Iridium and SpaceX Sign Major Commercial Launch Contract

"Iridium Communications Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) are pleased to announce that the Falcon 9 will be a major provider of launch services for Iridium NEXT, Iridium's next-generation satellite constellation. The $492 million contract, while being the largest single commercial launch deal ever signed, nonetheless represents a new benchmark in cost-effective satellite delivery to space."

Keith's note: so much for the SpaceX haters and doubters who are convinced that the company does not have a viable future independent of NASA.

Space Tugs: Filling The Space Jobs Gap and Privatization Too!, John Strickland

"US space workers are currently faced with both the loss of the Shuttle program (correctly set in motion by the Bush administration years ago), and also by the temporary gap in space jobs caused by the probable cancelation of the Ares Program. Understandably they are all very concerned about their personal future, and also the seeming end of the manned space program. There is a way to at least partly alleviate both of these problems: (one financial and the other perceptual)."

Constellation funding up to NASA backers to win over Congress, Bud Cramer, huntsville Times

"The president's proposal includes a very different vision for NASA's future and begs the question: Will we continue to have a government-led space program? Will Marshall's workforce have the rug pulled out from under them?"

New NASA cutback a bad idea, editorial, Austin Daily Herald

"There's a two-fold problem with NASA's decision, which is apparently based on the president's distaste for the moon program. First, an enormous amount has already been spent; $10 billion over the past five years. Most, if not all, of that will be wasted with the program's cancellation. Perhaps more importantly, the cancellation will be yet another giant step backward for America's space program, one of the few efforts our nation is making to prepare for the future."

Congressmen still want probe of NASA Constellation decisions, Huntsville Times

"The employees and their families who are experiencing the news of job loss today have my thoughts with them," Griffith said. "It is unacceptable that our region is suffering due to this administration's blatant arrogance and its ignorance of the importance of manned space flight."

NASA move could kill up to 2,000 Utah jobs, Salt Lake Tribune

"Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, a member of the appropriations committee, said he believes they have a 50-50 shot of fighting off the president's plan to scrap Ares in favor of commercially developed vehicles that the government would lease rides on. "I haven't run across anyone outside of the administration who thinks this is a good idea," he said."

Japanese Asteroid Lander Hayabusa Plunges Home to Earth, (with video) Ken Kremer

"Japan's Hayabasa asteroid probe staged a breathtakingly beautiful plunge through Earth's atmosphere earlier today (Jun 13) at over 27,000 MPH, the second fastest on record. The heat shield protected the craft from the fiery heat of reentry which exceeded 5000 F."

In the Hunt for Planets, Who Owns the Data?, NY Times

"On Tuesday, astronomers operating NASA's Kepler spacecraft will release a list of about 350 stars newly suspected of harboring planets, including five systems with multiple candidate planets. That data could dramatically swell the inventory of alien worlds, which now stands at 461, none of them habitable by the likes of us. ... But a lot of attention has been paid in astronomical circles over the past few months to what the Kepler team will not be saying. By agreement with NASA, the team is holding back data on its 400 brightest and best planet candidates, which the astronomers intend to observe themselves over abusy summer. ... The result has been a shift in the balance between the duty of a scientist to wring every last drop of truth and credibility out of the data he or she might have spent years gathering and the rights of the rest of us to know what our tax dollars have discovered."

No NASA employees will lose jobs in Constellation cuts, space agency confirms, Huntsville Times

"NASA Headquarters in Washington confirmed today that no government employees here will lose their jobs in current cuts being made in the Constellation rocket program."

Space Policy Fight May Have No Winners, Aviation Week

"Bolden says "most of these reductions will be implemented via reductions in workforce" in the weeks ahead, "beginning immediately" and totaling an estimated "30-60% of the current population, or 2,500-5,000, for the balance of the year."

Job fairs, workshop planned for space shuttle workers, Florida Today

"Two upcoming job fairs and a workshop aim to assist aerospace professionals whose jobs could end with the shuttle program, and those already out of work."

Research Suggests Water Content Of Moon Interior Underestimated

"NASA-funded scientists estimate from recent research that the volume of water molecules locked inside minerals in the Moon's interior could exceed the amount of water in the Great Lakes here on Earth."

New CU-Boulder Study Indicates An Ancient Ocean May have Covered One-Third of Mars

"Collectively, these results support the existing theories regarding the extent and formation time of an ancient ocean on Mars and imply the surface conditions during the time probably allowed the occurrence of a global and active hydrosphere integrating valley networks, deltas and a vast ocean as major components of an Earth-like hydrologic cycle," Di Achille and Hynek wrote in Nature Geoscience."

Nelson maps a road forward on space without Constellation, Orlando Sentinel

"Although Nelson mentions Ares I and Orion's contracts and assets - the first-phase rocket and crew capsule, respectively, of Constellation -- he does not talk about the program at all. Gone too is any mention of a vigorous test flight program for which Nelson recently requested $726 million. Nelson's spokesman, Dan McLaughlin, said that upon reflection lawmakers decided that it was up to "NASA as to how to get started on HLV as soon as possible." Nelson's approach appears to be an attempt at compromise with critics of the president's plans who have attacked the proposals as a "road to nowhere" that cedes U.S. leadership in space."

Letter From Sen. Nelson to Sen. Mikulski Regarding FY 2011 NASA Budget

"Thank you for your letter of February 16, 2010, outlining your principles for drafting the fiscal year 2011 funding bill for NASA. I share fully your sentiment that our committees must work together to define the best path forward for America's space program. Over the last four months, I have been studying the President's budget request, as well as various alternative proposals, in determining how we can best move ahead to the next era of human space flight. I write today to share with you some of the key elements that have emerged from that review, including discussions with Chairman Rockefeller, Ranking Member Hutchison, Senator Vitter, and other members of our Committee, which will form the bipartisan foundation of a NASA authorization bill."

NASA Appoints Constellation Program Managers

"Lawrence D. Thomas has been appointed manager of NASA's Constellation Program, which manages the effort to take humans beyond low-Earth orbit and develop the next generation launch vehicle and spacecraft. Charles M. Stegemoeller has been appointed as deputy program manager. He and Thomas will be based at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston."

Keith's note: With the exception of national publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, etc. and space-related media, why does it seem that the only local/state level newspapers and TV stations that are paying attention to the current space policy food fight are in Texas, Alabama, Florida, Utah, and Colorado? Where is the outrage in the rest of the country? Why isn't there more widespread condemnation? Is this just about losing jobs? Or do most Americans just not care about space?

If the rhetoric that Obama space policy opponents fling about is correct in its prediction of dire consequences for America, then where's the national outrage?

Orion Budget is Cut 20 Per Cent with 600 Jobs Eliminated and Progress Slowed, Ken Kremer

"The impact of termination liability on the contract has necessitated a 20 percent reduction across the program within Lockheed Martin as well as our subcontractors and suppliers", says Cleon Lacefield, Lockheed Martin vice president and Orion program manager. Lacefield told me that "Orion procurements are being reduced to allow work to continue within the budget limitations and about 600 positions among the Lockheed Martin and subcontractor workforce are being moved off of the program to adjust staffing needs."

States Clamour for Remaining two Shuttles after Atlantis and Endeavour Retire, SpaceRef

"There are only three shuttles remaining in NASA's fleet; Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour. When all the Shuttles have been retired we know that Discovery will to go to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington. That leaves Atlantis and Endeavour looking for homes. With just two orbiters available, it should come as no surprise that the contest to see who gets a space shuttle for their state has become spirited."

After a recent series of launches, this past week was much quieter at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral although two major stories seemed to slide almost under the radar. First it was announced that the investigation regarding cocaine that was discovered in one of the Orbiter Processing Facilities (OPF) was closed. As well it now appears that the launch dates for the last two shuttle scheduled missions will slip back - pushing the end of the program into mid-2011.

KSC Cocaine case closed

On January 12th a KSC employee reporting to work discovered a small bag of cocaine in Discovery's Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF). An investigation was opened and employees that worked in that area were screened for drug use. However, with no employees either testing positive or coming forward to admit guilt investigators did not have much to go on and ended this week with no arrests.

The employee who found and turned in the small bag of white powder did not know what it was, upon testing it tested positive for cocaine. Shortly after the cocaine was discovered some 200 employees were tested for drug use after the incident. With none of the employees coming up positive the investigation quickly ground to a halt.

Both NASA and the primary contractor that works in the OPF, United Space Alliance (USA) identified the personnel that had access to the restricted area where the bag was located and ordered drug tests.

Shuttle mission managers then reviewed work that had been done on the orbiters but found no deficiencies or anything abnormal. With no leads to go on the case was closed this week with no disciplinary actions taken. Discovery flew three months after the discovery with no incidents.

Final two shuttle missions launch dates likely to slip

It was announced this week that the launch dates for the final two scheduled space shuttle flights would likely be pushed back. Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana made this announcement Wednesday, June 9 at a meeting of the National Space Club held at the Radisson Resort in Cape Canaveral.

The final flight of Discovery, STS-133 would only slip about a month. Currently it is scheduled to launch on September 16, but the launch will now probably take place some time in late October or early November. Endeavour faces a longer wait with her November launch date now not taking place to some time early next year with February being mentioned as the possible month when STS-134 will take place.

A problem cropped up with Endeavour's payload, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, (AMS-02) the device cannot make it to the Kennedy Space Center in time to be loaded aboard the orbiter in time for launch. Currently the AMS-02 is not scheduled to arrive at KSC until July. The AMS-02 will be connected to the International Space Station's S3 truss segment. This piece of equipment contains a large magnet and is built to look for antimatter and to seek out data regarding dark matter.

There has been a push for a third mission to the International Space Station, if approved the shuttle Atlantis would be used to conduct that mission. There has been no final determination on whether or not that would take place, if so the president and Congress would have to sign off on it. If a third flight is cleared it is thought that it would take place in June of 2011.

--
The Cape Week in Review is compiled by Jason Rhian, the Cape Insider, and is a weekly
round-up of what's happening at Cape Canaveral. If you have information or suggestions for the Cape Week in Review please email us at capereview@spaceref.com.

Click on image to download 1.5 MB PDF file from the Space Shuttle Program at JSC.

PETA to crash NASA's Star Trek Live opening, Orlano Sentinel

"Intruder alert! PETA protesters are planning to crash the opening of NASA's Star Trek Live event tomorrow morning. PETA protesters are planning to greet visitors entering Kennedy Space Center and hold up signs in protest of NASA's planned radiation experiment on monkeys."

Animal Defenders International and European Space Agency Strongly Oppose NASA Primate Experiments

"As the Mars500 multi-part ground-based experiments begin in Moscow, Animal Defenders International (ADI) and the European Space Agency (ESA) speak out against NASA plans to use primates in experiments, a practice not utilized by NASA for decades."

Aderholt Pledges Constellation Fight, WAAY 31

"WAAY 31 talked with one of Constellation's strongest supporters in Washington - Congressman Robert Aderholt of Haleyville on Friday. "I think it was a little bit premature" the Republican told us. "considering the fact that Congress has still got to pass the appropriations bill, the money has still got to be appropriated to NASA, and it was just disappointing that they would go ahead and move forward on this without Congressional approval."

Boeing says 100 will lose jobs here due to Constellation cuts, Huntsville Times

"Boeing will issue termination notices July 2 to 100 Constellation rocket program employees here, a spokesman said today. "That's the first increment," spokesman Ed Memi said. Additional cuts could be ahead, he said."

Constellation's cancellation could affect thousands of jobs, WAFF

"ATK spokeswoman Trina Patterson said the company has 90 employees in Huntsville, and 2,000 overall who work on the Ares project. "We have received no direction from NASA, so we cannot comment on how we will proceed," commented Patterson."

As many of you know, TJ Creamer, Soichi Noguchi, and Oleg Kotov, the Expedition 22 crew, returned home just over a week ago, after a 5.5 month stay onboard the ISS. We’ve all had an amazing time following the training and on-board experiences that they were all gracious enough to share with us through interviews, tweets, and pictures.

Upon the return of each crew (both ISS and Shuttle), the training teams traditionally decorate the hallway of the crewmembers’ building with pictures, quotes, and other decorations, to welcome each crew back home.

Since a good majority of the Expedition 22 crew were avid Tweeters, the training team thought it would be a neat idea to gather well wishes & welcome home greetings from the crew’s followers to include on the wall.

So, here’s your chance to send a quick personalized message to @Astro_TJ, @Astro_Soichi, & Oleg Kotov. Please @reply me (@msengupta) with your thoughts. If you do not have a Twitter account, you may also leave comments on this blog…BUT, please keep them short – only the first line of your comment will be used on the wall. Deadline is Friday, 6/11, 12p CDT.

Bolden Talks About The Constellation Team, earlier post

"If you go to 55:18 in this video, I ask Charlie Bolden how he is going to get people to make the transition from flying government-operated spacecraft to commercially- operated spacecraft - and the emotion that goes with making the transition from one way of thinking to another. Bolden's reply gets deep into the emotions and mindsets that underly the changes that the Constellation workforce is now going through - and how he is going to work through that process with them."

Keith's note: Yes, it really sucks that it has come to this. I have seen this movie before: I am a survivor of Space Station Freedom "reorganization". Friends who worked very hard were simply fired for no fault of their own. I turned down several positions and quit NASA civil service in disgust (ever wonder what prompted me to start NASA (RIF) Watch?). And now we are seeing this happen again like a bad sequel. Every CxP job lost belongs to a real human being with a family and bills to pay - and dreams that will now be dashed.

As such, I honestly cannot fault anyone in or around CxP for wanting to fight back. My teammates at SS Freedom did not like what was happening at all. Yet we worked on our version of the "Program of Record" until we were told to stop working - and move on to other things - or be fired. To this day I am proud of the folks I worked with and how they conducted themselves. Pieces of what we worked on orbit overhead right now. We did not mount insurgent movements as much as we might have wanted to. There comes a time when badly-managed and chronically under-funded programs run out of resources. That is what has happened to Constellation. Of course, in the end, the little guy always gets the shaft.

NASA, White House, Congress, and the contractors should never have let things come to this point. They should have been honest with the numbers and what they committed to do. The money to keep everything going is not there - it never was and it never will be. The powers that be did not exercise responsibility and now thousands of hard working people get the shaft as a result of bad management - bad management that runs all the way up to NASA HQ and the previous Administrator and his staff, some of whom are still inexplicably in their jobs at NASA.

What newly-minted graduate in their right mind is going to want to pursue a career at NASA when the agency runs itself like this?

Apple's Worst Security Breach: 114,000 iPad Owners Exposed, Valleywag

"In government, affected accounts included a GMail user who appears to be Rahm Emanuel and staffers in the Senate, House of Representatives, Department of Justice, NASA, Department of Homeland Security, FAA, FCC, and National Institute of Health, among others. Dozens of employees of the federal court system also appeared on the list."

Keith's note: Wow. ODIN supports iPads? Who knew.

NASA order may force shutdown of Constellation moon-rocket program, Orlando Sentinel

"In a surprise move, NASA has told the major contractors working on its troubled Constellation moon rocket program that they are in violation of federal spending rules -- and must immediately cut back work by nearly $1 billion to get into compliance. As many as 5,000 jobs from Utah to Florida are expected to be lost over the next month. The effect of the directive, which went out to contractors earlier this week and which Congress was told about on Wednesday, may accomplish something that President Barack Obama has sought since February: killing Constellation's system of rockets, capsules and lunar landers that has already cost at least $9 billion to date. .. At issue is the federal Anti-Deficiency Act that requires all federal contractors to set aside a portion of their payments to cover costs in case the project is ever cancelled."

Bolden: Funding Shortfall Requires Slowdown on Constellation, Space News

"In a June 9 letter to key U.S. lawmakers, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said the work slowdown could result in "contractor workforce reductions estimated at 30-60 percent of the current population, or 2,500-5,000, for the balance of the year."