DATE: DECEMBER 5, 2000
TO: FLORIDA SPACE INDUSTRY LEADERS
FROM: EDWARD ELLEGOOD ( 321-730-5301; edward@spaceportflorida.com;
http://www.spaceportflorida.com )
Chinese Launches of U.S. Satellites to Continue — China’s recent
agreement to halt the provision of technical assistance to countries
developing nuclear weapons will be rewarded by the U.S. with a lifting of
economic sanctions, including renewed access to the U.S. satellite launch
market. According to Orbital Report, the U.S. State Department will
resume the processing of licenses for launching U.S. satellites by
Chinese rockets, and will resume discussions on extending the bi-lateral
agreement that established a quota of 20 such launches through 2001.
Only seven of the allowed 20 launches have thus far been conducted due to
a temporary halt in U.S. export licenses resulting from recent highly
publicized launch-related technology transfer problems with China.
Russian Rocket Fails to Orbit U.S. Satellite — The Nov. 20 launch of a
U.S. QuickBird-1 remote sensing satellite aboard a Russian Kosmos rocket
was unsuccessful. According to data from U.S. Space Command, the cause
may have been with the upper stage of the rocket. However, Russian
officials claim that the satellite may have been the cause of the
failure, according to Orbital Report.
Governor Attends Space Shuttle Launch — Governor Jeb Bush attended last
week’s successful launch of the 101st Space Shuttle mission, carrying
solar arrays to the International Space Station.
Multi-Payload Launch on Delta Opens Market Opportunities — Boeing’s
recent launch of a Delta-2 rocket was the first to use a new Dual Payload
Attach Fitting (DPAF). The DPAF allows Delta-2 to carry two small
satellites on the same vehicle, allowing Boeing to compete against
Lockheed Martin’s Athena and Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Taurus and Pegasus
rockets by combining payloads that would otherwise fly aboard their
smaller rockets.
Brazilian Delegation Visits Florida — A team of Brazilian government
officials will visit Florida this week to continue partnership
discussions that began when Gov. Jeb Bush visited Brazil earlier this
year. The group will visit the Cape Canaveral Spaceport and explore
collaborative opportunities for space-related research, education, and
industrial involvement in Brazil’s Alcantara spaceport development.
Broward County Plans Celebration for Shuttle Commander — The commander
of the ongoing Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station,
Brent Jett, will be honored after the mission with a “hometown
celebration” in Broward County. Jett is a Navy aviator who grew up in
Ft. Lauderdale.
Florida State Professor Wins NASA Grant for Physics Research — Dr.
Efstratios Manousakis of Florida State University in Tallahassee has won
a NASA grant for Predicting Static and Dynamic Critical Properties of
Bulk and Confined Helium. The research is part of a program sponsored by
NASA’s Office of Biological and Physical Research, designed to seek
knowledge that will expand our understanding of space, time and matter.
NASA Offers Undergraduate Opportunities — NASA is offering mentored
research experiences to Junior/Senior undergraduate students at nine
participating NASA Centers, including Kennedy Space Center. Two sessions
will be offered: 10 weeks (Summer 2001) and 15 weeks (Fall 2001).
Students will receive a $500 per week stipend. Applications for the
Undergraduate Student Research Program (NASA-USRP) must be received by
Jan. 26. Contact Mary Sharpe at the Spaceport Authority at 321-730-5301,
ext. 1108, or email mary@spaceportflorida.com.
Rep. Randy Ball Appointed to Spaceport Authority Board — The leadership
of the Florida House of Representatives has named Representative Randy
Ball of Titusville to serve as an ex-officio member of the Spaceport
Authority’s Board of Supervisors. Rep. Ball replaces former Rep. Bill
Posey, who was recently elected to serve on the Florida Senate. The
board includes seven Governor-appointed voting members and two non-voting
members identified by the state’s Senate and House of Representatives.
Space Institute Plans Library of Technical Papers to Support Florida
Academic Programs — The Florida Space Research Institute, with support
from Enterprise Florida, is establishing a library of techical papers
that were presented at the recent International Astronautical Congress.
Florida university researchers will soon be able to order copies of the
papers from FSRI’s website (now under construction) to support their own
research initiatives. The library will be expanded with papers from
conferences like next year’s Space Congress at Cape Canaveral.
Sign-Up Now to Employ a Teacher This Summer — The Florida Summer
Industrial Fellowship for Teachers (SIFT) has opened registration for its
2001 program to place K-12 teachers in summer positions within the space
industry. SIFT provides matching grants from the state for companies who
provide employment. Participating teachers bring their work experience
back to their classrooms and students. Since 1990, SIFT has provided
over 400 summer positions for teachers within over 30 different
companies. 64 teacher positions were sponsored in 2000. Space-related
companies are encouraged to participate. Visit www.sift.org or contact
Don Beck at 321-631-5051 or zsifter@aol.com.
Canaveral Council of Technical Societies Accepts Nominations — The
Canaveral Council of Technical Societies is accepting nominations for the
Engineer Achievement Award and the Engineer of the Year Award. Winners
will be announced during Engineering Week in February. Nomination
packets can be obtained by contacting Tony Guiffrida at 321-779-6064 or
guiffridaa@saic.com.
Edward Ellegood
Spaceport Florida Authority
100 Spaceport Way
Cape Canaveral, Florida 32920-4003
321-730-5301, ext. 1105 (phone); 321-730-5307 (fax)
