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Monday’s CSExtra offers an opportunity to catch up on the headlines since Thanksgiving Day, with a roundup of recent space activities and policy developments in the U.S. and around the globe: Is the President’s deficit reduction commission taking aim at NASA’s new commercial space aspirations? The Europeans place a new emphasis on space projects that enhance the quality of life and security. Lockheed Martin eyes an unmanned orbital test of the Orion crew capsule in 2013. China’s take on U.S. space policy. U.S. and Russian astronauts make a safe return to Earth from the International Space Station. Discovery’s launching is off until at least Dec. 17-20. A National Academies study suggests U.S. federal agencies seldom save money by cooperating on space and Earth science missions. NASA rates high on social media savvy.
1. From the Associated Press via the Washington Post and others, Nov. 25: The President’s deficit reduction commission suggests the U.S. could reduce its debt by reducing NASA investments in the development of private space transportation companies. President Obama proposed spending $6 billion on the initiative over five years to lower the cost of delivering astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/25/AR2010112501884.html
A. From Spacepolitics.com, Nov. 28: The deficit reduction commission appears to have edited its NASA recommendation following early objections to the proposal from the commercial space community.
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2010/11/28/deficit-commission-quietly-edits-a-recommendation/
B. From Spacepolicyonline.com, Nov. 28: A list of space policy activities scheduled for the week ahead, including a Dec. 1 Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing on the implementation of the NASA Authorization Act of 2010. The Act initiates NASA efforts to foster commercial space transportation systems. http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/pages/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1246:events-of-interest-week-of-november-29-december-3-2010&catid=67:news&Itemid=27
C. From the San Francisco Chronicle, Nov. 29: An op-ed recounting the virtues of NASA’s commercial space initiative and urging support for Dana Rohrabacher, the California congressman, over Ralph Hall, the Texas legislator, for the chairmanship of the House Science and Technology Committee. The panel is responsible for NASA oversight. Author Stuart Witt, manages the Mojave Air and Space Port, and co-author Greg Autry is a California economist.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/29/EDRI1GG5GV.DTL
2. From Spacepolicyonline.com, Nov. 26: The European Space Agency and European Union stress the importance of space systems to European independence and economic well being during a Nov. 25 conference in Brussels. Two projects take center stage, the Galileo global navigation and Global Monitoring for Economic Safety systems.
http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/pages/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1245:european-space-ministers-emphasize-space-based-infrastructure-exploration&catid=91:news&Itemid=84
3. From the Wall Street Journal, Nov. 25: Lockheed Martin proposes a 2013 unmanned test flight of the Orion capsule using a Delta 4 as the launch vehicle. The flight would place the capsule in a highly elliptical orbit and a splashdown off the California coast, affording a test of the launch abort system and micrometeoroid shielding. Some in Congress may object because the flight would circumvent legislation calling on NASA to develop a new heavy lift rocket using shuttle-derived hardware.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703572404575635504110337016.html?KEYWORDS=NASA
A. From Space News, Nov. 26: Lockheed Martin is proceeding with a purchase of a Delta 4 for the 2013 test, though NASA has not yet committed funding for the Orion test.
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/101126-lockheed-reserved-delta-for-2013-orion-flight.html
4. From Xinhuanet.com (China’s official news service), Nov. 25: An assessment of the Obama Administration’s space policy from China’s perspective. The article make special note of U.S. policy changes that reach out to other nations for cooperation. The demise of NASA’s Constellation Program suggests an end to the U.S. go-it-alone approach, according to the report.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-11/26/c_13623206.htm
5. From Space.com, Nov. 25: A Soyuz capsule with International Space Station crew members Doug Wheelock, Shannon Walker and Fyodor Yurchikhin lands safely in Kazakhstan on Nov. 25 at 11:46 p.m., EDT. The descent marked the end of a 5 1/2 month-long mission to the space station for the trio.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/missionlaunches/soyuz-capsule-lands-space-station-crew-101125.html
6. From Spaceflightnow.com, Nov. 24: NASA passes on a Dec. 3 launching for shuttle Discovery to develop a deeper understanding of the damage that occurred to the external tank during a Nov. 5 launch scrub. Dec. 17 is the soonest a new launch attempt will be made, though the flight may be off until January or February.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts133/101124prcb/index3.html
A. From Florida Today, Nov. 28: Columnist John Kelly cautions NASA against submitting to schedule pressure in the launching of Discovery, as it looks into fuel tank problems. Kelly recalls the lessons of the 2003 Columbia tragedy.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20101128/COLUMNISTS0405/11280322/1007/NEWS02/John+Kelly++Look+back+before+moving+forward
7. From Space News, Nov. 26: Cooperation between agencies on space and Earth science projects seldom saves money, according to a new study carried out by the National Research Council. The obstacles include duplication of management, goals that are sometimes at odds, differing budget cycles and separate Congressional oversight.
http://www.spacenews.com/earth_observation/joint-space-programs.html
8. From Spacepolitics.com: Sarah Palin, a prospective Republican presidential nominee in 2012, makes reference to NASA in her new book, America by Heart. Palin cites remarks by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden earlier this year about the significance of the reaching out to Muslim nations as a loss of vision. Subsequent to the remark, the White House disavowed the controversial remark.
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2010/11/26/nasa-in-palins-new-book/
9. From Florida Today, Nov. 28: Central Florida is facing steep job losses as NASA’s shuttle fleet is retired in 2011. Those who manage to find employment in the region’s tough job market are likely to be paid much less. The average Kennedy Space Center salary was just over $77,000 in 2008, twice the norm for surrounding Brevard County, the newspaper reports.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20101128/NEWS01/11280317/1086/High-paying+jobs+scant+outside+KSC
10. From the Washington Post, Nov. 29: NASA is the most savvy of 100 pubic agencies in the use of social media, according to an assessment by two universities.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/24/AR2010112405864.html
11. From the Los Angeles Times: NASA selects Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for technology contracts leading to more fuel efficient passenger aircraft.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/11/nasa-green-plane-technology.html
12. From Spaceflightnow.com, Nov. 26: An Ariane V carries Intelsat and British telecommunications satellites into orbit from French Guiana.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ariane/v198/index.html
13. From Space.com, Nov. 25: Rhea, the second largest moon of Saturn, has an atmosphere rich in oxygen and carbon dioxide.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/scienceastronomy/saturn-moon-rhea-oxygen-atmosphere-101125.html
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