Thursday’s CSExtra finds NASA’s Constellation Program, already facing cancellation by the White House, in new financial jeopardy. With Constellation nearly $1 billion in arrears, NASA orders contractors to scale back, an action that could mean up to 5,000 job losses in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board creates a stir with a letter to Congress that warns NASA could face a future tragedy if it turns to commercial space transportation for astronauts. Also, NASA aids Japan in the tracking of Hyabusa, a satellite returning to Earth from an asteroid encounter. South Korea fails in a second bid to launch a satellite with a domestic rocket.
1. From the Orlando Sentinel: NASA informs Constellation Program contractors they are in violation of the federal anti-deficiency act. The agency orders a $1 billion cutback that could mean 5,000 in job losses over the next month. “Is NASA’s Surprise Order the Death Knell for Constellation?” the Sentinel asks.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/os-nasa-demands-constellation-cuts-20100609,0,4796939.story
A. From Space News: NASA’s Constellation Program, already facing White House cancellation, is $1 billion over budget for 2010, prompting the space agency to order a slow down in spending. As a result, NASA is facing a workforce reduction of 2,500 to 5,000, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden informs lawmakers.
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/10060910-funding-shortfall-slowdown-constellation.html
B. From Spacepolitics.com: Multiple Constellation contractors are facing job losses. http://www.spacepolitics.com/2010/06/10/the-latest-round-in-the-antideficiency-battle/
2. From Space News: In a letter, Roger Tetrault, a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, urges Congress not to embrace the White House decision to cancel NASA’s Constellation Program. Constellation was formed around the lessons learned from the 2003 shuttle Columbia loss, Tetrault writes U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, R-Houston, in a May 27 letter.
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/100609-investigator-speaks-out-nasa-plan.html
A. From Florida Today: Tetrault warns NASA’s reliance on commercial space transportation would set the space agency up for another tragedy.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100610/NEWS02/6100311/Obama+plan+called+setting+for+tragedy
B. From the Huntsville Times: “Columbia Accident Investigator Urges Congress Not to Forget.”
http://blog.al.com/space-news/2010/06/columbia_accident_investigator.html
C. From Spacepolitics.com: Not all agree with Tetrault. Another Columbia Accident Investigation Board member, John Logsdon, takes exception. He calls Tetrault’s stance “ideological” and not based on technological evidence.
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2010/06/10/caib-members-clash-on-safety-and-constellation/
3. From the AP via the Los Angeles Times: NASA deploys airborne scientists to track the approach of Japan’s Hyabusa spacecraft. Hyabusa is returning to Earth after a seven year mission to study the asteroid Itokawa. A capsule that may contain a sample of the asteroid is to descend over Australia at mid-day on Sunday.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-spacecraft-return-astronomers,0,1066125.story
4. From the Korea Herald: South Korea fails in a second bid to launch a science satellite with a domestic rocket. Weather may have been a factor. An August 25 launch attempt by South Korea to launch its first satellite also met failure.
http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20100610000805
5. From Space.com: Astronomers are mystified about the nature of an object that was caught on video as it slammed into Jupiter last week.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/scienceastronomy/jupiter-new-impact-guessing-100609.html
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