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Thursday’s space news scan offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related developments from around the world. NASA’s 13-day final space shuttle mission nears the half way point, with the 10 astronauts aboard Atlantis and the International Space Station engaged in a demanding cargo exchange. NASA selects a Florida-based nonprofit group to manage future National Laboratory research aboard the International Space Station. A new poll shows 50 percent of Americans believe the expense of the shuttle program was worth the expense, an increase. Though the shuttle program is retiring, NASA anticipates hiring new astronauts in the future. House appropriators approve nearly $2 billion for the Space Launch System, a new heavy lift rocket for future human deep space exploration, but cancel the over budget James Webb Space Telescope. Russian ambitions for a Soyuz rocket replacement encounter financial obstacles. New personal reflections on the launching of the final shuttle flight. Sex on the Moon, a new book catches the attention of New York Times reviewers.
1. From Florida Today: The astronauts assigned to NASA’s final shuttle mission tackle toilet repairs and cargo exchanges on Wednesday, 24 hours after they accomplish a difficult spacewalk. More unpacking and re-packing of supplies await as the final flight reaches the halfway point. http://space.flatoday.net/2011/07/spacewalker-tackles-plumbing-work-on.html
A. From the Houston Chronicle: Placing the size of the International Space Station in perspective. http://blog.chron.com/finalmission/2011/07/on-orbit-unpacking-day-and-putting-the-stations-size-into-perspective/
B. From Discovery.com: International Space Station astronaut Ron Garan turns his camera on the orbital spectacle from outside. http://news.discovery.com/space/astronauts-view-of-space-station.html
2. From Space News: NASA selects the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, a Florida non-profit, to manage the National Lab portions of the International Space Station. The CASIS consortium consists of Space Florida, Boeing, Bionetics Corp. of Yorktown, Va., Dynamac Corp., of Rockville, Md., and others. The ISS National Lab was established by Congress to open the space station to research from federal agencies other than NASA, academia and the private sector. http://www.spacenews.com/civil/110713-nasa-selects-fla-non-profit-manage-iss-research.html
3. From The Coalition for Space Exploration: Half of adult Americans believe the cost of NASA’s space shuttle program has been worth the investment, up from 40 percent in January 2010, according to a new Rasmussen poll. The same survey finds that 74 percent of Americans believe it is at least somewhat important for the U. S. to have a human space program. http://www.exploredeepspace.com/blog/new-survey-findings-public-support-for-nasaspace-shuttle
4. From USA Today: Though NASA’s shuttle program is retiring, NASA says it will still need to recruit small numbers of astronauts in the future.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2011-07-13-nasa-astronauts-space-shuttle_n.htm
A. From the Huntsville Times: NASA astronauts are finding career paths in space agency management and with companies developing new commercial space transportation services, shuttle veteran Greg Johnson said during a visit to the Marshall Space Flight Center. http://blog.al.com/space-news/2011/07/next_up_for_nasas_astronauts_m.html
5. From the Huntsville Times: The House Appropriations Committee passes a spending measure that cancels NASA’s over budget James Webb Space Telescope and allocates nearly $2 billion for the Space Launch System, a new heavy lift rocket for future human deep space exploration missions. More action is required by the full House and Senate.
http://blog.al.com/space-news/2011/07/house_appropriations_committee.html
6. From MIT’s Technology Review: Russian plans for a successor to the venerable Soyuz rocket and manned spacecraft capsules have been assisted by NASA’s purchase of transportation for U.S. astronauts in the shuttle’s absence. However, Russia’s government also faces spending restraints and commercial challenge in the bid for replacements.
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/deltav/26993/
A. From Spaceflightnow.com: A Russian Soyuz rocket launches a cluster of six French made mobile communications satellites for the U. S. company Globalstar.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1107/13soyuzglobalstar/
7. From Space.com: Witnessing the launch of the final shuttle mission, recalling the departure of the initial flight. The experience was bittersweet and reflective for one veteran news reporter.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/12267-final-space-shuttle-launch-veteran-reporter-view.html
A. From Popular Science: “I’ve realized that the importance of our manned exploration of space transcends budgets and politics,” writes one columnist/witness to the final shuttle program launching. http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-07/nasa-manned-space-flight
8. From the New York Times: The Times examines the new book Sex on the Moon, a story about moon rocks stolen from NASA’s Johnson Space Center nearly a decade ago, and the motivations behind the heist. The book will likely serve as the basis for a feature film. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/14/books/sex-on-the-moon-by-ben-mezrich-book-review.html?_r=1
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