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Today’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. NASA to rename the Kennedy Space Center’s Operations and Checkout Building for Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong in ceremonies Monday that look to the future of human exploration. Space Launch System rocket engine, a key part of NASA’s future exploration planning, is fitted to a Mississippi test stand for ground ignition, engine controller testing. Apollo and its legacies. Time to protect Apollo lunar landing sites from future exploration activities? Apollo 11 moon landing 45 years ago Sunday recalled. What next for human space explorers? The moon remains a destination of choice for many. Solar mission revival team explains motivation behind their efforts. Influential lawmakers discuss prospects for new space legislation, including NASA Authorization bill. Russia launches 60 day biology mission. The sun goes strangely quit during “solar max.” European Space Agency postpones plans for July 24 cargo mission to the International Space Station for second stage work. John Glenn, first American to orbit the Earth, marks 93rd birthday. Florida addresses possible loss of SpaceX commercial launch site. U.S. Senate panels unsettled on replacing Russia’s RD-180 rocket engine with domestic alternative. NanoRacks readies commercial platform for external International Space Station experiments. Major space policy activities scheduled for the week ahead.
Human Deep Space Exploration
NASA celebrates 45 years of moon landing
Business Standard (7/21): NASA to rename the Operations and Checkout Building at the Kennedy Space Center for Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong in ceremonies Monday. Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin guided their spacecraft to the first human lunar landing 45 years ago Sunday before initiating a walk on the lunar surface. The Apollo missions blazed a path for new human deep space exploration with the Space Launch System heavy lift rocket and Orion crew capsule, the publication reports.
NASA ready for “hot fire” testing on modified RS-25 rocket engine for SLS
Spaceflight Insider (7/20): NASA’s Stennis Space Center prepares for ground test firing of the Space Launch System first stage engine. The RS-25 is a refurbished version of the space shuttle main engine. Four of the engines will power the SLS first stage. The upcoming tests will also assess the performance of a new main engine controller.
45 years after Tranquility: One small step to a bright future
NASASpaceflight.com (7/20): The website offers a detailed look at the Apollo 11 landing, the NASA missions that followed as well as a glimpse towards the future. “The next giant leap for humanity in space is on the horizon,” according to the website. “As we look forward, as we make our move to mount human missions to another planet, the spirit of Apollo 11 becomes an ever-present necessity.”
Apollo 11 patch flown on 1st moon landing to launch with astronauts to Mars
Collectspace.com (7/20): The mission patch that accompanied Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins to the moon in 1969 will await a second deep space mission, the launch of the first U.S. explorers to Mars.
Should the Apollo lunar landing sites be protected?
Scientific American (7/19): Interest from China, India, Russia and the commercial sector in exploring the moon raises a question: Should the Apollo mission landing sites receive protection for their historic value? At the moment, there is no legal framework to preserve them. Apollo 11 touched down 45 years ago Sunday.
Moon landing: Rarely seen photos inside Apollo 11
Discovery.com (7/20): Still photo series shows Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin at work on the moon.
Apollo 11 anniversary: The day America landed on the moon
Huntsville Times (7/20): “How big was that day 45 years ago…,” asks the Alabama publication on the anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing on Sunday. “Maybe the answer lies in another question. What event is bigger?” NASA is at work on the answer, the Space Launch System and visions of launching humans deeper into space than ever before. “This is a rocket that can take us to Mars,” a high ranking SLS manager told the Times.
Moon landing 45 years ago brought us together
Philadelphia Inquirer (7/20): Historic Apollo 11 moon landing brought a troubled nation together. “…it signaled a change in the world, a different consciousness of our planet and ourselves,” according to the Inquirer.
Newsweek rewind: 45th anniversary of man walking on the Moon
Newsweek (7/20): The news magazine recounts mankind’s first moments on the moon, as Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped to the surface. Astronaut Mike Collins circles overhead in the Apollo command module.
Huffington Post (7/18): Apollo 11’s Buzz Aldrin recalls the historic lunar landing 45 years ago Sunday and the events that followed.
Florida Today (7/20): Memories of Apollo 11’s historic moon landing 45 years ago Sunday remain strong in Central Florida, where the mission began.
Fowler: Without the moon race as a target, NASA needs a new mission
Houston Chronicle (7/19): “…space exploration is a very sound investment,” writes Wallace Fowler, Texas Space Grant Consortium director, in an op-ed marking the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. The International Space Station stands as a symbol of global cooperation. Investments in exploration have led to breakthroughs in computing, communications and medicine, he notes.
While NASA fixates on Mars, space rivals shoot for the moon
Houston Chronicle (7/21): With Apollo 11, the U.S. landed the first of six human missions on the moon 45 years ago Sunday. Is the U.S. now overlooking a valuable resource by setting its sights on Mars rather than a return to the lunar surface? Other nations and some U.S. experts believe so, the Chronicle reports. The moon’s resources include water, which could be used to make rocket fuels stored in space to foster deep space exploration. The report is the third in a series on the future of U.S. space exploration.
How can you talk about space exploration at a time like this
Discovery.com (7/18): The question arises as tensions in Ukraine, Gaza and Afghanistan grow. In an op-ed, science journalist Corey Powell offers perspective on why the discussion is appropriate.
At Future Space, members of Congress discuss future of space legislation
Spacepolitics.com (7/18): Careful predictions from four lawmakers emerge July 17 from the Future Space Leaders Foundation, including a U.S. Senate version of a new NASA authorization act, the first for the agency since 2010. The House adopted its version earlier this year.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
Lost and found in space, rebooting ISEE-3: space for all
New York Times (7/18): In an op-ed, co-organizer Keith Cowing explains efforts by volunteers and space enthusiasts to recover a NASA solar observatory launched 1978. “Government space missions are expensive. New private-sector space ventures always seem to involve billionaires. Yet we achieved results by raising funds a few dollars at a time and by involving our donors directly in our work,” writes Cowing.
Live animals launched on two-month space mission
Spaceflightnow.com (7/18): Russia launches an orbital biological experiment aboard a Foton spacecraft. The payload includes geckos, plant seeds and silkworm eggs. The capsule containing Russian and German microgravity experiments is expected to re-enter for recovery in two months.
Suddenly, the sun is eerily quiet: Where did the sunspots go?
Los Angeles Times (7/18): In the midst of its 11 year activity cycle, the sun goes quiet.
Low Earth Orbit
European mission to space station postponed
Spaceflightnow.com (7/18): ESA postpones its fifth and final Automated Transfer Vehicle re-supply mission to the International Space Station. Initially set for July 24, the launch will be delayed several days for checks of the Ariane V second stage attitude control system.
John Glenn, first American to orbit the Earth, turns 93
Time (7/18): Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth as a NASA astronaut, celebrated his 93rd birthday on Friday. Glenn, a Marine Corps aviator, later entered politics, ran for president as a U.S. senator and joined a space shuttle crew for a second trip to space.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Florida space agency launches new pitch for commercial rockets
Orlando Sentinel (7/19): In Florida, state officials regroup in the competition for new commercial space business under the assumption SpaceX is poised to build a new launch complex in South Texas. “Texas is motivated to go after the commercial market,” said Laura Seward, a space-industry advocate and adviser to Space Florida. “Whatever it costs, they will do it, and unless Florida becomes more motivated, we’re going to lose this market.”
Senators debate RD-180 replacement, EELV competition
Spacepolitics.com (7/20): U.S. Senate joint hearing produces little consensus on urgency of replacing Russia’s RD-180 rocket engine with a new domestic rocket engine. Estimates on the development time line and cost range from five to eight years and $1 billion to $2 billion.
NanoRacks aims to offer research accommodations on ISS exterior by year’s end
Space News (7/18): Houston company sets end of year goal for delivery of commercial external research platform to the International Space Station.
Major Space Related Activities for the Week
Major space related activities for the week of July 20-25, 2014
Spacepolicyonline.com (7/20): Major activities on the space policy front planned for the coming week.
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