NOAA, Taiwan Developing Plan for Weather Satellite Program

NOAA, Taiwan Developing Plan for Weather Satellite Program
(Space News) April 9, 2010, By Turner Brinton
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Taiwan have developed initial requirements for a collaborative weather satellite program, and will spend the rest of the year putting together an acquisition strategy with an eye toward launching the satellites starting in 2014, U.S. government officials said. The satellites will use a relatively new method for obtaining atmospheric data called GPS radio occultation, which has been used in operational weather forecasting since a demonstration constellation was launched in 2006.

U.S. mocks Venezuelan space plans

U.S. mocks Venezuelan space plans

(MSNBC) April 2, 2010, By Matthew Lee

The Obama administration on Friday dismissed Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's suggestion that his country wants to set up a space program with Russian help. The State Department said that Venezuela and Russia are free to cooperate in any area they want but pointed out that the populist Chavez's government is dealing with potentially more pressing matters for its citizens than "space travel." "We would note that the government of Venezuela was largely closed this week due to energy shortages," spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters. "To the extent that Venezuela is going to expend resources on behalf of its people, perhaps the focus should be more terrestrial than extraterrestrial."

Tactical Satellite-3 supports Haiti and Chile earthquake relief efforts

Tactical Satellite-3 supports Haiti and Chile earthquake relief efforts

(Air Force) March 30, 2010, By Michael Kleiman

When the United States Southern Command requested for imaging collection to assist with rebuilding and humanitarian relief efforts after an earthquake struck Haiti and Chile, the Tactical Satellite-3 program team here and at Hanscom AFB, Mass. answered the call. Employing the spacecraft's primary payload, the Advanced Responsive Tactically-Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer project has provided 30 -plus data collects to the Miami - based Unified Combatant Command. The UCC is responsible for U.S. military operations in the Caribbean, as well as in Central and South America.

NASA Launches Effort for Closer Cooperation with Israel

NASA Launches Effort for Closer Cooperation with Israel

(Isreal National News) January 25, 2010, By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrator and former astronaut Charles F. Bolden Jr. is in Israel and on Sunday urged closer cooperation with the Jewish State, which he cited for its expertise in space technology. Bolden is guest of honor at the annual the International Ilan Ramon Space Conference, in memory of the late Israeli astronaut who fell in the Colombia space shuttle disaster. He said, “Israel is connected to NASA in many ways including the memory of the unforgettable Columbia disaster and the heroic Ilan Ramon who lost his life together with his team.

NASA, Saudi Arabia partner on NEO, Lunar Research

NASA, Saudi Arabia partner on research
(UPI) December 15, 2009
The U.S. space agency and Saudi Arabia say they've signed a joint agreement calling for collaboration in lunar and asteroid science research. The agreement between NASA and Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology recognizes the Saudi Lunar and Near-Earth Object Science Center as an affiliate partner with the NASA Lunar Science Institute at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "This collaboration is within the scope of the Memorandum of Understanding on Science and Technology signed between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America last year and later ratified by the Council of Ministers."