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News briefs: June 26
Posted: Thu, Jun 27, 2002, 7:37 AM ET (1137 GMT)
- The recent failure of a gyroscope on the International Space Station may have been caused by a lack of lubrication, Florida Today reported Wednesday. Bearings in the gyro that keep its parts moving smoothly apparently did have enough lubrication, causing the gyro to lock up and fail earlier this month. The gyro will be returned to Earth on a future shuttle mission to investigate the failure in greater detail.
- The Commission on the Future of the US Aerospace Industry issued the third in a series of interim reports Wednesday, including several recommendations on the nation's space infrastructure. The commission recommended that NASA and the Defense Department study merging spaceport operations at Cape Canaveral into a single management structure, allow the agencies to lease property at the spaceports at fair market value, and privatize utilities. The report also discussed issues regarding the aerospace industrial base and workforce.
- The head of the CIA has instructed intelligence agencies to use more commercial satellite images, the New York Times reported Wednesday. In a memo dated earlier this month, George Tenet instructed the director of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency to use commercial satellite images from companies like Space Imaging and DigitalGlobe as the primary source for government mapping imagery, with government reconnaissance satellites used only in "exceptional circumstances".
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