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.
Now on orbit – the Coalition for Space Exploration’s latest Think Outside the Circle PSA. Benefits of space surround us. Learn more about how technologies we develop to explore space keep us closer and safer on Earth. Click here to watch the PSA and get free downloads.
Thursday’s CSExtra offers a collection of the latest reporting on space-related activities from around the globe. DARPA’s 100-year Star Ship Study seeks a business case for a future interstellar journey. Mayor Bloomberg proclaims Wednesday “STS-135 Atlantis Crew Day” in New York City in honor of a visit by NASA’s final crew of shuttle astronauts. The Earth’s moon may be younger than commonly believed. Asteroid Elenin does not pose a 2012 collision threat, say experts. The lure of Saturn’s lake dotted moon Titan. Russian rockets, one of them a former ballistic missile, launch multinational satellites. A U. S. think tank warns of Chinese space intentions. The U. S. Air Force re-commissions an aging Global Positioning System satellite.
1. From the New York Times: A look at the Defense Research Projects Agency and the 100-year Star Ship Study, a joint project with NASA, to establish the organizational, technical, sociological and ethical basis for a human journey to another star. On Nov. 11, the agency that nurtured the Internet plans to offer $500,000 to a visionary organization to come up with the answers. The goal is not to develop an actual spacecraft but rather the business case for the spacecraft and the mission, explains a DARPA official.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/18/science/space/18starship.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=NASA&st=cse
A. From RiaNovosti of Russia: European Space Agency head Jean-Jacques Dordain says ESA will join with Russia for a mission to Mars. Dordain, who spoke from an air show near Moscow, did not offer a time frame for the piloted mission.
http://en.rian.ru/science/20110817/165853325.html
2. From Space.com: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg meets the crew of NASA’s final shuttle mission on Wednesday. His honor declared Wednesday “STS-135 Atlantis Crew Day.” The four astronauts are in New York this week for a series of appearances, including a guest stint on the Colbert Report.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/12663-nyc-mayor-final-shuttle-astronauts-honors.html
A. From the Colbert Report: During their New York City visit, the crew of NASA’s final space shuttle mission appears on The Colbert Report.
http://www.colbertnation.com/full-episodes/tue-august-16-2011-crew-of-sts-135
3. From the Associated Press via Yahoo.com: The Earth’s moon may be younger than previously believed, say scientists. A moon rock recovered by the astronauts on the Apollo 16 mission has scientists debating a possible age of 4.4 billion rather than 4.6 billion years.
4. From Discovery.com: The two mile wide asteroid Elenin will not pose a collision threat to the Earth next year, experts from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory explain.
http://news.discovery.com/space/comet-elenin-wont-kill-us-says-nasa-110817.html
A. From Fox News: Experts in the U. S. and abroad discuss options for deflecting asteroids that could pose a collision threat to the Earth.
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/08/16/space-mission-aims-to-blast-asteroid-headed-for-earth/
B. From Space.com: In Ohio, the search is on for fragments of a meteor that flashed across Canada’s mid west last week.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/12661-meteorites-midwest-meteor-fireball-ohio.html
5. From Popular Science: A look at a possible future NASA mission to Saturn’s moon, Titan. In 2006, the NASA-led Cassini mission spotted lakes of ethane and methane on Titan using radar. The proposed Titan Mare Explorer would splash down on the distant moon for a closer look.
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-07/space-boat-nautical-mission-alien-sea.
6. From Spaceflightnow.com: A Russian Dnepr rocket launches a cluster of seven satellites into orbit on Wednesday. The surplus ballistic missile lofted spacecraft for Nigeria, Ukraine, Turkey, Italy and the United States.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1108/17dnepr/
A. From Spaceflightnow.com: A Russian Proton rocket launches a European communications satellite towards geosynchronous orbit on Wednesday. The European spacecraft will provide Russian communications services.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1108/17proton/
7. From Spacepolicyonline.com: Chinese activities in space, which could have military implications, pose a challenge to U. S. space superiority, according to a new report from the Heritage Foundation.
8. From Spaceflightnow.com: The U. S. Air Force has re-commissioned an aging Global Positioning Satellite System spacecraft. Launched in 1993, GPS 2A-22 replaces a younger spacecraft that was not functioning properly.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1108/17gps/
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.