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News briefs: June 19
Posted: Thu, Jun 20, 2002, 7:00 AM ET (1100 GMT)
- If Lance Bass will be a space tourist on the October Soyuz flight, a deal must be concluded within the next few days, according to published reports. SPACE.com quoted an unidentified source familiar with negotiations between Bass and a television network that would fund the flight as saying a deal "could happen in the next 36 hours." However, Rosaviakosmos spokesperson Sergei Gorbunov has said that it is already too late to begin preparations for the October flight. In that case only two cosmonauts, Sergei Zalyotin and Frank De Winne, would be on that flight.
- Northrop Grumman officials said Wednesday they plan to continue their efforts to acquire TRW after Goodrich agreed late Tuesday to purchase TRW's aeronautical systems division for $1.5 billion. A Northrop spokesperson told Dow Jones Newswires that the company's studies of TRW's proprietary information was in progress, and the company would not comment on any changes in bidding strategy until that process was concluded.
- NASA has pushed back the launch of the Next Generation Space Telescope, the successor to Hubble, one year to 2010, AviationNow reported this week. The delay is required because it will take engineers more time to figure out how to build a mirror six meters across that can fit into launch vehicle payload shrouds that are no more than five meters across. NASA will select either TRW or Lockheed Martin as prime contractor by late August.
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