Featured Posts
Parabolic Arc
28 Feb 2015, 00:50 UTC
HOUSTON, February 27th, 2015 (NanoRacks PR) - NanoRacks began deployment from the International Space Station (ISS) of the remainder of our Orb-2 CubeSat Mission which includes 12 Planet Labs Doves. Of these Doves, ten are the remainder of Flock-1B launched on Orb-2, and two are the new Flock-1D’ Doves, launched on SpaceX CRS-5. This was […] CubeSat deployed from ISS. (Credit: NASA) HOUSTON, February 27th, 2015 (NanoRacks PR) - NanoRacks began deployment from the International Space Station (ISS) of the remainder of our Orb-2 CubeSat Mission which includes 12 Planet Labs Doves. Of these Doves, ten are the remainder of Flock-1B launched on Orb-2, and two are the new Flock-1D’ Doves, launched on SpaceX CRS-5. This was NanoRacks first deployment attempt since recent on-orbit repairs and we are excited to announce a successful first deploy. At 8:30 a.m. CST on Friday, February 27th, NanoRacks commanded one deployer, releasing two of the Planet Labs Flock 1B Doves to low Earth orbit. Deployment commands will continue to run through March 5, 2015 when the deployment window closes. NanoRacks has been working rigorously with NASA, JAXA, Roscosmos, and other ISS partners to repair the deployers currently on station. This repair work included crew ...
NanoRacks Begins Deploying CubeSats From ISS Again
28 Feb 2015, 00:50 UTC
HOUSTON, February 27th, 2015 (NanoRacks PR) - NanoRacks began deployment from the International Space Station (ISS) of the remainder of our Orb-2 CubeSat Mission which includes 12 Planet Labs Doves. Of these Doves, ten are the remainder of Flock-1B launched on Orb-2, and two are the new Flock-1D’ Doves, launched on SpaceX CRS-5. This was […] CubeSat deployed from ISS. (Credit: NASA) HOUSTON, February 27th, 2015 (NanoRacks PR) - NanoRacks began deployment from the International Space Station (ISS) of the remainder of our Orb-2 CubeSat Mission which includes 12 Planet Labs Doves. Of these Doves, ten are the remainder of Flock-1B launched on Orb-2, and two are the new Flock-1D’ Doves, launched on SpaceX CRS-5. This was NanoRacks first deployment attempt since recent on-orbit repairs and we are excited to announce a successful first deploy. At 8:30 a.m. CST on Friday, February 27th, NanoRacks commanded one deployer, releasing two of the Planet Labs Flock 1B Doves to low Earth orbit. Deployment commands will continue to run through March 5, 2015 when the deployment window closes. NanoRacks has been working rigorously with NASA, JAXA, Roscosmos, and other ISS partners to repair the deployers currently on station. This repair work included crew ...
Astro Watch
27 Feb 2015, 23:50 UTC
The US-Russian crew of Expedition 43 to the International Space Station (ISS) is intensively training for the upcoming orbital mission. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly along with Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka are scheduled to be launched to ISS Mar. 27, 2015 from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. For Kelly and Kornienko it will be a special mission, they will perform the first one-year stay at the Space Station. Recently, the crew passed the exams at the Gagarin Research and Testing Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.Crew commander Padalka has successfully passed the examination on the Teleoperator-2 simulator. The simulator is designed for for long-term expedition crews to practice manual remote control of pilotless objects from the ISS. In case of emergency, the cosmonauts must be able to tie up and dock the spacecraft manually.The members of the primary and backup crews were examined on the Don-Soyuz simulator. On Feb. 18, Padalka and Kornienko demonstrated to the examination commission their excellent skills of redocking and manual tying up of a spacecraft at the station.Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko during the exams in Star City, Russia. Credit: gctc.ruThey have also successfully coped with the task of "landing" as close as possible ...
Next Space Station Crew Preparing for One Year in Space
27 Feb 2015, 23:50 UTC
The US-Russian crew of Expedition 43 to the International Space Station (ISS) is intensively training for the upcoming orbital mission. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly along with Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka are scheduled to be launched to ISS Mar. 27, 2015 from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. For Kelly and Kornienko it will be a special mission, they will perform the first one-year stay at the Space Station. Recently, the crew passed the exams at the Gagarin Research and Testing Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.Crew commander Padalka has successfully passed the examination on the Teleoperator-2 simulator. The simulator is designed for for long-term expedition crews to practice manual remote control of pilotless objects from the ISS. In case of emergency, the cosmonauts must be able to tie up and dock the spacecraft manually.The members of the primary and backup crews were examined on the Don-Soyuz simulator. On Feb. 18, Padalka and Kornienko demonstrated to the examination commission their excellent skills of redocking and manual tying up of a spacecraft at the station.Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko during the exams in Star City, Russia. Credit: gctc.ruThey have also successfully coped with the task of "landing" as close as possible ...
collectSPACE.com: Space History News
27 Feb 2015, 20:45 UTC
The countdown is on to the launch of Apollo 18 and you're invited to witness it from New York City's Times Square. "Apollo XVIII" by artist Marco Brambilla weaves footage from NASA missions with computer renderings to form a countdown to a fictional moon flight.
Artist's 'Apollo 18' moon mission launching onto Times Square billboards
27 Feb 2015, 20:45 UTC
The countdown is on to the launch of Apollo 18 and you're invited to witness it from New York City's Times Square. "Apollo XVIII" by artist Marco Brambilla weaves footage from NASA missions with computer renderings to form a countdown to a fictional moon flight.
Starts With A Bang!
27 Feb 2015, 20:09 UTC
“A vacuum is a hell of a lot better than some of the stuff that nature replaces it with.” -Tennessee Williams The depiction of dying in space — by exposure to its terrifying vacuum — is incredibly varied, from freezing to swelling and bulging to simply exploding. Image credit: Mike Tyson Mysteries / Adult Swim. Uh oh, looks like I killed another astronaut! For this week’s Ask Ethan, we take on the question of Kerrie Pinkney, who wants to know: [W]ill you explode if exposed to the vacuum of space? I’ve gone down the “water boils in a vacuum then freezes” road, others have gone down the “tried it on a dog and it lived” approach. The movie Gravity shows buddy lifting his helmet and instantly freezing so… how does it work, Ethan? So, who’s got it right? Image credit: Post of Soviet Union. Come and find out what happens to the human body in the vacuum of space on this week’s Ask Ethan!
Ask Ethan #77: Humans in the vacuum of space (Synopsis)
27 Feb 2015, 20:09 UTC
“A vacuum is a hell of a lot better than some of the stuff that nature replaces it with.” -Tennessee Williams The depiction of dying in space — by exposure to its terrifying vacuum — is incredibly varied, from freezing to swelling and bulging to simply exploding. Image credit: Mike Tyson Mysteries / Adult Swim. Uh oh, looks like I killed another astronaut! For this week’s Ask Ethan, we take on the question of Kerrie Pinkney, who wants to know: [W]ill you explode if exposed to the vacuum of space? I’ve gone down the “water boils in a vacuum then freezes” road, others have gone down the “tried it on a dog and it lived” approach. The movie Gravity shows buddy lifting his helmet and instantly freezing so… how does it work, Ethan? So, who’s got it right? Image credit: Post of Soviet Union. Come and find out what happens to the human body in the vacuum of space on this week’s Ask Ethan!
Universe Today
27 Feb 2015, 19:59 UTC
What is up with the fossils on Mars? Found – a dinosaur skull on Mars? Discovered – a rat, squirrel or gerbil on Mars? In background of images from Curiosity, vertebrae from some extinct Martian species? And the human skull, half buried in photos from Opportunity Rover. All the images are made of stone from […] The dinosaur on Mars, the Face in Cydonia, the rat, the human skull, the Smiley face, the prehistoric vertebrae and the conglomerate rock. Something is amiss in this montage and shouldn’t be included. (Photo Credits: NASA/JPL) What is up with the fossils on Mars? Found – a dinosaur skull on Mars? Discovered – a rat, squirrel or gerbil on Mars? In background of images from Curiosity, vertebrae from some extinct Martian species? And the human skull, half buried in photos from Opportunity Rover. All the images are made of stone from the ancient past and this is also what is called Pareidolia. They are figments of our imaginations, and driven by our interest to be there – on Mars – and to know that we are not alone. Altogether, they make a multitude of web pages and threads across the internet. (...)Read the rest ...
No, a Dinosaur Skull Hasn’t Been Found on Mars: Why We See Familiar Looking Objects on the Red Planet
27 Feb 2015, 19:59 UTC
What is up with the fossils on Mars? Found – a dinosaur skull on Mars? Discovered – a rat, squirrel or gerbil on Mars? In background of images from Curiosity, vertebrae from some extinct Martian species? And the human skull, half buried in photos from Opportunity Rover. All the images are made of stone from […] The dinosaur on Mars, the Face in Cydonia, the rat, the human skull, the Smiley face, the prehistoric vertebrae and the conglomerate rock. Something is amiss in this montage and shouldn’t be included. (Photo Credits: NASA/JPL) What is up with the fossils on Mars? Found – a dinosaur skull on Mars? Discovered – a rat, squirrel or gerbil on Mars? In background of images from Curiosity, vertebrae from some extinct Martian species? And the human skull, half buried in photos from Opportunity Rover. All the images are made of stone from the ancient past and this is also what is called Pareidolia. They are figments of our imaginations, and driven by our interest to be there – on Mars – and to know that we are not alone. Altogether, they make a multitude of web pages and threads across the internet. (...)Read the rest ...
Astro Bob
27 Feb 2015, 18:44 UTC
Not a bad photo considering no one planned to shoot this picture of Comet Lovejoy with the world’s most powerful digital camera. That’s right. The comet just happened to “be in the way” during a scan made by the Dark Energy Camera. … Continue reading → Comet Q2 Lovejoy on December 27, 2014. At the time this image was taken, the comet was passing about 51 million miles from Earth – a short distance for the Dark Energy Camera, which is sensitive to light up to 8 billion light years away. Each of the rectangular shapes above represents one of the 62 individual fields of the camera. Click to explore the original, hi-res image. Credit: Not a bad photo considering no one planned to shoot this picture of Comet Lovejoy with the world’s most powerful digital camera. That’s right. The comet just happened to “be in the way” during a scan made by the Dark Energy Camera. A member of the observing team said it was a “shock” to see the comet appear on the computer screen. An assortment of galaxies including this pretty spiral appear shine through a small section of Lovejoy’s tail on December 27, 2014 during one ...
Dark Energy Camera sees universe through a comet’s tail
27 Feb 2015, 18:44 UTC
Not a bad photo considering no one planned to shoot this picture of Comet Lovejoy with the world’s most powerful digital camera. That’s right. The comet just happened to “be in the way” during a scan made by the Dark Energy Camera. … Continue reading → Comet Q2 Lovejoy on December 27, 2014. At the time this image was taken, the comet was passing about 51 million miles from Earth – a short distance for the Dark Energy Camera, which is sensitive to light up to 8 billion light years away. Each of the rectangular shapes above represents one of the 62 individual fields of the camera. Click to explore the original, hi-res image. Credit: Not a bad photo considering no one planned to shoot this picture of Comet Lovejoy with the world’s most powerful digital camera. That’s right. The comet just happened to “be in the way” during a scan made by the Dark Energy Camera. A member of the observing team said it was a “shock” to see the comet appear on the computer screen. An assortment of galaxies including this pretty spiral appear shine through a small section of Lovejoy’s tail on December 27, 2014 during one ...
Parabolic Arc
27 Feb 2015, 16:56 UTC
U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee Jones told a Senate committee this week that it would be difficult to develop a new rocket motor to replace the Atlas V’s Russian-produced RD-180 by the the 2019 deadline established by Congress. “Because this,” James said, “is rocket science.” James said the technical experts she’s spoken with estimate […] Atlas V launch of WorldView-3 satellite (Credit: ULA) U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee Jones told a Senate committee this week that it would be difficult to develop a new rocket motor to replace the Atlas V’s Russian-produced RD-180 by the the 2019 deadline established by Congress. “Because this,” James said, “is rocket science.” James said the technical experts she’s spoken with estimate that it would take six to eight years to build a new engine and another year or two to integrate it into the launch vehicle. If those estimates are right, it would push the first use of a new engine well into the 2020s. The Air Force has not decided what engine to fund to replace the RD-180, which powers the Atlas V’s first stage. United Launch Alliance, which builds the launch vehicle, has announced a partnership with Blue Origin to ...
Air Force Doubts New ULA Engine Can Be Ready by 2019
27 Feb 2015, 16:56 UTC
U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee Jones told a Senate committee this week that it would be difficult to develop a new rocket motor to replace the Atlas V’s Russian-produced RD-180 by the the 2019 deadline established by Congress. “Because this,” James said, “is rocket science.” James said the technical experts she’s spoken with estimate […] Atlas V launch of WorldView-3 satellite (Credit: ULA) U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee Jones told a Senate committee this week that it would be difficult to develop a new rocket motor to replace the Atlas V’s Russian-produced RD-180 by the the 2019 deadline established by Congress. “Because this,” James said, “is rocket science.” James said the technical experts she’s spoken with estimate that it would take six to eight years to build a new engine and another year or two to integrate it into the launch vehicle. If those estimates are right, it would push the first use of a new engine well into the 2020s. The Air Force has not decided what engine to fund to replace the RD-180, which powers the Atlas V’s first stage. United Launch Alliance, which builds the launch vehicle, has announced a partnership with Blue Origin to ...
The Oskar Klein Centre blog
27 Feb 2015, 16:02 UTC
Our colleague and friend Per Olof has passed away after a very brief period of illness. Peo, as we all called him, played a key role in the field of neutrino physics, both nationally and in the international arena. He started his career with six years at CERN (1976-1982), and was coordinator and spokesperson for several neutrino experiments using bubble chambers.
