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News briefs: March 12
Posted: Wed, Mar 13, 2002, 7:39 AM ET (1239 GMT)
- A French government minister criticized NASA's plans to support only a "core complete" version of the International Space Station. Roger-Gerard Schwartzenberg, French research minister, said that while he understood the need to control the station's costs, limiting the station to a three person crew is "not acceptable" and said the station's capacity must be expanded to 6-7 people, through the use of a habitation module and a second Soyuz crew return vehicle. Schwartzenberg made his comments in a speech about the upcoming flight of French astronaut Philippe Perrin to ISS on mission STS-111.
- Canadian astronaut Dave Williams has become the first Canadian to win NASA's Outstanding Leadership Medal. Williams was honored for his role as director of the Space and Life Sciences Directorate at the Johnson Space Center. Williams flew on the STS-90 Neurolab shuttle mission in 1998.
- NASA has awarded Purdue University a $10-million contract to study life support technologies for long-duration spaceflight, the agency announced Tuesday. Purdue will lead a NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training (NSCORT) that will explore technologies for providing air, water, and food needed to sustain future space explorers.
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