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Tuesday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from across the nation. A commercial spacecraft production plant opens near Los Angeles. MIT engineers develop new space garb with a purpose. NASA advances the next phase of commercial space transportation systems development. Researchers address new vision problems associated with long space missions. Experts assess NASA’s Space Launch System and possible legal issues linked to the demise of the Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite. Where is Snoopy? The Houston area marks the 50th anniversary of NASA’s Johnson Space Center with some trepidation.
1. From the Los Angeles Times: The Spaceship Co., a joint venture between Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic, previews a new production facility at the Mojave Air and Space Port near Los Angeles. The company will produce the suborbital passenger ships launched by Virgin Galactic and has started to hire engineers and technicians.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-spaceship-factory-20110920,0,855510.story
2. From the Washington Post: At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, researchers are at work on a new kind of space suit, one astronauts would wear inside a spacecraft. The garb would be equipped to provide resistance forces to help astronauts overcome the harmful effects of weightlessness.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/nasas-spacesuits-allow-astronauts-to-work-in-an-extremely-tough-environment/2011/09/12/gIQA37SsfK_story.html
3. From Spacepolicyonline.com: NASA releases a draft request for proposals for its next round of commercial space transportation system development. The draft will lead toward a potential $1.61 billion in Integrated Design Contract awards next year to further the development of multiple means of launching astronauts to the International Space Station. The agreements would span nearly two years.
http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/pages/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1885:nasa-releases-draft-commercial-cargo-rfp-modifies-ccdev2-awards&catid=83:news&Itemid=76
4. From the Orlando Sentinel: Medical experts study a recent health issue facing some astronauts assigned to long duration missions. Papilledema is a build up of pressure in the head that causes the vision in some astronauts to blur. Reports began to surface in 2005.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/os-blind-nasa-astronaut-20110919,0,7110235.story
5. Two from Monday’s The Space Review assess NASA’s Space Launch System plans and the forthcoming re-entry of a 20-year-old Earth science satellite.
A. In “A Monster Rocket or Just a Monster,” TSR editor Jeff Foust examines last week’s announcement from Congress, the White House and NASA that an agreement had been reached on the initial development of a new heavy lift rocket for future human space exploration. U. S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida enthusiastically described the Space Launch System as a “Monster Rocket.” A Congressional opponent picked up on the “monster” part.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1932/1
B. “In UARS: A Potential Opportunity to Bolster International Space Law,” Michael Listner, an attorney who specializes in space law and security issues, characterizes the upcoming uncontrolled re-entry of NASA’s 20-year-old Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite as an opportunity for the United States to set a legal precedent. Listner encourages the U. S. to accept responsibility for damages in the quite unlikely possibility falling debris from UARS causes damage outside the United States. Re-entry is forecast for Friday.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1930/1
6. From Discovery.com: Where is Snoopy; the Lunar Excursion Module assigned to the 1969 Apollo 10 mission? Astronauts aboard the LEM demonstrated the lunar orbit rendezvous plan that set the stage for the first lunar landing. Astronomers in search of the two man spacecraft believe it is orbiting the sun.
http://news.discovery.com/space/apollo-10-search-snoopy-astronomy-110919.html
7. From the Houston Chronicle: While pleased with the announcement last week of a compromise between Congress and the White House on NASA’s Space Launch System, Democratic and Republican members of Congress from the Houston area urge the agency in an op-ed to agree on destinations and time lines to lend momentum to future human exploration missions.
http://www.chron.com/default/article/A-new-era-of-space-exploration-2178515.php
A. From the Houston Chronicle: NASA’s Johnson Space Center marked its 50th anniversary on Monday under a cloud of uncertainty over its future pursuits. For now, the agency is focused on extended operations of the International Space Station and developing the new Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, a four person capsule for exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit. But the funding Johnson controls for NASA is falling from $6 billion to $4.5 billion annually.
http://www.chron.com/default/article/JSC-turns-50-under-a-cloudy-sky-2178718.php
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