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.
Win a poster autographed by STS-1 Pilot, Robert “Bob” Crippen…..for more details on this exciting promotion, visit http://bit.ly/mWrZBZ Good luck!
Thursday’s CSExtra offers a roundup of the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. In Central Asia, a Russian Progress supply capsule headed for the International Space Station plummets back to Earth minutes after lift off on Wednesday. A Russian investigation into the loss may force delays in the use of similar spacecraft to transport astronauts to and from the 15 nation space station. NASA’s space born Swift observatory spots flashes from a black hole devouring a nearby star. Another NASA observatory, the Spitzer Infrared Space Telescope, enables astronomers to detect intergalactic carbon molecules. Astronauts aboard the space station capture fresh images of Hurricane Irene, as the powerful Atlantic storm takes aim at the U.S. East Coast. NASA’s Stennis Space Center acquires a large former Army ammunition plant for new government and commercial space activities.
1. From Spaceflightnow.com: Russia’s Progress 44 cargo craft crashed to Earth early Wednesday, following a failed launch from the Baikonur Cosmodome in Kazakhstan. NASA says it has enough supplies on the station to sustain six astronauts — if Russia can unravel the failure mode and mount a timely recovery effort. http://www.spaceflightnow.com/station/exp28/110824prog44p/index2.html
A. From New York Times: The failed Progress mission raises questions about the reliability of a similar Russian Soyuz booster used to launch U. S. and other multinational crew members to the International Space Station.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/25/science/space/25space.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=NASA&st=cse
B. From Ria Novosti of Russia: The Progress loss is likely to force a suspension of Soyuz crew launches to the space station, the news service quotes Russian sources as saying. Missions are currently scheduled for September and November. http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110824/166122514.html
C. From Itar-Tass of Russia: Falling debris from the Progress 44 crashes into the Republic of Altai in southern Siberia, creating a loud noise but no reported injuries. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/210977.html
D. From Spacepolitics.com: California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher calls for emergency funding for NASA’s Commercial Crew Development initiative in response to the Progress loss. NASA’s shuttle retired in July, leaving Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft as the only means of transporting astronauts to and from the station until U. S. commercial transportation services become operational, possibly in the 2015-16 time frame. http://www.spacepolitics.com/2011/08/24/rohrabacher-calls-for-emergency-funding-for-ccdev-in-light-of-progress-failure/
2. From the Los Angeles Times: NASA’s Swift observatory spots bright blasts of radiation best explained by a distant sun-like star being torn apart by a black hole, scientists report in the British journal Nature. The flash comes from 4.5 billion light years away.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-black-hole-20110825,0,7532003.story
3. From Discovery.com: Scientists using NASA’s Spitzer Infrared Space Telescope discover carbon-based molecules in intergalactic space. The discovery could shed light on how complex organic molecules, the building blocks of life, form and evolve within stars.
http://news.discovery.com/space/graphenes-and-buckyballs-might-be-lurking-in-space-110824.html
4. From The Washington Post: New images of Hurricane Irene from the International Space Station reveal the fury of a Category 3 storm that is taking aim at the U. S. Atlantic coast. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/hurricane-irene-extreme-risk-to-coastal-mid-atlantic-southern-new-england/2011/08/24/gIQAsFcDcJ_blog.html
5. From WDSU Television: NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi acquires a 1.6 million square foot former U.S. Army ammunition plant. The facility will be used for new government and commercial space activities. The acquisition is expected to translate into new jobs for the Mississippi’s Gulf Coast area. http://www.wdsu.com/news/28967625/detail.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.