CSExtra – Monday, November 1, 2010

Nov 1, 2010 | Blog, Coalition News, CSExtra

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Monday’s CSExtra features the latest reporting from the weekend and the start of a new week. After a two-day delay to repair gas leaks, the countdown for the final mission of shuttle Discovery got under way on Sunday. Lift off is set for Wednesday at 3:52 p.m., EDT, with favorable weather forecast. China makes plans for a space station timed to enter service as the activities aboard the International Space Station wind down. U.S. space policy governing the future of human spaceflight is unclear, according to participants in a Washington forum. New findings on Mars suggest the Red Planet once hosted conditions suitable for microbial life. And more.
 
1. From Spaceflightnow.com, Oct. 31: The countdown for the launching of Shuttle Discovery, on the 26-year-old orbiter’s final mission gets under way on Sunday, though two days later than planned. The delay allowed launch pad technicians to repair  helium and nitrogen leaks in the shuttle’s Orbiter Maneuvering System. The launch is set for Wednesday at 3:52 p.m., EDT. The weather outlook is 70 percent favorable. The mission will span 11 days for the delivery of an equipment storage module to the International Space Station, two spacewalks and other activities.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts133/101031count/index.html
 
A. From Space.com, Nov. 1: Led by veteran NASA astronaut Steve Lindsey, Discovery’s crew of six astronauts is a tightly knit group.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/missionlaunches/space-shuttle-discovery-final-crew-closeup-101101.html
 
B. From The Coalition for Space Exploration, Oct. 30: Discovery’s passengers include 16 mice. The rodents are subjects in an experiment to test the immune response to a respiratory virus that infects children.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/blog/upcoming-shuttle-flight-a-healthy-dose-of-medical-investigation
 
C. From the Houston Chronicle, Oct. 31:  Discovery to launch on final mission amid uncertainty at NASA over what will take the place of the shuttle fleet and when.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/space/7272767.html
 
D. From Florida Today, Nov. 1: A look at the firing room in NASA’s Launch Control Center during a shuttle countdown. The test conductors keep closely timed activities on schedule.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20101101/NEWS02/11010316/Clock-ticking-for-final-journey
 
2. From the Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 28: China sets a measured but certain pace in an Asian space race. A recently launched lunar orbiting probe, Chang’ E-2 will be followed by a robotic lunar rover. The first pieces of a new space station are under development on the ground as well. The first pieces could be launched in 2016, the date the U.S. once planned to de-orbit the International Space Station.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/1028/China-is-on-path-to-militarization-of-space
 
A.  From Nature.com, Oct. 28: China aims for complete the assembly of its new space station in 2020 —  two years sooner than earlier planned and about the same time the International Space Station could be wrapping up operations under provisions included in the recently passed 2010 NASA authorization bill.
http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2010/10/china_piecing_together_space_s.html

 

B. From Space News, Oct. 29: NASA is looking to a competitive selection of a non profit organization to manage future non-NASA research aboard the International Space Station. The new approach was included in the 2010 NASA Authorization Act, and the space agency is drafting a Cooperative Agreement Notice that will be released soon. Competition will be limited to U.S. non-profits.
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/101029-nasa-plans-nonprofit-manage-research.html

 

C. From Florida Today, Oct. 31: NASA and its partners will mark the 10th anniversary of a continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20101031/NEWS02/10310336/1006/NEWS01/Really+out+there

 

D. From Florida Today, Oct. 31: The International Space Station, which will mark its 10th anniversary of continuous human occupation on Tuesday, is not receiving the respect it deserves as an engineering accomplishment, writes Florida Today columnist John Kelly.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20101031/COLUMNISTS0405/10310316/1086/John+Kelly++ISS+doesn+t+get+credit+it+deserve

 

3. From Spacepolicyonline.com, Oct. 30:  Space policy experts converged at George Washington University on Friday for a forum on the new U.S. National Space Policy.  All agreed, the 2010 NASA Authorization Act leaves the future of human space exploration on uncertain footing. Problems are likely at the “seams” of programs, policies and budgets,” according to one participant.  Another said the future of HSF is as confused as it has been since December 1960, when President Eisenhower was leaving office.
http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/pages/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1194:space-policy-experts-point-to-continuing-uncertainty-for-civil-space-as-a-challenge&catid=67:news&Itemid=27

 

A. From the Coalition for Space Exploration, Oct. 31: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency joins with NASA’s Ames Research Center for a project called the 100-year Starship study. The project will look for breakthrough technologies to enable long distance space travel.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/blog/star-travel-study-led-by-nasadarpa

 

4. From Space.com, Oct. 31,  On Mars, the base of enormous volcanoes reveals evidence for conditions potentially hospitable to microbial life. NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter makes the find.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/scienceastronomy/mars-volcano-vents-habitability-101031.html

 

A. From Space.com, Oct. 29: For several years photos gathered by NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiters have revealed what appeared to be freshly carved gullies on crater walls and other types of sloping terrain. At first it was speculated, the channels were caused by water that sprung from underground and drained until it evaporated in the thin atmosphere. A new study suggests instead the source of the fluid is carbon dioxide, not water.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/scienceastronomy/mars-gullies-carbon-dioxide-water-101029.html

 

5. From the Associated Press via the Los Angeles Times and others, Oct. 29: In Berlin, former NASA astronaut Tom Jones, a planetary scientist, meets with European space officials to strengthen the case for planetary protection, a strategy to identify and stop asteroids that pose a collision threat to the Earth.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/wire/sns-ap-eu-sci-asteroid-threat,0,1142163.story

 

6. From Space.com, Oct. 30: A Russian Progress cargo capsule docks with the International Space Station on Oct. 30. The linkup requires an assist from station cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/missionlaunches/halloween-space-station-cargo-ship-101030.html

 

7. From Space News, Oct. 29: The Oct 28 launch of the Eutelsat W3B communications satellite aboard an Ariane V is declared a rapid  failure because of a spacecraft fuel leak.
http://www.spacenews.com/launch/101029-eutelsat-w3b-declared-total-loss.html

 

8. From Spacepolicyonline.com: Major events this week in the realm of space policy.
http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/pages/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1196:events-of-interest-week-of-november-1-5-2010&catid=67:news&Itemid=27

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