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Thursday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting on NASA’s efforts to recover external cooling aboard the International Space Station. During a breakthrough spacewalk on Wednesday, NASA astronauts Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson succeed in removing a failed external circulation pump motor. Two more spacewalks will likely be required to install a replacement pump. An update on Sean O’Keefe, the former NASA administrator, who was critically injured in an Alaska float plane crash earlier this week. Old galaxies spawn new life.
1. From Spaceflightnow.com: Spacewalking astronauts aboard the International Space Station succeed Wednesday in removing a failed coolant system pump motor. The breakthrough clears the way for another spacewalk on Monday to install a replacement pump and re-activate Loop A of a dual loop cooling system on the station. Yet another spacewalk, whose date has not been established, will likely be necessary to finish the task of re-stowing the failed pump. Research aboard the station was curtailed in the wake of a July 31 shutdown of the cooling system pump. The system provides vital thermal control for the station’s many electronics, including the life support systems.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/station/exp24/100811eva2/index5.html
A. From Florida Today: Spacewalking astronaut Doug Wheelock uses some space muscle to free a frozen valve, clearing the way for the removal of the failed cooling system pump.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100812/NEWS02/8120322/Might+just+right+for+tricky+fix+on+space+station
2. From the New York Times: An update on the Alaska float plane crash late Monday that claimed the lives of former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska and others. Former NASA administrator Sean O’Keefe and his son remain hospitalized in Anchorage in critical and serious condition, though a spokeswoman tells the Times their injuries do not seem to be life threatening.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/us/12rescue.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=NASA&st=cse
3. From Spacepolitics.com: The website examines a new communiqué from SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who thanks supporters for preventing passage of the House version of a 2010 NASA authorization bill. The House measure would cut NASA funds available for the development of commercial space transportation. The full House, now in recess, will return to Washington in September to re-consider the matter.
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2010/08/11/spacex-says-thanks/
4. From Space News: In a commentary, Brian Weeden, a technical advisor to the Safe World Foundation, examines the language in the new U. S. space policy on the topic of orbital debris. An active orbital debris mitigation program could also be considered an anti-satellite threat, Weeden cautions.
http://www.spacenews.com/commentaries/081110_wireblog-saving-earth-orbit-one-piece-junk-time.html
5. From ScienceNow: NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer, with help from the Hubble Space Telescope, makes a surprising discovery. Some of the oldest galaxies in the universe are surrounded by halos of ultraviolet light, which suggests they are still engaged in vigorous star making.
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/08/scienceshot-mystery-rings-spied.html
6. From Discovery.com: The website examines conspiracy theories suggesting there is a causal link behind recent solar storms and the outbreak of wild fires in the Moscow area of Russia.
http://news.discovery.com/space/can-solar-storms-cause-wildfires.html
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