To subscribe to CSExtra via RSS feed click here.
If you would prefer to receive CSExtra in e-mail format, e-mail us at Info@space.com with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
Wednesday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and on space related activities from across the country. At the Kennedy Space Center, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announces that shuttle orbiters Atlantis, Discovery, Endeavour and Enterprise will retire on the East and West coasts. In Washington, last weekend’s budget compromise produces an $18.5 billion NASA spending plan for the remainder of the 2011 fiscal year. Significantly, the measure drops a 2010 provision that prevented NASA from fully terminating the previous administration’s Constellation Program. Rumors of an FBI memo concerning a long ago UFO discovery in New Mexico circulate.
1. From the New York Times: In ceremonies Tuesday at the Kennedy Space Center commemorating the 30th anniversary of NASA’s space shuttle program, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announces that the retired orbiters Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour will go on display at the Kennedy Space Center, the Smithsonian Institution’s Air and Space Museum as well as the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Enterprise, which was used for aerodynamic testing, will retire to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/science/space/13shuttle.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=NASA&st=cse
A. From Florida Today: NASA officials join shuttle workers at the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday to celebrate the shuttle program’s achievements. Tuesday marked the 30th anniversary of the first shuttle flight. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden’s decision to keep Atlantis at Kennedy fuels the celebration.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110413/NEWS02/104130330/Celebrating-30-years-Space-shuttle-program-has-sweet-history?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home
B. From the Houston Chronicle: NASA snubs Houston, home to Mission Control and the astronaut corps, in its decision to deploy the shuttle orbiters elsewhere, the newspaper reports.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7519059.html
C. From the Los Angeles Times: The California Science Center is thrilled to receive Endeavour.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-space-shuttle-20110413,0,688834.story
D. From The Hill: A roundup of Congressional reaction to NASA’s shuttle retirement decision. Lawmakers from Texas and Ohio express disappointment. Those from Florida, California, New York and the Washington D.C. are thrilled.
http://thehill.com/blogs/twitter-room/other-news/155617-lawmakers-react-to-nasa-shuttle-announcement
E. From Spacepolicyonline.com: Some lawmakers ask the General Accountability Office to examine Bolden’s decision to deploy the retired space shuttle orbiters.
http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/pages/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1523:political-pressure-ramps-up-on-shuttle-orbiter-disposition-decision&catid=67:news&Itemid=27
2. From Space News: The budget compromise struck on April 8 by the House, Senate and White House to avert a government shutdown drops NASA’s budget for 2011 to below 2010 levels, or from $18.72 billion to $18.48 billion. However, the measure permits NASA to proceed with the termination of the Constellation program, an obstacle that prevented the agency from fully implementing the programs spelled out in the 2010 NASA Authorization Act. The Authorization measure calls on NASA to develop a Multi-purpose Crew Vehicle for deep space exploration based on the Orion spacecraft and a heavy lift rocket. Both are to be operational by the end of 2016. Funding levels, though, could be an issue. Spending on exploration initiatives should increase under the 2012 budget proposal.
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/110412-budget-compromise-includes-185-billion-for-nasa.html
A. From Spacepolitics.com: A side by side comparison between NASA’s 2010 budget and the 2011 continuing resolution that would be in place through the end of the 2011 fiscal year, or Sept. 30. The CR directs NASA to spend $1.2 billion on Orion development (Multi-purpose Crew Vehicle) and $1.8 billion on a new heavy lift rocket for future human deep space exploration.
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2011/04/12/nasa-18-5-billion-in-full-year-cr/
3. From Space.com and LiveScience.com: A look at an old FBI memo alleging the discovery of flying saucers in New Mexico. Dated 1950, the document includes a third hand report that LiveScience manages to debunk. News of the memo, however, circulates on the Internet feeding recent speculation about the famed Roswell incident. The document does not mention Roswell.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/11357-ufo-alien-roswell-fbi-memo.html
Brought to you by the Coalition for Space Exploration, CSExtra is a daily compilation of space industry news selected from hundreds of online media resources. The Coalition is not the author or reporter of any of the stories appearing in CSExtra and does not control and is not responsible for the content of any of these stories. The content available through CSExtra contains links to other websites and domains which are wholly independent of the Coalition, and the Coalition makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or authenticity of the information contained in any such site or domain and does not pre-screen or approve any content. The Coalition does not endorse or receive any type of compensation from the included media outlets and is not responsible or liable in any way for any content of CSExtra or for any loss, damage or injury incurred as a result of any content appearing in CSExtra. For information on the Coalition, visit www.space.com or contact us via e-mail at Info@space.com.