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Wednesday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from around the world. At the Kennedy Space Center, NASA affirms July 8 as the launch date for the 135th and final shuttle mission. An unidentified piece of space debris speeds close to the International Space Station, prompting the U. S., Russian and Japanese crew to take brief refuge in two Soyuz life boats. Cygnus X-1, host to a black hole or neutron star? Friday to feature a partial solar eclipse. A chunk of Mars struck Ethiopia 100 years ago this week. Zero gravity flights come to Europe.
1. From Florida Today: Atlantis will lift off July 8 on NASA’s final shuttle mission, top space agency managers decided on Tuesday. The launch is scheduled for 11:26 a.m., EDT. The shuttle astronauts will head to the International Space Station with supplies and plans to return to Earth with equipment from the orbiting science laboratory that is no longer needed.
http://space.flatoday.net/2011/06/final-shuttle-flight-set-for-july-8.html
A. From PBS.org: Many who will participate in NASA’s final shuttle mission will do so with a lay off notice in hand, notes a veteran NASA flight director, Kwatsi Alibaruho. The mission is intended to cement the future of the International Space Station after the shuttle program ends. “So there’s a certain heaviness of heart going into it,” says Alibaruho.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/science/jan-june11/atlantismission.html
B. From Space.com: The website offers a history of the space shuttle program. “The story of the shuttle’s birth is one of big dreams and slashed budgets, of shifting visions, of NASA and the nation’s attempt to find their way in space after beating the Soviets to the moon in 1969,” the website reports.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/12085-nasa-space-shuttle-history-born.html
2. From Spaceflightnow.com The six U. S., Russian and Japanese astronauts aboard the International Space Station were forced to take refuge in two Soyuz capsules docked to the International Space Station early Tuesday, when an unidentified piece of man made orbital debris sped close to the orbiting science laboratory. The miss distance, an estimated 1,000 feet, was the closest “near miss” in the history of the space station. Commander Andrey Borisenko and his crew resume normal duties after the incident.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts135/110628iss/
3. From Physics World.com: Scientist confirm that Cygnus X-1 harbors a spinning black hole, settling an old bet between famed astrophysicists Stephen Hawking and Kip Thorne.
http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/46362
4. From Space.com: Friday will feature a solar eclipse, though a partial one — for those deep in the southern hemisphere.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/12099-partial-solar-eclipse-friday-lackluster-visibility.html
5. From Discovery.com: A chunk of Mars struck the Earth in Ethiopia 100 years ago this week, though at that time the origin of the space rock was not clear.
http://news.discovery.com/space/100-years-ago-a-chunk-of-mars-hit-egypt-and-a-dog-110628.html
6. From Discovery.com: The French aerospace company Novespace will offer Zero Gravity flights to the European public late this year. The operation, using an Airbus A300, will be run by the French National Center for Space Studies. Cost? 4,000 Euros, or about $5,700 U. S.
http://news.discovery.com/adventure/more-zero-gravity-flights-available-2012-110628.html
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