Florida Spacegram 11 Apr 2001

Pratt & Whitney Partners with Volvo on RL-60 Rocket Engine — After
previous unsuccessful attempts to partner with European firms to develop
a next-generation cryogenic rocket engine, Pratt & Whitney has teamed
with Volvo to develop the RL-60 rocket engine, according to Orbital
Report. Pratt & Whitney manufactures the RL-10 engine in West Palm
Beach.

Germany Proceeds with “Hopper” Maglev-Assistted Reusable Launch System —
According to Aviation Week, Germany is supporting Astrium’s development
of a test version of Europe’s proposed “Hopper” winged, unmanned
reusable first-stage launch vehicle. The subscale version, called
“Phoenix” is a 21-foot long vehicle that will deploy an upper stage and
satellite before returning to Earth for re-use. The Phoenix test vehicle
will be dropped from a helicopter. The operational “Hopper” system will
use an electromagnetic track to assist the vehicle’s initial ascent.

NASA Gets $14.51 Billion FY-2002 Budget — The Bush Administration has
provided a budget of $14.51 billion for NASA in FY-2002, compared with
$14.25 billion in FY-2001. The budget includes cuts to the Space Station
and increases for other programs like Mars exploration.

KSC Budget Increases to $1 Billion — Kennedy Space Center’s share of
NASA’s FY-2002 budget was increased by $77 million to total just under $1
billion, according to Florida Today.

Italy Could Build Space Station Habitation Module — In a potential
cost-saving move for the International Space Station, NASA has entered
into discussions with the Italian Space Agency for the development of a
habitation module that would replace a planned U.S.-built module that has
been canceled due to Station cost overruns.

Space Institute Adds Northwest Florida Board Member — The industry-led
board of the Florida Space Research Institute now includes Mr. Steve
McCool of Mission Research Corp. from Valparaiso (in Okaloosa County near
Eglin Air Force Base).

Spaceport Authority Adds Northwest Florida Board Member — Governor Jeb
Bush has appointed Dr. Ken Ford of the University of West Florida’s
Institute for Human & Machine Cognition in Pensacola to serve on the
board of the Spaceport Authority.

Space Institute Includes 14 Academic Members — The Florida Space
Research Institute now includes an academic council composed of 14 public
and private universities and colleges from around the state, including
Embry-Riddle, Jacksonville University, Southeastern College, UCF, Florida
Tech, UM, USF, FSU, FAU, BCC, Bethune Cookman, FIU, UF, and Edward Waters
College.

Space Institute Selects Jacksonville Company for Learning Project — The
Florida Space Research Institute has selected Steel Beach Productions of
Jacksonville to develop a series of computer and web-based interactive
learning modules to support the Institute’s Advanced Learning Environment
(ALE) initiative with Workforce Florida and NASA.

KSC Plans Community Leaders Breakfast — KSC’s annual Community Leaders
Breakfast is scheduled for April 24 at the KSC Visitor Complex in the
Debus Conference Facility. The event will include a salute to 20 years
of Space Shuttle launches.

“Yuri’s Night” Celebration Planned — April 12 will be the 40th
anniversary of Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s historic space flight. 64
international celebrations are planned in 29 countries. A local
celebration is planned at Jungle Village in Cape Canaveral. Contact
Donna McAllister at 321-868-2083. Visit yurisnight.com for information
about worldwide events.

California Consolidates Space Groups — California’s two space advocacy
groups, the California Space & Technology Alliance (CSTA) is planning a
merger with its Western Commercial Space Center (WCSC) to form a single
agency called the California Space Authority.

Koller Wins Roundtable Explorer Award — The Florida Space Business
Roundtable named Dr. Al Koller of Brevard Community College to win its
annual Explorer award, recognizing excellence in space education and
research programs. The other nominees were: Rick Abramson of Delaware
North Parks Services of Spaceport, Inc.; the Canaveral Council of
Technical Societies; Pamela Biegert of NASA/KSC’s Education Programs and
University Research Division; Sam Durrance of the Florida Space Research
Institute; and Dave Hosley of USA’s Leadership Development Program. The
award was presented in Tallahassee on Space Day 2001 by Education
Commissioner Charlie Crist and Roundtable Chairman Bud Gardner.

Nominations Received for Bumper Award — The Florida Space Business
Roundtable has received four nominations for this year’s Bumper award,
including Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan, Dr. Pam Dana (director of the Office of
Tourism, Trade & Economic Development in Tallahassee), House Speaker Tom
Feeney, and Forrest McCartney (recently retired VP of Lockheed Martin).
This year’s award will be presented by Roundtable Chairman Bud Gardner
and Congressman Dave Weldon at this year’s Congressional Dinner on April
30 at the Cocoa Beach DoubleTree hotel. Call 459-2200 for reservations.

Boeing Delta Selected for 2003 NASA and Commercial Launches –– NASA has
selected a Boeing Delta II rocket to launch the agency’s Swift Gamma Ray
Burst Explorer in September 2003 from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport,
according to Orbital Report. Boeing has also announced that Indonesia’s
PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara plans to launch its MultiMedia Asia (M2A)
advanced communication spacecraft atop a Delta IV rocket in mid-2003.

First Atlas V Rocket Nearly Complete — Lockheed Martin plans to ship its
first Atlas V rocket to Florida later this month to allow pre-launch
processing for an early 2002 mission, according to Orbital Report.

SERPL Funding Included in House Budget — House Speaker Tom Feeney has
announced the inclusion of $16 million in the House budget for SERPL.
This matches the amount requested in the Governor’s and Senate’s budgets
to complete the state’s investment in this multi-user laboratory for
Space Station research. The budget amendment was proposed by Rep. Bob
Allen.

Harris Corp. to Acquire Exigent — Melbourne-based Harris Corp. will
acquire Melbourne-based satellite software maker Exigent International
for $23 million, according to company statements reported in Space.com.

Space Grant Consortia Meet in Washington, Seek Increased Funding —
NASA-sponsored Space Grant Consortia from around the nation gathered this
month in Washington to discuss joint programs and their need for
increased NASA funding (which has already been authorized but not
appropriated by Congress). Gov. Jeb Bush, in a recent letter to NASA
Administrator Dan Goldin, voiced his support for the Space Grant
Consortia program, calling it an excellent way for NASA to support and
interact with state-level space-related initiatives.

Edward Ellegood

Spaceport Florida Authority

100 Spaceport Way

Cape Canaveral, Florida 32920-4003

321-730-5301, ext. 1105 (phone); 321-730-5307 (fax); 321-698-9101 (cell)