AIP FYI Number 53: May 6, 2011 House and Senate Authorizers Skeptical About Implementation of NASA Legislation

"Hearings before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics revealed considerable skepticism about NASA's realigned human spaceflight program. At both March hearings there were bipartisan complaints that the Administration disregarded key provisions of the NASA reauthorization act in the formulation of the FY 2012 budget request, and doubts that the Administration was committed to fully implementing this legislation. The tone of these hearings was different from that of House and Senate appropriations hearings. While appropriators doubted that a crew capsule and heavy lift launch vehicle would be delivered on time, and questioned the degree to which Constellation hardware was being employed in the new configuration, the mood at the House and Senate hearings was generally positive and low key."

Is our space vision still shortsighted?, MSNBC

"I think with regard to this year's budget, the match is reasonable," [Norm] Augustine said. "But if we're to have a program of the type that we described as attractive in the report that we put out, there's not enough money in the out years to do it. The question is whether we'll add that money in the out years or not. If we don't have it, then we're probably pursuing the wrong program. If we add the money, then this will be the right program, in my judgment." What does he think it will take? "Unless that money is increased by about $3 billion a year, real dollars, over what it was at the time we did our study, then this whole thing is very tenuous," he said. "But if that funding is made available ... the path we're on so far is very consistent with what I think most of us would see as a sensible program."

Space Adventures Looks Ahead To Commercial Lunar Missions

"As part of a market sizing exercise for NASA's Commercial Crew Development bid, submitted on behalf of the Boeing Company, Space Adventures estimates that by 2020 approximately 140 more private individuals will have launched to orbital space. These participants would include private individuals, corporate, university and non-profit researchers, lottery winners and journalists. Destinations would include the International Space Station, commercial space stations and orbital free-flys."

Yuri's Night Announces Winners Of 2011 Space Contest Series

"Over the last two months, Yuri's Night has received hundreds of outstanding and inspiring space-themed videos, photos, and advertisements from around the world, and even more entries for our Global Sweepstakes. Without further ado, here are the winners and runners-up for each of our contests: ..."

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden's Statement About The 50th Anniversary Of U.S. Human Spaceflight

"With the same spirit of innovation and grit of those early days of space flight, we now move out on an exciting path forward where we will develop the capabilities to take humans to even more destinations in the solar system. With our support and assistance, commercial companies will expand access to that rarefied area Alan Shepard first trod for America, allowing NASA to focus on those bigger, more challenging destinations and to enable our science missions to peer farther and farther beyond our solar system."

Image of a Psychedelic Stellar Nursery

"An all-time favorite of skywatchers on both hemispheres, the Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8 or M8) is among the most striking examples of a stellar nursery in our neighborhood of the Milky Way galaxy. Visible in small telescopes and binoculars its fuzzy glow reveals the type of chaotic environment where new stars are born."

Image: Sunset Over Western South America As Seen From Orbit

"Sunset over western South America is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 27 crew member on the International Space Station. Crew members onboard the space station see, on average, sixteen sunrises and sunsets during a 24-hour orbital period. Each changeover between day and night on the ground is marked by the terminator, or line separating the sunlit side of Earth from the side in darkness. While the terminator is conceptualized as a hard boundary - and is frequently presented as such in graphics and visualizations - in reality the boundary between light and dark is diffuse due to scattering of light by Earth's atmosphere."

Keith's note: Of course, NASA JSC PAO continues to totally ignore this activity - even though local residents driving by the center can hear loud noises and see lots of smoke. Why won't Mike Coats let people see these rocket tests through official channels - just like he promotes astronaut visits to City Hall and e-waste recycling events? Or are such mundane things more worthy of JSC PAO attention than actual hardware development and testing?

Project Morpheus (not linked from the JSC home page)

NASA Proposed Rule: Cross-Waiver of Liability Clauses

"NASA proposes to revise the NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) to consolidate and make changes to three currently-existing cross-waiver of liability clauses. The changes include consolidation of the three clauses into two clauses and retitleing the two clauses to more closely align the clauses with current mission programs including International Space Station (ISS) activities, and Science or Space Exploration activities unrelated to the ISS. The existing Expendable Launch Vehicle (ELV) clause will be broadened to apply to contracts and subcontracts related to a launch of any kind other than one involving the International Space Station. The International Space Station (ISS) activities cross-waiver of liability clause is revised and its applicably broadened to include Space Shuttle activities related to the ISS. Accordingly, the Space Shuttle services clause will be deleted in its entirety with all Space Shuttle activity falling under one of the two remaining clauses."

SpaceShipTwo's First "Feathered" Flight Marks Latest Milestone for Virgin Galactic

"Early on Wednesday 4th May 2011, in the skies above Mojave Air and Spaceport CA, SpaceShipTwo, the world's first commercial spaceship, demonstrated its unique reentry 'feather' configuration for the first time. This test flight, the third in less than two weeks, marks another major milestone on the path to powered test flights and commercial operations. SpaceShipTwo (SS2), named VSS Enterprise, has now flown solo seven times since its public roll-out in December 2009 and since the completion of its ground and captive -carry test program."

China unveils its space station, Nature

"The International Space Station (ISS) is just one space-shuttle flight away from completion, but the construction boom in low-Earth orbit looks set to continue for at least another decade. Last week, China offered the most revealing glimpse yet of its plans to deploy its own station by 2020. The project seems to be overcoming delays and internal resistance and is emerging as a key part of the nation's fledgling human space-flight programme. At a press briefing in Beijing, officials with the China Manned Space Engineering Office even announced a contest to name the station, a public-relations gesture more characteristic of space programmes in the United States, Europe and Japan."

Holdren's Response to Ban on China Science Partnerships Draws GOP Ire

"The Obama Administration has carved out a loophole in the recent congressional ban on scientific interactions with China that would permit most activities between the two countries to continue. But that interpretation doesn't sit well with Republicans in the House of Representatives who drafted the language, one of whom said today that ignoring the ban could imperil funding for NASA or other science agencies."