Off to visit some relatives so will be away from the computer for most of today. Here are a couple of items of interest this morning:
/-- Orbital Pushes ‘Cheap’ Taurus Rocket - DoD Buzz (via spacetoday.net)
/-- Students Help Crash NASA Satellite Into Ocean - Tom's Guide - Sept.2.10

MOSCOW - A team of Russian cosmonauts working at the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) are unhappy about the absence of hot showers onboard, a Russian cosmonaut said on Thursday. The U.S. segment of the station has a shower cabin that was delivered by the Endeavor shuttle in 2008. "There are wipes and towels onboard instead of a shower. It is not so easy to do without it for six months. Besides, it turned out that the towels we wipe ourselves with are not only damp,  [...]

After taking part in Thursday’s daily planning conference with flight control teams on Earth and performing some routine morning inspections, Expedition 24 Commander Alexander Skvortsov and Flight Engineer Fyodor Yurchikhin worked in the Russian segment of the station, cleaning ventilation components and monitoring its environmental and life support systems. Flight Engineers Shannon Walker and Doug Wheelock began their day by collecting blood samples for an experiment that studies the decr [...]

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA has begun development of a mission to visit and study the sun closer than ever before. The unprecedented project, named Solar Probe Plus, is slated to launch no later than 2018. The small car-sized spacecraft will plunge directly into the sun's atmosphere approximately 6.4 million kilometers (four million miles) from our star's surface. It will explore a region no other spacecraft ever has encountered. NASA has selected five science investigations that will unlock th [...]

New research from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals that asteroids somewhat near Earth, termed near-Earth objects, are a mixed bunch, with a surprisingly wide array of compositions. Like a piñata filled with everything from chocolates to fruity candies, these asteroids come in assorted colors and compositions. Some are dark and dull; others are shiny and bright. The Spitzer observations of 100 known near-Earth asteroids demonstrate that the objects’ diversity is greater than previously t [...]

ESA’s Herschel infrared space observatory has discovered that ultraviolet starlight is the key ingredient for making water in space. It is the only explanation for why a dying star is surrounded by a gigantic cloud of hot water vapour. Every recipe needs a secret ingredient. When astronomers discovered an unexpected cloud of water vapour around the old star IRC+10216 in 2001, they immediately began searching for the source. Stars like IRC+10216 are known as carbon stars and are thought not  [...]

Longueuil, Quebec – The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced today that astronaut Chris Hadfield will return to space for a third time and become the first Canadian Commander of the International Space Station (ISS). Hadfield will launch aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket in December 2012, and take command of the station during the second half of a six-month mission. This will be the second long-duration mission for a Canadian astronaut. "The selection of a Canadian astronaut for a long-d [...]

Mary Roach (Packing for Mars) discusses the practical issues involved in a death during a long space mission such as an expedition to Mars: Death in Space - Boing Boing - Sept.2.10.

The development of plans for major technology projects continues at NASA despite big budget uncertainties: NASA's Blueprint for New Space Technologies: The agency announced its latest revision but budget uncertainties in the U.S. Congress make plans moving targets- Delta-V/Technology Review - Sept.2.10.

The projects would proceed as follows:
/-- 2014 - launch of a 30kW Solar Electric Propulsion. Two year demo flight to GEO sat and a NEO
/-- 2015 - cryogenic fuel depot demo - 200 day mission
/-- 2016 - inflatable habitat for ISS.
/-- 2018 - inflatable module as test bed for life support system for deep space missions
/-- 2018 - aerocapture demo for large payloads sent to Mars

India plans to launch in 2013 its Chandrayaan 2 moon mission and it will include an Indian orbiter and a lander from Russia: Indian moon mission to launch with Russian lander - Spaceflight Now - Sept.2.10
===
Investigating what happen with the failed main engine on the USAF's newest communication satellite: Investigators probing what went wrong with AEHF 1 - Spaceflight Now - Sept.2.10

The GLXP announces that the Isle of Man will be the site of its next summit to be held on October 4-5, 2010 during World Space Week: Google Lunar X PRIZE Summit to be Held on the Isle of Man - X PRIZE Foundation - Sept.2.10

A Japanese experiment tests a 300 meter long, 2.5cm wide electrodynamic tether following its release from a rocket on a suborbital flight to 309km: Space ribbon deployed to surf Earth's magnetic field - New Scientist
===
A scheme to use airbags to cushion spacecraft landings: Airbag Designer Casts Eye on NASA's Escape Ship - SPACE.com
===
Lasermotive wants to use the laser power beaming techniques that won a $900k Centennial Challenges prize last year to power UAVs:
/-- Lasermotive Demonstrates Laser Powered UAV Helicopter - Next Big Future.
/-- Laser-Powered Helicopter Demo At AUVSI Trade Show - LaserMotive - Aug.23.10

Jeff Foust reports on Lori Garver's luncheon talk at the AIAA Space 2010 conference this week: Garver: "a lessening of tensions" in the NASA budget debate - Space Politics.
===
Jeff also continues to post notes on Twitter from the meeting, include a national space policy panel today, e.g.
/-- "Jeff Greason: industry often thinks space is somehow magically different. 'Economics does not stop at the stratosphere.'"
/-- "Greason: the rocket equation doesn't explain why launch is expensive, nor does complexity of rockets; markets do."
/-- "Greason: cheap space transportation has the potential to come now; nascent markets emerging that can drive up demand."
/-- "George Sowers, ULA: EELV a technical and programmatic success, big success for US Gov't, but biz failure for Boeing and LM."
/-- "Sowers: 'we all drank the Kool-Aid in the late 90s'; had a "conservative" biz case of 19 Atlas launches/yr; today, 5/yr.
/-- "Doug Stanley, Ga. Tech: 'whenever I mention National Aerospace Plane everyone smiles - 'what were we thinking?''"
/-- "Greason: this audience mostly engineers, so it's fun to talk about rockets, but instead need discussion of nat'l needs for space."
/-- "Stanley: if we're not going to a planetary surface for a while, doesn't make sense to invest in an HLV now."
===
Frank Sietzen writes about the pointless expense of the Ares SRB tests: Rocket Motors to Nowhere? - NASA Watch

Here is a video of the latest Armadillo Aerospace flight in its partnership with NASA's Project M (via Will Pomerantz):

A message from Spaceport America:

Armadillo Aerospace Plans NASA-Funded Launches from Spaceport America

LAS CRUCES, NM - The New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) has announced that Armadillo Aerospace of Rockwell, Texas, plans to launch three NASA-funded tests of their vertical takeoff and landing rocket technology from Spaceport America this winter. 





"These launches mark an important step in NASA's plan to empower the emerging commercial spaceflight industry to assume a greater role in the nation's space program," said Rick Homans, executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority. "Spaceport America is the launch pad for this new industry, and Armadillo's decision to launch here affirms our important position."





Armadillo Aerospace is developing new vehicles that can launch small payloads to suborbital “near space”, which NASA defines as altitudes between about 19 and 106 km, and return them safely to earth.

"Armadillo is proud to pioneer reusable rocket technology for the commercial space industry and Spaceport America provides the perfect place for our launches," said Neil Milburn, Vice President of Program Management at Armadillo Aerospace. "We selected Spaceport America because of its geographic advantages, dedicated staff, technical experience, flexibility and its low cost. We need exactly this kind of support to be successful."





Milburn said Armadillo will move its test operations to Spaceport America for two NASA-funded CRuSR (Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research Program) flights to 15 kilometers, under the Amateur Class III waiver, and a subsequent fully licensed or permit flight to at least 40 kilometers this winter.

Armadillo's grant will help fund flights from Spaceport America, and was made possible through NASA's CRuSR program, which establishes a series of suborbital flights that will yield many benefits to NASA by providing access to 3-4 minutes of microgravity for experimentation, discovery and testing. According to Homans, it's NASA's goal to help private firms develop suborbital spacecraft that will eventually provide the nation with much lower-cost and much more reliable access to orbital space. Spaceport America anticipates playing a critical role in the CRuSR program.

Homans added that the Armadillo announcement comes just two weeks after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded at least $5 million to New Mexico State University to develop a Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation.

"These announcements, coming one on top of another, are big news for Spaceport America," Homans said.

Armadillo Aerospace is a leading developer of reusable rocket powered vehicles. Founded in 2000, Armadillo Aerospace has an unequaled experience base with over 200 flight tests spread over a dozen different vehicles. The company has done work for NASA and the United States Air Force, and flown vehicles at every X-Prize Cup and Northrup Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge event, including those held in New Mexico from 2006 to 2008. The firm has plans to provide a platform for civilian access to suborbital space via a recent marketing agreement with Space Adventures, Ltd.



Spaceport America has been providing commercial launch services since 2006. The state-of-the-art launch facility is under construction near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and is expected to become fully operational in 2011. Officials at Spaceport America have been working closely with leading aerospace firms such as Armadillo Aerospace, Virgin Galactic, Lockheed Martin, Moog-FTS, and UP Aerospace to develop commercial spaceflight at the new facility. The economic impact of launches, tourism and new construction at Spaceport America are already delivering on its promise to the people of New Mexico. 

Saturday, Sept. 4th is the current target date for the Copenhagen Suborbitals launch of the HEAT-1X rocket.
====
An overview of current solar sail projects and speculation on future applications: Solar Sail Spacecraft Could Explore Beyond Solar System - SPACE.com
===
Space competition related links: Prize Roundup: MICI Presentations, MoonBots Winners, More X-Hab Finalists, More - Space Prizes

Here's an audio clip of a discussion about the recent SpaceUP DC event: Evadot Podcast #33 - SpaceUp DC, the aftermath.

BTW, esources related to the event are at SpaceUpDC Wiki
===
More on the recent letter by 30 notables to the House about the NASA authorization bill:
/-- Space Luminaries Petition Against House Version of NASA Bill - SPACE.com
/-- 14 Nobel winners write letter supporting Obama space plan - Lee Roop/Huntsville Times

The explosion of a massive star blazes with the light of 200 million Suns in this Hubble Space Telescope image. The arrow at top right points to the stellar blast, called a supernova. The supernova is so bright in this image that it easily could be mistaken for a foreground star in our Milky Way Galaxy. And yet, this supernova, called SN 2004dj, resides far beyond our galaxy. Its home is in the outskirts of NGC 2403, a galaxy located 11 million light-years from Earth. Although the supernov [...]

Cluster has spent a decade revealing previously hidden interactions between the Sun and Earth. Its studies have uncovered secrets of the aurora, solar storms, and given us insight into fundamental processes that occur across the Universe. And there is more work to do. The aurora, those dancing lights in the polar skies, are but the visible manifestation of an invisible battle taking place above our heads. Supersonic particles from the Sun collide with our planet’s magnetic field every da [...]

The galaxy NGC 4666 takes pride of place at the centre of this new image, made in visible light with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. NGC 4666 is a remarkable galaxy with very vigorous star formation and an unusual “superwind” of out-flowing gas. It had previously been observed in X-rays by the ESA XMM-Newton space telescope, and the image presented here was taken to allow further study of other objects detected in the earlier X-r [...]