Scientists working with the long-lived Hubble Space Telescope say that the intrepid eye on the sky could continue functioning through 2020, and even beyond.

Hubble is currently in good shape. The instruments repaired during the last Hubble servicing mission in 2009 have operated longer since the repairs than they did with the original hardware, Kenneth Sembach of the Space Telescope Science Institute said during a news conference in January at the 225th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

Many of the other systems on Hubble are functioning well, even with the telescope reaching its 25th year in space in 2015. NASA did a study in 2013 evaluating Hubble's engineering and subsystems that ultimately showed a good likelihood that the telescope would continue functioning at least until 2020, Sembach said. [See amazing images taken by Hubble]

Operating the telescope through 2020 is an important goal for NASA. Hubble's successor NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) should launch in 2018, creating a one-two punch of space telescope observations for at least a couple years before Hubble's mission ends.

And officials are doing all they can to be sure that the spacecraft keeps working through at least that target date.

"We're conducting what we're calling the '2020 vision' for Hubble, and that is to make sure that the observatory is ready to run for at least five or six years to get at least a year of overlap with James Webb, if not more," Sembach said. "We're lucky in that we have very proactive engineering that's been going on over the last few years and continues to go on both at the [Space Telescope Science] Institute and at [NASA's] Goddard [Space Flight Center] to make sure that we're operating the observatory as safely and as effectively as we can. So, we're going to get to 2020."

JWST and Hubble are designed to observe somewhat different cosmic spectacles. JWST will extend Hubble's reach into the early universe, allowing scientists to potentially learn more about how the earliest galaxies formed.

If the two telescopes do function simultaneously, scientists might be able to observe one target using both observatories, giving researchers a more detailed spectrum of science from the cosmic target.

"The Hubble Space Telescope mission office and the James Webb Space Telescope mission office are discussing ways that we can allow people that have excellent science ideas that require both facilities to take data of the same targets to get those data sets on both missions," Jason Kalirai of the Space Telescope Science Institute said during the news conference. "We're in the process of putting together policies that are going to ensure that's possible."

Original article on Space.com.

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Hubble Space Telescope Could Survive Through 2020

Spending long duration on space flights may accelerate ageing of the immune system in astronauts, finds a research.

"This study shows that a model of spaceflight conditions could not only be used to test the efficacy of molecules to improve immune responses following a spaceflight in astronauts but also in the elderly and bed-ridden populations on Earth," said Jean-Pol Frippiat, researcher from Lorraine University in Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France.

This model could also help understanding the aging of the immune system called immunosenescence, he said.

Frippiat and colleagues used a ground-based model called hindlimb unloading (or HU), that simulates some of the effects of spaceflight on mice.

"Getting to Mars and beyond promises to be a huge task, requiring contributions from almost every scientific discipline," said Gerald Weissmann, editor-in-chief of The FASEB Journal that published the paper.

"For biologists and medical researchers, knowing how altered gravity affect our immune system from challenges aloft can already be studied on Earth. Fortunately for biologists, it is not rocket science," he said.

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Space flight can age immune system prematurely

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) -

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden is hoping the President gets from Congress what he's asking for in next year's budget.

If that's the case, American astronauts will be hitching a ride to the ISS in 2017, and the Huntsville- designed and developed deep space rocket, the Space Launch System, should be on the launch pad for a test flight in 2018.

NASA's Bolden told a crowd at the Kennedy Space Center that hopes to see $18.5-billion in funds from Congress to work on SLS, ISS and the James Webb Telescope.

So what's in that money pie for Huntsville's Marshall Space Flight Center?

$2-billion is allocated for the MSFC. Marshall's Center Director and Deputy Director are happy.

It means stability for the workforce and no program cancellations.

"I think we are in good shape," said Deputy Director Theresa Vanhoozer. "Moving forward the SLS. Making progress everyday. We hope the continued support, and the President in increasing the budget for NASA, will be seen as a positive thing for us going forward."

Going forward includes focusing on how to live in deep space once astronauts are bound for an asteroid or Mars.

So far, a 6-month stay is the longest they've lived away from earth on the ISS, and that's with regular supplies, like food and water.

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Water, water, everywhere - even recycled by body - in space

NASA | SMAP Radiometer versus Radio Frequency Interference #NasaGoddard
The microwave radiometer on NASA #39;s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite was designed and built at NASA #39;s Goddard Space Flight Center. Along with the microwave radar, data from the...

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NASA | SMAP Radiometer versus Radio Frequency Interference #NasaGoddard - Video

Scientists working with the long-lived Hubble Space Telescope say that the intrepid eye on the sky could continue functioning through 2020, and even beyond.

Hubble is currently in good shape. The instruments repaired during the last Hubble servicing mission in 2009 have operated longer since the repairs than they did with the original hardware, Kenneth Sembach of the Space Telescope Science Institute said during a news conference in January at the 225th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

Many of the other systems on Hubble are functioning well, even with the telescope reaching its 25th year in space in 2015. NASA did a study in 2013 evaluating Hubble's engineering and subsystems that ultimately showed a good likelihood that the telescope would continue functioning at least until 2020, Sembach said. [See amazing images taken by Hubble]

Operating the telescope through 2020 is an important goal for NASA. Hubble's successor NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) should launch in 2018, creating a one-two punch of space telescope observations for at least a couple years before Hubble's mission ends.

And officials are doing all they can to be sure that the spacecraft keeps working through at least that target date.

"We're conducting what we're calling the '2020 vision' for Hubble, and that is to make sure that the observatory is ready to run for at least five or six years to get at least a year of overlap with James Webb, if not more," Sembach said. "We're lucky in that we have very proactive engineering that's been going on over the last few years and continues to go on both at the [Space Telescope Science] Institute and at [NASA's] Goddard [Space Flight Center] to make sure that we're operating the observatory as safely and as effectively as we can. So, we're going to get to 2020."

JWST and Hubble are designed to observe somewhat different cosmic spectacles. JWST will extend Hubble's reach into the early universe, allowing scientists to potentially learn more about how the earliest galaxies formed.

If the two telescopes do function simultaneously, scientists might be able to observe one target using both observatories, giving researchers a more detailed spectrum of science from the cosmic target.

"The Hubble Space Telescope mission office and the James Webb Space Telescope mission office are discussing ways that we can allow people that have excellent science ideas that require both facilities to take data of the same targets to get those data sets on both missions," Jason Kalirai of the Space Telescope Science Institute said during the news conference. "We're in the process of putting together policies that are going to ensure that's possible."

Follow Miriam Kramer @mirikramer. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

Read the original:

Hubble Space Telescope Could Survive Through 2020, Scientists Say

Feb. 2, 2015

Thank you, Bob (Cabana). Its great to be here today at the Kennedy Space Center, where so many giant leaps have been made and where so many of our future dreams will take flight.

It was just a few short years ago that President Obama stood here in the Armstrong Operations and Checkout building and committed us to a Journey to Mars, beginning with an unprecedented mission to send astronauts to an asteroid as part of a stepping stone approach to reach the Red Planet.

Thanks to the hard work of our NASA team and the work of our contractor, academic and entrepreneurial partners all across America -- weve made a lot of progress on that journey.

This includes progress in integrating all of our work in a structured roadmap that is leading us to breakthroughs in new advanced technologies, driving us to new destinations and generating the inspiration on which future generations will thrive.

Just behind me are some tangible examples of our progress. The Orion spacecraft, which recently performed a near flawless flight test on its first journey to space, is being taken apart right now so it can reveal its secrets about that amazing flight. What we learn will prepare us for its next launch aboard our Space Launch System rocket (SLS) and its future with astronauts aboard exploring farther into our solar system than ever before.

Thanks to grit, determination and American ingenuity, weve returned cargo resupply missions to the United States, insourcing these jobs and creating a whole new private market in low Earth orbit.

Now U.S. companies, large and small, are developing the new systems in which our astronauts soon will travel from right here on the Space Coast in Florida to low Earth orbit. This initiative, where we hand off low Earth orbit transportation to the private sector, is critical to our journey to Mars.

The Boeing CST-100 mockup behind me that features the companys first-generation weld structure is a prime example of how the American aerospace industry is rising to the challenge of increasing crew safety while bringing down the cost of space travel.

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State of NASA Speech by NASA Administrator Bolden

Mon, Feb 02, 2015

On Jan. 22, robotic flight controllers successfully installed NASAs Cloud Aerosol Transport System (CATS) aboard the International Space Station through a robotic handoff the first time one robotic arm on station has worked in concert with a second robotic arm. CATS will collect data about clouds, volcanic ash plumes and tiny airborne particles that can help improve our understanding of aerosol and cloud interactions and improve the accuracy of climate change models.

CATS had been mounted inside the SpaceX Dragon cargo crafts unpressurized trunk since it docked at the station on Jan. 12. Ground controllers at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston used one of the space stations robotic arms, called the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, to extract the instrument from the capsule. The NASA-controlled arm passed the instrument to a second robotic arm like passing a baton in a relay race. This second arm, called the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System, is controlled by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency. The Japanese-controlled arm installed the instrument to the Space Stations Japanese Experiment Module, making CATS the first NASA-developed payload to fly on the Japanese module.

After installation, CATS was powered on and is currently sending health and status data back to NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where the instruments data will be analyzed, as the team begins their checkout procedures.

CATS is a lidar remote-sensing instrument designed to last from six months to three years. It is specifically intended to demonstrate a low-cost, streamlined approach to developing science payloads on the space station. CATS launched aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on Jan. 10 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

(Image provided by NASA)

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NASAs CATS Installed On ISS By Robotic Handoff

KIESZA - HIDE AWAY(SPACE JOURNEY)
https://www.facebook.com/18SpaceFlight18?ref=hl.

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KIESZA - HIDE AWAY(SPACE JOURNEY) - Video

Space Station Live: Behind the Glamor of Living in Space
NASA Commentator Lori Meggs at the Marshall Space Flight Center speaks with NASA Astronaut Don Pettit, who participated in dozens of in-flight experiments du...

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Space Station Live: Behind the Glamor of Living in Space - Video

Gemini 4 Space Mission "The First U.S. Spacewalk"
Gemini 4 (officially Gemini IV)[3] was the second manned space flight in NASA #39;s Project Gemini, occurring in June 1965. It was the tenth manned American spaceflight (including two X-15 flights...

By: Silent Film Archives

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Gemini 4 Space Mission "The First U.S. Spacewalk" - Video

Space Flight - motion graphics element
Download it: http://videohive.net/item/space-flight/10102881?ref=icicle video is made by Anatar http://videohive.net/user/Anatar?ref=icicle Best stock footag...

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Space Flight - motion graphics element - Video

Geometry dash: Space flight COMPLETED!
Geometry dash: Space flight COMPLETED! https://everyplay.com/videos/13363363 Video recorded with Everyplay. Download Geometry Dash on the App Store: https://...

By: TheXbox Walkthrough #39;s

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Geometry dash: Space flight COMPLETED! - Video

Sasch Learns to Play... #39;Kerbal Space Program #39; [Episode 5]
Welcome to my #39;Learns to Play #39; of #39;Kerbal Space Program #39;! #39;KSP #39; is a space flight and management simulator by Squad, set on a planet populated by intrepid little green morons. Watch me kill...

By: Wyndy Sascha

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Sasch Learns to Play... 'Kerbal Space Program' [Episode 5] - Video

Void Destroyer - Full Steam Release - Gameplay a 3D space RTS / Arcade space flight sim. Hybrid
In this video I take a look at the Instant Action,Campaign modes Playlist=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3C5FE91121167369 Twitter @GreenAndBlueW=htt...

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Void Destroyer - Full Steam Release - Gameplay a 3D space RTS / Arcade space flight sim. Hybrid - Video

NASA Animation Shows Asian Air Pollution Moving Across the Globe
Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

By: Climate Desk

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NASA Animation Shows Asian Air Pollution Moving Across the Globe - Video

Club Edition 122 with Stefano Noferini and Hollen
Tracklist: Stefano Noferini: 01. Sven Tasnadi - Waste Time [2020Vision] 02. Enzo Tucci - Space Flight [Southpark Records] 03. Cuartero, wAFF - Break a Sweat [Moon Harbour Recordings] 04....

By: Stefano Noferini

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Club Edition 122 with Stefano Noferini and Hollen - Video

NASA researchers at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt are calling a new satellite a game-changer because it will give scientists information they can use in weather forecasting.

Mobile users tap here to watch video

On Saturday morning, NASA is planning to launch its first mission to monitor soil moisture from space. A state-of-the-art satellite will give scientists information about the Earth that will play a vital role in something that affects us all -- the weather.

"It turns out soil moisture is a critical variable in weather and climate forecasting, and the applications of this (satellite) map are actually very broad for science and society," said physical research scientist Dr. John Bolten, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "For example, major weather extremes and events like droughts and flooding -- you can monitor and improve the forecasting of those events by incorporating soil moisture observations."

That means the potential to improve forecasts, as well as the ability to monitor diseases.

"If you think about the locations and timing of an event -- for example, where mosquitos may breed, you can identify those areas by looking at areas of higher soil moisture," Bolten said.

The Goddard Space Flight Center is where a key component of the satellite was made.

"It measures the natural microwave emission from the land surface. It can see during the daytime. It can see at night. It can see through clouds and vegetation and actually peer into the first inch or two of the soil's surface," Bolten said.

The first measurable data is expected within 90 days of launch, which is an exciting development for researchers.

"It's really a game-changer for Earth science and climate studies," Bolten said.

See the article here:

NASA satellite can help with weather forecasting

Artists concept of a Bimodal Nuclear Thermal Rocket in Low Earth Orbit. Credit: NASA

In the past four decades, NASA and other space agencies from around the world have accomplished some amazing feats. Together, they have sent manned missions to the Moon, explored Mars, mapped Venus and Mercury, conducted surveys and captured breathtaking images of the Outer Solar System. However, looking ahead to the next generation of exploration and the more-distant frontiers that remain to be explored, it is clear that new ideas need to be put forward of how to quickly and efficiently reach those destinations.

Basically, this means finding ways to power rockets that are more fuel and cost-effective while still providing the necessary power to get crews, rovers and orbiters to their far-flung destinations. In this respect, NASA has been taking a good look at nuclear fission as a possible means of propulsion.

In fact, according to presentation made by Doctor Michael G. Houts of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center back in October of 2014, nuclear power and propulsion have the potential to be game changing technologies for space exploration.

As the Marshall Space Flight Centers manager of nuclear thermal research, Dr. Houts is well versed in the benefits it has to offer space exploration. According to the presentation he and fellow staffers made, a fission reactor can be used in a rocket design to create Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP). In an NTP rocket, uranium or deuterium reactions are used to heat liquid hydrogen inside a reactor, turning it into ionized hydrogen gas (plasma), which is then channeled through a rocket nozzle to generate thrust.

NASA design for a Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application (NERVA). Image Credit: NASA

A second possible method, known as Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEC), involves the same basic reactor converted its heat and energy into electrical energy which then powers an electrical engine. In both cases, the rocket relies on nuclear fission to generates propulsion rather than chemical propellants, which has been the mainstay of NASA and all other space agencies to date.

Compared to this traditional form of propulsion, both NTP and NEC offers a number of advantages. The first and most obvious is the virtually unlimited energy density it offers compared to rocket fuel. At a steady state, a fission reactor produces an average of 2.5 neutrons per reaction. However, it would only take a single neutron to cause a subsequent fission and produce a chain reaction and provide constant power.

In fact, according to the report, an NTP rocket could generate 200 kWt of power using a single kilogram of uranium for a period of 13 years which works out of to a fuel efficiency rating of about 45 grams per 1000 MW-hr.

In addition, a nuclear-powered engine could also provide superior thrust relative to the amount of propellant used. This is what is known as specific impulse, which is measured either in terms of kilo-newtons per second per kilogram (kNs/kg) or in the amount of seconds the rocket can continually fire. This would cut the total amount of propellent needed, thus cutting launch weight and the cost of individual missions. And a more powerful nuclear engine would mean reduced trip times, another cost-cutting measure.

Go here to read the rest:

Exploring the Universe with Nuclear Power

BURNS FLAT -

Hopes of space flights launching from an air strip near Burns Flat have fizzled for now.

Lawmakers created the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority (OSIDA) in 1999 to turn an abandoned air strip at the Oklahoma Air & Spaceport Clinton-Sherman (KCSM) airport into an area for future space tourism.

Since that time, Oklahoma taxpayers have spent millions of dollars toward this initiative which has yet to become a reality, as far as space flights.

In fact, we paid approximately $18 million in tax incentives to Rocketplane Global to become the Spaceport's anchor tenant, a company that recently went bankrupt. In the 15 years of OSIDA's existence, they have received $7,065,549 in state appropriations, used for general operations.

In fact, lawmakers this year voted to give the space development authority another $372,887, mostly for general operation costs.

While none of the money has helped spur space tourism, the multi-purpose, federally funded aviation facility, conducted 35,000 flight operations each year. In fact, Cessna and many other aviation companies conducted flight tests and training there.

Just last month, it hosted the newest VIP Boeing 747-800. The airplane conducted flight operations for almost three hours in the radar and visual pattern, performing proficiency training and flight testing. The Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower provided support to the aircrew, while the OSIDA staff team managed and coordinated successful ground operations. The Fixed Base Operator, Regional Air Inc. conducted the refueling operation, providing almost 6,000 gallons of Jet A fuel.

Along with flight operations like this, OSIDA officials said it also generates revenue, everything from leasing hangars to selling fuel. It also handles the wastewater for approximately 900 homes located on site and has the potential of developing 2,000 acres of industrial park space, officials told News 9.

More here:

We Paid For It: Oklahoma's Space Initiative

New Spacecraft Uses Microwaves to Check Soil Moisture | Video
More space news and info at: http://www.coconutsciencelab.com - NASA #39;s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite has a microwave radiometer, designed and built at NASA #39;s Goddard Space ...

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New Spacecraft Uses Microwaves to Check Soil Moisture | Video - Video