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Today’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. Some in Congress suggest a continuing budget resolution for 2015 may be in the works as lawmakers near adjournment. Assembly facility for NASA’s Space Launch System heavy lift rocket near ready. SLS rocket engine fitted to Mississippi test stand for ground firing. President Obama meets with Apollo 11’s Buzz Aldrin, Mike Collins to mark 45th anniversary of historic mission, while pointing to Mars as future destination. CNN to air postponed The Space Race episode of The Sixties. Mars analog mission in Hawaii wraps up. Mars the place to explore, says influential U.S. congressman. NASA review panel nears decisions on extension of planetary missions. Low Earth Orbit deserves a cleanup, according to op-ed. Purdue partners with Aerojet Rocketdyne for test of environmentally friendly rocket fuel.
NASA’s 2015 Budget
Rumors start about a continuing resolution as Congressional clock ticks down
Spacepolicyonline.com (7/22): Rumors of a continuing resolution surface among lawmakers, including possible passage before the House and Senate adjourn in August. The CR would ensure the federal government remains open beyond Oct. 1 if the two legislative bodies fail to agree on a 2015 budget. NASA is among the federal agencies awaiting budget passage.
Human Deep Space Exploration
World’s largest spacecraft welding tool will build core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System
Spacetravel.com (7/22): The Vertical Assembly Center will soon be ready to begin assembly of NASA’s Space Launch System core stage. The 170 foot tall VAC is part of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The SLS heavy lift rocket is in development to start U.S. astronauts on missions of deep space exploration.
NASA getting ready to test engines for Space Launch System rocket
Environmental News Network (7/22): Engineers position first stage engine for NASA’s Space Launch System heavy lift rocket in Mississippi test stand for ground testing. The evolvable SLS will start humans on future missions of deep space exploration.
Obama commemorates moon landing’s 45th anniversary
Associated Press via Houston Chronicle (7/22): President Obama met early Tuesday at the White House with surviving members of the Apollo 11 crew, Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins, along with Carol Armstrong, widow of Neil Armstrong, who commanded the historic mission. The moon mission unfolded 45 years ago between July 16-24.
President Obama meets with Apollo 11 crew
Spacepolicyonline.com (7/22): A statement from President Obama upon meeting with Apollo 11’s Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins and the widow of Commander Neil Armstrong on Tuesday stressed the value of space in the inspiration of Americans but did not expound on U.S. space policy. Thursday marks the 45th anniversary of the safe return of the Apollo 11 moon landing mission.
Apollo 11 touches down in the Oval Office
Discovery.com (7/23): In meeting with Apollo 11 crew and widow of the late mission Commander Neil Armstrong, President Obama says NASA will partner with private sector in innovative ways to reach Mars someday.
‘Sixties’: ‘Space Race’ to air Thursday
Orlando Sentinel (7/22): CNN’s documentary series The Sixties will feature the U.S. space program and the race to the moon. The episode is scheduled to air Thursday. “The episode, called The Space Race, should fascinate anyone who followed NASA at the time, and the program offers a quick, clear lesson for younger viewers about an astounding feat in the country’s history,” according to the Sentinel.
4-month mock Mars mission wraps up in Hawaii Friday
Space.com (7/22): Four month Mars analog mission staged in Hawaii will come to an end on Friday. Six volunteers participated in the Hi-SEAS 2 exercise that examined in part a suitable diet for Mars explorers. Participants also participated in psychology and plant health investigations.
The Hill (7/21): Mars is the most suitable destination for the U.S. human space exploration program, writes U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, chair of the U.S. House Science, Space and Technology Committee.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
Planetary science review to be released soon
Spacepolitics.com (7/22): NASA review appears to favor a two year extension for the Spitzer Space Telescope, one of NASA four Grand Observatories. Spitzer was launched in 2003 for infrared observations of the universe.
NASA celebrates Chandra X-Ray Observatory’s 15th birthday
Contra Costa Times (7/22): NASA’s Chandra X-ray telescope marks its 15th anniversary in Earth orbit still going strong. Chandra has enabled studies of black holes, distant quasars, comets and planets. “Chandra continues to be one of the most successful missions that NASA has ever flown as measured against any metric cost, schedule, technical success and, most of all, scientific discoveries,” said Martin Weisskopf, a Chandra Project Scientist. Shuttle Columbia lifted Chandra into orbit on July 23, 1999.
Low Earth Orbit
Opinion: Only collective action can save near-Earth space
Aviation Week & Space Technology (7/22): In an op-ed, James Clay Moltz finds the global space community remiss in its cluttering of Earth orbit with debris, a situation compounded by a reluctance to agree on future safeguards. Moltz is an expert on space debris.
Suborbital
New rocket fuel to launch Purdue spacecraft
Associated Press via Houston Chronicle (7/22): Purdue University students partner with rocket maker Aerojet Rocketdyne for future suborbital test flight of an environmentally friendly rocket fuel.
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