Examiner.com: Space exploration: Hubble Telescope captures oldest galaxy ever seen
US and Europe Researchers who seek discovering the universe origin said Wednesday they found what they believe is the oldest galaxy ever, which would have 13,200 million years. The old Hubble Space Telescope captured an object’s glimpse, which would have formed when the universe had only 480 million years, researchers wrote in “Nature” journal.
"We are carefully watching an era where big changes are under way," said Garth Illingworth at the University of California, Santa Cruz, a researcher working on the study. "The high speed at which the rising star changes, they tell us that if we go further back in time, we will see even more dramatic changes, closer to when the early galaxies began forming," he added.
Light travels at a speed of 186 000 miles per second or about six-trillion miles per year. Astronomers can use the speed of light as a time reference frame, and see light being emitted from far distant objects showing the way they were in the past. In this case, the light began to travel the galaxy 13,200 million years ago, just after the Big Bang that created the universe.
The measured distance uses redshift, a “Doppler” light effect. Just as a train whistle seems changing its pitch as it approaches, light also changes color when traveling through various medium densities. This galaxy registers a redshift ten, making it the oldest ever. The record was set last October by a galaxy with a redshift 8.5, 200 million years after the stars began forming at faster pace.
Nevertheless, researchers wrote, “Only when the James Webb Space Telescope launches later, it will reveal the early galaxy development stages with redshifts between 10 and 15." With the Hubble telescope, launched during 1990, you can see these old galaxies glimmers because it orbits outside the Earth's atmosphere. The James Webb. a more potent telescope, is scheduled for launching into space by 2015. Then, scientists expect to get a better glimpse of the universe and its galaxies.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Memorials and malaise
The Space Review: Memorials and malaise
This time of year is traditionally a somber, introspective period for NASA’s human spaceflight program. By random chance, the three biggest accidents in the program’s history all took place within the same week on the calendar: Apollo 1 on January 27, 1967; Challenger on January 28, 1986; and Columbia on February 1, 2003. The agency commemorated these tragedies with a Day of Remembrance on January 27, including a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, as it has in recent years.
A confluence of events has created a feeling of uncertainty about the future of human spaceflight, at least as carried out by NASA. It also raises a fundamental question that instinctively makes space advocates both defensive and nervous: why spend billions of dollars a year on a government-run human spaceflight program?
This year, though, there was a heightened sense of angst associated with the commemoration. Part of it can be explained by this being the 25th anniversary of the Challenger accident, a milestone that generated much more media attention than usual. Such major anniversaries are a time of reflection, recalling the tragedy and the lessons learned from it, particularly among the generation who witnessed the accident on television as schoolchildren and who, today, have their own children in school. There was a lot less attention devoted to Challenger last year on the 24th anniversary of the accident, and there will be a lot less next year, on the 26th anniversary.
That alone, though, can’t explain the atmosphere that permeates the space community, and even the broader public, during this time of memorials and retrospection. A confluence of events has created a feeling of uncertainty about the future of human spaceflight, at least as carried out by NASA. It also raises a fundamental question that instinctively makes space advocates both defensive and nervous: why spend billions of dollars a year on a government-run human spaceflight program?
One factor contributing to that sense of unease is the impending retirement of the space shuttle. For nearly 30 years the shuttle has embodied the concept of human spaceflight, at least for the American public; people approaching middle age have no direct recollection of NASA launching astronauts by any other means. But the shuttle program is, inexorably, winding down: the next-to-last mission, STS-134, is currently slated for launch on April 19, one week after the 30th anniversary of the launch of STS-1. Earlier this month NASA formally gave the final shuttle mission, STS-135—authorized by Congress last year as one additional, final flight—a launch date: June 28, 2011.
The anxieties about the shuttle’s retirement—in particular its economic impact in places like Florida’s Space Coast, where thousands will lose their jobs when the program ends—would be at least partially ameliorated if there was some certainty about what would replace it. Constellation was to be that successor, a system of launch vehicles and spacecraft that would carry humans into low Earth orbit and beyond, back to the Moon and elsewhere in the solar system. But concerns about its cost and schedule, as outlined by the Augustine Committee in its 2009 report, put the program in jeopardy, and last year the Obama Administration moved to effectively cancel it.
“NASA must stop making excuses and follow this law,” Sen. Bill Nelson said last week regarding development of the Space Launch System.
The debate that followed the administration’s low-key announcement of Constellation’s fate, tucked away in the rollout of its 2011 budget proposal, helped salvage some elements of it, most notably the Orion spacecraft. The rest of Constellation, though, in particular the Ares 1 and Ares 5 rockets, did not survive the Congressional debate over the future of NASA’s exploration programs. In its place, Congress authorized the development of a replacement heavy-lift launch vehicle with the bland name of the Space Launch System (SLS). The SLS, along with Orion, would serve as a backup to commercial systems under development for ferrying astronauts to and from the space station, as well as for future missions beyond Earth orbit.
Even with that Congressional direction, though, questions remain. Earlier this month NASA officials reported to Congress that they currently did not have a design for the SLS that could be complete by the end of 2016, the deadline set in the NASA authorization act last year that established the SLS, nor could fit into the budget profile also set in the law (see “Can NASA develop a heavy-lift rocket?”, The Space Review, January 17, 2011). There’s also the question of what the SLS would be used for: with a minimum payload capacity of 70 tons to low Earth orbit (also mandated in the law), the SLS is oversized for launching Orion, and no other specific missions have yet been identified for it.
Congressional supporters of the SLS have essentially rejected NASA’s conclusions that it can’t build the rocket within current schedule and budget restraints, repeatedly reminding NASA that “it’s the law”—as if the administrator of NASA runs the risk of jail time if the agency fails. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), one of the key authors of the NASA authorization act, continued to make this point last week. “NASA must stop making excuses and follow this law,” he said in a video marking the 25th anniversary of the Challenger accident. “I believe that the best and brightest at the space agency can build upon the nine billion dollars that we’ve already invested in the advanced technology to design this new rocket, and I think that these pioneers at NASA can also take a stepping-stone, pay-as-you-go approach.”
Before NASA can go, though, it has to be able to pay, something it has difficulty doing now. Tuesday marks not just the eighth anniversary of the Columbia accident but also the first anniversary of the administration’s release of its fiscal year 2011 budget proposal. One year later, though, that proposal remains just that: Congress has yet to pass a 2011 appropriations bill, instead stringing along NASA (and the rest of the federal government) with a series of stopgap funding bills called continuing resolutions, the current one keeping the government running at 2010 levels into early March.
“Absent from the President’s speech, apart from mentioning Sputnik as a metaphor, was any vision for our Nation’s space agency,” said Rep. Ralph Hall.
Further challenging NASA is language in its 2010 appropriations bill—which remains in force without a 2011 appropriations bill—that prevents NASA from terminating any aspect of Constellation. As NASA Inspector General Paul Martin warned Congress earlier this month, this means that NASA must continue to fund elements of Constellation, such as the Ares 1 upper stage, that have been canceled by Congress in the new authorization act. In a letter to members of Congress, Martin said that the existing restriction would result in NASA spending $215 million through the end of February on those programs. “Constraining NASA’s ability to stop spending money on aspects of a rocket program that the Administration and Congress both have agreed to cancel while at the same time prohibiting the Agency from beginning the follow-on program called for in the 2010 Authorization Act strikes us a problem ripe for correction,” he wrote.
Even when that problem is corrected, there’s greater uncertainty about NASA’s future funding. When it rolled out the 2011 budget a year ago, the administration projected steady, if modest, increases in NASA’s annual budget in future years, from $19 billion in 2011 to nearly $21 billion by 2015. While that $19-billion figure generated little debate last year in Congress, the prospects of an increase budget in future years appear to be diminishing. In his State of the Union address last week, President Obama proposed a five-year freeze for discretionary spending, which includes NASA, in order to deal with massive budget deficits.
That budget freeze might also be the best NASA can expect in 2012 and beyond. In last fall’s campaign, House Republican leaders proposed cutting spending to 2008 levels, which would cut NASA’s budget to $17.3 billion. Earlier this month, the Republican Study Committee proposed a steeper cut, to 2006 levels, or about $16.5 billion a year for NASA. And last week Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced legislation that would slash NASA’s 2011 budget to under $13.4 billion as part of $500 billion in overall spending cuts. That proposal is highly unlikely to be enacted, but these varying proposals all indicate that NASA’s hopes for increasing budgets in the future are all but dead.
The same State of the Union address where Obama announced the spending freeze also caused unease for some in the space community, for a different reason. Recalling the launch of Sputnik and the shock waves it sent through America, he called the competition from rising countries like China and India “our generation’s Sputnik moment”. Recalling the original space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, he discussed how it “unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs.”
Space advocates, though, were disappointed that the president’s speech looked backward when it came to NASA, and not forward. The president called for increased investment “in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology,” but space didn’t make the cut. Space rarely gets mentioned in the State of the Union in general, but to be mentioned in the speech only for what it once did, and not what it will—or at least could—do in the future, was particularly galling for some.
“Absent from the President’s speech, apart from mentioning Sputnik as a metaphor, was any vision for our Nation’s space agency,” said Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX), chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, in a statement after the speech. “I am disappointed that the President used this moment only to reflect on NASA’s history, rather than promoting a strong vision for the future of space exploration.”
What’s needed now more than ever is a clear purpose for why we spend money and risk lives in government human spaceflight, something that provides a cohesive, compelling vision that is affordable and sustainable over the long haul.
NASA administrator Charles Bolden, by comparison, tried to tie the agency to the speech’s themes of innovation, education, and infrastructure. “The 21st Century course that President Obama has set our agency on will foster new industries that create jobs, pioneer technology innovation, and inspire a new generation of explorers through education—all while continuing our fundamental mission of exploring our home planet and the cosmos,” he wrote in a blog post on NASA’s web site.
All those factors go a long way to help explain the sense of uncertainty and even malaise that many feel about NASA’s human spaceflight program. The long-running current program, the shuttle, is coming to an end, with a Congressionally-mandated successor facing questions about its utility, not to mention NASA’s own concerns about its ability to complete it on schedule and budget. The agency, which had looked to modest budget growth over the next several years, may see a long-term budget freeze as its best option, and could face significant cuts along with much of the rest of the federal government. And, in one of the most prominent presidential speeches of the current administration, the agency is recognized for what it did decades ago, not what it’s doing today and in the future.
Combined, this could be a recipe for mediocrity—at best—for NASA’s human spaceflight program: enough to make slow progress on new vehicles and spacecraft, but not enough to return to NASA the prestige it enjoyed in the early Space Age and that so many space enthusiasts crave for today. And as the glory days of Apollo fade further into history, and as external forces, like fiscal policy, continue to intrude, more people may begin to ask why NASA should spend billions of dollars a year on human spaceflight when that money could be spent on other agency programs, like aeronautics, earth science, and space science, not to mention other non-NASA programs—or simply not spent at all.
Space advocates have no shortage of reasons for human spaceflight, from science to technology spinoffs to national prestige to, as the Augustine Committee put it, “chart a path for human expansion into the solar system” (see “The $3-billion-a-year question”, The Space Review, September 21, 2009). Yet, individually and in ensemble, these rationales have failed to be sufficiently convincing to the public and policymakers to sustain past human exploration efforts, and there’s little to suggest the future will be any different. (Commercial human spaceflight, by comparison, has a very different, and more concrete, purpose, measured in terms of maximizing such metrics as revenues, profits, and return on investment. But even it is increasingly intertwined with government efforts, through the administration’s proposal to support development of commercial vehicles to serve both NASA and other customers.)
What’s needed now more than ever is a clear purpose for why we spend money and risk lives in government human spaceflight, something that provides a cohesive, compelling vision that is affordable and sustainable over the long haul: difficult, to be certain, but not necessarily impossible. It may be the most fitting memorial for those who gave their lives reaching for the stars.
This time of year is traditionally a somber, introspective period for NASA’s human spaceflight program. By random chance, the three biggest accidents in the program’s history all took place within the same week on the calendar: Apollo 1 on January 27, 1967; Challenger on January 28, 1986; and Columbia on February 1, 2003. The agency commemorated these tragedies with a Day of Remembrance on January 27, including a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, as it has in recent years.
A confluence of events has created a feeling of uncertainty about the future of human spaceflight, at least as carried out by NASA. It also raises a fundamental question that instinctively makes space advocates both defensive and nervous: why spend billions of dollars a year on a government-run human spaceflight program?
This year, though, there was a heightened sense of angst associated with the commemoration. Part of it can be explained by this being the 25th anniversary of the Challenger accident, a milestone that generated much more media attention than usual. Such major anniversaries are a time of reflection, recalling the tragedy and the lessons learned from it, particularly among the generation who witnessed the accident on television as schoolchildren and who, today, have their own children in school. There was a lot less attention devoted to Challenger last year on the 24th anniversary of the accident, and there will be a lot less next year, on the 26th anniversary.
That alone, though, can’t explain the atmosphere that permeates the space community, and even the broader public, during this time of memorials and retrospection. A confluence of events has created a feeling of uncertainty about the future of human spaceflight, at least as carried out by NASA. It also raises a fundamental question that instinctively makes space advocates both defensive and nervous: why spend billions of dollars a year on a government-run human spaceflight program?
One factor contributing to that sense of unease is the impending retirement of the space shuttle. For nearly 30 years the shuttle has embodied the concept of human spaceflight, at least for the American public; people approaching middle age have no direct recollection of NASA launching astronauts by any other means. But the shuttle program is, inexorably, winding down: the next-to-last mission, STS-134, is currently slated for launch on April 19, one week after the 30th anniversary of the launch of STS-1. Earlier this month NASA formally gave the final shuttle mission, STS-135—authorized by Congress last year as one additional, final flight—a launch date: June 28, 2011.
The anxieties about the shuttle’s retirement—in particular its economic impact in places like Florida’s Space Coast, where thousands will lose their jobs when the program ends—would be at least partially ameliorated if there was some certainty about what would replace it. Constellation was to be that successor, a system of launch vehicles and spacecraft that would carry humans into low Earth orbit and beyond, back to the Moon and elsewhere in the solar system. But concerns about its cost and schedule, as outlined by the Augustine Committee in its 2009 report, put the program in jeopardy, and last year the Obama Administration moved to effectively cancel it.
“NASA must stop making excuses and follow this law,” Sen. Bill Nelson said last week regarding development of the Space Launch System.
The debate that followed the administration’s low-key announcement of Constellation’s fate, tucked away in the rollout of its 2011 budget proposal, helped salvage some elements of it, most notably the Orion spacecraft. The rest of Constellation, though, in particular the Ares 1 and Ares 5 rockets, did not survive the Congressional debate over the future of NASA’s exploration programs. In its place, Congress authorized the development of a replacement heavy-lift launch vehicle with the bland name of the Space Launch System (SLS). The SLS, along with Orion, would serve as a backup to commercial systems under development for ferrying astronauts to and from the space station, as well as for future missions beyond Earth orbit.
Even with that Congressional direction, though, questions remain. Earlier this month NASA officials reported to Congress that they currently did not have a design for the SLS that could be complete by the end of 2016, the deadline set in the NASA authorization act last year that established the SLS, nor could fit into the budget profile also set in the law (see “Can NASA develop a heavy-lift rocket?”, The Space Review, January 17, 2011). There’s also the question of what the SLS would be used for: with a minimum payload capacity of 70 tons to low Earth orbit (also mandated in the law), the SLS is oversized for launching Orion, and no other specific missions have yet been identified for it.
Congressional supporters of the SLS have essentially rejected NASA’s conclusions that it can’t build the rocket within current schedule and budget restraints, repeatedly reminding NASA that “it’s the law”—as if the administrator of NASA runs the risk of jail time if the agency fails. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), one of the key authors of the NASA authorization act, continued to make this point last week. “NASA must stop making excuses and follow this law,” he said in a video marking the 25th anniversary of the Challenger accident. “I believe that the best and brightest at the space agency can build upon the nine billion dollars that we’ve already invested in the advanced technology to design this new rocket, and I think that these pioneers at NASA can also take a stepping-stone, pay-as-you-go approach.”
Before NASA can go, though, it has to be able to pay, something it has difficulty doing now. Tuesday marks not just the eighth anniversary of the Columbia accident but also the first anniversary of the administration’s release of its fiscal year 2011 budget proposal. One year later, though, that proposal remains just that: Congress has yet to pass a 2011 appropriations bill, instead stringing along NASA (and the rest of the federal government) with a series of stopgap funding bills called continuing resolutions, the current one keeping the government running at 2010 levels into early March.
“Absent from the President’s speech, apart from mentioning Sputnik as a metaphor, was any vision for our Nation’s space agency,” said Rep. Ralph Hall.
Further challenging NASA is language in its 2010 appropriations bill—which remains in force without a 2011 appropriations bill—that prevents NASA from terminating any aspect of Constellation. As NASA Inspector General Paul Martin warned Congress earlier this month, this means that NASA must continue to fund elements of Constellation, such as the Ares 1 upper stage, that have been canceled by Congress in the new authorization act. In a letter to members of Congress, Martin said that the existing restriction would result in NASA spending $215 million through the end of February on those programs. “Constraining NASA’s ability to stop spending money on aspects of a rocket program that the Administration and Congress both have agreed to cancel while at the same time prohibiting the Agency from beginning the follow-on program called for in the 2010 Authorization Act strikes us a problem ripe for correction,” he wrote.
Even when that problem is corrected, there’s greater uncertainty about NASA’s future funding. When it rolled out the 2011 budget a year ago, the administration projected steady, if modest, increases in NASA’s annual budget in future years, from $19 billion in 2011 to nearly $21 billion by 2015. While that $19-billion figure generated little debate last year in Congress, the prospects of an increase budget in future years appear to be diminishing. In his State of the Union address last week, President Obama proposed a five-year freeze for discretionary spending, which includes NASA, in order to deal with massive budget deficits.
That budget freeze might also be the best NASA can expect in 2012 and beyond. In last fall’s campaign, House Republican leaders proposed cutting spending to 2008 levels, which would cut NASA’s budget to $17.3 billion. Earlier this month, the Republican Study Committee proposed a steeper cut, to 2006 levels, or about $16.5 billion a year for NASA. And last week Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced legislation that would slash NASA’s 2011 budget to under $13.4 billion as part of $500 billion in overall spending cuts. That proposal is highly unlikely to be enacted, but these varying proposals all indicate that NASA’s hopes for increasing budgets in the future are all but dead.
The same State of the Union address where Obama announced the spending freeze also caused unease for some in the space community, for a different reason. Recalling the launch of Sputnik and the shock waves it sent through America, he called the competition from rising countries like China and India “our generation’s Sputnik moment”. Recalling the original space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, he discussed how it “unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs.”
Space advocates, though, were disappointed that the president’s speech looked backward when it came to NASA, and not forward. The president called for increased investment “in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology,” but space didn’t make the cut. Space rarely gets mentioned in the State of the Union in general, but to be mentioned in the speech only for what it once did, and not what it will—or at least could—do in the future, was particularly galling for some.
“Absent from the President’s speech, apart from mentioning Sputnik as a metaphor, was any vision for our Nation’s space agency,” said Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX), chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, in a statement after the speech. “I am disappointed that the President used this moment only to reflect on NASA’s history, rather than promoting a strong vision for the future of space exploration.”
What’s needed now more than ever is a clear purpose for why we spend money and risk lives in government human spaceflight, something that provides a cohesive, compelling vision that is affordable and sustainable over the long haul.
NASA administrator Charles Bolden, by comparison, tried to tie the agency to the speech’s themes of innovation, education, and infrastructure. “The 21st Century course that President Obama has set our agency on will foster new industries that create jobs, pioneer technology innovation, and inspire a new generation of explorers through education—all while continuing our fundamental mission of exploring our home planet and the cosmos,” he wrote in a blog post on NASA’s web site.
All those factors go a long way to help explain the sense of uncertainty and even malaise that many feel about NASA’s human spaceflight program. The long-running current program, the shuttle, is coming to an end, with a Congressionally-mandated successor facing questions about its utility, not to mention NASA’s own concerns about its ability to complete it on schedule and budget. The agency, which had looked to modest budget growth over the next several years, may see a long-term budget freeze as its best option, and could face significant cuts along with much of the rest of the federal government. And, in one of the most prominent presidential speeches of the current administration, the agency is recognized for what it did decades ago, not what it’s doing today and in the future.
Combined, this could be a recipe for mediocrity—at best—for NASA’s human spaceflight program: enough to make slow progress on new vehicles and spacecraft, but not enough to return to NASA the prestige it enjoyed in the early Space Age and that so many space enthusiasts crave for today. And as the glory days of Apollo fade further into history, and as external forces, like fiscal policy, continue to intrude, more people may begin to ask why NASA should spend billions of dollars a year on human spaceflight when that money could be spent on other agency programs, like aeronautics, earth science, and space science, not to mention other non-NASA programs—or simply not spent at all.
Space advocates have no shortage of reasons for human spaceflight, from science to technology spinoffs to national prestige to, as the Augustine Committee put it, “chart a path for human expansion into the solar system” (see “The $3-billion-a-year question”, The Space Review, September 21, 2009). Yet, individually and in ensemble, these rationales have failed to be sufficiently convincing to the public and policymakers to sustain past human exploration efforts, and there’s little to suggest the future will be any different. (Commercial human spaceflight, by comparison, has a very different, and more concrete, purpose, measured in terms of maximizing such metrics as revenues, profits, and return on investment. But even it is increasingly intertwined with government efforts, through the administration’s proposal to support development of commercial vehicles to serve both NASA and other customers.)
What’s needed now more than ever is a clear purpose for why we spend money and risk lives in government human spaceflight, something that provides a cohesive, compelling vision that is affordable and sustainable over the long haul: difficult, to be certain, but not necessarily impossible. It may be the most fitting memorial for those who gave their lives reaching for the stars.
Friday, January 28, 2011
U.S. needs space goals
COurier-Journal.com (Louisville, Kentucky) U.S. needs space goals
America's space program has suffered its greatest losses in the months of January and February.
An electrical fire, fed by 100 percent oxygen, in the cockpit of Apollo 1 took the lives of astronauts Gus Grissom, Roger Chaffee and Ed White on Jan. 1, 1967.
A damaged thermal protection system led to the re-entry disintegration of the space shuttle Columbia on Feb. 1, 2003, killing astronauts Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, Ilan Ramon, Kalpana Chalwa, David Brown and Laurel Clark on their way home.
And 25 years ago today, the nation watched as Challenger exploded 73 seconds into its flight, doomed by a series of events starting with the failure of an O-ring. The crew lost with that ship: Dick Scobee, Mike Smith, Ron McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik, Greg Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe.
The point of revisiting the tragedies today is not to underscore the inherent dangers of spaceflight. It carries great risks, even as it brings great rewards.
Rather, it is to reconnect with the spirit of dedication and sacrifice required of exploration and discovery. A lot of smart and brave people have been willing to put everything on the line, including their lives, to further our knowledge of the solar system, the galaxy and the universe. Just this week, astronomers announced the Hubble telescope may have found the most distant and youngest galaxy yet known.
The shuttle program that delivered Hubble to space, and ferried the astronauts who repaired it, is scheduled to end this year. The next steps for NASA, and this nation's goals in space, are not clear or apparent now. America's space program is also in need of one of those Sputnik moments that President Obama called for the other night.
Astronaut John Young, who lost comrades in the disasters of January and February, suggests that more than astronauts' lives are on the line in finding a niche for humans in space.
“We are being irresponsible in our failure to make the scientific and technical progress we will need for protecting our newly discovered, severely threatened and probably endangered species — us,” he wrote. “NASA is not about the ‘Adventure of Human Space Exploration'; we are in the deadly serious business of saving the species. All human exploration's bottom line is about preserving our species over the long haul.”
America's space program has suffered its greatest losses in the months of January and February.
An electrical fire, fed by 100 percent oxygen, in the cockpit of Apollo 1 took the lives of astronauts Gus Grissom, Roger Chaffee and Ed White on Jan. 1, 1967.
A damaged thermal protection system led to the re-entry disintegration of the space shuttle Columbia on Feb. 1, 2003, killing astronauts Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, Ilan Ramon, Kalpana Chalwa, David Brown and Laurel Clark on their way home.
And 25 years ago today, the nation watched as Challenger exploded 73 seconds into its flight, doomed by a series of events starting with the failure of an O-ring. The crew lost with that ship: Dick Scobee, Mike Smith, Ron McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik, Greg Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe.
The point of revisiting the tragedies today is not to underscore the inherent dangers of spaceflight. It carries great risks, even as it brings great rewards.
Rather, it is to reconnect with the spirit of dedication and sacrifice required of exploration and discovery. A lot of smart and brave people have been willing to put everything on the line, including their lives, to further our knowledge of the solar system, the galaxy and the universe. Just this week, astronomers announced the Hubble telescope may have found the most distant and youngest galaxy yet known.
The shuttle program that delivered Hubble to space, and ferried the astronauts who repaired it, is scheduled to end this year. The next steps for NASA, and this nation's goals in space, are not clear or apparent now. America's space program is also in need of one of those Sputnik moments that President Obama called for the other night.
Astronaut John Young, who lost comrades in the disasters of January and February, suggests that more than astronauts' lives are on the line in finding a niche for humans in space.
“We are being irresponsible in our failure to make the scientific and technical progress we will need for protecting our newly discovered, severely threatened and probably endangered species — us,” he wrote. “NASA is not about the ‘Adventure of Human Space Exploration'; we are in the deadly serious business of saving the species. All human exploration's bottom line is about preserving our species over the long haul.”
US hoping to become 'close partner' of India in space exploration
SiFy News: US hoping to become 'close partner' of India in space exploration
A senior official of the Obama administration has said that United States is hoping to become 'close partner' of India in space exploration.
The removal of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) from the Commerce Department's Entity List is an indication that Washington will no longer treat India's space program as a target, but as a close partner in space exploration, said Robert O. Blake, Jr., Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs.
Addressing a gathering at the Syracruse University earlier this week, Blake said that the possibilities of cooperation between the United States and India in space, to advance scientific knowledge and human welfare, are without boundaries and limits.
Paraphrasing former ISRO Chairman Madhavan Nair words that India's space program can only be successful when it can produce benefits - material change-for Indian citizens, Blake said: "Indian farmers will see the fruits of our collaboration as U.S. and Indian space scientists work together on climate and weather forecasting for agriculture, navigation, resource mapping, research and development, and capacity building."
"Our experts have developed enhanced monsoon forecasting that will begin to transmit detailed forecasts to farmers, beginning with the 2011 monsoon season. India also is an emerging leader in earth observation, with the second highest number of earth observation satellites in orbit. American fishing fleets could increase their catch thanks to the collection of tidal data as part of this initiative," he added.
"We are seeking additional ways to collaborate on future lunar missions, the international space station, human space flight, and data sharing. I hope that our private sectors will now have the opportunity to develop new avenues of cooperation in the space realm and build on our achievements to further improve the livelihoods of our populations, Blake said.
A senior official of the Obama administration has said that United States is hoping to become 'close partner' of India in space exploration.
The removal of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) from the Commerce Department's Entity List is an indication that Washington will no longer treat India's space program as a target, but as a close partner in space exploration, said Robert O. Blake, Jr., Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs.
Addressing a gathering at the Syracruse University earlier this week, Blake said that the possibilities of cooperation between the United States and India in space, to advance scientific knowledge and human welfare, are without boundaries and limits.
Paraphrasing former ISRO Chairman Madhavan Nair words that India's space program can only be successful when it can produce benefits - material change-for Indian citizens, Blake said: "Indian farmers will see the fruits of our collaboration as U.S. and Indian space scientists work together on climate and weather forecasting for agriculture, navigation, resource mapping, research and development, and capacity building."
"Our experts have developed enhanced monsoon forecasting that will begin to transmit detailed forecasts to farmers, beginning with the 2011 monsoon season. India also is an emerging leader in earth observation, with the second highest number of earth observation satellites in orbit. American fishing fleets could increase their catch thanks to the collection of tidal data as part of this initiative," he added.
"We are seeking additional ways to collaborate on future lunar missions, the international space station, human space flight, and data sharing. I hope that our private sectors will now have the opportunity to develop new avenues of cooperation in the space realm and build on our achievements to further improve the livelihoods of our populations, Blake said.
The Challenger Disaster and the Spirit of Space Exploration
BC Culture (opinion blog): The Challenger Disaster and the Spirit of Space Exploration
Twenty-five years ago today the space shuttle Challenger exploded. The dead crew included the much-publicized first ordinary citizen to be sent into space, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.
I'll never forget the date, because it was my birthday. But I'll never forget the event for much bigger reasons. The Challenger disaster seemed to signify more than the fallibility of NASA and its technology. It seemed to crystallize a feeling that had been settling over us for years: that the best days of the U.S. space program were in the past.
Nothing has happened since then to change that impression. The shuttle program felt unambitious from the start, since it wasn't really taking us anywhere we hadn't already gone. Also, by 1986 it had become in one sense a victim of its own success—half a dozen successful launches had begun to make space flight seem routine.
It was a far cry from the days of Apollo, when they'd pull us out of our elementary school classes to watch the moon missions on live TV. There we'd be, the whole school massed in the auditorium, squinting from afar at a single black-and-white television set that had been creakily wheeled onto the stage. Apollo was more important than class. It was about how great our country was; even more, it was about the limitless prospects for mankind itself.
The shuttle program could never generate that level of excitement, and while neither the Challenger disaster nor the loss of the Columbia and its crew 17 years later could kill the program, old age has now done so: 2011 is expected to be its retirement year. After that, what? Will the ambitious space programs of nations new to space flight pick up where we and the Russians left off? Will private enterprise do it?
Or will the grandeur of space flight fade into myth and metaphor? President Obama referred to "our generation's Sputnik moment" in his State of the Union address this week. He was talking about investment in research and development—in areas like clean energy and biomedicine and information technology. Not space.
Is continued exploration of the solar system simply beyond our collective powers of focus and imagination? With earthbound disasters—natural and man-made and hybrid—striking on an almost daily basis, is there any hope that humanity will ever find the time, the money, and the spirit to reach for Mars and beyond? If saving our own planet from ourselves seems beyond our political will, how can we resume a push to worlds beyond?
It's sobering to think that a small boy who watched the moon landings might live out a full life and finally die of old age without ever seeing that kind of exploratory spirit return.
Twenty-five years ago today the space shuttle Challenger exploded. The dead crew included the much-publicized first ordinary citizen to be sent into space, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.
I'll never forget the date, because it was my birthday. But I'll never forget the event for much bigger reasons. The Challenger disaster seemed to signify more than the fallibility of NASA and its technology. It seemed to crystallize a feeling that had been settling over us for years: that the best days of the U.S. space program were in the past.
Nothing has happened since then to change that impression. The shuttle program felt unambitious from the start, since it wasn't really taking us anywhere we hadn't already gone. Also, by 1986 it had become in one sense a victim of its own success—half a dozen successful launches had begun to make space flight seem routine.
It was a far cry from the days of Apollo, when they'd pull us out of our elementary school classes to watch the moon missions on live TV. There we'd be, the whole school massed in the auditorium, squinting from afar at a single black-and-white television set that had been creakily wheeled onto the stage. Apollo was more important than class. It was about how great our country was; even more, it was about the limitless prospects for mankind itself.
The shuttle program could never generate that level of excitement, and while neither the Challenger disaster nor the loss of the Columbia and its crew 17 years later could kill the program, old age has now done so: 2011 is expected to be its retirement year. After that, what? Will the ambitious space programs of nations new to space flight pick up where we and the Russians left off? Will private enterprise do it?
Or will the grandeur of space flight fade into myth and metaphor? President Obama referred to "our generation's Sputnik moment" in his State of the Union address this week. He was talking about investment in research and development—in areas like clean energy and biomedicine and information technology. Not space.
Is continued exploration of the solar system simply beyond our collective powers of focus and imagination? With earthbound disasters—natural and man-made and hybrid—striking on an almost daily basis, is there any hope that humanity will ever find the time, the money, and the spirit to reach for Mars and beyond? If saving our own planet from ourselves seems beyond our political will, how can we resume a push to worlds beyond?
It's sobering to think that a small boy who watched the moon landings might live out a full life and finally die of old age without ever seeing that kind of exploratory spirit return.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Coalition for Space Exploration Pauses to Reflect and Remember
Coalition for Space Exploration Pauses to Reflect and Remember
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--“Today, the Coalition for Space Exploration joins NASA in observing a Day of Remembrance as the world reflects on the extraordinary heroes who lost their lives in the pursuit of space exploration. Although we mourn the tragic loss of the crew members aboard Apollo 1, Challenger, Columbia, as well as other NASA colleagues, we honor their ultimate sacrifice and continue to be inspired by their bravery. This year as we acknowledge the 25th anniversary of the loss of Challenger and her crew, we celebrate the courage of those whose journey was cut too short. Central to honoring their sacrifice is the continuation of a strong exploration program, inspiring future generations to pursue their dreams and become the innovators of tomorrow. As we look to future space endeavors fueled by passion for this admirable cause, their legacy spurs our resolve ensuring the losses we have experienced are not in vain.”
Glenn Mahone, Chairman
Coalition for Space Exploration
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--“Today, the Coalition for Space Exploration joins NASA in observing a Day of Remembrance as the world reflects on the extraordinary heroes who lost their lives in the pursuit of space exploration. Although we mourn the tragic loss of the crew members aboard Apollo 1, Challenger, Columbia, as well as other NASA colleagues, we honor their ultimate sacrifice and continue to be inspired by their bravery. This year as we acknowledge the 25th anniversary of the loss of Challenger and her crew, we celebrate the courage of those whose journey was cut too short. Central to honoring their sacrifice is the continuation of a strong exploration program, inspiring future generations to pursue their dreams and become the innovators of tomorrow. As we look to future space endeavors fueled by passion for this admirable cause, their legacy spurs our resolve ensuring the losses we have experienced are not in vain.”
Glenn Mahone, Chairman
Coalition for Space Exploration
Monday, January 24, 2011
Remembering Challenger: NASA to Mark Space Tragedy Anniversaries
Space.com: Remembering Challenger: NASA to Mark Space Tragedy Anniversaries
NASA will commemorate three space tragedies this week, which also marks the 25th anniversary of the shuttle Challenger accident that killed seven astronauts. The space agency will also pause to remember the 2003 loss of the shuttle Columbia and its crew and the earlier Apollo 1 fire that killed three astronauts.
"It just always gives us pause at this time of the year, those of us that are in the industry, to reflect on our sad experiences in the past and the lives of those that made such a great contribution to our country," said Wayne Hale, a former space shuttle program manager and flight director who was working at NASA during both space shuttle accidents.
The somber week will begin on Thursday, Jan. 27 – the 44th anniversary of the day three astronauts died when a fire broke out in their Apollo 1 module during a ground test roughly a month before launch. On that day in 1967, Apollo astronauts Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White II and Roger B. Chaffee perished in what was then NASA's first major tragedy.
While an accident review board never conclusively determined what ignited the fire, a series of design flaws were blamed for making the module so flammable and difficult to quickly escape from. The investigation into the disaster delayed the Apollo program by more than a year-and-a-half and led to redesigns for the Apollo module, as well as procedural changes at NASA.
"We have not forgotten the lessons from Apollo, and I sure hope we as an agency don’t forget these lessons we have learned," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for space operations.
Challenger accident at 25
It was almost 20 years before tragedy struck NASA again. This time it was during a launch – the first in-flight calamity the space agency had experienced.
Seven astronauts died when the space shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after lifting off on the orbiter's 10th flight on Jan. 28, 1986. Among those killed was teacher Christa McAuliffe – NASA's very first educator astronaut. Before being selected for the special educator program, McAuliffe taught social studies at Concord High School in New Hampshire.
"They're both very personal events for us in the agency because it's not just our coworkers, but it's also our friends that perished in these events," Gerstenmaier said of the two shuttle accidents. "I think the mood is a time to reflect back on the things we're doing and think about the way we do things … what things we can learn from both of these events that we can carry forward."
That calamity halted the shuttle program for almost three years while NASA studied what went wrong and worked to get back on track.
The source of the accident was traced to the exceptionally cold weather, which caused a seal called an O-ring on one of the shuttle's twin solid rocket boosters to fail at liftoff.
When hot gas escaped from the solid rocket motor, it damaged the attachment between the booster and the orbiter, eventually causing the adjacent external fuel tank to explode. Ultimately, Challenger disintegrated, and the astronauts were killed when their crew cabin impacted the Atlantic Ocean.
This was also NASA's first disaster to take place on live television.
Millions were watching when astronauts Francis "Dick" Scobee, Ron McNair, Mike Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik, Greg Jarvis and McAuliffe were killed. The presence of McAuliffe – a civilian and a teacher – on the Challenger increased the public interest in the flight.
"The Challenger crew was doing something wonderful for all of us and it has to do with education and opening doors for our young people and all of us for the future," said Barbara Morgan, McAuliffe's backup, who later went on to fly on the shuttle Endeavour in August 2007. "It was devastating."
Columbia's final flight
This image of the STS-107 shuttle Columbia crew in orbit was recovered from wreckage inside an undeveloped film canister. The shirt color's indicate their mission shifts. From left (bottom row): Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist; Rick Husband, commander; Laurel Clark, mission specialist; and Ilan Ramon, payload specialist. From left (top row) are astronauts David Brown, mission specialist; William McCool, pilot; and Michael Anderson, payload commander. Ramon represents the Israeli Space Agency.
Credit: NASA/JSCNASA's most recent space tragedy occurred Feb. 1, 2003, when seven astronauts lost their lives as the space shuttle Columbia attempted to return home to end the STS-107 mission. Commander Rick Husband, pilot William McCool, mission specialists Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, David Brown, payload commander Michael Anderson and Ilan Ramon, Israel's first astronaut, were killed when the orbiter's damaged heat shield failed to protect it from the heat of reentry into Earth's atmosphere.
Later analysis revealed that a bit of foam insulation from Columbia's fuel tank broke off during launch and impacted the orbiter's left wing, causing the vehicle to break up as it flew over Texas.
"I think the real underlying lesson is, our business is not easy," Gerstenmaier told SPACE.com. "The things we do are very unforgiving. Very small, minor details count a lot and you really have to pay attention to those and really work those hard."
He said it was important for the memory of these tragedies to shape the direction of NASA in the future.
"One of the best ways we can honor the sacrifice of our friends is to keep moving forward in the exploration of space," Gerstenmaier said.
NASA plans a series of memorials for the tragedies this year, including a ceremony on Jan. 28 at 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex in Florida, where NASA leaders, astronauts and June Scobee Rodgers, widow of Challenger commander Dick Scobee, will speak. The service will be broadcast live on NASA TV, which is available here: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
NASA will commemorate three space tragedies this week, which also marks the 25th anniversary of the shuttle Challenger accident that killed seven astronauts. The space agency will also pause to remember the 2003 loss of the shuttle Columbia and its crew and the earlier Apollo 1 fire that killed three astronauts.
"It just always gives us pause at this time of the year, those of us that are in the industry, to reflect on our sad experiences in the past and the lives of those that made such a great contribution to our country," said Wayne Hale, a former space shuttle program manager and flight director who was working at NASA during both space shuttle accidents.
The somber week will begin on Thursday, Jan. 27 – the 44th anniversary of the day three astronauts died when a fire broke out in their Apollo 1 module during a ground test roughly a month before launch. On that day in 1967, Apollo astronauts Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White II and Roger B. Chaffee perished in what was then NASA's first major tragedy.
While an accident review board never conclusively determined what ignited the fire, a series of design flaws were blamed for making the module so flammable and difficult to quickly escape from. The investigation into the disaster delayed the Apollo program by more than a year-and-a-half and led to redesigns for the Apollo module, as well as procedural changes at NASA.
"We have not forgotten the lessons from Apollo, and I sure hope we as an agency don’t forget these lessons we have learned," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for space operations.
Challenger accident at 25
It was almost 20 years before tragedy struck NASA again. This time it was during a launch – the first in-flight calamity the space agency had experienced.
Seven astronauts died when the space shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after lifting off on the orbiter's 10th flight on Jan. 28, 1986. Among those killed was teacher Christa McAuliffe – NASA's very first educator astronaut. Before being selected for the special educator program, McAuliffe taught social studies at Concord High School in New Hampshire.
"They're both very personal events for us in the agency because it's not just our coworkers, but it's also our friends that perished in these events," Gerstenmaier said of the two shuttle accidents. "I think the mood is a time to reflect back on the things we're doing and think about the way we do things … what things we can learn from both of these events that we can carry forward."
That calamity halted the shuttle program for almost three years while NASA studied what went wrong and worked to get back on track.
The source of the accident was traced to the exceptionally cold weather, which caused a seal called an O-ring on one of the shuttle's twin solid rocket boosters to fail at liftoff.
When hot gas escaped from the solid rocket motor, it damaged the attachment between the booster and the orbiter, eventually causing the adjacent external fuel tank to explode. Ultimately, Challenger disintegrated, and the astronauts were killed when their crew cabin impacted the Atlantic Ocean.
This was also NASA's first disaster to take place on live television.
Millions were watching when astronauts Francis "Dick" Scobee, Ron McNair, Mike Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik, Greg Jarvis and McAuliffe were killed. The presence of McAuliffe – a civilian and a teacher – on the Challenger increased the public interest in the flight.
"The Challenger crew was doing something wonderful for all of us and it has to do with education and opening doors for our young people and all of us for the future," said Barbara Morgan, McAuliffe's backup, who later went on to fly on the shuttle Endeavour in August 2007. "It was devastating."
Columbia's final flight
This image of the STS-107 shuttle Columbia crew in orbit was recovered from wreckage inside an undeveloped film canister. The shirt color's indicate their mission shifts. From left (bottom row): Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist; Rick Husband, commander; Laurel Clark, mission specialist; and Ilan Ramon, payload specialist. From left (top row) are astronauts David Brown, mission specialist; William McCool, pilot; and Michael Anderson, payload commander. Ramon represents the Israeli Space Agency.
Credit: NASA/JSCNASA's most recent space tragedy occurred Feb. 1, 2003, when seven astronauts lost their lives as the space shuttle Columbia attempted to return home to end the STS-107 mission. Commander Rick Husband, pilot William McCool, mission specialists Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, David Brown, payload commander Michael Anderson and Ilan Ramon, Israel's first astronaut, were killed when the orbiter's damaged heat shield failed to protect it from the heat of reentry into Earth's atmosphere.
Later analysis revealed that a bit of foam insulation from Columbia's fuel tank broke off during launch and impacted the orbiter's left wing, causing the vehicle to break up as it flew over Texas.
"I think the real underlying lesson is, our business is not easy," Gerstenmaier told SPACE.com. "The things we do are very unforgiving. Very small, minor details count a lot and you really have to pay attention to those and really work those hard."
He said it was important for the memory of these tragedies to shape the direction of NASA in the future.
"One of the best ways we can honor the sacrifice of our friends is to keep moving forward in the exploration of space," Gerstenmaier said.
NASA plans a series of memorials for the tragedies this year, including a ceremony on Jan. 28 at 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex in Florida, where NASA leaders, astronauts and June Scobee Rodgers, widow of Challenger commander Dick Scobee, will speak. The service will be broadcast live on NASA TV, which is available here: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
SpaceX aims for next milestone: carrying astronauts
Los Angeles Times: SpaceX aims for next milestone: carrying astronauts
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. of Hawthorne has given NASA a proposal to be the first commercial firm to take people into outer space
After becoming the first private company ever to blast a spacecraft into Earth orbit and have it return intact last month, Hawthorne rocket maker Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is pushing toward its next big step.
The company known as SpaceX wants to be the first commercial firm to launch astronauts into outer space and has submitted a proposal to NASA.
SpaceX wants in on the potentially multibillion-dollar job of ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station after the space shuttle is retired this year. The company is already building rockets and capsules to deliver cargo to the station.
NASA's Commercial Crew Development program hopes to award about $200 million in seed money in March to companies to develop rockets and spacecraft for the next step in manned spaceflight after the shuttle. Several aerospace companies, including SpaceX and aerospace giant Boeing Co., have submitted proposals.
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SpaceX's Dec. 8 launch of its Dragon spacecraft was a technological and financial feat, the likes of which had previously been accomplished by only the wealthiest of nations.
Although the Dragon was unmanned, it was designed to carry seven astronauts. On the day of the launch, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said: "If there had been people sitting in Dragon today, they would've had a nice ride."
But the 9,260-pound spacecraft still needs upgrades before an astronaut can strap in, Musk said last week.
"Upgrading Dragon capsules to carry astronauts won't be too difficult," he said. "The cargo version of the Dragon spacecraft will be capable of carrying crew with only three key modifications: a launch abort system, environmental controls and seats."
More than 1,000 engineers and technicians are employed at the company's sprawling production facility in Hawthorne — a former Boeing 747 assembly plant — where it builds rockets to launch satellites for telecommunications companies and foreign governments.
Musk, a 39-year-old Silicon Valley entrepreneur who made a fortune when he sold online payment business PayPal Inc. in 2002, started SpaceX with the vision of developing and launching rockets and lifting payloads into space at a fraction of the cost of the current generation of spacecraft.
When the shuttle program is mothballed and before new space vehicles are astronaut-ready, the U.S. will have no way to travel to the International Space Station other than on a Russian Soyuz rocket. SpaceX hopes to win the right to develop those new space vehicles, Musk said. "SpaceX is prepared to meet this need."
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. of Hawthorne has given NASA a proposal to be the first commercial firm to take people into outer space
After becoming the first private company ever to blast a spacecraft into Earth orbit and have it return intact last month, Hawthorne rocket maker Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is pushing toward its next big step.
The company known as SpaceX wants to be the first commercial firm to launch astronauts into outer space and has submitted a proposal to NASA.
SpaceX wants in on the potentially multibillion-dollar job of ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station after the space shuttle is retired this year. The company is already building rockets and capsules to deliver cargo to the station.
NASA's Commercial Crew Development program hopes to award about $200 million in seed money in March to companies to develop rockets and spacecraft for the next step in manned spaceflight after the shuttle. Several aerospace companies, including SpaceX and aerospace giant Boeing Co., have submitted proposals.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save on daily L.A. Times deals powered by Groupon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SpaceX's Dec. 8 launch of its Dragon spacecraft was a technological and financial feat, the likes of which had previously been accomplished by only the wealthiest of nations.
Although the Dragon was unmanned, it was designed to carry seven astronauts. On the day of the launch, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said: "If there had been people sitting in Dragon today, they would've had a nice ride."
But the 9,260-pound spacecraft still needs upgrades before an astronaut can strap in, Musk said last week.
"Upgrading Dragon capsules to carry astronauts won't be too difficult," he said. "The cargo version of the Dragon spacecraft will be capable of carrying crew with only three key modifications: a launch abort system, environmental controls and seats."
More than 1,000 engineers and technicians are employed at the company's sprawling production facility in Hawthorne — a former Boeing 747 assembly plant — where it builds rockets to launch satellites for telecommunications companies and foreign governments.
Musk, a 39-year-old Silicon Valley entrepreneur who made a fortune when he sold online payment business PayPal Inc. in 2002, started SpaceX with the vision of developing and launching rockets and lifting payloads into space at a fraction of the cost of the current generation of spacecraft.
When the shuttle program is mothballed and before new space vehicles are astronaut-ready, the U.S. will have no way to travel to the International Space Station other than on a Russian Soyuz rocket. SpaceX hopes to win the right to develop those new space vehicles, Musk said. "SpaceX is prepared to meet this need."
Friday, January 21, 2011
Exploring her legacy
Boston.com: Exploring her legacy
FRAMINGHAM — On Jan. 28, the nation will stop and remember Christa McAuliffe, the New Hampshire teacher who lost her life along with six other astronauts when the space shuttle Challenger exploded 25 years ago.
But her legacy is at work every day of the year in the town where she grew up.
Thousands of science teachers and students come to Framingham State University each year to learn about space exploration at the Challenger Learning Center, part of the Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center for Education and Teaching Excellence.
“She left an important message about the importance of students and teachers and education,’’ said Grace Corrigan, McAuliffe’s mother, who is now in her mid-80s and still lives in Framingham.
Framingham State, where Christa McAuliffe received her teaching degree, will hold a ceremony on Jan. 27 commemorating the anniversary of the disaster.
NASA plans its own public Day of Remembrance at the Kennedy Space Center in Flor ida the following day.
Last week, 33 middle school teachers were in the Challenger Center’s two simulation rooms, half of them assigned to a space craft orbiting Mars, the other half assigned to the mission control team designed to guide them onto the planet’s surface.
“I’d love to expand our programs more into space,’’ said Dakotah Eaton, an after-school teacher from Athol. “I want to tell them all about this Mars mission. The kids are really interested in Mars.’’
Some of the teachers were too young to recall exactly where they were at 11:39 a.m. on Jan. 28, 1986, a tragic day that haunted a generation, in part because so many schoolchildren tuned in to see the first teacher go into space.
But Matt Hagopian, an eighth-grade science teacher from Worcester, remembers where he was: an eighth-grader himself, home sick for the day, watching the space shuttle launch on television.
He said his goal in participating in the Challenger Center training was to help “generate excitement about space’’ among his students.
“It used to be the whole country was riveted by these launches; I’d like to see it brought back again,’’ said Hagopian, who was transmitting information about a solar flare to his “crew.’’
The hope is that after teachers become students for a day “there will be a flow back of creativity into their school systems,’’ said Karyl Resnick, coordinator of a state program that helps fund Challenger teacher education programs for low-income districts.
Mary Liscombe, the McAuliffe Center’s director, graduated with McAuliffe from Framingham State’s teaching program in 1970. They often had lunch together in the commuter cafeteria in the building where the McAuliffe Center stands today, recalled Liscombe.
Liscombe was at home in Medway with her young children on the day the nation watched the Challenger break apart just 73 seconds after liftoff, a tragedy later blamed on a leak in one of two solid rocket boosters that ignited the main liquid fuel tank.
McAuliffe left behind a husband, Steven, who later became a federal judge in New Hampshire, and two children, Scott and Caroline, now in their 30s.
Inspired by her friend’s ideals and sacrifice, Liscombe returned soon after to the classroom, teaching science at the Charles River School in Dover. In 1994, she joined the McAuliffe Center.
McAuliffe’s mother and Framingham State president Timothy Flanagan are scheduled to speak at the commemoration next week. Eighth-grade students from the Christa McAuliffe Regional Charter Public School in Framingham will present research projects about space.
The school’s science teacher, Daniel Anderson, said his 76 students have conducted interviews via Skype and e-mail with scientists at NASA, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and other universities on topics ranging from artificial gravity and spacesuit technology to lunar geology and meteoroid strikes.
It may become an annual school project, he said. “This is a special year.
The 25th anniversary only happens once, but we can celebrate Christa McAuliffe and what she stood for every year.’’
January is not an easy month for the family, Corrigan acknowledged in an interview last week, and the loss of her 37-year-old daughter in the disaster remains sharp even after 25 years.
What motivates her to constantly revisit the pain is the enthusiasm that the space education programs generate.
“I still hear from teachers all around the country,’’ she said.
FRAMINGHAM — On Jan. 28, the nation will stop and remember Christa McAuliffe, the New Hampshire teacher who lost her life along with six other astronauts when the space shuttle Challenger exploded 25 years ago.
But her legacy is at work every day of the year in the town where she grew up.
Thousands of science teachers and students come to Framingham State University each year to learn about space exploration at the Challenger Learning Center, part of the Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center for Education and Teaching Excellence.
“She left an important message about the importance of students and teachers and education,’’ said Grace Corrigan, McAuliffe’s mother, who is now in her mid-80s and still lives in Framingham.
Framingham State, where Christa McAuliffe received her teaching degree, will hold a ceremony on Jan. 27 commemorating the anniversary of the disaster.
NASA plans its own public Day of Remembrance at the Kennedy Space Center in Flor ida the following day.
Last week, 33 middle school teachers were in the Challenger Center’s two simulation rooms, half of them assigned to a space craft orbiting Mars, the other half assigned to the mission control team designed to guide them onto the planet’s surface.
“I’d love to expand our programs more into space,’’ said Dakotah Eaton, an after-school teacher from Athol. “I want to tell them all about this Mars mission. The kids are really interested in Mars.’’
Some of the teachers were too young to recall exactly where they were at 11:39 a.m. on Jan. 28, 1986, a tragic day that haunted a generation, in part because so many schoolchildren tuned in to see the first teacher go into space.
But Matt Hagopian, an eighth-grade science teacher from Worcester, remembers where he was: an eighth-grader himself, home sick for the day, watching the space shuttle launch on television.
He said his goal in participating in the Challenger Center training was to help “generate excitement about space’’ among his students.
“It used to be the whole country was riveted by these launches; I’d like to see it brought back again,’’ said Hagopian, who was transmitting information about a solar flare to his “crew.’’
The hope is that after teachers become students for a day “there will be a flow back of creativity into their school systems,’’ said Karyl Resnick, coordinator of a state program that helps fund Challenger teacher education programs for low-income districts.
Mary Liscombe, the McAuliffe Center’s director, graduated with McAuliffe from Framingham State’s teaching program in 1970. They often had lunch together in the commuter cafeteria in the building where the McAuliffe Center stands today, recalled Liscombe.
Liscombe was at home in Medway with her young children on the day the nation watched the Challenger break apart just 73 seconds after liftoff, a tragedy later blamed on a leak in one of two solid rocket boosters that ignited the main liquid fuel tank.
McAuliffe left behind a husband, Steven, who later became a federal judge in New Hampshire, and two children, Scott and Caroline, now in their 30s.
Inspired by her friend’s ideals and sacrifice, Liscombe returned soon after to the classroom, teaching science at the Charles River School in Dover. In 1994, she joined the McAuliffe Center.
McAuliffe’s mother and Framingham State president Timothy Flanagan are scheduled to speak at the commemoration next week. Eighth-grade students from the Christa McAuliffe Regional Charter Public School in Framingham will present research projects about space.
The school’s science teacher, Daniel Anderson, said his 76 students have conducted interviews via Skype and e-mail with scientists at NASA, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and other universities on topics ranging from artificial gravity and spacesuit technology to lunar geology and meteoroid strikes.
It may become an annual school project, he said. “This is a special year.
The 25th anniversary only happens once, but we can celebrate Christa McAuliffe and what she stood for every year.’’
January is not an easy month for the family, Corrigan acknowledged in an interview last week, and the loss of her 37-year-old daughter in the disaster remains sharp even after 25 years.
What motivates her to constantly revisit the pain is the enthusiasm that the space education programs generate.
“I still hear from teachers all around the country,’’ she said.
The future may be in sight as NASA sets last launch of shuttle program
13 News: The future may be in sight as NASA sets last launch of shuttle program
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER --
NASA has set a date for what could be the last flight of the space shuttle program.
Program managers have now officially added STS-135 to the launch manifest. In one sense that's a technical and bureaucratic step, but it clears the way for planning and scheduling at all levels of the space agency.
June 28 is now the target date for shuttle Atlantis' flight.
Two weeks ago, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden was in town, and I asked about that mission. He was adamant they would fly it, even though the budget bill was still up in the air, and he told me it would fly in June.
That could change, of course, and one of the reasons may be the requirements of the International Space Station scheduling.
So three shuttle flights are on the schedule to wrap up the program. The first is Discovery's launch next month, and then the launch of Endeavour in April.
That was supposed to be the last shuttle mission, but last year, Congress authorized the third mission, now STS-135.
Interestingly enough, as the end of shuttle is in sight, Thursday afternoon provided a look at way the future of American space exploration, or at least one future.
United Launch Alliance successfully sent a Delta IV Heavy rocket in orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
It carried a National Reconnaissance Office payload, which means a spy satellite. No information was provided about its orbit or what it will be doing. We can be pretty confident it was launched in a polar orbit (South Pole to North Pole and back), which is the main reason to launch from Vandenberg. From KSC we go east, while from Vandenberg we go south. A polar orbit means every part of the Earth will come into view as the satellite travels its path and the Earth rotates under it.
What is more interesting, perhaps, is the rocket itself. Delta IV Heavy is our biggest and most powerful rocket. This was its first launch from the west coast, and only fifth launch overall. It is a classic liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen fueled vehicle, that can carry payloads into low-Earth orbit, and even geosynchronous orbit over 22,000 miles up.
With all the changes in the way NASA is to carry out its mission, the Delta IV Heavy, or an offshoot, would certainly have to be considered a viable contender for future use -- for supply missions to the ISS, or even manned missions, although that will require safety additions and a lot of certification.
But we do now that Lockheed plans to test their Orion capsule, a potential future crew capsule for deep space, on top of a Delta IV Heavy in about three years or so.
So stay tuned, watch the Delta launch, think back to the Saturn program ... and, well, who knows.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER --
NASA has set a date for what could be the last flight of the space shuttle program.
Program managers have now officially added STS-135 to the launch manifest. In one sense that's a technical and bureaucratic step, but it clears the way for planning and scheduling at all levels of the space agency.
June 28 is now the target date for shuttle Atlantis' flight.
Two weeks ago, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden was in town, and I asked about that mission. He was adamant they would fly it, even though the budget bill was still up in the air, and he told me it would fly in June.
That could change, of course, and one of the reasons may be the requirements of the International Space Station scheduling.
So three shuttle flights are on the schedule to wrap up the program. The first is Discovery's launch next month, and then the launch of Endeavour in April.
That was supposed to be the last shuttle mission, but last year, Congress authorized the third mission, now STS-135.
Interestingly enough, as the end of shuttle is in sight, Thursday afternoon provided a look at way the future of American space exploration, or at least one future.
United Launch Alliance successfully sent a Delta IV Heavy rocket in orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
It carried a National Reconnaissance Office payload, which means a spy satellite. No information was provided about its orbit or what it will be doing. We can be pretty confident it was launched in a polar orbit (South Pole to North Pole and back), which is the main reason to launch from Vandenberg. From KSC we go east, while from Vandenberg we go south. A polar orbit means every part of the Earth will come into view as the satellite travels its path and the Earth rotates under it.
What is more interesting, perhaps, is the rocket itself. Delta IV Heavy is our biggest and most powerful rocket. This was its first launch from the west coast, and only fifth launch overall. It is a classic liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen fueled vehicle, that can carry payloads into low-Earth orbit, and even geosynchronous orbit over 22,000 miles up.
With all the changes in the way NASA is to carry out its mission, the Delta IV Heavy, or an offshoot, would certainly have to be considered a viable contender for future use -- for supply missions to the ISS, or even manned missions, although that will require safety additions and a lot of certification.
But we do now that Lockheed plans to test their Orion capsule, a potential future crew capsule for deep space, on top of a Delta IV Heavy in about three years or so.
So stay tuned, watch the Delta launch, think back to the Saturn program ... and, well, who knows.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
20 Jan, 2011: NASA gives go-ahead to another shuttle flight
Yahoo News: NASA gives go-ahead to another shuttle flight
WASHINGTON – NASA doesn't know yet where it will get the money, but on Thursday the space agency officially added another space shuttle launch to its schedule — the final one for the fleet.
The space agency set a target launch date of June 28 for shuttle Atlantis and started preparations for the 135th and last shuttle flight. The four-member crew will take up supplies to the International Space Station and return a faulty pump that has bedeviled engineers.
Now three missions remain before NASA retires its shuttle fleet this year. Shuttle Discovery's last mission is slated for Feb. 24, Endeavour's in April.
Thursday's move allows different parts of the shuttle program to start work on Atlantis' 12-day flight, including astronaut training and mission planning, NASA spokesman Michael Curie said. Originally, Atlantis was planned as an emergency-only rescue mission if needed for the Endeavour crew.
Last year, the Obama administration and Congress clashed over the future of the human space program and came up with a compromise that authorized one extra flight of the shuttle — the Atlantis mission. But Congress never gave NASA the few hundred million dollars needed for the extra flight. That left NASA in a quandary about whether the flight was real or not.
The initial money is coming from the space shuttle program's regular budget, but that is not the big dollar amounts needed for a shuttle flight, Curie said.
"We're optimistic that the funding will be there," Curie said, but he couldn't give details about where the money will come from.
NASA was under the gun to start preparations. Otherwise, the Atlantis mission wouldn't have been able to launch in late June, Curie said.
The final flight will be commanded by Christopher Ferguson and includes Douglas Hurley, Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim.
The extra flight means that Mark Kelly — the husband of wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords — will not command the final shuttle flight even if he stays on the Endeavour mission. With his wife's expected long rehabilitation, Kelly asked for a backup commander to be named in case he couldn't fly as scheduled in April.
WASHINGTON – NASA doesn't know yet where it will get the money, but on Thursday the space agency officially added another space shuttle launch to its schedule — the final one for the fleet.
The space agency set a target launch date of June 28 for shuttle Atlantis and started preparations for the 135th and last shuttle flight. The four-member crew will take up supplies to the International Space Station and return a faulty pump that has bedeviled engineers.
Now three missions remain before NASA retires its shuttle fleet this year. Shuttle Discovery's last mission is slated for Feb. 24, Endeavour's in April.
Thursday's move allows different parts of the shuttle program to start work on Atlantis' 12-day flight, including astronaut training and mission planning, NASA spokesman Michael Curie said. Originally, Atlantis was planned as an emergency-only rescue mission if needed for the Endeavour crew.
Last year, the Obama administration and Congress clashed over the future of the human space program and came up with a compromise that authorized one extra flight of the shuttle — the Atlantis mission. But Congress never gave NASA the few hundred million dollars needed for the extra flight. That left NASA in a quandary about whether the flight was real or not.
The initial money is coming from the space shuttle program's regular budget, but that is not the big dollar amounts needed for a shuttle flight, Curie said.
"We're optimistic that the funding will be there," Curie said, but he couldn't give details about where the money will come from.
NASA was under the gun to start preparations. Otherwise, the Atlantis mission wouldn't have been able to launch in late June, Curie said.
The final flight will be commanded by Christopher Ferguson and includes Douglas Hurley, Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim.
The extra flight means that Mark Kelly — the husband of wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords — will not command the final shuttle flight even if he stays on the Endeavour mission. With his wife's expected long rehabilitation, Kelly asked for a backup commander to be named in case he couldn't fly as scheduled in April.
20 Jan, 2011, Thur: SpaceX to Upgrade Robotic Spaceship to Carry Astronauts
Space.com: SpaceX to Upgrade Robotic Spaceship to Carry Astronauts
With one successful test flight of a private space capsule under its belt, a commercial spaceflight company is looking ahead to another big step: upgrading its robotic Dragon spaceship to carry astronaut crews.
The Hawthorne, Calif.-based Space Exploration Technologies – known as SpaceX – has submitted a proposal to NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program to begin developing a version of its Dragon spacecraft to transport people into orbit.
The company submitted the proposal Dec. 13, just five days after launching the first Dragon space capsule into orbit, returning it to an ocean splashdown, and fishing the craft out of the Pacific Ocean.
That demonstration flightmade SpaceX the first private company ever to recover a spacecraft from Earth orbit.
Upgrading Dragon capsules to carry astronauts won't be too difficult, SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said in a statement released Monday (Jan. 17). According to Musk, both the capsule and its Falcon 9 rocket launch vehicle were originally designed to transport crew.
"The cargo version of the Dragon spacecraft will be capable of carrying crew with only three key modifications: a launch abort system, environmental controls and seats," Musk wrote.
Encouraging private spaceflight
SpaceX submitted its proposal as part of the second phase of NASA's CCDev program, which solicited proposals in October, with funding possibly to be made available this March.
CCDev, along with other initiatives such as NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, is designed to spur the development of American private spaceflight companies.
NASA is retiring its space shuttle fleet this year and will rely on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to ferry cargo and crew to the International Space Station in the near future. But over the longer term, NASA wants American companies such as SpaceX to shoulder much of the load.
Launch abort system is key
Putting in a launch abort system — which would allow astronauts to escape Dragon in an emergency — is the primary focus of the CCDev proposal, Musk said.
SpaceX's proposed design is an integrated system, which would provide escape opportunities all the way to orbit, Musk added. This design reduces costs, since the abort system would return to Earth with the capsule, he said.
And the escape engines could make Dragon more maneuverable, helping to orient the capsule for precision landings.
An artist's illustration of SpaceX's Dragon space capsule in Earth orbit.
Credit: SpaceX"An emergency chute will always be retained as a backup system for maximum safety," Musk wrote.
The company proposes to establish specific milestones to provide NASA with evidence of regular progress as the modifications are made, Musk said.
These milestones include the initial design of the abort system and crew accommodations; static-fire testing of the abort system's engines; and evaluations by NASA crew of Dragon's seats, cabin and control panel.
Before SpaceX is ready to start carrying astronauts, Dragon is scheduled to fly at least 11 more times, and Falcon 9 will make at least 17 more flights, according to Musk.
Dragon's next test flight could take place in mid-2011 and might take it directly to the International Space Station, Musk has said.
With one successful test flight of a private space capsule under its belt, a commercial spaceflight company is looking ahead to another big step: upgrading its robotic Dragon spaceship to carry astronaut crews.
The Hawthorne, Calif.-based Space Exploration Technologies – known as SpaceX – has submitted a proposal to NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program to begin developing a version of its Dragon spacecraft to transport people into orbit.
The company submitted the proposal Dec. 13, just five days after launching the first Dragon space capsule into orbit, returning it to an ocean splashdown, and fishing the craft out of the Pacific Ocean.
That demonstration flightmade SpaceX the first private company ever to recover a spacecraft from Earth orbit.
Upgrading Dragon capsules to carry astronauts won't be too difficult, SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said in a statement released Monday (Jan. 17). According to Musk, both the capsule and its Falcon 9 rocket launch vehicle were originally designed to transport crew.
"The cargo version of the Dragon spacecraft will be capable of carrying crew with only three key modifications: a launch abort system, environmental controls and seats," Musk wrote.
Encouraging private spaceflight
SpaceX submitted its proposal as part of the second phase of NASA's CCDev program, which solicited proposals in October, with funding possibly to be made available this March.
CCDev, along with other initiatives such as NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, is designed to spur the development of American private spaceflight companies.
NASA is retiring its space shuttle fleet this year and will rely on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to ferry cargo and crew to the International Space Station in the near future. But over the longer term, NASA wants American companies such as SpaceX to shoulder much of the load.
Launch abort system is key
Putting in a launch abort system — which would allow astronauts to escape Dragon in an emergency — is the primary focus of the CCDev proposal, Musk said.
SpaceX's proposed design is an integrated system, which would provide escape opportunities all the way to orbit, Musk added. This design reduces costs, since the abort system would return to Earth with the capsule, he said.
And the escape engines could make Dragon more maneuverable, helping to orient the capsule for precision landings.
An artist's illustration of SpaceX's Dragon space capsule in Earth orbit.
Credit: SpaceX"An emergency chute will always be retained as a backup system for maximum safety," Musk wrote.
The company proposes to establish specific milestones to provide NASA with evidence of regular progress as the modifications are made, Musk said.
These milestones include the initial design of the abort system and crew accommodations; static-fire testing of the abort system's engines; and evaluations by NASA crew of Dragon's seats, cabin and control panel.
Before SpaceX is ready to start carrying astronauts, Dragon is scheduled to fly at least 11 more times, and Falcon 9 will make at least 17 more flights, according to Musk.
Dragon's next test flight could take place in mid-2011 and might take it directly to the International Space Station, Musk has said.
20 Jan 2011, Thu: Look Out Boeing, NASA, Here Comes China
ABC News International: Look Out Boeing, NASA, Here Comes China
President Hu struck a diplomatic tone with President Obama today, announcing $45 billion worth of deals that the White House said will support 235,000 U.S. jobs.
China agreed to purchase a wide variety of U.S. exports, everything from agricultural products and telecommunications equipment to engineering machinery and auto parts. The deal also includes a $19 billion contract with Boeing for 200 planes.
But even as China buys American, it is still hot on America's heels, expanding into frontiers dominated by the United States. It is designing its first commercial airplane, building its own space station and it brazenly tested its first stealth fighter jet when U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates visited the country last week.
"I think we're going to see a China that's going to spread its wings more, a China that is not going to be contained or pushed around," Beijing-based analyst Russell Leigh Moses told ABC News.
The statistics spell out China's rapid growth.
While state and municipal governments in the U.S. struggle with massive deficits, China is designing vast infrastructure upgrades.
It will begin construction this year on 16,000 miles of highway, boasting that in just five years the country will have more highways than America.
The Chinese also are beginning to lay 19,000 miles of railway lines, tracks that the country will need as 640 million people travel home for the spring festival in the next six weeks.
China not only is investing in physical infrastructure, but also in its people. Chinese children spend an average of 41 more days in school than their American counterparts, and Chinese students top the world in science, math and reading scores.
China also is more connected than it ever has been. The number of Chinese people on the Internet grew by 19 percent last year to 457 million, and the number of people accessing the Web via mobile phones jumped 29.6 percent to 303 million. The communist government welcomes and fears such numbers. While it promotes Internet use for business and education, it operates an extensive censorship system that blocks material the government considers subversive or pornographic. Such heavy-handed censorship is a source of ongoing tension between the U.S. and China.
For all the boom and buzz, sobering realities still loom large. China is a nation where 150 million people live on less than $2 a day and where human rights abuses abound. But China is determined to look to the future and grow even more influential on the world stage in 2011.
President Hu struck a diplomatic tone with President Obama today, announcing $45 billion worth of deals that the White House said will support 235,000 U.S. jobs.
China agreed to purchase a wide variety of U.S. exports, everything from agricultural products and telecommunications equipment to engineering machinery and auto parts. The deal also includes a $19 billion contract with Boeing for 200 planes.
But even as China buys American, it is still hot on America's heels, expanding into frontiers dominated by the United States. It is designing its first commercial airplane, building its own space station and it brazenly tested its first stealth fighter jet when U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates visited the country last week.
"I think we're going to see a China that's going to spread its wings more, a China that is not going to be contained or pushed around," Beijing-based analyst Russell Leigh Moses told ABC News.
The statistics spell out China's rapid growth.
While state and municipal governments in the U.S. struggle with massive deficits, China is designing vast infrastructure upgrades.
It will begin construction this year on 16,000 miles of highway, boasting that in just five years the country will have more highways than America.
The Chinese also are beginning to lay 19,000 miles of railway lines, tracks that the country will need as 640 million people travel home for the spring festival in the next six weeks.
China not only is investing in physical infrastructure, but also in its people. Chinese children spend an average of 41 more days in school than their American counterparts, and Chinese students top the world in science, math and reading scores.
China also is more connected than it ever has been. The number of Chinese people on the Internet grew by 19 percent last year to 457 million, and the number of people accessing the Web via mobile phones jumped 29.6 percent to 303 million. The communist government welcomes and fears such numbers. While it promotes Internet use for business and education, it operates an extensive censorship system that blocks material the government considers subversive or pornographic. Such heavy-handed censorship is a source of ongoing tension between the U.S. and China.
For all the boom and buzz, sobering realities still loom large. China is a nation where 150 million people live on less than $2 a day and where human rights abuses abound. But China is determined to look to the future and grow even more influential on the world stage in 2011.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
NASA: New rocket not feasible with current budget
CNET NEWS: The Space Shot -- NASA: New rocket not feasible with current budget
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.--Even using shuttle-derived hardware, established contractors, and long-standing engineering expertise, NASA's projected budget will not cover the costs of developing a congressionally mandated heavy-lift booster and a manned capsule for deep space exploration by 2016 as ordered, agency officials informed lawmakers this week.
NASA managers promised to continue studying alternative approaches and designs for a new Space Launch System heavy-lift booster and Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, but insisted any such program must be "affordable, sustainable and realistic."
"To date, trade studies performed by the Agency have yet to identify heavy-lift and capsule architectures that would both meet all SLS requirements and these goals," NASA said in its report to Congress. "For example, a 2016 first flight of the SLS does not appear to be possible within projected FY 2011 and out-year funding levels."
An early concept for a possible heavy-lift rocket intended for deep space exploration compared to a space shuttle.
(Credit: NASA) As directed in its 2011 appropriations language, NASA focused on a rocket that would utilize extended shuttle boosters, main engines, and an advanced Saturn 5 upper-stage engine. The Orion capsule initially designed for the Bush administration's now-canceled Constellation moon program, was selected as the basis for a new Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.
"However, to be clear, neither reference vehicle design currently fits the projected budget profiles nor the schedule goals outlined in the Authorization Act," NASA's report concluded. "Additionally, it remains to be determined what level of appropriations NASA will receive in FY 2011 or beyond -- a factor that will impact schedule as well."
Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat who flew aboard the shuttle in 1986 and who played a major role in adding the near-term requirement to build the new launch systems, said in a statement late Wednesday that NASA's answer was not good enough.
"I talked to (NASA Administrator) Charlie Bolden yesterday and told him he has to follow the law, which requires a new rocket by 2016," Nelson said late Wednesday. "And, NASA has to do it within the budget the law requires."
In a letter to Bolden that was released late Thursday, Nelson and Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Texas Republican, said "the report contains no specific justification or analysis to validate the claim that 'none of the design options studied thus far appeared to be affordable in our present fiscal conditions.' We expect NASA to work with Congress to identify the basis for the claims made in the report, how existing contracts and technologies will be utilized, and where any additional congressional action may be needed to ensure successful implementation of the law."
Nelson also plans to introduce legislation eliminating a requirement for NASA to continue spending money on Constellation. Due to a provision in the continuing resolution currently funding the space agency, NASA must follow a House directive in its 2010 budget that blocks the program's termination.
The continuing resolution expires March 4. But NASA's inspector general said today that unless Congress acts, NASA could end up spending $215 million on the program by the end of February.
"Without congressional intervention, by the end of February 2011 NASA anticipates spending up to $215 million on Constellation projects that, absent the restrictive appropriations language, it would have considered canceling or significantly scaling back," the inspector general's report said. "Moreover, by the end of FY 2011 that figure could grow to more than $575 million if NASA is required to continue operating under the current constraints and is unable to move beyond the planning stages for its new Space Exploration program."
John Logsdon, a space policy analyst who serves on the NASA's Advisory Council, said the near-term issue facing the agency's plans for deep space exploration is more a matter of schedule than budget and that NASA already had indicated its belief that a new heavy lifter could not be deployed by 2016.
"This should not come as a surprise to Mr. Nelson and his compatriots," he told CBS News today. "Charlie Bolden told him the same thing last year when they first passed the authorization bill. So there is a small, or maybe not so small, element of posturing here. It seems to me that more than the budget...NASA is saying that there's no way they can do a development this large and have the thing flying by the end of 2016.
"This doesn't mean there's not going to be an HLV (heavy-lift vehicle)," he said. "There will be an HLV, and there will be work at the Cape to do it, among other places. Going back to the authorization bill and now this report, they are steps in a dialogue between NASA and the White House and the Congress on what makes sense...If the country is serious about having a good space program, Congress has to do its part."
"So there is a small, or maybe not so small, element of posturing here. It seems to me that more than the budget...NASA is saying that there's no way they can do a development this large and have the thing flying by the end of 2016."
--John Logsdon, space policy analystThe Obama administration's fiscal 2011 budget charts a controversial new course for NASA. The agency has been told to rely on private industry for future manned and unmanned rockets and capsules to service the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit.
The administration ruled out an immediate return to the moon, concluding the Bush administration's Constellation program was not affordable, and instead ordered a "flexible path" approach to a variety of deep space targets. But development of heavy-lift rockets to facilitate deep space exploration was deferred and no timetables were specified.
Space advocates immediately protested this approach and the president eventually agreed to begin development of a new heavy lifter in the 2015 time frame. Nelson and others then campaigned to begin development immediately and to have a system ready for first flight in 2016. Along with providing access to deep space for U.S. astronauts, the new system would serve as a backup in case untried commercial rockets run into problems or delays.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat who was severely injured during a shooting spree in Tucson, on Saturday, strongly disagreed with the Senate's requirement during budget discussions late last year, favoring instead the continued development of the Constellation program's Ares rockets.
Married to shuttle commander Mark Kelly and as chairman of the House space and aeronautics subcommittee, Giffords urged her colleagues not to go along with plans for a new rocket that was designed "not by our best engineers, but by our colleagues over on the Senate side. By NASA's own internal analysis, they estimate this rocket will cost billions more than the Senate provides."
"In short, the Senate bill forces NASA to build a rocket that doesn't meet its needs, with a budget that's not adequate to do the job and on a schedule that NASA's own analysis says is unrealistic," Giffords said. "That is not my idea of an executable and sustainable human spaceflight program."
In a report ordered by Congress in NASA's funding authorization, the agency said it "recognizes it has a responsibility to be clear with the Congress and the American taxpayers about our true estimated costs and schedules for developing the SLS and MPCV, and we intend to do so."
"Currently, our SLS studies have shown that while cost is not a major discriminator among the design options studied, none of the design options studied thus far appeared to be affordable in our present fiscal condition."
Operational costs are another factor, the agency said, along with funds needed to pay for development of other exploration systems, including habitats and landers.
"A feature of the Shuttle/Ares-derived reference vehicle is that it enables leveraging of current systems, current knowledge base, existing hardware and potentially current contracts, thereby providing schedule and early-year cost advantages," the report said. "However, a 2016 first flight does not appear to be possible within projected FY 2011 and out-year funding levels, although NASA is continuing to explore more innovative procurement and development approaches to determine whether it can come closer to this goal."
In the meantime, NASA said, "it is clear that successful development of SLS and MPCV will be dependent on sufficiently stable funding over the long term, coupled with a successful effort on the part of NASA and the eventual industry team to reduce costs and to establish stable, tightly managed requirements."
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.--Even using shuttle-derived hardware, established contractors, and long-standing engineering expertise, NASA's projected budget will not cover the costs of developing a congressionally mandated heavy-lift booster and a manned capsule for deep space exploration by 2016 as ordered, agency officials informed lawmakers this week.
NASA managers promised to continue studying alternative approaches and designs for a new Space Launch System heavy-lift booster and Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, but insisted any such program must be "affordable, sustainable and realistic."
"To date, trade studies performed by the Agency have yet to identify heavy-lift and capsule architectures that would both meet all SLS requirements and these goals," NASA said in its report to Congress. "For example, a 2016 first flight of the SLS does not appear to be possible within projected FY 2011 and out-year funding levels."
An early concept for a possible heavy-lift rocket intended for deep space exploration compared to a space shuttle.
(Credit: NASA) As directed in its 2011 appropriations language, NASA focused on a rocket that would utilize extended shuttle boosters, main engines, and an advanced Saturn 5 upper-stage engine. The Orion capsule initially designed for the Bush administration's now-canceled Constellation moon program, was selected as the basis for a new Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.
"However, to be clear, neither reference vehicle design currently fits the projected budget profiles nor the schedule goals outlined in the Authorization Act," NASA's report concluded. "Additionally, it remains to be determined what level of appropriations NASA will receive in FY 2011 or beyond -- a factor that will impact schedule as well."
Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat who flew aboard the shuttle in 1986 and who played a major role in adding the near-term requirement to build the new launch systems, said in a statement late Wednesday that NASA's answer was not good enough.
"I talked to (NASA Administrator) Charlie Bolden yesterday and told him he has to follow the law, which requires a new rocket by 2016," Nelson said late Wednesday. "And, NASA has to do it within the budget the law requires."
In a letter to Bolden that was released late Thursday, Nelson and Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Texas Republican, said "the report contains no specific justification or analysis to validate the claim that 'none of the design options studied thus far appeared to be affordable in our present fiscal conditions.' We expect NASA to work with Congress to identify the basis for the claims made in the report, how existing contracts and technologies will be utilized, and where any additional congressional action may be needed to ensure successful implementation of the law."
Nelson also plans to introduce legislation eliminating a requirement for NASA to continue spending money on Constellation. Due to a provision in the continuing resolution currently funding the space agency, NASA must follow a House directive in its 2010 budget that blocks the program's termination.
The continuing resolution expires March 4. But NASA's inspector general said today that unless Congress acts, NASA could end up spending $215 million on the program by the end of February.
"Without congressional intervention, by the end of February 2011 NASA anticipates spending up to $215 million on Constellation projects that, absent the restrictive appropriations language, it would have considered canceling or significantly scaling back," the inspector general's report said. "Moreover, by the end of FY 2011 that figure could grow to more than $575 million if NASA is required to continue operating under the current constraints and is unable to move beyond the planning stages for its new Space Exploration program."
John Logsdon, a space policy analyst who serves on the NASA's Advisory Council, said the near-term issue facing the agency's plans for deep space exploration is more a matter of schedule than budget and that NASA already had indicated its belief that a new heavy lifter could not be deployed by 2016.
"This should not come as a surprise to Mr. Nelson and his compatriots," he told CBS News today. "Charlie Bolden told him the same thing last year when they first passed the authorization bill. So there is a small, or maybe not so small, element of posturing here. It seems to me that more than the budget...NASA is saying that there's no way they can do a development this large and have the thing flying by the end of 2016.
"This doesn't mean there's not going to be an HLV (heavy-lift vehicle)," he said. "There will be an HLV, and there will be work at the Cape to do it, among other places. Going back to the authorization bill and now this report, they are steps in a dialogue between NASA and the White House and the Congress on what makes sense...If the country is serious about having a good space program, Congress has to do its part."
"So there is a small, or maybe not so small, element of posturing here. It seems to me that more than the budget...NASA is saying that there's no way they can do a development this large and have the thing flying by the end of 2016."
--John Logsdon, space policy analystThe Obama administration's fiscal 2011 budget charts a controversial new course for NASA. The agency has been told to rely on private industry for future manned and unmanned rockets and capsules to service the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit.
The administration ruled out an immediate return to the moon, concluding the Bush administration's Constellation program was not affordable, and instead ordered a "flexible path" approach to a variety of deep space targets. But development of heavy-lift rockets to facilitate deep space exploration was deferred and no timetables were specified.
Space advocates immediately protested this approach and the president eventually agreed to begin development of a new heavy lifter in the 2015 time frame. Nelson and others then campaigned to begin development immediately and to have a system ready for first flight in 2016. Along with providing access to deep space for U.S. astronauts, the new system would serve as a backup in case untried commercial rockets run into problems or delays.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat who was severely injured during a shooting spree in Tucson, on Saturday, strongly disagreed with the Senate's requirement during budget discussions late last year, favoring instead the continued development of the Constellation program's Ares rockets.
Married to shuttle commander Mark Kelly and as chairman of the House space and aeronautics subcommittee, Giffords urged her colleagues not to go along with plans for a new rocket that was designed "not by our best engineers, but by our colleagues over on the Senate side. By NASA's own internal analysis, they estimate this rocket will cost billions more than the Senate provides."
"In short, the Senate bill forces NASA to build a rocket that doesn't meet its needs, with a budget that's not adequate to do the job and on a schedule that NASA's own analysis says is unrealistic," Giffords said. "That is not my idea of an executable and sustainable human spaceflight program."
In a report ordered by Congress in NASA's funding authorization, the agency said it "recognizes it has a responsibility to be clear with the Congress and the American taxpayers about our true estimated costs and schedules for developing the SLS and MPCV, and we intend to do so."
"Currently, our SLS studies have shown that while cost is not a major discriminator among the design options studied, none of the design options studied thus far appeared to be affordable in our present fiscal condition."
Operational costs are another factor, the agency said, along with funds needed to pay for development of other exploration systems, including habitats and landers.
"A feature of the Shuttle/Ares-derived reference vehicle is that it enables leveraging of current systems, current knowledge base, existing hardware and potentially current contracts, thereby providing schedule and early-year cost advantages," the report said. "However, a 2016 first flight does not appear to be possible within projected FY 2011 and out-year funding levels, although NASA is continuing to explore more innovative procurement and development approaches to determine whether it can come closer to this goal."
In the meantime, NASA said, "it is clear that successful development of SLS and MPCV will be dependent on sufficiently stable funding over the long term, coupled with a successful effort on the part of NASA and the eventual industry team to reduce costs and to establish stable, tightly managed requirements."
Lunar Mining Sparks Race to the Moon
Daily Tech: Lunar Mining Sparks Race to the MoonTiffany Kaiser
Space entrepreneurs look to extract resources from the moon, but others are arguing that international laws need to be made first
Lunar geologists and space entrepreneurs are becoming increasingly intrigued by the concept of lunar mining now that researchers have discovered an abundance of water on the moon. But others are suggesting that many obstacles need to be overcome before such a project can be executed.
The discovery of lunar water has raised questions as to whether other resources such as helium 2 and rare Earth elements could be found on the moon as well. Now, certain countries are looking to race to the moon.
Paul Spudis, Ph.D., a lunar geologist and Senior Staff Scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, has expressed interest in lunar mining and has even devised a plan for returning to the moon despite the fact that the Obama administration has no plans to return to the moon at all due to its cancellation of the Constellation program. Spudis' plan involves "robotic resource extraction and the deployment of space-based fuel depots" using water from the moon before any humans return to its surface.
On the other hand, Mike Wall, editor of SPACE.com, believes lunar mining should not be attempted before ironing out a few technical and legal issues. For instance, an international agreement consisting of property rights, a salvage law and a mining law would be needed in order to decide who owns the resources once they are extracted. The Outer Space Treaty does not allow nation states to claim territories on the moon, but it does not mention anything regarding resource mining, and laws need to be set before any mining on the moon begins.
To set these laws, several proposals have been submitted with viable ideas to set lunar mining in motion. One proposal, which was published in the SMU Journal of Air Law and Commerce, recommended that "space faring countries" should claim and defend a large portion of land around an established lunar settlement and sell the land to investors on Earth, which could fund the commercial venture.
A second proposal suggested an international agreement to sell lunar land to investors in an effort to fund space exploration programs.
China, Russia and India have expressed interest in resource development on the moon.
Space entrepreneurs look to extract resources from the moon, but others are arguing that international laws need to be made first
Lunar geologists and space entrepreneurs are becoming increasingly intrigued by the concept of lunar mining now that researchers have discovered an abundance of water on the moon. But others are suggesting that many obstacles need to be overcome before such a project can be executed.
The discovery of lunar water has raised questions as to whether other resources such as helium 2 and rare Earth elements could be found on the moon as well. Now, certain countries are looking to race to the moon.
Paul Spudis, Ph.D., a lunar geologist and Senior Staff Scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, has expressed interest in lunar mining and has even devised a plan for returning to the moon despite the fact that the Obama administration has no plans to return to the moon at all due to its cancellation of the Constellation program. Spudis' plan involves "robotic resource extraction and the deployment of space-based fuel depots" using water from the moon before any humans return to its surface.
On the other hand, Mike Wall, editor of SPACE.com, believes lunar mining should not be attempted before ironing out a few technical and legal issues. For instance, an international agreement consisting of property rights, a salvage law and a mining law would be needed in order to decide who owns the resources once they are extracted. The Outer Space Treaty does not allow nation states to claim territories on the moon, but it does not mention anything regarding resource mining, and laws need to be set before any mining on the moon begins.
To set these laws, several proposals have been submitted with viable ideas to set lunar mining in motion. One proposal, which was published in the SMU Journal of Air Law and Commerce, recommended that "space faring countries" should claim and defend a large portion of land around an established lunar settlement and sell the land to investors on Earth, which could fund the commercial venture.
A second proposal suggested an international agreement to sell lunar land to investors in an effort to fund space exploration programs.
China, Russia and India have expressed interest in resource development on the moon.
The League of the New Worlds
Just read about this organization...
http://quantumeditions.com/league/page01.html
The League of the New Worlds is a non-profit research foundation committed to the permanent human settlement of the ocean and space frontiers. The League is primarily an expeditions and explorations based group. It is our express purpose to plan, design, launch and permanently occupy the unsettled regions of the world’s oceans and space. We approach our purpose with an incremental development of off-the-shelf technologies integrated with intelligence and purposeful synergy, fusing the goals of ocean and space settlement into a single enterprise called the League of the New Worlds.
http://quantumeditions.com/league/page01.html
The League of the New Worlds is a non-profit research foundation committed to the permanent human settlement of the ocean and space frontiers. The League is primarily an expeditions and explorations based group. It is our express purpose to plan, design, launch and permanently occupy the unsettled regions of the world’s oceans and space. We approach our purpose with an incremental development of off-the-shelf technologies integrated with intelligence and purposeful synergy, fusing the goals of ocean and space settlement into a single enterprise called the League of the New Worlds.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
NASA's Human Space Exploration Framework Summary -- Is It 'Affordable?'
NASA's Human Space Exploration Framework Summary -- Is It 'Affordable?'
Mark Whittington Mark Whittington – Fri Jan 14, 5:45 pm ET
Ever since President Barack Obama canceled the Constellation program, NASA has been struggling to come up with a new program that not only incorporates the desires of the President but is aligned with the authorization bill passed by Congress.
In that spirit, NASA has released a new Human Space Exploration Framework summary, a beautiful thing to behold. The summary describes the technical requirements it views as necessary for sending human explorers beyond Low Earth Orbit to a number of destinations, including even the lunar surface. Significantly the included charts imply that landing on the moon is a detour from a straight line process that leads from Low Earth Orbit all the way to Mars. That suggests NASA is still remembering how President Obama distained going back to the moon "because Buzz has already been there," while also acknowledging that the Congress and many of the public have a different idea.
The summary uses the word "affordability" a lot, which is a word that Congress, the White House and the public want to hear. The document also has some verbiage about bringing in other government agencies, other countries, and various private sector entities as partners.
All in all, the latest Human Space Exploration Framework summary is a nice, sensible document that reveals what NASA is currently thinking about exploring the high frontier of space.
There is one principal problem that the HSEF document does not address, which no such document could likely address. That is the question of what constitutes "affordability?"
"Affordability" is an elusive term, with the amount of money involved constantly changing according to the vagaries of the economy and political whim. When Constellation started, then NASA Administrator Mike Griffin presented a plan for exploring the moon, Mars, and beyond that the White House and the Congress agreed was affordable. Then the White House and the Congress changed their minds and provided less money in the following years than they had originally agreed was "affordable."
It is very hard to design a program that meets that kind of moving target. The HSEF plan likely doesn't do that. Indeed, current disagreements between NASA and the Congress over how much the shuttle derived heavy lift vehicle and the Orion space craft will cost gives us a prelude of things to come.
A few months from now, NASA could present its final plan for going beyond LEO, with cost estimates, schedules for technology development, a list of destinations and deadlines, and page after page of supporting documentation and justifications. Congress and the White House are capable of doing a number of bad things.
First, as with Constellation, it can agree with the estimated cost, authorize the program, and then underfund it. This assumes, by the way, that the cost is not being low balled, as has happened in the past, to make it more palatable to the Congress.
Second, Congress can mandate, as it seems to be doing with the SD-HLV and Orion, that the program does not cost X. It really costs X-Y. NASA must deal with it.
Third, Congress could just decide to defer space exploration to the next President, fund some kind of face saving technology program and call it a day.
In the current political and economic climate, with no leadership from the President, agreeing to the program and then properly funding it is very unlikely. Despite calls from some quarters in the Internet that space exploration can be done so much more cheaply "commercially" — whatever that means — any commercial option remains more of a concept than a plan.
So that leaves us with the forlorn hope that the next President will have the wherewithal and the inclination to set things right. In the meantime, more waste, more fraud, and more going nowhere.
Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker. He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the LA Times, and The Weekly Standard.
Mark Whittington Mark Whittington – Fri Jan 14, 5:45 pm ET
Ever since President Barack Obama canceled the Constellation program, NASA has been struggling to come up with a new program that not only incorporates the desires of the President but is aligned with the authorization bill passed by Congress.
In that spirit, NASA has released a new Human Space Exploration Framework summary, a beautiful thing to behold. The summary describes the technical requirements it views as necessary for sending human explorers beyond Low Earth Orbit to a number of destinations, including even the lunar surface. Significantly the included charts imply that landing on the moon is a detour from a straight line process that leads from Low Earth Orbit all the way to Mars. That suggests NASA is still remembering how President Obama distained going back to the moon "because Buzz has already been there," while also acknowledging that the Congress and many of the public have a different idea.
The summary uses the word "affordability" a lot, which is a word that Congress, the White House and the public want to hear. The document also has some verbiage about bringing in other government agencies, other countries, and various private sector entities as partners.
All in all, the latest Human Space Exploration Framework summary is a nice, sensible document that reveals what NASA is currently thinking about exploring the high frontier of space.
There is one principal problem that the HSEF document does not address, which no such document could likely address. That is the question of what constitutes "affordability?"
"Affordability" is an elusive term, with the amount of money involved constantly changing according to the vagaries of the economy and political whim. When Constellation started, then NASA Administrator Mike Griffin presented a plan for exploring the moon, Mars, and beyond that the White House and the Congress agreed was affordable. Then the White House and the Congress changed their minds and provided less money in the following years than they had originally agreed was "affordable."
It is very hard to design a program that meets that kind of moving target. The HSEF plan likely doesn't do that. Indeed, current disagreements between NASA and the Congress over how much the shuttle derived heavy lift vehicle and the Orion space craft will cost gives us a prelude of things to come.
A few months from now, NASA could present its final plan for going beyond LEO, with cost estimates, schedules for technology development, a list of destinations and deadlines, and page after page of supporting documentation and justifications. Congress and the White House are capable of doing a number of bad things.
First, as with Constellation, it can agree with the estimated cost, authorize the program, and then underfund it. This assumes, by the way, that the cost is not being low balled, as has happened in the past, to make it more palatable to the Congress.
Second, Congress can mandate, as it seems to be doing with the SD-HLV and Orion, that the program does not cost X. It really costs X-Y. NASA must deal with it.
Third, Congress could just decide to defer space exploration to the next President, fund some kind of face saving technology program and call it a day.
In the current political and economic climate, with no leadership from the President, agreeing to the program and then properly funding it is very unlikely. Despite calls from some quarters in the Internet that space exploration can be done so much more cheaply "commercially" — whatever that means — any commercial option remains more of a concept than a plan.
So that leaves us with the forlorn hope that the next President will have the wherewithal and the inclination to set things right. In the meantime, more waste, more fraud, and more going nowhere.
Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker. He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the LA Times, and The Weekly Standard.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Apollo Era Data Continues to Yield Moon's Secrets Decades Later
Yahoo News: Apollo Era Data Continues to Yield Moon's Secrets Decades Later
The Moon may be off the table as the venue of future human exploration, thanks to the decision by President Obama to cancel the Constellation space exploration program, but scientists are still finding out new things about Earth's nearest neighbor.
Thanks to an examination of rock samples brought back to Earth by the Apollo astronauts, scientists have concluded that lunar water was likely deposited by comet impacts. Recently frozen lunar water confirmed in great abundance by the LCROSS impact probe and various lunar orbiters, such as NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and India's Chandrayaan, existing in permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles.
James Greenwood, of Wesleyan University, has published a paper in the journal Nature Geoscience that suggests, comparing isotopes in the Apollo rock samples with those found in comets such as Hale-Bopp, Hyakutake and Halley were quite similar. Greenwood posits that a considerable amount of the lunar water was deposited on the Moon while it was being formed over four billion years ago. Comet strikes may also have created the Earth's oceans, Greenwood adds.
Meanwhile, a team of NASA scientists have re-examined data collected by seismometers deployed by the Apollo astronauts between 1969 and 1972, which returned considerable data until they were turned off in 1977.
Using modern computers used to analyze the decades-old data, NASA scientists have concluded that the Moon has an interior similar to Earth's, with a solid inner core and a molten outer core. According to MSNBC, Renee Weber of the Marshal Space Flight Center led a team processed the old data: by examining the existing catalogue of lunar seismic signals, which included more than 6,000 deep moonquakes. By processing the new data, Weber and her team were able to develop a good idea of the makeup of the Moon's interior.
"The density and size of the moon's core affects how long it would take for a moonquake to travel through it, Weber said. So the researchers could then predict when a hypothetical seismic wave would reach a certain point, which allowed them to compute the size and structure of the core with great precision."
The findings of Weber and her team have been published in the journal Science.
The remarkable aspect of both stories is how modern processing techniques can use decades old data and make new discoveries that were unimaginable when the Apollo lunar expeditions were still being undertaken. The Moon is still yielding her secrets as scientists continue to examine data gathered over the years, from the Apollo missions, as well as more recent, robotic missions.
This suggests that continued exploration, human and robotic, of the Moon, even leaving aside national security needs and commercial possibilities, is likely to yield more good science in the years and decades to come.
Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker. He has written about space subjects for a variety of publications, including the Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the LA Times, and the Weekly Standard.
The Moon may be off the table as the venue of future human exploration, thanks to the decision by President Obama to cancel the Constellation space exploration program, but scientists are still finding out new things about Earth's nearest neighbor.
Thanks to an examination of rock samples brought back to Earth by the Apollo astronauts, scientists have concluded that lunar water was likely deposited by comet impacts. Recently frozen lunar water confirmed in great abundance by the LCROSS impact probe and various lunar orbiters, such as NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and India's Chandrayaan, existing in permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles.
James Greenwood, of Wesleyan University, has published a paper in the journal Nature Geoscience that suggests, comparing isotopes in the Apollo rock samples with those found in comets such as Hale-Bopp, Hyakutake and Halley were quite similar. Greenwood posits that a considerable amount of the lunar water was deposited on the Moon while it was being formed over four billion years ago. Comet strikes may also have created the Earth's oceans, Greenwood adds.
Meanwhile, a team of NASA scientists have re-examined data collected by seismometers deployed by the Apollo astronauts between 1969 and 1972, which returned considerable data until they were turned off in 1977.
Using modern computers used to analyze the decades-old data, NASA scientists have concluded that the Moon has an interior similar to Earth's, with a solid inner core and a molten outer core. According to MSNBC, Renee Weber of the Marshal Space Flight Center led a team processed the old data: by examining the existing catalogue of lunar seismic signals, which included more than 6,000 deep moonquakes. By processing the new data, Weber and her team were able to develop a good idea of the makeup of the Moon's interior.
"The density and size of the moon's core affects how long it would take for a moonquake to travel through it, Weber said. So the researchers could then predict when a hypothetical seismic wave would reach a certain point, which allowed them to compute the size and structure of the core with great precision."
The findings of Weber and her team have been published in the journal Science.
The remarkable aspect of both stories is how modern processing techniques can use decades old data and make new discoveries that were unimaginable when the Apollo lunar expeditions were still being undertaken. The Moon is still yielding her secrets as scientists continue to examine data gathered over the years, from the Apollo missions, as well as more recent, robotic missions.
This suggests that continued exploration, human and robotic, of the Moon, even leaving aside national security needs and commercial possibilities, is likely to yield more good science in the years and decades to come.
Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker. He has written about space subjects for a variety of publications, including the Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the LA Times, and the Weekly Standard.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
NASA: Space shuttle cracking finally understood
Yahoo News: NASA: Space shuttle cracking finally understoodCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA finally knows what caused the cracking in space shuttle Discovery's fuel tank, a potentially dangerous problem that likely existed on the previous flight, managers said Tuesday.
Discovery's final voyage has been on hold since the beginning of November. If the remaining repair work goes well, the shuttle could fly to the International Space Station as early as Feb. 24.
At a news conference, NASA officials refused to discuss the flight status of astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in Arizona last weekend. He's supposed to command shuttle Endeavour's last mission in April. His identical twin brother, Scott, is currently serving as the space station's skipper.
"Out of respect to the family, we really are not ready to answer those questions today. We're going to let Mark decide really kind of what he needs to do," said Bill Gerstenmaier, head of NASA space operations. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the family, and we're really thinking about Mark in everything we do."
On the orbiting lab, Scott Kelly took a call Tuesday from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
"There are no people in Russia who are not touched by this terrible news," Putin said through a translator.
The Endeavour mission is the last on NASA's official shuttle flight lineup before the fleet is retired. The space agency hopes to add one last trip to the space station by Atlantis at the end of August to bring up extra spare parts, provided there's funding. Officials initially were targeting the end of June for the launch, but said Tuesday they would prefer more time between flights.
As for Discovery's prolonged grounding, shuttle program manager John Shannon said a combination of inferior material and assembly issues is to blame. Cracks occurred in five of the 108 aluminum alloy struts in the center of the tank, which holds instruments. The damaged struts have been patched. Technicians will reinforce the remaining struts as a safety precaution, using thin 6-inch strips of aluminum.
Shannon called it "a very simple, elegant fix to the problem."
"We're going to fly with a lot of confidence in this tank," he told reporters. "We've gotten rid of the uncertainty."
The tank is covered with foam insulation, and NASA was concerned the cracks could force pieces to break off during liftoff, with chunks possibly striking the shuttle. A slab of foam doomed Columbia in 2003.
Engineers also worried that if four or more struts in a row failed, the entire structure could catastrophically buckle.
The cracking was discovered after an unrelated problem — a hydrogen gas leak — halted Discovery's launch countdown on Nov. 5.
Shannon said a batch of the material used for some of the 21-foot support struts, through heating, ended up more brittle.
In addition, weaknesses were introduced during assembly of the pieces.
The bad batch of material likely ended up on the fuel tank that launched Atlantis last May, Shannon said. Every indication is that the tank performed normally, even if cracks were, indeed, present, he noted.
The tank currently being prepared for Atlantis also has struts made of the suspect material and will need to be repaired. Engineers believe Endeavour's tank is unaffected, but extra tests are likely, which would push that mission into mid- to late April.
Once the 30-year shuttle program ends, the White House wants NASA focusing on expeditions to asteroids and Mars, rather than servicing the space station.
Discovery's final voyage has been on hold since the beginning of November. If the remaining repair work goes well, the shuttle could fly to the International Space Station as early as Feb. 24.
At a news conference, NASA officials refused to discuss the flight status of astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in Arizona last weekend. He's supposed to command shuttle Endeavour's last mission in April. His identical twin brother, Scott, is currently serving as the space station's skipper.
"Out of respect to the family, we really are not ready to answer those questions today. We're going to let Mark decide really kind of what he needs to do," said Bill Gerstenmaier, head of NASA space operations. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the family, and we're really thinking about Mark in everything we do."
On the orbiting lab, Scott Kelly took a call Tuesday from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
"There are no people in Russia who are not touched by this terrible news," Putin said through a translator.
The Endeavour mission is the last on NASA's official shuttle flight lineup before the fleet is retired. The space agency hopes to add one last trip to the space station by Atlantis at the end of August to bring up extra spare parts, provided there's funding. Officials initially were targeting the end of June for the launch, but said Tuesday they would prefer more time between flights.
As for Discovery's prolonged grounding, shuttle program manager John Shannon said a combination of inferior material and assembly issues is to blame. Cracks occurred in five of the 108 aluminum alloy struts in the center of the tank, which holds instruments. The damaged struts have been patched. Technicians will reinforce the remaining struts as a safety precaution, using thin 6-inch strips of aluminum.
Shannon called it "a very simple, elegant fix to the problem."
"We're going to fly with a lot of confidence in this tank," he told reporters. "We've gotten rid of the uncertainty."
The tank is covered with foam insulation, and NASA was concerned the cracks could force pieces to break off during liftoff, with chunks possibly striking the shuttle. A slab of foam doomed Columbia in 2003.
Engineers also worried that if four or more struts in a row failed, the entire structure could catastrophically buckle.
The cracking was discovered after an unrelated problem — a hydrogen gas leak — halted Discovery's launch countdown on Nov. 5.
Shannon said a batch of the material used for some of the 21-foot support struts, through heating, ended up more brittle.
In addition, weaknesses were introduced during assembly of the pieces.
The bad batch of material likely ended up on the fuel tank that launched Atlantis last May, Shannon said. Every indication is that the tank performed normally, even if cracks were, indeed, present, he noted.
The tank currently being prepared for Atlantis also has struts made of the suspect material and will need to be repaired. Engineers believe Endeavour's tank is unaffected, but extra tests are likely, which would push that mission into mid- to late April.
Once the 30-year shuttle program ends, the White House wants NASA focusing on expeditions to asteroids and Mars, rather than servicing the space station.
NASA spots smallest planet yet discovered outside Sun's solar system
CNN News: NASA spots smallest planet yet discovered outside Sun's solar system
CNN) -- A NASA spacecraft has detected a rocky planet that is the smallest ever discovered outside the Sun's solar system, the agency announced Monday.
The exoplanet -- so named because it orbits a star other than the Sun -- has been dubbed Kepler-10b. It measures 1.4 times the Earth's diameter and was confirmed after more than eight months of data collection, the agency said. It is the first rocky, or Earth-like, planet discovered by Kepler.
"All of Kepler's best capabilities have converged to yield the first solid evidence of a rocky planet orbiting a star other than our sun," said Natalie Batalha, deputy science team leader for the NASA mission. "The Kepler team made a commitment in 2010 about finding the telltale signatures of small planets in the data, and it's beginning to pay off."
Kepler-10b's size and rocky composition would make it more likely than gaseous planets to contain liquid water, and perhaps life of some kind, if it were the right distance from its star, NASA said. However, it is much too close to the star -- 20 times closer than Mercury is to the Sun.
Kepler-10b's star is about 560 light years from Earth, according to NASA.
Still, the discovery has scientists optimistic about what else Kepler might be able to reveal.
"Although this planet is not in the habitable zone, the exciting find showcases the kinds of discoveries made possible by the mission and the promise of many more to come," said Kepler program scientist Douglas Hudgins.
The mission is the agency's first capable of finding Earth-size planets near the habitable zone, or the distance from a star where a planet can maintain liquid water and potential life.
The spacecraft measures size and other details by noting the tiny decrease in a star's brightness that occurs when a planet crosses in front of it.
CNN) -- A NASA spacecraft has detected a rocky planet that is the smallest ever discovered outside the Sun's solar system, the agency announced Monday.
The exoplanet -- so named because it orbits a star other than the Sun -- has been dubbed Kepler-10b. It measures 1.4 times the Earth's diameter and was confirmed after more than eight months of data collection, the agency said. It is the first rocky, or Earth-like, planet discovered by Kepler.
"All of Kepler's best capabilities have converged to yield the first solid evidence of a rocky planet orbiting a star other than our sun," said Natalie Batalha, deputy science team leader for the NASA mission. "The Kepler team made a commitment in 2010 about finding the telltale signatures of small planets in the data, and it's beginning to pay off."
Kepler-10b's size and rocky composition would make it more likely than gaseous planets to contain liquid water, and perhaps life of some kind, if it were the right distance from its star, NASA said. However, it is much too close to the star -- 20 times closer than Mercury is to the Sun.
Kepler-10b's star is about 560 light years from Earth, according to NASA.
Still, the discovery has scientists optimistic about what else Kepler might be able to reveal.
"Although this planet is not in the habitable zone, the exciting find showcases the kinds of discoveries made possible by the mission and the promise of many more to come," said Kepler program scientist Douglas Hudgins.
The mission is the agency's first capable of finding Earth-size planets near the habitable zone, or the distance from a star where a planet can maintain liquid water and potential life.
The spacecraft measures size and other details by noting the tiny decrease in a star's brightness that occurs when a planet crosses in front of it.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Japan to aid nation's space programme
Vietnam News: Japan to aid nation's space programme
HCM CITY — The Japanese government would provide official development assistance (ODA) loans for Viet Nam to carry out its space exploration programme, the Japanese daily newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported last Friday.
The ODA loans totally valued at between 35 billion yen (US$420 million) and 40 billion yen ($480 million) would be Japan's first ODA allocated for space development.
The loans would reportedly be spent on three projects, an earth-based space centre, two observation satellites and the training of Vietnamese engineers.
The space centre would be built at Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park, which is now under construction in an area some 30 kilometres west of Ha Noi.
The centre would house a testing facility for satellite assembly, a satellite operated data-analysis facility and a large bidirectional antenna seven metres in diametre.
One of the two earth observation satellites would be manufactured in Japan and loaded onto an H-2A rocket to be launched from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Kagoshima Prefecture in 2017.
Japanese private space development firms and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency would train Vietnamese technicians on satellite production and operation, as well as data analysis.
The other satellite would be made by the Japan-trained engineers, with production expected to start from around 2019.
Japan would send components and engineers to Viet Nam for the project for a planned launch in 2020.
The Government of Viet Nam officially asked Japan to support its space programme with ODA in April 2009.
The final decision on the project would be made later in June 2011 at a Japanese Government's ministerial meeting on packaged assistance for overseas infrastructure projects, and an agreement should be reached between the Japanese and Vietnamese governments in June.
According to Yomiuru Shimbun's reports, the Japan External Trade Organisation has conducted research to determine the possibility of helping Viet Nam obtain its own satellite. — VNS/Yomiuru Shimbun.
HCM CITY — The Japanese government would provide official development assistance (ODA) loans for Viet Nam to carry out its space exploration programme, the Japanese daily newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported last Friday.
The ODA loans totally valued at between 35 billion yen (US$420 million) and 40 billion yen ($480 million) would be Japan's first ODA allocated for space development.
The loans would reportedly be spent on three projects, an earth-based space centre, two observation satellites and the training of Vietnamese engineers.
The space centre would be built at Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park, which is now under construction in an area some 30 kilometres west of Ha Noi.
The centre would house a testing facility for satellite assembly, a satellite operated data-analysis facility and a large bidirectional antenna seven metres in diametre.
One of the two earth observation satellites would be manufactured in Japan and loaded onto an H-2A rocket to be launched from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Kagoshima Prefecture in 2017.
Japanese private space development firms and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency would train Vietnamese technicians on satellite production and operation, as well as data analysis.
The other satellite would be made by the Japan-trained engineers, with production expected to start from around 2019.
Japan would send components and engineers to Viet Nam for the project for a planned launch in 2020.
The Government of Viet Nam officially asked Japan to support its space programme with ODA in April 2009.
The final decision on the project would be made later in June 2011 at a Japanese Government's ministerial meeting on packaged assistance for overseas infrastructure projects, and an agreement should be reached between the Japanese and Vietnamese governments in June.
According to Yomiuru Shimbun's reports, the Japan External Trade Organisation has conducted research to determine the possibility of helping Viet Nam obtain its own satellite. — VNS/Yomiuru Shimbun.
Space Program Runs in Congresswoman’s Family
Space Program Runs in Congresswoman’s Family
Representative Gabrielle Giffords has been one of the biggest champions in Congress of what amounts to nearly a family enterprise for her — space exploration.
Both Ms. Giffords’ husband — Capt. Mark E. Kelly of the Navy — and her brother-in-law (her husband’s twin) — Scott Kelly — are astronauts.
Mark Kelly has been an astronaut since selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1996. He has flown three space shuttle missions, twice as pilot and once as commander, and he is the commander of the next and last flight of Endeavour.
Scott Kelly, who is also a Navy captain, is currently aboard the International Space Station.
Peggy A. Whitson, the head of the astronaut office, told Scott Kelly about the attack against his sister-in-law on Saturday afternoon, said Michael Cabbage, a NASA spokesman.
Mr. Cabbage said it was too early to say how Mark Kelly’s scheduled Endeavour mission would be affected. The Kelly brothers were to have been the first twins to be in space together when Endeavour visited the space station, but the launching of Endeavour has slipped to April, a month after Scott Kelly’s scheduled return to Earth.
Ms. Giffords and Mark Kelly, 46, married in November 2007. In Congress, Ms. Giffords has played a major role in NASA policy. Until the Republicans assumed control of the House of Representatives last week, she was chairwoman of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science.
As the Obama administration sought last year to end NASA’s Constellation program to send astronauts to the moon, Ms. Giffords was critical of the shift, arguing that the program should be modified, not canceled. In September, she voted against an authorization bill that laid out the blueprint for NASA for the next three years.
She said the bill, which passed and was signed into law by President Obama, “forces NASA to build a rocket that doesn’t meet its needs, with a budget that’s not adequate to do the job and on a schedule that NASA’s own analysis says is unrealistic.”
“As a longtime supporter of NASA, Representative Giffords not only has made lasting contributions to our country, but is a strong advocate for the nation’s space program and a member of the NASA family,” Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden Jr., the NASA administrator, said in a statement. “We at NASA mourn this tragedy and our thoughts and prayers go out to Congresswoman Giffords, her husband, Mark Kelly, their family, and the families and friends of all who perished or were injured in this terrible tragedy.”
Representative Gabrielle Giffords has been one of the biggest champions in Congress of what amounts to nearly a family enterprise for her — space exploration.
Both Ms. Giffords’ husband — Capt. Mark E. Kelly of the Navy — and her brother-in-law (her husband’s twin) — Scott Kelly — are astronauts.
Mark Kelly has been an astronaut since selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1996. He has flown three space shuttle missions, twice as pilot and once as commander, and he is the commander of the next and last flight of Endeavour.
Scott Kelly, who is also a Navy captain, is currently aboard the International Space Station.
Peggy A. Whitson, the head of the astronaut office, told Scott Kelly about the attack against his sister-in-law on Saturday afternoon, said Michael Cabbage, a NASA spokesman.
Mr. Cabbage said it was too early to say how Mark Kelly’s scheduled Endeavour mission would be affected. The Kelly brothers were to have been the first twins to be in space together when Endeavour visited the space station, but the launching of Endeavour has slipped to April, a month after Scott Kelly’s scheduled return to Earth.
Ms. Giffords and Mark Kelly, 46, married in November 2007. In Congress, Ms. Giffords has played a major role in NASA policy. Until the Republicans assumed control of the House of Representatives last week, she was chairwoman of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science.
As the Obama administration sought last year to end NASA’s Constellation program to send astronauts to the moon, Ms. Giffords was critical of the shift, arguing that the program should be modified, not canceled. In September, she voted against an authorization bill that laid out the blueprint for NASA for the next three years.
She said the bill, which passed and was signed into law by President Obama, “forces NASA to build a rocket that doesn’t meet its needs, with a budget that’s not adequate to do the job and on a schedule that NASA’s own analysis says is unrealistic.”
“As a longtime supporter of NASA, Representative Giffords not only has made lasting contributions to our country, but is a strong advocate for the nation’s space program and a member of the NASA family,” Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden Jr., the NASA administrator, said in a statement. “We at NASA mourn this tragedy and our thoughts and prayers go out to Congresswoman Giffords, her husband, Mark Kelly, their family, and the families and friends of all who perished or were injured in this terrible tragedy.”
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Amherst-based company to auction space-related items
Nashua [NH] Telegrah: Amherst-based company to auction space-related items
AMHERST – Space might be the final frontier, but a local auction house hopes it will also provide the route to more business.
RRAuction, which has built its reputation in recent years on sales of signed items such as letters, books and pictures, will hold a sale starting Jan. 13 of 422 items related to America’s space program.
That isn’t unusual, since the company’s monthly sales have often included items signed by astronauts and NASA officials. The unusual part is that the sale will also include things that aren’t signed, such as a power cable from the Apollo 15 lunar lander, a 19-pound bolt from the space shuttle rocket booster and a crumpled piece of titanium from the wing of a crashed Blackbird supersonic plane, which the auction house cautions has “extremely sharp” edges.
The move is a test by the company about expanding its business with specialty sales of artifacts and signed objects associated with a specific topic, said Bobby Livingston, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing.
“We are hoping to add four more auctions per year and decided to do a space auction with artifacts,” he said.
RRAuction sold artifacts until a half-dozen years ago, when it decided to specialize in signed items.
The space program is a good target for a return to specialty artifact sales partly because the items are relatively easy to authenticate, which is important for the auction industry, Livingston said.
It was also a natural for RRAuction: “We’re well-known in the space-collecting community because of the autographs we sell,” Livingston said. “We simply put out word to space collectors we know.”
The material for this auction came from six collectors and an astronaut, Livingston said.
Other high-profile items in the sale are a Playboy calendar with a smiling, topless model that’s signed on the back by an astronaut; a picture of the Batman character from the 1960s TV show that was put on astronaut Gordon Cooper’s control panel as a joke; and a number of items that flew in space such as star charts and bits of Mylar.
Other items include a “welcome aboard” pamphlet from when the Apollo 11 crew was picked up by the USS Hornet after splashing down from their moon voyage, a glass pipette used to study dust brought back from the moon and a topographic model of the lunar surface used by the Apollo 16 astronauts.
All the items are held locally, partly so the company can authenticate them and partly so RRAuction can guarantee they’ll be shipped out quickly after purchase.
RRAuction, which has offices on Route 101A, runs multiday auctions over the Internet. It doesn’t hold in-person auctions.
The company has drawn attention over the years for selling such high-profile material as a letter signed by Ludwig van Beethoven, an original photo of Albert Einstein and a check signed by first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, who is famously shy about giving autographs.
AMHERST – Space might be the final frontier, but a local auction house hopes it will also provide the route to more business.
RRAuction, which has built its reputation in recent years on sales of signed items such as letters, books and pictures, will hold a sale starting Jan. 13 of 422 items related to America’s space program.
That isn’t unusual, since the company’s monthly sales have often included items signed by astronauts and NASA officials. The unusual part is that the sale will also include things that aren’t signed, such as a power cable from the Apollo 15 lunar lander, a 19-pound bolt from the space shuttle rocket booster and a crumpled piece of titanium from the wing of a crashed Blackbird supersonic plane, which the auction house cautions has “extremely sharp” edges.
The move is a test by the company about expanding its business with specialty sales of artifacts and signed objects associated with a specific topic, said Bobby Livingston, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing.
“We are hoping to add four more auctions per year and decided to do a space auction with artifacts,” he said.
RRAuction sold artifacts until a half-dozen years ago, when it decided to specialize in signed items.
The space program is a good target for a return to specialty artifact sales partly because the items are relatively easy to authenticate, which is important for the auction industry, Livingston said.
It was also a natural for RRAuction: “We’re well-known in the space-collecting community because of the autographs we sell,” Livingston said. “We simply put out word to space collectors we know.”
The material for this auction came from six collectors and an astronaut, Livingston said.
Other high-profile items in the sale are a Playboy calendar with a smiling, topless model that’s signed on the back by an astronaut; a picture of the Batman character from the 1960s TV show that was put on astronaut Gordon Cooper’s control panel as a joke; and a number of items that flew in space such as star charts and bits of Mylar.
Other items include a “welcome aboard” pamphlet from when the Apollo 11 crew was picked up by the USS Hornet after splashing down from their moon voyage, a glass pipette used to study dust brought back from the moon and a topographic model of the lunar surface used by the Apollo 16 astronauts.
All the items are held locally, partly so the company can authenticate them and partly so RRAuction can guarantee they’ll be shipped out quickly after purchase.
RRAuction, which has offices on Route 101A, runs multiday auctions over the Internet. It doesn’t hold in-person auctions.
The company has drawn attention over the years for selling such high-profile material as a letter signed by Ludwig van Beethoven, an original photo of Albert Einstein and a check signed by first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, who is famously shy about giving autographs.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Is outer space big enough for the U.S. and China?
Foreign Policy: Is outer space big enough for the U.S. and China?
Is outer space big enough for the U.S. and China?
Posted By Joshua Keating Monday, January 3, 2011 - 6:20 PM
When U.S. President Barack Obama visited China last December, he and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao issued a joint statement promising "the initiation of a joint dialogue on human spaceflight and space exploration, based on the principles of transparency, reciprocity and mutual benefit." But don't expect space to be on the agenda when Hu comes to Washington this month, according to Reuters' Jim Wolf:
Hu's state visit will highlight the importance of expanding cooperation on "bilateral, regional and global issues," the White House said.
But space appears to be a frontier too far for now, partly due to U.S. fears of an inadvertent technology transfer. China may no longer be much interested in any event, reckoning it does not need U.S. expertise for its space program.
New obstacles to cooperation have come from the Republicans capturing control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 2 congressional elections from Obama's Democrats.
Representative Frank Wolf, for instance, is set to take over as chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that funds the U.S. space agency in the House. A China critic and human rights firebrand, the Republican congressman has faulted NASA's chief for meeting leaders of China's Manned Space Engineering Office in October.
"As you know, we have serious concerns about the nature and goals of China's space program and strongly oppose any cooperation between NASA and China," Wolf and three fellow Republicans wrote NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on October 15 as he left for China.
It's hard to look at space and not see an example of American decline. While China has launched two moon orbiters and conducted a space walk in recent years and plans for a moon rover by 2012, the U.S. is now forced to hitch a ride on Soviet-era Soyuz rockets in order to maintain the international space station.
Is outer space big enough for the U.S. and China?
Posted By Joshua Keating Monday, January 3, 2011 - 6:20 PM
When U.S. President Barack Obama visited China last December, he and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao issued a joint statement promising "the initiation of a joint dialogue on human spaceflight and space exploration, based on the principles of transparency, reciprocity and mutual benefit." But don't expect space to be on the agenda when Hu comes to Washington this month, according to Reuters' Jim Wolf:
Hu's state visit will highlight the importance of expanding cooperation on "bilateral, regional and global issues," the White House said.
But space appears to be a frontier too far for now, partly due to U.S. fears of an inadvertent technology transfer. China may no longer be much interested in any event, reckoning it does not need U.S. expertise for its space program.
New obstacles to cooperation have come from the Republicans capturing control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 2 congressional elections from Obama's Democrats.
Representative Frank Wolf, for instance, is set to take over as chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that funds the U.S. space agency in the House. A China critic and human rights firebrand, the Republican congressman has faulted NASA's chief for meeting leaders of China's Manned Space Engineering Office in October.
"As you know, we have serious concerns about the nature and goals of China's space program and strongly oppose any cooperation between NASA and China," Wolf and three fellow Republicans wrote NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on October 15 as he left for China.
It's hard to look at space and not see an example of American decline. While China has launched two moon orbiters and conducted a space walk in recent years and plans for a moon rover by 2012, the U.S. is now forced to hitch a ride on Soviet-era Soyuz rockets in order to maintain the international space station.
Monday, January 3, 2011
NASA Langley Forecast
Press Release: NASA Langley Forecast
AEROSPACE IS ECONOMIC ENGINE FOR VIRGINIA
NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton and Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore generate $1.2 billion and more than 10,000 jobs in the Commonwealth. On Feb. 2-3, Langley Director Lesa Roe and Wallops Director William Wrobel will join with representatives of the aerospace industry and academia at AeroSpace Day at the General Assembly in Richmond. Learn how NASA's Virginia facilities, Virginia's aerospace companies and excellent academic institutions are playing a critical role in advancing the nation's future in space exploration, aeronautics and science. For more information, contact Marny Skora at 757-864-6121 or marny.skora@nasa.gov.
SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY TO TAKE LAST FLIGHT
The space shuttle Discovery is targeted to lift off on its last voyage Thursday, Feb. 3, at 1:37 a.m. ET. NASA Langley engineers participate in damage assessment and impact dynamics teams during shuttle missions. Discovery's high-speed return through the atmosphere will also provide more data to the NASA Langley team looking at the effects of extreme aerodynamic heating, an aid for future spacecraft and aircraft designers, called the Hypersonic Thermodynamic Infrared Measurements experiment (HYTHIRM). For more information, contact Kathy Barnstorff at 757-864-9886 or kathy.barnstorff@nasa.gov.
NASA PLANS TEST IN WORLD'S LARGEST CAN CRUSHER
NASA has a New Year's resolution to lose weight and save money -- in rocket designs. In February, the agency will crush a 27-ft diameter section of rocket casing at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The large-scale test follows a series of smaller scale tests, all aimed at reducing the time and money spent designing and testing future rockets. And by incorporating more modern, lighter high-tech materials into the design and manufacturing process, rockets will save weight and carry more payload. The joint NASA Langley- Marshall tests are funded by NASA's Engineering and Safety Center (NESC), based at Langley. For more information, contact Chris Rink at 757-864-6786 or christopher.p.rink@nasa.gov.
THE FIRE-BREATHING DRAGON OF CLOUDS
A "normal" cumulonimbus cloud is imposing enough -- a massive, anvil-shaped tower of power reaching five miles (8 km) high, hurling thunderbolts, wind and rain. Add smoke and fire to the mix and you have pyrocumulonimbus, an explosive storm cloud created by the smoke and heat from fire. They have ravaged tens of thousands of acres and are increasing in frequency as the climate changes. For more information, contact Michael Finneran at 757-864-6110 or michael.p.finneran@nasa.gov.
NASA AND NORTH CAROLINA TEAM FOR TEACHER WORKSHOPS
In March, NASA Langley's Education Office will be busy promoting science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) events in North Carolina. March 1-3, the third annual NASA STEM Educators Workshop series will be held at Whitewater Middle School in Charlotte, N.C., with a theme of "Embrace the Challenge to Innovate." Aerospace education specialists, along with master educators and coordinators, will lead lessons for area teachers. On March 2-5, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association's (CIAA) Tournament and Career Day will educate thousands of students about STEM and opportunities with NASA. For more information, contact Amy Johnson at 757-864-7022 or amy.johnson@nasa.gov.
NASA GETS READY TO MAKE A SPLASH
Construction is complete on a new facility at NASA Langley that will be used to certify space vehicles for water landings. The 115-ft long and 20-ft deep Hydro Impact Basin is located at the west end of Langley's historic Landing and Impact Research Facility, also known as the Gantry. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is tentatively scheduled for late spring. A series of water impact tests will be conducted using Orion drop test articles beginning in the spring of 2011. These tests will initially validate and improve the computer models of impact and acoustic loads used in the design and engineering process, and will ultimately qualify the final vehicle design for flight. For more information, contact Amy Johnson at 757-864-7022 or amy.johnson@nasa.gov.
NASA 360 AIRS UP IN THE AIR
Airline and cruise ship passengers may soon be able to see an Emmy award-winning NASA TV program that shows how NASA technology is part of our lives. The producers of "NASA 360" have reached agreement with Airline Media Productions (AMP) International to air the half-hour show through AMP's entertainment outlets, including US Airways, Virgin America, Singapore Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Middle East Airlines, Flydubai, Tunisair and a number of cruise ships. "NASA 360" is based at NASA's Langley Research Center. For more information, contact Kathy Barnstorff at 757-864-9886 or kathy.barnstorff@nasa.gov.
THE ROBOTS ARE COMING!
The Virginia Regional FIRST Robotics competition will be held April 7-9 at Virginia Commonwealth University's Siegel Center in Richmond. More than a dozen Hampton Roads high school robotics teams, including the New Horizons NASA Knights from Hampton, will compete with robots they designed and built. NASA's Robotics Alliance Project (RAP) has been supporting participation in the FIRST Robotics Competition by providing grants to high school teams as well as sponsoring FIRST regional competitions. For more, visit http://robotics.nasa.gov or contact Amy Johnson at 757-864-7022, amy.johnson@nasa.gov.
SPEAKER SERIES
Daytime presentations to employees at NASA Langley are held on the first Tuesday of each month at 2 p.m. in the Reid Conference Center. Media are invited to interview speakers at a news conference at 1:15 p.m. prior to the talk. The public is invited to free presentations on the same or similar topics at 7:30 that evening at the Virginia Air and Space Center, Hampton. Contact Chris Rink at 757-864-6786 or christopher.p.rink@nasa.gov.
JAN. 11 TALK: CHILEAN MINERS' RESCUE, NASA PLAYS A PART
Clint Cragg, a founding member of the NASA's Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) at NASA Langley, was a member of the four-person NASA team invited to help with the Chilean miners' rescue. Cragg subsequently led an NESC team that recommended design requirements for the rescue capsule. Cragg will discuss NASA's site visit, the situation at the mine at the time, and the assistance NASA provided.
NASA news releases are available automatically by sending an e-mail message to Langley-news-request@lists.nasa.gov with the word "subscribe" in the subject line. You will receive an e-mail asking you to visit a link to confirm the action. To unsubscribe, send an e-mail message to Langley-news-request@lists.nasa.gov with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
SOURCE NASA
AEROSPACE IS ECONOMIC ENGINE FOR VIRGINIA
NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton and Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore generate $1.2 billion and more than 10,000 jobs in the Commonwealth. On Feb. 2-3, Langley Director Lesa Roe and Wallops Director William Wrobel will join with representatives of the aerospace industry and academia at AeroSpace Day at the General Assembly in Richmond. Learn how NASA's Virginia facilities, Virginia's aerospace companies and excellent academic institutions are playing a critical role in advancing the nation's future in space exploration, aeronautics and science. For more information, contact Marny Skora at 757-864-6121 or marny.skora@nasa.gov.
SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY TO TAKE LAST FLIGHT
The space shuttle Discovery is targeted to lift off on its last voyage Thursday, Feb. 3, at 1:37 a.m. ET. NASA Langley engineers participate in damage assessment and impact dynamics teams during shuttle missions. Discovery's high-speed return through the atmosphere will also provide more data to the NASA Langley team looking at the effects of extreme aerodynamic heating, an aid for future spacecraft and aircraft designers, called the Hypersonic Thermodynamic Infrared Measurements experiment (HYTHIRM). For more information, contact Kathy Barnstorff at 757-864-9886 or kathy.barnstorff@nasa.gov.
NASA PLANS TEST IN WORLD'S LARGEST CAN CRUSHER
NASA has a New Year's resolution to lose weight and save money -- in rocket designs. In February, the agency will crush a 27-ft diameter section of rocket casing at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The large-scale test follows a series of smaller scale tests, all aimed at reducing the time and money spent designing and testing future rockets. And by incorporating more modern, lighter high-tech materials into the design and manufacturing process, rockets will save weight and carry more payload. The joint NASA Langley- Marshall tests are funded by NASA's Engineering and Safety Center (NESC), based at Langley. For more information, contact Chris Rink at 757-864-6786 or christopher.p.rink@nasa.gov.
THE FIRE-BREATHING DRAGON OF CLOUDS
A "normal" cumulonimbus cloud is imposing enough -- a massive, anvil-shaped tower of power reaching five miles (8 km) high, hurling thunderbolts, wind and rain. Add smoke and fire to the mix and you have pyrocumulonimbus, an explosive storm cloud created by the smoke and heat from fire. They have ravaged tens of thousands of acres and are increasing in frequency as the climate changes. For more information, contact Michael Finneran at 757-864-6110 or michael.p.finneran@nasa.gov.
NASA AND NORTH CAROLINA TEAM FOR TEACHER WORKSHOPS
In March, NASA Langley's Education Office will be busy promoting science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) events in North Carolina. March 1-3, the third annual NASA STEM Educators Workshop series will be held at Whitewater Middle School in Charlotte, N.C., with a theme of "Embrace the Challenge to Innovate." Aerospace education specialists, along with master educators and coordinators, will lead lessons for area teachers. On March 2-5, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association's (CIAA) Tournament and Career Day will educate thousands of students about STEM and opportunities with NASA. For more information, contact Amy Johnson at 757-864-7022 or amy.johnson@nasa.gov.
NASA GETS READY TO MAKE A SPLASH
Construction is complete on a new facility at NASA Langley that will be used to certify space vehicles for water landings. The 115-ft long and 20-ft deep Hydro Impact Basin is located at the west end of Langley's historic Landing and Impact Research Facility, also known as the Gantry. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is tentatively scheduled for late spring. A series of water impact tests will be conducted using Orion drop test articles beginning in the spring of 2011. These tests will initially validate and improve the computer models of impact and acoustic loads used in the design and engineering process, and will ultimately qualify the final vehicle design for flight. For more information, contact Amy Johnson at 757-864-7022 or amy.johnson@nasa.gov.
NASA 360 AIRS UP IN THE AIR
Airline and cruise ship passengers may soon be able to see an Emmy award-winning NASA TV program that shows how NASA technology is part of our lives. The producers of "NASA 360" have reached agreement with Airline Media Productions (AMP) International to air the half-hour show through AMP's entertainment outlets, including US Airways, Virgin America, Singapore Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Middle East Airlines, Flydubai, Tunisair and a number of cruise ships. "NASA 360" is based at NASA's Langley Research Center. For more information, contact Kathy Barnstorff at 757-864-9886 or kathy.barnstorff@nasa.gov.
THE ROBOTS ARE COMING!
The Virginia Regional FIRST Robotics competition will be held April 7-9 at Virginia Commonwealth University's Siegel Center in Richmond. More than a dozen Hampton Roads high school robotics teams, including the New Horizons NASA Knights from Hampton, will compete with robots they designed and built. NASA's Robotics Alliance Project (RAP) has been supporting participation in the FIRST Robotics Competition by providing grants to high school teams as well as sponsoring FIRST regional competitions. For more, visit http://robotics.nasa.gov or contact Amy Johnson at 757-864-7022, amy.johnson@nasa.gov.
SPEAKER SERIES
Daytime presentations to employees at NASA Langley are held on the first Tuesday of each month at 2 p.m. in the Reid Conference Center. Media are invited to interview speakers at a news conference at 1:15 p.m. prior to the talk. The public is invited to free presentations on the same or similar topics at 7:30 that evening at the Virginia Air and Space Center, Hampton. Contact Chris Rink at 757-864-6786 or christopher.p.rink@nasa.gov.
JAN. 11 TALK: CHILEAN MINERS' RESCUE, NASA PLAYS A PART
Clint Cragg, a founding member of the NASA's Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) at NASA Langley, was a member of the four-person NASA team invited to help with the Chilean miners' rescue. Cragg subsequently led an NESC team that recommended design requirements for the rescue capsule. Cragg will discuss NASA's site visit, the situation at the mine at the time, and the assistance NASA provided.
NASA news releases are available automatically by sending an e-mail message to Langley-news-request@lists.nasa.gov with the word "subscribe" in the subject line. You will receive an e-mail asking you to visit a link to confirm the action. To unsubscribe, send an e-mail message to Langley-news-request@lists.nasa.gov with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
SOURCE NASA
Our Place In Space After The Shuttle Program Wraps
NPR: Our Place In Space After The Shuttle Program Wraps
The space shuttle program is coming to an end and the Obama administration has decided not to fund a new, manned rocket program this year. Liane Hansen talks to NPR's Joe Palca about what's happening now in space exploration, like interesting robotic missions, private enterprise and international efforts.
LIANE HANSEN, host:
America's space program is scheduled to undergo a fundamental shift in 2011. Unless something changes by the end of the year, NASA will no longer have a rocket to send astronauts into space. The space shuttle program is being retired, and for the moment there is no American replacement rocket capable of sending people into orbit.
To talk about rockets and more of what's ahead for the new year in space, NPR science correspondent Joe Palca is in the house. And first of all, Joe, how did NASA get into this situation?
JOE PALCA: Well, as you say, they decided they were going to retire the shuttles and that makes sense. They're 30 years old. They were an expensive program to operate, and seemed like after 30 years it might be time to get something new.
So NASA began this large program to come up with a replacement. And then the Obama administration decided they didnt want to do that. So they basically cancelled the program.
Interestingly, the L.A. Times reports recently that they still have to pay like $500 million in this fiscal year, because Congress hasn't gotten around to cutting off the funding yet. But that's another story.
HANSEN: So NASA is abandoning manned space flight?
PALCA: Well, no, they're not. The plan is, they've got contracts with the Russian space agency to send astronauts to the space station, the international space station, on the Soyuz launch system, the capsule, to get astronauts into space. And they've been doing that already. I mean, that's already been an alternative way of getting up there for American astronauts.
And the other thing thats happening is there is going to be some private companies that are jumping into this space launch business. SpaceX, Orbital Sciences, are some of the ones that have been very public about their activities. There are some others that might be a little more, you know, sort of cagey about what they're up to. But the idea is that NASA will buy launch services from a commercial entity.
HANSEN: But there will be at least two more shuttle flights this coming year?
PALCA: Yeah. And one of them is one of those exciting supply missions where they bring up lots of equipment. And then the other one is a little more interesting in that it's bringing up a major scientific experiment that's supposed to measure charged particles and cosmic rays. And there could be a third shuttle, and this is one of these funny things.
So, since the Columbia accident, NASA's policy is to have a space shuttle waiting in case they have to send up a rescue mission if one gets into space and it's been damaged and they don't want to let it come back down to earth. So they have one that's waiting after the last shuttle mission, but then some people said, well, if it's just waiting there, why don't we launch it, because it's fully ready to be launched.
And so NASA said, well, we will if you tell us to. And right now, Congress has said, we're not sure yet. So, of course, if they launch one, then do they have another one standing by? This could go on forever. But I think they're talking about doing one. So it could be three this year, but there's two on the books.
HANSEN: It's always so interesting to talk about human space flight, but there are also some interesting unmanned missions that will be launched in 2011. Can you elaborate on some of them?
PALCA: Well, sure. One of them that's kind of cool is the Juno spacecraft. That's the solar-powered spacecraft that's heading off to Jupiter. And then theres GRAIL. It's actually twin spacecraft that are going to be used to determine the interior of our moon, which I think is kind of cool.
And then, the big one is, in Thanksgiving, the next Mars Rover is going to go off. It's the Mars science laboratory. If you think of the last rover as sort of like dune buggies, this is more like an SUV, although it's still smaller than an SUV.
HANSEN: Yeah. I remember we talked back in January 4th, 2004 about the first Rover, and that was supposed to last about, what, a week?
PALCA: Right. That was the Spirit Rover, and a few weeks later it was the twin Rover Opportunity that went up, and they were supposed to last 90 days. So, talk about your successful program. Ninety days expected launch, now we're into seven years. But I have to say that we might have to declare Spirit dead sometime this year.
They had to shut off almost all of its instruments before the winter started because they didn't think they'd have enough power - they're solar powered also. So they shut everything down and they said, when the sun comes back up, we hope to hear from you. Well, the sun's come back up and they haven't heard anything.
Now, they've got some time. It might wake up, but it might not, and that would be sad.
HANSEN: But it's not dead yet.
PALCA: Well, not officially.
HANSEN: NPR's science correspondent, Joe Palca. Joe, thanks a lot. Happy new year.
PALCA: Happy new year to you.
The space shuttle program is coming to an end and the Obama administration has decided not to fund a new, manned rocket program this year. Liane Hansen talks to NPR's Joe Palca about what's happening now in space exploration, like interesting robotic missions, private enterprise and international efforts.
LIANE HANSEN, host:
America's space program is scheduled to undergo a fundamental shift in 2011. Unless something changes by the end of the year, NASA will no longer have a rocket to send astronauts into space. The space shuttle program is being retired, and for the moment there is no American replacement rocket capable of sending people into orbit.
To talk about rockets and more of what's ahead for the new year in space, NPR science correspondent Joe Palca is in the house. And first of all, Joe, how did NASA get into this situation?
JOE PALCA: Well, as you say, they decided they were going to retire the shuttles and that makes sense. They're 30 years old. They were an expensive program to operate, and seemed like after 30 years it might be time to get something new.
So NASA began this large program to come up with a replacement. And then the Obama administration decided they didnt want to do that. So they basically cancelled the program.
Interestingly, the L.A. Times reports recently that they still have to pay like $500 million in this fiscal year, because Congress hasn't gotten around to cutting off the funding yet. But that's another story.
HANSEN: So NASA is abandoning manned space flight?
PALCA: Well, no, they're not. The plan is, they've got contracts with the Russian space agency to send astronauts to the space station, the international space station, on the Soyuz launch system, the capsule, to get astronauts into space. And they've been doing that already. I mean, that's already been an alternative way of getting up there for American astronauts.
And the other thing thats happening is there is going to be some private companies that are jumping into this space launch business. SpaceX, Orbital Sciences, are some of the ones that have been very public about their activities. There are some others that might be a little more, you know, sort of cagey about what they're up to. But the idea is that NASA will buy launch services from a commercial entity.
HANSEN: But there will be at least two more shuttle flights this coming year?
PALCA: Yeah. And one of them is one of those exciting supply missions where they bring up lots of equipment. And then the other one is a little more interesting in that it's bringing up a major scientific experiment that's supposed to measure charged particles and cosmic rays. And there could be a third shuttle, and this is one of these funny things.
So, since the Columbia accident, NASA's policy is to have a space shuttle waiting in case they have to send up a rescue mission if one gets into space and it's been damaged and they don't want to let it come back down to earth. So they have one that's waiting after the last shuttle mission, but then some people said, well, if it's just waiting there, why don't we launch it, because it's fully ready to be launched.
And so NASA said, well, we will if you tell us to. And right now, Congress has said, we're not sure yet. So, of course, if they launch one, then do they have another one standing by? This could go on forever. But I think they're talking about doing one. So it could be three this year, but there's two on the books.
HANSEN: It's always so interesting to talk about human space flight, but there are also some interesting unmanned missions that will be launched in 2011. Can you elaborate on some of them?
PALCA: Well, sure. One of them that's kind of cool is the Juno spacecraft. That's the solar-powered spacecraft that's heading off to Jupiter. And then theres GRAIL. It's actually twin spacecraft that are going to be used to determine the interior of our moon, which I think is kind of cool.
And then, the big one is, in Thanksgiving, the next Mars Rover is going to go off. It's the Mars science laboratory. If you think of the last rover as sort of like dune buggies, this is more like an SUV, although it's still smaller than an SUV.
HANSEN: Yeah. I remember we talked back in January 4th, 2004 about the first Rover, and that was supposed to last about, what, a week?
PALCA: Right. That was the Spirit Rover, and a few weeks later it was the twin Rover Opportunity that went up, and they were supposed to last 90 days. So, talk about your successful program. Ninety days expected launch, now we're into seven years. But I have to say that we might have to declare Spirit dead sometime this year.
They had to shut off almost all of its instruments before the winter started because they didn't think they'd have enough power - they're solar powered also. So they shut everything down and they said, when the sun comes back up, we hope to hear from you. Well, the sun's come back up and they haven't heard anything.
Now, they've got some time. It might wake up, but it might not, and that would be sad.
HANSEN: But it's not dead yet.
PALCA: Well, not officially.
HANSEN: NPR's science correspondent, Joe Palca. Joe, thanks a lot. Happy new year.
PALCA: Happy new year to you.
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