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.
Monday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space-related activities, including a roundup of writings from the weekend. NASA Astronaut Ron Garan champions the Earth after his long stay on the International Space Station. Should NASA champion space exploration of the human settlement of space? Russia looks to a larger share of the commercial space market, while calling a halt to Soyuz successor. Russia offers new assurances for Soyuz rocket operations following an Aug. 24 failure that downed a Progress supply mission to the space station. NASA to start Space Launch System upgrade studies in December. The U. S. Air Force looks to a possible manned version of the reusable X-37 space plane. Commercial cargo demonstration missions to the space station likely off until early 2012. A farm tribute to NASA’s space program. China launches a French communications satellite. A look at space related activities scheduled for the holiday shortened work week.
1. From Space.com, Oct. 9: On Sept. 16, NASA astronaut Ron Garan returned to Earth after 5 1/2 months aboard the International Space Station. Garan reflects on his experiences and plans, including a new pursuit, Fragile Oasis, a website with pictures and prose that he hopes will inspire others to take better care for the Earth.
http://bit.ly/pwGO71
2. From Spacepolitics.com, Oct. 9: Is the permanent settlement of space a goal of U. S. human space exploration? The prospect has become a topic of increased discussion, and the National Academy of Sciences is poised to examine which justification(s) best underpin the pursuit.
http://bit.ly/n2k3Ws
A. From Florida Today, Oct. 9: Columnist John Kelly looks at some of the challenges facing NASA’s Kennedy Space Center as the aging launch complex is re-engineered for future missions. Most of the hardware was tailored to the space shuttle, which was retired in July. NASA’s plans for a Saturn V class Space Launch System mean re-examining the structural soundness of launch pads and gutting buildings like the Orbiter Processing Facilities.
http://bit.ly/r3UKbO
3. From the Houston Chronicle, Oct. 7: In an editorial, the Houston Chronicle looks to China’s late September launch of Tiangong 1, a lynch pin in the Asian power’s plans to develop an independent space station. Policy makers should converge on a clear plan to assure a leadership position for the U. S. in space. The outcome will influence U. S. national security as well as innovation, according to the editorial.
http://bit.ly/qJuSiZ
A. From China Daily, Oct. 9: In an editorial, the publication says outsiders are misinterpreting China’s ambitions in space as a result of the Tiangong 1 launch. China has its own ambitions and is not attempting to challenge U. S. leadership, according to the editorial.
http://bit.ly/rc08KU
4. From Ria Novosti, Oct. 8: Russia intends to increase the use of its commercial space services. “One of our new priorities is Earth monitoring, weather and communication satellites. Another priority is space science,” Vladimir Popovkin, head of Roscosmos tells Russian lawmakers on Friday.
http://bit.ly/pl7KyW
A. From Spaceflightnow.com, Oct. 7: The head of Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency, says the country has stopped the development of a replacement rocket for the venerable Soyuz boosters. The agency was aiming for a 2015 start of Rus-M rocket operations.
http://bit.ly/r3Zw7V
5. From the Associated Press via the Washington Post, Oct. 7: In Russia, Vladimir Popovkin, head of the Russian Federal Space Agency Rosmosmos, says experts have not found additional flaws in the third stage rocket machinery blamed for the Aug. 24 loss of a Soyuz booster with a Progress cargo capsule minutes after lift off. Eighteen engines are undergoing inspection, Popovkin said. The next Progress launching is set for Oct. 30. The next launch of a Soyuz with space station crew is set for Nov. 14.
http://wapo.st/reoOYA
6. From Aviation Week, Oct. 7: NASA will open competition for study contracts for strap on boosters for the new Space Launch System in December, William Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for human exploration and operations, tells the International Aeronautical Conference in Cape Town, South Africa.
http://bit.ly/qBBVxB
A. From the Salt Lake Tribune, Oct. 8: Alliant Techsystems, the supplier of the space shuttle’s solid rocket boosters, sees a promising future for the company’s role in NASA’s New Space Launch System, the heavy lift rocket that would propel future human exploration of deep space. ATK’s boosters will be an initial element of the big rocket. The company says it will compete for a permanent role in the SLS as well.
http://bit.ly/ooEMG6
7. From Space.com, Oct. 7: The Air Force is looking at future upgrades of the reusable X-37B space plane that could launch astronauts into orbit. A second unmanned mission of the secretive spacecraft is currently under way.
http://bit.ly/nUcavl
8. From Space News, Oct. 7: Plans for Space X and Orbital Sciences Corp to launch demonstration missions of their emerging commercial cargo missions to the International Space Station are slipping from 2011 into 2012, the industry publication reports.
http://bit.ly/r4T4yE
9. From The Coalition for Space Exploration, Oct. 8: NASA teams up for Space Farm 7, a unique effort to honor the space program with a series of corn field mazes. The first on Oct. 1 celebrated NASA’s Kepler mission.
http://bit.ly/nbmsmT
10. From Spaceflightnow.com, Oct. 7: China launches a French communications satellite.
http://bit.ly/p8reUI
11. From Spacepolicyonline.com, Oct. 9: A list of space related activities scheduled for the week ahead.
http://bit.ly/nlzyWT
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.