To subscribe to CSExtra via RSS feed click here.
If you would prefer to receive CSExtra in e-mail format, e-mail us at Info@space.com with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
Tuesday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from around the globe, plus a look back at activities from the Labor Day Weekend. NASA’s GRAIL mission, scheduled to lift off Thursday, promises new insight into the moon’s composition, from surface to core. As Russia’s investigation into and recovery from the Aug. 24 Progress 44 loss unfolds, experts are having second thoughts about NASA’s post shuttle human space flight gap. Blue Origin, an emerging commercial suborbital and orbital space transportation services provider, discloses a test failure. One British teen’s summer includes the discovery of a shattered comet. In Huntsville, displaced space professionals band together to find new work. Satellites track Tropical Storm Lee’s Labor Day weekend Gulf Coast deluge. The technical prowess behind the cinematic thriller Apollo 18. Space explorers from around the world converge in Moscow. A look at major space events scheduled for the week ahead.
1. From the Los Angeles Times, Sept. 4: NASA’s $500 million Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission, GRAIL, is scheduled to launch Thursday from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., The mission includes two spacecraft that will measure the moon’s gravity field with new accuracy while orbiting the lunar poles.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/me-grail-moon-20110904,0,3475535.story
A. From Florida Today, Sept. 5: NASA’s GRAIL mission, a dual spacecraft flight to map the moon’s gravity field, is scheduled for launching from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Thursday. The mission includes a “MoonKam” project for students. Thousands of potential new scientists are expected to participate in the lunar picture taking, according to former NASA astronaut Sally Ride, whose Sally Ride Science is a sponsor.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110905/NEWS02/109050316/Mission-may-put-budding-scientists-over-moon?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Space%20News
B. From Spaceflightnow.com, Sept. 5: Forecasters offer a 60 percent prospect for favorable conditions for GRAIL’s instant launch windows on Thursday of 8:37:06 a.m. and 9:16:12 a.m., EDT. For updates: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d356/status.html
2. From Florida Today, Sept. 3: Columnist John Kelly presents a reminder that International Space Station operations were envisioned with NASA’s Space Shuttle program as a cornerstone. That changed with the shuttle’s July retirement. The Aug. 24 loss of a Soyuz rocket with a Progress 44 supply capsule has the experts re-examining their optimism that the Russians could shoulder the transportation needs alone for even a brief time.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110904/COLUMNISTS0405/109040314/John-Kelly-What-just-became-reality?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Space%20News
A. From Itar-Tass of Russian, Sept. 5: Helicopter borne teams eke out several hours of search for wreckage of the Progress 44 capsule in the rugged Altai region of Siberia before the effort is suspended by bad weather.
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/218251.html
3. From MSNBC Cosmic Log, Sept 2: Blue Origin discloses the loss of a suborbital test vehicle. The coverage has links to first reports from the Wall Street Journal and the company’s own statement. Blue Origin is also among a handful of companies funded under NASA’s Commercial Crew Development program — an initiative to develop orbital transportation services for U. S. astronauts.
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/02/7577771-amazoncoms-jeff-bezos-reports-crash-of-blue-origin-rocket-ship
4. From Discovery.com, Sept. 3: For 18-year-old Hanna Blyth, it’s been quite a summer. During a summer work/study program in her native Britain, Blyth discovered the breakup of a comet and participated in the discovery of 20 asteroids, two by herself. “The life of an astronomer can be frustrating,” Blyth tells Discovery.com “The life of an astronomer is also laced with the joys of not knowing what new discoveries tomorrow will bring.”
http://news.discovery.com/space/comet-breakup-asteroid-discoveries-18-year-old-110903.html
5. From the Huntsville Times, Sept. 2: In Alabama, Andy Sutinen and Chris McLemore are on a mission to help their fellow space professionals in the Huntsville area find new careers as civilian and military space programs shift their focus. “Our purpose is to help each other,” said Sutinen, director of Huntsville Space Professionals. “If we’re going to wander in the desert, let’s do it together.”
http://www.al.com/42/index.ssf/2011/09/huntsville_space_professionals_1.html
6. From Space.com, Sept. 3: In photos, NASA’s Aqua satellite and NOAA’s GOES 13 watch as Tropical Storm Lee drenches portions of the U. S. Gulf Coast over the Labor Day Weekend.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/12831-tropical-storm-lee-gulf-coast-satellite-photos.html
7. From CollectSpace.com, Sept. 2: Real life NASA Apollo flight director Gerald Griffin becomes technical advisor to the new feature film and space thriller, Apollo 18. Griffin explains how his professional background fostered a new career and injected a strong sense of reality in Apollo 18, which debuted over the Labor Day weekend, and other films.
http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-090211a.html
8. From Itar-Tass, Sept. 5: The Association of Space Explorers, an organization of astronauts from countries all over the world, gathers Monday in Moscow for a four day annual conference. Topics include the assembly of the International Space Station, the future of exploration and space security. More than 150 participants from 35 countries are expected.
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/218154.html
9. From Spacepolicyonline.com, Sept. 4: A look at space policy related events scheduled for the week ahead.
http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/pages/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1831:events-of-interest-week-of-september-5-9-2011&catid=67:news&Itemid=27
Brought to you by the Coalition for Space Exploration, CSExtra is a daily compilation of space industry news selected from hundreds of online media resources. The Coalition is not the author or reporter of any of the stories appearing in CSExtra and does not control and is not responsible for the content of any of these stories. The content available through CSExtra contains links to other websites and domains which are wholly independent of the Coalition, and the Coalition makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or authenticity of the information contained in any such site or domain and does not pre-screen or approve any content. The Coalition does not endorse or receive any type of compensation from the included media outlets and is not responsible or liable in any way for any content of CSExtra or for any loss, damage or injury incurred as a result of any content appearing in CSExtra. For information on the Coalition, visit www.space.com or contact us via e-mail at Info@space.com.