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.
Coming soon! The Coalition for Space Exploration will launch a new Think Outside the Circle PSA.
Click here for a promo poster, free downloads and a chance to win prizes.
Wednesday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana predicts a workforce recovery as commercial space transportation companies begin operations. Russia looks to the fall for the first commercial launch of a Soyuz rocket from Kourou, French Guiana. Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords plans to return to Florida to witness the launch of shuttle Endeavour on Monday. Mark Kelly, the injured lawmaker’s husband, will command Endeavour’s final flight. Two veteran aerospace companies that lost out in the latest round of NASA commercial crew development funding will continue their efforts and plan to compete again. NASA divers descend to the ocean floor off Key Largo, Fla., to prepare for a simulation of an asteroid exploration mission. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft closes in for an orbital encounter with the asteroid Vesta. A Maryland lawmaker introduces legislation that could help global satellite sales. Comet Temple 1 offers researchers a surprise. Scientists propose a mission to Saturn’s moon Titan with a probe that could look for pre-biotic chemicals in seas of methane and ethane.
1. From Florida Today: While employment at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is expected to fall to about 8,000 in the coming weeks as the shuttle program fully retires, the workforce numbers should rise toward 10,000 again as commercial space transportation companies begin launching astronauts to orbit, Center Director Bob Cabana tells the National Space Club. Also, NASA expects to settle on the architecture for a new launch system and crew capsule for missions beyond low Earth orbit by July, he tells the club’s monthly meeting.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110511/BUSINESS/105110315/KSC-chief-shares-employment-optimism
2. From Spaceflightnow.com: Russia looks to French Guiana for the upcoming launch of a Russian Soyuz rocket, a commercial first for Russia and Arianespace. The first launch is anticipated for this fall.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1105/09soyuz/
A. From Voice of Russia: The first Soyuz launch from Kourou in French Guiana is expected in October.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1105/09soyuz/
3. From the Arizona Republic: Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords plans to return to the Kennedy Space Center for the launching of the shuttle Endeavour on Monday. The mission is commanded by her husband, NASA astronaut Mark Kelly. Giffords will travel from Houston, where she is in rehabilitation for a gunshot wound. The lawmaker was shot on Jan. 8 at a Tucson political rally. Giffords was at Kennedy when the launch was scrubbed April 29.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/05/11/20110511giffords-shuttle-launch.html
4. From Spaceflightnow.com: United Launch Alliance and ATK were passed over in NASA’s recent commercial crew development awards. But that has not stopped the two companies from continuing their efforts to win future NASA funds for their commercial space transportation proposals.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1105/10ccdevrockets/
5. From The Coalition for Space Exploration: This week, NASA divers are descending into the Atlantic ocean waters off Key Largo, Fla., to prepare for an October demonstration of surface operations on an asteroid.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/blog/sim-asteroid-aquanauts-to-train-for-space-rock-exploration-2
6. From Time: NASA’s Dawn spacecraft closes in on a first ever orbital encounter with an asteroid, Vesta. Dawn’s arrival is anticipated in mid-July. It’s the first stop of a second asteroid encounter.
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2069835,00.html
A. From Space.com: NASA debuts Morpheus, a prototype lander for missions to the moon, an asteroid and Mars, at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/11623-nasa-morpheus-moon-mars-landing.html
7. From Spacepolicitics.com: A Maryland Congressman introduces legislation that would allow the President to remove satellites from export controls
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2011/05/10/another-turn-at-the-plate-for-export-control-reform/
8. From USA Today: NASA Stardust mission sent an impactor into comet Temple 1 in 2005. A more recent flyby revealed trapped pockets of gas close to the impact site.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2011/05/deep-impact-revealed-hidden-comet-cavities/1
9. From Discovery.com: NASA considers a mission to Saturn’s moon Titan. The probe would explore oceans of methane and ethane on Titan in search of pre-biotic chemicals.
http://news.discovery.com/space/titan-lake-boat-oceans-nasa-110510.html
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.