Thu October 16, 2008 This Week's Top Headlines What's in this week's issue of Space News ? Every Monday we post quick, concise summaries of the current issue's top stories. Space News Briefs The most recent smaller stories from all corners of the space community, collected in one convenient place. Schmitt Departs NASA Advisory Council WASHINGTON Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison "Jack" Schmitt is leaving the NASA Advisory Council he has chaired since November 2005. Bush Signs NASA Authorization Bill into Law WASHINGTON U.S. President George W. Bush signed into law the NASA Authorization Act of 2008 (H.R. 6063), a policy bill that endorses U.S. plans to return to the Moon, sets budget targets for NASA programs and requires the agency to conduct an additional space shuttle flight to deliver a multibillion dollar science payload to the international space station. CNES Seeks Investors in Global Satellite Mapping System PARIS The French space agency, CNES, has concluded that a profitable business can be made by launching 13 small satellites carrying high-resolution optical Earth observation cameras to provide 1-meter-resolution color imagery worldwide, with all the images refreshed every week, CNES officials announced Oct. 15. The agency now is looking for private investors to share its enthusiasm for the project, called e-CORSE, or electronic-Continuous Observing System Relayed by Cellular processing Environment.
