Planetology Comes of Age
(Source: The Economist)
To come up with a theory that brings meaning to a pile of
observations—whether of Galapagos finches, planetary orbits or pea
plants—you have to do the hard graft of collecting those observations
in the first place. Take planetary science. For almost all its history,
it could study only the eight planets that make up the local solar
system. But the boom in exoplanet research over the past decade or so
has furnished the field with a wealth of data from elsewhere in the
galaxy.
Much of this has come from a specially designed space telescope called
Kepler, some of the discoveries of which are illustrated in the
artist’s impression above, along with objects from the local solar
system, for comparison. Kepler’s discoveries, and others, have done
plenty of exciting violence to old theories of what planets are and how
they form. Several papers discussing what is happening were presented
at the meeting of the American Astronomical Society which took place
this week in Washington, DC. Click here.
(1/11)
Starting Fire with Water
(Source: Phys.org)
When firefighters want to extinguish a blaze, they often douse it with
water. Astronauts on board the ISS, however, are experimenting with a
form of water that does the opposite. Instead of stopping fire, this
water helps start it. "We call it 'supercritical water,'" says Mike
Hicks of the Glenn Research Center in Ohio. "And it has some
interesting properties."
Water becomes supercritical when it compressed to a pressure of 217
atmospheres and heated above 373o C. Above that so-called critical
point, ordinary H2O transforms into something that is neither solid,
liquid, nor gas. It's more of a "liquid-like gas. When supercritical
water is mixed with organic material, a chemical reaction takes
place—oxidation." Says Hicks. "It's a form of burning without flames."
(1/13)
The US Seeks to Extend
the ISS, But Will its Partners Join? (Source: Space Review)
Last week, the White House and NASA announced that the US wants to
operate the International Space Station to at least 2024, four years
later than previously planned. Jeff Foust reports on the reaction to
those plans both in the US and among the international partners, who
have yet to agree to such an extension. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2434/1
to view the article. (1/13)
Why Greens Should be
Pro-Space (Source: Space Review)
A recent op-ed criticized space tourism for being environmentally
unfriendly, with a carbon footprint per person much larger than for
commercial aviation. Joe Mascaro makes the case that environmentalists
should actually embrace the growing opportunities of commercial
spaceflight. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2433/1
to view the article. (1/13)
Doing the Right Thing
When it's Steamboat Time (Source: Space Review)
Much of the criticism regarding the Space Launch System has been about
its large size and cost. John Strickland argues that the true root of
the SLS's costs is not that it's large, but that it is expendable, and
thus unaffordable. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2432/1
to view the article. (1/13)
The International Lunar
Decade (Source: Space Review)
As more nations and companies show an interest in going to the Moon and
making use of its resources, a regime to effectively govern access to
those resources may be needed. Vid Beldavs discusses a proposal to
study those resources and develop technologies to access them within
the framework of an existing treaty. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2431/1
to view the article. (1/13)
Is Texas ahead of Florida
in battle for SpaceX? (Source: Orlando Business Journal)
As the battle for luring SpaceX of California to Florida continues, a
federal review of the competing Texas site is near completion, and
media outlets there are reporting that SpaceX already has bought land
in the area. Meanwhile, Florida's plan to build a launchpad inside the
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge where a number of endangered
species live has come under fire from environmentalists.
Even so, whether or not the state wins the battle to lure SpaceX, Space
Florida President Frank DiBello said he plans to go ahead with the
Spaceport Shiloh project with or without the California company. Space
Florida also has looked at trying to lure Washington-based Blue Origin,
started by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. However, because Blue Origin
is developing at a slower pace than the Elon Musk-headed SpaceX, luring
that company to Florida likely would mean fewer jobs. (1/13)
A Busy Year Begins for
New Horizons (Source: Space Daily)
With Pluto encounter operations now just a year away, the New Horizons
team has brought the spacecraft out of hibernation for the first of
several activities planned for 2014. Mission operators at the Johns
Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, Md., "woke" New Horizons on Jan.
5.
Over the next two weeks the team will test the spacecraft's antenna and
repoint it toward Earth; upload commands into the onboard Guidance and
Control and Command and Data Handling systems, including a check on the
backup inertial measurement unit and update of the spacecraft's
navigational star charts; and conduct some navigational tracking, among
other routine maintenance duties. (1/10)
Launch Presages Economic
Benefits for Virginia (Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch)
The first of hundreds of commercial spaceflight participants — private
astronauts — will begin earning their wings from fledgling American
commercial spaceports in 2014. Almost twice as many have signed up to
take the ride to space in this decade than have flown to space over the
past 50 years.
The Jan. 9 launch of the commercial freighter from Wallops Island to
the International Space Station marks the first operational flight of a
private space cargo carrier from Virginia to low Earth orbit.
Commercial space passenger services will commence operations later this
year from California and New Mexico, and subsequently, Colorado,
Florida and Texas.
Virginia’s $150 million Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) asset
awaits Richmond decision-making on whether it is to be a part of the
future of human spaceflight. A leap to include commercial spaceflight
passenger service to the commercial cargo launch manifest from the
Eastern Shore requires public-private partnership investment and
long-term planning. Click here.
(1/13)
Zero Gravity + Light
Painting = Super Awesome (Source: It's OK To Be Smart)
Awesome things are happening on the International Space Station (as
usual). This time the awesomeness comes in the form of light paintings
created in space by ISS Commander Dr. Koichi Wakata using a spinning
toy called the “Spiral Top”. The “Spiral Top” was developed by Dr.
Takuro Osaka. You can check out more photos of the toy in action on on
his website. While we understand what light painting is, we prefer to
think that the astronauts on the ISS are developing super powers. Click
here.
(1/9)
National Space Society
Opposes HR 3625 (Source: SpaceRef)
The Washington DC-based National Space Society (NSS) strongly opposes
the passage of House of Representatives bill HR 3625. This bill would
(a) require NASA to obtain legislative permission to cancel four of its
most expensive human spaceflight and science programs, and (b) allow
contractors for these programs to have immediate access to hundreds of
millions of dollars in funds which currently are held in reserve to pay
the government's obligations in the event of such termination.
The four covered programs are the Space Launch System, the Orion crew
capsule, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and the International
Space Station. Ordinarily, government agencies like NASA have the right
to terminate a project if it no longer appears necessary or cost
effective, provided it pays "termination liability costs" which are
sometimes provided for in such contracts. It is unusual to
require an act of Congress in order to stop a program. Click here.
(1/13)
Space-Faring Nations Lay
Groundwork for Human, Robotic Exploration (Source: Reuters)
Officials from 32 of the world's space-faring nations concluded a trio
of summits on Friday to tackle expanding participation in the
International Space Station and planning for eventual human expeditions
to Mars. Fifteen nations collaborated to build the space station, a
permanently staffed research complex that flies about 250 miles above
Earth. On Wednesday, the Obama Administration announced its intent to
extend station operations to at least 2024, four years beyond when it
was slated to be removed from orbit. (1/10)
Promise of Space Age a
Bit Closer with Billionaire's Craft (Source: Orange County
Register)
After riding high above the Earth in the clasp of its mother ship, the
spaceship detaches, and the rocket ignites. When the rocket burn ends,
the passengers in Richard Branson's SpaceShipTwo will be floating
weightless in space. Virgin Galactic plans to make its first tourist
flight sometime this year. Branson and his two adult children, Holly
and Sam, will take that first flight, though whether other passengers
will join them is so far undetermined.
Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides took some time recently to
explain the flight, the risks involved and the passenger experience
Virgin Galactic hopes to create. Click here.
(1/13)
Two Chinese Businessmen
Booked Space Trips on Lynx for 2015 (Source: Xinhua)
Two Chinese businessmen have already booked tickets for space trip in
2015 since registration began on the Chinese mainland on Dec. 27. More
than 100 people have expressed their interest to explore space since
such trips became accessible to Chinese travelers late last year, Zhang
Yong, chief executive officer of Dexo Travel, a Chinese travel agency
focusing on high-end travelers, was quoted as saying.
If everything goes well, the first group of private Chinese astronauts
will likely to travel into space before the end of 2014 by boarding
Lynx Mark I spacecraft and paying a minimum of 95,000 U.S. dollars for
a one-hour journey. The Lynx Mark I spacecraft is designed to take
travellers to a height of 60 km and there will be six minutes for
tourists to experience weightlessness during the one hour long journey.
(1/13)
Central Florida Man
Dreams of Martian Address (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Matthew Liam Mason longs to go to Mars. Last month, Mason was among the
1,058 candidates plucked from a pool of more than 200,000, who now have
a shot to compete for a one-way ticket to Mars that a Dutch nonprofit
group hopes to provide four astronauts in a decade.
"As a kid, all I ever wanted to do was go up in space 'cause it was
cool," says Mason, 27. "As an adult, I wanted to do things that change
and impact the world. I thought this was an opportunity to do both.
Putting us on another planet and colonizing are the first steps. This
step, 100 years from now, is going to be monumental."
After he graduated in 2012, Mason — who matter-of-factly drops phrases
like the "Malthusian effect" in conversation — planned to launch a life
of social change on a global scale with the Peace Corps. Then, he read
about Mars One. Its mission: plant a permanent human colony on Mars,
starting in 2024. Click here.
(1/13)
More Wonders to be
Discovered with Space Exploration (Source: The Lantern)
Fact: the universe is an awfully big place. In recent international
space exploration news, the Indian Space Research Organization has sent
an orbiter to Mars, NASA has sent MAVEN, another Mars orbiter, NASA’s
Curiosity, the Mars rover, continues to roam the surface, and the
International Space Station and Hubble Telescope seem to consistently
release photos and updates from ongoing missions.
I was raised with the science of outer space all around me, between the
countless Discovery Channel specials my family would watch, astronomy
and science fiction books stuffed side-by-side in bookshelves around
the house or the conversations with my father, the engineer, whom I
usually bombarded with questions. So my fascination with outer space
and its scientific study has been with me since a very young age.
A society with an ingrained mindset of curiosity is encouraging
innovation, emphasizing problem solving and inspiring new ways of
thinking. A society like this one doesn’t just produce people who will
figure out which planet to inhabit next; this society will figure out
how we can sustain life on Earth over time and solve other Earthly
issues through the study of astronomical phenomena. Scientific
development and application is just part of the essence of space
exploration. (1/13)
Astronauts 'Impressed'
with Cygnus Delivery (Source: Florida Today)
A fresh batch of supplies and science experiments, including one
designed by local high school students, safely reached the
International Space Station early Sunday. Expedition 38 astronauts
captured Orbital Sciences Corp.’s unmanned Cygnus cargo freighter at
6:08 a.m., three days after its launch from Virginia on an Antares
rocket. Steering a 58-foot robotic arm, astronaut Mike Hopkins snared
the barrel-shaped spacecraft carrying nearly 2,800 pounds of supplies
as the two vehicles flew 260 miles over the Indian Ocean, traveling
17,500 mph.
Hopkins radioed congratulations to the ground, noting that the Cygnus,
which was developed privately with NASA support, was the second he’d
seen in three-and-a-half months, since a maiden demonstration mission
last fall. “I think that’s very impressive,” he said. The capture
Sunday completed the first of eight planned Cygnus trips to the station
under a $1.8 billion NASA resupply contract. (1/13)
Boeing Transmits
Protected Government Signal Through Military Satellite
(Source: Boeing)
Boeing has applied new anti-jamming technology to an existing military
satellite for the first time, expanding the military's potential to
access secure communications more affordably. In the test conducted
Dec. 15, Boeing successfully sent a government-developed, protected
signal through the sixth Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS-6) satellite.
Engineers confirmed that the signal met all targets for accuracy and
strength. The demonstration follows a successful transmission of data
over the ViaSat-1 commercial satellite in July, showing that the
technology offers an affordable option for enhancing anti-jam
communications using existing commercial and U.S. government satellites
and terminals. (1/13)
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