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Wednesday’s CSExtra offers new commentary and reporting on NASA’s future. Two Senators express bi-partisan support for the Senate version of a NASA authorization bill. A NASA Advisory Council panel grows impatient at the lack of detail if has seen on the agency’s commercial crew space transportation strategy. The Earth glows after a blow from a coronal mass ejection.
1. From the Orlando Sentinel: In an op-ed, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, the Florida Democrat, and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Texas Republican, urge support for the Senate’s NASA authorization bill. Among other objectives, the measure puts NASA on a course for human exploration of deep space. Mars is the goal, they write. The future benefits include new industries and high tech jobs. In the near term, the bill would keep the NASA workforce in Cape Canaveral and Houston together.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-ed-bill-nelson-nasa-080410-20100803,0,7846891.story
A. From the New York Times: While the White House and Congress debate the future of NASA’s human space flight program, whether it be missions to the moon, the asteroids or Mars, the International Space Station gains new significance. Without that tentative foothold in low Earth orbit, it would be politically difficult to re-start an exploration initiative, the Times reports. This week’s cooling system problems on the station serve as a reminder of how fragile that foothold is.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/science/space/04nasa.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=NASA&st=cse
B. From Aviation Week & Space Technology: a NASA Advisory Committee subcommittee expresses frustration at the lack of detail available to the panel on NASA’s strategy to underwrite a commercial space transportation to ferry astronauts to and from Earth orbit. The full NAC intends to take up the concerns Aug. 5-6 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Commercial space transportation is a key part of the White House 2011 budget initiative.
http://www.aviationnow.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/asd/2010/08/02/08.xml&headline=More%20Detail%20Sought%20On%20Commercial%20Crew%20Plan&channel=space
C. From Spacepoliticsonline.com: The web site offers more detail on the NASA Advisory Committee rift over the lack of detail on NASA’s pending commercial crew launch strategy.
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2010/08/03/commercial-crew-impatience-policy-deliberations-and-a-commercial-thunder-bolt/
D. From the Los Angeles Times: For decades the low profile Aerospace Corp., of El Segundo, has watched over secret Pentagon space projects. There may be a new role on the horizon for the Aerospace Corp., furnishing oversight of the commercial space ventures the Obama Administration favors.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-aerospace-corp-20100804,0,742731.story
2. From COLLECTspace.com and space.com: NASA misses a mid-summer deadline for a decision on where to disperse the shuttle orbiters after the small fleet is retired next year. NASA has not come up with another date yet. Congress is still evaluating how long it wants to keep the potential for shuttle missions alive. Currently, the final mission is set for late February, but there is support for at least one more flight.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/news/nasa-space-shuttle-museum-decision-delayed-100803.html
3. From Discovery.com: A Coronal Mass Ejection, launched by the sun on Sunday, strikes the Earth’s magnetic field on Tuesday, illuminating the aurora.
http://news.discovery.com/space/impact-coronal-mass-ejection-hits-earth.html
4. From Florida Today: U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke is scheduled to tour the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday. The secretary is the co-chair along with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden of the Task Force on Space Industry Workforce and Economic Diversity. The $40 million panel is developing a strategy at the direction of President Obama on employment opportunities following the shuttle program’s retirement.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100804/NEWS02/8040337/NASA+task+force+to+meet+++talk+jobs
5. From the Los Angeles Times: A look at a new program, “Out of This World, The Science of Space Movies.” This program examines how much science there is in a long line of science fiction movies about space travel and exploration.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2010/08/the-academy-goes-out-of-this-world.html
6. From Spaceflightnow.com: An Ariane 5 rocket launch on Wednesday will boost two African communications satellites.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ariane/v196/preview.html
7. From Space.com: The website takes a look at the International Space Station by the numbers. One is the estimated price tag, $100 billion. On Friday, two spacewalking astronauts will attempt to repair the station’s cooling system, which malfunctioned on Saturday.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/news/international-space-station-by-the-numbers-100803.html
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