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Monday’s space news scan offers the latest reporting and commentary on space-related activities from around the world, plus a roundup of weekend activities. At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, workers are scheduled to install a large cargo container aboard shuttle Atlantis today. Atlantis, bound for the International Space Station, is nearing a July 8 lift off on NASA’s final shuttle mission. NASA appears to have reached an internal decision on a new heavy lift rocket. Where is the enthusiasm (and funding) to accelerate the search for extraterrestrial life? NASA and the Pentagon collaborate to gather ideas for a future star ship. NASA investigates the future of solar electric propulsion. Space experts see a bright future for Florida. The European Space Agency looks to a new member state. A change in seasons. Celestial bling, and a look ahead to major space activities scheduled this week.
1. From Spaceflightnow.com, June 19: At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, NASA and its contractor payload team plan to stow a cargo canister aboard the shuttle Atlantis on Monday. The container will carry a year’s worth of food, spare parts, science gear and other supplies to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s final shuttle mission. Launching of the 12-day flight is tentatively set for July 8.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts135/110619payloads/index.html
A. From Florida Today, June 17: The people who prepare NASA’s shuttle payloads for flight strive for perfection amid an uncertain future as the shuttle program winds towards retirement.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110618/NEWS02/106180318/Pride-sadness-tug-Atlantis-payload-teams?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Ho
2. From Orlando Sentinel, June 17: NASA settles internally on a design for a new heavy lift rocket, which will rely on space shuttle propulsion components. The Space Launch System includes a towering fuel tank and twin booster rockets, but no orbiter. White House officials are reviewing NASA’s work but a decision on the plan could be announced shortly.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os-nasa-rocket-competition-20110616,0,3787416.story
A. From Space News, June 17: NASA’s Space Launch System strategy would evolve, allowing aerospace companies to compete for work on the boosters that would complement a core stage.
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/110617-heavy-lift-first-fly-sbrs.html
3. From the Los Angeles Times, June 18: Is the nation’s curiosity on the wane? It may be, as budget cuts and a tough economy force the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence into hibernation, according to Chrisopher Cokinos, the author of an upcoming history of efforts to listen for signals from distant civilizations.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-cokinos-seti-20110618,0,1241870.story
A. From the Christian Science Monitor, June 17: Astronomers eager to find Earth-like planets around other stars face the prospects of future mission delays because of tight budgets.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2011/0617/Space-exploration-Will-budget-cuts-stall-search-for-other-Earths
4. From the Christian Science Monitor, June 18: NASA joins with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for the 100 Year Starship Study, a $500,000 contest to seek the best strategies for developing an interstellar human exploration strategy.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2011/0618/NASA-launches-100-year-quest-to-send-humans-to-the-stars
A. From the Minneapolis Star-Tribute, June 18: An op-ed that claims American is turning its back on future human space exploration.
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/otherviews/124108644.html
B. From the Houston Chronicle, June 18: In a Question and Answer session, Dr. Bernard Harris, a venture capitalist and former NASA shuttle astronaut, expresses optimism for the future of space exploration. His outlook is based on the promise of public/private partnerships.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7616784.html
C. From the Arizona Republic: June 20: The U. S. should follow the shuttle’s retirement with a commitment to develop NASA’s Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the president of Tucson’s Hispanic chamber of commerce writes in an op-ed.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2011/06/19/20110619peterson20-space-program.html
5. From the Coalition for Space Exploration, June 18: NASA seeks proposals for solar electric propulsion, a source of power that could swing robotic as well as human missions from Earth orbit to deep space destinations.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/blog/nasa-pushes-forward-on-high-power-solar-electric-propulsion
6. From the Orlando Sentinel, June 17 : A University of Central Florida forum that included NASA officials, a political figure and representatives of the commercial space industry predict a bright future for the state and its aerospace industry. The forum anticipates more from NASA and policymakers on the agency’s post-shuttle future.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/os-nasa-panel-beyond-shuttle-20110617,0,2296172.story
7. From Kosmonauta.net, June 18: Poland begins formal discussions to join the European Space Agency as the 20th member. http://www.kosmonauta.net/index.php/Portal/Informacje/2011-06-15-pl-esa.html
8. From UniverseToday.com, June 20: Spring becomes summer on Tuesday. Astronomers call it the summer solstice, the 24 hour period with the most sunlight of any day of the year.
http://www.universetoday.com/86894/the-longest-day-summer-solstice-21st-june-2011/
9. From the Wall Street Journal, June 20: Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, the oldest facility of its kind in the nation, gets a $14 million face lift with the help of supercomputers.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304763704576394133911105012.html?KEYWORDS=NASA
10. From Discovery.com, June 17: RCW 20 a region of hot gas and dust glows green and red in an image gathered by the Spitzer Space Telescope, the youngest of NASA’s Great Observatories.
http://news.discovery.com/space/big-pic-spitzer-green-nebula-110617.html
11. From Spacepolicyonline.com, June 17: A listing of major space policy events scheduled for the week ahead
http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/pages/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1641:events-of-interest-week-of-june-20-25-2011&catid=67:news&Itemid=27
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