Possible breakup of NOAA weather satellite

The U.S. military's Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) is investigating the possible breakup of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather satellite in Earth orbit.

“On 25 November 2015 at 0816z (3:16 a.m. EST) the JSpOC identified a possible breakup of NOAA 16,” officials reported. “All associated objects have been added to conjunction assessment screenings, and satellite operators will be notified of close approaches between the debris and active satellites. The JSpOC will catalog the debris objects as soon as sufficient data is available.”

After more than 13 years of helping predict weather and climate patterns and save lives in search and rescue operations, NOAA announced in June 2014 it had turned off the NOAA 16 Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellite. It was one of NOAA's longest operating spacecraft, which have a planned lifespan of three to five years.

Historic vote supports US companies mining on the Moon

History was made Monday when the U.S. House of Representatives passed landmark legislation recognizing and promoting the rights of United States companies to engage in the exploration and extraction of space resources from the Moon and other celestial bodies. This historic legislation was passed as Title IV of the "U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (or H.R. 2262 as amended)", and provides the first ever codification of private sector mining rights for water and minerals obtained from the Moon.

Moon Express, Bigelow Aerospace, and many other companies are applauding the House for the legislation.

"Our goal is to unlock the resources of the Moon for the benefit of humanity, and Moon Express is grateful to have the backing of the United States in our endeavor," said Moon Express co-founder and CEO, Bob Richards. "We thank the House and its visionary champions of the bill led by Majority Leader McCarthy (R-Calf.) and Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) for their leadership and vision in passing this much-needed legislation, and especially wish to thank Representatives Bill Posey (R-Fla.), Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) and Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) for their support."

Moon Express, Inc., is a privately funded commercial space company blazing a trail to the Moon to unlock its mysteries and resources with robotic spacecraft products & services using exponential technologies.

New Gulfstream G500 joins business aviation convention

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.'s all-new Gulfstream G500 made its first cross-country trip for the 2015 National Business Aviation Association's Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA2015). The flight test aircraft arrived at Henderson Executive Airport on Friday to join the G650ER, G550, G450, G280 and G150 in Gulfstream's static display.

The G500 flew from Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport into 75-knot headwinds and arrived at Henderson Executive 4 hours and 36 minutes later, accomplishing the 1,630-nautical-mile flight at an average speed of Mach 0.85 and altitude of 45,000 feet. Gulfstream test pilots Scott Martin and Scott Evans were at the controls, with Flight Test engineers Paul Ludlow and Nathaniel Rutland providing on-board support.

The G500 flew to Las Vegas with a significant amount of flight testing equipment on board:

• a noseboom, which provides air data, angle-of-attack and angle-of-sideslip information to the pilots and engineers.
• Attitude Recovery System (ARS) safety equipment for high-speed flutter testing and low-speed stall testing.
• data-monitoring system that provides real-time data for engineers on board and in the telemetry room.
• a video recording system that captures touchscreen commands and flight-deck footage as well as external footage of the landing gear, trailing cone and ARS.
• flutter vanes on the wing and horizontal tips.

The first G500 test aircraft, T1, is focused on flight performance and controls and has achieved a number of flight-test milestones since its first flight on May 18. The aircraft has flown more than 160 hours, completed 44 flights and reached an altitude exceeding 50,000 ft. Its longest flight was 5 hours and 22 minutes. T1 has reached a top speed of Mach 0.995. Flutter and envelope expansion testing are in progress, and initial testing of the aircraft's handling qualities and the high-speed and recovery stall system have also taken place.

In total, the G500 flight-test program consists of five aircraft, including a fully outfitted production aircraft that allows the company to test all the interior elements and complete integration of the aircraft systems with the passenger experience. T2 and T3 have been delivered to the Flight Test facility and are preparing for first flight.

Gulfstream anticipates certification of the G500 in 2017, with entry into service in 2018. Lab testing for the G600 is ongoing in Gulfstream's integration test facility, with certification slated for 2018 and entry into service in 2019.

NASA seeks new director at Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA has named Todd May acting director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., as the agency continues the process of looking for a permanent director.

Patrick Scheuermann, who served as the Marshall director since September 2012, is retiring from the agency, effective Friday. His retirement caps a 27-year career with NASA that began in 1988 as a propulsion test engineer at the agency's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss.

May was appointed Marshall deputy director in August, and previously served as manager of the Space Launch System (SLS) Program since August 2011. May led the SLS Program through a series of milestones, including engine tests and a successful, in-depth critical design review. SLS, now under development, will be the most powerful rocket ever built, able to carry astronauts in NASA's Orion spacecraft on deep space missions, including to an asteroid and ultimately on a journey to Mars.

May's NASA career began in 1991, working in the Materials and Processes Laboratory at Marshall. He was deputy program manager of the Russian Integration Office in the International Space Station Program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston in 1994, and worked on the team at Marshall that developed and launched the Gravity Probe B mission to test Einstein's Theory of Relativity in 2004. That same year he assumed management of the Discovery and New Frontiers Programs, created to explore the solar system with frequent unmanned spacecraft missions.

May moved to NASA Headquarters in Washington in 2007 as a deputy associate administrator in the Science Mission Directorate. Returning to Marshall in June 2008, May was named Marshall's associate director, Technical, a post he held until being named SLS program manager.

The SLS Program is managed at Marshall, one of NASA's largest field installations, with almost 6,000 civil service and contractor employees, an annual budget of approximately $2.5 billion and a broad spectrum of science and technological missions.

Video: Launch of GPS IIF-11 satellite

The U.S. Air Force's 45th Space Wing supported the launch of a Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Saturday. GPS IIF-11 was the 16th launch this year for the wing.

The integrated team is currently preparing GPS IIF-12, the last model of the series, for launch in early 2016. An Airmen-led processing team at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., has processed every launch of the series since GPS IIF-1 launched in May 2010.

According to the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center, the GPS constellation is healthy, stable and robust with two GPS IIAs, 12 GPS IIRs, seven GPS IIR-Ms, and 10 GPS IIF satellites on orbit providing precise global positioning, navigation, and timing services to users around the globe.

Military blimp JLENS has detached from tether, floating over US

A tethered military airship has detached from its mooring station in Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., military officials reported on Wednesday.

The unmanned blimp, known as JLENS (which is short for Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System), is helium filled, each nearly as long as a football field, carry powerful radars that can protect a territory roughly the size of Texas from airborne threats.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command is working with interagency partners to address a safe recovery of the aerostat, the agency said on Twitter.

Coast Guard search for missing aircraft in Mississippi

The U.S. Coast Guard and local agencies continue their search on Wednesday for the three people who were aboard a Lancair single-engine plane missing near Pascagoula, Miss.

Rescue crews continue their search for Dexter Brewer, Gerald Miletello and Ron Gregory, who were aboard the plane that lost radar contact shortly after take-off from Gulfport on Monday evening. Response crews have covered more than 1,200 square miles in their search efforts.

Coast Guard Sector Mobile were notified at approximately 10:40 p.m., Monday, by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center that the single-engine plane lost radar contact shortly after take-off from Gulfport.

Involved in the search is:

• MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crews from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans.
• HC-144 Ocean Sentry fixed-wing aircraft crews from Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, Alabama.
• 24-foot Special Purpose Craft—Shallow Water boatcrews from Coast Guard Station Pascagoula.
• Small boat crews from Coast Guard Station Gulfport.
• Mississippi Department of Marine Resources boatcrews.
• Jackson County Sheriff’s Department boatcrews.
• A Chevron private helicopter crew.