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Today’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. NASA’s first flight ready Orion capsule transitions from assembly at the Kennedy Space Center to prep for a December test flight. On Mars, NASA’s Curiosity rover reaches the base of three mile high Mount Sharp; time to climb. NASA defends Curiosity’s record of discovery. Sole American in orbit at the time reflects on the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City, and Washington D.C. The U.S. finds Chinese, Russian space weapons ban proposal flawed. U. S. military affirms Russian reconnaissance satellite fall over Western U.S. NASA Astronaut Reid Wiseman discusses what it takes to deliver stunning images of the Earth from the International Space Station. Satellite operators urge the European Space Agency to tackle Ariane 6 development challenges. Ariane 5 lofts Malaysian, Australian telecommunications satellites. Central Texas new home for Firefly.
Human Deep Space Exploration
NASA’s Orion capsule moves to KSC fueling facility
Florida Today (9/11): With assembly complete, NASA’s Orion crew capsule moved Thursday to a fueling facility for its first unpiloted test flight. Exploration Flight Test-1 is scheduled for December. “I’m excited as can be,” said Scott Wilson, NASA’s Orion production operations manager at KSC. Orion is a cornerstone in U.S. plans to resume human deep space exploration. The move marks the end of a three year assembly effort.
Stepping into the solar system: NASA prepares Orion human spacecraft for liftoff
Russia Today (9/11): NASA’s Orion crew capsule achieves refueling mode for pivotal unmanned test flight in December.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
After a two-year trek, NASA’s Mars rover reaches its mountain lab
New York Times (9/11): After two years on Mars, NASA’s Curiosity rover now stands at the base of Mount Sharp, ready to climb and examine the soil to determine how and when the neighboring planet’s climate changed. “The science is all in front of us,” notes John Grotzinger, the project scientist. “But for this moment, we should be celebrating the engineering accomplishments of this mission.”
NASA officials defend Curiosity’s criticized science plan
Space News (9/11): Top NASA planetary science officials defend the discovery record of NASA’s Curiosity rover. In its first two years on Mars, Curiosity established the planet was once habitable with an environment that included a neutral form of water. A senior review panel recently endorsed an extension for the ground breaking mission but questioned whether Curiosity was meeting its scientific potential.
Low Earth Orbit
Astronaut Frank Culbertson reflects on seeing 9/11 attacks from space
Space.com (9/11): Culbertson, then commander of the International Space Station as it was under construction, recalls the scene of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. “Frank, we’re not having a very good day down here on Earth,” NASA’s Mission Control advised him on Sept. 11, 2001. Culbertson shared the experience with a Kennedy Space Center audience.
U.S. dismisses space weapons treaty proposal as “fundamentally flawed”
Space News (9/11): U.S. rejects the notion of a space based weapons ban endorsed by China and Russia. The U.S. objections include the absence of a ban on the stockpiling of ground-based anti-satellite weapons.
U.S. Strategic Command confirms fall of Russian military satellite
Ria Novosti, of Russia (9:12): A recently launched Russian reconnaissance satellite burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere over the Western U.S. and crashed on Sept. 3, despite Russian denials, according to the U.S. Strategic Command, whose staff tracks for threats.
Astronaut Reid Wiseman’s tech essentials
Wall Street Journal (9/11): International Space Station astronaut Reid Wiseman explains his passion for capturing the views from Earth orbit and sharing them over social media.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
The world’s biggest satellite fleet operators want Europe to build Ariane 6 by 2019
Space News (9/11): Members of the European Satellite Operators Association urge the European Space Agency to push ahead with development of the Ariane 6, a launch vehicle that would be competitive with commercial launch rivals. Upgrades of the Ariane 5 are also under consideration.
Ariane 5 launches with Optus 10 and MEASAT-3b
NASAspaceflight.com (9/11): Ariane 5 successfully launches a pair of Malaysian and Australian telecommunications satellites from French Guiana on Thursday.
Rocket company lands in Central Texas
Austin American Statesman, of Texas (9/10): Firefly Rocket Systems announces plans to relocate to the Austin area from Hawthorne, Calif.
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