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Wednesday’s CSExtra features reporting and commentary on the space activities from around the globe: The Air Force announces its secret X-37 B unmanned space plane will land within days, weather permitting. A U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing today will delve into NASA’s future, as concerns arise the agency may be facing budget cuts.
1. From Spaceflightnow.com: A largely secret U.S. Air Force reusable winged spacecraft launched in April may return from orbit as soon as Friday. The X-37B will touchdown at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., between Friday and Monday, weather permitting. The military has said little of the unmanned space plane’s test mission or its future. Amateur satellite trackers have had a field day keeping taps on the craft as it circles the Earth.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1011/30x37landing/
2. From Florida Today: In an editorial, the newspaper says the $300 million budget increase NASA anticipates for 2011 is crucial to the space agency’s future. But the full $19 billion NASA is seeking could be in jeopardy as a new Congress looks for ways to cut spending, Florida Today writes. The Senate’s Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will host a hearing on the space agency’s future today.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20101201/OPINION/12010331/1006/news01/Our+view++NASA+down+payment+%28Dec.+1%29
A. From the Orlando Sentinel: Some policy makers believe the future of the nation’s human space flight program is adrift. The strategy that emerged in 2010 to develop a new heavy lift rocket for deep space missions could be in jeopardy as Congress looks for new ways to cut spending. The article outlines a plan by Lockheed Martin to conduct an unmanned test flight of its Orion spacecraft in 2013 in a bid to preserve some elements of NASA’s cancelled Constellation program.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/os-senate-nasa-salvage-20101130,0,5927071.story
B. From the Houston Chronicle: In Houston, a local school district establishes a care program to assist the families of NASA workers who have lost their jobs as the shuttle program nears retirement. The program is intended to direct those families to social service programs, including those that offer lunches at reduced cost and pre-school care programs. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/zones/7317147.html
3. From Space.com: Virgin Galactic could be ready to fly its first passengers into suborbital space in a year, company founder Sir Richard Branson tells the Today Show. Branson’s family would be among the first to fly on SpaceShipTwo, which will be launched from New Mexico.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/news/virgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-first-space-tourists-101130.html
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