In Today’s Deep Space Extra… John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, died Thursday in his native Ohio. His many accomplishments quickly received wide praise.
Human Deep Space Exploration
John Glenn, American hero of the space age, dies at 95
New York Times (12/8): Mercury astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, U.S. Senator and one-time presidential aspirant has died. Glenn passed away in his native Ohio at Ohio State University’s James Cancer Center in Columbus. Americans rallied around Glenn as he returned to Earth from his historic February 20, 1962 three-orbit flight aboard Friendship 7. In 1998, then 77, Glenn got his wish to launch again, this time aboard the shuttle Discovery. Glenn was 95.
World remembers John Glenn as hero, legend
USA Today (12/8): “Godspeed, John Glenn,” tweeted the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. “Ad Astra,” the agency continued, offering the Latin phrase that means “to the stars.”
Glenn’s historic flight one of the most dangerous ever
Florida Today (12/8): John Glenn’s three-orbit mission around the Earth was among the space program’s riskiest, recall those who witnessed the February 20, 1962 liftoff and splashdown. Glenn helped to set the stage for the Apollo moon landings.
John Glenn, American hero, aviation icon and former U.S. senator, dies at 95
Columbia (Ohio) Dispatch (12/8): “His legend is out worldly and now, at age 95, so is John Glenn,” reports the newspaper where the pioneering NASA astronaut died Thursday. “He, along with fellow aviators Orville and Wilbur Wright and moon-walker Neil Armstrong, truly made Ohio first in flight.”
The otherworldly spirit of John Glenn
The Washington Post (12/8): Author Homer Hickam remembers John Glenn, his place among NASA’s Mercury 7 and what those personalities meant to Cold War America. “Ironically, John Glenn, the Mercury astronaut most Americans can still name, was the quiet one. He was strong and steady and never in any manner outlandish,” writes Hickam in a tribute.
This is NASA’s plan for humanity’s return to the moon, and beyond
Popular Mechanics (12/8): A lunar-orbiting space station, positioned in the 2020s, figures prominently in NASA’s strategy to reach the Martian environs with human explorers in the 2030s.
Appropriations coming down to the wire — will there be a shutdown tomorrow?
Spacepolicyonline.com (12/9): The U.S. House has approved a budget continuing resolution that provides funding for discretionary agencies like NASA, NOAA and much of the rest of the federal government through April 28. The current CR expires Friday at midnight, and the Senate must approve the measure and President Obama must sign it to avoid a shutdown. It was unclear late Thursday how the Senate would respond. The 2017 federal fiscal year began October 1 without a budget.
Space Science
The air on Mars has a mysterious glow, here’s why
Seeker (12/8): NASA’s Maven orbiter discovered a high altitude atmospheric glow as the spacecraft circled Mars this year. The reason is a response to the solar wind striking atoms of the atmosphere. Maven’s mission is to help explain how the Martian atmosphere eroded over time.
NASA microsatellite mission could breathe new life into hurricane protection
Science (12/8): NASA’s eight small satellite Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) constellation awaits a launch next week from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Data gathered by the CYGNSS constellation promises to improve hurricane wind speed forecasts and better explain the mechanics of how storm systems take shape.
Low Earth Orbit
Japanese Kounotori 6 set for launch to Space Station
Spaceflight Insider (12/8): After several weeks of delay to track down an air leak, Japan’s sixth re-supply mission to the International Space Station awaited liftoff from Japan on Friday at 8:26 a.m. EST. Japan’s HTV-6 is loaded with four and a half tons of supplies for the six-person Space Station. The freighter should reach the station early Tuesday.