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Today’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. NASA Advisory Council meets with Administrator Charles Bolden for discussions on budget, future of the Asteroid Retrieval Mission and James Webb Space Telescope Launch. NASA to announce instrument selections for 2020 Mars rover. Europe’s Rosetta spacecraft heads for long comet encounter. Private team adjusts new mission for NASA’s old Sun Earth Explorer 3 spacecraft. Early Earth, a battered oasis. Why the moon is a lemon. New launch service targets small satellite market. Virgin Galactic resumes SpaceShipTwo glide tests.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Bolden skeptical about prospects for NASA authorization bill this year
Spacepolitics.com (7/30): With Congress prepared to recess until September, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told a meeting of the NASA Advisory Council at the Langley Research Center on Wednesday that he expects to enter the 2015 fiscal year on Oct. 1 under a budget continuing resolution rather than with the proposed increased budget. Soaring expectations for a new authorization measure, NASA’s first since 2010, have faded as well, said Bolden. The House has addressed both the budget and authorization. But Senate action has stalled on the 2015 appropriations for federal agencies.
Future of NASA’s human spaceflight program dominates NAC meeting
Spacepolicyonline.com (7/30): At the same advisory council session, members addressed a list of major issues, including the rationale and cost of the Asteroid Retrieval Mission, the anticipated launch rate for the Space Launch System heavy lift rocket and possibly urging NASA to revisit its agreement with the European Space Agency for the launching of the James Webb Space Telescope on an Ariane 5 rocket as part of its cost sharing arrangement.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
NASA unveiling instruments for 2020 Mars Rover Thursday: How to watch live
Space.com (7/30): Check Thursday as NASA announces the instruments it will place aboard the next U.S. Mars lander. NASA received 58 instrument proposals for the 2020 mission. The selections will be announced at 12 p.m. EDT. The 2020 rover is based on Curiosity, which landed on Mars in August 2012. The future rover has been tasked with collecting and storing soil and rock samples for eventual return to Earth.
NASA may put a greenhouse on the Red Planet
Scientific American (7/30): Mars Rover instrument selections may include a greenhouse with plants.
Rosetta spacecraft due for rendezvous with comet
USA Today (7/30): Europe’s Rosetta probe is on track to rendezvous with the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko next week after a 10 year pursuit. The encounter next Wednesday will mark the start of a long journey around the sun together.
Vintage NASA spacecraft to tackle interplanetary science
Space.com (7/30): A team of dedicated private engineers now plans to carry out interplanetary science observations after restoring communications with NASA’s former Sun Earth Explorer 3 spacecraft. Efforts to maneuver the 36-year old probe into the L-1 Lagrange point were thwarted by a propulsion issue.
Low Earth Orbit
Early Earth: A battered, hellish world with water oasis for life
Space.com (7/30): Searing early Earth may have had pockets of territory suitable for life to emerge, say scientists.
The Moon is (slightly) flat, scientists say
New York Times (7/30): Earth’s gravity tugged on the moon with enough force to give it a slightly elongated shape, say scientists. “Like a lemon with an equatorial bulge,” according to one researcher. The findings published in the journal Nature may explain even more about the nature of the moon.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
New launch venture targets small commercial satellites
Space News (7/31): Rocket Labs, a New Zealand venture, plans dedicated launches to meet the needs of the small satellite market. The venture, which has U.S. investors, plans to develop the Electron rocket, which would offer small satellite operators the option of not compromising on orbits and altitudes for their missions. They often must when launching as secondary payloads on larger rockets.
Suborbital
SpaceShipTwo resumes test flights
Discovery.com (7/30): Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo resumes glide test flights in California’s Mojave Desert on Wednesday, following a six month hiatus for modifications, including a propulsion improvement. A powered flight above the atmosphere is possible this year.
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