Monthly Archives: March 2015

Value Education and Spirituality 11 Mahabharata 6 Karna 3 Respond to adversity with integrity – Video

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Value Education and Spirituality 11 Mahabharata 6 Karna 3 Respond to adversity with integrity
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Value Education and Spirituality 11 Mahabharata 6 Karna 3 Respond to adversity with integrity - Video

For 'East Side Jews,' a hipster take on spirituality

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In a small, packed room in Los Feliz, young Jewish writers, artists and hipsters with beards, Buddy Holly glasses and a fair amount of flannel sit down to Shabbat dinner.

It's the last Friday in January, and about 30 self-proclaimed "East Side Jews" are putting an urban spin on the Jewish day of rest. Instead of spending it with their families at home, they have crowded into a homey restaurant with friends, old and new.

There is no lace tablecloth here, none of the fancy candlesticks or special tapers associated with a traditional Shabbat meal.

The fundamentals of the ancient ritual mix with newfangled flourishes: A woman recites three traditional prayers over two tiny tea lights; the prayers are traditional, the tea lights are not. The small Kiddush cup filled with wine and the sesame Challah bread? Traditional. The very humble brown bag that looks like it was snagged from a Vons deli holding the bread? Not a chance.

One man wears a kippah, while another explains that he doesn't believe in God. A waiter places a not-so-kosher BLT sandwich on one of the tables, while others mix dairy and meat a very un-kosher move.

Outside, in the drizzling rain, others wait in the cold. Soon they are sent packing to the rain-soaked patio, like churchgoers told that the House of God is sold out tonight.

Some lean against the white doorway, crossing their arms and rolling their eyes, noticeably annoyed that they sat in traffic for two hours or dragged their conservative parents through the downpour just to eat outside.

"We came all the way from Torrance and we can't get a seat," a bearded man grumbles while he waits.

::

They call themselves East Side Jews, a nondenominational collective that welcomes people of all faiths and seeks to explore spirituality in unconventional ways.

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For 'East Side Jews,' a hipster take on spirituality

Faith and marriage: Couples report more satisfaction with spirituality

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Jessica and Stephen Zimmerman discuss "Preach My Gospel" passages together while in their home in Provo Thursday, March 5, 2015.

Chelsey Allder, Deseret News

PROVO When Stephen and Jessica Zimmerman come home, they settle into an easy routine. They talk about their day, eat dinner and start to clean up.

But as they begin doing the dishes, the topic usually changes to faith, religion and spirituality.

"We always make a point to talk to each other and share what we can about what we're learning and how we're growing," Jessica Zimmerman, 24, said.

It's what first drew the couple together.

They began having spiritual discussions while they were both single and served together in a singles ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Since they were married on Dec. 21, 2014, Jessica Zimmerman said, they have tried to continue their spiritual learning together.

"Being single, I loved talking about my faith," Stephen Zimmerman, 25, said. Once he was married, he felt he then had someone who supported him and could talk with him about faith.

Lem Bach, 34, said when he and his wife, Desirae, 33, were married in 2004, it was easy to skip church services. They were working hard and felt God would want them to be well rested.

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Faith and marriage: Couples report more satisfaction with spirituality

Russia: Soprano Sarah Brightman wanted to perform in space most of her life – Video

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Russia: Soprano Sarah Brightman wanted to perform in space most of her life
Sarah Brightman, the British soprano who is currently training in Moscow #39;s Star City to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), said that the journey has been a wish she has held "most...

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Russia: Soprano Sarah Brightman wanted to perform in space most of her life - Video

Space Station Alpha #001 – Dann fangen wir mal an – Lets Play Space Station Alpha | German – Video

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Space Station Alpha #001 - Dann fangen wir mal an - Lets Play Space Station Alpha | German
Kanal : http://www.youtube.com/user/BanausenLP Twitter : https://twitter.com/BanausenLP Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/banausenlp Webseite des Spiels : http://www.nuclearfirecracker.com/...

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Space Station Alpha #001 - Dann fangen wir mal an - Lets Play Space Station Alpha | German - Video

Lockheed’s ‘Jupiter’ Space Tug Could Fly to Space Station …

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Lockheed Martin has unveiled a new spaceflight architecture that it says could take cargo to the International Space Station and help facilitate humanity's spread out into the solar system.

Lockheed hopes the system which features a space tug known as Jupiter and a supply module called Exoliner wins a NASA contract for the next round of cargo missions to the space station, which would commence in 2018. But the company's ambitions extend far beyond low-Earth orbit, to destinations such as the moon and Mars. Lockheed unveiled the project, along with a video animation of how Jupiter and Exoliner would work, on Thursday (March 12).

"Although our priority is going to be servicing the International Space Station and providing the ability to carry commercial payloads and deploy small satellites, we're also designing this system from the beginning to be able to do deep-space missions," Lockheed Martin space exploration architect Josh Hopkins told reporters during a news briefing Thursday. [See more views of Lockheed's Jupiter and Exoliner spacecraft]

"That means that NASA will be able to start doing some early human spaceflights beyond low-Earth orbit without a huge investment," Hopkins added. "Instead, what they'll be able to do is buy more copies of the same design."

Lockheed named the refuelable Jupiter spacecraft after one of the two locomotives that met at Promontory Summit, Utah, in 1869 to mark the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad.

The "public-private partnership that basically established the Transcontintal Railroad changed everything," said Jim Crocker, vice president and general manager of Lockheed's Space Systems International division. "It changed the economics of how the United States competed in the world, and we believe that the system that we're unveiling tonight will do the same."

Two American companies Orbital ATK and SpaceX currently resupply the space station for NASA under separate billion-dollar contracts. Last year, the space agency solicited proposals for a new round of private cargo delivery, called Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS-2).

Orbital ATK and SpaceX will face some competition in this next round: Boeing, Sierra Nevada and Lockheed have all thrown their hats into the CRS-2 ring. NASA is expected to make its decision this June. (The agency hasn't said how many contracts it will award, but it's likely to be at least two, given the agency's previously stated desire for redundancy and competition.)

If Lockheed Martin's entry is selected, the company's first operational mission likely in 2018 would launch Jupiter and an Exoliner toward the orbiting lab aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

The Exoliner will be able to haul up a maximum of 11,000 lbs. (5,000 kilograms) of pressurized cargo and 3,300 lbs. (1,500 kg) of unpressurized cargo, Lockheed representatives said.

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Lockheed's 'Jupiter' Space Tug Could Fly to Space Station ...

This is Lockheed Martins new way to get supplies to the space station and beyond

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Lockheed Martin unveiled a new spacecraft Thursday evening that it says could not only ferry supplies to the International Space Station but also become a habitat for astronauts in deep space.

The nation's largest defense contractor is one of several high-profile companies competingfor the NASA contract, which also reflects how robust the commercial space industry has become. A few years ago, NASA decided to outsource the resupply mission by hiring two contractors -- Elon Musk's SpaceX and Orbital ATK -- to take groceries and experiments to the orbiting space laboratory.

As the second round of contracts, potentially worth billions, is expected to be awarded in June, the competition has become especially fierce. Lockheed and Boeing, neither of which bid last time, offered proposals. And they face stiff competition from other smaller space companies that have grown quickly and demonstrated the ability to serve space missions for NASA. In addition to the cargo launches, NASA last year awarded contracts to SpaceX and Boeing to take astronauts to the space station.

At the announcement Thursday evening, Lockheed executives said their offering to take cargo to space was markedly different from any of the other proposals. Its Jupiter system, which includes a cargo container called an Exoliner, would launch on an Atlas V rocket. Once in space, Jupiter would detach and fly to the space station. After delivering the cargo, and then filling up with trash from the station, Jupiter would disembark.

"And here's where things get different," said Jim Crocker, vice president and general manager of Lockheed's Space Systems International division, while explaining the chronology Thursday.

Instead of coming straight back to Earth, Jupiter would remain in orbit and carry out other missions, such as deploying commercial satellites.

Then, some months or weeks later on the next cargo mission, another Atlas V would launch with another Exoliner container filled with supplies. Once in space, the container would deploy on the rocket's second stage and meet up with the container filled with trash. And then the two containers would swap places using a robotic arm. The one filled with cargo would deploy from the second stage, connect with Jupiter and fly to the space station. The one filled with trash would connect with the second stage. Then it would fly back to Earth, ultimately crashing in the ocean.

But Jupiter has other capabilities as well, Lockheed says.

"This takes us beyond the space station," Crocker said.

The system could also carry humans, Lockheed says, and is big enough to hold big pieces of equipment that astronauts need for extended stays in space. It could hold treadmills, for example, which astronauts would need for exercise, as well as the systems needed to support life in space.

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This is Lockheed Martins new way to get supplies to the space station and beyond

Inflatable space houses get real

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Bigelow hopes to have habitats going to the moon in about a decade, providing structures for commercial mining operations or research. He's working with the Federal Aviation Administration to develop policies that will grant some sort of property rights to companies that risk lives and treasure to get to the moon.

Why the FAA? That agency issues launch licenses, and in the future, Bigelow said the FAA is planning to restrict licenses so that one American company is blocked from planning a trip to the exact spot on the moon where another U.S. venture has already set up shop. Whether other countries will respect such private commercial claims remains to be seen.

Read MoreSpaceX, Elon Musk and the reusable rocket dream

A lot still needs to be worked out. "The next step is probably, 'What is this boundary where you are sufficiently safe?'" Bigelow asked. "What is this standoff distance?'" He thinks a buffer zone on the moon between commercial neighbors may have to be greater than 100 miles. "I think it has to be a fair distance."

As for astronaut Zamka, it's been a change moving from NASA to a small private venture. But he's enjoying himself. "I was in the Marines, and one of the things I liked about being in the Marines is there's not that many of us, so when there's not that many of you, you get to do more things," he said.

While the private sector isn't currently giving him astronomical pay, he sees astronomical potential, and the chance to return to space, this time as a commercial astronaut. "We're doing tremendously interesting stuff," said Zamka, "and I get to be more directly involved with more parts of that."

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Inflatable space houses get real

Lockheed Martin reveals new method for resupplying space station

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WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin has a new plan for resupplying the International Space Station, and it includes the use of a tugboat-like craft called Jupiter. As the defense contractor and aerospace company explains it, Jupiter would serve as deliveryman, garbageman, satellite deployment specialist and astronaut transport vehicle -- all in one.

The most immediate use for Jupiter will be as a cargo ferry, shuttling supplies back and forth to ISS. But unlike other cargo vehicles that start and end their mission on the Earth's surface -- like SpaceX's Dragon capsule -- Jupiter will hang out in space 24/7.

Jupiter would begin its life by delivering a cargo load in a container the size of a rail car called the Exoliner. After delivering the Exoliner, Jupiter will chill out in low Earth orbit, perhaps serving other purposes -- like deploying satellites -- until it's time to deliver another cargo load.

When another resupply mission comes along, Jupiter will both take out the trash for ISS and deliver the space station the new Exoliner. Jupiter would all the while be accompanied by a detached robotic arm to assist in the various handoffs.

"Just imagine a future of interplanetary shipping lanes to the Moon and Mars, bustling autonomous spacecraft carrying supplies, scientific instruments and construction materials for habitats," Jim Crocker, vice president and general manager of Space Systems Company International, said in a company press release that likened their plans to a 21st century Transcontinental Railroad in space.

"Picture commercial hosted payloads and cube sats, sharing space with NASA instruments and reducing costs," Crocker said. "Picture a fleet of space habitats, serving as orbiting labs and helping Orion astronauts on their journey to Mars."

The new space architecture won't necessarily revolutionize how cargo is delivered to ISS. And it's unclear whether the method will save time or money. But Jupiter has the advantage of versatility. In an aerospace industry that's become increasingly crowded, Lockheed seems to be making the long play.

A versatile system like Jupiter could ultimately find a way to make itself useful in a variety of future NASA missions.

"Although our priority is going to be servicing the International Space Station and providing the ability to carry commercial payloads and deploy small satellites, we're also designing this system from the beginning to be able to do deep-space missions," Josh Hopkins, the company's space exploration architect, told reporters at a press briefing on Thursday night.

In other words, if NASA awards this ISS delivery contract to Lockheed, it could set the company up for more success down the line.

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Lockheed Martin reveals new method for resupplying space station

One giant leap for…inflatable space houses

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Bigelow hopes to have habitats going to the moon in about a decade, providing structures for commercial mining operations or research. He's working with the Federal Aviation Administration to develop policies that will grant some sort of property rights to companies that risk lives and treasure to get to the moon.

Why the FAA? That agency issues launch licenses, and in the future, Bigelow said the FAA is planning to restrict licenses so that one American company is blocked from planning a trip to the exact spot on the moon where another U.S. venture has already set up shop. Whether other countries will respect such private commercial claims remains to be seen.

Read MoreSpaceX, Elon Musk and the reusable rocket dream

A lot still needs to be worked out. "The next step is probably, 'What is this boundary where you are sufficiently safe?'" Bigelow asked. "What is this standoff distance?'" He thinks a buffer zone on the moon between commercial neighbors may have to be greater than 100 miles. "I think it has to be a fair distance."

As for astronaut Zamka, it's been a change moving from NASA to a small private venture. But he's enjoying himself. "I was in the Marines, and one of the things I liked about being in the Marines is there's not that many of us, so when there's not that many of you, you get to do more things," he said.

While the private sector isn't currently giving him astronomical pay, he sees astronomical potential, and the chance to return to space, this time as a commercial astronaut. "We're doing tremendously interesting stuff," said Zamka, "and I get to be more directly involved with more parts of that."

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One giant leap for...inflatable space houses

NASA's MMS prepping to study magnetic reconnection phenomenon

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This is an artist's concept of the MMS observatory fleet with rainbow magnetic lines. (Credit: NASA)

Provided by Susie Hendrix, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Following a successful launch at 10:44 p.m. EDT Thursday, NASAs four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft are positioned in Earths orbit to begin the first space mission dedicated to the study of a phenomenon called magnetic reconnection. This process is thought to be the catalyst for some of the most powerful explosions in our solar system.

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft onboard launches from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, March 12, 2015, in Florida. (Credit: NASA)

The spacecraft, positioned one on top of the other on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 421 rocket, launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. After reaching orbit, each spacecraft deployed from the rockets upper stage sequentially, in five-minute increments, beginning at 12:16 a.m. Friday, with the last separation occurring at 12:31 a.m. NASA scientists and engineers were able to confirm the health of all separated spacecraft at 12:40 a.m.

I am speaking for the entire MMS team when I say were thrilled to see all four of our spacecraft have deployed and data indicates we have a healthy fleet, said Craig Tooley, project manager at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

[VIDEO: Next stop Mars: NASA tests most powerful booster ever created]

Over the next several weeks, NASA scientists and engineers will deploy booms and antennas on the spacecraft, and test all instruments. The observatories will later be placed into a pyramid formation in preparation for science observations, which are expected to begin in early September.

After a decade of planning and engineering, the science team is ready to go to work, said Jim Burch, principal investigator for the MMS instrument suite science team at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio (SwRI). Weve never had this type of opportunity to study this fundamental process in such detail.

The mission will provide the first three-dimensional views of reconnection occurring in Earths protective magnetic space environment, the magnetosphere. Magnetic reconnection occurs when magnetic fields connect, disconnect, and reconfigure explosively, releasing bursts of energy that can reach the order of billions of megatons of trinitrotoluene (commonly known as TNT). These explosions can send particles surging through space near the speed of light.

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NASA's MMS prepping to study magnetic reconnection phenomenon