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In The News

Oct. 12, 2007	Space Foundation Releases The Space Report 2007 The Space Foundation released The Space Report 2007, revealing that in 2006 the global space industry grew to nearly $220 billion in total revenues.
Oct. 11, 2007	2 local firms Ares I finalists Ball and Boeing are contenders for Instrument Unit. The Huntsville Times
Oct. 9, 2007	Thousands of NASA Jobs in Jeopardy The Space Coast is bracing for the worst and looking for help before the space shuttle program retires. 13 Central Florida News
Oct. 8, 2007	Senate Passes $1B NASA Amendment The Senate on Oct. 4 passed an amendment to the fiscal 2008 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill spearheaded by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) that would provide NASA an additional $1 billion to compensate the agency for costs related to the 2003 Columbia accident and Hurricane Katrina. Aerospace Daily and Defense Report
Oct. 8, 2007	Rocketplane Kistler President Resigns Rocketplane Kistler, on the verge of losing NASA backing for the rocket it had hoped to use to carry supplies to the international space station, accepted the resignation of its president just days after he sent a lengthy missive to the U.S. space agency blaming it for the company's financial woes. Space.com
Oct. 8, 2007	Texas Investor Eyes Space Station as Orbiting Pharma Lab A swaggering Texas investor with a famous name wants Big Pharma to pick up the tab for the International Space Station when NASA eases off. Wired Magazine
Oct. 8, 2007	Ball Aerospace Chosen to Compete for Ares I Instrument Avionics Contract Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has been selected by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center as one of the final competitors for the Instrument Unit Avionics (IUA) contract for the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle.
Oct. 6, 2007	Manned Spaceflight Is Inspiration For Exploration With the 50th anniversary of Sputnik just past, now seems an opportune time to address the debate regarding the value of human spaceflight vs. robotic missions. Houston Chronicle
Oct. 5, 2007	Will We Ever Send Humans to Mars? In the summer of 1969, two weeks after Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon, rocket scientist Wernher von Braun delivered to Nasa a detailed, fully costed plan for landing humans on Mars. BBC
Oct. 5, 2007	Japan's Lunar "Princess" Begins Orbit Japan's first lunar probe began to orbit the moon on Friday, getting off to a smooth start in a new space race with China, India and the United States. Reuters
Oct. 5, 2007	NASA Engineers Present Opening Lunar Lander Design Cycle Efforts While the bulk of Constellation's work currently relates to efforts with Ares and Orion's tasks of post-shuttle access to the International Space Station, the recent agency-wide "all hands" meeting was presented with video and imagery showing the opening design work on the new Lunar Landers. NASA Spaceflight.Now
Oct. 4, 2007	Russia, U.S. sign deals on moon, Mars research Russian and U.S. space chiefs signed agreements Wednesday to cooperate on unmanned missions that would search for potential water deposits beneath the surface of the moon and Mars. Houston Chronicle
Oct. 4, 2007	How the Space Race Unfolded Key Dates in the U.S. Space Race... USA Today
Oct. 4, 2007	NASA chief: China will beat us back to the moon The Soviets beat the United States at getting a satellite, and a man, into space. Now, the Chinese may get to the moon before the U.S. can make a return visit. CNN
Oct. 3, 2007	A Day in The Life of An Astronaut More than 450 men and women from 34 countries have followed the world's first artificial satellite into orbit. BBC
Oct. 3, 2007	Judge won't block NASA background checks A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request by more than two dozen workers at one of NASA's research labs to block a Bush administration directive requiring background checks and access to personal information. MSNBC.com
Oct. 3, 2007	Texas Man Linked to Past and Future of Space Exploration by Sputnik and Soyuz Richard Garriott hefts his Sputnik overhead like a shiny aluminum beach ball, playing with history. New York Times
Oct. 3, 2007	Do we need NASA? The birth of modern aviation probably lies in Charles Lindbergh's 1927 flight across the Atlantic, which won him a $25,000 prize and a ticker-tape parade down New York's Fifth Avenue. C/Net News.com-Series
Oct. 3, 2007	Forward Thinking: Spaceflight Technology's Next 50 Years The Space Age began 50 years ago this week with the launch of Sputnik 1, a small metallic ball carrying only a couple of simple radio transmitters. Yahoo News
Oct. 3, 2007	Maintain U.S. Supremacy in Space Almost 50 years ago to the date of this publication -- the Soviet Union launched the world-famous Sputnik satellite, setting off alarm bells throughout Washington that America was falling behind in space technology. The Hill-Letter
Oct. 3, 2007	Advantages of Space Exploration Include Fostering Technological, Economic Growth In my opinion, manned spaceflight has contributed more than any civilian government program to securing America's technological and economic leadership in the world. The Hill-Letter
Oct. 2, 2007	Boeing Meets with Louisiana Officials to Kick-Off Ares I Upper Stage Production The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] met with Louisiana state, congressional and community officials Monday to discuss its plans to begin work on NASA's Ares I crew launch vehicle upper stage at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. PressMediaWire.com
Oct. 2, 2007	NASA Solicits News Space Suit Proposals NASA has issued a request for proposals (RFP) from industry for a new spacesuit system for the Constellation program, in anticipation of awarding a contract in June 2008. Aerospace Daily and Defense Report
Oct. 2, 2007	RpK Protest NASA's COTS Decision Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) has written a letter to NASA's Scott Horowitz, asking him to reconsider the decision to issue the company with a 30 day notice of termination of their COTS contract. NASA Spaceflight.com
Oct. 2, 2007	ATK tests first parachute for NASA vehicle Alliant Techsystems Inc. said Tuesday that it successfully conducted the first in a series of six parachute tests for the launch of NASA's Ares 1 vehicle, which will carry humans to the moon. Minneapolis Business Journal
Oct. 2, 2007	Boeing Donates $10 Million to Science Education at Chicago Museums The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] is contributing $10 million to support science education for Chicago area youth. Minneapolis Business Journal
Oct. 1, 2007	KSC Staffers Keep Wary Eye on NASA Cuts NASA should get enough federal dollars in 2008 to keep it on track to return astronauts to the moon by 2020 but not enough to address the threat of thousands of future job cuts at Kennedy Space Center. Orlando Sentinel
Oct. 1, 2007	India Can Be an Equal Partner in Space: Boeing In terms of making space travel cost effective, developing technologies that can accelerate space transportation and launch vehicles, Indian scientists and industry can play an important role, said Paul A. Eckert, the International & Commercial Strategist (Space Exploration Systems) of Boeing Company. SIFY
Oct. 1, 2007	Many Contestants in Latest 'Space Race' to the Moon When the Soviet Union launched a basketball-size satellite 50 years ago this week, it touched off a race for space that became a hallmark of the cold war. It was a two-player game with high technological and geopolitical stakes. Christian Science Monitor
Oct. 1, 2007	Moon Lander To Be Sample-Return Precursor China plans to land a 1,300-kilogram (2,900-pound) lander on the moon in 2015-17 that also would serve as a testbed for a sample-return lander to follow by 2020, one of the China National Space Administration engineers working on the project said here Sept. 28. Aerospace Defense Daily and Report
Oct. 1, 2007	Are Manned Missions Needed to Explore Mars and Beyond? The United States has pledged to colonize the Moon by 2020 and send astronauts to Mars, but many scientists say dangerous and costly manned space missions should be a thing of the past, not the future. PhysOrg.com
Sept. 30, 2007	Nations Looking For a Piece of the Exploration Pie A Japanese spacecraft arriving at the Moon on the 50th anniversary of Sputnik this week marks the beginning of what may be a lucrative sweepstakes in space for generations to come. Aviation Week and Space Technology
Sept. 30, 2007	New Idea for Space Travel? Since Robert Goddard launched a 10-foot rocket from a New England farm more than 80 years ago, the basic principles of space travel haven't changed much. Still required: a violent combustion of fuel and oxygen to propel the vehicle. Los Angeles Times
Sept. 30, 2007	Sputnik Left Legacy for U.S. Science Education When Sputnik's "beep" first reached Earth on Oct. 4, 1957, many Americans dreaded that the Russian satellite was spying on them. NPR-All Things Considered
Sept. 30, 2007	How Sputnik Changed America The year was 1957, the date was Oct. 4 and Americans everywhere were looking up. Something new was in the stars, something never before seen. CBS News
Sept. 29, 2007	Next Stop, Mars; Farewell Space Shuttle, Hello Man on The Red Planet There will be probes. There will be more space telescopes. There will be new questions asked and answered about black holes, red dwarfs, white dwarfs and whether the Universe can stop expanding. The Times
Sept. 28, 2007	NASA Television and Internet Features Mark Dawn of The Space Age Starting Oct. 1, NASA Television and the agency's Internet homepage will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Space Age, which began with the launch of Sputnik I on Oct. 4, 1957.
Sept. 27, 2007	'In the Shadow of the Moon' a history lesson You'd expect "In the Shadow of the Moon" to offer some pretty spectacular footage from the Apollo space program and perhaps some interesting behind-the-scenes factoids about the race to put an American on another planet. Bradenton Herald
Sept. 25, 2007	Space Gas Station Would Blast Huge Payloads to the Moon Boeing has unveiled a radical redesign of NASA's plan to return to the lunar surface: save weight (and money) by saving gas for an orbital fill-'er-up, then shoot 15 times more material to the moon. Can the space agency jive with private space to get the new propellant depot off the ground? Popular Mechanics
Sept. 25, 2007	Why Is Everyone Going to the Moon? Because it's there, because it could answer questions about Earth history, because it represents unfinished business for NASA, the U.S. space agency, and because it could be a rehearsal for a manned mission to Mars. The Guardian
Sept. 21, 2007	NASA Approves Advanced Lasik for Use on Astronauts Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (AMO) , a global leader in ophthalmic surgical devices and eye care products, today announced that the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) has approved the company's LASIK technologies for use on U.S. astronauts. The NASA decision was made following review of extensive military clinical data using AMO's Advanced CustomVue(TM) LASIK with the IntraLase(R) Method, which showed the combination of technologies provides superior safety and vision. CNN.com
Sept. 21, 2007	Astronauts May Cruise the Moon Without Space Suits When NASA sends astronauts back to the moon, they will likely have pressurized rovers to drive and large-capacity habitation modules to live in, NASA officials reportedly said Thursday. TechNewsWorld
Sept. 20, 2007	Want to Work in Space? Squinters Can Now Apply Poor eyesight has long been the bugaboo of many aspiring astronauts, disqualifying more would-be space travelers than any other physical requirement since the beginning of the U.S. astronaut program in 1959. Wall Street Journal
Sept. 20, 2007	NASA Plans Bigger Moon Base, Sporty Rovers for Future Missions The next astronauts to work on the moon will likely live in larger habitats and drive sporty new rovers capable of two-week treks, NASA officials said Thursday. Yahoo.com
Sept. 20, 2007	Space Industry Wants Nuke Power, but Public Fear Persists The public will have to overcome its squeamishness about nuclear power, if current plans for space missions and manned outposts are ever to become reality, industry experts told attendees at the Space 2007 conference this week. Wired News
Sept. 20, 2007	Giant leap for state's stature in space jobs Colorado's growing aerospace industry is now the nation's second largest, according to a new report from the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. Denver Post
Sept. 20, 2007	NASA looks to the next 50 years NASA's top official on Wednesday recalled the Sputnik I achievement, which celebrates its 50th anniversary next month, as "an almost unimaginable embarrassment to the United States." Long Beach Press-Telegram
Sept. 19, 2007	Japanese Lunar Mission Proceeding Smoothly, Agency Says Japan's space agency said Wednesday that its lunar probe has performed flawlessly so far, five days after the craft's launch marked a giant step forward for Tokyo in Asia's undeclared space race. International Herald Tribune
Sept. 19, 2007	10 Things You Didn't Know About Space Exploration The Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik I in 1957 is credited with launching the U.S. space program. In the past 20 years, the space shuttle has launched 3 million pounds of cargo, transported more than 600 passengers and pilots, cumulatively spent more than three years in flight, and logged more than 366 million miles. U.S. News and World Report
Sept. 19, 2007	Space Must Be a Priority: Boeing Official Space must be a national priority and its exploration a shared responsibility of government and the private sector, a Boeing official said Sept. 18 at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics space Aerospace Daily and Defense Report
Sept. 18, 2007	NASA Opens Applications for New Astronaut Class NASA is accepting applications for the 2009 Astronaut Candidate Class. Those selected could fly to space for long-duration stays on the International Space Station and missions to the moon.
Sept. 18, 2007	NASA Maps The Moon With Google New higher-resolution lunar imagery and maps that include NASA multimedia content now are available on the Google Moon Web site.
Sept. 17, 2007	NASA studies Ares I crew launch vehicle catastrophic failure scenarios Catastrophic failure modes of NASA's proposed Ares I crew launch vehicle's upper stage fuel tank are being simulated and the space agency is seeking to place contracts for modelling services. The failure modes being investigate by NASA include propellant tank baffle failure leading to a mixing of the liquid oxygen (LOX), liquid hydrogen (LH2) propellants and their respective pressurisation gases, oxygen vapour and helium tank venting due to over-pressurisation-induced cracking that leads to combustion in an air-rich environment and flight instability caused by propellant sloshing from steady and unsteady vehicle acceleration. Flight International
Sept. 17, 2007	Event will gather those who reach for the stars A lot of far-out subjects are sure to be covered this week at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 2007 Conference & Exposition in Long Beach. Long Beach Press-Telegram
Sept. 17, 2007	ULA answer NASA's RFI on COTS-2 with list of recommendations The United Launch Alliance (ULA) has sent a list of recommendations in response to the NASA Request For Information (RFI) pertaining to Commercial Space Transportation Services (CSTS), while highlighting their range of capabilities. NASA SpaceFlight.com
Sept. 17, 2007	Beyond the Moon; Boeing Co. director inspired by Sputnik launch Say "low-Earth orbit" to Mike Lounge, and even over the phone you can hear him grit his teeth. Long Beach Press-Telegram
Sept. 15, 2007	Forum: Define 'new' space industry; Leaders see need for unified voice Florida and the Space Coast need to show legislators in Washington and Tallahassee a unified voice as they did to prevent military base closures in recent years if they are going to keep the region's space program viable for decades after NASA retires its shuttles. Florida Today
Sept. 12, 2007	The National Institutes of Health and NASA Partner for Health Research in Space The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and NASA have entered into an agreement that helps American scientists utilize the International Space Station to answer questions about human health and diseases. The Memorandum of Understanding marks a milestone in a long partnership to advance scientific discovery and signals researchers to the availability of a remarkable platform on which to conduct experiments. Florida Today
Sept. 12, 2007	NASA Refines Lunar Architecture Future lunar explorers may set out from their base at one of the moon's poles for long-distance surface sorties in pressurized rovers hardened against the galactic cosmic radiation that makes extravehicular activity (EVA) dangerous to their health in the long run. Aerospace Daily and Defense Report
Sept. 10, 2007	COTS Contract Terminated NASA has informed Congress it is terminating its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement with Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) because the company has failed to meet financial milestones. Aviation Week
Sept. 10, 2007	Amid NASA Turbelence, Congress Stays on Board Despite Veto Threat from Bush, Lawmakers Aim to Raise Its Budget With NASA pushing ahead with plans for exploring the moon and Mars, administrator Michael Griffin acknowledged last week that scandals and reports of astronaut misconduct have "shaken public confidence" in his agency. Houston Chronicle
Sept. 9, 2007	Rocketplane Faces Funding Crisis NASA has given notice to one of the winners of its $500 million spaceship competition that it's no longer interested in working with the company due to its investment woes. That could open the way for termination of the agreement with Oklahoma-based Rocketplane Kistler as early as next month. In response, Rocketplane's chief executive officer told me that "we are working on possible cures" for the funding crisis. MSNBC.COM
Sept. 6, 2007	Moog on Boeing Ares I Team Moog Inc. (NYSE: MOG.A and MOG.B ) announced today that the Company is part of the Boeing-led team (NYSE: BA) awarded a NASA contract to produce the upper stage of the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle. Houston Chronicle
Sept. 5, 2007	NASA and Mad Science Partner to Promote Science Education NASA and the Mad Science Group of Montreal, Canada, have teamed in an effort to spark the imagination of children, encouraging more youth to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.
Sept. 5, 2007	The Mix Tape of the Gods (about Voyager I) THIRTY years ago today, the Voyager 1 space probe -- a one-ton robotic craft whose long antennas make it look rather like a spider the size of a school bus -- was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on a mission to reconnoiter Jupiter and Saturn. New York Times
Sept. 4, 2007	Boeing Won Ares Upper Stage on Cost Boeing's winning proposal to produce the upper stage of NASA's Ares I rocket prevailed because of its "significantly" lower projected cost, despite rival ATK's proposal rating higher on technical merits, according to a NASA source selection document. Aviation Week
Sept. 4, 2007	Becoming a True Spacefaring America It's now less than two years until a new president will be inaugurated. Probably, you have also started to wonder if anything will change with respect to American space activities with the new president. The Space Review-Commentary
Sept. 4, 2007	Scientists, Space Enthusiasts Share Vision for Mars They came to see astronaut Buzz Aldrin, one of the first men on the moon, and to hear the ambitious plans of people like Elon Musk. Voice of America
Sept. 4, 2007	Prepare for landing on Mars Once a graveyard for space probes, Mars is now a prime destination in scientific exploration. NASA's latest lander aims to uncover fresh territory on the Red Planet. USAToday
Sept. 2, 2007	Space Race Rekindled? Russia Shoots for Moon, Mars The Russian space agency announced a plan to send a man to the moon by 2025, to establish a permanent base there a few years later, and possibly even send a man to Mars by 2035, in an aggressive plan reminiscent of the 1960s space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. ABC News
Sept. 2, 2007	South Korea to Name First Astronaut The name of South Korea's first astronaut -- who will fly on a Russian Soyuz capsule to the International Space Station early next year -- will be announced Wednesday, an official said. Space.com
Aug. 29, 2007	Suit Filed Over Security Steps at NASA Facility Twenty-eight scientists, engineers and other workers at one of NASA's top research centers filed suit in federal court yesterday challenging new security measures, including questions about loyalty and sexual orientation, that they say violate their constitutional rights. The New York Times
Aug. 29, 2007	Boeing Team to Build Ares An aerospace contract team headed by the Boeing Co. in Huntsville was selected Tuesday by NASA to build the upper stage for the space agency's next rocket - the Ares I. The Huntsville Times
Aug. 28, 2007	Boeing to build NASA's upper stage for Ares I ST. LOUIS - The Boeing Company has been awarded a NASA contract valued at approximately $514.7 million to produce the upper stage of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. This element provides the navigation, guidance, control and propulsion required for the ascent of the second-stage Ares I into low-Earth orbit. Spaceflight Now
Aug. 28, 2007	NASA picks Boeing for new rockets; Final assembly will be at Michoud The Boeing Co. was chosen Tuesday to build rockets that will send astronauts to the moon and beyond, launching the country's next generation of space exploration. Airport Business
Aug. 28, 2007	Boeing wins rocket bid in NASA's lunar program Boeing Co. edged a key rival to win a contract to work on the rockets NASA will use to return astronauts to the moon, the U.S. space agency said late Tuesday. Market Watch
Aug. 28, 2007	NASA Selects Ares I Upper Stage Production Contractor NASA on Tuesday selected The Boeing Co., Huntsville, Ala., as the contractor to provide manufacturing support for design and construction of the upper stage of the Ares I rocket. Ares I will launch astronauts to the International Space Station and eventually help return humans to the moon.
Aug. 28, 2007	Boeing Selected to Build NASA's Upper Stage for Ares I The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has been awarded a NASA contract valued at approximately $514.7 million to produce the upper stage of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. This element provides the navigation, guidance, control and propulsion required for the ascent of the second-stage Ares I into low-Earth orbit.
Aug. 27, 2007	NASA Needs Boomer Expertise For NASA to reach the moon again, the agency needs to keep experienced employees working on Earth. However, NASA's employee unions say the agency is not going about it the right way. Daily Astronomy
Aug. 24, 2007	Constellation's Crawl Worries Space Shuttle Program personnel Due to slower than expected progress by the US space agency's Constellation programme skill shortage concerns are already arising at NASA's Space Shuttle programme, as it waits for the planned year-end confirmation of what Shuttle facilities and assets Constellation needs to have transferred to it. Flight International
Aug. 24, 2007	Stennis To Be Key Player In Future Space Travel If you want to go to the moon, you have to go through Hancock County first. Those words were repeated several times at a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday at Stennis Space Center. WLOX-TV, ABC Affiliate
Aug. 23, 2007	Life And Work On The Moon: What Images Come To Mind? A new NASA contest encourages university art and design students to partner with science and engineering departments to create art representative of living and working on the moon. WLOX-TV, ABC Affiliate
Aug. 23, 2007	Lab Experiments Suggest That Future Fusion Reactors Could Use Helium-3 Gathered From the Moon At the 21st century's start, few would have predicted that by 2007, a second race for the moon would be under way. Yet the signs are that this is now the case. Technology Review
Aug. 23, 2007	Russian Space Agency to Form Three Space Holdings by 2015 Russian space companies will be integrated into 10-12 groups, which will then be organized into three to four holdings, the head of the Russian space agency said Wednesday. Space Daily
Aug. 21, 2007	Lockheed Martin Builds Closer Ties With NASA… Dassault Systèmes (DS) (NASDAQ:DASTY) (Paris:DSY), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced that its DELMIA software is helping Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. (LMSSC) work more closely with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Space Daily
Aug. 21, 2007	NASA to Announce Contractor for Ares I Upper Stage Production NASA will host a news conference at 4 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Aug. 28, to announce the selection of a contractor for the upper stage element of the Ares I rocket that will help launch future human missions to the moon. The Ares I will carry to low Earth orbit the Orion crew exploration vehicle, which will succeed the space shuttle as NASA's primary vehicle for human space exploration.
Aug. 21, 2007	NASA Glenn Gets Role in New Spacecraft Design Plans moved forward Monday for the NASA Glenn Research Center in Brook Park to help develop a new generation of spacecraft with the awarding of a $51.4 million contract. The Plain Dealer
Aug. 20, 2007	Space Solar Energy Has Future, U.S. Researchers Say Beam solar energy directly from space, and disaster relief expeditions could power all their equipment with no more than a few portable antennas and converters. Campers could use such energy to cook dinners using nothing more than a cell phone-like device.
Aug. 20, 2007	NASA Selects Vibration Test Capability Contractor NASA has selected Benham Constructors LLC of Oklahoma City to receive a contract to design, build and commission a vibration and acoustic test capability that will support development of the Orion crew exploration vehicle. Orion will carry astronauts to the International Space Station and back to the moon in the next decade
Aug. 17, 2007	Russia's Space Exploration: Its Future Lies With Bold New Projects "Space exploration is no longer just a proud fetish for Russia and other world powers. Venturing out into near-Earth space and using it nowadays is a valuable resource for national development and improvement in the quality of life," Russian President Vladimir Putin said early this year, defining the role of space research. Russian News and Information Agency
Aug. 13, 2007	NASA Inks Deal for Shuttle Replacements NASA has signed a $1.8 billion contract with Utah-based Alliant Techsystems (ATK) for "design, development, testing, and evaluation of the first stage of the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles." Ares I and V will replace the Space Shuttle fleet as NASA's primary means of getting people and stuff into earth orbit. The Register
Aug. 13, 2007	NASA Issues Draft Constellation Environmental Impact Statement NASA has issued a draft environmental impact statement on potential environmental impacts associated with the Constellation Program.
Aug. 13, 2007	United Launch Alliance to wade in on commercial ISS supply NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Demonstrations (COTS) phase one competitors, Rocketplane-Kistler (RpK) and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), could be facing competition from the Boeing, Lockheed Martin launch services joint venture United Launch Alliance (ULA). Flight International
Aug. 9, 2007	NASA Requests Proposals for Ares I Mobile Launcher Construction NASA has issued a request for proposals for Ares I mobile launcher construction. Ares I is the rocket that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle and its crew and cargo to low Earth orbit. The mobile launcher proposals are due to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 6, 2007.
Aug. 9, 2007	Ignorance of the Vision A couple of anecdotes, courtesy of the wild, wacky blogosphere, that suggest that, more than three and a half years after President Bush formally announced the Vision for Space Exploration, a lot of Americans know little, if anything, about it Space Politics-Blog
Aug. 9, 2007	What Will Future Lunar Bases Look Like? What will future lunar bases look like? NASA's Lunar Architecture Team is looking for the answer - the design must be able to weather a rocket launch and the brutalities of life on the Moon. New Scientist Space
Aug. 9, 2007	Why Is This Teacher in Space? Chosen as the backup to the original teacher-in-space, Christa McAuliffe, in 1985, Morgan was on site at Cape Canaveral the following year when McAuliffe and her six crewmates perished in the explosion of the shuttle Challenger. Time Magazine
Aug. 7, 2007	NASA Solicits Input for Commercial Space Transportation Services On Tuesday NASA issued a Request for Information soliciting ideas and feedback to help shape the plan to procure safe, cost effective, and reliable logistics services to the International Space Station and other payload launch services.
Aug. 6, 2007	Diversifying Our Planetary Portfolio A rather provocative headline appeared in the July 17, 2007 edition of the New York Times: "A Survival Imperative For Space Colonization." The claim, which could not but concentrate the mind, was that "To ensure our long-term survival, we need to get a colony up and running on Mars within 46 years." Space Daily
Aug. 6, 2007	Successful Jules Verne rendezvous simulation at ATV Control Centre For the first time, three human spaceflight mission control centres – located in three countries – have this week successfully simulated the critical rendezvous of the Automated Transfer Vehicle, the largest and most complex automatic spacecraft, with the International Space Station. Space Daily
Aug. 5, 2007	Orion landings to be splashdowns - KSC buildings to be demolished NASA Constellation and Lockheed Martin have deleted the airbag landing system from the next Orion design cycle (Orion 607) in a weight saving measure, opting to return to an Apollo-style splashdown for the vehicle's end of mission. NASA Spaceflight.com
Aug. 5, 2007	Last man to stand on moon: Return is overdue Astronaut Gene Cernan stood on a lunar plateau near his Taurus-Littrow landing site and looked back at his home some quarter of a million miles away. Galveston County Daily News
Aug. 5, 2007	Why America Needs to Explore Space For millennia, people have looked up to the night sky and wondered about our place in the universe. Parade Magazine
Aug. 2, 2007	Accidents Won't Stop Private Space Industry's Push to Final Frontier The private space industry suffered a setback last Thursday when an explosion ripped through a rocket-engine test area in the California desert, killing three workers and seriously injuring three others. Wired Magazine
Aug. 2, 2007	NASA to Test-Fly Orion spacecraft Next Fall The private space industry suffered a setback last Thursday when an explosion ripped through a rocket-engine test area in the California desert, killing three workers and seriously injuring three others. ZD Net News
Aug. 2, 2007	Lunar living; Va. Engineers are Testing an Inflatable, Expandable Habitat HAMPTON If the Michelin Man had a storage unit, it might look like something that has landed at NASA's Langley Research Center. Red Orbit
Aug. 1, 2007	Lunar living; Va. Engineers are Testing an Inflatable, Expandable Habitat Path to Mars goes through Decatur: If all goes well, the Mars Phoenix Lander will bounce onto the Red Planet surface next spring, uncrate itself, and begin looking for signs of a friendly environment. The Decatur Daily-Opinion
Aug. 1, 2007	Hotel Galactic: First-ever 'Space Hotel' to be Launched in 'Five Years' - with Astronomical Rates Houston, we have a hotel - the first one in space. The Daily Mail
July 31, 2007	Orion to see first umbilical EVA since 1974 NASA has chosen umbilical extra vehicular activity (EVA) as the space walk method for its Constellation programme's Orion crew exploration vehicle. Flight International
July 31, 2007	A Library For Mars The Phoenix Mars Lander is equipped with instruments that could detect the signature of life on Mars - but it also carries signatures, stories and lots more for future generations. MSNBC.Com-Column
July 31, 2007	Reopening the Moon-vs.-Mars question Aviation Week has a letter in its July 30th issue (summarized in a blog post on Aviation Week's web site) from Apollo lunar module manager Joseph P. Gavin who is critical of the current direction of the Vision for Space Exploration: not because of the choice of architectures, but because of the decision to go back to the Moon instead of directly to Mars. Space Politics--Blog
July 30, 2007	NASA Insiders Propose Stepping Stone Path to Deep Space NASA's Constellation Program – including the deployment of the Orion crew vehicle replacing the space shuttle – will first be assigned to International Space Station flights, then propel humans and cargo to the Moon. Expeditionary missions to Mars and beyond will follow. Space.com
July 30, 2007	Top Apollo Manager Opposes NASA's Moon Goal One of the most respected top managers of the Apollo program, Joseph P. Gavin, who led development of the NASA/Grumman Apollo lunar module, is airing sharp opposition to the Bush Administration/NASA goal of returning humans to the Moon as a stepping stone to Mars. Aviation Week
July 30, 2007	Can't all space nerds get along? Observers of space politics have identified three interest groups in the civil space sector: government-funded scientific robots/machines, government-funded human spaceflight, and private space industry. The Space Review-Opinion
July 30, 2007	Japan Will Soon Restart Intensive Lunar Study The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is gearing up to launch the most complex mission to the Moon in decades, the first in an international constellation of lunar orbiters. Aviation Week
July 27, 2007	NASA selects local firm to construct KSC's Ares I Lightning Towers Ivey Construction of Merritt Island, Florida, have won a $28m contract to build the three 600 ft high Lightning Towers that will surround Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center. NASASpaceflight.com
July 25, 2007	Pentagon Pulls Plug on Satellite Refueling Prototypes The Pentagon decommissioned its experimental Orbital Express satellites this week, bringing the on-orbit satellite-servicing and robotics demonstration to an irreversible end. Space.com
July 24, 2007	The Brain Builders BAE Eager to Work On Ares Rocket Instrument Unit An international aerospace company hopes NASA work will lead to a larger presence in Huntsville and the chance to put the Ares I rocket on course after its launch. The Huntsville Times
July 23, 2007	NASA considers larger Ares V launch vehicle fairings NASA has been evaluating larger 10m (33ft) and 12m fairings for its Constellation programme's Ares V cargo launch vehicle that will carry the Earth departure stage and Lunar Lander, within its current 8.4m shroud, into low-Earth orbit from 2018. Flight International
July 22, 2007	Old Space Prepares to Buy New Space As Northrop Scoops up Scaled Composites Military and aerospace powerhouse Northrop Grumman is reported to be on the verge of buying the jewel of the new space crown - SpaceShipOne builder Scaled Composites. Space Daily
July 21, 2007	Rocket's return to NASA rekindles dream Members of two generations -- one that reached the moon with human explorers, and another that hopes to repeat the achievement -- paid tribute Friday at NASA's Johnson Space Center to the rocket that paved the way. Houston Chronicle
July 20, 2007	NASA Asks Apollo Engineers for Help with Moon Plans On Friday, the 38th anniversary of the first manned Moon landing, NASA called in a group of retired engineers who had worked on the Apollo lunar programme in the 1960s and 70s. Space.com
July 20, 2007	Missions to The Moon Promise Earthly Benefits If you've been around half a century or more, you might recall being glued to the television 38 years ago today. That's when Neil Armstrong's boots became the first to make an imprint on the moon. The Daily Herald
July 19, 2007	Michoud Employment to Drop With the shift of the U.S. space program from the shuttle to the Constellation program designed to send astronauts back to the moon and beyond, employment at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility will drop, a top official with a space contractor said Thursday. Forbes
July 19, 2007	Landmark Rockets Back To NASA After slowly decaying for three decades in Houston's infamous humidity, one of the region's best-known landmarks, a muscle-bound NASA Saturn V moon rocket, has a new lease on life and weatherproof housing to host visitors. Houston Chronicle
July 17, 2007	New Skintight Spacesuit Design Unveiled Can an engineer bring sexy back--to the future? National Geographic
July 17, 2007	PWR Gets $1.2B For J-2X Engine NASA will pay Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) a total of $1.2 billion through the end of 2012 to develop and deliver eight J2-X rocket engines for the U.S. aerospace agency's planned Ares family of launch vehicles. Aviation Week
July 16, 2007	Destinations for Exploration: More Than Just Rocks? Human space exploration has traditionally been inspired by ultimate destinations beyond the Earth and designed to reach them efficiently and safely. The Space Review-Commentary
July 15, 2007	Orion weight saving refinements continue - focus on ISS access The Lockheed Martin Orion spacecraft has received a new set of refined baseline targets from NASA, concentrating on ensuring Orion can achieve ISS mission roles, as the vehicle edges closer to using up all of its reserve and weight growth allowances. NASA Spaceflight.com
July 14, 2007	NASA Brings Taste of Space to Itasca NASA officials see their 53-foot-long interactive trailer as a chance to show people what the space agency is working on to get America back to the moon. Chicago Tribune
July 12, 2007	U.S. House appropriators boost NASA funding U.S. House appropriators agreed today to spend nearly $17.6 billion on NASA next year, a $289.6 million increase from the president's budget request and a sharp boost from this year's lean $16.3 billion budget. Orlando Sentinel-Blog
July 12, 2007	Boeing Sends Educators from around the World to SPACE CAMP® The Boeing Company this week sent 85 public school teachers from around the world to the 16th Annual Boeing Educators to SPACE CAMP® program at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala.
July 12, 2007	A New Role for Kevlar? The DuPont Co. has signed a research agreement with NASA to develop a new generation of foam insulation for use in spacecraft, including the new launch vehicle expected to replace the space shuttle, the Wilmington-based company announced Wednesday. The News Journal
July 11, 2007	ATK Awarded Contract For Orion Launch Abort Motors Alliant Techsystems has received a $62.5 million contract from Orbital Sciences Corporation for the main abort motor of the NASA Orion crew exploration vehicle Launch Abort System (LAS). Space Travel
July 11, 2007	Top Leaders Leaving NASA In what might appear to be a stunning exodus, two top NASA administrators are leaving the agency, but officials say the departures are not related. Florida Today-Blog
July 11, 2007	Saturn V Begins Trek to New Space Center Home All three stages of historic rocket set to be in place for NASA reunion on Friday. Huntsville Times
July 11, 2007	Scolese to Succeed Geveden as NASA Associate Administrator NASA Associate Administrator Rex Geveden announced Wednesday that he will leave the agency at the end of July to join Teledyne Technologies as the president of Teledyne Brown Engineering, Huntsville, Ala.
July 11, 2007	Future Mars Explorers Face Dusty Challenges Sending astronauts to Mars will present a host of health risks, from radiation showers to sheer boredom. One of the biggest threats is the extra-fine dust that coats the planet. And the problem is, researchers have never had any sample of the powdery grit to study, so they don't know exactly how it behaves or what its health effects might be. Space.com
July 10, 2007	ATK Awarded Contract for Orion Launch Abort Motors Alliant Techsystems has received a $62.5 million contract from Orbital Sciences Corporation for the main abort motor of the NASA Orion crew exploration vehicle Launch Abort System (LAS). CNN.com
July 10, 2007	Orbital Express Test Mission Could Resume After All Senior military leaders have decided to postpone shutting down the Pentagon's Orbital Express mission to give U.S. Air Force officials a chance to propose additional demonstrations, the mission's program manager said Tuesday. SpaceFlight Now
July 9, 2007	Born into Rocket Race Son of von Braun team member helped NASA expand study of space .Volker Roth witnessed bombings and a captured V-2 launch and worked on the Saturn V moon rocket program, but a trip to Moscow stands out as a special time during his 42 years as an aerospace engineer. Huntsville Times
July 9, 2007	Europe and Russia Study Modular Manned Spacecraft A manned spacecraft that would be launched in modular sections and docked together in space is one of the concepts being considered for the Crew Space Transportation System (CSTS) the European Space Agency may develop with Russia. Flight International
July 9, 2007	Europe's ATV Ready for Journey to French Guiana Launch Site After three years of tests, Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), an unmanned space tug, is scheduled to begin a two-week journey to its French Guiana launch site for a 16- to 18-week-long launch preparation campaign. Space.com
July 9, 2007	Northrop Grumman Helps NASA Shape Plans for Affordable Lunar Lander The lunar lander that will carry NASA astronauts to the moon's surface by the end of the next decade will benefit from more than 50 years of technological change -- and more than 50 years of unique engineering and operational experience from Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC), the designer and producer of the original Apollo Lunar Module.
July 5, 2007	Apollo Lunar Lander Team to Share Lessons Learned with NASA On July 20, the 38th anniversary of the first moon landing, NASA will host more than a dozen retired members of an engineering team that worked on the Apollo-era spacecraft that carried astronauts to the lunar surface.
July 4, 2007	To the Moon, Mars and Beyond A NASA engineer working with the International Space Station (ISS) program shared the agency's vision, "Moon, Mars and Beyond," Friday afternoon with elementary and middle school students winding down their summer enrichment programs. Lexington-Clipper Herald
July 3, 2007	Europe and Russia plan next generation spaceship Plans are underway to build a European alternative to the US's shuttle replacement Orion. The Register
July 2, 2007	Putting NASA's Budget in Perspective This line, or some facsimile of it, has probably been heard countless times by just about every advocate of space exploration. For many people, it seems to sum up the totality of their thinking on the subject. Not a few politicians invoke it on those rare occasions when space exploration comes up in political discourse. The Space Review-Opinon
July 2, 2007	Investors Bet on Commercial Spaceflight Just a few years ago, the idea of bankrolling starry-eyed ventures to fly ordinary people into space was laughed off as science fiction. Now some investors are betting on space tourism as the next big thing. BizYahoo.com
July	Future of the Space Business: How Private Rocketeers Got Real On Memorial Day weekend, I got a glimpse of something new -- the beginning of a new kind of Space Age. Popular Mechanics
June 29, 2007	Bigelow Launches Genesis II Space Module Bigelow Aerospace launched its Genesis II inflatable space module June 28 on a converted Russian ICBM as the company continues the highly successful orbital test of its first sub-scale module, Genesis I, launched last July. Aviation Week
June 27, 2007	Senate Panel Boosts NASA Funding A U.S. Senate panel has recommended providing $17.45 billion for NASA next year, or about $150 million more than the White House requested. Space.com
June 26, 2007	NASA Announces Constellation Management Changes In Florida Kennedy Space Center Director Bill Parsons recently announced the appointment of John J. "Tip" Talone Jr. to the new position of associate program manager of the Constellation Program at the center.
June 26, 2007	Mercury 13 Women Followed a Dream but Could Never Live It The story of a group of female pilots who passed tests to train as astronauts in the 1960s, until NASA decided to keep them grounded. Voice of America Radio
June 26, 2007	NASA's New Strategic Communications Plan Today NASA plans to officially release a long-awaited new strategic communications plan. Space Politics-Blog
June 25, 2007	NASA Wants To Open Station To Outsiders If all goes as planned, part of the international space station will host research experiments from outsiders after it's completed in three years, NASA officials said Monday. ABC News
June 25, 2007	Science & Technology Chairmen React to NASA Report on ISS National Laboratory Today, NASA issued a report to Congress on the planned use of the U.S. portion of the International Space Station (ISS) as a national laboratory.