Copenhagen Suborbitals: Sapphire rocket update

Copenhagen Suborbitals posts a video about their Sapphire rocket project. From the video caption:

Copenhagen Suborbitals is just weeks away from our first actively guided rocket flight. The Sapphire rocket has a liftoff mass of 200 kg, and stands six meters tall. Its nitrous oxide / polyurethane HATV type hybrid, controlled by servo operated copper jet vanes in the rocket jet. These powerful motors have a flawless record.

The instrumentation and payload is now passing parachute separation tests – and the two test performed confirmed our expectations for the parachute system.

The purpose of Copenhagen Suborbitals is to launch a human into space. You can god to space with a passive stable finn only rocket – but the initial acceleration needed to stay on course is too high for humans to endure. Therefore CS must master active guidance.

The fist and last purpose of the Sapphire mission is to test active guidance.

AMS experiment on ISS finds signs of dark matter but not yet conclusive

The first reported positron/electron ratio results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) experiment (see earlier post) on the ISS show consistency with production from dark matter interactions but more data will be needed to insure this is not due to other sources: Shining light on elusive dark matter / DAMA mission –  ESA

Scientists are confident that AMS-02 will deliver the data needed to solve the riddle of where the changes in positron ratio come from in the near future.

“Over the coming months, AMS will be able to tell us conclusively whether these positrons are a signal for dark matter, or whether they have some other origin.” says Professor Samuel Ting, the project’s lead investigator.

See also

British Interplanetary Society plaque to go to space on UK satellite

A plaque to commemorate the British Interplanetary Society‘s 80th anniversary will go to space on a Surrey Satellite Technology spacecraft later this year. Here is a recent press release from Reaction Engines Ltd, which sponsored the making of the plaque:

The British Interplanetary Society Delivers a Plaque to SSTL
for Flight on UK’s TechDemoSat-1

Guildford, Tuesday 5th March 2013

TechDemoSat-1 whose launch arrangements were announced today by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) will be carrying a plaque commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the founding of the British Interplanetary Society (BIS). The Plaque will be mounted on TechDemoSat-1 and then carried into orbit.

Plaque handover; on left Doug Liddle and Luis Gomes of SSTL and on the right Gerry Webb of CST and BISPlaque handover; on left Doug Liddle and Luis Gomes of SSTL
and on the right Gerry Webb of CST and BIS.

The Plaque was handed over to Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) last month in a ceremony conducted by BIS Council Member Gerry Webb, and Luis Gomes of the SSTL TechDemoSat-1 team who are building the satellite.

Gerry Webb is General Director of Commercial Space Technologies Limited who are the brokers for the launch of SSTL TechDemoSat-1 with the Russian Space Agency. Roscosmos. He arranged for the Plaque to be carried with both SSTL and Roscosmos.

The President of the British Interplanetary Society, Alistair Scott said, “This is a fantastic way of celebrating our 80th year and reminding people of the work we have done since the early 1930s to promote spaceflight and the exploration and use of space. We are so grateful to Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd and the TechDemoSat-1 Team for allowing us to fly with them”

Sir Martin Sweeting, Executive Chairman of SSTL commented “I am delighted that SSTL is able to offer this opportunity to BIS, an organisation which has done so much to promote and foster the UK’s interest in space”. TechDemoSat-1 is a truly British spacecraft, designed and manufactured here and flying British payloads, so it is a fitting vehicle for this commemorative plaque.”

The Plaque mounted on TD SatMark Hempsell (REL) hands over the BIS 80th Anniversary
plaques for their journey to the ISS.

The plaque is identical to the two plaques that will be carried to the International Space Station in April 2013. It is a 4cm diameter disk, 3mm deep and made of high grade aluminium alloy. Weighing less than 5g each it is precision machined to depict the Society’s 80th Anniversary Logo. It was sponsored by Reaction Engines Limited, and was made by the company’s precision machining division, Brite Precision.

Briefing on first results of the ISS Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02)

Last month, Sam Ting, head of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) experiment on the International Space Station hinted that they have found some very interesting results. (See Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to release first results -BBC – Feb.18.13.) Tomorrow the results will be discussed at the CERN accelerator center in Geneva, Switzerland and on NASA TV: First Results of the AMS-02 experiment to be presented on April 3rd at CERN

[ Update: The presentation at CERN is starting at 11:00 am ET today: LIVE WEBCAST Today @ 11 am ET: AMS Science Seminar by Nobel Laureate Sam Ting – Space.com

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NASA TV Briefing Discusses Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer Results

WASHINGTON — NASA will hold a news conference at 1:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 3, to discuss the first results of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) experiment. AMS is a state-of-the-art cosmic ray particle physics detector located on the exterior of the International Space Station.

The briefing will be held in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters at 300 E St. SW in Washington. It will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed on the agency’s website.

The participants include:
— William Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations
— Samuel Ting (participating by video link), AMS principal investigator, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
— Michael Salamon, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science program manager for AMS
— Mark Sistilli, NASA AMS program manager

Media representatives may ask questions from participating NASA centers or by telephone. To participate by phone, reporters must contact Rachel Kraft at 202-358-1100 or rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov by noon, April 3.

AMS was constructed, tested and operated by an international team of 56 institutes from 16 countries and organized under U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science sponsorship. NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston manages the AMS Integration Project Office.

AMS was launched on space shuttle Endeavour on May 16, 2011. Operations on the space station began three days later. AMS continues operations aboard the station today.

For NASA TV streaming video, scheduling and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about AMS and the International Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station

Results of a citizen scientist survey

A survey of  people participating in the Galaxy Zoo project provides a profile of the average citizen scientist  : What Makes Citizen Scientists Tick? – MIT Technology Review

The results are curious. Unsurprisingly, Galaxy Zoo volunteers are overwhelmingly male with 82.1per cent being men. There is also a particular over-abundance in the 50-60 age group. Overall, the volunteers have an average age of 43 and over 60 per cent come from the US and UK.

What is mildly surprising is their motivation for taking part. The survey asked volunteers to give their primary reason and this turned out not to be things like enjoying looking at pretty pictures of galaxies or the fun of it all. Instead, more than 40 per cent of volunteers say that the desire to contribute to science is their primary motivation.

Everyone can participate in space