Europe’s largest spaceship now connected to International Space Station

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Washington, June 16 (ANI): ESA's fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle, Albert Einstein - the heaviest spacecraft ever launched by Europe, completed a flawless rendezvous with the International Space Station on Saturday.

The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is now connected to the Space Station.

Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of ESA said that with the fourth ATV now ready to support and supply the Space Station with essential supplies and scientific experiments, ESA again proves itself to be a reliable partner in the international station upon which the future can be developed.

The 20-tonne ferry flew autonomously and docked with the 420-tonne complex with a precision of a few cm as both circled Earth at 28 000 km/h.

The rendezvous and docking were performed autonomously by ATV's own computers, closely monitored by flight controllers from ESA and France's CNES space agency at the ATV Control Centre in Toulouse, France, and by Luca Parmitano and his crewmates on the Station.

Like its predecessors, ATV-4 is much more than a simple supply vessel: it is a space tug, a tanker, a freighter and a temporary habitation module.

To compensate for the natural decay in altitude of the Station's orbit caused by atmospheric drag, it is loaded with 2580 kg of propellant to perform regular reboosts.

It can even move the entire space complex out of the path of hazardous space debris.

ATV also provides attitude control when other spacecraft are approaching the Station.

In its tanks, it carries 860 kg of propellant, 100 kg of oxygen and air, and 570 kg of drinking water, all to be pumped into the Station's tanks.

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Europe's largest spaceship now connected to International Space Station

NASA Awards Office of Human Capital Management Professional Services Contract

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NASA has selected All Native, Inc. of Winnebago, Neb. for award of the Office of Human Capital Management Professional Services contract. The work will be performed at NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C., and at all NASA Goddard Space Flight Center facilities located in Greenbelt, Md., Wallops Island, Va., and New York City, N.Y.

This is a Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract with a five year ordering period and a maximum ordering value of $23 million. This competitive procurement was set aside for certified 8(a) businesses. There will be a phase-in period to commence on August 2, 2013. Full contract performance will begin on September 1, 2013.

Under this contract, All Native, Inc. will provide a variety of operational support services to NASA GSFC and Headquarters, including, but not limited to, recruitment projects, human capital projects; ongoing staffing and classification services; learning, training, coaching, leadership development; organizational effectiveness, change management; career development, labor relations, awards, performance management, and work life initiatives.

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

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NASA Awards Office of Human Capital Management Professional Services Contract

NASA’s Kepler telescope spots 503 new potential alien planets

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Washington, Jun 16:

NASAs Kepler telescope has identified 503 new potential alien planets, some of which may even be habitable.

Some of these new planet candidates are small and some reside in the habitable zone of their stars, but much work remains to be done to verify these results, said Kepler mission manager Roger Hunter, of NASAs Ames Research Centre.

The latest finding brings Keplers tally of exoplanet candidates to 3,216, SPACE.com reported.

While as just 132 of the potential planets have been confirmed by follow-up observations to date, however, mission scientists expect at least 90 per cent will end up being the real deal.

Researchers said the new haul was pulled from observations Kepler made during its first three years of operation, from May 2009 to March 2012.

The telescope has not done any planet hunting since being hobbled by a failure in its orientation-maintaining system last month.

The $600 million Kepler spacecraft launched in March 2009, kicking off a 3.5-year mission to determine how common Earth-like planets are throughout the Milky Way galaxy.

Kepler spots exoplanets by detecting the tiny brightness dips caused when they pass in front of their stars faces from the instruments perspective.

The observatory does this precision work by staying locked onto 150,000-plus target stars using three gyroscope-like devices called reaction wheels.

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NASA’s Kepler telescope spots 503 new potential alien planets

Self-clean effect on porous surfaces due to nano surface impregnation – nanotechnology product – Video

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Self-clean effect on porous surfaces due to nano surface impregnation - nanotechnology product
Impregnation of porous surfaces based on nano technology creates an invisible surface layer protecting the surface against water, dirt and sediment. This eff...

By: NanoPromEU

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Self-clean effect on porous surfaces due to nano surface impregnation - nanotechnology product - Video