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Today’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. NASA to bolster Orion heat shield for 2018 test flight. Head for the moon, says the chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Space. NASA Advisory Council questions Asteroid Retrieval Mission relevance. NASA standing by on 2009 human Mars reference plan—for now. In his Houston lab, a retired NASA astronaut develops a promising propulsion source that could reach the red planet in weeks, not months. Cooperation in space good for international cooperation on Earth, says retired astronaut, author Ron Garan. Large asteroid passes by Earth on Monday. Rosetta finds the unexpected at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. NASA engineers design drones for Mars exploration. NASA solar observatory snaps its 100 millionth photo. Metal on Venus. KSC’s Robert Cabana to receive National Space Trophy. Europe, China seek robotic space mission cooperation. Sarah Brightman participates in survival training. Virgin Galactic to resume SpaceShipTwo test flights without Scaled Composites. New Mexico editorial urges legislative support for Spaceport America. A look at major space related activities planned for the week ahead.
Human Deep Space
AmericaSpace (1/24): NASA and contractor Lockheed Martin will improve the heat shielding for the second planned unpiloted test flight of the Orion crew capsule, now set for 2018. Orion, under development to start human explorers on future deep space missions, made its space debut on Dec. 5, orbiting the Earth twice and weathering an atmospheric re-entry and Pacific Ocean splashdown. The new heat shielding will be robust enough for a re-entry following a trip to Mars, AmericaSpace reports.
Hattiesburg American (1/24): U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo, of Mississippi, says he will urge fellow lawmakers to steer NASA toward the return of human explorers to the moon. Palazzo chairs the U.S. House Subcommittee on Space.
NASA Advisory Council Remains Skeptical of Asteroid Redirect Mission
Space News (1/23): NASA is weighing a pair of options for an Asteroid Redirect Mission; one would capture and maneuver a small asteroid into orbit around the moon, and the other would collect a boulder from a larger asteroid and steer it to the same destination. However, NASA’s independent advisors question whether either option will get the space agency to its ultimate goal, human exploration of Mars. Some believe a mission to an asteroid in its native orbit could be more appropriate.
NASA Not Ready To Update Mars Mission Architecture
Space News (1/23): A top NASA official says the agency is not ready to formally update its human Mars reference mission plan. The latest update to the planning was in 2009, prior to the cancellation of the agency’s Constellation program. An update will consider new findings about Mars, including evidence of underground water, William Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for human exploration and operations, told the NASA Advisory Council this month.
Former astronaut leads team building rocket bound for Mars
CCTV (1/25): In a Houston lab, retired NASA astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz is developing his dream, a plasma rocket that theoretically could transport human explorers to Mars in weeks, not months. Or it could deliver cargo to lunar or Martian settlements or help to clean up man-made debris in Earth orbit. It’s a mission the company he leads has pursued so far through private investment. He’d like to test his plasma rocket in space aboard the International Space Station.
Former Astronaut Ron Garan: Space Program Builds A Foundation Of Collaboration
Huffington Post (1/23): International cooperation in space is a basis for solving down-to-Earth problems, Ron Garan, retired NASA astronaut and author, says during an interview at the 2015 Davos annual meeting.
Unmanned Deep Space
Huge Asteroid 2004 BL86 to Fly By Earth Jan. 26
Spaceflightinsider.com (1/26): Optical and radio telescopes will be trained on Asteroid 2004 BL86 as it passes about 750,000 miles from the Earth on Monday. Experts say there is no threat of collision with the 1,700 foot-long space rock. But nothing else so large is expected to pass that close to the Earth until 2027, Spaceflightinsider reports.
The Weirdest, Coolest Stuff We’ve Learned About Rosetta’s Comet So Far
Wired (1/22): New findings, published in the journal Science, find Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in many ways a contradiction. They suggest the Jupiter family of comets may not have been a source of water for the Earth after all. The comet’s terrain is marked by steep cliffs, boulders and cracks. Light winds may stroke the surface.
Drone Invasion: A New Way to Explore Mars
Space.com (1/23): At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, engineers develop small drones that could change the exploration of the Martian surface. The work now is performed by rovers, with limited range, and orbiting satellites.
NASA unveils 100-millionth picture of the sun
USA Today (1/25): NASA’s solar monitoring Solar Dynamics Laboratory snaps its 100 millionth image of the sun. SDO began its observations of solar activity that could impact the Earth in 2010.
Heavy-Metal Frost May Coat Mountains On Venus
Space.com (1/22): Metallic material may coat the highest peaks on Venus, according to a new interpretation of data gathered by NASA’s Magellan mission to the solar system’s hottest planet in the early 1990s.
Low Earth Orbit
Bob Cabana to be honored for KSC work
Florida Today (1/24): Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana, former space shuttle astronaut and Marine Corps aviator as well as a multi-center NASA executive, will receive the National Space Trophy for his contributions to space exploration. The Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation made the selection.
Europe, China issue call for joint science mission
Spaceflightnow.com (1/24): Joint robotic missions would pursue advances in astronomy, solar system exploration and physics. Launches could start in 2021.
Commercial to Orbit
Singer Sarah Brightman trains as space tourist in freezing Russian forest
AFP via Radio Australia (1/24): The British singer takes to the wild for 72 hours of survival training in preparation for her planned visit to the International Space Station in September as a tourist.
Suborbital
Virgin Galactic to test new rocket without longtime aerospace partner
Los Angeles Times (1/23): Virgin Galactic plans to resume test flights of SpaceShipTwo later this year without developer Scaled Composites and using its own pilots. An Oct. 31 mishap in flight near Los Angeles claimed the life of a SpaceShipTwo co-pilot. Scaled will continue the relationship as a consultant.
Editorial: Spaceport needs continued boost from lawmakers
Las Cruces Sun-News (1/24): In an editorial, the newspaper urges state lawmakers and taxpayers to continue their support for Spaceport America, the launch site for Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo. Plans to initiate flights with tourists has been slowed by a fatal Oct. 31 test flight mishap.
The Week Ahead
What’s Happening in Space Policy January 26-30, 2015
Spacepolicyonline.com (1/25): U.S. House authorization and appropriations committees with jurisdiction over NASA are scheduled to meet this week for organizational activities. NASA updates on Commercial Crew Program activities.
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