1. Space Flight

Category Archives: Space Flight

Space stories: Hadfield inspires during Dal visit

Posted on by

Partway through his lecture at Dal on Monday, Colonel Hadfield showed a photo of himself as a young boy, sitting inside a cardboard box that with the help of some tape and some markers had been transformed into a makeshift spaceship.

If you really want to inspire a kid, give him a box, said Hadfield. Not an X-Box a box, because thats where imagination starts.

In the 50-odd years since that photo was taken, the quality of Hadfields flying boxes has improved dramatically: from his days as an F-18 fighter pilot, to partaking in two Space Shuttle missions, to serving as commander of the International Space Station in 2012-13.

Yet, as impressive as his journey has been the first Canadian to walk in space, to operate the Canada Arm, to become a full-qualified Space Shuttle crew member whats even more impressive is that through his efforts, and his skill at sharing the experience of space flight, the now-retired astronaut has inspired imaginers of all ages to reconsider the possible.

He certainly inspired the capacity crowd in the Student Union Buildings McInnes Room Monday morning. The energetic audience responded to his speech with laughter, applause and not one but two enthusiastic standing ovations.

Hadfield was on campus to celebrate Dals efforts in last years Movember campaign. Led by the success of the Rowe Mo Bros & Sistas, Dalhousie finished as the top school in Canada in funds raised per-capita, bringing in nearly $95,000 for the cause of men's health and earning the visit from Hadfield as its prize.

In addition to his lecture, Hadfield hosted a private reception with members of the Rowe team, personally thanking them for their Movember efforts.

Hadfields lecture, titled The Sky Is Not The Limit, took the audience on a trip through the stratosphere, into orbit and back down to Earth again. He spent the first several minutes detailing the experience of the morning before a space flight.

This is the stuff of dreams, he said. Its just a regular day, youre waking up, but by tonight youre going to be orbiting the earth, or youre going to be dead one or the other.

The line earned laughs from the crowd, but Hadfield was quite serious: any multitude of things can go wrong in the eight minutes and 42 seconds it takes to go from ground to orbit, as past space travel calamities have made tragically clear. In those moments before lift-off, Hadfield said, you cycle through all your training, all those years it took to get to that chair inside the capsule.

Read more:

Space stories: Hadfield inspires during Dal visit

How to get more space on a flight

Posted on by

Planes are more full these days, meaning less space for passengers. Photo: Getty Images

Remember the good old days when planes flew half-full and we regularly got to stretch out across a row of seats?

Youd get onboard and start scoping out the rows around you, ready to pounce on some extra space the minute the flight levelled off.

Sadly, airlines got better and better at yield management, or matching the number of available seats to demand, and those empty rows are now a lot harder to come by.

It definitely feels as though flights have become more crammed and thats backed up by figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Advertisement

Average passenger load factors for international flights have jumped several percentage points over the past six years, while average loadings on domestic flights have increased from around 76 per cent to nearly 81 per cent.

But as much as we like to whinge about being squished, the figures show our flights are nowhere near as full as those in other regions.

For international flights, the Asia Pacific region has the second lowest average load factor in the world, with only those travelling from Africa enjoying more spare seats.

Spare a thought for travellers in North America, where the average loading on an international flight is over 83 per cent, compared to about 77 per cent on Asia Pacific flights.

Continue reading here:

How to get more space on a flight

Space History Sale Highlights Artifacts From Apollo Lunar Missions

Posted on by

April 7, 2014

Image Caption: Winston Scott on the moon during the Apollo 15 lunar landing mission. Credit: NASA/Johnson Space Center

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Artifacts from NASAs Apollo lunar missions will be highlights in an upcoming auction in New York City. Bonhams is holding the Space History Sale in the Big Apple on Tuesday and will feature everything from space documents to spacesuits. In all, more than 300 items will be up for sale.

Among the highlights of the April 8 auction will be a motion picture sight ring a small polarizing filter put on a camera used by astronaut James Irwin on the Apollo 15 mission.

It was used in the module when it landed on the moon and also on takeoff, Cassandra Hatton, Bonhams space history specialist, told the Associated Press. Its extremely rare, probably the only one in private hands.

The sight ring has an estimated value of $20,000 to $30,000.

An Apollo 12 shoulder strap covered in lunar dust is also up for sale. During two extensive surface explorations on the moon, Charles Conrad and Alan Bean amassed a great deal of lunar dust on their spacesuits, gloves and flight equipment, as well as the shoulder strap up for sale.

An Apollo 11 surface checklist with annotations from astronaut Buzz Aldrin is also on the bidding block. The document contains data that enabled Aldrin and Neil Armstrong to return to Earth. According to Bonhams, the document is one of the most extensive sets of notations ever made on the lunar surface. Its presale estimate is $35,000 to $45,000.

While these items are expected to be the key items up for sale, Hatton explained that there will also be an extensive list of items from even earlier in space exploration.

Continue reading here:

Space History Sale Highlights Artifacts From Apollo Lunar Missions

Smithsonians Air and Space to get facelift with $30M from Boeing

Posted on by

Originally published April 3, 2014 at 4:20 PM | Page modified April 4, 2014 at 6:42 AM

WASHINGTON Courtesy of Boeing, some key artifacts of aviation and space history will be getting an updated display for the 21st century, with the Apollo moon landing as the centerpiece.

For the first time since its 1976 opening, the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum plans to overhaul its central exhibition showing the milestones of flight. The extensive renovation announced Thursday will be carried out over the next two years with portions of the exhibit closing temporarily over time, said Museum Director J.R. Jack Dailey.

The project will be paid for by the largest corporate donation in the Smithsonians history. On Thursday, Boeing announced a $30 million gift to the museum for its exhibits and education programs. The central gallery will be renamed the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall. Boeing has donated nearly $60 million to the museum throughout its history, the company said.

Charles Lindberghs Spirit of St. Louis aircraft from the first trans-Atlantic flight, John Glenns Mercury capsule from his first Earth orbit and an Apollo Lunar Module recalling Americas first moon landing will be among the key pieces to be featured. Such artifacts have made the Air and Space Museum the nations most-visited museum, drawing 7 million to 8 million visitors each year.

The exhibition overhaul also marks the start of a renovation of the entire building through 2020, which will require federal funding. Plans call for adding an observatory on the roof.

The current Milestones of Flight gallery includes a somewhat random mix of technical marvels, including Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules spread across the floor, the first plane to break the sound barrier and other aircraft hanging above. The exhibit descriptions have not been notably updated since President Ford opened the museum in 1976, said chief curator Peter Jakab.

For the first time, the museum will add science fiction to the Milestones of Flight exhibit with a model of starship Enterprise from Star Trek. In the 1970s, a Star Trek actress made TV ads to help NASA recruit a diverse corps of new astronauts, connecting fiction with reality in the Space Age.

A new-media wall, digital screens and content for mobile devices will add more layers to the visitor experience, Dailey said. Were trying to figure out what the museum needs to do to stay in touch, Dailey said. We want to inspire people of all ages to want to know more and to do more.

Boeings $30 million gift is not a record for a museum. In 2011, billionaire Jorge Prez donated $40 million to the Miami Art Museum, which renamed itself after him.

Visit link:

Smithsonians Air and Space to get facelift with $30M from Boeing

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Aerospace Industry Honored by Alabama Legislature

Posted on by

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., was honored by the Alabama Legislature April 3 during NASA Alabama Aerospace Day 2014 events at the state Capitol in Montgomery. Lawmakers and state officials met with Marshall Center Director Patrick Scheuermann, and resolutions in the House and Senate recognized the center's critical role in future space exploration, in the nation's space history and in the state's economy and cultural life.

A number of NASA exhibits and activities conveyed a vivid picture of work now underway on the Space Launch System -- the most powerful rocket in history and the vehicle that will take astronauts to Mars; on science missions aboard the International Space Station; and on additive manufacturing and 3-D printing technologies helping develop aerospace technology faster and at lower costs.

"Together We Make Bold Things Happen" was the theme for NASA Alabama Aerospace Day, and Marshall representatives visited a number of schools and nonprofit organizations in the Montgomery area to talk with students about robotics, technology, careers in aerospace and the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.

On April 2, the Marshall Center partnered with the Aerospace States Association and the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce for a roundtable discussion at the State House on "Economics and Education: The Impact of the Aerospace Industry in the State of Alabama."

"Our partners in industry and education have always been important to NASA and Marshall Space Flight Center," Scheuermann said. "Partnerships are critical to developing the commercial crew program and continuing support of the International Space Station with its increasing number of science missions; to placing the James Webb Space Telescope in orbit, allowing us to look deeper into the universe than ever before; and to NASA's Space Launch System.

"Montgomery is an important partner, too, representing the people of Alabama," Scheuermann said. "It was exciting to talk with lawmakers and officials about opportunities to leverage aerospace resources already in the state, and about the benefits from the resulting jobs and synergies in information technology, materials, manufacturing, education and other areas."

The Marshall Center is one of NASA's largest field installations, with nearly 6,000 on- and near-site civil service and contractor employees and an annual budget of about $2 billion.

For more information about NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, visit us on the Web:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall

See original here:

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Aerospace Industry Honored by Alabama Legislature

Smithsonian air, space artifacts to get new display

Posted on by

Article updated: 4/3/2014 2:31 PM

This is the Milestones of Flight Gallery, the main hall of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, in Washington. For the first time since its 1976 opening, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum plans to overhaul its central exhibition area.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- Some of the most iconic artifacts of aviation and space history will be getting an updated display for the 21st century, with the Apollo moon landing as the centerpiece.

For the first time since its 1976 opening, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum plans to overhaul its central exhibition showing the milestones of flight. The extensive renovation announced Thursday will be carried out over the next two years with portions of the exhibit closing temporarily over time, said Museum Director J.R. "Jack" Dailey.

Charles Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis" aircraft from the first trans-Atlantic flight, John Glenn's Mercury capsule from his first Earth orbit and an Apollo Lunar Module recalling America's first moon landing will be among the key pieces to be featured. Such artifacts have made the Air and Space Museum the nation's most-visited museum, drawing 7 million to 8 million visitors each year.

The project will be funded by the largest corporate donation in the Smithsonian's history. On Thursday, Chicago-based Boeing announced a $30 million gift to the museum for its exhibits and education programs. The central gallery will be renamed the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall. In all, Boeing has donated nearly $60 million to the museum throughout its history, the company said.

The exhibition overhaul also marks the start of a renovation of the entire building through 2020, which will require federal funding. Plans call for adding an observatory on the roof.

Curators plan to reimagine the museum's largest exhibit with more stories, context and digital interaction.

"This is all part of us moving into the future," Dailey said. "Times have changed, and there are opportunities for producing exhibitions that weren't even imagined 38 years ago."

Read more here:

Smithsonian air, space artifacts to get new display

NASA Releases Image Of M-class Solar Flare

Posted on by

April 3, 2014

Image Credit: NASA/SDO/Goddard Space Flight Center

Karen C. Fox, NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center

On April 2, 2014, the sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 10:05 a.m. EDT, and NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory captured imagery of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earths atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however when intense enough they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.

To see how this event may impact Earth, please visit NOAAs Space Weather Prediction Center at http://spaceweather.gov, the U.S. governments official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings.

This flare is classified as an M6.5 flare. M-class flares are ten times less powerful than the most intense flares, which are labeled X-class. The number after the M provides more information about its strength. An M2 is twice as intense as an M1, an M3 is three times as intense, etc.

Updates will be provided as needed.

Related Links

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Space Weather

View Other Past Solar Activity

Link:

NASA Releases Image Of M-class Solar Flare

National Air and Space Museum Receives $30 Million from Boeing

Posted on by

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum announced that Boeing is donating $30 million to support the museum's educational activities and exhibitions, including an extensive renovation of its main hall, "Milestones of Flight." It will be completed in time for the museum's 40th anniversary in 2016, which is also the aerospace company's 100th anniversary. The expanded exhibition will trace the interconnected stories of the world's most significant aircraft and spacecraft, with digital displays and a mobile experience in a new design that stretches from one entrance to the other, Independence Avenue to Jefferson Drive (National Mall).

"We are grateful to Boeing for this magnificent contribution," said Museum Director Gen. J.R. "Jack" Dailey. "It will enable us to create an exciting new exhibition concept inspired by innovators, from the Wright brothers to today's space explorers, and to develop educational experiences for generations of innovators to come."

"We're honored to help preserve the legacy of pioneers who transformed an industry and influenced generations of innovators," said Boeing Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim McNerney. "By supporting the National Air and Space Museum with the renovation and expansion of the gallery, we hope to inspire others to dream, design and build the next game changers in aerospace history."

In appreciation for the gift, the museum will rename the gallery the "Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall." Boeing has made numerous other gifts to the Smithsonian during the years, in excess of $64 million total, with $58 million to the National Air and Space Museum. One of the exhibition spaces at the museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., is named the Boeing Aviation Hangar.

The Milestones exhibition, which is the museum's central and largest space, has looked much the same since the museum opened July 1, 1976. More than 310 million people have passed through the exhibition during the museum's 38 years of operation. The new installation will give the hall a streamlined "21st century" look and features themes and displays suited to today's visitors. The square footage of the exhibition will be enlarged and the displays will take full advantage of the atrium's two-story height.

In reenvisioning and renovating its Milestones exhibition, the museum aims to deepen visitors' understanding of how aviation and spaceflight have transformed the world. Since humans learned to fly, transportation has gotten faster and distant places more accessible. Advances in planetary exploration have made the universe seem larger, altering humans' ideas about themselves and the world. When the museum opened nearly four decades ago, the word "milestone" was defined as "the first" in flight or space travel. Now, the word will describe an artifact having significant or widespread cultural, historic, scientific or technological impact.

Key artifacts in the expanded hall, selected because they tell multiple stories, will be organized to connect themes. Some of the objects, such as the Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis," the Bell X-1 "Glamorous Glennis" and Mercury "Friendship 7," will be familiar to visitors because they already reside in the gallery. But other icons-the huge Apollo Lunar Module, for example, the Telstar satellite and the model of the "Starship Enterprise" used in the Star Trek television series-will be surprises.

One of the most engaging differences will be the addition of a media wall and kiosks, which will enable visitors to view artifacts in different contexts, look them up by topic or theme and connect to other sources of information. A new sign system will help visitors find other artifacts and galleries more easily, and a larger, more centrally located Welcome Center will allow the museum to assist larger numbers of visitors more quickly and efficiently.

In addition to the Milestones project, the Boeing donation will fund upgrades and enhancements for several other galleries, including the museum's "How Things Fly" gallery, where children learn about the science and technology of flight through imaginatively designed displays staffed by high school and college students called "Explainers." In the gallery, children are encouraged to climb into the cockpit of a small airplane, make paper airplanes and view live demonstrations.

Read more here:

National Air and Space Museum Receives $30 Million from Boeing

NASA Selects New Suborbital Technology Payloads, Total Tops 130

Posted on by

NASA's Flight Opportunities Program has selected 13 space technology payloads for flights on commercial reusable launch vehicles, and a commercial parabolic aircraft. These flights provide cutting-edge technologies with a valuable platform to conduct tests, before they enter use in the harsh environment of space.

This latest selection represents the eighth cycle of NASA's Announcement of Flight Opportunities, and raises the total number of technologies selected for test flights facilitated by the Flight Opportunities Program of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate to 138.

Eleven of these new payloads will ride on parabolic aircraft flights, which provide brief periods of weightlessness. Two will fly on suborbital reusable launch vehicle test flights. The flights are expected to take place in 2014 and 2015. The selected proposals requested flights on Zero-G Corporation's Boeing 727 parabolic flight aircraft, UP Aerospace's Space-Loft rocket and Masten Space Systems' Xombie vertical takeoff/vertical landing rocket.

The payloads selected for parabolic aircraft flights are:

- "Reduced Gravity Flight Demo of SPHERES Universal Docking Ports" and "Reduced Gravity Flight Demonstration of SPHERES INSPECT," Principal Investigator (PI) Alvar Saenz Otero of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass.

- "Reinventing the Wheel: Parabolic Flight Validation of Reaction Spheres,"PI Alvin Yew of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

- "Enhanced Dynamic Load Sensors for ISS Operational Feasibility for Advanced Resistive Exercise Device," PI Christopher Krebs of Aurora Flight Sciences Corp., in Manassas, Va.

- "Effects of Microgravity on Intracranial Pressure," PI Benjamin Levine of University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas

- "Validating Microgravity Mobility Models for Hopping/Tumbling Robots," PI Issa Nesnas of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.

See more here:

NASA Selects New Suborbital Technology Payloads, Total Tops 130

What If America Lost the International Space Station?

Posted on by

During recent congressional testimony, the question was put to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, what if the current rift with Russia becomes so severe that the United States is denied access to the International Space Station?

Currently and at least until 2017 American astronauts can only hitch rides on the Russian Soyuz to get to the ISS, largely built with American tax payer's money. In theory Russia could stop such flights, especially in the event of a military confrontation in Eastern Europe. It is considered a low probability event, though, since Russia is unlikely to be able to operate the ISS without American help.

Bolden's answer was stark. If we lose access to the ISS he would recommend suspension of the development of the Orion deep space craft and the Space Launch System heavy lift rocket. The theory is that medical research on the ISS is vital for the sort of deep space missions that the Orion and the SLS are being built for.

The statement suggests that Bolden is severely history challenged. Decades ago the United States conducted a very robust deep space program. It was called Apollo which landing twelve men on the moon between 1969 and 1972.

History suggests that if the United States were to lose access to the ISS, it would not be necessary to suspend all hopes of human space flight as Bolden suggests. The Orion/SLS system would be repurposed for short term expeditions to the moon, using a commercially acquired lander such as being developed by the Golden Spike Company.

In the meantime NASA could help Bigelow Aerospace develop its proposed commercial space station built out of inflatable modules. The commercial space station could be supported by commercially developed, government financed spacecraft such as the SpaceX Dragon. Then the space agency could use that facility to conduct the needed research to prepare for long duration human expeditions to Mars.

Losing the ISS, either to Russian caprice or a disaster such as depicted in the film "Gravity," would be a catastrophe. But it would not mean the end of American space flight.

Read the original post:

What If America Lost the International Space Station?


  1. Space Flight