Berlin unveils ‘crewed spaceship’

A model of a proposed European manned spaceship has gone on show at the Berlin Air Show.

The design, which has been produced by EADS Astrium, is based on the unmanned “Jules Verne” freighter recently sent to the International Space Station.

Astrium says a crewed version of the truck is a logical evolution, and could fly in the next decade if it received support from European governments.

Key states – Germany, France, and Italy – are said to be very interested.

The model unveiled at the International Aerospace Exhibition (ILA) in Berlin is one-for-one in scale.

The idea is to combine what is essentially the avionics and propulsion end of Jules Verne (also known as the Automated Transfer Vehicle – ATV) with a crew compartment taking the place of the current cargo section. – bbc

Musharraf toppled. Bhutto’s widower wins presidency.

Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, has won a sweeping victory in Pakistan’s presidential election. The election was called after Pervez Musharraf resigned rather than risk being impeached.

Mr Zardari faces severe economic problems and a rampant Islamist insurgency that are threatening Pakistan’s stability. During the voting a bomb killed at least 15 people near Peshawar city.  The president is elected by secret ballots in the national and four provincial assemblies.

Mr Zardari won 481 votes out of 702, far more than the 352 votes that would have guaranteed him victory, leaving his two rivals trailing far behind. In Sindh province, Mr Zardari won all 65 votes. In North West Frontier Province (NWFP) he got 56 out of the 65 votes. In Balochistan province he won 59 of the 65 votes. By contrast he only won 22 out of 65 seats in Punjab province, the heartland of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N party.

The two daughters of Mr Zardari and Ms Bhutto hugged friends in delight in the gallery of the national assembly as the results became clear. Members of Mr Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) declared the result to be a “victory for democracy”. – bbc

Musharraf was a big supporter of Bush’s war on terror. Will Pakistan’s support for the US change under Zardari?

Like his predecessor, Pervez Musharraf, a strong US ally but an unpopular figure who resigned in August, Mr. Zardari has expressed strong support for fighting terrorism. But his record on democratic reform is less convincing so far. – csmonitor

Rosetta probe makes asteroid pass

The Rosetta space probe has made a close pass of asteroid Steins.

The European Space Agency mission flew past the 4.6km-wide rock at a distance of about 800km, taking pictures and recording other scientific data. The information will be sent back to Earth for processing and will be released to the public on Saturday. The asteroid pass is a bonus for Rosetta. Its prime goal is to catch and orbit Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko out near Jupiter in 2014.

Friday’s pass occurred about 360 million km from Earth, in between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, in the asteroid belt. Closest approach to (2867) Steins – to give the rock its full designation – was timed for 1858 GMT. Rosetta was turned to give its instruments the best possible view of the target. Mission planners said the spacecraft would have flown past the rocky body at a relative speed of 8.6km/s. Both the probe and the asteroid would have been illuminated by the Sun, providing an excellent opportunity for science observations.

A radio signal was received from Rosetta at 2014 GMT, confirming a smooth fly-by. The probe was not expected to beam back its data haul until late on Friday. The mission will make another asteroid rendezvous as it works its way out to Jupiter.

The probe will visit the (21) Lutetia space rock on 10 June 2010, but from the larger distance of 3,000 km. Only a few asteroids have so far been observed up close. They have been shown to be very different in shape and size – ranging from a few km to over 100km across – and in their composition.

The rocks are often referred to as “space rubble” because they represent the leftovers that were never incorporated into planets when the Solar System formed 4.6 billion years ago. As with comets, they may contain very primitive materials that have not undergone the constant recycling experienced by, for example, Earth rocks. Rosetta data should therefore help researchers understand better how our local space environment has evolved over time.  – bbc

U.S. to take control of Fannie and Freddie: reports

The U.S. government plans to put government sponsored mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under federal control, the New York Times and Washington Post newspapers reported late Friday, in what could be the largest financial bailout in the nation’s history.

The two government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) own or guarantee almost half of the country’s $12 trillion in outstanding home mortgage debt.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Friday that the U.S. Treasury Department is close to finalizing a plan to restructure the two companies that includes changes to their senior management.

The plan could be announced as early as this weekend, the Journal said.

U.S. Treasury spokeswoman Brookly McLaughlin declined to comment on the Journal report on Friday. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac spokesmen also declined to comment. … Senior Bush administration and Federal Reserve officials called in top executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Friday and told them that the government was preparing to place the two companies under federal control, officials and company executives told the New York Times.  – reuters