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Tuesday’s CSExtra presents a roundup of space related activities from across the globe. The U. S. House and Senate reach a compromise on a 2012 spending measure that would reduce NASA spending. The latest on Russia’s troubled Mars probe and the slim prospects for a recovery. China achieves a second orbital docking of the un-piloted Shenzhou 8 capsule and Tiangong-1 space lab. SpaceX and NASA look to January for a possible key cargo demonstration mission to the International Space Station. The wonders of space exploration go on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. A space station video receives wide acclaim for its beauty. In a pair of commentaries, experts examine the liability issues surrounding an uncontrolled re-entry of Russia’s Mars probe and the impact of global economic problems on future planetary missions. At NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, officials flesh out development plans for the new Space Launch System, while stepping up studies of thermal nuclear systems for planetary power and in-space propulsion. United Space Alliance projects further post-shuttle job cuts.
1. From the Associated Press via the Washington Post and others: NASA faces a $648 million budget reduction in a larger 2012 spending measure agreed to by House and Senate negotiators on Monday. The measure covers budgets for Commerce, Justice, Transportation, Agriculture and Housing as well as the space program. House and Senate votes are scheduled for later this week. The measure would also keep the entire federal government operating through Dec. 16 under a new continuing resolution through Dec. 16 — while other departmental budgets are worked out. The current CR expires this weekend.
http://wapo.st/uHdMWf
2. From Space News: More from Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin on the stalled Russian Phobos Grunt mission. The probe, stuck in Earth orbit since a Nov. 8 launch, appears to be functioning with the exception of the propulsion system. The spacecraft should be responsive to ground commands until early December. If the mission is not recovered, the spacecraft and its load of toxic fuel may re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere in January.
http://bit.ly/vvau5F
A. From Russia Today: Though prospects for recovering the derelict Mars probe are slim, Russian experts have not given up hope, says Valery Popovkin, chief of Russia’s space agency.
http://bit.ly/viUyiC
B. From The Economist: Something, perhaps a ghoul, seems to have an appetite for Martian spacecraft, especially if the hardware is Soviet or Russian.
http://econ.st/sHbCWA
3. From Xinhua.net: China carries out a second unpiloted docking of the orbiting Shenzhou-8 spacecraft and the Tiangong-1 spacelab. The Shenzhou will likely fly for a couple of days with the lab before un-docking and descending to Earth, according to Chinese space officials. More Shenzhou launches are planned in 2012 and one will involve a crewed docking.
http://bit.ly/v2gNdI
4. From Spaceflightnow.com: SpaceX and NASA look to January for the next demonstration of the unpiloted Dragon commercial supply capsule. Dragon would rendezvous with the International Space Station, where on board astronauts would nab and berth the cargo craft with Canada’s robot arm.
http://bit.ly/sMwKCP
5. From the New York Times: The future of planetary science, perhaps an optimistic assessment, goes on display this weekend at the American Museum of Natural History. The display is interactive and includes iPhone apps. “We’re at a crossroads,” claims one curator. The presentation includes a lunar base and an opportunity to terraform Mars.
http://nyti.ms/u3bWlu
6. From the Washington Post: A long running video of the Earth from the International Space Station wins acclaim for its beauty from far and wide.
http://wapo.st/rS3n6Q
7. Two from The Space Review of Monday:
A. In “Phobos-Grunt: a legal analysis of potential liability and options for mitigation,” space law specialist Michael Listner offers a look at the potentially complex fate of the Russian Mars mission stalled in Earth orbit last week with 25,000 pounds of toxic fuel. The liability for damages from an uncontrolled re-entry could extend from Russia and Kazakhstan to the Ukraine and China. Options to shoot down the threatening spacecraft extend from Russia and China to the U. S., but who wants to expose the extent of their anti-satellite weapons capabilities?
http://bit.ly/sNE3Il
B. In “NASA’s Year of the Solar System,” The Space Review editor Jeff Foust finds reason for concern among U. S. space science advocates, though NASA is on the verge of a significant mission, the Nov. 25 launching of the $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory. With a dozen active planetary missions, NASA is marking the “Year of the Solar System.” However, future mission plans are crumbling in the face of global economic problems. The James Webb Space Telescope and a pair of joint Mars missions involving the U.S. and Europe are visible examples of how quickly.
http://bit.ly/rIulPv
8. From Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine: NASA experts map out a development strategy for the new Space Launch System. After early work on the powerful J-2X upper stage, engineers may shelve the work to focus on the big rockets first stage. The planning is intended to preserve a key 2017 test involving the Orion/Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. The unpiloted test would send the Orion/MPCV capsule around the moon for a high velocity re-entry.
http://bit.ly/ruufrl
A. From Aviation Week: At NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, engineers are assessing the uses of nuclear energy as a power source for spacecraft propulsion as well as electricity generation on planetary surfaces.
http://bit.ly/vxRmEw
9. From the Houston Business Journal: United Space Alliance, NASA’s shuttle prime contractor, prepares for more worker layoffs. Fifty-four workers will depart in mid-January.
http://bit.ly/vSzRiK
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