I mourn for shuttle". " What could have been". It can still BE--Why the reluctance to Get Commercial Shuttle flying ? Dennis Wingo--Let's Make it HAPPEN!!!

world still remember, so perhaps it’s not so strange after all.   Thoughts on the Last Flight of the Shuttle   Dennis Wingo - SpaceRef.com (Viewpoint)   I was at NASA Ames last week when the final flight of the final space shuttle Endeavour on its way to its final destination occurred. As many people did, I stood outside, on top of our MacMoon's at Ames and took pictures. There were over 20,000 people at NASA Ames that waited hours for an event that took no more than one minute to consummate. Beyond that there were hundreds of thousands more people all around Silicon Valley who were outside and watching when the shuttle flew overhead.   They were on bridges, they were on the patio at Specialties Coffee with binoculars, they were pulled over on the 101 freeway, all to catch a last glimpse of a space shuttle, not even in space, but simply flying overhead on the back of a 747, the same way that we first saw the Enterprise in 1977. The same thing happened all over the country. Washington D.C. was almost shut down by the flight of Discovery coming into Dulles. Tens of thousands of people were wowed by the sight and image of two orbiters nose to nose on the tarmac. It is if Americans collectively all wanted to be a part of a history that many fear is passing us by....   I am the Shuttle Generation   The Time Before the First Launch   The Space Shuttle has been a part of my/our life for almost forty years now. Not like the people that designed them, built them and operated them, but part of my/our life none the less. As a kid I read the articles about why the Saturn V was giving way to a new and routine way of getting to space (naive child that I was) in the early 70's. I read the articles about how we would be building space stations, deploying satellites, and constructing huge telescopes in orbit.   In 1976 I watched the news reports of the roll out of the Enterprise and its display at Edwards AFB with the crew of the fictional 23rd century starship Enterprise. In 1977 we saw on TV the captive carry and first free flights of the Enterprise at Edwards AFB. In 1979 I made a special trip to the cape to see the Enterprise, fully stacked on the launch pad as it was being used as a facilities fit check and test vehicle. I mourned with everyone else when I found out that the Enterprise was never going to fly, for what to some are still mysterious reasons. We also mourned in that year when we found out that because of the delays caused by problems with the SSME engine development, the shuttle would not be available to save Skylab, which then died in its death in fire over the Australian outback.   We worried in 1980 when reports of the continuing problems with the SSME development further pushed back the first launch. I read the Playboy article in late 1980 that went through all of the reasons that the first launch would fail, including faulty tiles, an unreliable APU, an untested system flying with humans, etc....   The First Launches   I did not get to see the first launch in person, but as part of the launch of a new life for myself, I watched the launch in a motel room in Tucson Arizona as I was moving to California to be involved in the computer industry. It was an amazing launch. Our generation who remembered the Saturn V launches were used to seeing the Saturn V lumber off the pad in slow motion, seeming to claw itself into the sky by brute force. The Shuttle virtually leapt off the pad, seemingly determined to prove its naysayers wrong. Watching for the first time the orbiter flying, the APU's working, and the successful barely two day mission, everyone was waiting with anticipation for the landing. For the first time in Human history, the people of southern California heard the double boom...boom of the orbiter's reentry that mildly shook houses for hundreds of miles and the picture perfect landing at Edwards AFB.   I did not get to see the first landing but I did see the landing of STS-4. We left work from Thousand Oaks CA late, not thinking that we would have any problems. However, when we got to Pear Blossom highway there was a massive 40 mile long traffic jam. As time was getting late we knew that we were not going to make it. We were in a small truck and drove on the sand for a while and made progress but got to a spot where we would have gotten stuck so we got back in line. At about this time four big 4x4's came whizzing by on the wrong side of the road! Of course we got in behind them and were soon breezing by the slow moving traffic at 60 miles per hour. The lead truck had big CB antennas on it and when it would veer off to the left, off the road, the rest of us followed. This allowed the sparse oncoming traffic to go by while we continued forward! We did this for over 30 miles until we saw the base entry checkpoint ahead and got back in line.   We made it into the base literally five minutes before they closed the gates. This was still a couple of hours before landing and so we started playing. We saw a bunch of trucks driving out on the lake bed and joined them. About 20 minutes later a fully armed Huey helicopter came whizzing by and stopped us while the fully armed door gunner screamed at us to get the hell off the lake bed, didn't we know the Shuttle was coming? We immediately left and drove to the viewing area, where about half a million of our closest friends were already there. Those early Shuttle landings were a huge party and we all waited for the landing while buying food, and drink and generally raising merry hell. Since the lake bed area was so large we still were able to get a good viewing site across the lake bed where president Reagan was also waiting for the landing. His reviewing stand was really neat, being between two hangers with our old friend, the Shuttle Enterprise behind the stand.   We were warned that the Shuttle was on the way in and started looking for it. The announcer was calling out over loudspeakers the progress. I first saw Columbia when she was still about 105,000 feet up in altitude and the belly of the orbiter was still glowing a dull orange. From that instant until she landed across from us it was no more than an amazing five minutes. The orbiter was sitting on the tarmac very close to where Reagan and the other dignitaries were waiting. Then another amazing thing happened! As Reagan was speaking the 747 showed up again, this time carrying the Shuttle Challenger on its back! As it flew over, for a brief moment, we saw three orbiters together in one thrilling view.   The Early Years   The early years of the Shuttle program were perhaps its most innovative. From launch and rescuing communications satellites to the recovery and repair of NASA's Solar Max, exciting and ground breaking missions were the norm. On the flight where Solar Max was rescued (STS 41C) and repaired NASA deployed the LDEF materials in space 21,300 bus, and the shuttle went to a then record of 300 nautical miles altitude using a direct ascent trajectory.   Science missions flew using the European built Spacelab module in the cargo bay with materials and life sciences experiments. Spacelab components flew on a total of 22 shuttle missions over its lifetime. On other missions orbital assembly experiments were performed such as the EASE/ACCESS where large truss assemblies were built as a test for the future space station. The materials sciences experiments were very exciting to industry and the first non government employee, Charles Walker, flew twice as a payload specialist for McDonnell Douglas.   Student experiments were first flown in space in the Getaway Special Program where payloads are flown in the cargo bay in a self contained experimental system that replaced ballast that would normally be used to balance the orbiter. Dozens of these payloads were eventually flown and many students who built them are now senior professionals in the space industry.   On a minor note the Shuttle could be very annoying. During that era it landed often in California at Edwards Air Force base. It would usually land early in the morning. I was living in Thousand Oaks California at the time and the mission frequency was high enough that the double sonic booms of its reentry would wake me up in the morning to not very charitable thoughts about it doing so.   The first seeds of NASA's problems also came in this era. NASA was jealous of its hardware and rejected out of hand the proposal from Rockwell International to build a fifth orbiter that would be owned by and flown by Rockwell. Problems with the Shuttle system itself were found but not corrected during this era that eventually led to the first shuttle tragedy.   Challenger   Just about everyone can remember where they were at when we lost the Challenger on that cold January morning in 1986. I was in a computer room in Morristown, New Jersey when a computer operator ran in to tell us about it. A group of us left and went to a local bar to watch replay after replay of the explosion that took seven fine lives, including the first teacher in space from us. President Reagan's eloquent eulogy of the crew helped a shocked nation to help heal the loss. The Shuttle program was never the same after that.   My own closer affiliation with the Shuttle program began during the stand down after Challenger. I wanted to work closer to the space program and finally get my degree after working as a non degreed engineer for several years. I left the computer industry to move back to Alabama to enroll at the University of Alabama in Huntsville where I figured I could get work related to the space program and get my degree. I worked at a small company in Huntsville Alabama that built a computer that had a telemetry system that would process the data stream from the SSME's during launch. This system was going into the firing room at the cape and it was fought tooth and nail by the people down there who were quite happy with their ModComp computers and did not like these newfangled microprocessors.   The Second Age of the Shuttle   When the first launch of the Shuttle happened after Challenger in 1988 with the Shuttle Discovery. I was able to get a seat in the Morris auditorium at NASA MSFC building 4200 as I had worked on the return to flight. It was full to overflowing and it seemed that everyone held their breaths when the "go at throttle up" command came from the CAPCOM. A huge cheer range out when the solid rocket boosters separated from the stack after two and a half minutes. No one moved though until the SSME's finally shut down and we knew that the orbiter was going to make it to orbit.   There were still a lot of cool missions though the flight rate never approached the nine flights of 1985. I flew my first payload on the Shuttle on STS-46 with a MacIntosh computer interfaced to a microgravity measurement system that I designed called 3DMA. This mission deployed the European EURECA free flying platform and deployed (unsuccessfully) the Italian TSS-1 20 km tether. At this time I was learning about tethers and we were slated to fly a small satellite on a 20 km tether later in the decade on STS-85. We flew more payloads as I was working the Consortium for Materials Development in Space (CMDS) at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. We flew our 3DMA payload on the first quasi-commercial module on the Shuttle from SpaceHab. We learned about the politics of the Shuttle, how to work with the safety panel in Houston and the various rivalries between the NASA centers involved in the Shuttle program. After our small satellite was moved off of the Shuttle and flown on a Delta II in 1998 I began to move away from the Shuttle program.   The Shuttle program did several more firsts, including a launch to high inclination out of Florida that went right up the east coast of the U.S. The TSS-1R mission flew, and the tether broke at 19.5 kilometers, but not before confirming the viability of using tethers to generate electrical power in space. The historic first docking of the Space Shuttle to the MIR space station happened in this timeframe as well. The long delayed Hubble space telescope was finally lofted into orbit in 1990 and found to have a badly ground mirror, it was the shuttle to the rescue with a modified optical system. By the time of the fifth Hubble servicing mission in 2009 the telescope was virtually rebuilt in its entire power system, electronics, guidance, and scientific instruments.   It was during this era that I finally got to see some launches. I saw STS-40 from a highway overpass near Coca Beach. I saw STS-46 with my hardware take off from the VIP stands. All together I got to see at least four launches and three additional scrubs of launches. There was one launch that was especially memorable. There was a hold due to weather for too many clouds in the area of the launch site, which would cause problems if there was an abort to launch site scenario. There was near constant chatter with the weather officer about a possible break in the clouds. Finally the break happened and the hold at 9 minutes was lifted and it seemed that the launch team rushed to get the Shuttle launched. The Shuttle lifted off in a hole in the clouds that almost immediately closed back in. Fortunately no abort was needed but you could just tell from the sounds of the voices from the CAPCOM and launch control that they were not going to let a few clouds stop the launch that day.   The Station Era   As the redesigned International Space Station (ISS) began to be a reality the Shuttle program became fun again. The crew persons who actually were involved in the construction of the station were able to gain new and valuable skills and for the first time in human history, half a million pounds of hardware in space, most of it carried up in the orbiters became our first outpost in space. The Shuttle was very well qualified for this task and the combination of the Shuttle remote manipulator and the station remote manipulator made a powerful combination for the successful construction in space of large platforms.   Columbia   By the time of the loss of Columbia on STS-107 I no longer had the small pit in my stomach for the landing. To see it disintegrate over the Texas skies was as shocking as the loss of Challenger. The aftermath was even more painful as the distinct impression was had that we should have caught this one while she was flying. The loss of corporate knowledge when Boeing bought Rockwell and moved the people from California to Texas was wrenching when you read that the engineer who created the program to assess damage to the tiles (who refused to move to Texas and left Rockwell) stated that it was never intended to be used in the way it was used during STS-107. The testing afterward of the RCC panels from the venerable Shuttle Enterprise that showed their fragility shocked everyone who saw it.   The Third and Final Act   The Shuttle returned to flight quicker this time. A controversial rule was adopted that would have precluded the Shuttle being used to service the Hubble telescope one last time that was reversed in 2005 by incoming administrator Mike Griffin. The last servicing mission was in 2009 and it was the final flight to a non station destination. With the station completed in late 2010 and with no further payloads in the pipeline it seemed the logical decision to terminate the program and move onward.   What Could Have Been   Politicians love to say that no one cares about space. The literally millions of people who stopped and clogged highways in Washington, the Bay Area and Los Angeles might disagree with you. Americans love space. To use an out of vogue phrase, we have seen it as our manifest destiny and have since that July day in 1969 when mankind of the American flavor set foot on the Moon. The Shuttle was originally supposed to help us get back to the Moon with the construction of the station and of space vehicles that could go from low Earth Orbit to the Moon. One of my favorite lunar lander designs from Boeing, as illustrated by Paul Hudson in the late 1980's was a dual engine vehicle that would have been carried into orbit by the Shuttle.   The Shuttle was a heavy lift vehicle that we threw away, just like we threw away the Saturn V. The Shuttle was never perfect and it never reached its full potential but every time it launched it carried more than a quarter of a million pounds of hardware into orbit and most of it came back.   Several proposals were made for Shuttle system upgrades that should have happened but did not. One proposal was to go to electromechanical actuators for all of the moving parts of the orbiter such as the SSME's and flight surfaces. This would have eliminated the hydraulic system and the hydrazine powered APU's in favor of an upgraded fuel cell system. This would have cut costs and time for turn around dramatically. Another proposal was to get rid of the bipropellant Orbital Maneuvering Engines and replace them with more powerful LOX/Methane engines. This would have improved performance and cut the turn around time further. A companion upgrade would have swapped out all of the RCS thrusters on the orbiter with the same LOX/Methane system. This would have eliminated toxic propellants from the Orbiter and would have also cut the time, effort, and cost to turn around the system. There was a proposal from as far back as 1977 to add solar arrays that could be deployed on orbit and married to a regenerative fuel cell system that would have extended the time on orbit to near indefinitely.   There were ideas floating about by some to keep an orbiter on orbit at the station to provide extra living space and a construction facility for large space structures at the station. Atlantis was already modified to accept power from the station and thus could have, with some further modifications, have remained at the station. This would have caused other problems with the station but none that were unsolvable.   The Legacy   It is amazing to think now that the last flight of the Shuttle was barely a year ago (from September 2012). With the completion of the station, the Shuttle did not seem to have a purpose anymore. Though many proposals were made for a smooth transition to a quasi-heavy lift Shuttle C, none of the proposals made it past the desire by NASA for a really big shiny new heavy lifter, damn the cost involved and damn the loss of now 35 plus years of operational experience with manned spaceflight.   Was it worth it? The answer to me is yes, if we learn the lessons that the Shuttle program taught us. From the amazing success of the process of orbital assembly that brought together modules from Europe, Russia, Japan, and the United States and put them into a successful half million pound space station, to the satellite servicing missions and microgravity research, the Shuttle does have a proud legacy of accomplishment.   The biggest problem today, is like what we did in the aftermath of the Apollo era, we seem bound and determined to forget the lessons of the Shuttle program. NASA chose a capsule for a renewed exploration program when the lesson of the Apollo program was that they were very expensive throw away systems. Say what you will but if the Shuttle program had thrown away all of those expensive engines every flight the cost would have been much higher. Most of the Shuttle's high cost came due to the low flight rate. Even in the mid 1990's the marginal cost of a Shuttle mission was only about $120 million dollars, quite a deal to put a quarter of a million pounds of hardware into space. The Space Launch System advocates claim that each of those missions will only cost $500 million each. This is a rank fantasy as the Saturn V launches cost $400 million each 40 years ago. It is interesting that this number is probably the marginal launch cost. The infrastructure and overhead cost is what kills you and there is little indication that they are going to save a lot of money there compared to the Shuttle. Throwing away all of your hardware each mission is insane but that is what NASA wants to go back to for the future.   The Fly Over   It was truly amazing the number of people who came out to NASA Ames for the flyover. I was at my office at 7:00 am and there were already people there waiting for something that was not going to happen until ten o'clock. By the time of the flyover there were over 20,000 people waiting there at Ames for this event. There were hundreds of thousands of other people that took a break from their jobs to do likewise all across Silicon Valley and the rest of California. Americans love the Shuttle. Many amazing things were done with them and we mourned together for those whose lives were lost in them.   There is a deep urge in this country to support the exploration and development of space. To build a space program around making the solar system the province of a few government employees, around doing a few science experiments, is not what we as a nation signed up for in the 1950's. We want more from our space program than what the narrow view of NASA has provided. NASA fought space tourism tooth and nail. It killed the idea of a privately built and operated orbiter in the 1980's and today is fixated on a rocket to no where, with no payloads and no destination within the remaining lives of those who first walked on the Moon. This is a national tragedy and one that if the government will not get beyond, we will.   Romney and Obama space plans   Orlando Sentinel (Editorial)   With Florida once again considered a must-win state in this year's presidential race, space policy is finally lifting off as an issue for the candidates. Some coincidence, huh?   Last week at the University of Central Florida, Mitt Romney running mate Paul Ryan vowed the U.S. would remain the world's "unequivocal leader" in space. Romney's campaign issued a policy statement promising he'd make space a priority as president, but it included few details.   Ryan rightly declared that the U.S. space program needs a clear mission — ironic, because the policy statement didn't offer one.   Meanwhile, President Obama's campaign gave him credit for the burgeoning commercial space industry, the Mars rover mission and a long-term plan for deep-space exploration. All positives, but each falls short of securing U.S. space leadership.   Leaked documents from NASA indicated that the agency is seeking White House support to build and locate a new orbiting outpost that would serve as a staging area for future deep-space missions. But key details in this plan also are missing, starting with its cost.   Floridians, who have seen the state lose thousands of space jobs, should be hopeful but skeptical about the candidates' proposals. In 2008, Obama vowed to narrow the gap between the end of the shuttle and the next manned program. After he was elected, he canceled the next program and replaced it with another one that will probably widen the gap.   Voters who consider space a national priority should demand details from

Dennis Wingo--why don't we get behind Don Nelson's Commercial Shuttle Re: nasaproblems.com

Thoughts on the Last Flight of the Shuttle   Dennis Wingo - SpaceRef.com (Viewpoint)   I was at NASA Ames last week when the final flight of the final space shuttle Endeavour on its way to its final destination occurred. As many people did, I stood outside, on top of our MacMoon's at Ames and took pictures. There were over 20,000 people at NASA Ames that waited hours for an event that took no more than one minute to consummate. Beyond that there were hundreds of thousands more people all around Silicon Valley who were outside and watching when the shuttle flew overhead.   They were on bridges, they were on the patio at Specialties Coffee with binoculars, they were pulled over on the 101 freeway, all to catch a last glimpse of a space shuttle, not even in space, but simply flying overhead on the back of a 747, the same way that we first saw the Enterprise in 1977. The same thing happened all over the country. Washington D.C. was almost shut down by the flight of Discovery coming into Dulles. Tens of thousands of people were wowed by the sight and image of two orbiters nose to nose on the tarmac. It is if Americans collectively all wanted to be a part of a history that many fear is passing us by....   I am the Shuttle Generation   The Time Before the First Launch   The Space Shuttle has been a part of my/our life for almost forty years now. Not like the people that designed them, built them and operated them, but part of my/our life none the less. As a kid I read the articles about why the Saturn V was giving way to a new and routine way of getting to space (naive child that I was) in the early 70's. I read the articles about how we would be building space stations, deploying satellites, and constructing huge telescopes in orbit.   In 1976 I watched the news reports of the roll out of the Enterprise and its display at Edwards AFB with the crew of the fictional 23rd century starship Enterprise. In 1977 we saw on TV the captive carry and first free flights of the Enterprise at Edwards AFB. In 1979 I made a special trip to the cape to see the Enterprise, fully stacked on the launch pad as it was being used as a facilities fit check and test vehicle. I mourned with everyone else when I found out that the Enterprise was never going to fly, for what to some are still mysterious reasons. We also mourned in that year when we found out that because of the delays caused by problems with the SSME engine development, the shuttle would not be available to save Skylab, which then died in its death in fire over the Australian outback.   We worried in 1980 when reports of the continuing problems with the SSME development further pushed back the first launch. I read the Playboy article in late 1980 that went through all of the reasons that the first launch would fail, including faulty tiles, an unreliable APU, an untested system flying with humans, etc....   The First Launches   I did not get to see the first launch in person, but as part of the launch of a new life for myself, I watched the launch in a motel room in Tucson Arizona as I was moving to California to be involved in the computer industry. It was an amazing launch. Our generation who remembered the Saturn V launches were used to seeing the Saturn V lumber off the pad in slow motion, seeming to claw itself into the sky by brute force. The Shuttle virtually leapt off the pad, seemingly determined to prove its naysayers wrong. Watching for the first time the orbiter flying, the APU's working, and the successful barely two day mission, everyone was waiting with anticipation for the landing. For the first time in Human history, the people of southern California heard the double boom...boom of the orbiter's reentry that mildly shook houses for hundreds of miles and the picture perfect landing at Edwards AFB.   I did not get to see the first landing but I did see the landing of STS-4. We left work from Thousand Oaks CA late, not thinking that we would have any problems. However, when we got to Pear Blossom highway there was a massive 40 mile long traffic jam. As time was getting late we knew that we were not going to make it. We were in a small truck and drove on the sand for a while and made progress but got to a spot where we would have gotten stuck so we got back in line. At about this time four big 4x4's came whizzing by on the wrong side of the road! Of course we got in behind them and were soon breezing by the slow moving traffic at 60 miles per hour. The lead truck had big CB antennas on it and when it would veer off to the left, off the road, the rest of us followed. This allowed the sparse oncoming traffic to go by while we continued forward! We did this for over 30 miles until we saw the base entry checkpoint ahead and got back in line.   We made it into the base literally five minutes before they closed the gates. This was still a couple of hours before landing and so we started playing. We saw a bunch of trucks driving out on the lake bed and joined them. About 20 minutes later a fully armed Huey helicopter came whizzing by and stopped us while the fully armed door gunner screamed at us to get the hell off the lake bed, didn't we know the Shuttle was coming? We immediately left and drove to the viewing area, where about half a million of our closest friends were already there. Those early Shuttle landings were a huge party and we all waited for the landing while buying food, and drink and generally raising merry hell. Since the lake bed area was so large we still were able to get a good viewing site across the lake bed where president Reagan was also waiting for the landing. His reviewing stand was really neat, being between two hangers with our old friend, the Shuttle Enterprise behind the stand.   We were warned that the Shuttle was on the way in and started looking for it. The announcer was calling out over loudspeakers the progress. I first saw Columbia when she was still about 105,000 feet up in altitude and the belly of the orbiter was still glowing a dull orange. From that instant until she landed across from us it was no more than an amazing five minutes. The orbiter was sitting on the tarmac very close to where Reagan and the other dignitaries were waiting. Then another amazing thing happened! As Reagan was speaking the 747 showed up again, this time carrying the Shuttle Challenger on its back! As it flew over, for a brief moment, we saw three orbiters together in one thrilling view.   The Early Years   The early years of the Shuttle program were perhaps its most innovative. From launch and rescuing communications satellites to the recovery and repair of NASA's Solar Max, exciting and ground breaking missions were the norm. On the flight where Solar Max was rescued (STS 41C) and repaired NASA deployed the LDEF materials in space 21,300 bus, and the shuttle went to a then record of 300 nautical miles altitude using a direct ascent trajectory.   Science missions flew using the European built Spacelab module in the cargo bay with materials and life sciences experiments. Spacelab components flew on a total of 22 shuttle missions over its lifetime. On other missions orbital assembly experiments were performed such as the EASE/ACCESS where large truss assemblies were built as a test for the future space station. The materials sciences experiments were very exciting to industry and the first non government employee, Charles Walker, flew twice as a payload specialist for McDonnell Douglas.   Student experiments were first flown in space in the Getaway Special Program where payloads are flown in the cargo bay in a self contained experimental system that replaced ballast that would normally be used to balance the orbiter. Dozens of these payloads were eventually flown and many students who built them are now senior professionals in the space industry.   On a minor note the Shuttle could be very annoying. During that era it landed often in California at Edwards Air Force base. It would usually land early in the morning. I was living in Thousand Oaks California at the time and the mission frequency was high enough that the double sonic booms of its reentry would wake me up in the morning to not very charitable thoughts about it doing so.   The first seeds of NASA's problems also came in this era. NASA was jealous of its hardware and rejected out of hand the proposal from Rockwell International to build a fifth orbiter that would be owned by and flown by Rockwell. Problems with the Shuttle system itself were found but not corrected during this era that eventually led to the first shuttle tragedy.   Challenger   Just about everyone can remember where they were at when we lost the Challenger on that cold January morning in 1986. I was in a computer room in Morristown, New Jersey when a computer operator ran in to tell us about it. A group of us left and went to a local bar to watch replay after replay of the explosion that took seven fine lives, including the first teacher in space from us. President Reagan's eloquent eulogy of the crew helped a shocked nation to help heal the loss. The Shuttle program was never the same after that.   My own closer affiliation with the Shuttle program began during the stand down after Challenger. I wanted to work closer to the space program and finally get my degree after working as a non degreed engineer for several years. I left the computer industry to move back to Alabama to enroll at the University of Alabama in Huntsville where I figured I could get work related to the space program and get my degree. I worked at a small company in Huntsville Alabama that built a computer that had a telemetry system that would process the data stream from the SSME's during launch. This system was going into the firing room at the cape and it was fought tooth and nail by the people down there who were quite happy with their ModComp computers and did not like these newfangled microprocessors.   The Second Age of the Shuttle   When the first launch of the Shuttle happened after Challenger in 1988 with the Shuttle Discovery. I was able to get a seat in the Morris auditorium at NASA MSFC building 4200 as I had worked on the return to flight. It was full to overflowing and it seemed that everyone held their breaths when the "go at throttle up" command came from the CAPCOM. A huge cheer range out when the solid rocket boosters separated from the stack after two and a half minutes. No one moved though until the SSME's finally shut down and we knew that the orbiter was going to make it to orbit.   There were still a lot of cool missions though the flight rate never approached the nine flights of 1985. I flew my first payload on the Shuttle on STS-46 with a MacIntosh computer interfaced to a microgravity measurement system that I designed called 3DMA. This mission deployed the European EURECA free flying platform and deployed (unsuccessfully) the Italian TSS-1 20 km tether. At this time I was learning about tethers and we were slated to fly a small satellite on a 20 km tether later in the decade on STS-85. We flew more payloads as I was working the Consortium for Materials Development in Space (CMDS) at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. We flew our 3DMA payload on the first quasi-commercial module on the Shuttle from SpaceHab. We learned about the politics of the Shuttle, how to work with the safety panel in Houston and the various rivalries between the NASA centers involved in the Shuttle program. After our small satellite was moved off of the Shuttle and flown on a Delta II in 1998 I began to move away from the Shuttle program.   The Shuttle program did several more firsts, including a launch to high inclination out of Florida that went right up the east coast of the U.S. The TSS-1R mission flew, and the tether broke at 19.5 kilometers, but not before confirming the viability of using tethers to generate electrical power in space. The historic first docking of the Space Shuttle to the MIR space station happened in this timeframe as well. The long delayed Hubble space telescope was finally lofted into orbit in 1990 and found to have a badly ground mirror, it was the shuttle to the rescue with a modified optical system. By the time of the fifth Hubble servicing mission in 2009 the telescope was virtually rebuilt in its entire power system, electronics, guidance, and scientific instruments.   It was during this era that I finally got to see some launches. I saw STS-40 from a highway overpass near Coca Beach. I saw STS-46 with my hardware take off from the VIP stands. All together I got to see at least four launches and three additional scrubs of launches. There was one launch that was especially memorable. There was a hold due to weather for too many clouds in the area of the launch site, which would cause problems if there was an abort to launch site scenario. There was near constant chatter with the weather officer about a possible break in the clouds. Finally the break happened and the hold at 9 minutes was lifted and it seemed that the launch team rushed to get the Shuttle launched. The Shuttle lifted off in a hole in the clouds that almost immediately closed back in. Fortunately no abort was needed but you could just tell from the sounds of the voices from the CAPCOM and launch control that they were not going to let a few clouds stop the launch that day.   The Station Era   As the redesigned International Space Station (ISS) began to be a reality the Shuttle program became fun again. The crew persons who actually were involved in the construction of the station were able to gain new and valuable skills and for the first time in human history, half a million pounds of hardware in space, most of it carried up in the orbiters became our first outpost in space. The Shuttle was very well qualified for this task and the combination of the Shuttle remote manipulator and the station remote manipulator made a powerful combination for the successful construction in space of large platforms.   Columbia   By the time of the loss of Columbia on STS-107 I no longer had the small pit in my stomach for the landing. To see it disintegrate over the Texas skies was as shocking as the loss of Challenger. The aftermath was even more painful as the distinct impression was had that we should have caught this one while she was flying. The loss of corporate knowledge when Boeing bought Rockwell and moved the people from California to Texas was wrenching when you read that the engineer who created the program to assess damage to the tiles (who refused to move to Texas and left Rockwell) stated that it was never intended to be used in the way it was used during STS-107. The testing afterward of the RCC panels from the venerable Shuttle Enterprise that showed their fragility shocked everyone who saw it.   The Third and Final Act   The Shuttle returned to flight quicker this time. A controversial rule was adopted that would have precluded the Shuttle being used to service the Hubble telescope one last time that was reversed in 2005 by incoming administrator Mike Griffin. The last servicing mission was in 2009 and it was the final flight to a non station destination. With the station completed in late 2010 and with no further payloads in the pipeline it seemed the logical decision to terminate the program and move onward.   What Could Have Been   Politicians love to say that no one cares about space. The literally millions of people who stopped and clogged highways in Washington, the Bay Area and Los Angeles might disagree with you. Americans love space. To use an out of vogue phrase, we have seen it as our manifest destiny and have since that July day in 1969 when mankind of the American flavor set foot on the Moon. The Shuttle was originally supposed to help us get back to the Moon with the construction of the station and of space vehicles that could go from low Earth Orbit to the Moon. One of my favorite lunar lander designs from Boeing, as illustrated by Paul Hudson in the late 1980's was a dual engine vehicle that would have been carried into orbit by the Shuttle.   The Shuttle was a heavy lift vehicle that we threw away, just like we threw away the Saturn V. The Shuttle was never perfect and it never reached its full potential but every time it launched it carried more than a quarter of a million pounds of hardware into orbit and most of it came back.   Several proposals were made for Shuttle system upgrades that should have happened but did not. One proposal was to go to electromechanical actuators for all of the moving parts of the orbiter such as the SSME's and flight surfaces. This would have eliminated the hydraulic system and the hydrazine powered APU's in favor of an upgraded fuel cell system. This would have cut costs and time for turn around dramatically. Another proposal was to get rid of the bipropellant Orbital Maneuvering Engines and replace them with more powerful LOX/Methane engines. This would have improved performance and cut the turn around time further. A companion upgrade would have swapped out all of the RCS thrusters on the orbiter with the same LOX/Methane system. This would have eliminated toxic propellants from the Orbiter and would have also cut the time, effort, and cost to turn around the system. There was a proposal from as far back as 1977 to add solar arrays that could be deployed on orbit and married to a regenerative fuel cell system that would have extended the time on orbit to near indefinitely.   There were ideas floating about by some to keep an orbiter on orbit at the station to provide extra living space and a construction facility for large space structures at the station. Atlantis was already modified to accept power from the station and thus could have, with some further modifications, have remained at the station. This would have caused other problems with the station but none that were unsolvable.   The Legacy   It is amazing to think now that the last flight of the Shuttle was barely a year ago (from September 2012). With the completion of the station, the Shuttle did not seem to have a purpose anymore. Though many proposals were made for a smooth transition to a quasi-heavy lift Shuttle C, none of the proposals made it past the desire by NASA for a really big shiny new heavy lifter, damn the cost involved and damn the loss of now 35 plus years of operational experience with manned spaceflight.   Was it worth it? The answer to me is yes, if we learn the lessons that the Shuttle program taught us. From the amazing success of the process of orbital assembly that brought together modules from Europe, Russia, Japan, and the United States and put them into a successful half million pound space station, to the satellite servicing missions and microgravity research, the Shuttle does have a proud legacy of accomplishment.   The biggest problem today, is like what we did in the aftermath of the Apollo era, we seem bound and determined to forget the lessons of the Shuttle program. NASA chose a capsule for a renewed exploration program when the lesson of the Apollo program was that they were very expensive throw away systems. Say what you will but if the Shuttle program had thrown away all of those expensive engines every flight the cost would have been much higher. Most of the Shuttle's high cost came due to the low flight rate. Even in the mid 1990's the marginal cost of a Shuttle mission was only about $120 million dollars, quite a deal to put a quarter of a million pounds of hardware into space. The Space Launch System advocates claim that each of those missions will only cost $500 million each. This is a rank fantasy as the Saturn V launches cost $400 million each 40 years ago. It is interesting that this number is probably the marginal launch cost. The infrastructure and overhead cost is what kills you and there is little indication that they are going to save a lot of money there compared to the Shuttle. Throwing away all of your hardware each mission is insane but that is what NASA wants to go back to for the future.   The Fly Over   It was truly amazing the number of people who came out to NASA Ames for the flyover. I was at my office at 7:00 am and there were already people there waiting for something that was not going to happen until ten o'clock. By the time of the flyover there were over 20,000 people waiting there at Ames for this event. There were hundreds of thousands of other people that took a break from their jobs to do likewise all across Silicon Valley and the rest of California. Americans love the Shuttle. Many amazing things were done with them and we mourned together for those whose lives were lost in them.   There is a deep urge in this country to support the exploration and development of space. To build a space program around making the solar system the province of a few government employees, around doing a few science experiments, is not what we as a nation signed up for in the 1950's. We want more from our space program than what the narrow view of NASA has provided. NASA fought space tourism tooth and nail. It killed the idea of a privately built and operated orbiter in the 1980's and today is fixated on a rocket to no where, with no payloads and no destination within the remaining lives of those who first walked on the Moon. This is a national tragedy and one that if the government will not get beyond, we will.   Romney and Obama space plans   Orlando Sentinel (Editorial)   With Florida once again considered a must-win state in this year's presidential race, space policy is finally lifting off as an issue for the candidates. Some coincidence, huh?   Last week at the University of Central Florida, Mitt Romney running mate Paul Ryan vowed the U.S. would remain the world's "unequivocal leader" in space. Romney's campaign issued a policy statement promising he'd make space a priority as president, but it included few details.   Ryan rightly declared that the U.S. space program needs a clear mission — ironic, because the policy statement didn't offer one.   Meanwhile, President Obama's campaign gave him credit for the burgeoning commercial space industry, the Mars rover mission and a long-term plan for deep-space exploration. All positives, but each falls short of securing U.S. space leadership.   Leaked documents from NASA indicated that the agency is seeking White House support to build and locate a new orbiting outpost that would serve as a staging area for future deep-space missions. But key details in this plan also are missing, starting with its cost.   Floridians, who have seen the state lose thousands of space jobs, should be hopeful but skeptical about the candidates' proposals. In 2008, Obama vowed to narrow the gap between the end of the shuttle and the next manned program. After he was elected, he canceled the next program and replaced it with another one that will probably widen the gap.   Voters who consider space a national priority should demand details from both campaigns.   END   Sent from my iPad

We are going to need this capability--wait until next crisis!!

10/1/12 news

Hope you can join us this Thursday, Oct.  4th     for our monthly NASA retirees luncheon at the Hibachi Grill buffett on Bay Area Blvd. between Highway 3 and I45 –11:30.   As usual, we have the party room in the back reserved for our use.   Thank goodness for a little wetter and much cooler weather.     Go TEXANS!     Monday, October 1, 2012   JSC TODAY HEADLINES 1.            Starport Gift Shop Closures 2.            Miss ISS Update This Past Week? Watch the Videos Now 3.            JSC Safety Action Team (JSAT) Wellness Group Nature Walks 4.            The JSC Safety Action Team (JSAT) Says ... 5.            ARMD FY13 Seedling Fund Proposals Due Oct. 3 6.            September Issue of NASA Tech Briefs Recognizes More JSC New Technologies 7.            TechTrans International Releases the Russian Language and Logistic Services 8.            Astronomy Day at Brazos Bend State Park 9.            JSC Toastmasters Club Meets Wednesday Nights 10.          Nutrition Class -- Oct. 9 11.          Introducing Youth Karate at the Gilruth Center 12.          AIAA Honors & Awards Nominations Due Today 13.          Shuttle Knowledge Console v2.0 14.          Overhead Cranes and Material Handling: Nov. 7 to 8 - Building 226N, Room 174 ________________________________________     QUOTE OF THE DAY “ Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years; people grow old by deserting their ideals. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.”   -- Douglas MacArthur ________________________________________ 1.            Starport Gift Shop Closures The Starport Gift Shops in Building 3 and 11 will both be closed today through Thursday for inventory. The First Tuesday discount will be postponed until next week.   Cynthia Kibby x35352 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/   [top] 2.            Miss ISS Update This Past Week? Watch the Videos Now Recently, ISS Update featured Dr. William Ailor, principal investigator for the ReEntry Breakup Recorder (REBR) for The Aerospace Corporation. Ailor spoke about capturing data as Europe's ATV-3 cargo craft re-entered the Earth's atmosphere for a fiery destruction over the Pacific Ocean.   Watch more here: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=152790671   Also, ISS Update featured Sarah Shull, deputy manager for the Logistics Reduction and Repurposing project in the Advanced Exploration Systems program. Shull discussed the Logistics to Living tests from the Deep Space Habitat mock-up here at JSC.   Experts are studying secondary ways to use items after their primary use has expired during a deep space mission. The International Space Station is resupplied by cargo ships, which are then filled with trash and deorbited over the Pacific Ocean for a fiery destruction. Crews on a deep space mission will have fewer resupply options and fewer ways to get rid of trash they produce, so it's important that NASA find innovative ways to recycle trash and reuse gear in preparation for these future missions.   See the two-part video series at the following links: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=152961171 http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=152961271   JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111   [top] 3.            JSC Safety Action Team (JSAT) Wellness Group Nature Walks The JSC Safety Action Team (JSAT) Wellness Group will be conducting nature walks this month on public walking trails in the Clear Lake area. These relatively short walks (about three miles) will provide general health benefits and group support for anyone seeking this activity. There will be information provided on related safety and health issues, as well as on local plants, trees and wildlife of the area. The groups are normally small, but any employee at JSC, along with friends and family members, are eligible to participate. Participants may walk faster or slower than the main group, though staying with the group is recommended. The walks are scheduled weekly and in the late evening (see website). Additional walks will be scheduled based upon demand. Please notify the person below if you are interested. Your registration will be confirmed by return email.   Darrell R. Matula x38520 https://myjsc.jsc.nasa.gov/personal/dmatula/default.aspx   [top] 4.            The JSC Safety Action Team (JSAT) Says ... Flu season is coming, like it or not. Better be prepared, get your flu shot! Congratulations to October 2012 "JSAT Says..." winner Zoe Bartley, Wyle. Any JSAT member (all JSC contractor and civil servant employees) may submit a slogan for consideration to JSAT Secretary Reese Squires. Submissions for November are due by Friday, Oct. 12. Keep those great submissions coming. You may be the next JSAT Says Winner!   Reese Squires x37776 \\jsc-ia-na01b\JIMMS_Share\Share\JSAT\JSAT Says\JSAT Says 10-2012.pptx   [top] 5.            ARMD FY13 Seedling Fund Proposals Due Oct. 3 Got an innovative technical solution to an aeronautics challenge? NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) is accepting proposals to explore early-stage ideas through research, analysis and proof-of-concept demonstrations. The ARMD Seedling Fund offers grants of up to $150,000 for a 12-month effort to advance new processes, novel concepts or innovative technologies not currently supported by ARMD program and project funds. Obtain proposal guidelines and selection process details at: https://armd-seedling.arc.nasa.gov/   Submit your notice of intent to the seedling fund website between Sept. 19 and Oct. 3.   Please contact Ronnie Clayton at ronald.g.clayton@nasa.gov or x37117 with questions.   Ronnie Clayton x37117 https://armd-seedling.arc.nasa.gov/   [top] 6.            September Issue of NASA Tech Briefs Recognizes More JSC New Technologies More outstanding new technologies and innovations from JSC are recognized in the September 2012 issue of NASA Tech Briefs.   The main purpose of Tech Briefs is to introduce information on new innovations and technologies that stem from advanced research and technology programs conducted by NASA.   The September 2012 JSC briefs include: Beat-to-Beat Blood Pressure Monitor, Improving Balance Function Using Low Levels of Electrical Stimulation of the Balance Organs, Developing Physiological Models for Emergency Medical Procedures Under Microgravity, Polyurea-Based Aerogel Monoliths and Composites, Multiplexed Force and Deflection Sensing Shell Membranes for Robotic Manipulators, Fuel Cell / Electrochemical Cell Voltage Monitor, Measurement Techniques for Clock Jitter, Linked-List-Based Multibody Dynamics (MBDyn) Engine, and Plug-in Plan Tool v3.0.3.1.   To read and learn more about these JSC innovations, go to http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/technologyatjsc/technology_news/Related_N...   To see all of the current NASA Tech Briefs, go to http://www.techbriefs.com   Holly Kurth x32951   [top] 7.            TechTrans International Releases the Russian Language and Logistic Services The TTI Russian Language and Logistics Services Portal (TTI RLLS Portal) is a TTI IT system that leverages existing TTI proprietary tools in support of the RLLS program. The TTI RLLS Portal provides secure user sign-on for access to RLLS services and information. The following is few of the services that the system supports:   Translation Interpretation (Telecons and Meeting Support) Lodging Management Trip Request Processing Visa Processing Transportation   All of the existing TTI tools and services will still be available during the next several weeks while transition to the new system tools begins. To create a "User Profile" within the RLLS Portal, please visit the following system access request webpage and submit a completed request form https://www.TTI-Portal.com/_layouts/Forms/RegistrationForm.aspx   Check out JSC Today for future training and system information updates. If you have any questions, contact the RLLS support center at 281-333-7918.   James Welty 281-335-8000 http://www.tti-corp.com   [top] 8.            Astronomy Day at Brazos Bend State Park Astronomy Day is Oct. 20 at the George Observatory inside Brazos Bend State Park. Daytime activities for the kids include face-painting and learning the phases of the moon by eating Oreo cookies. There are outdoor and indoor speakers on various astronomy-related topics, a how-to-make-a-comet demonstration and telescopes set up to safely observe the sun. Once nighttime arrives, out come all the telescopes! Up to 35 telescopes will be set up for public observing, and there's an opportunity to look at inside the observatory's three telescope domes. You'll see the moon, star clusters and nebulae. The A-Day event starts at 3 p.m. and goes (clouds or shine) until 10:30 p.m., but telescope viewing may be impacted due to weather. Concessions are available. Come make a full day of it and learn a little astronomy in the process. It's a great time for the whole family!   Jim Wessel x41128 http://www.astronomyday.net   [top] 9.            JSC Toastmasters Club Meets Wednesday Nights Interested in becoming a better speaker, presenter or leader? Come visit the JSC Toastmasters Club. Meetings take place every Wednesday night from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Gilruth Center Rio Grande Room and are open to everyone.   Thomas Bryan x31721 http://3116.toastmastersclubs.org/   [top] 10.          Nutrition Class -- Oct. 9 Avoiding Kitchen Nightmares! Is your kitchen in trouble? Do you find yourself dining out frequently because you find that you are missing ingredients for your recipe? Research shows that people with better organized and well-stocked kitchens tend to cook at home more. This class will focus on some kitchen basics, like improving efficiency in the meal-preparation flow, how to organize the kitchen to streamline meal planning and preparation and basic items to keep in stock. This class might not make you a great chef, but it will improve your efficiency in the kitchen. Email Glenda Blaskey to sign up for this class today.   If you're working on improving your approach to healthy nutrition but can't attend a class, we offer free one-on-one consultations with Glenda Blaskey, the JSC Registered Dietitian.   Glenda Blaskey x41503 http://www.explorationwellness.com/Web/scripts/Nutrition.aspx   [top] 11.          Introducing Youth Karate at the Gilruth Center Starport will soon be offering Youth Karate as a recreation program at the Gilruth Center. Classes will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. in the Mind/Body Studio for kids ages 3 to 6. The cost is $120/month, but your child can try the first class for free! Classes start on Oct. 30. Sign up at the Gilruth Center front desk. Visit http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Youth/RecPrograms.cfm for more information.   Shericka Phillips x35563 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Events/   [top] 12.          AIAA Honors & Awards Nominations Due Today The deadline to submit nominations for several AIAA honors and awards is today, Oct. 1!   Link to AIAA Honors and Awards (Includes frequently asked questions, nomination links and membership upgrades on right-hand menu): https://aiaa.org/secondary.aspx?id=230   Award descriptions: https://aiaa.org/HonorsAndAwardsList.aspx?id=5859   Direct link to nomination form (requires login): https://www.aiaa.org/IframeOneColumn.aspx?id=3411&returnURL=https%3a%2f%2faia...   There are also other awards with nomination deadlines of Nov. 1 - see descriptions for further information.   For any questions, email honors2012@aiaahouston.org with "AIAA 2012 Awards" in the subject line, or check out http://www.aiaahouston.org/   Good luck to all Houston-area nominees!   Jennifer Wells 281-336-6302   [top] 13.          Shuttle Knowledge Console v2.0 As part of JSC's ongoing Space Shuttle Knowledge capture process, the JSC Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) and the JSC Engineering Directorate are pleased to announce the second release of the Shuttle Knowledge Console. https://skc.jsc.nasa.gov New content added is Orbital Maneuvering System/Reaction Control System added to the Subsystem Manager page; Integrated Hazard Analysis added to the Shuttle Information System Archive page; and Additional Shuttle Records content added to the Shuttle Records page. Also added is Export Control Warning on all pages. Questions about the new website can be directed to Howard Wagner in the JSC Engineering Directorate or Brent Fontenot in the CKO office. We would love your feedback on this new site. Click the "Submit Feedback" button located on the top of the site navigation and give us your comments.   Brent J Fontenot x36456 https://skc.jsc.nasa.gov/Home.aspx   [top] 14.          Overhead Cranes and Material Handling: Nov. 7 to 8 - Building 226N, Room 174 The primary purpose of the course is to promote overhead crane safety and awareness for operators, riggers, signalmen, supervisors and safety personnel, and to further their understanding of the federal and NASA standards and regulations related to such cranes. This course introduces students to various types of overhead and gantry cranes and hoists used in general industry and construction operations and includes a review of the pertinent Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and ANSI standards and NASA requirements. Students are provided with basic information concerning crane safety, operations, inspections, maintenance, pre-lift plans, wire rope, rigging components and rigging safety. The course is intended to provide the basic knowledge (both in breadth and depth) for those operating in and around overhead cranes. It will provide classroom training which, when combined with the center's own hands-on training, will serve to certify overhead crane operators as required.   Shirley Robinson x41284   [top]   ________________________________________ JSC Today is compiled periodically as a service to JSC employees on an as-submitted basis. Any JSC organization or employee may submit articles. To see an archive of previous JSC Today announcements, go to http://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/pao/news/jsctoday/archives.       Human Spaceflight News Monday – October 1, 2012   HEADLINES AND LEADS   Obama's, Romney's visions for space vary little Hopefuls don't touch on subject often   Ledyard King – Florida Today   Mitt Romney belittles President Barack Obama’s policy for human space exploration as incoherent, disjointed and defeatist. But Romney’s own broadly worded plan, released late last month, departs from the administration’s vision in only one key aspect — by making it clear that spending on NASA would at best stay flat. Both candidates support continuing the teamwork between NASA and private aerospace companies in developing a new vehicle to take crew and supplies to the International Space Station now that the shuttle has retired.   Europe's third ATV ends mission at space station   Stephen Clark - SpaceflightNow.com   Capping a six-month resupply and reboost mission, Europe's third Automated Transfer Vehicle left the International Space Station on Friday, setting course for a fiery final act to collect research data and dispose of the orbiting lab's garbage. The 15.5-ton cargo capsule, nicknamed Edoardo Amaldi after a pioneering Italian physicist, undocked from the space station's Zvezda service module at 2144 GMT (5:44 p.m. EDT). Edoardo Amaldi backed away from the space station before firing rockets to leave the vicinity of the 450-ton complex.   Huge X-Wing-Like Cargo Ship Undocks from Space Station   Tariq Malik - Space.com   An unmanned European cargo ship the size of a double-decker bus undocked from the International Space Station Friday (Sept. 28), ending a six-month delivery flight to the orbiting lab. The robotic Automated Transfer Vehicle 3 (ATV-3), with its four X-wing-like solar arrays unfurled, cast off from the space station Friday as the two spacecraft sailed 255 miles (410 kilometers) over western Kazakhstan in Asia. The cargo ship's undocking occurred at 5:44 p.m. EDT.   Space X test fires rocket engine   James Dean – Florida Today   SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket’s engines Saturday in preparation for a planned launch a week from today from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the International Space Station. Culminating a countdown rehearsal at Launch Complex 40, the rocket’s nine first-stage Merlin engines fired for a few seconds at 1:30 p.m. while the rocket remained bolted to the pad. SpaceX said the “static fire,” the last major pre-launch test, was completed as planned and on time.   Falcon 9 engines ignite on pad ahead of October launch   Stephen Clark – SpaceflightNow.com   SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket fired nine main engines on a Florida launch pad Saturday, completing a major test before lifting off on an International Space Station resupply flight Oct. 7. The two-stage rocket rolled to the launch pad Saturday morning, and a computer-controlled sequence filled the booster with kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants beginning around midday. The Falcon 9's fuel tanks were pressurized in the countdown's final moments, leading to ignition of the rocket's nine first stage Merlin engines at 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT).   Private Rocket's 1st Launch Pad Trek Delayed by Glitch   Dan Leone - Space News   Orbital Sciences Corp. on Thursday scrubbed a planned rollout of the first stage of its Antares rocket, which was headed to the launchpad for a long-awaited hold-down test, because of problems with the horizontal transporter used to move the rocket to its launch site. The rollout, which was scheduled to begin around 8:00 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) Thursday, was rescheduled for Saturday morning (Sept. 29) because of a “battery issue” with the transporter vehicle used to haul Antares from its hangar to Pad 0-A at NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia, Orbital spokesman Barron Beneski said in an email that reached Space News at 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT) on Thursday.   NASA completes water testing of Orion capsule   Associated Press   NASA says it has completed final testing of the water impact of the Orion spacecraft at its Langley Research Center in Hampton. The space agency says it recently completed the testing of the impact of an 18,000-pound test version of the spacecraft in the same facility where Apollo astronauts trained for moonwalks. Officials say swing and drop testing began last summer to certify the Orion spacecraft for water landings. The next round of water impact testing is scheduled to begin in late 2013 using a full-sized model. NASA says the first space-bound Orion capsule will launch on an uncrewed flight planned for 2014 to test several systems. Orion will travel farther than any human spacecraft has gone in more than 40 years. (NO FURTHER TEXT)   USA further reduces staff at KSC, other installations   James Dean – Florida Today   Prime shuttle contractor United Space Alliance on Friday shaved its workforce by another 6 percent, cutting 157 jobs, including 121 at Kennedy Space Center. The cuts reduced USA’s Florida employee count to 1,073, down from about 5,500 at the start of 2010. Company-wide, 2,263 employees remain. In addition to the layoffs here, USA cut 35 positions in Texas and one in Alabama.   Florida pursues 150 acres for commercial launch complex   Emma Perez-Trevino - Brownsville Herald   Florida’s attempt to secure a 150-acre tract of land from NASA to develop a commercial launch complex signals the stiff competition Texas faces in luring a space exploration company to Cameron County, an economic development official said Friday. Florida is not saying if it is trying to obtain the acreage from NASA to reel in Space Exploration Technologies Inc., or SpaceX, which is planning to construct its own launch pad. “We are not at liberty to comment on who the potential customers might be,” Tina Lange — spokeswoman for Space Florida, the state’s aerospace economic development organization — told the Valley Morning Star Friday. But for Brownsville Economic Development Council Vice President Gilberto Salinas, the writing is on the wall: “It’s loud and clear. Florida is trying to make their incentive package better than everybody else’s,” Salinas said.   Some shuttle diplomacy helped bring the Endeavour to L.A. Bringing the shuttle Endeavour to Los Angeles was not a new idea but was conceived in 1991 by California Science Center aerospace curator Ken Phillips   Kate Mather - Los Angeles Times   The sky was no limit for the space shuttle program in 1991. Three shuttles orbited Earth regularly, and a fourth, Endeavour, had just rolled off a Palmdale production line. With construction of the International Space Station looming, the future was bright for NASA's prized fleet. The space agency planned to use the shuttles for many years, perhaps decades. But Ken Phillips was already thinking ahead. Phillips, aerospace curator of the California Science Center, made an audacious proposal to his boss that year: Acquire one of the shuttles. Someday. Science Center President Jeffrey Rudolph pounced on the idea. By August 1992 — three months after Endeavour's maiden voyage — Rudolph had blueprints showing a retired orbiter perched upright in a yet-to-be-built wing of the museum devoted to air and space exploration.   It's hard to grade Brevard Workforce's effort so far   John Kelly – Florida Today (Commentary)   The loss of half or more of the jobs at the Kennedy Space Center posed an incredible challenge, not the least of which was the assignment given to Brevard Workforce. The taxpayer-funded agency is charged with helping those space shuttle workers, many of whom spent decades on a perfection-demanding job, to transition into new careers. Still, it’s a bit disconcerting to hear that almost two-thirds of the money provided to the organization had gone unspent as of June 30 and millions of dollars might be given back to the federal government at a time when this community can use all of the help it can get recovering from the shuttle shutdown.   JK Rowling 'turned down space shuttle trip'   Beth Curtis - DigitalSpy.com   JK Rowling has revealed she turned down the opportunity to go on a space shuttle trip. The Harry Potter author, whose new book The Casual Vacancy was released last week, told fans that the trip had been offered for the cost of £2 million ($1.24m). Speaking at an event at London's Southbank Center, Rowling said: "I was offered a seat. For a mere £2 million I could have been on the shuttle, but I turned it down." Rowling recently admitted she is tempted by the thought of writing a 'director's cut' version of the Harry Potter novels, allowing her more time to improve on the original seven books. (NO FURTHER TEXT) __________   COMPLETE STORIES   Obama's, Romney's visions for space vary little Hopefuls don't touch on subject often   Ledyard King – Florida Today   Mitt Romney belittles President Barack Obama’s policy for human space exploration as incoherent, disjointed and defeatist.   But Romney’s own broadly worded plan, released late last month, departs from the administration’s vision in only one key aspect — by making it clear that spending on NASA would at best stay flat.   Both candidates support continuing the teamwork between NASA and private aerospace companies in developing a new vehicle to take crew and supplies to the International Space Station now that the shuttle has retired.   Both envision a grander plan for space exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, though it’s not clear if Romney would continue funding Obama’s plans for a manned mission to Mars by the 2030s.   And Romney’s plan makes no mention of reversing Obama’s decision to scrap the Constellation return-to-the-moon program that was backed by former President George W. Bush.   Romney’s proposed space policy “doesn’t differentiate between the president’s program ... other than to say: ‘Obama — bad. I’ll do a better job,’ ” said Dale Ketcham, director of the Spaceport Research & Technology Institute at the University of Central Florida. “There isn’t anything that they have proposed doing that the president isn’t already very much doing.”   Neither the Democratic president nor the former Republican governor from Massachusetts talk much about the space program on the campaign trail.   When they do, they tout the idea of manned missions launched from American soil. Current reality is that U.S. astronauts ride Russian rockets to get to the space station, human footprints on Mars are at least 20 years away, and the only flights into deep space involve robots.   The manned space program is in a lull following last year’s retirement of the space shuttle.   Today’s scenario is the product of changing administrations and Congresses that continually revise visions for NASA’s future, space policy experts say. Grandiose plans approved one year often give way to other proposals, which wastes money and delays progress, critics say. That has fueled accusations that political leaders have squandered America’s preeminence in space.   Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, Romney’s running mate, said during a trip to Orlando last month that Obama has put the space program “on a path where we are conceding our global position as the unequivocal leader in space.”   But what would Romney do differently?   Under Obama, NASA gives private aerospace firms money and guidance to develop rockets to carry cargo and crew to the space station from U.S. launch sites such as Cape Canaveral.   That effort already has borne fruit. In May, California-based SpaceX became the first private enterprise to successfully navigate a vehicle to the space station when its Dragon spacecraft delivered a small payload of cargo.   SpaceX is targeting Sunday for the first ISS resupply launch under its NASA contract, and its one of three firms that received a combined $1.1 billion in federal aid in August. The first human test flights to the space station are not expected until 2017.   Romney’s position supports a greater partnership with aerospace companies.   That’s a good step, according to Scott Hubbard, former director of NASA’s Ames Research Center and now a professor at Stanford University’s Aeronautics and Astronautics Department. Letting the private sector handle transportation to the station is “exactly the right thing to do,” he said.   Down the lineIt’s less clear what Romney plans for trips deeper into space. His vision almost certainly won’t include establishing a settlement on the moon, however.   After former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who ran against Romney in the presidential primary, said he would build a colony on the moon, Romney slapped down the proposal, saying he would fire anyone who came to him with such an idea.   In his position paper, written with the help of several prominent former NASA officials, including former agency administrator Michael Griffin and Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan, Romney said it’s time to re-evaluate NASA’s goals.   NASA doesn’t need more funding, “it needs clearer priorities,” Romney’s campaign document says. “Romney will ensure that NASA has practical and sustainable missions.”   Howard McCurdy, a space policy expert at American University in Washington, said Romney’s position that NASA’s budget should at best remain flat reflects today’s tough economic realities. NASA and the space community “will have to learn to fit (their) various ambitions inside a budget that is the same size or slightly smaller than the existing budget,” he said. “That’s a big statement, and I suspect it applies to both sides.”   Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Orlando, thinks a Romney administration would spend far less on NASA than Obama would, based on the controversial budget plan authored by Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee. The plan calls for deep spending cuts in non-defense discretionary programs such as NASA. “Look at Paul Ryan’s budgets,” Nelson said. “It eviscerates NASA.”   In contrast, Nelson said, the space agency’s budget under Obama has remained relatively flat at a time when budgets were cut significantly at other agencies.   McCurdy said Romney probably would cut NASA’s budget 5 or 7 percent, but wouldn’t make the drastic reductions Nelson and other Democrats claim. NASA’s budget for fiscal 2012, which ended Sunday, was about $18 billion.   Ketcham at the University of Central Florida sees bigger potential problems in Romney’s proposal to re-evaluate an agency that’s constantly altering course based on political whim. Such a review could delay NASA’s progress on current projects, even if the review concluded those projects should continue. “The last thing (the space program) needs and certainly the Space Coast workforce needs is yet another change of direction,” he said. “Are we to continue spending billions on a program that’s going to be canceled, or do we furlough Kennedy Space Center until Washington makes up its mind?”   Romney’s approach got a tepid thumbs-up from ex-House Speaker Gingrich. “We could move into space much, much faster than we are,” he said. “Romney is better than Obama on space but could be bolder and more visionary.”   McCurdy doesn’t put too much faith in Romney’s position paper. President John F. Kennedy never mentioned a moon landing in his campaign, and Obama once proposed siphoning billions from the space program to pay for education needs but abandoned the idea because he needed Florida to win the 2008 election, McCurdy said.   “These things are never substantive,” he said.   Europe's third ATV ends mission at space station   Stephen Clark - SpaceflightNow.com   Capping a six-month resupply and reboost mission, Europe's third Automated Transfer Vehicle left the International Space Station on Friday, setting course for a fiery final act to collect research data and dispose of the orbiting lab's garbage.   The 15.5-ton cargo capsule, nicknamed Edoardo Amaldi after a pioneering Italian physicist, undocked from the space station's Zvezda service module at 2144 GMT (5:44 p.m. EDT).   Edoardo Amaldi backed away from the space station before firing rockets to leave the vicinity of the 450-ton complex.   The ATV's departure was delayed three days after a communications miscue Tuesday caused officials to call off the undocking.   Friday's undocking sets the stage for a four-day free flight leading to re-entry.   Two de-orbit burns will lower the ATV's orbit, and the spacecraft will break apart and burn up over a remote zone of the Pacific Ocean between Chile and New Zealand. Impact of the ship's debris is expected around 0127 GMT Wednesday (9:27 p.m. EDT Tuesday).   Space station astronauts loaded 2,181 pounds of trash into the ATV's dry cargo compartment, and the ship's tanks hold 771 pounds of urine and waste water for disposal, according to the European Space Agency.   The trash replaced more than 4,800 pounds of fresh food, clothing, crew personal items, experiments and spare parts delivered to the space station when Edoardo Amaldi arrived March 28.   The ATV replenished the station's tanks with about 75 gallons of potable water and transferred 220 pounds of oxygen and air. The mission refueled the space station's propulsion system with more than 1,800 pounds of propellant.   Nine reboosts of the space station's orbit with the ATV's thrusters raised the lab's average altitude by about 16 miles, according to ESA.   A data recorder strapped inside the ATV's pressurized module is programmed to measure the conditions of the re-entry as the spacecraft crumbles and fragments in the upper atmosphere.   "One of our objectives with this re-entry breakup recorder is to get some definitive data on how objects respond as they re-enter the atmosphere," said William Ailor, the device's principal investigator from the Aerospace Corp., in an interview aired on NASA Television.   The recorder, embedded inside a copper shell, will log acceleration measurements, attitude rates, temperatures and pressures during the ATV's fall from space.   Once it is through the harshest phase of re-entry, the recorder will relay the data back to researchers through the Iridium communications satellite system.   "It's basically a cell phone with its own heat shield and its own little instrument suite," Ailor said.   According to Ailor, information from the recorder could lead to more accurate predictions of how satellites will break apart during re-entry, yielding better threat assessments for spacecraft falling from orbit.   Up to 40 percent of a satellite's dry mass can survive the heat of re-entry and reach Earth's surface.   The device could be a template for a black box data recorder on piloted commercial spaceships.   Ailor and his team flew recorders on two Japanese resupply ships, including on a Sept. 14 re-entry. The second ATV mission carried a re-entry recorder in 2011, but it did not return any data. Ailor said an explosion during the ATV's re-entry may have damaged the instrument.   Edoardo Amaldi is the third of five ATVs built for ESA by Astrium Space Transportation. The next mission, nicknamed Albert Einstein, arrived at its French Guiana launch site earlier this month for launch in spring 2014.   Huge X-Wing-Like Cargo Ship Undocks from Space Station   Tariq Malik - Space.com   An unmanned European cargo ship the size of a double-decker bus undocked from the International Space Station Friday (Sept. 28), ending a six-month delivery flight to the orbiting lab.   The robotic Automated Transfer Vehicle 3 (ATV-3), with its four X-wing-like solar arrays unfurled, cast off from the space station Friday as the two spacecraft sailed 255 miles (410 kilometers) over western Kazakhstan in Asia. The cargo ship's undocking occurred at 5:44 p.m. EDT (2144 GMT).   The space departure occurred three days later than planned due to delays, first by a computer glitch and later by space junk near the space station.   But Friday, the ATV-3 spacecraft, which is named the Edoardo Almadi after the famed late Italian physicist of the same name, made a flawless departure from the station. It will spend the next few days orbiting Earth before being intentionally destroyed on Tuesday (Oct. 3) by burning up in Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.   "Today, everything has worked to perfection," NASA spokesman Rob Navias said during the agency's live broadcast of the undocking.   The ATV-3 spacecraft was built by the European Space Agency and delivered 7.2 tons of food, water and other vital supplies to astronauts aboard the International Space Station when it launched in March from a South American spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The ATV-3 spent 184 linked to the space station before being packed with trash and other unneeded items for its eventual fiery demise in Earth's atmosphere.   The ATV-3 is ESA's third unmanned cargo ship mission to visit the space station, which is also supplied by robotic cargo ships from Japan and Russia. In the United States, NASA has contracted two companies — SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif., and Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp. — to provide unmanned cargo delivery flights to the station. The first official flight by SpaceX is scheduled to launch on Oct. 7, when the company   The next ATV to launch toward the space station will be the ATV-4 Albert Einstein, which is slated to blast off in April 2013.   Space X test fires rocket engine   James Dean – Florida Today   SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket’s engines Saturday in preparation for a planned launch a week from today from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the International Space Station.   Culminating a countdown rehearsal at Launch Complex 40, the rocket’s nine first-stage Merlin engines fired for a few seconds at 1:30 p.m. while the rocket remained bolted to the pad.   SpaceX said the “static fire,” the last major pre-launch test, was completed as planned and on time.   “We will look at data to verify all systems are go for launch,” said spokeswoman Katherine Nelson.   If all systems are go, the two-stage, liquid-fueled Falcon 9 is scheduled to blast off at 8:35 p.m. next Sunday during an instantaneous launch window.   Atop the rocket, an unmanned Dragon capsule will carry about 1,000 pounds of cargo bound for the space station.   The resupply mission is the first of 12 SpaceX is slated to fly under a $1.6 billion NASA contract.   The contract’s start follows a successful demonstration flight in May that made a Dragon the first private spacecraft to visit the station.   Following a launch next Sunday, the Dragon would be on track to arrive at the station Oct. 10to be grappled by a robotic arm and pulled into a docking port around 9:30 a.m.   The capsule would tentatively plan to depart the outpost Oct. 28 with more than 1,200 pounds of cargo before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.   Since the shuttle’s retirement last year, Dragon is the only spacecraft that can return cargo from the station back to Earth.   If the first launch attempt scrubs, backup opportunities are available Oct. 8 and Oct. 9.   SpaceX, of Hawthorne, Calif., is one of two companies under NASA contract to deliver cargo to the station.   Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., plans a first test launch of its new Antares rocket later this year. The company hopes to roll the rocket out to its Virginia launch pad for the first time on Monday for tests.   Falcon 9 engines ignite on pad ahead of October launch   Stephen Clark – SpaceflightNow.com   SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket fired nine main engines on a Florida launch pad Saturday, completing a major test before lifting off on an International Space Station resupply flight Oct. 7.   The two-stage rocket rolled to the launch pad Saturday morning, and a computer-controlled sequence filled the booster with kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants beginning around midday.   The Falcon 9's fuel tanks were pressurized in the countdown's final moments, leading to ignition of the rocket's nine first stage Merlin engines at 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT).   Steam and exhaust flowed out of the flame trench at Complex 40, the Falcon 9's launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.   The Merlin 1C engines were supposed to fire at full power for about two seconds, generating more than 800,000 pounds of thrust as the rocket remained firmly connected to the launch pad.   Called a static fire, or hotfire, the test verifies the engines, rocket and ground systems are ready for launch.   SpaceX confirmed the static fire test was a success in a statement released Saturday afternoon.   "We will need to look at data to verify all systems are go for launch, but we completed the static fire test today as planned and on time," said Katherine Nelson, a SpaceX spokesperson.   SpaceX has scheduled a static fire test before each of its Falcon 9 flights to check the health of the engines and wring out problems before launch day. The exercise also serves as a rehearsal for the launch team.   The Falcon 9 rocket has achieved three successful flights since 2010.   Engineers will remove the rocket from the launch pad and return it to its assembly hangar, where workers will attach a Dragon spacecraft loaded with supplies and experiments bound for the space station.   The rocket will also orbit a second-generation two-way data communications satellite for Orbcomm Inc.   Launch is set for Oct. 7 at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 GMT on Oct. 8), and the Dragon capsule will reach the space station Oct. 10, when the lab's robotic arm will grapple the unmanned freighter and attach it a connecting port.   The flight is the first of 12 cargo missions under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA. SpaceX received approval from NASA in August to begin operational deliveries to the space station.   Two test flights of the Dragon spacecraft assured NASA the capsule meets stringent safety requirements for visiting the space station. In May, SpaceX successfully accomplished the first commercial round-trip flight to and from the complex.   The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to stay at the space station for about 18 days on this mission, departing from the outpost Oct. 28 and returning to Earth with a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.   After the retirement of the space shuttle, the Dragon capsule is the only vehicle capable of returning equipment from the space station to Earth.   Private Rocket's 1st Launch Pad Trek Delayed by Glitch   Dan Leone - Space News   Orbital Sciences Corp. on Thursday scrubbed a planned rollout of the first stage of its Antares rocket, which was headed to the launchpad for a long-awaited hold-down test, because of problems with the horizontal transporter used to move the rocket to its launch site.   The rollout, which was scheduled to begin around 8:00 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) Thursday, was rescheduled for Saturday morning (Sept. 29) because of a “battery issue” with the transporter vehicle used to haul Antares from its hangar to Pad 0-A at NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia, Orbital spokesman Barron Beneski said in an email that reached Space News at 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT) on Thursday.   Virginia-based Orbital was preparing to bring the Antares first stage to Pad 0-A for a hold-down test that, Beneski said, will take place several weeks after the rocket stage is set up at the pad.   “We were authorized to begin our on-pad operations,” Beneski said Sept. 27 from Orbital’s Dulles, Va., headquarters. “Once the rocket is hooked up, it will be four to six weeks before we do the hot-fire test.” [Gallery: Orbital Sciences' Cygnus Spacecraft and Antares Rocket]   The battery issue with the transporter showed itself early in the rollout process, according to an internal Orbital email.   “We experienced a problem with the transporters,” Mike Whalen, Orbital’s field site manager, wrote just before 11 a.m. in the email, which was obtained by Space News. “They checked out ok last night and early this morning, but one died when we attempted to roll.   “Team is trouble shooting and we know for sure that we have a power problem. We are getting new batteries delivered Pocomoke now. After installing them we will perform transporter checkout. If no fault code exist[s], we will probably roll out around 12:30 if all goes well,” Whalen wrote.   Beneski had no immediate comment on the status of the transporter checkout. Whalen could not be reached for comment.   The planned Antares first-stage hold down is a critical milestone for Orbital. The test, if successful, will clear the way for the first flight of the full Antares launch vehicle by the end of this year, Beneski said.   NASA spokesman Jeremy Eggers did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Because Pad 0-A is located on a NASA range, the U.S. space agency has responsibility for certifying that it is fit for launch.   Delays in obtaining that certification, which Orbital blamed on the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority that operates the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, have prevented Orbital from completing the remaining milestones in its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement with NASA.   Under the COTS agreement, Orbital has to perform two flight demonstrations of its Antares rocket, including one where the vehicle boosts the company’s unmanned Cygnus cargo capsule to the International Space Station.   Orbital plans to use these vehicles to fulfill its $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. The 2008 agreement calls for Orbital to make eight cargo delivery runs to the orbiting lab.   USA further reduces staff at KSC, other installations   James Dean – Florida Today   Prime shuttle contractor United Space Alliance on Friday shaved its workforce by another 6 percent, cutting 157 jobs, including 121 at Kennedy Space Center.   The cuts reduced USA’s Florida employee count to 1,073, down from about 5,500 at the start of 2010. Company-wide, 2,263 employees remain.   In addition to the layoffs here, USA cut 35 positions in Texas and one in Alabama.   USA spokeswoman Tracy Yates said the Houston-based company’s latest quarterly layoffs were part of continued downsizing as NASA’s shuttle Transition and Retirement program winds down.   “As this work scope continues to decrease, additional employees will be released from the company,” Yates said. “The next workforce reductions are tentatively scheduled for December and January.”   Since the last shuttle mission in July 2011, NASA and USA have ferried three retired orbiters (including the prototype Enterprise) to museums. Atlantis, the last shuttle left at KSC, is scheduled to move to the KSC Visitor Complex on Nov. 2.   While readying the orbiters for public display, USA has also been closing out facilities no longer needed for the shuttle. Some of those, such as hangars, a launch pad and the runway, could be turned over to new commercial or government users.   USA, a 50-50 joint venture between The Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp., will continue work that supports ground operations at KSC, the International Space Station, development of the Orion crew capsule and other contracts, Yates said.   As with earlier rounds of layoffs, employees departing Friday left with severance packages ranging from four to 26 weeks of pay based on their years of service.   The company no longer awards additional “critical skills” bonuses that were implemented as incentives to help retain key personnel to ensure safe flyout of the shuttle. Those bonuses were last paid out in April.   Florida pursues 150 acres for commercial launch complex   Emma Perez-Trevino - Brownsville Herald   Florida’s attempt to secure a 150-acre tract of land from NASA to develop a commercial launch complex signals the stiff competition Texas faces in luring a space exploration company to Cameron County, an economic development official said Friday.   Florida is not saying if it is trying to obtain the acreage from NASA to reel in Space Exploration Technologies Inc., or SpaceX, which is planning to construct its own launch pad.   “We are not at liberty to comment on who the potential customers might be,” Tina Lange — spokeswoman for Space Florida, the state’s aerospace economic development organization — told the Valley Morning Star Friday.   But for Brownsville Economic Development Council Vice President Gilberto Salinas, the writing is on the wall: “It’s loud and clear.”   “Florida is trying to make their incentive package better than everybody else’s,” Salinas said.   SpaceX, headquartered in Hawthorne, Calif., has been scouting at least Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico for potential sites to construct the launch pad.   The developments come as Texas continues efforts to attract SpaceX to a site near Brownsville close to Boca Chica Beach for the launch pad project.   Salinas said Florida’s move is apparent. “They wouldn’t want to lose SpaceX’s project to Texas. Amassing large tracts of land is a huge indicator of what they are trying to do.”   “This is a wake-up call for all of us working on this project in Texas,” Salinas said.   The site in Cameron County has been said to be the lead contender for the project. The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting an environmental assessment on the site near Boca Chica Beach, and SpaceX has purchased several properties in Cameron County.   This comes while talks continue between Texas and the firm on an incentives package and Cameron County researches title to properties it believes it owns that could be leased or sold to SpaceX. FFA verified that the environmental assessment is being conducted at SpaceX’s expense.   As to whether or not Florida’s move impacts Texas, “We don’t have any comment,” SpaceX spokeswoman Katherine Nelson said Friday.   Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s office did not respond to a request for comment.   Letter to NASA   Florida’s Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll chairs the Space Florida Board and on Sept. 20 she wrote a letter to NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr. and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The Valley Morning Star secured the letter from the state of Florida. Carroll enlisted their cooperation to facilitate Space Florida’s purchase of the 150 acres.   The acreage is located at the John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in the vicinity of the former citrus community of Shiloh and Carroll wrote that this is surplus property not needed for public use.   Carroll further noted that the state proposes to develop the property and operate the site as a commercial launch complex independent of the neighboring federal range and spaceports.   Carroll also requested that the agencies enlist the cooperation of the secretary of the interior in that Florida recognizes the environmental considerations associated with these areas of KSC and the existing management responsibilities of the Department of Interior regarding the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and the Canaveral National Seashore.   “Additionally, through thoughtful coordination with the Department of Interior, we believe that the proposed actions will pose no significant impacts to the environment,” Carroll wrote.   The results of the environmental assessment being conducted at SpaceX’s expense by FAA on the Cameron County site are expected to be released early next year.   Space Florida   Space Florida isn’t saying if the intent to obtain the 150-acre site from NASA is tied to SpaceX.   “There are certainly other media outlets taking some guesses, but we are not able to talk about anybody that we might be in discussions with in relation to that property,” Lange said.   The launch facilities that SpaceX has been accessing include Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.   And, while Space Florida won’t provide details about its plans for the land, there is no hesitancy in its stance to do what it can to keep the commercial space exploration firm in the “Sunshine State.”   “We have been working with SpaceX for some time,” Lange said of Florida’s years’ long relationship with the firm, which she said brings significant benefits to the state. “We are thrilled to have them here and we will continue working with them,” she said.   “We are very proud to have them in our community,” she added, noting that Space Florida looks forward to continue working with the firm as it looks at Florida to expand operations.   Lange also noted that, “we certainly would want to do whatever we could to keep them . . .”   Lange said she is not aware of the conduct of any environmental assessment in Florida regarding SpaceX’s project, or of the purchase of any land associated with it.   Texas   Salinas said that the developments in Florida serve as a stark reminder for Texas to stay focused.   “That should remind all of us that we can’t solely rely on geographic location as an advantage over other states,” he said.   “It’s going to take a lot more to land this project.”   Some shuttle diplomacy helped bring the Endeavour to L.A. Bringing the shuttle Endeavour to Los Angeles was not a new idea but was conceived in 1991 by California Science Center aerospace curator Ken Phillips   Kate Mather - Los Angeles Times   The sky was no limit for the space shuttle program in 1991. Three shuttles orbited Earth regularly, and a fourth, Endeavour, had just rolled off a Palmdale production line. With construction of the International Space Station looming, the future was bright for NASA's prized fleet.   The space agency planned to use the shuttles for many years, perhaps decades. But Ken Phillips was already thinking ahead.   Phillips, aerospace curator of the California Science Center, made an audacious proposal to his boss that year: Acquire one of the shuttles. Someday.   Science Center President Jeffrey Rudolph pounced on the idea. By August 1992 — three months after Endeavour's maiden voyage — Rudolph had blueprints showing a retired orbiter perched upright in a yet-to-be-built wing of the museum devoted to air and space exploration.   Even as long-range plans go, this was a doozy — "pie in the sky," Phillips recalled recently. But two decades later, the shuttle sketched in those blueprints sits in a hangar at Los Angeles International Airport, awaiting a two-day celebratory crawl over city streets to its permanent home at the Exposition Park museum.   Phillips and Rudolph are being congratulated for their prescience. But having foresight was only the first step.   When Endeavour rolled off the production line 21 years ago, it was to replace the Challenger, which exploded shortly after launch in 1986. The new "jewel of the fleet" had more bells and whistles than other orbiters and was expected to fly 100 missions over the coming years. But it would complete only 25.   In 2004, not long after another of the shuttles, Columbia, disintegrated on reentry, then-President George W. Bush announced that the shuttle program was coming to an end.   NASA began planning for retirement, and in 2008 asked interested museums to submit a 25-page proposal describing how they might display a shuttle.   Twenty-one museums, space centers and institutions replied, including the California Science Center. Speculation began to mount over where the shuttles would go.   Many assumed that the test shuttle Enterprise, which was at a Smithsonian museum in Virginia, would be swapped with one of the three other orbiters. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida was a front-runner. Other possibilities included Seattle, home of Boeing, and Dayton, Ohio, which has the Air Force Museum and touts the birthplace of the Wright brothers.   "Not a lot of folks thought of us as a favorite," Rudolph said.   Many applicants went public with their lobbying efforts, drawing support from senators and other elected officials.   Houston, the "Space City" that boasts Johnson Space Center, launched an extensive public relations campaign that included 90,000 letters of support. The families of the astronauts who died aboard Challenger and Columbia met with NASA's top administrator to urge selection of the Texas city. State lawmakers wrote to President Obama, arguing that denying an orbiter to Houston would "forever diminish the service" the city provided to the shuttle program and "create a blemish on its significance to the legacy of NASA."   The Science Center took the opposite path. The museum solicited no letters of recommendation, made no public pleas.   In the proposal, Phillips wrote about the educational opportunities a shuttle would provide the free, state-run museum. He included exhibit designs and described how the museum would explain the science and engineering behind a shuttle.   "We were trying to let NASA understand that we were creative in our thinking, that we had thought about this for a long time," Phillips said.   The museum planned to draw on the aerospace industry's strong Southern California roots, explaining how the shuttle was built. Although the orbiter would be seen but not entered by the public, the Science Center would bring the mid-deck living quarters — and toilet — out for display so visitors could see what life was like for astronauts. Other elements would be brought into the museum to re-create the launch stack.   Phillips sent in the application in March 2009. Ten months later, NASA issued another request for information. The new head of the agency, Charles Bolden, had asked for a reevaluation of the selection process. Bolden wanted the shuttles housed in locations that would draw a large number of visitors — local, domestic and international — to "serve NASA's goal of expanding outreach and education efforts to spur interest in science, technology and space exploration."   This time, 29 institutions expressed interest. NASA narrowed the list to 13, including the Science Center, the San Diego Air and Space Museum, a Chicago planetarium, Johnson Space Center and several other NASA sites. The finalists were scored on a series of criteria, including their funding, international access, attendance and ability to meet the shuttle delivery schedule.   The Science Center topped the list. It not only had an excellent proposal for housing an orbiter but was in the West Coast's largest city, one that had extensive ties to the shuttle program.   But Phillips didn't know his museum was the front-runner, or that some NASA officials thought the best choice for Los Angeles was Enterprise, the test shuttle at the Smithsonian. Enterprise was lighter than the three shuttles that had actually flown, making it easier to transport over urban streets to the museum.   A NASA aide called Phillips on April 11, 2011, a day before the agency was to announce the winners. Would the Science Center accept the test model if that was the only one available?   Of course, Phillips said.   Then came: If you had a choice, which shuttle would you take?   He wanted one that had actually flown; they were more authentic than the test shuttle. "They're really pretty beat up … but beat up in a really great way," Phillips later explained. "It can tell this fantastic story about what they've been through."   As he prepared to answer the question, Phillips remembered that a California state senator once asked NASA to retire the shuttle Atlantis in the Antelope Valley. "I didn't want to seem like California didn't have its act together, so I said Atlantis," Phillips recalled. "But I really wanted Endeavour. I didn't have the nerves to say it."   Endeavour was not only the newest shuttle, but it had flown several historic missions. Phillips also felt a personal connection to Endeavour as the replacement for Challenger. His college friend at North Carolina A&T University, Ronald McNair, was one of the seven astronauts killed when Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds after liftoff.   Phillips hung up the phone, excited and anxious.   He was at work by 6 a.m. the next day, waiting.   Bolden called. Atlantis would stay with the Kennedy Space Center, Discovery was heading to the Smithsonian, test shuttle Enterprise would be moved to New York — and Endeavour was coming to Los Angeles.   Phillips told his co-workers. The room erupted in cheers. Rudolph called the governor.   Then, two decades after Phillips' "pie in the sky" proposal, he turned to a colleague.   "I hope I heard him right," he said.   It's hard to grade Brevard Workforce's effort so far   John Kelly – Florida Today (Commentary)   The loss of half or more of the jobs at the Kennedy Space Center posed an incredible challenge, not the least of which was the assignment given to Brevard Workforce.   The taxpayer-funded agency is charged with helping those space shuttle workers, many of whom spent decades on a perfection-demanding job, to transition into new careers.   Still, it’s a bit disconcerting to hear that almost two-thirds of the money provided to the organization had gone unspent as of June 30 and millions of dollars might be given back to the federal government at a time when this community can use all of the help it can get recovering from the shuttle shutdown.   The money, awarded before the space shuttles were retired and most of the layoffs happened, has sat unspent in part because of the delayed nature of the impact from the program’s end.   Extra flights were added. Normal space launch delays lengthened the program’s life. Healthy severance packages meant many space shuttle workers separated from service had a little extra time to find work.   Now, with the program shut down for more than a year, and some of the severance money running out, a larger number of people are walking through the doors at the workforce agency. Hopefully, they’re getting the services they need.   For years now, people have asked how the millions provided to the agency to help shuttle workers was being spent. Stories emerged about getting help and finding work. Other stories emerged about people who were frustrated by the way the system worked or, in their cases, didn’t seem to work.   The workforce agency has adjusted its approach for helping those unemployed shuttle workers who can’t seem to land new employment, Florida Today’s James Dean reported last week.   The agency found some people needed a different kind of help than on-the-job training. It also determined that even people who are arguably among the most studious technical workers in America were not necessarily suited for a job market that changed a lot since they last were out looking for work.   Let’s hope Brevard Workforce has made the right choices and taken the right approaches. From the available public information, it’s impossible to know for sure the agency’s impact on this problem so far, and we likely won’t for years. However, making maximum use of the outside resources provided should be one of the group’s goals for the rest of this year.   The organization’s predicament here is not unlike that of a university, which can provide training and resources for students. But, it can’t do the whole job. Its success and failure is in part measured by what it has done and by its intentions. In the end, however, the workforce agency also will be measured by the success and failure of the people it sought to help out.   It may be 2020 before we can write the definitive account of how well they got the job done.   END    

USA should be operating in space today, but BHO wants us to help Muslims feel better! Any progress Charlie!!