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Wednesday’s CSExtra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from around the globe. In orbit, the Endeavour astronauts, at the mid-point of the orbiter’s final mission, wrap up a third mission spacewalk outside the International Space Station. NASA announces it will continue development of the Orion capsule as the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, a four person spacecraft that will take explorers on missions beyond low Earth orbit. Today, marks the 25th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s speech to Congress that set the Apollo program in motion. The anniversary has concerned those who believe President Obama is not pursuing a suitably aggressive exploration policy as the shuttle program nears retirement. NASA suspends efforts to contact the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, which has been stuck in the Martian sands for two years. NASA’s next Mars rover, Curiosity, escapes damage during launch processing. NASA briefs private companies on the agency’s commercial space transportation plans.
1. From Spaceflightnow.com: Astronauts Drew Feustel and Mike Fincke carry out an overnight spacewalk, the third of four excursions assigned to the shuttle Endeavour crew, while the astronauts are docked to the International Space Station. The two men installed an anchor for the station’s robot arm on the oldest Russian module and routed back up electrical power cables from the U. S. to the Russian portions of the station. For updates:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/status.html
2. From Space News: NASA announces on Tuesday that it will pursue the development of the Orion crew capsule as part of a future human space exploration strategy. The capsule was re-designated as the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, a four person spacecraft that is mostly reusable and can embark on missions spanning three weeks. The space agency plans a second announcement soon on its strategy for a heavy lift rocket to launch the MPCV. The decision makes use of $5 billion previously invested in the development of Orion under the cancelled Constellation program. Lockheed Martin will continue as the prime contractor.
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/110524-nasa-lockheed-will-build-mpvc-under-orion-contract.html
A. From the Wall Street Journal: NASA and its contractor for the Multipurpose Crew Vehicle, Lockheed Martin, say they will look for cost and management efficiencies as they pursue the development of the new spacecraft.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304520804576343471558729338.html?mod=WSJ_DefenseandAerospace_leftHeadlines
B. From the Houston Chronicle: NASA’s Johnson Space Center will continue the Orion’s development under the new Multipurpose Crew Vehicle framework.
http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2011/05/nasa-announces-plan-to-continue-development-of-orion-space-capsule/
C. From Spacepolitics.com: Another announcement is anticipated soon from NASA on the strategy it will pursue for the Space Launch System, the heavy lift rocket for the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. The work has faced obstacles both within and outside of NASA, according to those involved.
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2011/05/24/technical-and-other-challenges-in-designing-the-sls/
3. From USA Today: In an Op-ed, Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan and Jim Lovell express concerns the U. S. is ceding its leadership in space and walking away from the mandate that John F. Kennedy presented to Congress a half century ago in a speech laying out plans to reach the moon with astronauts. Plans by the administration to foster commercial crew and cargo transportation services to the International Space Station will not achieve schedule and cost expectations, Armstrong, Cernan and Lovell predict.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2011-05-24-Obama-grounding-JFK-space-legacy_n.htm
A From the Orlando Sentinel: In an op-ed, noted space historian and author John Logsdon calls on President Obama to increase his engagement with NASA and future human space exploration. This week marks the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s speech to a joint session of Congress in which JFK committed the United States to reaching moon ahead of its Cold War rival, the Soviet Union. Logsdon suggests Obama pursue the course Kennedy actually preferred, the U. S. leading other nations into space.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-ed-john-kennedy-moon-052511-20110524,0,57327.story
B. From Discovery.com: At NASA, engineers pursue a robotic lander that could land itself as deftly as the Apollo astronauts settled the Lunar Excursion Modules onto the moon’s surface.
http://news.discovery.com/space/moon-lunar-lander-nasa-110524.html
4. From the New York Times: NASA announces it will cease efforts to re-establish contact with the Spirit Mars Exploration Rover. Spirit and a twin companion, Opportunity, landed the Red Planet in 2004. Spirit became stuck in the Martian sand two years ago, and the signal was lost a year ago. Opportunity continues to roam.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/science/space/25rover.html?_r=1
5. From the Orlando Sentinel: Commercial space company representatives gather in Cocoa Beach, Fla., this week to discuss NASA’s commercial crew space development initiative, which will be headquartered at the nearby Kennedy Space Center. NASA says it would like commercial operations to begin in 2015, replacing orbital transportation services purchased from the Russians.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/os-nasa-private-crews-conference-20110524,0,1656930.story
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