'SPACE' in NEWS

(Aug. 18 - 28, 2012)

Neil Armstrong, first man to walk on the Moon, passes away Aug 25, 2012 -  Neil Armstrong, the former NASA astronaut who became the first person to walk on the surface of the Moon in 1969, passed away Saturday at the age of 82. Armstrong died following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures, according to a statement released by his family. Armstrong underwent cardiac bypass surgery earlier this month. Armstrong is best known as commander of Apollo 11, the first crewed mission to land on the Moon, and he became the first person to set foot on the Moon, joined by lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin. Armstrong also flew on the Gemini 8 mission in 1966. Armstrong left NASA in 1971 and went on to careers in academia and industry, and also served on the NASA Advisory Council. Related Links: NBCNews.com article Farewell, Mr. Armstrong August 27, 2012- On Saturday, Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the Moon, passed away at the age of 82. Jeff Foust examines what his life meant to so many people inside and outside the space community.

Weather delays Atlas launch to next week Aug 25, 2012 -  Poor weather prevented Saturday's planned launch of a pair of NASA space science satellites, and the threat of a tropical storm will keep the rocket grounded until late next week. NASA had hoped to launch the twin Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) at 4:07 am EDT (0807 GMT) Saturday, one day after a technical problem scrubbed the first launch attempt. However, stormy weather prevented the launch from taking place during a 20-minute window. NASA announced later Saturday morning that the launch would be postponed to no earlier than Thursday, August 30, because of concerns about Tropical Storm Issac, which is approaching southern Florida and likely to preclude launch attempts for several days. The Atlas 5 rocket will be rolled back to its assembly building until the storm passes. The two RBSP spacecraft will study the Van Allen radiation belts that surround the Earth. Related Links:  Florida Today article

Latin America’s space programs in 2012  August 27, 2012- An increasing number of countries in Latin America are getting involved in space through the development or ownership of their own satellites and by other means. W. Alex Sanchez examines the changing capabilities of and interests among Latin American countries in space today.

Review: A Brief History of Rocketry in ISRO August 27, 2012- India has been developing a variety of launch vehicles for over half a century. Jeff Foust reviews a book that provides a history of the development of those rockets and profiles the key people who made them possible.

News on Curiosity@Mars ... Curiosity sends stunning views of Mount Sharp NASA's Curiosity rover, giving earthlings a glimpse of its ultimate target, has beamed back spectacular high-resolution photos of the rugged foothills of Mount Sharp, showing a khaki-coloured landscape marked by towering hills, gaping canyons and sand dunes reminiscent of the American southwest, scientists said . Mars craft bring weather stations to the red planet Amid its rock-zapping duties and choreographed test drives, the Curiosity rover's weather station is logging sharp temperature swings, wind gusts and pressure changes to create an enduring record of Martian climate.     ChemCam Laser First Analyses Yield Beautiful Results (23 August 2012) Members of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover ChemCam team, including Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists, squeezed in a little extra target practice after zapping the first fist-sized rock that was placed in the laser’s crosshairs last weekend. Coverity Ensures Seamless Touchdown And Operation Of Curiosity Mars Rover (21 August 2012) Coverity today announced that the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), builder of the Curiosity Rover, used Coverity to help ensure the reliability of the mission-critical flight software guiding the successful landing of Curiosity on Mars. NASA Selects DLR Experiment For InSight Mission To Mars (21 August 2012)  After the successful landing of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, NASA has selected one more lander mission to Mars. Lockheed Martin To Build Spacecraft For Insight Mars Lander (20 August 2012) An exciting and novel mission to Mars has been selected as NASA’s next Discovery mission. New Insight On Mars Expected From New NASA Mission (20 August 2012) On Aug. 20, NASA announced the selection of InSight, a new Discovery-class mission that will probe Mars at new depths by looking into the deep interior of Mars. New NASA Mission To Take First Look Deep Inside Mars (20 August 2012) NASA has selected a new mission, set to launch in 2016, that will take the first look into the deep interior of Mars to see why the Red Planet evolved so differently from Earth as one of our solar system's rocky planets. Rover's Laser Instrument Zaps First Martian Rock (19 August 2012) Today, NASA's Mars rover Curiosity fired its laser for the first time on Mars, using the beam from a science instrument to interrogate a fist-size rock called "Coronation."

Is China Going to Blast Past America in Space? Aug 21, 2012 - In recent weeks China has appeared prominently in the international media. To the layman it would seem that the Asian superpower is advancing its space technology and exploration program at warp speed and may overtake the American space program very soon. Most recently its Shenzhou-9 spacecraft successfully docked with the orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab. This was the country's first space flight with a female astronaut and its first docking in orbit. The Shenzhou-9 spacecraft lifted off on Ju ... read more

XCOR Aerospace’s multi-talented Lynx spaceplane set for KSC August 27th, 2012 - XCOR Aerospace – who are believed to be close to arranging a deal to set up a base at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) – have outlined the three versions of their Lynx suborbital spaceplane. The reusable vehicle will even include the ability to send small spacecraft to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), utilizing an upper stage, housed in an installed dorsal pod.  XCOR Aerospace is a small, privately held California corporation that has a focus on the research, development, project management and production of Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLVs), rocket engines and rocket propulsion systems. KSC requires no introduction, following its world famous career launching American astronauts into space. However, that is – for now – at an end, leaving the Center with an arduous task of trying to attract commercial companies to the Space Coast, as part of its “multi-user” spaceport brief.  FULL STORY

NASA's RBSP launch rescheduled again The launch of an Atlas V carrying NASA's Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) payload was scrubbed again, this time due to weather conditions associated with lightning, as well as cumulus and anvil clouds. With the unfavourable weather forecast as a result of Tropical Storm Isaac, the leadership team has decided to roll the Atlas V vehicle back to the Vertical Integration Facility to ensure the launch vehicle and twin RBSP spacecraft are secured and protected from inclement weather. Pending approval from the range, the launch is rescheduled to 30 August at 0805 UTC. More ...

Articles of your Interest Achieving Mission Resilience for Space Systems Space systems need enhanced resiliency to ensure performance of critical functions and overall mission operations during a cyberattack. Aerospace is investigating various approaches to achieving such resilience for current and future programs. Cyber Protection and Space System Acquisition Space systems will undoubtedly be targeted for future cyberattacks—but by focusing on capabilities, rather than components, developers can ensure that space assets will deliver critical functionality when it is needed most. Green Propulsion: Trends and Perspectives Environmentally friendly alternatives could reduce the risk and cost of propulsion systems. Aerospace has been investigating possible candidates for national security space systems. Rocket Soot Emissions and Climate Change Scientists at The Aerospace Corporation have been studying the effects of rocket launch emissions on the atmosphere in anticipation of growing trends in space launch activities. Modeling the Effect of Thermospheric Changes on Satellite Orbit Lifetime Aerospace conducted a series of simulations to quantify the effect of declining mesospheric density on low Earth orbital lifetimes.