[11-16-07 – Satellite Today] A pair of U.S. Congressmen have written to NASA Administrator Michael Griffin expressing concern over a study contract awarded to small satellite manufacturer Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) of the United Kingdom.
    The letter, dated Nov. 6 and signed by Reps. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) and Randy Forbes (R-Va.), expresses concern over SSTL’s relationship with China and also points out that the contract for a potential joint lunar orbiter mission was awarded without a competitive bid process.
    Under the contract from Mississippi State University, SSTL will study the Magnolia mission for nine months, culminating in a preliminary mission design. The contract includes small satellite training for Mississippi State and NASA Stennis Space Center staff. The contract follows the signing of a joint statement of intent between NASA and the British National Space Centre.
    “We are concerned that NASA funding is going directly to a foreign company with a record of aiding the Chinese military expansion into space,” the letter said. “Most troubling is that there appears to have been no competitive process for this project. U.S. companies did not even have an opportunity to bid on this potentially sensitive space mission. This is not acceptable.”
    SSTL developed the Beijing-1 imaging satellite for Beijing Landview Mapping Information Technology Ltd. in 2005. The spacecraft is part of SSTL’s Disaster Monitoring Constellation.
    The letter acknowledges that the contract was initiated by Mississippi State and not NASA, and therefore is not subject to federal procurement statues and International Traffic in Arms Regulations. But “it appears to violate the spirit of these laws which seek to prevent transfer of sensitive technology to potentially rogue elements,” the letter said.
    Wolf’s district includes Loudon County, home of small satellite builder AeroAstro.
    The next phase of the Magnolia mission is planned to start in 2008 and could lead to the launch of the mission in 2010.