It's rocket science

From the Emporia Gazette: It's rocket science
Third grade students from William Allen White Elementary School made and shot rockets on Thursday in Hammond Park with the help from Emporia State University students.

The elementary students were from Jill Hendry and Kelly Wagaman’s classes.

“We were trying to brainstorm ideas of what we wanted to do for our field trip, and we knew we wanted it to be science related,” Wagaman said. The teachers got with Matt Seimears, an assistant professor of elementary science and education at ESU.

Wagaman and Hendry graduated from ESU and both took Seimears’ class.

“Dr. Seimears put this all together,” Wagaman said. “We bought the supplies, and he had all the launchers. It’s very minimal cost, but yet, it looks like the kids have been having a lot of fun.”

Seimears brought along his students, who are studying to become teachers.

“The nice thing is that his students volunteered,” Wagaman said. “This isn’t part of their class. They just wanted the experience with the kids.”

Hendry said she thought this event was important for the children.

“With all the focus on assessments, assessments, assessments, school is pretty strenuous on these kids,” she said. “So, I think it is nice to give them an opportunity to be outside and do a lot of hands on learning and see that science can be fun.”

The children built and shot three types of rockets: straw (drinking), air and water-based rockets.

Seimears said the air and water rockets could reach heights of 20 meters and 70 meters, respectively.

“(This event) introduces students into STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” he said. “… We want to start them at an early age. So, kids just understand that science and technology does take a lot of work, but it’s interesting. They can become acclimated to it and really enjoy it.”

Krsna Riddle, who is in Hendry’s class, said he thought the field trip was awesome because he got to shoot rockets.

Cesar Galache Jr., who is in Wagaman’s class, said he thought the field trip was fun because he got to build rockets, play and eat lunch.

Galache and Riddle said they would like to do this event again.

Before the children worked with the rockets, Rod Russell, a local pilot and president of the Emporia Airport Action Group Association, spoke to the third graders about how a plane flies.

“To explain four fundamentals of flight to third graders is a bit much, but I think they understood the basic concepts of going fast and slowing down,” Russell said.

From Star News Online: Rouzer’s new TV ad jabs Pantano on space exploration spending

Republican congressional candidate David Rouzer’s new TV ad again criticizes his primary opponent Ilario Pantano for his position on future space exploration.

Pantano, an author and former Marine from Wilmington, has said he believes having strategic control of space is important for national security, but that he believes the United States could pay for it by cuts to other federal agencies and programs.
Rouzer, a state senator and business consultant from Johnston County, ends the ad by stating: “I’m David Rouzer, and I approved this message because we’ve already been to the moon.”
Rouzer and Pantano are vying for the Republican nomination in the 7th Congressional District. The winner of the May 8 primary will challenge U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-Lumberton, in November.

Techniques compared to space exploration

From the Montreal Gazette: Techniques compared to space exploration

With roughly 200 active mines, quarries and sandpits in operation as of July 2010, the industry has a huge reach in Quebec. In communities across the province, nearly 900 facilities provide direct and indirect jobs for upwards of 50,000 people.

"There's no question that mining is a huge contributor to our economy and job creation in Quebec," said Dan Tolgyesi, president and CEO of the Mining Association of Quebec.

The industry employs all sorts of experts including geologists, drill technicians, trades people and a slew of engineers, university and college graduates from various disciplines.

"Engineers play an enormous role in the industry," Tolgyesi said. "From geologist, mining, processing and metallurgical engineers to mechanical and electrical engineers and computer systems experts, they're all essential."

The notion of working in the mining industry is often skewed in people's minds.

"The technology has come so far and become so advanced from the old image of miners in a pit with pickaxes," Tolgyesi said. "We have specially trained and skilled engineers and experts designing, manufacturing and operating highly mechanized equipment."

The techniques used in the industry are similar to those employed in space exploration, he added.
"Only it's more complicated in some ways because when you go to space, it's a void, but when you go underground you have to incorporate geophysics to navigate rock bodies," Tolgyesi said.
"We break the rock, drill, blast and move huge pieces of earth all while supporting the ground to prevent rock falls."

The automation incorporated into the practice of mining is nothing short of incredible and engineers play a huge role in that.

"People can now operate mines without endangering themselves," Tolgyesi said. "Sections of mines have no people working in them because the machinery is automated or is being operated remotely, which is much safer in certain circumstances."

Quebec is a huge producer of minerals such as iron, gold, copper, nickel, zinc and silver. There are also industrial and architectural stones and peat mines throughout the province.

In the near future it's likely that diamonds, lithium, rare earth elements and uranium will be mined here as well.
 

SpaceX docking mission is again delayed

From the Los Angeles Times: SpaceX docking mission is again delayed
The first launch of a private spaceship to the International Space Station has been delayed more than a week, until May 7, so engineers can test hardware and software, as well as review data.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better known as SpaceX, was slated to launch a craft from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 30 in a demonstration flight for NASA. The launch date had already been pushed back several times.

"After reviewing our recent progress, it was clear that we needed more time to finish hardware in-the-loop testing and properly review and follow up on all data," SpaceX spokeswoman Kirstin Brost Grantham said in a statement.

The unmanned docking mission to the space station is intended to prove to NASA that SpaceX's rocket and space capsule can haul cargo for the space agency now that the space shuttle fleet is retired. If successful, SpaceX would be the first private company to dock with the station.

SpaceX aims to fly its craft by the $100-billion space station and then approach it so the on-board crew can snag it with a robotic arm and dock with it.

The company, which employs about 1,800, already has a $1.6-billion contract to haul cargo in 12 flights to the space station for NASA. If the upcoming mission is successful, the company will move ahead to fulfill the contract.

SpaceX makes its Dragon capsule and 18-story Falcon 9 rocket at a facility in Hawthorne that once housed assembly on fuselage sections for Boeing Co.'s 747 jumbo jet. The hardware is put on a big rig and sent to Cape Canaveral for launches.

In December 2010, SpaceX became the first company to blast a spacecraft into orbit and have it return intact. The company has been planning the upcoming docking mission ever since.

Google Billionaires Fund Asteroid Mining Company

From Search Engine Journal: Google Billionaires Fund Asteroid Mining Company
Google billionaires Eric Schmidt and Larry Page have decided to provide funding for an interesting space exploration start-up named Planetary Resources. The new company, which is focused on natural resources and space exploration, plans to mine natural resources from asteroids and add trillions of dollars to the global GDP.

In addition to the Google executives, the startup will also be funded by Microsoft’s former Chief Software Architect Dr. Charles Simonyi, Perot Group Chairman Ross Perot Jr., and Avatar movie director James Cameron. According to a recent press release, the new venture will be formally announced at the Museum of Flight in Seattle on Tuesday morning. The press release also promised to redefine natural resources and create a new industry:

“The company will overlay two critical sectors – space exploration and natural resources – to add trillions of dollars to the global GDP. This innovative start-up will create a new industry and a new definition of ‘natural resources’.

Although the idea of asteroid mining seems closer to Cameron’s popular movie Avatar than reality, this determined group believes that the investment will pay off and that a single asteroid could produce trillions of dollars of natural resources.

Michio Kaku, a physics professor at the City University of New York indicated a belief that entrepreneurs and privatization may be able to accomplish what the government cannot:

“I think private enterprise will boldly go where governments fear to tread. And I think the space program has been in purgatory in the last few years. NASA is an agency to nowhere. So, we need private enterprise, especially people with deep pockets to help jump start the program and maybe mining the heavens is just the ticket.”

Even though Google has invested company money to develop enhanced reality glasses, driverless cars, and the top-secret Google X lab, Page and Schmidt have decided to invest their own money to fund this wild start-up.

Planetary Resources: Why Are Google Billionaires and James Cameron Backing This Mysterious Space Exploration Company?

From Mobile Apps: Planetary Resources: Why Are Google Billionaires and James Cameron Backing This Mysterious Space Exploration Company?
Planetary Resources, a new private space exploration company backed by film director James Cameron, Google billionaires Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, and other top investors plans "to help ensure humanity's prosperity." But what exactly is Planetary Resources? And why is it getting backed by the heavyweights?

While it is still rather vague what the company will do, according to a media alert uncovered by MIT's Technology Review, the new venture called Planetary Resources "will overlay two critical sectors - space exploration and natural resources - to add trillions of dollars to the global GDP." The company may seek to conduct mining operations involving asteroids, Technology Review suggests.

Other backers of the ambitious venture include Google director Ram Shriram, former Microsoft executive and veteran astronaut Charles Simonyi, and Ross Perot Jr., chairman of Hillwood and the Perot Group and son of IT magnate and former presidential candidate Ross Perot. Commercial spaceflight advocates Peter Diamandis and Eric Anderson are the company's co-chairmen. NASA's Mars mission manager Chris Lewicki is president and chief engineer of Planetary Resources. Planetary scientist and former NASA astronaut Tom Jones will serve as an advisor for the company.

Official Unveiling
Planetary Resources will be officially unveiled in a conference call on Tuesday, April 24, in the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. "This innovative start-up will create a new industry and a new definition of 'natural resources'," company officials said in the statement.

Though something huge is definitely in the works, the exact nature of Planetary Resources' mission remains a mystery for now. The combination of "space exploration and natural resources" mentioned in the statement seem to indicate mining of space, but until the official unveiling on Tuesday, nothing is certain.

The notion of mining in space, however, is not without precedent. Other major efforts in this direction include Moon Express, which aims to make regular trips to mine Earth's Moon, and NASA's OSIRIS-REX, an asteroid-surveying spacecraft NASA plans to launch in 2014.

Tuesday's big unveiling of Planetary Resources will be the second billionaire-backed private space company to be unveiled within the last few months. Back in December, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen unveiled Stratolaunch Systems, a company seeking to build the world's largest airplane to serve as an air-based launch pad for sending people into space, Fox News reports.

The event on Tuesday, March 24 will be streamed, and tickets are available for purchase on the Museum of Flight's page. "A new company will be unveiling its mission to revolutionize current space exploration activities and ultimately create a better standard of living on Earth," states the museum's description of the event.

Space and Rocket Center chronicles nation's exploration of outer space

From Columbia Daily Tribune: Space and Rocket Center chronicles nation's exploration of outer space

"I have learned to use the word impossible with the greatest caution." — Wernher Von Braun

The United States' space exploration and development of intercontinental missiles was influenced by German scientific discoveries in World War II. Our space and rocket research, in turn, has led to the development of the cellphone, GPS and a multitude of devices we now consider necessary to a modern life.

The exhibit "100 Years of Von Braun: His American Journey" runs until mid-May at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. It showcases how much we owe to Wernher Von Braun, not only for the technical achievements of NASA but also for many advances in the U.S. Army's capacity to wage war.

Hitler based many of his hopes for success on technical developments such as the V2 rockets. Von Braun and his team of 300 scientists gave him some advanced systems that were in danger of falling into the hands of the Russians at the end of the war. So Von Braun loaded his team and the parts for 200 missiles into trucks and drove west to surrender to the U.S. Army, hoping to be taken to our country. He and 118 of his team members first were settled in Texas, and in 1948, they were integrated into our missile program and later our space program.

I browsed through a series of rooms examining the discoveries and developments, all profusely accompanied by films of Von Braun, the central figure in these advances. My impression was that, without his brilliance to aid us, the Russians might have surpassed us not only in ballistic missiles but in the exploration of outer space. One video, "Dr. Space," shows how he was portrayed in Hollywood movies, one of which tried to excuse his work for Hitler. Other clips show Von Braun meeting with a series of presidents, starting with John Kennedy. Photos and stories on his private life give the impression of his being somewhat of a superman.

One of the most interesting films on display was taken aboard a shuttle as an astronaut explains how they prepare and eat food, sleep in a special container they have to crawl into and how they take a bath and use the toilet.

The team of scientists working with Von Braun was getting ready to send the Apollo astronauts to the moon when he developed the idea of a permanent showcase of the space program. Now the museum has many hands-on exhibits from the Smithsonian Institution, NASA, the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force. Inside the museum are a number of space shuttles and missiles of various sizes, and outside are a shuttle on the launching rocket and a park that includes a dozen rockets of various size and age.

Two IMAX movies are being shown, "Legends of Flight" and "Hubble." "Hubble" shows the launch of the Hubble, the development of problems that made it temporarily useless and the trips made to repair it. Special attention is given to the last trip in 2009, during which we viewed the astronauts who did the work. The most stunning part of the movie is the trip through the universe through the lens of the repaired Hubble as we moved millions of light-years within minutes.

A visit to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center is an exciting experience for all ages.