Aerospace & Defense News - Space

AirGuide Business, Feb 18, 2008

Feb 18, 2008

But Donald Kessler, who was director of NASA's orbital space debris monitoring program from 1980 to 1996, said it's unlikely the Pentagon is shooting the missile to test its capabilities. The military is modifying a short-range missile for the task in such a way that it can only be used to target that specific satellite, Kessler said. The government announced in January that the satellite was falling from the sky, but initially said little else, fueling speculation that it was a failed spy probe. It was left to a community of hobbyists who track satellites to identify it - providing descriptions in Internet chatter that were later confirmed by government officials. Feb 14, 2008

NASA Administrator supports moon mission. Administrator Michael Griffin defended a plan to send astronauts back to the moon and said NASA must plan missions that take crews on missions incrementally away from Earth. Some experts say the U.S. should focus on sending astronauts straight to Mars, but Griffin said he disagrees with that proposal. "I regard that as foolish, frankly," Griffin said. "The moon is three days and a quarter-million miles from home. When we return to the moon, we will have not been there for 50 years." Feb 14, 2008

Space debris is a well-known and studied hazard, experts say. Every year, an estimated 200 pieces of debris are added to the inventory monitored by NASA and the military. NASA officials say they are currently tracking about 12,400 pieces of orbital debris. The International Space Station, orbiting space observatories such as the Hubble Space Telescope and NASA's space shuttles are all designed to withstand being struck by smaller objects - that must travel at 5 miles/7 kilometers a second to stay in orbit. An average of two windows have to be replaced after each shuttle mission because of debris damage. Feb 14, 2008

U.S. to shoot down satellite on Feb. 20. Malfunctioning craft contains hazardous material. The Pentagon said yesterday that it will try to shoot down a malfunctioning satellite before it has a chance to return to Earth and spread hazardous materials over populated areas. The Defense Department will attempt to blast the U.S.-made satellite with a missile launched from a Navy ship in coming weeks before the satellite re-enters Earth's atmosphere, officials said. The high-altitude strike ordered by President Bush would represent the first time the United States has taken such a step to deactivate a wayward orbital device. China performed a similar mission last year, which the United States criticized. Experts say the plan may be the best of several bad options, and noted that it would almost certainly leave more litter in space that could ultimately damage working satellites and space capsules. But some experts questioned the need for the blast - and the United States' motives. Feb 14, 2008

Spacewalkers Hook Up New Tank. Two spacewalking astronauts supplied the international space station with a fresh tank of nitrogen gas Wednesday, one of them a German who was too sick to venture outside a few days earlier. It was a chance for Hans Schlegel to prove himself. Never before in 27 years of space shuttle history was an astronaut replaced on a spacewalk and then given a second chance. Looking and sounding fit, Schlegel and Rex Walheim completed their primary job halfway through the nearly seven-hour spacewalk: removing a depleted nitrogen tank from the space station and installing a full one weighing 550 pounds. The high-pressure nitrogen gas is needed to flush ammonia through the station's cooling lines. Feb 13, 2008

U.S. Shuttle Atlantis will remain at the space station until Monday. Mission managers on Wednesday decided to keep the shuttle there an extra day so its seven astronauts can help with Columbus' setup. The activation process has been running a little behind because of computer problems, but flight directors believe they've fixed the glitch. That makes for a 13-day flight, with touchdown now set for Feb. 20. Atlantis' thermal shielding has been completely cleared for re-entry. Feb 13, 2008

U.S., China may embark on space race. China and the U.S. are entering the early phases of a space race. Both have announced plans to return to the moon by 2020. The Chinese space program is far behind that of the U.S., but some observers say recent attempts by China to access U.S. space technology are related to plans to upgrade its military. Feb 13, 2008

Experts meet at Stanford to discuss U.S. vision for space. Space experts from NASA, academia, and the space industry are meeting today to discuss plans by the U.S. to return to the moon by 2020 and to eventually send humans to Mars. Observers anticipate that the next administration will have a vision for space exploration different from that of the Bush administration, and they also note that it will address the drain of science resources in the U.S. "We are in a double bind," says G. Scott Hubbard, a co-host. "As a nation we cannot abandon human exploration to other countries, nor can we further consume the remaining science budget and relinquish our roles in Earth observation, solar system exploration and space astrophysics." Feb 12, 2008