Approach above Sunset

There it is! The Cygnus supply ship was a welcome sight to the astronauts on the International Space Station just over a week ago. Launched three days before on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Orbital ATK's Cygnus spacecraft approached the International Space Station above the backdrop of a picturesque planet Earth. The Sun was setting off the image to the upper left, illuminating clouds well below the approaching vehicle. The robotic Cygnus spacecraft was captured first on camera and later with the space station's Canadarm2 by ESA's Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet and NASA's Expedition-51 Commander Peggy Whitson. Commander Whitson, a biochemist, has now set a new American record for the most total days in space. Besides essentials, the Cygnus carried equipment to bolster over 200 science experiments being conducted on the football-field sized Earth-orbiting outpost. via NASA http://ift.tt/2oZrHKD

Dawn Journal: On Course for Opposition

Congress Pushes Back Against Trump Science Cuts

Science wins reprieve in US budget deal, Nature

"The biggest winner is the National Institutes of Health (NIH), whose budget would rise by $2 billion compared to the 2016 level, for a total of $34 billion. The National Science Foundation would remain steady at just under $7.5 billion, while NASA's budget would rise by about 2%, to $19.7 billion. And the Environmental Protection Agency, which Trump wants to cut by 31% in fiscal year 2018, would receive roughly $8.1 billion, a decrease of about 1% from 2016. ... $1.9 billion for NASA's Earth-science research programme, roughly equal to the 2016 level. The bill includes support for the Pre-Aerosol, Clouds, and Ocean Ecosystem satellite mission that Trump wants to eliminate. $1.9 billion for planetary science at NASA, an increase of roughly $300 million from the 2016 level. That includes $275 million for a mission to Jupiter's moon Europa, including a lander. The bill would set aside $408 million for the Mars 2020 mission - and give NASA the green-light to investigate the possibility of sending a helicopter to the red planet."

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Bob Walker: National Space Council Executive Order Already Written

Public/private partnerships are essential - Bob Walker #ulcats http://pic.twitter.com/uksz6U1zDf — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 1, 2017

Walker: the National Space Council will happen and VP Pence is excited about chairing it #ulcats #nasa — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 1, 2017

Walker says executive order for National space Council is already written and they want to announce exec secty at same time #ulcats #nasa — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 1, 2017

Bob Walker says that #NASA takes 15 years to do a project and that its innovation is outmoded when compared to the private sector #ulcats — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 1, 2017

Walker says that ppl who come in to talk about space with Trump Admin want to leave a legacy in space #ulcats — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 1, 2017

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Newt Gingrich Thinks SLS May Become a Museum Piece - Soon

Keith's note: Tweets from the "ULCATS Symposium: Igniting An Industrial and National Security Revolution in Space" held this morning in Washington, DC. I asked Newt Gingrich how the Trump Administration could support ULCATS (Ultra-Low Cost Access to Space) such as described in this new report done for the USAF - yet simultaneously support UHCATS - Ultra HIGH Cost Access to Space offered by NASA's SLS program. Gingrich looked like he was waiting for this question and was clearly not a fan of SLS or other large, expensive launch systems supported by the government. More tweets at #ulcats

FYI folks this #ulcats event is about a report done for USAF online at https://t.co/44DH8IKKZc http://pic.twitter.com/nP76Pe5yuk — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 1, 2017

Gingrich you need to fight for low cost access to space not against @nasa_sls #ulcats — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 1, 2017

Gingrich thinks that #ulcats and @nasa_sls will coexist briefly and that SLS could become a museum piece as a result of cost and performance — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 1, 2017

Gingrich was clearly not expressing any love for @NASA_SLS or any concern that it might be cancelled #ulcats — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 1, 2017

Gingrich: was adamant that the low cost launch providers would compete with @NASA_SLS and that SLS would lose that competition #ulcats — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 1, 2017

Gingrich: the old order is rebuilding the Saturn V that costs more and does less @nasa_sls #ulcats #nasa — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 1, 2017

Gingrich on @SpaceX - if you now can buy reusable why should OMB allow purchase of expendables #ulcats — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 1, 2017

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Clouds ‘Roll’ Over Pacific Atolls

Areas near the equator are frequently cloudy, obscuring the view of Earth’s surface from space. April 7, 2017, was no different. On that day, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image of clouds over the Gilbert Islands. via NASA http://ift.tt/2oYkeLf

SpaceX Successfully Launches NRO Satellite

SpaceX Successfully Launches U.S. NRO Spy Satellite (With video)

"SpaceX launched a spy satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) early this morning after a one day delay. The launch appears to have placed the secret payload into a low earth orbit. SpaceX also successfully landed the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket."

Marc's note: The video portion showing the return of the first stage is quite spectacular, providing views we haven't seen in this detail before. It starts around the 24 minute mark.

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