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From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: May 9, 2014 11:09:14 AM CDT
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: NASA and Human Spaceflight News - Friday – May 9, 2014
Have a great Mother's Day weekend yall!NASA and Human Spaceflight NewsFriday – May 9, 2014International Space Station:Expedition 39 NFL Draft Message:NASA astronauts and Expedition 39 Flight Engineers Steve Swanson and Rick Mastracchio downlinked a message from the International Space Station to kick off the NFL network's draft night coverage. View it here:HEADLINES AND LEADSHouse gives NASA more money to explore planetsKatie Zezima – The Washington PostA House appropriations bill has increased the amount of money budgeted for the study of planetary science at NASA, missions that will, among other things, lead to human exploration of Mars.House appropriators give NASA almost $18 billion for 2015, tell White House to get going in spaceLee Roop – Huntsville (AL) TimesIn a strong show of support for NASA Thursday, the full House Appropriations Committee voted to give the space agency more money in 2015 than the White House requested and told NASA to consider sending astronauts on a fly-by of Mars as early as 2021.$17.9-billion funding plan for NASA would boost planetary scienceMonte Morin - Los Angeles TimesThe House Appropriations Committee recommended $17.9 billion in funding for NASA on Thursday, significantly boosting planetary science programs at Jet Propulsion Laboratories in La Canada Flintridge and continuing operation of a Palmdale-based flying telescope.To Combat Climate Change, Humanity Must Act Now, NASA Chief SaysMike Wall – Space.comHumanity must act now if it hopes to stave off the worst impacts of climate change, NASA chief Charles Bolden says.Outdated civil service rules need overhauling, says the Partnership for Public ServiceLisa Rein – The Washington PostThe federal government, stuck with an outdated civil service system, is failing to hire the best talent, treating employees as "costs" rather than assets and facing a leadership crisis, a leading expert on the federal workforce said this week.Cockeysville native launching to International Space Station this monthScott Dance - The Baltimore SunNavy Cmdr. Reid Wiseman spent 21/2 years preparing to travel 220 miles above Earth's surface, live six months in cramped quarters and walk in space.Even in space, you gotta have 'wa'Shiho Tomioka and Koji Kitabayashi - The Asahi ShimbunAs tensions escalated between the United States and Russia over the situation in Ukraine, Koichi Wakata made sure harmony continued high above ground.Spacewatch: Cassini to celebrate a decade at SaturnAlan Pickup – The GuardianSaturn stands directly opposite the Sun on Saturday 10 May, so that it transits our low southern sky between sunset and sunrise and is at its closest (1,331 million km) and brightest for the year.Spaceflight Inc.'s First Sherpa Flight Almost Fully Booked With SmallSatsCaleb Henry – Via SatelliteSpaceflight Inc., a company dedicated to launching small satellites, has nearly filled all the slots for the maiden flight of its Sherpa hosted payload and in-space transportation system. Sherpa is a free-flying platform that uses an oversized Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) ring exclusively for small satellites ranging from a few to several hundred kilograms. The first flight, planned with an undisclosed launch provider, will carry a myriad of satellites into a sun-synchronous Low Earth Orbit (LEO).Arundel student shoots for the moon in NASA's Mars challengeJoe Burris - The Baltimore SunMike Melzer grew up reading popular science books and enjoyed mathematical subjects, but he had only a slight interest in astronomy.New Research Examines Behavior to Improve Avionics Design, RegulationWoodrow Bellamy III – Aviation TodayHuman factors involved in major commercial aviation accidents over the last decade could hold the key to safety enhancement for avionics design and regulation for next generation cockpit technology, according to a public-private team currently researching pilot response to displays during unexpected in-flight occurrences, such as an aircraft entering a phase that is outside of its normal envelope.Forecast good for SpaceX launchJames Dean – Florida TodayThe forecast looks good for SpaceX's planned 9:47 a.m. Saturday launch of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a six-pack of commercial satellites from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.Bill Puts Restrictions on SBIRS, AEHF Modernization FundingMike Gruss – Space NewsThe 2015 defense authorization bill approved May 8 by the House Armed Services Committee aims to put the brakes on U.S. Air Force efforts to examine alternative architectures for some if its key space capabilities.Gov. Hickenlooper to speak at Space SymposiumBryan Grossman –The Colorado Springs Business JournalGov. John Hickenlooper will participate in two events at this month's 30th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. The Space Foundation's Space Symposium is an international space conference from May 19-22 at The Broadmoor.Court lifts RD-180 injunctionJeff Foust – Space PoliticsThe US Court of Federal Claims issued an order today formally lifting the injunction on payments to and from NPO Energomash for RD-180 engines used by United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket. In the two-page order, Judge Susan Braden said her decision was based on the letters she received from the Departments of Commerce, State, and Treasury stating that they had not found that payments to Energomash contravened the sanctions on Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. The court also received a letter from Bradley Smith, chief counsel for Foreign Assets Control at the Treasury Department, with similar language to the previous ones, noting that no "affirmative determination" that Rogozin controls NPO Energomash had been made by his office or elsewhere in the government.Court lifts injunction barring payments for Russian engineWilliam Harwood – CBS NewsA federal judge Thursday lifted an injunction barring United Launch Alliance from buying Russian engines for the company's Atlas 5 rocket, concluding such transactions do not violate U.S. sanctions imposed in the wake of Russia's actions in Ukraine.
Moment of truth nears for sleepy U.S. town on cusp of space flightMary Milliken – ReutersAfter passing the sign reading "Danger Falling Aliens," New Mexico artist Roy Lohr and dog Yoda lead visitors to the "Spaceport" he has built in his backyard out of wine bottles and cement.COMPLETE STORIESHouse gives NASA more money to explore planetsKatie Zezima – The Washington PostA House appropriations bill has increased the amount of money budgeted for the study of planetary science at NASA, missions that will, among other things, lead to human exploration of Mars.The Commerce, Justice and Science Committee's draft proposal calls for $1.45 billion to go toward planetary science, including $302 million for the Mars program. The White House had asked for $1.28 billion in its budget."I'm really thrilled with the numbers we were able to get for planetary science and maintain our leadership and answer questions we have never answered," Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said in an interview. Schiff's district includes NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Schiff called planetary science one of the "crown jewels" of NASA.The Mars exploration program is trying to understand the Martian environment so NASA can eventually send people there. The Mars Curiosity Rover is part of that effort. The rover is combing the surface of the planet and sending back data. At least $100 million of the money put toward the Mars program is for the Mars 2020 rover, which will be deployed that year and will be a significant step toward sending people to Mars.Another $100 million is for the Europa Clipper mission, a plan still under study that would explore Jupiter's icy moon Europa.The funding does not address one of NASA's biggest issues: that it still heavily relies on Russia for certain programs, including engines for it Soyuz rockets and ferrying American astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Despite sanctions against Russia, NASA is continuing its contract with Russia to bring astronauts to the space station — at a price of $457.9 million.House appropriators give NASA almost $18 billion for 2015, tell White House to get going in spaceLee Roop – Huntsville (AL) TimesIn a strong show of support for NASA Thursday, the full House Appropriations Committee voted to give the space agency more money in 2015 than the White House requested and told NASA to consider sending astronauts on a fly-by of Mars as early as 2021.The committee's vote also gave NASA $1.6 billion for developing the new heavy-lift rocket called the Space Launch System (SLS) - enough to keep the Huntsville-based program on track for a 2017 launch - $1.14 billion for the Orion crew capsule and $315 million for ground operations at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to support SLS launches.Overall, the committee gave NASA almost $17.9 billion for 2015, $250 million more than this year and $435 million more than the White House requested. The committee criticized the Obama administration for persistently requesting less funding for NASA than Congress had authorized.The full House must pass the appropriation in a vote that could come this month, but given the bipartisan support in the committee, NASA supporters in Washington were saying Thursday's vote puts NASA in strong position to get at least this much and possibly more when the Senate acts.U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville), a member of the Appropriations Committee and vice chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA, pushed for the higher funding. "NASA is important to the country's future," Aderholt said. "Continued funding for SLS is key to maintaining the United States role as the world's leader in space."The NASA appropriations bill also included:- A directive to NASA to report to Congress within 30 days of the budget passing on whether the second SLS flight now set for 2021 could be a crewed mission to Mars.- $785 million for commercial crew development, more than that program has ever received from Congress, but only on the condition that NASA down-selects to one company as sole provider of the space taxi to the International Space Station.- $1.45 billion for planetary science including $680 million for astrophysics and $668 million for heliophysics, both of which are part of Marshall's mission.- $100 million to support planning of a NASA mission to explore Jupiter's moon Europa and whether SLS could be the launch vehicle for that mission.$17.9-billion funding plan for NASA would boost planetary scienceMonte Morin - Los Angeles TimesThe House Appropriations Committee recommended $17.9 billion in funding for NASA on Thursday, significantly boosting planetary science programs at Jet Propulsion Laboratories in La Canada Flintridge and continuing operation of a Palmdale-based flying telescope.However, the committee also expressed doubts about the feasibilty of NASA's proposed plan to capture an asteroid and tow it into orbit around the moon. Because of this, the committee said that funding for the so-called Asteroid Redirect Mission should be "carefully constrained."The 2015 funding proposal is $250 million more than the current year and $435 million more than what was requested by the White House. A committee report says it allows NASA to continue development of its manned Orion spacecraft and heavy-lift Space Launch System, which could carry astronauts to Mars, or an asteroid.It also commits "substantial resources" to the development of the so-called Commercial Crew Program, whereby private industry will help ferry astronauts to the International Space Station instead of using Russian Soyuz spacecraft.But advocates of space exploration say the funding proposal is notable for a significant increase in support for planetary science.The Orion, SLS and CCP programs account for $4.2 billion of the appropriation, while another $5.2 billion would be directed to science programs. Of that latter sum, $1.45 billion is earmarked for planetary science -- roughly $170 million more than was requested by the president's budget office.Committee members wrote that the president's funding request "imperiled" the continuation of critical research and development programs and needed to be increased.Specifically, the committee said that no less than $100 million should be spent on the next robotic mission to Mars -- Mars Rover 2020 -- which will be overseen by JPL.The spending proposal also designates $181 million for the study of outer planets -- more than half of which is to be spent on planning a robotic mission to study Jupiter's moon, Europa, or a similar project."It's nice to know that planetary science is back," said U.S. Representative Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), a member of the Appropriations Committee. "This is really great news for JPL, but more broadly, great news for those who want America to maintain its preeminence in planetary science."Schiff said there had been questions about whether there would be sufficient funding to keep the Mars Rover 2020 mission on schedule. This funding proposal answers that question, he said."This is an affirmative 'yes we can,'" he said. "Also, one of the top priorities ... is the mission to Europa and we now have a very substantial investment in that mission, something that JPL is intimately involved in," Schiff said.In its report, the committee said it was also denying a NASA request to ground the Palmdale-based Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA.A heavily retrofitted 747 jumbo jet equipped with a 100-inch reflecting telescope, SOFIA operates out of the Armstrong Flight Research Center in the Mojave Desert and was slated for retirement.In its report, committee members said the project produces "good science" and had not been recommended for termination by NASA's science review boards. As such, they were recommending $70 million to support the project's fixed costs, such as flight crews and maintenance."NASA shall continue seeking third-party partners whose additional funding support would restore SOFIA's budget to its full operational level," the committee said in its report.The committee also expressed skepticism over the future of NASA's proposed Asteroid Redirect Mission, or ARM."The Congress still has outstanding questions and concerns about the ARM's costs and feasibility, as well as its strategic relevance and potential to generate external support from the public and international collaborators," the committee wrote."Because it remains unclear whether or when the Congress will make a long-term commitment to the ARM concept, the Committee believes that funding associated with the mission must be carefully constrained to prevent the occurrence of waste in the event that the ARM never receives final approval."The spending bill must now go before the full House for approval, while the Senate is working on its own appropriations plan. The two proposals will then be reconciled sometime in the fall.To Combat Climate Change, Humanity Must Act Now, NASA Chief SaysMike Wall – Space.comHumanity must act now if it hopes to stave off the worst impacts of climate change, NASA chief Charles Bolden says.Climate change is not some far-off, nebulous issue that future generations will have to confront, Bolden told reporters Thursday (May 8) during a discussion of the Third U.S. National Climate Assessment report here at NASA's Ames Research Center. Rather, it's happening right now, and people all over the world are already feeling the effects."The world is different from the way it used to be," Bolden said. "Climate change is a problem we must deal with right now."The latest National Climate Assessment (NCA), which was released by the White House on Tuesday (May 6), is the most comprehensive and authoritative document ever written about how climate change is affecting the United States, Bolden added.The report doesn't paint a pretty picture."Precipitation patterns are changing, sea level is rising, the oceans are becoming more acidic and the frequency and intensity of some extreme weather events are increasing," the NCA states. "The observed warming and other climatic changes are triggering wide-ranging impacts in every region of our country and throughout our economy."Bolden spoke in front of Ames' "hyperwall," a 23-foot-wide (7 meters) visualization system that helps scientists analyze and display huge and complicated datasets.Over Bolden's right shoulder, the hyperwall showed a map of the continental United States depicting average July temperatures in 1950. Over his left shoulder was a prediction of how this map would look in July 2100 in a "business as usual" scenario, with no meaningful action taken to curb emissions of the heat-trapping gas carbon dioxide.On the 1950 map, only a small corner of the southwestern U.S. blushes dark red, indicating average July temperatures of at least 105 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius). But this color covers about one-third of the 2100 map — including some of today's prime agricultural land in the Midwest and Great Plains."We don't want to be there," Bolden said, gesturing toward the July 2100 map. "We think we can do something about it."Taking steps to reduce the use of fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum would indeed make a difference, helping the nation and the world mitigate some of climate change's most dramatic effects, the NCA states. But impacts are unavoidable (and ongoing) at this point, because carbon dioxide stays in Earth's atmosphere for decades."The amount of warming projected beyond the next few decades is directly linked to the cumulative global emissions of heat-trapping gases and particles," the NCA report states. "By the end of this century, a roughly 3-degree F to 5-degree F rise is projected under a lower emissions scenario, which would require substantial reductions in emissions (referred to as the 'B1 scenario'), and a 5-degree F to 10-degree F rise for a higher emissions scenario assuming continued increases in emissions, predominantly from fossil fuel combustion (referred to as the 'A2 scenario')."NASA scientists and satellites contributed greatly to the NCA report, Bolden said, and the space agency will continue to keep tabs on the planet from above. NASA has already launched one Earth-observation mission in 2014 — the Global Precipitation Measurement core observatory, which blasted off in February — and will loft four more before the calendar flips over."I am calling this — in fact, NASA now calls it — the year of Earth," Bolden said. "We're focusing on trying to put instruments up, whether they're on the International Space Station or free flyers, that will help us get more information to help us understand more about what's happening on our Earth."Outdated civil service rules need overhauling, says the Partnership for Public ServiceLisa Rein – The Washington PostThe federal government, stuck with an outdated civil service system, is failing to hire the best talent, treating employees as "costs" rather than assets and facing a leadership crisis, a leading expert on the federal workforce said this week.The dysfunction has gotten so bad that the system needs a complete overhaul, according to Max Stier, president and chief executive of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service."There are obviously some great people in government," Stier said Wednesday during a meeting with The Washington Post editorial board. "But the system is failing them."In a new report by the Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen Hamilton, the two million-strong civil service system is depicted as increasingly obsolete, with its approach to pay, recruitment, management, competition for talent and dealing with poor performers virtually unchanged since Congress passed the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act.Despite recent changes designed to shorten the process, an arcane hiring system remains a "mystery" that prevents managers from recruiting good people who would do the job well, focusing too much on experience and too little on talent, the report says.The 60-year-old General Schedule job classification system prevents agencies from aligning compensation with what comparable occupations in the private sector pay, undermining government's ability to attract top performers.Accountability is lacking. "Employees and managers view performance management as a paperwork exercise, an annual necessary evil that has little effect on their working lives," the report concludes. Poor performers are rarely fired or demoted. And many senior executives in government are technical experts who are promoted because they've been in their jobs a long time rather than because they have track records as seasoned managers, Stier said.Many of these problems arise from changes in the nature the workforce. While clerical jobs once dominated the bureaucracy, professional occupations do today, and government needs to recruit and keep employees to fill those posts, the report says.Stier proposed changes that would give provide for more flexibility in hiring and management and a pay system that helps employees advance based on expertise. He would replace drawn-out litigation involving firings with a streamlined process.Automatic, tenure-based pay raises would be eliminated, Stier said."The administration as a whole has not led on these issues and they need to lead," he said. Previously reluctant to criticize the White House publicly, Stier faulted the Office of Management and Budget for being slow to focus on government management.There are bright spots in government where managers have "gotten it right," Stier said, nurturing productive, high-morale employees. One is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, despite a drastic change in mission when the space shuttle program ended in 2011. Another is the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Stier attributes high morale at both agencies to innovative leaders who developed successful partnerships with unions.Public employee unions have criticized Stier's recommendations as attacks on federal employees, undercutting decades of progress. But Stier said unions have a lot to gain by embracing reform."It's too easy to say we've got to keep the status quo," he said, adding that the current "dysfunction" in government creates more impetus for agencies to turn to contractors.Cockeysville native launching to International Space Station this monthScott Dance - The Baltimore SunNavy Cmdr. Reid Wiseman spent 21/2 years preparing to travel 220 miles above Earth's surface, live six months in cramped quarters and walk in space.That doesn't mean he isn't a little scared."There are moments when the adrenaline just crushes you," the Cockeysville native said in an interview from Star City, Russia, where he is training to launch May 28 aboard a Russian ship. "Holy smokes, I'm getting on that rocket in 21/2 weeks, and this time next month I'll be floating on the space station going 18,000 mph. It's still a little bit unbelievable."At first, the thought of becoming an astronaut seemed too unrealistic to even dream about for Wiseman.He knew he was destined for the skies, pursuing a career as a Navy pilot with fervor. He took Russian as a Dulaney High School student, thinking it might come in handy to know the language of one of the world's superpowers — now one of only two nations capable of manned space flight.Even when NASA selected Wiseman and eight others from a pool of 6,000 to enter astronaut training in 2009, a future in space wasn't guaranteed as the space shuttle program wound down.But now he's scheduled to ride a rocket from Kazakhstan out of Earth's atmosphere on a journey to the International Space Station. He will spend six months there, conducting experiments, making repairs and keeping the 16-year-old orbiter running smoothly.Wiseman, as part of the crews for the space station's 40th and 41st expeditions, will assume the roles of janitor, maintenance repairman and scientist, as he puts it. He is scheduled to make at least two space walks to adjust equipment outside the space station, the first components of which were launched and assembled in 1998 and which has experienced hiccups in recent years, including a coolant leak last year that delayed a resupply mission.Despite his apprehension, the 38-year-old said he is mostly excited — as he has been throughout the process."His words were, 'This is insane,' " said his mother, Judy Wiseman, when NASA picked him. "He was just so out of his mind."His upbringing on Sandringham Road in Cockeysville didn't portend a future in space, though he did always have a fascination with rockets and planes, said his father, Bill Wiseman.It was his brother Billy, older by five years, who might have appeared more clearly destined for greatness, taking gifted-and-talented classes at Dulaney and going on to the U.S. Naval Academy. Billy Wiseman was part of the academy Class of 1992's "Great Mule Caper," snatching four live mascots from West Point before that year's Army-Navy football game. He went on to join the Navy's SEAL Team 5.While Reid Wiseman said he wasn't a straight-A student, friends and former teachers at Dulaney said his personality and work ethic showed something special."Just watching Reid, you could almost tell he was destined for success," said Joyce Lehmer, his English teacher for two years. "He never missed a deadline, his attendance record was superior, he was cooperative and courteous."He was the No. 2 player on Dulaney's golf team, played percussion in the marching band and was a member of the Russian Club. Russian teacher Dale McPherson said that while Wiseman wasn't the program's top student, he had an "unbelievable" personality.It was a trip to visit his brother at the academy and watch the Navy's Blue Angel F/A-18 Hornet jets fly over that Wiseman recalled setting his mind on the sky."It's hard to really put it in words, but just seeing those airplanes fly over, and they were just so smooth and so precise, to me it was just really motivating and really amazing to see that," Wiseman said. "When you're young and impressionable, seeing that stuff, you're like, 'I've got to go do that.' "He took that passion to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and then on to the Navy after graduation. He served five deployments, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. By the end, he was flying F/A-18s in combat.He first took a shot at the space program in 2004 — he still has the rejection letter, he said — and applied again in 2008, still without expectation of being accepted. As NASA narrowed the pool of applicants from thousands to hundreds to dozens, Wiseman found himself shocked at every step."This is beyond my wildest dreams," he wrote in an email to his family in January 2009. "My chances are now 1 in 110 but that is still a bit of a long shot!!!"Even in space, you gotta have 'wa'Shiho Tomioka and Koji Kitabayashi - The Asahi ShimbunAs tensions escalated between the United States and Russia over the situation in Ukraine, Koichi Wakata made sure harmony continued high above ground.Wakata, 50, the first Japanese commander of the International Space Station (ISS), asked ground crew members to provide information on developments in Ukraine.Washington had suspended space-related cooperation with Moscow, with the exception of the ISS, and Wakata shared the information he received to prevent the friction from affecting relations in the five-member crew from the United States and Russia.It was one example of Wakata's leadership based on "wa" (harmony).Masazumi Miyake, who heads the Human Space Flight Mission Directorate at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), said Wakata's wa-based leadership involves completing everything he can do and then using his colleagues' power to the maximum.Wakata himself excelled in operating a robot arm during construction of the ISS in 2000."This gathered momentum to push Wakata to become an ISS commander," said Miyake, who has a long-time friendship with Wakata.Wakata served as chief of the Space Station Operations Branch of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Astronaut Office from March 2010 to February 2011, when he was named commander of Expedition 39.According to Takahiro Abe, who heads JAXA's astronaut operations group, a commander should be able to protect the safety of crew members, earn the respect of other members, work patiently for the team, and use the ability of the team, rather than an individual, to the fullest."A well-qualified person is selected to be an astronaut," Abe said. "What is required of a commander is to make one plus one equal 10, utilizing his or her qualities."Wakata is also known for thinking outside the box.At a news conference after he assumed the role of commander, he said, "I make the rounds of the ISS after I wake up and before going to bed."Miyake said this is not the usual routine for a commander."It is his own way of crisis management," Miyake said. "He watches if odd things are floating, if everything is locked, or if there has been a careless mistake by a colleague. He never compromises."Wakata's only rule for the ISS crew is that they have dinner together as much as possible."We enjoy talking about the day's work and training at the time," he said. "It is an important time to feel relaxed."It is also the time when he can check on his colleagues' health condition.Shunsuke Takahashi, a professor at Keio University who is well-versed in human resources development at companies, described Wakata's leadership as "quite authentic."A leader, Takahashi said, "should have high-level professional expertise that earns respect from his crew members. Secondly, he should be a good listener of opinions."Takahashi said grasping the situation and listening to and understanding each member's view before giving instructions will lead to a smooth completion of a mission. He emphasized that listening power is more important than communication skills.Wakata also excels in self-restraint and never displays his anger, people close to the astronaut said."A person with a higher level of ability or a stronger ambition requires training (for self-control)," Takahashi said. "Otherwise, he can become authoritarian or end up breaking his neck by making controversial remarks by speaking before thinking."Takahashi said Japan has a lot to learn from Wakata's leadership."What's required today is not a 'follow-me, I-am-the-leader' approach. Everyone is required to exercise self-restraint and exhibit Wakata-style leadership," he said.Wakata's latest space mission, his fourth, is expected to end on May 14. The 188-day mission in space will be the longest for a Japanese astronaut.Wakata and two astronauts will leave the ISS on the Soyuz about seven and half hours before landing in Kazakhstan at 10:57 a.m. Japan time.The Soyuz, used since the 1960s, has undergone a series of improvements over the years to ensure safety. There has been no fatal accident involving the spacecraft since 1971, when three crew members died due to depressurization in the Soyuz during re-entry.Spacewatch: Cassini to celebrate a decade at SaturnAlan Pickup – The GuardianSaturn stands directly opposite the Sun on Saturday 10 May, so that it transits our low southern sky between sunset and sunrise and is at its closest (1,331 million km) and brightest for the year.Telescopes shows its unrivalled ring system, with its north face tilted towards us at 22° at present, but it took space probes to begin to unlock the mysteries of this beautiful planet.The greatest contribution has been by Nasa's Cassini probe, which celebrates a decade in orbit around Saturn on 1 July. The European Space Agency's Huygens probe arrived with Cassini and parachuted to a touchdown on the main Saturnian moon, Titan, six months later.Between them, Huygens and Cassini reveal Titan to be a world of mountains, river valleys and lakes beneath a thick atmosphere. Similarities with the Earth, though, are superficial for it appears water ice is the main constituent of the landforms, while the rivers, streams and lakes are liquid methane and ethane.Cassini's views of the other moons and the amazingly complex rings are no less spectacular, and the discoveries keep on coming. At 500km, Enceladus, for example, is only the sixth largest of Saturn's moons, yet it spews water geysers from a likely ocean beneath its south pole. The main rings span almost 275,000km, and yet are barely 10m thick in places.Only last month, the discovery was announced of a condensation at the outer edge of the main rings that may be evidence of the birth of a small new moon, though whether it will survive, or even still exists, remains to be seen.Spaceflight Inc.'s First Sherpa Flight Almost Fully Booked With SmallSatsCaleb Henry – Via SatelliteSpaceflight Inc., a company dedicated to launching small satellites, has nearly filled all the slots for the maiden flight of its Sherpa hosted payload and in-space transportation system. Sherpa is a free-flying platform that uses an oversized Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) ring exclusively for small satellites ranging from a few to several hundred kilograms. The first flight, planned with an undisclosed launch provider, will carry a myriad of satellites into a sun-synchronous Low Earth Orbit (LEO)."The Sherpa itself can carry up to 1,500 kg. In this case we only contracted for 1,200 from the launch vehicle provider," Curt Blake, president of Spaceflight Inc., told Via Satellite. "Of the 1,200 we have booked roughly 1,000."Small satellites, though cost effective to manufacture, can be difficult to send into orbit because they are not particularly lucrative to launch providers. Most can only launch when an opportunity comes along to piggyback with a larger payload."It is a waiting game where small satellites owners have to wait for other payloads to get a ride and thus get the best launch vehicle, or they have to be ready to pay a very high price [in dollars per kilogram]," said Stéphane Gounari, senior analyst at NSR. "Finding the right launch provider to work with can be the daunting first step — some small satellite owners have had to talk with nearly every launch provider to find a match for their satellite."Alone, CubeSats, NanoSats and other small satellites do not present much of a revenue opportunity for launch companies. Some of these satellites have found chances to deploy from the International Space Station (ISS) through NanoRacks when paired with resupply missions. Dedicated small-sat launchers are under development by companies like XCOR, Virgin Galactic, Firefly Space Systems and others as the market grows. Orbital Sciences' Minotaur C and Arianespace's Vega rockets also target this market, and Lockheed Martin has resurrected its Athena program to gain a piece of the pie. Still, small satellites have a much better chance of getting to orbit when they can launch in groups."In that sense, part of the value-proposition of a service such as Spaceflight Inc.'s Sherpa is to provide this 'pooling' service and hopefully accelerate the process," said Gounari. "But being a secondary payload on a ride-share mission also offers small-sat customers less control, particularly if the primary payload is delayed."Spaceflight Inc.'s Sherpa has five ports and a series of adapters to attach various payloads. It can remain positioned on the launch vehicle, or separated and controlled propulsively on its own as it sequences off distributions of the payloads. This gives small satellite operators much more freedom, as their spacecraft often end up near the destination of the primary payload. Using Sherpa, spacecraft can access new orbits that otherwise would have been unreachable."Say we were deploying 10 CubeSats, just to pick a number, and the primary [payload] was going to 800 kilometers, and that's where the Sherpa was deployed," said Blake. "If we had 10 3U CubeSats, and we tried to deploy at 800 km, there's a pretty good chance that they wouldn't be able to adhere to the 25-year [orbital debris] rule. In that case we could bring the altitude down so that those CubeSats could adhere to that rule."After the LEO mission, Spaceflight Inc. is preparing a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) flight for 2016. Following this, the company is planning for two launches a year, alternating between LEO and GTO missions. Blake said both flights are filling up, but that the LEO mission remains the most popular. He is confident that the second mission will gain traction in the market as well."I think there is a lot more focus to build small satellites that want to go to LEO. On the other hand, there aren't very many GTO missions that secondary payloads can avail themselves of, and we only recently started marketing the GTO mission," he explained. "There is scarcity of supply on the GTO mission to a much greater extent than there is on the LEO mission. The demand will get there."The company is planning more steps with each mission. After delivering customers' satellites to their orbits, Spaceflight Inc. plans to test Sherpa's avionics, attitude determination and control system, along with communications and other key systems. The 2015 flight will not include a propulsion system, but according to the company, future flights will offer more orbits, including low lunar and beyond."They can [use propulsion, but] that's not the way we are doing things right now. We're trying to walk then run," said Blake. "We are trying to do a simple version of the Sherpa this time. Next time it will be propulsive, and we are moving in that progression. After the propulsive model, we'll hook two together and separate them off [after launch] and send them in different directions."Arundel student shoots for the moon in NASA's Mars challengeJoe Burris - The Baltimore SunMike Melzer grew up reading popular science books and enjoyed mathematical subjects, but he had only a slight interest in astronomy.But when the Anne Arundel Community College student heard about NASA's National Community College Aerospace Scholars competition, he applied because he figured it dealt with all four of the STEM disciplines — science, technology, engineering and math.As it turns out, the program dealt not only with astronomy but was largely geared toward engineering, which the Glen Burnie resident figured was beyond his expertise.Nevertheless, Melzer created a digital design last winter of a Mars rover, then plotted how to send it to the planet and back on a $500 million budget. For his efforts, he was named one of 80 community college students nationwide to be selected for a three-day project at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala."I didn't really know it was geared more toward engineers than any of the other areas," Melzer, 27, said of the contest.Melzer grew up in Howard and Anne Arundel counties and graduated from Hammond High School in Columbia. At AACC, he's studying math and physics, and he tutors students in math.National Community College Aerospace Scholars is an interactive online learning project involving community college students who have accumulated at least nine class hours in a STEM discipline.The competition at Marshall Space Flight Center called for teams of students to create fictitious contracting companies that focused on Mars exploration. Teams designed and developed 3-D models of Mars rovers for two missions, drawing up not only the devices themselves but the company infrastructure, communications and presentation.Melzer was part of a team that won both missions."The first challenge posed to the companies was a basic fetch-type mission," he said. "The scene was essentially a table with walls around the perimeter, and there were rocks scattered throughout."The idea was to gather as many rocks as possible in the specified time period," Melzer said. "The Mars rover my company designed had a very simple mechanical arm, which was essentially used as a rake and dragged the rocks back to the starting area, where they were counted."The experience, Melzer said, brought together people from different backgrounds who worked together to solve problems, to explore ideas and debate the best direction in which to take a project."Seeing that it was more along the lines of an engineering project, I was pretty much out of my element and was doing the best I could to help the team get the project completed," said Melzer, who said the physics and calculus courses he took at AACC helped him tackle the "thought processes behind certain things.""Seeing that NASA does research in many different areas, kinematics, electrostatics, thermodynamics, and multiple integration come up quite a bit," Melzer said. "The program appeared to be more about teamwork and solving the problem at hand."One of the coolest things we were able to see on our tour of the facilities was the 3-D printers that were in the process of printing needed parts for an undisclosed project," he said.Mary Kassebaum, an associate professor of mathematics at AACC, said Melzer is exceptional at making connections among his courses."He's not only interested in doing well in each course, he wants to put the information from all of his courses together in his mind," said Kassebaum, who taught Melzer linear algebra and calculus. "Lots of times he would ask me questions in Calc 3 that came from what we were talking about in linear algebra, and vice versa. It is rare for a student to make these theoretical connections at such an early point in their studies."Melzer, who has been accepted into the physics program at the University of Maryland, College Park, said he now aspires to work in the space industry.New Research Examines Behavior to Improve Avionics Design, RegulationWoodrow Bellamy III – Aviation TodayHuman factors involved in major commercial aviation accidents over the last decade could hold the key to safety enhancement for avionics design and regulation for next generation cockpit technology, according to a public-private team currently researching pilot response to displays during unexpected in-flight occurrences, such as an aircraft entering a phase that is outside of its normal envelope.The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is collaborating with the FAA, Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST), University of Iowa, Georgia Tech, Boeing, Honeywell and Rockwell Collins for the three-year project that focusing on a 2010 report by CAST's Airplane State Awareness analysis group that has studied and analyzed patterns in aircraft accidents around the globe over the last decade.Data extracted from the research of the project shows civil aviation authorities and avionics designers how pilots will respond to modern cockpit technology during high stress times while in-flight.Tom Schnell, the director of the Operator Performance Laboratory (OPL) at the University of Iowa, is currently preparing to launch an innovative aspect of the second year, flight-test phase of this project. Over the past year, Schnell and a team including Rockwell Collins and Boeing, converted a tandem-seat L-29 military jet training aircraft into an airborne laboratory.The aircraft will be used during summer flight tests from the University of Iowa, with the team having the ability to immerse pilots in the back seat into airspace with different environment and terrain layouts. Their performance during in-flight upsets is measured with eye tracking and heart monitoring devices built into the aircraft technology, and later analyzed by the team to learn exactly how the pilot was responding to various displays. Avionics companies can then consider results of these tests into future designs, Schnell said."So the pilot in the back [seat] basically lives in a flight simulator except [the] flight simulator is inside of an actual airplane," said Schnell. "We can then teleport that pilot into a part of the world that he's not at…We can also use instruments that look like the Primary Flight Display (PFD) of a 787, or we can make that become an F-18 with a flight control radar and weapons display. You can fail these instruments at will, without risk, because the pilot in the front seat has certified instruments."The pilots chosen to react to these upsets in flight tests are regional airline pilots with no military or aerobatic flying history. The results of the tests are slated to help avionics companies and regulators improve the design and certification on open architecture, man-machine interfaces and customizability cockpit features.CAST recommended this type of research in its report covering 18 loss of control flight accidents between 2001 and 2010, after discovering common causes of in-flight loss of situational awareness due to unintentional occurrences such as false instrument readings, high levels of airframe ice accumulation or a loss of engine power due to engine icing.At NASA's Langley Research Academy, Kyle Ellis, a research engineer, and Chad Stephens, an aerospace research scientist are using a flight simulator that will also feature eye tracking, and heart monitoring devices for pilots. One focus for Ellis and Stephens is channelized attention, and discovering what causes a pilot to become fixated on one activity or another during a flight, resulting in loss of overall situational awareness.Stephens said that their research would look to "to understand what's happening to the individual state while they're performing the flight simulation task. So when we use heart rate measures we can actually get a sense or an idea of the person's state with regards to their stress levels. Heart rate is a pretty good indicator of stress in and of itself.""The CAST or Commercial Aviation Safety Team, who has been studying spatial disorientation and loss of energy state awareness in commercial operations--they've identified several specific precursors that they think are responsible for these ETC and LESA accidents. So channelized attention is one of those precursors. We're trying to identify that state in the test subjects when they're in the flight simulation. And so if we can characterize that state, we can create mitigations to prevent that state from occurring or if it does occur how to get out of that state in a safe fashion," Stephens said.Synthetic vision, and its ability to enhance situational awareness will also be a focus for NASA, according to Ellis."One of the primary things that we're focused on particularly (is) looking at the safety enhancements. One of them is looking at synthetic vision displays and developing minimum requirements specifically in regard to how they better improve situational awareness and their potential for preventing spatial disorientation and Loss of Energy State Awareness [LESA], so that would be something that provided directly to OEMs in terms of how they make their avionics and what's required by the FAA when they're doing so," said Stephens.The research being performed by Schnell, Ellis, Stephens and others from the government-industry three-year project is similar to research that CAST has done in the past. Between 1998 and 2008, work performed by CAST helped to produce new aircraft, regulations and other activities that reduced the fatality risk for commercial aviation in the United States by 83 percent.Currently, research projects such as this, are under way to achieve the group's goal of reducing the commercial fatality risk by 50 percent between 2010 and 2025.Forecast good for SpaceX launchJames Dean – Florida TodayThe forecast looks good for SpaceX's planned 9:47 a.m. Saturday launch of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a six-pack of commercial satellites from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.There's a 70 percent chance of favorable conditions during the launch window extending to 10:41 a.m., according to the Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron.SpaceX planned to test-fire a Falcon 9 rocket's main engines today at Launch Complex 40. There was no word by early evening on whether the test was complete and successful.If the launch slips to Sunday, the forecast improves slightly to 80 percent "go."The mission is the first of two planned this year for Orbcomm Inc., a New Jersey-based public company specializing in machine-to-machine communications that track the location and health of heavy equipment, truck trailers, rail cars and ships operating around the world.This upcoming launch will attempt to place the first six Orbcomm Generation 2, or OG2, satellites in low Earth orbit. Eleven more satellites will follow late this year to fill out a constellation of 17."We're just a few hours away from the launch of our first OG2 satellite, and are eager to kick off a new chapter for Orbcomm," Chief Financial Officer Robert Costantini told investors Thursday during a conference call reporting quarterly financial results.Bill Puts Restrictions on SBIRS, AEHF Modernization FundingMike Gruss – Space NewsThe 2015 defense authorization bill approved May 8 by the House Armed Services Committee aims to put the brakes on U.S. Air Force efforts to examine alternative architectures for some if its key space capabilities.The bill, now headed for a vote on the House floor, restricts how the Air Force can spend Space Modernization Initiative (SMI) funding within the accounts for its missile warning and secure communications satellite programs. Specifically, the measures fence off half the funding for selected modernization activities pending the completion of studies for alternatives to the programs of record.However, the measures stipulate that the restrictions do not apply to funding to be spent on the programs of record.The Air Force's programs of record in missile warning and secure communications are the Space Based Infrared System and Advanced Extremely High Frequency system, respectively. Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Sunnyvale, California, is the prime contractor on the multibillion-dollar programs, both of which have satellites on orbit with several more in the manufacturing pipeline.Typically, a small portion of the annual budgets for individual Air Force space programs is set aside for SMI-type activities, which can focus on upgrades to existing systems, or follow-on or alternative systems. The Air Force included $88.6 million in SMI funding in its $770.3 million request for SBIRS next year; for AEHF, the corresponding numbers are $122.3 million and $613.1 million, respectively.The Air Force is in the midst of a broad examination of its space architecture with an eye toward increasing the resiliency of its constellations against growing threats that range from unintentional signal interference to deliberate sabotage or anti-satellite weapons. One approach receiving a lot of attention is disaggregation, whereby capabilities currently concentrated on large satellites would be dispersed on smaller, less-complex platforms.During its markup of the Defense Authorization Act for 2015, the House Armed Services Committee authorized the full requested amounts for SBIRS and AEHF. However, the committee also adopted two amendments, both sponsored by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee, that target SBIRS and AEHF modernization funding.The SBIRS-related measure fences off half of the funding set aside to demonstrate new missile warning sensor technologies and hosted payload deployment schemes. Under the SBIRS account for 2015, the Air Force requested $21 million for hosted payload activities and $29 million for its wide field of view sensor demonstration program.Rogers' AEHF amendment fences off 50 percent of the money appropriated for demonstrations of protected satellite communications capabilities pending completion of an analysis of alternatives on the legacy program. The Air Force requested $23 million next year for a protected tactical communications demonstration and $14 million for a protected military satellite communications testbed.Another measure in the bill that was including during a preliminary markup by Rogers' subcommittee fences off half of the $23 million in proposed SMI funding aimed at SBIRS data exploitation pending Air Force certification that the money will go toward utilization of data from the program of record. "The Committee is concerned that the Air Force is not focusing on developing the capabilities to fully exploit the data from existing SBIRS programs," the language in the report accompanying the bill says.In a May 8 email, Chip Eschenfelder, a Lockheed Martin spokesman, said, "We're continuing to review the budget in detail to understand the specific impacts to our business, and continue to work with the administration and Congress over the coming months as budget discussions continue."Gov. Hickenlooper to speak at Space SymposiumBryan Grossman –The Colorado Springs Business JournalGov. John Hickenlooper will participate in two events at this month's 30th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. The Space Foundation's Space Symposium is an international space conference from May 19-22 at The Broadmoor.At 11:40 a.m. on May 20, the governor plans to sign a bill in the symposium's Boeing Exhibit Center at the Colorado Space Coalition booth. The bill is HB14-1178 "Sales and Use Tax Exemption for Space Flight Property" by representatives Mark Ferrandino and Brian DelGrosso and senators Mary Hodge and Kevin Grantham.The governor will also speak at the symposium's Space Warfighters Luncheon on May 20 at The Broadmoor's Colorado Hall beginning at 12:15 p.m.Featured speaker at the luncheon will be Lt. Gen. John W. "Jay" Raymond, USAF, commander, 14th Air Force (Air Forces Strategic), Air Force Space Command; and commander, Joint Functional Component Command for Space, U.S. Strategic Command, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.The Space Warfighters Luncheon takes place annually during the Space Symposium to honor the men and women who serve in the military around the world and highlights the role space assets play in providing security and solutions for keeping troops safe, informed and effective. The luncheon is co-sponsored by United Launch Alliance (ULA), with corporate host Michael C. Gass, president and chief executive officer, ULA.Hickenlooper, a self-described "recovering geologist now on loan to public service," was elected governor in 2010, after serving eight years as mayor of Denver.The full list of Space Symposium speakers can be found at www.SpaceSymposium.org.Court lifts RD-180 injunctionJeff Foust – Space PoliticsThe US Court of Federal Claims issued an order today formally lifting the injunction on payments to and from NPO Energomash for RD-180 engines used by United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket. In the two-page order, Judge Susan Braden said her decision was based on the letters she received from the Departments of Commerce, State, and Treasury stating that they had not found that payments to Energomash contravened the sanctions on Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. The court also received a letter from Bradley Smith, chief counsel for Foreign Assets Control at the Treasury Department, with similar language to the previous ones, noting that no "affirmative determination" that Rogozin controls NPO Energomash had been made by his office or elsewhere in the government.Based on the opinions in those letters, Judge Braden dissolved the April 30 injunction. However, she added that "if the Government receives any indication, however, that purchases from or payment of money to NPO Energomash by ULS, ULA, or the United States Air Force will directly or indirectly contravene Executive Order 13,661, the Government will inform the court immediately."While the order became available Thursday afternoon, news that the court had ended the injunction reached attendees of the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) meeting in Washington around midday, ironically, during a presentation on an ongoing Defense Department study of RD-180 alternatives by former NASA administrator Mike Griffin. During the question-and-answer session of the presentation, Dan Collins, ULA chief operating officer and a member of COMSTAC, announced he hed received an email with the news the injunction was lifted; attendees greeted that announcement with a round of applause. "I'm personally pleased to hear that," Griffin said.Court lifts injunction barring payments for Russian engineWilliam Harwood – CBS NewsA federal judge Thursday lifted an injunction barring United Launch Alliance from buying Russian engines for the company's Atlas 5 rocket, concluding such transactions do not violate U.S. sanctions imposed in the wake of Russia's actions in Ukraine.
A temporary injunction was granted April 30, two days after a complaint by ULA rival Space Explorations Technologies -- SpaceX -- that challenged the legitimacy of a sole-source "block buy" Air Force contract that was awarded to United Launch Alliance last December for 27 Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets.
ULA is a partnership between Boeing, builder of the Delta family of rockets, and Lockheed Martin, builder of the Atlas 5.
At the time the block buy contract was awarded, ULA's rockets were the only U.S. launchers that were fully certified for use by national security spy satellites and other high-priority military payloads.
But SpaceX argued it should have been allowed to bid on at least some of the rockets because Air Force certification is only required for launch, not for contract consideration. The company's Falcon 9 rocket is expected to complete the certification process later this year.
As part of its complaint, SpaceX alleged that ULA payments to NPO Energomash, builder of the Atlas 5's RD-180 first-stage engine, may have personally profited Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's deputy prime minister for space and defense projects. Rogozin is on a list of senior Russian officials covered by Obama administration sanctions spelled out in Executive Order 13661.
SpaceX claimed "the Air Force is sending millions of dollars directly to an entity controlled by Russia and to an industry led by an individual identified for sanctions."
Two day later, Judge Susan G. Braden of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims granted a temporary injunction barring United Launch Alliance and its subsidiaries "from making any purchases from or payment of money to NPO Energomash or any entity ... that is subject to the control of Deputy Prime Minister Rogozin" until the court could hear opinions from the departments of State, Commerce and Treasury as to whether such payments did or did not violate the sanctions against Rogozin.
All three did just that, with the Treasury Department saying in a letter to the court that "to the best of our knowledge, purchases from and payments to NPO Energomash currently do not directly or indirectly contravene Executive Order 13661. We will inform you promptly should this situation change."
As a result, Braden dissolved the preliminary injunction, leaving the door open for additional action if the situation changes.
"If the government receives any indication, however, that purchases from or payment of money to NPO Energomash ... will directly or indirectly contravene Executive Order 13661, the government will inform the court immediately," she concluded.
In a statement released earlier, ULA said the Treasury Department letter and a hearing Thursday "makes clear that ULA's purchase of the RD-180 engines from our suppliers and partners, RD AMROSS and NPO Energomash, complies with the sanctions against Russia."
RD AMROSS, a partnership between NPO Energomash and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, markets the RD-180 in the United States.
"Sadly, SpaceX's frivolous lawsuit caused unnecessary distraction of the executive and judicial branch and increased tensions with Russia during a sensitive national security crisis," ULA said in its statement. "SpaceX's actions are self-serving, irresponsible and have threatened the U.S.'s involvement with the International Space Station and other companies and projects working with Russian State entities."
As for the larger question of whether the Air Force block buy of 27 rockets should be reviewed, ULA said "we continue to hope that SpaceX will revisit their underlying lawsuit and the merits of their case," adding that "even today SpaceX is not certified to launch even one mission under the block buy contract."
In a statement, SpaceX said the company stood by its initial complaint.
"The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has taken steps toward understanding whether United Launch Alliance's current sole-source contract violates U.S. sanctions by sending taxpayer money to Russia for the RD-180 engine," SpaceX said.
"That question, combined with the others specifically raised in the SpaceX complaint, relating to the risks posed by dependence on Russian-made engines and the need to open competition for the Air Force space launch program, are timely and appropriate."Moment of truth nears for sleepy U.S. town on cusp of space flightMary Milliken – ReutersAfter passing the sign reading "Danger Falling Aliens," New Mexico artist Roy Lohr and dog Yoda lead visitors to the "Spaceport" he has built in his backyard out of wine bottles and cement.It's no wonder the lanky 69-year-old embraces the real Spaceport America in his town's backyard, the world's first space base built expressly for commercial launches and soon-to-be site of the first space flights with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic."It is hard for locals to realize the impact it is going to have, but it is slow coming and this is a tiny little town," said Lohr. But he has no doubt "things are happening."The inaugural flight of the six-passenger SpaceShipTwo should take place this year, carrying Branson from the 12,000-foot (3.6 km) runway to suborbital space about 65 miles (100 km) from Earth."As always, safety will ultimately call the shots, but right now, I'm planning to go to space in 2014!" Branson wrote in an e-mail this week. The first of some 700 "astronauts," who have already paid $250,000 for the two-hour-plus flight and some minutes of weightlessness, should follow a month later.After 10 years of conception and construction at the state-run, taxpayer-funded, $212-million Spaceport, the people of Truth or Consequences, population 6,500, are sensing a shift in confidence as the countdown nears.While the economic windfall is difficult to estimate for the town that famously renamed itself after a radio quiz show in 1950, most everyone in these parts agrees the Spaceport should inject new energy into the somewhat tattered and totally quirky T or C, as it is known in local parlance."There might have been some doubt about how much T or C would be ready for all of this future endeavor," said Cydney Wilkes, who bought and renovated a motel with wife Val a few years ago and called it, aptly, Rocket Inn."I think that in the last few months that shifted ... that maybe we can pull up and measure up," she added, noting that the Virgin team is helping the hospitality industry spiffy up.There's a new Walmart north of town, next to where a Spaceport visitors center will go up. It is not yet known where Virgin will lodge the astronauts for three days of training. It could choose the bigger town of Las Cruces to the south.But T or C's townspeople are particularly proud that Ted Turner, the media mogul turned conservationist and local rancher, bought the historic Sierra Grande Lodge last year, citing myriad reasons, including Spaceport, his friend Branson and the famous waters of the dusty town once called Hot Springs.'DEMOCRATIZATION OF SPACE'The 30-mile (48 km) drive out to Spaceport America over the sparsely populated high desert plain is a journey through time. Paleo-Indians roamed here some 12,000 years ago, the Spanish built the El Camino Real passage here, a century-old dam across the Rio Grande brought settlement and White Sands Missile Range made it a gigantic area of restricted air space.While Spaceport brings a futuristic vision to the old West, it is meant to blend in. The signature building, designed by the firm of British architect Sir Norman Foster, melds into the distant mountains like a giant portobello mushroom."It feels much more real, but it also feels like I am looking at something that is a set for a science-fiction movie," said visitor Doug Sporn while on the Follow The Sun tour to Spaceport after hearing Branson would go to space soon.Branson isn't the only famous entrepreneur here. He is joined by Elon Musk's SpaceX, founded in 2002 with the ultimate goal of sending people to inhabit other planets. SpaceX, which already has craft supplying the International Space Station, has chosen Spaceport to test the Falcon 9 reusable rocket, meaning that it will launch vertically and then land intact."It really is the democratization of space," said Spaceport Executive Director Christine Anderson, "that you and I and our children and grandchildren can think about going to space, about going to Mars."She estimates there will be 200,000 visitors per year to Spaceport "when all our customers are flying."GOING TO SPACE WITH YODAThose kinds of numbers are feeding the first shoots of space business, from Jeff Dukatt's psychedelic T-shirts sporting a cowboy-on-rocket motif to Follow The Sun's new Spaceplace tour base where freeze-dried ice cream is for sale and there is extra space for start-ups to operate."We don't know where the opportunities are going to be, we just know a facility like this will line us up," said Follow The Sun's Mark Bleth, echoing the kind of wonder around town about where this all could lead.Then there is that lingering question of whether T or C can preserve the quirky character and Western ruggedness that has attracted free spirits and artists for decades."My guess is that the real culture and heritage of Southern New Mexico is pretty firmly ingrained," said Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides. "I would doubt that just because we start doing our spaceflights the intrinsic character changes."Lohr, the artist, relishes the "nice mini-culture embedded in a trailer town," and said Spaceport shouldn't detract from its charms, but rather attract more interest in them.If he gets a free ticket, Lohr is game to go to space, but only "if Yoda would come with me."END
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