February 2006

Space Watch
Week of February 6 - February 10, 2006

Welcome to Space Watch. This is a weekly update compiled by The Eisenhower Institute of the most significant news items in civil, military and commercial space.

If you are interested in receiving a weekly email update version of Space Watch, please send an email to spacewatch@eisenhowerinstitute.org with the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Space Watch will be sent out every Friday.

 

 

Civil Space

 

Science Hit Hard Despite Past Promises
Though NASA Administrator Michael Griffin earlier promised that he would not "take one thin dime" from space science to pay for human spaceflight programs, the FY2007 Budget released this week has forced Griffin to renege on his promise. "We took a couple of billion out of science and a billion and a half out of the exploration line and made up what we needed to make up." Griffin was forced to pull the plug on some of these science programs because of unexpected costs with the space shuttle and the International Space Station programs. Though NASA science is expected to be cut back from previous allocations, NASA overall would get a 3.2% increase under the President's plan, an allocation of nearly $16.8 billion. One winner from the new budget proposal is the crew exploration vehicle, the spacecraft predicted to replace the shuttle program. The new CEV program nets $3.6 billion in the new plan (a 76% increase from last year's proposal).
(Leary, Warren. http://www.nytimes.com/-l9ys5zhHWV9jMgsdDcqa9g, 2/7/06)

More Budget News
President Bush's new budget plan is being questioned on Capitol Hill for its lack of support for space science programs. House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R, NY) said that he was greatly concerned by the proposal, in particular "the slowed growth for NASA's space and Earth science programs." The bill is sure to be challenged in Congress. The new budget is set to provide money for 16 more shuttle missions, including one within two years to service the Hubble Space Telescope. The proposal requests $1.5 billion for the Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope as well as the Hubble.
(Perlman, David. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/02/07/MNGBRH41FJ1.DTL, 2/7/06).

Meteorite Reopens Debate About Life on Mars
New data taken from the famous Nakhla meteorite which landed in Egypt in the early 1900's has reopened the debate on whether or not life on Mars was ever possible. London's Natural History Museum allowed NASA researchers this week to break open one of the pieces of the meteorite. The action revealed a carbon-rich substance found in tiny cracks on the meteorite's surface. Proving that carbon in the meteorites came from Mars is a crucial first step in determining whether or not life could ever have arisen on the Red Planet. Details of the finding will be presented at a conference in Houston next month.
(Rincon, Paul. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4688938.stm, 2/8/06).

NASA Official Denies Censoring Environmental Scientist
In a growing controversy, NASA's deputy assistant administrator for public affairs argued this week that it is not the policy of NASA to be in the business of censorship. The denial comes on the heels of a NASA scientist who has alleged that he was censored for his views on global warming and climate change. The scientist is claiming that he was quieted and shunned by NASA political appointee George Deutsch because his views on climate change differ with the Bush administration's. Deutsch resigned this week when it was revealed that his official biography falsely stated that he was a graduate of Texas A&M University, which he was not. Deutsch contends that he did not resign because he was guilty of the recent allegations. NASA Administrator Mike Griffin has ordered a review of the agency's public affairs policies.
(Wheeler, Larry. http://www.flatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/602100324/1007, 2/10/06).

 

 

 

Commercial

 

NASA Planning New Challenges for Private Companies
NASA plans to hold as many as six new space challenges based on its first competition, which took place last year. Though last year's challenge, the 2005 Beam Power and Tether Centennial Challenge, netted no award-winners, it did jump start technological development in the area. The new challenges, called Centennial Challenges, will consist of six competitions which offer cash prizes to those who accomplish the tasks. The prizes have not been finalized yet, but they could range from $500,000 to nearly $5 million. One of the challenges includes a Fuel Depot Challenge, where contestants vie to build, launch, and demonstrate a facility that could store or produce liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen while in orbit. The other five include a Human All-Terrain Vehicle Challenge, a Low-Cost Space Pressure Suit Challenge, a Lunar Night Power Source Challenge, a Micro Reentry Vehicle Challenge, and a Station-Keeping Solar Sail Challenge.
(Malik, Tariq. http://space.com/businesstechnology/060208_centennial_challenges.html, 2/8/06).

2008 to be Pivotal Year in Space Tourism
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said this week that space entrepreneurs might be able to launch space tourists as early as 2008. He told a meeting of commercial space entrepreneurs that he expects to begin issuing permits for test flights early next year. If successful, licenses for space travel would be next. Some of the companies in attendance, including Rocketplane Ltd, an Oklahoma-based group, argued that they could be ready to start suborbital operations as early as 2007. Mineta said that as long as the companies pulled off test flights prior to asking for licenses, the Transportation Department would be ready. "When the industry is set for liftoff, we will be ready to launch," he said. Safety, however, would be at the forefront of his agenda regarding the issuance of these licenses.
(MSNBC, http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11260973/, 2/9/06).

Mars Rover Reaches Spectacular Layered Rock
NASA's Spirit Mars rover has landed at a place officials are calling "Home Plate," a picturesque area of layered rock, which, though beautiful, is mystifying to Mars Exploration scientists. "It's the most spectacular layered rock we've ever seen within the Gusev crater," said Steve Squyres, the lead scientist on the Mars rover experiment. Scientists are in agreement that the new area is brilliant; however, they cannot agree as to what exactly they are looking at. A healthy debate has ensued among the scientists, some calling the area a volcanic vent, some a tuff cone, and others still an exhumed crater floor filled with typical Columbia Hills layered deposits. "Home Plate" was listed as a possible target for the Mars rovers back in 2004. Its name derives from the fact that the area stood out in images like a bright circular spot in the middle of the region. More tests are being conducted in order to get a better understanding of the layered rock features.
(David, Leonard. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11273146/from/RS.3/, 2/10/06).

Falcon Launch Delayed Again
SpaceX's first Falcon I launch has been postponed yet again due to technical problems. SpaceX called off the flight from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean on Friday during a countdown rehearsal. The company will provide more details about the reported technical problems once they determine the exact nature of the problems. Officials are estimating that it might be two to four weeks before they make another launch attempt. The Falcon 1 is a small, low-cost launch vehicle expected to launch the Falconsat 2 small satellite for the US Air Force Academy.
(Musk, Elon. http://spacex.com/index.html?section=media&content=http%3A//spacex.com/launch_info.php, 2/10/06).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Military

 

QDR Keeps US Edge in Space
The recently released Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) calls for the United States to maintain its edge in terms of space military dominance. The US Department of Defense is committed to keeping the United States at least a generation ahead of all other nations, according to the new document. The QDR, though it calls for no significant changes in defense acquisition processes, does signify the need for a new organizational scheme, one based on an increased joint capability. The QDR also commits the Defense Department to expanding space imagery and signals intelligence collect capabilities.
(Space News, http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1595922, 2/6/06).

US Military To Take Larger Role in Space
According to the US Strategic Command's space division, the military's role in space is set to be strengthened in an upcoming overhaul of US space policy. The head of the Space Command, Air Force Colonel Anthony Russo, this week said that the new policy would help remove ambiguity in the question of responsibility when an attack on US owned satellites occurs. The draft proposal, which could be announced within months, does not rule out space weapons. He stipulated that the US would use "all appropriate measures to defend our space assets." Though it doesn't rule out weapons in space, he also mentioned that it doesn't say to pursue them either.
(Wolf, Jim. http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyid=2006-02-08T234948Z_01_N08413762_RTRUKOC_0_US-SPACE-USA.xml&rpc=22, 2/8/06).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opinion

 

Opinion: NASA Budget - Right Vector, Time For More Thrust
Space Foundation President Elliot G. Pulham argued this week that the new Bush budget has NASA heading in the right direction but perhaps not quickly enough. Purporting that this is the "right vector, but it is time for more thrust," Pulham argued for "stronger funding" and a bolder effort by NASA to stimulate research, innovation, educational opportunities, and economic growth, much like the Apollo program did in the past. He commended the White House for providing NASA with a modest budget increase of 3.2 percent. He stipulated that the American population supports increased space funding, pointing to a recent 2005 Gallup poll showing that more than three quarters of Americans endorse a strong program of space exploration.
(Pulham, Elliott. http://news.spacefoundation.org/printable.cfm?releaseid=408C4A89-EE18-6DDB-BA72F3240E8DDF0A, 2/6/06).

 

Space Watch
Week of February 13- February 17, 2006

Welcome to Space Watch. This is a weekly update compiled by The Eisenhower Institute of the most significant news items in civil, military and commercial space.

If you are interested in receiving a weekly email update version of Space Watch, please send an email to spacewatch@eisenhowerinstitute.org with the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Space Watch will be sent out every Friday.

 

 

Civil Space

 

China Modifies Spaceflight Plans
According to Chinese space officials, China is planning to slightly modify its manned space program timetable. Originally, China was expecting to launch its third manned mission, the Shenzhou 7, in 2007 and the Shenzhou 8 and 9 in 2009. Now, according to officials, China is anticipating unmanned launches of Shenzhou 8 and 9 in 2010. The two spacecraft will dock together in orbit, and the Shenzhou 10, also launched in 2010, will be a manned flight dedicated to docking with the other two spacecraft. These launches will create a type of orbiting laboratory for the Chinese, a deviation from their original space plans.
(Flight International, http://www.flightinternational.com/Articles/+reveals+manned+programme+revisions.html, 2/14/06).

NASA Possibly Looking to Tiles for CEV Project
NASA officials are worried that an ablative thermal protection system (TPS), designed for the Crew Exploration Vehicle, may not be ready for the 2012 deadline that NASA has set for the program. In response to this worry, the agency is looking to possibly fix the problem by instead installing space shuttle tile material for the CEV. These would be the same tiles that have been so controversial with the space shuttle program. NASA officials stipulate that this would only be in case the TPS program is unavailable in 2012. "This is a belt and braces approach to make sure we have a back-up," says the Johnson Space Center.
(Flight International, http://www.flightinternational.com/Articles/+Space+Shuttle+tiles+for+CEV.html, 2/14/06).

India to Launch More Satellites
India is hoping to double the number of satellites it launches into space, according to the head of the country's space agency. The increase would only come, however, as a result of the US possibly lifting the ban on sharing space technology with India. The Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), G. Madhavan Nair, said this week that the negotiations between India and the US have been encouraging, but he declined suggesting when a deal might be signed. The deal would allow Indian commercial entities to launch satellites with American components. Some analysts are suggesting that a deal might be signed as early as next month during President Bush's trip to New Delhi.
(Press Trust of India, http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=62961#compstory, 2/16/06).

Congress Upset Over NASA Public Affairs Scandal
Congressional leaders urged NASA Administrator Mike Griffin to maintain the agency's scientific openness in light of the recent negative public affairs allegations. Last week, a public affairs office employee resigned after it was learned that he had sought to muzzle a top scientist regarding his views on global warming. Sherwood Boehlert, the chairman of the House Science Committee, said that the committee would be closely watching the agency's response to the recent allegations in the hopes that this event is an isolated incident. He hoped, however, that NASA "will end up being a model of how agencies can guarantee scientific openness."
(Kelly, John. http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060216/BREAKINGNEWS/60216006/1007/NEWS02, 2/16/06).

 

 

 

 

Commercial

 

Sea Launch Finally Launches EchoStar Satellite
After a week's worth of delays due to ground system problems, a Sea Launch rocket was finally launched from the Odyssey mobile launch platform in the Pacific Ocean. The rocket launched the 4,300 kilogram EchoStar 10 direct broadcast television satellite into geosynchronous orbit. The launch is the first of six for Sea Launch this year, a full slate for the Boeing-based company.
(ITAR TASS, http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=3238525&PageNum=0, 2/16/06).

Singapore Chosen as Launch Site
Space Adventures, a US space tourism company, has decided to make its home in Singapore, according to recent newspaper reports. Singapore was chosen over other possible sites, including Australia, Malaysia, Dubai, and several US sites. The Virginia firm was responsible for the very first space tourist flights when it launched three tourists to the International Space Station for a weeklong stay. Space Adventures is reportedly planning to launch suborbital flights for tourists over the course of the next several years. Passengers can be expected to pay as much as $100,000 for a trip on one of their flights.
(http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=118&art_id=qw1140064921398B252, 2/16/06).

Space Adventures Partners With Investment Firm
Space Adventures, a Virginia-based space tourism company, has partnered with the Texas-based venture capital firm, Prodea. Together, the two plan on financing suborbital tourist flights over the next several years. Prodea was one of the major sponsors of the Ansari X Prize, whose objective was to develop rockets ships for suborbital flights. Neither side is disclosing the amount of the investment. Space Adventures, however, reportedly already has $3 million in escrow from the nearly 200 potential tourists who put down deposits to participate in the suborbital flights.
(Change, Alicia. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060217/ap_--, 2/16/06).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Military

 

Kill Vehicle to Be Omitted From NFIRE
The US Missile Defense Agency is not planning to include the controversial kill vehicle in their NFIRE satellite. The MDA's Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE) is set to launch later this year. According to officials, it will be launched without a kill vehicle designed to collide with a missile target. Opponents of the kill vehicle argued that the experiment would open the door to the development of on-orbit space weapons. NFIRE is supposed to gather data that would improve the country's missile defense system. It is designed help discriminate between an incoming ballistic missile and its exhaust plume. MDA removed the kill vehicle back in 2004. Last year, Congress encouraged the agency to restore the controversial component. The Defense Department is now saying that the program is too far along to re-incorporate the kill vehicle.
(News Briefs, Space News, 2/13/06).

Air Force Budget is More Conservative Than Usual
The US Air Force has requested $9.8 billion for unclassified space activities in this year's FY07 budget, released last week by the Bush administration. Though the request is $500 million more than the previous year's allocation, it is far less than the $1.8 billion increase the service asked for in the FY06 budget. This more conservative request is seen by many as an effort to win back support from Capitol Hill, support which has been waning in recent years because of major technical and funding issues brought about by cost growth and delays in the area of space development. The Air Force is being especially conservative in its ambitions with their most controversial and largest projects, the Transformational Satellite and the Space Radar.
(Singer, Jeremy. Space News. 2/13/06).

Missile Shield Dominates 2007 MDA Budget
The US terrestrial missile shield program consumes the largest percentage of the Missile Defense Agency FY07 budget, according to the recently released budget request. The program, being deployed in Alaska and California, represents nearly $2.8 billion of the total MDA request of $9.3 billion. The MDA's total budget request represents a $1.6 billion increase in funds from last year's 2006 funding levels, the majority of the increase (nearly $400 million) stemming directly from the territorial missile defense shield program. Another big increase in the MDA budget request is represented by the Airborne Laser budget, which jumps from an allocated $471.6 million last year to an FY07 request of $631 million.
(Singer, Jeremy. Space News. 2/13/06).

Pentagon Asks for Innovative New Technologies
The DoD's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is offering a series of awards for innovative technologies for use in space, unmanned vehicles, and urban warfare. The awards, ranging to up to $8 million are for "novel ideas that enhance military effectiveness and particularly that tilt the balance of asymmetric warfare in favor of the US." In regards to space competitions, DARPA is looking for new ideas for small, low-cost, high-performance satellites and rapid, flexible, low-cost launch control. DARPA opened the competition last year, and is calling for concept ideas to be submitted by February 16th.
(UPI, http://www.postchronicle.com/news/security/article_2126683.shtml, 2/14/06).

Canada Could Possibly Undo Missile Defense Rejection
With the election of a new conservative government in Canada, some Conservative leaders are calling for the new government to reverse the Liberals' decision to shun the US ballistic missile defense program. Last year, Prime Minister Paul Martin announced that the Canadian government would not participate in the US defense project. Conservative Party leader, Stephen Harper, pledged to reopen talks during the last election, and it appears that he intends to do just that.
(CNW Telbec, http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2006/16/c3476.html, 2/16/06).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opinion

 

Editorial: Petty Partisanship Threatens NASA's Important Scientific Mission
A recent editorial in the Orlando Sentinel offered that America's space program will suffer if the current political climate remains as it is. They argue that a successful program will not be able to take off without support from both political parties, an outcome that is made less likely with the increased partisan bickering in Washington. The newspaper also blames NASA as being a part of this partisanship. The paper alludes to the recent public affairs scandal at NASA as well former Administrator Sean O'Keefe's help in the 2002 campaign of Bob Riley, a Republican in Alabama. They argue that in order for NASA to remain above the fray, NASA administrator Michael Griffin must move to depoliticize the organization.
(Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com/,0,3553757.story?coll=orl-opinion-headlines, 2/16/06).

 

Space Watch
Week of February 27 - March 3, 2006

Welcome to Space Watch. This is a weekly update compiled by The Eisenhower Institute of the most significant news items in civil, military and commercial space.

If you are interested in receiving a weekly email update version of Space Watch, please send an email to spacewatch@eisenhowerinstitute.org with the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Space Watch will be sent out every Friday.

 

 

Civil Space

 

Russian Booster Fails, Arab Satellite in Wrong Orbit
An Arab commercial satellite was placed into the wrong geo-synchronous orbit this week by a Russian rocket. The failure is a stinging embarrassment for the Russian Federal Space Agency. The Arabsat 4A telecommunications satellite is owned by the Saudi Arabsat company. The failure came as a result of a Russian booster failing to function properly after it was launched successfully from the Baikonur Space station in Kazakhstan. Mission specialists are investigating the situation and are attempting to maneuver the satellite into its correct orbit by using its own orientation engines. "Chances for success are slim," says the Russian Space Agency spokesman. This failure comes on the heels of similar failures in October of last year and is threatening to jeopardize Russia's position in the commercial satellite market.
(AP, http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11613181/, 3/1/06).

New Mexican Spaceport Signed Into Law
The state of New Mexico is set to begin investing millions of dollars into a commercial space tourist launching facility. New Mexico's governor Bill Richardson signed into law legislation which will help defray the cost of building a $225 million spaceport for entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, Inc. The port will be the site of Virgin Galactic's new commercial industry: space tourism. It is set to be located in the town of Upham near the White Sands Missile Range. The new bills will provide nearly $100 million in state funding for the spaceport over the next three years.
(MSNBC, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11630251/, 3/1/06).

US Allows India to Import Space Equipment
According to an official India-US statement this week, the US has agreed to allow the export of scientific space equipment to New Delhi. The equipment, a Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar and a Moon Mineralogy Mapper, can be exported to manufacturing firms in India and used in the upcoming lunar mission called Chandrayaan-1. This agreement comes on the heels of growing ties between the two countries and prior to this week's visit of President George Bush to New Delhi. The two countries have also inked two separate memoranda of understanding which will define the scope of the new growing relationship between the two space powers.
(NewKerala, http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=19276, 3/1/06).

Agencies Say ISS To Be Completed As Planned
This past week, the heads of the five space agencies in charge of the International Space Station (Canada, Russia, the US, Europe, and Japan) all met at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They convened to discuss the future of the ISS and the plans for its continued progress. Together the group reaffirmed their commitment to complete the assembly by 2010. In order to complete this on time, the agencies realize the need for the US to have a fully functioning shuttle fleet. There are still nearly 16 planned shuttle flights left before the US finishes its planned phase-out of the system. Much of the equipment still waiting to be transported to the ISS, like Europe's Columbus module laboratory, is designed only to fly on the American-made shuttle program. The next shuttle flight is scheduled for May.
(BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4768462.stm, 3/1/06).

NASA Expects to Be Up and Running In May, As Planned
This week, NASA cemented their plans to send the space shuttle back up in May, assuming that they have alleviated the foam debris problem that led to the disaster with Columbia in 2003. Wind tunnel tests conducted this month will be used to determine whether or not NASA engineers have fixed the shuttle debris problem. NASA's goal is to limit foam losses to match-box sized pieces. "We think all of that with a somewhat aggressive schedule can occur and lead to a launch before the window closes in May," says shuttle program manager Wayne Hale. NASA has a two week launch window in May that lasts from May 10th to May 23rd. If they are unable to take off at that time, the next window does not open until July.
(Carreau, Mark. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/space/3692184.html, 3/1/06).

Experts Worry About NASA's Ability to Draw Talent
Experts on space science told a Congressional panel this week that NASA's budget cuts to science programs will make it difficult for the agency to attract the nation's best and brightest engineers and scientists. According to officials, the new budget will cut funding for research and analysis by nearly 15 percent and astrobiology by 50%. According to Princeton University professor, Joseph Taylor, the budget cuts will be most damaging to small, low-cost projects. He told the House Science Committee that these types of programs are both popular with the public and are working well. Panelists argued that it makes no sense to cut the smallest and most productive programs in the NASA budget.
(Bloomberg, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aQm_GJwVszYE&refer=us#, 3/2/06).

 

 

Military

 

Air Force to Incrementally Pursue Space Radar Technologies
Due to concern from Congress regarding the ability of the Air Force to design and construct the multi-billion dollar Space Radar program, the Air Force has decided to incrementally approach technology development rather than attempt to test and deploy key systems all at once. The Space Radar, designed to take high-resolution images and detect moving targets on the ground, day or night in all kinds of weather, has come under intense scrutiny because Congress is concerned that the program will likely face a large number of setbacks, technology failures, and cost increases. The first such incremental technological approach will attempt to focus on advanced solar-cell and battery technologies that are a critical part of the Space Radar's ability to detect moving targets on the ground.
(Singer, Jeremy. Space News, 2/27/06).

 

 

Opinion

 

 

Op-Ed: United States Space Force, Sooner Rather Than Later
In Taylor Dinerman's recent opinion piece, he argues for the creation of a US Space Force, separate from the US Air Force. He purports that the 2001 decision to place the Air Force in charge of the United States space programs has simply not worked. He submits that this is not on account of any malfeasance on the part of the Air Force, but simply that the USAF has other priorities. Namely, it is all about air power, not space power. Dinerman cites the countless mistakes being made by the Air Force with regards to various space programs, including the Space Based Infrared System. His most legitimate argument, however, is that the medium of space is drastically different from air, land, or sea and therefore deserves its own force. "A new space service...will insure that when the Joint Chiefs and their civilian superiors meet...someone with four stars will be there to make sure that the capabilities and limitations of US and enemy space forces are taken into account."
(Dinerman, Taylor. http://www.thespacereview.com/article/565/1, 2/27/06).