tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61589198168043846862024-03-16T13:52:59.598-05:00New FrontiersYour portal into the Final Frontier. New Frontiers discusses human exploration and colonization of outer space along with a few other scientific topics.The Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-55011655948780079242009-01-22T21:30:00.015-05:002009-01-22T22:07:47.599-05:00Despite Financial/Political Difficulties NASA Constellation Engineers Move Forward<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;">Never mind all of the controversy and confusion surrounding NASA's budget, </span></span><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMTxEQqyX8lPqllgBDZOWSoEY7Iq0ImHFcfdqXlb12UxFKBr9sVPRw47MQ55_uFID2QpQjrabfVrzLi4S05Aeezgtkb_8MgYSVorl73R_hrwwanjRvePPQfMTfJQuMn4GtVvlcQ3qdEJQ/s400/295675main2_CM_LAS_7h7f411_226.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 226px; height: 170px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294317223378065906" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;">their new leader and the possible delays for the shuttle retirement; I have some good news for you! NASA's engineers working on the Constellation program are actually making some serious progress.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "></span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;">Ares I-X, the code name for the first Ares rocket to be tested, will lift off from Kennedy Space Center early this summer. It should climb to around 25 miles (40.2 km) in a two-minute powered test of the first stage and its recovery system. The test is meant to find out if there are any basic design flaws that need to be fixed before the more complex components are added to the rocket. This just goes to show that no matter how powerful the computers and simulations are these things just have to be tested the old fashion way.</span></span></span><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;">There are countless teams and individuals working on this project and if this test is a successful it will help immeasurably in boosting moral and renewing faith in the whole Constellation program. Not to mention it will help keep it on track for the Design Review scheduled for 2010.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;">Here is the base of the Ares rocket being put together in Virginia's Langley Research Center.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi14aQrku7kHS2PVheAqDpAGQDrEIae8f1y48yoJXNObhj461jwv0RNLjo30lMxRel9fgfx0rIsEqVAp8HgkHm0JaD5rPHZ_wdWQ_mV2qJtNd8wUOQ0MskUCFwy4ebrUqZiikGdWJGH9iQ/s320/305984main_larc_cmlas4093_428-321.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294318439882826866" /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;">This picture gives a good perspective of the size of the rocket and what it should look like as it gets closer to completion.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></span><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBvdnNOoMUAzkKs-1ORkkPS-IAnX6tVPLjGDAbOd3Vs-DS-pYOih6ar-k5tNfYVxZHZGPtcIIMY2Wrk42IUWtST7iYrgvpcvQqcRpSv-JQh3zN1IvDC7afI32DHSCDRk5qSAKIL0VteY/s320/306068main_larc_cmlas8408-4x3_428-321.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294317892630497186" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;">And here are a quick video of NASA in the Inaugural Parade with Barack smiling (which hopefully is a good sign for NASA!)<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><br /></span></span><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kyIQoszG9m8&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kyIQoszG9m8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;">Source: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;">nasa.gov</span></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;">Thanks for reading!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;">The Fool</span></span></div></div></div></div></div>The Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-27708219525003518942009-01-17T00:01:00.014-05:002009-01-17T01:12:21.989-05:00Methane on Mars: Biological or Geological?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTgkA_a34ciA7EwPDmGtgxsVh_ClTNzr0Fvl6y4HqVQZGbVCYLdG0QiCSDFtV43th-JQvK3kxUND8gQwMiiOjbDGbHU5y0dj4fLm3fL4I5ud6ggJ-td4mi4oXKiCKKWkjqZdhLmn-me_A/s1600-h/methane.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTgkA_a34ciA7EwPDmGtgxsVh_ClTNzr0Fvl6y4HqVQZGbVCYLdG0QiCSDFtV43th-JQvK3kxUND8gQwMiiOjbDGbHU5y0dj4fLm3fL4I5ud6ggJ-td4mi4oXKiCKKWkjqZdhLmn-me_A/s320/methane.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292127238490109810" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I have been absent from New Frontiers for quite some time. This was mainly due to lack of time, but because there have been many developments in the area of space exploration and astronomy I have decided to make time for this site and I hope you enjoy!</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A great deal of buzz is being generated over NASA's recent findings on the release of methane on Mars. The methane has been released during specific seasons and has been measured multiple times over the past decade. Methane (CH4) can be a product of either geological or biological processes. Though 90% of Earth's CH4 has biological origins. One of NASA's Goddard research scientists had the following comments:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">"Methane is quickly destroyed in the Martian atmosphere in a variety of ways, so our discovery of substantial plumes of methane in the northern hemisphere of Mars in 2003 indicates some ongoing process is releasing the gas," said Dr. Michael Mumma of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "At northern mid-summer, methane is released at a rate comparable to that of the massive hydrocarbon seep at Coal Oil Point in Santa Barbara, Calif."</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The next step is sending a mission up to Mars to determine the origin of the releases. If it was microbes creating the gas then they would be several meters under the surface of the Red Planet and we would need the ability to drill this deep. Scientists are taking this into account and could possibly outfit the Mars Science Laboratory Rover with a drill to take some samples. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Either way something has to be going on to produce the methane and it will be very interesting to discover its source, whether biological, which could make this one of the greatest discoveries of our time, or just geological which would still change everything we thought we knew about our dusty neighbor.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Exciting stuff isn't it? I will keep you updated with anything that comes up, and what is being planned to dig up the answer to this mystery.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Here is an interesting </span><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/on_demand_video.html?param=http://anon.nasa-global.edgesuite.net/anon.nasa-global/ccvideos/GSFC_20090115a_marsmeth.asx&_id=181018&_title=Methane%20on%20Mars&_tnimage=303135_main_1_303135mainenus_marsmethvid_100.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">video from NASA</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> on the methane discovery<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Source: </span><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/news/marsmethane.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">NASA</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I hope you enjoyed it!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Fool </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Quote of the day: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="body" style=""></span></span></div><div><span class="body" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">~Issac Assimov</span></div></div>The Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-76122048053306827742008-04-14T21:40:00.005-05:002008-04-17T19:00:02.797-05:00Rocket Racing League Exhibition Race Date Set<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/05/sci_nat_enl_1128415866/img/1.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/05/sci_nat_enl_1128415866/img/1.jpg" border="0" /></a>Well I would like to apologize for my absence from New Frontiers, but I am now back from a much longer than expected reprieve from blogging. And now that I'm here I have some news to report. <div><br />Today the Rocket Racing League (RRL) announced the date for its first exhibition race. The date is August 1-2 this year and will feature two racers flying planes powered by rocket engines on a 2-lap circuit around an airborne raceway. The RRL is pretty much NASCAR in the air and with rockets. Sounds pretty awesome don't you think; so make sure that you are there or at least see the video reports which I will have up for you. I think that it will be a lot more interesting than NASCAR, but we will see.<br /><br />It is expected that around 700,000 people will attend this exhibition to watch the action on multiple 50-foot (15-meter) projection screens on site. The Rocket Racing League was founded in 2005 by Ansari X Prize founder Peter Diamandis and Whitelaw, an Indianapolis 500 veteran. The competitors will be piloted Mark 1 X-Racer rockets developed by the firm XCOR Aerospace in Mojave, California.<br /><br />The league currently has six teams that will compete in four series of races throughout the year. After the first EAA AirVenture exhibition, later races will be staged at the Reno National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nev., between Sept.10-14; at Aviation Nation at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nev., on Nov. 8-9, and at the X Prize Cup in Las Cruces, N.M., in late October.<br /><br />The rockets will be built by various aerospace companies and are quite advanced. The RRL has to give safety a great deal of focus considering that they are really piloting rockets and racing them in close proximity. I would imagine that the RRL will inspire a good number of advances in rocket technology so I have to say that this really is a good idea. But as you know, only time will tell.<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.space.com/news/080414-rocket-racing-exhibition-date.html">Space.com</a><br />Picture Source: The <a href="http://bbc.com/">BBC.com</a><br /><br />The Fool</div>The Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-3222715669126084442008-03-18T21:22:00.004-05:002008-03-18T21:56:03.292-05:00The Great Space Elevator<a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1002/csmimg/p14a.gif"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1002/csmimg/p14a.gif" border="0" /></a>The space elevator, I think, is the best, cheapest, cleanest, etc... way for the human race to get into space on a very large scale. I haven't wanted to post about space elevators until I had the chance to really explain what they are, and I today I have done just that.<br /><div><div><div></div><div>First off I thought that I would update you on our current method of getting into space with an interesting article about all of the <a href="http://www.travelburner.com/2008/01/29/spaceports-blasting-off-around-the-world/">current and upcoming spaceports around the world</a>. This article gives all of the major spaceports that are built, in construction, or at least in planning, around the world. If you are interested you really should read this article.<br /></div><div>Now on to the great SPACE ELEVATOR. And just as in introductory note I wanted to let everyone know that there are many different designs and plans for space elevators and what I have here is the basic design that is the most well known, and as far as I know the most feasible. Okay, well all that a space elevator really is is just a metal wire that reaches 62,000 miles into space. From the bottom up it has: a base station, a cable, climbers, and a counter weight. In some plans there is no counterweight the cable just keeps going on until it has the same effect as the counterweight, which is keeping the cable taut.</div></div><div><br /><div>1. The purpose of the space elevator is to eventually replace rockets as the main method of getting stuff into space. If it was built it would be much cheaper that regular rockets. To get stuff up into space with the space elevator would cost around $100 to $400 per pound, while ordinary rockets cost over $10,000 per pound. To build, start up costs would be around $10 billion, which would be recovered in about ten years (some estimates are closer to $4 billion but I think that $10 is more likely.)<br /></div><br /><div>2. The cable would be made of carbon nanotubes which are lighter than fiberglass and are 30 times stronger than steel. The tubes would be light and strong enough to support the 62,000 mile high elevator. The tubes shouldn't be too expensive to make, but they have yet to be made in large amounts.</div><div><br />3. The climbers would be very unlike regular elevator cars. They would have treadmill like rollers on both sides of the cable climbing at around 200km/h. The climber would have two large panels on its sides to fuel its solar powered engine. The middle of the climber would depend on what kind of stuff it was carrying, such as space station supplies, scientific equipment or hopefully people.</div><div><br />4. If there was a counterweight, on the elevator, that counterweight would most likely be a space station where the cargo would be stored and then sent to its final destination. Though if there was no counterweight, the speed of the whole space elevator going around with the earth’s rotation would propel the climber to a couple miles per second which could blast it to other planets in a very short time. The center of mass for the elevator would be at geosynchronous orbit which is the location away from the earth where satellites look as if they are standing still.</div><div><br />5. The bottom of the cable would be attached to the base station and to get the elevator up in the first place a rocket that was holding the cable would take off and the cable would unfold as the rocket went higher until it reached the 62,000th mile. That’s a fourth of the way to the moon. At least that is what I would do, some say that wouldn't work and they have their own plans, but more on that in future posts.</div><div></div><br /><div>6. NASA has space elevator games every year where people compete to find out who has the best ideas. Also many governments have donated millions of dollars to fund space elevator research projects.</div><div><br />7. One of the main problems for the space elevator is just finding funding for it. Also the carbon nanotubes may not be able to be produced in large enough amounts. Some dangers are that satellites around the earth are very likely to hit the cable or counterweight, meteoroids could hit it, the weather could harm it, also if it was built and worked well it would be a large target for terrorists. Some things being put into the planning of the elevator for these problems are putting it on a mobile base station that would be able to dodge objects that might hit it, also putting it in a remote location that had favorable weather so that any saboteurs would be seen coming from a while away. One last danger is that if the cable was cut, the cable and counterweight might come tumbling down onto the earth. Most people think that it would burn up it the atmosphere and this would cause no real damage. But you never really know.<br /><br />So, overall the space elevator is still in the planning stages but it is a possible way of getting into space in the future and who ever builds it first would pretty much own outer space. And that is why I plan on building one, just give me let's say... 20 years.</div><br /><div>Thanks for tuning in!<br /></div><div>The Fool</div><div> </div><div>P.S. RIP Arthur C. Clarke</div><div>~"The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible."</div></div></div>The Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-85684097783067103762008-03-13T19:56:00.006-05:002008-03-13T20:51:57.118-05:00Carnival of Space Review and Shuttle Launch STS-123Well today I have an assortment of topics, I am reviewing my favorite stories from this week's Carnival of Space. Also I have a wrap-up for the latest shuttle launch.<br /><br />Well this week's Carnival was hosted on <a href="http://www.missyfrye.net/Hoyeya">Missy's Window</a> and I have for you my top three stories from this Carnival:<br /><br />-One story that I really liked was over on <a href="http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=1754">Centauri Dreams</a> and discussed really many novel ways of colonizing the Cosmos. Though they focused on the idea of letting a <a onclick="javascript:urchinTracker('/outbound/en.wikipedia.org');" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-replicating_spacecraft">von Neumann probe</a> find a promising planet and using the matter it finds there to establish a colony and fill it with settlers. Not the normal kind of flesh and bone human settler, but an uploaded consciousness that would be able to take physical (robotic) form to explore the new environment. They also talk about the Singularity which is an interesting topic of debate, but anyway, go ahead and check it out, and make sure that you read some of the comments, they are interesting.<br /><br />-FlyingSinger on <a href="http://flyingsinger.blogspot.com/2008/03/discover-orbiter.html">Music of the Spheres</a> has an article about how you can become a space tourist now, and for free. The way to do this is <a href="http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/orbit.html">ORBITER</a>, a free space flight simulation where you can launch the Space Shuttle from Kennedy Space Center to deploy a satellite, rendezvous with the International Space Station or take the futuristic Delta-glider for a tour through the solar system. It is a relatively realistic sim and a good bit of fun, give it a go!<br /><br />-Ethan from <a href="http://startswithabang.com/?p=173">Starts with a Bang</a> puts in his say for the ever continuing debate about dark matter and the acceleration of the universe. An interesting article and pretty simple compared to some that explain in too scientific of terms for most people to understand.<br /><br />If you want to check out the whole Carnival go to <a href="http://www.missyfrye.net/Hoyeya">Missy's Window</a>.<br /><br />Next up we have the latest shuttle launch STS-123. The Shuttle Endeavour went up on Tuesday the 11th in the wee hours of the morning just as planned. The purpose of the mission is to deliver the Japanese Kibo Logistics Module and the Canadian Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator robotics system to the <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/STS-123_patch.png"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/STS-123_patch.png" border="0" /></a>International Space Station. Here is a <a href="http://www.bautforum.com/space-exploration/70489-sts-123-space-shuttle-mission-2.html">countdown to the launch</a> if you missed it with some pictures from people there during the launch, and here is <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/launch_blog.html">NASA's launch blog</a>. The current mission duration is set for sixteen days though with extension days built in, this mission has the ability to be the longest shuttle flight in history. The completion of the mission will leave nine flights remaining in the Space Shuttle program until its end in 2010, excluding two as-yet-unconfirmed Contingency Logistic Flights. STS-123 is the 25th shuttle mission to the International Space Station. Just go to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-123">Wikipedia.org</a> if you want the day by day schedule or if you just want more info. Also if you want to <a href="http://www.lizard-tail.com/isana/tracking/">track the International Space Station</a> here's a Google Maps program that lets you do just that.<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts123/index.html">NASA</a>, <a href="http://wikipedia.org/">Wikipedia.org</a><br /><br />Well thanks for reading today, if you have anything to say go ahead and leave a comment or email me at <a href="mailto:thefoolpg@gmail.com.">thefoolpg@gmail.com.</a><br /><br />The FoolThe Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-62186911929816740052008-03-10T19:50:00.007-05:002008-03-10T20:37:29.422-05:00NewSpace News: SpaceX, JP Aerospace, and more<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcyu6iMuKIiQWXPcS-xFkSETjchW5EYiUDqCRux0DBFYyMgvQjtFBVxGOoBUpdPigBGr6MT0m98XWueE46eirYvmMDgeemM8qD_gJhli1d7TGqG7BEsNR-asuc0tQj1sp_aUI34cqo8c/s1600-h/spaceXlaunch.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176291004089288834" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcyu6iMuKIiQWXPcS-xFkSETjchW5EYiUDqCRux0DBFYyMgvQjtFBVxGOoBUpdPigBGr6MT0m98XWueE46eirYvmMDgeemM8qD_gJhli1d7TGqG7BEsNR-asuc0tQj1sp_aUI34cqo8c/s320/spaceXlaunch.jpg" border="0" /></a>Today I have mostly NewSpace news along with one or two other subjects. Enjoy!<br /><br /><div><div>First off I have press release from SpaceX announcing that it has signed a contract with the Department of Defense's Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) Office to carry their first Jumpstart mission payload onboard the upcoming Falcon 1 launch. The flight, scheduled for June 2008, is going up from SpaceX launch complex in the Central Pacific Marshall Islands' Kwajalein Atoll. The Jumpstart mission aims to establish a preliminary framework for responsive contracting, and to demonstrate the ability to rapidly integrate and execute a mission, from initial call-up to launch. By signing this contract the Dept. of Defense has given a huge endorsement to SpaceX that I would imagine will help them gain many more payloads.</div><br /><div>I have been kind of following JP Aerospace lately and they have been working on a new airship that they call the Tandem. The Tandem is a low cost airship capable of flight to 140,000 feet. Tandem fills the gap between free balloons and complex high altitude airships. I have always been fascinated by airships and think that a line of luxury airships would do very well. But back to the story; Tandems consist of two balloons separated by a keel. Two propellers designed for flight at 100,000 feet drive Tandems. JP Aerospace developed the Tandem as a tool to construct the Dark Sky Station, a high altitude port and construction facility. It will also be used as a "mothership" for small experimental airships, (Mach Gliders and X-Airships). High Racks, foam and carbon fiber balloon instrument carriers, have been the workhorse for development at JP Aerospace so far. Tandem will now step into that role. JP Aerospace has just come out with some <a href="http://jpaerospace.com/blog/2008/03/07/tandem-in-google-sketch/">preliminary sketches for the Tandem</a>, check 'em out. For some more info visit: <a href="http://www.hobbyspace.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=4873">hobbyspace.com</a>.</div><br /><div>I read an interesting article on The Space Review that ponders the question of <a href="http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1050/1">whether or not there is really a market for space commerce</a>. I think that there certainly is, once the price comes down for the average person tourism will boom, and there are many scientific applications that can come out of space.</div><br /><div>This isn't really NewSpace, it's about the European Space Agency, but anyway <a href="http://www.arianespace.com/site/news/news_sub_missionupdate_index.html">Arianespace launched ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle</a> (ATV) yesterday (March 9th). This was the first launch of an ATV. <a href="http://www.arianespace.com/site/images/missionup_8March09_lg_3.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 248px; CURSOR: hand" height="167" alt="" src="http://www.arianespace.com/site/images/missionup_8March09_lg_3.jpg" border="0" /></a> ATVs carriy propellant, oxygen, equipment, systems, food and water for the International Space Station and its crew. Once docked to the ISS, this resupply spacecraft also will be able to use its own propulsion system to increase the space station’s altitude to overcome the effects of drag as it orbits the Earth. Although the ATV was launched unmanned, its preparation at the Spaceport followed all of the procedures for a human-rated spacecraft, as it will become part of the International Space Station that is visited by crewmembers during its cargo unloading and other operations. This launch also rocketed Arianespace into the major leagues, giving it some more street cred (or "space cred") among other aerospace companies. Here's some <a href="http://www.arianespace.com/site/news/sub_main_news_missionupdate_success_photo.html">more pictures</a> of the Ariane 5 and the launch.</div><br /><div>Sources: <a href="http://www.spacex.com/press.php?page=35">SpaceX Press Release</a>, <a href="http://arianespace.com/">Arianespace.com</a></div><div> </div><div>Thanks for reading,</div><br /><div>The Fool</div></div>The Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-91285285237592331872008-03-06T21:06:00.003-05:002008-03-06T21:43:18.666-05:00Carnival of Space #44Today Phil Plait from the Bad Astronomy blog cranked out the <a href="http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2008/03/06/carnival-of-space-44-the-angry-red-planet-edition/">44th Carnival of Space</a>. So go ahead an check it out. I have here a few of my top picks from this week's Carnival:<br /><br /><a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/">Next Big Future</a> put out a story about the <a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2008/02/large-sheets-of-carbon-nanotube.html">future of carbon nanotubes</a>. Nanocomp Technologies of Concord has been making sheets of these <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotube">nanotubes</a> that will first be used as electrical conductors but in the future they could also be used for creating a solar sail which could travel quite fast (think 4% of the speed of light) by simply flying by the sun. Carbon nanotubes are extremely strong and are the materials that could be used in the construction of a space elevator.<br /><br />Another interesting article on <a href="http://colonyworlds.com/">Colony Worlds</a>, where Darnell Clayton discusses <a href="http://www.colonyworlds.com/2008/03/radiation-safe-worlds.html">radiation</a>, its affects on humans, and planets that would be radiation safe for humans. And as Darnell explains, radiation doesn't lead to becoming the Hulk.<br /><br />And last on my list of this week's favorites is Ian O'Neill on <a href="http://astroengine.com/">AstroEngine.com</a> discussing a <a href="http://www.astroengine.net/?p=47">future system for warning Mars</a> or other plant colonists of life threatening solar flares. His warning system could possibly warn the future people of Mars in time for them to get into bunkers or radiation safe-houses.<br /><br />These are just some of the great stories in this week's Carnival; go and check it out, for more info on it visit <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/carnival-of-space/">Universe Today</a>.<br /><br />The FoolThe Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-56455578751077702412008-03-04T19:15:00.005-05:002008-03-04T20:03:03.503-05:00A Day in SpaceWell I found a good deal of interesting stories today so I thought that I would just give a brief summary of all of them with links to the main article.<br /><br />I found one article on <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/">UniverseToday.com</a> that really intrigued me. The story is about the idea of a <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/2008/03/04/a-one-way-one-person-mission-to-mars/#more-13037">one man, no return mission to Mars</a>. This one man mission would be much more technologically feasible than the normal mission because it wouldn't require a return rocket and they would need supplies for only one person. The man who came up with the idea, former NASA engineer Jim McLane, believes such an event would unify the world as never before. I don't think that finding volunteers for such a mission would be too hard, and the mission wouldn't be a suicide mission, the astronaut would have supplies sent to the Mars camp site in advance and more people could be sent every 26 months. Also a man and woman could be sent together as a futuristic Adam and Eve. I wish NASA or any space organization would at least consider this idea, I think that it would captivate the whole world and motivate a new generation of astro/cosmo/taikonauts.<br /><br />Virgin Galactic has leaked a bit of information about their <a href="http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/hyperbola/2008/02/spaceshipthree-revealed.html">future SpaceShipThree </a>(SS3). SS3, though nothing is set in stone yet, is planed to be a hypersonic point-to-point vehicle. This would provide a rapid trans-Atlantic trip or the frequent London, England to Sydney, Australia journey. Virgin envisions a 2012 time frame for detailed SS3 work to begin on SS3. SS3 will most likely begin if and when SS2 is successful. It seems like a good idea to me, very very quick travel to distant points, I don't see much wrong with that.<br /><br />You have probably heard of the Rocket Racing League ( RRL) and they, along with the City of Las Cruces, have finally broken ground on the RRL Aerospace Business Park, two hangers at the east end of Las Cruces International Airport will be the first step o<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Xcor-rocketracer-N216MR-071029-37cr-16.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Xcor-rocketracer-N216MR-071029-37cr-16.jpg" border="0" /></a>f construction and should be done by May. The RRL Aerospace Business Park will serve as the headquarters for the RRL and with more than 300 acres of development planned, the business park will not only serve the RRL industry but will evolve into a destination location for fans visiting an RRL museum, Hall of Fame, education centers and other attractions.<br /><br />Also if you haven't seen or read about it yet, here is the <a href="http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/03/04/mars-avalanche.html">Martian avalanche</a> that was caught on camera while it actually happened.<br /><br />Thanks for reading today, I hope that I had some stories of interest for you. Just leave me a comment if you need to know more or have anything to say.<br /><br />Picture Source: Wikipedia.org<br /><br />The FoolThe Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-38205581870512981262008-03-03T22:05:00.008-05:002008-03-03T22:58:19.854-05:00The Space Race... to the ISSSorry for not putting a post out in a while, I have been really busy, but now I am back and I will be posting everyday or every other day, so get ready. Today's main topic is about a few of the new methods of getting people and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS).<br /><br />The European Space Agency is scheduled to launch their <a href="http://newfrontiersblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/european-space-agency-ready-to-launch.html">Automated Transfer Vehicle </a>(ATV) on March 8 this week. T<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/ATV_001_Jules_Verne_%28artist_impression%29.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/ATV_001_Jules_Verne_%28artist_impression%29.jpg" border="0" /></a>he ESA's ATV has been delayed for a while, but now all the lights are green for launch. Each ATV will deliver 7.5 tons of cargo to the ISS, provide reboost capability to help keep the station in its proper orbit, give 45 cubic meters extra pressurized volume, and at the end of its mission will burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere with 6.5 tons of garbage and waste on board. The ATVs will stay with the ISS for around six months. Many countries in the ESA have long wanted to have space faring capabilities, especially France, and this project is a step in the right direction. These ATV will be very helpful for the ISS, even though they can't carry people. The only possible pitfall would be if these ATV were abandoned after the first seven scheduled flights, this would cause the ESA to lose a good investment and a potential market.<br /><br />Next up is Elon Musk's SpaceX and the <a href="http://newfrontiersblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/space-tug-offered-to-nasa-as-new-space.html">Commercial Orbital Transportation Services </a>(COTS) program. SpaceX has claimed that they have met all of the COTS guidelines and already have a full-scale engineering model of the Dragon capsule that they are building for launch on their Falcon 9 rocket. The early version of the Dragon capsule is designed to carry cargo, both pressurized and unpressurized, to the ISS. The great difference between ATV and Dragon is that, from the beginning, the Dragon capsule was designed to be used to carry people into orbit. Having this already developed and nearly ready for more production and launches could give SpaceX a huge jump, and near monopoly, on the competition for government launches and of course the private market.<br /><br />Last up is the Orbital Sciences Corporation and their Cygnus vehicle. Orbital won a funded COTS award last month after Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) lost their funding when they failed to meet their financing requirements. Orbital has proposed to build a Cygnus cargo carrier with similar payload capacity to the Dragon and to be launched from their new Taurus 2 rocket. This rocket, which is to launch from Wallops Island in Virginia, will use the same Russian engines (modified by Aerojet) as the first stage as RpK’s K-1. As far as we know, however, the company has no plans to turn Cygnus into a human-rated system. The Cygnus vehicle is not as developed as the ATV or the Dragon but it will certainly be and up and comer to watch for.<br /><br />I read an interesting article along with a video on <a href="http://colonyworlds.com/">colonyworlds.com</a> about <a href="http://www.colonyworlds.com/2008/03/video-why-romania-may-win-google-lunar.html">why the Romanians are going to win the Google Lunar X Prize</a>. And I know it's a little late but if you haven't seen the <a href="http://startswithabang.com/?p=141">43rd Carnival of Space</a> go ahead and check it out on <a href="http://startswithabang.com/">startswithabang.com</a>.<br /><br />Source: The Internet<br /><br />Thanks for reading,<br /><br />The FoolThe Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-87669267734043762032008-02-26T21:52:00.005-05:002008-02-26T23:08:32.585-05:00Update on Spaceport America<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCEm6nEJm1aXm4V5dsnhtLSHtqeWGLk4oP2UR8Dd2AKmJ4IUD905md-3qpuC1LwQG4D_DglMhxQlYE48dZMJted27JZGderPfvLTHv4D-AytToM5ZNdoX5lMkYKXDPnA7M5i3pylsuSJc/s1600-h/flightAtDawnSPA.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171503932646511154" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCEm6nEJm1aXm4V5dsnhtLSHtqeWGLk4oP2UR8Dd2AKmJ4IUD905md-3qpuC1LwQG4D_DglMhxQlYE48dZMJted27JZGderPfvLTHv4D-AytToM5ZNdoX5lMkYKXDPnA7M5i3pylsuSJc/s320/flightAtDawnSPA.jpg" border="0" /></a>As you may or may not know New Mexico is building the nation's first purpose-built commercial spaceport. The name of the project is Spaceport America and is a $198 million venture that will be around 18,000 acres. The land is located north of Las Cruces and east of Truth or Consequences. The spaceport is being funded by New Mexico and has been in the works for quite some time. It is hoped that Spaceport America will serve as an orbital launch center as well as a suborbital hub. The first flight will come from Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic in 2009. Virgin has already collected its $200,000 per-person fee from the first 100 passengers.<br /><div></div><br /><div>Though the spaceport is well into development is still has a few big hurdles to surpass. First they have architectural designs that need to be finalized, then there is the issue of an environmental impact study, and New Mexico has to vote on a .25% tax increase in Sierra County.</div><br /><div>The project has to be paid for somehow and New Mexico plans to do this by adding .25% in taxes for Sierra County which will be voted for on April 22. The upcoming April tax vote, if approved, would lead to the creation of a spaceport district that could spend county-collected revenue on the project. Proponents say that the increase in value of the land around the spaceport, the increase in jobs, the flow of tourists would make the tax increase very minuscule.</div><br /><div>Also an environmental impact statement for Spaceport America also be completed in order to obtain a Federal Aviation Administration spaceport license that would allow construction work on the spaceport to begin. It will have to be proven that the Spaceport will be environmentally friendly, preserves the frontier history of the area, and coexists with the existing region as the spaceport absorbs some of its land. The predictions are that the Spaceport will easily pass the test but officials don't really know what will happen.<br /></div><div>And the final stumbling block will be perfecting the architecture and engineering plans for the Spaceport. Last August, a team of U.S. and British architects and designers were selected to design the terminal and hangar which are projected to cost about $31 million, and will provide a destination experience for visitors to Spaceport America. The hanger is designed mainly to hold Virgin Galactic's White Knight 2 and SpaceShipTwo, though they hope to accommodate any possible launches.</div><br /><div>Steven Landeene the executive director of Spaceport America says that they plan to "Create a spaceport facility that's environmentally friendly, having a look and feel that's unique and like nothing that's ever been done before ... something that has a memorable and iconic type of global attraction to it. We've got a big project ahead of us." And hopefully they will complete their project as it is supposed to be. I would imagine that with a spaceport dedicated solely to commercial spaceflight that it will create a revolution in the private space industry. I should be interesting to see what happens, and as we all know, only time will tell.</div><br /><div>Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceport_America">Wikipedia.or</a>g and <a href="http://www.spaceportamerica.com/home.html">SpaceportAmerica.com</a></div><div></div><br /><div>The Fool</div>The Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-28325066908045261022008-02-23T10:45:00.005-05:002008-02-23T11:20:47.357-05:00Google Lunar X PrizeGoogle and X PRIZE officials have recently unveiled nine new privately funded teams that will compete for $<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1F8FhArYe9dHZmO-Iz1QIelDa3pMzzTzfTFDRlbnRINF0vqa57UErxraHeRqRQAKI_pX4CTEQJnDyknf1KrX1UKI7sXKfGSOVSUvFcTUlcNorF40q5DYYyX5NV85rS7OKjyZn6mOFWYg/s1600-h/google-lunar-x-prize.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170209171805458978" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 116px" height="107" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1F8FhArYe9dHZmO-Iz1QIelDa3pMzzTzfTFDRlbnRINF0vqa57UErxraHeRqRQAKI_pX4CTEQJnDyknf1KrX1UKI7sXKfGSOVSUvFcTUlcNorF40q5DYYyX5NV85rS7OKjyZn6mOFWYg/s320/google-lunar-x-prize.jpg" width="320" border="0" /></a>30 million in the Google Lunar X PRIZE challenge, a race to the moon. The new teams join the Isle of Man-based <a href="http://newfrontiersblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/odyssey-moon-accepts-google-x-prize.html">Odyssey Moon</a> team that was the first group to take up the challenge. Google officials hadn't expected this many contestants to sign up this early and were "floored" by the jump in competitors. Google Lunar X PRIZE Cup organizers also announced their partnership with Space Florida; this organization will be offering launch site services and $2 million in extra prize money to the winning team if they blast off from Florida.<br /><div><div><div><div><div> </div><div>For a team to win the Google Lunar X Prize 90 percent of their funding must come from the private sector. The first team to land their robot on the moon and complete a gauntlet of tasks with it by Dec. 31, 2012, will snatch the $20 million grand prize. The second team to achieve lunar victory by 2014 will take $5 million in prize money, and another $5 million is on the table for difficult bonus objectives. With all of the new entrys into the competition Google and the X Prize organizers should be very optimistic about the chances of someone actually reaching the moon. In 2013, the first-place purse drops to $15 million and will expire altogether on Dec. 31, 2014. So hopefully someone will come up with some ideas crazy enough to reach the Moon and all of the required objectives before 2013 or at least before 2015. But as we know, only time will tell.</div><div> </div><div>If you want to read about all of the teams here is the <a href="http://www.googlelunarxprize.org/lunar/press-release/the-x-prize-foundation-announces-official-contenders-in-private-moon-race">link</a> to the page on the Google Lunar X Prize official website.</div><div> </div><div>Source: <a href="http://www.googlelunarxprize.org/">GoogleLunarXPrize.org</a></div><div> </div><div>The Fool</div></div></div></div></div>The Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-57545403916194552522008-02-19T22:14:00.005-05:002008-02-19T23:09:33.530-05:00NASA Constellation Program Part 2: The Orion Crew VehicleThis i<img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 211px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 170px" height="161" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Cev_design.jpg" border="0" />s part two of the series on NASA's Constellation program, if you didn't read <a href="http://newfrontiersblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/nasa-constellation-program-part-1.html">part one</a> then here it is so that you can catch up. Today we will be discussing the Orion Crew Vehicle and all of the parts that come with it. Well let's go ahead and get right into it.<br /><br />The Orion Vehicle is being designed to carry a crew of four to six astronauts, and will be launched by the Ares I rocket. It is scheduled to begin flights at the end of 2014 or beginning of 2015 with future flights to the International Space Station. Though flights to and from the ISS isn't Orion's main purpose, its primary function will be human missions to the Moon and Mars. The design of the Orion Vehicle is based heavily on the Apollo command module, with one of the major differences being that Orion can carry up to six passengers while Apollo could carry a max of three. You can see the Orion Vehicle's main components in the diagram.<br /><br />The Orion Crew Module will be 5 meters by 3.3 meters, mass around 8.5 tonnes, and have an internal volume of 6 cubic meters. Orion will dock by means of the Low Impact Docking System, which is pretty much high tech USB port for spaceships.<br /><br />The craft's service module will have a pair of deployable circular solar panels that replace the fuel cells that powered Apollo. Orion is propelled by an <a title="Aerojet" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerojet">Aerojet</a> (read more) AJ-10 rocket engine, derived from the second stage of the Delta II rocket. The closed-loop recycling system used will be identical to those units used on both the Mir and International Space Stations.<br /><br />The abort system uses an abort motor, which is more powerful than the Atlas 109-D booster that launched astronaut John Glenn into orbit in 1962, that would clear the astronauts of any danger that may be threatening them. Now Orion has safely completed its mission and returns to Earth it has a new way of landing. It uses a combination of parachutes and<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/CEVReentry.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" height="136" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/CEVReentry.jpg" border="0" /></a> either retrorockets or airbags for capsule recovery, this eliminates the expensive naval recovery. As I said earlier the craft should be in flight by 2014, and since NASA has this as one of its top priorities I think that it may actually be close to on time. Only time will tell. This crew vehicle has a lot of potential for Moon missions and especially for Mars missions; I just hope that it will fulfill that potential.<br /><br />Now don't forget that tomorrow night we have a full lunar eclipse around 10:30pm EST. It should be a really amazing eclipse and it is the last one until 2010 so don't miss it!<br /><br />Source: NASA.gov, Wikipedia.com<br />Image Source: Wikipedia.com<br /><br />The FoolThe Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-78818447779720958642008-02-17T12:49:00.005-05:002008-02-17T14:29:26.983-05:00The Shuttle Takes its Leave of the ISS, New Exoplanets Found, and NASA's New Missions<img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 235px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 184px" height="173" alt="" src="http://www.space.gc.ca/asc/img/sts-115_0911b_hr.jpg" border="0" />Today Atlantis closed the hatches to the ISS, the shuttle will undock from the Station on Monday after its nine day visit. The crew just put the final touches on the Columbus module, such as activating all of the science racks, and rushed to pack up the shuttle for the ride home. Flight director Bob Dempsey said he could not be more pleased with Atlantis' visit. The two crews installed the new European lab, Columbus, and conducted three spacewalks to hook it up and do other space station chores. The Atlantis shuttle aims to land at Cape Canaveral on Wednesday.<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/02/17/shuttle-space-station.html">Discovery News</a><br /><br />Thursday scientists announced that they have found a solar system containing two planets smaller than Jupiter and Saturn. The planets were discovered with a new technique called microlensing. A microlensing event is when two stars line up perfectly in the sky from our perspective on Earth. The closer star acts as a natural lens, magnifying the light from the more distant star. Normally the distant star just brightens, but in special cases such as this one, there can be additional distortions. These distortions are often caused by the gravity of planets around the star. In this case it was planets that caused the distortions, and small planets. The most common type of extrasolar planets (exoplanets) found are the huge gas planets, for the obvious reason that they are large and therefore easier to see. But scientists are most eager to find small, rocky, Earth-like planets so that they can get a better idea of how they form and the number of Earth-like planets in the galaxy. Scientists doubt they will see these planets again because of the very miniscule chance of another microlensing event occurring, though just finding not only exoplanets, but small and rocky exoplanets can be a big break for astronomy.<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/2008/02/14/another-solar-system-found-with-saturn-and-jupiter-sized-planets/">Universe Today</a><br /><br />And to end today's post I thought I would report on NASA's newly proposed initiatives. The first is a new probe that will explore the unknown force driving the expansion of the universe, currently called dark matter by astronomers. The Joint Dark Energy Mission seeks to determine if the universe's rate of expansion varies over time. NASA hopes to begin a competitive process to consider proposals to study the phenomena. Next up NASA plans to begin work on two new spacecraft to measure Earth's soil and ice, information that will be crucial in understanding climate change. NASA is also working on small orbiter to study the lunar atmosphere and dust is scheduled for launch in 2011, with a pair of landers to follow in 2013 or 2014. And NASA's current primary outer planet goal is to have probe conducting follow up studies of the Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft and the 1995-2003 Galileo mission on Jupiter.<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/02/14/nasa-science-mission-02.html">Discovery News</a><br /><br />The FoolThe Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-88793995837878316872008-02-13T17:06:00.009-05:002008-02-16T22:13:34.271-05:00The Carnival of Space #41Hello and welcome to the 41st Carnival of Space, right here on New Frontiers. For those who don't know, the Carnival of Space is a weekly compilation of space/astronomy news from the blogosphere hosted by different bloggers every week. Also for those of you unfamiliar with New Frontiers, I, The Fool, am currently the sole writer and I report nearly daily on the world of space exploration and astronomy. I am very interactive with my readers and am active in the space community (in the blogosphere and the real world.) So stop by again if you enjoy your visit! Well it’s been an extremely busy week and if I'm not wrong I believe this is the most stories in a Carnival of Space ever. Hurrah for space and astronomy bloggers! Now I'll go ahead and get to the news, so grab your ticket and enjoy the Carnival.<br /><br />Astronomer <a href="http://willgater.com/">Will Gater</a> discusses the possibility of a <a href="http://willgater.com/2008/02/10/galaxy-eating-monster-reveals-its-secrets/">galaxy eating monster</a>. The story is about a huge galaxy, which Will calls a "cosmic cannibal," that uses its intense gravity to consume other galaxies and cosmic matter. Good thing we don't have any of these monsters around us because I imagine that being crushed by the gravity of a massive cloud of dark matter along with that of a monstrous galaxy is rather uncomfortable.<br /><br />Over on <a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/">Next Big Future</a> a <a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2008/02/magnetic-catapult-feasible-advanced.html">feasible magnetic catapult </a>is discussed. The catapult is a highly efficient superconducting system that is on the scale of supercolliders. It looks like it would be from $8 to $20 billion and take 6 years to build. It could launch 4000 kilogram objects at 20 km/second with 2250 gees of acceleration (not people just electronics and supplies) and would be 9 kilometers long. Some supercolliders are bigger that this. It is non-contact so there should not be the problem of major parts frequently wearing out. It is an intriguing article with some nice diagrams and very nerdy looking tables, so everyone should check it out. The idea could be a very efficient and low cost means of getting supplies to outer space.<br /><br />This week on <a href="http://astroprofspage.com/">Astroprof's Page</a>, the Astroprof discusses the <a href="http://astroprofspage.com/archives/1500">Hubble palette and its digital color photos</a>. This post compares some contrasting Hubble photos with different color though it is obviously the same picture. Astroprof explains quite thoroughly why this change in color occurs and proposes some possible fixes for the imaging problem.<br /><br />Are there any space dramas on TV, I'm talking about mainstream, not only for sci-fi geeks, space themed television series. Are there any? And why not? Well Ralph over on <a href="http://www.discoveryenterprise.blogspot.com/">The Discovery Enterprise</a> talks about this subject and how some could get on the air. Check it out, we do need some good <a href="http://discoveryenterprise.blogspot.com/2008/02/space-tv.html">Space themed TV</a> and who knows, it might just inspire the next generation.<br /><br />Next up is <a href="http://astroblogger.blogspot.com/">Astroblogger</a> wondering, <a href="http://astroblogger.blogspot.com/2008/02/so-how-was-your-eclipse.html">how was you eclipse?</a> Did you watch the eclipse; did you have a good time? Well the Astroblogger didn't, though he did get one good picture of the eclipse off. Check it out and see what not to do when viewing an eclipse. There are also some links to more fortunate astrophotographer’s attempts at capturing the eclipse.<br /><br />Take a look at the <a href="http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080212.html">Astronomy Picture of the Day</a> (APOD), and view a dusty reflection nebula that surrounds the pulsating star RS Pup, which is 10 times more massive than the Sun and on average 15,000 times more luminous. It is a variable star, the type that is used to estimate cosmic distances quite accurately.<br /><br />A <a href="http://riofriospacetime.blogspot.com/">Babe in the Universe</a> moves us from the APOD's location in the outer reaches of space to our own solar system. She discusses a new idea that scientists have about <a href="http://riofriospacetime.blogspot.com/2008/02/water-on-enceladus.html">Saturn's moon Enceladushides hiding a subsurface lake</a>. Then the Babe goes on to tell us that the lake beneath Enceladus' South Pole emits geysers of water vapor into space. Astronomers have found that particles from this plume resupply Saturn's E Ring. Without this replenishment, the Rings would decay to nothing within 100 million years. Our own Earth is also known to have subsurface lakes at its poles. Go on, check it out!<br /><br />Now, inching closer to Earth (in cosmic terms at least) we move on to <a href="http://journals.aol.com/stuartatk/Cumbrian-Sky/">Stuart</a> who tells us about his <a href="http://journals.aol.com/stuartatk/Cumbrian-Sky/entries/2008/02/12/my-new-favourite-crater.../3398">New Favorite Crater</a>. He first talks about Google Earth's sister, "Google Mars" though it is put together by some bright people at Arizona State University. Stuart goes in to dramatic depth about his reluctant dumping out his old favorite crater for a new even more beautiful crater. Give it a read; this is a true astronomer (even if a bit eccentric.)<br /><br />Finally taking a brief rest, back on Earth, we go to the <a href="http://www.lpi.usra.edu/library/n_n.html">New and Noteworthy</a> blog where they announce a <a href="http://www.lpi.usra.edu/library/n_n.html">summer internship program at the Lunar and Planetary Institute</a>. They also go over the Map-a-Planet Explorer providing some information on the planetary observation software and even include a list of the heavenly bodies on the program.<br /><br />Staying on the Earth for a bit we have Nancy from <a href="http://www.amarsodyssey.com/">A Mars Odyssey</a>. Nancy first informs the readers that many United States citizens have <a href="http://www.amarsodyssey.com/2008/02/12/nasa-and-the-balancing-act/">balancing problems</a>, mainly in their old age and goes on to discuss the solutions developed by NASA's rocket scientists.<br /><br />Now we lift of from Mother Earth to examine our moons. Yes that was plural a moons. <a href="http://mangsbatpage.433rd.com/2008/02/earths-other-moons.html">Mang</a> of Boy Scout troop 433 goes over this <a href="http://mangsbatpage.433rd.com/2008/02/earths-other-moons.html">possibility of other moons</a> on his blog that is focused on generating interest in astronomy and other Scoutcraft for youth.<br /><br />Exploring some of the near and far galaxies Astrophysicist <a href="http://startswithabang.com/">Ethan Siegel</a>, answers the questions of <a href="http://startswithabang.com/?p=74">how galaxies are made</a>, why they look like they do, and why there are different types. He does this not only with well informed text but with astounding pictures and some diagrams.<br /><br />We now explore the strange and extreme organisms that live off near infrared light, and relate to the possibilities for life around M-dwarfs, stars whose output is primarily in the infrared, that live on our own Earth. <a href="http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=1717">Centauri Dreams </a>brings us knowledge about some of the more extreme things living on this globe with us and how they could be used to help humans spread though the galaxy.<br /><br />For the gamers/astronomers/space geeks here we explore how the <a href="http://www.starstryder.com/2008/02/13/wheeee-its-a-wii-remote-in-physics/">Wii remote can be used in physics</a> with Dr. Lenore Horner as a guest poster for <a href="http://www.starstryder.com/">Star Stryder</a>. Dr. Horner informs us about the <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/darwiin-remote/">DarwiinRemote</a> (on Macs) or <a href="http://onakasuita.org/wii/index-e.html">WiinRemote</a> (on PCs) that through blue tooth connects the Wii remote to the computer. He then goes into the possibly unexpected teaching applications of this device.<br /><br />From Clark we have doling out some information on the <a href="http://hobbyspace.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=5406">business side of commercial space exploration</a> where he provides an argument that commercial human spaceflight will follow the usual pattern in which an expensive good or service aimed at the rich eventually falls in price via economies of scale to a level that makes it available to the middle class. Will this prediction come true, only time will tell.<br /><br />Back to Mars again, with Emily from <a href="http://www.planetary.org/home/">The Planetary Society</a>, we contemplate on one enigmatic feature on Mars as seen by all its orbiters through the more than thirty years of spacecraft observations. The feature called "<a href="http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00001325/">White Rock</a>." Emily uses data and pictures from the Viking Missions to explore White Rock and its mysteries.<br /><br />Now Sean from <a href="http://www.visualastronomy.com/">Visual Astronomy </a>brings us to the <a href="http://www.visualastronomy.com/2008/02/full-lunar-eclipse-feb-20-2008.html">Full Lunar Eclipse on Feb. 20, 2008</a>. Sean includes a time table so that you don't miss the only lunar eclipse for two more years.<br /><br /><a href="http://flyingsinger.blogspot.com/2008/02/deja-vu-all-over-again.html">Exploring the solar system should be an adventure</a>, shouldn't it? The height of human achievement, the furthest we have gone from the cradle that is Earth. Well the FlyingSinger of <a href="http://flyingsinger.blogspot.com/">Music of the Spheres</a> argues this point and talks about plans to return to the moon and how to open up the solar system.<br /><br />Again back out to the distant galaxies though this time with the <a href="http://amandabauer.blogspot.com/">Astropixie</a>. I'm talking about <a href="http://amandabauer.blogspot.com/2008/02/redshift-and-distance-to-distant.html">redshift and the distance to distant galaxies</a>. This post informs about how astronomers determine far off galaxies distance, which is by looking at their spectra in order to determine their their "redshift." To learn more about this cosmic scale take a look and then you you (with the right equipment) can determine the distance of extremely distant celestial bodies.<br /><br />With the infamous Phil Plait (<a href="http://www.badastronomy.com/">the bad astronomer</a>) in his post <a href="http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2008/02/10/epoxi-sticks-like-glue-to-extrasolar-planets/" rel="bookmark">EPOXI sticks like glue to extrasolar planets</a>, we go over how NASA’s Deep Impact space probe, after slamming into a comet back in July, 2005, is now being used to discover and add to the small amount of data on extrasolar planets, you know how astronomers hate to waste their very expensive toys.<br /><br />Over on <a href="http://www.collectspace.com/">collectSpace.com</a> we hear how <a href="http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-021108a.html">Christopher Columbus' compass still guides explorers to this day</a>. The Atlantis shuttle is carrying Columbus' compass along with some crew mementos. This is to keep alive the spirit of early explorers and to show our continued discovery of unknown horizons.<br /><br />And finally here on <a href="http://newfrontiersblog.blogspot.com/">New Frontiers</a> I went over the <a href="http://newfrontiersblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/columbus-lab-attached-and-ready-on-iss.html">recent attachment of the Columbus module </a>to the ISS and the update on ExoMars where European Space Agency head Jean Jacques Dordain wants to double the budget and improve the future rover's capacity.<br /><div align="left"><br />I really hope you enjoyed this week's Carnival and don't forget to come back for more next week. If you want more information or if you would like to participate go to the <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/carnival-of-space/">Carnival</a> page on Universe Today. Also if I made any mistakes please let me know right away by email or comments and I will fix it ASAP. Finally, if you have anything to say or any comments about these stories then lets talk, just leave a comment and we can get the whole community in on it!<br /><br />Thanks for reading,<br /><br />The Fool</div>The Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com170tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-41357255518026651032008-02-12T19:00:00.002-05:002008-02-12T22:20:50.345-05:00Columbus Lab Attached and Ready for Scientific Use and Mars Mission UpdateWell I got a few topics today and I will kick it off the the story of the <img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/160540main_jsc2006e43505_high.jpg" border="0" />Columbus Lab that was attached to the ISS today. The Atlantis shuttle carried up the Columbus module on its launch, and on Monday two spacewalking astronauts attached a handle to Columbus that allowed the robotic arm operator to grab hold of the module and delicately lift it from Atlantis' cargo bay. The module was moved from the cargo bay to the right side of the Harmony module, which Discovery's astronauts delivered in December.<br />The $2 billion, 10-ton Columbus laboratory, originally scheduled to be launched in 1992 to mark the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' voyage to the New World, is Europe's main contribution to the space station. The module went online today around 9 am eastern time. After the lab's launch was delayed for months, and its actual attachment delayed slightly by one astronaut's sickness, it's finally up and working, and except for a minor cooling system glitch it is fully functional.<br />Also the new lab's ESA control center near Munich, Germany is now online, where 100 flight controllers and engineers are working in three shifts to watch over Columbus around the clock alongside U.S. and Russian operations centers.<br />Despite a small torn thermal insulation blanket on Atlantis' starboard aft engine pod, Atlantis is scheduled to return to Earth February 19, though that may be extended one more day so the shuttle crew can get a little more work done on the ISS. Also Japan's multi-module Kibo laboratory is due to launch toward the station later this spring.<br /><br />In other news, European space officials are redesigning their planned ExoMars mission, hoping to substantia<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/NASA_Mars_Rover.jpg/300px-NASA_Mars_Rover.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/NASA_Mars_Rover.jpg/300px-NASA_Mars_Rover.jpg" border="0" /></a>lly increase the planned capabilities; though this means doubling the nearly already $1 billion budget. European Space Agency head Jean Jacques Dordain says that their goals have increased, and their mission has changed dramatically, and this calls for a new name and a much higher budget. The mission is scheduled for launch in 2013.<br /><br /><br /><br />And here are some links to a few stories that I found pretty interesting. Wired.com has an article about the upcoming <a href="http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/02/date-set-for-pr.html">Presidential Science Debate 2008</a>, which they have finally set the date for. Also Darnell Clayton of Colony Worlds put up a very interesting post about a <a href="http://www.colonyworlds.com/2008/02/building-lunar-base-problems-and.html">future lunar base</a> contemplating some of the problems and solutions. And finally Frasier Cain of Universe Today wrote about Hubble finding the <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/2008/02/12/hubble-finds-one-of-the-earliest-brightest-galaxies-in-the-universe/">oldest galaxy ever</a> found.<br /><br /><br />Thanks for reading, and don't forget to stop by on Thursday when I will be hosting the amazing, astounding, and astronomically awesome Carnival of Space.<br /><br /><br />Sources: BBC, Space.com<br />Picture Sources: NASA, Wikipedia.com<br /><br />The FoolThe Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-7744709509411005912008-02-09T23:34:00.000-05:002008-02-10T00:13:14.762-05:00Could a Beatles Song be a Threat to the Human Race?So I read about it first over at <a href="http://blackholesandastrostuff.blogspot.com/2008/02/asteroid-2008-ct1.html">Black Holes and Astrostuff</a>, then on <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/2008/02/07/are-we-sending-a-bit-too-much-information-into-the-cosmos/">Universe Today</a>, and even after that a few people were talking about it on the forums, so I thought that I would put in a word about the Beatles song being blasted across the galaxy. Well you may or may have not heard about this yet but NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) sent a transmission toward the North Star, Polaris. The transmission sent was the song "Across the Universe" by the Beatles and I guess was intended for any sufficiently advanced extra terrestrial life to listen to. Though what is being said now is that, not just this one transmission, bu<a href="http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060816/060816_radiodish_hmed_11a.hmedium.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 151px" height="150" alt="" src="http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060816/060816_radiodish_hmed_11a.hmedium.jpg" border="0" /></a>t all of the radio and television leakage into the galaxy, along with info about position in the solar system and information about human biology on the Voyager and Pioneer probes we may just be giving away information that we wouldn't want possibly menacing aliens to have. Pretty much all of the scientific community agrees that an alien threat because of this is really zero, though many people think that we should discuss the issue globally before we move forward with transmitting messages into the cosmos. This discussion began at the SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence) "Sound of Silence" meeting where scientists talked about the fact that in spite of 50 years of listening we haven't heard a single signal from ET. Some of the optimistic discussion of the meeting focused on the first of the 42 dishes of the Allen Telescope Array that began operation last year, which will be dedicated entirely to SETI. And the proposed Square Kilometer Array telescope will be sensitive enough to pick up signals such as alien TV and radio.<br /><br />Where it started: <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/02/06/scibeatles106.xml">Telegraph.co.uk</a><br /><br />The FoolThe Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-36751461101592703132008-02-09T20:10:00.000-05:002008-02-09T23:32:39.843-05:00Deep Impact's New Mission: Finding Exosolar Planets<img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 216px; CURSOR: hand" height="176" alt="" src="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/205999main_spacecraft.jpg" border="0" />Well now that NASA's Deep Impact has finished blowing holes in comets, which it did to Comet Tempel 1 in July 2005 to help scientists study what was beneath its surface, it's moving on to discover new worlds, exosolar worlds (planets around stars) to be exact. Between now and Oct. 11, 2010, when Deep Impact has its next flyby with Comet Hartley 2; the probe will be searching for planets. The spacecraft will be focusing its largest telescope at five stars, hoping to catch a glimpse of a planetary transit. This is where a planet dims the light from its parent star as it passes in front. This new mission, now called EPOXI, a hybrid of Extrasolar Planet Observations and Characterization (Epoch) and Deep Impact Extended Investigation (Dixi), began on January 22. The stars that were picked were known to have giant planets with massive atmospheres, like Jupiter in our solar system. Though the scientists of the program hope to find planets more like Earth in size and mass.<br /><br />Most of the 200 exosolar planets that have been discovered so far have been detected indirectly, by the gravitational pull they exert on their parent star. Though sometimes they can be found when they eclipse their parent star. With this project NASA will hopefully find some Earth-like exoplanets and add to the growing list, and add to the small amount of info that had been gathered on this subject.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/epoxi/epoxi-20080207.html">NASA News Release</a><br />Image Source: NASA.gov<br /><br /><br />The FoolThe Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-64885722323329694922008-02-07T19:30:00.000-05:002008-02-07T22:08:13.706-05:00Bigelow Aerospace Discusses Launch Sercvices... And the Shuttle Launches!!!<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164422024005250914" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_1a1M-lTr_wGStSzhK_fXgrYzCo_N6N9tqlwlXDBtJxcJggUylLH4ohraE8bXZW_LpGTIB7J2lTw24SdvPuYNAS15YHeYZDGrHv6_xlIzEGpb6PK-wJkfTVXYZzcX55gBhpSkEussv4/s200/080207-sts122-launch-02.jpg" border="0" />Well to start off I am just going to say that FINALLY the Atlantis Shuttle has lifted off for the International Space Station (ISS), along with seven astronauts, and the European-built Columbus module. The launch went off just after a Russian Progress cargo ship arrived at the ISS, as well as being seven years to the day since the last science laboratory — the U.S. Destiny module — headed toward the station aboard the same space shuttle. Atlantis is scheduled to dock at the orbital lab on Saturday. More Info: <a href="http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/080207-sts122-launch-day.html">space.com</a>.<br /><br />In other space news Bigelow Aerospace has been meeting with Lockheed Martin lately trying to settle on terms for Bigelow's use of Lockheed's Atlas V launch vehicles to provide crew and cargo transportation services to a Bigelow-built space complex. If you haven't heard much about Bigelow Aero<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3d/NautilusModule2.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3d/NautilusModule2.jpg" border="0" /></a>space then here's some info: Bigelow Aerospace, owned and operated by Robert Bigelow, has been working an expandable module as a space structure that has a flexible outer shell, allowing conservation of diameter for launch and weight overall. Once in orbit, the module gets inflated to allow for greater work, play and living area for astronauts. Bigelow has successfully launched two of its Genesis units that demonstrated the technology and feasibility of its expandable space module technology. As I previously said Bigelow is now working on securing the Atlas V rocket to blast its modules to space. The Atlas V is a reliable, if costly, rocket and I wouldn't doubt that Bigelow soon starts looking for more cost effective methods of launch. During the operational phase, which is currently planned to begin in 2012, up to 12 missions per year are envisioned for the orbital station, increasing as demand dictates. I imagine that this project has quite a bit of potential for income and scientific research. It gives private companies, organizations, individuals, and governments that have the money, the ability to rent their own space station for extended time periods. It should be quite interesting as this progresses, though only time will tell.<br /><br />Also don't forget to check out this weeks <a href="http://orbitingfrog.com/blog/2008/02/07/carnival-of-space-40/">Carnival of Space</a> at the Orbiting Frog. And especially don't miss next weeks Carnival because I will be head Carny and New Frontiers will be hosting it.<br /><br />Image source: Wikipedia.com, Space.com<br />Source: <a href="http://www.bigelowaerospace.com/news/">Bigelow Press Release</a><br /><br />The FoolThe Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-30235042879708507872008-02-04T21:37:00.000-05:002008-02-04T22:33:23.476-05:00Successful SpaceX Test, NASA Looking for New Partner, and Space Meets the RunwayToday I am going to give you a few news stories because I just had a lot of time to spend posting and I found some interesting stories. So first I will start with SpaceX's recent successful engine test.<br /><br /><br />On January 18, Spac<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRe2gPy0A7_GUuhf3pjPgOQpQ4nq39dqm1z2HeIbhkNmDxURvfdqcPXT7nPFyXx74sypu30Ob5iaxHyVIhNPPr-asd0ESrQUZ8N7MN0xnss8vmRlps3U8UChcpaW7ZI7dOIUCsP405DT4/s1600-h/spaceX.jpg"></a>eX had the first successful test of its multistage Falcon 9 medium to heavy lift rocket. The engines operated at full power, generating over 180,000 pounds of force, equivalent to a B<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMnGZ0mQt8AmbkVrZuRQkgmfI9ejE9DLJnkbvCRkzLd_bwg1aP6jMdkUCrE88M5ajpjtZHBZZsQ5N3__fimCH4UrNqvVwBwnFVw0k_yYi5c25EJj9-wcHL-PXmU84N0QsOOLbQXGMls20/s1600-h/spaceX.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163327932626202434" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 168px" height="144" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMnGZ0mQt8AmbkVrZuRQkgmfI9ejE9DLJnkbvCRkzLd_bwg1aP6jMdkUCrE88M5ajpjtZHBZZsQ5N3__fimCH4UrNqvVwBwnFVw0k_yYi5c25EJj9-wcHL-PXmU84N0QsOOLbQXGMls20/s200/spaceX.jpg" width="200" border="0" /></a>oeing 777 at full power, and consuming 700 lbs per second of fuel and liquid oxygen during the run. Elon Musk says that no real problems were encountered during the test and he hopes to soon have the full complement of nine Merlin engines up and running. The next run, scheduled for February, will use three engines operating for a full first stage mission duty cycle of three minutes. This first stage will get the 180 ft long Falcon 9 vehicle to more than ten times the speed of sound; the Falcon 9 second stage will continue accelerating the payload to a final velocity that may be in excess of Mach 30 for missions beyond low Earth orbit. The next tests will be with 5, 7, and finally all 9 engines firing. SpaceX hopes to have the Falcon 1 ready by this spring and the Falcon 9 ready by the end of 2008. For more info, pics, and some videos go to the <a href="http://www.spacex.com/press.php?page=35">press release</a>.<br /><br /><br />In other news NASA has kicked Rocketplane Kistler out of a commercial partnership where they are trying to develop a spaceship to service the International Space Station. NASA is currently trying to find another partner to take Rockerplane's spot alongside SpaceX, who is also in the partnership. NASA will be splitting $485 million between two companies for their work on vehicles that will travel to the ISS with crews and supplies. Rocketplane was kicked out when they failed to meet the required $500 million of privately raised cash. Rocketplane attempted to file a lawsuit about the severed partnership but their claim was denied. NASA hopes to have a new partner by the end of February. For some more information here is the <a href="http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn13269-nasa-to-announce-new-commercial-space-partner.html">link</a>.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidTP1YfpTPpoBKqbg41DPaMnWwB5j3EJoHutu998CO2NzCiEZYAlWdxeh4bKUtJCvBjWaYp5YmyIuVIv0mORVUKAFofTitrfhMlEYxJd7Voe1s9Vid1rJyw8UyAl8950EmdCvlwxJHRfM/s1600-h/space_fashion_main.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163333838206234450" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidTP1YfpTPpoBKqbg41DPaMnWwB5j3EJoHutu998CO2NzCiEZYAlWdxeh4bKUtJCvBjWaYp5YmyIuVIv0mORVUKAFofTitrfhMlEYxJd7Voe1s9Vid1rJyw8UyAl8950EmdCvlwxJHRfM/s200/space_fashion_main.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Finally let's look into the future. Imagine the near future when people will regularly be in outer space and in zero gravity. Will space suits become a fashion statement and zero-g outfits all the rage. That is the idea at the Hyper Space Couture Design Contest. In this contest designers come up with outfits for the passengers of the upcoming suborbital flights. This contest is hosted by Rocketplane Kistler. Virgin Galactic is also working on outfits though they won't comment. More info on <a href="http://www.airspacemag.com/issues/2008/february-march/space_fashion.php">space fashion</a>.<br /><br /><br />Well just to end this post I wanted to ask some of my readers if you like longer posts like this one or shorter posts. I enjoy writing both kinds so I was just going to ask.<br /><br /><br />Thanks for reading,<br />The FoolThe Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-39399166797424151832008-02-03T16:39:00.000-05:002008-02-03T17:00:40.300-05:00View Saturn in 3D from Cassini Probe<img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpegMod/PIA09795_modest.jpg" border="0" />NASA is now offering Saturn tours in 3D straight from the Cassini spacecraft. Once downloaded it is really a pretty neat, almost game-like experience. With this 3D interactive viewer you can explore the probe yourself, seeing what Cassini sees, imaging Saturn and her moons, accurately calculating where the probe's location. Your can also fast forward through time and see what the probe will be doing next.<br /><br />Here is the <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/CASSIE/">link</a> if you want to try the viewer out for yourself.<br /><br />The Cassini mission, which was launched in 1997, comprised of the NASA Cassini orbiter and ESA Huygens probe. After a long seven year journey, the pair arrived in Saturn orbit on July 1st, 2004 and on December 25th, 2004 the pair separated to send Huygens to Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Huygens then made an exciting decent through Titan's atmosphere and relayed vital information about the mysterious planet to the Cassini orbiter. The Cassini probe is still orbiting around Saturn and sending back images and information.<br /><br />Image source: NASA/JPL<br />Source: spaceref.com<br /><br />The FoolThe Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-77624211117156009042008-02-02T00:47:00.001-05:002009-01-22T21:02:15.244-05:00NASA Constellation Program Part 1: Overview<img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://i.n.com.com/i/ne/p/2007/82Orion_ISS550x488.jpg" border="0" />I thought that I would do a little series on NASA's Constellation Program just to inform thouse who don't know too much about it, and to update those who are keeping track of this project's progress. So to start off this post will be an overview of the whole program and then I will go into more depth on its individual parts in later posts and add updated information as it comes in.<br /><div><div><div><br /><div>The main purpose of the Constellation program is to design and build the spacecraft for America's next generation of human spaceflight. The program's current projects are the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles, the Orion crew capsule, the Earth Departure Stage and the Altair lunar lander. Once completed these spacecraft will be able to perform all of America's duties in space such as supplying the ISS, and hopefully landing on the Moon and eventully Mars.</div><div> </div><div></div><div>The main goals of the NASA's Constellation program are to keep an American presence in suborbital space, to return to the moon and hopefully establish an <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dPAwemQKBKJTnd-g205h0aQA9TaBilo_VQuoC0zVvrRo5RRFnjgHs6TrvyUL1rp5CAcUp_bae5xNprHORcp026AseHBCJFyHN0dJyMjOELPYSecui8HalR-sqnPVAKI8-VF9nA_9ra4/s1600-h/687px-Constellation_logo_white_svg.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162260152216809250" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dPAwemQKBKJTnd-g205h0aQA9TaBilo_VQuoC0zVvrRo5RRFnjgHs6TrvyUL1rp5CAcUp_bae5xNprHORcp026AseHBCJFyHN0dJyMjOELPYSecui8HalR-sqnPVAKI8-VF9nA_9ra4/s200/687px-Constellation_logo_white_svg.png" border="0" /></a>outpost, to prepare to explore Mars and possibly get humans there by 2050.</div><div></div><div>The development of this program was started politically by the Vision for Space Exploration which George Bush proposed in 2004. This Vision has good intentions and should keep NASA busy, though I would imagine, and almost hope, that private companies exceed NASA's unambitious goals.</div><div></div><div>But to me the Constellation program is interesting and has a good bit of potential so I will continue this series with the next part being on the Orion crew exploration vehicle.</div><div></div><div> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">Image source: nasa.gov</div><div align="left"> </div><div>The Fool</div></div></div></div>The Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-90563836852277507062008-01-31T19:26:00.000-05:002008-01-31T19:56:13.382-05:00The Shuttle will Finally Launch... HopefullyNASA has finally given the green light for Atlantis to launch. The shuttle launch that has been rescheduled multiple times will take place on Feb. 7, at 2:45 pm Eastern Time. There is a slight bit of worry that a kinked radiator hose may disrupt the launch, though for now the launch will not be scrubbed due to this one small problem.<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 145px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 188px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="212" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Launch_Pad_39B.jpg/398px-Launch_Pad_39B.jpg" border="0" />The previous scrubbed launches were due to glitches in the fuel sensors that tracked the amount of super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant in the shuttle's tanks. The purpose of this mission is to deliver the European Space Agency's Columbus lab to the ISS and swap out one member of the outpost's Expedition 16 crew. And with flight engineer Dan Tani's seven-hour spacewalk earlier Wednesday to replace a broken solar array motor, the ISS will be ready recieve this shuttle mission and hopefully up to four more this year.<br /><br />The FoolThe Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-9629850289877034752008-01-29T17:34:00.000-05:002008-01-29T20:50:54.893-05:00State of the Union, Politics, and Outer SpaceLast night I watched the whole State of the Union Address by George "Dubyah" and didn't hear a single word about space. I guess that reflects how much his administration cared about the space program. Though I suppose he had other things on his mind these last seven years. He talked mainly about his strong points and didn't really introduce anything new or radical. Really the only thing new at all that he spoke about was the stimulus plan and possibly more funding for education vouchers. <a href="http://www.barrycrimmins.com/images/news/news-demd.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.barrycrimmins.com/images/news/news-demd.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />But onto to more interesting topics. This coming Wednesday, the 31st, the CNN/Politico.com debate is being held between the remaining Democratic presidential candidates. An amazing 20 of the 25 top user submitted questions were involving space policy. For the Republican debate it was a good solid 11 of the 25 top spots. Unfortunately these questions aren't for sure going to be asked, though if any of them do you can give the credit to John Benac, a 2007 college graduate and new father who works as a manufacturing engineer for Boeing on the 737 program, who has successfully harnessed the power of the Internet to put space on the radar of the organizers of the upcoming event. Benac pretty much has been interested in space since he was young and thought that he could try to push it to the political forefront with the help of the Internet. He asked users of astronomy sites to vote for their favorite questions and the result was that the No. 1 most popular question for the Democratic candidates was: "Will you continue to support the NASA Vision for Space Exploration with its goals of exploring the Moon, Mars, and beyond? Do you see a connection between exploration and education?" Though some of the space related questions have slipped in rankings to subjects such as the Iraq war, Katrina, and Social Security, there are still very many space related questions in both the Dem. and Repub. debates.<br /><br />We can just hope that all of the support for space will translate into actual political action and maintained support. Well as you know, only time will tell.<br /><br />Image credit: <a href="http://www.barrycrimmins.com/images/news/news-demd.jpg">http://www.barrycrimmins.com/images/news/news-demd.jpg</a><br /><br />The FoolThe Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-54806625961308331872008-01-27T22:22:00.000-05:002008-01-27T22:45:45.284-05:00Spy Satellite Falling from OrbitA US spy satellite has recently lost power and propulsion and could hit Earth sometime in February. The satellite could possible contain <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">hazardous</span> materials. It is not currently known where on Earth the satellite could hit. The information is classified as secret. "Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council. "Numerous satellites over the years have come out of orbit and fallen harmlessly. We are looking at potential options to mitigate any possible damage this satellite may cause." Johndroe wouldn't talk about specifics to interviewers.<br /><br />The largest previous uncontrolled reentry by a man-made craft was NASA's Skylab, the 78-ton abandoned space station that fell from orbit in 1979, and its debris fell harmlessly into the Indian Ocean. I would imagine that this satellite will also fall into the ocean, the odds <em>are</em> 3 to 1. Though if it is predicted that it will hit a populated area, I would think that plans would be made to dispose of the object, possibly by firing at it with missiles. I don't think we have too much to worry about this but as you know, only time will tell.<br /><br />Source: Associated Press, space.com<br /><br />The FoolThe Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158919816804384686.post-81943964198144118262008-01-26T01:21:00.000-05:002008-01-26T01:45:32.484-05:00Carnival of Space and SpaceShipTwo PicsWell this week the Carnival of Space was hosted over at <a href="http://sortingoutscience.net/2008/01/24/carnival_of_space_week_38_--_the_adventures_of_shorty_barlow_private_eye/">Sorting out Science</a>. The Carnival was told in a series of links that told a crime story, a very unique way to put up the Carnival if you ask me. For those who don't know, the Carnival of Space is where every week, a different webmaster or blogger hosts the a showcase of articles written on the topic of space. It is a great way for the online space community to collaborate with each other and is a good source of the top news stories of each week.<br /><br />Also just to keep you updated on Virgin Galactic I thought that I would show some pretty neat <a href="http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/01/23/221031/pictures-virgin-galactic-unveils-dyna-soar-style-spaceshiptwo-design-and-twin-fuselage-white-knight.html">pictures</a> of the development of SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo.<br /><br />The FoolThe Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10387177492238419495noreply@blogger.com2