In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Russia to push launch of astronauts one year to 2022.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Federatsiya spacecraft’s first flight may be rescheduled to 2022 – source
TASS of Russia (5/27): Russia will move the inaugural launch of Federatsiya, a four-person spacecraft designed to launch astronauts to the lunar environs as well as Earth orbit, from 2021 to 2022. The planned launch site will be Baikonur in Kazakhstan rather than Vostochnyi. The Fenik has been selected as the launch vehicle.
Space Science
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter survives ‘speeding bullet’ meteoroid
Space.com (5/27): A slightly blurry photo taken by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter suggests a camera on the spacecraft was struck by a small space object on October 13, 2004. The probe, launched in October 2009, returned to normal operations.
Skywatch: Big planets Jupiter and Saturn will dazzle night skies in June
Washington Post (5/27): The solar system’s two largest planets, Jupiter and Saturn, are visible in the night sky, Venus becomes an early morning fixture. Mars, close to the sun, disappears soon until late summer.
Low Earth Orbit
Bigelow Aerospace founder says commercial world will lead in space
CBS 60 Minutes (5/28): Las Vegas entrepreneur Robert Bigelow believes NASA’s Apollo roots are opening a pathway for commercial space activities. Bigelow’s current focus is an expandable and habitable module for astronauts assigned to future missions of deep space exploration. A prototype, the Bigelow Expandable Activities Module, based on NASA technologies, recently passed the mid-point of a two year evaluation aboard the International Space Station.
Who will build the world’s first commercial space station?
Coalition member in the news
Scientific American (5/26): Mike Suffredini, NASA’s former International Space Station program manager, is the co-founder of Axiom Space, one of the U.S. companies interested in providing a commercial replacement for the current Space Station. Axion would start with a module docked to the Space Station that would detach as the 15 nation ISS retires, perhaps in 2024.
Other News
NASA honors John F. Kennedy’s space legacy on his 100th birthday
Space.com (5/29): Monday marked what would have been U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s 100th birthday. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963, set the U.S. and its Apollo astronauts on a course to the moon in 1961. NASA is marking JFK’s birthday with a JFK centennial website.
Major Space Related Activities for the Week
Major space related activities for the week of May 29-June 3, 2017
Spacepolicyonline.com (5/28): The U.S. House and Senate are in recess this week. SpaceX is preparing its 11th NASA contracted resupply mission for launch to the International Space Station on June 1. Early June 2, Space Station crew members Oleg Novitskiy of Russia and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet are to descend to Earth aboard their Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft, ending a 197 day flight. NASA’s Peggy Whitson who launched with the two men on November 17, 2016 will stay on until September.