At Least Two More Planets May Exist
Beyond Pluto (Source: Discovery)
A new study suggests that at least two more planets are circling the
sun far beyond Pluto’s orbit. The analysis is based on calculations of
bodies located well past Neptune, regions of space that include the
Kuiper Belt, the scattered disk and the Oort cloud.
Instead of randomly flying through space, 12 of these so-called
“extreme trans-Neptunian objects” (ETNO) show some unexpected symmetry.
“This excess of objects with unexpected orbital parameters makes us
believe that some invisible forces are altering the distribution of the
orbital elements of the ETNO,” said Carlos de la Fuente Marcos. (1/16)
Rosetta Will Prompt Science Images
Rethink (Source: BBC)
The European Space Agency needs to find a new way for images and other
data acquired by its science missions to come out into the public
domain. That is the view of the organisation's director general,
Jean-Jacques Dordain. He was expressing his frustration at not seeing
more pictures from the main camera system on Esa's Rosetta probe, which
is tracking Comet 67P.
These images are subject to a six-month embargo to allow the mission
team to make discoveries without being scooped. But the policy has
upset the thousands of ordinary members of the public who follow
Rosetta on a daily basis because they are not being shown the very best
views that have been acquired. (1/16)
NASA Considers Plan to Send 12 People
to Space for a Year (Source: Washington Times)
NASA and international partners are mulling plans to send up to 12
subjects into space for a yearlong stay. American Scott Kelly and
Russian Mikhail Kornienko are preparing for a yearlong mission to the
International Space Station that will begin in March. NASA and its
partners - Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada - are considering as many
as 12 one-year test subjects at the space station. All but Russia are
new to such long orbital hauls.
Two people are not enough from a scientific perspective, NASA’s space
station program scientist, Julie Robinson, said Thursday. The space
agency wants to start collecting data from Scott Kelly and Mikhail
Kornienko before making any firm decisions on further one-year
missions, she said. (1/15)
Aviation Week's Person of the Year:
Vladimir Putin (Source: Aviation Week)
In the space sector, Canada pulled a satellite from the launch manifest
of a Soyuz rocket variant. Manufacturers began stockpiling titanium,
fearing troubles in obtaining the important metal from Russian
suppliers. And the U.S. moved to develop a big new rocket engine to
replace a Russian powerplant used on vehicles that launch military and
intelligence satellites.
In commercial aviation, Malaysia had one it its airliners shot out of
the sky. The Netherlands lost hundreds of its citizens. Airlines around
the world lost confidence in the intelligence they receive regarding
the safety of overflights. And individual air carriers became political
weapons.
In 2014, no other person has had such a sweeping impact on aerospace
and aviation—for better or worse. And for all but the most cynical of
observers, Putin’s far-reaching impact has definitely been for the
worse. Because of this, he is the 2014 Person of the Year. (1/16)
Both U.S. Weather Satellite Programs
Have Major Problems (Source: Washington Business Journal)
The federal government touts two major satellite programs for weather
forecasting. And both are facing delays that could translate into gaps
in crucial data used to track extreme storms, including hurricanes.
Both NOAA programs, which deliver environmental data, face similar
challenges.
The Government Accountability Office looked at the state of the Joint
Polar Satellite System, or JPSS-1, which circles the Earth north to
south twice a day in parallel with the sun, and the the Geostationary
Operational Environmental Satellite-R program, or GOES-R, which will
orbit the Earth above the equator and record distant images of the
Western Hemisphere. Editor's Note:
Florida Senator Marco Rubio now chairs the subcommittee overseeing
NOAA. Click here.
(1/16)
The Best Bet for Alien Life May Be in
Planetary Systems Very Different From Ours (Source: WIRED)
In the hunt for extraterrestrial life, scientists started by searching
for a world orbiting a star just like the sun. After all, the steady
warmth of that glowing yellow ball in the sky makes life on Earth
possible.
But as astronomers continue to discover thousands of planets, they’re
realizing that if (or when) we find signs of extraterrestrial life,
chances are good that those aliens will orbit a star quite different
from the sun—one that’s redder, cooler, and at a fraction of the sun’s
size and mass. So in the quest for otherworldly life, many astronomers
have set their sights on these small stars, known as red dwarfs or M
dwarfs. (1/16)
Com Dev Closing California Plant But
Expects To Find Another U.S. Foothold (Source: Space News)
Satellite component builder Com Dev International of Canada said it is
closing its California plant because of a lack of U.S. government
communication satellite orders but likely will acquire a U.S. company
in the near future — one that does not depend on government
communications satellites. (1/16)
European Data-Relay Satellite’s
Completion in Doubt (Source: Space News)
A data-relay satellite under construction as part of an ambitious
partnership between the European Space Agency and Airbus Defence and
Space may not be built because of ongoing concerns with the project’s
business prospects, ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain said Jan.
16.
The satellite is called EDRS-C by ESA and Airbus, and Hylas 3 by Avanti
Communications of London. Avanti raised 73.8 million British pounds
($118 million) in early 2012 to finance a hosted telecommunications
payload on board the satellite to expand its existing broadband
telecommunications business. (1/16)
ESA Hikes Budget, Takes Steps To Send
Astronaut to Chinese Space Station (Source: Space News)
The European Space Agency is actively working with China with the goal
of placing a European astronaut on the Chinese space station as part of
a relationship that is likely to grow now that ESA governments have
made China one of three long-term strategic partners for the agency,
ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain said Jan. 16.
For the moment, Dordain said, there are no specific plans for an ESA
astronaut mission aboard China’s space station. But government
ministers from the 20-nation ESA — to become 22 nations in the coming
weeks with the addition of Hungary and Estonia — in December for the
first time formally listed China alongside the United States and Russia
as core ESA strategic partners. (1/16)
As SpaceX Turns up Rhetoric, USAF Taps
Welch for Certification Review (Source: Space News)
Retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Larry D. Welch, a former chief of staff,
will lead an independent review of the service’s launch vehicle
certification process, which has come under criticism for the time it
is taking to certify SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to carry military
payloads. (1/16)
Russia Could Send 30 More RD-180s for
Atlas (Source: Sputnik)
Russian rocket manufacturer Energia is currently in talks with US space
launch provider United Launch Alliance (ULA) over a contract to deliver
30 additional RD-180 rocket engines, Energia head Vladimir Solntsev
said Friday. "We are currently discussing [with ULA] a contract to
increase the engine shipment – i.e. at least 30 more engines," Solntsev
said. According to the Energia head, the United States wants the
engines as soon as possible to "be sure of the future of Atlas-5
rocket." (1/16)
U.S. Can't Use Russian Engines for
Military Purposes (Source: Interfax)
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said the $1 billion
contract for the supply of sixty Russian RD-181 rocket engines for U.S.
Antares rockets prohibits the use of the engines in military launches.
"Naturally, the provisions of the contract with NPO Energomash
expressly prohibit the use of our engines for military purposes,"
Rogozin said.
Editor's Note:
So the Antares will be locked out of the U.S. military market, by
Russia and probably also by the U.S. due to Russian engine use. (1/16)
Atlas V Launch Set for Tuesday
(Source: Florida Today)
A powerful Atlas V rocket is set to roll to its pad Monday for ULA’s
first mission of the year, a planned 7:43 p.m. Tuesday launch of a Navy
MUOS communications satellite. It will be only the fifth time the Atlas
V, flying for the 52nd time, has blasted off with five solid rocket
boosters strapped to its first stage, combining with a Russian RD-180
main engine to produce 2.5 million pounds of thrust. (1/16)
SpaceX Set to Try Barge Landing Again
(Source: Florida Today)
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk last week confirmed the company would again
attempt to land a Falcon 9 rocket booster on an ocean-going platform
after its next launch from Cape Canaveral. The first attempt on Jan. 10
resulted in the rocket stage smashing into the platform and breaking
apart. Musk said a new set of “X-wing” fins added to help steer the
booster’s descent from space ran out of hydraulic fluid too soon, but
that the system would have “way more” fluid on the next flight. (1/16)
KSC Demolishes Another Shuttle
Structure (Source: Florida Today)
A unique symbol of NASA’s space shuttle program and Kennedy Space
Center fixture since 1978 was brought to its knees in recent weeks, the
latest structure demolished because it wasn’t needed after the
shuttle’s 2011 retirement. The Mate-Demate Device, or MDD, was a
gantry-like structure designed to lift 100-ton shuttle orbiters on and
off modified 747 jumbo jets that ferried shuttles home after landings
at Edwards Air Force Base in California, and out west for maintenance.
(1/16)
No comments:
Post a Comment