AIP FYI #85: Senate Bill Would Provide Additional Science Funding “When Congress returns from its summer recess next month one of the items on its packed schedule will be a bill crafted by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) that would provide additional FY 2008 science funding. Under this draft legislation, Department of Energy science programs would receive $150 million. An additional $250 million would be slated for […]

Video: Astrobiology Rap “Tune in for the all new ‘Astrobiology Rap’, written by Jonathan Chase for the latest Astrobiology Magazine European Edition (AMEE) — the Nordic Invasion. Jon is an early career researcher in science communication. Multi-talented, Jon has undergraduate degrees in both Aerospace Engineering, and Science and Science Fiction. As a post-graduate practitioner in communicating science, Jon is actively involved in a number of science communication activities.” Video below

NASA and ATK Investigate Failed Launch of Hypersonic Experiments “An Alliant Tech Systems suborbital rocket carrying two NASA hypersonic experiments was destroyed shortly after liftoff from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia Friday. No injuries or property damage were immediately reported. Most debris from the rocket is thought to have fallen in the Atlantic Ocean.” Media Telecon Scheduled to Discuss Rocket Launch Failure “Representatives from NASA and Alliant Techsystems, or […]

Lack of funding shortchanging NASA on mission research, Houston Chronicle “NASA is not receiving enough money for research and, as a result, faces significant challenges in developing technologies for living on the moon or flying to Mars, a study said Thursday. Little money is left over to study the hazards faced by astronauts during months-long missions into deep space, said the study by a National Academies of Sciences panel, because […]

From: Forsythe, Jack L. (HQ-LG000) Sent: Thu 8/21/2008 12:38 PM To: [Senior NASA Management] Subject: Badge Holder Safety Recently there has been a safety concern with the new badge holder from Identity Stronghold that is being issued to ensure compliance with Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12). A badge holder safety notice was released at Kennedy Space Center on August 15, 2008 (see attachment). The current issue with the badge […]

NASA Kennedy to Reopen for Normal Operations Friday “Managers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., plan to reopen the center for normal operations Friday morning for workers’ first shift. A slow-moving Tropical Storm Fay has kept Kennedy closed since Tuesday. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex also will reopen Friday. The center was set to open Thursday morning for limited operations, but Fay stalled off the coast from Kennedy overnight […]

Washington, we have a problem, The Economist Earthbound, The Economist “In the spring of 2006 Robert Bigelow needed to take a stand on a trip to Russia to keep a satellite off the floor. The stand was made of aluminium. It had a circular base and legs. It was, says the entrepreneur and head of Bigelow Aerospace in Nevada, “indistinguishable from a common coffee table”. Nonetheless, the American authorities told […]

NOMAD service to Treo users is not working properly again Thursday, August 21, 2008 – 12:15 P.M. Central – The exchange server that was the source of the NOMAD connectivity problems this morning was scheduled to be rebooted between 12:00 and 12:30 this afternoon. The 4500 or so users on these two servers might experiencing a 2-5 service interruption. The Goodlink server is also being rebooted. Editor’s note: Everything is […]

Iran plans to launch humans into space, New Scientist “Iran plans to send a crewed rocket into space in the next 10 years, state television said on Thursday, just days after the Islamic Republic announced it had put a dummy satellite into orbit. “One of the aims of Iran’s 10-year space programme is to send a manned rocket into space,” state television quoted Reza Taghipour, the head of Iran’s aerospace […]

“NRC Report: A Constrained Space Exploration Technology Program: A Review of NASA’s Exploration Technology Development Program “The Committee to Review NASA’s Exploration Technology Development Program is broadly supportive of the intent and goals of the VSE, and finds the ETDP is making progress towards the stated goals of technology development, but is operating within significant constraints which limit its ability to successfully accomplish those goals the still dynamic nature of […]