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Friday’s CSExtra offers a roundup of the latest reporting on space-related activities from around the world. At the Kennedy Space Center, engineers will replace a leaky fuel valve on shuttle Atlantis. NASA’s MESSENGER mission finds surprises at planet Mercury. Tracking down the source of a bright flash in the distant universe. More on DARPA’s 100-year Starship Project. Choosing the best asteroid for a future human mission. Hartley 2 — the hyperactive comet.
1. From Florida Today: NASA will replace a main engine propellant valve aboard the shuttle Atlantis. NASA is aiming for a July 8 lift off of Atlantis and a crew of four astronauts on NASA’s final shuttle mission. The valve exhibited low temperature readings as the shuttle’s External Fuel tank was filled with chilled propellants on Wednesday, an indication of a leak. The repairs are not expected to change the target launch date.
http://space.flatoday.net/2011/06/ksc-crews-will-replace-atlantis-engine.html
2. From the Baltimore Sun: NASA’s MESSENGER mission produces some surprises as it circles Mercury, the planet closest to the sun. The detectable levels of potassium and thorium on the surface are startling. The two elements should have evaporated if the little planet formed close to the sun. The findings raise the possibility that Mercury formed elsewhere in the solar system. The mission is managed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-nasa-mercury-20110616,0,2290400.story
A. From the Los Angeles Times: Scientists have examined 20,000 images of Mercury from MESSENGER. The imagery suggests deep craters at the poles of the planet may harbor water ice.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-mercury-messenger-20110617,0,7527542.story
3. From USAToday: In March astronomers observed a bright flash that defied initial explanation. In some wavelengths, the flash rivaled the brightness of a 100 billion stars. Now, scientists believe the source is a distant black hole what swallowed a star. The explosion took place 3.8 billion light years from the Earth.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2011-06-16-black-hole_n.htm
4. From Universe Today: NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency grow serious about their 100-year Starship project. The collaborators have started a website and plan an Orlando symposium. The project’s goal is solving all the various technical, medical, sociological and economic problems so that one day, perhaps in a 100 years or so, humanity could build and launch a star ship, Universe Today reports.
http://www.universetoday.com/86798/could-you-head-up-darpa%e2%80%99s-100-year-starship-program/
5. From Discovery.com: An asteroid may be just the kind of place humans should attempt to explore. But there are so many. Which are reachable and have high scientific interest? A year ago, President Obama directed NASA to prepare for a mission to an asteroid in the 2025 time frame. Trips to Mars would come later, he said.
http://news.discovery.com/space/finding-the-first-target-for-human-interplanetary-travel-110616.html
6. From Space.com: Comet Hartley 2 was the focus of a November 2010 flyby by NASA’s EPOXI or Extra Solar Planet Observation and Deep Impact Extended Investigations mission. Now, imagery of the encounter is producing some surprises. Hartley 2 is “hyperactive,” as large amounts of carbon dioxide boil away causing the mile wide object to spin and tumble.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/11989-quirky-comet-hartley-2-solar-system-theories.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.