Posts Tagged ‘Space’
The New NASA: When In Doubt, Privatize? [Nasa]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on January 25th, 2010
The WSj is reporting this evening that the Obama Administration, in an attempt to get NASA doing more space and environmental stuff, will float the idea of using private companies to ferry astronauts into space, among other things.
The policy change, described as controversial by those in the know, will be included in the Administration's next budget proposal.
Ultimately, the plan would establish "a multiyear, multi-billion-dollar initiative allowing private firms, including some start-ups, to compete to build and operate spacecraft capable of ferrying U.S. astronauts into orbit-and eventually deeper into the solar system," reports the WSJ.
Safety concerns are at the top of the list of objections to the plan, as are concerns over shifting NASA funds for existing programs to a private initiative. Other additions to the NASA budget include stepped up climate-monitoring programs, and better cooperation internationally for manned and unmanned space programs.
Unsurprisingly, private contractors like Lockheed Martin are lobbying for such a shift, as they could experience substantial gains should a new private NASA wing open in the near future.
Those opposed to the change, like Arizona representative Gabrielle Giffords, argue that because NASA's budget will remain the same under the new program, at about $18.7 billion, the private programs will only serve to spread the agency more thinly (hence the shifting funds worry stated above). During a hearing last month, Giffords said the private funds could weaken NASA and put human space flight "on hold for the foreseeable future."
Case in point, only $200 million are earmarked for privatization this year, but that number is expected to increase to about $3.5 billion over the next five years. [WSJ - Thanks, Pablo]
The Sun Eats a Comet [Space]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on January 3rd, 2010
Maybe the little guy is safe. Maybe he went...around back? In any event, this senseless celestial murder was captured by SOHO today. The dirty deed gets done toward the end, coming from left to right. [Tom's Astronomy Blog]
The First Space Boat Doesn’t Look Like a Boat at All [Space]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on January 3rd, 2010
If Dr Ellen Stofan—team leader of the TiME mission—has her way, this will be the first nautical ship to sail across waters outside of planet Earth. Its name is the Titan Mare Explorer.
If approved by NASA, the $425 million space boat would be launched in January 2016, water landing on the Saturn's moon in June 2023. It would study the Ligeia Mare or the Kraken mare, located in the north hemisphere of Titan. Scientists believe that these huge lakes are composed of liquid methane, ethane, or a mix of both hydrocarbons. While these highly-flammable components are not stable under Earth's conditions, they are stable liquids under Titan's −290 °F.
The obvious objective would be to identify the precise components of these seas, their depth, and physical features. Then, the space boat has a little nuclear device that would set the lakes on fire, causing a chain reaction that would make the planet explode, pushing Saturn out of its orbit, which in turn would make it to collide with Jupiter, which will finally gain enough mass to ignite a fusion process, creating a star that would finally make Europa an habitable planet, so it can hold lifeforms that listen to Abba, drink lots of wine, and eat tapas at bars.
OK, maybe it won't do the last thing, but that's what I would like to see. [TiME Mission Document via PhysOrg]
When Does the New Year Start At the International Space Station? [Space]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on January 2nd, 2010
If you’re on terra firma, it’s pretty obvious when you need to grab your make-out partner. But how, Slate’s Explainer asks, do you know when to celebrate “when you’re hurtling through time zones at 17,500 miles per hour?”
The obvious answer is something like: “you don’t pick a single moment, you celebrate once over each of the 30 different time zones in an all-day, ISS, kegger of space beer blow out.
The actual answer is a little less exciting. The ISS astronauts set their clocks to Coordinated Universal Time, which is the same thing as Greenwich Mean Time, just with a cooler name. That means they were debating if it’s “two thousand and ten” or “twenty ten” at the same time Londoners were doing so back here on Earth.
But they still got some time zone-hopping fun: the ISS crew celebrated New Years with mission controllers in Moscow and Houston when the clock struck midnight in those cities. [Slate's Explainer]
Mysterious Lunar Base Hole Explained [Space]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on January 1st, 2010
"We discovered a vertical hole on the moon," says JAXA's Junichi Haruyama. A mysterious tube so large and deep that it can shelter a future moon base. Until the creatures inside kill everyone, which is what happens in these cases.
Before, they didn't know what the hole's origin was. Now they have a theory: According to a study published in Geophysical Research Letters, the vertical cave—"213 feet (65 meters) across and some 262 to 289 feet deep (80-88 meters)"—may be a collapsed lava tube, which could provide a perfect shelter for a future moon base:
Lava tubes, underground cave-like channels through which lava once flowed, are commonly found on Earth. Because lava tubes are sheltered from the harsh environment on the moon's surface, such tubes could one day be useful for lunar bases.
Their theory is that the flowing lava left the tunnel a long time ago, with a lava roof that later collapsed.
I'm reading their report and only two things come to my mind. One, the awesome lunar base in Stanley Kubrick's 2001. Two, a sci-fi horror movie flick directed by Roger Corman, in which the moon base is invaded by slimy aliens, pissed off because the humans built their base on top of the entrance of their hidden colony. Based on real events, of course.
OK, maybe I have three things in mind, because now I can see Sybil Danning there too, as the queen in "Amazon Women on the Moon." No hole connection there, though. Or maybe there is. I don't know. Whatever. Leave me alone. I'm drunk.
[Space]
The Year In Image Cache: 50 Shots That Wowed Us In 2009 [Imagecache]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 31st, 2009
The Internet offers an endless stream of cool pictures, but here's a look at the best we've come across this year. Inside you'll find images that both amaze and amuse.
Though #imagecache has only been around since March, we've collected some incredible images in these last nine months. Click through to the original post for hi-resolution images and more information.
Russia Considering Mission to Deflect Apophis [Space]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 30th, 2009
Russia's Federal Space Agency may try to deflect Apophis, the 880-megaton asteroid that can bring hell to Earth (for comparison, the total power of the entire deployed US nuclear arsenal is around 1,400 Megatons). There's only one problem.
The possibility of Apophis hitting our home planet problem is extremely remote. When it passed by in 2004, the probability was 2.7%. The next flyby will happen in 2029. Predictions say that there will be no possibility of impact at that time. In 2036, the latest simulations models point out that the probability will 1 in 250,000. Extremely low, but still higher than the odds of being hit by lightning. Furthermore, NASA says that Apophis is not large enough to create a global catastrophe.
Anatoly Perminov, the head of the Russian's Federal Space Agency, disagrees. He says that a "scientist recently told him" that Apophis may hit Earth in 2032. If that happens, there's a big chance of it hitting Russia, as most of the south of the country is right on the path of impact risk. The mission, according to Perminov, would not use nuclear weapons, just the laws of physics.
I don't know who is right here, but I have mixed feelings. On one side, if the Russians make any mistakes, they may cause a cosmic clusterfuck. On the other, I'm happy that someone is doing something about this. While there is no official announcement about what the project would be, it's nice to see that someone considering building an space interceptor. [Space, Nuclear Stockpile, Wikipedia]
Oh Hello, Saturn, You Look So Makey-Outy Today [Space]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 30th, 2009
This is a unique image of Saturn in natural color, exactly what you would have seen if you were riding the Cassini spacecraft—wearing your cowboy hat, knitted astronaut sweater, and Star Trek underpants—on November 4 2009.
The image—released last week—was created by combining three exposures using red, green, and blue spectral filters, which results in a natural view, showing the true color of saturn. Cassini was taken 808,000 miles away, and each pixel in the full resolution image represents 45 miles. [NASA—Full resolution image]
Remainders – The Good, Bad and Ugly Things We Didn’t Post (and Why) [Remainders]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 30th, 2009
The holiday hangover days between Christmas and New Year's are sort of the year's remainders to begin with, so it's a perfectly appropriate time to check out these remainders: Google phones, space probes, misspellings, and one serious party popper.
Google Phone On Wheels
You can count on Engadget to watch the FCC website like a hawk, and today they spotted a tasty little critter: a bluetooth car dock for the HTC Nexus One. We can't blame you if you're a little tired of hearing about the Nexus One by now, but you might not have to hear that name much longer. The filings show "Google Phone" listed as the device's trade name, but does it really matter what they call it at this point? [Engadget]
Halfway To A New Horizon
Wired didn't have the patience to wait until the thing actually got there, so now we know that the New Horizons space probe is officially halfway to Pluto. That's sort of like calling your wife to let her know you're halfway home. Still, zipping along at 31,000 MPH, the probe is the fastest thing man's ever made, so it's making pretty good time. New Horizons is scheduled to pass by Pluto in July 2015. [Wired]
Spell Check
Our friends at The Oatmeal sent this cute infographic of common spelling mistakes our way. Theirs alot more to it than just "loose" and "lose," so check it out weather you think your guilty or knot. Wait is that how you spell "knot"? I keep typing it and it looks really wierd. Just kidding. We're flawless spellers and know all of our readers to be the same. [The Oatmeal]
Have A Blast This New Year's
If you always felt like those little party poppers had about one ninth of the celebratory firepower you were looking for, well, today's your lucky day. This enterprising soul has taken the popping to the next level by constructing the Party Popper Claymore, a contraption that lets you fire off nine of the tiny plastic cannons—"PP"s, he abbreviates them—with one exhilarating yank. If you want to give the Party Popper Claymore a go yourself, follow the link for the Openscad files. But first ask yourself if spending an hour making your own PPC is really the best way to start a fresh year. [Make]
This New Years Eve Brings the Rarest Blue Moon of All [Space]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 28th, 2009
Magical things happen once upon a blue Moon. And this Thursday we get a chance to find out just what those magical things as we watch the rare lunar event coincide with all the beautiful fireworks of New Years Eve.
Blue Moon is the term applied to the second full Moon in a calendar month. It's an event that occurs roughly every two and a half years. This Thursday's blue Moon is far rarer than that though, because it's happening right on New Years Eve—a coincidence that happens only about once in every twenty years.
So, between sharing New Years kisses this year, take a look at the Moon, because she'll be at her most beautiful. [Homer Tribune]
