Tuesday’s CSExtra features new reporting and commentary on U.S. space policy, NASA’s future and some of the people shaping both. Also, the sun is not the same old sun.
1. From Florida Today: Any compromise among legislators and policy makers over NASA’s future is increasingly unlikely to include an extension of the space shuttle, writes columnist John Kelly. This column comes on the heels of Mercury astronaut John Glenn’s appeal for a shuttle extension.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100621/COLUMNISTS0405/100621007/John-Kelly-Space-shuttle-is-not-in-future-plans
2. Three essays from The Space Review look at the future of civil as well as commercial space:
A. Making the Path for Human Space Flight Less Rocky: University of Texas astronomer Dan Lester examines the destination question at the center of the national space policy discussion. In an essay largely supportive of the president’s policy, Lester argues the questions facing policy makers is not so much Where do we go? as it is How can we go? http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1650/1
B. SpaceShipOne, Government One: Editor Jeff Foust looks back at the first flight of SpaceShipOne, six years ago Monday. At that moment, June 21, 2004, it seemed like commercial human space transportation was just around the corner. Not so, as it turned out. Financing is one major reason. However, with the proposed cancellation of NASA’s Constellation program, it looks as though the big government programs are on the way out as well. Perhaps, the future belongs to public/private partnerships, Foust writes.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1649/1
C. In Individuals Pickup the Space Development Torch: Austin writer Sam Dinkins finds a healthy future for private rocketry. His premise of more successes like SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is based on a growth of global income, the growth of income capitalized as wealth and the falling cost of rocket development.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1648/1
3. From the New York Times: A probing look at the finances of SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/business/22sorkin.html?src=busln&scp=2&sq=NASA&st=cse
4. From the Huntsville Times: Congressman C. A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger brings his concerns over the cancellation of NASA’s Constellation Program to Huntsville, where he meets with program workers facing layoffs. The Maryland Democrat, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, is concerned the U.S. will loose its lead in space exploration, the Times reports.
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2010/06/maryland_congressman_concerned.html
5. From MIT’s Technology Review, a question and answer session with Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Aldrin explains his reasons for favoring a permanent presence on Mars over the moon as the next human space exploration objective. He sees the need for a heavy lift rocket, based on shuttle components, which could launch humans as well as cargo.
http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/25572/?a=f
6. From Sunshine News: A Florida business and political publication. Florida should move quickly to back the commercialization of space, according to a question and answer session with John Gedmark, the executive director of Commercial Spaceflight Federation.
http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/space-race-florida-needs-work-full-speed
7. From the Washington Post: The changing sun, under observation like never before, has scientists puzzled and worried in some cases. Sun spots are a low, magnetic energy levels are shrinking and the sun itself may be getting smaller. Is it the calm before the storm?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/21/AR2010062104114.html
8. From Discovery.com: Is each powerful flash detected in the universe a natural phenomenon? Columnist Ray Villard poses the question and suggests some of these energetic displays may be coming from extraterrestrials.
http://news.discovery.com/space/do-we-overlook-alien-beacons.html
9. From Spaceflightnow.com: NASA’s Cassini mission successfully swoops into the atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan late Sunday. Scientists hope the dive will reveal whether this moon, which resembles a primordial Earth, has a magnetic field.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1006/21cassini/
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.
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.