Sean O'Keefe, former head of NASA, may have been a passenger on a DeHavilland DHC-30 aircraft that crashed in a mountainous area in the Alaska wilderness Monday night as reported by CNN.

Sadly, the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, which determines NASA’s policy, was passed by the senate today, heavily altered from Obama’s proposal in February in one key crucial area. Section 403 highlights the problem with the act--there will be no commercial crew development of space in 2011; commercial development of space is limited to cargo, but only in 2012:

In 1930 young American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh announced his finding of a tiny bright dot that moved, proving that it was a celestial body circling our sun and not just another star. Halfway around the world in England, 11-year-old Venetia Burney suggested that the new planet be named “Pluto,” for the Roman God of the Underworld who could make himself invisible. On 1 May 1930 the name “Pluto” was formally adopted for this new celestial body.

“If you had the chance to name a minor planet what would you name it?”

by Peter Wainwright and Carol Pinchefsky

On 3 June 2010, six volunteers, all men, walked confidently through the door into what will be their home for the next 520 days, the length of time it will take to reach Mars and back, plus spend 30 days in a “Mars orbiting” phase. This simulation, known as Mars500, is a joint project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian and Chinese governments. This experiment will study the effect of long-term physical and mental stresses similar to those expected on the long round trip to the Red Planet.

SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket today from Cape Canaveral and reached Earth orbit, according to an article in Business Week.

We all know by now that Britain has survived another election and another change of names and faces, most of them not at all familiar to us here in the colonies. Quite often, when the administration changes, so do many of the programs, policies, and priorities the previous administration tried so hard to implement. Sometimes that’s a good thing, like cancelling the over-budget, behind schedule, and outdated Constellation project begun during the Bush administration, but sometimes good programs are halted or just don’t have the support they need.

Here on Earth, the problem of trash has become an eco-minded opportunity for recycling and reuse. But in space, trash is nothing but a problem. Debris in low Earth orbit ( LEO), such as rocket slag and defunct satellites, are becoming a congestion hazard.

Look up, Indy 500 fans. The next great race may be in the clouds.