Today’s Deep Space Extra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. With the Critical Design Review phase behind them, NASA and prime contractor Lockheed Martin turn their attention to preparation of the Exploration Mission-1 Orion crew exploration capsule. NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman outlines the agency’s Mars mission planning. The annual Leonid meteor shower is forecast to peak Nov. 17-18. A short circuit aboard the six person International Space Station deactivates a power channel that astronauts can repair with a future spacewalk, NASA says. Researchers tackle astronaut mental health concerns as NASA addresses Mars mission challenges. NASA mathematician Katherine G. Johnson will receive the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom. The U.S. House passed a compromise version of commercial space legislation on Monday that will extend International Space Station operations from 2020 to 2024. United Launch Alliance announces a surprise withdrawal from a future defense mission competition. The three-day Space Commerce Conference and Exposition (SpaceCom) in Houston will introduce new commercial space benefits. The U.S. Air Force turns to space commerce for help in the tracking of orbital space debris.

Human Deep Space Exploration

Orion’s critical design review an important milestone toward Exploration Mission-1
Spaceflight Insider (11/16): Now that NASA’s Orion crew exploration capsule has cleared the critical design review phase of its development, prime contractor Lockheed Martin can focus on fabrication of components, assembly and testing to prepare for a 2018 test flight designated as Exploration Mission-1. The three week test flight will launch the uncrewed Orion capsule on a course around the moon atop an Space Launch System rocket. The final phase of the flight will bring the capsule back to Earth for re-entry, ocean splash down and recovery.

NASA’s Deputy Administrator discusses agency’s road-map to Mars in exclusive interview
Spaceflight Insider (11/17): Dava Newman, NASA’s deputy administrator since May, talks about the timing and milestones of U.S. efforts to reach Mars with human explorers by the mid-2030s. As NASA pursues the goal it will transfer responsibilities for the launching of astronauts to and from the International Space Station to the nation’s commercial space sector.

Unmanned Deep Space Exploration

Look up! The hunt for Leonid meteors is on
Discovery.com (11/16): The annual Leonid meteor shower is predicted to peak Nov. 17-18. The source of the bright streaks that cross the darkened skies is the comet Swift Tuttle. This year’s shower is not predicted to be among the most spectacular.

Low Earth Orbit

Space Station suffers short circuit, power system degraded
Associated Press via New York Times (11/16): A short circuit aboard the International Space Station has prompted the shutdown of one of eight solar power channels. Spacewalk repairs may be necessary after a previously scheduled U.S. commercial resupply mission launches. The short, which transpired on Nov. 13, has had no impact on the six astronauts aboard, according to NASA. Orbital ATK plans the next scheduled U.S. commercial re-supply mission launch on Dec. 3.

NASA explains why it’s worried about the mental health of astronauts going to Mars
Fusion (11/16): NASA’s human Mars mission, timed for the 2030s, will unfold over 30 months with current propulsion technologies. Researchers have a pretty good understanding of what happens physically and mentally to astronauts over the six months they now spend aboard the International Space Station. Currently, Scott Kelly is in the second half of a yearlong mission that is allowing scientists to examine changes underway in his body down to the molecular level. In addition, the experiment Journals tracks his mental outlook.

Astronauts observe a moment of silence to honor victims of Paris attacks
Time (11/16): Astronauts aboard the International Space Station paid tribute Monday to the victims of recent terrorist attacks on Paris.

Berra, 16 others to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
USA Today (11/16): Sixteen Americans will receive the U.S. Medal of Freedom, including Katherine G. Johnson, a NASA mathematician who influenced human space programs from Mercury to the space shuttle, the White House announced on Monday. She joins recipients from a wide range of pursuits, including Major League Baseball’s catcher/manager Yogi Berra.

Commercial to Low Earth Orbit

Wrapping up a commercial space bill
The Space Review (11/16):  The U.S. Senate version of compromise U.S. commercial space legislation passed the U.S. House on Monday. Key provisions extend operations aboard the six person International Space Station from 2020 to 2024, establish property rights for U.S. companies that mine the moon and asteroids and extend learning periods for companies regulated by the FAA. The legislation also recognizes the valve of NASA’s Space Launch System exploration rocket for the launching of unmanned science payloads as well as human missions of deep space exploration. The U.S. Senate approved the measure Nov. 10.

ULA declines to bid on GPS 3 launch contract long sought by SpaceX
Washington Post (11/16): Congressional restrictions on the future import of Russian RD-180 rocket engines has prompted a surprise announcement from United Launch Alliance, the Boeing/Lockheed Martin joint venture provider of the Atlas 5 and Delta 4 launch vehicles, not to bid on a future U.S. Air Force sponsored defense mission. The decision leaves the field open to a single company, SpaceX. ULA had sought a waiver to an RE-180 ban by 2019 that would have permitted it to import four of the Russian rocket engines.

Space tech meets Earth-based industry in SpaceCom Conference
Space.com (11/16): The three day Space Commerce Conference and Exposition (SpaceCom) begins Tuesday in Houston to help advance the commercial space industry with innovations developed for and in space. The activities are also intended to advance new space business in key areas including advanced manufacturing, communications, energy, medicine and transportation.

U.S. Air Force seeks new space situational awareness data to track threats
Space News (11/16): The U.S. Air Force considers turning to commercial sources for information that could help track orbital debris threats to U.S. military satellites. The U.S. Air Force expressed as much in a Nov. 4 request for information from the space industry.