Joint meeting of the Committee on Astrobiology Strategy for the Exploration of Mars and the Committee on the Origins and Evolution of LifeWednesday, May 10, 2006 – OPEN SESSION – 8:45 a.m. Astrobiology Status Report – Carl Pilcher, NASA Headquarters– NASA Astrobiology Program Status, NASA– NASA Astrobiology in Peril – Update and Action Suggestions, SETI Institute– NASA Bungles Yet Another Attempt to Communicate, NASA Watch– NASA Reverses Astrobiology Funding Pledge, […]
MSFC claim: ET unacceptable for flight, NASASpaceflight.com“A series of documents acquired by NASASpaceflight.com explain the split of opinion that Shuttle manager Wayne Hale referred to during Friday’s Shuttle update press conference.”
Epimetheus, Saturn’s Rings, and Titan“This image was taken on April 28, 2006 and received on Earth April 28, 2006. The camera was pointing toward Epimetheus at approximately 667,385 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and CL2 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the NASA Planetary Data System in 2007.”
NASA: No more changes to shuttle tank until after launch, Orlando Sentinel“NASA managers announced today there will be no more major safety changes to the space shuttle’s external fuel tank until after the next planned launch in July. The decision follows a debate among engineers on whether to modify so-called ice-frost ramps on the tank’s exterior before Discovery’s upcoming flight. The small ramps are crafted from foam insulation that is […]
Five Years and $120 Million Later, Space Adventures Continues to Drive the Industry“Space Adventures’ efforts in offering commercial seats to the public have resulted in $120 million (USD) worth of orbital spaceflight sales.” Editor’s note: Let’s see: Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, and Greg Olsen have already flown. Daisuke Enomoto and Charles Simonyi are planning to fly. That’s a total of 5 Soyuz rides. If Space Adventures has only signed up […]
NASA LaRC Internal Memo: Early Out Authority“Voluntary early retirement (“early out”) authority was approved for Langley in connection with the FY 06 buyout. When our buyout window closed on January 3, 2006, our authority to offer early out retirements expired as well. Recently, however, NASA HQ informed Centers that early out authority would be available though the end of this FY. Langley requested early out authority from May 1, 2006 […]
NASA’S Exploration Workshop Kicks Off Strategy Development“Why are we going to the moon? What will we do when we get there? Approximately 200 participants from 13 countries grappled with these questions during NASA’s Exploration Strategy Workshop, which concluded Friday. The four-day workshop was the first in a series of activities planned for 2006 focusing on defining a strategy for lunar exploration, including the role of the moon as a stepping […]
Remarks by NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale at the Space Exploration Strategy Workshop“Decades from now, when humans routinely live and work on the lunar surface and we’re getting ready to journey to Mars, all of us in this room can look back to this unique moment in time when we started to plan the strategy. It is an exciting time to be in at the ground floor of what promises […]
NASA Administrator Presents Space Shuttle Program Update“NASA Administrator Michael Griffin and Associate Administrator for Space Operations William Gerstenmaier will brief the media about the space shuttle program and processing for the next mission (STS-121) Friday, April 28, at 11 a.m. EDT. The briefing will be in the NASA headquarters auditorium, 300 E. St. S.W., Washington.” Editor’s note: This update has had several curious changes. First, it was announced last week […]
Reader note: “Hell of a PRCB today. After a nearly 6 hour debate, the decision was made to fly the ice frost ramps as is. Griffin and Gerst were even there for this topic. When the final poll was made it was a nearly perfect 50/50 split on fly as is or stand-down and redesign. The FCOD rep (Bowersox) said fly as is, by the way. Most of the offices […]