Friday’s space news scan finds wide spread reporting and commentary on SpaceX and the company’s scheduled inaugural launch of the Falcon 9 rocket. The two stage Falcon 9 has become a symbol of the new space commercial transportation initiative. Company founder Elon Musk believes the Falcon 9 can become a commercial workhorse for the transportation of humans as well as cargo to the International Space Station. President Obama has formulated changes in U.S. space policy around the prospect. The Falcon 9 lift off is set for 11 a.m. EDT, the opening of a launch window of four hours. The weather outlook includes a 60 percent chance of favorable weather. Saturday offers a backup opportunity. Live coverage is available at www.spaceflightnow.com.
1. From the Washington Post, a preview of SpaceX’s efforts Friday to launch the company’s Falcon 9 for the first time. The launching is from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The Falcon 9 is furthest along in the commercial space transportation arena. The new rocket, with its Dragon capsule, is a candidate to transport cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station. “And up into the lofty heights with the Falcon 9, the first of a new generation of more powerful commercial rockets, will go the ambition embraced by the Obama administration and NASA: to privatize spaceflight,” The Post reports.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/03/AR2010060302241.html
A. From Spaceflightnow.com, SpaceX is a symbol for a new commercial space initiative.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/001/100603prelaunch/index.html
B. From Florida Today, Musk tempers expectations. “Musk said the objective of the flight is to reach a circular orbit 250 kilometers (155 miles) above Earth. But he also said it would be a good day if the first stage of the rocket — powered by nine Merlin engines — works properly and a great day if the second stage also operates as designed,” FT reports. ” Musk noted that historically, 50 percent of new rockets fail during their first flight. He said he believes there’s about a 70 to 80 percent chance the Falcon 9 will fly successfully.” http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100604/NEWS02/6040321/All-eyes-on-rocket-ready-for-debut
C. From the Wall Street Journal, Musk invested $100 million of his own funding in SpaceX.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704025304575285192107686572.html?KEYWORDS=NASA
D. From Bloomberg News, “Elon Musk changed the way people shop on the Internet when he helped start the online-payment service PayPal. Tomorrow, he will try to take a step toward changing the way NASA carries supplies and people into space,” BN reports. “If it is successful, it is an important initial step toward the creation of a new kind of industry,” said John Logsdon, founder of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University in Washington
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=auF.lgxvCa7E
E. From Space News, From SpaceX founder Elon Musk, “I think my personal assessment of the likelihood of success is probably 70 to 80 percent. However that is less than the probability of success in Russian roulette.”
http://www.spacenews.com/launch/spacex-go-for-falcon-launch-attempt.html
F. From the AP via the New York Times, NASA will be watching with supportive interest, the AP reports
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/04/science/space/04brfs-PRIVATECOMPA_BRF.html?scp=2&sq=NASA&st=cse
2. From the Houston Chronicle, NASA job losses figure in a complex evaluation of Houston’s future economy that includes the BP oil spill and the Continental and United air lines merger. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/steffy/7035534.html
3. From Nature News, NASA’s Spirit Mars Rover, which landed on Mars six years ago, finds evidence of past warm, wet conditions on Mars, where life may have flourished. Discovery took four years to interpret. http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100603/full/news.2010.278.html
A. From Space.com. Carbonate minerals, which form readily in water, detected at the site on Mars in the Gustav Crater.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/scienceastronomy/mars-rover-carbonate-rich-rocks-100603.html
4. From Spacepolicyonline.com, In a National Security Strategy release last week President Obama discusses the importance of international cooperation to U. S. interests in space.
http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/pages/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=940:national-security-strategy-calls-for-security-and-stability-in-space-healthy-workforce&catid=75:news&Itemid=68
5. From Space.com, Scientists track down the meteor procession referred to by poet Walt Whitman in his poem, “Leaves of Grass.” The display, visible along New York’s Hudson Valley, took place on July 20, 1860.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/scienceastronomy/walt-whitman-meteor-mystery-solved-100602.html
6. From USA Today, Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers attempt to track down the source of an asteroid that struck Jupiter in July 2009 with the force of a few thousands nuclear bombs.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2010/06/hubbles-takes-closer-look-at-jupiters-asteroid-impact/1
7. From the Los Angeles Times., Giant Jupiter takes a punch from a rogue asteroid. Attentive amateur astronomers record the strike.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/wire/sns-ap-us-sci-jupiter-hit,0,7888939.story
8. From Space.com, China launches another spacecraft in a bid to establish an independent Global Positioning System spacecraft.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/missionlaunches/china-beidou-satellite-launch-100603.html
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