March 22 News Items

NASA Eyes Maneuver to Avoid Chinese Space Junk (Source: Houston Chronicle)
A piece of Chinese rocket junk will pass close to the shuttle and space station at mid-day Monday. NASA says an avoidance maneuver will not be necessary. However, the shuttle will change the space station's orientation by firing steering thrusters. The change in orientation will create an additional amount of drag. The drag will lower the station's altitude enough to keep it away from the debris threat. (3/22)

"No joy" With Station Urine Processor (Source: Florida Today)
Yesterday's efforts to run a repaired urine processor on the International Space Station have been put on hold. Engineers have been trying to determine why flow rates through the device were low. NASA was hopeful the processor would work after a new 180-poound distillation assembly brought up by shuttle Discovery was installed two days ago, and a dry test run on Saturday was successful. The processor hasn't worked since after Christmas, weeks after shuttle Endeavour's crew delivered it in November. (3/22)

Colorado-Based Space Symposium Soaring (Source: Space Foundation)
There is no recession in orbit, organizers of the 25th annual National Space Symposium have found. While other trade shows have withered amid the faltering economy, the symposium that starts next week at The Broadmoor is as big as ever, with aerospace firms plying their wares to customers including NASA and the Defense Department. The healthy symposium is good news for the local economy, because it is expected to draw 7,500 people who will pack area hotels and drop cash in restaurants. The real money at the symposium changes hands in hotel rooms at The Broadmoor where industry giants like Boeing and Lockheed Martin along with smaller players including local technology firms cut deals for satellites, services and computing gear. (3/2)

Space Film Shows at Florida Film Festival (Source: NSSFL)
Blast!, a documentary film about scientists attempting to launch a satellite, will be shown at the 18th annual Florida Film Festival in Orlando on Mar. 29 and Apr. 1. Filmmaker Paul Devlin follows the story of his brother, Mark Devlin PhD, as he leads a tenacious team of scientists hoping to figure out how all the galaxies formed by launching a revolutionary new telescope under a NASA high-altitude balloon. Their adventure takes them from Arctic Sweden to Inuit polar bear country in Canada, where catastrophic failure forces the team to try all over again on the desolate ice in Antarctica. Visit http://www.blastthemovie.com for information. (3/22)