Another Lunar Orbiter Earthrise Retrieved and Enhanced, Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project “The other day, as we were going through tapes from Lunar Orbiter IV we came across a picture of the Earth and the Moon – one that was not instantly familiar to us. This image is not included in the LPI Lunar Orbiter IV image gallery but is listed in another, more obscure document at LPI. So we […]

Critics doubt value of International Space Station science, Orlando Sentinel “The old adage is that if you build it, they will come,” said Keith Cowing, a former NASA space station payload manager who runs the popular website NASA Watch. “Well, it’s there, but NASA has a lot of catching up to do in terms of fully utilizing the capability of the space station.” “… Another way NASA has tried to […]

NASA Launches TDRS-L a Third Generation Communications Satellite (with video) “NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite L (TDRS-L), the 12th spacecraft in the agency’s TDRS Project, is safely in orbit after launching at 9:33 p.m. EST Thursday aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.” – Boeing TDRS-L Relay Satellite Sends 1st Signals from Space – ULA Successfully Launches Tracking and Data […]

I think I could teach the NASA announcer to be a bit more dramatic in his annunciation of a the hold delay. — William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) January 24, 2014

SNC Announces First Orbital Flight of Dream Chaser “Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) announces that it has confirmed that the first orbital flight of its Dream Chaser(R) Space System will occur on November 1, 2016. Dream Chaser will be brought to orbit on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket that is being built in Decatur, Alabama and will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida.” Keith’s note: So … who is […]

Garver Drove Shift In Space Policy, Aviation Week Person of the Year (#2) “Lori Garver does not inspire ambivalence. Few who worked with her when she was deputy NASA administrator came away from the experience with a neutral opinion. To some, she is a ruthless powerhouse whose abrasive ego has run roughshod over opponents, leaving in her wake lost careers and hurt feelings as she trashed policy adversaries among the […]

Virgin Galactic Conducts Successful Test Firings of LauncherOne Liquid Rocket Engine “As part of a rapid development program, Virgin Galactic has now hot-fired both a 3,500 lbf thrust rocket engine and a 47,500 lbf thrust rocket engine, called the “NewtonOne” and “NewtonTwo” respectively. Further, the NewtonOne engine has successfully completed a full-mission duty cycle on the test stand, firing for the five-minute duration expected of the upper stage engine on […]

Keith’s note: The Federal government in Washington, DC is opening 2 hours late due to yesterday’s storm. Right now there is elevator music playing on the dial-in audio link. Planetary Science Subcommittee Meeting Info Headquarters Washington D.C. 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM The WebEx link is:  https://nasa.webex.com/  Meeting number: 998 550 736  Password: PSS@Jan22 Audio is at 800-857-2613 passcode 64849 Agenda 8:30 Welcome, Agenda, Announcements (Luhmann, Green, Rall)  8:45 Introductions […]

Clementine – The Mission, Twenty Years Later, Paul Spudis “In the twenty years following the end of the Apollo program, the lunar science community tried to interest NASA in sending a robotic orbiter to the Moon to map its shape, composition and other physical properties. Such a mission would not only document the processes and history of the Moon, but would also serve as an operational template for the exploration […]

The Final Frontier’s Financial Limits, NY Times “The Obama administration, which proposed deep cuts in the planetary sciences budget the past two years, could also ask for more money for 2015. “The administration remains committed to operating the pathbreaking Cassini and Curiosity missions as long as they keep passing these rigorous reviews,” said Phillip Larson, a White House space policy adviser. “If we keep one going, that doesn’t mean we […]