Today’s Deep Space Extra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. United Launch Alliance joined Boeing this week in presenting NASA with an upper stage for the Space Launch System exploration rocket. The ULA stage is ready for testing. A NASA sponsored workshop got underway in Houston on Tuesday to discuss future human landing sites on Mars. Russian considers a human lunar landing in 2029. At Saturn, the U.S., European Cassini spacecraft prepares to dive through an icy geyser like spray shooting from the south pole of the moon Enceladus. Pluto scientist Alan Stern discusses the public excitement over New Horizons historic July 14 flyby and future plans for the long distance mission. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft circles closer to the dwarf planet Ceres, a mysterious resident of the asteroid belt. U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren prepared for a busy spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Wednesday. Scientist will track and study an unusually large piece of space junk as it plunges into the Earth’s atmosphere in November. The U.S. House on Tuesday reauthorized the U.S. Export Import Bank, an important player in the export of U.S. aerospace products and services.
Human Deep Space Exploration
NASA gets a big Alabama-built rocket booster for Space Launch System testing
Huntsville Times (10/27): United Launch Alliance will figure prominently in NASA’s initial space test flight of the Orion crew capsule and the Space Launch System exploration rocket planned for late 2018. ULA, provider of the SLS upper or interim cyrogenic propulsion state, joined prime contractor Boeing in providing NASA with a prototype for testing earlier this week. The unpiloted Exploration Mission-1 test flight is planned for late 2018.
Where should humans land on Mars? Workshop to discuss possibilities
The Planetary Society (10/27): In Houston, dozens of scientists and engineers gathered Tuesday for a workshop intended to help NASA select a productive landing site for a future NASA mounted human mission to Mars. The sessions, which continue through Friday, will feature discussions on more than 40 landing site prospects. The discussions will examine science value as well as potential resources for a human base, accessibility and safety.
Russia plans to send cosmonaut to the Moon by 2029
Newsweek (10/27): Officials from the Russian aerospace company Energia offer details for the assembly of a new composite spacecraft for human lunar missions. The planning calls for assembly by 2021 with a test flight to follow. An unpiloted lunar mission will follow four years later after first docking with the International Space Station. A human flight to the moon would follow in 2029. Details of the plan were provided to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
NASA spacecraft to dive into icy geyser on distant world
Ars Technica (10/27): The NASA, European and Italian space agency Cassini spacecraft is to soar through an ice plume erupting from the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus on Wednesday. Instruments aboard the probe are to sample the spray for thermal energy and organic components, both indications of whether the distant 300 mile wide ice covered moon harbors a habitable environment.
On Pluto time: Q&A with New Horizons leader Alan Stern
Space.com (10/27): New Horizons mission principal investigator Alan Stern discusses the public fascination with the first spacecraft to fly by distant Pluto. “Years ago, when we were starting to plan the public outreach around the encounter, we calculated what fraction of the U.S., and presumably the world, had never seen a first encounter with big real estate [a big object in the solar system],” said Stern. “It turned out that almost half the people in the U.S. had never seen anything like this where you turn a point of light into a planet right before every one’s eyes. It made a huge impact on people, and I’m really happy about that.” The flyby unfolded July 14. New Horizons recorded so much data that it is taking months to stream back to Earth.
Dawn moves toward final planned science orbit at Ceres
Spaceflightnow.com (10/27): NASA’s Dawn mission spacecraft, launched eight years ago, is descending closer to the dwarf planet Ceres for its closest observations yet of mysterious bright markings on the surface. The descent from a 915 mile high orbit to 235 miles altitude began with thruster firings on Oct. 23. Dawn has been orbiting Ceres since March.
Low Earth Orbit
Space Station astronauts set for spacewalk
CBS News (10/27): Aboard the International Space Station, first time NASA space walkers Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren will embark on a 6 1/2 hour spacewalk early Wednesday. Their long list of tasks include applying thermal installation to the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a cosmic ray observatory installed outside the Space Station in 2011, and the extending power and data cables for a docking mechanism that will accommodate docking ports for Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Dragon commercial crew capsules.
Falling space junk will burn up in Earth’s atmosphere next month
Space.com (10/27): A space junk fragment, designated WT1190F, is expected to plunge back to Earth over the Indian Ocean on Nov. 13 under the watchful eye of scientists. They expect to add to their knowledge of what happens to man-made debris that plunges into the atmosphere.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Export-Import bank wins reauthorization in House, will Senate follow suit?
Spacepolicyonline.com (10/27): The U.S. House on Tuesday re-authorized the U.S. Export Import Bank, a financial institution that helps foreign customers purchase U.S. aerospace products and services as well as those of other commercial sectors. The bank’s authorization expired on June 30. Next, the U.S. Senate will consider re-authorization.