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Thursday’s CSExtra offers a look at the latest reporting and commentary on space-related activities from around the globe. In Earth orbit, U. S. Russian and Japanese astronauts are on course to dock with the International Space Station late today. In Washington, NASA’s inspector general warns that the late fall launching of the Mars Science Laboratory could face a significant and costly delay. Program officials, however; say the MSL, also known as Curiosity, will be ready for a Nov. 25 lift off. In Alabama, NASA’s soon-to-retire shuttle program wins praise from Charles Bolden, the agency’s administrator and former astronaut. Consultants suggest NASA’s spending trends are shifting from space operations to technology development and scientific research.
1. From Spaceflightnow.com: U. S., Russian and Japanese astronauts, launched late Tuesday from Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz rocket, close in on a docking with the International Space Station. The linkup is scheduled for Thursday at 5:22 p.m., EDT. They are Mike Fossum, of NASA, Sergei Volkov, of Russia, and Satoshi Furukawa, of Japan. Their arrival at the space station will return the crew size to six. Check SFN for updates.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/station/exp28/status.html
2. From Space.com: The launching of NASA’s $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory, also known as Curiosity, faces management and cost challenges, according to the agency’s inspector general. The latest difficulties, contained in a report made public on Wednesday, could jeopardize plans to launch MSL on Nov. 25th. The ambitious mission to search for potentially habitable environments on Mars has already been delayed 26 months by technical problems.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/11903-mars-rover-curiosity-budget-delay-report.html
A. From Space News: NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory will need another $44 million to avoid a launch slip that would push the mission’s departure into 2013, according to the Inspector General’s report of June 8. NASA, however, says its reserves of $22 million should be sufficient.
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/110608-msl-needs-more-nasa-audit.html
B. From Florida Today: Most of Curiosity’s difficulties have been overcome, and the space agency will be prepared to launch the Mars Science Laboratory rover between Nov. 25 and Dec. 18, David Lavery, the NASA executive in charge of the project, tells a news briefing on Wednesday.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110609/NEWS02/106090323/NASA-Rover-can-go-year?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home
C. From Space.com: Mars is not always what it seems. Scientists and amateurs alike have proposed the presence of canals, sculpted faces and even hidden bases that suggest the past presence of advanced forms of civilization. Further investigation, though, suggests Mars was better suited for microbial life.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/11907-mars-history-martian-illusions-human-delusions.html
3. From National Public Radio: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble’s designated successor, and another ambitious NASA science project, also faces previously reported cost and management issues that have pushed the launch back by several years. Nonetheless, astronomers remain enthusiastic about the telescope’s potential to reveal more about the solar system and the universe. Plans to launch the observatory have slipped to 2018 and possibly later.
http://www.npr.org/2011/06/08/137040818/scientists-undeterred-by-hubble-successors-costs
4. From the Huntsville Times: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden offers emotional praise for NASA’s long running shuttle program, which is nearing retirement in July. The praise comes at a Georgia Institute of Technology forum on the spacecraft’s legacy. “It’s a bittersweet time,” Bolden tells the audience.
http://blog.al.com/space-news/2011/06/nasa_administrator_bolden_bids.html
A. From NASAwatch.com and Spaceref: Two consulting companies predict a shift in NASA spending priorities in the coming years under a flat budgets of $18.7 billion. The trend will move away from space operations as the shuttle retires and towards investments in new technology and scientific research, especially Earth science, according to Euroconsult and Omnis. The trend could mean new contractor opportunities. http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=33782
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