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Thursday’s CSExtra features the latest reporting of space activities from around the world: A Soyuz rockets lifts off from Kazakhstan on Wednesday with U.S., Russian and European astronauts bound for the International Space Station. At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, a countdown is under way, marking the start of a “tanking test” on Friday to help experts troubleshoot small cracks in shuttle Discovery’s external fuel tank. Meteorites reveal some surprising chemistry. NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft sets a record. NASA technology will help California authorities prevent the spread of wildfires. A lunar eclipse nears. Central Florida’s leaders bolster their bid to display a retired shuttle orbiter.
1. From Spaceflightnow.com: NASA’s Catherine Coleman, Russian Dmitry Kondratyev and Paulo Nespoli of Italy blasted off Wednesday for a five month stay aboard the International Space Station. Their Soyuz spacecraft launched from Kazakhstan at 2:09 p.m., EST. The capsule will dock with the space station on Friday just after 3 p.m., EST.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/station/exp26/101215launch.html
A. From the Associated Press via the Orlando Sentinel: Kondratyev, the Soyuz commander, discounts concerns of the spacecraft’s descent module, the compartment in which the astronauts are seated as they climb to space and descent. The descent module was replaced by the Russians after it experienced slight damage during rail shipment from Moscow to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in October.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/sns-ap-as-kazakhstan-space-launch,0,7240438.story
2. From Florida Today: NASA plans a fueling test of the shuttle Discovery on Friday, the next step in the troubleshooting to explain small cracks in the spacecraft’s external fuel tank. Late Wednesday, NASA began a countdown at the Kennedy Space Center, a prelude to the long test. Discovery’s launching was scrubbed on Nov. 5 because of an unrelated hydrogen leak.
http://space.flatoday.net/2010/12/countdown-to-friday-tanking-test.html
3. From Space.Com: Scientists find amino acids, the building blocks of life, in an unlikely source, a meteorite that fell into northern Sudan. Researchers say the meteorite came from a collision between a pair of asteroids. The impact produced enough heat to combine organic materials into more complex amino acids.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/scienceastronomy/asteroid-collision-meteoroid-amino-acids-life-101215.html
4. From Space.com: On Wednesday, NASA’s Mars Odyssey set a record as the longest running spacecraft at the Red Planet. Odyssey surpassed another NASA spacecraft, the Mars Global Surveyor, which operated for 3,340 days. Odyssey contributed to the discovery of vast amounts of water frozen below the Martian surface.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/scienceastronomy/mars-odyssey-longest-running-spacecraft-101215.html
5. From the Associated Press via the Los Angeles Times: NASA’s Ames Research Center and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Detection advance long running ties to include use of the NASA Autonomous Modular Scanner to monitor wildfires. The sensor can be flown on the unmanned Predator aircraft or a Beech King Air. The scanner relays its readings to state officials by satellite.
http://www.latimes.com/technology/sns-ap-us-nasa-calif-wildfires,0,3937226.story
6. From Space.com: Dec 20 will feature a total lunar eclipse. Space.com explains when, where and how to observe.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/spacewatch/total-lunar-eclipse-moon-observing-tips-101215.html
7. From the Orlando Sentinel: The Kennedy Visitors Center Complex unveils a master plan as part of a campaign to house one of NASA’s three shuttle orbiters after they are retired. The planning includes a $100 million display strategy.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/os-new-kennedy-space-center-plans-20101215,0,7459594.story
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