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Today’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the globe. The U.S. once contemplated the use of nuclear propulsion to reach Mars with human explorers. A major geomagnetic storm kicks off Tuesday. Scientists say a small leak of chemical vapors on NASA’s Curiosity rover has done its job in an unexpected fashion: hint at the presence of organics. Asteroid Ceres mysterious bright spots may be ice, say scientists. NASA’s soon to end MESSENGER mission at Mercury offers new clues about how the small planet formed and evolved. U.S., Russian astronauts gather at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to prepare for a late Mar. 27 launching to the International Space Station. Russia faces new struggles in its bid to complete construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome. Thursday marks the 50th anniversary of the first spacewalk, a 12 minute excursion by Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov. Sierra Nevada will compete for a NASA contract to carry supplies to the International Space Station with Dream Chaser. An unlikely Brooklyn boutique pursues space suit fashion. Two key U.S. Senators urge the U.S. Air Force to accelerate the development of a domestic alternative to Russia’s RD-180 rocket engine. Russia’s Proton rocket is to retire in 2025, making way for an Angara replacement.
Human Deep Space Exploration
The Huffington Post (3/17): The U.S. Apollo era included efforts to develop nuclear propulsion to enable human deep space exploration beyond the moon. The NERVA initiative was cancelled in 1973, when it became clear the U.S. was not prepared to move from the moon to Mars.
Unmanned Deep Space Exploration
Major solar storm hits Earth; will it pull northern lights south to Colorado?
Associated Press and Colorado Gazette (3/17): A major solar storm struck the Earth on Tuesday, triggering auroral displays with a big magnetic jolt. The solar storm has been characterized as the strongest to reach the Earth since the fall of 2013.
Leak in Curiosity’s wet chemistry test finds organics
Discovery.com (3/17): Scientists involved with NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover have detected a hint of organics in the Martian terrain, though not in the manner envisioned. A small vapor leak of a complex chemical on board the rover and intended to tag “organics” has accomplished its task. However, it’s not clear whether the source is biologic or non-biologic.
Scientists may have solved mystery of dwarf planet’s enigmatic bright spot
Science (3/17): The intriguing spots appeared in mages transmitted from NASA’s Dawn mission spacecraft as it neared the large asteroid Ceres. Scientists believe their source may be ice, perhaps ice emitting water vapor. Dawn entered orbit around Ceres on Mar. 6 for a closer, longer look.
Messenger reveals Mercury mysteries
Sky & Telescope Magazine (3/17): NASA’s MESSENGER mission at Mercury will run out of fuel in April and crash to the surface. However, the most recent accounting of MESSENGER’s findings reveal surface features obscured by volcanic activity and mineralogy that could explain how the solar system’s smallest planet formed.
Low Earth Orbit
Next Space Station crew arrives in Baikonur, starts final training phase
Spaceflight Insider (3/17): NASA’s Scott Kelly and Russia’s Mikhail Kornienko have gathered at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to await the late Mar. 27 start of their one year mission to the International Space Station. They are joined by cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, who will command their Soyuz crew transport and join them aboard the station.
Russia struggling to finish Putin-backed spaceport on time
Moscow Times (3/16): Russia’s ambitions of constructing a new state launch complex in the country’s Far East have reached a cross roads, according to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. With deadlines approaching, Vostochny Cosmodrome construction deadlines continue to slip while costs rise. The first Soyuz launch was to occur this year, but 2016 now seems more realistic. President Putin approved the $2.4 billion construction project in 2010 in order to end reliance on the use of Baikonur, which is in Kazakhstan though Russian operated. The problems include allegations of corruption.
EVA at 50: Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov took first spacewalk 50 years ago
Collectspace.com (3/18): Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of the first spacewalk. The achievement went to Alexei Leonov, a Soviet cosmonaut who spent 12 minutes outside the Earth orbiting Voskhod 2. “What remains etched in my memory was the extraordinary silence, my heart beating, and difficulty I had breathing,” Leonov told the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the governing body that certifies world aviation and space records, in a commemorative interview.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Sierra Nevada proposes modified Dream Chaser for Space Station cargo missions
Denver Business Journal (3/17): Sierra Nevada will compete for a NASA contract to launch supplies to the International Space Station with the Dream Chaser. Sierra Nevada lost a bid to include the Dream Chaser in the small lineup of commercial spacecraft selected by NASA to transport astronauts to and from the space station last year. Sierra Nevada is competing with Lockheed Martin, Boeing, SpaceX and Orbital ATK. NASA is expected to spend $1.4 billion annually on re-supply missions under new contract awards.
A brief history of astronaut fashion
The Atlantic (3/17): Tucked away in Brooklyn, a business operated by a Russian engineer and U.S. artist, wrestle with the complexities of space suit design in a tasteful way. Their garments could be in big demand with the rise of U.S. commercial space flight.
Nelson, Inhofe complain Air Force not following Congressional direction on RD-180
Spacepolicyonline.com (3/17): U.S. Senators Bill Nelson, of Florida, and James Inhofe, of Oklahoma, inform U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter that the Pentagon is not complying with policy direction that the Air Force accelerate development of a domestic alternative to the import of the Russian RD-180 rocket engine. The U.S. version is to be ready by 2019.
Russia aims to retire Proton in 2025 as Angara takes over
Space News (3/17): Russia will phase out its Proton rocket, a source of propulsion for payloads ranging from commercial to military satellites for a half century. After 2025, a heavy lift version of the new Angara will take over.
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