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Wednesday’s CSExtra features a round up of space developments around the globe. In Kazakhstan, preparations are under way to launch a U.S. and Russian crew to the International Space Station. China’s latest lunar probe swings into orbit. NASA approves the development of a new Mars mission. U.S. exploration plans remain under funded, according to a former agency official. Record high global temps may be cooling slightly. Supreme Court justices hear a privacy challenge from some NASA workers.
1. From Spaceflightnow.com: The Russians position a Soyuz booster with an upgraded spacecraft on the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, as the lift off of three new crew members for the International Space Station nears. The launching is scheduled for Thursday at 7:10 p.m., EDT. Scott Kelly of NASA and Russians Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka will reach the space station Saturday night.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/station/exp25/101005rollout/
A. From IEEE Spectrum: The Soyuz TMA-OM1 that will lift off Thursday with an American and two Russian crew members features the capsule’s first use of a digital flight control computer as well as new color cockpit displays. The upgrades are expected to ease an increase in the Soyuz flight rate as NASA’s shuttle program retires. Until alternatives appear, the Soyuz will keep the International Space Station occupied by six astronauts.
http://spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/space-flight/a-digital-soyuz
2. From the Coalition for Space Exploration: China’s Chang’e-2 probe has maneuvered into lunar orbit, five days after lift off. The initial orbit will be shaped with additional maneuvers to permit surface imaging. The mission includes a search for a landing site for a future robotic lander.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/blog/update-china%e2%80%99s-chang%e2%80%99e-2-moon-probe-enters-lunar-orbit
3. From the Hampton Roads Daily Press of Virginia: A. Thomas Young, a former director of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and an expert often consulted by NASA and Congress, tells an audience at NASA’s Langley Research Center the space agency is still facing a funding challenge. The Obama Administration’s reforms may have shifted NASA from one unaffordable program to another unaffordable program, according to Young.
http://articles.dailypress.com/2010-10-05/news/dp-nws-nasa-langley-20101005_1_nasa-career-moon-mission-mars-mission
4. From the Coalition for Space Exploration: NASA’s $438 million MAVEN mission moves into development at the University of Colorado. Slated for a November 2013 launching, MAVEN will study the relationship between the Martian upper atmosphere and the sun. The objectives include a long term assessment of whether past environmental conditions were favorable for life.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/blog/red-planet-orbiter-maven-to-go-martian
5. From the Washington Post: 2010 may not be the warmest year in modern record keeping after all, according to James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. A growing La Nina in the Pacific is cooling global surface temperatures. Nonetheless, the warmest 12 month period in GISS record keeping was reached in mid-2010.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/2010/10/scientist_projects_hottest_yea.html
6. From the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal and others: The U.S. Supreme Court hears from California-based NASA contractors on Tuesday who object to the background checks required by the federal government to work at research centers like the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. While a decision on the issues is expected later in the court’s term, the justices seemed little inclined to call for changes that would affect personnel throughout the federal government. Some 28 JPL employees brought the challenge through the lower courts.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/05/AR2010100505356.html
A. From the New York Times: The court challenge appears unlikely to succeed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/us/politics/06scotus.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
7. From the Himalayan: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden speaks to a youth group in Nepal. Take risks but not in haste, Bolden advises.
http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=I+never+dreamt+I%27d+be+a+spaceman%3A+NASA+chief+&NewsID=260600
8. From Spacepolitics.com: The web site takes a fresh look at the fate of NASA’s shuttle orbiters once the program is terminated. It now appears the 2010 NASA authorization bill that cleared Congress last week has leveled the playing field on where NASA may assign the spacecraft for public display. A decision on bids from Cape Canaveral and Houston have been joined by those from New York, Seattle and elsewhere. A decision on which museums are most suitable may not come until next year.
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2010/10/05/still-scavenging-for-shuttles/
9. From Florida Today: Filming is under way at the Kennedy Space Center this week on the feature film, Transformers 3. The shooting is expected to bring about $2 million to the local economy, and it’s offering civilian as well as military personnel in the area to participate as film “extras.”
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20101005/NEWS01/10050325/-Transformers-3-filming-turns-KSC-Brevard-extras-into-movie-stars
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