The world's first commercial space cargo ship, the unmanned Dragon capsule, cast off from the International Space Station today (May 31) as it prepares to return to Earth.
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Monthly Archives: May 2012
Space-X’s Dragon Rocket Makes Splash-Down
Posted on: 3:49 pm, May 31, 2012, by Staff Writer, updated on: 04:16pm, May 31, 2012
(CNN) The first commercial mission to the International Space Station ended Thursday with the SpaceX Dragon capsule splashing down after a flight the companys founder declared a grand slam.
The Dragon drifted beneath parachutes to the surface of the Pacific Ocean, about 560 miles off Baja California, on Thursday morning. It hit the water about a mile from its target, SpaceX founder Elon Musk told reporters.
This has been a fantastic day, Musk said, adding, Im just overwhelmed with joy. He said recovery crews have reached the capsule and report it looks really good.
Splashdown came at 8:42 a.m. (11:42 a.m. ET), about two minutes earlier than expected, SpaceX and NASA reported. Musk was on hand at the companys mission control center near Los Angeles as operators monitored the descent, and called the mission a grand slam in a briefing later Thursday.
Splashdown came nine days after it took off on its historic mission, during which it delivered food, clothing, computer equipment and supplies for science experiments to the orbital platform and returned with about 1,300 pounds of cargo everything from trash to scientific research and experimental samples.
The space stations robotic arm released the Dragon at 5:35 a.m. ET. A thruster burn a minute later pushed the spacecraft away from its host, according to SpaceX, the private company that built and operates the vessel.
Alan Lindenmoyer, NASAs head of commercial space systems, said the space agency is waiting to recover the spacecrafts cargo and will review post-flight reports. But he told Musk, We became a customer today. Weve been waiting for this day, and it certainly is a tremendous day, Lindenmoyer said. Were looking forward now to routine, regular cargo service.
Space analyst Miles OBrien said the flight was a demonstration of the companys capabilities, and the spacecraft wasnt carrying critical equipment or supplies.
If none of this cargo had gone up or down, the show would have gone on, said OBrien, a former CNN correspondent. Its next mission, expected later this year, will be a for-real cargo with mission-critical items.
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SpaceX Dragon Safely Splashes Down After Trip To Space Station
After a successful trip to the International Space Station, the SpaceX Dragon craft successfully de-coupled from the Station in the early hours of the morning and began its descent towards the Pacific Ocean. The ship, which is loaded with cargo loaded up by the space station astronauts, safely splashed down in the ocean at 11:42 am EDT today.
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SpaceX Dragon Safely Splashes Down After Trip To Space Station
Dragon space capsule splashes down
SpaceX Dragon spashes down
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
(CNN) -- The first commercial mission to the International Space Station ended Thursday with the SpaceX Dragon capsule splashing down after a flight the company's founder declared a "grand slam."
The Dragon drifted beneath parachutes to the surface of the Pacific Ocean, about 560 miles off Baja California, on Thursday morning. It hit the water about a mile from its target, SpaceX founder Elon Musk told reporters.
"This has been a fantastic day," Musk said, adding, "I'm just overwhelmed with joy." He said recovery crews have reached the capsule and report it "looks really good."
Splashdown came at 8:42 a.m. (11:42 a.m. ET), about two minutes earlier than expected, SpaceX and NASA reported. Musk was on hand at the company's mission control center near Los Angeles as operators monitored the descent, and called the mission a "grand slam" in a briefing later Thursday.
Splashdown came nine days after it took off on its historic mission, during which it delivered food, clothing, computer equipment and supplies for science experiments to the orbital platform and returned with about 1,300 pounds of cargo -- everything from trash to scientific research and experimental samples.
The space station's robotic arm released the Dragon at 5:35 a.m. ET. A thruster burn a minute later pushed the spacecraft away from its host, according to SpaceX, the private company that built and operates the vessel.
Alan Lindenmoyer, NASA's head of commercial space systems, said the space agency is waiting to recover the spacecraft's cargo and will review post-flight reports. But he told Musk, "We became a customer today." "We've been waiting for this day, and it certainly is a tremendous day," Lindenmoyer said. "We're looking forward now to routine, regular cargo service."
Space analyst Miles O'Brien said the flight was a demonstration of the company's capabilities, and the spacecraft wasn't carrying critical equipment or supplies.
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Space station crew setting the Dragon free
The Dragon space capsule returned to Earth from the International Space Station, capping off its historic mission with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. NBC's Mark Barger reports.
By Alan Boyle
SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule parachuted to a picture-perfect splashdown in the Pacific Ocean today, ending the first-ever commercial mission to the International Space Station.
The gumdrop-shaped Dragon made history last week as the first U.S. craft to reach the orbital station since last year's retirement of the space shuttle fleet, and it made history today as the first commercial craft to return a shipment from orbit.
SpaceX's 40-year-old billionaire founder, Elon Musk, told reporters that the nine-day space station resupply mission was "like a grand slam" in baseball, and repeatedly voiced joy and surprise at how well it went."There are a thousand ways that it could fail, so this may sound sort of odd, but when you see it actually work, you're sort of surprised," he said.
The 14.4-foot-high (4.4-meter-high) capsule came down about 560 miles west of Baja California, within a mile of its target point, Musk said. When he saw the first pictures of the craft bobbing in the Pacific, he said his reaction was, "Welcome home, baby. ... It's like seeing your kid come home."
Michael Altenhofen / SpaceX via AP
A photo from SpaceX shows the Dragon spacecraft floating on the surface of the Pacific Ocean about 500 miles west of Mexico's Baja California today.
The demonstration flight will almost certainly earn a go-ahead for SpaceX to start space station resupply missions in earnest under the terms of a $1.6 billion contract with NASA. Alan Lindenmoyer, manager of NASA's commercial crew and cargo program, said a few more items needed to be marked off on the list of criteria, but he voiced nearly as much satisfaction about the results as Musk did.
"It is very easy to see that this satisfies, I believe, 100 percent of those criteria," he said.
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Dragon capsule readied for space station departure
Space station astronauts readied the world's first commercial supply ship Wednesday for its early morning return to Earth just like NASA's old-time capsules.
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SpaceX Dragon Successfully Splashes Down in Pacific
Photo: SpaceX
The first private space flight to the International Space Station has ended with a successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
Welcome home, baby, SpaceX founder and chief designer Elon Musk said in a post-flight briefing, its like seeing your kid come home.
Musk was clearly elated by the successful reentry and splashdown, saying that when you know how complex the spacecraft is inside and out, you know everything that can go wrong. When the mission ends in success, theres the one simple thought going through your head: Wow, OK, it didnt fail.
The former internet entrepreneur said he wasnt pessimistic or expecting failure, but he knew how much potential there was for things to go wrong. Instead, the demonstration mission for NASA went very well with a few hiccups, but nothing that wasnt fixed by the SpaceX team. NASAs Alan Lindenmoyer shared Musks approval, saying the mission appears to be a 100 percent success, but did add there are still a few more things to check. Were going to have to see the cargo.
The charred Dragon bobbing gently in the Pacific Ocean several hundred miles off of the coast of Baja California began its return to Earth early this morning after being released from the stations robotic arm at 2:29 a.m. PDT. Moments later small pulses of thrust could be seen from two of the spacecrafts Draco thrusters as Dragon began to move away from the ISS, ending its historic trip in orbit.
A little over five hours later, Dragon used its thrusters again to begin slowing down as the first step of its reentry procedure. With Dragon flying more than 240 miles over the Indian Ocean, SpaceX engineers at the company headquarters, factory and mission control center in Hawthorne, California confirmed the deorbit burn started at 7:51 a.m. PDT. Beginning south of Sri Lanka, the Draco thrusters slowed the craft down by 100 meters/second (224 mph) with a nine minute and 50 second burn. After the deorbit burn Dragon jettisoned its cargo trunk, which will burn up in the atmosphere, exposing its protective Pica-X heat shield.
The change in velocity from the burn allowed Dragon to begin falling out of its orbit, and over the next half hour or so, Dragon began to descend to the point of entry interface over the north Pacific, south of Alaska. Once the entry into the atmosphere began, temperatures on the heat shield were expected to reach around 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. During the high-temperature deceleration, the usual communications blackout meant no information was available for several minutes.
At 8:30 a.m. PDT a NASA P-3 reconnaissance aircraft reported seeing the Dragon using its infrared camera. Minutes later a grainy live video feed showed a glowing dot descending through the sky. At 45,000 feet Dragons drogue parachutes inflated. Astronaut Don Pettit, who was responsible for berthing Dragon to the ISS with the robotic arm, was getting updates from NASA controllers in Houston and summed up the moment with a simple comment: Parachutes are good.
A few minutes later the three main parachutes deployed and Dragon spent around 10 minutes descending to the Pacific, where it splashed down a few minutes ahead of schedule at 8:42 a.m. PDT. A recovery team has retrieved the capsule from the ocean and is transporting it to the port of Los Angeles, where some science cargo will be removed as one of the last demonstrations for NASA. Then the capsule will be transported by plane to SpaceXs McGregor, Texas facility for post-flight processing.
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FAA Launch Permit Gives Virgin Galactic's Space Vehicles the Green Light for Powered Flight
SpaceShipTwo Set to Go for Heavy-Weight Glide Tests with Supersonic Flight Targeted for Year End
MOJAVE, Calif. - (May 30, 2012) Virgin Galactic, the world's first commercial spaceline, announced today that its vehicle developer, Scaled Composites (Scaled), has been granted an experimental launch permit from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its suborbital spacecraft, SpaceshipTwo, and the carrier aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo.
"This important milestone enables our team to progress to the rocket-powered phase of test flight, bringing us a major step closer to bringing our customers to space," said George Whitesides, president and CEO of Virgin Galactic. "We thank the FAA for their timely issuance of this permit, and for their responsible oversight of the test program."
Already, SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo have made significant progress in their flight test program. With 80 test flights completed, WhiteKnightTwo is substantially through its test plan, while the more recently constructed SpaceShipTwo has safely completed sixteen free flights, including three that tested the vehicle's unique "feathering" re-entry system. Additionally, ten test firings of the full scale SpaceShipTwo rocket motor, including full duration burns, have been safely and successfully completed.
With this permit now in hand, Scaled is now authorized to press onward towards rocket-powered test flights. In preparation for those powered flights, SpaceShipTwo will soon return to flight, testing the aerodynamic performance of the spacecraft with the full weight of the rocket motor system on board. Integration of key rocket motor components, already begun during a now-concluding period of downtime for routine maintenance, will continue into the autumn. Scaled expects to begin rocket powered, supersonic flights under the just-issued experimental permit toward the end of the year.
"The Spaceship program is making steady progress, and we are all looking forward to lighting the vehicle's rocket engine in flight for the first time," said Doug Shane, president of Scaled.
Although a handful of experimental launch permits have been granted to other rockets, SpaceShipTwo is the first rocket-powered vehicle that carries humans on board to receive such a permit. SpaceShipOne, the manned spaceship successfully flown to space in 2004 and the basis for the design of SpaceShipTwo, flew before the Experimental Permit regulatory regime was established.
The FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation issues permits after it has determined that the vehicle operator has taken the appropriate steps to protect the public during testing. Permitees must submit detailed plans for vehicle design and operation in order to ensure that all possible scenarios have been addressed.
About Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic, owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and aabar Investments PJS, is on track to be the world's first commercial spaceline. The new spaceship (SpaceShipTwo, VSS Enterprise) and carrier craft (WhiteKnightTwo, VMS Eve) have both been developed for Virgin Galactic by Mojave-based Scaled Composites. Founded by Burt Rutan, Scaled developed SpaceShipOne, which in 2004 claimed the $10m Ansari X Prize as the world's first privately developed manned spacecraft. Virgin Galactic's new vehicles share much of the same basic design, but are being built to carry six customers, or the equivalent scientific research payload, on sub-orbital space flights, allowing an out-of-the-seat, zero-gravity experience and offering astounding views of the planet from the black sky of space for tourist astronauts and a unique microgravity platform for researchers. The VSS Enterprise and VMS Eve test flight program is well under way, leading to Virgin Galactic commercial operations, which will be based at Spaceport America in New Mexico.
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FAA Launch Permit Gives Virgin Galactic's Space Vehicles the Green Light for Powered Flight
Dragon returns to Earth after 'grand slam' space mission
SpaceX Dragon spashes down
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
(CNN) -- The first commercial mission to the International Space Station ended Thursday with the SpaceX Dragon capsule splashing down after a flight the company's founder declared a "grand slam."
The Dragon drifted beneath parachutes to the surface of the Pacific Ocean, about 560 miles off Baja California, on Thursday morning. It hit the water about a mile from its target, SpaceX founder Elon Musk told reporters.
"This has been a fantastic day," Musk said, adding, "I'm just overwhelmed with joy." He said recovery crews have reached the capsule and report it "looks really good."
Splashdown came at 8:42 a.m. (11:42 a.m. ET), about two minutes earlier than expected, SpaceX and NASA reported. Musk was on hand at the company's mission control center near Los Angeles as operators monitored the descent, and called the mission a "grand slam" in a briefing later Thursday.
Splashdown came nine days after it took off on its historic mission, during which it delivered food, clothing, computer equipment and supplies for science experiments to the orbital platform and returned with about 1,300 pounds of cargo -- everything from trash to scientific research and experimental samples.
The space station's robotic arm released the Dragon at 5:35 a.m. ET. A thruster burn a minute later pushed the spacecraft away from its host, according to SpaceX, the private company that built and operates the vessel.
Alan Lindenmoyer, NASA's head of commercial space systems, said the space agency is waiting to recover the spacecraft's cargo and will review post-flight reports. But he told Musk, "We became a customer today." "We've been waiting for this day, and it certainly is a tremendous day," Lindenmoyer said. "We're looking forward now to routine, regular cargo service."
Space analyst Miles O'Brien said the flight was a demonstration of the company's capabilities, and the spacecraft wasn't carrying critical equipment or supplies.
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First private capsule to dock at space station begins return flight to Earth
(CNN) -
The first commercial mission to the International Space Station ended Thursday with the SpaceX Dragon capsule splashing down after a flight the company's founder declared a "grand slam."
The Dragon drifted beneath parachutes to the surface of the Pacific Ocean, about 560 miles off Baja California, on Thursday morning. It hit the water about a mile from its target, SpaceX founder Elon Musk told reporters.
"This has been a fantastic day," Musk said, adding, "I'm just overwhelmed with joy." He said recovery crews have reached the capsule and report it "looks really good."
Splashdown came at 8:42 a.m. (11:42 a.m. ET), about two minutes earlier than expected, SpaceX and NASA reported. Musk was on hand at the company's mission control center near Los Angeles as operators monitored the descent, and called the mission a "grand slam" in a briefing later Thursday.
Splashdown came nine days after it took off on its historic mission, during which it delivered food, clothing, computer equipment and supplies for science experiments to the orbital platform and returned with about 1,300 pounds of cargo -- everything from trash to scientific research and experimental samples.
The space station's robotic arm released the Dragon at 5:35 a.m. ET. A thruster burn a minute later pushed the spacecraft away from its host, according to SpaceX, the private company that built and operates the vessel.
Alan Lindenmoyer, NASA's head of commercial space systems, said the space agency is waiting to recover the spacecraft's cargo and will review post-flight reports. But he told Musk, "We became a customer today." "We've been waiting for this day, and it certainly is a tremendous day," Lindenmoyer said. "We're looking forward now to routine, regular cargo service."
Space analyst Miles O'Brien said the flight was a demonstration of the company's capabilities, and the spacecraft wasn't carrying critical equipment or supplies.
"If none of this cargo had gone up or down, the show would have gone on," said O'Brien, a former CNN correspondent. Its next mission, expected later this year, "will be a for-real cargo with mission-critical items."
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First private capsule to dock at space station begins return flight to Earth
NASA Begins Development of Space Launch System Flight Software
NASA engineers working on the new Space Launch System (SLS) can now begin developing the advanced, heavy-lift launch vehicle's flight software using newly delivered software test bed computers from Boeing.
The SLS will launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond Earth's orbit. Designed to be flexible for crew or cargo missions, SLS and Orion will be safe, affordable, sustainable and continue America's journey of discovery from the unique vantage point of space.
"We are moving out very quickly on SLS," said Todd May, Space Launch System Program manager at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "SLS will be the most powerful launch vehicle ever built, and it requires the most capable flight software in the history of human spaceflight. Having this avionics hardware in place early will allow the NASA SLS team and Boeing to accelerate the flight software development."
The Boeing test bed computers make it possible for NASA to begin fine-tuning the launch vehicle's software. The flight software then will be installed in the Software Integration Test Facility at Marshall and tested with other electrical hardware and software. In this facility, the SLS team can run a variety of simulations to evaluate how the vehicle will perform in space.
The final SLS flight computer that will run the flight software will have the highest processing capability available in a flight avionics computer. It is being developed by upgrading existing systems used in Global Positioning System and communication satellites.
The first test flight of the SLS is scheduled for 2017, for which the launch vehicle will be configured for a 70-metric ton lift capacity. An evolved, two-stage launch vehicle configuration will provide a lift capability of 130 metric tons to enable missions beyond Earth's orbit and support deep space exploration.
The SLS software test bed computers were developed by The Boeing Company and delivered to Marshall ahead of schedule. Availability of this test bed platform early in the engineering development phase allows more time for NASA programmers to develop the most capable flight software in the history of spaceflight.
For more information about SLS and images of the software test bed facility and team, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/sls
For more information about Orion, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/orion
Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
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NASA Begins Development of Space Launch System Flight Software
Virgin Galactic Takes a Big Step Closer to Private Space Flights
Space tourism is closer to reality now that Virgin Galactic was finally issued permits to test its rocket-powered space plane. As Space News' Brian Berger reports, The company announced yesterday that the FAA has given approval for them to begin "the rocket-powered phase of test flight" on SpaceShipTwo, the six-seat space craft designed by Scaled Composites that will someday ferry rich ...
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Virgin Galactic Takes a Big Step Closer to Private Space Flights
SpaceX Dragon leaves space station for trip home
The SpaceX Dragon capsule left the International Space Station on Thursday and aimed for a Pacific splashdown to end its historic flight.
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Briggs and Stratton donates equipment to American Red Cross
STATESBORO, GA (WTOC) -
Robin Windgate and Donna Lee-Golden of the American Red Cross opened the boxes for what felt like Christmas in May. Briggs and Stratton, a national small-engine maker, donated generators and pressure washers to local chapters across the country.
"Oh, it's absolutely Christmas," exclaimed Golden, who heads the Statesboro and Lyons ARC offices. "These are the kinds of gifts that you love to get and really need."
The company donated more than 1,300 pieces of equipment to Red Cross chapter offices in 20 states.
Ironically, many of the components to both models' engines were fabricated at Briggs' Statesboro factory.
"We are glad to be a part of this," stated Briggs & Stratton's Mike Aldredge. "But doing this at the start of the season is a real key. After a storm hits, it's a lot harder to get this equipment into the area with all the damage."
According to Windgate, Briggs is one of roughly 100 companies that supply equipment and/or products to American Red Cross for hurricane season, which begins June 1. She hoped individuals will take a page from Red Cross' preparations.
"It is not a matter of if a storm will hit. It's a matter of when a storm will hit," explained Windgate, executive director for Southeast Georgia Red Cross. "We hope people will look online and pull down the lists of what they need in case a storm is approaching.
Red Cross offices for the Southeast Georgia branch received equipment as part of the first wave of donations.
Copyright 2012WTOC. All rights reserved.
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Students’ Mural Heads to Kenya
A Zia symbol rising from the mountains set against a blazing yellow and red sunset.
A Kokopelli decorated piece of pottery.
Chile ristras hanging in front of an adobe building.
Dont forget about the UFO hovering over a gray sky.
And, of course, the myriad colored hot-air balloons that take to the rich, blue sky during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
These are a few of the symbols that five Rio Grande High School students used to illustrate New Mexico in a mural that will be sent to a school in Kenya.
The kids have said that they are sending a part of New Mexico to Africa, says Marci Ponce de Leon, a retired school teacher. The kids came up with all the concepts for the mural, and Im really proud of them.
Ponce de Leon was the mastermind behind the idea for the mural, but the group, made up of Ray De La O, Ashlyn Ibuado, Shannon Jones, Ana Oaxaca and Angel Pavia, was the catalyst for its execution.
Each one of these students put in a lot of time to the project, Ponce de Leon said. They worked on it every other day and came in on their lunch breaks to get it done. They were determined to finish.
Ponce de Leon will travel with Legacy Church starting June 13 and bring supplies to two villages in Kenya. The mural will hang in a schoolhouse in one of the villages.
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Michael Rosenberg flashback: Red Wings' Nicklas Lidstrom is ahead of the game
Editor's note: This column originally was published April 8, 2012.
You will never figure him out.
Everybody around the Red Wings says that about Nicklas Lidstrom. Tell them you want to get inside the mind of Lidstrom -- to understand his genius, to see what he sees. They laugh or shake their heads.
"It's impossible to know how he can think that good," coach Mike Babcock said.
Impossible?
"He's Picasso," general manager Ken Holland said. "They think differently. It's a gift."
OK, fine. Let's just observe. Sit in the stands. Watch Lidstrom. Come back and watch again, and again and again, and ... well, admit it: You see nothing. You know you are watching one of the best players in hockey history. But he looks like just another good player to you.
It's not your fault. Lidstrom doesn't do anything spectacular. He just does everything right. He makes the right pass. He reads the play properly. He knows what opponents will do before they do, and he stops them from doing it.
But the closer you stand to genius, the easier it is to see. Often, in the middle of games, the Red Wings elbow each other in disbelief: Did you see what Nick just did? He will slide along the blue line and knock down a puck, or he'll be surrounded by three players and he will pass the puck off the wall and it will ricochet directly to the tape on a teammate's stick.
"There are so many times, you're on the bench, you just look at each other and go, 'Wow,' " fellow defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. "He's sort of the dad playing with kids. He makes it look so simple out there."
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Michael Rosenberg flashback: Red Wings' Nicklas Lidstrom is ahead of the game
Flamin’ Hot: The Best Red Heads of All Time
Source: StyleBlazer.com
From StyleBlazer.com
Not everyone can pull off red hair, but there are eight celebs who have done it so well we think theyre the best red heads of all time. OF ALL TIME.
See who made the cut at StyleBlazer.com.
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Champions Tour heads to Iowa minus Allen, Chapman
By LUKE MEREDITH AP Sports Writer
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The golfers playing this weekend's Principal Charity Classic caught a bit of a break.
Senior PGA Championship winner Roger Chapman and points leader Michael Allen didn't make the trip to Iowa.
Chapman, the Englishman who stunned the field with a two-stroke win at Harbor Shores in Michigan last weekend, will play in Spain this week following his first career Champions Tour win. Allen, the only Champions player with a pair of wins in 2012, is playing in a U.S. Open qualifier in California.
Chapman and Allen are about only big names not in the field for this weekend's tournament at Glen Oaks Country Club, which is sandwiched between a pair of majors as the circuit heads to Birmingham next week.
"It's all about winning and giving yourself those opportunities, and certainly the non-major weeks, you have to play well," said John Cook, who is 134 points behind Allen and in second place. "This would be a good week to catch up with (Allen) a little bit."
Perhaps the two most intriguing players in the field are the ones directly below Chapman; Bernhard Langer and Kenny Perry.
Langer was the leading money winner on the Champions Tour from 2008-10 but struggled through an injury-plagued 2011. He has six top-10 finishes in eight starts and a pair of second-place finishes this year. He finished 11th in his only start at Glen Oaks two years ago.
Perry rallied with a 9-under 62 in his final round last week, matching the lowest round ever in a senior major. Perry has three top-10 finishes in seven starts and won at TwinEagles in Naples, Fla., in February.
"I like how I'm hitting the golf ball right now. I'm still struggling with my putting, that's nothing new. That's been the history of my career," Perry said. "This week will all boil down to how I putt."
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Freed reporter heads home with letter for French president
A reporter freed after 33 days at the mercy of Colombian rebels headed home to Paris Thursday with a letter from his captors for French President Francois Hollande.
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NASA | X-ray ‘Echoes’ Probe Habitat of Monster Black Hole – Video
31-05-2012 09:11 Astronomers using data from the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton satellite have found a long-sought X-ray signal from NGC 4151, a galaxy that contains a supermassive black hole. The discovery promises a new way to unravel what's happening in the neighborhood of these powerful objects. Most big galaxies host a big central black hole containing millions of times the sun's mass. When matter streams toward one of these supermassive black holes, the galaxy's center lights up, emitting billions of times more energy than the sun. For years, astronomers have been monitoring such "active galactic nuclei" (AGN) to better understand what happens on the brink of a monster black hole. Matter falling toward a black hole collects into a rotating disk, where it becomes compressed and heated before eventually spilling over the black hole's event horizon, the point beyond which nothing can escape and astronomers cannot observe. A mysterious and intense X-ray source near the black hole shines onto the surface layers of the accretion disk, causing iron atoms to radiate characteristic emission -- what astronomers call the iron K line -- at about 6000 to 7000 electron volts. The inner part of the disk is orbiting the black hole so fast that the effects of Einstein's relativity come into play -- most notably, how time slows down close to the black hole. These relativistic effects broaden and distort the X-ray signal in a unique way. When the X-ray source near NGC 4151's black hole flares up ...
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NASA | X-ray 'Echoes' Probe Habitat of Monster Black Hole - Video