To subscribe to CSExtra via RSS feed click here.
If you would prefer to receive CSExtra in e-mail format, e-mail us at Info@space.com with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
Coming soon! The Coalition for Space Exploration will launch a new Think Outside the Circle PSA.
Click here for a promo poster, free downloads and a chance to win prizes.
Friday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting on space related activities from across the country. At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the countdown for Shuttle Endeavour’s second attempt to lift off gets under way Friday at 7 a.m., EDT. Favorable weather is forecast for a lift off on Monday. The White House initiates a review of the National Space Transportation Policy, the first since 2004. China’s efforts to assemble an orbiting space station by 2020 gather momentum. Japan halts efforts to recover an Earth observing satellite following a recent power problem. Jupiter’s volcanically active moon Io is filled with molten lava. Japanese scientists identify the oldest known micrometeorite fragments. Spaceport America opens for public tours. An east coast meteor sounds off with a sonic boom earlier this week.
1. From Spaceflightnow.com: Shuttle Endeavour’s countdown begins Friday at 7 a.m. EDT. The shuttle’s six member crew flew to the NASA’s Kennedy Space Center early Thursday. Lift off of the 16-day flight is set for Monday at 8:56 a.m., EDT.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/110512crew/index.html
A. From Florida Today: Forecasters predict a 70 percent chance of favorable weather for Monday’s attempt to launch Endeavour.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110513/NEWS02/105130326/Endeavour-crew-back-ready-give-go-again?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home
B. From Florida Today: Officials in Central Florida predict lots of spectators and traffic problems in Central Florida for Endeavour’s launch early Monday. http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110513/NEWS02/105130316/On-Monday-prepare-launch-gridlock-Brevard?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Space%20News
2. From Spacepolictics.com: The White House has begun the first review since 2004 of the National Space Transportation Policy, according to testimony earlier this week before the FAA’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee. The process will include input from the aerospace industry.
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2011/05/12/space-transportation-policy-review-underway/
3. From Spaceflightnow.com: China’s plans to assemble an orbiting space station of its own in the 2020 time frame gather momentum.
An in orbit docking demonstration is planned for later this year.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1105/12tiangong/
4. From Space.com: Japan halts efforts to recover a five-year-old Earth observing satellite, the Advanced Land Observing Satellite. Communications lapsed three weeks ago. The Earth observer was instrumental in gathering pictures of Japan’s recent major earthquake and tsunami.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/11653-japanese-satellite-declared-dead-daichi.html
5. From Space.com: The Jovian moon Io is filled with molten lava a new examination of data from NASA’s Galileo probe reveals. The spacecraft circled Jupiter for a long term study of the giant planet and its moons. http://www.exploredeepspace.com/11647-jupiter-volcanic-moon-io-magma-ocean.html
6. From Wired News: Japanese researchers identify the oldest known micrometeorites to reach the Earth. These small particles of iron date back 240 million years. Studies may help piece together conditions in the early solar system. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/05/oldest-fossil-micrometeorites/
7. From USA Today: Spaceport America, with a ways to go before it opens for commercial space flights, prepares to offer public tours starting Friday.
http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/dispatches/post/2011/05/nms-spaceport-america-starts-offering-tours/169887/1
8. From WAVY-TV of Virginia: A loud boom heard Tuesday night in Virginia Beach was likely a sonic boom from a meteor, say experts. http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/meteor-likely-caused-mysterious-boom
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.