In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Retired NASA astronaut Eileen Collins, the first female space shuttle commander, called for a strong U.S. space program in remarks before the Republican National Convention on the 47th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Eileen Collins endorses space program, but not Trump
Spacepolicyonline.com (7/21): Eileen Collins, the retired NASA astronaut and first woman to command a space shuttle mission, called for a strong U.S. space program as she spoke before the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, the 47th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. “We landed on the Moon to fulfill a leadership challenge and to explore,” said Collins, also a U.S. Air Force veteran. “Nations that lead on the frontier, lead in the world.” Story includes a YouTube link to her remarks.
Mars, aliens and other Earths: My talk with the guy who has NASA’s ‘coolest job’
Washington Post (7/20): The U.S. marked a pair of important space anniversaries on Wednesday, the 47th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and the 40th anniversary of Viking 1, the first Mars lander. Jim Green, the director of NASA’s planetary science division, looks back and ahead at what it will mean for humans to land on the red planet. Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on another world. NASA’s Viking 1 and its companion Viking 2 included experiments that attempted to look for life on Mars.
U.S. and Russian scientists are making plans to go back to the Moon together
Popular Mechanics (7/20): NASA and Russia have discussed a joint return to the Moon, according to the publication. The multinational partnerships forged to establish the International Space Station have provided a foundation for the discussions.
Space Science
For the first time, scientists explore the atmosphere of an Earth-sized exoplanet
Washington Post (7/20): The Hubble Space Telescope has enabled scientists to gaze into the atmospheres of two planets orbiting another star, Trappist-1, which is nothing like the sun but just 40 light years away. Observations reveal “contained atmospheres” like those of Venus, Mars and the Earth. The results were published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
Mars 2020 rover mission to cost more than $2 billion
Space News (7/20): Scheduled to launch in mid-2020, NASA’s Mars 2020 rover will cost $2.1 billion — more than initially estimated. On July 15, the Mars 2020 mission cleared a development milestone, one that permits the development team to begin the assembly of the rover hardware. Slated for launch in mid-2020, the Mars 2020 rover would touchdown on the red planet in February 2021.
Attempt to explain away ‘dark energy’ takes a hit
Science (7/19): A new study offers an endorsement of dark energy, a little understood force that appears to be driving the expansion of the universe.
Low Earth Orbit
WorldView-2 satellite involved in ‘debris-causing event’
Spaceflight Insider (7/20): The U.S. Department of Defense’s Joint Space Operations Center issued a notice on Wednesday that Digital Globe’s WorldView-2 satellite had been part of a “debris-causing event.” Eight pieces were reported. Digital Globe stated the satellite is maneuverable and operational. The JSpOC tracks objects in space around Earth.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
5 years after shuttle, NASA awaits Commercial Crew capsules
Associated Press via New York Times (7/20): Thursday marks the fifth anniversary of the landing of NASA’s final space shuttle mission. Today, STS-135 commander Chris Ferguson works for Boeing on the company’s CST-100 Starliner, which along with SpaceX’s crewed Dragon is in development under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to establish a commercial means of transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Both spacecraft are at least a year away from their first missions with astronauts. STS-135 pilot Doug Hurley is one of the NASA astronauts training for an early flight on one of the two vehicles.
Flawless capture and berthing of SpaceX Dragon supply ship at ISS.
Universe Today (7/20): NASA commander Jeff Williams and flight engineer Kate Rubins coordinated the Canadian robot arm capture of the latest NASA-contracted re-supply mission to the International Space Station early Wednesday. The delivery included the first NASA/Boeing-developed International Docking Adapter, hardware that will permit U.S. commercial crew transports engineered by Boeing and SpaceX to dock with the Space Station.
European Commission OK’s Airbus Safran Launchers takeover of Arianespace
Space News (7/20): On Wednesday, the European Commission okayed an Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL) takeover of Arianespace, the French launch services provider. Arianespace said the companies have accepted conditions imposed by the EU to minimize the chance of anti-competitive behavior.
Jeff Bezos’ ‘Star Trek’ cameo takes billionaire space battle to final frontier
Space.com (7/20): Amazon.com and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos goes for alien garb and plenty of makeup for his cameo appearance in the new feature film Star Trek Beyond, scheduled to open in U.S. theaters on Friday.
Suborbital
Jeff Bezos touts results from Blue Origin spaceship’s test, even with one less chute
GeekWire (7/20): Blue Origin’s New Shepard accomplished a successful test landing of its passenger capsule on June 19 during an uncrewed flight test in which one of three descent parachutes was intentionally disabled.