Aerospace & Defense News - Space

AirGuide Business, April 21, 2008

Apr 21, 2008

The future lies in using advanced robotics, miniaturisation and fabrication, said Lord Martin Rees, the president of the Royal Society. Europe "should try and get a world lead in unmanned exploration", he said. Spending funds on manned spaceflights "was not a very good use of money", that should be left to the US, he said. Three-quarters of Nasa's money was spent "going round and round the Earth 35 years after people had already walked on the Moon", Lord Rees said. Nasa has a budget this year of more than $17bn ([pounds sterling]9bn; 11bn euros), in contrast to the UK's annual civil space budget of [pounds sterling]220m ($430m; 270m euros) and the European Space Agency's (Esa) expenditure of 3bn euros ([pounds sterling]2.5bn; $5bn). Apr 16, 2008

Mainstream venture capitalists have invested very little in the commercial space industry. Some observers say the level of funding required makes potential investors wary of the industry. "The investment community has had a cautious response so far. But if you look at the business models, some of these companies could be making money relatively quickly," said George Whitesides, executive director of the National Space Society. Apr 14, 2008

The test launch of NASA's Ares 1-X rocket is one year away. Ares is part of the system that will replace the space shuttle after it retires. NASA officials are already preparing for the test flight, one of four tests that will evaluate the rocket's first stage. Apr 14, 2008

American Pacific

American Pacific Corporation ("AMPAC") is a leading manufacturer of specialty and fine chemicals within its focused markets, as well as propulsion products sold to defense, aerospace and pharmaceutical end markets. AMPAC's products provide access to, and movement in, space via solid fuel and propulsion thrusters and represent the registered or active pharmaceutical ingredient in drug applications such as HIV, epilepsy and cancer. AMPAC also produces specialty chemicals utilized in various applications such as fire extinguishing systems, as well as manufacture water treatment equipment. AMPAC's products are designed to meet customer specifications and often must meet certain governmental and regulatory approvals. Additional information about AMPAC can be obtained by visiting the Company's web site at http://www.apfc.com Apr 14, 2008

American Pacific

American Pacific Corporation's wholly-owned in-space propulsion subsidiary (AMPAC-ISP or ISP), has been awarded a contract to develop a liquid divert and attitude control system (DACS) for the Ballistic Missile Defense System. The work will be performed at AMPAC-ISP's Niagara Falls, New York facility, and will apply proven component and subsystem design to develop a modular and scalable DACS. The program will leverage ISP's design for manufacturing experience to develop a low cost, low risk propulsion system for interceptor kill vehicles. The cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, of approximately $15 million, will culminate in the delivery of a qualification unit and two flight test units in September 2010. AMPAC-ISP is teamed with Moog Inc. Space and Defense Group, East Aurora, New York, who will provide subsystem design and component support. This contract is one of the largest issued to a Western New York company in 2007 and will be supported by more than one hundred technical professionals at ISP and Moog. Apr 14, 2008

AMPAC

AMPAC-ISP Corp. is a leader in the development and manufacturing of liquid rocket engines, tanks and propulsion systems for launch vehicles, commercial and defense satellites, deep space exploration, and missile defense. AMPAC-ISP, with facilities in Niagara Falls, New York and Westcott, United Kingdom, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Pacific Corporation. Additional information about AMPAC-ISP Corp. can be obtained by visiting their web site at http://www.ampacisp.com Apr 14, 2008

Boeing

Boeing Launch Services will manage DigitalGlobe's third satellite launch now scheduled for mid-2009. The WoldView-2 satellite, the company's most advanced satellite, will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Apr 17, 2008

Raytheon

Raytheon will partner with Harris Corp. and HP in its bid to win an Air Force satellite broadcasting contract. The companies will help provide wide-band Internet protocol broadcasts for video, imagery and data transmissions to the armed forces if they win the $30 million contract. Apr 14, 2008

ZZ

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