NASA wants to try 3 shuttle flights this year, Orlando Sentinel“NASA plans to launch three space shuttle flights in 2006 if engineers can solve the ongoing problem of dangerous debris falling from the ship’s external fuel tank during liftoff. Shuttle managers plan to meet Thursday to discuss target launch dates of May 10, Aug. 28 and Nov. 16. Before the first mission flies, however, they must convince themselves that six […]

Golf or Science: What is NASA’s Plan for the Space Station?, SpaceRef“Earlier this month, Element 21 Golf Company, a Canadian golf club manufacturer, revealed publicly that it had an arrangement with Russia whereby a cosmonaut would perform an EVA and hit an instrumented golf ball off of the space station into its own orbit.Although various sources claim that Russia has studied the issue and is seemingly unperturbed about the prospect […]

Photo release: Largest ever galaxy portrait – stunning HD image of Pinwheel Galaxy“This new Hubble image reveals the gigantic Pinwheel galaxy, one of the best known examples of “grand design spirals”, and its supergiant star-forming regions in unprecedented detail. The image is the largest and most detailed photo of a spiral galaxy ever released.”

Biography, Return to Flight Task Group Editor’s note: According to an email from his family “At 2:15am on Sunday February 26, 2006 Seymour Rubenstein passed away peacefully. Sy was surrounded throughout the day on Saturday by close family members and friends.”Details follow below: “Subject: Funeral arrangements for Seymour Rubenstein: I am forwarding on information regarding my father’s services andapologize if you’ve already received this information. Please email me at [email protected] […]

FEMA’s Disaster Preparedeness Changes, The Onion Editor’s note: Note the last item on the list.

Editor’s note: (Today) Monday, 27 Feb. 12:30 pm EST: NASA Update. Mike Griffin and Shana Dale will be speaking. Mike Griffin: “Individuals [at NASA] are free to express their opinions provided that they are so labeled.” “There should never be any retribution for dissenting technical opinion [at NASA]” On George Deutsch (although not specifically named): “One misguided individual was trying to insert his own religious beliefs … and perhaps his […]

NASA Flight Assignment Working Group (FAWG) Space Shuttle Planning Manifest 24 Feb 2006 Editor’s note: NASA has published its latest update to its internal long range planning forecast for the remaining flights of America’s Space Shuttle fleet – the last of which is STS-133 which is planned for launch in 2009. Atlantis’ last flight is shown as being in 2008. Reader note: “The FAWG Shuttle schedule that you posted is […]

NASA Internal Charts: ESAS Update: Accelerating Lunar Missions aka “Lunar Sooner” “NASA’s original ESAS focus was to enable both the ISS and lunar missions while enabling extensibility to Mars. After further analysis, NASA has elected to alter the architectural baseline. The new approach places more emphasis on lunar missions sooner at lower overall risk and cost.”

Scientists cite several instances of politics trumping research, SJ Mercury News“The EPA, NASA and several other federal agencies have been accused recently of interfering with science.”Scientists complain of diminished role in policy under Bush, SJ Mercury News“NASA climate scientist James Hansen triggered a series of charges last month when he accused Bush’s political appointees of interfering with the release of information that conflicted with the administration’s skepticism of the link […]

MSFC wind tunnel crucial to analyzing spacecraft designs, Huntsville Times“The government has several large wind tunnels around the country, including Arnold Air Force Base near Tullahoma, Tenn., NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia and the Ames Research Center near San Francisco. “We can do for just thousands of dollars on a series of tests what it would take hundreds of thousands or millions on a larger tunnel,” Haynes said. “For […]