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New Papyrus
6 May 2010, 17:01 UTC
Results from the New Papyrus Daily Kos Poll
Space Tourism Destinations
6 May 2010, 17:01 UTC
Results from the New Papyrus Daily Kos Poll
Universe Today
6 May 2010, 15:37 UTC
Now that our series on "13 Things That Saved Apollo 13" is complete, NASA engineer Jerry Woodfill has graciously agreed to answer questions from our readers. We have a lot of questions, so we will post some of Jerry's answers today and more over the next few days.Question from Daniel Roy: Did we ever find out why 13 trajectory was too shallow on the way back in spite of TCMs? I have trouble believing that the low impulse slow venting random pointing from ruptured tanks could explain the delta V. (...)Read the rest of Your Questions about Apollo 13 Answered by Jerry Woodfill (2,639 words)© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Apollo 13, Jerry Woodfill, Space Flight Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh
Your Questions about Apollo 13 Answered by Jerry Woodfill
6 May 2010, 15:37 UTC
Now that our series on "13 Things That Saved Apollo 13" is complete, NASA engineer Jerry Woodfill has graciously agreed to answer questions from our readers. We have a lot of questions, so we will post some of Jerry's answers today and more over the next few days.Question from Daniel Roy: Did we ever find out why 13 trajectory was too shallow on the way back in spite of TCMs? I have trouble believing that the low impulse slow venting random pointing from ruptured tanks could explain the delta V. (...)Read the rest of Your Questions about Apollo 13 Answered by Jerry Woodfill (2,639 words)© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Apollo 13, Jerry Woodfill, Space Flight Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh
AmericaSpace
6 May 2010, 14:36 UTC
Today, Project Constellation put another notch in its belt as the Orion Program’s Pad Abort Test was conducted to a resounding success. All of the Pad Abort Test preliminary numbers indicate that the test flight spacecraft when higher, farther and landed softer than expected. Translated, this means that the launch abort system (LAS) motor performed better, [...]
Constellation’s Orion Program Pad Abort Test Resounding Success
6 May 2010, 14:36 UTC
Today, Project Constellation put another notch in its belt as the Orion Program’s Pad Abort Test was conducted to a resounding success. All of the Pad Abort Test preliminary numbers indicate that the test flight spacecraft when higher, farther and landed softer than expected. Translated, this means that the launch abort system (LAS) motor performed better, [...]
The Flame Trench
6 May 2010, 13:09 UTC
NASA just pulled off what looked to be a highly successful test of an escape system being developed for the Orion spacecraft and perhaps other human spaceflight systems.The so-called Pad Abort-1 test went off right on time at 9 a.m., propelling a mockup of the Orion crew module to an altitude of more than one mile at the Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.Three escape system motors appeared to perform well. Parachutes deployed and the crew module drifted back to Earth a little more than a mile from the launch site."Beautiful flight," a controller said over communications loops."Wow," said Orion deputy flight test manager Jay Estes. "That went just like clockwork. That's an amazing test."Get space launch text message alerts at floridatoday.com/text
NASA Escape System Test Flight Comes Off Like Clockwork
6 May 2010, 13:09 UTC
NASA just pulled off what looked to be a highly successful test of an escape system being developed for the Orion spacecraft and perhaps other human spaceflight systems.The so-called Pad Abort-1 test went off right on time at 9 a.m., propelling a mockup of the Orion crew module to an altitude of more than one mile at the Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.Three escape system motors appeared to perform well. Parachutes deployed and the crew module drifted back to Earth a little more than a mile from the launch site."Beautiful flight," a controller said over communications loops."Wow," said Orion deputy flight test manager Jay Estes. "That went just like clockwork. That's an amazing test."Get space launch text message alerts at floridatoday.com/text
Bad Astronomy
6 May 2010, 13:00 UTC
The Japanese mission Hayabusa ("Falcon") has been nothing if not ambitious. Launched in 2004, it reached the bizarre asteroid Itokawa a little over a year later. It took phenomenal images and other measurements, and even landed on the asteroid itself to take samples, destined to be returned to Earth. But it has suffered a series of crippling mishaps that have threatened the mission time and again with failure. However, despite all that, the end game is in sight: Hayabusa is almost back home, and on June 13, sometime around 14:00 UT, the sample recovery capsule will parachute down to the Earth. This is an unprecedented opportunity for scientists! While meteorites that fall to Earth give us samples of asteroids, this will be the first time we’ll have obtained one that has not been through the perils of atmospheric re-entry directly. Also, Itokawa is just plain weird. As you can see in the picture, it’s covered in rubble, and lacks impact craters! This is strong evidence that it’s not a single, monolithic body; in other words, it’s not a solid rock. It may instead be more like a pile of rubble, an asteroid that has been shattered repeatedly by low-speed impacts ...
A piece of asteroid falls to Earth in June, but in a good way
6 May 2010, 13:00 UTC
The Japanese mission Hayabusa ("Falcon") has been nothing if not ambitious. Launched in 2004, it reached the bizarre asteroid Itokawa a little over a year later. It took phenomenal images and other measurements, and even landed on the asteroid itself to take samples, destined to be returned to Earth. But it has suffered a series of crippling mishaps that have threatened the mission time and again with failure. However, despite all that, the end game is in sight: Hayabusa is almost back home, and on June 13, sometime around 14:00 UT, the sample recovery capsule will parachute down to the Earth. This is an unprecedented opportunity for scientists! While meteorites that fall to Earth give us samples of asteroids, this will be the first time we’ll have obtained one that has not been through the perils of atmospheric re-entry directly. Also, Itokawa is just plain weird. As you can see in the picture, it’s covered in rubble, and lacks impact craters! This is strong evidence that it’s not a single, monolithic body; in other words, it’s not a solid rock. It may instead be more like a pile of rubble, an asteroid that has been shattered repeatedly by low-speed impacts ...
ESA Science & Technology
6 May 2010, 11:44 UTC
The first major scientific symposium presenting Herschel results is taking place this week (4 - 7 May 2010) at ESA&aposs European Space Research and Technology Centre, ESTEC, in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. Some selected highlights from the symposium are presented here.
Herschel:Selected highlights from the Herschel First Results Symposium, ESLAB 2010
6 May 2010, 11:44 UTC
The first major scientific symposium presenting Herschel results is taking place this week (4 - 7 May 2010) at ESA&aposs European Space Research and Technology Centre, ESTEC, in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. Some selected highlights from the symposium are presented here.
Space Politics
6 May 2010, 11:29 UTC
The chair and ranking member of the space subcommittee of the House Science and Technology Committee, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX) respectively, are often on the same page when it comes to space issues. However, in a pair of op-eds published in The Hill yesterday, they have somewhat different opinions about the future of the administration’s revised human spaceflight plan for NASA. Olson is clearly opposed to the plan, reiterating previous concerns about the plan and its affect on US space leadership. “The president acknowledged recently his initial proposal to alter NASA’s mission was dead on arrival in Congress,” he claimed (an assessment the White House would not likely agree with). “Unfortunately, his new vision isn’t much better.” Among other things, he’s critical of the space workforce task force formally established by the president earlier this week, saying it “discounts the important mission control team at Johnson Space Center in Texas and its historic role in human space flight”. (In fact, the task force’s charter allows it to examine workforce issues elsewhere, although the $40 million the president pledged is only for Florida.) Olson, at the end of the op-ed, was pushing for a restoration of ...
A difference of opinion between space subcommittee’s leaders
6 May 2010, 11:29 UTC
The chair and ranking member of the space subcommittee of the House Science and Technology Committee, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX) respectively, are often on the same page when it comes to space issues. However, in a pair of op-eds published in The Hill yesterday, they have somewhat different opinions about the future of the administration’s revised human spaceflight plan for NASA. Olson is clearly opposed to the plan, reiterating previous concerns about the plan and its affect on US space leadership. “The president acknowledged recently his initial proposal to alter NASA’s mission was dead on arrival in Congress,” he claimed (an assessment the White House would not likely agree with). “Unfortunately, his new vision isn’t much better.” Among other things, he’s critical of the space workforce task force formally established by the president earlier this week, saying it “discounts the important mission control team at Johnson Space Center in Texas and its historic role in human space flight”. (In fact, the task force’s charter allows it to examine workforce issues elsewhere, although the $40 million the president pledged is only for Florida.) Olson, at the end of the op-ed, was pushing for a restoration of ...
Astroengine
6 May 2010, 08:22 UTC
So, according to The Jakarta Post, last week’s ‘meteorite’ (these skeptical ‘quotes’ are getting ridiculous) that smashed down in East Jakarta, through the roof of a house, was in fact a meteorite. But this time, a scientist from the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (Lapan) has confirmed the original report to be true. “The heat exposure showed that the object came with high speed and heat,” said Thomas Djamaluddin, an astronomy researcher. According to another publication, the meteorite “was as big as a coconut.” However, no meteorite remnants have been recovered from the scene. While it’s possible that the meteorite vaporized on impact, I strongly doubt there would be much of a house left after such an energetic blast. Djamaluddin does point out that perhaps the meteorite had a “fragile structure,” a potential reason why there’s no fragments left. But that begs the question: If the meteorite was that fragile, could it really slam through the roof, destroy the second floor, explode, excavate a crater in the first floor and cause damage to two neighboring properties? I’m not totally discounting the idea that this might have been a meteorite impact, but the evidence remains as sketchy as last week. So ...
Space Agency Confirms Indonesia ‘Meteorite’
6 May 2010, 08:22 UTC
So, according to The Jakarta Post, last week’s ‘meteorite’ (these skeptical ‘quotes’ are getting ridiculous) that smashed down in East Jakarta, through the roof of a house, was in fact a meteorite. But this time, a scientist from the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (Lapan) has confirmed the original report to be true. “The heat exposure showed that the object came with high speed and heat,” said Thomas Djamaluddin, an astronomy researcher. According to another publication, the meteorite “was as big as a coconut.” However, no meteorite remnants have been recovered from the scene. While it’s possible that the meteorite vaporized on impact, I strongly doubt there would be much of a house left after such an energetic blast. Djamaluddin does point out that perhaps the meteorite had a “fragile structure,” a potential reason why there’s no fragments left. But that begs the question: If the meteorite was that fragile, could it really slam through the roof, destroy the second floor, explode, excavate a crater in the first floor and cause damage to two neighboring properties? I’m not totally discounting the idea that this might have been a meteorite impact, but the evidence remains as sketchy as last week. So ...
HobbySpace RLV Space & Transport News
6 May 2010, 07:16 UTC
Alan Boyle reports on the final mission of Shuttle Atlantis, which is currently scheduled to fly on May 14th: The first 'last flight' - Cosmic Log/msnbc.com.
