Soyuz TMA-01M and its three-man crew landed safely on the wintery steppes of Kazakhstan at 3:54 am EDT this morning.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and his two Russian crewmates, Oleg Skripochka and Alexander Kaleri, returned to Earth amid snow and high winds, but the landing apparently took place without any technical difficulties. The crew successfully tested the roll rate sensors after undocking at 12:27 EDT am. Kaleri repaired the sensors during his stay on the ISS after a failure during ascent, and new software was uploaded from the ground.

Three crew members remain on the International Space Station (ISS): American Cady Coleman, Russian Dmitry Kondratyev, and Italian Paolo Nespoli. They will be joined by three more crewmates in several weeks, although the Soyuz launch has been delayed for technical reasons and the exact date is unknown. The three who are waiting for launch are American Ron Garan and Russians Andrei Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyaev.

Those are human crewmates, of course. A humanoid robotic member of the ISS crew, Robonaut-2, has been unpacked and is ready to “teach engineers how dextrous robots behave in space and through upgrades and advancements could one day venture outside the station to help spacewalkers make repairs or additions to the station or perform scientific work” according to NASA’s ISS website.

UPDATE: Jim Green’s slides used in conjunction with the PSS subcommittee meeting are available at this website. Look under “Recent NASA Leadership Views” for 03/16/2011.

The fate of future “flagship” missions for the Planetary Science Division (PSD) at NASA seems more imperiled today even than last week.

When the National Research Council (NRC) released its planetary science Decadal Survey 10 days ago, it was clear that plans for future planetary science flagship missions, the largest and most complex of those the agency launches, would have to go on a diet. The first two priorities are MAX-C, a Mars mission that would collect samples for later return to earth, and a mission to Europa, the moon of Jupiter that may have a liquid ocean under its icy crust. The Decadal Survey recommended that NASA proceed with MAX-C only if costs can be reduced from $3.5 billion to $2.5 billion (all cost estimates are in FY2015 dollars). If that cannot be achieved, then NASA would move to the second priority, Europa, but only if that mission cost could be reduced from $4.7 billion to an unspecified amount that would not imperil other NASA missions and allow the agency to have a balanced planetary science program.

The Decadal Survey emphasized strongly that funding for NASA’s small-class Discovery missions, medium-class New Frontiers missions, technology development, and research and analysis (R&A) should not be raided in order to enable flagship missions.

NASA provided the Decadal Survey committee with guidance on how much money the agency expected to receive for planetary science missions over the next decade. The committee built its programmatic recommendations based on those figures. Thus, the $2.5 billion figure for MAX-C appeared to signal the level of funding NASA thought it would have for a flagship mission in the next decade.

During a meeting with the Planetary Science Subcommittee of the NASA Advisory Council today, however, PSD Director Jim Green made clear that the total amount of funds he thinks he will have for a flagship mission is only $1 billion. The rest of the funds would have to come from an international partner.

The news appeared to be quite a surprise to subcommittee members. As one pointed out, $1 billion is what the Decadal Survey recommended as the new cost cap for medium-class missions in the New Frontiers series, and that excludes launch costs. Green made clear that the $1 billion for a flagship mission includes launch costs “if we launch it.” If a partner launches it, the launch costs would not fall on NASA’s side of the ledger.

Partnering with the European Space Agency (ESA) thus is critical to NASA’s future planetary science ambitions. The two space agencies already cooperate extensively and agreements exist, but the expectations in the Obama Administration’s FY2012 NASA budget request are sharply different from the FY2011 request. The NASA-ESA agreements now must be renegotiated, Green said. A meeting is scheduled for the end of this month.

NASA is getting ready to launch – two years late – the Mars Science Laboratory, a $2.4 billion mission. Green stressed that the agency would not be able to mount such a mission today. He described the $1 billion figure for a flagship mission as a “back of the envelope” calculation based on the President’s budget request and the Decadal Survey’s recommendations on the importance of protecting funds for Discovery, New Frontiers, technology development and R&A. He complimented the Decadal Survey committee for providing clear decision rules on how NASA should proceed if it did not obtain the amount of funding anticipated when the Decadal Survey was written. He added that the Decadal Survey report was completed, though not released, before the President’s FY2012 budget request was known so could not have incorporated those figures.

Three of the six crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are scheduled to return to Earth early tomorrow morning East coast time. Russian space analyst Jim Oberg reported in IEEE Spectrum last week that there are a few concerns about the new version of the Soyuz spacecraft that took them to ISS and will return them home. Meanwhile, the next Soyuz launch has been delayed, perhaps for as long as a month, due to technical issues.

American Scott Kelly and Russians Oleg Skripochka and Alexander Kaleri are the first crew to use the new “digital Soyuz,” an upgraded version of the Soyuz spacecraft with improved computers and avionics. Oberg writes that this spacecraft, Soyuz TMA-01M (which NASA calls Soyuz 24S), may have a “rocky” descent. He notes that NASA’s ISS On-Orbit Status Report for last Thursday revealed that after the three undock from the ISS, they will perform a test of roll rate sensors “in response to an instrumentation failure during ascent last year,” quoting the NASA report. Depending on the results, the crew will know if they can enjoy a normal, relatively comfortable reentry or have to rely on a ballistic entry mode that the Russians use as a backup. The ballistic reentry is a rough ride according to those who have experienced it.

The crew is due to close the hatches between the Soyuz and the ISS at 9:20 pm EDT tonight (Tuesday) and undock at 12:27 am EDT Wednesday, landing at 3:53 am EDT in Kazakhstan.

Oberg relates other recent problems with the Soyuz — both this new digital craft and others in the Soyuz TMA series — especially regarding maintaining proper cabin pressure. The Soyuz has evolved considerably from the first version launched in 1967, simply called Soyuz, to Soyuz T to Soyuz TM to Soyuz TMA.

In the past couple of days, the Russians have decided to delay the next launch, Soyuz TMA-21, which was due to take replacement ISS crew members to ISS on March 30. At first the delay was to be for 10 days, but today Russia’s Interfax news agency said it could be “a month or even more” according to a posting Oberg made to the Friends and Partners in Space listserve this afternoon circulating the Interfax story (a subscription is needed to access it online) The problem apparently is related to a condenser in the command communications system and the Russians are determining whether one or all of the condensers must be replaced. In the latter case, the launch could slip to April 20.

The ISS program is accustomed to launch date slips in the space shuttle program, but Soyuz delays are uncommon. That these problems are developing just as the shuttle program comes to an end highlights the challenges of having only one ISS crew transportation system to get people back and forth.

On the other hand, if the mission by happenstance is delayed to April 12, it could be launched in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s flight into space, which inaugurated the era of human spaceflight.

The following events may of interest in the coming week. Check our calendar on the right menu for more details or click the links below. Times, dates and witnesses for congressional hearings are subject to change.

During the Week

Another week, another Continuing Resolution (CR). The current CR expires on Friday, March 18. The House and Senate are each expected to pass a three-week extension (through April 8) this week. It will cut another $6 billion, keeping to the Republican goal of cutting $2 billion a week. The cuts appear to be from earmarks (for example, $63 million is taken from NASA’s Cross-Agency Support line, the same amount that was used to fund earmarks in FY2010, the base year used in the CR) and programs that either the President or Senate Democrats have already indicated they want to terminate. Thus, this CR is not expected to be overly contentious. The practice of continuing to fund the government with short-term CRs is contentious, however, with many politicians commenting that it is irresponsible.

Monday, March 14

• Arthur C. Clarke Foundation Living in Space Panel, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, room 144, Washington, DC 1:00-3:00 pm EDT (in conjunction with the Satellite 2011 conference)

Monday-Thursday, March 14-17

• Satellite 2011, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington DC

Tuesday, March 15

• NASA telecon on Messenger’s imminent entry into orbit about Mercury, 1:00 pm EDT
• Senate Commerce Hearing on “Realizing NASA’s Potential,” 253 Russell Senate Office Building, 2:30 pm EDT

Tuesday-Thursday, March 15-17

• Space, Propulsion and Energy Sciences International Forum, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

Wednesday, March 16

• Marshall Institute Symposium on Air Force Space Policy and Programs, National Press Building, First Amendment Lounge, Washington, DC 8:30 – 11:00 am EDT
• NASA Advisory Council (NAC) Planetary Science Subcommittee telecon, 2:00-3:00 pm EDT

Wednesday-Friday, March 16-18

• National Research Council Committee on Planetary Protection Standards for Icy Bodies in the Outer Solar System, NRC Beckman Center, Irvine, CA. Some sessions of the meeting are closed.

Friday, March 18

• AIAA et al Congressional Aerospace Policy Retreat, Senate Visitors Center, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm EDT

TIRR Memorial Hermann Medical Center in Texas will hold a press conference this morning at 10:00 am CST (11:00 EST) to provide an update on Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). Rep. Giffords is recovering from a bullet wound to the head suffered in an assassination attempt on January 8 in Tucson, AZ that killed six and wounded 12 others. She is married to astronaut Mark Kelly whose STS-134 shuttle mission is scheduled for launch on April 19; Rep. Giffords reportedly is hoping to attend the launch.

Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) is doing “spectacularly well” according to her doctors at TIRR Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center in Houston.

In a press conference today, they said that her speech is improving and she can now string words together into sentences to let them know, for example, when she is tired. She can also understand everything they tell her, meaning that her primary language areas are intact, they said. Her memory also is OK. The doctors explained that there are two types of memory, memories of the past, such as childhood, and “memories that we make.” Both types appear to be fine. She has no memory of the attack itself, but the doctors said that is normal.

Giffords is able to walk with decreasing levels of assistance, and they do not anticipate any vision problems. They said her personality is showing through and she has shown no signs of depression or frustration as happens with some patients in her situation. Instead she is “very upbeat” and “forward looking.”

In short, they think she will make an “excellent recovery.”

Space Shuttle Endeavour will roll out to the launch pad tonight at 8:00 pm EST. The event will be covered live on NASA TV. Endeavour’s final launch is scheduled for April 19.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Jane Lubchenco warned the House Science, Space and Technology Committee today that the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) has already experienced about a 12-month delay and a gap in polar orbit weather satellite services is “highly likely” if the FY2011 funding situation is not resolved soon.

NOAA is operating at its FY2010 funding level under the Continuing Resolution (CR). The decision to terminate the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) and return to separate weather satellite systems for NOAA and DOD was made in concert with the FY2011 budget request so was not reflected in the FY2010 budget. Thus NOAA only has the amount of money that was allocated for NPOESS in FY2010 — a program whose funding was shared with DOD — to use for JPSS at the moment.

Lubchenco told Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) that NOAA needs $910 million for FY2011 for JPSS. If Congress does not provide that level of funding, and contracts have to be interrupted, the “consequences will not be pretty.” She said several times during the hearing that for every dollar that is not spent this year, it will cost $3-5 dollars in the future.

She added that JPSS already has experienced “around a 12 month” slip and further delays in funding will cause more slips and we will “inevitably have a gap where we will not have the ability to do severe storm warnings as we do today.” When asked by Representative Jerry McNerney (D-CA) if it already was inevitable, she clarified that it was “highly likely we will have a gap and the longer we wait the longer that gap gets.” There is “great urgency” to resolving the funding issue, she stressed.

She also defended the DSCOVR and Jason-3 programs. DSCOVR started as the Triana program under the Clinton Administration and was opposed by many Republicans because it was championed by Vice President Gore and they felt its main purpose — to look back at Earth from the L1 Sun-Earth Lagrange point — was not meritorious. After a review by the National Research Council, additional sensors were added to provide data about space weather and the satellite was built, but it was put in storage during the George W. Bush Administration. NASA, NOAA and DOD now plan to launch it to contribute to space weather observations. Representative Harris (R-MD) asked why NOAA wanted to refurbish an 11-year-old satellite instead of having the private sector build and launch a new satellite to meet its needs. Lubchenco said the agency concluded that DSCOVR was the most cost effective approach.

Committee Chairman Ralph Hall (R-TX) asked about why funding for Jason-3, a satellite being built jointly with the European Space Agency that will measure sea level, was a priority in these difficult economic times. Lubchenco said that providing data to coastal communities on sea level was “vital.”

She also defended NOAA’s decision to reorganize and create a NOAA Climate Service, but assured Chairman Hall that the agency would not implement the reorganization until Congress approves. Chairman Hall introduced an amendment to H.R. 1 (the “full year CR”) to prohibit NOAA from creating the climate service. The amendment was adopted by the House, but the bill was defeated in the Senate earlier this week.

The weather looks good for space shuttle Discovery to make her final return from space today. Touchdown is scheduled for 11:57 am EST at Kennedy Space Center, FL. There is one more opportunity at KSC today at 1:33 pm EST should anything go awry, but at the moment everything looks good for 11:57.

Looks like Discovery landed just in time today to avoid a weather delay. Discovery’s sister space shuttle, Endeavour, was scheduled to be moved out to its launch pad tonight in preparation for its April 19 launch. NASA has postponed the roll out until at least tomorrow, however, because of potential lightning and storms at Kennedy Space Center. A scheduled press conference with Endeavour’s STS-134 crew also has been postponed. Mission managers will decide tomorrow whether to roll out tomorrow evening.