Want to Live Underwater Like the
Astronauts Train? (Source: FIU)
For the first time, Florida International University now offering
"Introduction to Saturation Diving". This course starts off by giving
you in-depth discussion on the theory of saturation diving and finishes
off with practical application of your skills in an overnight stay at
Aquarius, the world's only undersea saturation diving facility. Click here.
(8/17)
Space Security: Protecting Our Final
Frontier (Source: ASP)
Although space is not new territory, the culture of space security is
shifting with the potential of a terrestrial conflict extending into
space, as suggested by Secretary James. Currently, there are five
United Nations treaties on outer space that date back to the 1970s and
1980s, which establish the foundation of international space law. While
the principles and objectives of the treaties remain relevant in
present day, advancements in technology have developed new space
threats that are not addressed in existing accords. Click here.
(8/16)
AIA Briefs Informal
Hillary-For-America Advisors (Source: AIA)
The Aerospace Industries Association participated in a meeting today
with informal Hillary For America advisors on issues of importance to
our industry. As the Voice of American Aerospace and Defense, AIA’s
role is to educate our elected leaders, candidates for office and the
general public on the importance of our industry to our economy and
national security. AIA previously briefed Republican Presidential
nominee Donald Trump.
Early in the campaign season last year, AIA developed a series of
position papers that we distributed to every Congressional and
Presidential campaign. Those papers can be viewed here: http://www.aia-aerospace.org/blog/view_our_campaign_position_papers
We continue to pursue the opportunity to brief any active campaign on
our priorities. (8/17)
DOD Eases Small Biz Subcontract
Reporting Requirement (Source: Law360)
The U.S. Department of Defense has issued a new deviation from federal
acquisition rules, easing the requirement for defense contractors to
issue small business subcontracting reports, among other tweaks to
subcontract reporting requirements.
The class deviation from the Federal Acquisition Regulation and Defense
Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, issued by the DOD’s Defense
Procurement and Acquisition Policy unit on Monday, will allow
contractors to submit their summary subcontract reports, or SSRs,
annually, instead of the current biannual requirement. (8/17)
Satellite Contract Protest Doesn't
Need 2nd Look, GAO Says (Source: Law360)
The onetime winner of a U.S. Navy contract for commercial satellite
services was unable to convince the U.S. Government Accountability
Office to reconsider its decision upholding a rival bidder's protest,
with the watchdog ruling in a decision released Tuesday that the
request merely expressed disagreement with its findings. Segovia Inc.
had challenged the GAO's earlier decision, publicly released in
February, which found that the Defense Information Systems Agency
didn’t stick to the bid requirements when it chose the company. (8/17)
NASA $1M Contest Intent on Sending
Robots to Mars (Source: ComputerWorld)
NASA engineers want humanoid robots to help astronauts living and
working on Mars to help build habitats, grow food and make potable
water. The space agency on Tuesday opened registration for teams to
compete for a $1 million prize purse in what it’s calling the Space
Robotics Challenge. The contest is intended to encourage development of
robots that are capable of working in the harsh environment of Mars and
that have enough strength, precision and autonomy to be useful to human
teammates. (8/17)
NASA Rocket Loses Payload After
Carrying Student Experiments From Virginia Spaceport (Source:
WHSV)
NASA says it lost the payload of a suborbital rocket carrying student
experiments into the atmosphere. The agency said in a statement that
the rocket launched Wednesday morning from the Wallops spaceport
carried instruments, including high definition cameras, about 95 miles
above the earth. Data was received from most of the experiments but the
instruments were lost on the return to the Atlantic Ocean, where they
were supposed to be recovered. The payload containing the equipment is
a 20-foot long tube that sat atop the rocket. (8/17)
Space-Based Missile Tracking a "Must"
for US Military (Source: Space News)
The head of the Missile Defense Agency said Wednesday that space-based
missile tracking sensors are a "must" for him. U.S. Navy Vice Adm.
James Syring, speaking at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium, said
it's vital that the MDA develop an "operational space layer" to track
missiles. MDA had a previous effort to develop such a system, called
the Precision Tracking Space System, but that was cancelled in 2013.
(8/17)
How To Catch The Biggest Wave In The
Universe (Source: NPR)
When it comes to waves, it doesn't get much bigger than the
gravitational variety. Einstein predicted that huge events — like black
holes merging — create gravitational waves. Unlike most waves we
experience, these are distortions in space and time. They roll across
the entire universe virtually unimpeded. Because gravitational waves
warp space, they literally change how long things are. LIGO is
basically the world's most complicated tape measure. Click here.
(8/17)
Report Cites “Urgent” Need for New
National Security Space Policies (Source: Space News)
The National Academies said there is an “urgent need” for the U.S.
government to write new policies that shape how the Defense Department
should respond to threats to American satellites. The report, which was
released Aug. 16, came in response to a request from Congress in the
2014 National Defense Authorization Act to study the protection of
national security satellites.
“There is an urgent need to create relevant national policies to guide
the creation of responses to these threats; this includes educating the
public so that it can understand and participate in potential solutions
in whatever capacity makes sense,” the report said. (8/17)
Europa Mission Planning for Possible
Budget Cuts in 2017 (Source: Space News)
While NASA says its support for a mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa is
now aligned with Congress, project officials are preparing for a
possible “squeeze” on mission funding in the next fiscal year. In
presentations at an Aug. 11 meeting of NASA’s Outer Planets Assessment
Group (OPAG) in Flagstaff, Arizona, officials involved with what’s
widely known as the Europa Clipper mission said they are looking for
ways to cut costs in 2017 while keeping the mission on track for a 2022
launch. (8/17)
Space May Be the Best Place to Grow
Bone Formation Protein Crystals (Source: Space.com)
The scientists behind the new study designed microgravity experiments
to grow crystals of a protein known as inorganic pyrophosphatase
(IPPase) in space. This protein is an enzyme found in most living
organisms that plays an important role in bone formation, DNA
synthesis, and the making and breaking down of fats, the researchers
said.
The protein crystallization system the scientists developed for the
experiments uses tiny tubes to control the flow of a solution
containing dissolved proteins. The geometry of the tubes forces the
proteins to concentrate in part of the solution, causing it to become
supersaturated, meaning there are too many proteins to stay comfortably
dissolved. The proteins then emerge from the solution to form a
crystal. (8/17)
No comments:
Post a Comment