Latest on sequestration and the NASA budget:
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An effort in Congress to enact a major revamp of NASA management: A second try for the Space Leadership Act – Space Politics
Here’s the latest episode of This Week @NASA: Ready the Dragon on This Week @NASA – YouTube
Caption:
March 1st is the targeted launch date for the next cargo resupply flight to the International Space Station. Liftoff of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft’s second resupply mission to the ISS is scheduled for 10:10 a.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Dragon will be loaded with about six tons of crew supplies and materials for science research. Also, Launch the Seedlings!; Curiosity Drills; ISS Social; Hangout with the Crew; Bolden Honored; Aerospace Days; Cady and the Chieftains; and more!
Bob Zimmerman reports on the latest space news during regular weekly slots (usually Tuesday and Thursdays) on the John Batchelor radio program. See the iTunes free Podcast for links to the latest shows. Here are links to this week’s shows and the topics discussed.
Tuesday:
Segment one:
1. Friday’s meter stories in Russia and 2012 DA14. Plus, a group of California scientists proposes using lasers to vaporize asteroids.
2. NASA has lost all contact with ISS.
3. The hot fire test for Antares has been rescheduled for Thursday.
4. Dragon has now been scheduled for March 1 launch to ISS.
Segment two:
1. NASA has released the cuts it would do if sequestration happens. SLS gets no cuts. Commercial space gets deleted.
2. A new poll of Earth scientists has found that a majority are skeptical of human-caused global warming.
Thursday:
Segment 1:
1. Some results from the flyby of 2012 DA14.
2. Kepler has found a solar system with a exoplanet slightly larger than the Moon.
3. The microfilmed bibles flown on Apollo are now the subject of a custody dispute.
Segment 2:
1. Polar bears and climate change.
2. IPCC head admits the climate has not warmed in 17 years.
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On the Wednesday “Hotel Mars” segment on the Batchelor Show with David Livingston, Dr. William Farrand reviewed the “Ten years with the Mars rover Opportunity”: The John Batchelor Show “Hotel Mars,” Wednesday, 2-20-13 – Thespaceshow’s Blog.
Here’s an interesting discussion [with Dr. David Morrison and Dr. Guy Consolmagno] at the SETI Institute about “What Lessons to Learn from the Chelyabinsk Meteor?”
Leonard David writes about the X-37B reusable space planes, one of which is currently in orbit: US Military’s X-37B Space Plane Settles Into Latest Mission – Space.com
A video from Canadian astronomer Kevin Fetter showing the X-37B OTC-3 moving across the night sky: