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.
Today’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. Planets beyond the solar system and larger than Earth may harbor long lasting oceans, say astronomers. European Space Agency efforts to pinpoint the location of the Rosetta mission’s Philae lander on a distant comet remain a challenge. The Hubble Space Telescope takes a second look at the iconic Pillars of Creation. Chinese spacecraft takes a short break from the moon. New Earth observatory poised for delivery to the International Space Station. The X-37B guessing game. U.S. Government Accountability Office stands by NASA’s decision to move ahead with Boeing and SpaceX as Commercial Crew Program partners. Sierra Nevada vows to continue with commercial crew development despite GAO ruling. The French space agency stirs interest in reusable rocket stage research. Finding the formula to spur new commercial space research.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
Alien oceans may flow on ‘super-Earth’ planets
Space.com (1/5): Planets more massive than the Earth may harbor long lasting oceans, according to astronomers gathered in Seattle this week for the winter gathering of the American Astronomical Society.
Philae comet lander eludes discovery
BBC (1/5): The European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission personnel have been challenged in their efforts to pinpoint the location of the Philae lander on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Philae touched downed with difficulty on Nov. 12 in a shaded region of the comet that kept the solar arrays from recharging batteries. Ground controllers are counting on the comet’s course toward the sun to re-illuminate the solar arrays. Rosetta is tracking the comets course around the sun with cameras and other sensors.
Hubble’s stunning new view of the ‘Pillars of Creation’
Discovery.com (1/5): Astronomers revisit a famous early photo of the Eagle Nebula captured by the near 25-year-old Hubble Space Telescope. The Pillars of Creation, a region of intense star birth, remains iconic in the latest imagery.
Chinese spacecraft to return to moon’s orbit
Xinhuanet, of China (1/5): Spacecraft components of China’s last moon mission are set to return to lunar orbit in mid-January. The service module of a mission flown to the moon and back last year departed the L-2 Earth, moon Lagrange point, on Sunday. The return will feature more hardware testing for future Chinese lunar explorations.
Green comet Lovejoy dazzles in spectacular photo: see it in telescopes
Space.com (1/6): Lovejoy and its long tail dazzle in new photos captured with telescopes.
Low Earth Orbit
CATS instrument to launch on CRS-5 and measure particulates in the atmosphere
Spaceflight Insider (1/5): Aboard the next SpaceX commercial re-supply mission set to launch to the International Space Station is an observatory called the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System. CATS will be mounted outside the station’s Japanese Kibo laboratory module to study how aerosols in the Earth’s atmosphere interact with sunlight.
The X-37B program: an American exercise in the art of war?
The Space Review (1/5): The U.S. Air Force’s secretive reusable X-37B orbiter has flown three times since 2010, each time raising speculation globally as to its ultimate purpose — anti-satellite weapon, orbital bomber or spy device to list a few of the theories. The uncertainty has served a long standing strategic purpose — keeping an adversarial China off guard, writes Michael Listner, attorney and expert in space law.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Live coverage: Falcon 9 launch scrubbed
Spaceflightnow.com (1/6): Launching of the fifth SpaceX resupply mission to the International Space Station was called off moments before the scheduled lift off on Tuesday at 6:20 a.m., EST, by errant readings from a Falcon 9 second stage steering device. The next launch attempt from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., is tentatively planned for Friday at 5:09 a.m., EST. The SpaceX Dragon resupply capsule is filled with just over 5,000 pounds of equipment for the six person space station.
GAO denies Sierra Nevada protest of Commercial Crew contract
Space News (1/5): Colorado based Sierra Nevada’s bid to overturn NASA’s Commercial Crew Program contract awards for the final development of U.S. private sector transportation services for astronauts to low Earth orbit was rejected Monday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. In September, NASA selected Boeing and SpaceX for final development of the CST-100 and Dragon crew capsules, with the goal of starting astronaut launchings by the end of 2017. The U.S. lost its ability to independently launch astronauts with the retirement of NASA’s space shuttle program in mid-2011.
Sierra Nevada to continue Dream Chaser despite CCtCAP protest loss
Spacepolicyonline.com (1/5): Sierra Nevada vows to continue on with the development of its Dream Chaser commercial transportation system for astronauts headed to low Earth orbit despite the U.S. Government Accountability Office ruling. On Monday, the GAO backed a NASA decision in September to continue commercial crew space transportation efforts through contracts with Boeing and SpaceX.
CNES begins work on reusable rocket stage
Space News (1/5): The French space agency CNES unveils research efforts to develop a reusable rocket stage fueled by liquid oxygen and methane with Germany and other government agencies.
The Space Review (1/5): Some policy makers point to The Outer Space Treaty and the Moon Agreement as barriers to future commercial space enterprise. Jonathan Babcock, student at the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, suggests otherwise in the first of a two part examination of the issue and the call for legislation that seeks to grant property rights.
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.
