KickStart Your Rocket City News Review Hugh Stanley Hugh@myKickStart

1. KickStart Your Rocket City News Review Hugh Stanley Hugh@myKickStart.com

2. Networking Opportunities 12/25 Christmas - Federal Holiday 1/05 0800 Turkey Doldrums complete 1/07 Larry Burger Retirement Ceremony – VB III – Phil Patterson 955-1746 1/08 2nd International Space Conference - Noida, India 1/15 1100: ASMDA Annual Membership - VBC-E - LTG Mann 1/15 1130: CoC Annual Meeting - VBC-N - Pammie Jammar 1/15 1130: NCMA Lunch ‘DCAA Issues’ – RFCU – Jonathan N. Hall 1/15 1730: PMI Dinner - (Part 1 of 2) The Keys to Our Success – David Barrett 1/16 0730: PMI Breakfast - (Part 2 of 2) From a Good PM to a Great Leader - David Barrett 1/22 1130: CoC Annual Meeting – VBC-N – Pammie Jammar 1/28 3DPAMA Lunch 1/29 1300: AUSA 4th Annual Defense Acquisition Civ. Leadership Summit – The Summit 1/29 1800: Inventors' Ball - S&RC 2/19 MSFC Small Business Alliance (MSBA) Meeting - S&RC 2/24 0700: AMCOM Industry Days - BJ Auditorium 4/01 AUSA Winter Blast Off Bash 4/24 Panoply of the Arts - Big Spring Park

3. AUSA is excited to announce our return to Huntsville, Alabama for the 2015 Global Force Symposium and Exposition Happy 20th, HASBAT! HASBAT celebrates 20 years: "Small business can do the job," says president 24 yr old rich kid wants to build a flophouse, and that's a good thing: buys a Huntsville school, offers cheap work space to other young startups VIDEO: Discussing the future of defense: Hundreds attend AMRDEC briefing Senate authorizes $15.5 billion in Defense spending related to Alabama Huntsville makes grandparents.com list of top places to retire State Rep. Jack Williams lays out plan to restructure University of Alabama BOT system, benefit UAB football Alabama A&M adds Confucius Institute to educate students, community about Chinese culture Gizmag calls MSFC a "hidden gem“ - A tour through NASA's hidden gem Boosting Access to Government Rocket Science - Enter the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) and its Mission Assistance for the National Institute for Rocket Propulsion Systems (NIRPS). DAU’s South Region led a study for NIRPS, a joint DoD-NASA virtual organization, to assess issues relating to the propulsion industrial base. The results include an innovative framework for developing flexible, yet binding, agreements that promote commercial access to government resources. Local

4. Orbital Sciences Entitled To Partial NASA Payment for Antares Failure ATK and Orbital Receive U.S. DOJ Clearance for Proposed Merger Orbital Sciences turns to Atlas as it regroups from rocket explosion Orbital to Buy At Least One Launch for Cygnus from ULA Virginia rocket-maker Orbital Sciences Corp. moves forward on $4.5 billion Merger Antares Upgrade Will Use RD-181s In Direct Buy From Energomash Orion test flight will have 20,000 mile-per-hour, plasma-soaked return to Earth … Flawless Orion Launch and Landing Amazing Up Close Videos Capture Orion’s Final Descent, Splashdown and Ocean Recovery NASA’s Orion spacecraft runs on a 12 year-old single-core processor from the iBook G3 European Space Agency desperate to compete with SpaceX... Airbus chooses Falcon 9 for launches France calls it un-European: Plan to Launch on SpaceX Falcon 9 Criticized Set your calendar - SpaceX launch and booster recovery is tomorrow: readies barge for off-shore rocket landingEverything You Need to Know About Friday's SpaceX Launch Space Biz

5. Two women astronauts on ISS Houston, we have a lasagne Despite budget boost, Space Launch System will not fly before 2018 Oh, and Curiosity Rover may have just found life on Mars Curiosity rover finds active, ancient organic chemistry on Mars Goddard instrument makes first detection of organic matter on Mars Mars methane gas discovery may hint at some form of present-day life on the planet NASA Rover Finds Mysterious Methane Emissions on Mars Space Exploration

6. Defense • HAGEL: The World Is 'Damn Dangerous' And Our Army Is Not Ready • Hagel fired - emphatically, ineffectually, & probly for all the wrong reasons • Hagel, under pressure, resigns as US defense secretary Michèle Flournoy takes herself out of the running • US Defense Chief Nominee Ashton Carter Wants A Faster Embrace Of New Technologies • ‘Enormously Energetic’ Carter May Replace A Weary Hagel • Hagel Says the Decision To Leave the Pentagon Was Mutual • Admiral fired as second in command of U.S. nuclear forces allegedly made his own counterfeit $500 poker chips • --- Ground Pounder • Beretta out as standard-issue Army sidearm, Pentagon taking bids for replacement • Glock vs. Smith & Wesson: A Shootout for the Pentagon's New Pistol • The Maker of the AK-47 Says It's a 'Weapon of Peace' • The crushing deployment tempo • The Pacific Rim’s Future Wars Belong to Marines

7. Aviation • Warthog back to shreddin' in the sandbox - Return to Iraq after Air Force Tries to Retire Fleet — And Just in Time • America’s Toughest, Ugliest Warplane Is Going Back Into Battle • A look at F-35 close-air support tactics… • Chinese hypersonic vehicle better than the one they copied • ​China's hypersonic strike vehicle 'in third test flight' • China Taunts US With Hypersonic Nuclear Strike Vehicle • Bell-Boeing demonstrates V-22 forward-firing capability • Raytheon, Bell Conduct 1st Missile Launch from V-22 • NASA team builds biodegradable drone with wasp spit, fungi • X-47 may auto aerial refuel demonstrations next year • Fort Bliss builds Gray Eagle UAV complex

8. International • China Said to Turn Reef Into Airstrip in Disputed Water • Rattled by Chinese submarines, India joins other nations in rebuilding fleet • China worries may boost Indonesia defense spending to $20 B / year • China may back Iraq in ISIL fight offers military assistance to Iraq in ISIL fight • A Massacre of Innocents in Pakistan …Lifts Death Penalty Ban After School Massacre • Russian convoy of warships plies channel waters off Britain • What's louder than Putin's bluster ...the scream of the Russian Ruble Ruble Is Getting CRUSHED • Obama to Approve New Russian Sanctions • Putin holds late-night talks on Ukraine with European leaders …crisis could shake Putin's grip on power • Russia Defends Ruble With Biggest Rate Rise Since 1998 • Russians Are Scrambling To Get Their Hands On US Dollars • Things about to get worse for Putin

9. Pictures of the Month Loretta Lynn / Lynch – Ashton Kutcher / Carter

10. Missile Defense • MDA Aims for 2020 Fielding of Redesigned Kill Vehicle • China to receive Russian S-400 systems in exchange for political support • China's CX-1 Missile Now Exportable • Chinese Hypersonic Strike Vehicle May Overcome US Missile Defense: Expert • China to arm submarines with nuclear missiles • Russian Navy successfully tests new missile • Russia Seeks to Match THAAD, GMD US Missile Defense Systems • Russian space-based ABM system on-track for 2020 launch • India test fires nuclear capable strategic missile • Israel to start advanced trials of David's Sling missile defence system • Arrow 3 test stopped before interceptor launched • US Missile Defense Enhancement Not Targeted at Russia: MDA

11. Strange Torque Cop’s Deadeye Pistol Shot Took Down Austin Gunman at 100 Yards People Who Are Good At Recognizing Emotions Make More Money The world's most valuable barn find ever: 60 rare cars untouched 15 real-world achievements by the fake 'Stephen Colbert' California Needs 11 Trillion Gallons of Water to End Drought: NASA Gasoline prices may continue falling through the end of the year …4-Year Low

12. All I know is what I read in the papers… – Will Rogers