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Thursday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting on space related activities from across the globe. The widely followed demise of NASA’s 20-year-old Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite is predicted for Friday with new confidence. The uncontrolled re-entry is unlikely to occur over North America. The first and last American astronauts to walk on the moon as part of the Apollo program are expected to discuss the future of human space exploration before a House oversight panel today. The French and Russians successfully loft satellites in separate launches. Pictures of the Southern Lights from the International Space Station.
1. From Space.com: The uncontrolled re-entry of NASA’s Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite continues to draw worldwide attention. The latest projections show the 6 1/2 ton Earth science spacecraft plummeting to Earth on Friday, with little risk to humans or structure. Most of the spacecraft will burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere and the debris that does survive will likely not fall on North America, NASA reports.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/13042-nasa-uars-satellite-debris-fall-impact-zone.html
A. From Florida Today: NASA considered a shuttle mission to retrieve UARS, which was launched aboard the orbiter Discovery in 1991. However, after the 2003 Columbia accident, NASA restricted shuttle operations to the launchings of space station hardware and repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope to lower spaceflight risks.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110922/NEWS02/109220305/NASA-cut-shuttle-trip-retrieve-satellite?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home
B. From Scientific American: A look at the odds of a human being struck by UARS debris can be tricky to understand. Scientific American explains why they are quite low.
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2011/09/21/your-friday-forecast-sunny-with-a-1-in-21-trillion-chance-of-getting-hit-by-orbital-debris/
C. From MSNBC and Cosmic Log: Directions on how to watch for UARS as it re-enters the atmosphere and breaks apart.
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/21/7884120-how-to-watch-a-falling-satellite
D. From Fox News: In January 1997, Lottie Williams was struck by a small piece of debris from a falling satellite as she walked through a Tulsa, Oklahoma park. It felt like a tap on the shoulder.
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/09/21/woman-gets-hit-by-space-junk-lives-to-tell-tale/
2. From Space.com: The House Science, Space and Technology Committee hosts a hearing today, NASA Human Space Flight: Past, Present and Future: Where Do We Go From Here? Those expected to testify include the first and last humans to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/13033-neil-armstrong-nasa-future-congress-hearing.html
3. From the Associated Press: An Ariane 5 rocket launches from French Guiana with a pair of communications satellites. The lift off was delayed for a day by a labor strike.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/rocket-launches-from-french-guiana-carrying-aloft-2-telecommunication-satellites/2011/09/21/gIQAGtnzlK_story.html
A. From Russia Today: Russia launches a Proton rocket with a military payload.
http://rt.com/news/proton-rocket-launch-kosmos-035/
4. From the Washington Post: NASA astronaut Ron Garan, just back from more than five months on the International Space Station, offers an orbital view of the Southern Lights, also known as the Aurora Australis.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/the-southern-lights-as-seen-from-space-photo-video/2011/09/21/gIQAibPVlK_blog.html
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