This Week in Space - Setp. 5, 2010
Here is the latest episode of
Spaceflight Now's
This Week in Space. Topics include:
A massive booster roars to life in Utah test, taking out the trash space station style, planning an asteroid mission and NASA mixes up fake vomit in the lab!
09/05/10 10:10 PM |
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On the road again + morning round-up
We'll be heading back to Maryland soon. So no more posts till this evening. Here are some miscellaneous items of possible interest:
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2 Danes fail 1st try to launch home-built rocket - AP
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Remarks for Deputy Administrator Lori Garver at the AIAA Luncheon - Aug.31.10 (pdf, 52 Kb)
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The Week in Space Pictures - CBS News
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For your Sunday entertainment comes this fan film based on the
Firefly series and
Serenity movie. Haven't seen it yet but I liked the series and movie. See also
Apparently, they were right - robot guy.
"This film will be available to view for 48 hours beginning Saturday, September 4th, 2010 at 7pm EDT."
09/05/10 10:45 AM |
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Briefs: An asteroid tweaking; Mars life controversy rises again
Trent Waddington proposes giving a nudge to a passing asteroid:
Engineering An Asteroid Close Approach - QuantumG's Blog.
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Would be quite something if
Gilbert Levin is proven correct by the Mars Science Laboratory:
Accepted Notion of Mars as Lifeless Is Challenged - NYTimes.com.
09/04/10 01:32 PM |
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Friday break in the action...
Off to visit some relatives so will be away from the computer for most of today. Here are a couple of items of interest this morning:
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Orbital Pushes ‘Cheap’ Taurus Rocket - DoD Buzz (via
spacetoday.net)
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Students Help Crash NASA Satellite Into Ocean - Tom's Guide - Sept.2.10
09/03/10 09:17 AM |
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Briefs; Copenhagen Sub. update; Solar sails; Space prizes roundup
Saturday, Sept. 4th is the current target date for the
Copenhagen Suborbitals launch of the HEAT-1X rocket.
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An overview of current solar sail projects and speculation on future applications:
Solar Sail Spacecraft Could Explore Beyond Solar System - SPACE.com
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Space competition related links:
Prize Roundup: MICI Presentations, MoonBots Winners, More X-Hab Finalists, More - Space Prizes
09/02/10 10:35 AM |
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Briefs: More on CRuSR awards; Space prizes roundup; ATK fireworks show
The AP's take on the Armadillo/Masten contracts with NASA:
NASA funds rocket flights by Calif, Texas firms - AP.
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The latest Space Prizes blog collection of space prize related links:
Prize Roundup: XHab Award, Zero-G Benefit, CRuSR Test Flights, ARLISS, Lunar Architecture, More - Space Prizes.
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More about an expensive solid rocket motor test in Utah:
Solid Rocket Motor’s Future With NASA Is in Question - NYTimes.com.
Mr. Muncy said of Tuesday’s test: “I wish them the best of luck. I don’t know why they’re doing it.”
08/31/10 12:29 AM |
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The Space Review this week
The new issue of
The Space Review begins with
Brian Weeden describing recent Chinese satellite orbital maneuvers and speculating on the motivation for these activities:
Dancing in the dark: The orbital rendezvous of SJ-12 and SJ-06F.
Jeff Foust reports on a visit to the site where ATK will test a 5-segement solid rocket motor of the type intended for the Ares I:
DM-2 and the future of SRBs.
Dwayne A. Day reviews the new book,
Eyes in the Sky: Eisenhower, the CIA and Cold War Aerial Espionage by Dino A. Brugioni
08/30/10 02:37 PM |
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Space misc.
About to head out for the long drive to Knoxville to stay the week. Here are some items from a scan of the space web:
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Vision Restoration series analyzing the Senate NASA authorization bill adds this new entry about the heavy lift vehicle and Orion capsule projects:
The Not-So-Great Compromise: Space Launch System and Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle - Vision Restoration
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Space 2010 Conference & Exposition kicks off Monday in Anaheim: Four-day event will discuss the future of technology and exploration of the solar system - OC Metro - Aug.27.10
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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – or AIAA – Space 2010 Conference & Exposition - Wish I was there but I expect there will be lots of blog and twitter reports from this meeting.
/-- Latest estimates for launch of the HEAT-1X rocket by
Copenhagen Suborbitals: Possible date, Launch platform to Bornholm: Tue Aug 31 (75%), Possible launch date of HEAT-1X-Tycho Brahe: Thu Sep 02 (20%).
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Manned space flights from new Russian base in 2018: Putin - AFP - Aug.28.10
08/29/10 11:21 AM |
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This Week in Space - August 28, 2010
The latest episode of
Spaceflight Now's This Week in Space is now available:
Make a
contribution for TWIS here.
08/29/10 10:52 AM |
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Briefs: More ice on Mars; Odd shaped Mars crater; The AMS magnet story
A reader sends a pointer to this item about a a patch of frozen water observed at the bottom of a
fresh crater seen on Mars by the
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter earlier this summer:
Image reveals frozen water on Mars - Yahoo! Canada - Aug.28.10
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Alan Boyle reports on an oddly
elongated crater near the Mars equator:
Boot on Mars? Get the big picture - Cosmic Log - Aug.27.10.
Alan also offers this gallery of August space pictures
here.
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Jonathan Amos gives some background on the
AMS experiment that will be taken to the ISS next February:
How the "LHC in space" lost its British "engine" - Spaceman/BBC - Aug.27.10.
08/29/10 12:12 AM |
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Asteroid discovery animation
A reader points me to this article with a marvelous time-lapse animation of the accumulation of newly discovered asteroids since 1980:
Asteroid Discovery From 1980 – 2010 [Time-Lapse] - Geekosystem - Aug.26.10.
The video was created by Scott Manley. Read the
caption for full details but it begins with the following:
View of the solar system showing the locations of all the asteroids starting in 1980, as asteroids are discovered they are added to the map and highlighted white so you can pick out the new ones.
The final colour of an asteroids indicates how closely it comes to the inner solar system.
Earth Crossers are Red
Earth Approachers (Perihelion less than 1.3AU) are Yellow
All Others are Green
08/27/10 11:37 PM |
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Kepler finds two planets around same star
Here's today's announcement from the
Kepler observatory:
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NASA's Kepler Mission Discovers Two Planets Transiting the Same Star - NASA.
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Graphics and animation
The
teleconference is currently underway.
Update: More info about these two odd stars from Alan Boyle:
Planets' clockwork goes crazy - Cosmic Log
Update Aug.27.10: More details about the Kepler orbital observatory and its latest findings:
Kepler Mission Produces Results - Ramps Up Search for Extra-solar Planets - NASASpaceFlight.com - Aug.26.10
08/26/10 12:22 PM |
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Carnival of Space #168 at WeirdSciences
WeirdSciences blog hosts the latest
Carnival of Space.
08/26/10 10:32 AM |
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Briefs: Decoupling in-air & in-space vehicles; AMS update
Rand Simberg is looking for suggestions on the best way to "decouple atmospheric vehicles from pure in-space ones":
Decoupling - Transterrestrial Musings
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Next February the
Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) experiment may finally make it to the ISS:
STS-134 Shuttle Report | Dark matter experiment is space shuttle's 'last hurrah' - Spaceflight Now.
08/25/10 03:03 PM |
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Briefs: X-37B mysteries; Microgravity ills and shields
More about the
X-37B orbital maneuverings:
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What does the orbital change of the X-37b mean? - The Rocketry Blog
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US military's top secret X-37B shuttle 'disappears' for two weeks, changes orbit - News.com.au
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A discussion of microgravity effects on the human body and some ideas on how to ameliorate them short of spin gravity:
How to survive the long haul in space - New Scientist.
08/25/10 02:11 PM |
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Briefs; Iridium looks for hitchhikers; Exosolar planets aplenty
Jonathan Amos reports on
Iridium's program to attract piggyback payloads for the satellites in its new constellation:
Talking and looking: Iridium's 'next' big idea - Spaceman/BBC
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More exosolar planets news:
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Smashing news about planets - Cosmic Log/MSNBC - Aug.24.10
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Alien Solar System Looks Strikingly Like Ours - SPACE.com - Aug.24.10
08/25/10 09:11 AM |
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Briefs: Space politics in FL & KS; Road to NM spaceport
Jeff Foust reports on some space related political items from Florida and Kansas:
Florida election, Kansas call for commercial space - Space Politics
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Appears that the final hurdle for a paved road between Las Cruces and
Spaceport America has been cleared:
Doña Ana County officials OK spaceport road-paving deal - Las Cruces Sun-News (via
spacetoday.net).
08/25/10 08:55 AM |
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Briefs: Masten Space visit; Robert Braun's big challenges
Doug Messier visits
Masten Space and posts some pictures:
Photos: Masten Space Systems' Brutus Vehicle Under Construction - Parabolic Arc.
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The NASA tech chief talks about what he wants to accomplish at NASA, about the DARPA model, the need for NASA to embrace failure as a required part of making tech progress, etc :
Interview with Robert Braun - NASA.
08/24/10 08:30 PM |
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Briefs: HEAT 1-X picts; Better micro-g science; Big Gemini
Some misc. items:
Trent Waddington points me to this big collection of photos from the
Copenhagen Suborbitals project:
We've made the world's largest amateur space rocket. - The Something Awful Forums.
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This National Academy of Sciences report to Congress discusses ways for NASA to carry out a revitalized microgravity research program in the coming decade:
Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era of Space Exploration: An Interim Report.
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Check out Fantastic Plastic's new model of the McDonnell Douglas 1960 design of a Gemini capsule on steroids :
Big Gemini.
08/24/10 11:17 AM |
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