'Bullet hole' in space station

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Chris Hadfield (via Twitter as (at)Cmdr_Hadfield)

Astronaut Chris Hadfield snapped this shot of a "bullet hole" created by a micrometeoroid or piece of space junk in one of the space station's solar arrays.

By Miriam Kramer Space.com

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have dodged a cosmic bullet ... literally.

A small piece of space junk or naturally occurring celestial debris created the tiny hole in one of the space station's wing-like solar arrays at some point in the outpost's 14-year history in orbit. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield spotted the puncture and posted a photo of it on Twitter on Monday.

"Bullet hole a small stone from the universe went through our solar array," Hadfield wrote, suspecting the hole was caused by a tiny space rock called a micrometeoroid. "Glad it missed the hull." [Chris Hadfield's Video Guide to Life in Space]

NASA experts estimate that millions of micrometeorites and bits of man-made debris orbit the Earth in the range of operational satellites and the space station. These shards of satellites, rockets and rocky debris are traveling at an average speed of 22,000 mph (35,406 km/h). The space station, for comparison, orbits the Earth at a speed of about 17,500 mph (28,164 km/h).

"The 'bullet' that created the hole in the solar array was probably due to a 1 mm to 2 mm diameter MMOD (micrometeoroids and orbital debris) impact, assuming the hole was on the order of 0.25 inches in diameter," William Jeffs, a NASA spokesman, told Space.com in an email. "A 2 mm size MMOD particle is expected to hit somewhere on (the International Space Station) every 6 months or so."

If the piece of space debriswere to collide with the hull, the space station's shielding would probably protect the crew from being adversely impacted, Jeffs added.

NASA scientists regularly track pieces of space debris larger than 4 inches (10 centimeters) across in order to avoid potentially destructive collisions. Radar systems track these larger pieces of space junk to alert space station operators and satellite controllers to any threats.

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'Bullet hole' in space station

Astronaut Spies 'Bullet Hole' in Space Station Solar Wing (Photo)

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Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have dodged a cosmic bullet ... literally.

A small piece of space junk or naturally occurring celestial debris created the tiny hole in one of the space station's wing-like solar arrays at some point in the outpost's 14-year history in orbit. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield spotted the puncture and posted a photo of it on Twitter on Monday (April 29).

"Bullet hole a small stone from the universe went through our solar array," Hadfield wrote, suspecting the hole was caused by a tiny space rock called a micrometeoroid. "Glad it missed the hull." [Chris Hadfield's Video Guide to Life in Space]

NASA experts estimate that millions of micrometeorites and bits of man-made debris orbit the Earth in the range of operational satellites and the space station. These shards of satellites, rockets and rocky debris are traveling at an average speed of 22,000 mph (35,406 km/h). The space station, for comparison, orbits the Earth at a speed of about 17,500 mph (28,164 km/h).

"The 'bullet' that created the hole in the solar array was probably due to a 1 mm to 2 mm diameter MMOD [micrometeoroids and orbital debris] impact, assuming the hole was on the order of 0.25 inches in diameter," William Jeffs, a NASA spokesperson told SPACE.com in an email. "A 2 mm size MMOD particle is expected to hit somewhere on [the International Space Station] every 6 months or so."

If the piece of space debris were to collide with the hull, the space station's shielding would probably protect the crew from being adversely impacted, Jeffs added.

NASA scientists regularly track pieces of space debris larger than 4 inches (10 centimeters) across in order to avoid potentially destructive collisions. Radar systems track these larger pieces of space junk to alert space station operators and satellite controllers to any threats.

"Collision with these particles can cause serious damage or catastrophic failure to spacecraft or satellites and is a life-threatening risk to astronauts conducting extra-vehicular activities in space," NASA officials from the agency's Johnson Space Center wrote on the White Sands Test Facility website.

The International Space Station can maneuver out of the way of larger meteoroids and bits of debris if their orbits are tracked well ahead of time.

Particles smaller than 4 inches (10 cm) and larger than 0.4 inches (1 cm) pose a unique problem for tracking efforts, however.

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Astronaut Spies 'Bullet Hole' in Space Station Solar Wing (Photo)

Astronaut photographs cosmic 'bullet hole' in space station

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Chris Hadfield (via Twitter as (at)Cmdr_Hadfield)

Astronaut Chris Hadfield snapped this shot of a "bullet hole" created by a micrometeoroid or piece of space junk in one of the space station's solar arrays.

By Miriam Kramer Space.com

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have dodged a cosmic bullet ... literally.

A small piece of space junk or naturally occurring celestial debris created the tiny hole in one of the space station's wing-like solar arrays at some point in the outpost's 14-year history in orbit. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield spotted the puncture and posted a photo of it on Twitter on Monday.

"Bullet hole a small stone from the universe went through our solar array," Hadfield wrote, suspecting the hole was caused by a tiny space rock called a micrometeoroid. "Glad it missed the hull." [Chris Hadfield's Video Guide to Life in Space]

NASA experts estimate that millions of micrometeorites and bits of man-made debris orbit the Earth in the range of operational satellites and the space station. These shards of satellites, rockets and rocky debris are traveling at an average speed of 22,000 mph (35,406 km/h). The space station, for comparison, orbits the Earth at a speed of about 17,500 mph (28,164 km/h).

"The 'bullet' that created the hole in the solar array was probably due to a 1 mm to 2 mm diameter MMOD (micrometeoroids and orbital debris) impact, assuming the hole was on the order of 0.25 inches in diameter," William Jeffs, a NASA spokesman, told Space.com in an email. "A 2 mm size MMOD particle is expected to hit somewhere on (the International Space Station) every 6 months or so."

If the piece of space debriswere to collide with the hull, the space station's shielding would probably protect the crew from being adversely impacted, Jeffs added.

NASA scientists regularly track pieces of space debris larger than 4 inches (10 centimeters) across in order to avoid potentially destructive collisions. Radar systems track these larger pieces of space junk to alert space station operators and satellite controllers to any threats.

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Astronaut photographs cosmic 'bullet hole' in space station

Marshall Space Flight Center astrophysicist Chryssa Kouveliotou elected to the National Academy of Sciences

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HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Astrophysicist Chryssa Kouveliotou, a senior scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, has been elected to National Academy of Sciences. Membership in the academy comes by a vote of academy members and is conferred on a limited number of scientists each year with distinguished careers of ongoing scientific accomplishment. It is one of the highest honors in science.

Kouveliotou is the only living member of the academy in Alabama, but geneticist Louise Chow at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is a foreign associate, an affiliate honor given to foreign nationals that does not include voting rights in the academy.

Kouveliotou was on the original team that proved gamma rays were coming from outside the galaxy, and she is one of the principal scientists on the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor, an instrument flying aboard the Femi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.

Throughout her career, NASA said Thursday, Kouveliotou has worked on one "vital" NASA research mission after another, including the International Sun Earth Explorer-3, the Solar Maximum Mission and the Burst and Transient Source Experiment, which flew on NASA's Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory.

"I salute the National Academy of Sciences for their recognition of the groundbreaking scientific contributions that Dr. Kouveliotou has made in the field of high energy astrophysics," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "Her work in expanding our knowledge of the nature of cosmic gamma-ray bursts, and her broad efforts in the service of science are exemplary of the creativity, collaboration and innovation that are hallmarks of a great scientist. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to her, and am confident that she will continue to do great science and serve the nation as a member of the academy."

A native of Athens, Greece, Kouveliotou has received numerous awards. In 2012 alone, she earned the Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, and was named one of Time magazine's 25 most influential people in space.

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Marshall Space Flight Center astrophysicist Chryssa Kouveliotou elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Hawking eyes new milestone: Space flight

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LONDON: Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking has made it clear that being on a ventilator hasn't curbed his lifestyle and said his next aim is to go join British tycoon Richard Branson on a space flight as early as next year. "Being on a ventilator has not curbed my lifestyle. Since going on a ventilator full time I have been to Brussels, the Isle of Man, Geneva, Canada, California twice, and I hope to go into space with Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic," he said during a rare public appearance here.

It's been six long years since the Cambridge professor and author of the worldwide bestseller, 'A Brief History of Time', got a taste of weightlessness during a zero-G airplane flight from Nasa's Kennedy Space Center, but he still wants to feel the real deal aboard Virgin Galactic's 'SpaceShipTwo' rocket plane. After that flight Hawking declared, "Space, here I come!"

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Hawking eyes new milestone: Space flight

NASA GSFC Solicitation: Space Geodesy SLR

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Synopsis - May 02, 2013

General Information

Solicitation Number: RFI-2013SpaceGeodesySLR Posted Date: May 02, 2013 FedBizOpps Posted Date: May 02, 2013 Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No Original Response Date: Jun 07, 2013 Current Response Date: Jun 07, 2013 Classification Code: A -- Research and Development NAICS Code: 541712

Contracting Office Address

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 210.Y, Greenbelt, MD 20771

Description

Description

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Geodesy Project (SGP) is soliciting information to improve its understanding of the interest, capabilities, and Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) estimates for planning the construction, deployment, and operation of the next generation Space Geodesy (SG) Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) Stations that will be part of a new NASA's Space Geodetic Network (SGN). NASA is considering the construction of up to ten new SLR stations that will contribute to the larger Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS).

One of the main objectives of SGP is to produce the necessary observations for realization of the Terrestrial Reference Frame (TRF). Scientific objectives dictate the desire for a TRF definition with accuracy of 1 mm and stable to 0.1mm/yr (millimeters per year), including geocenter and with a scale accurate to 0.1ppb (parts per billion), and stable to 0.01 ppb/yr. (Source: Gross et al., 2009). This is a factor of 10-20 beyond current capability.

The NASA SGN will comprise integrated, multi-technique next generation space geodetic observing systems, as the core NASA contribution to a global network designed to produce the higher quality data required to maintain the Terrestrial Reference Frame and provide information essential for fully realizing the measurement potential of the current and coming generation of Earth Observing spacecraft. It is anticipated that to achieve the desired level of accuracy and stability the SG sites will collocate and use in unison several key techniques of observation, including Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS). Other secondary instruments (such as gravimeters) may be added.

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NASA GSFC Solicitation: Space Geodesy SLR

NASA's GROVER roves over snow for over a month

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NASA's GROVER, without solar panels. The laptop is a temporary fixture (Photo: Gabriel Trisca, Boise State University)

NASA's autonomous, solar-powered explorer GROVER has been kitted out with ground-penetrating radar to take to Greenland's ice sheet on Friday. There the robot will spend a month analyzing the accumulation of snow and how this contributes to the ice sheet over time. The scientists involved hope to identify a new layer of ice that has formed since summer 2012, an unusually warm summer which saw melting across 97 percent of the area of the ice sheet. During that time, an iceberg twice the size of Manhattan calved from the Petermann Glacier, part of the ice sheet.

NASA hopes it can offset its ice accumulation data against summer melt to gauge net loss.

Though ice sheet may sound modest next to the word glacier, it is actually reserved for only the largest contiguous chunks of ice. While any sheet more than 50,000 sq km (19,000 sq miles) qualifies, the only two sheets existent today surpass that threshold by a country mile. Greenland's ice sheet covers 1.7 million sq km of the country's land area (almost all of it in other words). The Antarctic ice sheet is much larger again, covering 14 million sq km.

GROVER stands for both Greenland Rover and Goddard Remotely Operated Vehicle for Exploration and Research. The explorer came about as a result of two summer engineering bootcamps held at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in 2010 and 2011. Students pitched the idea of a solar-powered rover to Goddard glaciologist Lora Koenig, who became an adviser to the GROVER project. Equipping GROVER with radar was Koenig's idea; an alternative to using manned snow-going vehicles or aircraft which are more expensive to operate.

With solar panels attached, GROVER stands 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, and weighs in at 800 pounds (360 kg). Though the steep angle the PV panels are mounted at would compromise efficiency in most environments, on the snowy ice sheet, the high reflectance of the ground means this is much less of an issue. Because energy is at a premium, a low-power radar system has been used, and GROVER will trundle along at an average of 2 km/h (1.2 mph). Despite this modest speed (actually, not so bad given its working environment), it's thought that GROVER will be capable of gathering more data than a besnowmobiled human, thanks to the sun shining all day at these latitudes during the summer months.

Initially GROVER will stay within a 3-mile range of base camp where it will communicate with the research team over Wi-Fi. Once it's confirmed that all systems are GROVER, the robot will be let off the leash and its data recovered at the end of the summer. In the future, though, the researchers hope that GROVER will be able to report data in real time via satellite. Though capable of functioning autonomously, a satellite link would allow researchers to take control of GROVER remotely.

Source: NASA

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NASA's GROVER roves over snow for over a month

Russia Charging NASA $70 Million per Spaceship Seat

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Commercial space flight is something NASA supports. The agency is working with Boeing, Space Exploration Technologies and Sierra Nevada Corp. to develop space taxis.

But until American companies get their ships together, we rely on our old space rival Russia to get us there. That means Russians can charge whatever they want and they are, Space.com says.

Ferrying American astronauts in Soyuz space capsules to the International Space Station through early 2017 will cost $70.7 million per seat (round trip) about $8 million more per seat than NASA has been paying under a contract that runs through 2015.

The new deal will cost $424 million, and provide six NASA astronauts a trip to and from the space station, plus training, support and rescue services. Adjusting the agreement now gives the Russian agency enough time to build the additional spaceships needed, NASA says.

Congress needs to approve $821 million for NASA in the next fiscal year to keep its Commercial Crew program on track to provide transport to U.S. astronauts later in 2017, Space.com says. That program is helping American companies build spaceships so we wont have to rely on Russias but Congress has underfunded the program by nearly half for the past two years.

In unrelated space news, NASA is inviting the public to send haiku messages to Mars. Submissions are being accepted through July 1, when theyll be voted on by the public. The winning messages and the names of all those who submitted poems will be put on a DVD and launched on the MAVEN spacecraft in November.

This article was originally published on MoneyTalksNews.com as 'Russia Charging NASA $70 Million per Spaceship Seat'.

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Russia Charging NASA $70 Million per Spaceship Seat

NASA to pay Russia $68m per rocket seat

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The cost of a ride to the International Space Station (ISS) just shot up like a rocket.

NASA will pay $US70.7 million ($A68.50 million) to Russia for each astronaut Moscow's space agency ferries into orbit in 2016 and 2017, the US space agency said.

NASA and Roscomos signed a $US424 million agreement to bring six US astronauts aloft for long-term mission aboard the ISS. The deal would cover all training, launch preparation, flight operation, landing and if needed rescue efforts.

The previous agreement had set the price at $US62.7 million per seat through 2015.

The US has been reliant on the Russian Soyuz craft to bring its astronauts into orbit since the retirement of its space shuttle fleet in 2011. The US is supporting the development of commercial spacecraft, which have so far delivered cargo to the ISS, but are not yet ready to carry crew.

'While our Russian counterparts have been good partners, it is unacceptable that we don't currently have an American capability to launch our own astronauts,' NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said.

He blamed politicians for not sufficiently funding the commercial crew program, leaving it short of its goal of ferrying astronauts by 2015, and instead forcing a continued reliance on Russian cooperation.

'If NASA had received (President Barack Obama's) requested funding for this plan, we would not have been forced to recently sign a new contract with Roscosmos for Soyuz transportation flights,' he wrote on a NASA blog.

'Because the funding for the president's plan has been significantly reduced, we now won't be able to support American launches until 2017.'

He warned further funding reductions could further delay the United States' return to spaceflight and asked Congress to allocate Obama's full $US821 million budget request.

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NASA to pay Russia $68m per rocket seat

NASA mission has created best maps of Colorado snowpack

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NASA has created the first, most accurate maps of the entire snowpack of two major watersheds in Colorado and California, according to an agency news release.

The maps were created through a new NASA airborne mission called Airborne Snow Observatory.

The data from this mission will be used to better estimate how much water will be produced from the melting basins, improving water management for those around the world who depend on that melt for supply, according to the release issued Thursday.

"The Airborne Snow Observatory is on the cutting edge of snow remote-sensing science," Jared Entin, a program manager in the Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington said in the release. "Decision makers like power companies and water managers now are receiving these data, which may have immediate economic benefits."

For more information about the Airborne Snow Observatory, visit aso.jpl.nasa.gov.

Ryan Parker: 303-954-2409, rparker@denverpost.com or twitter.com/ryanparkerdp

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NASA mission has created best maps of Colorado snowpack