BOLDEN RECOGNIZED: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Jr., a former astronaut, will receive the National Space Trophy for career contributions to human spaceflight, in Houston on April 11. The Rotary National Award for Space Achievement (RNASA) foundation announced its annual trophy selection on Jan. 21. Bolden became the agency’s administrator on July 17, 2009.

COLLISION THREAT: Catastrophic collisions of space junk and orbital assets are likely to occur every five to nine years, and the space debris population may have already reached a “tipping point,” U.S. congressional researchers say in their latest review. “Many experts now believe that mitigation efforts alone are insufficient to prevent the continual increase of space debris,” the Congressional Research Service reported earlier this month. “A growing view among experts holds that some level of active removal of debris from the space environment is necessary.

HOUSTON — NASA’s Morpheus prototype planetary lander ascended to an estimated 305 ft. and traversed 358 ft. during a 64-sec. free flight at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Jan. 21, the vehicle’s highest and longest ascent yet in a test-flight campaign expected to last into March. The latest test flight eclipsed a Jan. 16th ascent, in which the methane and liquid oxygen-fueled Morpheus rose to 187 ft. and covered 154 ft. during 57 sec. of flight near the test site adjacent to the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) runway.

Researchers and entrepreneurs interested in using the International Space Station as a satellite bus for Earth remote-sensing sensors will have a chance at government subsidies for launch and operations under a renewed request for proposals from the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (Casis).

ASTEROID ASSISTANCE: More countries should participate in the activities of the International Space Station, and the Obama administration would welcome international support for NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission, a U.S. official told the International Space Exploration Forum recently. Moreover, governments should explore more ways to encourage entrepreneurial ventures in space, as well as do “much more” to defend Earth from near-earth objects and space debris, according to remarks by Deputy Secretary of State William Burns.

ATK’s Solar Electric Propulsion MegaFlex solar array design is in line for thermal vacuum deployment testing at NASA’s Glenn Research Center Plum Brook Station this month, following a full deployment demonstration at the company’s Goleta, Calif., facilities in December.

PARIS — Europe’s comet-chasing Rosetta spacecraft emerged from 31 months of deep-space slumber Jan. 20 to reestablish communications with Earth. The €1.3 billion ($1.76 billion) European Space Agency (ESA) mission made contact with NASA’s 70-meter-dia. ground station at Goldstone, Calif., 48 min. into a nail-chewing hour-long window that opened at 12:30 p.m. eastern.

The National Space Society says it “strongly opposes” passage of a U.S. House of Representatives bill (HR 3625) pushed prominently by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.). The bill would exempt the International Space Station, heavy-lift Space Launch System and Orion crew vehicle from termination without proactive congressional approval, as well as free $507 million in funds held to cover termination liability costs under a contract interpretation by NASA’s Democratic management of the Anti-Deficiency Act.