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Friday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting on space-related activities from around the world. Aboard the shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station, two astronauts carry out the first of four spacewalks planned by the visiting shuttle crew over the coming week. In Mission Control, experts assess potential heat shield damage on Endeavour — which is believed to be minor. Thursday’s successful installation of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the space station thrills physicists. A noted U. S. space historian suggests the nation’s future in space will depend on cooperation with other nations. Australian scientists offer new evidence for dark energy, the force that seems to be pulling the universe apart.
1. From Spaceflightnow.com: Spacewalking astronauts Drew Feustel and Greg Chamitoff from the shuttle Endeavour work outside the International Space Station early Friday to retrieve and install materials science experiments and carry out maintenance tasks. The 6.5 hour spacewalk began at 3:10 a.m., EDT. http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/110520fd5/index.html
A. From Spaceflightnow.com: NASA’s Mission managers carve out time on Saturday for a deeper inspection by the Endeavour astronauts of one and possibly two damages sites in the heat shielding tile on the underside of the shuttle’s right wing. The damage, most likely minor, was spotted in photography of heat shielding taken Wednesday during the shuttle’s rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station. Additional photography of Endeavour’s launch on Monday suggests the source of the damage may have been ice that dislodged from the shuttle’s external tank.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/110519fd4/index4.htmll
B. From Florida Today: Endeavour commander Mark Kelly tells interviewers on Thursday he’s aware of the heat shield damage and is not too concerned about it.
http://space.flatoday.net/2011/05/kelly-optimistic-tile-damage-isnt.html
2. From the New York Times: Endeavour’s astronauts complete a 17-year long effort to equip the International Space Station with the $2 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. The activities go well. The big particle detector comes to life with a rush of cosmic rays passing through.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/us/20shuttle.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=NASA&st=cse
A. From Space.com: The installation of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station brings a rush of particles through the detector. A team of physicists that extends around the world breathes a sigh of relief.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/11725-nasa-space-station-alpha-magnetic-spectrometer-success.html
3. From the Huntsville Times: Noted space historian John Logsdon, prior to his participation in the International Space Development Conference, in Huntsville, Ala., offers some observations on NASA and is future. The space agency is not to blame for the nation’s lack of a successor to the space shuttle, says Logsdon, who authored John F. Kennedy and The Race to the Moon. Congress, says Logsdon, “lost the will” to pursue human exploration. The U. S. has a future in space by cooperating with other nations, according to the historian.
http://blog.al.com/space-news/2011/05/space_historian_says_america_s.html
4. From Discovery.com: Scientists say new evidence confirms the existence of dark energy, a force that is causing the universe to expand. An Australian-led study is carried out with a survey of 240,000 older galaxies at the Australian Astronomical Observatory.
http://news.discovery.com/space/dark-energy-universe-einstein-110519.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.