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Today’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. Experts crush fuel tank to gather data for NASA’s Space Launch System, a heavy lift rocket intended to start U.S. explorers on missions of deep space exploration. Russia should develop manned lunar base, says top Russian defense official. Prototype planetary lander carries out Florida test flight. Chang’e-3 signals China as a rising global space power. NASA announces spacewalks Dec. 21, 23, 25th to repair International Space Station thermal control system. ISS spacewalks prompt delay in Orbital Sciences cargo mission until mid-January. Aerojet Rocketdyne completes testing on Boeing’s spacecraft system. Boeing’s CST-100 commercial crew capsule demonstrates Aerojet Rocketdyne abort engine capability. Time Magazine places SpaceShipTwo among top inventions of 2013. XCOR Aerospace aims for mid-2014 move to Midland, Texas. NASA tops lists of best places to work in the U.S. federal government. Influential U.S. House member announces retirement.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Huge fuel tank crushed by NASA engineers to build better rockets
Red Orbit (12/17): Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center orchestrate structural crush tests to validate the design of NASA’s Space Launch System, the heavy lift rocket intended to start U.S. explorers on missions of deep space exploration.
Russia should build lunar base — Deputy PM
Ria Novosti, of Russia (12/17): Russia should consider establishing a manned outpost on the moon, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, a senior Russian defense official, said Tuesday. “We must formulate practical plans from conceptual projects and fantasies,” said Rogozin.
NASA’s Morpheus lander takes second flight at KSC
Florida Today: Prototype NASA planetary lander for robotic as well as human missions logs successful 81 second flight test at the Kennedy Space Center. NASA’s Johnson Space Center is leading the development of the methane fueled Morpheus spacecraft.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
China Moon rover landing marks a space program on the rise
Scientific American (12/17): Chang’e-3 lander touchdown signals rise of China as a space exploration force, say experts.
Hong Kong’s Chang’e-3 hero tells young people to reach for the stars: With one of his gadgets now hard at work on the moon, professor gives his advice to the young
South China Morning Post, of Hong Kong (12/18): In an interview, Professor Yung Kai-leung, of the Polytechnic University, demonstrates the camera pointing system that was an important part of the Chang’e-3 lander. “I hope our participation in our country’s space mission can arouse young people’s interest in science,” said Yung.
Low Earth Orbit
NASA plans 3 spacewalks to fix Space Station, delaying private cargo launch
Space.com (12/17): NASA orders three spacewalks starting Dec. 21 for repairs to the external cooling system of the International Space Station. The decision late Tuesday prompts a postponement in the launch of an Orbital Science Corp. re-supply mission to the space station from Thursday until mid-January.
NASA orders spacewalks to fix station coolant loop
CBS News (12/17): International Space Station astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins, both of NASA, will embark on two and possibly three spacewalks to replace an external cooling system pump module with a faulty flow control valve. The spacewalks are scheduled for Dec. 21, 23 and if necessary Dec. 25. The space agency called for the excursions late Tuesday after efforts to install software patches as a remedy fell short.
NASA green lights spacewalks to fix cooling system on Space Station
ABC News.com (12/17): Astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins have been checking spacesuits, running through tool checks and procedure reviews in preparation of at least one and as many as three spacewalks that are scheduled to begin Saturday at 5:15 a.m. ET., NASA told ABC News.
Spacewalks set to fix broken Space Station pump
New York Times (12/18): Spacewalking repairs aboard the International Space Station are intended to ensure the function of two external cooling loops before Orbital Sciences Corp launches a re-supply mission. The launch, planned for Thursday, was delayed until Jan. 13 at the earliest.
Spacewalks needed to repair space station coolant issue
USA Today (12/17): NASA spacewalks on Dec. 21st, 23rd and 25th could give the International Space Station a fully functioning cooling system for Christmas.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
With cooling fix still elusive, Orbital cargo mission slips again
Space News (12/17): Orbital Sciences Corp. responds to NASA’s call for spacewalk repairs to the International Space Station cooling system with a delay in plans to launch the ORB-1cargo mission. Previously targeted for Dec. 19, ORB-1 is now delayed until Jan. 13 at the earliest.
Aerojet Rocketdyne completes development testing for Boeing spacecraft system
Sacramento Bee (12/17): Aerojet Rocketdyne has completed development testing of an engine for a key system for a Boeing Co. low-Earth orbit spacecraft. It tested its Launch Abort Engine for a “pusher” launch abort system on Boeing’s CST-100. “In the past several weeks, the Aerojet Rocketdyne team conducted a series of eight tests on two Launch Abort Engines meeting or exceeding all test parameters,” said Terry Lorier, Aerojet Rocketdyne program manager.
CST-100 launch-abort engines complete testing milestone
Space News (12/17): Boeing’s entrant in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, the CST-100, finishes launch abort engine testing. The propulsion was provided by Aerojet Rocketdyne of Sacramento, Calif.
Suborbital
Time names SpaceShipTwo one of top 25 inventions of 2013
Parabolic Arc (12/13): The suborbital commercial rocket, Time Magazine’s selection, could be flying with paying passengers in 2014.
XCOR expects relocation in summer of 2014
Midland Reporter-Telegram, of Texas (12/18): XCOR Aerospace looks to mid-2014 for the relocation of its headquarters from Mojave, Calif., to West Texas. The timing of FAA licensing and hangar renovations in Midland are pacing items.
NASA Business
NASA stays at top of annual best agencies to work list
Government Executive Magazine (12/18): NASA once again tops the annual employee rankings of Best Places to Work in the U.S. federal government analysis released Wednesday. However, across the federal government workers’ job satisfaction slipped to a new low for the third year in a row, according to the annual study by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service and consultancy Deloitte. Pay was to blame.
Key NASA appropriator to retire
Space Politics (12/17): U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf announces he will not run for re-election. Wolf chairs the House appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over NASA’s budget. Wolf opposed U.S./Chinese cooperation in the exploration of space.
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