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.
Today’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. U.S. Congress returns to Washington, with little time to pass 2015 budget. Global astronauts to convene in China to discuss wider cooperation in exploration. Young U.S. Army officer determined to join Mars settlement initiative. Meteorite crashes near airport in Managua, Nicaragua. House sized asteroid sails close to Earth on Sunday. Tuesday brings final super Moon of the summer. NASA instrument on European Rosetta spacecraft looks for, but does not find obvious signs of water on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Specifications for space observatory equipped to spot Earth 2.0 outlined. Earth, Europa share similar geologic processes. Scientists pursue CAT scans for asteroids. New comet visible to Earthlings with binoculars. Prime astronaut crew for Sept. 25 International Space Station launch cleared. New legs set stage for strides by NASA Space Station robot. U.S., South Korea to exchange information on satellites, space debris. U.S. Air Force joins efforts to document early Cape Canaveral launch pads. Anticipation grows for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program selections. Wider U.S. space launch debate swirls in response to tensions with Moscow over Russian intervention in Ukraine. Hong Kong satellite executive finds Florida commercial launches “bureaucratic.” Falcon 9 boosts AsiaSat. New Florida Space Coast space store signals return of human space launches. Corvette crowd looks to suborbital space flight. China looking like promising passenger market for U.S. suborbital spaceflight companies. The week ahead.
NASA 2015 Budget
Returning U.S. lawmakers will have little time for space
Space News (9/5): The U.S. House and Senate reconvene Monday after a lengthy recess. Much remains to be done on the budgets of government agencies, including NASA, before the Oct. 1 start of the 2015 fiscal year. However, there appears too little time for more than a lengthy continuing resolution that will hold spending at 2014 levels.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Astronaut all-stars will visit China to talk space cooperation
Space.com (9/5): A meeting organized by China’s manned space agency will examine prospects for expanded cooperation in human space exploration. The Association for Space Explorers, a nonprofit that counts nearly 400 astronauts and cosmonauts, is involved. The five day session in Beijing gets underway Sept. 10.
Army lieutenant aims to launch with private Mars mission
USA Today (9/7): First Lt. Heidi Beemer has plans as her U.S. Army service draws to a close. She hopes to join Mars One, the Dutch nonprofit, on its mission to settle Mars starting in the mid-2020s.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
Nicaragua: Small meteorite strikes near airport
Associated Press via USA Today (9/7): Investigators say a loud noise and 39 foot wide crater found near Managua’s airport were caused by a meteorite possibly linked to an asteroid that passed close to the Earth.
House-sized asteroid sails past Earth
ABC News (9/7): The house-sized asteroid 2014 RC sped past the Earth from a distance of just 25,000 miles on Sunday at 2:18 p.m., EDT. The close pass was predicted.
New York Times (9/7): Tuesday night brings the final “super Moon” of the summer. The Moon will be full, while closer to Earth and brighter than usual.
Alice in comet-land: NASA instrument aboard Rosetta returns first scientific results
America Space (9/5): First glance of data from Europe’s Rosetta probe reveals no visible signs of ice. The observations gathered by a NASA instrument aboard Rosetta, however, reveals oxygen and hydrogen. Rosetta rendezvoused with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on Aug. 6.
The telescope we need to find Earth 2.0
Popular Mechanics (9/5): Two scientists offer the specifications for a future space telescope that could detect signs of biological activity around a distant alien planet.
Jupiter’s moon Europa just got even cooler
Time (9/7): Like Earth, Europa’s surface reflects evidence of techtonic activity.
CAT scanning asteroids: Planetary defense, space mining benefits
Coalition for Space Exploration (9/5): Asteroids may be due a CAT scan to determine their structures, potential resources and threat from collision. The idea is to position a telescope to orbit an asteroid and measure the number and trajectories of the moons passing through it — an indication of the object’s core structure.
Newfound comet visible in binoculars and telescopes: How to see it
Space.com (9/5): Newly spotted Comet Jacques visible from the Earth’s northern hemisphere with binoculars, small telescopes.
Low Earth Orbit
Primary crew for next ISS space mission approved
Itar-Tass, of Russia (9/5): NASA’s Butch Wilmore and Russia’s Aleksandr Samokutyayev and Yelena Serova are formally approved as the prime crew for launch to the International Space Station on Sept. 25, U.S. time. Serova represents the first Russian woman to visit space in nearly two decades.
Space Station’s Robonaut 2 is getting more astronaut-like by the day
Universe Today (9/5): NASA’s International Space Station humanoid now has legs. September upgrades set the stage for a larger internal maintenance role for Robonaut 2, who arrived at the six person station in early 2011. NASA is hopeful R-2 will eventually participate in a spacewalk.
South Korea, U.S. sign space information sharing agreement
Yonhap News, of South Korea (9/6): The two countries agree to data share information on satellites and orbital debris that could pose a collision threat. South Korea is the sixth nation to enter into such an agreement with the United States.
Air Force using lasers to preserve historic space launch pads
Collectspace.com (9/5): Laser scans could provide a virtual visual history of early U.S. human launch pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Those include the pads that launched early Mercury and Gemini missions.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
One of these spaceflight companies is about to land a multi-billion dollar contract
Forbes (9/5): NASA moves close to the selection of its next Commercial Crew Program partner (s). The lineup of most likely competitors to re-establish a U.S. human space launch capability include Boeing, Sierra Nevada and SpaceX, according to Forbes. First trip to the space station could come before late 2017.
Companies making their case in U.S. launcher debate
Space News (9/5): Growing concerns in 2014 over imports of Russia’s RD 180 rocket engine amid sustained tensions between Washington and Moscow over the Ukraine are leading to a wider discussion of U.S. government launch vehicle strategy.
AsiaSat CEO says Cape Canaveral has its drawbacks
Spaceflightnow.com (9/6): Hong Kong-based AsiaSat’s president says commercial launches from Cape Canaveral, Fla., carry a bureaucratic overhead. William Wade’s comments come just ahead of a SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
SpaceX delivers commercial satellite to orbit
Florida Today (9/7): Falcon 9 launch early Sunday places AsiaSat communications satellite in orbit.
New space shop, The Space Store, lands in Cocoa Village
Florida Today (9/5): The opening of his Space Coast store with space merchandise and memorabilia signals a possible resurgence of U.S. human space flight, says owner Brett Anderson.
Suborbital
Up to a point: A ‘space corvette’ in every garage
The Daily Beast (9/6): Writer P. J. O’ Rourke basks in the glow of California’s Mojave Desert and the promise of suborbital passenger spaceflight embodied at XCOR and Virgin Galactic. “I was in the passenger seat of a small rocket ship, when I realized what’s wrong with space travel these days: I can’t do it yet,” writes an optimistic O’Rourke.
Wealthy Chinese travelers lining up to blast off
New York Times (9/6): China looms as a promising market for suborbital passengers. Tea trader Sheng Tianxing looks to Mojave, California based XCOR for his chance to fly.
Major Space Related Activities for the Week
Major space related activities for the week of September 8-12, 2014
Spacepolicyonline.com (9/7): Congress reconvenes in Washington. Two International Space Station crew members return to Earth late Wednesday.
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.