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.
Thursday’s CSExtra offers the latest in reporting and commentary on space activities around the globe. Preparations are under way in Kazakhstan to launch two Russians and an American to the International Space Station. In Washington, an influential Congressman objects to a NASA trip to China. In California, falling Defense spending threatens small aerospace company suppliers. A NASA mission to study remnants of the Big Bang winds down. NASA spending on Constellation plummets. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University considers Houston for a new campus. Producers of Men in Black consider Cape Canaveral as a location.
1. From Space.com: A Soyuz capsule with two Russians and an American is scheduled to lift off Thursday at 7:10 p.m., EDT, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The departure will initiate a two day journey to the International Space Station. American Scott Kelly will assume command of the orbiting science lab in late November. In early March, his twin brother, Mark, arrives aboard the shuttle Endeavour. The meeting would mark the first between two blood relatives in space.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/missionlaunches/astronaut-twin-blast-off-101006.html
A. From the AP via the Houston Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and others: Scott Kelly feels privileged by the opportunity to greet his brother in space. Mark Kelly travels to Baikonur to witness his brother’s launching.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/world/7235256.html
B. From Florida Today: A look at Scott and Mark Kelly as launch preparations in Baikonur unfolded earlier this week.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20101007/NEWS02/10070326/Twins-make-space-a-family-endeavor
2. From Space News: U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, of West Virginia, the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee, seeks a security briefing from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on his plans for an October trip to China. Bolden will reportedly discuss cooperation in human space exploration. Wolf opposes the prospect and reminds Bolden such a venture is not part of a Congressional authorization. The trip is reportedly planned for Oct. 16-21.
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/101006-lawmaker-balks-nasa-china-visit.html
A. From Spaceref.com: The China trip is an initiative of NASA Administrator Charles Bolden’s. The White House is not that supportive, the web site reports.
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=1452
3. From Spaceflightnow.com: NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe completes a nine-year study of the radiance produced by the early universe. Studies of WMAP data will continue. The distant probe’s contributions include improved accuracy in estimates for the age of the universe, 13.75 billion years old, as well as for the distribution of matter. Normal matter comprises less than 5 percent of the stuff in the universe.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1010/06wmap/
4. From Space News: NASA’s Constellation Program, facing termination by the White House, will experience an immediate drop in monthly spending, sliding from $282 million to $212 million under the federal budget continuing resolution in effect until at least Dec. 3. Congress has yet to pass an appropriations measure for the 2011 fiscal year that began Oct. 1. Just two years ago, NASA anticipated a ramp up in Constellation spending to $540 per month. NASA’s limited spending is focused on those Constellation technologies that can be rolled over into a future heavy lift and crew capsule for deep space missions.
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/1010-06-layoffs-nasa-slows-constellation-spending.html
A. From the Huntsville Times: At NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the glass is half full, or it’s half empty, as Constellation winds down. It’s half full, if Marshall is assigned to lead the development of a new NASA heavy lift rocket. It’s half empty for the contract workers who are losing their jobs while policy makers decide what is to follow Constellation’s termination.
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2010/10/positive_news_for_marshall_spa.html
5. From the Los Angeles Times: A look at the impact of the Pentagon’s spending reductions on California aerospace. More than 5,500 suppliers, who employ more than 130,000 workers in the state, will be affected. Many of the companies that provide parts to Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman face layoffs, mergers or going out of business.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-aerospace-suppliers-20101007,0,4537081.story
A. From the Houston Chronicle: The city is going head to head with Rockford, Ill., for an opportunity to host a third campus for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Officials are proposing the Ellington Field area, which is close to NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Embry-Riddle has campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/7235342.html
B. From the Huntsville Times: Representatives from Bigelow Aerospace, the Las Vegas-based company that plans to launch private space stations, and United Launch Alliance, the major rocket launch company, meet Wednesday. A surge in commercial space activities could mean new jobs for Northern Alabama, say local officials.
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2010/10/post_432.html
C. From Florida Today: The producers of Men in Black III check out the Kennedy Space Center as a prospective location for the third film in the comedic series about alien cover up.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20101007/NEWS01/10070325/KSC-contender-for-Men-in-Black-film
6. From Spaceflightnow.com: At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, engineers prepare to load the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module aboard shuttle Discovery. Discovery is on track for a Nov. 1 launching to the International Space Station with Leonardo, an equipment storage module.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts133/101007payloads/
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.