In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Astronaut Peggy Whitson talks about her record setting 665 days in space over her career.
Human Space Exploration
Record-breaking astronaut Peggy Whitson talks about space travel & a solar eclipse
Space.com (8/15): Whitson’s third long mission aboard the International Space Station is to conclude in early September at 289 days. Upon her descent to Earth with fellow NASA astronaut Jack Fischer and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, Whitson will have logged a U.S. record setting 665 days in space over her career.
An MIT professor’s bittersweet departure for astronaut training
Science Magazine (8/15): MIT aerospace engineer Warren “Woody” Hoberg could not resist a career change when NASA called in June to offer him a long shot opening in NASA’s astronaut corps. At 31, however, and deeply tenured at one of the nation’s best engineering schools, the choice was not automatic.
These next-generation space suits could allow astronauts to explore Mars
The Verge (8/15): Designing a space suit for deep space astronauts is more complicated than picking out a suit, tie and a nice pair of shoes. The choices and the workmanship could be a matter of life and death.
Space Science
Yes, the solar eclipse is worth the hype (trust those who have seen one)
Space.com (8/15): Astronomy offers few opportunities to view all or part of the rare solar eclipse that will occur on Monday. August 21. “Brutally short, total solar eclipses deliver anxiety, tension, drama, sparkle and passion,” writes Griff Observatory astronomer E.C. Krupp from Los Angeles. “For eclipse veterans, every eclipse remains a surprise. For eclipse virgins, the first question after the first eclipse is inevitable: “When is the next one?”
NASA space communications operations to extend through 2030, with Friday launch of TDRS-M
America Space (8/15): NASA’s space communications needs should be met through 2030 with the scheduled launch on Friday of the agency’s latest Tracking and Data Relay Satellite.
Opportunity: Longest-running Mars rover
Space.com (8/15): Opportunity touched down on Mars in January 2004 for what was to be 90 days of surface operations at Meridiani Planum. Now beginning to show real wear, Opportunity’s explorations have stretched to more than 13 years.
Other News
Smallsat developers propose self-regulation to address orbital debris concerns
Space News (8/15): With much at stake, developers of small satellites profess they may be the best at responsibly dealing with a proliferation of CubeSats and other forms of the emerging small satellite market when it comes to managing the orbital debris threat.