Last week both House and Senate passed an extension to the "doing space business with evil-doers" INKSVA waiver. The waiver allows NASA to buy trips to and from ISS until 2016 (formerly 2012, but don't forget the three-year advance on "ticket" purchases). I have little doubt it will be signed since both presidential candidates have come out in support, and significant concerns exist should it fail. Still developing are parallel extensions for the space shuttle program, with relevant impacts and issues now gathered in a white paper for NASA brass to consider. This should solidify in a few weeks and really couldn't come at a better time.

What with the recent success of Shenzhou 7 (congratulations on the crew's safe return!) the Chinese added a great deal of momentum to their own space effort, and even our own. (I note the event was mentioned in the first presidential debate.) Also and somewhat paradoxically, the morale of ESA was boosted by the fiery destruction of the Jules Verne craft, lighting their way for subsequent success.

After the lull of several months the space shuttle program was ramping up again for two more important missions to round out the year. STS-125 (Atlantis) was scheduled for mid-October liftoff to service the Hubble Space Telescope for its fourth and likely last time. Standing nearby awaiting a November launch was STS-126 (Endeavour) resuming the sequence of ISS service missions.

Then the HST decided to throw everyone for a loop, when its primary (and critical) control and command system malfunctioned out of the blue. Efforts are underway to switch control to the backup side to resume research, but nonetheless what fortunate timing! What if the system, running fine for some eighteen years now, had failed after launch, or worse still after the mission had concluded? Not that we should expect the universe to give us any breaks but this could easily benefit the overall lifespan of the telescope. Seems the universe may just like us giving it a little peep or two.