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Today’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. Stormy weather delays Orion capsule move to a Florida launch pad by 24 hours, with no impact to Dec. 4 launch plans. U.S. government, private sector spaceflight go hand in hand, according to op-ed. Thermal nuclear propulsion and lots of water could usher human explorers to the Martian moon Deimos, say space vets. A rocky start for NASA’s Asteroid Retrieval Mission? China’s lunar ambitions could be immense. The intersection of Interstellar and NASA. The European Space Agency looks to historic events Wednesday as it attempts the first ever landing of a spacecraft on a speeding comet. China envisions a Mars rover for a future sample return mission. Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Alexander Gerst and Max Suraev return to their U.S., German and Russian homes after a long International Space Station mission. A novel concept for disposing of manmade orbital debris.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Rollout for EFT-1 Orion spacecraft slips 24 hours
Spaceflight Insider (11/10): Stormy weather in central Florida delays by 24 hours a move of NASA/Lockheed Martin’s Exploration Flight Test-1 Orion capsule from a covered facility at the Kennedy Space Center to Launch Complex 37 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. A 24 hour delay will not change plans for a Delta 4 Heavy launch of EFT-1 early Dec. 4 on a first unpiloted test flight of the Orion. The move was re-scheduled for no earlier than Tuesday night.
Government and commercial space: An essential partnership
The Space Review (11/10): Recent accidents involving Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket and Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo emphasize the need for a strong role by the U.S. government in space development and exploration, writes Louis Friedman, the former executive director of the Planetary Society. Especially important is support for NASA’s human space exploration program, he notes, because it includes a role for the private sector in low Earth orbit, while the government effort focuses on deep space.
The Space Review (11/10): Water could play key roles in the nuclear thermal propulsion, radiation protection and life support required for a human crew launched to Deimos, one of two Martian moons, write Jim Logan, a former NASA flight surgeon and Dan Adamo, a long time NASA flight dynamics officer. Earlier, the two space agency veterans explained why Deimos could be a suitable destination for U.S. astronauts.
NASA’s plan to visit an asteroid faces a rocky start
Scientific American (11/10): NASA should take a deeper look at its asteroid destination options before committing to the Asteroid Retrieval Mission proposed by the White House, according to a report summarizing those who support ARM and those who believe it could be an expensive mistake.
China is now positioned to dominate the moon: What are they up to?
Air and Space Magazine (11/6): China is following a deliberate course in its lunar missions that suggest it has plans to establish control over the Earth/Moon realm as well as advance human exploration of the moon, writes Paul Spudis, a veteran lunar scientist.
How NASA could help humanity make ‘Interstellar’ a reality
Space.com (11/10): The science fiction film drama Interstellar did well during its first weekend at the box office. What do NASA’s mission and the film’s promise have in common? Space.com offers a hint.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
Boston Globe (11/10): On Wednesday, the European Space Agency will attempt a space exploration first by aiming a small probe from its Rosetta mission spacecraft toward a landing on a comet. The difficult mission could address several key issues: Did comets seed the planets with the ingredients for life? Could we smash a comet headed toward an impact with the Earth? Are comets the source of Earth’s water? The mission is one NASA considered more than two decades ago but considered too expensive, the Globe notes in an editorial.
Risky comet landing by European probe will be ‘7 hours of terror’
Space.com (11/10): NASA will join the European Space Agency in closely watching the events surrounding upcoming plans to land a European spacecraft on the surface of the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The fate of the Rosetta mission’s Philae lander should be clear by Wednesday at 11:02 a.m. EST.
Philae lander nears a cosmic touchdown
New York Times (11/10): Rosetta’s Philae lander is to depart the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft on Wednesday at 3:35 a.m., EST, for its seven hour descent to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Philae’s long and difficult journey began a decade ago. Signals from Rosetta will take nearly 30 minutes to travel more than 300 million miles to mission control in Darmstadt, Germany.
For Rosetta mission’s scientists, the thrill is in the comet chase
Los Angeles Times (11/10): The European Space Agency’s attempt Wednesday at the first ever landing of a spacecraft on a comet will be up close and personal for NASA scientist Claudia Alexander. Alexander oversees NASA’s contribution to the Rosetta mission from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
China exclusive: China developing Mars rover
Xinhuanet, of China (11/11): China his placed the prototype for a Mars rover on display at Airshow China 2014. The mobile robot explorer is based on the Jade Rabbit rover launched to the moon a year ago. The Mars version could be launched around 2020, collect Martian samples and return them to Earth about 2030, according to a lead scientist.
Low Earth Orbit
After Soyuz TMA-13M landing, Expedition 42 stands primed for ambitious mission
AmericaSpace.com (11/10): After returning to Earth from the International Space Station late Sunday, American Reid Wiseman heads for the USA and Houston, TX.; Alexander Gerst for his native Germany; and cosmonaut Max Suraev for Star City, the cosmonaut training center near Moscow. Aboard the space station, meanwhile, new U.S. commander Barry Wilmore and cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova await three new colleagues and lots of work in and outside the space station. Wiseman, Gerst and Suraev landed in Kazakhstan.
Space debris mitigation: A new hope for a realistic solution?
Space News (11/10): The accumulation of man-made debris in Earth orbit is a concern for future satellite operations as well as human activity. An op-ed presents the case for a disposal strategy using an electron gun. The device would impart an electrical charge on the debris. The Earth’s magnetic field would then gradually force the debris on a destructive plunge into the Earth’s atmosphere.
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