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Wednesday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from around the world. In the United States, the final launch of NASA’s 30-year-space shuttle program continues to draw wide interest. The countdown for the launching of Atlantis with a crew of four astronauts on a 12-day mission to the International Space Station began on Tuesday. A new poll reveals most Americans believe U. S. leadership in space is “essential.” The rush is on among spectators to gather in Central Florida for the final shuttle launch. The shuttle program’s demise saps the Central Florida economy. In California, the shuttle program buoyed the state’s aerospace industry through bad times and good. Are the reasons for NASA’s final mission getting lost in the hyperbole? Space Camp’s popularity remains high. The Hubble Space Telescope collects its one millionth image. Another veteran NASA astronaut turns to commercial space.
1. From Florida Today: The countdown for NASA’s final shuttle mission begins as planned on Tuesday, with a launch forecast that includes a 60 percent chance for rain. The lift off is scheduled for Friday at 11:26 a.m., EDT.
http://space.flatoday.net/2011/07/countdown-to-final-shuttle-launch-under.html
2. From Spacepolicyonline.com: A Pew Research Center poll reveals that 58 percent of Americans believe it’s “essential” for the nation to stake a leadership position in the exploration of space. Some 38 percent disagree. Support is stronger among Republicans than Democrats. How many contacted by pollsters believe the shuttle was a good investment? 55 percent.
http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/pages/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1671:pew-american-people-want-us-leadership-in-space&catid=67:news&Itemid=27
A. From the Washington Post: Unraveling the politics of spaceflight is a little bit like spaceflight, where there is no up or down. In space politics there seems to be no left or right. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/as-nasa-transitions-us-space-politics-in-a-state-of-flux/2011/07/05/gHQAJVkozH_story.html
3. From the Orlando Sentinel: Record crowds, perhaps as many as a million spectators, are expected in Central Florida to witness the lift off of NASA’s final shuttle mission.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/os-shuttle-finale-crowds-20110705,0,4290965.story
A. From the Houston Chronicle: Shuttle launch spectators are already massing in the Cape Canaveral area to catch a glimpse as Atlantis departs.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7640854.html
B. From the Orlando Sentinel: The surge of spectators to Central Florida to witness the Atlantis launching is evidence of the shuttle program’s significance, the Sentinel writes in an editorial.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-ed-space-shuttle-legacy-20110706,0,401328.story
4. From USA Today: Florida’s Space Coast faces an economic meltdown as the shuttle program retires.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2011-07-01-space-coast-business_n.htm
A. From the Los Angeles Times: NASA’s space shuttle program helped to sustain Southern California’s aerospace industry for four decades — through bad times and good times.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-shuttle-legacy-20110705,0,1183103.story
5. Two from Monday’s The Space Review:
A. In “The Mission of the Final Shuttle Mission,” TSR Editor Jeff Foust examines the media take on NASA’s shuttle flight. So far, he writes, most of the reporting and commentary is filled with hyperbole and sensationalism. However, Atlantis is undertaking an important mission for NASA’s future — equipping the International Space Station with the supplies to bridge the gap until emerging commercial cargo services show up and equipping the station with a forward leaning robotic refueling experiment.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1876/1
B. In “Human Space Flight and the Reason for Almost Being There,” contributor Dan Lester, an astronomer, assesses the roles of robot and humans in future space exploration. As the distances increase, humans may be best equipped to deal with latency — the communications lag.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1877/1
6. From the Galveston Daily News of Texas: A part of the American dream is waning with the final shuttle mission. Lack of leadership at the top has prevented the nation from preparing the next step, according to an op-ed from an area space veteran.
http://galvestondailynews.com/story/242526
7. From USAToday: The Hubble Space Telescope gathers its one millionth image since launching in 1990. The target was Kepler 2b, a large exo-planet.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2011/07/hubble-tops-one-million-images-mark-for-july-4th/1
8. From Collectspace.com: Former NASA chief astronaut Steve Lindsey joins Sierra Nevada Corp., where he will direct flight operations for Dream Chaser, a prospective commercial provider of orbital space transportation.
http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum38/HTML/001370.html
9. From the Washington Post: U. S. kids are flocking to Space Camp, if their parents have the financial means. Interest grows even as NASA retires the space shuttle. Interest shifts to missions to the moon, asteroids and Mars
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/alabama-space-camp-shifts-its-focus-to-the-moon-mars-and-asteroids/2011/06/22/gHQA0lT6xH_story.html.
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