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Tuesday’s CSExtra offers a collection of the latest reporting on space-related activities from around the globe. Robonaut 2, who became the first humanoid to live and work aboard the International Space Station comes to life electronically on Monday. NASA invests $175 million in three breakthrough technologies for future exploration, atomic timekeeping, solar sailing and laser communications. NASA arrives at a new cost estimate for the James Webb Space Telescope, $8.7 billion. NASA plans to participate in the publication of a series of science fiction works to spur interest in science and engineering. The moon and Mars: the more we study them, the more they surprise us. A Russian company looks to bolster space tourism with an orbital hotel. Aerojet brings optimism to Huntsville, Ala., for the future of human space exploration. Spotting the best candidate for an Earth-like planet around another star.
1. From Space.com: Aboard the International Space Station, astronauts flow electrical power to Robonaut 2, the humanoid that joined the crew of the orbital outpost in February. The flow of electricity will be followed by the first efforts to move the robot’s head and arms in the coming weeks. Future generations of Robonaut will accompany astronauts on missions of exploration into the solar system. http://www.exploredeepspace.com/12698-space-station-robot-robonaut-2-power-tests.html
2. From Spaceflightnow.com: NASA announces on Monday that it will invest $175 million in three transformative technologies to advance future space exploration. They include an atomic clock, solar sails and laser communications. Each will be part of a future space flight demonstration mission.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1108/22technology/
3. From Aviation Week & Space Technology: The total cost of the James Webb Space Telescope, including five years of operation after a 2018 launch, has climbed to $8.7 billion, the magazine reports. NASA will offer a strategy for dealing with the increased price tag for the observatory that is considered the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope when it presents a budget for 2013 to Congress early next year, Aviation Week reports. http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/awx/2011/08/22/awx_08_22_2011_p0-362179.xml&headline=NASA%20Estimates%20$8.7%20Billion%20To%20Fly%20Webb&channel=space
4. From Collectspace.com: NASA enters an agreement with publisher Tor/Forge Books for a series of science-based works of fiction intended to increase knowledge of science, technology engineering and exploration. http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum9/HTML/002067.html
5. From the Los Angeles Times: In an editorial, the Times champions the continuing fruits of discovery made by space science. The moon and Mars offer a steady steam of surprises no matter how much it seems we already know about them, the editorial notes.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-moon-20110823,0,2707755.story
A. From the Washington Post: NASA’s twin Grail spacecraft will attempt to determine the moon’s composition, including its core. The mission is scheduled for a lift off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard a Delta 2 rocket on Sept. 8.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/nasa-probes-aim-to-help-explain-the-origins-of-the-moon-and-the-earth/2011/08/16/gIQAx64zWJ_story.html
B. From Florida Today. NASA takes measures to protect the twin Grail spacecraft, as Hurricane Irene swirls in the Caribbean toward the U. S. East Coast.
http://space.flatoday.net/2011/08/irene-advances-grail-launch-preps.html
6. From USA Today: The future of Russia’s human space exploration program includes plans for a space hotel, suitable for intrepid tourists. The seven bed orbiting bed and breakfast proposed by Orbital Technologies will aim for an opening in 2016, according to the company.
http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2011/08/russia-space-hotel-plan-room-with-a-view-217-miles-above-earth/416165/1
7. From the Huntsville Times: Sacramento, Calif., based Aerojet plans an expansion in the Alabama city that hosts NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The company’s expansion is based on a belief in the future of human space exploration.
http://blog.al.com/huntsville-times-business/2011/08/aerojet_brings_a_boost_of_conf.html
8. From USA Today: Could planet HD 85512b, a super Earth which circles a star 36 light years distant, be a strong candidate for a habitable world. In Europe, astronomers press the case.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2011/08/super-earth-spotted-on-the-edge-of-habitable-zone/1
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