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Monday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space-related activities from across the globe, as well as a roundup of weekend activities. Imagery from U. S. weather satellites and the International Space Station play a significant role in warning of Hurricane Irene’s destructive path along the Atlantic Coast. The Aug. 24 failure of a Russian Progress re-supply mission to the International Space Station sparks concerns about the orbital lab’s near term future. The rocket launcher for the Progress is similar to the booster for the Soyuz crew transport, raising questions about the rotation of astronauts to and from the station. Some worry that a string of failures has Russia’s aerospace industry in a crisis. China nears the launch of a cornerstone module for a new space station. French consultants project a bright future for the satellite launch business. In Huntsville, Ala., a debate erupts over political support for the development of a new NASA heavy lift rocket for future human exploration. Cape Canaveral may host a key test flight of the Orion/Multipurpose Crew Vehicle. A look at space policy events scheduled for the week ahead.
1. From The Coalition for Space Exploration, Sept. 28: Hurricane Irene brings major disruption and damage to the U. S. East Coast over the weekend. The giant storm slams North Carolina, then New York before sweeping into Canada, generating major news coverage. Weather satellites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warn of the storm’s size and the potential for damage from winds and water.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/blog/satellite-views-show-powerful-hurricane-hitting-u-s-east-coast
A. From Space.com, Aug. 27: Images taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station as well as NOAA spacecraft tell the story of Irene journey ashore on the U. S. East Coast over the weekend.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/12760-hurricane-irene-landfall-satellite-photo-east-coast.html
2. From Florida Today, Aug. 29: The loss of Russia’s Progress 44 re-supply capsule during an Aug. 24 launching to the International Space Station is placing new significance on a late November/December flight demonstration mission by SpaceX and NASA. If successful, the SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon mission would become the first to berth a U. S. commercial spacecraft with the station. Future six person station operations will depend on two U. S. commercial suppliers, SpaceX and Orbital Sciences taking on the supply duties once assigned to NASA’s shuttle.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110829/NEWS02/108290319/Soyuz-failure-puts-more-pressure-SpaceX-deliver?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home
A. From Spaceflightnow.com, Aug. 27: The NASA-led International Space Station partnership could be faced with withdrawing astronauts from the orbiting science laboratory, if Russia is unable to quickly identify and remedy the third stage failure that doomed the Progress 44 re-supply mission launch on Aug. 24, according to ISS program manager Mike Suffredini. Decisions this week are expected on when and how the six U. S., Russian and Japanese astronauts currently on the orbital outpost will return to Earth. Three were scheduled to return on Sept 8, with three replacements set to launch on Sept. 21. The Soyuz rockets that launch the Progress and station astronauts share a similar third stage. NASA retired the long running shuttle program, the only other means of crew access to the station.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/station/exp28/110827unmannedops/
B. From Ria Novosti, Aug. 27: In a commentary, the Russian news service says the country’s aerospace industry has slipped into a crisis with the loss last week of the Progress 44 mission, a cargo flight to the International Space Station. The country has sustained six spacecraft accidents in nine months, according to Ria Novosti. For the moment, it’s time to tone down the rhetoric about Russia being a “great space power,” according to the commentary.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20110827/166217250.html
C. From The Voice of Russia, Aug. 27: Russia’s aerospace industry may face a shakeup in the aftermath of the Aug. 24 loss of the Progress 44 mission.
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/08/27/55257047.html
3. From the People’s Daily of China, Aug. 24: China’s cornerstone space station hardware, Tiangong 1, will likely launch in early September, the news service reports. Plans to launch sooner were slowed by an August rocket failure.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90882/7578878.html
4. From Space News, Aug. 26: A Paris-based economic consulting company forecasts a major rise in the number of satellite launches worldwide in the coming decade. The forecast includes 1,145 spacecraft worth an estimated $196 billion. Governments will comprise the largest share of the customer base.
http://www.spacenews.com/launch/110826-forecast-rise-sat-launches.html
5. From the Huntsville Times, Aug. 28: In an editorial, the Huntsville Times says its time for Washington policymakers to back a NASA-developed heavy lift rocket, the Space Launch System, as part of a national strategy to expand human space exploration. The commentary was drawn from the comments of a Huntsville-sponsored panel of experts on the nation’s space future.
http://blog.al.com/times-views/2011/08/nasa_needs_the_go-ahead_for_a.html
A. From the Huntsville Times, Aug. 26: At a Huntsville celebration of NASA’s space shuttle program, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden says the U. S. is not wavering on human space exploration. However, the NASA chief does not discuss when work on the Space Launch System, a new U. S. heavy lift rocket, will begin at the Marshall Space Flight Center.
http://blog.al.com/space-news/2011/08/nasa_boss_bolden_praises_shutt.html
B. From the Huntsville Times, Aug. 26, Former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, among a panel of space experts convened by Huntsville’s mayor before a community celebration of the space shuttle program, says that advances in human spaceflight must await a new administration.
http://blog.al.com/space-news/2011/08/former_nasa_boss_mike_griffin.html
6. From Florida Today, Aug. 27: Columnist John Kelly finds NASA and policymakers facing a familiar problem as they attempt to start work on the Space Launch System, and upgrades to the launch complex at the Kennedy Space Center. Those two projects, along with the Orion/Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, form the nucleus of future human space exploration missions to deep space destinations. One roadblock is accurately estimating what the initiatives will cost, writes Kelly.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110828/COLUMNISTS0405/108280313/John-Kelly-Same-NASA-same-issues?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Space%20News
7. From Florida Today, Aug. 26: NASA will conduct a future test of the Orion/Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle abort system from Cape Canaveral, Fla., in the 2014 time frame, the newspaper reports
http://space.flatoday.net/2011/08/nasa-aims-to-move-orion-test-to-cape.html
8. From Spacepolicyonline.com, Aug. 27: Major space policy events scheduled for the week ahead:
http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/pages/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1812:events-of-interest-week-of-august-29-september-2&catid=67:news&Itemid=27
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