In Today’s Deep Space Extra… NASA unveils a possible less demanding version of its first crewed Orion test flight.
Human Deep Space Exploration
NASA considers shorter first crewed SLS/Orion mission
Space News (12/2): Exploration Mission-2, planned by NASA as the first crewed mission of a Space Launch System boosted Orion capsule, would orbit the Earth for a day before embarking on a free return loop around the moon and back, according to a presentation from Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for human exploration and operations, before the NASA Advisory Council. The council gathered in California last week. One previous EM-2 proposal involved a nine to 13 day mission. The latest proposal would relax propulsion requirements and life support demands on the new Orion spacecraft. The proposed eight-day version of EM-2 would follow EM-1, a three week unmanned test of an SLS launched Orion spacecraft around the moon and back to Earth planned for late 2018.
Buzz Aldrin: Altitude sickness forced South Pole evacuation
Associated Press via ABC News (12/3): Apollo 11 moon walker Buzz Aldrin recovered Sunday in New Zealand after a bout with altitude sickness while in Antarctica last week. Aldrin, hospitalized, plans to return to the U.S. after congestion in his lungs clears up.
Money, access complicate effort to restore Mission Control
Houston Chronicle (12/4): NASA’s Johnson Space Center weighs restoration of the Mission Control Room that watched over Gemini, Apollo and early space shuttle missions. Though already a National Historic Landmark, NASA has strained to find the resources for a full restoration.
Space Science
Europe moves ahead with Mars mission, kills asteroid lander
Science (12/2): The European Space Agency’s ministerial council agreed late last week to sufficient funding for the second phase of the ExoMars mission, a joint initiative with Russia. The decision follows the October crash landing of the prototype Schiaparelli lander on Mars due to flight computer issues. The ExoMars 2020 lander includes a rover designed to drill into the Martian soil in search of evidence of past and even present biological activity. One casualty of the meeting in Switzerland involving 22 ministerial representatives was the ESA led Asteroid Impact Mission, a mission to land on a near-Earth asteroid in 2022.
Skywatch: Stars and planets brighten dark December days
Washington Post (12/3): Venus shines bright as the sun sets in December. Mars, not so bright, is still also viewable after sunset. Bright Jupiter rises in the east before sunrise.
Twinkle, twinkle little [insert name here]
New York Times (12/2): The International Astronomical Union will attempt to sort out an often confusing lineup of names for stars. The effort began in late November with the publication of a catalogue including the names of 227 stars.
Low Earth Orbit
Europe commits to the space station and ExoMars as part of $11 billion in commitments to ESA
Space News (12/2): The European Space Agency’s 22 member ministerial council ended a long range planning session in Switzerland late last week with an endorsement to extend operations of the International Space Station from 2020 to 2024. Other major partners Japan, Russia and Canada backed the U.S. extension proposal earlier.
Engine burn is likely cause of Progress spacecraft accident
TASS of Russia (12/2): According to industry sources, the cause of the loss of Russia’s Progress MS-04 spacecraft on December 1 was a burn through of the Soyuz launch vehicle’s third stage combustion chamber. The rocket launched with two and a half tons of fuel and supplies for the six-person International Space Station before breaking apart.
Russian ambassador awards U.S. astronaut Shepherd for space-program merit
Sputnik International of Russia (12/2): Retired NASA astronaut Bill Shepherd, the first to command the International Space Station, received the Merit in Space Exploration medal on Friday from Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at NASA’s Washington headquarters. “This award demonstrates that together we can change the world for the better,” said Kislyak.
House passes bill that would send weather satellites to NRO
Space News (12/2): Legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week would shift responsibility for acquiring weather satellites involved in national security roles from the U.S. Air Force to the National Reconnaissance Office. According to the report, the U.S. Senate is expected to concur on the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2017.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
How President Trump can avert a crisis in U.S. space policy
Forbes.com (12/2): When it comes to U.S. national security, launch vehicle performance is crucial, writes Loren Thompson, CEO of the Lexington Institute. Thompson offers a strategy for upgrading United Launch Alliance rockets that includes Aerojet Rocketdyne’s formula for a traditional kerosene fueled first stage propulsion source.
Suborbital
Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo plane takes its first free-flying test glide
Geekwire (12/3): In a milestone for Virgin Galactic’s efforts to inaugurate passenger suborbital spaceflight, the company’s SpaceShipTwo Unity carried out its first glide test flight since an October 2014 test flight failure that led to death and serious injury for two test pilots. During Saturday’s piloted glide test, Unity was carried aloft by the WhiteKnightTwo mother ship and released for an unpowered free flight and landing in Mojave, California.
Major Space Related Activities for the Week
Major space related activities for the week of December 5-9, 2016
Spacepolicyonline.com (12/4): In Washington, the U.S. House, Senate and White House have until midnight December 9, the expiration for a current Continuing Resolution, to address 2017 spending by federal agencies, or face a shutdown. The 2017 fiscal year began October 1. December 9 is also the scheduled launch date for Japan’s sixth cargo mission to the International Space Station.