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Today’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. Europe’s Rosetta spacecraft recons Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for a landing site. Astronomers see signs of one of earliest stars in halo of the Milky Way Galaxy. Odd structure resembling microbial cell spotted in Martian meteorite. MIT astrophysicist hopeful of alien life detection within two decades. Voyager 2’s greatest outer planet images. Canada devises plans to back struggling national space initiatives. International Space Station to support atomic clock research. U.S. Air Force solicits proposals for rocket engine ideas to replace imports of Russia’s RD-180. Boeing completes critical design review for spacecraft that could begin launching astronauts under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. U.S. commercial space pioneer terms competition key to NASA’s Commercial Crew Program plan selections. Russia takes notice of U.S. commercial crew plans.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
Rosetta moving closer to Comet 67P hunting for Philae landing site
Universe Today (8/22): The European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe initiates close-up reconnaissance of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as it seeks a touchdown point for the Philae lander.
A ‘stellar fossil’ holds hints of one of the universe’s first stars
Los Angeles Times (8/21): Japanese astronomers spot traces of one of the universe’s earliest stars in another star that lurks in the halo of the Milky Way galaxy. Just 1,000 light years from the Earth, this stellar fossil hosts a very low abundance of the heavier chemical elements generated by successive generations of stars.
Martian mystery: What is odd cell-like structure in Mars meteorite?
Space.com (8/21): Greek led science team finds a structure resembling a microbial cell within a meteorite of Martian origin. The Nakhala meteorite fell to Egypt in 1911.
An astrophysicist in search of E.T.
Wall Street Journal (8/21): Scientists, engineers are closing in on technologies to detect life on nearby planets – if it’s there, declares MIT astrophysicist Sara Seeger. “Just the excitement that we can actually do it is phenomenal” said Seeger, whose optimism is based on the detection of trace gases produced by biological processes with new space observatories.
Voyager 2 mission turns 37: Here are some of its best images
Stars and Stripes (8/20): NASA’s Voyager 2 deep space mission, still operating following its launch 37 years ago this week, collected amazing images of the outer planets.
Low Earth Orbit
Canada devising action plan for taking over troubled space projects
Space News (8/21): Canada’s space agency makes plans to assist private companies working on troubled government space projects.
Atomic clock will fly to Space Station in 2016
Space.com (8/21): New atomic clocks are readied for flight aboard the International Space Station. The instruments will be linked to clocks in Japan, Australia, Europe and the United States for space/time studies.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
U.S. Air Force solicits information on new rocket engine
Space News (8/21): The U.S. Air Force issued a request for information this week on rocket engine development that could replace Russia’s RD-180, which is imported for the first stage of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5. The RFI coincided with Russia’s delivery of two RD-180s to ULA. Earlier this year, Moscow threatened to halt the rocket engine exports after the U.S. imposed sanctions in response to Russian interference in the Ukraine.
Boeing completes key design review for space taxi
Reuters (8/21): Boeing completes the “critical design review” requirement in its bid to win a NASA contract for the final development phase of its CST-100 crew capsule. Boeing is competing with Sierra Nevada and SpaceX for contracts to launch astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Sierra Nevada and SpaceX were granted extensions to complete similar reviews. U.S. commercial launches could begin by late 2017.
Expert on NASA’s Commercial Crew Program: So far “an unqualified success.”
Houston Chronicle (8/21): NASA’s efforts to foster U.S. commercial launch services for astronauts assigned to the International Space Station should emphasize competition, said Jeff Greason, XCOR founder and a member of the Augustine Commission that examined U.S. human space objectives after President Obama took office. “So I don’t care who gets the contract. I care that there’s not just one. If there is not competitiveness in the resulting market, then programmatically I don’t think it has achieved its intended end,” said Greason. NASA is expected to select at least one U.S. company for further development soon.
The next space race is for a rental car into orbit
Washington Post (8/21): NASA closes in on contract award(s) to finish the development of new human space launch vehicles with at least one U.S. company. Strategy should give the U.S. an alternative to purchasing space transportation for astronauts from Russia.
U.S. to stop using Soyuz spacecraft, invest in domestic private space industry – reports
Ria Novosti, of Russia (8/22): Russia takes notice of U.S. plans to re-establish a human launch capability with the private sector.
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