September 7 News Items

Russia Warns of Asteroid Threat (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Russia's top space official said international cooperation is needed to deal with the threat of an asteroid collision with the Earth. Anatoly Perminov said the threat is real and needs to be solved "through broad international cooperation" within the framework of the United Nations. A Moscow scientific conference has identified the 99942 Apophis, or Asteroid 2004 MN4, as the largest threat to Earth. The asteroid will be 22,400 miles from Earth in 2029 and there is concern it could end up on a collision course with planet in 2036, creating an explosion larger than the 1908 Tunguska explosion that felled more than 80 million trees in a 830-square-mile region of Siberia. (9/5)

Frustrated NASA Chief Vents in Internal E-mail (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
In congressional testimony and speeches across the country, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin has presented the Bush administration's space policy as under pressure but on track to returning humans to the moon by 2020. His public face has been steadfast. But privately, the agency chief is far less certain. In a remarkably candid internal e-mail to top advisers obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, Griffin lashed out last month at the White House for what he called a "jihad" to shut down the space shuttle, expressed frustration at the lack of funding for a new moon rocket -- and despaired about the future of America's human-spaceflight program. Click here to view the article. (9/7)

Griffin Releases Statement on Leaked Email (Source: NASA)
"The leaked internal email fails to provide the contextual framework for my remarks, and my support for the administration's policies. Administration policy is to retire the shuttle in 2010 and purchase crew transport from Russia until Ares and Orion are available. The administration continues to support our request for an INKSNA exemption. Administration policy continues to be that we will take no action to preclude continued operation of the International Space Station past 2016. I strongly support these administration policies, as do OSTP and OMB." (9/7)

Hubble Repair Mission More Risky Than You Would Ever Imagine (Source: Gizmodo)
If you think that the final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope is going to be boring, you haven't seen this video yet. Not only the astronauts will be risking their lives as usual at 366 miles above the Earth, but the sheer amount and the difficulty of the tasks—from repairing components to replacing them to installing new gadgets—makes the mission an almost-impossible one, with soundtrack to match. I never imagined this was going to be such an ambitious and daunting work.

First, there's the pressure the astronauts are going to be facing. In addition to the stress of the spacewalks and the manual work in a weightless environment, they know this is not only the final mission, but also a single shot to service the mighty telescope. If some of the tasks are not completed, there's no way to return back another time and fix whatever is broken. The mission crew knows that Hubble is a vital instrument to science—one that keeps expanding our knowledge of the Universe, helping to answer the most crucial question Humanity has ever faced: where the hell do we come from?—and that the astronauts are men and women of science. And they are going to be the ones responsible for giving science this amazing tool for ten more years. Click here to view the article and animations of the mission. (9/7)

Texas Explosion Blamed on Rocket Fuel Experiment (Source: Galveston Daily News)
A retired NASA engineer trying to invent a cheap way for average people to travel to space caused a bang in Hitchcock on Saturday morning when his rocket fuel exploded. Jim Akkerman, president of Advent Launch Services, accidentally caused the explosion as he was working on a spacecraft at a former blimp base. The explosion occurred because too much of his methane-oxygen fuel mixture accumulated in his rocket engine after the engine wouldn’t fire. No one was injured, and no property was damaged. (9/7)

India: NSG Waiver Will Give Access to Latest Technology (Source: Thaindian News)
The lifting of the 34-year embargo against nuclear supplies to India would help the nation access latest global technological advancements, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair said.”Though we are fairly advanced in this field, thanks to the NSG nod we will have access to uninterrupted supply of global inputs and technological advancements as the development is a clear recognition of our nuclear capability.” The preparations for the unmanned space mission Chandraayan was proceeding as planned and some of its vital parametrical needs would be completed by October, Nair added. (9/7)

Space Station to Mission Control: It's Your Move (Source: New York Times)
The crew members aboard the International Space Station are busy, but Greg Chamitoff, the American astronaut currently stationed there, has managed to find time for a few games of chess. Among the personal items he brought with him was a lightweight chess set. According to an interview conducted in the quarterly publication of the Florida Chess Association, Chamitoff said he could not bring magnetic pieces, so he used inexpensive hollow plastic pieces and fitted them with Velcro to anchor them to the board. Mission control became his opponent, with flight controllers in different locations taking turns making moves. The rate of play was roughly one move a day. (9/7)

Editorial: Congress Should OK U.S. Purchase of Russian Trips to Station (Source: Florida Today)
NASA’s troubles with the coming end of the space shuttle program continue to mount, and they’re going to get worse unless Congress acts on a critical issue: Renewing a legislative exemption allowing NASA to buy astronaut rides to the International Space Station aboard Russian spacecraft after the shuttles retire in 2010. If that doesn’t happen, astronauts will have to abandon the outpost in 2012, leaving it in the hands of the Russians, even though U.S. taxpayers have spent $100 billion on the project. It would also force the U.S. to welsh on its longstanding deal to provide ferry and crew-rescue service to the station for its European, Canadian and Japanese partners. None of that should be allowed to happen, and it’s why Congress should quickly OK the measure. (9/7)