News From Space!

Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the Moon, has issued a stark warning that America must invest now in the space agency Nasa, or surrender leadership of space exploration to Russia and China.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/2211940/Buzz-Aldrin-Invest-in-Nasa-to-beat-the-Chinese-to-Mars.html

HOUSTON, Texas (AP) — Astronaut apparel has evolved over the decades from 1960s-era aluminum foil-style outfits to the bulky, 275-pound whites now used on jaunts outside the space station. NASA engineers at Houston’s Johnson Space Center are hard at work on updating the look even further.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/03/23/new.spacesuits.ap/

NASA administrator Michael Griffin testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on 28 February 2007, saying that recent budget cutbacks could push the first Project Constellation missions into 2015, increasing the gap between the Shuttle and Orion programs.

We don’t want to wind up without manned spaceflight capability, like we were between Apollo and Shuttle! Let’s go, Congress - someone will colonize the moon and Mars, it might as well be us!

• Testimony of Michael Griffin - Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Space, Aeronautics and Related Sciences
• NASA: Michael Griffin Feb 28 Senate Statement (35 Kb PDF)

RedOrbit: Designing Spacesuits with Better Mobility for Astronauts

Hawking: I’m planning space flight

Discovery waits to be fueled up on Pad 39B for tonight’s launch. This is the last scheduled use of 39B for the Shuttle program - after this flight, work will begin next year to convert it for the Constellation/Orion/Ares program. All remaining Shuttle flights will use Pad 39A.

See our STS-116 Flight Facts here.