thursday. Also on Thursday, an astronaut
found deposits on the space station's port-side solar alpha rotary
joint. The deposits raise concerns about problems with the mechanisms
that keep the space station's solar array wings pointed at the sun.
(6/6)
Space Station Experiments Could Hold Key to Food-Poisoning
Vaccine (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
It reads like the plot of a science-fiction movie: a maverick
businessman cuts a deal with NASA to send bacteria into space, looking
for a deadly superstrain that will make him rich. Only this is no film
script, and the tycoon in this story is not seeking world domination
but a vaccine that could save millions of lives, spawn a new industry
and give the international space station a reason for being.
Scientists have known for decades that some experiments just work
better in space -- but it hasn't been easy to get them up there or find
the money or commercial interest to make it happen. Enter Tom Pickens
III, a swaggering 50-year-old Wall Street troubleshooter and the son of
Texas oil legend T. Boone
Pickens. Since taking the helm of the struggling aerospace company
Spacehab Inc. 18 months ago, Pickens has made it his goal to do what
nobody has done before: use space as a unique place to develop products
for use back on Earth.
For decades, microbiologists have struggled to find a strain suitable
for a vaccine for Salmonella infections. The promise of a breakthrough
seemed closer after NASA agreed earlier this year to let Spacehab
become the first commercial venture to make use of the international
space station. The reason? Bacteria do amazing things when you remove
gravity. Visit http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/orl-spacevax0808jun08,0,5453358.story
to view the article. (6/8)
Griffin Reassures Europeans on U.S. Commitment to Station
(Source: Space News)
The United States is likely to continue to use the international space
station well beyond 2016 even as it focuses on its lunar- and
Mars-exploration project, NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin said
June 5. Griffin said it is "inconceivable
to me" that the U.S. government would end its
participation in the station in 2015 or at any other arbitrary date.
(6/6)
NASA Chief Backs Proposal for European Spaceship (Source:
SpaceDaily.com)
NASA chief Mike Griffin threw his weight behind calls for Europe to build its own manned
spacecraft. The experience of the US shuttle, to be retired in
2010, highlighted the need for multiple systems to provide backup for
the International Space Station (ISS), Griffin told reporters in Paris. Griffin praised a robot European
freighter that carried out a maiden automatic docking with the ISS in
April, and said he was deeply enthusiastic about proposals to transform
it into a crew transporter. "I think it's a great idea. I would love to
Europe to do that," he said.
(6/5)
U.S., Russia to Announce Deal on Space Station Launch Services
by End of Week (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia and the United States will announce a preliminary deal on
Russian transport services to the International Space Station for the
U.S. by the end of the week, NASA said. Russian space specialists are
currently in Houston to discuss contracts for
2011-2013. Any deals reached will be subject to approval from Congress,
which will announce its decision later in the summer. Russia charges around $50
million for each American astronaut delivered to the orbital station.
(6/3)
GOP Lawmakers Test Russian Soyuz Waiver Plan (Source:
Space News)
NASA's request for continued relief from a 2000 law restricting its
purchase of Russian Soyuz vehicles has run afoul of House Foreign
Affairs Committee Republicans, who wrote President Bush to argue that a
waiver should be unnecessary if the White House is correct that Russia
is no longer helping Iran acquire nuclear know-how. "We are writing to
request that you withdraw from consideration the agreement on peaceful
nuclear cooperation with Russia that was recently submitted to
Congress, particularly in light of the request for an extension of your
waiver of authority in the Iran, North Korea, and Syria
Nonproliferation Act (INKSNA) that would allow NASA to continue to
purchase spacecraft from the Russian space agency," 14 Republicans
wrote in the June 5 letter. (6/8)
Angara Named as Possible Spacecrew Transport Launcher
(Source: Flight International)
Russia's Khrunichev State Space Research and Production Center's
in-development Angara rocket could launch the proposed Russian-European
Space Agency Crew Space Transportation System (CSTS) spacecraft,
according to the head of Russia's Federal Space Agency, Anatoly
Perminov. Of the Angara family of rockets, which
uses a common core booster (CCB) design, only the Angara A5 heavy
booster would be capable of launching the four- to six-crew CSTS
conical capsule and its service module. A test firing of the first CCB
is expected this year.
The delayed Angara's development was to have
seen a first CCB launch this year. The CSTS test flight is expected in
2015. Other candidate launchers for CSTS have been an improved Samara
Space Center Soyuz rocket, notionally called Soyuz 3, and in the longer
term a man-rated EADS Astrium Ariane 5. However, Ukraine's Yuzhnoye Design
Bureau's Zenit launcher has also been considered. (6/5)
China and Taiwan Together on the Space Station (Source:
Space Review)
Ever since 1972 US-China relations have been—at least in theory—guided
by the principles laid out in the “Shanghai Communiqué”, which made it
clear that America recognized “One China” and that Beijing would seek
reunification by peaceful means. Things have changed a lot in
subsequent decades. A proposal for both China and Taiwan to jointly take part in
the ISS partnership would be a welcome way to make progress. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1140/1 to view the article. (6/2)
China to Launch French-Built
Communications Satellite (Source: Xinhua)
China is to launch a new
communications satellite, Zhongxing-9, with a Long March-3B rocket
carrier on Monday at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. Both the satellite and
carrier were in good conditions, and preparation was going on smoothly.
Zhongxing-9, a satellite ordered by China Satcom from the France-based
Thales Alenia Space (TAS), will be used for television live broadcast.
(6/8)
China Experts Warn of Expanding Space Arms Race (Source:
Reuters)
Chinese military experts have warned of an expanding arms race in outer
space as Beijing and other rival powers seek to counter U.S. ambitions
to dominate the heavens. In a book issued by the state-run China Arms
Control and Disarmament Association, two People's Liberation Army
experts said Washington's bid for enduring
security domination in outer space was pressing Beijing and other powers into
competition, even confrontation. "Strategic confrontation in outer
space is difficult to avoid. The development of outer space forces
shows signs that a space arms race to seize the commanding heights is
emerging," wrote Wu Tianfu of the Second Artillery Corps Command College. The Corps controls China's nuclear arsenal. (6/2)
U.S. Military Will Require
More Commercial Satellites, Officials Say (Source: AIA)
Top officials expect the military's demand for commercial satellites
services to continue to climb in coming years. "The number is going up
and it's going up at a much higher rate than what we expect to be able
to achieve with our military satellite communications," said Joseph
Rouge, who heads the DOD's National Security Space Office. (6/4)
Insurers Sell AMC-14 Satellite to Pentagon (Source: Space
News)
The AMC-14 commercial telecommunications satellite that was placed into
the wrong orbit in March following a Proton rocket failure has been
sold to the U.S. Defense Department for about $15 million by insurance
underwriters, who took title to the spacecraft following a settlement
with satellite fleet operator SES of Luxembourg, industry officials
said. (6/6)
Senate Committee Chairman Proposes New DOD Cost Evaluation
Office (Source: AIA)
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., will
propose creating a new DOD office that would estimate the cost of new
military programs before they are approved. Under Levin's proposal, the
new cost estimation chief would have authority equal to the Pentagon's
director of operational test and evaluation. (6/3)
Wynne's Ouster Could Impact Air Force Transition to Next
Administration (Source: Space News)
The forced resignation of U.S. Air Force Secretary Mike Wynne likely
will have a big impact of the service's transition to the next U.S.
presidential administration in 2009, something Wynne had made a
priority, according to Robbin Laird, a defense analyst who has done
work for Wynne. Laird said in a June 6 interview that Wynne was
managing a host of issues critical to the service's future, including
integrating the operations of the newest generations of military space
systems, planes and unmanned aerial vehicles. (6/8)
Study Finds U.S. Export Controls Hinder Space Industrial Base
(Source: AIA)
Policies governing the export of commercial satellites and their
components are hurting the U.S. space industrial base, according to a
report released by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The study recommends removing commercial communications satellites,
subsystems and components from the U.S. Munitions List and suggested
further study to determine whether other nonmilitary systems should be
available for export. Visit http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/llegrEpjvMzUsuCibSivEatt for more on the study.
(6/2)
CSA and El Camino College Plan ITAR Institute (Source: CSA)
The El Camino College for International Trade Development (CITD) have
received a federal grant to establish an International Trade Compliance
Institute. The Institute will be a one-stop shop for trade compliance
advice, information, training and assistance for California exporters and importers.
The California Space Authority is a partner on the initiative. Visit http://www.californiaspaceauthority.org/images/press-releases/pr080605-1.pdf for
information. (6/5)
Nominations Open for Prestigious California Space Enterprise
SpotBeam Awards (Source: CSA)
The California Space Authority is now accepting nominations from its
members and partners for this year's California Space Enterprise
SpotBeam Awards. The SpotBeam Awards dinner is scheduled for November
19 in Los Angeles. Visit http://www.californiaspaceauthority.org/awards.html for information. (6/6)
Delta 2 Launch Delayed Until Next Week (Source: Florida
Today)
The planned launch Saturday of a Delta 2 rocket with a NASA
astronomical telescope is being pushed back to the middle of next week
so engineers can swap out a faulty battery on a system that would be
used to destroy the vehicle if it veered off course. The 13-story
rocket and its payload -- NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope
-- had been slated to blast off from complex 17 at the Cape Canaveral
Spaceport between 11:45 a.m. and 1:40
p.m. EDT Saturday. But the
rocket's Flight Termination System battery failed during routine
prelaunch testing Wednesday. (6/5)
Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Plans July Hypersonic Hy-BoLT
Launch (Source: Spaceports Blog)
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Virginia's Wallops Island is in
a late July launch campaign to loft the Hy-BoLT Hypersonic with a two
stage ATK ALV-X1. The new rocket booster will carry three NASA payloads
for the suborbital flight. The first payload, from NASA's Langley
Research Center, is designed for hypersonic boundary layer research
known as the Hypersonic Boundary Layer Transition experiment and then
two "soccer ball-sized" secondary payloads, from NASA Ames Research
Center, will be deployed at the ALV's suborbital trajectory's apogee.
The ATK ALV X-1 booster is a low-cost launch vehicle for the
operational responsive space (ORS) market. Possible ORS programs
include the delivery of small payloads to low-earth orbit in support of
DOD missions, NASA scientific missions, and commercial and university
satellite programs. (6/1)
New Mexico Spaceport Tax Delayed, Likely Won't Start Until
January (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
A deadline passed Thursday without a spaceport district in place in
time for a spaceport sales tax in Doña Ana County to go into effect
July 1. The state Taxation and Revenue Department had said Thursday was
the last possible day the New Mexico Spaceport Authority could send
notification it wanted the new tax collected starting in July. But, the
spaceport authority, Doña Ana County and Sierra County have not finished
negotiating a contract for a spaceport district, a step needed before
the taxation department can begin the tax. Even so, Kelly O'Donnell,
chairwoman for the Spaceport Authority board, indicated there's still a
slim chance the tax could go into effect in July, if the right steps
occur. (6/7)
Space Tourism May Hold Key To Making 'Space Faring' A Reality
(Source: Radio Free Europe)
More than 1,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C., to explore the idea that
the future of the human race is not confined to this world alone. They
came together for the 27th-annual International Space Development
Conference (ISDC), sponsored by the National Space Society (NSS). The
vision of the NSS is "people working and living in thriving communities
beyond the Earth, and the use of the vast resources of space for the
dramatic betterment of humanity." As the Russian space pioneer
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky wrote, “Earth is the cradle of mankind, but one
does not stay in the cradle forever.”
Traveling to other worlds, however, will require that the cost of
access to orbit be radically reduced. Today, its costs about $15,000 to
lift 1 kilogram of payload into Low Earth Orbit (LEO), often defined as
between 150 to 800 kilometers above the Earth's surface. LEOs are used
by the International Space Station and by most environmental and
intelligence-gathering satellites. The launch vehicles in this price
range include the European Ariane, the Russian Proton, and the U.S.
Atlas and Delta rockets. The costs for NASA’s fleet of space shuttles
are much higher.
So far, only five individuals have paid their own way into space. All
have traveled via Russia’s reliable, but aging,
Soyuz rocket and capsule combination. Visit http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/06/d849b78d-8350-4b44-8f1f-e2cd29df2dd2.html to view the article. (6/5)
Incentive Prizes: Shooting for the Stars (Source: Business
Week)
Taking his cue from Lindbergh's famous prize-winning moment, Peter
Diamandis fulfilled his dream to send people into space through his X
Prize. Ever since Peter Diamandis was a child, he has wanted to fly
into space and dreamed of working for NASA. "I would call it my mission
in life," he says. "I had the desire and intention to become a NASA
astronaut but I found out how difficult it is, and how few people
actually get the chance." Diamandis found a way to help give people
that opportunity. He became a commercial space entrepreneur, founding
several companies that do everything from designing and launching
satellites to sending passengers on flights to experience
weightlessness. Click here to view the article.
(6/2)
Suborbital Travel Has Low Carbon Footprint says ESA
(Source: Flight International)
Suborbital flights could have a better carbon footprint per passenger
than transatlantic airline travel, a preliminary European Space Agency
study has found. The study, carried out by ESA's general studies
department in the first quarter of this year, is expected to be
followed up by more detailed work. The preliminary work examined
suborbital launch systems and compared, on a per passenger basis, their
environmental impact with the carbon footprint of widebody aircraft
that operate on transatlantic routes. However ESA's researchers have
declined to release the per passenger carbon footprint data from the
preliminary study. (6/2)
Development Work Drives Personal Spaceflight Industry Growth
(Source: Space News)
U.S. companies vying to open up space to ordinary citizens saw total
collective revenue surpass a quarter of a billion dollars in 2007, a 50
percent increase over the previous year, according to a new report
commissioned by the Personal Spaceflight Federation. The Tauri Group, a
market research firm that prepared the report, said the findings were
based on interviews with 19 Personal Spaceflight Federation member
companies and data gleaned from external research. The Tauri Group and
the Personal Spaceflight Federation intend to update the report
annually. (6/2)
Spaceship Designer Rutan Steps Down as Company President
(Source: AP)
Burt Rutan, inventor of the first privately financed manned rocket to
reach space, stepped down as president of Scaled Composites LLC. Rutan
gave up his day-to-day responsibilities at Scaled, which he founded in
1982. Scaled Vice President Douglas B. Shane was promoted to president,
while Rutan will remain at the company as chief technology officer and
chairman emeritus. Rutan has been recovering from open-heart surgery in
February. (6/4)
Astrium's Proposed Space Plane Fails to Win Backing
(Source: Space News)
The head of Europe's Astrium space hardware manufacturer said the
company's proposal to design a space plane to carry tourists to 100
kilometers in altitude has received almost no support in Europe's
established aerospace sector. (6/6)
Canada Lagging Behind G8 In
Space Capabilities (Source: CNW)
The Canadian Auto Workers union and the Rideau Institute released a
report that outlined key investments for Canada to rebuild its lagging
space capabilities. "This report outlines investment opportunities that
could yield significant economic return to Canada, and ensure the
sustainability of our high tech space sector," said Carol Phillips,
assistant to CAW national president. "We have tremendously talented
workers in this country who are producing state-of-the-art space
technology. We need to ensure those jobs stay in Canada." (6/4)
European Officials Debate Opening Galileo to Non-European Firms
(Source: Space News)
The European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA), the two
government bodies overseeing Europe's Galileo project, are battling
about the degree to which they should open up the contract bidding on
the satellite navigation system — especially to U.S. and other
non-European companies. The issue has led some government officials to
raise the specter that Europe's flagship space endeavor
could end up being farmed out to U.S., Russian or Chinese
companies in the interests of getting the best value for money. (6/8)
Russia's Glonass Satellite Navigation System to be Fully
Operational in 2010 (Source: RIA Novosti)
Russia's Glonass satellite system is expected to become fully
operational in 2010, if it receives sufficient financing, the head of
the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) said. Glonass (Global Navigation
Satellite System) is the Russian equivalent of the U.S. Global
Positioning System (GPS), which is designed for both military and
civilian use, and allows users to identify their positions in real
time. Glonass currently consists of 16 satellites, with 13 satellites
operational and 3 satellites undergoing maintenance. A total of 9.9
billion rubles ($418.25 million) was allocated for Glonass from the
federal budget in 2007, and 4.7 billion rubles ($200 million) in 2006.
(6/7)
Europe's Thales Alenia Space Wins Nilesat-201 Satellite
Contract (Source: Thales Alenia)
Thales Alenia Space signed a contract with Nilesat, the Egyptian
satellite company, to provide the Nilesat-201 broadcasting
communication satellite and associated services and ground stations. As
prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space will be in charge of the design,
manufacturing, test and in-orbit acceptance of the satellite. In
addition, Thales Alenia Space will provide satellite and mission
control system for the Nilesat stations in both Cairo and Alexandria. (6/5)
Thales Alenia Space Negotiating to Buy Saab Space (Source:
Space News)
Saab AB of Sweden is in exclusive
negotiations with Thales Alenia Space over the purchase of Saab Space,
industry officials said. While they said a deal could be concluded by
July, they also said negotiations already had dragged on longer than
expected. (6/6)
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