The road to Spaceport America is now paved only with red dirt. Virgin Galactic and New Mexico hope it will soon be paved in gold. (Photo Credit: Lucinda Weisbach)

Space industry arrives in New Mexico
Las Cruces Bulletin

A model for making the $198 million Spaceport America 45 miles north of Las Cruces a tourist destination can be found in the contingency from Spaceport Sweden. Although its spaceport launch facilities was developed from an existing operation, Sweden emphasizes other attractions than just launches, such as reindeer rides, the Northern Lights and a stay in a hotel made of ice.

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The Washington Business Journal reports that Orbital Sciences had a bad third quarter:

Revenue and profits declined at Orbital Sciences Corp. last quarter as more work on NASA’s space station resupply contract failed to make up for less contract activity on communications satellite and missile defense programs.

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Accused spy Stewart David Nozette in India.

More pieces of the Stewart David Nozette spy case are falling into place, and they’re revealing a twisted and disturbing picture. The Washington Post reports that Nozette:

• Pleaded guilty in January to over billing NASA and the Department of Defense by more than $265,000 for contracting work between 2000 and 2006;
• Sought to avoid a two-year jail term by cooperating with government officials on unrelated corruption investigations;
• Allegedly told a colleague that he would flee to Israel or India and reveal all the secrets he had if the government put him in jail on his fraud conviction.

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Satellites, Hypersonics Underpin Australian Space Goals
Aviation Week

The Australian government is signaling its intent to become a player in the space business by announcing plans to set up a formal national space policy, steered by a small group to facilitate the fledgling venture.

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An artist's conception of a Virgin Galactic flight above Spaceport America in New Mexico

NMSA PRESS RELEASE

The New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) has initiated the bid process for the construction of the main Terminal Hangar Facility at Spaceport America. This building will house the NMSA’s Operations and Public/Visitor Experience and Virgin Galactic’s Operation.

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Bolden Directs MSFC Special Team to evaluate HLV alternatives
NASASpaceflight.com

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden has asked for a “Special Team” at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to evaluate the Heavy Lift alternatives – including DIRECT’s Jupiter launch vehicle – as a “top priority”. The team has been asked to create a report on their findings in time for Thanksgiving, in an apparent reaction to the final Augustine Commission report – which will be published on Thursday.

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Economy, rule change ground X Prize plans
Las Cruces Sun-News

The X Prize Cup, an event aimed at spurring innovation in space technology, won’t be held this year in southern New Mexico, as it has in recent years…

Plus, Landeene said, the state wasn’t able to sponsor the event financially this year because of the poor economy. He said early on, the state invested about $2 million in sponsorships for the event. Later, when it moved to Alamogordo, the level dropped to about $750,000. But even that isn’t possible this year, he said.The two-day spaceflight symposium took place this week in Las Cruces, but without the X Prize Cup.

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JAXA's Akatsuki Venus spacecraft. (Image by Akihiro Ikeshita)

JAXA PROGRAM DETAILS

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is scheduled to launch the Venus Climate Orbiter “AKATSUKI” (PLANET-C) by H-IIA Launch Vehicle in Japan Fiscal Year 2010. The AKATSUKI will enter the orbit of Venus about half a year after its launch, and will take some two years to explore the atmosphere of Venus.

JAXA would like to enhance people’s interest in space and the Earth by holding a “message campaign” in which we invite people to send us messages that will be printed in fine letters on an aluminum plate and placed aboard the Venus Climate Orbiter “AKATSUKI”. We will accept messages both from Japan and overseas so that we can bind the feelings and thoughts of everybody in the world into one, and inject it into the orbit of Venus. Through this campaign, we would like to boost the public’s knowledge about Japanese space science research activities in Japan as well as abroad.

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Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009, 7-8:30 PM PDT: We welcome Dr. Arlin Cross regarding lunar water and his Oct. 12, 2009 Space Review article. Friday, October 30, 2009, 9:30-11:30 AM PDT : We welcome retired space industry engineer, John Hornung with his memoir “To The Moon Without Me.” He worked on the first stage of the Saturn IB Space Launch Vehicle and much more. NOTE: DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME ENDS 2AM THIS […]

Trip to space in aisle 4
MinnPost

Some scoff at Penny Markt customers’ prospects of even getting airborne. “I saw the story and laughed my head off,” said Scott Cooper, a reporter at the Oklahoma Gazette who has been following Rocketplane’s activities since it first landed in Oklahoma. “In the 10 years they’ve been going they have never built a ship, and they have broken promise after promise after promise.”

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Ares I-X rolls out to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral.

The Ares I-X launch team is preparing for a 24-hour turnaround, targeting 8 a.m. on Wednesday as liftoff time for the Ares I-X flight test vehicle.

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Well, it looks like someone in the Indian media asked G. Madhavan Nair why he’s retiring as chairman of ISRO later this week:

When asked about his retirement from Indian Space Research Organisation, Madhavan Nair said, a scientist is never finished off with his work. Madhavan Nair who will step down from ISRO would soon take over as president of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) at its general assembly in South Korea.

This is half correct. And it raises a question or two.

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