Features

Sustainability of Personal Spaceflight Revolution Examined; Starchaser Cancels Las Cruces NM Land Deal. "In the last few years, personal space travel has become a far more feasible business proposition," writes Space.com Senior Space Writer Leonard David. "But much work remains in fostering and then sustaining such an enterprise." Spaceport Associates Director Derek Webber says he is so convinced suborbital space tours will happen, he has turned his attention to studying orbital operations. "It would be beneficial to the whole aerospace sector for a successful orbital space tourism industry to develop," he says, adding he believes the NASA COTS may catalyze such development. Scott Horowitz, head of the NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, says, "We thought originally we'd get maybe a dozen or so people proposing to provide commercial crew and cargo transportation services." About 90 proposals ended up being submitted. Experts David interviews agree the industry is still very uncertain. In related news, United Kingdom-based Starchaser has canceled a deal to build a rocket-assembly plant on 17.5 acres in Las Cruces NM after a regulations disagreement. The company says it continues to want to launch from Southwest Regional Spaceport and still intends to build the other facilities it has planned in the area.

Ukraine Space Industry Crucial for Progress, Sovereignty. Ukraine's robust space industry is focused around its ability to design, manufacture and launch rockets into space, and it is one of the few countries that can do so. In a closed-doors meeting Wednesday in Dnipropetrovsk -- home to Yushnoye and Yuzhmash, developers of the Zenit, Dnepr and Cyclone launch vehicles -- Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko pledged continued state support for the space industry to top scientists. "Any country in the third millennium will want to use space services," the President said, according to the Ukraine Journal. "This market is strategically important for Ukraine." Yushchenko went on to express that in the modern world, space activity is directly relative to the word "progress," as well as to national security and "industrial sovereignty." Among civilian projects, he recognized Sea Launch in particular, an international consortium between Ukraine, Russia, Boeing of USA, and Norway that uses the Ukraine-developed Zenit launch vehicle to boost large commercial satellites from a floating equatorial platform in the Pacific Ocean. Other space projects mentioned by the President include launching satellites using the Dnepr and Cyclone 4 launch vehicles. He said the Cyclone 4 looks promising for its first launch from Brazil in 2008. Yushchenko also discussed several military and defense projects at the meeting.

India Prepares for More Satellites, Commerce in Space. All that is needed to double the number of India satellites in space over the next two years is for the US to lift its ban on sharing space technology with India, according to ISRO Chairperson G. Madhavan Nair. Talks between the two countries are advancing, but Nair could not say when an agreement would be signed. India wants to launch commercial satellites using America components in order to boost its fledgling space services business. President Bush is expected to visit New Delhi next month, and some analysts believe a pact will be concluded then. "From one satellite a year, if we could launch two to three satellites every year it would mean substantial growth," Nair said. If revenues from satellite launches and transponder services double, India expects to make US$60-70M annually. India-USA cooperation would boost ISRO's space business, which is facing stiff competition from China, ESA, and Russia. So far India has launched lightweight satellites for Belgium, Germany, and Korea. Also, it has contracts with Russia, Singapore, and Indonesia to launch remote sensing spacecraft. India's less expensive launch services could enable it to capture 10 percent of the US$2B global market, Nair added. Info www.expressindia.com.