Florida needs to create a dedicated fund devoted to supporting space transportation in order to be competitive in the field, according to Space Florida’s newly updated Spaceport Master Plan.

The report, published earlier this month, was created “to propose a strategy for expansion and modernization of space transportation facilities and infrastructure in Florida.” State officials are attempting to stem large job losses that will result from NASA’s decision to end space shuttle flights next year and the five-to-seven year gap in flights before the successor vehicle, Orion, will begin flights.

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Russia completes engine tests for Angara rocket
RIA Novosti

Russia has successfully completed bench trials of the first stage of the new Angara carrier rocket, Russia’s Khrunichev Space and Research Center said on Friday.

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International Space Station

Russia: No space for space tourists
Associated Press

Since the space station’s crew doubled to six people earlier this year, there is no longer room for tourists who pay tens of millions of dollars for a trip on a Russian spacecraft from Earth, said Sergei Krikalyov, the chief of the Cosmonaut Training Center.

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Artist Impression of Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo/SpaceShipOne over Spaceport America in New Mexico.

Albuquerque firm gets spaceport contract
Las Cruces Sun-News

The New Mexico Spaceport Authority on Wednesday awarded a $32.5 million contract to an Albuquerque firm to build the terminal-hangar facility – the futuristic building often seen in artists’ drawings of Spaceport America.

Summit West, whose New Mexico operations are based in Albuquerque, was the lowest of four bidders on the project, said Steve Landeene, executive director of the Spaceport Authority.

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Political watchers in New Mexico are buzzing about Gov. Bill Richardson’s presence at a White House State Dinner earlier this week. Politics Daily reports that speculation centers on Richardson taking a post in the Obama Administration, possibly an ambassadorship:

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WHITE LABEL SPACE PRESS RELEASE

Noordwijk – The Netherlands, White Label Space has announced its newest Partner, Emxys.

Emxys is a Spanish aerospace company specialized in the design and manufacturing of embedded instrumentation, data acquisition and control embedded electronic systems. Emxys will contribute to White Label Space’s no-name space mission to land on the Moon, which will provide massive media exposure and sponsorship opportunities for the world’s biggest brands.

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Space shuttle Atlantis lands on runway 33 at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility concluding the STS-129 mission. Photo credit: NASA Jack Pfaller

NASA MISSION UPDATE

Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven astronauts ended an 11-day journey with a 9:44 a.m. EST landing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Atlantis flew 171 orbits around Earth and traveled 4,490,138 miles since its Nov. 16 launch.

The STS-129 mission included three spacewalks and the installation of two platforms to the International Space Station’s truss, or backbone. The platforms hold large spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired.

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China to launch second lunar probe in 2010: report
Xinhua

China will launch its second lunar probe, Chang’e-2, in October 2010, a top Chinese space scientist told China Daily on Thursday.

The newspaper quoted Ye Peijian, chief designer of the nation’s first moon probe, as saying that the second lunar orbiter will carry different payloads and orbit the moon in a different way.

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Artists' conception of a Falcon 9 launch. (Credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX founder weighs in on Falcon 9 launch readiness
Spaceflight Now

When the Falcon 9 does lift off, Musk said SpaceX’s hard-earned experience with the smaller Falcon 1 rocket will give the launcher a better shot at success.

“I’d give it perhaps 70 to 80 percent likelihood of success, of complete success where it goes to orbit,” Musk said. “Obviously, that’s not 100 percent and that’s just my personal guess. I do think the odds are much better with Falcon 9 than Falcon 1 because, first of all, SpaceX is a much larger and more mature company with a much broader range of expertise. I don’t feel as though we’re weak in any area of rocket launch at this point.”

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Two Congressional panels will investigate safety issues related to commercial orbital human spaceflight next week.

Malaysia has been gradually developing its space capabilities during the last few years. These efforts have included sending the first Malaysian in space, Sheikh Muszaphar, to ISS aboard a Russian Soyuz vehicle in 2007, and conducting microgravity crystal experiments:

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In an interview with Malaysia’s Daily Express, Dr Igor V. Sorokin of the S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia said that the Soviet Union was in the advanced states of planning a human Mars mission before the country collapsed:
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