Fwd: Human Spaceflight News - April 5, 2013 and JSC Today

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From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: April 5, 2013 6:03:38 AM GMT-06:00
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: Human Spaceflight News - April 5, 2013 and JSC Today

Happy Friday everyone. 

 

It was great to see so many of you that were able to join us for our monthly Retirees luncheon yesterday.  

 

Thank you also to all your family members and friends for joining us – they are always welcome. 

 

Have a great weekend.

 

 

 

Friday, April 5, 2013

 

JSC TODAY HEADLINES

1.            Today! Meet Team Everest: Film Producers and Crew Visit JSC

2.            Houston Fire Department Training On-site

3.            Competitive Advantage Through Strategic Ambidexterity

4.            2013 NASA Golf Tournament Polos -- Order Yours Today

5.            Knovel Database Revamped -- Access Electronic Reference Books Now

6.            Book Fair at Starport

7.            Space Serenity Al-Anon Meeting April 9

8.            Recent JSC Announcement

9.            Why Join Toastmasters?

10.          Space Available - APPEL - Orbital Debris Mitigation and Re-entry Risk Management

11.          Texas A&M Engineering Project Showcase

12.          Observe the Planets Night at the George Observatory

________________________________________     NASA FACT

" Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson of NASA was the first female commander of the International Space Station."

________________________________________

1.            Today! Meet Team Everest: Film Producers and Crew Visit JSC

The "Team Everest: A Himalayan Journey" film chronicles the 21-day trek of five men in wheelchairs and their teammates--representing a range of disabilities--on a journey to reach Mount Everest Base Camp at an altitude of 17,500 feet. As their 10-year anniversary nears, the Team Everest crew and producer will visit JSC to share film highlights and reflections--an exclusive you don't want to miss! The presentation will not be broadcast live on JSC TV, so please join us in the Teague Auditorium.

Date: Today, April 5

Location: Teague Auditorium

Time: 11 a.m. to noon

Hosted by the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity and JSC's disABILITY Advisory Group.

Accommodations for a specific disability are available upon request by contacting Janelle Holt at x37504.

Event Date: Friday, April 5, 2013   Event Start Time:11:00 AM   Event End Time:12:00 PM

Event Location: Teague Auditorium

 

Add to Calendar

 

Janelle Holt x37504 http://www.teameverestthemovie.com/

 

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2.            Houston Fire Department Training On-site

The Houston Fire Department will be conducting a training exercise on-site on Saturday, April 6, in the afternoon. The exercise will be in front of Building 419 and run along Avenue B.

Ronald Lee 832-646-4761

 

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3.            Competitive Advantage Through Strategic Ambidexterity

Come hear how Apple, Inc. and Singapore Airlines created their competitive advantage through their use of strategic ambidexterity. The Strategic Opportunities and Partnership Development Office will be hosting Loizos Heracleous, associate fellow at Oxford University, who will present the results of his research on these organizations and how the insights gained could benefit JSC.

Event Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2013   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:1:00 PM

Event Location: Building 1, rooom 360

 

Add to Calendar

 

Steven Gonzalez x36314 http://ao.jsc.nasa.gov/

 

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4.            2013 NASA Golf Tournament Polos -- Order Yours Today

The Sixth Annual NASA Golf Tournament polos are now available for sale.

Not participating in this year's tournament and still want a polo? You got it!

Click here to purchase yours today.

2013 NASA Golf Tournament Polos (Micropique Sport-Wick)

o             Men's sizes: Small to 2XL

o             Women's Sizes: Small to 2XL

All polos are $36 each (20 percent off value of $40)

Orders available through April 14 only.

Note: All participants of the Sixth Annual NASA Golf Tournament will receive one polo (included in registration). Any polos ordered online are additional.

Don't wait! Order your 2013 NASA Golf Tournament Polo today.

Steve Schade x30304 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/golf

 

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5.            Knovel Database Revamped -- Access Electronic Reference Books Now

Knovel provides access to electronic reference books covering areas such has aerospace and radar technology, mechanical, civil and electrical engineering.

The latest Knovel Unit Converter contains 800 different units, and there are interactive graphs that can calculate complex equations or redraw images to maximize productivity. Knovel is a subscription service through the Scientific and Technical Information Center. It is accessible to JSC civil servants and contractors in the NASA network or via remote access using VPN. Check out the all-new version.

Access to this information is provided by the Information Resources Directorate.

Scientific & Technical Information Center x34245

 

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6.            Book Fair at Starport

Come and enjoy the Books Are Fun book fair in the Building 3 Starport Café on Tuesday, April 23, and Wednesday, April 24, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Search through more than 250 great titles in children's books, cookbooks, general-interest books, New York Times bestsellers, stationary and scrapbooking, music collections and more all at unbelievable prices. Click here for more information.

Event Date: Tuesday, April 23, 2013   Event Start Time:9:00 AM   Event End Time:2:00 PM

Event Location: B3 Cafe

 

Add to Calendar

 

Shelly Haralson x39168 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/

 

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7.            Space Serenity Al-Anon Meeting April 9

"Think" reminds Al-Anon members to look at several angles before responding. Our 12-step meeting is for co-workers, families and friends of those who work or live with the family disease of alcoholism. We meet Tuesday, April 9, in Building 32, Room 146, from 11 to 11:45 a.m. Visitors, think about coming.

Event Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2013   Event Start Time:11:00 AM   Event End Time:11:55 AM

Event Location: B. 32, room 146

 

Add to Calendar

 

Employee Assistance Program x36130 http://sashare.jsc.nasa.gov/EAP/Pages/default.aspx

 

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8.            Recent JSC Announcement

Please visit the JSC Announcements (JSCA) Web page to view the newly posted announcement:

13-010: Key Personnel Assignment - Glenn C. Lutz

Archived announcements are also available on the JSCA Web page.

Linda Turnbough x36246 http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/DocumentManagement/announcements/default.aspx

 

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9.            Why Join Toastmasters?

Joining will help develop your communication, leadership and listening skills.

The Space Explorers Toastmasters Club meets on Fridays in Building 30A, Room 1010, at 11:45 a.m.

Duong Nguyen 281-486-6311

 

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10.          Space Available - APPEL - Orbital Debris Mitigation and Re-entry Risk Management

This two-day course introduces participants to orbital debris environment characterization and mitigation, including characterization and future growth of the orbital debris environment; collision risks; and orbital debris mitigation policies, processes, requirements and standards. It also explains re-entry risks and design-for-demise methodology, including the origin and nature of NASA Human Casualty Re-entry Risk assessments and criterion; overviews and applications of NASA Debris Assessment Software (DAS) and Object Reentry Survival Analysis Tool (ORSAT); design-for-demise objectives and experience; and demonstration of DAS re-entry risk assessment.

This course is designed for NASA project practitioners, mission members, engineers, scientists and other project support staff who are involved in spacecraft design and operations and interested in orbital debris issues and employing mitigation approaches, including "design for demise."

This course is available for self-registration in SATERN until Tuesday, April 30. Attendance is open to civil servants and contractors.

Dates: Tuesday to Wednesday, June 11 to 12

Location: Building 12, Room 146

Zeeaa Quadri x39723 https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHED...

 

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11.          Texas A&M Engineering Project Showcase

Please join the Texas A&M Engineering Student Services and Academic Program as we showcase the remarkable engineering projects that our students are producing.

When: April 19 from noon to 4 p.m.

Where: G. Rollie White Coliseum, Texas A&M University

What: Over 100 projects showcasing the work developed by more than 500 engineering students. These include departmental capstone design and multidisciplinary team projects of all levels, from freshmen to seniors and faculty representatives from all engineering departments.

Please join us!

For more information, please email.

Event Date: Friday, April 19, 2013   Event Start Time:12:00 PM   Event End Time:4:00 PM

Event Location: Texas A&M University, G. Rollie White Coliseum

 

Add to Calendar

 

Matt Leonard 281-460-1071 http://engineering.tamu.edu/project-showcase

 

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12.          Observe the Planets Night at the George Observatory

On April 13, the planets have aligned to create Observe the Planets Night! This will be the only time this year, during observatory hours, that you can view both Jupiter and Saturn. Stop by and view the planets through a telescope at the George Observatory and get tickets for our first-ever Family Space Day mission to Mars! Come out and spend the evening with the planets. To get tickets for the Mission to the Moon, visit this website.

Note: Park entrance fees apply at $7 per person for everyone over 12 years old.

Event Date: Saturday, April 13, 2013   Event Start Time:3:00 PM   Event End Time:10:00 PM

Event Location: George Observatory at Brazos Bend State Park

 

Add to Calendar

 

Megan Hashier 281-226-4179 http://www.hmns.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=404&Ite...

 

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________________________________________

JSC Today is compiled periodically as a service to JSC employees on an as-submitted basis. Any JSC organization or employee may submit articles. To see an archive of previous JSC Today announcements, go to http://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/pao/news/jsctoday/archives.

 

 

 

 

Human Spaceflight News

Friday, April 5, 2013

 

HEADLINES AND LEADS

 

International Space Groundswell Draws New Entries

 

Frank Morring, Jr. - Aviation Week

 

While NASA and the U.S. Congress focus on using commercial vehicles to transport cargo and eventually crews to the International Space Station, an international groundswell of less visible but no less ambitious commercial-space concepts is materializing quietly—one idea at a time. One example is set for launch Oct. 16 to the International Space Station (ISS) on a Russian Progress resupply vehicle. The Canadian-led Urthecast venture plans to mount a pair of high-definition video cameras on a pointing platform attached to the station's Zvezda module, and give the world an astronaut's-eye view of Earth via streaming video over the Internet.

 

Get ready to smile

Cameras on space station to start streaming Earth events by year-end

 

Peter Rakobowchuk - Canadian Press

 

A Vancouver-based company says it should be ready to take videos of big outdoor events on Earth from the International Space Station and put them on the Internet by the end of the year. Scott Larson, the CEO of Urthecast, says two space cameras -- one that shoots photos, the other video -- will be sent up to the station on Oct. 16 on board a Russian spacecraft. The cameras will be installed on the outside of the football-field-sized station at the end of October and are expected to start rolling a few months later once tests are completed.

 

Shiloh launch site plan draws mixed reactions

 

James Dean – Florida Today

 

A proposed state-run launch complex at Kennedy Space Center met with a mixed reception Thursday during the public's first opportunity to comment at a local government meeting. After Space Florida briefed the Volusia County Council on its plans, about 10 environmentalists voiced opposition, saying it would wreck part of a vital national wildlife refuge. A handful of speakers supported the proposal, which they believe would attract jobs and ensure Florida doesn't drive an emerging commercial launch industry to other states.

 

Next week: "Threats from Space," the sequel

 

Jeff Foust - SpacePolitics.com

 

When the House Science Committee met last month to discuss the threats posed by near Earth objects (NEOs), they indicated that there would be at least one other hearing on the topic in April. That hearing has been scheduled: "Threats from Space: A Review of Non-U.S. Government Efforts to Track and Mitigate Asteroids and Meteors, Part II" is planned for the afternoon of April 10. It will again be the full committee, rather than just the space subcommittee, convening for this hearing.

 

As NASA Changes, Invest In Companies Investing In Outer Space

 

Reuben Gregg Brewer - The Motley Fool

 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is at a crossroads. Corporate America is taking the reins. This could be a long-term investment opportunity for intrepid investors. Not long ago, the last U.S. space shuttle was retired. It was a sad day for NASA and The United States because there is no spacecraft to replace it. That means this country has to hitch a ride on a Russian spaceship to continue to support the world's efforts in space, most notably the International Space Station. That's a huge change for a country that was once the main supplier and builder of the space station. It also shows how far astray we've gone from trying to reach for the stars. While we still have amazing aspirations, like exploring Mars, NASA is at a point where it has to find itself. The President believes that corporate America can help in the space effort. While that would have been an unthinkable concept years ago, it isn't today. In fact, companies have been working with NASA for years. While we aren't at the point of privately owned companies sending people into space just yet, we are close. That could mean a burgeoning field is just around the corner.

 

Inspiration Mars considers NASA's Space Launch System, ULA rockets for 2018 Mars trip

 

Lee Roop - Huntsville Times

 

Dennis Tito, the man trying to mount a privately funded fly-by mission of Mars in 2018, is considering the Space Launch System being developed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center as his astronauts' ride to the red planet. A Marshall spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday that Tito and another executive of his Inspiration Mars non-profit organization, visited Marshall March 19 for a briefing on SLS. Marshall is leading development of the booster part of the new heavy-lift rocket for NASA.

 

Uncle Chris Hadfield an inspiration to his nephews

 

Katie Starr - Sarnia Observer

 

When most people look at Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, they see stars. But for the Sarnia native's nephews Andrew and Taylor Hadfield of Paradise, Nfld., they just see their Uncle Chris. Hadfield, 53, is the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station (ISS). He's been living in outer space conducting experiments since Dec. 21 and will be there until May. Like many families divided by distance, the Hadfields - dad Philip, mom Teresa, Taylor, 14, and Andrew, 12 - stay close to Uncle Chris through email, Twitter and Skype.

 

NASA celebrates 30th anniv of first satellite communications network

 

RedOrbit.com

 

 

Thursday marked the 30th anniversary of the deployment of NASA's first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-A, which was carried into space as part of space shuttle Challenger's maiden voyage on April 4, 1983. TDRS-A was deployed a day after the shuttle's launch, as astronauts released the probe from Challenger's cargo bay, officials from the US space agency said. Following 39 adjustment burns, it successfully achieved geosynchronous orbit around the equator, traveling more than 22,000 miles above the Earth's surface. It would later be renamed TDRS-1 and kicked off what NASA officials called "a new era in spacecraft-to-ground communications."

 

Here's the coolest photo yet of SpaceShipTwo in flight

 

Jason Paur - Wired.com

 

 

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo has made its first flight in months, which is noteworthy both because they tested the nitrous system on board and because Sir Richard Branson's PR people provided a really cool photo of the glider passing by the moon. Wednesday's nine-minute glide flight was the 24th made by Virgin Galactic since 2010 and the second time it has flown with the airframe and rocket engine configured as it will be for upcoming powered flights. Virgin made the test flight at Mojave Air and Space Port in southern California, which is home to Scaled Composites, the company helping Branson's dream of suborbital adventures take flight.

__________

 

COMPLETE STORIES

 

International Space Groundswell Draws New Entries

 

Frank Morring, Jr. - Aviation Week

 

While NASA and the U.S. Congress focus on using commercial vehicles to transport cargo and eventually crews to the International Space Station, an international groundswell of less visible but no less ambitious commercial-space concepts is materializing quietly—one idea at a time.

 

One example is set for launch Oct. 16 to the International Space Station (ISS) on a Russian Progress resupply vehicle. The Canadian-led Urthecast venture plans to mount a pair of high-definition video cameras on a pointing platform attached to the station's Zvezda module, and give the world an astronaut's-eye view of Earth via streaming video over the Internet.

 

Anyone can take a free look at his rooftop or childhood playground, much as they can with Google Maps now. Paying customers will be able to order up the scenes they want, with 1.1-meter (3.6-ft.) resolution on the model of other commercial Earth-observation spacecraft. Also adding to Urthecast's bottom line will be an application that draws more on Silicon Valley than the traditional Earth-observation model.

 

"We'll do two things," says Scott Larson, director and president of the Vancouver-based startup. "One is just a matter of getting as many people as we can to the website, and then looking for revenue streams off that. Of course, there are all kinds of them. And then, secondly, opening up the API [application programming interface], and letting other developers make games, apps and things like that, based on the API. Then you usually charge a certain amount per every time someone uses the API on some other app."

 

Impetus for the enterprise came from the Russian government, which wanted a way to ensure it could get Earth-observation data from its investment in the ISS. Working through the Russian space agency Roscosmos, its ISS prime contractor RSC Energia and its own contractors, Urthecast has developed the camera and is training the crew that will install it on the Zvezda pointing platform.

 

From that vantage point it will not only be able to cover the Earth between 51.6 deg. N. and S. Lat., but peer out into space at targets of opportunity as well. "By this time next year, we'll be in the market and streaming images over the web," Larson says.

 

The Canadian venture won't be the first to take advantage of the station's unique position and environment to make money. Nanoracks, which started by renting out a simple set of USB data ports on the station to accommodate paying customers with cubesat-size experiments, has expanded to include a small centrifuge for 1g control in microgravity experiments, and an experiment rack exposed to the space environment on the "porch" of Japan's Kibo laboratory module. Aurora Flight Sciences is planning upgrades to the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage & Reorient Experimental Satellites (Spheres) that fly with puffs of gas inside the station to give customers a place to check their attitude-control, formation-flying and other proximity operations software quickly

 

Moving deeper into Earth orbit, with another nascent commercial-space app, is PLANETiQ, which is fund-raising to field a constellation of small commercial weather satellites that it hopes can attract some of the $6 billion the world's weather services spend collecting data for their forecasts each year.

 

"We represent a new model of public/private collaboration, in developing a network of small satellites for sustained and cost-effective rapid delivery of atmospheric data," says Anne Miglarese, the PLANETiQ president and CEO.

 

The concept involves 12 satellites weighing 75 kg (165 lb.) each, spaced around the globe. Using a technique called GPS Radio Occultation, which extracts temperature, pressure and humidity profiles from measurements of how much the atmosphere bends GPS signals as they pass through it, the company plans to market the data as a low-cost alternative to sounders and other weather-satellite instruments, with the fast-turnaround data delivery—3 min. after observation—particularly advantageous in tracking hurricanes as they approach landfall.

 

"I would argue that atmospheric data is moving in the same direction that brought us the plethora of imaging, both commercial and government, with the failure of the [National Reconnaissance Office's Future Imaging Architecture]," says Miglarese. "It was that burning platform that opened up the commercial opportunities for [Digital Globe] and GeoEye, and allowed them to thrive. We have a very similar situation with weather . . . with the serious delays and overruns that have occurred at NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]; the same with the [Defense Meteorological Satellite Program] at the Air Force."

 

The Bethesda, Md.-based company is o't alone in hoping to build a commercial market for satellite weather data. GeoMetWatch Corp. already has started building a hyperspectral imager for weather applications that it hopes to fly as a hosted payload, and is on the verge of announcing an Asian-regional satellite as its host (AW&ST Feb. 25, p. 18). Both companies are aiming to lower the cost of weather observation from orbit.

 

The first 12 PLANETiQ satellites will cost an estimated $155 million, including launch, Miglarese says. The satellites will also carry two instruments for monitoring damaging high-energy particles from solar storms, to help satellite operators protect their expensive birds from space weather.

 

Launches could begin 28-30 months after the start of manufacturing, Miglarese says, and it will cost at least $40 million for that to happen by the targeted July 1 date. While the needed technology is straightforward, financing is the real hurdle.

 

"We've been to two of the major finance houses," she says. "Both are very interested. But there are some very inherent risks for them, and those risks aren't about technology [or the] launch. The market clearly understands those risks, and can mitigate for them. The risk is in not having a proven market."

 

Other new-space startups are going after traditional markets, but in very untraditional ways. Like Columbus sailing off into the sunset to find spices that would fetch a fortune back home in Europe, some experienced space entrepreneurs are talking seriously about mining asteroids and the Moon for precious metals and water. The water can be broken down into oxygen and hydrogen for the propellant and life support that will be needed to exploit and explore space. The metals are precious for good reason.

 

"You will be hard-pressed to find a serious piece of microelectronics or structural support inside a human body that does not have a platinum-group element in it," says Eric Anderson, co-founder and co-chairman of Planetary Resources, an asteroid-mining startup.

 

Planetary Resources does not expect to find financial backing right away to race off to an asteroid and start digging. Instead, it has mapped a careful path of more and more capable spacecraft—starting with cubesat-based telescope prospectors to study potential targets—and it has a stable of dot-com billionaires willing to fund it, says Anderson. He cut his entrepreneurial teeth sending wealthy space tourists to the ISS on Russian Soyuz vehicles.

 

Anderson's co-founder at Planetary Resources is Dr. Peter Diamandis, a physician/renaissance man who set up the X-Prize Foundation to promote all kinds of innovation. One of the prizes, backed by Google, is $20 million for a robotic landing on the Moon. Another space-mining operation—Moon Express—hopes to win and use that prize money as its first step toward commercial operations on the lunar surface.

 

"Moon Express is being held to a Silicon Valley standard of strategy, and of business development," says CEO Rob Richards, who is one of its founders. "It is an experiment in a way, of merging how Silicon Valley does things, with traditional aerospace, which does things well. So we're at the boundary condition of these two worlds that really haven't met before. We have people from both. We're using what we know is tried and true . . . from our relationships with NASA. But we're also structured financially to develop our value as a company."

 

Get ready to smile

Cameras on space station to start streaming Earth events by year-end

 

Peter Rakobowchuk - Canadian Press

 

A Vancouver-based company says it should be ready to take videos of big outdoor events on Earth from the International Space Station and put them on the Internet by the end of the year.

 

Scott Larson, the CEO of Urthecast, says two space cameras -- one that shoots photos, the other video -- will be sent up to the station on Oct. 16 on board a Russian spacecraft.

 

The cameras will be installed on the outside of the football-field-sized station at the end of October and are expected to start rolling a few months later once tests are completed.

 

"Around the last couple of weeks of December or the first couple of weeks of January is when we'll be able to officially turn stuff on and start showing all the streaming images," Larson told The Canadian Press.

 

He said there will be about a one-hour delay before the images taken by the space station cameras show up on Urthecast's website, but there will be lots to feast on.

 

"Anything that's one metre big is what you'll be able to see," he said. "You'll see if there are 10 people together in white shirts in a green field.

 

"If we decide there's something over a downtown that we want to see, we can point the video camera, hold it for about 90 seconds and then it goes on to the next target."

 

The cameras will be able to show flash mobs, outdoor events, stadiums, boats and planes, but Larson added that images like people's faces and licence plates will be too small to be visible.

 

The Urthecast executive also said people will be able to find out in advance when the space station and its cameras will be flying over their area.

 

"You will find out that the space station is going to be over you in five hours," Larson said. "You can begin to co-ordinate your events around when you will be imaged in space."

 

But Larson also pointed out that the space cameras would not be used just for fun and games.

 

The images, he said, would also be useful for observing the Earth's environment and for covering major news events like last year's Arab Spring.

 

"I think media will mainly be driven based on events on account of breaking news," Larson said, adding that Urthecast is already involved in such discussions.

 

The giant space laboratory orbits the Earth about 16 times a day, but if it's on one side of the planet and something happens on the other side, it won't be picked up by the cameras.

 

Larson said all the images taken by the cameras can be analyzed to see how rivers and forests have changed over time.

 

"We signed an agreement with the United Nations," Larson said. "They want to use it for crisis monitoring, lots of environmental uses and humanitarian kind of stuff."

 

The two cameras will be mounted on the Zvezda service module, the Russian segment of the space station.

 

The installations will take place during a spacewalk by crew members after the cameras have arrived on board.

 

Shiloh launch site plan draws mixed reactions

 

James Dean – Florida Today

 

A proposed state-run launch complex at Kennedy Space Center met with a mixed reception Thursday during the public's first opportunity to comment at a local government meeting.

 

After Space Florida briefed the Volusia County Council on its plans, about 10 environmentalists voiced opposition, saying it would wreck part of a vital national wildlife refuge.

 

A handful of speakers supported the proposal, which they believe would attract jobs and ensure Florida doesn't drive an emerging commercial launch industry to other states.

 

"My biggest fear is not moving fast enough," said Joshua Wagner, one of at least two council members who spoke favorably of the complex known as Shiloh, for the citrus community located there before NASA seized the land for the Apollo program.

 

NASA hasn't yet agreed to give up the roughly 150 acres on which the state wants to build one or two launch pads near the Brevard-Volusia county line, just inside the northern border KSC shares with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

 

But Space Florida is pressing ahead with an environmental study of the site, expected to start next month and take about a year.

 

Agency CEO Frank DiBello said the project is vital to the state's future if it wants to capture a projected 12 to 20 commercial launches a year, and not settle for government launches dropping in frequency because of the shuttle's retirement.

 

He described market demands for more flexibility and control as inherently in conflict with NASA and Air Force missions to protect their national security and exploration assets, despite strides they have made to become more business-friendly.

 

SpaceX, which recently completed a third cargo mission to the International Space Station, and Blue Origin are two companies known to be interested in the Shiloh site.

 

But SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently identified Texas as the front-runner to win his commercial launches, and Georgia and Puerto Rico are also considered threats to Florida.

 

Orbital Sciences Corp. this month plans to launch a new rocket from Virginia, which it chose over the Space Coast in 2008.

 

Environmentalists repeated arguments made to NASA five years ago when the agency studied developing commercial launch pads at Kennedy, far south of the Shiloh site.

 

Rather than disturbing a wildlife refuge, they said, the government and private firms should figure out how to share existing infrastructure at KSC and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

 

They questioned whether promised space jobs would outweigh harm that a rocket accident or more limited refuge access could do to a thriving eco-tourism industry.

 

"We all agree," said Stephen Kintner of the West Volusia Audubon Society. "This is the wrong place."

 

But if not here, supporters said, the launches will move to another state, not another part of the Cape.

 

"This is an emerging market, and we need to take advantage of it," said Jim Cameron of the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce.

 

DeLand resident Ari Litwin said welcoming commercial launch business could keep aerospace talent trained at Embry-Riddle Aerospace University in Daytona Beach from leaving for other states, a view two Embry-Riddle students echoed.

 

The seven-member council voted 5-2 to soon consider a resolution supporting Shiloh, with Patricia Northey and Pat Patterson opposed.

 

Brevard County commissioners in February unanimously approved a resolution backing Shiloh and state efforts to promote a commercial launch capability "superior to that available anywhere else in the nation."

 

Next week: "Threats from Space," the sequel

 

Jeff Foust - SpacePolitics.com

 

When the House Science Committee met last month to discuss the threats posed by near Earth objects (NEOs), they indicated that there would be at least one other hearing on the topic in April. That hearing has been scheduled: "Threats from Space: A Review of Non-U.S. Government Efforts to Track and Mitigate Asteroids and Meteors, Part II" is planned for the afternoon of April 10. It will again be the full committee, rather than just the space subcommittee, convening for this hearing.

 

Unlike the first hearing, which heard from key officials including NASA administrator Charles Bolden and Presidential science advisor John Holdren, this hearing instead features subject matter experts: Ed Lu, chairman and CEO of the B612 Foundation (which is seeking to raise funding for a NEO detection mission called Sentinel); Donald Yeomans, manager of the NEO Program Office at JPL; and Michael A'Hearn, a University of Maryland astronomy professor who served as vice-chair of the National Research Council's Committee to Review Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies, which released a report in 2009 on the topic.

 

As NASA Changes, Invest In Companies Investing In Outer Space

 

Reuben Gregg Brewer - The Motley Fool

 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is at a crossroads. Corporate America is taking the reins. This could be a long-term investment opportunity for intrepid investors.

 

The Space Shuttle

Not long ago, the last U.S. space shuttle was retired. It was a sad day for NASA and The United States because there is no spacecraft to replace it. That means this country has to hitch a ride on a Russian spaceship to continue to support the world's efforts in space, most notably the International Space Station.

 

That's a huge change for a country that was once the main supplier and builder of the space station. It also shows how far astray we've gone from trying to reach for the stars. While we still have amazing aspirations, like exploring Mars, NASA is at a point where it has to find itself.

 

A New Market?

The President believes that corporate America can help in the space effort. While that would have been an unthinkable concept years ago, it isn't today. In fact, companies have been working with NASA for years. While we aren't at the point of privately owned companies sending people into space just yet, we are close. That could mean a burgeoning field is just around the corner.

 

Here are some names to watch:

 

Orbital Sciences (NYSE: ORB)

One of the most direct plays on space is Orbital Sciences. It develops and builds small- and medium-class rockets and space systems for commercial, military, and civil government customers. The Department of Defense (DOD) and NASA are both big customers. It breaks its business into three segments: launch vehicles, satellites and space systems, and advanced space programs.

 

The launch and satellites divisions basically focus on building and delivering satellites to orbit. The advanced space programs group, however, is keyed in on "human-rated space systems for Earth-orbit and deep-space exploration" and national security programs. This is the exciting bit of the company and the one that may have a big opportunity now that NASA is looking to outsource.

 

In 2012, Orbital was involved in nine major space missions and 19 smaller scientific rocket launches. In addition, it built 20 launch vehicles and satellites. The company's earnings are inconsistent, which isn't surprising based on the high costs of its products, but it has been solidly profitable for a decade. This is a good direct play on corporate America taking over where NASA has left off.

 

Boeing (NYSE: BA)

Boeing is best known for building airplanes, but its business is much broader than that. About 40% of the company's top line came from its Defense, Space, and Security businesses in 2012. Work in the Space division alone accounted for about 10% of the company's overall sales, though there is notable overlap with the other two divisions.

 

The company's largest contracts come from the DOD and NASA. For example, Boeing has long been a key partner on the International Space Station. This puts it in good position to support future efforts to put humans into Earth's orbit.

 

Of course Boeing's aircraft sales, which make up the bulk of the company's revenue, are still a key factor in the company's stock price. So no investment here should be made without strong consideration of its position in that industry, which is quite strong. Still, aircraft and space craft are capital intensive, leaving the top and bottom lines prone to lumpiness.

 

With a solid book of orders to be filled on both sides of its business, however, Boeing could be a good way to make a diversified space play. The shares look to be breaking out of a long-term price range, though, so investors might want to wait for a pull back.

 

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT)

Virtually all of the defense contractors have exposure to the country's space efforts in some way. However, Lockheed Martin currently offers one of the highest yields in the industry, at around 5%.

 

The biggest risk here is the current push to trim military spending. Although such cuts would also hamper Boeing and Orbital, Lockheed's military business is pretty much its main focus. Thus, the top line would likely take a bigger hit than the other two companies. Still, Lockheed is a massive entity with a diverse business—it is in no risk of going under.

 

That makes Lockheed, which derived nearly 18% of sales in 2012 from its Space Systems business, a good option for investors seeking income and an out of favor company involved in the exploration of space.

 

Space, the New Frontier

Exploring space isn't new, but letting corporate America take the lead is. Orbital, Boeing, and Lockheed all appear well positioned to benefit from what is likely to be a very long-term growth story.

 

More Expert Advice from The Motley Fool

With great opportunity comes great responsibility. For Boeing, which operates as a major player in a multi-trillion dollar market, the opportunity is absolutely massive. However, the company's execution problems and emerging competitors have investors wondering whether Boeing will live up to its shareholder responsibilities.

 

Inspiration Mars considers NASA's Space Launch System, ULA rockets for 2018 Mars trip

 

Lee Roop - Huntsville Times

 

Dennis Tito, the man trying to mount a privately funded fly-by mission of Mars in 2018, is considering the Space Launch System being developed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center as his astronauts' ride to the red planet. A Marshall spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday that Tito and another executive of his Inspiration Mars non-profit organization, visited Marshall March 19 for a briefing on SLS. Marshall is leading development of the booster part of the new heavy-lift rocket for NASA.

 

"At their request NASA briefed them on the capabilities of SLS and Orion," Marshall spokeswoman Kim Henry said Wednesday. Asked if SLS could support a Mars mission, Henry said that it could. It was not immediately clear, however, how SLS could meet Tito's deadline for a launch of Jan. 15, 2018. That timing is critical to take advantage of a Mars-Earth alignment that won't occur again before 2031, Tito's organization says.

 

SLS is scheduled to make its first launch with an unmanned Orion capsule on top in December, 2017 on a trip to circle the moon. It is scheduled to make its first crewed flight in 2021.

 

An April 3 Inspiration Mars feasibility analysis on the website of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics lists SLS as an optional launch vehicle along with a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket and the big versions of the Atlas and Delta rockets assembled by United Launch Alliance in Decatur, Al. The Falcon Heavy has not flown yet, either, but ULA has launched both Atlas and Delta rockets successfully.

 

 

Uncle Chris Hadfield an inspiration to his nephews

 

Katie Starr - Sarnia Observer

 

When most people look at Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, they see stars.

 

But for the Sarnia native's nephews Andrew and Taylor Hadfield of Paradise, Nfld., they just see their Uncle Chris.

 

Hadfield, 53, is the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station (ISS). He's been living in outer space conducting experiments since Dec. 21 and will be there until May.

 

Like many families divided by distance, the Hadfields - dad Philip, mom Teresa, Taylor, 14, and Andrew, 12 - stay close to Uncle Chris through email, Twitter and Skype.

 

"It's really cool that we can still keep in touch with him," said Andrew from their home in Newfoundland. "Teachers and kids at school come up to me all the time wanting to know more about what he's doing."

 

Hadfield hasn't just been tweeting with his family. With over 600,000 Twitter follows, Hadfield makes people back on earth feel like they're up in the stars with him.

 

His daily photographs from space include shots of his hometown Sarnia, a place that holds special meaning for him, said Hadfield's brother Philip.

 

The family frequently travels from their home in Newfoundland to vacation with Hadfield at his cottage on nearby Stag Island.

 

They're planning a reunion this summer, once Hadfield returns from the space station and is acclimatized at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

 

"He's very busy and will have a lot to do when he gets back," Philip said.

 

But, he added, making time for family is important for Hadfield too, who has three grown children of his own.

 

"He gives up his time for you," Andrew said.

 

Hadfield has visited his nephews' school twice to speak with students, even lifting up Andrew to demonstrate weightlessness in space.

 

"It's all about the kids with him," mom Teresa said.

 

"He wants them to know kids can do whatever they dream of doing."

 

Hadfield's own dream was born as a boy growing up in Sarnia and Milton, Ont., in a family where flying was just as common as walking.

 

Their father Roger was a pilot and both Philip and eldest brother Dave are pilots now. The brothers were all Air Cadets as boys, so flying was a natural thing, Philip said.

 

Hadfield's nephews aren't sure if flying is in their future, but they love following their uncle through social media as he orbits around Earth 16 times a day.

 

They're also proud of their uncle's position as the first Canadian to assume command of the ISS.

 

"I think it's a really big achievement," said Andrew.

 

Taylor added: "It's pretty inspiring to see all his pictures and how he's getting more people interested in space."

 

But Philip said his brother's accomplishments haven't changed him.

 

"He's very humble, very modest," said Philip, adding that Hadfield has compared his role as commander of the ISS to "being a superintendent of an apartment building."

 

Still, Hadfield knows his example is a powerful one for his nephews and children everywhere, Philip said.

 

"For Chris, the sky's never the limit."

 

NASA celebrates 30th anniv of first satellite communications network

 

RedOrbit.com

 

 

Thursday marked the 30th anniversary of the deployment of NASA's first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-A, which was carried into space as part of space shuttle Challenger's maiden voyage on April 4, 1983.

 

TDRS-A was deployed a day after the shuttle's launch, as astronauts released the probe from Challenger's cargo bay, officials from the US space agency said. Following 39 adjustment burns, it successfully achieved geosynchronous orbit around the equator, traveling more than 22,000 miles above the Earth's surface. It would later be renamed TDRS-1 and kicked off what NASA officials called "a new era in spacecraft-to-ground communications."

 

"The launch of the first TDRS spacecraft 30 years ago opened a new era for satellite communications," Jeff Volosin, deputy associate director of exploration and space communication at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, said in a statement. "This revolutionary network, the only one of its kind in the world, has enabled NASA's astronauts and robots to relay their outstanding scientific achievements to Earth."

 

Initially, NASA had to rely upon ground stations at various locations throughout the world to serve as their communications network. At best, this network could support approximately 15 percent of a spacecraft's orbit during the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo flights, the space agency explained.

 

In 1973, the TDRS project was established in order to come up with a new communications system that was less reliant on ground stations while providing long-duration communications coverage. That new design was to consist of geosynchronous communication satellites and a pair of ground stations, thus allowing NASA's most critical low-Earth-orbiting spacecraft – including the newly launched fleet of space shuttles – to be in continuous communication with NASA officials. The network would support up to 26 user satellites at the same time.

 

The network would not process user traffic, but would operate like a "bent-pipe repeater" – taking an incoming radio frequency carrier wave signal, processing it so that it would be a different frequency and then beaming it back to Earth. TDRS would relay signals and data between spacecraft and ground terminals, while also significantly increasing the volume of data transmitted back to Earth and providing 100 percent coverage to low-Earth-orbiting spacecraft. It was also expected to reduce operating costs by eliminating extraneous ground stations.

 

According to NASA, TDRS-A was shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 14, 1982. At the time of its launch, it was "the largest, most sophisticated communication satellite ever built, weighing about 5,000 pounds."

 

The full triangle-shaped network was officially completed with the 1989 deployment of TDRS-4. Eleven satellites have been built, 10 of which have become operational and one of which was lost during the space shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986. The second generation of the TDRS project ran from 2000 through 2002, when NASA launched the H, I and J satellites.

 

The third generation is currently underway, with the first of the next-gen TDRS spacecraft, TDRS-K, having been launched on January 30. TDRS-L is scheduled for a 2014 deployment, and the TDRS-M launch readiness date is currently listed as December 2015, according to NASA.

 

"Thirty years after the first launch, the TDRS network has become NASA's critical communication link in the agency's ability to support the continuing work of understanding our planet and beyond," the space agency said.

 

Here's the coolest photo yet of SpaceShipTwo in flight

 

Jason Paur - Wired.com

 

 

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo has made its first flight in months, which is noteworthy both because they tested the nitrous system on board and because Sir Richard Branson's PR people provided a really cool photo of the glider passing by the moon.

 

Wednesday's nine-minute glide flight was the 24th made by Virgin Galactic since 2010 and the second time it has flown with the airframe and rocket engine configured as it will be for upcoming powered flights. Virgin made the test flight at Mojave Air and Space Port in southern California, which is home to Scaled Composites, the company helping Branson's dream of suborbital adventures take flight.

 

Beyond making further evaluation of the powered airframe configuration, the pilots also tested the nitrous loading and venting system while SpaceShipTwo was still on the pylon where it attaches to WhiteKnightTwo, the four-engine aircraft that will carry the ship skyward. Nitrous oxide is used as the oxidizer for SpaceShipTwo's solid fuel rocket engine and this first test of the system is a major step on the way to igniting the rocket for powered flight. The pilots also engaged the "feather" system during the most recent flight, which effectively folds the aircraft allowing it to slow down during reentry from suborbital space.

 

It was SpaceShipTwo's first flight since December, when pilots had their first chance to fly the glider with the rocket nozzle and other aerodynamic tweaks we'll see when the aircraft makes its first powered flight.

 

Eventually passengers will be on board and moments after the release the pilots will ignite the rocket motor boosting the aircraft out of the atmosphere as it becomes a spacecraft on a suborbital flight past 328,000 feet (100 km). Passengers will enjoy a few minutes of weightlessness, floating around the cabin, as well as a great view from the blackness of space.

 

There is no official word on when the first powered flight will take place, though only one more glide flight is expected before the rocket is ignited for the first time.

 

END