Monday’s space news scan: The Houston Chronicle accuses the Obama Administration of playing politics with NASA layoffs. In Florida planned upgrades of the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station could bring new commercial launch business. Astronomers capture picture of an asteroid striking Jupiter.
1. From the Houston Chronicle, in an editorial the Chronicle accuses the Obama Administration of playing politics with aid to a NASA workforce facing major layoffs as the shuttle is retired. Florida gets help and a presidential visit, Texas does not. Houston area voters could take revenge at the polls, according to the Chronicle.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/7039839.html
2. From Florida Today, The newspaper reports on the $2 billion upgrade awaiting the Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The work outlined as part of President Obama’s space policy could bring commercial launch business back to the state.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100606/NEWS02/6060331/Eastern+Range+key+to+future
3. From the Yonhap News Agency, South Korea prepares a second attempt to launch a domestically produced rocket this week. Russia is assisting. South Korea’s ambitions include a future moon probe. http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/techscience/2010/06/07/29/0601000000AEN20100607003300320F.HTML
4. From Spacepolitics.com, The website sizes up Congressional reaction to a pair of events last week, the launching of the Falcon 9 and a meeting in Orlando of the Presidential Task Force on Space Industry Workforce and Economic Development. http://www.spacepolitics.com/2010/06/06/briefly-noted-task-force-meeting-spacex-support-and-bringing-in-da-noise-for-constellation/
5. From the Houston Chronicle, NASA, in partnership with General Motors, prepares Robonaut 2, or R-2, for a mission to the International Space Station. Engineers will assess R2’s compatibility with humans. GM wants to know if humans and robots can work together safely.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/space/7039979.html
6. From Discovery.com, An astronomer captures a picture of Jupiter as the big planet is struck by an asteroid last Thursday.
http://news.discovery.com/space/the-moment-jupiter-got-slammed-in-color.html
7. From the London Daily Mail, A look at Virgin Galactic and its plans to launch space tourists next year.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1283188/Your-flight-departing-space-terminal-1-The-amazing-story-Sir-Richard-Bransons-new-Virgin-Galactic-project.html
8. From USA Today, Saturn’s moon Titan may host conditions like those on the early Earth that are favorable for life, according to three recent studies.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2010-06-06-titan_N.htm
9. From Spacepolicyonline.com, Events of interest on the space policy front this week. The list is short.
http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/pages/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=949:events-of-interest-june-7-11-2010&catid=67:news&Itemid=27.
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