Oil spill threatens Gulf Coast

(CNN) -- A huge oil spill oozing toward the Gulf Coast on Thursday threatens hundreds of species of wildlife, some in their prime breeding season, environmental organizations said.
The Coast Guard said Wednesday that the amount of oil spilling from an underwater well after an oil rig explosion last week has increased to as many as 5,000 barrels of oil a day, or 210,000 gallons, five times more than what was originally believed.

Although efforts to minimize the damage are under way and options under consideration include asking the U.S. military for assistance, wildlife conservation groups say the oil could pose a "growing environmental disaster."

"The terrible loss of 11 workers (unaccounted for after the rig explosion) may be just the beginning of this tragedy as the oil slick spreads toward sensitive coastal areas vital to birds and marine life and to all the communities that depend on them," said Melanie Driscoll, director of bird conservation for the Louisiana Coastal Initiative, in a statement.
Coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida could be at risk, the organization said.

"For birds, the timing could not be worse; they are breeding, nesting and especially vulnerable in many of the places where the oil could come ashore," she said. "The efforts to stop the oil before it reaches shore are heroic, but may not be enough. We have to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, including a true catastrophe for birds."

"The best case is, the wind shifts and the oil doesn't hit," said Tom MacKenzie of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "I'm not real confident about that. ... We're doing everything we can to prevent it, but it could be a bad one."

It's not just birds that could be affected, although they are usually the first to feel the effects, said Gregory Bossart, chief veterinary officer for the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. The birds are right at the surface, get covered in the oil and swallow it, causing liver and kidney problems.

"They need to be rescued and cleaned," he said.
But the coastline of Louisiana, with its barrier islands and estuaries, "is a very unique ecosystem. It's very complex," Bossart said.
Plankton found in the estuaries nourish organisms all the way up the food chain. Crabs, mussels, oysters and shrimp feed on the plankton, he said. Oil smothers the plankton, meaning they cannot eat.

Also, "the estuaries here are a nursery ground, literally a nursery ground, for the entire fish population in this area," Bossart said.

River otters in the region eat mussels and other animals. And "we know, in this area right now, that there are sperm whales. There are dolphins right in the oil slick," he said.
If an oil spill is small enough, animals can leave the area.
"Some of them can get away," Bossart said. "It's totally dependent on the size of the slick, and this is huge."

Exposure to the oil for a prolonged period of time can result in a toxic effect on the skin, and mammals can suffer lung damage or death after breathing it in, Bossart said.
"When the oil starts to settle, it'll smother the oyster beds. It'll kill the oysters," he said.

The Audubon Society, which is affiliated with the Louisiana Coastal Initiative, is recruiting volunteers in Florida and making its Center for Birds of Prey available for bird cleansing and rehabilitation. Elsewhere, Audubon said it was gearing up to mobilize volunteers and provide assistance as the oil reaches land.

The spill also threatens the Louisiana and Mississippi fishing industry, as crab, oysters and shrimp along the coast could be affected, along with numerous species of fish. Gulf shrimp are in their spawning season.

More than 400 species are threatened by the spill, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported Thursday, citing the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
"When you stop and begin considering everything that this could impact, it really is stunning," Karen Foote, biologist administrator with the department, told the newspaper.

A handful of "Important Bird Areas" -- designated because of their value to bird species -- face immediate threat from the oil, the initiative said. They include the Chandeleur Islands and Gulf Islands National Seashore areas in Louisiana and Mississippi, along with the Active Delta area in Louisiana, which includes Delta Island National Wildlife Refuge and the Pass-a-Loutre Wildlife Management Area.

Several species of birds are cause for special concern, the Louisiana Coastal Initiative said. They include the brown pelican, the state bird of Louisiana, which nests on barrier islands and feeds near shore. The brown pelican's breeding season just began, according to the Initiative, and "many pairs are already incubating eggs."

The species was taken off the federal endangered species list last year, but "their relatively low reproductive rate means any disruption to their breeding cycle could have serious effects on the population."

More than 800 brown pelicans died when a smaller oil spill hit Louisiana's Breton Island National Wildlife Refuge a few years ago, MacKenzie said.

Species of beach-nesting terns and gulls, beach-nesting shorebirds, large wading birds, marsh birds and ocean-dwelling birds are also at risk, along with migratory shorebirds and songbirds, the Initiative said.

The migratory songbirds move across the Gulf during a two-week period from late April to early May, for instance.

"The journey across 500 miles of open water strains their endurance to its limits," the Initiative said. "They depend on clear skies and healthy habitats on both sides of the Gulf in order to survive the journey."

According to a 1998 study by Louisiana State University, more than 500 million birds fly over the Gulf and enter the United States along coastal areas in Louisiana and Texas each spring.
The barrier islands east of Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain have still not recovered from the blow dealt by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Bossart said, and a spill such as this one could seriously threaten their recovery.

"I think at this point it would be wrong to say it's catastrophic, because it really hasn't hit any area except out in the Gulf proper," he said. But "it's certainly a very serious thing" that could pose a long-term environmental challenge.

Plans have been under way to protect wildlife since the spill was discovered, MacKenzie said. "We know what we're doing to try to protect those key assets. ... A lot of people are leaning forward in the foxhole to address this."

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Last shuttle launch bumped until November.

The much anticipated last space shuttle mission has been rescheduled for November.

LINK: NASA.GOV

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Breaking News: SWAT stand off ends peacefully in Clear Lake

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Police say an armed man who barricaded himself in a Clear Lake area home has surrendered peacefully

The situation began this morning at around 4am when police responded to the sound of gunfire on Oak Links near Golf View Trail. Authorities say the suspect took a shot at another male who was in the house, along with the suspect's parents. The shooter missed and the three of them left the house, leaving the shooter inside.

When authorities arrived, they found the suspect had barricaded himself in the home. He was armed with a shotgun and a pistol and refused to come out, according to authorities.

The suspect eventually walked out of the house after 7am and was taken into custody without incident. No one was injured.

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Enchanted Evening' set for May 2

Kennedy Dance Theatre will offer “Enchanted Evening,” at 6 p.m. May 2 at the the University of Houston Clear Lake, Bayou Theatre, 2700 Bay Area Blvd.

Tickets for the performance, which is presented by the dance studio’s Pre-Professional Ballet Company, are $15.

The Pre-Professional Ballet Company is designed for students interested in pursuing a career in dance.

The dance studio is at 15210 Texas 3 in the Barringer Knoll Plaza, Webster.

Classes are offered for ages 2 and older.

For more information, call 281-480-8441, or visit the Web site at www.kennedydance.com.

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Discovery Lands in Florida

With Commander Alan G. Poindexter and Pilot James P. Dutton Jr. at the controls, space shuttle Discovery descended to a smooth landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The STS-131 crew members concluded their successful mission to the International Space Station when the shuttle touched down at 9:08 a.m. EDT.

Discovery arrived at the station April 7, delivering more than seven tons of equipment and supplies. During the 10-day stay, Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio and Clayton Anderson conducted three spacewalks to install a 1,700-pound ammonia tank assembly on the station’s exterior to replace a depleted predecessor. They also replaced a rate gyro assembly, retrieved a Japanese experiment and two debris shields.

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Monday Landings Waved Off

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 08:03:51 AM CDT

Mission Control Entry Flight Director Bryan Lunney has given Discovery's seven astronauts a "no go" to perform the deorbit burn and decided to wave off the 10:23 a.m. EDT landing opportunity because of continued low cloud coverage at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility.

Astronaut's wife keeps tab on hubby in space.

LEAGUE CITY, Texas - Susan Anderson has the advantage of watching her husband on the job, even though he's in outer space.

She just turns on NASA TV and watches as Clay Anderson is tethered to the exterior of the International Space Station unscrewing a bolt on an ammonia tank assembly.
Ashland native Clay Anderson is a member of the STS-131 crew that flew to the space station on April 5 onboard the space shuttle Discovery. He and fellow astronaut Rick Mastracchio completed their third and final spacewalk Tuesday morning, and will join the rest of the crew for final tasks before returning to earth on April 19.
Susan has spoken to her husband several times since the mission began. He told her about the work he has done.


"He's pretty proud of the success he and Rick have had on the space walks," she said.
That is despite some setbacks, including a bolt that wouldn't come loose during the second spacewalk on Sunday. Clay told her that he and Mastracchio worked with the people on the ground in Houston to solve the problem.
"They are proud of the fact that they were able to figure it out," she said.
Susan said Clay also told her he got a chance to visit with members of the Expedition 23 crew, who are living on the space station, including Oleg Kotov, who was on the space station when Clay lived there for 152 days in 2007. Clay also sat down for a meal with the space station crew, sharing his thoughts on what it was like to be in space for nearly five months.
Susan also heard about the shuttle launch from Clay. Despite some discomfort due to a tightly cinched harness that made it difficult to breathe for a short time, it was memorable.

"It's a thrill he can't describe," she said.

With their two children, Sutton and Cole, by her side, Susan watched the nighttime launch at Kennedy Space Station. She said it was very exciting, but a bit low key compared to three years ago. That was in part due to the fact that Clay was able to come home nearly every night after training, she said.

The landing will be equally as exciting, especially now that the kids can go, Susan said. With the landing scheduled one day later than originally planned, a scheduling conflict has now been avoided.
"We're happy about that," she said.
Susan said as the end of the mission draws near, she is happy for Clay, but a bit sad knowing this will be his final trip to space.
"I don't anticipate he'll fly again," she said.
Clay was excited and proud to have another chance to fulfill his lifelong dream.
"He never anticipated he'd get a second opportunity to fly in space," she said.

After he returns on April 19, the family will fly together to Houston the next day for a welcome ceremony that is now scheduled for 4 p.m. The day after that, it's back to work for the astronaut, as meetings and reports are scheduled.
Susan anticipates an easier "rehab" after this landing, compared to 2007, when five months of weightlessness took their toll on Clay's body.

"It will certainly be easier than the last experience," she said.
In the months after the landing, public appearances will fill Clay's schedule. Although nothing has been set yet, Clay anticipates a return to his hometown, where he hopes to present the ornament he took into space to the city. Other plans include a trip to the College World Series in Omaha.

One post-landing event has already been scheduled, and it won't be interrupted for anything. While her dad was in space, Sutton played the baker's wife in the musical "Into the Woods Junior." Clay and Sutton plan to watch as soon as possible.
"They're going to make some popcorn and sit on the sofa with blankets and watch the recording together," said Susan.

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Apollo Astronauts Slam Obama's Plan

Washington (CNN) -- The Obama administration's vision for the future of manned space flight will bump the United States to "second or even third-rate" status as a space-faring nation, the commanders of three U.S. moon missions warned Wednesday.
The letter was signed by the first and last men to walk on the moon -- Neil Armstrong from Apollo 11 and Eugene Cernan from Apollo 17 -- and James Lovell, who commanded the heroic Apollo 13 flight.

"Without the skill and experience that actual spacecraft operation provides, the USA is far too likely to be on a long downhill slide to mediocrity," the letter said. "America must decide if it wishes to remain a leader in space. If it does, we should institute a program which will give us the very best chance of achieving that goal."
President Obama is scheduled to announce his space plans Thursday during a visit to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the

White House announced. The White House said the five-year strategy involves a $6 billion increase in NASA's budget and additional support for new space technologies.
What do you think of the proposed space plan?

Armstrong, Lovell and Cernan praised Obama's increase in total funding for space exploration, which includes money for research, the international space station and a heavy-lift rocket. But the astronauts said the decision to cancel the Constellation program for manned space flight "is devastating."


"America's only path to low Earth orbit and the international space station will now be subject to an agreement with Russia to purchase space on their Soyuz (at a price of over 50 million dollars per seat with significant increases expected in the near future) until we have the capacity to provide transportation for ourselves," they wrote.

NASA's space shuttle fleet will be retired at the end of this year, leaving the Russian Soyuz capsules as the only avenue into space until commercial ventures are ready to do the job, expected to be years away. Obama's proposal to use commercial transport to reach orbit "cannot be predicted with any certainty, but is likely to take substantially longer and be more expensive than we would hope," the astronauts said.

Cernan, Lovell and Armstrong said the more than $10 billion spent so far on Constellation -- including the Orion space capsule and the Ares rockets to boost it into space will be wasted by the cancellation "and, equally importantly, we will have lost the many years required to recreate the equivalent of what we will have discarded."
NASA's future, as outlined in the White House documents, would include a multibillion-dollar modernization of Kennedy Space Center, expansion of private-sector and commercial space industries, creation of thousands of jobs and eventually human travel to Mars.

But Allard Beutel, news chief at the Kennedy Space Center, told CNN that layoffs at the center will likely reach the 7,000 range with the end of the shuttle and the cancellation of the Constellation program.
The president's plans would shift some funding away from NASA's costly human space flight program to NASA's scientific programs, including robotic missions to other planets.

During a briefing in early April, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden praised the new future being charted for the agency.
"This budget provides an increase to NASA at a time when funding is scarce," Bolden said. "It will enable us to accomplish inspiring exploration, science and (research and development), the kinds of things the agency has been known for throughout its history.

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Obama's Space Budget ...

Washington (CNN) -- President Obama will announce his administration's vision for America's space program during a visit to Florida on Thursday, according to documents provided to CNN by a White House official.
"The Administration is committed to a bold, new approach to human spaceflight, and is increasing the NASA budget by $6 billion over the next five years in order to embark on this ambitious strategy that will foster the development of path-breaking technologies, increase the reach and reduce the cost of human spaceflight, and help create thousands of new jobs," the documents say.

The future of the space agency as outlined in the White House documents would include a multi-billion-dollar moderization of Kennedy Space Center, expansion of private-sector and commercial space industries, creation of thousands of jobs and eventually human travel to Mars.
The president's announcement will come during what have been uncertain times surrounding the agency. The space shuttle is scheduled for retirement at year's end, with just three scheduled launches remaining. Obama has cancelled the Bush administration's Constellation moon program. The space agency had already spent about $9.5 billion on that project to develop a next-generation rocket and the crew capsule.

Allard Beutel, news chief at the Kennedy Space Center, told CNN that layoffs at the center will likely reach "the 7,000 range" with the end of the shuttle and the cancellation of the Constellation program.
Obama's plans would shift some funding away from NASA's costly human spaceflight program to NASA's scientific programs, including robotic missions to other planets.

The president's budget would also provide funding to private launch companies to develop spacecraft to ferry astronauts.
Once the space shuttle is retired, U.S. astronauts will need to ride Russian Soyuz rockets to reach and return from the International Space Station. It's expected to take several years or more before commercial launch companies are capable of carrying astronauts into orbit.
Video: Floridians rally to 'Save Space'

This new strategy means more money for NASA, more jobs for the country, more astronaut time in space, and more investments in innovation," the documents from the Obama administration say.
"It will result in a longer operating lifetime for the International Space Station, new launch capabilities becoming available sooner, and a fundamentally more ambitious space strategy to take us to an increased number of destinations and to new frontiers in space.

"By undertaking this strategy, we will no longer rely on our past achievements, and instead embrace a new and bold course of innovation and discovery."
During a briefing in early April, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden praised the new future being charted for the agency.

"This budget provides an increase to NASA at a time when funding is scarce," Bolden said. "It will enable us to accomplish inspiring exploration, science and (research and development), the kinds of things the agency has been known for throughout its history."

The budget "enables NASA to set its sights on destinations beyond Earth orbit and develop the technologies that will be required to get us there, both with humans and robots," Bolden said.
"We're talking about technologies that the field has long wished we had but for which we did not have the resources," he said.
"These are things that don't exist today but we'll make real in the coming years. This budget enables us to plan for a real future in exploration with capabilities that will make amazing things not only possible, but affordable and sustainable."


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Discovery docks with Space Station

Space shuttle Discovery docked with the international space station early Wednesday despite a broken antenna that knocked out radar tracking aboard the shuttle.
The shuttle docked with the space station at 3:44 a.m. ET. At the time of docking, both spacecraft were traveling 225 miles over the Caribbean sea near Caracas, Venezuela, NASA said.

Commander Alan Poindexter and his crew completed the rendezvous without the use of the shuttle's Ku-band radar, relying instead on other navigation tools to precisely track the space station, NASA said.
The Discovery's seven-person crew now joins the six-person space station crew for more than a week of work together.
It will mark the first time four women have been in space at one time.
Three women -- mission specialists Stephanie Wilson, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger and Naoko Yamazaki -- comprise part of the Discovery's crew. NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson is already at the space station.

Discovery launched Monday morning from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The shuttle's 13-day mission includes three planned spacewalks, replacing an ammonia tank assembly and retrieving a Japanese experiment from the station's exterior.
It is scheduled to return to Earth on April 18 at 8:35 a.m. ET.
There are only three shuttle missions remaining before the space shuttle fleet is retired.

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Robot Spaceplane launch set for April 19

LOS ANGELES -- After a decade of development, the Air Force this month plans to launch a robotic spacecraft resembling a small space shuttle to conduct technology tests in orbit and then glide home to a California runway.

The ultimate purpose of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle and details about the craft, which has been passed between several government agencies, however, remain a mystery as it is prepared for launch April 19 from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

"As long as you're confused, you're in good shape," said defense analyst John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org. "I looked into this a couple of years ago -- the entire sort of hypersonic, suborbital, scramjet nest of programs -- of which there are upwards of a dozen. The more I studied it the less I understood it."

The quietly scheduled launch culminates the project's long and expensive journey from NASA to the Pentagon's research and development arm and then to a secretive Air Force unit.

Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on the X-37 program, but the current total has not been released.

The launch date, landing sites and a fact sheet were released by Air Force spokeswoman Maj. Angie I. Blair. She said more information would be released soon, but questions on cost and other matters submitted by e-mail weren't answered by Friday.

While the massive space shuttles have been likened to cargo-hauling trucks, the X-37B is more like a sports car, with the equivalent trunk capacity.

Built by Boeing Co.'s Phantom Works, the 11,000-pound craft is 9 1/2 feet tall and just over 29 feet long, with a wingspan of less than 15 feet. It has two angled tail fins rather than a single vertical stabilizer.

Unlike the shuttle, it will be launched like a satellite, housed in a fairing atop an expendable Atlas V rocket, and deploy solar panels to provide electrical power in orbit.

The Air Force released only a general description of the mission objectives: testing of guidance, navigation, control, thermal protection and autonomous operation in orbit, re-entry and landing.

The mission's length was not released but the Air Force said the X-37B can stay in orbit for 270 days. The primary landing site will be northwest of Los Angeles at coastal Vandenberg Air Force Base.

The significance of the X-37B is unclear because the program has been around for so long, said Peter A. Wilson, a senior defense research analyst for the RAND Corp.

Team Applauds Beautiful Launch for Discovery

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 07:21:27 AM CDT

During a postlaunch news conference at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the 6:21 a.m. EDT liftoff of space shuttle Discovery was hailed as a great success.

Calling the launch, "a great start to a great mission," Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations, said the successful liftoff was a tribute to the team at Kennedy that got the vehicle ready to fly.

Mike Moses, chair of the Mission Management Team, said it was, "a spectacular launch and picture-perfect countdown." He outlined a few minor technical issues that were recorded, but that the spacecraft and crew were ready to start an action-packed mission.

Expressing his happiness that they were able to launch on the first attempt, Pete Nickolenko, STS-131 launch director, said he was proud of the teams that make such a difficult job look so easy.

Also on hand was Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency President Keiji Tachikawa, who noted that this will be the first time two Japanese astronauts will be in space at the same time, as Discovery's Mission Specialist Naoko Yamazaki joins Expedition 23 crew member Soichi Noguchi for the STS-131 mission.

Discovery and crew will spend 13 days in space on their mission to the International Space Station.

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Expedition 23 set for Friday Blastoff!

At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 23 Flight Engineers Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko made final preparations Thursday for their launch aboard the Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft to the International Space Station. Their two-day journey to the station will begin with a launch set for 12:04 a.m. EDT Friday.

Launch coverage from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan will air live on NASA TV beginning at 11:15 p.m. Thursday.

Expedition 23 Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineers T.J. Creamer and Soichi Noguchi are currently the sole residents on the station, having arrived Dec. 22 aboard their Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft. Caldwell Dyson, Skvortsov and Kornienko will complete the Expedition 23 crew when they dock to the station Sunday.

Meanwhile aboard the station, Kotov, Creamer and Noguchi continued preparations for the arrival of their crewmates and the STS-131 crew aboard space shuttle Discovery. They also had time for their regular science, maintenance and exercise activities.

Discovery and the STS-131 crew are set to launch April 5 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and dock with the orbital laboratory April 7. Discovery is delivering new science racks and ammonia tanks. While there, two shuttle astronauts will perform three spacewalks to switch out ammonia tanks on the station.

A leak was detected in the Water Processing Assembly following inspections made by the crew and specialists in Mission Control this week. A replacement Water Processing Assembly, which provides the final purification for water recycled by the station’s Water Recovery System, will be delivered on Discovery. The leaking catalytic reaction component will be returned to Earth for servicing by Discovery. The crew will set up an alternative method to deliver water for drinking using a hose system and collapsible water containment bags hooked up to the Potable Water Dispenser. They also resumed processing urine through the Urine Processing Assembly, and will store the partially treated water in containers until it can be routed through the replacement Water Processing Assembly once it is installed.

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