NANO-SATELLITE RESEARCH PROJECT 'SUCCESSFUL'
SPACECRAFT Boeing has announced that its nano-satellite research project, the CubeSat TestBed 1 (CSTB1) mission, has accomplished all its primary objectives. The pico-satellite class spacecraft, which has multifunctional side panels with embedded sensors, was launched on 17 April from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Pico-satellites like CSTB1 weigh less than 1kg (2.2lb) while nano-satellites are larger with masses below 10kg (22lb). CSTB1's three-month mission evaluated technologies including off-the-shelf components and attitude determination and control approaches. The technologies, Boeing says, could help reduce the mass of larger conventional spacecraft. CSTB1 is now in an optional test phase for more experiments including "ultra-low power" imager photography and non-traditional attitude control algorithms assessment.
PRIVATE JET TERMINAL FOR AQABA
GROUND FACILITIES Aqaba's King Hussein International airport is to get a private jet terminal developed by the Aqaba Development Corporation and Jordanian Private Jets Services (JPJETS). The project is scheduled for completion in one year and will feature a 500m2 (6,000ft2) terminal building and ground handling equipment, with the remainder of a 6,000m2 parcel of land dedicated to private jet parking. According to ADC, the terminal will be the first of its kind in Jordan and the fourth in the Middle East owned by a private institution. According to its agreement with ADC, JPJETS will also purchase three jets at a total cost of $40.5 million: $20.5 million for a Bombardier Challenger 604, which is expected to be delivered in two months, $12.2 million for a Hawker 800XP, expected to be delivered early in 2008, and $7.8 million for a Grob SPn, which is expected to be delivered in 2009.
COMMERCIAL RESEARCH MAY FILL ISS SCHEDULE
SPACE STATION NASA has asked industry for International Space Station-based commercial research proposals from 2010, after ISS assembly completion and Space Shuttle fleet retirement. NASA's astronauts will conduct the research at no charge when not working for the US space agency. But industry has to organise transport to the ISS and their experiments' disposal or return. Only Russia can provide transport after 2010 with Progress and Soyuz spacecraft. Separately, NASA determined that damaged thermal protection system tiles on Space Shuttle Endeavour, currently at the ISS for its STS-118 mission, do not require in-orbit repair.
AUSTRALIA: OFFENCE TO POINT LASERS AT AIRCRAFT
SAFETY Australia has made it a criminal offence to point laser beams at aircraft, following an increase in incidents over the past year. Transport minister Mark Vaile says a bill was passed on 15 August providing for up to two years in prison or fines of up to A$5,500 ($4,600) for "people who irresponsibly direct laser devices at planes". He says that since 2006 there have been more than 170 reports in Australia of laser beams being directed at aircraft, "with the number of incidents increasing. There are a range of legitimate uses for laser light devices, but when they are used to target aircraft they are a major safety concern," says Vaile. "A laser light directed into the cabin of an aircraft can impair a pilot's vision at a critical moment I remind people with laser emitting devices to use them responsibly. If they don't, they will soon face stiff new penalties." US lawmakers passed a similar bill late in 2005 following an increase in incidents involving laser beams being directed at aircraft.
VORTEX WARNING SYSTEM TESTS FOR PARIS
SAFETY The first land test of the Elop wake vortex warning system will be made in October at Paris Orly airport, to detect the vortex from aircraft taking off and landing and determine whether the system should be ground- or aircraft-based. The system uses advanced fibre laser technology and is a project linking Elop with Thales, Dassault, Onera and a number of European research institutes.
UK-US MOON MISSION COULD LAUNCH IN 2010
LUNAR ORBITER Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) has been awarded a study phase contract for a potential joint US-UK lunar orbiter mission to be called Magnolia. Its first phase will run for nine months, ending in a preliminary mission design, with the next stage planned to start in 2008 and potentially leading to the mission's 2010 launch. The contract between Mississippi State University and SSTL follows the April signing of a joint statement of intent between NASA and the UK government's British National Space Centre. In 2006 SSTL performed a lunar exploration design study for the UK government's Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, has developed equipment for the European Space Agency's Rosetta comet-chasing mission and recently delivered a payload processor for a US radar to fly on board the 2008 Indian lunar mission, Chandrayaan-1. SSTL has also performed an ESA feasibility study for a low-cost mission to Venus and has studied potential missions to near-Earth asteroids and re-entry for the return of samples from Mars.
Source: Flight International
