Planetary science at NASA could take a major hit if the sequestration budgeting happens and the big projects like the SLS are protected from cuts:
Update: Jeff Foust reports on the sequestration impact on NASA funding: Worrying about sequestration again – Space Politics.
Alan Boyle reports that Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is taking marvelous pictures of earth from the ISS and posting them online : Astronaut’s artistry hits warp speed – PhotoBlog
See the Col. Chris Hadfield Facebook page and Chris Hadfield (Cmdr_Hadfield) on Twitter for his latest shots. For example, Twitter / Cmdr_Hadfield:
Where the Mississippi enters the Gulf of Mexico. The soil of America’s heartland forming a vast, deep delta. pic.twitter.com/Dctu8ipH
And Hadfield is also a musician who will soon premier a new song in space with collaborator Ed Robertson: ‘Is Somebody Singing’: Ed Robertson on why he wanted to work with Chris Hadfield – CBC Music
On Feb. 8, astronaut Chris Hadfield and Barenaked Ladies singer Ed Robertson will premiere “I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing).” It’s a unique collaboration for a number of reasons, but first and foremost because Hadfield will be floating somewhere in outer space aboard the International Space Station, while Robertson will be joined by a youth choir in the CBC Toronto studios. It’s an out-of-this-world collaboration, to say the least.
For the weeks leading up to the premiere, Robertson will be updating us with interesting aspects about the project, something he says has been in the works for a long time.
The New York Times hosts discussion on the question of how the U.S., Europe and Russia should respond to space development in Iran, North Korea and China: A New Space Race, or Chances to Collaborate? – Room for Debate – NYTimes.com.
There are several posts including ones from Bill Nye, Anousheh Ansari, and James Oberg.
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Res Communis post the latest collection of space and aviation law, regulation and policy links: Library: A Round-up of Reading.
Nino Pollizzi was interviewed on the Space Show yesterday and talked about the Rocket Science Tutors volunteer education program, which I posted about here recently: Nino Pollizzi, Sunday, 2-3-13 – Thespaceshow’s Blog.
Pollizzi also talked about one of the original NewSpace projects, the DC-X reusable rocket, which he worked on.
In our second segment of this 1 hour 42 minute program, we talked about the DC-X as Nino worked on that program when he was with McDonnell Douglas. DC-X is having their 20th reunion this August in New Mexico, an event which Nino talked about during our discussion. We also talked about the DC-X vehicle, its problems, the plans to scale up the demo to the two more advanced models, and ultimately its cancellation and the NASA selection of the X-33. Nino also took some questions about the possibility of a single stage to orbit vehicle with a useful payload.
More DC-X resources can be found here. And here is a video about the DC-X
The National Space Society‘s crowd-sourcing campaign to raise money to fund development of a top professional quality video to convey a “powerful vision of the future of space development” is close to reading its goal but needs your help to get over the top: Our Future in Space – A National Space Society Video by National Space Society — Kickstarter