Saturday’s CSExtra includes the latest reporting and commentary on the formulation of U.S. space policy and NASA’s future. More momentum for international cooperation. Students make an unpaid pitch to Congress for future space exploration. NASA and education. The Atlantis crew wraps up work at the International Space Station and prepares to depart on Sunday. Jupiter’s missing red band.
1. From Space News: A pair of U.S. space policy documents are coming soon. They include a National Space Policy that will underscore the need for more international cooperation. The policy review, which was coordinated by the White House National Security Council, should be complete by the end of May. The Space Posture Review, which was mandated by Congress, will follow. But an interim report set the stage, characterizing the cosmic landscape as congested, contested and competitive. The documents were prompted by the prospect of declining military space budgets and the need for more international cooperation.
http://www.spacenews.com/policy/100521-international-cooperation-emphasis.html
A. From the Los Angeles Times: The Obama administration informs other nations, the United States intends to make pre-launch announcements about most ballistic missile tests and other military launches. The intent is to convince other nations, especially Russia, to do the same.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/05/obama-missile-launches-secrecy.html
2. From the Houston Chronicle: An unpaid lobby of students and others from 30 states, the Citizens for Space Exploration, visited more than 350 members of Congress last week in support of NASA’s exploration programs, including the Constellation Program. Some are graduate students who work for NASA now. The effort was quarterbacked by the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7017018.html
3. From Space News: Boeing is troubled by NASA’s plans to continue with the development of the Orion spacecraft as a life boat for the International Space Station. Boeing is interested in developing a commercial crew capsule for the space agency on a fixed-price basis. Once part of White House plans to cancel the Constellation Program, Orion instead received the new life boat mission from the President in April. Meanwhile, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden tells reporters that any company wishing to use the basic Orion design as the basis for a commercial spacecraft should be able to.
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/100521-orion-lifeboat-making-waves.html
4. From Spacepolitics.com: The website comments on the context surrounding a statement issued this week by space organizations entitled, “A joint statement by Space Organizations on the FY 2011 NASA budget.” Spacepolitics.com characterizes what the statement does and does not seem to imply.
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2010/05/21/sea-the-next-generation/
5. From Science Insider: NASA has the right stuff for space exploration, says Carl Wieman, the Nobelist who President Obama has tapped to oversee the Administration’s heightened effort to improve science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. But it may not be the best classroom teacher.
http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2010/05/science-education-may-not-be-roc.html
A. From NASAwatch.com: Wieman seems to be out of step with the space agency’s role in STEM education in testimony before Congress, according to NASA Watch.
http://nasawatch.com/archives/2010/05/ostps-new-stem.html
6. From Space.com: Astronauts from the shuttle Atlantis conduct a third and final mission spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Friday.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/missionlaunches/atlantis-shuttle-final-spacewalk-100521.html
A. From Spaceflightnow.com: Updates on the Atlantis missions as the astronauts prepare to undock from the station on Sunday at 11:22 a.m., EDT.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts132/status.html
7. From the Air and Space Museum Magazine: A photo/video illustration of the lengthy pre-launch processing of a space shuttle.
http://www.airspacemag.com/video/Go-For-Launch.html
8. From Florida Today: A tribute in Cocoa Beach, Fla., on Friday to those who pioneered the Pentagon’s Manned Orbiting Laboratory. The project was a forerunner of NASA’s Skylab space station. The MOL, however; was cancelled after a single unmanned test flight.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100521/NEWS02/5210337/1086/Pioneers+gather+to+celebrate+space+station+s+ancestor
9. From Space.com: Astronomers continue to be mystified by Jupiter’s missing red band. At least they agree the discovery by an amateur astronomer is significant.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/scienceastronomy/missing-jupiter-cloud-belt-mystifies-scientists-100521.html
10. From RiaNovosti: The Russian news agency reports NASA has picked a launch window, Nov. 25 to Dec. 18 of 2011, for the launching of Curiosity, the next Mars rover. Curiosity will search for habitable environments on the Red Planet. Landing will occur Aug. 6-20, 2012.
http://en.rian.ru/science/20100521/159104459.html
11. From Spaceflightnow.com: An Ariane V launches for the 50th time on Friday with a communications satellite for the German military.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ariane/v194/100521launch/
A. From Florida Today: The launching of a Delta IV rocket with a Global Positioning System satellite is postponed until Sunday after a telemetry problem surfaces on Friday.
http://flametrench.flatoday.net/
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