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National & International Items
ITAR: Why America Is Lost in Space (Source: Newsweek)
Strict rules on U.S. military technology have
helped boost Europe to the top of a $100
billion industry. "Contaminated by American technology" makes for a
curious but enlightening description. For most of the past century, the
world has viewed American technology as unrivaled, and the notion that
the U.S. space industry could be
shunted to the margins would have seemed absurd. But the attitude of
European space-industry executives toward U.S. components and software
has changed in recent years. When building, launching or operating
satellites and other spacecraft, many have come to believe, American
know-how is now a liability.
The culprit is not American technology per se, but onerous restrictions
the U.S. government has placed on
the export of space components to all countries—enemies and allies
alike. Ten years ago the U.S. Congress, fearful that U.S. technology
would wind up in Chinese missiles and bombs, put commercial satellites
under the jurisdiction of the International Traffic in Arms
Regulations, a set of rules for purchasers of American military
products. The rules say that each component of civilian spacecraft—even
a rivet, if it was designed specifically for space—must be treated as a
weapon.
Those rules have imposed
huge bureaucratic burdens on European and Asian firms that want to use
even the most modest technology made in America. The effect has been to
hamper U.S. competitiveness in the
space business and to give Europe a boost. The decade since
ITAR took effect has seen a rapid rise in the demand for satellites and
rockets to launch them, fueled by the markets for mobile phones,
especially in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Washington seems to have imposed
stringent rules just as space services began to soar and alternatives
to American technology took root. Click here to view the article.
(2/6)
Obama's Proposed Space
Weapon Ban Draws Mixed Response (Source: Space News)
President Barack Obama's recent pledge to seek a ban on space weapons
drew a mixed reaction from experts in the field, with some saying the
president might be better off pursuing something more modest and less
complex, such as a set of international rules governing space
operations. Arms control advocates nonetheless applauded the statement
as a welcome departure from the space policy stance of former President
Bush, who rejected the notion of banning or limiting space weapons via
treaty arrangements.
Experts generally agreed that Obama's statement signals a new direction
in space diplomacy, but some said it does not carry much meaning in the
absence of key details, beginning with a good definition of the term
space weapon. Coming up with such a definition is complicated by the
fact that any number of conventional military and even commercial
capabilities can be used to disrupt or damage satellites. (2/4)
Despite Calls for Space Weapons Ban, Russia and China Bring Guns Into Space (Source: Russia Today)
Among the training regimes that Russian cosmonauts pass before being
admitted into orbit is the shooting range. The reason is that they must
learn how to use a special three-barreled gun found on every Soyuz
spacecraft. The TP-82 gun is part of the survival kit and is meant to
be used on terra firma if cosmonauts land in the wilderness. A gun in
orbit is a controversial issue. NASA traditionally keeps a ‘no firearms
on board’ policy, and their astronauts’ survival kit has had a
machete-like knife as its only weapon for decades. When the
International Space Station project was launched, the status of a
pistol on Russian ships became one of the tricky legal questions.
Some people like astronaut James Oberg called for discarding the gun,
saying the country calling for a ban of weapons in space should show a
good example and citing concerns over the enlargement of the ISS crews
and the likely rise of tension between members. The Russian Space
Agency held its ground and the TP-82 kept its place. China apparently sided with Russia in its attitude towards
firearms in space. The Chinese media reported that the Shenzhou-6
expedition in 2005 was armed with pistols for self-defense. (2/3)
China's Final Frontier (Source: New Statesman)
The Chinese are latecomers to space, and desperate to catch up. Two
years after shooting down a satellite, they stand accused of stealing
US secrets. A new arms race has begun. Dongfan Chung had lived in Orange County, California, for 45 years. The
72-year-old, known as Greg to his friends, led a quiet life with his
artist wife and son. Quiet, that is, until dawn on Feb. 2008, when the
FBI came to his home to arrest him on eight counts of espionage.
Chung, who had worked for Rockwell International and then Boeing - both
companies involved in operating the Space Shuttle and the International
Space Station for NASA - is accused of sending confidential information
on the US space program to China over a 30-year period. If
convicted, he could face spending the rest of his life in jail. What
could have made him do it? The indictment against him includes extracts
from a letter Chung wrote in 1979 to a colleague in China: "I don't know what I can
do for the country. Having been a Chinese compatriot for over 30 years
and being proud of the achievements by the people's efforts for the
motherland, I am regretful for not contributing anything...I would like
to make an effort to contribute to the Four Modernizations of China."
A list found in Chung's possession showed the extent of the knowledge
to which he had access; it included manuals on aircraft and space
shuttle design as well as military specifications. It seems he would
simply take documents out of the office, hide them at his home, and
then travel to China to present the
information, sometimes using his wife as a foil; he pretended on one
occasion that they were going there at the invitation of a Chinese art
institute. His hosts were grateful. Gu Weihao, an official of the
ministry of aviation in Beijing, signed off a letter to
Chung saying: "It is your honor and China's fortune that you are
able to realize your wish of dedicating yourself to the service of your
country." Chung was playing his patriotic part, ensuring the motherland
gained that defining accessory of a great power: a space program. (2/5)
Beijing Wants it Both Ways in Space (Source: Asia Times)
In the first few days of the new Barack Obama administration, Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton declared that the US needs "a comprehensive
dialogue with China" and space-related matters will certainly be part
of this dialogue. Transparency will certainly be one of the most
important issues to be addressed. China has kept the world almost
completely in the dark about many of its space activities for far too
long. There is a lot of lingering doubt and uncertainty about China's intentions in space.
Establishing the rules of the roads regarding space launches is one
thing, and, maintaining safety measures for existing satellites and
space vehicles while providing greater certainty in the commercial
space realm is vital. But the search for transparency in this case
propels the US onto stormy seas at a
time when greater global cooperation is widely seen as a necessity
given the adverse economic climate. (2/3)
Iran Launches Satellite (Source: SpaceToday.net)
An Iranian rocket placed a small satellite into Earth orbit on Monday
night, marking the first successful orbital launch by the Middle
Eastern nation. According to domestic media reports, a Safir-2 rocket
lifted off and placed the Omid spacecraft, said to be a small
communications and technology demonstration satellite, into low Earth
orbit. The exact time and location of the launch were not disclosed,
but both the spacecraft and its spent upper stage are being tracked in
elliptical orbits. Iran claimed to have launched
a satellite in August, but no spacecraft reached orbit and the launch
was dismissed as a failure and perhaps only a ballistic missile test.
Iranian officials said last month that they planned to launch a
satellite by March 20; Monday night's launch was timed to coincide with
the beginning of celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the Iranian
revolution. (2/3)
Iran Insists Satellite Launch
has No Military Aim (Source: 2/4)
Iran insisted on Wednesday
that the launch of its first home-built satellite has no military aims,
despite deep concerns in the West about the development. "This is a
scientific and technical achievement and has no military aims," foreign
ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi told reporters. Iran's launch of the Omid
(Hope) satellite carried by the home-built Safir-2 rocket on Monday has
set alarm bells ringing among Western powers already at loggerheads
with Tehran over its nuclear program.
But hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the move signaled Tehran's technological
achievement and was an attempt to break the Western world's monopoly on
science. (2/4)
Israel Urges Tighter Sanctions
After Iran Satellite Launch (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday urged the
international community to apply tougher sanctions against Tehran following its launch of a
low Earth orbit satellite. The launch "constitutes an additional reason
for the international community to strengthen its sanctions against Iran...The Iranian satellite
launch constitutes a technological success for Tehran" which is boosting "its
military potential in the intelligence sector," he added. (2/4)
Iran: Satellite Doesn't Have
the Impact of Sputnik (Source: What's New)
Iran’s launch of a satellite
on Tuesday marked the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. While
Western news reports have stressed that the satellite was very small,
so of course was Sputnik. Intercontinental ballistic missiles were
fielded by both the US and the USSR within two years after
Sputnik. It is, however, easy to exaggerate the threat of an Iranian
ICBM. It is the only weapon that carries a return address. To deploy
such a weapon against a major nuclear power would be insane.
Ahmadinejad in Iran and Kim Jong-il in North Korea are indeed both a little
strange, but in an age of satellite communication we cannot treat every
launch of a satellite as a belligerent act. (2/7)
Space States' Lieutenant
Governors Forum Planned at Colorado Symposium (Source: Space Foundation)
An invitation-only forum including the Lieutenant Governors of space
states will be held on March 30 during the 25th National Space
Symposium in Colorado Springs. The symposium is sponsored by the Space
Foundation. (2/8)
NASA and Industry Join
Forces for Virginia Aerospace Day (Source: PR Newswire)
NASA leaders from Langley Research Center in Hampton and Wallops Flight
Facility on the Eastern Shore join aerospace industry representatives
statewide to bring their message to General Assembly members on
Aerospace Day 2009, Thursday, Feb. 5, in Richmond. Virginia has more than 350
aerospace companies and employs over 27,000 people, generating a direct
economic output of $5.6 billion. NASA facilities in Virginia generate $1.2 billion and
over 11,000 jobs. Additionally, NASA revenues translate into
approximately $64 million in federal taxes and almost $14 million in
state and local taxes. (2/3)
Aerospace Industry Could Help Virginia Economy Take Flight
(Source: Hampton Roads Daily Press)
Lawmakers looking for sources of revenue for the state might want to
use a telescope. This week, leading minds and innovators from Virginia's aerospace community are
hoping to show General Assembly members that a little seed money can
mean a lot in the burgeoning space industry. "They've shown that a
very, very small investment can bring a huge return," said Del. John
Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake. The growing industry has strong ties in Hampton
Roads, thanks to NASA Langley, Old Dominion University and an Eastern Shore spaceport set to launch
cargo to the international space station in the next three years.
Despite grim tax revenue, this year's budget tentatively includes $10
million in bond money for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island. Last year, lawmakers
earmarked $16 million in bonds to help upgrade roads and bolster the
launch pads at the private spaceport. In June, Gov. Kaine doled out $1
million in incentives to Orbital Sciences Corp. to augment $45 million
the company would invest at Wallops Flight Facility and create 125
high-paying jobs across the state. "If Virginia hadn't supported (the
industry), that $1.9 billion would have gone to Florida for sure," said John
Campbell, director of the NASA Wallops Island Flight Facility. (2/6)
Spaceport Officials Talk To Maryland Lawmakers (Source: WMDT)
Officials from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport were in Annapolis Friday meeting with
lawmakers. Back in December, NASA awarded Orbital Sciences a contract
to re-supply the International Space Station. The company is planning
to launch those missions from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport,
which is in Virginia. Officials say that will
bring big business to the Shore. Greater Salisbury Executive Director
Jan Wiseman says, "Now for instance, a student graduating in
engineering can stay at home and make some money here. They don't have
to go to New York or Chicago." Officials say it's
important to keep lawmakers in the loop. The project will require State
funding. Friday "MARS" officials learned they'll be receiving $150,000
from the State. (2/6)
NASA Day at Maryland Capital Celebrates 50 Years of Discovery
(Source: NASA)
On Thursday, Feb. 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Goddard
employees will present an exciting day of interactive exhibits and
presentations within the Presidential Conference Center, East Miller
Senate Office Building, Annapolis, Maryland. House and Senate members
and visitors will have the opportunity to experience the scientific
wonderment of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Also recognizing
Goddard's 50-year anniversary, the day will provide an excellent
opportunity for Marylanders to gain a better understanding of Goddard's
effect within the state, the nation and our global community.
Goddard is home to one of the greatest scientific achievements of our
time, the Hubble Space Telescope, and is preparing to launch the final
servicing mission later this year. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
(LRO), built at Goddard and in final prep for launch in just a few
weeks, is recognized as the first mission in NASA's planned return to
the moon. Other Goddard programs include the James Webb Space Telescope
and extensive Earth science studies that include extensive climate
research from the Chesapeake Bay to Antarctica. (2/6)
Space Tools Made at
Goddard in Maryland (Source: Baltimore Sun)
You need to remove some screws. While floating in a vacuum, wearing big
gloves. Goddard makes all the tools you need. At home, you might find
Matt Ashmore reaching into his tool chest for the right socket wrench
to speed up the restoration of his 1969 Dodge Polara. But at the Goddard Space Flight Center, the 30-year-old
aerospace engineer has spent the past several years developing a sleek
new power screwdriver for spacewalking NASA astronauts. They'll need it
to pop the hoods of two broken-down scientific instruments on the
orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. Ashmore heads a team of more than 35
in Goddard's Crew Aids and Tools Development office in Greenbelt. Their job is to invent
and build tools for Hubble servicing missions. For the fifth and final
repair call on Hubble, set for May, the astronauts will carry 140
custom tools into orbit - a record. (2/8)
Space Industry Leaders
Target Tallahassee for Florida Space Day (Space Day Committee)
Officials representing Florida’s space industry will
visit Tallahassee on March 4 to participate
in Florida Space Day. Participants will visit with House and Senate
members to discuss the state's challenges to retain and expand its role
in our nation's space programs. They will highlight industry-wide
support for Florida aerospace initiatives and
discuss pending legislation with policymakers. (2/3)
Space Florida Completes
Upgrades to RLV Hangar at Spaceport (Source: Space Florida)
Space Florida is pleased to announce the completion of a
three-year/$1.8 million project to finalize upgrades to the Reusable
Launch Vehicle (RLV) Hangar, located near the Space Shuttle Landing
Facility at Kennedy Space Center. Current tenants of the RLV include a
jet demonstration team and a NASA Constellation contractor. Space Florida is currently in
discussions to lease some of the remaining capacity to fueled aircraft
clients. (2/5)
Editorial: Legislature
Should Require Space Florida to Finish Master Plan (Source: Florida Today)
Things have been looking up the past few months for Space Florida, the
state’s space recruiting arm charged with helping to bring more
commercial launches to Cape Canaveral. First, the agency cut a deal
with the Air Force to rebuild an abandoned launch complex as the heart
of a commercial launch zone to provide companies with tariff and tax
relief, much like a duty-free foreign trade zone. The move could give Florida an edge in the global
launch market.
But a new state watchdog report raises troubling questions about the
direction of the initiatives and whether Space Florida is charting the right
course. Or whether it’s flying by the seat of its pants. It’s difficult
to know the long-term costs, benefits and feasibility of the launch pad
project and if it can serve the different families of rockets required,
the report says.
We’ve supported Space Florida in this venture, but the
project must have rock-solid accountability to make certain the funds
are properly spent to achieve their purpose. That’s why we back the
report’s recommendations that call for the Legislature to establish
firm deadlines for a master plan completion, require Space Florida to improve its business
plan and not allow the agency to spend more money on the pad until the
mandate has been met. Click here to
view the editorial. (2/4)
Space Florida Satisfied With Government
Accountability Review (Source: Space Florida)
Space Florida's president said he is
pleased with a recent legislative audit. However, with regard to the
requirement for a "Spaceport Master Plan Update", he said Space Florida completed Phase I of the
update, but at that time did not yet have LC-36 assigned to the agency.
And because traditional Spaceport planning is managed by the Air Force
and NASA, Space Florida must work closely those
agencies on any state-required plan. He did not see the audit's
recommendations affecting Space Florida's current timeline for
LC-36 construction. (2/2)
Space Florida Chief Fights Back (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Space Florida President Steve Kohler has sent a memo to state
legislators blasting news coverage of a report that faulted his agency
for not spelling out how it is spending millions in taxpayer money to
build a commercial spaceport. In his two-page response, Kohler wrote
that the report "resulted in headlines and stories that are inaccurate
and lack critical facts..." The bad press comes as Space Florida is trying to lay the
groundwork for an even bigger taxpayer investment.
Now, Rep. Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, who helped secure $14.5 million
for the launch complex in this year's budget, said he doesn't want to
give the agency more money until there are structural "management
changes." Kohler will get a chance to make his case for the current
management in person. Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Indialantic, plans to
call Kohler later this month to testify alongside the legislative
analysts about their report. "We've appropriated a lot of state dollars
to them in the last two tough budget years," Haridopolos said
Wednesday. "I think we'll have a full hearing to make sure that before
we appropriate a single dollar [more], these concerns are addressed.
And if they're not, they won't get a dollar." (2/5)
Florida Governor Orders Look Into Hiring (Source: Gulf
Breeze News)
Gov. Charlie Crist recently ordered an investigation into Pensacola
native and former state employee Brice Harris' role in directing
$500,000 in grant money to Andrews-Paulos Research and Education
Institute of Gulf Breeze to fund an aerospace medical training program.
In light of the controversy, Bob Harriman, Administrator of the Andrews
Institute, said last Friday that the public should recognize that the
Institute is not being investigated for wrongdoing. "We would like to
make it clear that the Andrews Institute is not under investigation,"
Harriman said in a written statement after an inquiry by Gulf Breeze
News.
"We have not been contacted by anyone in the Governor's Office,
including the inspector general. Our understanding from reading recent
news articles is that the inspector general will review Mr. Harris'
role and responsibilities while he was employed with the Governor's
Office...The Andrews Institute contracted with Mr. Harris only after
receiving recommendations for him. Both OTTED and Space Florida highly recommended Mr.
Harris as the best candidate for this position (director of defense and
aerospace programs at Andrews). From everything I have heard, they did
not give us any indication or provide concern that any type of
employment would violate ethical issues."
Harriman added that Harris told him and other Andrews Institute
administrators that prior to his Harris' resignation, "he proactively
conducted a meeting with the Deputy General Counsel, Jerry Curington.
During that meeting, Mr. Curington stated that due to the fact that
Harris was only a staff member and was not involved in the procurement
process and did not substantially participate in the approval of the
award, the possibility of his being found in violation of ethics
regulations was quite small." (2/6)
Florida National Guard Unit Supports Range Technology (Source: ERAU)
Florida's Air National Guard is
responsible for multiple Ballistic Missile Range Safety Technology
(BMRST) systems at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The BMRST system is
used to track space launch vehicles at the Cape and other spaceport
locations. Developed by Honeywell in Clearwater, Florida, BMRST is viewed by the
Air Force as a low-cost alternative for many functions currently
provided by the Eastern Range. (2/8)
West Virginia National Guard Unit
Delivers for NASA (Source: Charleston Daily
Mail)
A West Virginia Air National Guard unit has helped NASA work on
returning to the moon. The space agency called on the 167th Airlift
Wing to deliver equipment for a spacecraft that it hopes to use for a
moon launch one day. Fifteen members of the Martinsburg-based unit
delivered the Ares 1-X test crew module to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida late last month. Col.
Roger Nye, who commanded the mission says the unit is part of history.
(2/8)
Alaska's Palin Appoints Weldon to Spaceport Board (Source:
Florida Today)
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has appointed former Florida congressman David
Weldon to serve on the Alaska Aerospace Development Corp. (AADC) board.
As Alaska's spaceport authority,
AADC operates the Kodiak Island spaceport. Weldon
represented a district that is home to the Cape Canaveral Spaceport.
Palin cited Weldon's experience on the House Subcommittee on Space and
Aeronautics.
Alaska's 11-member board is
entrusted with aerospace-related economic development by working with
private companies, state agencies and universities. The Kodiak
spaceport was designed to serve private satellite companies but its
only launches so far have been for the U.S. military.
In Texas, Small Rocketeer Pursues
N-Prize
(Source: News8Austin)
Monroe Lee King Jr. has always been a space junkie and he's not ashamed
of it. He learned everything he knows from his dad, who was an engineer
on atomic particle accelerators. But, space travel has always
fascinated him. Interest sparked at first with the Google Lunar X
Prize, a $30-million competition for the team that can send a robot to
the moon. But, Monroe set his sights on a prize
a little lower in the alphabet. "The N-Prize (www.n-prize.com), which is a really
small prize for sending a very small rocket into orbit," Monroe said. "I think we found a
way to do it."
This machinist-by-day hit months of unemployment, a time period that
gave birth to Team Prometheus. Monroe is using existing
technology to launch a rocket into orbit, and have it circle the earth
nine times. This launch, however, will be a little different. Instead
of launching it from the ground, he'll float it up first. "What we
wanna do is launch from a balloon," he said. Once that rocket gets 20
miles into what scientists call "near space," the rocket will blast
off. It sounds pretty convincing, enough for sponsorships and support
from a league wanting to make history right along with him. But, Team
Prometheus' goals shoot beyond space travel.
"We also want to start an aerospace company, so we can get commercial
satellites into orbit cheaper, quicker," he said. "What we want to do
is prove it doesn't cost that much to get into orbit, it's not rocket
science anymore guys," he said, laughing. Monroe said he plans to launch
the rocket in March from Matagorda Island in South Texas. You can keep tabs on
Team Prometheus on their Web site at www.teamprometheus.org. (2/5)
Indiana NASA Contracts Soaring, Including Spaceport Company
(Source: Indianapolis Business Journal)
Indiana’s share of NASA spending
amounts to little more than a shiny penny at the bottom of a clothes
dryer. Only $130 million made its way to the state in 2007—virtually
nothing compared to the $12 billion the space agency doled out to all
states and the $5 billion Indiana companies snagged from
the U.S. Department of Defense. But like a rocket straining to get off
a launch pad, the state is gaining momentum—more than doubling the
value of the contracts in the past five years.
“In Indiana, we get a smaller amount of NASA dollars compared with
other areas of the country, but that’s growing and we need to do a
whole lot [more] work,” said Brian Tanner, president of Space Port
Indiana, which next month plans s to fire off a Hoosier-built,
single-stage rocket capable of carrying a commercial payload. The
rocket isn’t a NASA project, but the Carmel company that’s building
it, Technology Management Group Inc., wouldn’t have developed the
skills without the NASA grants it pulls down. Tanner won’t disclose the
potential customers, and the rocket isn’t expected to even fly as high
as a commercial jet. Nevertheless, after blasting off from the pad at Columbus Municipal Airport, it will encounter the
hostile environmental conditions useful to drug makers and other
companies.
If Indiana still seems far out of
the loop as a place for space-related research and development, well,
it is. Texas swept in $3.5 billion in
2007, and California, $1.6 billion. However, Indiana stacked up well against
many neighboring states. Illinois received only $27
million. Ohio, where NASA operates a
number of facilities, did best in the Midwest, at $237 million. (2/6)
NASA Postpones Awarding Of
Louisiana Facility Contract (Source: Space News)
NASA has delayed the selection of a new contractor to manage its
Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans until spring, about six months
later than originally planned. Denver-based Lockheed Martin has
operated and maintained the NASA-owned plant since 1983, and uses it to
build the space shuttle external tank. To avoid potential conflicts of
interest in the future, NASA intends to select a primary support
contractor to run Michoud that is not building hardware for NASA at the
site. The external tank program has been the primary NASA activity at
Michoud, but that will change as the space agency prepares to retire
the space shuttle and build a successor system designed to transport
astronauts to the space station and later to the Moon. (2/6)
Further Valve Testing Delays Discovery Launch Until at Least
Feb. 22 (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The launch of space shuttle Discovery to the space station has been
delayed at least three more days and is now scheduled to lift off from
KSC on Feb. 22 at the earliest. Shuttle mission STS-119 to install the last
major U.S.-made addition to the space station -- a truss with solar
arrays -- originally was scheduled to blast off Thursday, but because
of ongoing tests on gas valves that help pressurize the shuttle's fuel
tank during ascent, the launch was delayed by at least a week. NASA on
Friday said it needs the extra time because of an ongoing review of the
valves. (2/7)
Editorial: It's Premature to Shelve the Shuttle (Source:
Orlando Sentinel)
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has identified the space
shuttle retirement date as one of the top 13 urgent decisions facing
the government in the near future. NASA is currently planning to retire
the shuttle in 2010 and divert money to developing the Constellation
program. NASA's projected budget does not permit both at the same time.
The first Constellation operational manned flight to the international
space station, originally scheduled for 2014, is now estimated to come
in the 2015-17 time frame due to various technical, funding and
schedule problems. NASA is planning to fill the resulting five- to
seven-year gap in U.S. manned spaceflights by
buying flights from Russia.
However, paying Russia for flying U.S. astronauts is very
unpopular with the public and Congress. Buying flights from Russia was a poor option to
begin with, and is now a worse choice. The Russian Soyuz is not without
risk to human life, either. Former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin
quoted an internal NASA Shuttle Probabilistic Risk Assessment as
forecasting a 1 chance in 77 that the shuttle would have another
accident each time it launches. That assessment is flawed and
unreliable. An alternate method of estimating shuttle risk, based
primarily on flight experience, is more favorable because it takes into
account strong measures to minimize future accidents following those
involving the shuttles Challenger and Columbia. In contrast to claims
that it is aging and in decline, the shuttle's reliability and safety
are actually improving with each flight. (2/8)
Experts Urge Obama to
Extend Shuttle, Refocus NASA on Energy, Climate (Source: Houston Chronicle)
An assessment of space policy by the Baker Institute for Public Policy
at Rice University would send NASA in new directions by giving up
missions to the moon and placing a near-term emphasis on energy and
climate concerns. The shuttle's 2010 retirement would be postponed
until 2015, enabling astronauts to reach the space station without
using Russian launch services. The station would become the focus of
renewed scientific research.
NASA's Orion moonship capsule, which is to replace the shuttle in 2015
would be down-sized from a six- to three-seat spacecraft for station
missions. Orion's Ares 1 rocket launcher, a target of critics because
of technical problems, would be canceled, and NASA would use commercial
rockets. NASA would place exploratory resources on the development of a
large rocket, something akin to the proposed Ares V, that could
initiate human missions to an asteroid or a comet and reach across the
globe to undertake those activities with greater international
participation. (2/2)
NASA Plans for Manned Space Flight in a Holding Pattern
(Source: Houston Chronicle)
For Houstonians trying to figure out the future of manned space flight
in the Obama administration — if any — it’s beginning to look a lot
like dodge ball on a playground. The White House ducks questions about
NASA and refers reporters to the space agency. NASA ducks answers and
insists it’s awaiting guidance from the White House. Hints of President
Barack Obama’s direction are so fleeting that advocates of manned space
exploration seize upon his choice of reading material to a second-grade
class as a promising sign of things to come.
This much is clear: The leadership of the space agency, the direction
it will take and the money it will rely upon are in flux. “It’s a
period of watchful waiting,” says John Logsdon, a space historian who
formerly headed the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University. “The mission to the moon
is definitely up for grabs, and it’s conceivable returning to the moon
by 2020 could change.” (2/8)
That Was Then... (Source: Space Review)
A common lament of space advocates is that the public today is nowhere
near as interested in and supportive of space exploration as they were
in the 1960s. Jeff Foust argues that it's time for advocates to update
their strategies and tactics for the present and future rather than try
and repeat the past. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1298/1
to view the article. (2/2)
Apollo 13 Flight Director Says Space Exploration Can Stoke
Economy (Source: Government Technology)
Former NASA Mission Operations Director Gene Kranz told audience
members at last week's Government Technology Conference Southwest that
the country needs to make space exploration a priority in this
struggling economic climate. He hopes President Barack Obama's
administration places as much emphasis on the space program as the U.S. has in the past, and said
such programs are necessary to keep America competitive. Kranz urged
the Obama administration to continue the direction set out by NASA
administrator Michael Griffin, whose tenure ended Jan. 20. He said that
under Griffin, NASA has had its best
leader in two decades. (2/3)
Disappointed by House
Version, NASA Looks to Senate for Stimulus (Source: AIA)
As the Senate takes up debate on a massive economic stimulus bill, NASA
supporters are hoping space exploration won't get lost in the crush of
infrastructure projects and tax cuts. NASA got only a $50 million boost
in the House bill approved last week, while agency officials were
looking for $2 billion to speed the Constellation program and repair
infrastructure damage from Hurricane Ike. (2/2)
Nelson Fights For NASA Stimulus (Source: Florida Today)
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is urging members of his own party to preserve
"at least a significant portion" of the $1.5 billion in federal
stimulus funding proposed for NASA, his office said in a press release
today. The release includes a Feb. 3 letter to Sen. Daniel Inouye, the
Hawaii Democrat who heads the Senate Appropriations Committee,
supporting NASA. Nelson highlights technological innovations and
scientific discoveries resulting from NASA programs, and laments the
minimum five-year gap in the nation's manned spaceflight capability
after the space shuttle's planned 2010 retirement. (2/5)
NASA Funding (Mostly) Survives Senate Stimulus Compromise
(Source: Space Politics)
Late Friday evening the office of Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), who had been
working to trim some spending from the Senate’s economic stimulus bill,
released a statement with details on a compromise he and other senators
reached on spending cuts. The $1.5 billion for NASA that Sen. Bill
Nelson (D-FL) advocated, including $500 million to reduce the
Shuttle-Constellation gap, had in the crosshairs of Ben Nelson, Susan
Collins (R-ME), and other cutters. The compromise, though, leaves that
$500 million intact, instead cutting $200 million of the $500 million
sought for Earth sciences research. Assuming this compromise does pass
the full Senate, keep in mind that the Senate version will have to be
reconciled with the House version, which provided $600 million for
NASA, and none of that for human spaceflight. (2/7)
Will We Get Our First
Space Policy Hint From the FAA? (Source: DailyKos)
There has been extensive speculation about the direction that President
Obama will take space policy. A lot of it has been centered around who
he might appoint as NASA administrator. But there might be another hint
coming, and from another direction - FAA administrator. Particularly if
he appoints Robert (Bob) Herbert as head of the FAA. The reason that
this is important to space and space development is that all commercial
space launches are regulated by the FAA Office of Commercial Space
Transportation (often referred to, for reasons that are beyond me, as
AST).
Now, Colonel Herbert is a senior adviser to Senator Harry Reid. And
Senator Reid proved very important to the passage of the Commercial
Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004. Given this, and given Colonel
Herbert's area of expertise, it seems very likely that he agrees with
his boss about the potential of NewSpace. And its not like Colonel
Herbet is an unqualified lackey. He has over 7,000 hours in multiple
aircraft (fixed wing, rotary, military, civilian, commercial). As a
colonel in the Air National Guard, his current assignment is Deputy
Commander for the Army Nevada National Guard, and he oversees Nevada's Command Inspection
Program. Prior to this, for 6 years he was Director of Aviation for the
state of Nevada. (2/3)
Political Tensions Hamper
Search for NASA Chief (Source: Wall Street
Journal)
Disagreements between the White House and some senior Democratic
lawmakers have complicated the choice of the next U.S. civilian space
chief -- and led to the emergence of a possible compromise candidate.
Retired four-star Air Force Gen. Lester Lyles is now viewed as new
contender to head NASA, according to lawmakers and aerospace industry
officials. Gen. Lyles once headed the country's missile-defense program
and more recently participated in blue-ribbon commissions studying
manned space exploration. Barely three weeks ago, White House officials
were close to announcing that another retired Air Force general, Scott
Gration, had been chosen to run NASA. But the decision was put off
partly because veteran Democratic lawmakers, especially Sen. Bill
Nelson of Florida, complained about Gen.
Gration's lack of NASA and space background.
The personnel squabble reflects a broader struggle over the direction
of the U.S. manned space exploration
programs, which faces new funding and policy challenges. As an outsider
to NASA, Gen. Gration was perceived as more likely than other
candidates to propose potentially major changes to programs and
contractor teams established years ago by the Bush Administration and
supported by certain Congressional leaders and NASA's bureaucracy. Now,
the odds of Gen. Lyles eventually getting the nod seem to be
increasing, as the White house considers alternatives. Some industry
and government officials say Gen. Gration is still in the running. (2/7)
A Good Job with a Lousy
Title: Notes for the Next NASA Administrator (Source: Space Review)
Whomever the Obama Administration selects to be the next NASA
administrator is going to face a number of challenging issues. Taylor
Dinerman examines those issues, and the importance for NASA to
communicate its message to the American public. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1299/1
to view the article. (2/2)
Zubrin on Mars in Stimulus Plan (Source: Roll Call)
A Mars-Apollo program done today would have an even bigger impact,
because nowadays the science and engineering professions are open to
women and minorities in a way that simply was not the case in the
1960s. So this time, the stirring challenge would go out to all our
youth: Learn your science and you can be a pioneer of new worlds. From
such a call we would reap millions of new scientists, engineers,
inventors, doctors, medical researchers and technological entrepreneurs
— young men and women who would ensure our prosperity, national defense
and continued progress for decades to come.
We can reach Mars within eight years, and we should. In doing so, we
will make it clear to the world, and to ourselves, that we are a people
whose can-do spirit can defy any limit, that we are living at the
beginning of our history, not at its end, and that henceforth, our
greatest deeds will continue to be celebrated in newspapers and not
just in museums. We can not only beat the current recession, but soar
far beyond it, into a wide-open future truly worthy of the promise that
is America. (2/7)
One-Way Ticket to Mars (Source: Search)
If we can eliminate the requirement to launch that person off of Mars
to bring them back, we remove a major obstacle to mission practicality.
Carrying enough rocket fuel to the surface of Mars to permit a launch
back into space for a return to Earth, or else somehow manufacturing
fuel on Mars for this launch is a technical problem with no solution
likely in the next twenty or thirty years. There are current plans for
a robotic mission to return a one- or two-pound sample of Mars soil for
study. But even the simple rocket needed to bring such a tiny amount of
dirt back from Mars will be heavy and technically difficult to land on
that planet. For a one-way human mission, significant engineering
problems remain, but without the need for a Mars launch, we can plan a
program within the scope of available or near-term technology. Click here
to view the article. (2/7)
NASA and Google Launch
Virtual Exploration of Mars (Source: NASA)
NASA and Google have released a new Mars mode in Google Earth that
brings to everyone's desktop a high-resolution, three-dimensional view
of the Red Planet. Besides providing a rich, immersive 3D view of Mars
that will aid public understanding of Mars science, the new mode,
Google Mars 3D, also gives researchers a platform for sharing data
similar to what Google Earth provides for Earth scientists. (2/2)
Spirit Resumes Driving on
Mars
(Source: JPL)
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit resumed driving Saturday after
engineers gained confidence from diagnostic activities earlier in the
week evaluating how well the rover senses its orientation. Spirit drove
about 30 centimeters (1 foot) Saturday, during the 1,806th Martian day,
or sol, of what was originally planned as a 90-day mission. The rover
team had commanded a longer drive, but Spirit stopped short after its
right-front wheel, which no longer turns, struck a partially buried
rock. Diagnostic tests last week also checked possible explanations for
behavior for one period of activity on Spirit's Sol 1800, when the
rover did not save information into its non-volatile flash memory, so
the information was lost when the rover next powered down. (2/3)
Are We Bringing Our Germs to Mars? (Source: Time)
Star Trek fans know it as the Prime Directive: that there should be no
interference with the internal affairs of other civilizations. Since
human beings have yet to explore very far beyond Earth, pondering an
interplanetary noninterference policy of our own may seem a little
premature — at least until we've mastered warp drives and phasers. But
in fact, such a directive already exists in some form — the
international Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which governs the legal
framework for activities in space. Best known for banning governments
from putting nuclear weapons into orbit, the treaty also requires
space-faring nations to avoid "harmful contamination" of other worlds
while exploring the solar system.
Human beings have yet to set foot on other planets, so the risk today
comes from bacteria that can hitch a ride on unmanned spacecraft like
NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander, which arrived on the red planet's surface
last May. Even though Phoenix was assembled in a
special clean room to minimize bacterial contamination, and its arm,
which would have direct contact with Martian ice, was heat-sterilized
before launch, it's likely that dozens or more species of microbes
hitched a ride on Phoenix's 10-month trip to Mars.
Once on Mars, it's possible that bacteria shielded by the structure of
the spacecraft from the harsh Martian UV radiation could stay alive, in
dormancy, for hundreds of thousands of years. And if native microbes do
exist on Mars, there's a risk that foreign bacteria could contaminate
or somehow change the development of their Martian counterparts. (2/6)
'Comets Responsible for Originating Life on Earth'
(Source: The Hindu)
There is growing evidence that life on earth has come from the universe
through comets, an eminent British scientist said. "Life is cosmically
abundant and was brought to the earth by comets and our genes and those
of all living forms on earth were brought by comets, neatly-packaged
within cosmic microorganisms," professor N Chandra Wickramasinghe,
Director, Cardiff Center for Astrobiology, said.
The astrobiologist speaking at Nehru Planetarium said, "Our genetic
ancestors still lurk amidst the stars, and molecular biology is being
deployed to trace connections between different species in search of a
Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) for all life on the Earth." The
evidence for organic molecules that may be relevant to life emerged
after passage of Comet Halley in 1986. Giotto spacecraft instruments
showed that the comet dust contained high molecular weight complex
organics that could be connected with degraded biomaterial. (2/8)
Where Do Comets Come From? (Source: New Scientist)
Few cosmic apparitions have inspired such awe and fear as comets. The
particularly eye-catching Halley's comet, which last appeared in the
inner solar system in 1986, pops up in the Talmud as "a star which
appears once in seventy years that makes the captains of the ships
err". In 1066, the comet's appearance was seen as a portent of doom
before the Battle of Hastings; in 1456, Pope Callixtus III is said to
have excommunicated it. Modern science takes a more measured view.
Comets such as Halley's are agglomerations of dust and ice that orbit
the sun on highly elliptical paths, acquiring their spectacular tails
in the headwind of charged particles streaming from the sun. We even
know their source: they are Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) tugged from
their regular orbits by Neptune and Uranus. (2/2)
Powerful New Technique To
Measure Asteroids' Sizes And Shapes (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
A team of French and Italian astronomers have devised a new method for
measuring the size and shape of asteroids that are too small or too far
away for traditional techniques, increasing the number of asteroids
that can be measured by a factor of several hundred. This method takes
advantage of the unique capabilities of ESO's Very Large Telescope
Interferometer (VLTI).
Direct imaging, even with adaptive optics, is generally limited to the
one hundred largest asteroids of the main belt, while radar
measurements are mostly constrained to observations of near-Earth
asteroids that experience close encounters with our planet. The
astronomers have devised a new method that uses interferometry to
resolve asteroids as small as about 15 km in diameter located in the
main asteroid belt, 200 million kilometers away. This is equivalent to
being able to measure the size of a tennis ball a distance of a
thousand kilometers. (2/4)
Japan's Asteroid Sampler
Heads Back to Earth (Source:
SpaceFlightNow.com)
Japan's Hayabusa probe, potentially loaded with the first rock samples
from an asteroid, fired up one of its ion engines Wednesday to begin
the second phase of the explorer's return voyage to Earth. Hayabusa
ignited a single ion engine Wednesday to begin pulsing for up to 8,000
hours to finish guiding the spacecraft toward Earth. The spacecraft's
ion propulsion system has already completed than 31,000 hours of
operations since its launch in 2003. The spacecraft still has enough
xenon gas to power the ion engine and control its orientation in space,
according to JAXA.
Despite the hard work of several dozen engineers, Hayabusa still faces
more hurdles before making its scheduled parachuted landing in Australia in June 2010. Officials
said the ion engine must accelerate Hayabusa by nearly 900 mph by March
2010, when engineers will turn off the machine to begin the probe's
final approach to Earth. "If the current status of Hayabusa (remains)
until the final stage, we are sure that it will come back to the
Earth," Yoshikawa said. (2/5)
Planetary Demographics and
Space Colonization (Source: Space Review)
One reason often proposed for space settlement has been to relieve
overpopulation pressures on the Earth. Nader Elhefnawy explains why,
because of both demographics and economics, this rationale won't work.
Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1296/1
to view the article. (2/2)
Should Europa or Titan be Explored First? (Source: New
Scientist)
In February, NASA and European Space Agency officials will meet to
decide between two missions to the outer solar system. One mission will
aim for Saturn's moon Titan, which boasts Earth-like features including
lakes, river systems and dunes. The other mission would send a pair of
orbiters to explore Jupiter and some of its satellites. The US contribution will focus
on the moon Europa, whose ice-encrusted surface is thought to hide a
vast, watery ocean. (2/2)
Exoplanet Spotted in
Hubble Archive (Source: New Scientist)
The first direct image of three extrasolar planets orbiting their host
star was hailed as a milestone when it was unveiled late last year. Now
it turns out that the Hubble Space Telescope had captured an image of
one of them 10 years ago, but astronomers failed to spot it. This
raises hope that more planets lie buried in Hubble's vast archive. In
1998, Hubble studied the star HR 8799 in the infrared, as part of a
search for planets around young and relatively nearby stars. The search
came up empty. Last year, Christian Marois of the Herzberg Institute of
Astrophysics in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and colleagues looked at
the same star using the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii. They discovered three
planets, each about 10 times as massive as Jupiter. They succeeded
where the Hubble team failed mainly because of new strategies developed
to carefully subtract the star's glare, leaving only the faint infrared
glow from its planets. (2/2)
Smallest Known Transiting Planet Discovered (Source:
Science News)
Astronomers report today that they have found an extrasolar planet no
more than 11 times Earth’s mass with a diameter about twice that of
Earth. The discovery may ultimately provide groundbreaking information
about the composition and structure of terrestrial planets beyond the
solar system. Once the team can refine an estimate of the planet’s
mass, "this could be a potentially huge discovery, one that we've been
waiting for a long time," comments theorist Sara Seager of MIT. "I'm
excited to see what more the team will find out about this prospective
terrestrial planet." (2/3)
Ski Trip to the North Pole
May Hold Key to Long-Duration Space Travel (Source: Chicago Tribune)
Someday, when astronauts launch for Mars in a high-tech tin can, they
might wish to glance at the blue, ice-capped planet in the rearview
mirror and remember those who went before. People like John Huston —-
Arctic explorer, hopeful conqueror of the North Pole and guinea pig for
researchers studying human psychology in extreme environments. The
Chicago resident and his buddy, Tyler Fish of Minnesota, plan to set
out next week on a trip designed to make them the first Americans to
ski without resupplying from Canada to the North Pole. But what may
prove useful to NASA is the study of their mind-sets amid the ordeals
of an Arctic journey.
Like astronauts, Huston and Fish will have only the frozen or
preprocessed food they take with them—but in their case, towing
everything on sleds that will weigh 260 pounds each at the start. They
will spend long periods in confined spaces with only their fellow
travelers to rely on. Because the Earth's poles—like space—are places
of extreme cold where rescue is difficult or impossible, a mistake
could mean death. Psychologists are seeking to understand both the
stresses and the positive outlooks that make a rare breed of people
excel in cold, forbidding realms. Gloria Leon, a University of Minnesota psychology professor
emeritus, has been interviewing Huston and Fish and will have them
complete questionnaires at the end of each day. (2/6)
Russia Says Verbal Deal To Keep Station Operational Until 2020
(Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Russia and its International Space Station partners have an oral
agreement to continue using the orbiter until 2020, the president of
leading Russian spacecraft maker RSC Energia said on Thursday.
"The ISS partners have not yet signed any documents, but verbally we
have already settled the initiative [to extend the station's use],"
Vitaly Lopota said at a news conference in Moscow. Russia's partners in the
International Space Station program are the United States, Canada, Japan, and the European Space
Agency. (2/5)
Station Shaken Too Hard,
Possibly Damaged (Source: Florida Today)
NASA is looking into whether the International Space Station was badly
damaged last month during a rocket-firing to reposition the outpost for
the arrival of an automated cargo tug. A rocket firing ended abruptly
and shook the station more severely than usual. Those vibrations can
damage structural supports and delicate components like solar arrays,
so engineers are now studying whether the damage is bad enough to
shorten the station's service life, according to the newspaper report.
(2/3)
Inside NASA's New Moon
Rover
(Source: OnOrbit.com)
If you were watching the Inaugural Parade on TV several weeks ago
hoping to see a NASA rover - only to miss it - don't feel bad. You were
not alone. The rover was placed at the end of the parade so as to
highlight it. Alas, due to lagging schedules that day, by the time the
rover finally made its way to the Presidential reviewing stand, nearly
all TV networks had already gone to commercials or cut to local news. I
watched the faces of President Obama and his wife. There was a
noticeable widening of their smiles as it approached and went through
its routine.
While this rover does score high on the geeky SciFi scale, there is a
lot more to it than meets the eye. The folks at NASA have managed to
come up with a good guess at how such a rover might work - and have
created something that you can drive. More importantly you can use it
to perform meaningful work. Click here to view the article.
(2/4)
NASA Sets Out Altair Lunar
Lander Timetable (Source: Flight Global)
NASA has sketched out the development timetable for its
return-to-the-Moon Constellation program's Altair lunar lander, aiming
toward a long-term target of an unmanned June 2018 in-orbit propulsion
test in preparation for a manned Moon mission in 2020. Multiple
conceptual design contracts worth at least $42.2 million over four
years are to be awarded in June. This year and 2010 will see "base
awards" of $1.6 million and $5.6 million respectively. Then, in 2011,
there is an "option one" award of $15 million. In 2012 "option two" is
worth $20 million. A design, development, test and evaluation award
could come in 2013. The DDT&E work is likely to bridge the gap
between the preliminary design review and the June 2018 test. (2/2)
Griffin Says Ares 1 is Two Times Safer than EELV (Source:
Florida Today)
Former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin is unshakably opposed to
switching from NASA's Ares 1 rocket to an upgraded Air Force Evolved
Expendable Launch Vehicle, or EELV. A chief reason: crew safety. The
Columbia Accident Investigation Board recommended that NASA retire its
aging shuttle fleet as soon as possible. The design of any replacement
"should give overriding priority to crew safety," the board said.
"Our probabilistic risk assessment for loss of crew on Ares 1 showed it
to be twice as safe -- I repeat, twice as safe -- as a human-rated
EELV-derived vehicle," Griffin said recently. "This
figure of merit was a significant factor in our decision to go with the
shuttle-derived Ares 1, yet is ignored by almost everyone suggesting we
make a change," he said. "I cannot responsibly ignore it, for reasons
having nothing to do with money." (2/8)
Newsman: Stick With Ares-1 (Source: Florida Today)
Longtime NBC News correspondent Jay Barbree thinks NASA should stick
with the "single stick" rocket rather than shift to modified military
rockets. A Merritt Island resident who has covered
NASA for more than half a century, Barbree favors the Ares 1 rocket
because it is designed to fly astronauts rather than satellites. "The
thing to do is continue on the track that they're on," he said. "The
quicker they can get the space shuttle retired and get the Orion
spacecraft built, the better off this country is going to be." (2/8)
Ares I vs. EELV – Advantage Ares I (Source:
AmericaSpace.org)
Some Ares I critics have opined that only one of the EELV’s can truly
keep America’s Space program from a
certain death. Never mind that most of the critics are not engineers
and have never read “Space Vehicle Design”, a key graduate-level
textbook co-authored by Dr. Mike Griffin. Now comes news that NASA some
time ago asked the Aerospace Corporation to do a study weighting the
costs and benefits of abandoning Ares I for one of the EELVs.
Initially, this Aerospace Corp. study was done using NASA numbers. But
United Launch Alliance was invited to participate in the study to
assure that the numbers used to analyze the EELV option were the most
favorable to the EELV team.
Former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin has been saying for years that
the EELV’s are no substitute for Ares I. The Aerospace Corp. seems to
agree. Will that quiet the angry critics of the Ares I in Space
blogdom? Unlikely. But what the study will do is keep those in the
Obama Administration who feel that the EELV option might be a good one
from slowing down Ares I development while a study like that of
Aerospace Corp. is completed. Griffin, Cook, et. al. seem to
have headed that issue off at the pass. (2/2)
Despite Difficulties NASA Constellation Engineers Move Forward
(Source: New Frontiers Blog)
Never mind all of the controversy and confusion surrounding NASA's
budget, their new leader and the possible delays for the shuttle
retirement; I have some good news for you! NASA's Constellation
engineers are actually making some serious progress. Ares I-X will lift
off from KSC this summer. It should climb to around 25 miles in a
two-minute powered test of the first stage and its recovery system. The
test is meant to identify any basic design flaws that need to be fixed
before the more complex components are added. No matter how powerful
the computers and simulations are, these things just have to be tested
the old fashion way. There are countless teams and individuals working
on this project and if this test is a successful it will help
immeasurably in boosting moral and renewing faith in the whole
Constellation program. Not to mention it will help keep it on track for
the Design Review scheduled for 2010. (2/2)
Air Force Pays ULA to
Squeeze Another Launch Into 2009 EELV Manifest (Source: Space News)
The Air Force will pay United Launch Alliance an extra $15 million to
make room for another mission on an already-crowded 2009 launch
manifest as the company tries to clear a backlog that has built up due
to technical issues that grounded its fleet for much of last year. ULA
will increase its operating tempo for Atlas 5, the workhorse of the
fleet with 34 missions scheduled through early 2012. ULA now plans to
launch seven Atlas 5s this year. The Air Force will pay for additional
ULA personnel working more shifts at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida and at Vandenberg Air
Force Station in California in order to shorten the
turn-around time between Atlas 5 launches. (2/6)
Arianespace and Thales
Alenia Launch Contract with Russia's Gazprom (Source: Arianespace)
Arianespace has been chosen to launch the two communications
satellites, Yamal-401 and Yamal-402 within the scope of a contract
between Thales Alenia Space and Russian operator Gazprom. The launch
contract was signed yesterday in Moscow, following the contract
signed by Thales Alenia Space and Gazprom for the in-orbit delivery of
the satellites Yamal-401 and Yamal-402. Thales Alenia Space will build
these two satellites using Spacebus 4000C3 platforms. They will be
orbited by Ariane 5 ECA launchers in the second
half of 2011. (2/7)
Arianespace Signs Deal to Launch Two Satellites for Arabsat
(Source: Arianespace)
Saudi-Arabia based operator Arabsat has selected Arianespace to launch
the Arabsat 5C and Arabsat 6B satellites. The Arabsat 5C satellite is
scheduled for a launch in the third quarter of 2011 aboard an Ariane 5 ECA from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The launch of Arabsat 6B
is scheduled from the second half of 2012. These two contracts are the
14th and 15th launch Service & Solutions contracts that Arianespace
has signed in the Middle East. (2/4)
Arianespace Seals
Four-Billion-Euro Rocket Deal (Source: AFP)
The European space rocket company Arianespace has struck a
four-billion-euro deal to buy launchers from the French aerospace and
defence giant EADS. Arianespace ordered 35 Ariane 5 ECA rocket launchers from
EADS in a deal worth more than four billion euros (five billion
dollars), bringing to 49 the total number of these launchers in
production. The contract signed on Friday will "ensure both independent
access to space for Europe, and the best launch
service and solutions on the market for all of Arianespace's
customers," the statement said. (2/2)
March Launch Planned for Europe's Gravity Mission on Russian
Rocket (Source: ESA)
ESA is now gearing up to
return to Russia to oversee preparations for the launch of its GOCE
satellite – now envisaged for launch on 16 March 2009. This follows
implementation of the corrective measures after the anomaly with the
Rockot launcher that delayed the launch of GOCE by Eurockot Launch
Services last October. An advance party from ESA has just arrived at the
Plesetsk spaceport in northern Russia to arrange logistical
matters while the team of engineers will arrive in mid-February. (2/4)
British Firms Developing
Air-Launch System (Source: Press
Association)
Two British firms are looking into developing a rocket capable of
putting small satellites in orbit. Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL)
and Sir Richard Branson's space travel venture Virgin Galactic want to
build a device that can be launched from an aircraft and carry
satellites hundreds of miles above the earth's surface. The concept
would be similar to the US Pegasus system. Virgin Galactic features a
carrier jet known as WhiteKnightTwo. It is intended to lift the space
tourists' rocket plane up to launch height. But SSTL and Virgin
Galactic are working on the idea of using the aircraft as a platform to
release a British commercial satellite launcher. (2/3)
Japanese Midair Rocket Launches? (Source: Daily Yomiuri)
The government has embarked on the development of midair
rocket-launching technology, a new method of firing off rockets, in the
hope the technique can be put into practical use. In a midair rocket
launch, a small rocket takes a satellite into orbit after being
launched from a plane over open seas. Such launches have been used by
the United States for about 20 years.
Although many countries have been trying to develop midair
rocket-launching systems, little attention has so far been paid to the
technology in Japan. But the method poses
problems, including considerably higher maintenance and repair costs
for the rocket-launching airplanes and limits to the size of satellites
that can be launched. (2/2)
Satellite’s Failure
Hurting India's Credibility (Source: Financial
Express)
A power system failure in the ISRO-EADS built W2M satellite for
Paris-based communication satellite operators Eutelsat is an
unprecedented problem for ISRO, say senior officials in the Indian
space agency. ISRO having enjoyed great success with indigenous
satellites was making its first foray into the big business of
satellite exports with the W2M project that fetched the agency $33
million in revenue in a contract jointly executed with EADS.
While one major power system glitch has been reported in ISRO built
satellite systems in the past -- in the Insat-2D in 1997 -- senior
officials in the agency said the problems that are threatening to bring
down the W2M "are totally different". "It comes after a series of over
10 successful satellite launches," the official said. (2/3)
Sri Lankan Space Agency
Soon
(Source: Daily Mirror)
Plans are afoot to set up a space agency in Sri Lanka and ready to launch its
first satellite soon. “This would be similar to NASA in the US and ISRO in India” an official said. It has
been planned to launch two satellites, namely a GEO satellites used for
communication and a LEO satellite. The TRC is to announce the launch
dates of the satellites in March this year to coincide with the first
death anniversary of Sir Arthur C. Clarke after whom the satellites
will be named. Sri Lanka is reported to be one of
the few nations in Asia, which does not have a
satellite of its own. (2/4)
As European Space Agency
Grows, New Members Face Familiar Problems (Source: Space News)
The European Space Agency (ESA), which counted 12
national members in the 1980s, reached 18 in 2008 and is likely on the
way to 25-nation membership, faces several hurdles as it tries to
attract small European nations. Many of the problems facing prospective
ESA members are those that
confront small nations that are currently members of the agency. These
include the difficulties of developing a national space industry with a
tiny space budget, and how to invest these limited resources in ways
that avoid head-on competition for contracts with ESA's well-armed larger
members.
As much as current members, candidate ESA nations expect to use the
agency's geographic-distribution rules to assure that most of what they
invest returns in the form of contracts to their industries. But
assuring high-technology contracts in nations with little or no
aerospace industries is easier said than done, as was made clear in a
two-day conference on the subject held in Budapest, Hungary, Jan. 26-27. The
conference, "Models of Governance of National Space Activities,"
included presentations by current and prospective ESA governments. (2/6)
Third Satellite Considered
For French Helios System (Source: Space News)
The French Defense Ministry is expected to decide by the end of this
year whether its third generation of Helios optical and infrared
reconnaissance spacecraft will consist of two satellites in the same
orbit, or will include a third satellite in lower orbit providing
higher-resolution imagery, French government and industry officials
said. (2/6)
Space Travel to Take a
Rest in 2009
(Source: Tourism Review)
It may not be the average person’s idea of a typical holiday, yet space
travel certainly has a tendency to grab headlines. It is possible to
label it the most expensive brand of tourism anywhere. It attracts
attention for two reasons, firstly the fact that the world’s financial
elite enjoys space travel and, secondly, it is so original. However,
now it seems the space voyages will have to stop for a while. March
this year will see the final space voyage for a while, as the Space
Station doubles its crew size. The break has been viewed as a lull
before a storm as Virgin Galactic will begin commercial flights around
2011. Apparently, around 300 passengers have already booked their
flights. (2/3)
Is the Space Tourism Bubble Popping? (Source: Parabolic
Arc)
As I watch companies lay off tens of thousands of employees every week
(and sometimes every day), I’m beginning to wonder if we’re watching
another space bubble burst. Here we are in the midst of another
economic bubble popping just as the nascent space tourism industry
seems ready to take off. Can the industry weather such a downturn? Will
the money from investors and customers suddenly dry up? It’s very
difficult to say, not knowing the extent of the downturn or the true
state of the companies involved.
Make no mistake, these companies are vulnerable. Eric Anderson can talk
about how good business is for Space Adventures’ orbital joyrides. But,
his company’s efforts at building a suborbital tourism vehicle are
reportedly floundering. It must be a bit more difficult these days for
the firm’s subsidiary, Zero G, to continue selling parabolic flights at
more than $5,000 apiece. Virgin Galactic likes to talk about the
hundreds of customers it has signed up, but how many of these flights
are fully paid? My guess is not many.
By the time your flight is scheduled, who knows where a typical
millionaut will be by then? You may not have the money. The flights may
look riskier than you first thought. Or maybe you’ve had a child in the
meantime, and the prospect of never seeing little Johnny Jr.’s adorable
face again is too frightening to contemplate. The emerging space
tourism industry may weather the downtown quite well. There may be
enough people out there with enough money to sustain the effort. But,
if things keep getting worse, we could see the industry whither. (2/3)
Space Hotel: Bookings are Open and Coming In (Source:
4Hoteliers.com)
Four Spaniards will be the first to stay for 4 days at 450 kilometers
from the Earth and the space tourism company introduced the first “spa”
to be installed in space. The Space Tourism Company Galactic Suite
already has 38 reservations made by tourists who in 2012 will travel to
the hotel to spend four days at 450 kilometers from the Earth.
The trip, which will cost 3 million euros, also includes 18 weeks of
preparation for the tourists to acquire experience in space. This
preparation will take place on an island in the Caribbean, where the participants
can travel with their families. Of the 38 reservations made through the
company’s website (www.galacticsuite.com)
since January 2008, 4 belong to people of Spanish nationality, while
the rest is divided between people from Russia, USA, United Arab Emirates, Australia, China and South America. Click here to
view the article. (2/5)
Space Hotelier Plans Caribbean Spaceport (Source: 4Hoteliers.com)
The new Galactic Suite Spaceport, the first commercial spaceport in the
world, will be built on an island in the Caribbean and the project will be
designed by the company Equip architecture. Galactic Suite does not
rule out building new spaceports in the future in other countries
around the world, in order to facilitate accessibility to other hotels
built in space to as many people as possible. For the first time, a
revolutionary space launch system will be designed to maximize security
and minimize the impact on the environment. This new technology is a
maglev accelerator suspended in the air over a road.
After reaching the speed of sound, the spacecraft is separated from the
accelerator and will reach orbit using its rocket engine. The maglev
track will have a length of about 3 miles that will allow the
spacecraft to accelerate 1000 kph (620 mph) in less than 20 seconds.
The most expensive part of any journey to LEO are the first few seconds
- leaving the ground. This technology is very competitive in its cost
in respect to other forms of space transportation, and is inherently
safe and sustainable. (2/5)
'Frontiers of Propulsion
Science' Explores Warp Drives, Gravity Control (Source: Nanowerk)
AIAA has published a new book, Frontiers of Propulsion Science
(Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics), that compiles for the first
time the emerging science of such novel propulsion concepts as space
drives, warp drives, gravity control, and faster-than-light travel –
breakthroughs that would revolutionize spaceflight and enable human
voyages to other star systems. While the subject matter may sound like
science fiction, authors Marc Millis and Eric Davis point out that a
growing number of reputable scientific journals are discussing such
topics, although at this point very few research projects have advanced
beyond the stage of making initial observations and formulating initial
hypotheses.
This emerging science, and the realization that rockets are inadequate
for interstellar exploration, led NASA to support the Breakthrough
Propulsion Physics Project from 1996 through 2002, to explore such
concepts. The new book by Millis and Davis, written for graduate
students and engineering professionals, covers that project as well as
other related work, giving the reader enough starting material to
comprehend each subject area, and decide if and how they might pursue
their own research in the subject fields. (2/3)
Space: We've Trashed It -- With High-Speed Debris (Source:
Orlando Sentinel)
Human exploration of space has turned low Earth orbit into a high-tech
junkyard. In the five decades since Sputnik, space agencies have
littered the night sky with everything from grease guns to dead
satellites and even a golf ball -- sliced into orbit by a Russian
cosmonaut. Most of these objects fall back to Earth and burn up
harmlessly in the atmosphere. But some linger in orbit for years and
could remain for centuries. This growing ring of rubbish is both
dangerous and costly. "Orbital debris still is the No. 1 risk to the
space shuttle," said Nick Johnson, who leads NASA's effort to monitor
space junk. On any given mission, he estimates that the shuttle is hit
thousands of times by tiny bits of old satellites and spacecraft that
either fell apart or smashed together. (2/8)
Yuri's Night Team Launches Space Raffle (Source: PR.com)
The executive council for the Yuri's Night World Space Party has
launched a new fund-raising campaign at SpaceRaffle.net, the world's
first long term raffle campaign supporting a space cause. Starting with
a raffle of up to $500 in travel / accommodation funds for the winner
to attend any Yuri's Night celebration worldwide, the Space Raffle
intend to grow substantially over the next several years. The Space
Raffle plans to begin raffling Zero Gravity flights of the same type of
airplane traveling in parabolic flight patterns simulating
weightlessness that NASA uses for microgravity experiments and the
training of astronauts. (2/3)
Space Fashion Design Contest at New York Fashion Week
(Source: Fibre2Fashion)
In an exciting departure from the typical luxury fashion shows during
its semi-annual New York event, one of the runway shows to be presented
during Couture Fashion Week this season will be Space Couture, a
sampling of the highly creative winning designs of a series of
competitions. This inventive fashion show will be held on Sunday, February 15, 2009 at the world-famous
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
The concept behind Space Couture began several years ago as a
collaboration between RocketPlane Global, an innovative Oklahoma-based
company developing sub-orbital space flight programs, and fashion
designers Eri Matsui and Misuzu Onuki. RocketPlane Global was looking
to offer edgy fashion choices to their future passengers and Ms. Matsui
and Ms. Onuki had the vision of encouraging up-and-coming fashion
designers to create extraordinary clothing through competitions that
would bring out their most daring fashion skills. Click here
to view the article. (2/2)
Live From Space! at
Embry-Riddle in Arizona (Source: Prescott News)
Stacy DeVeau, from the NASA Educator Resource Center on-campus at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, (ERAU) had her hands
full Tuesday morning. She was juggling representatives from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California, a live hook-up between
ERAU and the International Space Station, (ISS) and hosting one of only
24 human beings to ever fly to the moon. The event took place in The
Davis Learning Center at the ERAU campus, and the auditorium was packed
with approximately 350 students ranging from elementary through college
ages from the quad-city area, ERAU students, teachers and home schooled
children. (2/7)
Canadian Students Call Space Station with Home-Built Radio
(Source: Globe and Mail)
Four Toronto college students have accomplished a technological feat
that their teachers are calling a first. The Humber College seniors made contact with
the International Space Station Monday with a radio system they
designed and built themselves. School officials say that, to their
knowledge, that's never been accomplished by students at the college
level. The project got off the ground about a year ago as the students
looked for a way to apply knowledge gained from their radio
communication courses. (2/2)
Lockheed Martin Partnership Helps Bay Area Teacher
(Source: Lockheed Martin)
More than 80 students from Pescadero Middle School launched model
rockets today as part of a new school-wide Rocketry Education Program.
The program, designed to build enthusiasm for science, technology,
engineering and math, originated from a teacher's summer fellowship at
Lockheed Martin through the Bay Area-based Industry Initiatives for
Science and Math Education (IISME). Chip Harrison, a teacher at Pescadero Middle School, was one of 20 elementary
school, middle school, and high school teachers who participated in
IISME's fellowship program last year at Lockheed Martin Space Systems
in Sunnyvale, Calif. The IISME organization
works to foster a strong, highly skilled workforce in science,
technology, engineering and math.
Based on his experience at Lockheed Martin, Harrison initiated a rocketry
education program that combines research, experiments, fieldtrips,
real-world applications, and actual rocket model development. To fully
engage the students and staff, the program also integrates other
aspects of the school's curriculum, including elements of the Science,
English, History, and Math disciplines. (2/2)
Northrop Grumman Posts
First Quarterly Loss in 7 Years (Source: LA Times)
Northrop Grumman posted its first quarterly loss in seven years as it
wrote off the declining value of businesses it acquired several years
ago. But sales of weapons and military electronics increased and helped
the company jump over its rival Boeing Co. to become the nation's
second-largest defense contractor. Lockheed Martin Corp. is No. 1.
Northrop also surged ahead of Boeing as one of the largest private
employers in Southern California with more than 27,000
employees.
The company said the value of its backlog of military orders rose to a
record $78 billion, up 22% from $63.7 billion a year earlier. Still,
Northrop said it lost $2.5 billion in the fourth quarter after it took
a previously announced accounting write down of $3.1 billion to reflect
the lower value of its Litton Industries Inc. and TRW Inc.
acquisitions. Without the non-cash charge to earnings, Northrop said it
would have posted a quarterly profit of $524 million, up 15% from $457
million a year earlier. Sales increased 4% to $9.2 billion. (2/3)
Harris Corp. Second Quarter Revenue Increases 16% (Source:
Florida Today)
Harris Corp. reported revenue of $1.52 billion in its second quarter of
fiscal 2009, an increase of 16 percent compared to $1.32 billion in the
prior-year quarter. GAAP et income decreased from $114.3 million in the
prior-year quarter to a net loss of $38.6 million in the second
quarter. (2/4)
EchoStar Amasses Sirius XM
Debt
(Source: Wall Street Journal)
Charles Ergen's EchoStar Corp. has quietly accumulated a substantial
portion of Sirius XM Satellite Radio Inc.'s maturing debt in what could
be the first salvo in an attempt to take control of the embattled
company, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Ergen, who
controls a satellite-television empire around Dish Network Corp. and
EchoStar, has recently acquired part of a $300 million tranche of
Sirius debt that matures on Feb. 17, according to the people. Sirius
recently converted part of the debt to equity, reducing the total debt
outstanding to about $175 million. (2/5)
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California Aerospace
Events Calendar
AIAA Dinner Features Air
Force SBIRS Program Official in Los Angeles on Feb. 19
Col Scott Larrimore,
Commander, SBIRS Space Group, will be the featured speaker at an AIAA
dinner event on Feb. 19 in Los Angeles. Register online at
http://www.aiaa-la.org/dinnermtgs.html or email
mailto:westcoast@xxxxxxxx
Spacefest 2009 Planned in San Diego on Feb. 19-22
Come participate in a
celebration / discussion / conference on manned and unmanned
spaceflight. Features over three dozen pioneer astronauts, test pilots,
movie stars, nationally known speakers, and authors, Also a huge space
art show, featuring award-winning artists from movies, TV, print, and
NASA. Dozens of exhibitors. Location: 500 Hotel Circle North, San Diego. Visit
http://www.spacefest.info
NASA Educator Workshop at
Vandenberg on Feb. 21-23
Join NASA and the Endeavour Center at Vandenberg Air Force
Base in California for the Taurus XL launch
of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory. OCO will provide space-based
observations of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the principal
human-initiated driver of climate change. This event is a unique
opportunity for educators to learn about Earth, atmospheric and rocket
science. Participants will receive a teacher's guide, a classroom
poster and a Mission CD for classroom use. The registration deadline
isFeb. 13, 2009. To learn more about the OCO Launch conference, visit
http://endeavours.org/sec/. Please e-mail any questions about this
conference to Ms. Moksha Badarayan at director@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx. For more
information about the OCO mission, visit http://oco.jpl.nasa.gov/
NDIA Fifty-Ninth Annual
West Coast Dinner - February
27, 2009 - Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, LAX
Join us at a hosted
reception at 6:30 pm followed
by dinner. Guest speaker will be Lt Gen Larry
James, Commander, 14th AF, AFSPC, and Commander, JFCC Space, USSTRATCOM. Formal/Black tie. ID
Required. Registration available at http://www.ndia-glac.org
CANEUS 2009 Workshops at
NASA Ames in Moffett Field on Mar.
1-6
The CANEUS 2009 Workshops
represent a unique and ambitious event where technologists, users, and
funding communities from around the world gather to formulate projects
with the aim of transitioning advanced technologies from concepts to
systems to benefit the aerospace industry. The program will emphasize
measurable deliverables with lasting impact for the aerospace industry.
Participants of the Small Satellite Sector Consortium (SSSC) will
collectively prepare implementation plans for well-defined projects,
and identify new project concepts. Visit
http://www.caneus2009.org/2009/downloads/CANEUS%202009%20Preliminary%20Program.pdf
NASA/JPL 21st Annual
High-Tech Conference 2009 on Mar. 3-4
Once again, it's time to
network with some of the best small, small disadvantaged and
women-owned businesses in the nation! The NASA/JPL 21st Annual
High-Tech Small Business Conference is scheduled for March 3-4 at the
Westin LAX Hotel. On-line registration at http://acquisition.jpl.nasa.gov/boo/2009ht/index.asp
California Partners on CeBIT 2009
Conference on Mar. 3-8
Hannover Fairs USA and the
Business, Transportation & Housing Agency of the State of California have announced a new,
low-cost participation program for Golden State technology firms wanting
to have a presence at CeBIT, the world’s leading digital tech
marketplace and trade show. California is the designated Partner
for CeBIT 2009, March 3-8, 2009. Packages are now being
offered $2450 each. For more information,
contact or more info contact: Jim Charos, Hannover Fairs USA, Tel:
+1-813-996-5359, Email: jcharos@xxxxxxxxx or
Jennifer Grutzius, Business, Transportation & Housing Agency, Tel:
+1-916-324-7523, Email: Jennifer.Grutzius@xxxxxxxxxx. Instructions on registration and general CeBIT
information can be found at http://www.hfusa.com/cebit_california
Participation Support
Offered for CeBIT Mar. 3-8
Hannover Fairs USA and the
California Business, Transportation & Housing Agency have announced
a low-cost participation program for Golden State technology firms
wanting to have a presence at CeBIT, the world’s leading digital tech
marketplace and trade show. California is the designated Partner
for CeBIT 2009, March 3-8, 2009. Packages are now being
offered $2450 each. For more information contact: Jim Charos, Hannover
Fairs USA, Tel: +1-813-996-5359, Email: mailto:jcharos@xxxxxxxxx or
Jennifer Grutzius, Business, Transportation & Housing Agency, Tel:
+1-916-324-7523, Email: mailto:Jennifer.Grutzius@xxxxxxxxxx.
Instructions on registration and general CeBIT information can be found
at http://www.hfusa.com/cebit_california
NASA Educator Workshop on
Mar. 7
Join Dawn scientists and
engineers along with educators from around the country in a set of
unique, simultaneous workshops in California, Colorado, Oregon and West Virginia on March 7, 2009. The Dawn spacecraft
flies by Mars in February 2009 with all science instruments turned on
for testing. Dawn science and engineering members will be sharing key
updates and information with conference participants regarding the
spacecraft's gravity assist at Mars and the Dawn Mission in general.
Using Ion Propulsion, Dawn is expected to arrive at its first intended
destination, the asteroid Vesta, in 2011. Terrific curricular materials
are part of this unique opportunity! For more information and to
register online, go to:
http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/getInvolved/mga_ed_conf.asp.
Vandenberg Small Business Conference & GPC Vendor Faire Planned Mar.
18-19
The two day event is set to present a variety of events. The GPC Vendor Faire will be for
contractors and vendors to meet cardholders. The 2008 event included
Speed Dating Mini-Marketing Meetings, a wine tasting and Tech Brew
social, exhibits, opportunities to meet small business owners in
plenary sessions, and educational seminars. Call 805-605-7265 for information. Or
email: Diane.Perry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation Research and Technology Organisation Lecture Series on “Small Satellite
Formations For Distributed Surveillance: System Design and Optimal
Control Considerations” organized by the Systems Concepts &
Integration Panel to be held in USA, Stanford University on 1-2 April
2009. This Lecture Series is open to citizens from NATO,
Partnership-for-Peace (PfP) Nations. Latest Enrolment Date NATO Nations
Wednesday, 25 March 2009 PfP Nations Wednesday,
18 March 2009. Enroll on-line at http://www.rta.nato.int/meetings.asp
SMC Industry Days Planned
in Long Beach on Apr. 14-16
Attend this annual event
where industry is invited to learn about the current and upcoming
programs at the Space & Missile Center, focusing on business
opportunities. For past SMC Industry Days agendas visit http://www.smcindustrydays.org.
Online registration will be available.
California Team Invited to NASA
Student Launch Initiative on Apr. 15-20
NASA has invited 14 groups of ambitious young rocketeers from 11 middle
schools, high schools and youth organizations around the country to
light up the sky over North Alabama during NASA's 2008-2009
Student Launch Initiative rocketry challenge. One of the teams is from Harvard-Westlake School in North Hollywood, California. The rocketeering
challenge will be held Apr. 15-20, when student teams will converge on
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville for a professional review
of their rockets by NASA engineers. Teams are eligible to participate
in the program for one or two years. Each new team receives a $3,700
grant, and each returning team receives a $2,450 grant.
Technology Review and
Update, April 20-24, 2009
Technology Review and
Update is a short course designed for military, government and civilian
technical personnel and decision makers interested in refreshing and
updating their knowledge in important technical areas. This short
course is scheduled to run from April 20 through April 24, 2009. http://sp.nps.edu/trau/curric.html
Responsive Space
Conference Planned in Los Angeles on Apr. 27-30
Now in its 7th year, the
Responsive Space Conference has become recognized as the foremost
conference on responsive space. The annual conference provides a forum
for the user community (military, civil, commercial, and educational)
to review, explore, and introduce emerging technologies in responsive
space development. The 2009 Responsive Space® Conference will focus on
a broad spectrum of topics including: business, missions and
applications, CONOPS, launch, technology, and education. Visit
http://www.responsivespace.com
Aerospace Medical
Association Meeting in Los Angeles on May 3-7
The 80th Annual Scientific
Meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association will be held May 3-7, 2009, at the Westin
Bonaventure hotel in Los Angeles. For questions about the
meeting, please contact Gloria (703-739-2240 x 106) or Sheryl
(703-739-2240 x 107). Click here
to view the "Call for Papers" for the event.
Air Force Association 35th
Annual Salute to SMC Awards Banquet – May 5, 2009
http://www.afa147.org
AeroInnovate Forum Planned
During Oshkosk Event in Wisconsin on May 13-14
AeroInnovate is an
aerospace forum is an opportunity for applied research faculty,
research students, industry affiliates, and small business innovators
to learn about funding and commercialization opportunities. It is a
forum to bring together applied researchers who have inventions or
innovations that need capital to become commercially viable with those
who have the funds and the expertise to move innovations to a more
visible and functional entrepreneurial state (angel investors, venture
capitalists, large acquisitive firms, government agencies).
AeroInnovate is the first forum of its kind in aerospace, although this
model has been used successfully in the biotech fields. Visit
http://www.AeroInnovate.org
International Space
Development Conference in Orlando on May 28-31
The 2009 International Space Development Conference, the annual
conference of the National Space Society, will be held in Orlando on May 28-31. The
location will be the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate. Mark your
calendars, and visit http://nssflorida.org/isdc-2009/ for information.
45th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE
Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit - August 2 - 5, 2009
Colorado Convention Center. Insertion of Innovative
Technology into New and Evolving Systems - The objective of JPC 2009 is
to identify and highlight how innovative aerospace propulsion
technologies get inserted into both new and evolving systems. Special
panel sessions to be announced will focus on advanced system
applications that can be used to showcase the propulsion systems,
components and technologies that enable them. Register at www.aiaa.org
AIAA Space 2009 Conference
& Exposition - September 14 - 17 - Pasadena Convention
Center
The year 2009 will be one
of major transition. The U.S. government’s massive space modernization
program has reached its apex; a new era of human space exploration is
beginning as we transition from the Space Shuttle to Constellation; the
effects of a complex and dynamic globalized economy are helping shape
the market; and the new U.S. presidential administration and Congress
mean potential changes in priorities and emphases. The AIAA SPACE 2009
Conference & Exposition will examine these issues and more and will
be attended by leaders from all corners of the space community,
including key government and industry decision-makers. Register at
www.aiaa.org
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Last Week’s DOD
Contract Awards in California
The Air Force is awarding
a firm fixed price contract to McDonnell Douglas Corporation of
Long Beach California for an amount not to
exceed $2,950,000,000. This is an undefinitized contract action for the
procurement of 15 C-17 aircraft. At this time, $114,550,000 has been
obligated. 516 AESG/SYK, Wright-Patterson Air
Force Base, Ohio is the contracting
activity.
Barnhart Inc., San Diego,
Calif., is
being awarded $22,990,658 for firm-fixed price task order #0002 under a
previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple
award construction contract (N62473-08-D-8608) for design and
construction of the Berthing Lima Conversion at Naval Base Coronado.
The work to be performed provides for the complete design and
construction of buildings and facilities upgrades to Berth Lima to
accommodate CVN planned incremental availabilities (industrial
maintenance activities) and cold-iron berthing. Project includes the
construction of a security building, a restroom/payphone building, pump
house building, two steel watch towers, two guard houses, security
fencing, high mast security lighting, and surveillance infrastructure.
Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be
completed by March 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of
the current fiscal year. Five proposals were received for this task
order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting
activity.
Hydraulics International,
Inc., Chatsworth, Calif., is being awarded a
$7,172,371 firm-fixed-price contract for 30 electric hydraulic carts
for the U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 aircraft (26) and the U.S. Air Force
CV-22 aircraft (4). In addition, this contract provides for the
procurement of 31 diesel hydraulic carts for the U.S. Marine Corps
MV-22 aircraft (24) and the U.S. Air Force CV-22 aircraft (7). Work
will be performed in Chatsworth, Calif., and is expected to be
completed in March 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $5,637,946
will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract
combines purchases for the U.S. Marine Corps ($5,854,975; 82 percent)
and the Air Force ($1,317,396; 18 percent). This contract was not
competitively procured. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division,
Lakehurst, N.J., is the contracting
activity.
Rolls-Royce Engine
Services, Oakland, Calif; StandardAero (San
Antonio), Inc., San Antonio, Texas; and Wood Group Turbopower, LLC;
Miami Lakes, Fla., are each being awarded firm fixed price, indefinite
delivery, indefinite quantity contracts to provide depot-level repair
for the T56 Series III engine. The award for Rolls-Royce Engine
Services is $36,379,415; for StandardAero, Inc., it is $43,165,973; and
for Wood Group Turbopower, LLC it is $47,608,704. The three major
modules of the engine to be maintained and repaired under this contract
will be (a maximum annual quantity of) 160 Power Sections, 180
Reduction Gear Assemblies, and 140 Torquemeters. Depot-level repair of
T56 Series III engine modules is required to support fielded P-3 and
derivative aircraft, as well as T56-powered C-130 and C-2 aircraft. Place of performance for Rolls-Royce Engine
Services is Oakland, Calif.; for StandardAero, it is San
Antonio, Texas; and for Wood Group LLC, it is Miami Lakes, Fla. These
contracts are expected to be completed in February 2010. Contract funds
in the amount of $5,816,296 will expire at the end of the current
fiscal year. These contracts were competitively procured via electronic
Request for Proposal and four offers were received. The Naval Air
Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting
activity.
The Air Force is awarding
a firm fixed price contract to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
of San Diego, Calif., for an amount not to
exceed $81,273,117. This effort is for two MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles and two Mobile Ground Control Stations for the Italy Foreign
Military Sales customer. At this time $40,049,760 has been obligated.
703 AESG/SYF, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting
activity.
The Air Force is awarding
a cost plus fixed fee contract to Boeing Satellite Systems Inc., El Segundo, Calif., for $10,248,866. This
action will develop a system concept through the performance of trade
studies, modeling and simulation, system analysis, and requirements
definition to provide a comprehensive approach that addresses
formulation of an architecture providing high-value capabilities for
the Department of Defense. Det 8 AFRL/RVKS, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico is the contracting
activity.
Engineering-Environmental
Management, Inc., Englewood, Colo., is
being awarded a maximum $20,000,000 firm fixed price, indefinite
delivery, indefinite quantity architect/engineering contract for
environmental planning and engineering services for National
Environmental Policy Act and Executive Order 12114 environmental
effects abroad of major Federal actions in the NAVFAC Atlantic area of
responsibility (AOR). The work to be
performed includes Categorical Exclusions, Environmental Assessments,
Environmental Impact Statements, Environmental Reviews, and
Environmental Studies. Work will be performed at various Navy and
Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities within the
NAVFAC Atlantic AOR including, but not
limited to Va., (50 percent) Calif., (20 percent), N.C., (10
percent), Fla. (10 percent), and Wash. (10 percent), and is expected to
be completed by Feb. 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of
the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via
the NAVFAC e-solicitation website with five proposals received. The
Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting
activity.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Conn., is
being awarded a $5,718,669 modification to a previously awarded firm
fixed price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity time and material
contract (N00019-07-D-0005) for non-recurring efforts in support of the
planned retrofit of MH-60S aircraft 1 – 119 to improve operational and
warfighting capabilities. Specifically, this modification provides for
the design and development of retrofit kits; purchase of four retrofit
kits for the performance of two separate validation and verifications;
and preparation and delivery of two routine action technical directives
for the MH-60S Warfighter Operational Safety Improvement Program. Work
will be performed in Stratford, Conn., (84.5 percent); Coronado,
Calif., (12.2 percent); and Lexington, Ky., (3.3 percent), and is
expected to be completed in Jun. 2011. Contract funds will not expire
at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting
activity.
Toshiba America Medical
Systems Inc., Tustin, Calif., is being awarded a
maximum $36,000,000 fixed price with economic price adjustment contract
for radiology systems, subsystems and components. There are no other
locations of performance. Using services are
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Federal Civilian Agencies. This
proposal was originally Web solicited on FedBizOpps with 27 responses.
Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
The date of performance completion is Feb. 3, 2010. The contracting activity
is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Pa.
AeroVironment,
Incorporated, Simi Valley, Calif., was awarded on Jan. 30, 2009, a $39,003,452 firm fixed
price and cost plus fixed fee contract to definitize not-to-exceed FY
09 Systems, initial spares packages, and contractor logistics support
for the Raven RQ-11B Unmanned Aircraft System. Work is to be performed
in Simi Valley, Calif., with an estimated
completion date of Jan. 31,
2010.
One bid was solicited and one bid received. U.S. Army Contracting
Command, Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting
activity.
Halbert Construction Co.,
Inc., El Cajon, Calif., was awarded on Jan. 30, 2009, a $9,452,670 firm fixed
price contract for construction of a new emergency generator to work in
parallel with the existing generators in Sacramento, Calif. Work is to be performed
at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Sacramento, Calif., with an estimated
completion date of Apr. 21,
2010.
Bids were solicited on the Web with six bids received. U.S. Army
Engineer District, Sacramento, Calif., is the contracting
activity.
General Atomics
Aeronautical Systems, San Diego, Calif., was awarded on Jan. 29, 2009, a $21,710,228 cost plus
fixed fee four month extension to current contractor logistics support
contract for I-GNAT Warrior Alpha, and Sky Warrior Block O Unmanned
Aircraft Systems at multiple OCONUS locations in support of Operation
Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Work is to be performed
at San Diego, Calif., with an estimated
completion date of May 31,
2009.
One bid was solicited and one bid received. U.S. Army Contracting
Command, Contracting Center, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting
activity.
ARMTEC Countermeasures
Co., Coachella, Calif., was awarded on Jan. 30, 2009, a $19,951,263 firm fixed
price contract for 184,800 M206 and 399,720 MJU-7A/B IR Countermeasure
Flares. Work is being performed at East Camden, Ark., with an estimated
completion date of Apr. 30,
2010.
Two bids were solicited and two bids received. Headquarters, U.S. Army Field Support
Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting
activity.
The Boeing Co., Integrated Defense
Systems (Global Services and Support Division), St. Louis, Missouri, is
being awarded $249, 937,154 for a cost plus fixed fee contract for
operations and sustainment support for the fielded portions of the
Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) System for calendar year (CY) 2009
with an option for CY 2010. The principal
places of performance are the contractor’s facility in Huntsville,
Ala., and Missile Defense Agency facilities at Schriever Air Force
Base, Colorado, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., and Fort
Greely, Alaska. This sole source contract is
awarded pursuant to 10 USC 2304(c)(1), as implemented by Federal
Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1.
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