Marc Boucher: October 2010 Archives

Shuttle Countdown Begins Today for a Targeted Wednesday Afternoon Launch, SpaceRef

Steve Payne said "we completed early this morning our flight pressurization of our on-orbit control systems tanks and main propulsion tanks, and all went well. That is behind us now. We resolved our remaining issues with our nitrogen quick disconnect poppet valve, turns out it was a ground support equipment valve upstream that was providing too much pressure and not allowing the poppet to close, we isolated that with another valve upstream of that and we were able to close the poppet and the leak is now behind us, so those issues are now resolved."

Space Shuttle Discovery now set for Wednesday Launch, SpaceRef

"After meeting this morning to discuss the status of repairs to replace both shuttle and ground side couplings, NASA Managers decided to delay the launch another 24 hours to allow engineers to complete testing and to allow for repressurization of helium tanks. "

Google Lunar X PRIZE Update, William Pomerantz for SpaceRef

"The past few weeks have been a flurry of activity for the Google Lunar X PRIZE. After helping our colleagues celebrate the awarding of the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE, we hit the road to attend the 61st International Astronautical Congress in Prague, and then to host the 4th annual Google Lunar X PRIZE Team Summit on the Isle of Man. With all of the recent activity, and with the competition just having celebrated its third "birthday," now seems like a good time for an update."

Letter From Representatives Larsen, Boustany and Kirk (PDF)

"We are writing to congratulate you on your upcoming trip to China. U.S.-China space cooperation is an important piece of the U.S.-China bilateral relationship and we hope your trip proves successful. Specifically, we ask your support for the the U.S. and China to establish a joint-rescue capability in space that would enable the U.S., China, and Russia to rescue each other's space crews."

Marc's note: Well it would seem while some members of congress are upset with Bolden's trip to China others see the trip in a totally different light.