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Tuesday’s CSExtra features the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from around the world. In Cape Canaveral, Fla., NASA engineers attempting to stop a small but toxic fuel leak aboard the shuttle Discovery. So far, the repair effort is not expected to jeopardize the planned Nov. 1 lift off of one of the last shuttle missions. In Las Cruses, N.M., experts are gathering for a three-day symposium on personal and commercial spaceflight. How might the umbrella of the U.S. led International Space Station change to forge a shared strategy for exploration? A two decade old NASA strategy for detecting Earth-sized planets around other stars seems to be crumbling. Can the technology be salvaged? Should Mars be considered a one-way trip for its earliest explorers? The debate continues.
1. From Spaceflightnow.com: Engineers have encountered a small leak of toxic hydrazine fuel on one of the shuttle Discovery’s Orbital Maneuvering System engines. They’re attempting to tighten a half-dozen bolts on an internal fuel line flange, while the orbiter is poised on the launch pad awaiting a Nov. 1 lift off. Prolonged troubleshooting could impact the launch date. Discovery faces a delay until early December, if not launched by Nov. 5-6.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts133/101018leak/
A. From Floridatoday.com: A lengthy delay for the Discovery mission is possible, if fuel line flange seals must be replaced.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20101019/NEWS02/10190316/NASA+works+to+stem+fuel+leak
2. From the Las Cruces Sun-News of New Mexico: Las Cruses hosts the three-day International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight, with sessions for students and residents of the region as well as for experts from around the world. Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic, which expects to launch passengers from New Mexico’s news spaceport, will attend as well. The gathering will include a dedication for the runway that will be used by Virgin Galactic to launch its first customers.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_16374552?source=most_emailed
3. Two from The Space Review
A. In “International Partners and NASA’s New Direction”, editor Jeff Foust assesses the statements of European and Japanese participants in a Washington session hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies last week. It’s clear, writes Foust, that the formula used to develop the U.S. led International Space Station will change as new exploration initiatives emerge. The formula is too rooted in the Cold War to survive, say some. The European Union has emerged as a more strategic, wealthier force. Newcomers China and India must be incorporated into the planning. The U.S., however, is likely to remain the managing partner of new ventures.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1713/1
B. In “SIM and the ‘ready, aim, aim’ Syndrome,” planetary geologist Philip Horzempa examines the fate of NASA’s Space Interferometry Mission, after two decades of planning. The mission would use multiple space telescopes and a technique called interferometry to achieve the resolution required to identify Earth-sized planets around nearby stars. Study after study and the escalating cost of other NASA missions threaten to scuttle this once promising mission.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1711/1
4. From MSNBC: Experts discuss the prospects for colonizing Mars, with a one-way journey for the first settlers. The theme has been around for years, it’s the strategy for reaching Mars and surviving the changes.
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/10/18/5312576-going-to-mars-on-a-one-way-trip
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