Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Space talk at the Figge Art Museum

From Quad-Cities Online:  Space talk at the Figge Art Museum

Art talk highlights the challenges of reaching space

Davenport, IOWA (July 2012) The Figge Art Museum presents the art talk "Physics 101: The Challenges of Reaching Space" at 7 pm Thursday, August 2.Brett McCarty will lead the talk and focus on the obstacles that NASA has had to overcome in their quest to explore outer space. The talk is offered in conjunction with the special exhibition NASA | ART: 50 Years of Exploration and is free with Figge membership or paid admission.

Mr. McCarty's talk will look at some of the scientific and economic challenges that have faced the NASA program, including the high cost of sending material to space, the challenges of gravity, the biological effects of zero-gravity, sustaining life in orbit and the hazards of radiation and space debris. The talk will also focus the technologies and studies that assisted in NASA's missions to space.

Participants can also expect to have Mr. McCarty dispel some commonmisconceptions during the talk. "Despite the popular belief, the gravity in space is not actually 'zero gravity.' Instead, it is more accurately described as micro-gravity and orbiting the earth is actually like skydiving only you never hit the earth," explained Mr. McCarty.

Brett McCarty is an adjunct physics instructor, specializing in condensed matter physics, at St. Ambrose University. He received his master's in science from Iowa State University.

About NASA | ART: 50 Years of Exploration

In celebration of its 50th anniversary in 2008, NASA collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum on the exhibition NASA | ART: 50 Years of Exploration. Drawn from the collections of NASA and the National Air and Space Museum, the exhibition features 72 works of art commissioned by the NASA Art Program. Established soon after theinception of the U.S. space program in 1958, NASA's Art Program provides a unique way to communicate the accomplishments, setbacks, and sheer excitement of space exploration to the public. The selected works span the entire history of NASA and include paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, and other media by such artists as Annie Leibovitz, Nam June Paik, Robert Rauschenberg, Norman Rockwell, Andy Warhol, William Wegman and Jamie Wyeth.

NASA | ART at the Figge Art Museum is generously sponsored by the ALCOA Foundation, John Deere, Genesis Health Systems and Cobham, plc.

NASA | ART was organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in cooperation with the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. The Smithsonian Community Grant program, funded by MetLife Foundation, is a proud sponsor of "NASA | ART" public programs.

 

Monday, July 30, 2012

NASA rover closing in on Mars to hunt for life clues

From Reuters:  NASA rover closing in on Mars to hunt for life clues

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA's Mars rover was on its final approach to the red planet on Sunday, heading toward a mountain that may hold clues about whether life has ever existed on Mars, officials said.

The rover, also known as Curiosity, has been careening toward Mars since its launch in November. The nuclear-powered rover the size of a compact car is expected to end its 352-million-mile (567-million-km) journey on August 6 at 1:31 a.m. EDT.

The landing zone is a 12-mile-by-4-mile (20-km-by-7-km) area inside an ancient impact basin known as Gale Crater, located near the planet's equator. The crater, one of the lowest places on Mars, has a 3-mile-high (5-km-high) mountain of what appears to be layers of sediment.

Scientists suspect the crater may have once been the floor of a lake.

If so, they believe that sediments likely filled the crater, but were carried away over time, leaving only the central mound.

Readying to travel the last stretch to its landing site, Curiosity fired its steering thrusters for six seconds early Sunday, tweaking its flight path by 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) per second.

"I will not be surprised if this was our last trajectory correction maneuver," chief navigator Tomas Martin-Mur, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in a statement.

Curiosity is expected to hit the top of the Martian atmosphere at 1:24 a.m. EDT on August 6. If all goes as planned, seven minutes later the rover will be standing on its six wheels on the dry, dusty surface of Mars.
Landing is by no means guaranteed. To transport the one-ton rover and position it near the mound, engineers devised a complicated system that includes a 52-foot (16-metre) diameter supersonic parachute, a rocket-powered aerial platform and a so-called "sky crane" designed to lower the rover on a tether to the ground.
NASA last week successfully repositioned its Mars-orbiting Odyssey spacecraft so that it would be able to monitor Curiosity's descent and landing and radio the information back to ground controllers in as close to real time as possible.

Earth and Mars are so far apart that radio signals, which travel at the speed of light, take 13.8 minutes for a one-way journey.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

NASA space program clears milestone review

From UPI.com: NASA space program clears milestone review

An artist rendering of the various configurations of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS). Credit: NASA 
 
WASHINGTON, July 27 (UPI) -- NASA says the rocket system that will launch humans farther into space than ever before has reached a milestone by passing a major agency revue.

The Space Launch System Program completed a combined System Requirements Review and System Definition Review, which set requirements of the overall launch vehicle system, meaning SLS moves to its preliminary design phase, the agency reported.

The review set technical, performance, cost and schedule requirements to provide on-time development of the heavy-lift rocket.

The SLS is intended to launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and other payloads and provide the capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.

This new heavy-lift launch vehicle will make it possible for explorers to reach beyond our current limits, to nearby asteroids, Mars and its moons and to destinations even farther across our solar system," said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington.

"The in-depth assessment confirmed the basic vehicle concepts of the SLS, allowing the team to move forward and start more detailed engineering design."

SLS reached the review milestone less than 10 months after the program's inception.

"This is a pivotal moment for this program and for NASA," SLS Program Manager Todd May said. "This has been a whirlwind experience from a design standpoint.
 

 

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye in Fight For Space Kickstarter

From Wired.com:  Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye in Fight For Space Kickstarter

I cried on July 8, 2011, when the Space Shuttle Atlantis launched as the final mission of the Space Shuttle Program. I kept wondering why it had to come to an end and how things had gotten to a point where funding missions to space just wasn’t that important. What happened? How can we change it?
Paul Hildebrandt has just launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund his documentary, Fight For Space: Exploring the Future of Manned Spaceflight, which will answer those questions. It will look at how the United States space program lost its edge and why it’s so very important that we get it back.
Hildebrandt has already spent time travelling the country to meet with some notable advocates of space exploration. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, astronaut Leroy Chiao, as well as astronomers, congressmen, engineers, and authors will all be included in the final documentary. They appear in the trailer and it’s hard not to get all fired up listening to them speak.
The goal here is not to solve the problem, but to start a discussion. There are complex social, political, and economic factors that each play a role in where our space program is today, and only by understanding them can we hope to have the program rebound and inspire future generations. It’s a difficult but not impossible task to excite children about the possibilities of space exploration as the whole nation was when Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon.
If you’re passionate about space exploration and long for the day when we travel beyond the moon to Mars, then head over to the Fight For Space Kickstarter page to learn more, donate, and make this valuable documentary a reality.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Space Exploration as Entertainment

From The Atlantic: Space Exploration as Entertainment
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SV6w_ju9kMo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
(If you can't see the video above, you must visit the link via a computer rather than Kindle)
Two weeks from today, NASA's latest Martian visitor, the Mars Science Laboratory (aka Curiosity) will land on the Red Planet and begin broadcasting updates from its surface.
Or so NASA hopes.

The landing will be fraught with danger to the spacecraft as it tries to keep from burning up as it slows itself down in the thin Martian atmosphere. It probably will make a safe landing, but it may not.
Last month, the space agency put out a trailer to dramatize the fear and excitement scientists have about the descent. If you haven't seen it, you can check it out above, in all its heart-pounding glory.
You might watch this and think, "Why is NASA trying to get all Hollywood on us?" I'd just remind you that space exploration broadcasts have always been very successful entertainment. Let us not forget that as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were preparing to set human feet on the surface of the moon for the very first time, they were actually talking about how to set up the cameras to capture the moment. Of course, 500 million people back on Earth were tuned in, so it's probably a good thing they got the f-stop right.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Sally Ride, first US woman in space dead at 61

From Yahoo News: Sally Ride, first US woman in space dead at 61

..Sally Ride, the first American woman to journey into space, died on Monday after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer, her foundation announced. She was 61.
Ride first launched into space in 1983 aboard the Challenger shuttle, taking part in the seventh mission of US space shuttle program.
US President Barack Obama called her a "national hero and a powerful role model" who "inspired generations of young girls to reach for the stars."
"Sally's life showed us that there are no limits to what we can achieve and I have no doubt that her legacy will endure for years to come," he added, in a statement offering condolences to Ride's family and friends.
NASA administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement Ride "literally changed the face of America's space program" and that "the nation has lost one of its finest leaders, teachers, and explorers."
The agency's deputy administrator Lori Garver added that the trailblazing astronaut was a "personal and professional role model to me and thousands of women around the world."
Tributes quickly poured in on the micro-blogging website Twitter including from women who remembered learning as young girls of Ride's pioneering flight.
"I was seven in the summer of 1983. Sally Ride was simply everything," read one. Another declared: "RIP Sally Ride -- you inspired me to believe that, as a female, anything was possible. May your journey to the stars be swift.
In an interview marking the 25th anniversary of the mission, Ride said she was so dazzled that she only later "came to appreciate what an honor it was to be selected to be the first (US woman) to get a chance to go into space."
Ride, born May 26, 1951, in southern California, earned degrees in physics and English from Stanford University.
She applied to be an astronaut at US space agency NASA in 1977, after seeing an ad in her university's student newspaper. It was the first time the space agency had allowed applications from civilians -- or from women.
Ride was one of 35 people, including just six women, chosen from a pool of 8,000 applicants.
She flew in two space missions, logging nearly 350 hours in space. However, after the Challenger explosion that killed all seven crew members, her third planned mission was grounded in 1986.
Ride served on the commission to investigate the accident, and was then assigned to NASA headquarters. She retired from the agency in 1987.
On her foundation's website, Ride said of her historic foray into space: "The thing I'll remember most about the flight is that it was fun."
According to the foundation, Ride became an advocate "inspiring young people, especially girls, to stick with their interest in science, to become scientifically literate, and to consider careers in science and engineering."
She founded Sally Ride Science in 2001, directed NASA-funded education projects, and also co-authored seven science books for children.
Ride is survived by Tam O'Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years, as well as by her mother, sister, niece and nephew.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Space shuttle Enterprise makes museum debut

From NBC News:  Space shuttle Enterprise makes museum debut

New York City, meet space shuttle Enterprise.
On Thursday, the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum on Manhattan's west side opened its new "Space Shuttle Pavilion" to the public, giving tourists and the Big Apple's residents a chance to "up-close and personal" with NASA's first prototype orbiter on board the flight deck of the converted aircraft carrier.
"As a pioneer of space exploration, an on-going American saga that the Intrepid herself played a critical role as a recovery vessel during the Mercury and Gemini programs, Enterprise embodies this museum's mission to honor our heroes, to educate the public and inspire our youth," said Bruce Mosler, co-chairman of the Intrepid.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden joined a dozen of his fellow shuttle-era astronauts — including three of the four pilots who flew Enterprise during its atmospheric approach and landing test program in 1977 — for Thursday's grand opening ceremony and ribbon cutting that was staged just outside of the shuttle's pressurized pavilion on board the Intrepid.

"I knew bringing a space shuttle to New York City was the right thing to do," Bolden told collectSPACE. "You know, it is the capital of the world when you really stop and think about it. Everybody comes to New York, so it is the right place to be." 

The museum is built into the retired U.S.S. Intrepid World War II aircraft carrier. Enterprise's exhibit sits at the front of Intrepid's flight deck, the shuttle's nose pointing toward the Hudson River.
"Placing a shuttle on top of a World War II aircraft carrier is not an easy feat, and I might be able to say we are now the only ones in the world who've made that happen," said Susan Marenoff-Zausner, the Intrepid's president.

Exhibiting Enterprise Enterprise, which never flew in space, is presented in a darkened display with dramatic blue lighting, evoking the atmosphere of flight. Backlit images and flat panel video displays surround the winged orbiter, sharing its history, the history of NASA's 30-year space shuttle program, and the advancements in aviation and aerospace that led to its development.

Visitors are welcome to walk up to, around and under the shuttle — a feature that is unique to the Intrepid's display as compared to the other exhibits for NASA's other retired orbiters. Enterprise's underbelly, which is lined with foam replicas of the space-worthy shuttles' heat shield tiles, is just 10 feet above the floor.
A raised platform at the front of the vehicle allows guests to come nose-to-nose with the Enterprise, as well as look into its crew cabin's windows and down the length of the 122 foot prototype spacecraft.

"Enterprise's arrival opens a new chapter in the story of the Intrepid museum," Ken Fisher, Intrepid's co-chairman, said. "This truly fulfills the 'space' portion of our museum's name and offers an unprecedented and unmatched tool to educate our visitors, especially our young ones."

Shuttle stars The opening of the pavilion reunited astronauts Joe Engle, Richard Truly and Fred Haise, who flew Enterprise in pairs during its eight piloted test flights made between June and October 1977.

The space shuttle's fourth pilot, Gordon Fullerton, suffered a massive stroke in 2009 and was unable to travel to New York City. His wife, Marie, represented him at the opening ceremony.

"As a naval aviator, this is truly a great place to be," said Haise, speaking on behalf of his fellow Enterprise pilots. "One our compatriots, Dick Truly, this was his first ship."

Truly, who later went on to command two shuttle missions before becoming NASA Administrator, first flew F-8 single engine jets off the Intrepid during his first tour of duty with the Navy.
During the opening ceremony, Marenoff-Zausner, together with Mosler and Fisher, presented the Enterprise veterans with plaques commemorating that their names would be displayed alongside the shuttle in the form of star-shaped displays.

Also on hand for the ceremony were astronauts with ties to the Big Apple, including Karol "Bo" Bobko, who served as prime chase plane pilot for Enterprise's approach and landing test (ALT) program. Bobko was born in New York City.

NASA celebrated the pavilion's opening by bringing to the Intrepid more than 40 exhibits and activities as part of the Samsung Electronics-sponsored "SpaceFest," which the Intrepid is hosting through Sunday.

The journey continues Thursday's public opening of the Space Shuttle Pavilion is only the first step in the Intrepid's plans for Enterprise.

"The wonderful pavilion and the story that it tells is not the final leg of this journey, that is still to come," Fisher said. "The home, as wonderful as it is, is only temporary."

"The entire Intrepid team is working hard to raise the funds and develop a plan for the permanent home for Enterprise, on the grounds of this museum but not on the flight deck," he added.

The permanent facility, which is expected to open in 2 to 3 years, will enable the Intrepid to share Enterprise's story in even greater detail and to welcome even more people.

"But we're extremely proud of the exhibit we're dedicating today that allows us to showcase Enterprise immediately," Fisher explained. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but our earlier plan for Enterprise involved keeping her essentially in storage out at JFK Airport until a more permanent home could be built."

"I think having it here now and opening it today is a much better idea," Fisher said.







 

Orion spacecraft for human space exploration parachute test successful

From Examiner.com:  Orion spacecraft for human space exploration parachute test successful

The Orion test spacecraft, designed for human space exploration, had another successful parachute test in Arizona on July 18, 2012, according to NASA. The parachute test was done in preparation for a 2014 uncrewed orbital flight test of Orion.

Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (Orion MPCV) is designed to support long-duration deep space missions that can last up to six months. Because Orion has an advanced propulsion, life support, avionics and thermal protection systems, it can carry astronauts beyond low earth orbit (LEO) and into deeper space where its future destinations include the International Space Station (ISS), our moon, near-Earth asteroids, the moons of Mars and the planet Mars.

Orion is an exploration vehicle that will carry four astronauts on missions up to 210 days. The crew module is larger than Apollo’s. The service module contains the fuel, scientific instruments and life-sustaining air and water. It is safe with its launch abort system for emergency crew escape.

This new generation of spacecraft will have increasingly challenging missions until Mars is reached. It is part of America’s deep space exploration program.

 

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

U.S. keeps wary eye on China’s space program

From Kansas City star:  U.S. keeps wary eye on China’s space program

China launched an anti-satellite test in 2007 and an anti-ballistic missile test in 2010 without alerting the international community beforehand. Now the Beijing government has moved a step closer to its goal of building a space station by 2020: In June, China completed a successful manned docking test, keeping on track to execute the three-step space plan it announced in the 1990s.

As China quickly carves out its place in space, American experts are beginning to question what its moves mean for the United States at a time NASA is undergoing a fundamental shift in its own mission. That’s partly because China’s agenda remains unclear, despite official claims that the program’s intentions are peaceful.
“Peaceful is in the eye of the beholder,” said Dean Cheng, an expert on Chinese political and security affairs at the Heritage Foundation, a policy research center in Washington. “The Chinese military is thinking of space in ways that would threaten U.S. space assets.”

China’s space program does have civilian applications, and a nation can make significant technological advances from knowledge gained through space exploration. The United States also remains the international leader in space. But as the American program shifts direction and China’s advances, should the United States be worried about a threat to its security?

According to an April report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a congressional commission, the answer is: Maybe. “While the overall level of its space technology may not match that of the United States and other space-faring nations, China’s relative advances are significant,” it said. “Even relative increases in Chinese space capabilities could present challenges for the United States.”

The report, by Cheng and Mark A. Stokes, said China “is emerging as a space power.”

June’s launch involved sending three Chinese astronauts into space to complete the country’s first manual docking of a spacecraft with another space module. The expedition means that China is one of just three countries to have docked successfully with orbiting stations.

“It does reflect a fair degree of sophistication on China’s part,” said Jonathan Pollack, a China expert at the Brookings Institution, a research center in Washington.

It also might signal China’s military ambitions. While the Chinese say their program is peaceful, Cheng of the Heritage Foundation said the United States couldn’t ignore the 2007 anti-satellite test, in which China destroyed one of its own weather satellites without prior notice.

Space technology and military capability are deeply connected. Satellites give China access to a global positioning system, which can be used to collect intelligence on other countries’ military ships and bases, creating the potential for China to target and attack those assets, said Dan Blumenthal, a China expert at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington; he’s also a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

In addition, satellites can be used to blind or destroy other nations’ satellites, Cheng said. That’s a threat to U.S. security because most American military operations cannot be conducted without a robust satellite system.

As military and national power increasingly relies on space dominance, so will future wars, he said. “The Chinese military has concluded that winning the next war requires the ability to establish space dominance and superiority,” he added.

Part of China’s warfare strategy is not only finding a place for itself in space, but also working to deny space to any potential enemy, he said.

“The United States . . . has had a monopoly on power in space,” Blumenthal said. “Now it has a competitor in that realm.”

In recent years, NASA’s mission has been modified. Its manned space program has been slowing steadily since the George W. Bush administration, which started the shutdown of the space shuttle program. Its planetary science program has changed as well: In a 2010 address at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, President Barack Obama stated his commitment to NASA and pledged to continue funding the agency, but he also detailed plans to scale back on NASA’s studies of planets.

This leaves the potential for China to surpass the United States in that field, said Scott Hubbard, a consulting professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University.

“Obama has cut everything (but) the kitchen sink in terms of planetary science, which I think is the wrong thing to do,” he said.

Even so, NASA’s recent partnership with the private company SpaceX has received mostly positive reviews from the astronautics community. “This is absolutely the right way to go,” Hubbard said. “The privatization of space is not unlike what happened in the early days of aviation.”

A NASA spokesman said such private partnerships allowed the United States to focus on other endeavors.
“In order to explore beyond where any man or woman has ever been, we’re partnering with private industry so we can focus on the truly difficult missions, like sending humans to Mars,” David Weaver, the associate administrator for communications at NASA, said in an email.

In many ways, China is following in American footsteps, executing projects that the U.S. completed 50 years ago.

China’s recent emergence as a space power is a result of years of development since its space program launched in 1956, the Heritage Foundation’s Cheng said.

That’s bolstered by the exponentially increased wealth the country is experiencing now, as well as its Soviet-style methods.

“Authoritarian systems . . . tend to be very good at mobilizing resources to achieve relatively narrow goals, including in the realm of military technology,” said Jacques deLisle, the director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Just as the military potential of China’s space program is viewed as a threat, so is the strengthened sense of nationalism that comes with an advancing space program. Nations undertake spaceflight – particularly human spaceflight – for national interest, Stanford’s Hubbard said.

“It’s a badge of accomplishment on the international stage to have a human spaceflight program,” he said. “They want to be seen as a major player, not an emerging nation. Having your own space program gives bragging rights that you’ve joined the club that previously only the United States and Russia were members of.”

China depends heavily on nationalism for its legitimacy, deLisle said.

“Of course, anything that stokes nationalism could be construed as threatening,” he said, and could be a source of increased tension with the United States.

As with any nation’s space program, China’s can have civilian applications, noted John Hansman, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Technology such as telecommunications infrastructure and devices such as cellphones and small cameras all resulted from space technology, specifically satellites, he said. This has the potential to boost the Chinese economy by giving the Chinese the skills to manage a large, complicated technological-development project.

While the world can easily see China’s space advancements, the country’s opaque agenda for its space program leaves little for experts to work with as they try to piece together how these recent advancements will affect the United States and the world.

“Beijing’s lack of transparency over military budgets, and potential risks associated with the military applications of space technology, remain major causes for concern,” the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in its report.

Despite its advancements, China isn’t in a space race with the United States. Its Asian neighbors might see things differently, however.

“The Chinese aren’t in much of a space race, certainly not with us,” Cheng said. “They are building their space program on their own timetable. . . . Both India and Japan are looking at the Chinese very nervously.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/16/3708948/us-keeps-wary-eye-on-chinas-space.html#storylink=cpy

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

France boldly enters next frontier in space exploration: Timmins, Ont.

From :  France boldly enters next frontier in space exploration: Timmins, Ont.

France had a problem. The country’s space agency has been at the forefront of ballooning for a half-century, sending helium-filled balloons high into the atmosphere to study everything from ozone depletion over the North Pole to monsoons in West Africa and the accuracy of satellite solar cells.

But these mammoth balloons, which can stretch as tall as the Eiffel Tower and as wide as an NHL arena, require wide-open spaces to be launched, hard to find nowadays in France.

Enter Timmins, Ont.

The Northeastern Ontario mining city will become home to a new space-balloon launch site, a partnership between the Canadian Space Agency and France’s Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES). Canada’s space agency is committing $10-million to the cost of construction and flights in which it participates, while the French are providing their expertise and balloons, pledging to fly one in Timmins about every two years. Canada will also be involved in French missions in other countries.
The collaboration marks a return to ballooning for Canada after funding for these flights was scaled back about a decade ago.

Space balloons (near space, really) can carry up to 1.5 tonnes of equipment into the stratosphere, soaring higher than an aircraft but lower than satellites. They are relatively low cost and ideal for training the next generation of scientists and engineers, said Daniel Lévesque of the Canadian Space Agency.

“They need to get their hands dirty. They need to get their experience,” said Mr. Lévesque, one of the Timmins project managers. “Having a lot of flight opportunity will allow us to keep our scientists interested in this field. To keep our brains in Canada.”

Public money for science and space missions is tough to come by at the best of times, let alone during a lingering economic downturn. Ottawa is facing stiff criticism from scientists for reducing funding for environmental research, while budgetary pressures in the United States, long dominant in planetary exploration, have forced NASA to shelve high-profile plans, such as orbiting Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons.
Canada’s modest space program has always counted on partnering with other countries, chiefly the U.S., noted Chris Gainor, a vice-president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. The country’s first satellite, Alouette, for instance, was launched 50 years ago on a U.S. rocket.

The Timmins mid-latitude balloon base, which will be constructed at the city’s airport, is the first space collaboration between Canada and France, whose space agency has participated in more than 3,500 balloon launches, working with countries such as Sweden, Japan, Russia and the U.S. It is expected to foster further scientific collaboration between the two countries.

France approached Canada about building a balloon launch site a few years ago. Although balloon missions don’t capture as much attention as rocket launches, they have contributed to our understanding of Earth’s environment and atmosphere and of outer space. Unlike rockets that zip through the stratosphere in minutes, helium balloons can hover for hours, days or even months, allowing telescopes, sensors and other scientific instruments to collect vital data for research.

Some of France’s most important ballooning work has focused on the depletion of the ozone layer and the role of chlorofluorocarbons and other chemicals, noted Marie-Anne Clair, director of ballooning activity for CNES. Balloons have also been used to test equipment destined for higher altitudes.

In Timmins, the French space agency plans to launch a mission called PILOT, expected in the fall of 2013. A balloon that expands to 800,000 square metres – the biggest balloon that CNES has – will carry a powerful telescope 42 kilometres into the sky. The scope will measure interstellar dust polarization with unprecedented accuracy, dust that could help scientists better understand the evolution and age of the universe.

Canada’s ballooning missions haven’t been determined yet. The Canadian Space Agency plans to invite scientists and engineers to its Quebec headquarters in the fall to pitch ideas, Mr. Lévesque said.

The agency’s last balloon mission was MANTRA in 2004 and involved scientists from Environment Canada, the University of Toronto, York University and the University of Waterloo. The balloon set off from a private airfield in Vanscoy, Sask., about 30 kilometres southwest of Saskatoon, soaring 40 kilometres into the sky to study the state of the ozone layer over Canada.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Put space policy on the presidential to-do list

From CBS News:  Space workers still struggle a year after space shuttle mission ended

(CBS/AP) How do you find a new job when your only work experience is building and maintaining a space shuttle? That is a question many are having to grapple with a year after the United States ended its three-decade long space shuttle mission. Over 7,400 people are out of work and most are still looking for jobs.


Some have headed to South Carolina to build airplanes in that state's growing industry, and others have moved as far as Afghanistan to work as government contractors. Some found lower-paying jobs beneath their technical skills that allowed them to stay. Many are still looking for work and cutting back on things like driving and utilities to save money.


"Nobody wants to hire the old guy," said Terry White, a 62-year-old former project manager who worked 33 years for the shuttle program until he was laid off after Atlantis landed last July 21. "There just isn't a lot of work around here. Or if so, the wages are really small."

White earned more than $100,000 a year at the end of his career at the space center. The prospects of finding a job that pays anywhere near that along the Space Coast are slim.

"I could take an $11-an-hour job that is 40 miles away," he said "But with gas prices and all that, it's not really worthwhile."


While other shuttle workers in Houston, New Orleans and Huntsville, Alabama, lost jobs, those areas had bigger economies to absorb the workers. In less economically diverse Brevard County, the mainly contractor positions cut by NASA accounted for just under 5 percent of the county's private sector jobs.

"It was the experience and job of a lifetime," crane operator Lou Hanna told Scott Pelley on "60 Minutes" in April. "I was working with Pad one day, with a friend of mine. And he's a crane operator too. And I ask him, I said, 'How many other crane operators do you suppose that there are doing what we're doing? There's two, you and me.'"
The Kennedy Space Center's current workforce of 8,500 workers is the smallest in more in than 35 years. In the middle of the last decade, the space center employed around 15,000 workers.

James Peek, a 48-year-old quality inspector for the shuttles, has applied for 50 positions with no success since he was laid off in October 2010. He has taken odd jobs glazing windows for a luxury hotel in Orlando and working as a security guard. He has no health insurance and incurred a $13,000 bill when he was hospitalized for three days last May.

"With most companies, it's like your application goes into a black hole," Peek said. "We're struggling to stay afloat."

Jobless space workers have signed up for Brevard Workforce's job placement and training services. Slightly more than half of the 5,700 workers the agency has been able to track have found jobs, but more than a quarter of those positions were outside Florida. Those jobs have been in the fields of engineering, mechanics and security, according to the agency.

Brevard County's unemployment rate spiked in the months that the shuttle program wound down, going from 10.6 percent in April 2011 to 11.7 percent in August 2011. It has since declined to 9 percent, a result of a smaller workforce as many former shuttle workers either moved away or retired earlier than planned. Brevard County has added 2,700 jobs since the beginning of the year, but many are in the southern part of the 72-mile (116-kilometer)-long county where information technology giant Harris Corp. and airplane-maker Embraer are located. Jobless space workers in the northern part of the county jokingly refer to those high-tech workers as "their rich cousins."

Some local employers are finding that the former space workers' salary demands are sometimes too high.

"STOP sending former Space Center employees," one employer wrote to Brevard Workforce, the local job agency, in a comment included in its monthly committee report. "They have an unrealistic salary expectation."

Taxpayer money allocated for job training programs for displaced space shuttle workers also is dwindling a year after the program ended.

Adding to the difficulties of finding a new job is the age of many of the former shuttle workers. Many spent their entire careers working on the space shuttles and are now in their 50s and 60s.


In between sending out resumes and meeting at networking events, many of the space workers are volunteering at Kennedy Space Center, giving tours to dignitaries and providing oral histories to tourists who stop by the Vehicle Assembly Building.

Even though many of the older space workers like White had years to plan for the end of the shuttle program, they stuck around, hoping to prepare the orbiters for displays in museums in Florida, Los Angeles and Washington after the program ended. They expected younger shuttle workers to move over to the successor Constellation program whose goal was to send astronauts to the moon and then Mars. But the cancellation of the Constellation program in 2010 increased the competition for those few jobs left prepping the shuttles.

Some shuttle workers, such as Kevin Harrington, had been holding out hope that the program announced after Constellation's demise - a heavy-lift rocket system that would launch astronauts in an Orion space capsule - would offer immediate widespread job opportunities. But the plans announced last year won't have unmanned test launches of the Space Launch System for another five years, and the first manned mission won't be for about another decade.

Private-sector companies, such as Paypal founder Elon Musk's Space X, are starting unmanned launches from Kennedy Space Center, but their need for workers doesn't come close to what was required for the shuttle program.

"We expected a little more action from our government, at least in figuring out what direction we're going to go in," said Harrington, 55, who worked on the shuttles' thermal protection system earning about $80,000 a year. "Ultimately, that would inform which direction we would go in. A lot of us thought, since we have such deep roots in the community, we could wait it out. It was hopeful at first. Now it isn't so hopeful. Things aren't moving fast."

Many of the former space workers find camaraderie and job tips each Friday at the weekly breakfast of the Spacecoast Technical Network, a group created by former Kennedy Space Center workers. Just hours before 70 members dined on eggs, biscuits and coffee at a recent meeting, three Chinese astronauts parachuted back to Earth in a capsule halfway around the world. For the space workers, it was yet another sign of the growing competition facing the United States as a leader of space exploration. At the moment, the United States has no way of sending astronauts to space in its own vehicles, and NASA is relying on the Soviet-made Soyuz capsules to send U.S. astronauts to the international space station.

One of the network's founders, Bill Bender, recently joined more than two dozen other colleagues working on a reconnaissance project for a contractor in Afghanistan where they are earning six-figure annual incomes.

Bender had been out of work for about a year from his job on the cancelled Constellation program when he took the one-year contract to work halfway around the world.

"As the months passed, I began to realize the hard reality that things I had known and taken for granted no longer existed. Stable work, good pay, benefits, etc. were no longer a reasonable expectation," Bender wrote in a recent email from Afghanistan. "As time went by and it was getting closer to a year without a job ... the (Afghan) opportunity looked better and better. The money was very good due to compensation for hardship and danger."

Those who have remained on the Space Coast without jobs are cutting back on small luxuries. Harrington has trimmed back on eating out and vacations.

Al Schmidt, who worked 27 years at the space center, has cut back on using his car and utilities at home to save money. The 60-year-old's unemployment benefits are running out soon, and without a new U.S. space program offering ready-to-go jobs, he is contemplating retirement, something he doesn't want to do.

"I live day to day. I can't afford new cars or lots of groceries," Schmidt said. "From where I sit, there is nothing coming online soon enough to resolve my problem."



 


 

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Soyuz rocket launches on mission to space station

From CBS News: Soyuz rocket launches on mission to space station

(AP) BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan - A Russian Soyuz craft launched into the morning skies over Kazakhstan on Sunday, carrying three astronauts on their way to the international space station where they will quickly start preparing for a frenzy of incoming traffic.

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Russian cosmonaut Yury Malenchenko and Japan's Akihito Hoshide are set to travel two days before reaching their three colleagues already at the permanent space outpost.
Families and colleagues watched the launch from an observation platform in the Russian-leased cosmodrome in the dry southern steppes of this sprawling Central Asian nation.

The Soyuz jettisoned three rocket booster stages as it was propelled into orbit, which takes just over nine minutes.

At that stage, a doll given to Malenchenko as a mascot by his daughter and suspended over the three astronauts floated out of view on television footage, indicating the craft had escaped the earth's gravitational pull.

Williams gave a thumbs-up sign and waved to onboard cameras as Russian space agency chief Vladimir Popovkin congratulated the crew over radio control.

Malenchenko, who is piloting the Soyuz, is one of Russia's most experienced astronauts and is making his fifth voyage into space.

Williams, who was born in Euclid, Ohio, and raised in Massachusetts, is on her second mission and will further extend the record for the longest sojourn in space for a female astronaut. She spent 195 days at the space station in 2006-2007.

Russians Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin and U.S. astronaut Joseph Acaba have been working at the space station since mid-May.

The space station, which orbits up to 410 kilometers (255 miles) above the earth, is braced to handle an unprecedented level of traffic.

Japan's HTV3 cargo ship will dock with the space station next week and will be the first of nine craft making contact with the orbiting satellite over a 17-day span.

The Soyuz is schedule to dock Tuesday with the space station at 08:52 a.m. Moscow time (0452 GMT).

 

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Former Columbia County educator starts space program

From News-Times:  Former Columbia County educator starts space program

A former Columbia County educator wants to take his love for the NASA space program to new heights.
Though NASA’s space shuttle program officially ended in August 2011, Evans resident Henry Quinn wants area residents to remember the importance of space exploration. He will help them do so through the creation of a program he calls Space Experience Presentations.

“I would like to inspire,” Quinn said. “I would like to educate and I’d like to inform people about the past, present and future of the space program.”

In addition, Quinn is working on five other programs, with topics that include how space technology is used in everyday life, the history of the space shuttle and religious ties to the program.

Quinn formerly served as a teacher and assistant principal at Evans and Greenbrier high schools. After 31 years as an educator, he retired from the Warren County school system in 2009.

As a teacher, Quinn said he would incorporate aspects of the space program into his social science lesson plans at every opportunity. With the help of NASA, he even was able to organize “space week” at Warren County schools.

“Lecturing is good for awhile, but I found it much more effective to be more of a storyteller,” he said. “That’s an emphasis I want to use with this program.”

Quinn expects to tailor his interactive presentations to each group with whom he speaks. He said he’ll reach out to any organization, including businesses, schools and colleges, planetariums and churches.
Quinn is offering the presentations at no cost but said donations would be accepted.

Space memorabilia such as shuttle models, pictures autographed by astronauts and photos of shuttle launches fill Quinn’s study – a motif his wife, Joy, also a retired educator, agreed to.
Married for 34 years, the two seem to be a match made in the stars.

Five years before the couple met, Joy Quinn did a ninth-grade school project on Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.

A childhood friend of hers also ended up marrying the associate director of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, allowing them the chance to watch a couple of shuttle launches.

“I would make the comment with him that he married me because of who my friend was,” she joked.
Through his new program, which will be ready for group presentations in August, Quinn also wants to stress what the future holds for the space program.

“We need to be proud of what we’ve done because there’s competition coming,” he said.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Landmark Toronto Science and Astronomy Superstore Transitioning to Web Sales Exclusively and Focusing on Renewable Energy Solutions

From Midland Daily: Landmark Toronto Science and Astronomy Superstore Transitioning to Web Sales Exclusively and Focusing on Renewable Energy Solutions

EfstonScience, the Science & Astronomy SuperStore is holding a major Inventory Clearance Sale as it will be moving to an online-only format this Fall.

Toronto, Ontario (PRWEB) July 10, 2012

EfstonScience has announced plans to close its Science & Astronomy SuperStore located at 3350 Dufferin Street in Toronto, while continuing the operation of its ecommerce store only. In preparation for this transition, EfstonScience has announced an Inventory Clearance Sale with all items in store and many online marked down at least 15% using promo code "MOVING", while clearance items are marked down to 40% off. Discounts will increase as the sale progresses, though stock is limited.

“We believe this is a natural evolution for EfstonScience,” said Irene Efston, owner of EfstonScience. “We’ve been Canada’s leading retailer of scientific, unique and innovative products since 1970, originally a direct mail catalog company and exclusive Canadian distributor of Edmund Scientific products. Over the years we have adapted and evolved and never lost sight of our founder’s vision: To provide innovative, leading edge, quality products that make life better for individuals and the planet.”

In the last three years, the company changed its focus to solar installations and renewables, thus prompting the decision to close the retail storefront and move the Science & Astronomy store exclusively online to their site at http://www.eScience.ca. Their renewable energy division, eSolar.ca, explains how they design and install complete turnkey installations of complete off-grid and grid-tied solar power systems, wind power systems and hybrid energy systems, which are eligible for Ontario’s MicroFIT and FIT subsidies.

EfstonScience also recently introduced Enlighten Hybrid Systems, solar and wind powered LED streetlights for use on roadways, trails, in parking lots, and parks complete with remote monitoring and options to include equipment to create off-grid WiFi hotspots and top quality surveillance cameras.

“We're currently organizing and transitioning our science and astronomy equipment inventory to our ecommerce website -- it's a major effort which will take us some time so we ask for our customers’ patience while we get everything set up,” said Efston. “In the meantime, come by the store right after the Canada Day weekend where you'll find some great deals! Everything will be marked down including many of our in-stock telescopes practically at cost.”

Located across the Yorkdale Mall for over 40 years, EfstonScience, the Science & Astronomy SuperStore is considered a Toronto landmark due to the giant telescope that sits atop the building. The store is expected to close in the Fall, although an exact date has yet to be determined.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Spacetacular brings night sky down to the kids

From Press Citizen.com:  Spacetacular brings night sky down to the kids

Florida has Cape Canaveral and Houston has NASA, but when it comes to the most basic means of space exploration, Iowa has a leg up on many parts of the country.

“The nice thing is that the sky is still accessible in Iowa,” Jay Staker, associate director for the Iowa Space Grant Consortium, said Saturday at the inaugural Spacetacular event inside The Englert Theatre.

Although light pollution can stymie stargazing in more populated regions, here in the Midwest, a quick drive out of town can reveal the full brilliance of the night’s sky. Organizers hope that after attending Saturday afternoon’s outreach event by the Iowa Space Science Center Initiative, children and their parents will spend a bit more time taking advantage of that view.

Kids crowded into an inflatable planetarium on the stage at the Englert, where they oohed and ahhed when the flashlights dimmed and the domed ceiling lit up with stars.

“Nowadays with kids really socked into videogames and being indoors, the amount of time they really look at the stars at night is very small,” said Charles Miller, director of Iowa Space Grant Consortium, the new Iowa City-based nonprofit that organized the event. “So to have something like this is a way to reintroduce them to something that basically everybody has always known about, except for the people of the last 50 years.”
The free event, which included a screening of the film “Apollo 13,” featured presentations on the solar system from University of Iowa professor Donald Gurnett and space historian Andrew Chaikin.

“I love the enthusiasm of the kids,” said Chaikin, a Vermont-based journalist who has written about the moon missions. “Space is a magnet for kids to study science, math and engineering. When they’re young, they have such a wide-eyed sense of wonder, and space exploration is one of the most wonder-filled subjects I can think of.”

The Iowa Space Science Center Initiative, which formed last fall to promote science to new generations of children, received funding for the event from the Iowa Space Grant Consortium and the University of Iowa Department of Physics. The organization rented the planetarium, though it hopes to raise money for the first permanent star display for the Iowa City area.

Ken Gayley, an associate professor in the University of Iowa’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, brought his 8-year-old children Anna and Peter to the planetarium. While the kids had been to similar events at their elementary school, Gayley said Saturday’s display was visually more impressive.

“This one is bigger and brighter and easier to walk into,” Gayley said.

Chaikin, who grew up in the space age, said he wanted to be an astronaut as a kid. But when that didn’t work out, he did the next best thing by interviewing many of the people involved with the moon landings for first book, “A Man on the Moon.”

“I’ve had a lot of great experiences in my career, and I like sharing that with the kids and getting them fired up about space,” he said.

 

 

Sunday, July 8, 2012

NASA Mars Program Offical Discusses New Era Of Space Exploration

From Space Ref:  NASA Mars Program Offical Discusses New Era Of Space Exploration

Media representatives are invited to a briefing on Tuesday, July 10 at 9 a.m. BST at the 2012 Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, England. NASA and industry officials will discuss the importance of the space program and the role of cost-efficient product development in the emerging new era of space travel and exploration.

Doug McCuistion, director of NASA's Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters, Washington, and Siegfried Russwurm, CEO of Siemens Industry Sector, Erlangen, Germany, will provide details and answer questions about the importance of government and industry collaboration to maximize productivity and efficiency in space exploration. The briefing will take place the Hendon Room in the airshow's media center.

Siemens software contributed to the development of NASA's most advanced planetary rover, Curiosity, which will land on the surface of Mars on Aug. 6 at 1:31 a.m. EDT. This mobile science laboratory will assess whether the past or present Martian environment could support life. The software was used for modeling during development of the rover.

Media representatives attending the air show that would like to participate in the briefing should register online at: https://www.industry-meeting.com/event/microsite/22/sign-up/

The Farnborough International Airshow is an annual event featuring a host of activities, exhibits, and static and aerial demonstrations by aerospace companies worldwide.

For information about NASA's Curiosity rover, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/msl


Friday, July 6, 2012

CHENG: China’s space challenge to America

From WAshington Times, op ed piece:  CHENG: China’s space challenge to America

ANALYSIS/OPINION:
At the dawn of the Space Age, China lagged far behind the United States and the Soviet Union. Beijing didn’t even launch its first satellite until 1970.

But China has made remarkable progress. On June 24, three Chinese astronauts successfully docked their Shenzhou spacecraft with the orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab. The mission underscored again China’s interest in manned spaceflight. And the manual docking itself marked a major step toward a greater Chinese presence in space, as docking and extended missions are essential to any space station or lunar mission.
China’s manned space program results from longstanding indigenous development efforts, leavened with some foreign technology. Aerospace efforts have been a top research priority for the People's Republic of China since March 1986. That’s when senior political and military leadership established Plan 863, formally termed the National High-Technology Research and Development Plan. These leaders saw space capability as promoting economic development. Moreover, many viewed space as an arena where competition with the United States would be both inevitable and necessary.

With commitment from the top, progress was rapid. By 1990, Chinese scientists approved a space-capsule design that would serve as China’s vessel to the stars.

China’s space efforts also got a boost with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Cash-strapped Russia happily sold China life-support systems and spacesuit technology. The Kremlin also trained two Chinese astronauts - all for cash.

China took the Russian technology and improved upon it. The Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft is more powerful and versatile than its Soyuz cousin. Similarly, the Tiangong-1 space lab bears little resemblance to the Soviet Salyut space station - not least because the Chinese program isn’t armed with a cannon.
Beijing has used its space program, including its manned space efforts, to highlight its technological prowess and to build diplomatic bridges. But the program also serves to signal the PRC’s growing military capabilities, and to raise its stature as a great power.

Compared to China, the United States enjoys a far wider array of space capabilities, but Washington seems to employ them less effectively. Here are some things the U.S. can do to get the most out of its space programs.
*Think about space in broader terms. China sees space not just as an arena for industrial policy, but as a diplomatic tool. Every Chinese space mission is a form of strategic communications. NASA’s products are a de facto refutation of claims of American decline, and should be used as such. U.S. space achievements such as the return of the X-37B or the departure of the Voyager spacecraft from the solar system (marking the farthest distance any man-made object has ever traveled) should be far more publicized worldwide.

*Rely on American strengths. A few weeks before the Shenzhou mission, a Dragon spacecraft - operated by SpaceX Corp. - resupplied the International Space Station. It was the first commercial spacecraft to dock with the ISS. The United States should encourage the commercial sector, ever intent on reducing costs, to play a greater role. Space exploration arguably requires the government; the business of space exploitation, whether resupplying the ISS or promoting space tourism, does not.

*Be cautious in engaging in space cooperation and interaction. Many Americans embrace the idea of international cooperation in space, especially when it comes to manned missions. But China’s emphasis on indigenous development suggests that Beijing will focus more on political than budgetary burden-sharing. It also suggests that China will pursue technological “cooperation” that favors itself in any joint space ventures, such as demanding establishment of R&D facilities in China and preferential transfers of technology. Equally important, Chinese interest in legal warfare should make the U.S. wary of creating new international covenants or codes of conduct regarding space. Beijing may well try to use such instruments to constrain American efforts to prepare for potential space conflicts. Cooperation needs to be mutually beneficial.

The late-arriving entry from the Far East must be taken as a serious - and tough - player in the international competition to tame “the final frontier.”
Dean Cheng is a research fellow in the Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Bill Nye fears U.S. space exploration in jeopardy over budget cuts

From Examiner.com:  Bill Nye fears U.S. space exploration in jeopardy over budget cuts

Recently, Bill Nye, the "Science Guy" shared his fears that U.S. space exploration could be in jeopardy if the Obama administration cuts NASA's budget any deeper. Nye says that global warming and an asteroid impact, among other things, could be thwarted if funds continue pouring in.

In a CNN report on July 2, Nye shared his opinions about Obama's planned cuts of $300 million from NASA's planetary exploration budget. As the head of the Planetary Society, he has become one of the leading opponents of the measure.
"This is a deep, deep concern. All the budgets are being cut. We gotcha, budgets are being cut, budgets are being pulled back, yes, yes, all good.
"But investment in space stimulates society, it stimulates it economically, it stimulates it intellectually, and it gives us all passion. Everyone, red state, blue state, everyone supports space exploration. So I understand the budget has got to be cut, but something has gone a little bit wrong."

Bill Nye also said if the United States cuts back on NASA's space exploration budget, the world faces two preventable events, global warming or climate change and the threat of an asteroid impact.

He believes that more can be learned by sending astronauts up into space to study the impact man-made emissions have on the planet from afar. Often times, clues about how the Earth is changing can be studied from technologies like those used in the International Space Station.

What's more, the "Science Guy" believes that continued funding allows NASA to develop ways to prevent the annihilation of civilization from a large asteroid impact.

"If the Earth gets hit by an asteroid, it's game over. It's control-alt-delete for civilization. So what we want to do is to develop the capability to redirect, to deflect an asteroid, ever so slightly. If you're going to do that, you've got to have space exploration," Nye added.

Is Bill Nye correct about U.S. space exploration losing its dominance if NASA suffers further cuts from the Obama administration?

 

Monday, July 2, 2012

First female taikonaut: 'It's good to stand on Earth'

From New Scientist:  First female taikonaut: 'It's good to stand on Earth'

rexfeatures_1776241j.jpg 
(Image: KeystoneUSA-ZUMA/Rex Features)

Liu Yang, the first Chinese woman in space, returned to Earth today as the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft landed safely in Inner Mongolia at 10:05 local time (02:05 GMT). The descent was slowed by parachutes, as well as rockets which fired when the capsule was 1 metre above the ground, slowing the capsule to a touchdown speed of 3.5 metres per second. Upon exiting the Shenzhou-9 capsule, Liu said "It feels so good to stand on Earth, and it feels even better to be home".

Liu and her colleagues, Jing Haipeng and Liu Wang, were returning from the first crewed mission to the Chinese space station, Tiangong-1, meaning "Heavenly Place". As part of their 13-day mission, the trio spent several days aboard the station, during which time they conducted a number of experiments and performed technical demonstrations required for the creation of a larger space station.

The Chinese space agency aims to use the knowledge gained during this mission to help it assemble a larger, modular space station over the next decade. A second crewed flight, Shenzhou-10, is planned for next year before China delivers its more sophisticated Tiangong-2 module to orbit. Subsequent modules will then follow. The completed station is expected to be similar in size to the now-defunct US space station Skylab, which is roughly a sixth of the size of the International Space Station.

 

NASA 's Super Guppy delivers space shuttle trainer to the Museum of Flight

From the Seattle Times:  NASA 's Super Guppy delivers space shuttle trainer to the Museum of Flight


ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES
A crew member of the Super Guppy cargo plane leans from the cockpit window as the plane is hooked to a tug outside the Museum of Flight Saturday, delivering part of the NASA space shuttle trainer.

BETTINA HANSEN / THE SEATTLE TIMES
NASA's Super Guppy aircraft, carrying crew compartment of the space shuttle trainer, makes a flyover around downtown Seattle on its way to The Museum of Flight.

ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES
The Super Guppy delivers plenty of cargo and decibels as it arrives at the Museum of Flight Saturday.

ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES
The front part of the Super Guppy cargo plane is cracked open as it swings forward 90-degrees so the space shuttle trainer can be unloaded Saturday.

ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES
The front part of the shrink-wrapped Space Shuttle trainer is moved on a specialty vehicle with the Super Guppy in the background, its cargo bay and cockpit area at a 90-degree angle at Boeing Field. The vehicle moving the trainer part was brought up from JBLM to assist.
ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Raw video: NASA's Super Guppy cargo plane delivers the space shuttle trainer to the Museum of Flight Saturday, June 30, 2012.

ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Ted Huetter from the Museum of Flight is an astronaut for the day, dressed like the 355 who flew in the Space Shuttle. His suit was made for the museum and is a replica of the real ones.

 

NASA Speculates It Found Life, Hidden Ocean on Saturn's Moon Titan

From Encino-Tanzana Patch:  NASA Speculates It Found Life, Hidden Ocean on Saturn's Moon Titan

Is it possible that NASA's Cassini spacecraft has found evidence of an ocean of water beneath the frozen crust of Saturn's largest moon called Titan?

A team of researchers' findings were reported and released online by the journal Science on Thursay that they "saw a large amount of squeezing and stretching as the moon orbited Saturn." These discoveries reveal that if Titan were made up of just mounds of stiff rock, the gravitational attraction of Saturn would cause bulges, or solid "tides," on the moon only 3 feet high.

"Cassini's detection of large tides on Titan leads to the almost inescapable conclusion that there is a hidden ocean at depth," said Luciano Iess, the lead author of the report and a Cassini team member at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy in a news release issued by NASA. "The search for water is an important goal in solar system exploration, and now we've spotted another place where it is abundant."

It takes the Titan moon around 16 days to orbit Saturn, and the team was able to study the moon's shape at different parts of its orbit. "Because Titan is not spherical but slightly elongated like a football, its long axis grew when it was closer to Saturn. Eight days later, when Titan was farther from Saturn, it became less elongated and more nearly round," according to the NASA news release. Cassini measured the gravitational effect of that squeeze and pull.

Mystery of Saturn
Astrologer and author of several books, Donna Stellhorn who studies the planets, explained that Saturn's Moon, Titan, was discovered in 1655 by Dutch astronomer, Christiaan Huygens but he didn't name the moon Titan.

“He called it simply Saturn IV representing the fourth moon of Saturn. It was John Herschel in 1847 who named it Titan for the Titans of Greek mythology. What's most interesting about this name is many scholars believe the word Titan is related to the Greek verb meaning 'to stretch,'” she said.

“And here we're told that NASA made this fascinating discovery of Titan's buried ocean by watching Titan 'squeeze and stretch' in its orbit around Saturn.

“From an astrological point of view this discovery signals that we should be asking ourselves is: 'where do we need to stretch ourselves' to gain what we want?”

Stellhorn says Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturnus, it is also where we get the word, Saturday.
"But despite the joy of our modern day Saturday, Saturn has two sides; one of restriction and inhibition and the other of success and achievement," she said. "In astrology Saturn represents your career like in ancient times Saturnus ruled over agriculture (the first career of ancient people)."

Currently, Saturn is in Libra and it is considered exalted in Libra meaning that Saturn is very strong in this sign. Saturn in Libra brings our attention to partnerships and relationships where we test them to see if it's a partnership that will bring us what we want, Stellhorn says.

"Saturn in Libra brings us a strong sense of duty and obligation to others whether they be friends or the community at large (hence the passing of the Affordable Care Act)," she said. "But Saturn in Libra can also make us inhibited around others, we want to guard and protect ourselves from potential danger and ridicule."
Saturn will leave Libra around October 5 and as he leaves he will take something from each of us; a friendship or relationship may end, your career may shift, or an opportunity may escape you. But the void left from whatever Saturn takes will soon be filled with something much, much better, she said.

Incidentally, the NASA news release also says: "that an ocean layer does not have to be huge or deep to create these tides. A liquid layer between the external, deformable shell and a solid mantle would enable Titan to bulge and compress as it orbits Saturn."

Because Titan's surface is mostly made up of water ice, which is aplenty in moons of the outer solar system, scientists think: "Titan's ocean is likely mostly liquid water," according to the NASA news release.

"The presence of a subsurface layer of liquid water at Titan is not itself an indicator for life. Scientists think life is more likely to arise when liquid water is in contact with rock, and these measurements cannot tell whether the ocean bottom is made up of rock or ice. The results have a bigger implication for the mystery of methane replenishment on Titan," according to the NASA news release.

 

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Getting Star Trek on the air was impossible

From the Letters of Note Blog

Getting Star Trek on the air was impossible



In November of 1966, two months after the first Star Trek series premièred in the U.S., science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote an article for TV Guide in which he complained about the numerous scientific inaccuracies found in science fiction TV shows of the day — Star Trek included. That show's creator, Gene Roddenberry, didn't take kindly to the jab, and immediately wrote to Asimov with a polite but stern response that also went some way to explaining the difficulties of bringing such a show to the screen. His letter can be read below.

Asimov apologised, and in fact became a good friend of Roddenberry's and an advisor to the show. Also below is a fascinating exchange of theirs that took place some months later, just as a problem arose relating to the relationship between Captain Kirk and Spock — a potentially damaging problem that Asimov helped to solve.

(Source: Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry; Images of Gene Roddenberry & Isaac Asimov via here & here.)

29 November, 1966

Dear Isaac:

Sorry I had to address it in this round-about way since I did not have your address and Harlan Ellison, who might have supplied it, is working a final draft for us and is already a week late and I don't want to take his attention away from it for even a moment. On second thought, I believe he is a month or two late.

Wanted to comment on your TV Guide article, "What Are A Few Galaxies Among Friends?"

Enjoyed it as I enjoy all your writing. And it will serve as a handy reference to those of our Star Trek writers who do not have a SF background. Although, to be perfectly honest, those with SF background and experience tend to make the same mistakes. I've found that the best SF writing is no guarantee of science accuracy.

A person should get his facts straight when writing anything. So, as much as I enjoyed your article, I am haunted by this need to write you with the suggestion that some of your facts were not straight. And, just as a writer writing about science should know what a galaxy is, a writer writing about television has an obligation to acquaint himself with pertinent aspects of that field. In all friendliness, and with sincere thanks for the hundreds of wonderful hours of reading you have given me, it does seem to me that your article overlooked entirely the practical, factual and scientific problems involved in getting a television show on the air and keeping it there. Television deserved much criticism, not just SF alone but all of it, but that criticism should be aimed, not shot-gunned. For example, Star Trek almost did not get on the air because it refused to do a juvenile science fiction, because it refused to put a "Lassie" aboard the space ship, and because it insisted on hiring Dick Matheson, Harlan Ellison, A.E. Van Vogt, Phil Farmer, and so on. (Not all of these came through since TV scripting is a highly difficult specialty, but many of them did.)

In the specific comment you made about Star Trek, the mysterious cloud being "one-half light-year outside the Galaxy," I agree certainly that this was stated badly, but on the other hand, it got past a Rand Corporation physicist who is hired by us to review all of our stories and scripts, and further, got past Kellum deForest Research who is also hired to do the same job.

And, needless to say, it got past me.

We do spend several hundred dollars a week to guarantee scientific accuracy. And several hundred more dollars a week to guarantee other forms of accuracy, logical progressions, etc. Before going into production we made up a "Writer's Guide" covering many of these things and we send out new pages, amendments, lists of terminology, excerpts of science articles, etc., to our writers continually. And to our directors. And specific science information to our actors depending on the job they portray. For example, we are presently accumulating a file on space medicine for De Forest Kelly who plays the ship's surgeon aboard the USS Enterprise. William Shatner, playing Captain James Kirk, and Leonard Nimoy, playing Mr. Spock, spend much of their free time reading articles, clippings, SF stories, and other material we send them.

Despite all of this we do make mistakes and will probably continue to make them. The reason—Thursday has an annoying way of coming up once a week, and five working days an episode is a crushing burden, an impossible one. The wonder of it is not that we make mistakes, but that we are able to turn out once a week science fiction which is (if we are to believe SF writers and fans who are writing us in increasing numbers) the first true SF series ever made on television. We like to think this is what we are trying to do, and trying with considerable pride. And I suppose with considerable touchiness when we believe we are criticized unfairly or as in the case of your article, damned with faint praise. Quoting Ted Sturgeon who made his first script attempt with us (and now seems firmly established as a contributor to good television), getting Star Trek on the air was impossible, putting out a program like this on a TV budget is impossible, reaching the necessary mass audience without alienating the select SF audience is impossible, not succumbing to network pressure to "juvenilize" the show is impossible, keeping it on the air is impossible. We've done all of these things. Perhaps someone else could have done it better, but no one else did.

Again, if we are to believe our letters (now mounting into the thousands), we are reaching a vast number of people who never before understood SF or enjoyed it. We are, in fact, making fans—making future purchasers of SF magazines and novels, making future box office receipts for SF films. We are, I sincerely hope, making new purchasers of "The Foundation" novels, "I, Robot," "The Rest of the Robots," and other of your excellent work. We, and I personally, in our own way and beset with the strange problems of this mass communications media, work as proudly and as hard as any other SF writer in this land.

If mention was to be made of SF in television, we deserved much better. And, as much as I admire you in your work, I felt an obligation to reply.

And, I believe, the public deserves a more definitive article on all this. Perhaps TV Guide is not the marketplace for it, but if you ever care to throw the Asimov mind and wit toward a definitive TV piece, please count on us for facts, figures, sample budgets, practical production examples, and samples of scripts from rough story to the usual multitude of drafts, samples of mass media "pressure," and whatever else we can give you.

Sincerely yours,

Gene Roddenberry

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[Seven months later...]

June, 1967

Dear Isaac,

Wish you were out here.

I would dearly love to discuss with you a problem about the show and the format. It concerns Captain James Kirk and of course the actor who plays that role, William Shatner. Bill is a fine actor, has been in leads on Broadway, has done excellent motion pictures, is generally rated as fine an actor as we have in this country. But we're not getting the use of him that we should and it is not his fault. It's easy to give good situations and good lines to Spock. And to a lesser extent the same rule is true of the irascible Dr. McCoy. I guess it's something like doing a scene with several businessmen in a room with an Eskimo. The interesting and amusing situations, the clever lines, would tend to go to the Eskimo. Or in our case, the Eskimos.

And yet Star Trek needs a strong lead, an Earth lead. Without diminishing the importance of the secondary continuing characters. But the problem we generally find is this—if we play Kirk as a true ship commander, strong and hard, devoted to career and service, it too often makes him seem unlikable. On the other hand, if we play him too warm-hearted, friendly and so on, the attitude often is "how did a guy like that get to be a ship commander?" Sort of a damned if he does and damned if he doesn't situation. Actually, although it is missed by the general audience, it is Kirk's fine handling of a most difficult role that permits Spock and the others to come off as well as they do. But Kirk does deserve more and so does the actor who plays him. I am in something of a quandary about it.

Got any ideas?

Gene

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Gene,

In some way, this is the example of the general problems of first banana/second banana. The star has to be a well-rounded individual but the supporting player can be a "humorous" man in the Elizabethan sense. He can specialize. Since his role is smaller and less important, he can be made highly seasoned, and his peculiarities and humors can easily win a wide following simply because they are so marked and even predictable. The top banana is disregarded simply because he carries the show and must do many things in many ways. The proof of the pudding is that it is rare for a second banana to be able to support a show in his old character if he keeps that character. There are exceptions. Gomer Pyle made it as Gomer Pyle (and acquired a second banana of his own in the person of the sergeant.)

Undoubtedly, it is hard on the top banana (who like all actors has a healthy streak of insecurity and needs vocal and constant reassurance from the audience) to not feel drowned out. Everybody in the show knows exactly how important and how good Mr. Shatner is, and so do all the actors, including even Mr. Shatner. Still, when the fan letters go to Mr. Nimoy and articles like mine concentrate on him, one can't help feeling unappreciated.

What to do? Well, let me think about it and write another letter in a few days. I don't know that I'll have any magic solutions, but you know, some vagrant thought of mine might spark some thought in you and who knows.

Isaac

[A few weeks later...]

Gene,

I promised to get back to you with my thoughts on the question of Mr. Shatner and the dilemma of playing against such a fad-character as "Mr. Spock."

The more I think about it, the more I think the problem is psychological. That is, Star Trek is successful, and I think it will prove easier to get a renewal for the third year than was the case for the second. The chief practical reason for its success Mr. Spock. The excellence of the stories and the acting brings in the intelligent audience (who aren't enough in numbers, alas, to affect the ratings appreciably) but Mr. Spock brings in the "teenage vote" which does send the ratings over the top. Therefore, nothing can or should be done about that. (Besides, Mr. Spock is a wonderful character and I would be most reluctant to change him in any way.)

The problem, then, is how to convince the world, and Mr. Shatner, that Mr. Shatner is the lead.

It seems to me that the only thing one can do is lead from strength. Mr. Shatner is a versatile and talented actor and perhaps this should be made plain by giving him a chance at a variety of roles. In other words, an effort should be made to work up story plots in which Mr. Shatner has an opportunity to put on disguises or take over roles of unusual nature. A bravura display of his versatility would be impressive indeed and would probably make the whole deal a great deal more fun for Mr. Shatner. (He might also consider that a display of virtuosity would stand him in great stead when the time—the sad time—came that Star Trek had finished its run and he must look elsewhere.)

Then, too, it might be well to unify the team of Kirk and Spock a bit, by having them actively meet various menaces together with one saving the life of the other on occasion. The idea of this would be to get people to think of Kirk when they think of Spock.

And, finally, the most important suggestion of all—ignore this letter, unless it happens to make sense to you.

Isaac

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Isaac,

Your comments on Shatner and Spock were most interesting and I have passed them on to Gene Coon and others. We've followed one idea immediately, that of having Spock save his Captain's life, in an up-coming show. I will follow your advice about having them much more a team, standing more closely together. As for having Shatner play more varied roles, we have been looking in that direction and will continue to do so.

But I think the most important comment is that of keeping them a close team. Shatner will come off ahead by showing he is fond of the teenage idol; Spock will do well by displaying great loyalty to his Captain.

In a way it will give us one lead, the team.

Gene