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Today’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. Periods of diminished solar activity could mean a higher cosmic radiation threat for Mars bound explorers. Europe braces for the first ever landing of a spacecraft on a comet. NASA briefs on comet Siding Spring’s Oct. 19 encounter with Mars. NASA’s Terrestrial Exoplanet Survey Satellite reaches a key development milestone. New solar flares interrupt radio transmissions, fuel auroral displays. U.S., European and Russian astronauts make a safe return from the International Space Station late Sunday. U.S., Russian space ties survive geopolitical differences. A Soviet era satellite plunges into the Pacific. An array of editorials back U.S. commercial space endeavors. Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser features multiple runway options. A look at major space activities planned for the week ahead.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Weak sun poses radiation risk for Mars-bound astronauts
Space.com (11/8): Experts believe a trend toward a less active sun would diminish the solar magnetic field that acts as a shield against galactic radiation coming from outside the solar system. Exposures to cosmic radiation under those conditions could exceed NASA’s safety limits for male and female astronauts bound for Mars, according to a study headed for publication in the Space Weather journal.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
First-ever comet landing next week to be truly epic, scientists say
Space.com (11/7): On Wednesday, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission to the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko will attempt to guide a small lander to the surface of the comet. Rosetta rendezvoused with the comet in early August.
Boulder researchers anxious as historic comet landing nears
Boulder Camera, of Colorado (11/8): Eager U.S. scientists say Europe’s bold bid to land a spacecraft on a comet may have a 50-50 chance of success. The Rosetta spacecraft rendezvoused with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in early August. The small Philae lander is scheduled to depart Wednesday for a landing.
Comet’s brush with Mars more dramatic than expected
Spaceflightnow.com (11/7): On Oct. 19, the Comet Siding Spring sped close to Mars after U.S., European and Indian spacecraft at the red planet took protective measures. The protective measures were a wise decision, NASA told a news briefing Friday that featured an account of the comet’s passage.
NASA approves exoplanet mission for development
Space News (11/7): The space agency gives an okay on Friday to proceed with the development of the Terrestrial Exoplanet Survey Satellite, a new mission to search the Milky Way galaxy for Earth-like planets. TESS is scheduled for a 2017 launching.
Close one! X-class solar flare causes radio blackouts
NBC News (11/7): An active sun unleashes a powerful solar flare on Friday that causes some radio signal blackouts on the Earth. Auroral activity on the Earth may increase as well.
Low Earth Orbit
Expedition 41 blazes fiery trail across the atmosphere before landing safely in Kazakhstan
Spaceflight Insider (11/10): The International Space Station’s Expedition 41 came to a close late Sunday as Russian Maxim Suraev, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman and Alexander Gerst, of the European Space Agency, departed in their Soyuz crew transport. The three men landed safely under subfreezing conditions in northern Kazakhstan at 10:58 p.m., EDT.
Reid Wiseman, Baltimore astronaut, is a Twitter sensation
Baltimore Sun (11/7): NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman was one of three International Space Station crew members who descended to Earth late Sunday to end a 5 1/2 month tour of duty. Wiseman was prolific in his use of visual social media to share his adventure.
Beyond politics, America and Russia soar in space
Houston Chronicle (11/9): The U.S. and Russia share deepening ties in space despite a breach in relations on Earth over Moscow’s incursion in Ukraine and Washington’s economic sanctions in response.
Defunct Soviet satellite plunges into Pacific: Russian Air Defense
Ria Novosti: A Soviet satellite launched in 1983 plunged into the Pacific on Saturday, according to Russian Air Defense officials.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Private space: Don’t overreact to recent mishaps
Florida Today (11/8): Experts urge Congress and federal regulators to respond carefully to the investigations of the Oct. 31 SpaceShipTwo and Oct. 28 Antares rocket losses.
Don’t let accidents drag down commercial space
Orlando Sentinel (11/8): Commercial as well as government space initiatives will be key to reviving U.S. human space flight, writes the Orlando Sentinel in an editorial.
Editorial: Persevering with space exploration
Dallas Morning News (11/8): “Setbacks, tragic as they are, are inevitable in this quest,” according to a Morning News editorial on recent commercial spacecraft and launch vehicle accidents experienced by Virgin Galactic and Orbital Sciences. “The right stuff comes not from succumbing to the danger but seeing past it and never letting fear overcome the curiosity-driven sense of adventure.”
Dream Chaser lines up network of public airport landing options
NASA Spaceflight.com (11/8): Sierra Nevada presents the many landing options available to the company’s Dream Chaser. The winged spacecraft developers are seeking a commercial role in NASA’s International Space Station program operations for crew and cargo.
Major Space Related Activities for the Week
Major space related activities for the week of November 9-15, 2014
Spacepolicyonline.com (11/9): The website presents a summary of major space related activities planned for the week ahead. Congress reconvenes.
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