Space

 
 
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    Discovery News - Space News

  • 2nd Night of False Alarms on Space Station

    21 Nov 2009 | 2:31 am
    Depressurization and smoke alarms woke the shuttle and station crews for a second consecutive night on Friday. Flight controllers quickly determined they were false alarms, but the station's ventilation system automatically shut down, prompting NASA to cancel spacewalk preparations inside ...

  • NASA unleashes the Galactic Ghoul?

    20 Nov 2009 | 2:36 pm
    As I've mentioned before, I love a good outrageous space headline -- and the more they personify science or mold it to sound like a space opera, the better. But it's interesting to note that the "great galactic ghoul" traces ...

  • One Tiny Step for Spirit

    20 Nov 2009 | 1:30 pm
    NASA’s stuck Mars rover Spirit took the tiniest of steps to free itself from a sand trap that brought it to a standstill six months ago. After spinning its wheels for the equivalent of 8.2 feet, the rover moved about ...

  • Large Hadron Collider Circulates Proton Beam

    20 Nov 2009 | 1:03 pm
    For the first time since September 2008, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has circulated a beam of protons fully around its 17 mile-long ring of supercooled electromagnets. The last time this happened was shortly before the LHC suffered a devastating ...

  • Introducing the Mandelbulb

    20 Nov 2009 | 9:37 am
    Fractal geometry has broad appeal because of the amazing colorful shapes that can be created, but it's easy to forget that there is actual information -- and some pretty rigorous math -- underlying the pretty pictures. Algebra and geometry are ...
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    Defense Industry Daily

  • UAE Orders PC-21 Turboprop Trainers

    Joe Katzman
    19 Nov 2009 | 12:42 pm
    Pilatus PC-21 (click to view full) During the 2009 Dubai airshow, the United Arab Emirates signed a contract with Pilatus to buy 25 PC-21 intermediate trainer aircraft, in a package worth $511... [summary]

  • Up to $233M to BAE Systems for SPAWAR C4ISR Systems Support

    Fred Donovan
    19 Nov 2009 | 9:09 am
    BAE Systems received a contract worth up to $233 million to support the US Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) with engineering services, production engineering,... [summary]

  • Gulf States Requesting ABM-Capable Systems

    Joe Katzman
    19 Nov 2009 | 8:39 am
    Patriot PAC-2 (click to view full) A 2007 US National Intelligence Assessment [redacted NIE summary] believes Iran’s nuclear program has stopped, but others, including the United Nations and... [summary]

  • No Dr. Strangelove Here: USAF Takes Steps to Beef Up ICBM Security

    Fred Donovan
    19 Nov 2009 | 8:01 am
    Dr. Strangelove (click to view larger) In the 1960s dark comedy Dr. Strangelove, a rogue US Air Force general succeeds in usurping the US “fail-safe” security system preventing... [summary]

  • Up to $118M to Valero for Aviation Turbine Fuel under FMS Program

    Fred Donovan
    19 Nov 2009 | 7:42 am
    Valero Marketing & Supply Co. in San Antonio, TX won a maximum $118 million fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel... [summary]
 
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    About.com Space / Astronomy

  • "Strange" New Star?

    18 Nov 2009 | 2:01 am
    Supernova remnants are beautiful to behold, but they are also the result of extremely violent explosions and leave behind one of the most dynamic objects in the Universe. One such object, the pulsar at the center of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A), has been the source of much study ever since data from the Chandra X-ray observatory were published over 10 years ago. Based on the observational data, the size of the pulsar -- a rapidly rotating neutron star -- was estimated to be about 6 miles across, which is theoretically impossible. Theories abounded, that this must not be a…

  • Water Found On The Moon

    17 Nov 2009 | 2:20 pm
    Back in October many of you were following the events of the LCROSS mission as the probe slamed into the Moon (on purpose), to look for traces of water. Well, after weeks of pouring over mountains of data, NASA has released their initial findings. And it turns out that the Moon contains more water than we once thought. NASA determined that the only way they could make sense of the data was if water was present on the Moon -- and a rather significant amount of water at that. This was not completely surprising however; several months ago, NASA determined that deep in the Moon's shadowed craters…

  • Meteor Shower To Peak Over The Next Two Nights

    16 Nov 2009 | 5:40 am
    Every year the Earth passes through the trail of the comet Tempel-Tuttle, creating a pretty good meteor shower visible in the night sky. NASA reports that about about 20 - 30 meteors per hour should visible during the Leonid shower in North America. While this pales in comparison to the nearly 300 per hour being predicted in Asia, it should be a great sight nontheless. The Moon will be in a new phase, creating the kind of dark conditions desired for seeing the events. The best time to see the events will be after 4:00 a.m. So those of you who are early risers, get out there with your morning…

  • Creating A New Earth

    12 Nov 2009 | 6:04 am
    The idea of colonizing Mars is not a new one, it has been the backdrop of many science fiction novels, and the focus of much scientific research. But, actually making it happen is a whole other story. Well on Sunday, November 15, the National Geographic Channel is going to air a special, as part of their "Expedition Week", about how we would go about creating a habitable planet out of Mars. I think it will definitely be worth a watch, and in the meantime you can check out the promotional material and videos to whet your appetite. I think the reality of how close we are to undertaking the…

  • Asteroid Has Near Miss With Earth

    11 Nov 2009 | 2:19 am
    NASA reported that a 23 foot wide asteroid came within about 8,700 miles of entering Earth's atmosphere on Friday. This was the third closest miss on record. Astronomers at the University of Arizona's Catalina Sky Survey group announced the finding. They discovered the asteroid about 15 hours before it passed our planet, moving at more than 16,000 miles per hour. So, what would have happened if the asteroid would have entered our atmosphere? Well, at 23 feet across, it most likely would have burned up in our atmosphere. The heat generated by air resistance as it fell toward Earth would have…
 
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    Space News From SpaceDaily.Com

  • Astronauts Complete First Spacewalk

    Houston TX (SPX) Nov 20, 2009 - Mission Specialists Mike Foreman and Robert Satcher completed the first spacewalk of the STS-129 mission. The 6-hour, 37-minute spacewalk wrapped up at 4:01 p.m. EST. Foreman and Satcher installed a spare S-band antenna structural assembly brought up in Atlantis' cargo bay.

  • SMOS Satellite Instrument Comes Alive

    Paris, France (SPX) Nov 20, 2009 - The MIRAS instrument on ESA's SMOS satellite, launched earlier this month, has been switched on and is operating normally. MIRAS will map soil moisture and ocean salinity to improve our understanding of the role these two key variables play in regulating Earth's water cycle.

  • The Lunar Oasis

    Sydney, Australia (SPX) Nov 20, 2009 - 2009 will go down in history as one of the greatest years for lunar exploration. We were stunned by the discovery that the sun-drenched lunar surface, once thought to be bone dry, hosts small traces of water! Orbital observations of the Moon's polar regions revealed areas that are probably the coldest regions in the solar system, with temperatures plunging below that of Pluto!

  • LockMart Tests Carbon Nanotube-Based Memory Devices On Shuttle

    Palo Alto CA (SPX) Nov 20, 2009 - A radiation-resistant version of NRAM carbon-nanotube-based memory, developed jointly by Lockheed Martin and Nantero, was tested on a recent Space Shuttle mission. The NRAM was incorporated by NASA into special autonomous testing configurations installed into a carrier at the aft end of the payload bay.

  • Russia Could Delay Maiden Launch Of Angara Rocket

    Moscow, Russia (RIA Novosti) Nov 20, 2009 - The maiden launch of Russia's new Angara carrier rocket could be postponed for at least one year due to shortage of funds from the Defense Ministry, the top Russian space official said Wednesday.
 
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    digg.com: Stories / Space / Popular

  • Video Shows Massive Star Forming

    21 Nov 2009 | 12:50 am
    Astronomers have made a detailed study of a star-forming region inside the Orion Nebula, for the first time getting a close-up look at the birth of a massive star.

  • Water found in lunar impact likely came from comets

    20 Nov 2009 | 10:40 am
    The mystery of where the moon's water came from may soon be solved. Evidence from NASA's LCROSS mission suggests much of it was delivered by comets rather than forming on the surface through an interaction with the solar wind.

  • Dark Energy Search Could Aid Planet Hunters

    20 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am
    In Europe, the Euclid mission is a proposed space telescope for characterizing dark energy, but some believe that it might be more attractive to funding agencies if it included an exoplanet survey. A similar collaboration is being considered in the United States.

  • APOD: 2009 November 20 - Meteor between the Clouds

    20 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am
    A different astronomy and space sciencerelated image is featured each day, along with a brief explanation.

  • Saving Mars Rover Spirit (PICS)

    19 Nov 2009 | 9:50 pm
    NASA's Mars Expedition Rover Spirit has been stuck in a sand trap since April and the prognosis for the robot to drive again isn't good. However, NASA scientists have developed a computer simulation of the Mars rover stuck in the sand trap. With the help of this model, it is hoped a safe plan can be executed to get Spirit back on the road.
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    Science @ NASA

  • A Tale of Planetary Woe

    Long ago, something calamitous happened to Mars, transforming a hospitable world into the apparently lifeless desert we see today. Many scientists believe the Red Planet lost most of its atmosphere, but how? A new NASA mission named MAVEN is specifically designed to answer that question.

  • Hidden Territory on Mercury Revealed

    The MESSENGER spacecraft's third flyby of the planet Mercury has given scientists an almost complete view of the planet's surface and revealed some dramatic changes in Mercury's comet-like tail.

  • A Mars Rover Named "Curiosity"

    NASA's next Mars rover, a super-capable robot named "Curiosity," will push Mars exploration to a new level.

  • The Sun's Sneaky Variability

    It might not be obvious to the naked eye, but the sun is a variable star. A sensor slated for launch onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory will probe the sun's "sneaky variability" with better time and spectral resolution than ever before.

  • NASA Mission to Study the Moon's Fragile Atmosphere

    NASA is planning a mission to study the Moon's fragile atmosphere--before it's too late.
 
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    Universe Today

  • De Plume! De Plume! Enceladus Raw Flyby Images

    Nancy Atkinson
    21 Nov 2009 | 6:50 am
    Raw images are already being returned from Cassini's Nov. 21 "E-8" or eighth flyby of the tiger-striped moon Enceladus. Visible in this raw image are several plumes from fissures in the south polar region of the moon. These fissures spew jets of water vapor and other particles hundreds of kilometers from the surface. This flyby included a very different geometry to the flyby trajectory – and a different look at the plumes — approaching within 1,606 kilometers (997.9 miles) of the surface, buzzing over 82 degrees south latitude. This is the last look we'll have for…

  • Hayabusa May Come Home After All

    Nicholos Wethington
    20 Nov 2009 | 3:26 pm
    Artist concept of the Hayabusa spacecraft. Credit: JAXA As we reported last week, it seemed as if the Hayabusa asteroid explorer mission was dealt a fatal blow when the third of its four ion engines failed. But the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced yesterday that it may have come up with a solution to that problem to get Hayabusa back home by using components from two different inoperable thrusters in combination.(...)Read the rest of Hayabusa May Come Home After All (516 words) © nick for Universe Today, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us Post tags:…

  • Astronaut Glove Challenge Winners Announced

    Nicholos Wethington
    20 Nov 2009 | 1:23 pm
    NASA's Astronaut Glove Centennial Challenge contest was held yesterday at the Astronaut Hall of Fame in Titusville, Florida, and two contestants walked away with a total of $350,000 in prize money for their improved designs of space suit gloves. Peter Homer of Southwest Harbor, Maine, won $250,000 for his glove, and Ted Southern of Brooklyn, New York won $100,000. Both contestants had participated in the 2007 event, and Peter Homer qualified for a prize last time.(...)Read the rest of Astronaut Glove Challenge Winners Announced (371 words) © nick for Universe Today, 2009. |…

  • Find the Answer to this Week's WITU Challenge

    Nancy Atkinson
    20 Nov 2009 | 12:34 pm
    If you're still wondering what this very strange image is, find out by going to the original WITU challenge post for this week. Have a great weekend, and check back next week for another Where In The Universe Challenge! © nancy for Universe Today, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

  • Video of Utah Fireball

    Nancy Atkinson
    20 Nov 2009 | 12:20 pm
    Early Nov. 18th, eyewitnesses reported an explosion in the atmosphere above Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho in the western United States. Some said the fireball "turned night into day" and produced shock waves that shook the ground when it exploded just after midnight Mountain Standard Time. Infrasound recordings of the blast suggest a small asteroid hitting Earth's atmosphere and exploding with an energy of 0.5 to 1 kiloton of TNT. As the sun rose in the morning, remnants of the explosion were visible as noctilucent clouds over the region. The best video of the extremely…
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    NPR Topics: Space

  • Rethinking The Human Future In Space

    20 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am
    With NASA reporting a "significant amount" of water on the lunar surface, is it time to re-examine our priorities regarding living and working in space? Mark Sykes, director of the Planetary Science Institute, talks about why and how people should venture beyond Earth.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

  • Camera That Saved Hubble Now On Display

    18 Nov 2009 | 12:30 pm
    Two instruments from the Hubble Space Telescope, including the camera that corrected an early flaw in the telescope, are now on exhibit at the Smithsonian. The camera, about the size of a baby grand piano, is responsible for some of Hubble's most astounding photos.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

  • Atlantis Blasts Off On Space Station Supply Mission

    16 Nov 2009 | 11:46 am
    The shuttle rocketed into orbit with six astronauts and a full load of spare parts for the International Space Station that should keep it humming for years to come. The launch was NASA's first launch "tweetup," attended by about 100 Twittering space enthusiasts.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

  • Water Ice Hides In Moon's Dark Craters

    13 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm
    A rocket set on a collision course with the moon reveals it's not just a dull, dry satellite. Water lurking in its craters could someday provide everything from drinking water to rocket fuel for astronauts exploring the moon.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

  • Do Moon Craters Harbor Caches Of Water Ice?

    13 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am
    A NASA rocket slammed into a lunar crater in October. A second spacecraft followed minutes later, taking inventory of kicked-up debris and sending data to Earth. Scientists have now analyzed those data, which may reveal whether the moon harbors significant quantities of water ice.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us
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    The Space Review

  • Things are rough all over...

    16 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am
    NASA is routinely criticized for failing to bring in projects on time and schedule. Dwayne Day notes that for all of NASA's problems, the Defense Department's project management woes are far more serious, with potentially bigger implications.

  • Solar sailing gets its second wind

    16 Nov 2009 | 8:59 am
    The concept of solar sailing is particularly attractive for some missions, but to date no one has been able to successfully launch one. Jeff Foust reports on a new bid by The Planetary Society to do that, and by doing so build upon the legacy of one of its co-founders.

  • All these worlds are yours, except the Moon and Mars (attempt no landing there)

    16 Nov 2009 | 8:58 am
    Much of the attention about the Augustine Committee report was with one of its options, called the Flexible Path. Michael Huang argues that while the committee might appear to prefer it, there are a number of problems with that architecture.

  • Studying a legend

    16 Nov 2009 | 8:57 am
    Taylor Dinerman reviews a book that offers a new perspective on the life of early space pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovskii.

  • Augustine's questionable adjective

    9 Nov 2009 | 8:00 am
    A key element of the Augustine Committee's report was its emphasis on commercial providers to help support NASA's space exploration efforts. Taylor Dinerman cautions that may be too much to ask the nascent NewSpace industry at this stage in its development.
 
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    Space Politics

  • SEA, ProSpace set plans for lobbying blitzes

    Jeff Foust
    19 Nov 2009 | 3:49 am
    If your idea of space advocacy can’t be contained to 140-character tweets, you’re in luck: a couple of organizations have set plans for grassroots lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill early next year. The Space Exploration Alliance has announced plans for its 2010 Legislative Blitz, scheduled for February 21-23. (Some of the language on the web site, though, still refers to their 2009 event.) The exact legislative agenda isn’t listed, although the site does refer to the Augustine committee report and the need to increase NASA’s funding. ProSpace has also set a date for its…

  • Watch out, @whitehouse: tweeps want to #saveNASA

    Jeff Foust
    19 Nov 2009 | 3:40 am
    It seems some NASA supporters took the news about a potential across-the-board budget cut in FY2011 (which may or may not happen, and may or may not include NASA) pretty hard: on the microblogging service Twitter, the news generated a flurry of tweets in the last day or so, all tagged with the search term “#saveNASA”. While it’s not clear just in how much jeopardy NASA’s budget is, it hasn’t stopped people from rallying that something needs to be done to, well, save NASA. What that something is isn’t clear: most of the tweets are actually…

  • Save Space claims it’s met its goal

    Jeff Foust
    18 Nov 2009 | 10:15 am
    In late September Save Space kicked off its efforts to get half a million letters in support of the space program delivered to the White House by the end of October. By late October, though, that goal looked doubtful: the metrics they had provided (in terms of web traffic and Facebook fans) appeared to fall far short of what was needed to generate that many letters, and a spokesperson indicated that it would be more of an “open-ended venture”. However, in a video posted to the web site with remarkably little fanfare (primarily just a single tweet), Space Florida president Frank…

  • Taking another small step on a journey of a thousand miles

    Jeff Foust
    18 Nov 2009 | 4:06 am
    After Tuesday’s meeting between Presidents Obama and Hu, the two countries issued a joint statement covering a wide range of issues, including one paragraph about space issues: The United States and China look forward to expanding discussions on space science cooperation and starting a dialogue on human space flight and space exploration, based on the principles of transparency, reciprocity and mutual benefit. Both sides welcome reciprocal visits of the NASA Administrator and the appropriate Chinese counterpart in 2010. Space also merited one sentence later, on security issues:…

  • …and speaking of hearings

    Jeff Foust
    17 Nov 2009 | 4:05 am
    An intriguing hearing has popped up on the schedule of the aviation subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee: “Commercial Space Transportation”. No other details about the hearing are listed, other than the date (December 2, 10 am). The overall T&I committee is chaired by James Oberstar (D-MN), best known in space circles for his opposition five years ago to the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act. When Oberstar’s name entered circulation a year ago as a potential Secretary of Transportation, I noted at the time that space had not been a…
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    NASA Watch

  • TEDxNASA Live Coverage

    Keith Cowing
    20 Nov 2009 | 2:56 pm
    - Livestream webcast of the event starting Friday morning at 10 am EST - Main website - Agenda/Schedule - NASA LaRC Internal Email: TEDxNASA: You're Invited! - TEDxNASA: Where's The Space Stuff? Keith's update: Joel Levine showed an image (this one) that he said had "not yet been seen publicly" but indeed was seen 4 years ago when ESA released it to the public. I did a simple simple Google search in my seat at the event and found a dozen websites that have it online a few seconds later. I really have to wonder if he is truly up to date on things. Keith's note: Live blogging below: 11:00 pm I…

  • NASA STS-129 Tweetup Success

    Marc Boucher
    20 Nov 2009 | 2:54 pm
    NASA Hosts STS-129 Launch Tweetup, SpaceRef Canada "With a golden flash, space shuttle Atlantis punched through the first cloud hanging between the pad and her destination in Earth orbit. "Climb that hill, baby!" shouted Gene Mikula (@genejm29), a technical writer from New Jersey, as he watched the plume of steam spread underneath Atlantis' engines." Please post comments on Spaceref Canada. Your NASA Watch account will work throughout the SpaceRef Network for commenting.

  • Will Someone Please Wake Up ARC PAO?

    Keith Cowing
    20 Nov 2009 | 10:03 am
    The Wet Side of the Moon, Opinion, NY Times "From the perspective of human space exploration, that water is the most important scientific discovery since the '60s. We can drink it, grow food with it and breathe it -- by separating the oxygen from the hydrogen through a process called electrolysis. These elements can even be used to fuel rocket engines. (Discovering water on Mars was not quite as significant because the major hurdle to establishing permanent settlements there is the eight-month journey.)" Keith's note: Hmm, a young Ames employee, Wil Marshall, manages to get on the editorial…

  • NOMAD Now Limits Email Forwarding

    Keith Cowing
    20 Nov 2009 | 9:54 am
    NOMAD Outreach: Impacts of E-mail Services and Forwarding Policy - NITR 2800-2 "What Is Happening: Last year to improve information security, NASA put in place a stringent review process to limit automatic e-mail forwarding to only accounts ending in .gov and .mil. NASA Information Technology Requirement (NITR) 2800-2 establishes policy and requirements regarding e-mail services and e-mail forwarding for unclassified information systems. The requirements of the NITR apply to all e-mail services connecting to NASA Information Technology systems or NASA networks."

  • Sam Durrance, Joins the CSF Suborbital Researchers Group

    Keith Cowing
    20 Nov 2009 | 8:33 am
    Former Shuttle Astronaut-Astronomer, Sam Durrance, Joins the CSF Suborbital Researchers Group "Former NASA astronaut Samuel T. Durrance, a PhD astronomer and veteran of two Space Shuttle missions, has been selected as the latest addition to the Commercial Spaceflight Federation's Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG). "We are very happy to have Sam aboard SARG to contribute his expertise as a two-time NASA payload specialist on the Space Shuttle," said Dr. S. Alan Stern, Chairman of SARG and a space scientist who previously served as head of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA…
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    Open NASA

  • Leading Amidst the Disruptive Innovation Storm

    Rolando Quintanilla
    18 Nov 2009 | 8:40 pm
    I read a report this morning on BusinessWeek about Singularity University that really got me thinking about our path forward amidst a technological revolution filled with disruptive innovations.  How do you prepare for something you can’t see coming?  Even if a few people can see it coming, how do we ensure that these voices get heard?  How do we use this technological storm to our advantage, instead of to our demise? In order for NASA to prosper moving forward, it will have to be adaptable, efficient and possibly even prophetic.  Now making this statement is very simple. …

  • It’s better in person

    Skytland
    16 Nov 2009 | 1:09 pm
    It’s been quite a long time since I had a chance to see a shuttle launch in person, despite numerous attempts otherwise.  The normal routine is to jump in the car last minute, drive 16 hours across 5 states, usually in the middle of the night, with 3 two-minute stops only for gas.  It’s hard to explain the logic behind this sleep and food deprived ritual and usually takes quite a bit of convincing in order to get others to join me.  But here’s why I do it: “a shuttle launch is just better in person.” In today’s age of HD video, livecasting, and…

  • TEDx NASA Tickets Available to the Public

    rcollins
    16 Nov 2009 | 7:16 am
    go to Tedx-nasa.org or http://tedx-nasa.eventbrite.com/ To get your tickets now, there are a limited number, first come, first serve.

  • Random Hacks of Kindness

    Robbie Schingler
    13 Nov 2009 | 11:33 am
    We are started, and Craig Fugate, the Administrator of FEMA, just gave his keynote. Sitting 3 miles away from NASA Ames Research Center at the Hacker Dojo, we are creating a community of developers for the emergency response community. This meeting is bringing technologists and developers together with subject matter experts to understand each other - learn what technology already exists, and which ones need to get created. After Administrator Fugate, we have a dozen 5-minute lightening talks, both from technologists and subject matter experts. On organizing the event, asked people to come up…

  • 2009 Space Elevator Games

    Kate
    12 Nov 2009 | 8:07 am
    While we may not be as much of a rock-star center as Kennedy or Johnson, Dryden Flight Research Center has its moments! Take last week’s 2009 Space Elevator Games, for example. For those of you who are not familiar with the project, teams competing in the Space Elevator Games were tasked with creating a robot that would climb a 1 km tether (suspended from a helicopter) at a minimum speed of 2 m/s. The climber is limited to a 50 kg net weight and must carry as much payload as possible. Winners are determined by a formula based on the climber’s speed, payload, and net weight. A…
 
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    White Label Space

  • Greatest Space Ads - Toshiba Space Chair

    17 Nov 2009 | 12:57 pm
    This ad by Toshiba shows one very adventurous armchair volunteering for a high altitude balloon flight to the edge of space. The imagery is fantastic, but look out for the dramatic ending!The video was created by JP Aerospace, a volunteer-based organization in the United States, that already has quite some experience with advertising stunts on the edge of space with its "Your ad at the edge of space" program.Check out this video from the Austrian Space Forum of a similar high-altitude balloon flight experience with their Passepartout balloon system.Thanks to SpaceFellowship.com for publishing…

  • Is Steve Allen Defecting to Synergy Moon?

    16 Nov 2009 | 12:32 pm
    I just got sent this photo from an anonymous source who said it was taken over the weekend. It shows Steve Allen, our Team Leader, standing alonside the chief artist of the Synergy Moon GLXP team, Anna Hill.We haven't been able to contact Steve for a number of weeks and the last communication we have from him was that he is going deep undercover on a new project in London. We assumed it was something to do with his new job at the BBC, but now it looks like something else... Note that Anna Hill joined Synergy Moon just last month (see Synergy Moon's post).It's really not fair for GLXP teams to…

  • Christos Merkouris

    15 Nov 2009 | 8:14 am
    It is widely believed that space exploration is set to experience a revolution due to nanotechnology, and Christos Merkouris joined White Label Space to advise the team on how best to take advantage of the new technologies that are becoming available in this area.Christos is a Master of Science candidate at the Department of Electronic Engineering at the University of Surrey in the UK, and is also an experienced spacecraft test and verification engineer. In his university research Christos has been investigating the state of the art in nano-spacecraft systems, particularly focusing on the…

  • Marina Petrozzi

    15 Nov 2009 | 8:08 am
    Marina Petrozzi is System Engineer for the White Label Space team.Marina is an experienced space system engineer skilled in Technical coordination and Project Management within both agency and industry environments. Her knowledge and experience spans the full project cycle from mission studies through to payload data handling, and gained through a range of different projects including EGNOS, Cosmo skymed, VEGA launcher EGSE, CIRA USV (Unmanned Space Vehicle) EGCE (EGSE+MCS), ENVISAT, a nanosatellite and also by participating to the largest and most complex international scientific project in…

  • Ayako Ono

    15 Nov 2009 | 8:02 am
    Since 1996 Ayako Ono has been exploring humanity's frontiers in the cosmos and imagination with her space art.The role of art is to stimulate the senses and imagination, broaden perceptions, and explore new perspectives. Sometime soon future generations will live far from the earth's surface. The resulting changes to the living environment will necessarily affect a radical transformation in common values. Space Art will help us prepare for the creation of these new values, and help answer the fundamental question of how human beings will evolve with these new values. In tackling this complex…
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    EurakAlert!: Space

  • NJIT receives NSF funding to improve Big Bear Telescope, study solar energy

    19 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    (New Jersey Institute of Technology) The National Science Foundation has recently provided support that totals nearly $4.3 million for the diverse efforts of the following investigators under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

  • New method to measure snow, vegetation moisture with GPS may benefit farmers, meteorologists

    19 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    (University of Colorado at Boulder) A research team led by the University of Colorado at Boulder has found a clever way to use traditional GPS satellite signals to measure snow depth as well as soil and vegetation moisture, a technique expected to benefit meteorologists, water resource managers, climate modelers and farmers.

  • Watching a cannibal galaxy dine

    19 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    (ESO) A new technique using near-infrared images, obtained with ESO's 3.58-meter New Technology Telescope, allows astronomers to see through the opaque dust lanes of the giant cannibal galaxy Centaurus A, unveiling its "last meal" in unprecedented detail -- a smaller spiral galaxy, currently twisted and warped. This amazing image also shows thousands of star clusters, strewn like glittering gems, churning inside Centaurus A.

  • SMOS satellite instrument comes alive

    18 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    (European Space Agency) The MIRAS instrument on ESA's SMOS satellite, launched earlier this month, has been switched on and is operating normally. MIRAS will map soil moisture and ocean salinity to improve our understanding of the role these two key variables play in regulating Earth's water cycle.

  • AGU Fall Meeting: Press room update, book hotels by Nov. 19

    17 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    (American Geophysical Union) This updates for the AGU 2009 Fall Meeting contains a press room update, reminder to book hotels by Nov. 19, how tosearch abstracts by affiliation, the blog roll and more.
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    collectSPACE

  • Rock-ing NASA's message

    20 Nov 2009 | 7:58 am
    Actor Dwayne Johnson, formerly known as "The Rock", is helping to spread the benefits of NASA in a set of public service announcements timed with the release of Sony Pictures' animated feature film "Planet 51." In the movie, Johnson voices the American astronaut Charles "Chuck" Baker, whose suit is adorned with the NASA insignia with the permission of the space agency. NASA also flew a DVD copy of the film to the International Space Station in August to celebrate the movie, which opened in theaters on Friday. In the PSAs, Johnson touts NASA's role in education, diversity and the development…

  • Instruments vs. artifacts

    19 Nov 2009 | 3:33 pm
    The National Air and Space Museum opened to the public on Thursday its first gallery devoted to the still on-going space shuttle/space station-era of human spaceflight, "Moving Beyond Earth." For astronaut John Grunsfeld, who was at the opening to see the instruments he trained with and brought back from the Hubble Space Telescope go on display, the "artifacts" were anything but. "To me they are very much alive, not artifacts," explained the self-titled "Chief Hubble Hugger." Museum director Gen. Jack Dailey replied to Grunsfeld by sharing the difference between instruments and artifacts.

  • Russia's Poisk added to ISS

    12 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am
    Roscosmos' Mini Research Module-2 (MRM2), known as Poisk ("Explore") arrived at the International Space Station Thursday at 9:41 a.m. CST. The mini module, which will serve as a new docking port, airlock and experiment platform for the ISS's Russian segment, was launched Tuesday aboard a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. With Poisk's addition, the station now has five docking ports (or seven if the berthing ports for Japan's HTV are included).

  • End-of-program emblem

    11 Nov 2009 | 6:36 pm
    NASA is looking for an insignia to mark the end of its space shuttle program and has turned to its past and present employees to create it. Begun last month, the patch design contest invites space agency employees and those who work for NASA's contractors to express what the shuttle means to them in the form of an emblem. The winning design will be flown in space and be adopted as NASA's official commemorative.

  • The man who launched John Glenn

    9 Nov 2009 | 11:19 am
    The countdown to launch the first American into Earth orbit on February 20, 1962 built up to the push of a button. Convair test conductor Thomas J. "Terrible Tommy" O'Malley, who kept that button as a souvenir of his (and his finger's) role sending John Glenn into space, died on Friday at age 94. According to the newspaper Florida Today who spoke with his daughter, O'Malley had a brief conversation with Glenn from his Cocoa Beach home shortly before passing away.
 
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    Spacehack

  • NASA ESMD Research Paper Competition

    Ariel Waldman
    3 Nov 2009 | 3:27 am
    Join NASA’s mission to bring us to the Moon, Mars and beyond by submitting a research paper on one of the four ESMD topics listed below. Your research may be used as the solution to current NASA challenges. Open to students who are United States citizens in an undergraduate or graduate studies program. 1. Spacecraft Landing and Recovery Architecture: Historical Approaches and Ideas for the Future 2. Synergistic degradation effects of materials exposed to radiation, micrometeors, thermal sinks and lunar dust 3. Loading of Cryogenic Propellant in Space Launch Vehicle 4. Determination of the…

  • Life and Work on the Moon

    Ariel Waldman
    7 Oct 2009 | 1:51 am
    An art and design contest sponsored by NASA that invites high school and college students to submit their work on the theme “Life and Work on the Moon”. Artists/designers are encouraged to collaborate with science and engineering students. Such collaboration is not required, but would help to ensure that the art is valid for the Moon’s harsh environment. Entries will be accepted in three categories: two-dimensional, three-dimensional, and digital, including video. Entries will be evaluated not only on their artistic qualities, but also on whether they depict a valid scenario.

  • Moon Work

    Ariel Waldman
    27 Sep 2009 | 5:03 pm
    Design tools and instrumentation packages for the next generation manned moon rover. The NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, the Exploration Technology Development Program, and the Advanced Planning and Partnership Office at Langley Research Center encourage college students to get involved with NASA’s return to the Moon by helping to design the tools and instrument pages needed for the next generation manned moon rover.  Student projects will tackle real problems required for a successful manned lunar mission. The contest is open to any student enrolled in an accredited…

  • University Rover Challenge

    Ariel Waldman
    19 Sep 2009 | 5:00 pm
    An annual competition for college students to design and build the next generation of Mars rovers that will one day work alongside astronauts on the Red Planet. Former students and community members alike are encouraged to reach out to their alma matters and local universities to help form teams. The 2010 Mars Society’s University Rover Challenge (URC) will be held June 3-5, 2010 at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah.  Teams and their rovers will compete in four events: an equipment servicing task, a site survey task, a sample return task, and an emergency navigation task…

  • TubeSat Personal Satellite Kit

    Ariel Waldman
    9 Sep 2009 | 12:44 pm
    Build and launch your own satellite into space! One of the primary missions at Interorbital is to provide satellite hardware and launch support for the experimental and commercial satellite community. Planet Earth has entered the age of the Personal Satellite with the introduction of Interorbital’s TubeSat Personal Satellite (PS) Kit. The new IOS TubeSat PS Kit is the low-cost alternative to the CubeSat. And, best of all, the price of the TubeSat kit actually includes the price of a launch into Low-Earth-Orbit on an IOS NEPTUNE 30 launch vehicle. Since the TubeSats are placed into…
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    Astroengine.com

  • The World Needs Sagan-Man [Update]

    Ian O'Neill
    15 Nov 2009 | 10:54 pm
    Click to see the whole sketch (©xkcd) I love today’s XKCD comic. It depicts Sagan-Man, a superhero who possesses Carl Sagan’s ability to communicate science to the world. In this case Sagan-Man uses his inspirational tone to stop a thief in the act. Unfortunately, I was too young to experience Carl Sagan when he was in his prime years presenting Cosmos, and it is only comparatively recently that I have been watching recordings of this legendary series. I have since brought the book too. Sagan captures the child-like wonder of the Universe that is so often missing in the world…

  • Some Doomsday Crazy With That Google Search?

    Ian O'Neill
    12 Nov 2009 | 12:53 am
    wtf? After collecting myself from the bout of giggles when I read The Bloggess’ post about the rather bizarre auto-suggestion in Google Search, I was ready to find some more. (Awesome, the old classic, “french military victories” followed by clicking the “I’m feeling lucky” button is still working.) But what’s this? @Mactavish shoots me a tweet telling me to check out typing in “why will” to the Google Search box. As innocuous as it may sound, the auto suggestions are not. I mean, why the heck would anyone need the suggestion: “why…

  • The Dawn of a New Age for Sci/Tech Reporting

    Ian O'Neill
    10 Nov 2009 | 11:52 am
    You may have noticed the increased chatter about the quality of sci/tech reporting in recent years. I know I have. In this age of incredible technological advancements and scientific discovery, it can often be very hard for reporters to root out what is important and what isn’t. Also, with the increasing reach of online media, there’s a massive opportunity for media outlets to communicate science through good science journalism. This is essential, as pseudo-science and bad science reporting is often being communicated faster. Unfortunately, with the continuing cutbacks being made…

  • A Bevvy of Doom

    Ian O'Neill
    5 Nov 2009 | 8:10 am
    On the red carpet: John Cusack tells me what he'll be doing on Dec. 21st, 2012. Skiing (credit: Debra O'Neill/Discovery News) Currently sitting in the departure lounge in LAX before I fly out to Washington D.C. to meet up with the Discovery News crew ahead of the launch of our brand new site (keep an eye on Discovery Space, it will soon be integrated into the Discovery News redesign — the beta version looks awesome). Before I fly, I just wanted to post the news that the Discovery Channel will be airing the documentary I was interviewed for by KPI Productions in August. According to my…

  • Spirit Suffers Another Bout of Amnesia. Spirit Suffers Another Bout of Amnesia.

    Ian O'Neill
    1 Nov 2009 | 3:06 am
    NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit is suffering from amnesia, again. This is hardly surprising if we consider that the lifespan of Spirit should have been 3 months, the fact that it has lasted 69 months (so far) is nothing short of miraculous. In rover-mission-lifetime years, doesn’t that make Spirit and her twin sister Opportunity 1380 years old? (I decided that a “lifetime” is 60 years, in case you were wondering.) Perhaps that’s not how it works, but for NASA to build a robot that has lived 23 times longer than the mission specified is pretty damn…
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    The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel

  • Buried Antarctica "Alps" Point to Hyper-Speed Global Warming

    Casey Kazan Daily Galaxy Editorial Staff
    20 Nov 2009 | 1:30 am
    An international team of experts have mapped a huge, incredibly old location, mentioned in the notes of a Russian explorer from half a century ago, buried under hundreds of meters of ice.  In an amazing break with tradition this process did not result in the unleashing of ancient horrors, a self-destruct sequence, alien invasion or anyone shooting at Indiana Jones.  They've examined the entire Gamburtsev mountain range, 700 meters tall and buried under a kilometer of Antarctica.The team used an array of tools including seismic wave reflection, radar, and precise gravitational measurements…

  • Titanic Thirty-Meter Telescope 12 x's Hubble To Probe Dark Matter & First Stars

    Casey Kazan Daily Galaxy Editorial Staff
    20 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am
    We're building a billion dollar telescope and it isn't just aimed at the stars: it's looking for the first ones. The new Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) proves that sometimes bigger really is better and will be elements in the optics allows them all to act as one (which is good because it's impossible to build a real one that big.)  The realtime control also allows astronomers to correct for the effects of the atmosphere - so even though it's on the ground, the TMT will have twelve times the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope. The key really is collecting more light.  No matter what CSI…

  • Will Dark Energy Fuel Spaceships of the Future? -A Galaxy Classic

    Casey Kazan Daily Galaxy Editorial Staff
    20 Nov 2009 | 12:28 am
    The internet was amazed by images of the world's first warpship recently, and if you're wondering how science got past the fiction so quickly, remember how Leonardo is credited with inventing the helicopter?  Despite not knowing any of the relevant aerodynamics, physics, engineering, or having any of the required skills other than "able to draw a pretty picture"?  It's the same deal.Dr Richard Obousy recently gifted the Discovery channel with designs for the first "warpship", and in return they gave him more publicity than you can shake a physics consulting firm at.  Did you know…

  • 'Hobbits' a New Human Species?

    Casey Kazan Daily Galaxy Editorial Staff
    20 Nov 2009 | 12:24 am
    Professor Mike Morwood created an international storm with his discovery of Homo floresiensis -- dubbed the Hobbit because of its small size and big feet -- on Flores, an Indonesian island, in 2003. The archaeologist said the Hobbits, who were only about one metre tall and weighed just 30kg, existed on the remote island until about 12,000 years ago. Homo floresiensis is a genuine ancient human species and not a descendant of healthy humans dwarfed by disease found researchers from Stony Brook University Medical Center in New York. Using statistical analysis on skeletal remains of a…

  • Will NexGen AI Have Unintended Consequences? -A Galaxy Insight

    Casey Kazan Daily Galaxy Editorial Staff
    20 Nov 2009 | 12:18 am
    What could a criminal do with a speech synthesis system that could masquerade as a human being? What happens if artificial intelligence technology is used to mine personal information from smartphones?AI is becoming the stuff of future scifi greats: A robot that can open doors and find electrical outlets to recharge itself. Computer viruses that no one can stop. Predator drones, which, though still controlled remotely by humans, come close to a machine that can kill autonomously. Real AI effects are closer than you might think, with entirely automated systems producing new scientific results…
 
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