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
Saturday’s space news scan finds offers the latest in a series of reports this week that a bi-partisan Senate authorization bill for NASA may come together on Thursday. The measure calls for an additional “final” shuttle mission in mid-2011, accelerated work on a shuttle-derived heavy lift rocket and the return of the Orion spacecraft as a means of deep space transportation. China’s news agency hints it has been asked to participate in the International Space Station. NASA’s Glenn Research Center has a bright future, NASA administrator Charles Bolden tells a Cleveland audience.
1. From Florida Today: More on the bipartisan “space compromise” measure making its way through the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, with the blessings of Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Sen. David Vitter, R-La., The committee will vote on the bill Thursday, July 15. It calls for at least one more shuttle mission, an accelerated heavy lift rocket based on shuttle hardware, and revives NASA’s Orion as a deep space crew vehicle rather than a space station life boat. Commercial cargo and crew development is in the cards as well in this measure that backers call a compromise to President Obama’s human space exploration proposal. It will take a miracle to pass a 2011 NASA funding bill before the fiscal year starts on Oct. 1, Nelson says. Still, it’s possible. MSNBC and the New York Times have carried similar reports this week.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100710/NEWS02/7100318/Funding+may+alter+NASA+s+spaceflight+direction
A. From Spacepolitics.com: It’s unclear where the money would come from to finance the Senate authorization bill.
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2010/07/09/senate-version-of-nasa-authorization-bill-due-next-week/
2. From Xinhuanet.com: China’s news service carries a brief on a Russian report that the Shenzhou spacecraft could back up the Russian Soyuz as transportation to the International Space Station for astronauts. Five nations have extended an invitation to China to join the ISS, according to the news service.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/sci/2010-07/08/c_13390801.htm
3. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer: In a speech Friday in Cleveland, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden promises significant new research for the Glenn Research Center under President Obama’s plans for NASA, especially in the areas of propulsion, communications and astronaut health. In many areas — aeronautics and the broad spectrum of science — Congress and the Administration are in agreement over NASA’s future, Bolden notes. Also, Ramon “Ray” Lugo, Glenn’s acting director, is named the permanent director.
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/07/post_56.html
4. From CNN.com. Sunday will feature a solar eclipse, but the spectacle will be visible over only a small area of the Southern Pacific. The eclipse will coincide with the World Cup soccer finals. http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/07/10/solar.eclipse/index.html?iref=allsearch
5. From Space News: As the cost to develop the James Webb Space Telescope rises, U. S. Senator Barbara Mikulski, D-Md, calls for an independent review. The Webb Space Telescope is to replace the Hubble Space Telescope. The price tag has reached $5 billion. Mikulski chairs the Senate appropriations subcommittee that oversees NASA’s budget.
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/100709-webb-cost-growth-prompts-demand-review.html
6. From Spaceflightnow.com: A look at Japan’s successful solar sail experiment. The sail was part of the Ikaros spacecraft launched in May.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/09ikaros/
7. From Discovery.com: Saturn’s outer A ring is revealing how moons are made. The revelation comes from observations by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which is orbiting Saturn,
http://news.discovery.com/space/new-group-of-moons-found-orbiting-saturn.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.