Constellation: October 2007 Archives

If you can stop an ex-NASA astronaut from giving their forthright views do tell, but for now their comments can make good copy.

Asking former Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan at the Autographica event in London on 12 October about a rumour that he had joined the Constellation programme lunar lander project office I got an answer I wasn't quite expecting.

Watch the video below and discuss it here at the airspace forums

For a whole bunch of other Cernan related videos...

According to Space Politics the Congressional Ares, Orion hearings have been postponed with no new date set

This Boeing presentation has surfaced and has some interesting points about Ares I crew launch vehicle design considerations including concern that lift off loads may be a significant design issue due to the "direct load path between the SRB and the upper stage".

Flight has also heard that despite previous NASA presentations showing that the Ares I first-stage solid rocket booster casings not changing they are now going to have to because of in-flight forces at points along the lengthof the "stick"

NASAWatch.com has found this video of the proposed Ares V Cargo Launch Vehicle launching a space telescope

Flight has published a number of stories about Ares V design options and alternate missions to the lunar outpost flights, including larger fairings for the CaLV, manned missions to near Earth objects and an asteroid deflection mission

Here is some J-2X news from Alabama care of Hobbyspace.com

And here Lockheed Orion development team member and Mars Blog blogger T. L. James has some harsh words for the Alabama report

Hobbyspace has some news about Japanese involvement in the upcoming Personal Spaceflight symposium

It also has more stuff on space based solar power - where's the Bond-esque industrialist villain I ask?

Selenian Boondocks has a welcome few thoughts about engineering and reliability re: project constellation

More Kaguya lunar probe updates from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

NASASpaceflight.com is reporting that Space Shuttle Discovery might have to be rolled back from launch pad 39A to the vehicle assembly building because of issues with reinforced carbon-carbon tiles, potentially delaying the launch for mission STS-120 for weeks. It was scheduled for a 23 October launch

Meanwhile according to Space.com United launch Alliance is working towards its latest Atlas V launch four months after a failure by an upper stage engine valve placing payloads in the wrong orbit

Spaceref.com has a copy of an email from NASA's Constellation manager Jeff Hanley about how he feels about being part of the return to the Moon programme. All gooey apparently

The Space Review (no you're not a journal) has a series of entries by various guest writers dealing with subjects like the alleged weaponisation of space and the European satellite navigation project Galileo

Check out this photo report at S. P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia's website about Soyuz TMA-11, the next manned launch to the International Space Station

The UK's 164-year old current affairs magazine The Economist is so sure Hillary Rodham Clinton will become the 44th president of the United States in the 6 October issue it describes the presidency as hers "to lose".

So NASA administrator Michael Griffin, and maybe a few more of you out there, might be interested in Jeff Foust's Space Politics blog post about Hillary's intentions regarding the return to the Moon Constellation programme.

Quoting a New York Times article it turns out that Hillary clarifed her Moon position after her Sputnik anniversary science policy speech and made it clear aeronautics and climate change related science would win out over Constellation.

Why I am now not surprised? Read my blog from February this year when I sort of predicted this.

Catch them while they're in your orbital plane

The LA Times has got an author and blogger Rand Simberg debating NASA for what its worth

If you have any bright ideas NASA would like to hear them about its future space suits

Spaceref.com is reporting that NASA has placed an order for its Orion launch abort system test launch pad

Aviation Week and Space Technology is reporting that China plans to have a lunar sample return mission. What? You mean like this one Flight has exclusive video of?