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. House delays vote on budget continuing resolution to deal with ISIS threat. NASA’s Orion spacecraft enters processing phase for unpiloted December test flight. Solar storm heads for Earth. Lawmakers ponder asteroid property rights measure. Planetary scientists urge House panel to fund new missions. Astrophysicist urges private sector support for new space missions. NASA’s Maven mission closes in on Mars to study changes in the atmosphere. Three U.S, Russian International Space Station astronauts return to Earth late Wednesday. NASA’s Steve Swanson, Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev appear in good shape as they emerge from Soyuz capsule on the plains of Kazakhstan. Japan offers new space foods. So far, global space companies seem to be weathering the tensions between Western powers and Moscow over Russian intervention in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin calls for probe of possible Vostochny funding irregularities. Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo pays a visit to Spaceport America.
NASA’s 2015 Budget
Vote on CR delayed due to Syria issues
Spacepolicyonline.com (9/10): A U.S. House vote planned for Thursday on a budget continuing resolution intended to keep the federal government operating beyond the Oct. 1 start of the 2015 fiscal year has been delayed. The delay will allow Congress to assess President Obama’s request to arm Syrian rebels to deal with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The fate of the proposed CR that would keep government agencies, including NASA, running into December remains up in the air.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Orion spacecraft ready for launch preparations
Spaceflightnow.com (9/10): At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the first Orion crew exploration capsule assigned for spaceflight has completed assembly. Now, it’s headed for launch preparations. Orion is in line for an unpiloted two orbit test flight on Dec. 4. NASA and Lockheed Martin have designated the exercise as Exploration Flight Test-1. The heat shield and other critical systems will be subjected to flight conditions.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
USA Today (9/10): The sun erupted on Wednesday with a high energy flares aimed toward the Earth. Possible satellite and power disruptions are possible along with auroral activity.
Spaceweather.com (9/10): Two coronal mass ejections speed toward Earth. “NOAA forecasters estimate a nearly 80% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on Sept. 12th, when the first of the two CMEs arrives,” the website reports. “Auroras are in the offing, possibly visible at mid-latitudes before the weekend.”
Hearing raises questions about asteroid mining bill
Space News (9/10): U.S. House panel hears pros and cons on proposed legislation that would grant property rights to those interested in exploring asteroids. One legal concern: the legislation might counter the long standing Outer Space Treaty. Further legislative action may be delayed.
Who can mine that asteroid? Posey says rules needed
Florida Today (9/10): Proposed U.S. legislation, the American Space Technology for Exploring Resource Opportunities in Deep Space, or ASTEROID act, attempts to establish a legal foundation for mining the asteroids. It would encourage the U.S. government to establish a legal framework and promote the activities by granting the rights to the resources of an asteroid to the entity that arrives first. The House Science, Space and Technology Committee receives testimony.
Scientists lament cuts in planetary exploration
Florida Today (9/10): Scientists lament a lack of funding for planetary science in a hearing before the U.S. House Science, Space and Technology Committee on Wednesday. NASA and other international space agencies are sharing a “golden age” of robotic planetary exploration. “It’s the funding trajectory looking forward that is concerning,” Jim Bell, planetary scientist and president of the Planetary Society, a pro exploration group, told the House panel.
Can we jump-start a new space age?
National Public Radio (9/9): Former NASA astrophysicist Jon Morse champions the potential for contributions from nonprofits and individuals and perhaps corporate grants to advance future deep space exploration. The BoldlyGo Institute is testing the waters.
Maven mission could help unlock Mars’s secrets
Aviation Week & Space Technology (9/10): Launched by NASA in late 2013, the Mars Maven orbiter is headed for the red planet. Maven, after maneuvering into orbit around Mars on Sept. 21, will attempt to explain how a once wet and warmer realm lost its atmosphere and what role the sun may have played in the process.
Low Earth Orbit
Three-man space station crew returns to Earth
Spaceflightnow.com and CBS News (9/10): NASA’s Steve Swanson and Russia’s Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev make a safe return to Earth in Kazakhstan late Wednesday to conclude 169 days in Earth orbit.
Miso soup and mackerel: Japan’s space agency picks new menu for astronauts
NBC News (9/10): Japan develops new foods for spaceflight. The storable menu items include miso soup, curry and mackerel.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Space industry sees little effect from Western tensions with Moscow
Aviation Week & Space Technology (9/11): So far, the global space industry appears to have escaped the ill effects of tensions between Western powers and Moscow over Russia’s interference with Ukraine. In the U.S., imports of Russia’s RD-180 rocket engine for the United Launch Alliance Atlas V continue, while lawmakers and industry leaders ponder a domestic substitute.
Putin promises probe into Vostochny spaceport funding suspicions
Itar-Tass, of Russia (9/11): After a recent visit, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggests new Russian Vostochny space launch complex is a victim of funding irregularities.
Suborbital
WhiteKnightTwo touches down at Spaceport America
Las Cruces Sun-News, of New Mexico (9/10): Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo pays a visit to Spaceport America. Much anticipated passenger travel could be coming to the spaceport by next spring, the newspaper reports.
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.