Transplanted human umbilical cord blood cells improved heart function in rat model of MI

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

6-Mar-2014

Contact: Robert Miranda cogcomm@aol.com Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair

Putnam Valley, NY. (Mar. 6, 2014) When human umbilical cord blood cells were transplanted into rats that had undergone a simulated myocardial infarction (MI), researchers investigating the long term effects of the transplantation found that left ventricular (LV) heart function in the treated rats was improved over those that did not get the stem cells. The animals were maintained without immunosuppressive therapy.

The study will be published in a future issue of Cell Transplantation but is currently freely available on-line as an unedited early e-pub at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/pre-prints/content-ct0860Chen.

"Myocardial infarction induced by coronary artery disease is one of the major causes of heart attack," said study co-author Dr. Jianyi Zhang of the University of Minnesota Health Science Center. "Because of the loss of viable myocardium after an MI, the heart works under elevated wall stress, which results in progressive myocardial hypertrophy and left ventricular dilation that leads to heart failure. We investigated the long term effects of stem cell therapy using human non-hematopoietic umbilical cord blood stem cells (nh-UCBCs). These cells have previously exhibited neuro-restorative effects in a rodent model of ischemic brain injury in terms of improved LV function and myocardial fiber structure, the three-dimensional architecture of which make the heart an efficient pump."

According to the authors, stem cell therapy for myocardial repair has been investigated extensively for the last decade, with researchers using a variety of different animal models, delivery modes, cells types and doses, all with varying levels of LV functional response. They also note that the underlying mechanisms for improvement are "poorly understood," and that the overall regeneration of muscle cells is "low."

To investigate the heart's remodeling processes and to characterize alterations in the cardiac fiber architecture, the research team used diffusion tensor MRI (DTMRI), used previously to study myofiber structure in both humans and animals.

While most previous studies have been focused on the short term effects of UCBCs, their study on long term effects not only demonstrated evidence of significantly improved heart function in the treated rats, but also showed evidence of delay and prevention in terms of myocardial fiber structural remodeling, alterations that could have resulted in heart failure.

When compared to the age-matched but untreated rat hearts with MI, the regional myocardial function of nh-UCBC-treated hearts was significantly improved and the preserved myocardial fiber structure may have served as an "underlying mechanism for the observed function improvements."

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Transplanted human umbilical cord blood cells improved heart function in rat model of MI

Human Embryonic Stem Cells Restore Gerbil Hearing

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A new study offers proof that stem cells can reconnect the inner ear to the brain

Marcelo Rivolta, University of Sheffield

By Virginia Gewin of Nature magazine

More than 275 million people have moderate-to-profound hearing loss, and many of those cases are caused by a breach in the connection between the inner ear and the brain.

Researchers have now shown how to repair a key component of that connection the auditory nerve by using human embryonic stem cells to restore hearing in gerbils. "We have the proof of concept that we can use human embryonic stem cells to repair the damaged ear," says lead author Marcelo Rivolta, a stem-cell biologist at the University of Sheffield, UK, whose research appears in Nature today. "More work needs to be done, but now we know it's possible."

Stem cells have been differentiated into auditory nerve cells before, but this is the first time that transplanted cells have successfully restored hearing in animals. Some in the field say that it is a pivotal step that will undoubtedly spur more research. Research has been stymied by reviewers wanting evidence that stem cells can connect the inner ear to the central nervous system, says Richard Altschuler, a developmental biologist at the Kresge Hearing Research Institute at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Rivolta has spent the past decade developing ways to differentiate human embryonic stem cells into the two cell types that are essential for hearing: auditory neurons, and the inner-ear hair cells that translate sound into electrical signals.

He treated human embryonic stem cells with two types of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) FGF3 and FGF10 to produce two, visually distinct, groups of primordial sensory cell. Those that had characteristics similar to hair cells were dubbed otic epithelial progenitors (OEPs), and those that looked more like neurons were dubbed otic neural progenitors (ONPs).

His team then transplanted ONPs into the ears of gerbils that had been treated with ouabain, a chemical that damages auditory nerves, but not hair cells. Ten weeks after the procedure, some ofthe transplanted cells had grown projections that formed connections to the brain stem. Subsequent testing showed that many of the animals could hear much fainter sounds after transplantation, with an overall improvement in hearing of 46%.

Hear this Rivoltas findings along with a study published in July showing that gene therapy can restore hearing in deaf-born mice reinforce a spate of studies demonstrating that stem cells and gene therapy can restore sensory functions, including smell (see 'Gene therapy restores sense of smell to mice') and vision (see 'Regenerative medicine repairs mice from top to toe').

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Human Embryonic Stem Cells Restore Gerbil Hearing

Advaita Smarta Spirituality Talks in Telugu by Sri Bharati Tirtha of Sringeri Math 1 – Video

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Advaita Smarta Spirituality Talks in Telugu by Sri Bharati Tirtha of Sringeri Math 1
advaita, nonduality Vahdeti Vcud Nonduality Advaita Nondualism Spirituality Wahdat al-Wujud Sufi metaphysics Varlik birligi Tasavvuf Zeitgeist Addendum Alev...

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Advaita Smarta Spirituality Talks in Telugu by Sri Bharati Tirtha of Sringeri Math 1 - Video

Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Eight) Part Two Who Is Wisdom Meant For? – Video

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Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Eight) Part Two Who Is Wisdom Meant For?
FREE Download, #39;Allies Of Humanity Briefings #39; - http://www.alliesofhumanity.org/allies-of-humanity-book1.pdf http://www.HumanSovereignty.org http://www.Allie...

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Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Eight) Part Two Who Is Wisdom Meant For? - Video

WISDOM ARCHIVES : Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Four) What Is Knowledge? – Video

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WISDOM ARCHIVES : Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Four) What Is Knowledge?
Join The Free school at http://NewMessage.Org Join Thousands of Other students of KNOWLEDGE worldwide in Saving Human Civilization!! ...

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WISDOM ARCHIVES : Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Four) What Is Knowledge? - Video

WISDOM ARCHIVES : Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Six) What Is The Greater Community? – Video

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WISDOM ARCHIVES : Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Six) What Is The Greater Community?
Join The Free school at http://NewMessage.Org Join Thousands of Other students of KNOWLEDGE worldwide in Saving Human Civilization!! ...

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WISDOM ARCHIVES : Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Six) What Is The Greater Community? - Video

Spiritual Schizophrenia

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March 6, 2014|12:38 pm

If I watched a video of your everyday life for the past six weeks, would I conclude that your faith shapes everything you think, desire, say, and do? Or, as I watched that video, would I begin to see a separation between your spirituality and reality?

I want to write today about something that I call Spiritual Schizophrenia. I can summarize it with a question: does the public persona of your faith live in harmony with the private realities of your life? Here are a few examples:

The examples can go on and on, but you get the picture. I'm afraid that there's a big separation between many believers' worlds of spirituality and reality. Outside of the spiritual world (worship services, small group, ministry activities, personal devotion, etc), their reality is untouched by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here's the problem - we've created these two worlds when the Bible never gives any indication that these two worlds exist. Jesus never talked about a separation between reality and spirituality, because true spirituality means that everything in my life has new meaning, new purpose, new focus, new direction, and new motivation. My reality is motivated and structured by my spiritual relationship to God and the purposes He has for my life.

I'm deeply persuaded that in this fallen world, with all of its interesting activities and seductive temptations, Christian activity often gets substituted for true Christian living. In many ways, Christian activity will look and feel like the real thing, but it won't be the real thing because the real thing is about Jesus's constant work to change me at the core of who I am.

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Is there evidence that you're living with a separation between your spirituality and reality? However slight, this separation shouldn't exist. So maybe you're asking now, "What will my life look like if my spirituality begins to transform my reality?" Let me give you five signs:

First, there will be a humble awareness of the extent and the gravity of your sin. You won't become complacent about your sin; you will see the fact that your words and your actions depict a constant need for the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Spiritual Schizophrenia

SpaceX Dragon Capsule Suffers Glitch after Launch to Space Station

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The Dragon capsule is due to deliver 544 kilograms of scientific experiments and supplies to the space station on Saturday

SpaceX, Ben Cooper

This story was updated at 10:45 a.m. ET.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. A privately built unmanned spacecraft launched for NASA by the commercial spaceflight company SpaceX blasted into orbit Friday (March 1), but has experienced some sort of malfunction after separating from its rocket, the company says.

The robotic Dragon space capsule launched into orbit atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket in what appeared to be a smooth liftoff from a pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 10:10 a.m. ET (1510 GMT). But once in orbit, SpaceX officials reported a problem just after spacecraft separation, when the Dragon capsule was expected to deploy its solar arrays.

"It appears that, although it achieved Earth orbit, Dragon is experiencing some type of problem right now," SpaceX's John Insprucker said during the company's launch webcast.

The glitch appears to be related to Dragon's thrusters, which allow the capsule to maneuver in orbit.

"Issue with Dragon thruster pods," SpaceX founder Elon Musk wrote on Twitter. "System inhibiting three of four from initializing. About to command inhibit override." [Photos: SpaceX's Third Launch to Space Station]

SPACE.com will provide updates as new information is available.

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SpaceX Dragon Capsule Suffers Glitch after Launch to Space Station

Dark Matter Signal Possibly Registered on International Space Station

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The onboard Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer has detected what is thought to be dark matters signature antimatter particles, but it cannot yet pin down their origin

AMS/NASA

A $2-billion particle detector mounted on the International Space Station has registered an excess of antimatter particles in space, the experiments lead scientist announced April 3. That excess could come from fast-spinning stellar remnants known as pulsars and other exotic, but visible sources within the Milky Way galaxy. Or the antiparticles might have originated from the long-sought dark matter, the hypothetical massive particles that constitute some 27 percent of the universe.

Dark matter makes its presence felt by its gravitational pull, but exactly what it is has remained a puzzle. Some popular explanations for dark matters identity suggest that when two dark-matter particles collide, they annihilate to produce antimatter electrons, or positrons. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), delivered to the space station in 2011 during the penultimate space shuttle mission, was built to detect positrons and other high-energy particles streaming through space, in part to investigate the nature of dark matter. The detector has now collected some 25 billion cosmic-ray particles, including 6.8 million electrons and positrons. The fraction of positrons in the particle mix exceeds what would be naively expected in the absence of dark matter or other unaccounted sources, but the new data lack a distinctive feature predicted of dark matter annihilations.

Dark matter collisions would produce relatively more high- than moderate-energy positrons. But the rise in positrons with increasing energy would continue only up to a point. Beyond a certain energy level, the number of positrons would fall off steeply, AMS spokesperson and Nobel laureate Samuel Ting of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology explained in a seminar at CERN, the European laboratory for particle physics. The positrons could also come from nearby pulsars, and in such a case the positrons will have a slow drop-off at higher energies, Ting said. So the way they drop off tells you everything.

The AMS data indeed show an increasing share of positrons toward higher energies, but no drop-off, so the origin of the excess particles remains unclear. The European PAMELA mission and NASAs Fermi spacecraft have found similar trends in recent years, but Ting called AMS the first experiment to probe in detail the nature of this excess with high sensitivity and precision. The research will appear in the April 5 issue of Physical Review Letters.

Ting only presented data on positrons with energies of about 350 giga-electron-volts or less but said that AMS will in the coming years catalogue particles up to 1,000 giga-electron volts. So the experiment may soon reveal or disprove the presence of a positron cutoff at higher energies, which would provide a clue to the source of the particles: a steep drop would point to dark matter, and a gradual decline would indicate pulsars are the originators of the positrons.

When pressed by colleagues at the CERN seminar to discuss any data AMS has already collected on higher-energy particles, Ting demurred. We will publish things when we are absolutely sure, he said, repeatedly sounding notes of caution and calling for patience. I think that no one is foolish enough to repeat what we are doing, he said of the experiment, which was some 18 years in the making. So we want to make sure we are doing it correctly.

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Dark Matter Signal Possibly Registered on International Space Station

NASA tests space robots to refuel satellites

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Washington, March 6:

NASA has successfully concluded a remotely controlled test of new technologies to empower future space robots to repair and refuel future satellites in space.

NASA is incorporating results from this test and the Robotic Refuelling Mission on the International Space Station (ISS) to prepare for an upcoming ground-based test of a full-sized robotic servicer system that will perform tasks on a mock satellite client.

These efforts are part of an ongoing and aggressive technology development campaign to equip robots and humans with the tools and capabilities needed for spacecraft maintenance and repair, the assembly of large space telescopes, and extended human exploration.

The Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office (SSCO) at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, checked another critical milestone off their list with the completion of their Remote Robotic Oxidiser Transfer Test (RROxiTT) in February, NASA said.

This is the first time that anyone has tested this type of technology, and weve proven that it works. Its ready for the next step to flight, said Frank Cepollina, veteran leader of the five servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope and the associate director of SSCO.

RROxiTT gives NASA, and the satellite community at large, confidence that advanced satellite refuelling and maintenance technologies arent a wild dream of the future, said Cepollina.

Taking lessons learned from the successful Robotic Refuelling Mission, the SSCO team devised the ground-based RROxiTT to test how robots can transfer hazardous oxidiser, at flight-like pressures and flow rates, through the propellant valve and into the mock tank of a satellite.

While this capability could be applied to spacecraft in multiple orbits, SSCO focused RROxiTT specifically on technologies that could help satellites travelling the busy space highway of geosynchronous Earth orbit, or GEO.

Located about 35,406km above Earth, this orbital path is home to more than 400 satellites, many of which beam communications, television and weather data to customers worldwide.

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NASA tests space robots to refuel satellites

Mini Rocket Models Used For Space Launch System Base Heating Test

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March 6, 2014

Image Caption: Two-percent scale models of the Space Launch System (SLS) solid rocket boosters and core stage RS-25 engines. Credit: NASA/MSFC

[ Watch The Video: Models Helping Engineers Better Understand Heat ]

Megan Davidson, NASA

To better understand the heating conditions at the base of what will be the biggest, most powerful rocket ever built, engineers at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., are thinking small really small.

Models of NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) core stage RS-25 engines and solid rocket boosters scaled down to just 2 percent of the actual size of the flight hardware have been designed, built and hot-fire tested at sea level conditions. The tests are part of the Pathfinder Test Program, which is run by Marshall engineers in close collaboration with Calspan-University of Buffalo Research Center Inc., in Buffalo, N.Y. The SLS core stage, towering more than 200 feet tall with a diameter of 27.6 feet, will store the cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that will feed the vehicles RS-25 engines.

The replicas will help engineers in a huge way by providing data on the convective heating environments that the base of the vehicle will experience during ascent. The models were developed for base heating testing scheduled for this summer.

Data from those tests will be used to set specifications for the design of the rockets base thermal protection system, which keeps major hardware such as wiring, and later the crew, safe from the extreme heat the boosters and engines create while burning on ascent.

So why use mini rocket engines?

Using scale models of the SLS core stage engines and boosters are not only cost-effective but also can fit in a wind tunnel, said Manish Mehta, lead engineer for the SLS Base Heating Test Program. Wind tunnel testing is one of the most proven ways to adequately simulate the pressure and heating an actual rocket will experience during ascent. We had to make sure these models achieve aerodynamic and rocket plume similarity with the real flight vehicle as close as possible.

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Mini Rocket Models Used For Space Launch System Base Heating Test

Hyperspace Portal (Or Massive Black Hole…) Found In Deep Space (PICTURE)

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NASA image captured July 12, 2011 - With his feet secured on a restraint on the space station remote manipulator system's robotic arm or Canadarm2, NASA astronaut Mike Fossum (frame center) holds the Robotics Refueling Mission payload, which was the focus of one of the primary chores accomplished on a six and a half hour spacewalk on July 12. The failed pump module is with DEXTRE on left side of the photo. NASA astronauts Fossum and Ron Garan performed the six-hour, 31-minute spacewalk, which represents the final scheduled extravehicular activity during shuttle missions. Among Atlantiss final contributions to the ISS is the Robotic Refueling Mission, developed at Goddard Space Flight Center. Atlantis brought this module to the International Space Station, where it will provide key support in maintaining future spacecrafts for years to come. STS-135 astronauts traveled to Goddard to complete special training for these robotics, a major component of the final shuttle mission. RRM is one of dozens of Goddard payloads to travel aboard orbiters into space throughout the 30-year flight history of the Shuttle Program. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASAs mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASAs accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agencys mission.

Mission Specialist Bruce McCandless II, is seen further away from the confines and safety of his ship than any previous astronaut has ever been. This space first was made possible by the Manned Manuevering Unit or MMU, a nitrogen jet propelled backpack. After a series of test maneuvers inside and above Challenger's payload bay, McCandless went "free-flying" to a distance of 320 feet away from the Orbiter. This stunning orbital panorama view shows McCandless out there amongst the black and blue of Earth and space. (02/12/1984)

The thin line of Earth's atmosphere and the setting sun are featured in this image photographed by a crew member on the International Space Station while space shuttle Atlantis (STS-129) remains docked with the station. 11/23/09

NASA image acquired July 19, 2011 - Silhouetted against the Earth, Atlantis flies into the rising Sun in this photograph taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station on July 19, 2011. On July 20, the shuttle undocked from the station for the final time and began preparations to return home. During their 13 days in space, the shuttle astronauts supplied the International Space Station with a new logistics module, tested tools, technologies, and techniques to refuel satellites in space, and collected old equipment from the space station. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

From 220 miles above Earth, one of the Expedition 25 crew members on the International Space Station took this night time photo featuring the bright lights of Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt on the Mediterranean coast. The Nile River and its delta stand out clearly as well. On the horizon, the airglow of the atmosphere is seen across the Mediterranean. The Sinai Peninsula, at right, is outlined wit

STS-125 Mission Specialist Andrew Feustel positioned on a foot restraint on the end of Atlantis' remote manipulator system moves the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) during the mission's third session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. Photo credit: NASA May 16, 2009

Expedition 35 Flight Engineers Chris Cassidy (pictured) and Tom Marshburn (out of frame) completed a spacewalk at 2:14 p.m. EDT May 11, 2013 to inspect and replace a pump controller box on the International Space Stations far port truss (P6) leaking ammonia coolant. The two NASA astronauts began the 5-hour, 30-minute spacewalk at 8:44 a.m. A leak of ammonia coolant from the area near or at the location of a Pump and Flow Control Subassembly was detected on Thursday, May 9, prompting engineers and flight controllers to begin plans to support the spacewalk. The device contains the mechanical systems that drive the cooling functions for the port truss.

A picturesque line of thunderstorms and numerous circular cloud patterns filled the view as the International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 20 crew members looked out at the limb (blue line on the horizon) of the Earth. The region shown in the astronaut photograph (top image) includes an unstable, active atmosphere forming a large area of cumulonimbus clouds in various stages of development. The crew was looking west-southwest from the Amazon Basin, along the Rio Madeira toward Bolivia when the image was taken.

Mission Specialist John Grunsfeld is positioned on a foot restraint on the end of Atlantis' remote manipulator system and Andrew Feustel (top center), mission specialist, participate in the mission's fifth and final spacewalk.

Close views of Paul Richards during an Extravehicular Activity (EVA) on the International Space Station (ISS). View STS102-346-021 is a crew pick selection.

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Hyperspace Portal (Or Massive Black Hole...) Found In Deep Space (PICTURE)

New Robotic Refueling Technologies Tested By NASA

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Image Caption: RROxiTT lead roboticist Alex Janas stands with the Oxidizer Nozzle Tool as he examines the work site. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn

[ Watch The Video: Teaming Up to Test the Future of Satellite Refueling ]

Dewayne Washington and Adrienne Alessandro, NASA

The Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office (SSCO) at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., checked another critical milestone off their list with the completion of their Remote Robotic Oxidizer Transfer Test (RROxiTT) in February 2014.

This is the first time that anyone has tested this type of technology, and weve proven that it works. Its ready for the next step to flight, says Frank Cepollina, veteran leader of the five servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope and the associate director of SSCO.

RROxiTT gives NASA, and the satellite community at large, confidence that advanced satellite refueling and maintenance technologies arent a wild dream of the future, says Cepollina. Theyre being built and tested today and the capabilities that they can unlock can become a reality.

Since 2009, SSCO has been investigating human and robotic satellite servicing while developing the technologies necessary to bring on-orbit spacecraft inspection, repair, refueling, component replacement and assembly capabilities to space.

Taking lessons learned from the successful Robotic Refueling Mission, the SSCO team devised the ground-based RROxiTT to test how robots can transfer hazardous oxidizer, at flight-like pressures and flow rates, through the propellant valve and into the mock tank of a satellite.

While this capability could be applied to spacecraft in multiple orbits, SSCO focused RROxiTT specifically on technologies that could help satellites traveling the busy space highway of geosynchronous Earth orbit, or GEO.

Located about 22,000 miles above Earth, this orbital path is home to more than 400 satellites, many of which beam communications, television and weather data to customers worldwide.

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New Robotic Refueling Technologies Tested By NASA

Commercial Space Race Heats Up as Antares Creeps Up on Falcon 9 Rocket

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SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket currently is NASA's cargo hauler to the International Space Station, but Orbital Sciences is set for an April test flight of its Antares rocket

ORBITAL SCIENCES

The Falcon 9 rocket, which made its fifth successful flight on 1 March, has stolen the spotlight in the commercial space race. Built by SpaceX, a young company based in Hawthorne, California, the rocket has become NASAs choice for hauling cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). But it may soon have competition from a rocket that has kept a low profile (seeBattle of the rockets).

After years of delays, Orbital Sciences of Dulles, Virginia, has slated the first test flight of its Antares rocket for April. If that goes well, its second mission could carry an unmanned Cygnus spacecraft to the ISS within months. Theres no one main problem, no show-stopper, says Orbital spokesman Barron Beneski. In hindsight, this has just taken us longer to do than we thought it would.

Both companies have received hundreds of millions of dollars from NASAs Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. With the space shuttle retiring in 2011, the agency wanted alternatives to paying for ISS deliveries aboard the Russian Progress and Soyuz craft. NASA deliberately put two companies in competition with each other to keep prices down over the long run and to attract other customers. The government is the necessary anchor tenant for commercial cargo, but its not sufficient to build a new economic ecosystem, says Scott Hubbard, an aeronautics researcher at Stanford University in California and former director of NASAs Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.

With 30 years of experience in making satellites and rockets, Orbital once seemed the safer bet. Instead of assembling its vehicles from scratch like SpaceX, Orbital uses parts made by companies with proven track records. The core of the first stage of Antares was designed and built by veterans KB Yuzhnoye and Yuzhmash, both based in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. Cygnuss sensors come from Mitsubishi Electric in Tokyo and its pressurized cargo module was built at a Thales Alenia Space plant in Turin, Italy. Orbital used more heritage technology, says Alan Lindenmoyer, manager of NASAs commercial crew and cargo program. That was less risky for us.

But the company did not enter COTS until 2008, two years after SpaceX. With the clock ticking, NASA allocated less money for Orbital and ordered a simpler ship. Unlike SpaceXs Dragon capsule, Cygnus cant carry sensitive biological experiments, such as those that grow protein crystals in microgravity. It burns up on re-entry, so it cant return samples to Earth. And it cant be modified to carry humans.

Image: Courtesy of Nature Magazine

Nor has it yet flown. Orbital chose to launch from NASAs Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia; less crowded than Cape Canaveral in Florida, which hosts most NASA rocket launches, Wallops usually caters for smaller vehicles such as scientific balloons and sounding rockets. The facilitys Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport had to build a new launch pad for Antares, which took longer than expected. Originally scheduled for 2010, the demonstration launch slipped to 2012, and then to 2013, after Hurricane Sandy hit the spaceport last October.

Antares engines, built half a century ago for Russias Moon program and recently refurbished, have also proven finicky. A test on 13February was aborted when pressure anomalies were detected in one of the engines. A successful test on 22February means that Orbital can now proceed to a launch in April.

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Commercial Space Race Heats Up as Antares Creeps Up on Falcon 9 Rocket

NASA tests new robotic refueling technologies

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NASA has successfully concluded a remotely controlled test of new technologies that would empower future space robots to transfer hazardous oxidizer a type of propellant into the tanks of satellites in space today.

Concurrently on the ground, NASA is incorporating results from this test and the Robotic Refueling Mission on the International Space Station to prepare for an upcoming ground-based test of a full-sized robotic servicer system that will perform tasks on a mock satellite client.

Collectively, these efforts are part of an ongoing and aggressive technology development campaign to equip robots and humans with the tools and capabilities needed for spacecraft maintenance and repair, the assembly of large space telescopes, and extended human exploration.

Technologies to Help Satellites That Help Earth

The Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office (SSCO) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., checked another critical milestone off their list with the completion of their Remote Robotic Oxidizer Transfer Test (RROxiTT) in February 2014.

"This is the first time that anyone has tested this type of technology, and we've proven that it works. It's ready for the next step to flight," says Frank Cepollina, veteran leader of the five servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope and the associate director of SSCO.

"RROxiTT gives NASA, and the satellite community at large, confidence that advanced satellite refueling and maintenance technologies aren't a wild dream of the future," says Cepollina. "They're being built and tested today and the capabilities that they can unlock can become a reality."

Since 2009, SSCO has been investigating human and robotic satellite servicing while developing the technologies necessary to bring on-orbit spacecraft inspection, repair, refueling, component replacement and assembly capabilities to space.

Taking lessons learned from the successful Robotic Refueling Mission, the SSCO team devised the ground-based RROxiTT to test how robots can transfer hazardous oxidizer, at flight-like pressures and flow rates, through the propellant valve and into the mock tank of a satellite.

While this capability could be applied to spacecraft in multiple orbits, SSCO focused RROxiTT specifically on technologies that could help satellites traveling the busy space highway of geosynchronous Earth orbit, or GEO.

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NASA tests new robotic refueling technologies

Actors Do Tequila Shots on Red Carpet

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I guess for some actors on the red carpet, worry is a common emotion to flow through their heads. Tripping, sweating too much and wardrobe malfunctions happen more often than not causing even the a-listers to fret.

Luckily, Jimmy Kimmel saved the day, helping resolve some of those pre-show jitters.

Jimmy Kimmel Lives goofy red carpet correspondent Guillermo hit the Academy Awards carpet on Sunday where he shared in some great interactions between him and Hollywoods finest.

Guillermo spotted the gorgeous Amy Adams on the carpet and decided to help her out. Not only did he prepare an acceptance speech for the American Hustle actress just in case she won, he also poured her a drink.

Id like to thank Guillermo. If he were here, Id hug him and kiss his mustache, she read.

Guillermo then offered Adams some speech juice to help ease her anxious nerves.

You better not do to much speech juice with too many people, she warned the hilarious red carpet interviewer.

He even made jokes with actors about the hit animated movie Frozen. He said, its about Joan Rivers face.

Guillermo tossed tequila back with Michael Strahan, Maria Menounos, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Channing Tatum and Kristin Chenoweth.

Later, he tried to stir the pot by starting rumors with Meryl Streep and Glen Close about who was the better actress.

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Actors Do Tequila Shots on Red Carpet

Interpol Reviewing 'Red Notice' Request for Yanukovych's Arrest

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Interpol is reviewing a request by Ukrainian authorities to arrest ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, the international police agency said Thursday.

The so-called "Red Notice," or international wanted persons alert, was received on Wednesday and called for Yanukovych to be held on charges that include abuse of power and murder.

Interpol, based in Lyon, France, said in a statement that it was assessing the request to determine whether it conformed with the law-enforcement agency's constitution and rules.

All 190 Interpol member countries have been informed of the review, it added.

A Red Notice is a way to inform member countries that an arrest warrant has been issued, but is not an international arrest warrant. Interpol cannot force any member country to arrest a person in a Red Notice; national police officials must make the arrest.

Interpol has seven other international notices, including an Orange Notice which warns of imminent threats to safety and a Yellow Notice, used to help locate missing persons.

The announcement from Interpol came hours after Secretary of State John Kerry met with his Russian counterpart for the second time in as many days to discuss the simmering situation in Ukraine. President Barack Obama also held a news conference on Thursday to address the crisis, saying a "path to de-escalation" exists but that the United States and the international community believe borders cannot "be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders."

First published March 6 2014, 11:08 AM

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Interpol Reviewing 'Red Notice' Request for Yanukovych's Arrest