Space Station to reposition for science

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The International Space Station seen as the sun rises from behind Earth. Credit: NASA/ESA

Published: Nov. 28, 2012 at 4:08 PM

PARIS, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- The International Space Station will reposition itself for a better view of the sun, the first-ever attitude change for scientific reasons alone, officials say.

The ISS will turn itself to position the European Space Agency's SOLAR instrument for a better view of the sun.

The instrument has been monitoring the sun's output since it was installed on one of the station's laboratory modules in February 2008, a release from ESA's Paris headquarters said Wednesday.

"That is quite an achievement," says Nadia This, operations engineer at the Belgian User Support and Operations Centre that controls SOLAR. "The instrument was designed to work for only 18 months."

SOLAR needs a direct view of the sun to take measurements but the space station's normal orbit obscures the view for two weeks out of every month.

"We want to record a complete rotation of the sun and that takes around 25 days," Nadia said.

SOLAR started recording a full rotation of the sun Nov. 19 and Saturday will spend two hours turning about 7 degrees so observations can continue.

It will hold this angle for 10 days before returning to its original attitude, ESA officials said.

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Space Station to reposition for science

Space Station Turning Towards Sun For Experiment

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November 28, 2012

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

The International Space Station will be keeping its SOLAR instrument this weekend pointed towards the sun for a better view.

The European Space Agencys SOLAR instrument was first installed on ESAs Columbus laboratory module in February 2008. It will be celebrating its fifth year next year.

That is quite an achievement, Nadia This, operations engineer at the Belgian User Support and Operations Centre that controls SOLAR, said in a statement. The instrument was designed to work for only 18 months.

The instrument needs to be in direct view of the Sun in order to help snag measurements, but the Space Stations normal orbit obscures the view for two weeks every month.

We want to record a complete rotation of the Sun and that takes around 25 days, Nadia said in the statement.

In order to do this, the station will be moving its orbit, which will involve many factors aside from calculating the correct orbit.

ESA said communication antennas need to be reoriented to stay in contact with Earth and other scientific experiments must be adjusted.

All five Space Station partners were involved in some high-level discussions in order to get the go-ahead for the orbit positioning.

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Space Station Turning Towards Sun For Experiment

Webb Mirrors Arrive at NASA Goddard – Video

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Webb Mirrors Arrive at NASA Goddard
James Webb Space Telescope #39;s secondary mirror, along with a primary mirror segment arrived at NASA #39;s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., on Nov. 5, 2012. Credit: NASA #39;s Goddard Space Flight Center Related story: http://www.nasa.govFrom:nvdktubeViews:0 0ratingsTime:02:17More inScience Technology

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Manned Spacecraft Center : Where Tomorrow Begins – 1970’s NASA Educational Documentary – Video

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Manned Spacecraft Center : Where Tomorrow Begins - 1970 #39;s NASA Educational Documentary
An overview of NASA #39;s Manned Spacecraft Center, which played a key role during the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo Skylab space flight programs. Note: Comments stating the moon landings were a hoax will be deleted and user blocked.From:wdtvlive42Views:0 5ratingsTime:29:56More inScience Technology

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History of US Manned Space Flight, from Alan Shepard to STS-26 "Return to Flight" 1988 NASA – Video

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History of US Manned Space Flight, from Alan Shepard to STS-26 "Return to Flight" 1988 NASA
more at scitech.quickfound.net "The history of America #39;s space program, from Alan Shepard #39;s Mercury flight to Space Shuttle flight STS-26." Excellent US manned spaceflight highlights, with sound, but no distracting narration. Public domain film from NASA, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied. The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization. en.wikipedia.org The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation #39;s civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research. Since February 2006, NASA #39;s mission statement has been to "pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research." On September 14, 2011, NASA announced that it had selected the design of a new Space Launch System that it said would take the agency #39;s astronauts farther into space than ever before and provide the cornerstone for future human space exploration efforts by the US NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The agency became operational on October 1, 1958. US space exploration efforts have since been led by NASA, including the Apollo moon-landing missions, the Skylab space station, and later the Space Shuttle ...From:webdev17Views:0 2ratingsTime:12:43More inScience Technology

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History of US Manned Space Flight, from Alan Shepard to STS-26 "Return to Flight" 1988 NASA - Video

Webb Space Telescope Mirrors Arrive at NASA Goddard – Video

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Webb Space Telescope Mirrors Arrive at NASA Goddard
Webb Mirrors Arrive at NASA Goddard. James Webb Space Telescope #39;s secondary mirror, along with a primary mirror segment arrived at NASA #39;s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., on Nov. 5, 2012. Credit: NASA #39;s Goddard Space Flight Center.From:okrajoeViews:3 0ratingsTime:02:08More inFilm Animation

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Webb Space Telescope Mirrors Arrive at NASA Goddard - Video

J-2X Power Pack: Back in the Saddle – Video

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J-2X Power Pack: Back in the Saddle
J-2X: Back in the Saddle. A J-2X power pack assembly burns brightly during a hot fire test Nov. 27 at NASA #39;s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Engineers pulled the assembly from the test stand in September to install additional instrumentation in the fuel turbopump. The test, which ran for 278 seconds, verified the newly installed strain gauges designed to measure the turbine structural strain when the turbopump is spinning at high speeds that vary between 25000 and 30000 rotations-per-minute. The J-2X engine -- built by Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif. -- will power the upper stage of NASA #39;s Space Launch System, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The new heavy-lift rocket system will launch the Orion spacecraft and enable humans to explore new destinations beyond low Earth orbit. (NASA/SSC).From:okrajoeViews:2 0ratingsTime:05:02More inFilm Animation

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J-2X Power Pack: Back in the Saddle - Video

MESSENGER Mercury Laser Altimeter – Video

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MESSENGER Mercury Laser Altimeter
MESSENGER Laser Altimeter. MESSENGER #39;s Mercury Laser Altimeter sends out laser pulses that hit the ground and return to the instrument. The amount of light that returns for each pulse gives the reflectance at that point on the surface. The amount of time it takes the pulse to make its trip indicates how far away that point on the surface is, allowing the topography to be mapped. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.From:okrajoeViews:1 0ratingsTime:00:11More inNews Politics

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MESSENGER Laser Altimeter Illustration – Video

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MESSENGER Laser Altimeter Illustration
This video shows how the shape of Mecury is seen from orbit. MESSENGER #39;s Mercury Laser Altimeter sends out laser pulses that hit the ground and return to the instrument. The amount of light that returns for each pulse gives the reflectance at that point on the surface. The amount of time it takes the pulse to make its trip indicates how far away that point on the surface is, allowing the topography to be mapped. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight CenterFrom:knowledgeorbViews:1 0ratingsTime:00:11More inScience Technology

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NASA's Teresa Vanhooser appointed deputy director of Marshall Center

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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Teresa Vanhooser, a native of Johnson City, Tenn., has been appointed deputy director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

In her new position, Vanhooser will work with Marshall Center Director Patrick Scheuermann to manage one of NASA's largest field installations, with nearly 6,000 on- and near-site civil service and contractor employees -- including those at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans -- and an annual budget of approximately $2.5 billion. Vanhooser will help oversee a broad range of propulsion, scientific and space transportation activities contributing to the nation's space program.

"There is no better candidate than Teresa Vanhooser to help me lead the Marshall Center into NASA's next era of exploration and discovery," Scheuermann said. "Over the course of her career, she has led, managed and supported projects and programs that span the breadth of Marshall's mission: space systems, propulsion systems, flight hardware, science and engineering.

"Teresa remains a tireless champion of the agency's goals and the nation's interests," he added. "I'm extremely proud to call on her to serve Marshall and NASA in this critical post."

Vanhooser previously was manager of the Marshall Center's Flight Programs & Partnerships Office from 2011 to 2012, leading implementation of the center's human exploration projects and tasks; flight mission programs and projects; and external partnerships.

She was appointed in 2000 to the Senior Executive Service, the personnel system that covers most of the top managerial, supervisory and policy positions in the executive branch of the federal government.

From 2007 to 2011, Vanhooser served as deputy manager, acting manager and manager of Ares Projects -- the launch vehicle development effort at Marshall which laid the foundation for development of NASA's Space Launch System, the heavy-lift launch vehicle set to carry human explorers to new destinations beyond Earth orbit.

From 2004 to 2007, she was co-deputy director of the Engineering Directorate at Marshall, overseeing design, testing, evaluation and operation of hardware and software associated with space transportation, spacecraft systems and science instruments and payloads at the center.

Vanhooser was deputy director of the Flight Projects Directorate in 2004. She was responsible for project management, design, development, integration, testing and operations of ground and flight systems for the International Space Station, and oversaw operations of the Chandra X-ray Observatory -- the world's most powerful X-ray telescope.

From 2000 to 2004, she was manager of the Payload Operations and Integration Department, overseeing all space station science research experiment operations, payload training and safety programs for the station crew and ground support personnel.

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NASA's Teresa Vanhooser appointed deputy director of Marshall Center

Comment: Team up with China in space

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The future of America's space program is at a critical point in time; decisions are being made that will affect our ability to successfully maintain our leadership in human space flight, our national security and our capability to successfully compete with the international community in the commercial use of space.

What does the future hold for U.S. human spaceflight? The United States had been the undisputed leader in space exploration for several decades, until recently.

With the completion of its last flight in July of 2011, the space shuttle has been arbitrarily retired. And today, Russia is the only partner in the International Space Station program that is able to transport astronauts and cosmonauts to and from low Earth orbit (LEO).

BIG PIC: Historic Pairing: Shuttle Docked to the ISS

The space shuttle amassed an impressive record of achievement during its lifetime, culminating in the very successful assembly of the space station. It was a very versatile spacecraft that allowed the crews to perform extravehicular activities (EVAs), assemble structures in space, repair satellites and perform spacecraft retrieval missions.

In addition, the shuttle was also a superb research platform, especially when equipped with a Spacelab or Spacehab module. It could carry a cargo of 60,000 pounds (27,000 kilograms) to orbit or return a cargo of equal weight to Earth.

In its place the U.S. is developing Orion, referred to as a Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV). Orion returns the nation to flying capsules that return to Earth via parachutes using technology from the 1960s. It has no capability to carry cargo, support EVAs, do structural assembly in space, accomplish satellite repair or retrieval missions. It returns to Earth by parachute, landing in the water, as Orion is too heavy to be recovered on land.

The MPCV is supposedly being developed for exploration missions beyond Earth orbit but it provides no protection from space radiation for the crew. The first planned human flight is currently scheduled for 2021. That date is dependent upon the availability of a new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that is yet to be developed.

Currently, only funds for research, development and risk mitigation have been awarded for SLS, which raises the question of whether or not the launch system will ever be developed at all.

PHOTOS: Inside Atlantis' Final Space Station Mission

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Comment: Team up with China in space

Factbox – Sabre Engine could revolutionise space flight

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(Reuters) - Here is a look at the Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE) developed by Reaction Engines Ltd over the last 20 years which could power a re-usable space plane.

Sabre will be a new engine class that can operate in both air-breathing and rocket modes.

* Alan Bond, a former British aircraft engineer, began his career with Rolls-Royce's Rocket Division, and went on to design the HOTOL space plane. The HOTOL or "Horizontal Take Off and Landing" project was to be fitted with an air-breathing engine, the RB454, which would extract the air's oxygen to burn. Once the air became too thin, a small supply of Liquid Oxygen would be used to place the craft in orbit. Around 7 tons of cargo could have been orbited for an estimated cost of 5 million pounds, less than for a Space Shuttle launch. The HOTOL study was launched in 1986, but two years later the government refused to fund it further. In 1989 Bond helped form Reaction and designed its new concept craft, Skylon.

* Designing a single stage to orbit propulsion system has been unsuccessful till now, largely due to the weight of the on-board oxidiser including liquid oxygen, needed by conventional rocket engines. A possible solution was to reduce the weight by using oxygen in the atmosphere in the combustion process just like an ordinary jet engine. The saving in weight would enable single stage launch vehicles to be re-usable. Ultra-lightweight heat exchangers are the key enabling components in the engines for Mach 5 cruising speed and aircraft-like access to space.

* This new approach would enable Sabre-powered vehicles to save carrying over 250 tons of on-board oxidant on their way to orbit, and removes the necessity for massive throw-away first stages that are jettisoned.

* Sabre could be the first engine to achieve this goal by operating in two modes: initially in air-breathing mode and then in conventional rocket mode. The rocket engine sucks in atmospheric air as a source of oxygen (as in a typical jet engine) to burn with its liquid hydrogen fuel in the rocket combustion chamber. Secondly in conventional rocket mode - the engine is above the atmosphere and transitions to using on-board liquid oxygen.

* The Skylon space plane only exists on paper. It would use the Sabre engine, could operate without a pilot, and be capable of transporting 15 tonnes of cargo into space. Lapcat is a concept passenger aircraft that could use the Sabre engine to cut flight time from Brussels to Sydney to less than 4 hours.

Sources: Reuters/http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/http://www.britain-in-space.co.uk

(Reporting by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)

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Factbox - Sabre Engine could revolutionise space flight

PSX – Saga Frontier: Red Walkthrough Part 16 – Wakatu and the Sword Card – Video

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PSX - Saga Frontier: Red Walkthrough Part 16 - Wakatu and the Sword Card
RetroPlay: Video Game Walkthroughs Saga Frontier: Red #39;s Scenario by: OmegaSion With Gen #39;s help, Red heads to Wakatu in search of the Sword Card. Here we go with my least favorite card for the Arcane Gift. It #39;s my least favorite due to the layout of the area, and the little #39;mini-game #39; you have to play to get the card. I get lucky and nail it on the third try. Next segment will be getting the treasures and finding the Sword Chamber while leaving Wakatu.From:OmegaSionViews:2 0ratingsTime:23:16More inGaming

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PSX - Saga Frontier: Red Walkthrough Part 16 - Wakatu and the Sword Card - Video

Hall of Famer happy to call Carlsbad home

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CARLSBAD Becky Thompson says her legacy will be Becky's Drive-In on West Church Street, but others would point to a slightly wider sphere of fame.

In fact, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will remember her as a member of the All American Red Heads and as a basketball pioneer in 1961-1962.

"There wasn't anything else for women then," Thompson said. "I was lucky that I had a junior high team to play on and in high school. But we were pioneers for women's basketball."

The Read Heads played from 1936-1986 and lived up to their promise to play anyone, anytime, any-where with 200 games that had them traveling 60,000 miles a year from small gyms to huge areanas while often by car.

"We practiced and played every day. If we played that night, we'd been practicing in the morning," Thompson said.

And what did they get for their efforts? "We made $300 a month and $10 for meals; we didn't play for a lot, but we loved the game."

The team barnstormed across the country and were one of the first women's teams to play by men's rules. At the time women often played a version of basketball that was six-on-six, with some of the players limited to one end of the floor. The Red Heads proved that women could do just fine with the men's rules. They faced off against men's team and proved that they were just as capable as handling a basketball all across the court.

"That's the way we looked at it, we knew we were

She may have been a pioneer, but she first had to play against her four sisters, who she said were also accomplished athletes. She also attributed her growth as a player to her coach at Arkansas High School, Hoarce Boom

"He helped build character in me. I was a bit of a rebel at the time, and we hooked horns a few times, but I credit him with my success," Thompson said.

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Hall of Famer happy to call Carlsbad home

2012 WINTER SUPPLEMENT | Fencers Start Season Off Strong

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The fencing team is off to a strong start, with two tournaments in the books as the Red heads into its last competition of the semester at Brandeis on Dec. 2.The fencing team is off to a strong start, with two tournaments in the books as the Red heads into its last competition of the semester at Brandeis on Dec. 2.

Cornell kicked off the season competing in Philadelphia, Pa. on Oct. 27 at the Temple Open the largest fencing meet of its kind before travelling to Fairfield, Conn. on Nov. 11 to compete against eight schools in the Sacred Heart Invitational. The Red had a strong showing at both tournaments with Cornell having its best performance to date at Temple. A few weeks later, the team emerged victorious in its second tournament of the year, recording a winning record against every school it faced.

Our tournaments are getting progressively more difficult, said assistant head coach Oleg Brusilovsky. In our first tournament when we went to Temple and it was the best performance in history at the Temple Open. We medalled in every category and we were particularly impressed by [junior] foilist Christie McIntosh who beat a former world champion in the championship bout.

Each squad has been experiencing a successful start to the season, from foil to sabre to epee. At Temple, in a competition featuring more than 30 universities and 600 individual competitors, the foil squad placed five fencers in the Top-32, with three placing in the Top-5.

We all as a squad have been working really hard, McIntosh said. At every practice we all fence as many bouts as we can and no one has been slacking.

McIntosh bested the competition in a field of 81 foilists and earned a gold medal, with freshman Ediona Sera tying for third and freshman Angelica Gangemi placing fifth. Sophomore Allison Berdichevsky took 10th, while sophomore Alexis Mandon rounded out the group with a 32nd-place finish. The foilists had a program-best finish at the 33rd annual Temple Open.

The foil squad has been really great so far [this season,] McIntosh said. Weve got two freshmen starters whove had a great showing. Angelica [Gangemi] went undefeated at the [Sacred Heart Tournament] and Ediona Sera came in third at Temple.

The foil squad went undefeated while at the Sacred Heart Invitational, beating eight strong competitors. McIntosh dropped just one bout, finishing 19-1, while Gangemi stole the spotlight with her unblemished 19-0 record.

Our season is picking up and getting more challenging, McIntosh said. Weve had a great showing at Temple and Sacred Heart and thats warming us up for Brandeis.

Brandeis will offer the team its first real taste of strong competition for the year, according to the junior. Cornell will face off against teams from Boston College, North Carolina, Johns Hopkins, St. John's, MIT and host Brandeis.

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2012 WINTER SUPPLEMENT | Fencers Start Season Off Strong

ESA's Mars Express relays Curiosity data

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NASAs Curiosity Mars rover got a bit of help from the European Space Agency (ESA) in October. Beaming data back to Earth from the surface of the Red Planet is often tricky, and Curiosity regularly uses satellites to act as relays when a proper line of sight isn't available. On October 6, the ESA probe Mars Express took up the slack by relaying data and images for the rover as part of an ESA-NASA support agreement.

Mars Express received 15 minutes worth of scientific data from Curiosity and then beamed it to ESAs 35-meter antenna in New Norcia, Australia, which relayed it to the the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany. From there it was made immediately available to NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. The data included a pair of images of the rock designated Rocknest 3. These were before and after images of the rock specimen being hit by Curiositys laser.

Image relayed by Mars Express of Rocknest 3 before being struck by ChemCams laser (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP)

The quality of these images from ChemCam is outstanding, and the mosaic image of the spectrometer analyses has been essential for scientific interpretation of the data, said Sylvestre Maurice, Deputy Principal Investigator for ChemCam at Frances Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology. This combination of imaging and analysis has demonstrated its potential for future missions.

Most of Curiositys data is relayed by NASA's own satellites around Mars, but Mars Express acts as a backup relay in the event that the others arent available, as when it monitored Curiositys landing on August 6. It also acts as a relay for NASAs Opportunity rover.

Rocknest 3 indicating five spots where it was hit with the laser (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP)

Another area where NASAs Mars rovers gets a bit of orbital help is where the weather is concerned. On November 10, Bruce Cantor of Malin Space Systems was using the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiters Mars Color Imager, when he noticed a large dust storm developing in Mars southern hemisphere. By November 16, Orbiter was detecting a rise in temperature in the area of 45F (25C), which was a sign that dust was rising in the atmosphere.

However, this was more than just an interesting bit of meteorology. Martian dust storms are the largest in the Solar System, and under the right conditions can grow into global super storms engulfing the entire planet in dust. If that had happened, the nuclear-powered Curiosity wouldn't have suffered worse than having to close the dust covers over its lenses however, Opportunity (which is solar powered) ran the risk of having its panels covered in dust, which might result in it being unable to charge its batteries.

Image relayed by Mars Express of Rocknest 3 after being struck by ChemCams laser (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP)

Fortunately, the storm didn't develop beyond a regional area and never came closer to Opportunity than about 837 miles (1,347 km). The rover detected a slight drop in clarity, but that was all. Meanwhile, Curiosity, which has a Spanish-built weather station aboard, detected a slight drop in pressure and overnight temperatures due to the storm. This data provided a valuable comparison to Orbiter's observations.

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ESA's Mars Express relays Curiosity data

LGBT Fed Strategic Planning and Diversity Workshop – Video

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LGBT Fed Strategic Planning and Diversity Workshop
DOD FED GLOBE is a 501C3 nonprofit. That advocates for and educates about all LGBT employees past and present and service members, civil servants, and aligned corporations to the Department of Defense. Participants speak based on their own opine and it is not their intent to reflect the views of their employeer the Federal government and or commercial entities. On the second day of the Out and Equal Summit federal employees again got together for strategic planning and how to educate within their organization about diversity. DOD FED GLOBE Executive Director Lisa Kove taught the equality strategic planning workshop on the fly. The people that were supposed to teach the workshop were unable to make the summit due to the hurricane Sandy that hit the east coast that week. To join DOD FED GLOBE in educating the public about the need for LGBT equality associated with the DOD go to http://www.dodfedglobe.ning.com and sign on. Equality strategic planning in federal government will look at goals in educating the organization and the internal equality activists. Implementation of pro equality policies and laws. Having pro equality laws and policies that are not taught and or implemented do not provide direct benefit. Also a non federal employee but long time equality activist Elizabeth Birch spoke about her role in the DADT Repeal process. NASA #39;s speaker also emphasized the challenges for those organizations that are away from Washington DC and explained how they started marching in ...From:DODFEDGLOBEViews:5 0ratingsTime:51:22More inNonprofits Activism

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LGBT Fed Strategic Planning and Diversity Workshop - Video