Human Deep Space Exploration
Cruz plans new NASA authorization and commercial launch bills
Space News (3/23): U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, chair of the space subcommittee of the Senate’s Space Commerce Committee, plans a long-term NASA authorization measure. Cruz was instrumental in developing the bi-partisan 2017 NASA Transition Authorization Act that President Trump signed earlier this week. The transition bill keeps NASA focused on the human exploration of Mars in the 2030s during the first year of the new Administration. Cruz and other lawmakers want to extend the reach of the 2017 act with follow-on legislation. “I’m going to start by listening, which I think is the right approach to take on a long-term vision,” said Cruz, who also supports a significant exploration role for the commercial space sector.
Lunar habitat on display at the Virginia Air and Space Museum
Hampton Daily Press of Virginia (3/22): The Virginia Air and Space Museum is preparing a public display of a prototype lunar habitat developed by NASA’s Langley Research Center and ILC Dover. The small inflatable enclosure represents a decade of work. The design would permit the habitat and its airlock to be compressed into a small volume for launch.
Space Science
Wheel damage suggests Mars rover approaching mid-life crisis
Science (3/22): NASA’s six-wheeled Mars Curiosity rover is showing signs of possible end of life wheel wear. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory released images of the damage earlier this week. Curiosity landed on Mars in August 2012 and quickly discovered evidence of past habitable environments in Gale Crater.
Massive martian slopes may harbor ice
Space.com (3/22): High resolution images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal intriguing features on sloped terrains on the red planet. They could be artifacts of ice-rich rocks and sediments, either now or in the past, according to scientists.
‘NASA: 60 Years and Beyond’ coming from Discovery
Orlando Sentinel (3/22): The Discovery Channel documentary on NASA missions over its first six decades is coming next year. The project was produced and directed by Rory Kennedy, niece of the late president John F. Kennedy. JFK directed NASA to land astronauts on the moon in the late 1960s through early 1970s as part of the Apollo program.
Low Earth Orbit
NASA plans PMA-3 relocation for commercial crew, three record-setting EVAs on tap
America Space (3/22): NASA plans a series of spacewalks to help prepare docking ports at the International Space Station for new U.S. commercial crew transports in development under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The first spacewalk, by NASA’s Shane Kimbrough and the European Space Agency’s Thomas Pesquet, is scheduled to get underway early Friday. The two planned docking ports are for use by Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX’s crewed Dragon.
Congress Mulls Options for Space Station Beyond 2024
Space.com (3/22): The future of the International Space Station beyond 2024 was the focus of a congressional hearing on Wednesday. According to Representative Babin, the head of a congressional subcommittee that oversees NASA, the United States’ ability to send astronauts to Mars in the mid-2030s depends, in part, on cutting back or ending government funding for the International Space Station after 2024. While Bill Gerstenmaier urged Congress to plan a smooth transition from the station to beyond-low-Earth-orbit initiatives, with an eye on preserving U.S. leadership in space.
Technical issues postpone launch of ULA Atlas V with OA-7 mission to ISS
SpaceFlightInsider.com (3/22): Orbital ATK, launch services provider United Space Alliance and NASA announced and confirmed Wednesday a new delay in the targeted March 27 launch date for Orbital’s seventh NASA contracted re-supply mission to the International Space Station. Additional time is needed to address a hydraulic line issue with the ULA Atlas 5 booster.