SpaceX Completes Key Milestone to Fly Astronauts to International Space Station
Hawthorne, CA (SPX) Oct 21, 2011
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has announced it has successfully completed the preliminary design review of its revolutionary launch abort system, a system designed for manned missions using its Dragon spacecraft. This represents a major step toward creating an American-made successor to the Space Shuttle.
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SpaceX Completes Key Milestone to Fly Astronauts to International Space Station
Topics : SpaceFaring
Herschel detects abundant water in planet-forming disc
Herschel detects abundant water in planet-forming disc
ESA’s Herschel space observatory has found evidence of water vapour emanating from ice on dust grains in the disc around a young star, revealing a hidden ice reservoir the size of thousands of oceans.
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Topics : ESA
The James Webb Telescope Will See Earth-Like Worlds
The James Webb Telescope Will See Earth-Like Worlds: Moffett Field CA (SPX) Oct 25, 2011
The James Web Space Telescope has been in the news a lot lately. Often referred to as the replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope, its existence has been in jeopardy since a House committee voted to cut its funding this summer. While the telescope promises to revolutionize space science, its expanding budget has caused politicians and others to wonder if the promised returns justify the cost.
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Topics : NASA
International cooperation on Space: Share your ideas!
How to improve International cooperation in Space Exploration ?
* Vote for existing ideas !
* Submit your own new ideas !
Join the Think Tank here : http://www.google.com/moderator/#16/e=33f8
Topics : Google, International, Labs
Special Offer: More online storage with the Dropbox magical folder !
From 2GB and up to 10GB of free online storage
Livestream - European Space Agency TV
Check out the new "European Space Agency TV" on Livestream !
Not yet the ESA's "NASA TV"... but closing in ;-)
The Space Quote - Moebius' metaphor
MOEBIUS ; Pen name of Jean Giraud - Cartoonist and visionary, creator of Blueberry, who worked on comic books, international movies, videogames..." Space is a metaphor for awareness : there's a progression from the formation of ego, from being constrained within oneself, to a broader dimension that embraces others. It's a mental conquest of space, with concentric circles that expand to encompass the idea of belonging to a nation, a continent, a planet and ultimately the cosmos. "
Start of the Cassini Equinox Mission
The mission extension builds upon the success of the primary mission. Some key scientific objectives of this extended mission are :
- to study in more detail the Saturnian moons, in particular Titan and Enceladus;
- to monitor seasonal effects on Titan and Saturn;
- to explore new regions of the Saturnian magnetosphere;
- to observe the unique ring geometry of the Saturn equinox in August 2009 - when sunlight will pass directly through the plane of the rings.
Source : ESA Science Cassini-Huygens homepage
Space Quote - SpaceFaring
Carl Sagan - American astronomer, astrochemist, and author" All civilizations become either spacefaring or extinct "
Topics : Life, Quote, SpaceFaring
Living and working on Earthen Moonscape
Teams from seven NASA centers and one university coordinated their activities on the Moses Lake Sand Dunes from June 2-13 to gain hands-on experience with specific technical challenges anticipated when humans return to the moon by 2020 and begin to explore the lunar surface and set up initial outposts.
* X-clusive : Thanks to one D-RATS guy who answered me on Twitter, here is the photo album from the 2008 June Field test!
NASA's Desert Research and Technology Studies (D-RATS) Team :
Every September, after the summer rain backs off but before the mornings get too cold, a pack of RATS descends on the desert near Flagstaff, Ariz., to spend two weeks testing technologies that will play a vital role in the future of space exploration.
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Roughly 150 engineers and scientists participate in the NASA program, known as Desert Research and Technology Studies, or "Desert RATS." The 10-year-old program is part of the agency's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate and involves groups from several NASA centers and universities. During the annual trip out west, they take advantage of the variety of desert terrains to test new or improved equipment that astronauts may use during excursions on the surface of the moon. Projects in testing range from computer hardware and software to spacesuits, rovers and astronaut habitats.
The interactivity, cooperation and rehearsals between the Desert RATS teams at various NASA centers and universities continue throughout every year, culminating in the annual desert test. This ongoing process means problems are rooted out long before new flight hardware is made, helping to ensure these new technologies will be ready for the next giant leap in human space exploration.
"It's surreal to see the crew members walking around like they will on the moon again and someday on Mars, taking rock samples, reporting on what they're doing, etc." a space engineer said. "It just feels like you're there."
KSC's News : Desert RATS 2008
NASA's : Desert RATS 2007
NASA EDGE's Blog
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A NASA MMO video game !
Development of a NASA-based massively multiplayer online learning game :
The NASA Learning Technologies (LT) is currently investigating the development of a NASA-based massively multiplayer online educational game (MMO) :
Persistent immersive synthetic environments in the form of MMO gaming and social virtual world, initially popularized as gaming and social settings, are now finding growing interest as education and training venues. There is increasing recognition that these synthetic environments can serve as powerful “hands-on” tools for teaching a range of complex subjects.
(+) Read more…Virtual worlds with scientifically accurate simulations could permit learners to tinker with chemical reactions in living cells, practice operating and repairing expensive equipment, and experience microgravity, making it easier to grasp complex concepts and transfer this understanding quickly to practical problems. MMOs help players develop and exercise skills like strategic thinking, interpretative analysis, problem solving, plan formulation and execution, team-building and cooperation, and adaptation to rapid change.
The power of games as educational tools is rapidly gaining recognition. NASA is in a position to develop an online game that functions as a persistent, synthetic environment supporting education as a laboratory, a massive visualization tools and collaborative workspace while simultaneously drawing users into a challenging, game-play immersion.
(-) Reduce post. (Not working with IE6...)The Space Quote - Odds
Isaac Asimov - Russian-born American author and professor of biochemistry." Why spend billions to place a man on the Moon? If we don't, we may lose the Earth. If we do, we may gain the universe. You couldn't ask for better odds "
Europe’s automated ship docks to the ISS !
ATV Jules Verne, the European Space Agency’s first resupply and reboost vehicle, has successfully performed a fully automated docking with the International Space Station (ISS).
This docking marks the beginning of Jules Verne’s main servicing mission to deliver cargo, propellant, water, oxygen and propulsion capacity to the Station, as well as ESA’s entry into the restricted club of the partners able to access the orbital facility by their own means !
Source : Jules Verne ATV Blog
ATV Jules Verne demonstrates key capabilities
Today’s demonstration also confirmed Jules Verne is able to establish a continuous two-way data link with the ISS. Using the high-rate S-band communication link, which was switched on at a distance of 40 km from the ISS, Jules Verne for the first time conducted relative GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) measurements with the Station. Relative GPS is a navigation technique executed by computers between the ATV's GPS receiver and the ISS GPS receiver that enables ATV to navigate relative to the Station with very high accuracy.
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When Jules Verne reached the closest holding position, at 3.5 km from the ISS, the bus-sized spaceship turned on its external tracking lights and activated the Russian-built Kurs rendezvous radar with equipment on both spacecraft. The robust and historical Kurs system, a concept which has been used for decades, provides relative distance and velocity with independent data for the crew monitoring during Jules Verne's final approach to the Station.
Source : ESA
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Cassini Spacecraft Finds Ocean May Exist Beneath Titan's Crust
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The Space Quote - Dinosaurs
" The dinosaurs failed to survive due to the lack of a space program... "
Arthur C. CLARKE - Writer and inventor, author of 2001 : A Space Odyssey.
Columbus lab joins the ISS
16 Feb. 2008 : The European Columbus laboratory, launched with the US STS-122 mission, has been attached to the International Space Station during a spacewalk on Monday.
Rest of the week, both crews were busy with tasks to activate Columbus. Now all of the on-orbit laboratory core systems are activated and two european experiments are installed on the outside of the module, exposing facilities to the harsh environment of space and observing the sun. Four others scientific experiments will be engaged during next four weeks by the french astronaut LĂ©opold Eyharts.
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Earth Life Forms Ejected on Asteroid Impact Could Survive and Return Again
If an asteroid or comet impacted Earth, the resulting ejection of materials could contain life forms. According to a study published in the journal Astrobiology, these life forms could survive and then seed another planet or moon with life. Additionally, Earth could also be re-seeded with life by those same life forms.
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The organisms are hardy examples of microbes that can withstand extreme environmental stress and represent potential 'hitchhikers' within impact-ejected rocks.
And not only is it plausible that Mars rocks could be transferred to Earth and vice versa, but ejected rocks from Earth could possibly return and land back on their home planet. Given the contemplation of the destruction of life on Earth, it’s somewhat comforting to think that we could perhaps start over again from our own ingredients.
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The Space Quote - Evolution
" We're right in the middle of Life on Earth. What state of evolution will we have reached when the sun implodes and turns the Earth to glass ? And what solutions will we have found to the ultimate question of our survival ? "
Philippe STARCK - Visionary designer, artistic director at Virgin Galactic.
Topics : Life, Quote, Space Tourism
Astrium rockets into space tourism
The Astrium space jet will take off and land conventionally from a standard airport using its jet engines. However, once the craft is airborne at an altitude of about 12 km, the rocket engines will be ignited to give sufficient acceleration to reach 100 km. In only 80 seconds the craft will have climbed to 60 km altitude. The highly innovative seats balance themselves to minimize the effects of acceleration and deceleration, ensuring the greatest passenger comfort and safety. The rocket propulsion system is then shut down as the ship-s inertia carries it on to over 100 km, where passengers will become one of the very few to experience zero gravity in space.
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Astrium is proposing the one stage system as it is considered the safest and most economical to operate. If development begins in 2008, a first commercial flight would be possible by 2012.
The development of a new vehicle able to operate in altitudes between aircraft (20km) and below satellites (200 km) could well be a precursor for rapid transport -point-to-point- vehicles or quick access to Space - opening up previously unexplored territory. Its development will contribute to maintaining (and even enhancing) European competences in core technologies of Space Transportation.
As single industrial prime contractor for Ariane 5, main European contributor to the International Space Station and as a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, Astrium has the necessary expertise and know-how for manned space flight.
As it is a commercial project, private capital will be the main source of funding. The financial envelope, which will be around one billion euros, could be completed by refundable loans and by regional development funding. Return on investment will come from operations of vehicles for the emerging and promising market of suborbital space tourism. The cost per flight per passenger would be around 150,000 to 200,000 Euros.
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Topics : EADS, Space Tourism