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Wednesday’s top space news offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from around the world: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden commemorates Martin Luther King at a memorial breakfast in his native South Carolina. The House is poised for a vote next week on a resolution that would roll federal spending back to 2008 levels, a move that would cut NASA spending by 8 percent. Astronaut Mark Kelly recalls the news of his wife’s shooting at a Jan. 8 Tucson political rally. Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Kelly’s wife, is recovering from gunshot founds initially reported to be fatal. At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, a team that prepares cargo for the International Space Station has a bright future, even though the shuttle is retiring; Physics rates a “Rock Star.” Science Fiction’s most memorable special effects.
1. From the Associated Press via the Washington Post, Houston Chronicle and others: Speaking in his native Charleston, S. C., NASA Administrator Charles Bolden credits the Space Shuttle program with breaking social and racial barriers to spaceflight when the first orbiter lifted off nearly 30 years ago. Bolden speaks at a Martin Luther King J. Holiday breakfast. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/18/AR2011011802917.html
A. From the Charleston Post and Courier of South Carolina: In a brief question and answer session with the newspaper, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden talks about the agency’s budget, the shuttle’s retirement, and NASA’s accomplishments outside human space flight. http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/jan/19/qa/
B. From the Charleston Post and Courier of South Carolina: In remarks commemorating Martin Luther King, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden says the civil rights leader was a major influence on his life. Bolden is NASA’s first black Administrator and serves the nation’s first African-American president. Neither would be possible without King, Bolden tells a breakfast audience. http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/jan/19/nasa-chief-speaks-of-kings-influence/
2. From the Associated Press via the Los Angeles Times and others: As part of their Pledge to America, House Republicans plan to sponsor a vote next week on a resolution that would cut $100 billion from discretionary budgets, placing appropriations at 2008 levels. The resolution is not expected to pass the Senate, the AP reports. Many politically popular activities could be strapped significantly, and the federal government would be forced to lay off civil servants. At NASA, spending would be cut by 8 percent; at the FBI, 16 percent.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-republicans-spending,0,1192768.story
A. From the Wall Street Journal, In an op-ed, Dick Armey and Matt Kibbe, chair and president of Freedom Works, offer a long list of prospective budget cuts. NASA spending would be reduced by 50 percent. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703779704576073750780454850.html?KEYWORDS=NASA
3. From the Associated Press via the Houston Chronicle: NASA Astronaut Mark Kelly describes the first moments after he learned that his wife, Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, had been shot at a Jan. 8 Tucson political rally. The interview aired on ABC Tuesday night. http://blogs.chron.com/newswatch/2011/01/husband_of_giffords_opens_up_a.html
A. From Florida Today: Scott Kelly, the current commander of the International Space Station, tells KTRK-TV of Houston in an interview on Tuesday that his twin brother, Mark Kelly, will likely decide within a couple of weeks whether to command NASA’s final scheduled shuttle mission. The two week flight is scheduled to lift off aboard Endeavour in late April. Mark Kelly is the husband of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was critically wounded at a Jan. 8 political rally in Tucson. http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110119/NEWS02/110118027/Astronaut+will+decide+in+few+weeks+on+command
4. From Florida Today: Though NASA’s space shuttle is retiring, a team of cargo experts at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center will continue to prepare hardware for shipment to the International Space Station. The equipment will be shipped to the station aboard the unmanned cargo delivery craft flown by the agency’s international partners and commercial companies. One of those, Japan’s HTV, Kounotouri is scheduled to lift off early Thursday. http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110119/NEWS02/101190328/KSC+cargo+teams+reset+for+a+new+era
5. From the Los Angeles Times: Physicist Stephen Hawking merits a “rock star” following as he addresses students at the California Institute of Technology. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-stephen-hawking-20110119,0,223171.story
6. From Wired.com: Readers help the website identify the best special effects from a science fiction movie. The floating pen from 2001: a Space Odyssey is among the most favored. http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/01/sci-fi-vfx/?pid=2501&viewall=true
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