Shuttle's mission to repair Hubble telescope delayed till Oct. 8

An Aug. 28 mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope has been moved to Oct.8 because of delays in building fuel tanks needed for the mission, NASA officials announced Thursday.

The shuttle's external tank was redesigned for safer launches after the 2003 Columbia accident. Falling foam from the tank punched a hole in the shuttle's wing, later exposing it to dangerous gases and heat on re-entry.

Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to make the Hubble trip, with her sister ship Endeavour ready for a rescue mission in case something goes wrong. Unlike missions to the international space station, a shuttle mission to Hubble offers no safe harbor if there's trouble.

If Endeavour isn't tapped for a rescue mission, the shuttle will launch its own mission to the space station Nov.10, a delay from its previous target of Oct.16. NASA officials also said they would use Atlantis for two additional missions after Hubble, ensuring use of all three orbiters until the program ends.

NASA plans to retire the shuttles in 2010 to make room for its successor, the Constellation program.

In a previous announcement, NASA officials said the most recent delay likely would push back all remaining shuttle missions by about five weeks, although they were confident they could meet the 2010 deadline.

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Hubble Mission Is Moved Back
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration set Oct. 8 as the date for the final mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. A crew of seven aboard the space shuttle Atlantis was to repair and upgrade the 18-year-old telescope at the end of August, but the mission was delayed because more time was needed to build fuel tanks for the shuttle flight and a potential rescue mission. The agency also rescheduled a supply mission to the International Space Station to Nov. 10 from Oct. 16. The shuttle Discovery is scheduled for launching on May 31 to deliver and install the Japanese laboratory Kibo at the space station.

Google Co-Founder Makes Pitch For Unused Airwaves Access

Google Inc. co-founder Larry Page this week made an unprecedented appeal to policy makers for access to unused television airwaves.
Mr. Page traveled to Washington, D.C., Wednesday and Thursday to meet with members of Congress and the Federal Communications Commission. Speaking at a public event Thursday, he said the unused airwaves, dubbed "white space," would hasten the goal of blanketing the country with Internet access.
Mr. Page said current "Wi-Fi" wireless technology that allows Internet connections in many urban areas is less useful in rural parts of the country because its range is limited. Using TV white spaces, "You can really get a lot more range," he said.
Mr. Page singled out the National Association of Broadcasters as its main adversary in the battle over TV's unused spectrum. "Part of why I'm here is I just I don't want people to be misled by people who have an interest in this to cause the country to do the wrong thing," Mr. Page said. "Should you really be listening to the NAB which wants to keep the spectrum for its own use?"
Other groups, such as wireless microphone manufacturers and sports leagues, also have expressed concerns about white space devices interfering with their own wireless communications equipment.
The FCC is testing a white space device from Motorola Inc. Other companies, including Microsoft Corp. and Philips Electronics NV, have submitted devices for testing. White space devices have malfunctioned at the FCC on several occasions.
The FCC is remaining mum about whether such devices should be permitted and whether the unused television space should be licensed. The commission is unlikely to make a policy decision on those points until it is presented with a device that is proven to work without interference.
Mr. Page said he is confident a successful device is in the works. "I bet 100% that it will happen. It's just a question of what year it happens in," he said.
In Page's visit to Washington, he met with FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and Commissioner Michael Copps, one of two Democrats on the commission.
Mr. Page also met with three senior members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee -- Chairman John Dingell (D., Mich.) Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey (D. Mass.) and Rep. Cliff Stearns (R., Fla), the subcommittee's senior Republican.
During Mr. Page's Thursday presentation, he also said Google is "concerned" about the prospects of a merger between Microsoft and Yahoo Inc. Merger talks between Microsoft and Yahoo broke down earlier this month, but the two companies recently have reopened discussions.
"If Yahoo and Microsoft were to merge, they'd have something like 90% of all the communications market," Mr. Page said. "I think that's a really big risk."
Separately, Google and Yahoo are negotiating an advertising deal in which Yahoo would carry search ads served by Google. Civic groups have criticized that deal as all but monopolizing the Internet advertising market.
Mr. Page responded to that critique. "Obviously, we do have a large advertising share and so on, but we also feel like there are ways in which to structure a deal with Yahoo that would be reasonable from that standpoint," he said.

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Google's White-Space Fixation
Google co-founder Larry Page made a rare trip to Washington this week. No, he wasn't lobbying for net neutrality or being grilled about Internet censorship in China. It was all about the white spaces—and Google's growing fixation with wireless communications.
With opposition mounting, Page came to bolster Google's push to gain public access to these white spaces, slivers of wireless spectrum between the broadcast channels used by TV stations. These slivers were originally designed to prevent interference between over-the-air TV broadcasts. But with TV stations moving to new frequencies under a government-ordered switch to digital broadcasting, some see opportunity in those white spaces.
Google (GOOG) and some odd bedfellows, including Microsoft (MSFT), have urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to turn this spectrum over to the public for free, unlicensed use—much like there are designated slices of the airwaves for Wi-Fi networks set up by homes, businesses, and cities. Until recently, though some broadcasters opposed the idea, it looked as if the technology companies would get their way, and that it was only a matter of time before consumers might be allowed to use white spaces for speedier mobile Internet access.
Arguing for the Status Quo
Not anymore. The first hint of trouble came in late March, when the trade group that represents the U.S. cellular industry urged the FCC to auction off the spectrum to the highest bidder instead. "We believe it's a superior approach," says Joel Farren, spokesman for CTIA-The Wireless Assn. "It's a proven model. It protects service quality for consumers." And, based on the $20 billion raised earlier this year in a federal spectrum auction, "there's a strong demand for licensed spectrum," he argues.
Then there are those who want to leave things just the way they are. And the white spaces are in fact already used for limited purposes. In early May, the country music and sports industries voiced concerns to the FCC that unlicensed devices might interfere with wireless microphones used by musicians and sportscasters during live events. Similarly, GE Healthcare (GE) recently warned "about the potential for harmful interference" to medical equipment that use white spaces, asking the FCC to delay redeployment of some spectrum until 2010 so hospitals have time to phase out older machines.
The debate is growing more vocal now because the FCC, which has been reviewing the issue for four years, may be inching closer to a decision. Interested parties have contacted the FCC—via letters and personal visits—nearly twice as many times in May than in April.
FCC Report Could Come Within Weeks
In the past year, several prototypes of white-space devices failed FCC tests. But the agency recently lab-tested several newer prototypes made by Motorola (MOT), Philips Electronics, and a startup named Adaptrum, and may begin field testing soon. "The FCC is committed to moving forward on TV white spaces testing," says FCC spokesman Robert Kenny.
The FCC may issue a report on the field tests within weeks. "We expect a rule by late summer," says Brian Peters, spokesperson for Wireless Innovation Alliance, which promotes unlicensed use of the spectrum on behalf of members including Microsoft, Google, Dell (DELL), and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). But with all the lobbying from the opposition, "it's less certain now" what that rule will look like, says Rebecca Arbogast, principal at Stifel Nicolaus.

Enter Larry Page. During his May 22 speech to the New America Foundation, a think tank where Google CEO Eric Schmidt is chairman-elect, Page used a wireless microphone to downplay interference concerns. "I don't think there's any technical credence to this at all," he said.
Better Broadband Access
Page also argued that unlicensed white spaces offer a way for the U.S. to catch up with the rest of the world in broadband access. For the second year running, the U.S. ranked 15th among the 30 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development in terms of broadband availability, a recent survey found (BusinessWeek.com, 5/22/08). Today, 10% of Americans still don't have access to DSL or cable broadband, according to consultancy Parks Associates.
Google and others also see white spaces as a way to reignite interest in municipal Wi-Fi networks, many of which are struggling or even being turned off due to financial and service-quality problems. Because the white-space spectrum is more robust, networks using those frequencies would require a fourth to a fifth as many Wi-Fi transmitters to cover an area, according to Michael Calabrese, vice-president of the New America Foundation. Thus, network construction would cost less, while the wireless connections would be speedier.
Should white spaces be approved for unlicensed use, Page hinted, Google might even build some networks for cities with its own funds. "We have money to invest," he said. "We'd probably do it if we could do it on a reasonable scale." Google currently operates a Wi-Fi network in Mountain View, Calif., used by 40,000 people.
Google Has Plenty to Gain
Yet Google has hinted at major wireless incursions before, only to hang by the sidelines. Before the last FCC auction, the Internet search company pushed hard for open-access rules requiring mobile operators to allow more devices and services on their networks. Google vowed to participate in the auction if such rules were adopted, but once they were, the company made what appeared to be just a token bid before withdrawing.
That said, Google does have plenty to gain from open access to white spaces. White spaces are critical to the adoption of the Android operating system for cell phones that Google spearheaded last year with hopes that some Android-based devices would connect with that unlicensed spectrum in addition to traditional cellular networks.
And since Google makes most of its money from displaying ads alongside its search results and on other Web pages, more ubiquitous access to the Internet could mean more business. "If we have 10% better (broadband) connectivity in the U.S., it translates into 10% more revenues for us," Page said.