Military space plane lands after record 674-day secret mission

Posted on by

A file photo showing an unpiloted X-37B during taxi tests at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. An operational X-37B landed autonomously at Vandenberg Friday to close out a 22-and-a-half-month mission in low-Earth orbit. U.S. Air Force

An unpiloted Air Force space plane glided back to Earth Friday after a record 674-day stay in orbit, closing out a clandestine military mission with a computer-controlled landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

The Boeing-built X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, wrapping up its second long-duration mission and the secretive program's third flight overall, touched down at 12:24 p.m. EDT (GMT-4; 9:24 a.m. local time), rolling to a stop a few moments later.

Other than a brief Air Force statement last Friday announcing landing preparations at Vandenberg, there was no advance warning of the space plane's re-entry and, in keeping with the secrecy surrounding the program, no details on what the spacecraft might have been doing during its nearly two years aloft.

In a brief statement released shortly after landing, the Air Force said "the OTV-3 conducted on-orbit experiments for 674 days during its mission, extending the total number of days spent on-orbit for the OTV program to 1,367 days."

"The 30th Space Wing and our mission partners, (the) Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, Boeing and our base support contractors have put countless hours of hard work into preparing for this landing," said Col Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander. "I'm extremely proud of our team for coming together to execute this third safe and successful landing."

It was the first official update on the spacecraft since launch from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket on Dec. 11, 2012.

"The landing of OTV-3 marks a hallmark event for the program," an unidentified program manager said in the Air Force release. "The mission is our longest to date and we're pleased with the incremental progress we've seen in our testing of the reusable space plane. The dedication and hard work by the entire team has made us extremely proud."

Technicians work on the the first X-37B space plane after a smooth landing on Dec. 3, 2010 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The same X-37B spacecraft launched back into space on Dec. 11, 2012.

See the article here:

Military space plane lands after record 674-day secret mission

Amare willing to soak up remedies to recover

Posted on by

ASSOCIATED PRESS Photo via @amareisreal/Instagram

The Knicks Amare Stoudemire talking with reporters recently, left, and soaking in red wine.

GREENBURGH, N.Y. Before we shake our heads or make a joke, let us all consider the frustration that has nagged at Amare Stoudemire as he has had to sit out 89 regular-season games over the last three seasons, a once-elite athlete forced to play limited minutes, limited games and a limited role for the Knicks.

Now, add into the mix a $100 million contract and the ability to try anything to recover the form he once held.

And that is how you wind up here: Stoudemire posting a selfie on Instagram on Wednesday night of himself soaking in a red wine bath.

"The red wine bath is very important to me because it allows me to create more circulation in my red blood cells," Stoudemire explained after Knicks practice Thursday. "Plus, its very hot, so its like a hot tub. But the red wine just kind of soothes the body, which follows up with a 90-minute massage and then also you have the ancient tub. So you have like a salt tub and a hot tub and a cold plunge and a pool and you just kind of mix it all up."

Stoudemire long ago reached the try-anything phase of his career, not unlike other athletes who struggle with injury and recovery. He spends time before every game on the floor of the locker room with his legs encased in large black tubes that fill with air, reading while teammates hustle around the room. This latest effort came courtesy of his wife, Alexis.

A search on the Internet finds mixed reviews of the process, but plenty of spots to perform it. The thinking is that the antioxidant resveratrol will soak through the skin during a 30-minute stay in the tub and help with recovery after days of hard work on the court.

"Ive been doing it for like six to eight months now," he said. "[Wednesday] I felt great after doing that. My legs felt rejuvenated. I felt great, so Im going to continue to do that for sure."

Stoudemire was limited last year, avoiding back-to-back games and playing under a team-imposed 30-minute limit per game although late in the season he pushed those limits as he started down the stretch. He might be the most talented power forward on the roster again, but the Knicks new regime seems equally cautious in approaching his role.

Continued here:

Amare willing to soak up remedies to recover

NASA Partners with Leading Technology Innovators to Enable Future Exploration

Posted on by

Recognizing that technology drives exploration, NASA has selected four teams of agency technologists for participation in the Early Career Initiative (ECI) pilot program. The program encourages creativity and innovation among early career NASA technologists by engaging them in hands-on technology development opportunities needed for future missions.

NASAs Space Technology Mission Directorate created the ECI to enable a highly collaborative, joint-partnering work environment between the best and brightest NASA early career innovators and leading innovators in industry, academia and other government organizations.

"Continued investment in technology is a requirement for the success of NASA's current and future missions," said Michael Gazarik, associate administrator for Space Technology at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Investing in the future leaders in space technology in partnership with the nations leading innovators is part of our overall portfolio strategy for mission success."

Teams selected for the ECI pilot program and their topic areas are:

High-Speed Video Imaging with Disruptive Computational Photography Enabling Technology, submitted by NASA's Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, with partner, Innovative Imaging and Research (I2F) of Mississippi. The team will develop and demonstrate a system for high-speed, 3-D, High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging. Video imaging will be performed at the chip level using computational photography, providing NASA with advanced visualization technologies to meet future needs.

Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and Transceiver (LISA-T), submitted by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama with partner, Huntsville's NeXolve, to build and demonstrate a deployable solar array and integrated transceiver system. The technology represents a novel approach to developing a lighter weight, higher power technology solution for future spacecraft energy needs.

On-Orbit Autonomous Assembly of Nanosatellites, submitted by NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia with external partner Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. The team will develop advanced autonomous docking hardware based on Halbach magnetic array technology. Reliable autonomous rendezvous and docking techniques provide enabling technologies for future mission needs.

Integrated Display and Environmental Awareness System (IDEAS), submitted by NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida, with Orlando area partners Abacus Technology and Purple Rock Scissors, and the Florida Institute of Technology of Melbourne. The team will develop a wearable computer with an optical heads-up display providing augmented reality data and communications, enhancing real-time operations on the ground and in space.

More here:

NASA Partners with Leading Technology Innovators to Enable Future Exploration

NASA Used 1960s-1970s Software Into The 2000s, Here's Why

Posted on by

This question originally appeared on Quora: Is it true that NASA continued to use 1960s and 1970s software technology during the space shuttle era into the 2000s because the software was bulletproof?

Answer by Robert Frost, NASA instructor/engineer in the Mission Operations Directorate, and previously the founder of Quigo, on Quora

There are multiple reasons why NASA continued to use 1960s-1970s software technology.

NASA is under-budgeted for its objectives. Our facilities arent all gleaming high tech. Every day, I use the same urinal that Neil Armstrong used and I keep my SpaceX Dragon Systems Manual in an Apollo 10 binder. We still have lead paint on our staircase banisters and asbestos in our ceilings. We still have white walls yellowed by 60s-70s cigarette smoke. If we cant afford to replace our toilets, we arent going to make big expensive changes elsewhere unless there is a mission need to do so.

Based on the experiences of the earlier programs, NASA decided to not use a machine language. They decided to use a high-level language. They created their own. It was called HAL/S (High-order Assembly Language/Shuttle). And for people like me, thank goodness they did. NASAs flight controllers and instructors are trained to be experts on space systems and operations, not programming. But we need to be able to examine the software to troubleshoot and script simulations.

HAL/S was specifically designed to accomplish the types of tasks we needed the Space Shuttle flight software to accomplish. The hardware on the Space Shuttle was specifically designed to run that software.

So, there was really no need to change. As Clay explained, it was well understood. It worked.

In the general world, we see software technologies change frequently. We see that because requirements change. A new need isnt well done by the existing technology, so a new technology is developed. Its chaotic and exciting. But in any very specialized use of technology, that evolution is much, more slower because it isnt required and any significant changes would be expensive to implement.

As for bulletproof the Shuttle software development team has a very well deserved reputation for producing almost bug free code, but that isnt all because of the technology being used. Their processes and documentation are designed to prioritize being error free and their customers have very specific requirements.

Continue reading here:

NASA Used 1960s-1970s Software Into The 2000s, Here's Why