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Today’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. New study identifies absence of gravity as cause of awkward moments experienced by Apollo moon walkers. U.S. House panel to conduct hearing on asteroid property rights. NASA’s popular Curiosity Mars rover mission not productive enough, say some scientists. Gravity expands Hubble vision. Star explosion still puzzling astronomers. Editorial praise for Europe’s ambitious Rosetta mission. Russia’s Putin pledges space program upgrades. U.S. Air Force satellite will monitor geosynchronous spacecraft. China launches satellite pair. NanoRacks checking problems with CubeSat deployer. Pentagon official says 2016 funding likely for domestic alternative to continued imports of Russia’s RD-180 rocket engine. British singer/space tourist to train in January for 10 day trip to the International Space Station.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Why did Apollo astronauts keep wiping out on the Moon?
Discovery.com (9/3): Videos of the famous Apollo mission moonwalks reveal some awkward moments for the astronauts. New studies undertaken in Canada suggests the cause was the lack of a gravitational reference in the nervous systems of the moon walkers.
House subcommittee to hold hearing on Asteroids Act on September 10
Spacepolicyonline.com (9/3): The proposed legislation featured in a U.S. House Space Subcommittee hearing would extend property rights to those who commercially explore the asteroids, a potential incentive for the acquisition of deep space resources.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
Flagship Mars Curiosity rover doing too little with too much, senior scientists say
Space News (9/3): A senior review team expresses displeasure with the productivity of the Mars Curiosity Rover, which touched down on the red planet just over two years ago. A team chair briefed the panel’s views to the NASA Advisory Council on Wednesday. The rover mission just received a two year extension.
Astronomers use gravitational lenses to push Hubble past its limits
Scientific American (9/3): The gravity from a super collection of galaxies and their dark matter acts to magnify much fainter galaxies up to 12 billion light years distant in observations made with the Hubble Space Telescope. The “gravitational lensing” offers a preview of the viewing powers of the future James Webb Space Telescope. As the successor to Hubble, the JWST is scheduled to launch in late 2018.
The V838 Monocerotis star still has astronomers’ heads exploding
New York Times (9/3): This obscure star exploded in early 2002. Reverberations that followed still have astronomers speculating about what happened and what it means for stellar life cycles.
Editorial | ESA makes history with Rosetta
Space News (9/1): Editorial praises the European Space Agency for its successes with the ambitious and long running Rosetta mission. Rosetta rendezvoused with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on Aug. 6. The spacecraft is following the comet in its journey around the sun and will deploy a lander to the comet’s surface in November.
Low Earth Orbit
Cash infusion reaffirms Putin’s commitment to new launch complex
Space News (9/3): Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirms a commitment to revitalize his country’s space program with a $1.3 billion investment in the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a major launch complex that would lower dependence on the aging Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Air Force satellite to continue tracking of space traffic
Spaceflightnow.com (9/3): A new U.S. Air Force satellite will monitor satellite traffic in geosynchronous orbit starting in 2017.
Two satellites placed in orbit by Chinese rocket
Spaceflightnow.com (9/3): China launches civilian data relay, small telecommunications satellites into Earth orbit.
Technical problem delays Space Station satellite deployments
Space News (9/3): Difficulties with a commercial NanoRacks CubeSat dispenser system aboard the International Space Station delay small satellite deployments. NanoRacks is checking into an electrical problem. A new command box will head to the station as well to help correct the problem first noted two weeks ago.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
U.S. aims to fund alternative to Russian rocket engine in 2016
Reuters (9/4): The Pentagon’s chief weapons purchaser says U.S. government will add funding to the 2016 budget to develop a domestic alternative to imports of Russia’s RD-180 rocket engine for the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5. The Pentagon will look to a government/industry partnership as a possible development solution. The comments came in response to still growing tensions between Washington and Moscow over the Ukraine.
Sarah Brightman to start training for Space Station journey in January
Itar Tass, or Russia (9/4): British singer will train in January for trip to the International Space Station. Brightman will pay $52 million to spend 10 days on the Space Station, possibly launching in September 2015.
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