April 6 News Items

Editorial: NASA Must Eye Safety as it Fixes Constellation Flaws (Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
The GAO review of NASA's Constellation program, scheduled to replace the nation's space shuttle fleet, said an early review of the Ares I rocket found defects. There are also concerns that the Orion space capsule may be too heavy for the Ares, and there are questions about Orion's heat shield. The GAO concluded the Constellation program is enveloped in "considerable unknowns." Those unknowns, the auditor projects, may result in NASA not being able to make a smooth, timely transition from the shuttle fleet to the Constellation project. The one thing that the nation, and NASA, can't do is shortchange the space program to the point where it compromises safety. America has paid a high enough price in lives lost to accidents already. (4/6)

Indoor Plant, Outer-Space History (Source: Philadephia Inquirer)
Thanks to outer space, Arietta Varner's African violets produce half-dollar-size blooms nearly year-round and need little care. Her two plants come from a strain grown from seeds that spent about six years in space in the 1980s. The seeds were exposed to radiation, which caused certain genetic mutations. When the space seeds were returned to Earth, some plants grown from them were hardier and bloomed almost constantly. A company called Optimara cultivated the plants and marketed them as Space Violets. "They don't need hardly any attention. I take care of them and water them, and she admires them," said Ron Varner. He uses Miracle-Gro on most of his flora. But the chemical fertilizer is unnecessary for the space violet, he said. (4/6)

Shuttle Plan Won't Fly for Safety Group (Source: Florida Today)
Independent safety experts say it would be dangerous to fly NASA shuttles beyond 2010, and doing so could lengthen a five-year gap in the nation's ability to launch American astronauts, NASA warns. But some argue the 6,400 job cuts projected for Kennedy Space Center could be reduced by flying shuttles twice a year until replacement rockets and spaceships are ready. U.S. Reps. Dave Weldon and Tom Feeney say it could be done by giving NASA about $2 billion more a year to pay for the added shuttle flights and speed up development of spacecraft for missions to the moon and Mars.

What the Republican congressmen propose is possible. The plan could reduce or even eliminate an anticipated five-year gap in NASA human space flight, potentially saving thousands of jobs. But people inside and outside NASA nonetheless raised financial, practical and safety concerns. NASA's shuttle program already is winding down. Production lines are shutting down. Suppliers no longer are making critical shuttle parts. Vendors are moving on to other businesses. Consequently, shuttle operations after the planned retirement date in 2010 might be dangerous and even NASA says it makes no financial sense. (4/6)

Rocket Rolled Out for Korean Astronaut's Launch (Source: AFP)
The Russian Soyuz rocket due to take South Korea's first astronaut into space was rolled out of its hangar on Sunday at Russia's Baikonur spaceport. Yi So-Yeon, 29, is to take off on Tuesday for her 12-day mission to the International Space Station along with Russian cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko in a key step for South Korea's nascent space program. A biosystems engineer, Yi is preparing to conduct a series of scientific experiments in space and has said she will be bringing with her Korean specialities, including the classic pickle dish kimchi. She has also voiced hope that her flight could help reconcile the south and the north of the divided Korean peninsula. South Korea is paying $27 million for her mission. (4/6)