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 features the latest reporting on space activities from across the country. Shuttle Discovery, on her final flight, heads for a Florida homecoming today. Scientists and policy makers confront tight budgets in the planning for NASA’s next robotic missions of exploration. The loss of NASA’s Glory mission on March 4 thwarts efforts to identify human influences on climate change. NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft nears crucial maneuver to begin circling Mercury. A new biography examines the life of Yuri Gagarin, cosmonaut and the world’s first space traveler.
1. From Spaceflightnow.com: Discovery, on her final mission, flies flawlessly. Her crew grows nostalgic on Tuesday, the eve of their scheduled return to Earth. Landing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is set for 11:57 a.m., EST. Good weather is forecast.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts133/110308fd13/index2.html
A. From Florida Today: Discovery’s Florida homecoming promises to be emotional for the many men and women who’ve prepared the spacecraft for her 39 voyages to space.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110309/NEWS02/103090338/Triumph-tears-await-Discovery-s-last-landing-today?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home
B. From Spaceflightnow.com: Live web coverage of Discovery’s return to Earth. The spacecraft is expected to touchdown at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:57 a.m., EST.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts133/status.html
C. From ABCnews.com: Discovery’s scorecard, 39 missions, 148 million miles on the speedometer.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/space-shuttle-discovery-landing-148-million-miles-nasa/story?id=13089715
D. From NPR: Shuttle Discovery’s next mission, dress for display at the Smithsonian Institution’s Air and Space Museum. The competition among museums across the country for one of the shuttle orbiters has grown fierce.
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/09/134358888/nasas-next-mission-finding-homes-for-shuttles
E. From the Associated Press via Houston Chronicle: Discovery’s accomplishments earn the praise of her final astronaut crew.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/science/7462353.html
2. From Spacepolitics.com: The National Research Council’s decadel survey, released late Monday, offers an exciting list of robotic mission, the most expensive of which would address the prospect for life on Mars and Europa Realistically, though, the funding will likely not be forthcoming.
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2011/03/08/a-sobering-planetary-exploration-plan/
A. From USAToday: The decadel assessment, Visions and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade, 2013 to 2022, was initiated by the National Research Council with the expectation that funding would be available.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2011/03/planetary-exploration-report-sets-funding-sights-on-mars/1
3. From the Los Angeles Times: The March 4 loss of NASA’s Glory satellite in a launch mishap is a serious blow in the understanding of human influences on climate change.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-climate-satellite-20110309,0,7951785.story
4. From The Coalition for Space Exploration: NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft is set to maneuver into orbit around Mercury, the first spacecraft to do so, on March 17. The probe was launched in 2004 for unprecedented studies of the planet closest to the sun.
http://www.exploredeepspace.com/blog/nasas-mission-to-mercury-upcoming-big-burn
5. From the New York Times: An excerpt from Starman, a new biography of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. April 12th will mark the 50th anniversary of his historic flight.
http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/first-man-up/?scp=4&sq=NASA&st=cse
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.