document.write('<H3>FLORIDA TODAY Space Team Blog</H3>');
document.write("<H5>News & analysis from our Kennedy Space Center blockhouse</H5><br><hr><br>");
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document.write('<TR><TD width="100%"><h5>07/23/2008 10:59 AM | <A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3aaeaa0676-cbd9-4f9e-92b8-60066f3cbd85&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">Click to Comment</A></h5></TD></TR><TR><TD><B><H3><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3aaeaa0676-cbd9-4f9e-92b8-60066f3cbd85&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">NASA: Valve swap won\'t stall Atlantis launch</A></H3></B></TD></TR><TR><TD><p><br /><img id=\"48fe3c8e-cb9b-4e8c-a3b1-17eb24a8dbcf\" src=\"http://sitelife.floridatoday.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/8/3/48fe3c8e-cb9b-4e8c-a3b1-17eb24a8dbcf.Large.jpg\" alt=\"blog post photo\" /></p><p>NASA this week will start up an effort to replace a faulty valve on the external tank for its upcoming Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, but the work is not expected to delay a planned launch in early October, officials said today.</p><p>Shuttle Atlantis and a crew of seven astronauts are scheduled to blast off Oct. 8 on NASA\'s fifth and final Hubble servicing mission, and managers are considering moving the launch up as much as six days, to Oct. 2.</p><p>Kennedy Space Center spokesman Allard Beutel said the&nbsp;valve replacement work will begin this week and take seven to 10 days to complete, but the job can be done while other prelaunch preparations continue.</p><p>\"All of this still fits into being able to launch Oct. 8 and possibly moving up,\" Beutel said.</p><p>Designated ET-127, the 15-story propellant tank&nbsp;was delivered to KSC on July 15 and then&nbsp;rolled into the Vehicle Assembly Building, where crane operators with United Space Alliance hoisted it into a checkout cell on the northwest side of the facility. </p><p>Small dings were found on the liquid hydrogen quick disconnect valve during receiving inspections, and managers decided to swap out the part. The valve is part of a system that is used to pressurize&nbsp;the liquid hydrogen reservoir within the tank prior to launch.&nbsp;The system is considered critical and the external tank must be pressurized properly&nbsp;before a shuttle can be cleared for flight.</p><p>Beutel said NASA and contractor engineers put together a replacement plan and changeout work will begin before the end of the week. The work is expected to be finished in time to mate the tank to twin solid rocket boosters in early August, probably Aug. 2 or Aug. 3.&nbsp;The processing schedule for the Atlantis launch includes enough contingency time to absorb the extra work without triggering a liftoff delay, Beutel said.</p><p><em>- Todd Halvorson</em></p><p><strong>ABOUT THE IMAGE:</strong> ET-127 is shown here as NASA and contractor engineers and technicians roll the tank into the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building atop a specially designed transporter. The tank was delivered to KSC on July 15 after shipment from Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller.</p><BR><hr><BR></TD></TR>');
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	if(maxcount == 4){document.write('<TR><TD><h3>Earlier Posts</H3></TD></TR>');}
	document.write('<TR><TD><h5><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3aaeaa0676-cbd9-4f9e-92b8-60066f3cbd85&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">07/23/2008 10:59 AM NASA: Valve swap won\'t stall Atlantis launch</A></H5></TD></TR>');
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document.write('<TR><TD width="100%"><h5>07/22/2008 03:51 PM | <A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3aae00128d-0fea-405a-be3d-b1d0c4c668e9&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">Click to Comment</A></h5></TD></TR><TR><TD><B><H3><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3aae00128d-0fea-405a-be3d-b1d0c4c668e9&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">NASA Web site pinpoints wildfires worldwide</A></H3></B></TD></TR><TR><TD><p><img id=\"e4c61a2e-7a69-4336-941c-bb04e31d4fd5\" style=\"width:275px;height:201px\" src=\"http://sitelife.floridatoday.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/4/4/e4c61a2e-7a69-4336-941c-bb04e31d4fd5.Large.jpg\" alt=\"blog post photo\" width=\"257\" height=\"189\" /></p><p>With wildfires breaking out worldwide, NASA has used its&nbsp;satellites, aircraft and research know-how to create&nbsp;cutting edge tools to help firefighters.</p><p>A new <strong><u><a href=\"http://www.nasa.gov/fires\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><u>NASA Web site</u></strong> </a></u></strong>brings&nbsp;the public the latest images and surveys.</p><p>NASA\'s \"Fire and Smoke\" Web site went online today. It features the latest images of fires and smoke plumes worldwide.</p><p>The site also features articles on the latest research results and multimedia resources from&nbsp;NASA. These tools also have helped scientists understand the impact of fires and smoke on Earth\'s climate and ecosystems.</p><p>The site is updated regularly.&nbsp;It includes images from the&nbsp;unmanned Ikhana aircraft that recently pinpointed wildfire hotspots across California.</p><p><strong>ABOUT THE IMAGE: </strong>NASA\'s new Web site features satellite images of fires from around the world.</p><BR><hr><BR></TD></TR>');
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	document.write('<TR><TD><h5><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3aae00128d-0fea-405a-be3d-b1d0c4c668e9&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">07/22/2008 03:51 PM NASA Web site pinpoints wildfires worldwide</A></H5></TD></TR>');
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document.write('<TR><TD width="100%"><h5>07/22/2008 11:33 AM | <A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3ab91a0185-fa12-4dd8-bd50-84698d252439&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">Click to Comment</A></h5></TD></TR><TR><TD><B><H3><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3ab91a0185-fa12-4dd8-bd50-84698d252439&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">NASA aims to move up shuttle launch dates</A></H3></B></TD></TR><TR><TD><p><br /><img id=\"f5683489-838f-4a90-95b8-b951cb7bfce5\" src=\"http://sitelife.floridatoday.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/5/5/f5683489-838f-4a90-95b8-b951cb7bfce5.Large.jpg\" alt=\"blog post photo\" /></p><p>NASA is looking to move up the launch dates for its next two shuttle missions by almost a week each to increase the chances that the second flight -- an International Space Station supply run -- can be sent up before a window of opportunity closes in late November, officials said today.</p><p>But it\'s unlikely NASA will be able to advance the planned Oct. 8 launch of a Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission more than a couple of days, and a proposed six-day move in&nbsp;the planned Nov. 10&nbsp;launch of the station logistics mission would put liftoff of that flight on the same day as the 2008 presidential election.</p><p>\"The desire is to gain additional margin at the front end of the window,\" said Kyle Herring, a spokesperson for NASA\'s Johnson Space Center in Houston. \"Whether we get three days or two days, anything obviously would help at the front end of that window.\"</p><p>The sun angle on the station between Nov. 25 and Dec. 17 will be such that the outpost would not be able to generate enough power, or dispel enough heat, to support a docked shuttle mission. Shuttle missions to the station cannot be launched during the period -- a so-called \"beta angle cutout.\"</p><p>NASA also would opt not to launch during the Christmas or New Year\'s holidays. That effectively means Nov. 24 would be the last day NASA could launch a mission to the international outpost in 2008. A delay past then would prompt NASA to push launch of the station logistics mission to January or February.</p><p>NASA shuttle program manager John Shannon recently issued a \"change order\" that would call for the launch of Atlantis on NASA\'s fifth and final Hubble servicing mission to Oct. 2; the launch of Endeavour on the&nbsp;station supply run would move up to Nov. 4. </p><p>All involved parties -- those preparing Atlantis and Endeavour, the shuttle\'s external tanks, its payloads, etc. -- now are reviewing schedules to determine whether all&nbsp;prelaunch work could be safely finished in time to meet those target dates. </p><p>The orbiters Atlantis and Endeavour appears as if they could be ready for earlier launch dates. The external tank for the Hubble mission already is at Kennedy Space Center and the tank for Endeavour\'s flight is expected to be delivered in early to mid-August. </p><p>However, the&nbsp;payload for the Hubble servicing mission -- which includes two new state-of-the-art science instruments as well as new batteries and gyroscopes --&nbsp;would have to be moved to the launch pad by Sept. 11 to support an Oct. 2 launch date, and it appears that Sept. 14 is the earliest delivery date.</p><p>Expect launch date decisions on Aug. 14. Shannon and shuttle program managers will meet that day to review work schedules and decide whether to assign new target launch dates. Both launches likely will move up at least a couple of days. In any case, the prelaunch work for the upcoming Hubble mission is proceeding without significant problems.</p><p>Said KSC spokesperson Candrea Thomas: \"We\'re on track for Oct. 8.\"</p><p><em>- Todd Halvorson</em></p><p><strong>ABOUT THE IMAGE:</strong> The external tank for the upcoming launch of Atlantis and seven astronauts on the Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission is shown here as NASA and contractor workers moved it into the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building. The 15-story fuel reservoir was shipped aboard the covered barge Pegasus and arrived at the center on July 15. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller.</p><BR><hr><BR></TD></TR>');
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	document.write('<TR><TD><h5><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3ab91a0185-fa12-4dd8-bd50-84698d252439&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">07/22/2008 11:33 AM NASA aims to move up shuttle launch dates</A></H5></TD></TR>');
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document.write('<TR><TD width="100%"><h5>07/21/2008 08:13 PM | <A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3a1c1329ca-7e89-41a9-963a-2d16770437d4&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">Click to Comment</A></h5></TD></TR><TR><TD><B><H3><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3a1c1329ca-7e89-41a9-963a-2d16770437d4&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">Chamber officials learn about space industry</A></H3></B></TD></TR><TR><TD><p><img id=\"5304ebed-7c79-4cf1-bfcd-28ee757f86da\" style=\"width:324px;height:152px\" src=\"http://sitelife.floridatoday.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/3/15/5304ebed-7c79-4cf1-bfcd-28ee757f86da.Large.jpg\" alt=\"blog post photo\" width=\"324\" height=\"142\" /></p><p>About 140 Chamber of Commerce officials from across Florida&nbsp;learned about Brevard\'s space industry during a forum at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Some 70 percent of them had never visited KSC.</p><p>Mike Wetmore, KSC associate director for Engineering and Technical Operations told the group that KSC employs about 13,000 contractors and 2,000 NASA workers.</p><p>He said, the space center, which occupies 10,000 acres of the 130,000-acre wildlife preserve, injects $4 billion&nbsp;into the state\'s economy. Getting a shuttle ready for a mission to the International Space Station&nbsp;requires about 300,000 man hours. The station, which shuttle crews will finish by 2010, will weigh more than 1 million pounds.</p><p>He also explained that the U.S. will rely on the Russians, the Europeans and the Japanese for transport of cargo and astronauts to the space station between 2010 and 2015, when the shuttle is no longer flying and the new Constellation craft is not yet ready.</p><p>David Bethay, Boeing\'s Florida director of Constellation Transition, told the audience that his company was working to find new business in the face of the end of the shuttle program. Up to 6,400 jobs could be lost when the shuttle stops flying in 2010.</p><p>\"This is a time of great challenge,\" said Bethay. \"It is also a time of exciting new beginnings for us. We know that for Constellation to be successful, we\'re going to have to find a new way of thinking.\"</p><p>He told the chamber officials of a poll that showed that 75 percent of Americans support NASA, and he&nbsp;urged them to campaign for the space program in their counties.</p><p>Frank VanRensselaer, NASA senior executive account manager for Harris Corp., said his company saw new opportunities in the development of the Constellation spacecraft.</p><p>He said Harris hopes to land contracts worth $3 to $4 billion for communications on the new spacecraft.</p><p>\"Harris wants to be the primary communications provider for NASA,\" he said. \"There\'s going to be a lot of work there. Our view is that communications is the glue that holds all this stuff together.\"</p><p>He reminded the chamber officials that there could be many opportunities for small businesses.</p><p>Steve Kohler, president of Space Florida, told the gathering that NASA\'s budget is inadequate at .6 percent of U.S. budget. He urged them to support a funding increase to 1 percent of the budget.</p><p>\"For a country this size, we should be funding this the way it should be funded,\" Kohler said.</p><p>In closing, one of the chamber members urged her colleagues to get on the NASA&nbsp;bandwagon.</p><p>\"Florida takes space for granted,\"&nbsp; Kellie Jo Kilberg, president of the Clay County Chamber of Commerce, said. \"There\'s a company in your backyard that\'s doing something for space,\" she said. \"Go out and get behind them.\"</p><p>- <em>Patrick Peterson</em></p><p><strong>ABOUT THE IMAGE: </strong>Four space industry leaders spoke to a gathering of statewide chamber officials at the KSC Visitor Complex.</p><BR><hr><BR></TD></TR>');
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	document.write('<TR><TD><h5><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3a1c1329ca-7e89-41a9-963a-2d16770437d4&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">07/21/2008 08:13 PM Chamber officials learn about space industry</A></H5></TD></TR>');
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document.write('<TR><TD width="100%"><h5>07/21/2008 06:00 PM | <A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3aa77c188e-91bb-4660-a877-b76c4d0153dc&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">Click to Comment</A></h5></TD></TR><TR><TD><B><H3><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3aa77c188e-91bb-4660-a877-b76c4d0153dc&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">Forum: Keeping space a priority</A></H3></B></TD></TR><TR><TD><font face=\"Arial\"><p>Return to the Flame Trench about&nbsp;7 p.m. to see a report from a forum on the importance of keeping space a Florida priority.</p><p>Organized for an annual meeting of the Association of Chamber Professionals, the forum will feature:</p><ul><li>Mike Wetmore, Associate Director for Engineering and Technical Operations, Kennedy Space Center, NASA</li><li>Frank VanRensselaer&#8212;VP, NASA Senior Executive Account Manager, Harris</li><li>Steve Kohler, President, Space Florida </li><li>David Bethay, Director of Constellation Transition, Florida Operations, Boeing</li></ul><p>The forum is being held at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.</p><p>- <em>Patrick Peterson</em></p></font><BR><hr><BR></TD></TR>');
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	document.write('<TR><TD><h5><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3aa77c188e-91bb-4660-a877-b76c4d0153dc&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">07/21/2008 06:00 PM Forum: Keeping space a priority</A></H5></TD></TR>');
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document.write('<TR><TD width="100%"><h5>07/21/2008 03:22 PM | <A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3a75dac6f0-8707-4e27-9e21-a2e9183814ac&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">Click to Comment</A></h5></TD></TR><TR><TD><B><H3><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3a75dac6f0-8707-4e27-9e21-a2e9183814ac&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">Winston Scott tapped for Florida Tech job</A></H3></B></TD></TR><TR><TD><p><br /><img id=\"c08fa14e-9554-43a5-a604-a5ad6e502017\" src=\"http://sitelife.floridatoday.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/0/6/c08fa14e-9554-43a5-a604-a5ad6e502017.Large.jpg\" alt=\"blog post photo\" /></p><p>A Florida native who flew on NASA\'s space shuttle twice and then led the state\'s space agency for three years is returning to the Space Coast to take on the job as dean of the College of Aeronautics at Florida Institute of Technology.</p><p>Retired Navy Capt. Winston Scott will take the helm on Aug. 1 and will reside in Melbourne.</p><p>\"I\'m excited to be joining the Florida Tech family on a full-time basis. I could not ask for a better job than becoming part of the great leadership team in place at the College of Aeronautics,\" Scott said in a statement. \"Florida is home to me and my wife, Marilyn, and we are looking forward to returning.\"</p><p>Scott, who will turn 58 on Aug. 6, was born in Miami, went to Coral Gables High School and then earned a bachelor\'s degree in music from Florida State University. He later earned a master\'s degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and he also holds honorary doctorates from Florida Atlantic University and Michigan State University.</p><p>A naval aviator who served tours of duty as a helicopter pilot and a jet fighter test pilot, Scott was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1992. He flew as a mission specialist on STS-72 in 1996 and STS-87 in 1997, logging 24 days and three spacewalks in low Earth orbit.</p><p><br /><img id=\"1641b273-d5fe-4785-80bb-8f5ed8a67624\" src=\"http://sitelife.floridatoday.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/6/0/1641b273-d5fe-4785-80bb-8f5ed8a67624.Large.jpg\" alt=\"blog post photo\" /></p><p>Scott left NASA in 1999 to return to his alma mater, Florida State, as Vice President of Student Affairs. He also served as associate dean of the Florida A&amp;M/Florida State College of Engineering. In 2003, he took the executive director post at Florida Space Authority, where he advised Florida\'s governor and legislators on aeronautics and space issues. He also was a part-time professor of aeronautics at Florida Tech before he left the state agency in 2006 to take a job in Texas.</p><p>Scott since then has been the Vice President and Deputy General Manager of the engineering and science contract group at Jacobs Engineering in Houston.</p><p>\"We are honored to have Capt. Scott join us,\" Florida Tech President Anthony Catanese said in a statement. \"His stature, experience, teaching gifts and administrative talents will greatly benefit the College of Aeronautics and immensely enrich the university.\"</p><p>\"We feel fortunate to have Capt. Scott back full time in a leadership role,\" Florida Tech Provost T. Dwayne McCay said. \"This distinguished former astronaut\'s scientific knowledge, technical skills and insights will be a great addition to the university.\"</p><p>In his spare time, Scott practices martial arts and holds a second-degree black belt in Shotokan karate. A jazz trumpeter, Scott played in local clubs during his last stint in Brevard County and almost certainly will once again after&nbsp;he returns to the area next month.</p><p><em>- Todd Halvorson</em></p><p><strong>ABOUT THE IMAGES:</strong> The top image from NASA shows Scott in the cargo bay of Columbia during one of two spacewalks carried out during the STS-87 mission. The second from Florida Tech shows in a NASA astronaut jacket that sports crew patches from each of his missions and other NASA emblems.</p><BR><hr><BR></TD></TR>');
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	document.write('<TR><TD><h5><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3a75dac6f0-8707-4e27-9e21-a2e9183814ac&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">07/21/2008 03:22 PM Winston Scott tapped for Florida Tech job</A></H5></TD></TR>');
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document.write('<TR><TD width="100%"><h5>07/21/2008 09:15 AM | <A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3ac743cf25-42e8-46cb-a15b-ee54a7cd80ba&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">Click to Comment</A></h5></TD></TR><TR><TD><B><H3><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3ac743cf25-42e8-46cb-a15b-ee54a7cd80ba&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">Russia plans space tourist flights in 2011</A></H3></B></TD></TR><TR><TD><p><img id=\"134ff58d-1e7e-4c6a-b453-ba601a4df03d\" src=\"http://sitelife.floridatoday.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/3/4/134ff58d-1e7e-4c6a-b453-ba601a4df03d.Large.bmp\" alt=\"blog post photo\" /></p><p><span class=\"news_main\"><font color=\"#333333\">Russia&#8217;s space agency<strong> </strong><a href=\"http://www.roscosmos.ru/index.asp?Lang=ENG\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"textlinks\"><strong>Roskosmos</strong></a> will launch a spaceship with tourists to the International Space Station <strong>(</strong><a href=\"http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"textlinks\"><strong>ISS</strong></a><strong>) </strong>in 2011, Roskosmos deputy chief Vitaly Davydov announced last week in England&nbsp;during Farnborough International Airshow 2008,&nbsp;the&nbsp;Ruissian&nbsp;new agency&nbsp;<a href=\"http://en.rian.ru/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"textlinks\"><strong>RIA Novosti</strong></a> reported.</font></span></p><span class=\"news_main\">By 2011, <a href=\"http://www.roscosmos.ru/index.asp?Lang=ENG\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"textlinks\">Roskosmos</a> plans to create a spaceship that can&nbsp;deliver space tourists to the&nbsp;<a href=\"http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"textlinks\">station.</a> We really have the people willing to make this flight, Davydov said. Space Adventures revealed this year that they are negotiating with the Russians to fly two space tourists at once to the station.</span><span class=\"news_main\"> <p>By 2011, the shuttle flights will have ceased, and the U.S. will be&nbsp;dependent on the Russians for access to the $100 billion space station, for which the the U.S. has paid the bulk of the cost. NASA officials have said they have no authority to control what the Russians do with their portion of the space station.</p><p>According to Davydov, this flight could be implemented only as commercial project and Roskosmos is looking for an investor now.</p><p>- <em>Patrick Peterson</em></p><p><strong>ABOUT THE IMAGE:</strong>&nbsp; The Soyuz spacecraft will be the only way to travel to the International Space Station after the shuttle is retired in 2010.</p></span><BR><hr><BR></TD></TR>');
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	document.write('<TR><TD><h5><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3ac743cf25-42e8-46cb-a15b-ee54a7cd80ba&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">07/21/2008 09:15 AM Russia plans space tourist flights in 2011</A></H5></TD></TR>');
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document.write('<TR><TD width="100%"><h5>07/19/2008 06:00 AM | <A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3af017516b-68a7-4a5c-ab5b-e1eb82a04bf0&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">Click to Comment</A></h5></TD></TR><TR><TD><B><H3><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3af017516b-68a7-4a5c-ab5b-e1eb82a04bf0&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">Flame trench repair on schedule</A></H3></B></TD></TR><TR><TD><div dir=\"ltr\" align=\"left\"><font face=\"Tahoma\"><span class=\"761240020-18072008\"><font size=\"2\"><span class=\"706253520-18072008\"><br /><img id=\"72232c4c-5dff-49dc-9275-5d9f0561c21b\" src=\"http://sitelife.floridatoday.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/2/2/72232c4c-5dff-49dc-9275-5d9f0561c21b.Large.jpg\" alt=\"blog post photo\" width=\"342\" height=\"237\" /></span></font></span></font><font face=\"Tahoma\"><span class=\"761240020-18072008\"><font size=\"2\"><span class=\"706253520-18072008\">&nbsp;</span></font></span></font></div><p><font face=\"Tahoma\"><span class=\"761240020-18072008\"><font size=\"2\"><span class=\"706253520-18072008\">Wall anchor drilling is scheduled to be complete today on repairs to the wall of the flame trench at Pad 39A.</span></font></span></font></p><p><font face=\"Tahoma\"><span class=\"761240020-18072008\"><font size=\"2\"><span class=\"706253520-18072008\">About 3,200 fire bricks were blown off the concrete wall during the May 31 launch of&nbsp;Discovery.</span></font></span></font></p><p><font face=\"Tahoma\"><span class=\"761240020-18072008\"><font size=\"2\">Over&nbsp;the next two weeks a steel grid will be attached to the wall, after which a spray-on material called Fondu Fyre will be applied to the wall. Work crews will take off Sunday and continue working Monday on a schedule designed to finish the $2.7 million project well before the Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis.</font></span></font></p><p><font face=\"Tahoma\" size=\"2\"><span class=\"761240020-18072008\">- <em>Patrick Peterson</em></span></font></p><p><font face=\"Tahoma\" size=\"2\"><span class=\"761240020-18072008\"><strong>ABOUT THE IMAGE: </strong>Last week crews&nbsp;completed removing loose brick from the flame trench wall.&nbsp;</span></font></p><BR><hr><BR></TD></TR>');
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	document.write('<TR><TD><h5><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3af017516b-68a7-4a5c-ab5b-e1eb82a04bf0&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">07/19/2008 06:00 AM Flame trench repair on schedule</A></H5></TD></TR>');
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document.write('<TR><TD width="100%"><h5>07/18/2008 12:30 PM | <A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3afe9be65e-9efa-451f-8b9f-2f704e95da6d&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">Click to Comment</A></h5></TD></TR><TR><TD><B><H3><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3afe9be65e-9efa-451f-8b9f-2f704e95da6d&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">Mars satellite reveals ancient lake</A></H3></B></TD></TR><TR><TD><p><img id=\"e18f430c-f7cf-4536-825d-efe6beda4524\" src=\"http://sitelife.floridatoday.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/1/2/e18f430c-f7cf-4536-825d-efe6beda4524.Large.jpg\" alt=\"blog post photo\" width=\"375\" height=\"283\" /></p><p>Two studies based on data from NASA\'s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed that the Red Planet once hosted vast lakes, flowing rivers and a variety of other wet environments that had the potential to support life. <br /><br />One study, published in the July 17 issue of Nature, shows that vast regions of the ancient highlands of Mars, which cover about half the planet, contain clay minerals, which can form only in the presence of water, according to a NASA Web site.</p><p>\"The big surprise from these new results is how pervasive and long-lasting Mars\' water was, and how diverse the wet environments were,\" said Scott Murchie, CRISM principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.</p><p>Another study, published in the June 2 issue of Nature Geosciences, finds that the wet conditions on Mars persisted for a long time. Thousands to millions of years after the clays formed, a system of river channels eroded them out of the highlands and concentrated them in a delta where the river emptied into a crater lake slightly larger than California\'s Lake Tahoe, approximately 25 miles in diameter.</p><p>For more information on the new studies, <strong><u><a href=\"http://www.nasa.gov/mro\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><u>CLICK HERE</u></strong></a>.</u>&nbsp;</strong></p><p>Meanwhile on Mars, the Mars Phoenix Lander is sampling soils near the Martian pole, having found water ice and looking for evidence of organic chemicals.&nbsp;</p><p>- <em>Patrick Peterson</em></p><p><strong>ABOUT THE IMAGE: </strong>A color-enhanced image of the delta in Jezero Crater, which once held a lake.</p><BR><hr><BR></TD></TR>');
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	document.write('<TR><TD><h5><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3afe9be65e-9efa-451f-8b9f-2f704e95da6d&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">07/18/2008 12:30 PM Mars satellite reveals ancient lake</A></H5></TD></TR>');
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document.write('<TR><TD width="100%"><h5>07/16/2008 09:14 PM | <A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3a69df1e2e-89d4-49e5-becc-90f674b045a0&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">Click to Comment</A></h5></TD></TR><TR><TD><B><H3><A href="http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&amp;U=5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620&amp;plckController=PersonaBlog&amp;plckScript=personaScript&amp;plckElementId=personaDest&amp;plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&amp;plckPostId=Blog%3a5064da92e6c8480c8704375ba20ac620Post%3a69df1e2e-89d4-49e5-becc-90f674b045a0&amp;sid=sitelife.floridatoday.com">Orion program over budget, behind schedule</A></H3></B></TD></TR><TR><TD><p>A report leaked Wednesday on nasawatch.com and followed up by The Associated Press shows cost overruns and technical problems are threatening NASA\'s internal target dates for the first human launch of the Orion spacecraft.</p><p>NASA says it remains on target for the March 2015 publicly-advertised target launch, but the slew of problems and cost overruns outlined in the report at nasawatch.com raise a lot of questions about whether the gap between shuttle retirement and the new program is about to widen.</p><p> The new Orion spaceships are envisioned to replace the shuttles and someday carry astronauts back to the moon, and the already five-year gap between the program is causing a lot of concern at Kennedy Space Center, where thousands of jobs are expected to be lost in the transition.</p><p>NASA officials said the 2015 launch of the first crewed mission of the Ares 1 rocket and Orion crew exploration vehicle is still possible. However, the agency&#8217;s internal schedules targeted that first human mission for the summer of 2013. A revised schedule outlining dozens of technical dilemmas now shows that launch no sooner than August 2014. Decisions about changing the schedule could be made this week.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re probably going to have to move our target date,&#8221; NASA exploration chief Doug Cooke admitted to The Associated Press in an interview about the leaked report.</p><p>The cost problems include an $80 million overrun on a motor system. The Orion spacecraft&#8217;s current design remains too heavy for the proposed Ares 1 rocket. Software development, heat-shield testing and a host of other complex work remains either behind schedule or over budget. Those are just a few of dozens of serious challenges and issues, many of which are noted as &#8220;worsening.&#8221;</p><p>NASA has repeatedly stressed its aggressive internal 2013 target required few technical surprises and stable budget. The new report indicates neither of those conditions exist. You can read the <u><strong><a href=\"http://images.spaceref.com/news/2008/cxp.charts.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">full report here at nasawatch.com</a></strong></u>.</p><p>- <em>John Kelly</em> </p><BR><hr><BR></TD></TR>');
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